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Here is a news article: KATHMANDU, Nepal — An octogenarian Nepalese mountaineer who was on a mission to reclaim his title as the oldest climber on Mount Everest died on Saturday afternoon at base camp, government officials said. The climber, Min Bahadur Sherchan, 85, died at 5:14 p.m., said Dinesh Bhattarai, the director general of the Nepal Department of Tourism. The cause of Mr. Sherchan’s death was not immediately clear, but Gyanendra Shrestha, a government mountaineering official at the Everest base camp, said it might have been a heart attack. Tilak Ram Pandey, a government liaison officer for Mr. Sherchan’s team who was near the base camp, said Mr. Sherchan’s body would be taken to Kathmandu for an autopsy on Sunday. ||||| May 6, 2017- Nepal's octogenarian mountaineer Min Bahadur Sherchan died on Everest Base Camp on Saturday, making it the second casualty this spring expedition. Gyanendra Shrestha, an official at Tourism Ministry, said from the Base Camp that Sherchan passed away at 5:14 pm. Doctors suspected 'heart attack' behind his death. Sherchan, 86, was making an attempt to scale Mt Everest to try to reclaim the title of the oldest man to climb the world’s tallest peak. Sherchan had stepped atop the summit of Everest in May 2008 when he was 76 years and 340 days old to be recognised as the oldest person to climb the peak by Guinness World Records in November 2009, replacing previous record holder Japanese Yuichiro Miura. Miura first climbed the peak in 2003 at the age of 70. He climbed Everest again in May 2008 when he was 75, but he did not set a record as he reached the summit a day after Sherchan achieved the feat at 76. In 2013, Miura snatched the record back from Sherchan by stepping on the summit at the age of 80. Published: 06-05-2017 18:24 ||||| A summary of this is?

– An 85-year-old Nepalese man attempting to reclaim the record for oldest person ever to summit Mount Everest, died Saturday at base camp, the BBC reports. Min Bahadur Sherchan's guide says he was in good shape but hadn't spent time at high altitude in two years. According to the Kathmandu Post, doctors believe Sherchan died of a heart attack. An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday, the New York Times reports. Sherchan was attempting to take the record back from rival octogenarian climber Yuichiro Miura, who reached the top of Everest in 2013 at the age of 80. The president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association says Sherchan was a man of "strong will" who "always wanted to make Nepal proud." His was the second death on Everest this spring.

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Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — He had trained for active-shooter situations. He recalled the drills where trainers barraged officers with everything they could — sounds, bright lights, smells — to overwhelm them. When Lt. Mike Madden pulled up Wednesday to the scene of what would be one of the worst massacres the United States has seen in years, his training kicked in, but all those tough drills were nothing compared with reality. “As we entered into the conference room, the situation was surreal,” Lieutenant Madden of the San Bernardino Police Department said at a news conference on Thursday, standing just across the street from the building where 14 people were killed and 21 wounded. “It was unspeakable the carnage we were seeing, the number of people who were injured, and unfortunately, already dead.” He also recalled the “pure panic,” he said, of the people still alive and inside. Fire alarms were ringing, the sprinklers were spraying water. It was so soon after the shooting, he said, that gun powder still hung in the air. He could smell it. Continue reading the main story Video Lieutenant Madden typically has an administrative job; he oversees dispatch. He had left the office and was on his lunch break about 11 a.m. when the calls came across the radio. He was less than a mile from the scene. Instantly, Lieutenant Madden, a native of San Bernardino who has been with the department since 1993, could tell something was wrong. “I know my dispatchers,” he said. “I know the tone of their voice. I know the severity of the calls as they go out, and I could hear it in the tone of their voice.” He added: “This was actually happening.” He was among the first to arrive. “It was out of pure luck I happened to pull into the right location,” he said, and he worried there were gunmen still firing. “It was immediately evident,” he said, “that the reports we were getting were 100 percent true.” He passed people who were dead, and he passed people who were still wounded, but he and the other officers made the hard decision not to render help to the wounded right away. Not knowing that the shooters had already fled, the first order of business was to figure out how many attackers were on the scene, and where they were. “I was asking individuals, but again, panic was obvious and apparent, and so we weren’t getting a lot of further information,” Lieutenant Madden said. Officers encountered about 50 people cowering in a back hallway. They did not want to come out; Lieutenant Madden worried that an assailant was with them, holding them hostage. “We had to tell them several times, ‘Come to us, come to us,’ ” Lieutenant Madden said. “And ultimately, they did, and once that first person took the motions forward, it opened the floodgates and everybody wanted to come and get away from that as quickly as possible.” Ever since the Columbine school massacre in 1999, he said, the police had done training for active-shooter situations, where “We talk about sensory overload; they just try to throw everything at you to prepare you for dealing with that — what you’re seeing, what you’re hearing, what you’re smelling — and it was all of that and more.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Advertisement Continue reading the main story “My job was to go in there, and you know, people don’t call the police because they’re having a great day,” he added. “They call because there’s tragedy going on, and this was tragedy that I’ve never experienced in my career, and that I don’t think most officers do.” For the officers, he said, panicking was not an option. They had to call upon their training, and push back their own emotions as best they could, he said, his eyes wet with tears as he recounted the experience to reporters from around the world. “These people had dealt with enough,” he said. “The last thing they need is to see their police officers panicking.” And, if anything, he was hopeful that their response to the tragedy would remind people far from San Bernardino of something good about law enforcement. “You know, we’ve taken a lot of hits lately, some justified, much of it not justified, and it takes a toll,” Lieutenant Madden said. “I guarantee you that no cop comes into this job with the mind-set that, ‘Great, now I have the power to be corrupt and violate people’s rights.’ ” His experience on Wednesday, Lieutenant Madden said, was a reminder of that. “It solidified that,” he said, “in my heart and my mind-set.” A reporter asked Lieutenant Madden about a widely viewed video of an officer leading frightened people to safety, asking if that was him on the video, assuring survivors, “I’ll take a bullet before you do, that’s for damn sure.” “No,” he said. “I would like to think I was that cool, but no, unfortunately, that wasn’t.” ||||| The San Bernardino officers "did what they were supposed to do: come to the location, get together with a team of three or four or five officers and make entry," said San Marino Police Chief John Incontro, a former LAPD captain who oversaw the department's SWAT team. "The goal is to find the suspect and stop the threat." ||||| Ryan Reyes, center, breaks down Thursday immediately after finding out that his boyfriend of three years, Daniel Kaufman, was one of those killed during Wednesday's mass shooting. (Rick Loomis/LA Times via Getty Images) Another morning stuck in a conference room, another requisite all-staff meeting, and Patrick Baccari arrived to find his co-worker Syed Farook sitting at a table by himself. He was wearing a button-down shirt and a long beard. Baccari walked over to join him. “Ready to be bored?” Baccari asked, because that was always their joke. San Bernardino County required its health inspectors to gather at least twice each year for a day of speeches and continuing education. “I’m ready,” he would remember Farook telling him and smiling back. They sat together near the back of the room as it filled with 75 people, and soon their table was full, too. There was Chris Nwadike, a government worker for the past 25 years. There were Isaac Amanios, a 60-year-old father of three, and Denise Peraza, 27 and newly married. A technician wheeled out a lectern. A supervisor stood up to welcome them. At some point after the first hour, Farook got up and left his papers on the table and his jacket on the back of his chair. “Where’s Syed?” Baccari remembered someone at the table asking, and then a little while later Farook was back, this time with his wife, two assault rifles, two handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. What happened next took less than four minutes. Fourteen people were killed. Twenty-one people were injured. And so many in the San Bernardino County Department of Health were left doubting how much they knew about not only their co-worker but also about their government office and the country it represented. One health department supervisor sometimes referred to her team of inspectors as a “Little United Nations,” because they had come to San Bernardino from everywhere: Eritrea, Colombia, India, Mexico and Central America — the most diverse office in San Bernardino County. “No talking politics. No interoffice drama,” was how their supervisor, Amanda Adair, described the office rules. After the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday that left 14 people dead, details are starting to emerge about the two shooters. Here's what we know about Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik. (The Washington Post) Farook had always been one of the most agreeable, the quietest, and also among the best at his job, Adair said. He was a college graduate with five years of experience in environmental health. He had helped train his co-workers on a new computer program and won gift certificates to TGI Fridays as an interoffice reward for good performance. He had taken a long vacation from work once to travel to Saudi Arabia and see the woman who would become his wife. Early in the year, he had set up a baby registry at Target for his newborn daughter, and his office mates had thrown him a baby shower. They had asked to meet his new wife and teased him lightly when he demurred. “We all thought he was doing great, having a family, but still the same guy — peaceful and quiet,” Baccari said. “He got along with everybody,” Nwadike said. So it was more than just the black mask and tactical gear that rendered Farook unrecognizable to so many of his co-workers when he returned to the meeting about 11 a.m. The division chief had just finished a talk about statistics. The county supervisor had announced more hiring for next year and then given everyone a five-minute bathroom break. That’s when, investigators say, Farook and his wife drove up to the beige three-building complex of the Inland Regional Center on a quiet street in San Bernardino, driving a rental car with Utah plates. They approached the patio with unlocked doors that led directly into the conference room, investigators said, and that’s where Amanios happened to be sitting outside on his break. Amanios was shot and killed, and then the shooters entered the conference room, where bagels and pastries were still sitting on a buffet table and some employees had begun posing for staff pictures. Baccari and Nwadike had just left for the bathroom on their break when they heard a blast followed by a series of gunshots. Baccari was reaching for a towel to dry his hands when a bullet ripped through the dispenser and sent shrapnel spraying across the room. “Get down, get down, get down!” Baccari yelled, even though he had no idea what was happening. They dove for cover on the floor. Nwadike hid in a stall. Parts of the ceiling fell down on them, and they pushed the bathroom door closed with their legs. Nwadike thought he could smell gunpowder. Baccari thought he could hear muffled screaming coming in between the blasts in the conference room, about 20 feet down the hall. “It was like the world was ending in there,” he said. “We had no idea what it was.” 1 of 61 Full Screen Autoplay Close The day of the shooting The manhunt Skip Ad × What the shooting scene, manhunt and search for evidence in San Bernardino looks like View Photos Two suspects were killed in a confrontation with police after a shooting at a nonprofit facility that left at least 14 dead. Caption The attackers were killed in a confrontation with police after a shooting at the nonprofit Inland Regional Center that left 14 dead. Dec. 11, 2015 A diver searches for evidence in the San Bernardino, Calif., shooting massacre that may have been thrown into Seccombe Lake. Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people and injured 21 at the Inland Regional Center. David Mcnew/Getty Images Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. It was 65 to 75 rounds fired over the course of about a minute, coming from a Smith & Wesson and two AR-15s, investigators would later determine. One bullet hit the sprinkler system. Water rained down from the ceiling. Gunfire pockmarked the walls, tipped over tables and ripped through the lectern. Dozens of people were shot, at least one as many as five times. The gunfire stopped, and then there were new sounds coming from the conference room. “Oh my God. Oh my God. She’s bleeding,” said one woman, speaking into a cellphone as she sat next to Hanan Megalla and called Megalla’s husband to say that his wife had been injured. “A lot of people are dead. Somehow I’m alive,” said Denise Peraza, 27, making a call to her sister from the conference room, where she had been shot in the back. “Love you guys,” wrote Julie Paez, sending a text message to her family from the floor of the room at 11:20 a.m., according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. She took a picture of her face as she lay on the floor and sent it to them. She had been hit in the arm and in the stomach. Her pelvis was shattered. “Was shot,” she wrote. Four minutes after the shooting had started, more people in tactical gear came rushing into the room with their guns drawn. “Police!” one said, and the officers moved through the conference room and then into the bathroom, where Baccari and Nwadike were still cowering. “Don’t take anything! Everyone get your hands up,” Nwadike remembered an officer saying, and they hurried the survivors through a hallway and out of the building, past the conference room where their morning had begun. They gathered outside, waiting to be checked at a triage tent and then interviewed by investigators. By noon, at least one of those co-workers had told investigators that he believed one of the shooters could be Farook. “That didn’t make sense to me,” Baccari said. “He was doing fine. No problem at all,” Nwadike said. “It’s all so confusing and disorienting,” Baccari said, because so much that was familiar had become unrecognizable, and behind him in the conference room the fire alarm was blaring, water was pouring down, and 35 of his colleagues were either wounded or dead. McCrummen reported from Washington. Abby Phillip and William Wan in Washington contributed to this report. ||||| What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Patrick Baccari greeted his San Bernardino County co-worker with his usual joke before a mandatory all-day continuing education meeting in the conference room. "Ready to be bored?" he asked. "I'm ready," Syed Farook said with a smile. Soon the room was filled with 75 people and a supervisor stood up to speak, reports the Washington Post. But after the first hour, Farook had vanished. "Where's Syed?" Baccari recalls someone at his table asking. When Farook next entered the room around 11am, it was with his wife and two assault rifles, police say. While some co-workers were starting to pose for a group photo during a five-minute bathroom break—including some who'd thrown Farook a baby shower—he opened fire, killing 14 and injuring 21 in four minutes. Lt. Mike Madden, who had trained for active-shooter situations, was among the first officers on the scene and entered the Inland Regional Center with three other officers. "The situation was surreal," he tells the New York Times. "It was unspeakable the carnage we were seeing." They were eventually joined by 300 other officers. After determining that the shooters had fled, they led 50 people from a back hallway and tended to the wounded. A former LAPD SWAT officer says he was "impressed" by the officers' actions. "There was a very short response time, they did a follow-up very rapidly and got on top of the suspects," he tells the Los Angeles Times. "That sometimes takes hours or days." Within an hour of the shooting, a co-worker had told investigators that Farook may have been responsible. Baccari—who happened to be in a bathroom 20 feet from the conference room and hit the floor when a bullet pieced the room's paper-towel dispenser—couldn't believe it. Farook was a talented worker who'd won an interoffice reward for his performance. "We all thought he was doing great," he says. "He got along with everybody," a colleague adds.

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Write a summary based on this article: Eternal bachelor George Clooney could finally be settling down — the actor is engaged to beautiful lawyer Amal Alamuddin, sources tell Page Six. Clooney has proposed to humanitarian lawyer Alamuddin after dating the British beauty for less than a year, we are told. Alamuddin, 36, was spotted showing off an engagement ring as she and Clooney, 52, dined at Nobu in Malibu on Thursday night with Cindy Crawford and husband Rande Gerber. A source told Page Six, “George and Amal hoped keep the engagement quiet, but they can’t hide the fact that they are very happy.” When contacted on Friday night by Page Six, Clooney’s rep Stan Rosenfield didn’t confirm or deny the engagement, simply telling us, “I do not comment on his personal life.” While actor and Syria activist Clooney has in the past dated models, waitresses and most recently wrestler Stacy Keibler, he appears to have met his match in accomplished Alamuddin. She studied at Oxford and the New York University School of Law, speaks three languages — French, Arabic and English — and has represented Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in his extradition proceedings with Sweden and is now an adviser to former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the special envoy to Syria. After they were spotted leaving a dinner together in London in November 2013, Clooney initially denied he was dating Alamuddin, saying they were working together on a satellite program for Syria. But in February he took her to a screening of his movie “Monuments Men” at the White House, along with his parents, Nick and Nina Clooney. Then in March, Clooney and Alamuddin were pictured looking romantic together on a luxury safari vacation watching wildlife in Tanzania, before heading to the Seychelles. Clooney, who was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993, told Esquire in December that he wasn’t suited to marriage. He said, “I haven’t had aspirations in that way, ever. I was married in 1989. I wasn’t very good at it. . . . I was quoted as saying I’ll never get married again pretty much right after I got divorced and then I’ve never talked about it since.” He added that while some people think it is strange he does not have children, but he is not in a rush to start a family. He said: “Should I go, ‘I got to get me some kids right now!’ and rush out and impregnate someone? Look, what I do know is that I was raised in a loving, happy family. I don’t have any dislike or distrust of that.” ||||| LONDON (Reuters) - A London law firm confirmed the worst-kept secret in show business on Monday by sending congratulations to one of its lawyers and Hollywood leading man George Clooney on their engagement. U.S. actor George Clooney smiles as he arrives on the red carpet for the premiere of "Gravity" at the 70th Venice Film Festival in Venice August 28, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/Files Media speculation that Clooney had gone back on his vow never to remarry grew at the weekend after his girlfriend, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, was spotted wearing a large ring on her wedding finger at a Los Angeles restaurant. The couple have said nothing and Clooney’s representative declined to comment on the actor’s personal life, but on Monday Alamuddin’s law firm released a statement. “The barristers and staff of Doughty Street Chambers offer their best wishes and congratulations to Ms Amal Alamuddin, a member of Chambers, and Mr George Clooney on their engagement to be married,” the firm said. Clooney, 52, and Alamuddin, 36, have been dating since last October, according to media reports. Clooney, a two-time Oscar winner and human rights activist, has been married once, but since his 1993 divorce from Talia Balsam has remained one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors. Apart from his acting, Clooney has also recently worked as an advocate for refugees in Darfur in Sudan. “BRIGHT LIGHT” The London law firm said it had recruited Alamuddin in 2010 to complete her training as a barrister in England and she later became a full member, joining its international law team. She was educated at St Hugh’s College, Oxford University, and New York University School of Law and speaks Arabic and French fluently, according to the law firm’s website. Alamuddin has advised United Nations former secretary-general Kofi Annan on Syria, represented Ukraine’s ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in challenging her detention before the European Court of Human Rights and has also represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in extradition proceedings. Alamuddin drew publicity last year when she was named as topping an online “hot list” of attractive female barristers in Britain. Barrister Geoffrey Robertson, who took Alamuddin on at Doughty Street chambers and worked with her on the Tymoshenko and Assange cases, described her as a “brilliant and passionate defender of human rights” who was respected by her colleagues. The chief executive of her law firm, Robin Jackson, added his personal congratulations. “She brings a bright light to everything she is involved in, and I am so delighted at her happy news,” he said. ||||| EXCLUSIVE: 'I'm extremely happy - Amal's a lovely girl': George Clooney's mom confirms surprise engagement Bride-to-be is Amal Alamuddin, a humanitarian lawyer who represents Wikileaks founder Julian Assange Amal, 36, has been flaunting a huge diamond engagement ring She has already met her parents-in-law-to be at a private screening of The Monuments Men at the White House Nina Clooney says: 'They share a sense of fun, a sense of humour and they are both very caring people' George Clooney's mom today confirmed her son's engagement to Amal Alamuddin, saying: 'You can say I'm extremely happy, Amal's a lovely girl.' Nina Clooney has met British barrister Amal, 36, on various occasions and told MailOnline: 'I like her very much', agreeing the striking brunette has both 'brains and beauty'. Speaking from her home in the tiny village of Augusta, Kentucky, Mrs Clooney said her son first introduced Miss Alamuddin to his parents about a year ago - and said the clan bonded over their mutual interest in international affairs. Mrs Clooney, 74, and her veteran broadcaster husband Nick, 80, also accompanied the Oscar winning actor, 52, and his new fiancée to a private White House screening of The Monuments Men with President Obama in February. Scroll down for video So in love: Actor George Clooney with Amal Almuddin, 36, on safari in Africa Perfect pair: George Clooney and his new fiancée Amal Alamuddin take a ride on his motorbike on Sunday following their engagement Close: Oscar winner George Clooney and his love, British barrister Amal Alamuddin take to the road after their engagement is announced It was that date, revealed exclusively by MailOnline, that showed the world just how serious Clooney was about Miss Alamuddin, a human rights lawyer of high standing who is currently representing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Miss Alamuddin is also an adviser to Kofi Annan, the special envoy to Syria, while Clooney and his activist father are known for their work trying to resolve the Darfur conflict . And Mrs Clooney said: 'We weren’t at all surprised when they told us they were engaged, and we couldn’t be happier for them. 'On an intellectual level, they are equals. That is very important to him. Amal’s world couldn’t be more different from the Hollywood lifestyle.' Asked if Amal is anything like the other women who have swarmed over her son in the past, Mrs Clooney said, 'Heavens, no! She’s a lawyer, she is brilliant, she is a very bright woman and at the very top of her career. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 2 Next Paul Simon and folk singer wife Edie Brickell charged with... Eliot Spitzer's ex-wife Silda gets $7.5m in divorce deal... Showing it off! Pregnant Mila Kunis flashes her belly in... Share this article Share 'They also share a sense of fun, a sense of humour and they are both very caring people.' Clooney is understood to have proposed recently after the couple enjoyed a series of exotic holidays around the world during a seven-month romance. The pair were pictured yesterday enjoying a ride on the star's motorbike, with Miss Alamuddin in plum position behind him. Today, Nick Clooney echoed his wife's sentiments, telling TMZ: 'We are thrilled...my wife and I are absolutely thrilled...we are excited for both of them. Amal is a very lovely girl.' Miss Alamudin's law firm also congratulated her on her engagement. A statement released to Reuters read: 'The barristers and staff of Doughty Street Chambers offer their best wishes and congratulations to Ms. Amal Alamuddin, a member of Chambers, and Mr. George Clooney on their engagement to be married.' Cosy: George Clooney stands next to British barrister Amal Alamuddin at the Willard Hotel's exclusive Round Robin and Scotch Bar in Washington D.C. after they both attended a private screening of his latest movie, Monuments Men, with President Obama at the White House on Tuesday, February 18. His friend and co-producer Grant Heslov is seen sitting down Meet my friends: George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin have a late-night drink with, from left, Matt Damon, his wife Luciana (sitting down), actor Bill Murray, and producer Grant Heslov Barrister Geoffrey Robertson added, too, that Miss Alamuddin is a 'brilliant and passionate defender of human rights' who is respected by her colleagues. And Robin Jackson, chief executive of her law firm, told Reuters: 'She brings a bright light to everything she is involved in, and I am so delighted at her happy news.' Clooney's relationship with Miss Alamuddin is a departure from the long list of actresses and models he has dated in the past. Rumours of their engagement began to circulate after she was spotted several times in the last week sporting a 'huge ring'. Entertainment Tonight reported that on Thursday, the lovers were spotted at celebrity restaurant Nobu in Malibu, California, with Clooney's friends Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber. At the dinner, Miss Alamuddin had a conspicuous ring on her left ring finger, according to an onlooker. The same ring was seen by another diner at another LA restaurant, Craig's, on Wednesday, when the pair were understood to be celebrating their engagement. A friend told People: 'George and Amal are trying to keep things very low-key but they also aren't really trying to hide this, it doesn't seem. Thrilled: Nina and Nick Clooney are pictured at the February premiere of The Monuments Men in New York. Mrs Clooney said she was 'extremely happy' at her son's engagement Big news? George Clooney's girlfriend Amal Alamuddin, pictured here in October, was reportedly seen by multiple people showing off a ring at Nobu in Malibu, California, on Thursday. 'I think it's like they want the people they love to know that this is real, that they plan on being together for ever.' Clooney was first photographed with Miss Alamuddin last October in London. And just hours after the small screening at the White House on Tuesday, February 18, Clooney and Miss Alamuddin were pictured standing intimately together at the Round Robin and Scotch Bar at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. in a group that included Clooney’s pal and co-star Matt Damon and his wife Luciana, and fellow actor and co-star Bill Murray. An onlooker at the bar revealed: 'They looked very much together, George had his arm around her and she appeared to be a girlfriend In March, they went to Tanzania, where they were photographed on safari, and they also visited the Seychelles. History repeating? While known as a diehard bachelor, George has been married before briefly to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993, pictured here in 1990 Miss Alamuddin was once voted the 'hottest barrister in London' by a law blog, but her life could not be more removed from the celebrity world which Clooney inhabits. She comes from a prominent intellectual Lebanese family who fled war-torn Beirut when she was a child and settled in a large modern house in Buckinghamshire. Her mother, Baria, was a noted beauty when she was younger – a Liz Taylor of Lebanon, by all accounts. Her father, Ramzi, is a retired professor of business studies at the American University of Beirut. The family are believed to belong to the Druze religious sect, an offshoot of Islam. After leaving Oxford, where she gained a 2:1 in law, Miss Alamuddin studied at the New York University School of Law. Now working out of London's Doughty Street Chambers, she specialises in international law, human rights, extradition and criminal law. Asked about the engagement news yesterday, her parents' housekeeper beamed a large smile and said: 'I don't know.' But a neighbour said: 'I'm really happy for her – who wouldn't be happy with George Clooney as their husband?' Yesterday, Clooney's spokesman Stan Rosenfield did not deny the engagement rumours but just said: 'I do not comment on his personal life.' Clooney was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993. Since then he has said that although he is not completely closed off to the idea of another wedding, he is not the marrying type. Last December he told Esquire: 'I haven't had aspirations in that way, ever. I was married in 1989. I wasn't very good at it.' ||||| George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin Are Engaged His bachelor days are over! George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin are engaged.A source with knowledge of the situation confirms Clooney popped the question and exclusively tells PEOPLE, "George and Amal are trying to keep things very low-key but they also aren't really trying to hide this, it doesn't seem. I think it's like they want the people they love to know that this is real, that they plan on being together forever."The engagement happened "not that long ago, I think," the source adds, and the couple don't appear to have wedding plans in the works – yet.On Thursday, the pair were spotted at Malibu hot spot Nobu with Cindy Crawford and husband Rande Gerber, who are longtime pals of Clooney's. At the dinner, Alamuddin had a conspicuous ring on her left ring finger, a different source tells PEOPLE.In addition, two sources say that witnesses at another L.A. restaurant, Craig's, reported seeing the pair apparently celebrating their engagement with friends on Wednesday night, with Alamuddin sporting a "huge ring," according to one.A rep for the actor has only said, "I don't comment on my client's personal life."Clooney, 52, and Alamuddin, 36, a British attorney who specializes in international law and human rights, were first photographed stepping out together in London in October. The two have since been spotted embarking on romantic, globe-trotting jaunts.In March, the two went on a trip to Tanzania , where they were snapped getting cozy during a safari, and they also visited the Seychelles.A few days later, the couple stepped out together in New York City for dinner at a French restaurant.Earlier this year, a source who has worked with Clooney, told PEOPLE: "He's with someone who is a very accomplished attorney. She isn't someone who is pursuing a career in acting or entertainment. She's on his level." |||||

– Cue the locusts, because the end must be nigh: Perennial bachelor George Clooney is engaged, in the tying-the-knot, til-death-do-us-part kind of way. Sources yesterday told People and Page Six that the actor popped the question to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, his 36-year-old squeeze of about six months, and today her law firm and his mom are confirming the news. The story goes that the couple were having dinner Thursday with Cindy Crawford and husband Rande Gerber, when they were approached by Ed Norton. "We're engaged!" they reportedly gushed. Alamuddin was apparently wearing a "huge ring." A Clooney rep yesterday stayed firmly in neither-confirm-nor-deny mode, saying, "I don't comment on my client's personal life." But today, the London law firm Alamuddin works for confirmed the news in a statement, Reuters reports. "The barristers and staff of Doughty Street Chambers offer their best wishes and congratulations to Ms Amal Alamuddin, a member of Chambers, and Mr George Clooney on their engagement to be married," it reads. Clooney's mom is similarly bad at keeping a secret; she tells the Daily Mail, "You can say I'm extremely happy, Amal's a lovely girl."

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The saying goes “make like a tree and leaf,” but this guy can’t seem to take a hint. Police and firefighters responded to a man who climbed to the top of one of Seattle’s iconic 80-foot Sequoia trees after 11:30am PT but their help was rejected, according to KOMO News, which is livestreaming the event. Not the hero Seattle needs, but definitely the hero Seattle deserves. #ManInTree pic.twitter.com/xGo7Wef2wv — Jon (@JonCordell) March 22, 2016 Sporting a long beard and a wool cap, the man has been yelling at spectators and throwing small branches, apples, orange peels, and pine cones, among other things, at rescuers for nearly five hours. By the fourth hour of the ordeal, he had stripped the top of the tree bare and began chucking branches at officers and firefighters. He’s even made a request for a pack of Camel Crush cigarettes. If this story sounds like Internet gold, it is. The hashtag #ManInTree is trending across the nation. A clever Twitter user has already created a Twitter persona for the man, tweeting from the account @Man_in_Tree. This #ManInTree situation is very InTreeguing. — Connor Hutyler (@ConnorHutyler) March 22, 2016 Man, Season 1 of #ManInTree was so solid, but so far Season 2 just seems like more of the same. Needs a sidekick or something. — Zach Malm (@muzach) March 22, 2016 I'm on the move... #ManInTree — Man In Tree (@Man_In_Tree) March 22, 2016 lol jk, i'm staying put. #ManInTree — Man In Tree (@Man_In_Tree) March 22, 2016 Looks like this guy is rooted in staying up there. Photo via Reflected Serendipity/Flickr (CC BY2.0) ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video SEATTLE -- Several blocks around 4th Avenue and Stewart were closed around 11 a.m. Tuesday while officers negotiated with a man to come down from the top of an 80-foot sequoia next to the Macy's department store in downtown Seattle. As of Wednesday morning, he was still up in the tree. Happening Now: new video of #ManInTree who refuses to come down in Seattle. #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/lofmiuWcQk — Adam Mertz (@AJMertz) March 23, 2016 No one knows why he climbed up there -- or what he wants, if anything. When police officers and firefighters tried to talk to him to persuade him to come down, he yelled obscenities at them and tore branches off the top of the tree and threw them at the people below. But he also developed somewhat of a following by curious Seattleites, tourists and passers-by. People shouting "We love you tree man!" Police are pushing the crowd back now. #Q13FOX #ManInTree pic.twitter.com/z0Y5c9fpOp — Tom Yazwinski Q13Fox (@TomYazwinski) March 23, 2016 And if that wasn't bizarre enough, Seattle's "super hero" -- Phoenix Jones -- turned out late Tuesday night to try to help out. He tweeted that he would offer the #manintree a sandwich and a beer to entice him down. Police and firetrucks blocked several streets in the area. Authorities said the man wasn't being cooperative and at one point threw an apple and pine cones at paramedics and officers. "Officers arrived at the scene, determined the man posed a danger to himself, pedestrians and motorists, and closed several surrounding streets. Police attempted to contact the man, but he refused to speak with officers," the Seattle Police Department said on its online crime blotter. "During early attempts to contact the man, who appears to be suffering from a mental health crisis, he threw an apple, branches, pine cones and other items at officers on the street below, and claimed to be armed with a knife," SPD said. "Due to the his violent behavior and threats, and the man’s precarious position high above the ground, police are taking extreme caution to ensure the safety of everyone involved. "Once the incident is resolved, Seattle Department of Transportation officials will review the health of the approximately 80-foot sequoia tree, believed to have been in place since the 1970s," SPD said. Please enable Javascript to watch this video 47.612292 -122.338734 ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Image 1 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday afternoon, March 22, 2015. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday afternoon, March 22, 2015. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 2 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: Grant Hindsley/seattlepi.com Staff Image 3 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: Grant Hindsley/seattlepi.com Staff Image 4 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: Seattle Fire Department Image 5 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: Tom Paulson/submitted Photo Image 6 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: Courtesy KOMO/4 Image 7 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: Seattle Police Department Image 8 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: Seattle Fire Department Image 9 of 10 Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Negotiators and firefighters try to coax a man from a tree in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning. SDOT shut down Stewart Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Photo: Courtesy SDOT ||||| Write a summary.

– Police in Seattle continue to try to figure out what to do about a man who scaled an 80-foot tree on Tuesday and seems to have no plans to come down. The bearded man climbed the huge tree outside a Macy's store downtown around 11am and pelted cops and medics with an apple, pine cones, and branches, the Seattle Times reports. He managed to spend the night in the sequoia despite chilly temperatures. Police initially closed off streets in the area but were reopening them on Wednesday. They say the man, who claimed to be carrying a knife, appears to be suffering some kind of mental health crisis and their first priority is his safety. Meanwhile, KOMO is live-streaming the unusual standoff. The climber, believed to be a local homeless man, has "just been up in the tree for a few hours now, cussing at people and throwing pine cones," a witness told the Times on Tuesday. Phoenix Jones, Seattle's own superhero, arrived at the scene Tuesday night but was unable to coax the man down with an offer of a sandwich and a beer, Q13 reports. Perhaps inevitably, #ManInTree became an Internet sensation, the Daily Dot reports. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that spoof Twitter accounts have been created for the man, a firefighter who climbed a ladder to try to talk to him, and the tree itself. (Cops in Illinois pulled over a woman with a slightly smaller tree stuck in her grille.)

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Image caption The Great Barrier Reef supports 64,000 jobs, according to a new study The Great Barrier Reef is worth A$56bn (£33bn; $42bn) and is critical to supporting economic activity in Australia, according to a new report. Deloitte Access Economics calculated the figure on the reef's total "economic, social and icon value". It found the reef contributes A$6.4bn to Australia's economy and supports 64,000 jobs. The report said more should be done to protect the reef, which has been hit by recent mass coral bleaching events. The study was commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, a charity dedicated to protecting the World Heritage-listed icon. "This report sends a clear message that the Great Barrier Reef - as an ecosystem, as an economic driver, as a global treasure - is too big to fail," said foundation director Steve Sargent. "As the largest living structure on earth and one of the world's most complex and diverse natural ecosystems, the Great Barrier Reef is justifiably considered priceless and irreplaceable." Calculating value Using economic modelling, the authors calculated the reef is worth A$29bn to tourism and A$3.2bn to recreational visitors such as divers. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The second bleaching is causing concerns over the reef's long term health. It is also worth A$23.8bn in "indirect" or brand value - meaning Australians who have not visited the reef but value knowing it exists. The data was based on a six-month study of scientific and economic sources, and a new survey of more than 1,500 people from 11 countries. Mr Sargent said the total value was 12 times greater than the Sydney Opera House. Lead author John O'Mahony said the results confirmed the reef had "incredible value" in terms of biodiversity, creating jobs, and reputation internationally. Mass coral bleaching in consecutive years damaged two-thirds of the reef, according to surveys in April. ||||| Great Barrier Reef valued at A$56bn as report warns it's 'too big to fail' A new report has valued the Great Barrier Reef at A$56bn and warns of vast economic consequences for Australia unless more is done to protect it. The Deloitte Access Economics report says the world heritage-listed reef underpins 64,000 direct and indirect jobs, and contributes $6.4bn to the national economy each year. But without ramped-up protection efforts, it warns much of that could be at risk as the reef suffers from repeated mass coral bleaching events, poor water quality and climate change. Paris agreement's 1.5C target 'only way' to save coral reefs, Unesco says Read more “The reef is critical to supporting economic activity and jobs in Australia,” says the report, prepared for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. “The livelihoods and businesses it supports across Australia far exceeds the numbers supported by many industries we would consider too big to fail.” Of the 64,000 jobs linked to the reef, 39,000 are direct jobs – making the reef a bigger “employer” than the likes of Telstra, the Qantas Group, National Australia Bank and the oil and gas extraction industry. The report has been released amid a sustained campaign by environmental groups against Adani’s new mega coalmine in Queensland, which they say will fuel the biggest threat to the reef’s survival – climate change. “There has never been a more critical time to understand precisely what the reef contributes and, therefore, what we stand to lose without it,” said Dr John Schubert, the chairman of the reef foundation, which works to address environmental threats. “This report makes it clear that the Great Barrier Reef is a treasure that is too big to fail. It is a call to action for us all – individuals, businesses, foundations and governments – to respond in equal measure to ensure that we don’t fail our natural wonder.” Great Barrier Reef: Australia must act urgently on water quality, says Unesco Read more The energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, said Adani’s planned mine was “300km inland ... in a dry, dusty part of Queensland”. Asked on Monday how the federal government could support the mine, when the value of the reef dwarfed its economic impact, Frydenberg said Australia’s coal was cleaner than other sources. “If Australia vacates this field, not only will we be forgoing billions of dollars’ worth of export income and thousands of jobs domestically, but somebody else will sell that coal into India and the impact on the environment could be worse in terms of emissions,” he said in a statement. The Australian Conservation Foundation said emissions from the coal Adani planned to mine would fuel the primary threat to the reef’s survival: climate change. “It’s just a disturbing statement to hear from our federal environment minister,” ACF campaigner Basha Stasak said. “Our governments seem to refuse to acknowledge the reality of the situation. It’s a choice - it’s coal or it’s coral and we are going to have to pick.” Queensland’s environment minister, Steven Miles, said the report was valuable as the state government fought for more federal assistance to safeguard the reef. He said there was a discussion to be had about whether a levy that applied to reef visitors was “the right amount” or whether there were other ways to generate funds for reef protection. “Certainly we could use more support from the federal government, it is a national asset,” he told Channel Nine. Deloitte says the $56bn figure reflects the reef’s economic, social and iconic value, with Australian tourists who have visited it accounting for $29bn. table Sources: Deloitte Access Economics report on the value of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland government, Adani. But it ascribes almost as much – $24bn – to Australians who are yet to see it but value knowing that it exists. A further $3bn is put down to the value Australians see in being able to visit the reef’s beaches and boating and diving in reef waters. The report was based on previously published data, a new survey of more than 1,500 Australians and residents from 10 other countries, and consultations with stakeholders. Comment has been sought from the federal environment minister, Josh Frydenberg. ||||| The Great Barrier Reef is worth $56 billion. That's the "total asset value" according to a new Deloitte Access Economics report that calculates the World Heritage site's full economic, social and iconic brand value for the first time. While many Australians would consider the reef priceless, Deloitte believes you can put a number on it. It arrived at the $56 billion figure after an extensive six-month analysis that drew on research from dozens of economic and scientific sources, as well as a survey of 1500 people from 10 countries. ||||| Great Barrier Reef 'too big to fail' at $56b, Deloitte Access Economics report says Updated The Great Barrier Reef has a total asset value of $56 billion and is "too big to fail", according to a new report. Key points: Deloitte Access Economics says GBR has calculated economic, social and iconic value of $56 billion Tourism is the biggest contributor to the total asset value making up $29 billion But tourist figures are down 50 per cent in the Whitsundays — operators say "this is as bad as it was during the GFC" Deloitte Access Economics has calculated the economic, social and iconic value of the world heritage site in a report commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Tourism is the biggest contributor to the total asset value making up $29 billion. The Great Barrier Reef generates 64,000 jobs in Australia and contributes $6.4 billion dollars to the national economy, the report said. It states the brand value, or Australians that have not yet visited the Reef but value knowing it exists, as $24 billion. Recreational users including divers and boaters make up $3 billion. "That's more than 12 Sydney Opera Houses, or the cost of building Australia's new submarines. It's even more than four times the length of the Great Wall of China in $100 notes," the report states. The report does not include quantified estimates of the value traditional owners place on the Great Barrier Reef and it said governments should consider doing more to protect it. Climate change remains biggest threat It also references the back to back coral bleaching events which have devastated the reef and says climate change remains the most serious threat to the entire structure. "We have already lost around 50 per cent of the corals on the GBR in the last 30 years. Severe changes in the ocean will see a continued decline ahead of us," the report states. "Today, our Reef is under threat like never before. Two consecutive years of global coral bleaching are unprecedented, while increasingly frequent extreme weather events and water quality issues continue to affect reef health," said Dr John Schubert AO, Chair of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators executive director Col McKenzie said the reef is crucial to the industry. "We don't have an industry without the Barrier Reef being in good condition." He said the negative coverage of the reef relating to the destruction caused by Cyclone Debbie earlier this year and the bleaching event is having an impact on visitor numbers. Mr McKenzie said tourist figures are down 50 per cent in the Whitsundays and it is being felt along the Queensland coast. "The majority of the operators in Cairns say this is as bad as it was during the global financial crisis," Mr McKenzie said. The Deloitte Access Economics report will be released on Hamilton Island today. Sorry, this video has expired Video: Footage shows areas of the Great Barrier Reef in the Whitsundays devastated by Cyclone Debbie (ABC News) Topics: great-barrier-reef, environment, oceans-and-reefs, business-economics-and-finance, environmentally-sustainable-business, tourism, industry, hamilton-island-4803, qld, cairns-4870, mackay-4740, townsville-4810, brisbane-4000 First posted ||||| It’s renowned as the world’s largest living thing… but of Australia’s celebrated natural assets, the Great Barrier Reef is also the biggest contributor to our national economy and our international brand. Putting a price on it might seem impossible, given the Reef’s irreplaceable beauty and biodiversity. Of course it’s invaluable on so many levels, but identifying its value can help an appreciation of its importance, and shape thinking and policy around its future. In a world first, this new Deloitte Access Economics report, for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation (with support from National Australia Bank and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) calculates the total economic, social and icon asset value of the Reef. And the number is $56 billion. That’s a lot of reasons to think very carefully about the Reef’s future. “This timely report is a much needed, holistic view of the incredible economic value and opportunities provided by the Great Barrier Reef. Any failure to protect this indispensable natural resource would have profound impacts not only to Australia but around the world.” Al Gore ||||| Write a summary.

– A new report finds the Great Barrier Reef is too "critical" to fail—which is a problem since it's already failing. The report from Deloitte Access Economics notes the reef—with a "total asset value" of $42 billion, almost half of which comes from tourism—is the biggest contributor to Australia's economy, adding $4.85 billion per year while supporting 64,000 jobs, including 39,000 direct jobs, reports the Guardian. "The livelihoods and businesses it supports across Australia far exceeds the numbers supported by many industries we would consider too big to fail," the report states. In comparison, a new $16.5 billion coal mine in Queensland—which critics say is a threat to the reef—will contribute $154 million to the economy per year and will add 10,000 jobs. The Great Barrier Reef Foundation commissioned the report "to understand precisely what the reef contributes and, therefore, what we stand to lose without it," the chairman says, calling it "a call to action." The report notes half of all coral in the Great Barrier Reef has been lost in the last 30 years as a result of coral bleaching, extreme weather, and changes in water quality with "continued decline" expected, per ABC Australia. More than 60% of 1,500 people from 11 countries surveyed for the report said they would pay to protect the reef, per the Sydney Morning Herald and the BBC. It's understandable why, says Al Gore: "Any failure to protect this indispensable natural resource would have profound impacts not only to Australia but around the world." (This could help save the reef.)

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News article: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers says an article in The New York Times on Benghazi doesn’t square with intelligence assessments about last year’s attacks on the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city. Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” the Michigan Republican declined to answer when asked by host Chris Wallace whether The Times story was designed to exonerate Hillary Clinton, who was the secretary of state at the time of the attacks. “I find the timing odd,” Rogers said. “I don’t want to speculate on why they might do it.” In a story published online Saturday, The Times said it had “turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault” and that the attacks were, in fact, “fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam.” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, said intelligence assessments indicate that Al Qaeda was involved in the attacks. But, he said, The Times story “adds some valuable insights.” “It is a complex picture,” he said. Read more about: Hillary Clinton, Mike Rogers, Benghazi ||||| poster="https://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201312/81/1155968404_2990356625001_video-still-for-video-2989614297001.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Rep. Darrell Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Sunday during an interview with NBC's 'Meet the Press' defended his past statements on Benghazi in response to a New York Times story. Issa on defense over Benghazi statements Rep. Darrell Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Sunday defended his past statements on Benghazi in response to a New York Times story that said it had “turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault.” “There is a group that was involved that claims an affiliation with Al Qaeda,” the California Republican said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” insisting that he was accurate in his past assertion that Al Qaeda was involved in the attacks. Issa’s committee has been investigating last year’s assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, and the congressman has repeatedly slammed the Obama administration for its handling of the issue. (Also on POLITICO: Rogers knocks NYT over Benghazi) On Sunday, “Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked Issa to respond to The Times story, which was published online Saturday. The story also said the Benghazi attacks were “fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam.” “We have seen no evidence that the video was widely seen in Benghazi,” Issa said Sunday. “People from this administration … have said under oath there was no evidence of any reaction to a video. “What we know, David, is the initial reports did not name this video as the prime cause,” he added. Issa also commended The Times for doing “some very good work” in its reporting on the issue. ||||| Lieberman stands by Obamacare vote Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday that, knowing what he knows today, he still would have voted for Obamacare. “The rollout of Obamacare has been bad,” Lieberman acknowledged on “Fox News Sunday.” But, he said, the status quo before Obamacare was also bad. “The best thing that could happen now is for both parties to sit down and figure out how to fix the current system,” he said. Lieberman, a former Democratic vice presidential candidate, retired from the Senate as an independent. Austin Wright is a defense reporter for Politico. ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| Dean predicts more Obamacare problems Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean acknowledged on Sunday that Obamacare would suffer additional setbacks as it continues rolling out next year — but, he said, ultimately the health care overhaul “will work.” “There are going to be problems,” Dean said on “Fox News Sunday,” explaining that the Obama administration was having trouble getting young, healthy people to sign up for health care plans — an issue that could drive up costs. “The data does show that less healthy people are signing up,” he said. “Younger people are signing up less frequently than hoped.” Dean, a physician who formerly chaired the Democratic National Committee, also defended Obamacare and knocked its critics, accusing them of “hyperbole” and saying they “look incredibly partisan.” “I think the first year is going to be more successful than most people think,” he said. Dean sparred on Sunday with Scott Gottlieb, a resident fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, who said the health care plans offered under Obamacare are “very, very narrow” and “exclude a lot of specialists.” ||||| Navarro: Senate GOP won't get 'Lugared' again Senate Republicans have learned their lesson since their colleague, Dick Lugar, was felled by a tea party challenger in Indiana in 2012, GOP commentator Ana Navarro said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." Several Republican incumbents - including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Enzi of Wyoming - are facing challenges from the right in next year's midterm elections. "I think you're going to see them win their primaries because they're taking it seriously, they're campaigning hard, they're raising the money and they're doing what they have to do," Navarro said. "They're not about to get Richard Lugared." "They see it coming now," said host Candy Crowley. Cited as one indicator of congressional Republicans' changing frame of mind: House Speaker John Boehner's "Are you kidding me?" moment, when he was discussing outside groups' support — and low expectations — for the government shutdown earlier this year. Republicans need to net six seats to take back control of the Senate in 2014. ||||| Sen. Ted Cruz is unapologetic for what he acknowledges was a “whirlwind” first year as a senator. “This is a city where it’s all politics all the time. And I’m trying to do my best not to pay attention to the politics, to focus on fixing the problems,” the Texas Republican said in an interview that aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “Really,” interjected ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl, who did the interview. “I know it’s hard to believe,” Cruz went on, “because no one in this town does that. This is a time for people to step up and do the right thing. And that’s what I’m trying to do.” Read more about: Ted Cruz, Jonathan Karl ||||| What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Congressmembers took turns today swinging at yesterday's New York Times report that al-Qaeda wasn't involved in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, with Darrell Issa defending his past statements implicating the terror group. "There is a group that was involved that claims an affiliation with al-Qaeda," he said, per Politico. Of the Times' conclusion that the attack was "fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam," Issa countered, saying, "We have seen no evidence that the video was widely seen in Benghazi. People from this administration … have said under oath there was no evidence of any reaction to a video." Democrat Adam Schiff of California stood by Qaeda's involvement, but said the Times report "adds some valuable insights," reports Politico. "It is a complex picture." Said Michigan Republican Mike Rogers, "I find the timing odd. I don’t want to speculate on why (the NYT) might do it." Elsewhere on your Sunday dial, as per Politico: Ted Cruz on his 'whirlwind' first year: "This is a city where it’s all politics all the time. And I’m trying to do my best not to pay attention to the politics, to focus on fixing the problems. I know it’s hard to believe, because no one in this town does that. This is a time for people to step up and do the right thing. And that’s what I’m trying to do." Howard Dean on ObamaCare: "There are going to be problems. The data does show that less healthy people are signing up. Younger people are signing up less frequently than hoped." Critics, however, are guilty of "hyperbole" and "look incredibly partisan," and "the first year is going to be more successful than most people think." GOP commentator Ana Navarro on GOP incumbents vs. the Tea Party: "I think you're going to see them win their primaries because they're taking it seriously, they're campaigning hard, they're raising the money and they're doing what they have to do. They're not about to get Richard Lugared." Joe Lieberman says he would still vote for ObamaCare: "The rollout of ObamaCare has been bad," as was the status quo. "The best thing that could happen now is for both parties to sit down and figure out how to fix the current system."

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Here is a news article: In another attempt to bring a usable computer to the masses at an extremely affordable price point, India has developed a touchscreen computing device which will cost only $35. According to a press release by India's Press Information Bureau, the price is expected to drop even further, first to $20 and ultimately to a mere $10. The reports about the device's hardware vary greatly; all we can say for sure is that it's portable and has a touchscreen, which pretty much makes it a tablet (confirmed by the image on the right). According to Indian Express, it has a 5/7/9-inch touchscreen (we don't know whether that means there will be several versions of the device or they're simply unsure what the actual size is, but it looks like a 7-incher to us), and, on the software side, it sports a web browser, PDF reader, office software, media player, multimedia input/output capabilities, video conferencing (it must have a camera, then) and remote device management capability — all of it open-source and Linux-based. Whatever hardware is running this thing, it's ready for production, according to India's Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal. "We have reached a (developmental) stage that today; the motherboard, its chip, the processing, connectivity, all of them cumulatively cost around $35, including memory, display, everything," he said at a news conference in New Delhi. The device, Sibal said, should be available to consumers sometime in 2011. [img credit: Indian Express] ||||| In this Thursday, July 22, 2010 photo, India's Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal displays a low-cost tablet at its launch in New Delhi, India. The device looks like an iPad and is 1/14th... (Associated Press) In this Thursday, July 22, 2010 photo, India's Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal displays a low-cost tablet at its launch in New Delhi, India. The device looks like an iPad and is 1/14th... (Associated Press) It looks like an iPad, only it's 1/14th the cost: India has unveiled the prototype of a $35 basic touchscreen tablet aimed at students, which it hopes to bring into production by 2011. If the government can find a manufacturer, the Linux operating system-based computer would be the latest in a string of "world's cheapest" innovations to hit the market out of India, which is home to the 100,000 rupee ($2,127) compact Nano car, the 749 rupees ($16) water purifier and the $2,000 open-heart surgery. The tablet can be used for functions like word processing, web browsing and video-conferencing. It has a solar power option too _ important for India's energy-starved hinterlands _ though that add-on costs extra. "This is our answer to MIT's $100 computer," human resource development minister Kapil Sibal told the Economic Times when he unveiled the device Thursday. In 2005, Nicholas Negroponte _ cofounder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab _ unveiled a prototype of a $100 laptop for children in the developing world. India rejected that as too expensive and embarked on a multiyear effort to develop a cheaper option of its own. Negroponte's laptop ended up costing about $200, but in May his nonprofit association, One Laptop Per Child, said it plans to launch a basic tablet computer for $99. Sibal turned to students and professors at India's elite technical universities to develop the $35 tablet after receiving a "lukewarm" response from private sector players. He hopes to get the cost down to $10 eventually. Mamta Varma, a ministry spokeswoman, said falling hardware costs and intelligent design make the price tag plausible. The tablet doesn't have a hard disk, but instead uses a memory card, much like a mobile phone. The tablet design cuts hardware costs, and the use of open-source software also adds to savings, she said. Varma said several global manufacturers, including at least one from Taiwan, have shown interest in making the low-cost device, but no manufacturing or distribution deals have been finalized. She declined to name any of the companies. India plans to subsidize the cost of the tablet for its students, bringing the purchase price down to around $20. The project is part of an ambitious education technology initiative, which also aims to bring broadband connectivity to India's 25,000 colleges and 504 universities and make study materials available online. So far nearly 8,500 colleges have been connected and nearly 500 web and video-based courses have been uploaded on YouTube and other portals, the Ministry said. ||||| A summary of this is?

– India plans to roll out the world's cheapest tablet computer next year. The $35 touchscreen device—that's one-14th the price of an iPad, notes the AP—is aimed at students, and the price could eventually come down to $10 or $20. The government still hasn't lined up a manufacturer, however. "This is our answer to MIT's $100 computer," says one government official. "On the software side, it sports a web browser, PDF reader, office software, media player, multimedia input/output capabilities, video conferencing (it must have a camera, then) and remote device management capability—all of it open-source and Linux-based," reports Mashable. As for hardware, reports are all over the map. But the device definitely has a touchscreen.

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Write an article based on this summary: – A mural of Michelle Obama painted in Chicago, not far from where she grew up, has generated interest both for the painting and for artist Chris Devins, who told DNAinfo on Friday he "wanted to present her as what I think she is," which is draped in colorful clothing and jewelry like an "Egyptian queen." But Gelila Mesfin, an art student from Ethiopia who now lives in the US, tells the Washington Post she's "disheartened" that Devins won't credit her for inspiring his mural—since she first posted this depiction of Obama on Instagram in November, and since Devins crowdfunded almost $12,000 to pay for the mural (the GoFundMe page shows a different photo of Obama on the mural, though he notes the mural shown was "preliminary"). "How can you just steal someone's artwork," Mesfin wrote in an Instagram post over the weekend. "This is … so disrespectful on so many levels." The Post notes Mesfin's digital rendition of Obama used a New York Times photo taken by Collier Schorr, but Mesfin gave Schorr credit. Devins tells the Post the murals he paints for free around the Windy City are based on either public domain pictures or "found" images, and that the money raised went toward the cost of painting the mural. He says he found Mesfin's image on Pinterest and couldn't find her, so he repurposed it like a DJ would "remix" songs. He apologized to Mesfin on Twitter (tweets now deleted) and said he'd been "sloppy," which spurred others to tell him he was more "lazy" and "dishonest" than sloppy. He told DNAinfo this was a "misunderstanding" and that he's offered Mesfin a licensing fee. On Instagram Sunday, Mesfin said she's been in touch with Devins and wants everyone to "keep this positive towards him." (A painting of a nude Donald Trump inspired death threats.) Article:

A new Michelle Obama mural shows her as an Egyptian queen. View Full Caption GoFundMe/Chris Devins EDITORS' NOTE: This story has been updated. SOUTH SHORE — A Chicago artist has finished a colorful mural of Michelle Obama that features the former first lady as an Egyptian queen, but the project is being criticized for not initially crediting the original artist who created the work the mural is based on. The mural project, spearheaded by artist Chris Devins of Hyde Park, was completed Friday on the southeast corner of Chappel Avenue and 74th Street in South Shore. That's two blocks from the former first lady's childhood home at 7436 S. Euclid Ave. and across the street from Bouchet Elementary, which she attended when it was known as Bryn Mawr School. "I wanted to present her as what I think she is, so she's clothed as an Egyptian queen. I thought that was appropriate," Devins said Friday evening. Devins launched a GoFundMe campaign in November to create the mural on the outside of Bouchet School, but the mural was put on an apartment building instead. RELATED: Massive Mural Of First Lady Would Inspire South Side Girls, Artist Says "The purpose of this mural is to give today's children someone they can literally look up to and to celebrate Mrs. Obama's life and accomplishments during the last 8 years as First Lady of the United States," the GoFundMe stated. The image originally included with the GoFundMe, which raised nearly $12,000, resembled a black and white photograph. The finished mural, completed over five days, shows Obama dressed in colorful clothing including a green and gold headdress and green earrings. That image was created by Ethiopian-born artist Gelila Mesfin, who posted a photo of the work to her Instagram account, @Thick_East_African_Girl, in November. After news of the mural surfaced Friday night, she criticized Devins for not reaching out, saying "this is so disheartening and so disrespectful on so many levels." "I wouldn't mind if he had given me credit or said he took the design from another artist but saying you designed it is just wrong!" she wrote in an Instagram post. In emails to DNAinfo Saturday, Devins apologized for the "misunderstanding" and said that his mural was inspired by her piece, which he first saw in a thumbnail version on Pinterest. “Our non profit Urban Planning Projects often include painting inspired by found images," he wrote in a message similar to an update he posted on the GoFundMe page. "We were blown away by a wonderful image we stumbled on and only found out after the fact who the source of our inspiration was. We in no way meant to [infringe] on anyone’s creativity.” On Twitter Saturday morning, Devins thanked Mesfin, who now lives in Rhode Island, and said he only found out her name beyond her handle after news of the mural appeared online and he said he was "not trying to take credit" for her work. "It was sloppy," he admitted. In an email, he said he has reached out to Mesfin, "who has been offered a licensing fee, and that we did not intend to claim authorship, only inspiration.” Saturday evening, Mesfin posted a statement on instagram encouraging people to stay positive. "I have been in contact with Chris Devins in hopes of resolving this issue in an applicable and professional manner, and from my Instagram family, I only ask that everyone keep this positive towards him," she wrote. "I preach love, not anger or hate of any kind. Devins said CPS rejected putting the mural on Bouchet because the district does not allow murals on schools. But he didn't mind the location on a building across the street. "I wanted to keep my original promise so students can see right now across from the playground," he said. "It gives them a sense of pride." Eiran Feldman, CEO of First InSite Realty, owns the building, along with 300 other properties on the South Side. He also owns a building at 81st and Ingleside that featured a huge poster of "Queen of Gospel" Mahalia Jackson on its side, as well as a building that has a picture of Nat King Cole on it at 4301 S. Martin Luther King Dr. ||||| Though I’m old enough to remember Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt in the White House — and all the couples and families since — I have never seen such balance and equal parenting, such love, respect, mutuality and pleasure in each other’s company. We will never have a democracy until we have democratic families and a society without the invented categories of both race and gender. Michelle Obama may have changed history in the most powerful way — by example. Gloria Steinem, a feminist activist and writer, has been touring America, campaigning for Hillary Clinton and promoting the paperback edition of her travelogue “My Life on the Road.” By Jon Meacham: On a lovely early autumn day in her final October in the White House, Michelle Obama stepped out onto a sunny South Lawn and, in a way, bid farewell. The setting was her celebrated organic kitchen garden, but the subtext seemed to go far beyond any single initiative. “I have to tell you that being here with all of you, overlooking this beautiful garden — and it is beautiful — it’s kind of an emotional moment,” Mrs. Obama said at a ceremony to unveil a bigger, fortified version of the garden. “We’re having a lot of these emotional moments because everything is the last. But this is particularly my baby, because this garden is where it all started. So we’re really coming full circle back to the very beginning.” She recalled conversations in 2008 about the role she might play in an Obama presidency — and noted, tellingly, that the garden emerged after “Barack actually won,” to which she added: “He won twice.” The gathered guests happily applauded. Image Jon Meacham Credit Gasper Tringale There, in a way, was the essential Michelle Obama, or at least the essential observable version of herself: speaking of broad public good (the garden, which was part of her campaign against childhood obesity) while revealing an arch sense of competitiveness. My husband won; he won twice. As their history-making time in the White House comes to an end, it’s worth pondering the lessons of the Age of Obama. My own view is that both the president and the first lady have conducted themselves splendidly in the White House, managing the most difficult of tasks with apparent ease: projecting a grace that masked the ambition and the drive that took them, at early ages, to the pinnacle of American life. In this they have kept faith with a tradition that, in our country, is as old as George Washington, who embodied the classical ideal of Cincinnatus, the reluctant leader summoned from his plow to lead the nation. President Obama gets much of the public credit for handling his eight years coolly, but the first lady has been a critical element of his success. She has chosen her shots carefully — not least in choosing to make the case against Donald Trump on the campaign trail in 2016 — and is leaving the country with a warm impression of an excellent mother, a steady spouse and a sensible, devoted American. Not everyone agrees, of course; not everyone ever does. The Obama skeptics and the Obama haters have from time to time questioned her patriotism, but this is the same country that managed, in some quarters, to hold Eleanor Roosevelt in contempt. The important thing is that Mrs. Obama, a clear-eyed lawyer, found a way to withstand the scrutiny of the spotlight. In point of fact, she did more than withstand it. To borrow a phrase from William Faulkner, she not only endured it; she prevailed over it. How? By finding, or appearing to find, that most elusive of things in the modern world: balance. She was not Mrs. Roosevelt or Mrs. Carter or Mrs. Reagan or Mrs. Clinton, playing roles in affairs of state. Instead she did what the first African-American first lady arguably had to do to play a successful public role. In Voltaire’s terms, she cultivated her own garden, never threatening and never intimidating her neighbors. Much more doubtless unfolded beneath the surface or behind closed doors; history will sort that out. For now, it is enough to say that she is leaving the White House a strong and popular figure with a lifetime of good will and great reservoirs of capital on which to draw as she and her husband write their next chapters. ||||| My name is Chris Devins . I am a Chicago, IL based Artist/Urban Planner known for large, outdoor murals ofand theand other community Art initiatives.I am seeking to raise at least $5000 in community support to create a large scale, outdoor mural of First Lady Michelle Obama. The total cost of the mural is approximately $15,000. I plan on matching some of the funds donated by the community and raise additional funds from local community organizations. Additionally, I plan on donating at least $500 to Bouchet Elementary, which she attended, for school supplies for its students.The purpose of this mural is to give today's children someone they can literally look up to and to celebrate Mrs. Obama's life and accomplishments during the last 8 years as First Lady of the United States.The mural shown is preliminary and will most likely change in the final rendering. Planning and preliminary work will occur throughout this winter. I expect to create the mural in March, 2017.I can’t tell you how grateful we will be for your donation. Thank you. ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. |||||

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News article: After her story went viral, a Lakewood woman said she has found "Jake." Christina Reitz said he left a note on her door last week saying that he and his sister had stolen one of her wind chimes. Jake explained in the note that the chime, which had butterflies on it, reminded his sister of their mother who died. Jake left $5 and wrote, “I’m sorry. This is the only money I have. Please do not be mad.” Reitz took to Facebook to try to find him. She posted on a local group page asking if anyone knew who Jake was. She wanted to give him back his money. She also wanted to offer Jake his own wind chime similar to the one they took, so they can each have a reminder of their mom. "It's not right that he stole, or his sister stole," Reitz said. "I'm not sure which one it is, but he did try to make things right and I do forgive him. I'm not going to hold a grudge for a wind chime that was a dollar." Reitz said she can relate to what Jake and his sister are going through. “I lost my mom when I was five and my dad just almost six years ago. It’s just hard at any age. People grieve in different ways,” she said. On Thursday, Jake's aunt posted in the Facebook group revealing that she knew him. Reitz said she has been in contact with the family who wishes to remain anonymous right now. "They are grieving and everything is overwhelming for them right now." She said that they plan to meet in person soon. Copyright 2017 KING ||||| CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share The heartbreaking reason why someone left an apology note and $5 at a home in Washington to make up for stealing a butterfly wind chime. USA TODAY Christina Reitz of Lakewood, Wash., received a note March 3, 2017, from a boy named Jake with $5 and an explanation on why one of her wind chimes was missing. (Photo: KING-TV, Seattle) LAKEWOOD, Wash. — A Washington woman who started searching for a boy named Jake after he left her a heartbreaking note with a $5 bill stuffed in its folds said she now knows who he is and expects to meet him soon. Christina Reitz, who lives in this Seattle suburb of about 60,000 people southwest of Tacoma, Wash., found the apology on her door March 3 saying that his sister had stolen one of Reitz's wind chimes because its butterflies reminded the child of their mother, who had died recently. “I’m sorry," he wrote. "This is the only money I have. Please do not be mad.” ► Earlier:Woman searching for boy who left $5, heartbreaking apology note Instead, Reitz was moved, using her Chrissy Marie Facebook account, to try to find him. She posted on a local group page asking if anyone knew Jake, and word of her quest took off beyond the private group. She wanted to return the boy's money and offer Jake his own wind chime similar to the one he and his sister had taken, so each would have a reminder of their mom. Christina Reitz used to have five wind chimes outside her Lakewood, Wash., home until a boy and his sister took one similar to this, leaving $5 and a note on March 3, 2017, to say that the butterflies reminded his sister of their dead mother. (Photo: KING-TV, Seattle) "He did try to make things right, and I do forgive him, Reitz said. "I'm not going to hold a grudge for a wind chime that was less than $5." She, too, lost her mother as a young child, and her dad died about six years ago, she said. On Thursday, Jake's aunt posted in the Facebook group revealing that she knew the boy. Reitz said she has been in contact with the family, but members wish to remain anonymous right now. "They are grieving, and everything is overwhelming for them," Reitz said. Reitz and the children plan to meet in person soon. Follow Kelsey Caulfield on Twitter: @KelseyCaulfield Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2mddnwR ||||| What is a shorter version of the above article?

– A Washington state woman has tracked down the boy who left $5 and a heartbreaking note at her door after taking one of her butterfly wind chimes—and she wants to give him his money back. "I am sorry that we stole your windchimes our mom died and liked butterflies so my sister took it and put it by our window I am sorry this is only money I have please do not be mad at us," the note said. Christina Reitz says she found the boy, who gave his name as Jake, after his aunt posted on a Facebook group she started, USA Today reports. The Lakewood resident says that while she doesn't condone stealing, she lost her own mother at a young age and understands what the children are going through, KING5 reports. She says she has been in contact with the family and for now, they want to stay anonymous. "They are grieving and everything is overwhelming for them right now," says Reitz, who will be meeting the children in person soon. She says she wants to give the children another wind chime, so they each have one to remind them of their mother.

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Write an article based on this summary: – A Florida Atlantic University student unhappy about an early morning exam now has to get up for court hearings as well. Police say that after his data structure professor scheduled a 7am exam, Rafael Decomas tweeted: "Bey I gern f---ing kill dis professor bey this is my confession to a premeditated murder," using the handle @Ashelaniqua. Police say they tracked the 20-year-old down through his Twitter profile's link to the Caribbean Student Association, Local 10 reports. The Boca Raton resident was charged with making a written threat to kill and released on $5,000 bond. According to a police report seen by the Miami Herald, Decomas told officers he "did not intend to harm anyone and tweeted the post out of frustration" after realizing that he would have get up at 5am to get to the exam in time. He "advised that he deleted the post soon after publishing it," the report states. (This man was blocked from Twitter after threatening to kill a mosquito.) Article:

Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| Rafael Decomas is accused of posting a threat to kill a Florida Atlantic University professor on Twitter. BOCA RATON, Fla. - A Florida Atlantic University student is accused of posting a threat to kill one of his professors on Twitter. Rafael Decomas, 20, of Riviera Beach, was arrested last week on a charge of sending a written threat to kill. According to an FAU police report, a Twitter post published about 1 a.m. Tuesday read, "Bey I gern f---ing kill dis professor bey this is my confession to a premeditated murder." The tweet was posted from "@Ashelaniqua, Cutie Claus." FAU police said they were able to trace the account to Decomas because the Twitter profile linked him to the Caribbean Student Association. According to the report, Decomas told police he was upset that his data structure professor had schedule a final exam for 7 a.m. Because Decomas lives in Riviera Beach, police said he told them, he would have to wake up at 5 a.m. "Decomas stated he did not intend to harm anyone and tweeted the post out of frustration," the report said. "Decomas advised that he deleted the post soon after publishing it." Palm Beach County jail records show Decomas was released on a $5,000 bond. Copyright 2018 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved. |||||

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– Eleven German submarines from World War I have been found sunk in Belgian waters. The latest to be discovered, however, is the "best preserved" of all, officials say. The U-boat, 88 feet long by 20 feet wide, has been found in an undisclosed location off the Belgian coast near West Flanders, some 100 feet beneath the surface of the North Sea, report Deutsche Welle and Yahoo News. Believed to have been sunk by a naval mine, the sub is covered in barnacles and seaweed and shows damage to its top and bow, but its conning tower and periscopes remain intact and its hatches shut, reports the BBC. It's "in such good condition that we reckon all the bodies are still on board," says West Flanders Governor Carl Decaluwe. The UB-II submarine would normally have held 22 crew members and a commander, says Decaluwe. "It's quite amazing that we found something like this," he adds. "Of the 11 downed U-boats in Belgian waters, this one is the best preserved example," notes the province of West Flanders, per Reuters. Though 70 of 93 German U-boats stationed in Belgium were lost at sea during the war, Deutsche Welle notes the sunken sub could be one of 18 German subs stationed in Bruges from 1915 to 1918 with the goal of disrupting British trade routes. It's not yet clear if officials plan to search the sub for bodies, but a Belgian minister has suggested the wreck could become a heritage site. (The discovery of a lost U-boat was reported last year.) Expand this summary.

Belgian authorities announced on Tuesday that they had discovered the remarkably well-preserved wreck of a World War I German submarine, commonly called a U-boat, off the coast of West Flanders. "It's quite amazing that we found something like this," Western Flanders Governor Carl Decaluwe told the Associated Press, calling the find "very unique." "The impact damage was at the front, but the submarine remains closed and there are 23 people still onboard." Read also: Wreck of WWII ship Indianapolis found in Pacific, 72 years later The UB II-type submarine was found 25-30 meters (82-98 feet) below the surface on the floor of the North Sea. About 18 such vessels were stationed with the Flanders Flotilla in Bruges between 1915 and 1918 in order to disrupt British trade routes in the English Channel and the North Sea. Thirteen of the submarines were destroyed, of which authorities have found 11. But, according to the local government, this recent find is the "best preserved" of them all. Researchers believe that the damage to the front of the vessel indicates that it struck a mine with its upper deck. Governor Decaluwe said he had contacted the German ambassador to Belgium about proper disposal of the sailors' remains. World War One: Sites of Remembrance Misery captured in stone Sculptress Käthe Kollwitz needed 18 years to complete her work "Mourning Parents." In October 1914, Kollwitz's son Peter was sent to the front in Flanders. He was killed less than a week later at the age of 18. He is buried at the foot of the sculpture of the father in the Vladslo Military Cemetery. 25,644 young men are buried there. World War One: Sites of Remembrance Langemarck: misused by the Nazis When the First World War was declared in August 1914, newspapers were full of reports of young volunteers eagerly setting off to combat whistling the German national anthem. That trope was later used for Nazi propaganda in the Third Reich, but it was hardly the whole truth. The young volunteers were badly trained and equipped, and many ended up in graves at Langemarck Cemetery. World War One: Sites of Remembrance Hill 60: a coveted vantage point There are remains of bunkers all over Ypres, but this one is special. Hill 60 was the highest point in an otherwise flat terrain, and whoever controlled it had a better view of the enemy - especially as all the trees in the area had been smashed to smithereens. Battles for Hill 60 went on for years. World War One: Sites of Remembrance The largest British cemetery on the continent 11,956 British Commonwealth soldiers lie buried in Tyne Cot. The names of 34,957 of their comrades, whose remains were never recovered because of constant artillery fire, are engraved on the interior walls. Farmers from the area still find human bones when plowing their fields. The cemetery was called Tyne Cot because German pillboxes reminded British troops of Northern English cottages. World War One: Sites of Remembrance Status warfare The German plan in the First World War was to launch a lightning-quick invasion of Belgium and overrun France from the north. It didn't work. Instead, the two sides dug in for four long years of trench warfare in which the frontlines barely moved. This reconstructed trench is part of the Memorial Museum in Passchendaele. World War One: Sites of Remembrance Chemical warfare For the first time in human history, in the area near Ypres, German troops employed gas as a weapon of war. Chlorine gas caused enemy soldiers to choke to death. The Allies were outraged but followed suit with chemical weapons of their own. In July 1917, the Germans tested out a new mustard gas known as "Ypérite." It ate away at enemies' skin. World War One: Sites of Remembrance What's left of Passchendaele Today Passchendaele is a part of the Zonnebeke district. After one hundred days of brutal fighting, from July 31 to early November 1917, there was little left of the town except a gigantic pile of rubble and a village pond that had been turned into a quagmire by all the shelling. World War One: Sites of Remembrance WW1 tourism Today, Ypres is a popular destination for British tourists, and store restaurants and hotels have adapted to this clientele. One hotel even offers a room in camouflage look with gasoline cannisters as night tables. The walls of the breakfast room are also covered in camouflage netting. World War One: Sites of Remembrance Tragic decoration In 1928, a decade after the end of the war, German writer Stefan Zweig visited Ypres. He wrote that there were so many names written on the freshly opened Menin Memorial Gate that they became a kind of "ornamentation." The names represent 55,000 Commonwealth soldiers whose remains were never recovered. World War One: Sites of Remembrance From all over the Commonwealth The names on Menin Memorial Gate attest to the international nature of the British-led forces. Soldiers came from as far away as Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. These young men probably had no idea what they were letting themselves in for. World War One: Sites of Remembrance Remembering the dead Since the Menin Gate was unveiled in 1928, the "Last Post" bugle call is played there every night at 8PM. The ceremony was originally intended to honor just the British dead, but people of various nationalities have begun taking part. As a result, Menin Gate has become a main site of First World War remembrance. Author: Jefferson Chase es/kl (AFP, Reuters) ||||| BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The well-preserved wreck of a World War One German submarine, possibly still containing the bodies of its 23 crew members, has been found off the Belgian coast. The well-preserved wreck of a World War One German submarine, possibly still containing the bodies of 23 crew members, found off the Belgian coast, is seen in this handout picture provided by KB Vlaanderen on September 19, 2017. KB Vlaanderen- Tomas Termote/Handout via REUTERS The use of submarines, often referred to as U-boats, in World War One to disrupt British trade routes in the English Channel and the North Sea was a key part of German tactics. The 93 German U-boats stationed in Belgian ports downed more than 2,500 ships but were also a target themselves, with 70 of them lost at sea, killing 1,200 sailors. It was not yet clear which of the 11 known wrecks of the German submarines had been found, and authorities said they would not give the exact location of the wreck to deter looters. “Of the 11 downed U-Boats in Belgian waters, this one is the best preserved example,” the province of West Flanders said. Belgium’s North Sea minister said he would investigate whether the wreck could be recognized as a heritage site. ||||| An intact German submarine from the First World War containing the bodies of 23 people has been found on the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Belgium. The U-boat, a UB II-type submarine, was found between 82 and 98 feet below the surface, with damage to its upper deck. Carl Decaluwe, the governor of Western Flanders, said the find on the floor of the North Sea is “unique”. “It’s quite amazing that we found something like this,” he said. “The impact damage was at the front, but the submarine remains closed and there are 23 people still onboard.” The boat, which is 88 feet long and 20 feet wide and was found encrusted with barnacles and seaweed, appears to have struck a mine. Two torpedo tubes have been destroyed but the lower tube is intact and closed. Decaluwe, who said the U-boat was found by researchers, declined to provide details about its location until the site has been protected. He has contacted the German ambassador because “we need to see what can do” with the remains. Around 18 U-boats were stationed with the Flanders Flotilla in Bruges between 1915 and 1918. Thirteen of them were destroyed and this is the 11th wreckage to be found in Belgian waters. Allied warships and cargo ships were easy pickings for the German subs that were launched from Bruges, just across the English Channel. A website, Uboat.net, tracks the submarines lost in both World War One and World War One, as well as casualties suffered by their staff. According to the BBC, of the 375 German submarines that set sail from German ports in World War One, 202 were lost in action, and of 17,000 men who served, more than 5,100 lost their lives. The German submarines, however, managed to sink 2,600 allied shipping vessels. Earlier this year, unseen photographs of German World War One submarines washed up on the English coast were published for the very first time. Historic England revealed the images to mark the centenary of Germany’s declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare on Britain. Last year, the a German U-boat was been discovered at the bottom of the sea off the Scottish coast. Experts believe it to be the UB-85, a submarine which was sunk by HMS Coreopsis in 1918. |||||

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Article: Steven Eugene Clifford is wanted for the alleged sexual assaults of eleven victims from 1998 through 2002. Clifford was a licensed chiropractor who operated an office in Carnelian Bay, California, for several years. In January of 2002, he was arrested by the Placer County Sheriff's Department for sexually assaulting… ||||| The man who popularized the phrase "greed is good" is changing teams. Michael Douglas, who played the greedy insider-trading antihero Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film "Wall Street" and the 2010 movie "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," has taped a public service announcement for the FBI warning about the dangers of Wall Street shenanigans. In the PSA, Douglas says: "The movie is fiction, but the problem is real." He also urges those who suspect foul play to submit it to www.fbi.gov . In the first "Wall Street" movie, Gekko is found guilty of several securities violations and is sent to prison for his crimes. And just for fun, here is what Gekko had to say about greed: ||||| What is a summary?

– The "greed is good" money man who everyone loved to hate in the movie Wall Street has turned a new leaf. He's now working for the FBI, reports MSNBC. "Gordon Gekko," aka Michael Douglas, is doing a public service announcement for the FBI cautioning consumers to be alert, warning Wall Streeters to stay on the straight and narrow, and urging snitches to turn in their law-busting buddies. Money-grubbing Gekko ends up in prison for scamming innocent investors. "The movie is fiction, but the problem is real," warns Douglas, who urges that Wall Street baddies be reported at www.fbi.gov.

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Write a summary based on this article: Jake Gyllenhaal made a startling physical metamorphosis for the upcoming boxing drama Southpaw, about a widowed prizefighter looking for another shot in the ring. But the 34-year-old actor, seen in this exclusive poster above as fighter Billy Hope, didn’t just get righteously ripped: He also had to learn the technique of a pro brawler. Gyllenhaal’s trainer, former professional boxer Terry Claybon, insists that the actor wasn’t just fake fighting for the camera. “I wanted Jake to learn how to box so he wouldn’t be out there on the set trying to act like a boxer,” the 52-year-old trainer tells Yahoo Movies. “I pushed Jake to the limit.” Gyllenhaal trained for six months before filming even began last June in Pittsburgh, PA. As Claybon recalls, Gyllenhaal was nowhere near fighting shape when he started training. First off, he was still fairly thin following his well-documented 30-pound weight loss for last year’s crime drama Nightcrawler. For Southpaw, Claybon confirms that Gyllenhaal returned to his normal weight and then gained 15 pounds of pure muscle. Secondly, the actor didn’t know much about boxing. “I was blown away over how much work I had to do because of his rhythm, coordination, and timing,” the Los Angeles-based trainer recalls of the first time he saw the actor shadowbox, adding with a laugh that it appeared he’d received some bad coaching prior to their first meeting. After a week though, Gyllenhaal’s sheer determination shined through. “Every day, he was eager to learn more and more about the sport,” says Claybon. Here are five steps Gyllenhaal took to turn pro: 1. Get on a serious diet and exercise program. Gyllenhaal was burning so many calories through rigorous workouts that his diet didn’t need to be terribly strict. He did stick to carbs in the morning and protein in the evening. Claybon started him off with three hours of workouts a day: An hour-and-a-half in the morning and an hour-and-a-half in the evening. After two months, the workouts got pushed to six hours a day: Three hours of boxing in the morning and three hours of strengthening, conditioning, and cardio at night. Among the physical feats, the actor would do 1,000 sit-ups in the morning and 1,000 at night. “Gradually we built up, day-by-day, to 2,000. It takes time to do that,” says Claybon. ||||| In collaboration with the University of Manitoba Libraries, the National Centre of Truth and Reconciliation, and the Library and Archives of Canada, the University of Winnipeg Library has curated and captured a selection of webpages, blogs, news coverage, and PDF files that pertain to Manitoba's ongoing involvement with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This growing collection covers a diverse range of topics, which include survivors’ stories, apologies, responses, cultural events, and more. This is an ongoing web-archiving project that will continue to grow as we witness new ways that reconciliation and healing take place in our province. We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of Manitoba Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport and Consumer Protection, and the Government of Canada in the creation of this collection. ||||| Summary:

– Jake Gyllenhaal plays a prizefighter in Southpaw, out this summer—and he went to great pains to bulk up for the role. He started with three hours of workouts per day and worked his way up to six hours a day; those workouts were split between boxing and strength training/conditioning/cardio. One example of his daily to-do list: He worked his way up to 2,000 sit-ups each day, half in the morning and half at night, his trainer tells Yahoo News. Gyllenhaal had lost 30 pounds for last year's Nightcrawler, so he had to get back to his normal weight and then add 15 pounds of muscle—plus he had to learn how to box—which explains why he trained for six full months before beginning filming. By the end, he was decent enough to spar with actual pros, though his trainer notes that they weren't exactly "trying to take his head off." (Click for a slideshow of actors who've lost a lot of weight for their roles.)

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Article: Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| Where does Earth's atmosphere end and space begin? According to a new study, it might be just 50 miles above Earth — right about where the blue turns to black in this photo. Did you feel that? Does it suddenly feel a little bit stuffier in here to you? Does it feel like, I don't know… outer space just got 12 miles (20 kilometers) closer? Nothing actually moved, of course (unless you count the constant and increasing expansion of the universe). But according to a new study published online this week, it might be high time Earthlings shifted our mental and mathematical ideas about where, exactly, Earth's atmosphere ends and outer space begins. [Earth from Above: 101 Stunning Images from Orbit] If astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell's calculations are correct, the cosmic boundary where the laws of airspace suddenly give way to the laws of orbital space might be a lot closer than we think — a full 12 miles closer than previous estimates suggest. "The argument about where the atmosphere ends and space begins predates the launch of the first Sputnik," McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, wrotein his new paper, which will appear in the October issue of the journal Acta Astronautica. "The most widely accepted boundary is the so-called Karman Line, nowadays usually set to be 100 km (62 miles) altitude." Here's the problem: According to McDowell, that Karman line that many scientists accept today is based on decades of misinterpreted information that doesn't actually take real orbital data into account. Luckily, data is McDowell's business (and his pleasure — in his free time he keeps meticulous records of every rocket launch on Earth) and he knew just where to look to find an evidence-based answer to the question, "Where does space begin?" A photo taken aboard the International Space Station captures the divisions of Earth's atmospheric layers. The mesosphere is the upper band of blue; at the top of this band (about 50 miles above Earth) orbit is possible. Credit: Ron Garan/ NASA In his new study, McDowell pored over data describing the orbital paths of some 43,000 satellites, which he collected from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which monitors aerospace in the United States and Canada. Most of these satellites were negligible to McDowell's study — they orbited far higher than the proposed Karman line, and were well within the grasp of orbital space. About 50 of these satellites, however, stood out. While re-entering the atmosphere at the end of their missions, each of these satellites successfully completed at least two full rotations around the Earth at altitudes below 62 miles (100 km). The Soviet Elektron-4 satellite, for example, circled the planet 10 times at around 52 miles (85 km) before tumbling into the atmosphere and burning up in 1997. It seemed clear from these cases that the physics of space still held sway well below the Karman line. When McDowell used a mathematical model to find the exact point at which various satellites finally broke loose of their orbits and made a fiery return to the atmosphere, he found that this could occur anywhere between 41 to 55 miles (66 and 88 km). Usually though, when a craft dipped below the 50-mile (80 km) mark, there was no hope of escape. Space: It's closer than you think. Credit: Mike Fossum/ NASA For this reason, McDowell chose 50 miles as the true lower edge of space. The number fit neatly with several other cultural and atmospheric factors, as well. For example, McDowell wrote, in the 1950s, U.S. Air Force pilots were awarded a special set of "astronaut wings" for flying their planes above 50 miles, this being considered the outermost edge of the atmosphere. Atmospherically, the choice fits, too: The mesopause — the coldest belt of Earth's atmosphere — stretches roughly between 52 and 62 miles above the planet's surface. Here, the atmosphere's chemical composition begins to change drastically and charged particles become more abundant. (In other words, things look a lot spacier.) It's clear that, below the lower edge of the mesopause, Earth's atmophere becomes a stronger force for airborn objects to reckon with, McDowell wrote. [Infographic: Earth's Atmosphere from Top to Bottom] "It is noteworthy that meteors (traveling much more quickly) usually disintegrate in the 70 -100 km (43 miles to 62 miles) altitude range, adding to the evidence that this is the region where the atmosphere becomes important," McDowell wrote. So, what does it mean if the boundary between Earth and space is 20 percent lower than is generally accepted? It won't change the way rockets are launched or any other physical interactions with space, McDowell wrote, but it could raise some important political and territorial issues. The airspace above a given country is generally considered part of that country; outer space, on the other hand, is for everyone. If space is defined as beginning at 62 miles and the U.S. flies an unauthorized satellite at 52 miles over China, for example, that could be (justifiably) construed as an act of military aggression. For this reason, the U.S. has frequently opposed setting any universal space boundaries. That means that McDowell's proposed 50-mile line probably won't become a legal, universally accepted border anytime soon. Still, if the daily drudge of life on Earth starts to get you down, look up — and take heart that you may be a little bit closer to the heavens than you were last week. Originally published on Live Science. ||||| What is a summary?

– Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell calls the Karman Line the world's "most widely accepted boundary." It's otherwise known as the point where space meets Earth's atmosphere, and since before the launch of Sputnik, it's thought to have hovered 62 miles above our heads. Until now. In a new study, McDowell argues the Karman Line is at least 20% closer, or 50 miles away, and presents some straightforward data to back that up, per Live Science. If the Karman Line really is 62 miles away, says McDowell, it should've been impossible for the Soviet Elektron-4 satellite to orbit Earth 10 times at a distance of 52 miles, as it did before disintegrating in 1997. And that's just one of 50 examples of satellites making multiple rotations of Earth at altitudes below 62 miles that McDowell uncovered while surveying the orbital paths of 43,000 satellites since 1957, reports ScienceAlert. Plugging the data into a mathematical model, McDowell found satellites tend to break from orbit 41 to 55 miles above Earth, though a fiery descent is all but guaranteed at 50 miles. This is believed to be the outer edge of the mesosphere, which extends 53 miles above Earth, according to NASA. "Adding to the evidence that this is the region where the atmosphere becomes important" is the fact that meteors, traveling faster than satellites, disintegrate in the range of 43 to 62 miles, says McDowell. If his data is correct, "you may be a little bit closer to the heavens" than you thought, per Live Science. But McDowell is considering greater implications, including what the Karman Line's positioning might mean for countries' airspace: If a US satellite flies "at 52 miles over China, for example, that could be (justifiably) construed as an act of military aggression," he says. (Cue the Space Force.)

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Article: The massively hyped Chinese fantasy epic Asura has been pulled from cinemas after a disastrous opening weekend. With a production budget reported at 750m yuan (£85m), Asura – with its complex special effects, big-name stars and huge crew – was hailed as China’s most expensive film ever made. However, its opening weekend takings totalled 49m yuan (£5.5m), and it was immediately withdrawn from cinemas. The film’s official Weibo account announced the news on Sunday, with producers offering “deepest apologies to viewers who did not get a chance to watch the film, as well as to all the Chinese and international participants who were involved in its production over the past six years”. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Asura trailer - video Named after the triple-headed demigods of Buddhist mythology, Asura stars 18-year-old heartthrob Wu Lei as a shepherd who turns out to be the reincarnation of one of the heads of a warrior king – also called Asura – aiming to invade heaven (Tony Leung Ka-fai and Carina Lau Kar-ling play the other two heads). In an article published before the film’s release, Yang Hongtao, chairman of Ningxia Film Group and one of the film’s major backers, expressed confidence in Asura, saying: “It’s a very imaginative movie. We wanted the film to raise confidence in our own culture and train more domestic talent.” The film appeared to have won the publicity battle, with reports saying Asura had generated around 390m mentions on Weibo. However, audiences failed to respond, with a low 3.1 out of 10 rating on Chinese review site Douban, and a resounding box-office defeat by the 1930s-set swordsman drama Hidden Man. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Asura’s producers are also suggesting that organised trolling has been responsible for negative reactions. A social media post claimed an aggressive attack by a “water army” – a paid team of ghostwriters, aiming to artificially inflate poor ratings – damaged the film’s chances. This may not be the last of Asura, however. A representative of Zhenjian Film, another of the film’s backers, told the Sina news agency that “this decision was made not only because of the bad box-office. We plan to make some changes to the film and release it again.” ||||| China's First $100M Film Pulled From Cinemas After Disastrous Opening Weekend The producers of fantasy epic 'Asura' promoted the project as China's most expensive movie ever made, but it earned just $7.1 million over its opening weekend. In the long lead-up to its release, Chinese fantasy epic Asura was promoted as China's most expensive film ever made, with a production budget of over $110 million (750 million yuan). So perhaps it's unsurprising that the film's producers, which include Jack Ma's Alibaba Pictures, decided to take desperate action after the movie opened to just $7.1 million over the weekend. Late Sunday evening in Beijing, Asura's official social media accounts posted a simple statement saying that the film would be pulled from cinemas as of 10 p.m. local time. After landing in theaters with limited fanfare, China's priciest picture ever would vanish from the scene entirely. Asura is co-produced by Zhenjian Film Studio and Ningxia Film Group — two of the investors behind the successful Painted Skin fantasy franchise — along with Alibaba Pictures Group and other minority investors. The statement announcing Asura's retreat from cinemas supplied no explanation for the unprecedented move. But a representative from Zhenjian Film, which is credited as lead producer, later told Chinese news site Sina: "This decision was made not only because of the bad box office. We plan to make some changes to the film and release it again." A spokesperson for the film declined to comment when contacted by THR on Monday. The producers had hoped that Asura would serve as the kickoff to a major fantasy franchise — a property akin to China's own Lord of the Rings. The film is an original dramatization of ancient Tibetan mythology, with a vast set of characters occupying different heavenly realms. Teenage heartthrob Lei Wu plays the film's hero, a young boy who must embark on an epic journey to save Asura, a godly dimension of pure desire, after it is threatened by a coup from a lower kingdom. Veteran Hong Kong actors Tony Ka Fai Leung and Carina Lau also star as mythical demigods. Some in the Chinese industry have expressed skepticism over Asura's purported $113 million budget — most of China's biggest blockbusters, such as Wolf Warrior 2 ($870), have been made for about half that much — but it's clear that the film's backers spent heavily on foreign production talent and lavish visual effects. The film's costumes were designed by Oscar-winner Ngila Dickson (Lord of the Rings), while Hollywood veteran Martín Hernandez served as audio director (The Revenant, Birdman) and Charlie Iturriaga (Deadpool, Furious 7) supervised the VFX work. The film is the directorial debut of Hollywood stunt coordinator-turned-filmmaker Peng Zhang (Rush Hour 3, Twilight 1 & 2). Adding a layer of intrigue to the saga, Asura's backers are now alleging sabotage. Some 90 percent of all Chinese movie tickets are bought online and two mobile ticketing platforms currently dominate the market, Alibaba-owned Tiao Piao Piao and Maoyan, partially backed by Tencent. Both services supply average user review scores for every film on release — numbers that have the same controversial power as Rotten Tomatoes' "tomatometer ratings" or Metacritic's "metascores" in North America. A third influential Chinese review aggregator, Douban.com, operates independently of the ticketing services and is known to attract a more discerning, sometimes snarky, reviewer community. Just as trolls have occasionally gamed Rotten Tomatoes ratings in the U.S., Chinese studios have sometimes alleged that their scores were unfairly hurt by fake negative reviews — or that the competition was boosted by purchased positive ones. Such ghostwriters for hire are known in China as "shuijun," a pejorative term that literally means “water army,” because companies pay them to “flood” forums with fake reviews. Asura's producers are now alleging that they were targeted by a particularly aggressive "water army" attack. In a second social media post, they say they discovered a large number of 1/10 reviews for Asura posted to Maoyan by suspicious accounts immediately after the film's release. Describing the episode as "the shame of the industry," they say a sizable discrepancy soon emerged between Asura's early average scores on Maoyan (4.9/10) and on Alibaba's Tiao Piao Piao (8.4/10). The statement concludes with a series of pointed statements directed at Maoyan, questioning the integrity of the platform's rating system and asking when the company will take action to address such problems. The post also ends with some disparaging words for the shadowy, unknown perpetrators of the campaign, saying that "whoever is behind this is dirty, stupid and ridiculous." Asura's disastrously small debut may be the result of more important factors than a temporary rigging of Maoyan's ratings, however (After all, the ticketing service is usually estimated to have a market share of less than 40 percent). A more obvious explanation could be that the film opened against uncommonly strong competition. During the same frame that Asura debuted to just $7.1 million, holdover blockbuster Dying to Survive added $69 million for an 11-day total of $366 million, while veteran actor-director Jiang Wen's much anticipated period action movie Hidden Man opened to a healthy $46.2 million. Both films also have been critical favorites: Dying to Survive ranks at 8.9/10 or higher across all Chinese platforms, while Hidden Man has an average score of about 7.4/10. The available tracking data also suggests that the usual makers of a bomb — low audience interest, weak marketing — also probably played a part. "Based on our tracking, prerelease market heat for this movie was quite low — below average," a representative for Beijing-based market research firm Fankink told THR Monday. Asura's score on Maoyan also moderated to 6.4/10 as the weekend progressed, while its rating on Alibaba's Tao Piaopiao dropped to 7.1/10 by Sunday. If Maoyan's score started unfairly low, Tao Piao Piao's may have been initially inflated (both ticketing services have since pulled Asura's scores, since the film is no longer on release). Meanwhile, on Douban, Asura has held to the uncommonly low score of 3.1/10. Fair play or the work of a water army? The Internet in China will soon have its say. ||||| The producers of Asura, the most expensive Chinese film ever made at 750 million yuan (US$112 million), decided to pull it from theatres on Sunday after a disastrous opening weekend when it only made 49.05 million yuan (US$7.3 million). The surprise announcement was posted on the film’s official Weibo account – the Chinese equivalent of Twitter – which did not give a specific reason for the decision. Instead the producers, Zhenjian Film Studio and Ningxia Film Group, said they wanted to extend their “deepest apologies to viewers who did not get a chance to watch the film, as well as to all the Chinese and international participants who were involved in its production over the past six years”. The film involved 2,500 people from all over the world. Most of it was shot in Qinghai, Ningxia and Hebei provinces in China, while 15 months was spent on the post-production in the US. In addition to Hong Kong movie stars Carina Lau Kar-ling and Tony Leung Ka-fai, 19-year-old Wu Lei, China’s teenage heartthrob, played the main character in the film. A fantasy epic based on Buddhist mythology, the movie tells the story of a shepherd Ru Yi (played by Wu), who is assigned a mission to save Asura – the dimension of pure desire, as Ru used to be part of the mythical realm until a coup initiated in the lower heavenly kingdom changes all the rules. Before its release, the film received a high-profile government endorsement. Party officials from Ningxia attended its opening ceremony in early July, in Beijing, according to a report in Peop le’s Daily. However, both the A-list stars and the official endorsement failed to persuade China’s film-goers. The movie got a 3.1 score out of 10 from 10,950 viewers on the Chinese film review website Douban and 6.4 on ticket provider Maoyan’s site. Hidden Man, directed by Chinese actor and director Jiang Wen, which opened alongside Asura on Friday, raked in 341 million yuan (US$51 million) and was No 2 at the box office. The film also came up against a number of strong competitors, including the dark comedy Dying to Survive, which has seen 2.5 billion yuan (US$372 million) in ticket sales since its release on June 19 and remains the box office leader. |||||Summary:

– The movie is called Asura, and it's seen as the first attempt by China's burgeoning film industry to put out a genuine Hollywood-style blockbuster. One problem: The $110 million movie did so poorly in its weekend debut—it pulled in a mere $7.1 million—that producers yanked it from all theaters Sunday night, reports the Hollywood Reporter. "Deepest apologies to viewers who did not get a chance to watch the film, as well as to all the Chinese and international participants who were involved in its production over the past six years," says a statement from the producers, per the Guardian. The film was intended to be the first in a franchise based on Buddhist mythology, sort of like China's own version of Lord of the Rings, as THR puts it. The movie even stars Lei Wu, described by virtually every site covering the flop as a "teenage heartthrob." So what happened? Unusually strong competition didn't help, notes the South China Morning Post, but reviews were generally bad across the board. The producers, however, allege that saboteurs deliberately tanked the movie by flooding review sites with one-star slams. Whatever the reason, movie-watchers might get another chance to see the film down the road. "We plan to make some changes to the film and release it again," a rep from lead producer Zhenjian Film told one Chinese news outlet. (Stanley Kubrick reportedly explained the enigmatic ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey.)

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Article: Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Tuilleadh eolais Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Tuilleadh eolais Níorbh fhéidir an freastalaí a theagmháil. An dtriailfidh tú arís é? Cuirtear an bun-Tweet san áireamh Bíodh meáin mar chuid de Trí ábhar Twitter a leabú i do láithreán gréasáin nó aip, tá tú ag aontú le Comhaontú an Fhorbróra agus Polasaí an Fhorbróra. Réamhamharc ||||| (CNN) Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday that he will not participate in a high-profile investor conference in Saudi Arabia amid growing controversy over dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance and apparent killing. Mnuchin announced his decision shortly after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefed President Donald Trump on his visit earlier this week to Riyadh to discuss the Khashoggi case. Pompeo urged patience with the Saudi investigation, telling reporters that he advised the President to give the Saudis "a few more days" -- but Mnuchin followed up shortly afterward with a tweet saying he would not go to Riyadh, reversing the position he's taken over the past week. "Just met with @realDonaldTrump and @SecPompeo and we have decided, I will not be participating in the Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia," Mnuchin tweeted. An administration official told CNN that no other government officials will attend next week's summit in Mnuchin's place. The chief factor driving Mnuchin's decision was the withdrawal on Thursday of several of his European counterparts, including ministers from France and the UK, according to a senior administration official. Both Mnuchin and Trump had been waiting to see what other countries would do before deciding themselves. Another factor was pressure from business leaders who themselves had already made the decision to withdraw. In calls last week and over the weekend, top executives told Mnuchin they wanted to cancel and encouraged him to as well. But Mnuchin told them it was not his call, but Trump's, according to the senior administration official. Ultimately many top executives — including some close to Trump and his family — pulled out before Mnuchin. But Mnuchin's plans remained in place, even as he relayed the concerns from the business leaders to Trump and Pompeo. Trump insisted no decision be made until other countries made their own announcements, the senior administration official added. The Dow dropped 300 points, or 1.2%, on Thursday, with selling accelerating after Mnuchin's tweet backing out of the conference. Mnuchin's attendance at the event had become a key benchmark of the administration's response to the growing Saudi controversy as top bank executives and investors announced they were dropping out. The treasury secretary, himself a former investment banker, had repeatedly said he planned to attend the Future Investment Initiative pending new information about the case, even as details reported in the Turkish and American press about the fate of the Washington Post columnist's fate have grown increasingly gory. Turkish investigators wearing hazmat suits searched the Saudi consul general's residence in Istanbul on Wednesday, looking for clues to what happened to Khashoggi amid growing indications that the men allegedly responsible for the journalist's death have close ties to the highest levels of the Saudi government. Sources told CNN that a group of Saudi men whom Turkish officials believe are connected to Khashoggi's apparent killing were led by a high-ranking intelligence officer, with one source saying he was close to the inner circle of the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Emerging details triggered a number of top government officials to withdraw from participating in the event, including UK Trade Minister Liam Fox. "The Secretary of State for International Trade has decided the time is not right for him to attend the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh on 23 October," said a UK government spokesman in a statement Thursday. "The UK remains very concerned about Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance." The statement continued: "We encourage Turkish-Saudi collaboration and look forward to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia conducting a thorough, credible, transparent, and prompt investigation, as announced. Those bearing responsibility for his disappearance must be held to account." French finance minister Bruno Le Maire also said Thursday he's canceling his plans to attend next week's conference, dubbed "Davos in the Desert." "The conditions have not yet been met for me to go to Riyadh," Le Maire told French television's Public Senat. "The facts are serious and we want to know the truth", the minister said. Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra also withdrew on Thursday. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that "the minister is not going" to the Saudi conference. The finance minister was expected to submit a letter to the Dutch Parliament later Thursday formally confirming he is not attending. Mnuchin told reporters during a Treasury press event Wednesday alongside Mexico's finance minister that he would make a decision Thursday after Pompeo spoke with Trump. "We're going to revisit the decision again tomorrow," Mnuchin said. "So for now we are. We're going to make a decision tomorrow based on Secretary Pompeo's report." Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, dropped out on Wednesday along with the heads of two major French banks: BNP Paribas and Societe Generale. In recent days, Trump has repeatedly come to the defense of Saudi Arabia, saying the country's crown prince "totally denied" knowledge about the suspected death of the Washington Post journalist and said answers into the matter would be coming "shortly." ||||| President Trump said Thursday it appears that Jamal Khashoggi is dead and warned that his administration could consider “very severe” measures against Saudi Arabia, sharply raising pressures on the kingdom as it prepares its own accounting of the journalist’s disappearance. Trump’s remarks reflect the vacillating strategies and views in the White House over its response and possible punishments toward one of its key Middle East allies. Trump has said any U.S. actions over Khashoggi’s disappearance must take into account the security and defense ties the United States has with the kingdom. But Trump also must contend with the international furor and calls within Republican ranks to take a harder line on Saudi Arabia. As he boarded a flight to Montana for a political rally, Trump was asked by a journalist whether he believed Khashoggi was dead. “It certainly looks that way to me,” he said. “It’s very sad.” He added that Saudi Arabia could face a “very severe” U.S. response depending on the results of probes that include a self-run investigation by the kingdom into the disappearance of Khashoggi. Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and Washington Post contributing columnist, was last seen in public entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. “I mean, it’s bad, bad stuff. But we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. The United States is caught squarely between two long-standing partners. Turkish officials say evidence indicated that Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents. Saudi leaders deny having any knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate but promised to conduct their own inquiry into the case. [Mnuchin joins international snub of Saudi investor conference] It is uncertain, however, whether a self-run inquest or conclusions by the Saudis could quell international anger over Khashoggi’s disappearance. And any finding by Saudi Arabia could meet immediate skepticism about a country where the rulers typically are involved in every major decision. A person close to the White House said Saudi officials are considering blaming Khashoggi’s death on Maj. Gen. Ahmed al- Assiri, the deputy head of Saudi intelligence and a close adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Assiri would be accused of mounting a rogue operation to kill Khashoggi, which would deflect blame from the crown prince, who is the de facto ruler of the kingdom. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on behalf of the administration or the Saudi government. Assiri did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. Before his intelligence posting, Assiri served for two years as the public face of Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in the war in Yemen. Assiri, who speaks fluent French and English, held regular news briefings on the state of the battle that were unusual for the Middle East and appeared designed to promote the professionalism of the Saudi war effort. But as the Saudi aerial bombing campaign came under intensifying criticism for what human rights groups said was a reckless attitude toward civilian casualties, Assiri’s responses to questions about the civilian toll only reinforced the sense that the Saudis were being cavalier. “Why would we acknowledge something that doesn’t exist?” he said when asked by a reporter in 2015 about whether Saudi-led coalition strikes had killed noncombatants, despite mounting evidence that they had. Assiri was replaced as spokesman in July 2017, according to the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya news channel. Trump said the White House expected to have a Saudi account of the Khashoggi case “very soon.” “And I think we’ll be making a statement, a very strong statement. But, we’re waiting for the results of about three different investigations, and we should be able to get to the bottom fairly soon,” said Trump, apparently referring to inquiries by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United States. In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday afternoon, Trump expressed confidence in intelligence reports from multiple sources that strongly suggest a high-level Saudi role in Khashoggi’s assassination. “Unless the miracle of all miracles happens, I would acknowledge that he’s dead,” Trump said. “That’s based on everything — intelligence coming from every side.” The comments also point to a possible tougher stance by the White House after it sent a range of conflicting signals. In the past week, Trump left open the idea that “rogue killers” had carried out an attack on Khashoggi, and also warned against a rush to judgment about the Saudi rulers. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, who has cultivated a relationship with Mohammed, has been urging Trump to stand by the Saudis and let them conduct their own investigation, according to two people in regular contact with the White House. Earlier Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the White House to allow “a few more days” for Saudi Arabia to issue its own report on Khashoggi, even as Turkish police sharply expanded their investigation. Turkish authorities said they will search at least two rural areas outside Istanbul, local news agencies and a Turkish official said. But in the administration’s first formal rebuke of Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi case, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that he would join many other political leaders and business executives who are canceling their participation in a major investment forum next week in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Mnuchin made the announcement after consulting with Trump and Pompeo. Hours earlier, finance chiefs from France, Britain and the Netherlands announced that they would not attend the Riyadh conference. Trump eventually signed off on Mnuchin’s skipping the conference. “You can’t give a Good Housekeeping seal of approval to the Saudis by letting Mnuchin go to the conference,” said one administration adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions. Asked why the Saudis should be trusted to conduct a fair investigation, Pompeo — who held talks this week in Riyadh and in the Turkish capital, Ankara — said only that U.S. officials would evaluate the Saudi report as to whether “it’s truly accurate, fair and transparent” as promised during Pompeo’s talks in Riyadh. In Turkey, meanwhile, police exploring the disappearance of 59-year-old Khashoggi — who they believe was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by a team of agents from Saudi Arabia — are reviewing security footage from the entrances to Istanbul’s Belgrad Forest, roughly 10 miles north of the city center, Turkish media reported. [Secret recordings give insight into Saudi attempts to silence critics] They also expect to search farmland in Turkey’s Yalova province, which is about 60 miles from Istanbul. A Turkish official confirmed that investigators had broadened their search for Khashoggi’s body to “gardens” around the Istanbul area. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the case. Up until now, the inquiry has focused on the consulate in Istanbul’s Levent district and the nearby residence of the Saudi consul general, Mohammed al-Otaibi, who left Turkey this week. Still, leaks from Turkish officials to foreign and local media outlets have kept the spotlight on the Khashoggi affair. Turkey’s pro-government Sabah newspaper published Thursday what it said were images from closed-circuit television of Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb — an apparent member of the Saudi security services who may have previously traveled with the crown prince — outside the consulate on the day Khashoggi went missing. Other images show Mutreb checking out of an Istanbul hotel and at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport hours after Khashoggi was last seen in public. Mutreb also appears to have been photographed with the crown prince on trips to France, Spain and the United States. A British document from 2007 lists a man by the same name working as a diplomat in London. [Amid global outrage over Khashoggi, Trump takes softer path] Turkish investigators have said they believe that Khashoggi was killed by a 15-man Saudi hit team soon after he entered the consulate on an adm inistrative errand on Oct. 2 and that his body was dismembered. On Thursday, investigators left the consulate after a second search of the grounds, Turkey’s private DHA news agency reported. Turkey has not formally released any evidence to support its claims that a team of Saudi agents killed Khashoggi. Wagner reported from Washington. Kareem Fahim and Zeynep Karatas in Istanbul and Josh Dawsey, Brian Murphy, Missy Ryan and Felicia Sonmez in Washington contributed to this report. Read more: Crown prince under scrutiny in journalist’s disappearance even as Saudis search for exculpatory explanation Saudi Arabia transfers $100 million to U.S. amid crisis over Khashoggi Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news ||||| What is a summary?

– Mike Pompeo continues to urge patience with the Jamal Khashoggi case: The US secretary of state says he has advised the White House to give Saudi Arabia "a few more days" to complete its investigation into the journalist's disappearance. At that point, "we can make decisions about how or if the United States should respond to the incident," Pompeo told reporters Thursday. "There a lot of stories out there," and "we just are going to allow the process to move forward, allow the facts to unfold." But after meeting with Pompeo and President Trump to discuss Pompeo's visit to Saudi Arabia and Turkey earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday he is pulling out of a high-profile investor conference he had planned to attend in Saudi Arabia next week. No other government officials will attend in his place, CNN reports. "Just met with @realDonaldTrump and @SecPompeo and we have decided, I will not be participating in the Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia," Mnuchin tweeted. The decision came after several of his European counterparts pulled out of the summit and multiple business leaders urged him to withdraw. Meanwhile, investigators in Turkey, where Khashoggi was reportedly gruesomely killed after entering the Saudi consulate to obtain paperwork for his upcoming marriage, have expanded their search area, the Washington Post reports. They are now planning to search at least two rural areas outside Istanbul, and have begun reviewing surveillance footage showing the entrances to the city's Belgrad Forest. (The Washington Post has reluctantly run what appears to be Khashoggi's final column.)

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Article: Jordan Axani planned a trip with his girlfriend, but they split. He's offering his ex's tickets to any woman with her name and a Canadian passport. ( Newsy ) A number of Elizabeth Gallaghers have come forward to travel the world this Christmas with Toronto’s Jordan Axani after his social media pleas for a travel companion went viral Monday. He tweeted Tuesday morning that “many Elizabeth Gallaghers have come forward” after he awoke to more than 200 emails in his inbox. Axani, a 28-year-old real estate development manager, posted late Sunday night that he was looking for a travel companion. In an interview with the Star, he said the offer resulted from a break-up with his girlfriend with whom he had been planning to take the trip since March. The search was sparked by Axani’s inability to change the name on the five plane tickets he had booked, valued at around $6,000. Air France, Alitalia and Jet Airways told him he could only change the name on the tickets by presenting a marriage, birth or death certificate, he said. Article Continued Below The airlines did not respond to the Star’s requests for comment, though they all advertise tickets as “non-transferable.” Jordan Axani is looking for a travel companion with the name Elizabeth Gallagher to take the plane ticket intended for his ex-girlfriend. In his Reddit post, Axani says he will not be providing anything more than the plane tickets and a bottle of wine upon their departure. He insists he is not looking for “companionship, romance, drugs, a trade, or to take selfies with you in front the Christmas Market in Prague,” but would like the trip to go to someone who would enjoy it. Prior to the notice going up, he said he had found one Elizabeth Gallagher, but she’s married and won’t join him on the trip because she would like to spend the holidays with her husband and family. Now, his Reddit post has been filled with people joking they are willing to change their names to take him up on the offer. Others with the same name residing in different countries and some with Elizabeth as a middle name have been asking if they can stand in for his ex. “Although my name is not Liz Gallagher . . . perhaps a name change could solve the problem! :),” wrote one 29-year-old business student from Toronto under the username rachellemybelle. “Does it count that my dad works for Air Canada?? Maybe we can get some wiggle room there!” Axani replied, “Haha I love it. If he has pull within Air France and Jet Airways we’re set.” Tell us Plenty of the online chatter included users sharing their own travel stories and musing about how Axani’s search would make a perfect movie plot. Among the Reddit posts was a promising response from one Elizabeth Gallagher. “I’m Canadian . . . But I’m old enough to be his Mom. If there’s no younger person to step up I’d have to say it would be interesting,” she wrote. “My girls (25 and 23) tell me DO IT MOM! they wish now that they had my name.” A search of property records revealed only two people with the name in Toronto. However, six other Gallaghers in the city have Elizabeth as a middle name, while there’s a plethora of “E Gallagher” in online phone listings. In order for an Elizabeth Gallagher to be deemed eligible to take the trip, Axani said she must have a Canadian passport, a willingness to see the world and the courage to “pay it forward.” One Toronto woman named Elizabeth Gallagher told the Star she thought the idea was “strange.” “I just don’t feel like going on a trip around the world,” she said. But Axani said his goal was to “throw some good karma into the world.” “I am hoping someone will come forward and that they will take the ticket and have a great time,” he said Monday. Since that interview, Axani has made headlines around the world with the Telegraph in England, American news shows and a South African radio station covering his search. He tweeted Tuesday that he would be declining media interviews that morning, but has since set up a media email address and enlisted his brother’s help to help him comb through requests. ||||| Is your name Elizabeth Gallagher? Are you Canadian and interested in a trip around the world? Are you OK going on that trip with a recently single man whose ex-girlfriend was also named Elizabeth Gallagher? HAVE WE GOT AN OFFER FOR YOU! OK, OK, I know how it sounds. But Jordan Axani, 27, is really in a bind. Last March, the Torontonian planned an extensive around-the-world trip with his girlfriend, a vegan baker named Liz Gallagher. Then the two broke up. And in a twist straight out of next winter's big Christmas romcom, he can't change the name on any of the tickets, so anyone using them would have to have a Canadian passport and the same name as his ex. He's not asking potential Lizes to stay with him, or even sightsee together, although he "will buy the first round of vino at JFK upon departure." Traveling Gallaghers would merely be following the same itinerary--the only place they'd be guaranteed to see Axani would be on flights between destinations. The trip is free. He's not looking for romance, money, sex, drugs, or even selfies. "The only thing I ask is that you enjoy this trip and that it bring you happiness." Later in the statement Axani expresses his hope that the lucky Liz will "pay it forward" later in life, in her own way. Axani first posted the offer ​to Red​dit and Imgur yesterday, and it's very quickly picking up speed on Twitter, Facebook, and just about everywhere Elizabeth Gallaghers can be found. We got in touch with Axani to talk more about this proposition in between frantically Googling "Jordan Axani nice person?" and "Canadian name change amount of time + forms." VICE: Can you tell me a bit about yourself? ​Jordan Axani: Why, sure. I'm a fairly standard late-20s guy living in downtown Toronto. I work in real estate development, but dabble with visual art, music, and nonprofit work. I travel a ton, like me some talk radio, and enjoy the hilarity that this Reddit post has turned into. Do you travel a lot? ​ Absolutely, I think there are few things more thrilling than realizing (over and over again) how small you really are, and traveling makes that resoundingly so. I'm getting into the swing of traveling more often, doing two or three international trips a year. So what was the original plan? ​A year ago, I decided that I was going to spend virtually every cent I made on traveling the world until settling down with kids, etc. I've been on a bunch of great trips already over the past year, but this one is the best and was booked spontaneously during a big pricing error on Priceline. You could basically fly from NYC to Milan, and then from Prague to anywhere in Asia, for a steal of a deal. Needless to say, we jumped on it as a Christmas present to ourselves. And then the relationship ended. What happened there? Any hard feelings? ​No comment. Suffice to say that she's an incredible person and remains a great friend. How gentlemanly. What's the itinerary of this trip? ​December 21: NYC - Milan ​December 28: Prague - Paris ​December 29: Paris - Bangkok ​January 7: Bangkok - New Delhi ​January 8: New Delhi - Toronto ​There's the possibility of extending time in New Delhi, but only if both tickets are extended. Anyone biting so far? ​Yes, but no bites that will work. A couple people with the same or very similar name have gotten in touch, but all have other commitments during the trip. We'll see what all this media attention will bring in. Are you getting a lot of media requests? ​ I haven't been able to keep up with the phone calls from reporters today. I was so not expecting this at all. But hey, I think there's a positive story here, and it's great people are interested. What do you think people are responding to? ​ I think the idea that we can take what would otherwise be a sad situation and make it into something adventurous and positive. It's a pretty wild idea. What made you decide to do this? ​For months I had no idea what to do with the other ticket. Over dinner on Saturday night, some friends asked me, "What's going to happen with the other ticket on that big-ass trip of yours?" Someone suggested that I should make a post on Craigslist or Facebook and see if I could find anyone with the same name--and here we are. Ultimately, the ticket will literally go to waste if I can't find someone. It's not worth the headache or money to cancel the flights with all the different airlines. I'd like to think this is my own way of putting some good karma out in the world. What would be your dream outcome? ​That someone will be able to put the ticket to good use by seeing parts of the world they've always wanted to see, but maybe haven't been able to. My hope is that it'll be an epic life experience that they'll tell their kids about one day. To be fair, this sounds like exactly a romantic-comedy premise. Are you maybe even seeeecretly hoping to fall in love, a bit? ​Not at all. We'll save that part for when the Hollywood writers get a hold of the story. What qualities would you hope this traveling Elizabeth Gallagher would have? ​Hopefully someone sane, smart, and interesting, as per the Reddit post. Someone who's always wanted to travel but maybe couldn't afford to or hasn't had the opportunity. And lastly, as due diligence for all the curious but nervous Liz Gallaghers out there: Are you a serial killer? ​Nope, promise. Good news for all of us. So how should interested Liz's get in touch? ​Send me a message ​ throu​gh the Reddit post. Looking forward to seeing what happens! ||||| What is a summary?

– It's a tale straight out of a rom-com. Jordan Axani, a 28-year-old real estate manager in Toronto, booked a globe-hopping Christmas trip back in March with then-girlfriend Elizabeth Gallagher. The operative word being "then." Now they've split, and Axani still wants to go on the trip, so he's called out on Reddit for women with his ex's name and a Canadian passport to get in touch so that all those plane tickets, valued at $6,000, can be put to use, reports the Toronto Star. In his Reddit post, Axani says he's not looking for anything in return beyond the woman enjoying the trip—not "companionship, romance, drugs, a trade, or to take selfies with you in front the Christmas Market in Prague." Elizabeth Gallagher wouldn't have to be involved with Axani's itinerary (which includes stops in Milan, Prague, Paris, Bangkok, and New Delhi) in any way beyond the flights themselves. But he does stipulate that this Elizabeth be "sane, smart, and (hopefully) interesting." His story's gone viral and he's already had a few hundred hopeful responses, including from women with similar names or a willingness to change their names. He also leaves the door open to at least some level of companionship by offering to buy "the first round of vino at JFK." "Ultimately, the ticket will literally go to waste if I can't find someone," he says in an interview with Vice. "I'd like to think this is my own way of putting some good karma out in the world." (Meanwhile, a cop who found $120,000 on her drive home from work returned the cash to its rightful owner.)

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Write an article based on this summary: – Police in Anchorage, Alaska, say a 5-year-old boy rummaging through a nightstand drawer late at night found a loaded gun and wound up fatally shooting himself, reports KTUU. Christian Johnnson died after midnight Tuesday while his parents were in other rooms of the house, reports the Anchorage Daily News. The mother heard a gunshot, and "she walks into the bedroom and that's when she finds her son, who shot himself," says a police spokesman. It is, he adds, "a tragic reminder about gun safety and children." Police have found no evidence that drugs or alcohol played any role in the shooting, and the Anchorage District Attorney's Office has yet to decide whether any charges will be filed. (A study finds that half of US children live in homes with guns, highlighting police concerns about making sure the weapons are safely secured.) Article:

Just after midnight, a young boy was found dead in his Anchorage home, police say after he shot himself with a loaded gun. The child, identified as Christian Johnnson, 5, allegedly found the gun inside the drawer of a bedroom nightstand. Police were notified of the death just before 12:30 a.m. early Tuesday, at a home on the 5700 block of Rocky Mountain Court. APD says the boy's mother was in the kitchen preparing food, and the father was in another room when they heard the gunshot. The boy had a single wound in his upper body. Police issued a statement via community alert, calling the news a "tragic reminder" about gun safety. "Don’t leave guns unattended and easily accessible, use a gun lock or secure guns in a safe," MJ Thim, spokesperson for APD, said in the statement. The death is currently being investigated. Any charges, including those extending to the parents of Johnnson, will be determined by the Anchorage District Attorney's office. ||||| A 5-year-old Anchorage boy who found a loaded handgun in the drawer of a nightstand was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Anchorage police said Tuesday. Police identified the child as Christian Johnnson. [Update, Dec. 7: The child's mother says his name was Christan Johnson.] Authorities say such deaths are rare and can be prevented with basic gun safety procedures. Yet in the last three years, the state has logged five unintentional firearm deaths of children under age 10. Sometimes, a parent is prosecuted when a child fires a loaded gun. At 12:24 a.m. Tuesday, a call came into dispatchers about a child's death in the 5700 block of Rocky Mountain Court, a fourplex in East Anchorage. The child's mother was in the kitchen preparing food. The father was elsewhere in the home, police spokesman MJ Thim said. The initial reports give no suggestion of drugs or alcohol being a factor, he said. The mother "hears the sound of a gunshot," Thim said. "She walks into the bedroom and that's when she finds her son, who shot himself." Christian suffered a single wound to the upper body, police said. Police say they are investigating the death and would refer the matter to the Anchorage District Attorney's Office for consideration of charges. Police aren't releasing the parents' names since they haven't been charged with any crime, Thim said. "This is a tragic reminder about gun safety and children," police said in a written statement. "Don't leave guns unattended and easily accessible; use a gun lock or secure guns in a safe." A 2015 incident cost a young Anchorage mother her son and left her with a felony record for criminally negligent homicide. In that case, a loaded .38-caliber revolver was left for days in the area where the 3-year-old played, and he shot and killed himself. Prosecutors said they recognized the tragedy of the situation but called the behavior of Elizabeth Morin careless to the point of criminal. She was ordered in February to serve three months in jail as well as two years of probation. She hasn't yet served the jail time in that case, state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Megan Edge said Tuesday. More typically, no one is charged when a young child hurts someone with a gun. A 4-year-old boy in Bethel in December 2015 got hold of a handgun while playing inside, then shot and killed himself. His father was an Alaska State Trooper; the gun was privately owned, according to media reports at the time. In Alaska, there is no law requiring that guns be stored under lock, said Anchorage District Attorney Richard Allen. Eleven states require locking devices to accompany certain guns but only one, Massachusetts, says firearms generally must be stored locked, according to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. From 2005 through 2016, there were 62 unintentional firearm deaths in Alaska. Eleven children age 9 and younger were killed by unintentional gun violence, include four who were 4 years old or younger, according to statistics from the Alaska Violent Death Reporting System. Most fatal firearm injuries in Alaska are intentional — suicide accounts for 75 percent of them, statistics show. Unsecured guns also are targeted by thieves, authorities say. For the most part, young children don't mean to hurt anyone when they fire a gun but just don't have the experience, coordination or knowledge to handle one, said state injury epidemiologist Deborah Hull-Jilly. "They may fumble a firearm. They may drop it. They are curious little beings," Hull-Jilly said. When she was a child, her father had a security business and kept a gun on a high dresser. She was forbidden to go near it, yet couldn't stop herself from getting a look. She was too afraid to get hold of it, though, she said. Children "may look at it as a toy, which it is not. It really behooves us to look at our homes and be sure that these guns are stored appropriately," Hull-Jilly said. People should buy lock boxes or gun safes at the point they acquire a gun — and use them, she said. Some lock boxes have fingerprint mechanisms and can be opened with the touch of the owner, she said. But they are pricey. "It's just good practice to keep the firearm stored securely and if at all possible locked in a lock box or gun cabinet," Hull-Jilly said. Ammunition should be stored separately. |||||

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Article: Sean Spicer: Adolf Hitler remark 'was a mistake' CLOSE White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer backtracked on comments he made comparing Adolf Hitler to Bashar Assad. USA TODAY WASHINGTON — President Trump's spokesman backtracked Tuesday on comments likening Bashar Assad to Holocaust architect Adolf Hitler. "We didn't use chemical weapons in World War II. You had a ... someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink ... to using chemical weapons," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said during Tuesday's press briefing. "You have to, if you're Russia, ask yourself, is this a country and a regime you want to align yourself with?" Later asked to explain, Spicer said he meant to say that Hitler had not used chemical weapons in battlefield situations as Assad did last week. "I think when you come to sarin gas... he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing," he said. "He brought them into the Holocaust center, I understand that. But I was saying that in the way that Assad used them, where he went into towns, dropped them down into innocent — into the middle of towns." Spicer apologized for his comments Tuesday evening, calling them "insensitive." The White House spokesman tried to clarify his comments in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "Frankly, I mistakenly made an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust, for which there is no comparison," Spicer said. "And for that I apologize. It was a mistake to do that." Critics hit Spicer for using the term "Holocaust center" rather than concentration camp, as well as his statement that Hitler did not use gas "on his own people"; many Germans died in the Holocaust. Spicer clarified what he meant in a statement: "In no way was I trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust. However, I was trying to draw a contrast of the tactic of using airplanes to drop chemical weapons on innocent people." Millions of people died during the Holocaust, with gas chambers being one of the primary ways of killing the victims. Shortly after Spicer's comments, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum sent out footage of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. WATCH: Footage from our collection shows what US forces discovered when they liberated #Buchenwald. pic.twitter.com/jySQOWM6Lf — US Holocaust Museum (@HolocaustMuseum) April 11, 2017 The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect called for Trump to fire Spicer, saying that he was engaging in Holocaust denial. "On Passover no less, Sean Spicer has engaged in Holocaust denial, the most offensive of fake news imaginable, by denying Hitler gassed millions of Jews to death," Steven Goldstein, the center's executive director, said in a statement. "Spicer's statement is the most evil slur upon a group of people we have ever heard from a White House press secretary." Joining in the call for the president to fire Spicer: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. "While Jewish families across America celebrate Passover, the chief spokesman of this White House is downplaying the horror of the Holocaust," the California Democrat said in a statement. "Sean Spicer must be fired, and the president must immediately disavow his spokesman's statements. Either he is speaking for the president, or the president should have known better than to hire him." Spicer's comments spurred much outrage online, especially given that it is Passover. The President's Press Secretary just minimized Hitler's crimes against humanity during Passover. — Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) April 11, 2017 I hope @PressSec takes time to visit @HolocaustMuseum. It's a few blocks away. https://t.co/24fNoMUyS8 — Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) April 11, 2017 In about a ten-minute span, Sean Spicer managed to: pic.twitter.com/01GC6Gw2AN — Nicole Hemmer (@pastpunditry) April 11, 2017 Comparisons to the Holocaust, the trans Atlantic slave trade, and other atrocities can serve to diminish suffering. And diminish triumph. — Be A King (@BerniceKing) April 11, 2017 Somebody please invite this man to a Seder and teach him some history. https://t.co/YKoKcAKLpC — Jason Kander (@JasonKander) April 11, 2017 Sean. Please. Stop talking. Back away from the podium. Walk out of the briefing room. Think hard about returning. https://t.co/yPVTBrCwAw — Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) April 11, 2017 I was unsure how @seanspicer could sink lower. Pretending that Hitler's war machine didn't use chemical weapons? I dared not imagine that. — ⛈⑨ (@KirinDave) April 11, 2017 @Pitydfoo@BraddJaffy@HallieJackson Right. Hitler just BUILT "Population Centers" to deploy his gas at. @seanSpicer needs to be fired. Like right now. — Dan St. John (@spicepirate00) April 11, 2017 On Passover, a holiday about Jews escaping oppression, @seanspicer defended Hitler as never having used chemical weapons. — Justin #BLM 🔗 (@JustinAion) April 11, 2017 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2on7XkF ||||| (CNN) White House press secretary Sean Spicer apologized Tuesday after saying Adolf Hitler "didn't even sink to using chemical weapons" during World War II in an effort to shame Russia's alliance with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his use of chemical weapons. The comment was immediately decried and after a series of attempts to clear up his words, Spicer apologized in an exclusive interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I was obviously trying to make a point about the heinous acts that Assad had made against his own people last week, using chemical weapons and gas. Frankly, I mistakenly made an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust, for which there is no comparison," Spicer said. "And for that I apologize. It was a mistake to do that." Spicer, who said he was "aware" that gas chambers were used during the Holocaust, later said he should have "stayed focused" on Assad and asked people to forgive him for his "mistake." "My goal now and then is to stay focused on Assad and I should have," he said. "I realized that I had made a mistake and I didn't want to be a distraction to the President's agenda." While Hitler did not use chemical weapons on the battlefield, Hitler and the Nazis used gas chambers to exterminate Jews, disabled people and others. "You had someone who was despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons," Spicer said during the briefing. "So you have to, if you are Russia, ask yourself is this a country and a regime that you want to align yourself with." The comment immediately reverberated online and audible gasps could be heard in the press briefing room after the Spicer made the comment. Spicer, asked later in the briefing for a clarification by a reporter about the comments that Hitler did not use chemical weapons, said: "I think when you come to sarin gas, he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing." Reporters in the briefing room offered the Holocaust as an example of chemical weapons use. "He brought them into the Holocaust centers, I understand that," Spicer said. "But in the way that Assad used them, where he went into towns and dropped them down to innocent in the middle of towns," he added, defending his statement. "I appreciate the clarification, that was not the intent." The comment did not clear up the controversy, especially considering Spicer seemingly referred to concentration camps as "the Holocaust center." In a statement issued after the briefing, Spicer said "in no way was I trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust." "I was trying to draw a distinction of the tactic of using airplanes to drop chemical weapons on population centers. Any attack on innocent people is reprehensible and inexcusable," he said. Spicer later confirmed to CNN that he also spoke with the office of GOP megadonor and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Spicer spoke with Andy Abboud, Adelson's top political adviser, after his office reached out to the White House press secretary. "It was a private conversation," Spicer said. The majority of historians believe Nazi Germany did not ever use chemical weapons on the battlefield in the Second World War despite possessing both WWI-era chemical weapons as well as more advanced nerve agents. Hitler himself was exposed to mustard gas during his WWI service, but he did not sign off on chemical weapons use against Allied forces even when Germany was suffering battlefield losses. However, Hitler did of course use chemical gas to murder innocent civilians in concentration camps. "Even in WWII chemical weapons were not used on the battlefield. Even in the Korean War, they were not used on battlefields. Since WWI there's been an international convention on this," said Defense Secretary James Mattis, later in the day during a Pentagon press briefing. The United States Holocaust Museum in Washington quickly responded to Spicer tweeting: "WATCH: Footage from our collection shows what US forces discovered when they liberated #Buchenwald." WATCH: Footage from our collection shows what US forces discovered when they liberated #Buchenwald. pic.twitter.com/jySQOWM6Lf — US Holocaust Museum (@HolocaustMuseum) April 11, 2017 And Chelsea Clinton, the former first daughter, tweeted: "I hope @PressSec takes time to visit @HolocaustMuseum. It's a few blocks away." I hope @PressSec takes time to visit @HolocaustMuseum. It's a few blocks away. https://t.co/24fNoMUyS8 — Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) April 11, 2017 The comment comes as Jewish people all over the world are celebrating Passover. The White House hosted a Seder dinner on Monday night. Speaking on CNN's "New Day" Wednesday, Steven Goldstein, the executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, labeled Spicer's comment "a mistake" and held that he "should not be the spokesperson for the President." "He's got to leave," said Goldstein. "President Trump has got to fire Sean Spicer." Pointing to Spicer's multiple attempts to apologize, Goldstein said none of them merited forgiveness. "Let me explain why we can't accept his apology," Goldstein said. "It took him three attempts to finally -- sort of -- get it right." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also called for Spicer's dismissal. "While Jewish families across America celebrate Passover, the chief spokesman of this White House is downplaying the horror of the Holocaust," she said in a statement. "Sean Spicer must be fired, and the President must immediately disavow his spokesman's statements." ||||| In Tuesday’s briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer said something astounding — that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad compared unfavorably, at least in one respect, to Adolf Hitler. "Hitler didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons,” Spicer said. You’re probably spotting at least one obvious problem here: The Nazis used poison gas as one of the principal means of exterminating the Jewish people. At one point, 6,000 Jews were gassed to death every day in Auschwitz alone, according to the US Holocaust Museum. Surely, Sean Spicer knows this. He has to know this. Yet when a reporter asked Spicer to clarify his comments later in the briefing, he just dug himself a deeper hole: I think when you come to sarin gas, there was no … he was not using the gas on his own people in the same way that Assad is doing. There was not … he brought them into the Holocaust centers, I understand that. But what I’m saying is the way that Assad used them, where he went into towns, dropped them, the use of it — I appreciate the clarification, [denying that Hitler used gas] was not the intent. So, according to Spicer, Hitler only gassed people in “Holocaust centers” — not a term used by anyone in the history of ever — but didn’t “drop” the gas on “his own people” in towns. This is mostly false. Prior to the construction of gas chambers, SS soldiers would drive around so-called “gas vans” — vehicles with hermetically sealed compartments that could be flooded with poison gas — and used them to execute Jews in, yes, their towns. So Spicer released a second clarification in a statement to press, saying that he was just trying to say that Hitler never airdropped chemical weapons on his victims: NEW: a second clarification from the @presssec on Assad/Hitler comparison: pic.twitter.com/IU8OA5jFAb — Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) April 11, 2017 This is, finally, true. But the error pales in comparison to the main issue, which is that Spicer said that Assad compared unfavorably to Hitler. The thrust of his initial point was that Assad crossed some kind of moral line that Hitler did not. Saying that Hitler “didn’t sink to the level” of Assad is a form of whitewashing Hitler’s crimes against the Jews. Spicer’s second statement tries to sort of walk this back — but without admitting any error, which makes the whole thing seem shallow at best. And he said this on the first day of Passover, one of the most important Jewish holidays that happens to celebrate Jews’ freedom from oppression. Eventually, several hours later, Spicer appeared on CNN and apologized: Sean Spicer: I mistakenly used an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust, there is no comparison https://t.co/6SwTJwLWJw — CNN (@CNN) April 11, 2017 This is not the first time that the White House has engaged in a kind of petty Holocaust denial — not a sentence I ever thought I’d type. On Holocaust Remembrance Day in January, the White House issued a statement that did not mention Jews once. When Spicer was asked about this omission, he slammed the media for engaging in “pathetic,” “ridiculous … nitpicking.” Nor is it the first time that Spicer has screwed up massively when talking about Syria this week. In yesterday’s briefing, he invented a new Trump policy on Syria whole cloth, one that would require a prolonged US war against Assad — forcing the White House to walk it back (twice). Earlier in the week, he claimed that Trump’s cruise missiles had taken out 20 percent of Syria’s entire air force, when it had actually taken out 20 percent of one wing (something like 12 planes out of a total of several hundred). Indeed, even while making his apology on CNN, he managed to make yet another gaffe, stating that he didn’t want to draw attention away from Trump’s attempts to “destabilize” the Middle East. Yes, he seriously said that. Wow: While apologizing for Hitler gaffe, Spicer literally says he doesn't want to distract from Trump's attempts "to destabilize the region" pic.twitter.com/jlCwC93Wn4 — Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) April 11, 2017 All of this begs the question: If the press secretary can’t talk about what’s currently the biggest policy issue in the news without making massive errors and saying deeply offensive stuff about the Holocaust, how good of a press secretary is he? ||||| What is a summary?

– Sean Spicer is being hit with a wave of criticism—the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect is even calling for his firing—after he said Hitler wasn't that bad compared to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, at least in one specific area. "Hitler didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons," Vox quotes the press secretary as saying during a press conference Tuesday. CNN reports there was an "audible gasp" from reporters following the comment. Understandable, because Hitler, in fact, used gas to kill millions of Jews in the Holocaust. He also used gas to kill disabled people and other groups. Spicer only dug himself deeper when he attempted to clarify what he meant. "He was not using the gas on his own people in the same way that Assad is doing," Spicer said. "He brought them into Holocaust centers, I understand that." That clarification managed to invent a new term for concentration camps and possibly imply that German Jews were not real Germans. Spicer finally specified that he meant Hitler didn't use chemical weapons on the battlefield, USA Today reports. Despite insisting he wasn't "trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust," the Anne Frank Center is accusing Spicer of Holocaust denial. Spicer's original point, now firmly buried by his invocation of Hitler, was that Russia shouldn't continue to support Assad.

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Article: Advisory For Immediate Release April 14, 2017 at 7:45 AM Contact Person Commander Knudson, 608-757-5255 [email protected] Case # SO1718375 APPREHENDED: On April 13, 2017 at approximately 9:30 PM, the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a suspicious person on a farmer’s property on Estes Road near Readstown, WI. Investigators assigned to the Jakubowski case were sent to that location along with tactical support to assist local authorities in determining whether the suspicious individual was related to the manhunt. The suspicious person complaint reported that a male matching the description of Jakubowski was camping at that location and refused to leave when he had been asked to do so. Local authorities established a perimeter and tactical support was sent in to investigate. Shortly before 6:00 AM, tactical officers made contact with the suspicious person at the campsite. This subject was taken into custody without incident and positively identified as Joseph A. Jakubowski,our wanted fugitive. Arrangements are being made for Jakubowski to be returned to Rock County for further investigation and charges. Further details will be available at a joint press conference to be held at the main terminal of the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport, 1716 West Airport Road, Janesville, WI 53546. This conference will occur on April 14, 2017 at 2:00 PM. ROBERT D. SPODEN SHERIFF By: Commander Troy Knudson ||||| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| A written threat against unspecified churches in the Sussex area was sent via US Mail by someone purporting to be Joseph Jakubowski, the Wisconsin man who authorities say has made anti-religious and anti-government comments and burglarized a Janesville gun shop, Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson said in a statement. The threat indicated unspecified violence on Easter Sunday. In his statement sent via email to the media, Severson said his officials have been unable to substantiate the threat nor the letter's author. >> Get breaking news alerts with the WISN 12 mobile app "We ask that all citizens of Waukesha County be vigilant and report any suspicious activity," he said. "This information is being disseminated as a precaution in the interest of public safety." The letter was mailed to the Ace Hardware store in Sussex. Workers there got the letter Thursday morning. "It didn't have a return address on it, it was taped shut with a sticker with our address on it," said Mike Ledonne, the store manager. Ledonne does not know Jakubowki and has no idea why a letter would be sent to their store, but it did imply acts of violence this weekend. "Sussex churches were going to get shot up and it was going to be a bloody Sunday for it," said Ledonne. Jakubowski, of Janesville, has been on the run since April 4 when officials say he broke into The Armageddon Gun Shop and stole 18 weapons and other items before setting his vehicle on fire. A 161-page manifesto he mailed to President Trump has been received by the White House and is still being analyzed, authorities said. Earlier Thursday, Rock County officials p leaded with Jakubowski to turn himself in, and they urged residents to be extra vigilant during the holy weekend. WKOW / Tony Galli AlertMe ||||| Joseph Jakubowski's booking photo (left) and mugshot while he was still the subject of the law enforcement manhunt. (Photo: Rock County Sheriff's Office) The nationwide manhunt for a Janesville man ended peacefully Friday in rural southwestern Wisconsin, where authorities found the 32-year-old fugitive at his makeshift campsite, surrounded by a cache of deadly weapons. Joseph Jakubowski, 32, had five guns, ammunition, a samurai-type sword and a 161-page manifesto he wrote when authorities closed in on him following a 10-day search, investigators said. He appeared disheveled and exhausted, sleeping under a tarp fashioned into a tent, authorities said. A tip Thursday night from a farmer in Vernon County, 125 miles from Jakubowski's hometown of Janesville, led to his arrest shortly before sunrise. Authorities set up a perimeter around the 150-acre farm and waited overnight, finally approaching Jakubowski’s campsite at 6 a.m. There were no electronics at his campsite, matching Jakubowski's stated desire to go "off the grid," Rock County Sheriff Robert Spoden said. Investigators declared Jakubowski armed and dangerous after he mailed his manifesto threatening violence to President Donald Trump, stole 18 weapons from a Janesville gun store and set his beloved truck ablaze. Spoden said Jakubowski railed against the government and religion in his manifesto, though he didn’t list specific targets for potential violence. “We are fortunate that whatever his endgame was, he was not able to complete it,” Spoden said. Jakubowski's stepfather, Don McLean, said he and Jakubowski’s mother were relieved the search was over and officers showed restraint. The couple hasn’t had contact with Jakubowski for two years. "His mother and I are grateful that it ended the way it did," McLean said, standing on the porch of his Janesville home. "We don't know why it happened. We want to reach out to him and let him know we're here to help him. I know he needs help." A handwritten note on the front door of the Janesville duplex where Jakubowski lives asked passersby not to knock. "We are happy nobody got hurt," it said. "Our heart goes out to Joe's family. Let's enjoy Easter with our families. Thank you." Investigators said they were interviewing Jakubowski to determine how he traveled from Janesville to Vernon County, and where the other stolen guns are located. Authorities said they believe Jakubowski likely did not send a letter threatening violence on Easter Sunday at a church in Sussex. The source of the letter remains under investigation. Jakubowski made an initial appearance in a Madison federal court Friday afternoon. Federal prosecutors charged him with one count of stealing firearms from a federal licensed dealer. Local police have also sought charges of armed burglary, theft and possession of burglary tools. Vernon County sheriff's officials said a caller contacted them about 7:15 p.m. Thursday about a trespasser matching Jakubowski's description. CLOSE Joseph Jakubowski, the subject of an FBI manhunt, sends a manifesto to President Donald Trump in this recording. Rock County Sheriff's Office In an interview with The Associated Press, Jeffrey Gorn, the property owner who called authorities, said he spotted Jakubowski while checking on his deer stands Thursday evening. Gorn said he approached Jakubowski and spoke to him for an hour about his grievances against society. Gorn described Jakubowski as "extremely cordial." "He never raised his voice, never showed any sign of doing anything inappropriate. I shook his hand twice," Gorn said. "He wanted me to see his points of view. He wanted me to see what he had written to various people." The FBI offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Jakubowski's location. Authorities said they had not yet determined whether Gorn will receive the money. RELATED:Manifesto suspect Joseph Jakubowski wrote apology before gun theft, court documents say RELATED:Stepfather urges Joseph Jakubowski, suspect in Wisconsin manhunt, to surrender ‘His own agenda’ Law enforcement officials said they remain perplexed by Jakubowski, a low-profile construction worker who lived with his sister in a nondescript duplex near downtown Janesville. Jakubowski was not known to incite violence, did not affiliate himself with anti-government organizations and did not have any contact with the local mental health community, authorities said. FBI investigators could not identify any “triggering event,” which typically leads to an abrupt change in ideology, Janesville Police Chief Steve Moore said Jakubowski’s manifesto largely addressed how the government and religion has enslaved American citizens. He didn’t affiliate himself with either major political party. "He has his own agenda, he has his own plan, and right now we’re trying to determine exactly what his intentions are," Spoden said Thursday. Court records showed Jakubowski had many run-ins with local police, none which would portend the manhunt. In 2003, police busted Jakubowski with about 0.4 pounds of marijuana. Jakubowski, who was 18 years old at the time, said he sold about a half-pound of the drug every two weeks. In January 2008, police said Jakubowski battered his ex-girlfriend during an argument at their home. Two months later, Janesville police said Jakubowski resisted arrest during a traffic stop and tried to grab an officer’s gun. When another officer arrived at the scene and threatened to shoot if Jakubowski didn't relent, Jakubowski said, "Just (expletive) do it," according to an arrest report. RELATED: FBI increases reward for manifesto-writing fugitive Joseph Jakubowski to $20,000 RELATED: Man wanted in gun shop thefts issued threatening manifesto to Donald Trump In a letter to a judge in May 2008, Jakubowski asked for a chance to prove he could be a "peaceful, trouble-free citizen." "I'm actually glad I was brought to jail to take me away from the alcohol and the painful memories of my family," Jakubowski wrote. "These two months actually helped me get my strength and sense back." Over the next nine years, police in Janesville never arrested Jakubowski for any felony or misdemeanor crimes — though he was a nuisance on the roads. He was stopped more than 50 times, mostly for driving on a suspended license, operating a vehicle without insurance and driving without a seat belt. In the past few years, he was driving his Dodge Durango, which authorities called "his pride and joy." Investigators said they’ve received no evidence to suggest Jakubowski received help as he avoided capture. Family, friends and social acquaintances — some of whom received copies of Jakubowski’s manifesto before his disappearance — all cooperated with investigators, authorities said. “We could not have asked for this matter to end better,” Moore said. “No one was hurt, no officers were harmed, and Mr. Jakubowski was taken into custody without any injuries.” Read or Share this story: https://jsonl.in/2pAEN0M ||||| What is a summary?

– The Wisconsin fugitive who authorities say sent a long-winded, anti-government manifesto to President Trump has been captured, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The announcement that Joseph Jakubowski is now in police custody first came via a tweet Friday morning from the Beloit Police Department that read, "CAPTURED! Awesome work to the men and women who worked this case," along with a picture of the suspect stamped with a giant red "FOUND." A press release explains the Vernon County Sheriff's Office in southwestern Wisconsin got wind Thursday night of a "suspicious person" who was said to be camping on a farmer's land and wouldn't leave when asked. Officers converged on the Readstown location and captured the man without any issues just before 6am Friday; they then were able to ID him as Jakubowski. Jakubowski has been the target of a massive manhunt since April 4, when he's believed to have busted into a Janesville weapons store and stolen 18 firearms, after which he allegedly set his car on fire. Authorities feared he might have been planning on carrying out a major violent act against a school or public officials. Per WISN, a letter supposedly written by Jakubowski and received by an Ace Hardware store in Sussex Thursday also suggested there would be violence carried out against churches in Sussex on Easter Sunday. A copy of the manifesto sent to Trump, received by local station WTMJ-TV and publicized in part on Thursday, accused both religion and the government of brainwashing people and cited a wish by Jakubowski to suffer a death on live TV "carried out by the hands of the president," per the Journal Sentinel.

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Article: NASA wants you (yes, you) to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Voyager mission. In honor of four decades of Voyager 1 — humankind's farthest-flung spacecraft — NASA is inviting people everywhere to share an uplifting message for the spacecraft using the hashtag #MessageToVoyager. NASA will even beam one lucky person's #MessageToVoyager into space, according to a press release. The messages can be sent through social media, including Twitter and Facebook. The effort is inspired by "messages of goodwill" from Voyager's Golden Record, a disk which contains sounds and images of life on Earth which was carried aboard Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in 1977 on their tours of the solar system's planets. In order to submit messages for consideration, people must use the hashtag #MessageToVoyager by 11:59 PM PDT on August 15. It would be a pretty kind gesture for a spacecraft that's all alone up there. Submissions will be judged by NASA, the Voyager team, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, before the public has the ability to select a final, winning message through an online poll. That winning message will be beamed into space on Sept. 5 — the anniversary of of Voyager 1's launch in 1977. But that's just the day the message will be launched. It won't reach the vicinity of Voyager 1 until the next day. Voyager 1 was the very first spacecraft to go into interstellar space, according to NASA, and Voyager is the longest continual space mission to date. Voyager 2 launched to space on August 20, 1977. ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| – Your words could reach out of our solar system—no gigantic megaphone necessary. NASA is hosting a contest that will see a message from one lucky Earthling sent to Voyager 1, which is hurtling through interstellar space. Entrants are invited to submit an "uplifting" message of 60 characters or less on social media using #MessageToVoyager. Scientists will then pick their 10 favorite messages and let the public vote for one to be beamed to Voyager 1 on Sept. 5, the 40th anniversary of the probe's launch, reports Mashable. Messages will be accepted until Tuesday. Voting begins Aug. 23. (Celebrate the anniversary with a copy of the Voyager golden record.) Article: A Minnesota teen who disappeared last month has been found safe and authorities have arrested three people in connection with her disappearance. Jasmine Block Alexandria Police Department Officials with the Alexandria Police Department announced Tuesday afternoon that they had located Jasmine Block, 15, in Grant County, and had transported the teen to a local hospital for minor injuries. Police also announced that three people have been arrested in connection with the case, but their identities remain unknown. More details on the investigation and arrests are expected Wednesday. Jasmine has since been reunited with her family. Sarah Block, her mother, posted several messages to her Facebook friends and the followers of the page 'Help Find Jasmine Block,' thanking everyone for their support. "I just want to say thank you for helping for never giving up!" Sarah Block wrote on Facebook Tuesday night. "I also ask to respect Jasmine myself and her sisters as we have been apart 4 weeks and it’s been a lot so give space." Related: Search Continues in Unsettling Disappearance of Minnesota Teen Jasmine Block The last time anyone saw Jasmine was the night of August 8 around 10:30 p.m. at her family’s home in Alexandria. The teen had spent the day boating with neighbors, but returned home with a migraine.Her mother told Dateline that on that night, Jasmine had been resting on the couch while she left to tend to a family emergency. When she returned home, Jasmine was gone, but her belongings were still in the home. Jasmine was featured in Dateline's Missing in America series shortly after she disappeared. ||||| MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A farmer who stopped by his house in the middle of his work shift ended up finding a missing 15-year-old girl from Alexandria. She disappeared Aug. 8 from outside her mother’s home. Police say a family acquaintance and two other men assaulted her in various locations for nearly one month. She was able to escape after the three men left her alone in a foreclosed property in rural Grant County. Tuesday, police arrested Thomas Barker, Joshua Holby and Steven Powers, for physically and sexually assaulting the teen. “It’s usually quiet out here,” said the man who found the victim while standing outside his home. He asked we hide his identity, telling WCCO he left work Tuesday because he forgot something at his house. He said right before got back in his truck to return to work he saw something unusual in the grasslands on the back of his property. From hundreds of yards away he thought he saw a deer. “She was up so I could see her but I couldn’t tell what it was,” he said. He said once he realized it was a girl he started his truck to drive toward her, when suddenly she came running. “When she come walking out of the grass I’m thinking oh my gosh, you got to be kidding me,” he said. “When I saw her face I knew right away.” It was the teenager who went missing weeks earlier. “It was just a great feeling, [I told her] ‘just get in the pickup, we’re going to help you now,'” he said. Investigators said family acquaintence, 32-year-old Thomas Barker lured her into his car last month, taking her to his home in Carlos. “Barker tied her up with zip ties and then he his roommate and friend over the next several weeks assaulted her and threatened her with weapons,” said Alexandria Police Chief Rick Wyffels. Police said they also took her to various cornfields and eventually a foreclosed home on Thompson Lake in Grant County. Police said her three captors left her alone to grab lunch which is when she made her escape. She swam across the lake and onto the man’s property. She wasn’t wearing any pants or shoes, telling him she took them off in the water because they were making it hard for her to swim. “Anybody can call 911, it’s just I was in the right place at the right time,” he said. The man wanted to drive her away from the property but he said dispatchers told him to stay put. When they arrived another surprise happened before his eyes. “I was getting her out of the pickup to put her in the deputy’s car and she says ‘There’s the car, there’s the car’,” he said describing how she spotted a vehicle belonging to one of the suspects driving right past the home. “So one of the deputies chased him down.” It was the first of three arrests made in the case, giving the father of three girls satisfaction only a parent would understand. “It was like somebody shined a big beam of light on me yesterday for some reason and, I don’t know, I was kind of on a high all day long yesterday,” he said. Police are hoping to recover her pants and shoes left behind in the lake. They’re are also asking farmers in neighboring counties to check their cornfields for damage associated with cars driving through them. —————————————– At the Wednesday news conference, police described the victim as an “unbelievable young woman” with “a lot of strength.” Watch the full press conference below: ||||| Meth still a big presence in area: Heroin is also on the rise Nearly 8,000 grams of methamphetamine were seized by the West Central Minnesota Drug and Violent Crime Task Force in 2017. This equates to more... |||||

– Jasmine Block is "an unbelievable young woman." That's what a police chief has to say after the 15-year-old escaped from captors who allegedly assaulted her over the course of a month. Block reportedly left her home in Alexandria, Minn., on Aug. 8 with a family acquaintance who said he needed her help, reports the Echo Press. When Jasmine arrived at Thomas Barker's home in Carlos, however, she encountered a "nightmare," says Alexandria Police Chief Rick Wyffels. Barker, 32—soon joined by his roommate and later a friend—restrained the teen with zip ties. At no point over the next 28 days was Jasmine left alone as she was physically and sexually assaulted and moved to a cornfield and then a home on a lake in Grant County, Wyffels says. But on the 29th day, Jasmine saw an opportunity to escape. When her captors left to get lunch on Tuesday, Jasmine escaped and "bravely ran door to door" without finding help, Wyffels says. Finally, she swam across the 150-acre lake to a property and encountered its owner, who'd just returned from work because he'd forgotten something. "It was like somebody shined a big beam of light on me," the man tells WCCO. "I was in the right place at the right time." Just as police arrived, Jasmine—later treated for minor injuries, per NBC News—spotted a car belonging to one of her captors whom police quickly apprehended, the property owner adds. All three alleged captors are now in custody. Barker; Joshua Holby, 31; and Steven Powers, 20, are each held on probable cause for false imprisonment, kidnapping, and assault. Wyffels says authorities are still trying to determine a motive.

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