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Storm clobbers Midwest with snow, wind, frigid air Sun Dec 9, 2012 1:09pm EST (Reuters) - A wintry storm unleashed high winds, frigid air and heavy snowfall across the Upper Midwest on Sunday, with Minneapolis expecting as much as 12 inches of snow by evening, meteorologists said. The blizzard-like conditions stretching across the Dakotas, Minnesota and into Wisconsin cut visibility and made for hazardous driving conditions that were expected to worsen as the storm picks up toward nightfall, weather forecasters said. "That wind and snow is making a combination that is a lethal one," said meteorologist Nick Walker on Weather.com. The storm pattern is in the shape of a fried egg, with the heaviest snowfall in the yolk - the Minneapolis area - and less severe but still harsh conditions in the surrounding areas of the Dakotas and Wisconsin, said meteorologist Eric Fisher on Weather.com. "One small area from Minneapolis northward to around St. Cloud could see some pretty significant totals," Fisher said. Meteorologist Andrew Baglini on Accuweather.com said the snowfall could be upward of a foot, especially in the Minneapolis area. By early morning, visibility in Minneapolis was down to a 1/2 mile in some places, Baglini said. While sustained winds in the Minneapolis area were expected to reach 30 miles per hour by evening, wind gusts had already been clocked at 40 miles per hour across North and South Dakota by morning, he said. "That combined with colder temperatures and still some snow across the area is going to make for very rough travel conditions," Baglini said. Early morning temperatures in Fargo, North Dakota, plunged to 7 degrees with 30 mile per hour winds, Baglini said. Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Edith Honan and Bill Trott

Software company founder John McAfee said Monday he has fled from Belize using a bizarre ruse, adding yet another chapter in what threatens to become one of the biggest media fugitive frenzies since O.J. Simpson led police on a low-speed chase in 1994. It was a turn typical of the bizarre saga of the eccentric anti-virus company founder wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of fellow American ex-pat Gregory Viant Faull, who was shot to death at the Belize island where they both had homes in early November. FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2012 file photo, John McAfee speaks at a ceremony for the official presentation of equipment at the San Pedro Police Station in Ambergris Caye, Belize. McAfee, 67, has been identified as a "person of interest" in the killing of his neighbor, 52-year-old Gregory Faull. Police are urging McAffe to come in for questioning. The anti-virus company founder said on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, he has left Belize and is still on the run, hiding from police out of fear they want to kill him. (AP Photo/Ambergris Today Online-Sofia Munoz, File) Close Since then, McAfee has refused to turn himself in for questioning saying he fears Belizean police would kill him, and has titillated the media with phone calls, emails and blog posts detailing his life on the lam. It has all resulted in a rather undignified media scrum to get interviews with McAfee, complete with taunts. Vice magazine, two of whose journalists are reportedly traveling with McAfee, posted a story entitled "We Are with John McAfee Right Now, Suckers." A representative of the Faull family said Monday that the real issues - the murder of an American who by all accounts was well-liked by his neighbors on Belize's Ambergris Caye - are getting lost. The real issues are that a human life was violently taken, (and) authorities lack all the information ... we're beyond the danger of them being lost, it's become entertainment. This is tragic to the family," said Dan Keeney of Texas-based DPK Public Relations, who has issued statements on behalf of the Faull family. A woman who answered the phone at an Orlando, Florida phone number listed for Vickie Faull confirmed she was a relative and said that Keeney spoke on behalf of the family, but had no further comment. "Mr. McAfee is astute at media manipulation, and he's using those skills to great effect," said Keeney. I would just caution the media not to let themselves be manipulated. Keeney added in email that "we strongly urge journalists covering the McAfee story not to glorify the words and actions of this person who, by refusing to cooperate and tell police all he knows about the murder of Greg Faull, is harming the investigation of the murder." The family of Mr. Faull is concerned that journalists may be assisting Mr. McAfee either implicitly by helping him to create an elaborate fiction that undermines trust in authorities or explicitly in his efforts to escape. Police in Belize have called McAfee a "person of interest" in the slaying of Faull and asked him to turn himself in for questioning.

Vernon Coaker says NIO should be retained

Department for Education cuts 1,000 jobs

Ashton Kutcher to fly on Branson's first spacecraft Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:45pm EDT (Reuters) - Ashton Kutcher has signed up as an astronaut tourist on Richard Branson's first spacecraft. The British entrepreneur said on his blog that Kutcher, star of television comedy "Two and a Half Men," will take a ride on a Virgin Galactic flight into suborbital space, which gives passengers a few minutes of weightlessness. I gave Ashton a quick call to congratulate and welcome him. He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself," Branson said on his blog. Virgin Galactic, a part of Branson's Virgin Group of companies that includes Virgin airlines, expects to test fly a spacecraft beyond earth's atmosphere this year with commercial passenger service to follow in 2013 or 2014. Kutcher was the 500th person to sign up for rides on SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger, two-pilot spaceship being built and tested by Scaled Composites, an aerospace company founded by aircraft designer Burt Rutan and now owned by Northrop Grumman. The suborbital flights cost about $200,000 per person, are designed to reach an altitude of about 68 miles, giving fliers a few minutes to experience zero gravity and glimpse earth set against the blackness of space. Branson said he and his children will be on the first commercial flight and considers Virgin Galactic, which is the most visible of a handful of companies developing spaceships for tourism, "the most exciting business we have ever launched." A spokesperson for Kutcher did not return a call seeking comment. Kutcher, 34, took up a new acting job replacing Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men" this past September. Reporting by Christine Kearney, Editing by Bob Tourtellotte

Abbas blames Israel for peace standstill RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 21 (UPI) -- Israeli settlement policy and refusal to freeze construction are responsible for an impasse in Mideast peace talks, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said. "Israeli intransigence and refusal to accept the principle of a two-state solution and freeze settlement activities have foiled international efforts to salvage the peace process," The Jerusalem Post quoted the Palestinian leader as telling Western diplomats in Ramallah Tuesday. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denied media reports suggesting the United States was pressuring Abbas to resume peace talks with Israel. His comments came a day after U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Abbas about resuming the process and reaffirmed his commitment to Middle East peace, the English language daily said. An unnamed aide to the Palestinian president told the newspaper Abbas told Obama he would be willing to resume talks if Israel meets all of the Palestinian demands, which include a freeze on all construction in West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem and recognition of the pre-1967 borders, the paper said.

Alien invasion a threat to Antarctic ecosystem SYDNEY (REUTERS) - In the pristine frozen continent of Antarctica scientists fear an alien invasion -- not from outer space, but carried in people's pockets and bags. Seeds and plants accidentally brought to Antarctica by tourists and scientists may introduce alien plant species which could threaten the survival of native plants in the finely balanced ecosystem. Invasive alien plants are amongst the most significant conservation threat to Antarctica, especially as climate change warms the ice continent, said a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal published on Tuesday. More than 33,000 tourists and 7,000 scientists visit Antarctica each year by ship and aircraft, and a two month survey of visitors has found that many are carrying plant seeds picked up from other countries they have already visited. The study vacuumed travelers' pockets, trouser and sleeve cuffs, shoes and inside their bags, and used tweezers to pry out accidentally hidden seeds. On average each person checked had just 9.5 seeds in clothing and equipment. The people that were carrying the most had lots and lots of seeds. They really were substantial threats," said Dana Bergstrom, from the Australian Antarctic Division. When we take things in through hitchhiking then we get species which are competitive. The plants and animals there are not necessarily competitive, so there's a good chance... we'd start losing various precious biodiversity on the (Antarctic) continent," Bergstrom told Reuters. Amongst the alien species discovered were the Iceland Poppy, Tall Fescue Velvet grass and Annual Winter Grass -- all from cold climates and capable of growing in Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula, where most tourists travel, is now considered a "hot spot" on the frozen continent and the warmer the climate, the easier for seeds to propagate. "The peninsula is warming at some of the greatest rates on the planet," said Bergstrom. The study, the first continent-wide assessment of invasive species in Antarctica, surveyed about 1,000 passengers during 2007-2008, the first year of the International Polar Year, an international effort to research the polar regions. It has taken almost three years to identify the seed species and their effects on the icy continent. Bergstrom said the one alien seed that had gained a foothold is Annual Winter Grass. It is a substantial weed in the sub-Antarctic and is on the Antarctic island of King George. It has also made its way to the tail part of the Antarctic continent. "That's just one example of the weeds we picked up and a population of it has just been found in the last couple of seasons," she said. Annual Winter Grass grows very well in disturbed areas like seal and penguin areas, and could propagate amongst the slow growing mosses around those colonies. "If it got into those areas in the peninsula it would have the potential to overrun things," Bergstrom said.

Pakistan begins demolishing bin Laden compound Sultan Mehmood / EPA Workers on Saturday demolish the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Updated at 12:23 p.m. ET: ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan -- Crews on Saturday began demolishing the compound where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in May, eliminating a concrete reminder of the painful and embarrassing chapter in the country's history. Two residents told The Associated Press the government brought in three mechanized backhoes Saturday afternoon and began destroying the tall outer walls of the three-story compound after sunset. They set up floodlights so they could work after dark. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity because they were afraid of being harassed by government authorities. A senior Pakistani government official later told NBC News the compound was "80 percent demolished." The demolition team conducted its work under heavy security. A large team of police set up an outer cordon around the compound to keep spectators away, said an Associated Press reporter who managed to get close enough to see the demolition work under way. A ring of army soldiers set up an inner cordon and warmed themselves against the winter chill by lighting a bonfire. The backhoes broke through tall outer boundary walls that ringed a courtyard where one of the U.S. helicopters crashed during the operation to kill the al-Qaida chief, said the AP reporter. They then began to tear down the compound itself. The compound has been a painful reminder for Pakistan, which was embarrassed by the unilateral U.S. operation that killed bin Laden. Pakistan was outraged by the covert American raid because it was not told about it beforehand. The country's powerful military faced rare domestic criticism because it was not able to stop U.S. troops from infiltrating the country by helicopter from Afghanistan. The compound was located next to Pakistan's equivalent of West Point. NBC News and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

What I Love - Laurent de Brunhoff and Phyllis Rose - NYTimes.com Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times JUNGLE BOOKS Laurent de Brunhoff, the author and illustrator of many "Babar" books, at home in Manhattan with his wife and collaborator, Phyllis Rose. Ever since an apartment swap with neighbors in the building, they have lived and worked on one floor. THE living room of Laurent de Brunhoff's Upper East Side apartment is utterly monochromatic. There is a graphite velvet couch and a couple of Art Deco chairs from Lewis Mittman, but there's nothing bright or colorful. It's not exactly what you'd expect of a man who has written and illustrated more than 40 children's books over the last 65 years. But that, according to his wife, Phyllis Rose, was precisely the point. "We wanted to walk in and have it be calm," Ms. Rose said. He's such a colorist he didn't want any color in his living space. Mr. de Brunhoff's story, in case you are unfamiliar with it, goes like this: When he was a boy in Paris, his mother began telling him and his younger brother, Mathieu, a bedtime story about an elephant named Babar who flees a hunter in Africa and goes traveling around the world, before returning and becoming the King of the Jungle. "We loved it," recalled Mr. de Brunhoff, 87. And my father, Jean, who was a painter, was taken by the idea of doing some illustrations. The illustrations turned into a book, the book turned into a series, and translations turned it into practically the most popular French cultural export besides the Chanel jacket. It celebrated its 80th anniversary in Paris this year with shows at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Bibliothèque Nationale. Then, at the tender age of 21 (nine years after his father died of tuberculosis), Mr. de Brunhoff picked up the torch with his first book, "Babar's Cousin: That Rascal Arthur." He is currently completing what he guesses is his 49th book, "Babar on Paradise Island." Mr. de Brunhoff was actually a late transplant to New York. In 1985, living in France and married to another woman, he discovered Ms. Rose at a Paris dinner party. "I was sitting next to a very funny man," Ms. Rose said, "and he had me laughing and laughing. And Laurent, sitting at the other end of the table, loved my laugh. So we sat together after dinner and I said something like, "I hope you don't mind if I tell you how much I love your work." And he said: "I don't know your work. I hope you don't mind if I tell you how much I love your eyes."" In short order, Ms. Rose took Mr. de Brunhoff back to the United States, living with him at Wesleyan University, where she was a professor of English. In 1990, when his divorce was finalized, they married, and expanded their real estate holdings with a home in New York. In 1996, they bought in Key West. At first, the couple looked in downtown Manhattan, where Ms. Rose felt more at home, but they never found the right apartment. After finally settling on an apartment building at Lexington Avenue and 82nd Street, Mr. de Brunhoff and Ms. Rose came to the conclusion that they'd made a good choice. For one, he loved how quiet it was on the back side of the building. For another, said his wife, "you don't feel so old on the Upper East Side because you aren't surrounded by the young and the beautiful." For a while, Mr. de Brunhoff shuttled between the second floor (where they lived) and the seventh floor (where he had his studio). But as Ms. Rose became more and more involved with the Babar series, dreaming up ideas and helping to write the text, they decided it made more sense to consolidate. So Ms. Rose approached their neighbors on the second floor about a swap. The neighbors would get the seventh-floor apartment, which had city views, and Mr. de Brunhoff and Ms. Rose could expand downstairs. The downside, of course, was cost and time. "We had a lot of work to do on this side, because it was derelict," Mr. de Brunhoff said, standing in his studio. For instance they added a library, which holds the Babar books and lots and lots of critical theory. In a new, larger kitchen, the couple put teak panels on the refrigerator and redid the floors in cork, which they liked because it's warm. The style was meant to be minimalist, and apparently they succeeded. "It was so minimalist," Ms. Rose said, "that the architect forgot to put drawers in." (They are there now.) "Renovations are a lot like childbirth," she said. They're always frustrating and then when it's over, you forget what it was like.

U.S. declined requests to boost security in Libya, Congress told WASHINGTON - Senior State Department officials acknowledged to Congress on Wednesday that they had turned down requests to send more U.S. military personnel to guard diplomatic facilities in Libya shortly before the Sept. 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. But Charlene Lamb, deputy assistant secretary in charge of diplomatic security, argued that security at the U.S. mission in Benghazi was appropriate for known threats related to the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. "We had the correct number of assets in Benghazi at the time of 9/11," Lamb testified. She said the mission had five diplomatic security agents, plus several U.S.-trained Libyan guards and members of a local militia on standby, when the attack occurred. The testimony came during a politically charged four-hour hearing of the Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that focused on whether warnings were ignored before the attack, an issue that has put the Obama administration on the defensive in the heat of a presidential campaign. Eric Nordstrom, the State Department's former regional security officer in Libya, testified that a few more armed Americans would not have repelled the organized nightlong assault by dozens of heavily armed extremists, which he called unprecedented in its "ferocity and intensity." But Nordstrom, who left Libya in July, sharply criticized his supervisors for ignoring his concerns about the growing risk of armed militias and extremist groups in Benghazi. Nordstrom said he was frustrated by "a complete and total absence of planning" to improve security. When I requested assets, I was criticized.... It was a hope that everything would get better. Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, who headed a 16-member U.S. military team assigned to protect the embassy in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, said decision makers in Washington did not appreciate how security had deteriorated in Benghazi, an eastern coastal city. Wood noted that the British Consulate in Benghazi was closed after assailants fired rocket-propelled grenades at the British ambassador's car in June. The United States was the last Western nation to operate a diplomatic mission in the city that was the base for the armed uprising that toppled and killed Libyan ruler Moammar Kadafi last year. "I almost expected the attack to come," said Wood, a member of the Utah National Guard. We were the last flag flying. It was a matter of time. Wood's team left Libya in August after Lamb had refused to approve extending its assignment for a second time. She said the State Department planned to turn over most basic protective duties to a Libyan guard force, part of a decade-long shift away from using U.S. Marines to protect embassies. Lamb said the mix of State Department officers, Libyan guards and militiamen "could do the same function" as the U.S. military. Republicans on the committee repeatedly criticized the Obama administration for initially describing the attack as a spontaneous outbreak of mob violence following an anti-American protest of an Internet video denigrating the Islamic prophet Muhammad. "This was never about a video," yelled Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.). This was never spontaneous. This was terror, and we have to ask why we were lied to. Speaking to reporters later Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that administration officials, including United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, had relied on preliminary information from U.S. intelligence agencies when they gave their initial assessments. "From the beginning we have provided information based on the facts that we knew as they became available and based on assessments by the intelligence community - not opinions, assessments by the intelligence community," Carney said. And we have been clear all along that this was an ongoing investigation, that as more facts became available, we would make you aware of them as appropriate, and we've done that. Carney would not comment directly on allegations that the administration had denied requests to improve security at the diplomatic center in Benghazi. "There is no question that when four American personnel are killed in an attack on a diplomatic facility that the security there was not adequate to prevent that from happening," he said. It is not an acceptable outcome, obviously. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's campaign used the testimony to hammer the Obama White House for what it called "incomplete and indirect responses." "There are many questions about whether or not the administration properly heeded warnings, provided adequate security, or told the American people the whole truth in the aftermath of the attack," Lanhee Chen, Romney's policy director, said in a statement. On an issue of this importance, nothing short of full and complete candor is acceptable.

NRG Energy to Buy GenOn for $1.7 Billion The deal is the latest example of consolidation within the power industry, as companies seek to deal with falling electricity prices. NRG has pursued several transactions over the past decade, and GenOn was formed from the 2010 union of RRI Energy and Mirant. The combined company, which will retain the NRG name, will generate about 47,000 megawatts of energy throughout the East and West Coasts, as well as in the Gulf of Mexico region. The companies say that is enough capacity to power 40 million homes. "This industry has needed to consolidate on some level," David Crane, NRG's chief executive, said by telephone on Sunday. This deal creates the first player of this scale in the industry. Under the terms of the deal, NRG will pay 0.1216 of a share for each of GenOn's shares. Based on Friday's closing prices, that amounts to $2.19 each, a 20 percent premium for GenOn's stock. GenOn will essentially be absorbed into NRG, which will also retain its management team, led by Mr. Crane. NRG's chairman, Howard E. Cosgrove, will retain that role, and GenOn's chief executive, Edward R. Muller, will become vice chairman. It will maintain dual headquarters in Princeton, N.J., and Houston. Because NRG is the bigger company, with a market value of $4 billion, its shareholders will own 71 percent of the combined company. Investors in GenOn, which was valued at $1.4 billion on Friday, will own the rest. NRG directors will also hold 12 of the 16 seats on the combined company's board. One of the major selling points of the deal is cost savings. NRG expects to raise its annual earnings by $200 million by 2014, as well as save an average of $100 million in interest payments a year. Mr. Crane said that the deal would allow his company to expand its retail business, which sells power directly to consumers. He added that he does not expect the company to raise rates. Both companies have been looking for a way to bolster their sagging stock prices. NRG shares have fallen 27 percent in the last 12 months, while GenOn's have tumbled some 55 percent. Though the teams at NRG and GenOn have known each other for some time - six years ago, Mirant made a hostile bid for NRG - it was not until a few months ago that Mr. Muller called Mr. Crane to discuss a potential merger. The two men remembered getting together for dinner at Bouley, a restaurant in the TriBeCa district of Manhattan, to begin laying out a deal. The night they picked, however, happened to coincide with a visit by an Israeli government official and a security retinue. "I told Ed, "You really travel in style," " Mr. Crane said. From there, the two executives said, the process of combining their companies was very smooth, with little disagreement on the management or the board structures of the merged entity. "I would call this one of the smoothest deal processes ever," Mr. Muller said. Anyone who has our jobs has a sense of what's best to do for our owners. Both executives argued that they did not expect to run into antitrust or regulatory opposition, largely because the two companies do not directly compete in many markets. The transaction is expected to close by the end of next March. NRG was advised by Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. GenOn was advised by JPMorgan Chase and the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Correction: July 22, 2012 An earlier version of this post misspelled the surname of GenOn Energy's chief executive. He is Edward R. Muller, not Mullen.

Slope time: 7 underrated ski resorts Revelstoke, British Columbia Grand Targhee, Wyoming Copper Mountain, Colorado Mad River Glen, Vermont Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho Tignes, France Valle Nevado, Chile New features put Colorado's Copper Mountain on par with its big-name neighbors Wyoming's Grand Targhee is well-positioned to accumulate powder Mad River Glen's Vermont terrain has been rated the most challenging on the East Coast (CNN) -- You've heard of Aspen, Jackson Hole and Whistler, but how about Copper Mountain, Grand Targhee and Revelstoke? These ski resorts may lack the buzz of their more glamorous neighbors, but they make up for it in snowfall, value and fewer crowds. So hop on a lift before winter winds down. Revelstoke Mountain Resort - British Columbia Opened in 2007, Revelstoke has remained largely off the radar thanks to its relative inaccessibility in British Columbia's Selkirk Mountain range. It's a five-hour drive from Calgary and two hours from the nearest international airport, but it's unlikely to stay that way for long. With some 60 feet of annual snowfall at the highest elevations, 5,620 feet of vertical -- the longest descent of any resort in North America -- and lift, cat-skiing and heli-skiing from one village base. Copper Mountain - Colorado Sandwiched between Breckenridge and Vail, Copper Mountain has long been a local favorite, but a new high-speed quad-lift and ski-in, ski-out lodging put it on par with its big-name neighbors. Naturally divided terrain separates skiers and snowboarders by ability, which gives the entire resort more elbow room. Bonus: Guests get free snow cat access on Tucker Mountain. The "High Four" deal this season packs in four days of skiing or riding for $234. Grand Targhee Resort - Wyoming Perched on the western slope of the Tetons, Grand Targhee is perfectly positioned to reap the lion's share of powder from eastern-moving storms. "There can be times when Jackson Hole can receive zero snow and the Grand Targhee can get a foot," says Dan Sherman, spokesman for ski.com. Plus, he adds, "The terrain is fantastic." This year, the resort is offering free skiing and snowboarding to lodge guests with a 2012 season pass to any ski resort in the United States or Canada to make up for the lack of snow elsewhere. Lodging typically starts at $99; adult lift tickets run $69. Mad River Glen - Vermont Stowe or Killington may be Vermont's most recognizable resorts, but Mad River Glen best reflects the Green Mountain state's independent streak. The cooperative-owned ski area doesn't groom its trails, forbids snowboarding and keeps snowmaking to a minimum. "We prefer it from the heavens not the hoses," says resort spokesman Eric Friedman. Ski magazine has ranked its terrain as the most challenging on the East Coast. The resort's biggest claim to fame is its single-chair lift, the only one in North America. The mountain doesn't own lodging, but there are plenty of classic ski lodges and cozy bed and breakfasts nearby, with rates from $85. Adult lift tickets start at $45. Schweitzer Mountain Resort - Idaho High up in Idaho's panhandle nine miles outside of Sandpoint, Schweitzer isn't as accessible as other West Coast resorts. As a result, it's unlikely you'll wait more than five minutes in the lift line. Then there's the 2,900 skiable acres -- more than neighbor Sun Valley. While the mountain is known for its off-trail skiing among the trees, the terrain varies from the bunny hill to steep, double-black pitches. The 6,400-foot summit affords skiers panoramic views of Idaho, Montana, Washington and Canada, as well as Lake Pend Oreille. Slopeside digs start at $164; adult lift tickets at $67. With its postcard-perfect Alpine scenery, breathtaking verticals and charming chalets, Val-d'Isère is one of the most beloved ski resorts in Europe. But Tignes, its neighbor in the L'Espace Killy -- a ski area in France's Tarentaise Valley named for famed alpine ski racer and native son Jean-Claude Killy -- offers a similar experience and then some. A slew of off-beat activities like ice-karting, bungee-trampoline and ice-diving under a frozen lake appeal to families. Together, the resorts, which are linked by cable cars, tunneled funitels and gondolas, offer nearly 200 miles of runs serviced by 102 lifts. Serious skiers know the season doesn't end come summertime. It just shifts south of the equator. Come August, Valle Nevado Ski Resort, 35 miles west of Santiago, is blanketed in deep powder. Newer than the storied Chilean resort of Portillo, Valle Nevado has all the bells and whistles of most modern mountains, including the only high-speed quad lift in South America, a brand new gondola and an onsite heli-pad. Backcountry skiing: Beauty and fear At roughly $200 a shot and up to 4,500 feet of vertical in one run, heli-skiing is a relative bargain here. (Can't wait for that first run? Hitch a chopper ride straight from Santiago. The resort will send your bags ahead). Lodging ranges from the budget Hotel Tres Puntas to the luxe Hotel Valle Nevado. Hotel Tres Puntas runs $2,266 for seven nights (Friday to Friday) for two people, including lift tickets. Seven-night packages include two interconnect tickets to neighboring resorts La Parva and El Colorado, opening up 7,400 acres of skiable terrain.

Frank Langella Remembers His Rita Hayworth On my television set tonight, in the black-and-white movie Gilda, Rita Hayworth is seducing Glenn Ford, heartbreakingly refuting the old adage "the camera never lies." It is close to 40 years now since last we were together, and the woman I had known in real life is, for me, still the single most tragic example of how far from the real person an image can be. She was a Goddess on screen, about as desirable a woman as any man could want - perfection in feminine allure. From the moment I saw her, she haunted my imagination. And from the moment we met in the lobby of a small hotel in the tiny town of Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1972, until her death from Alzheimer's disease 15 years later, she continued to haunt it, eliciting a far more profound emotion than lust. My agent at that time, David Begelman, had talked me into a Western titled The Wrath of God - aptly named - to be shot entirely in Mexico. It would star Robert Mitchum, with Rita in the "and" position, set off in a billing box at the end of the actor credits. She was by then finished in pictures and the word was that Mitch had insisted on her, possibly for old times" sake, the rumor being they had once had a tumble or two. Mitch would play a runaway priest. I would be the town's despot, who swears revenge on all priests for murdering my father, and Rita would be my mother, a God-fearing matron who never lets go of a set of rosary beads. What was I thinking? Well ... I was thinking: Rita/Gilda. And there she is, tiny and scattered, standing in front of me, a rain hat on her head. She shoots out her hand and smiles. "Hey, I know you," she says. I've seen ya in the movies. You're gonna be my son. I spout all the clichés: how excited I am to meet her and work with her, etc. She tears off the rain hat, frantically runs her fingers through the once-lustrous auburn hair, now shorter and more sparse, shakes it out, pulls at it, and whips her head back and forth in an exaggerated "no," flailing her hands in the air as if shooing away an army of flies. Rita Hayworth., Courtesy Everett Collection Oh, cut it out. Cut it out," she says in a high-pitched, impatient tone, jamming the hat back on and fleeing the lobby. Once on the set she is a total pro. Ready to go, eager to do her best. But the lines won't come. No matter how hard she tries, she can't retain the simplest phrase. In our first scene together, I approach her at prayer in a church and ask, "Why are you here?" Her line is "Because God is here." But she can't do it. Take after take she is unable to retain those four words. Oblivious to the rising tension and unkind remarks from the crew, she presses on. "Let's do it again," she says. I'll get it. Finally a man is laid down on the floor at her feet. Action is called. I ask, "Why are you here?" He whispers, "Because God is here." Then immediately Rita says, "Because God is here." Cut. Print. We got it," slurs Ralph Nelson, our director, and the crew bursts into cheers and applause. Rita beams like a little girl who's just been crowned Miss Snow Queen, completely unaware the cheers are jeers. At lunch, as she rests in her trailer, the jokes about her are lewd and cruel, and for years after, I too would be guilty of reenacting the scene for friends at her expense. At about 5 p.m. on our first day off, the phone rings in my room. Hey, it's Rita. Do you wanna eat? Thirty minutes later we are sitting in the hotel's tiny restaurant. We'll be friends to start, OK? Dutch treat on dinners. One night you, one night me. Deal. Let's have red wine. Just two glasses each. After the first one she asks me how old I am. I tell her: 34. When dinner is over, we walk through the chilly, dirty streets and she gathers her black-fringed shawl close around her shoulders, slips her arm into mine, and forgets my name. "Oh, yeah, yeah, Frank," she says. You'll be Frankie. I love Frankie. Not Sinatra. The guy was never on time. We pass an open-air market and she insists we buy fruit and cheese to keep in our rooms. Just to have, you know, for the ghosts. As we walk back toward the hotel holding string sacks of food, she clings to me, her arm tight in the crook of mine, our bodies finding a rhythm, and she whispers words I cannot understand. When I see her to her door, she leans up to chastely kiss me good night and says: "Do me a favor, baby: don't ever call me mother." Film sets, particularly on remote and distant locations, can be anything from warm, collegial good times to lethal, tension-filled bloodbaths. Without the familiar surroundings of home, family, and routine, these shoots can become a breeding ground for heightened drama, soaring libidos, and neurotic behavior. Ours becomes a polarized, not altogether homogeneous collection of crazy loners. At night, doors are closed tight and the cast mostly isolates. On this set a lot of the crew, a mix of American and hard-bitten Mexican wranglers, hits the seedy whorehouses regularly. There are torn-up hotel rooms, hallways reeking of marijuana, heavy bar bills, and drunken brawls at 3 a.m. on the barren streets. Rita Hayworth with Frank Langella. Rita and I drift toward each other like two boats on an unfamiliar sea, torn free of their moorings. We could just as easily have floated in opposite directions, but real life is now reel life, and on movie locations personal relationships are less often chosen than grasped at. Rita grasped at me and I chose to take her on. The 20-year difference in our ages suited the unreality of time and place. Each of us wanted something from the other, and neither of us much contemplated motive or consequence. A ritual began. Dinner most nights in her rooms. She buys dozens of candles, lights them all, and puts them on every surface, including the floor. I start a fire and pour the wine. And we sit by the open window, our elbows resting on the low wooden sill. Three stories below is the main street of the town, brightly lit, dusty, dirty, and noisy. She wants to make another deal. We will count trucks. All trucks passing by her window going left to right are mine. All going right to left are hers. Whoever has the most trucks by dinnertime gets treated. I stay with the wine, but she graduates to bourbon. Dinner is served on the floor, and we eat to the cacophony of noise from the street. Her hair is washed free of the day's set and spray, her face polished clean of makeup, her dress a plain white caftan thrown over her naked body. She crosses her legs, barely touches the food, and talks and talks. Mostly about men. Shards of these ramblings stay with me. He found me when I was a kid. Brought me to L.A. What the hell did I know? I went along. Of another she said, "Oh, Christ, he beat me bad. Then he skipped. I had to sign with Cohn [Harry Cohn, president of Columbia Pictures] for another seven to pay off the debts. Of Orson Welles she said, "He tried to help me to be a great actress, but he always needed money." And Prince Aly Khan: "I didn't want to live nowhere where they kiss the hem of your skirt. I mean, what is that, for Chrissakes? Two guys laying on top of each other outside my bedroom door so I couldn't get out. I didn't want to be no f--kin" princess anyway. So I went to the old man. He liked me, and I said to him, "Just give me my kid and let me out of here. I don't want anything."" And then she says, "Geez, they were always around. Husbands, boyfriends, lawyers, managers, press agents - the bosses. Where the f--k did they all go? Her voice is tinny and high, almost childlike - until she picks up the telephone and says in movie-star timbre: "This is Miss Hayworth. Would you please send up another bottle of bourbon. Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them, Frank Langella When it becomes late and she has had enough of it, she flings her head back, hair flying about her face, and, in the candle's light and fire's glow, once again becomes the Goddess. She knows I am looking and she holds the pose, lowers her head, tucks in her chin, raises her eyes to mine, grabs my hair, and says, "Don't stare at me, baby. You can see me in the movies. We will be seven weeks on this turbulent sea, and no other boats take notice of ours or even float past - none but Mitchum's. A man whom very little escaped. As regards Rita and me, he becomes my one and only confidant. We never discuss their past together, nor does he offer any wisdom or make any judgment. He would just listen and then say: "Frankie, it is what it is." But one day he comes to me and says: "Listen, pal, we're never going to finish this f--king picture if we don't get your girl to work on time." Mitch, Rita, and I have our own local drivers, and each of them regards the harrowing ride along narrow, unfenced mountain roads as challenges to be met with daredevil speed. Mitch sleeps through his rides and so do I. But Rita, who is terrified of all moving things, makes her driver go at a snail's pace and often arrives at work an easy hour or more after everyone else. So Mitch comes up with a plan: "Look," he says. Let's the three of us ride together. You sit up front and we'll put Rita in the back with me. Early mornings become a struggle of manipulating Rita into a broken-down jalopy and laying her down on the floor of the back seat. Mitch tosses a blanket over her as she pulls her floppy sailor hat down past her eyes. I then hop in the front and off we go. These rides become a hilarious routine of Rita laughing and screaming at the top of her lungs, with Mitch stretched out on the back seat outshouting her, singing Gilbert and Sullivan patter songs, exactly as written, in perfect pitch, while a non-English-speaking driver careens close to the narrow road's edge as wildly as he dares. When we reach the location, I get out and Mitch and I lift Rita from the floor, remove the blanket, pull up her hat, and calm her down. "Cheated the old Grim Reaper again," he says and saunters off to his trailer. On set, Rita continues to be a nightmare for everyone. There is not a shred of temperament, not a demand, not so much as a hint of cruelty. Rather, it is like watching a schoolgirl desperately trying to learn her times tables and unable to get past the twos. Very little sympathy is shown for her. It is assumed she is a drunk and is boozing in her trailer. No one, including Mitch, reaches out to help her. So little was known then of her disease that even I regarded the panic and terror in her eyes as the neurotic insecurity of a fading star. In all her scenes, large placards are put next to the camera and her lines are written out in huge block letters. It becomes an agony for her to try to hold on to what little she can, and an embarrassment to face each daunting day. But she does face them, and she does make it through. Her pride and happiness at the smallest of her achievements are pitifully touching. The nights are another kind of hell for her. She has climbed into my boat, and I come to see I have set a dangerous course for which I am woefully unprepared. There are stretches of time when the mist in her mind clears and she is very much with me. But often she desperately clings, weeps, and talks in words I cannot understand, and it is not always my name she calls out in the dark. When at last she sleeps, I leave her and go back to my room. There is, sadly, never a time when we awake in the same bed. Our film comes to its predictable end, and on our last night, with my bags packed and waiting in my room, late in the candlelight I say the words I know she wants to hear. An easy lie to tell. The next morning at dawn I abandon her and fly back to real life. A year later there she is on the Christmas cover of Esquire, looking like a waxen image of herself, smiling and confident, her arms wrapped around a Santa dummy, once more facing a lying camera. Our film is the last movie she ever makes. Her physical body passed out of existence on May 14, 1987, but Rita's essence had faded from the frame long before. Now, almost 40 years after I faded from her life, there she is in black and white on my television screen. And the camera's lie is actually welcome and soothing. Her beauty is staggering. Her sultry voice, her body, the way she moves close to a man, the sway of her hips as she drunkenly belts out "Put the Blame on Mame," stop time and obliterate what had been our reality. Her acting is honest and true. A thoroughbred, desperate to be taken seriously, cursed with a divine beauty, who could not find a man to desire that beauty as only a part of the whole woman. Near the end of Gilda, it seems she has lost Glenn Ford forever because he believes her character is what she has been pretending to be: a loose woman out for a good time with as many men as she can find. Feeling profoundly alone and misunderstood, sitting at a bar, shyly smiling at the bartender, her face full of loss and vulnerability, she is hauntingly lovely. The bartender asks: "Would you like to have a tiny drink of ambrosia, suitable only for a goddess?" In the movie's final moments, the villain is killed and the lovers reunite. "Let's go home," Rita says to Glenn as they face a new sunrise. Those nights we spent together in Mexico, she'd say: Put all the lights out, Frankie, and open the shutters. And by the light of the candles and fire, she would once again become the legendary beauty who had obsessed and haunted my young imagination, swaying and dancing for me. Stay with me, baby. Stay with me tonight. I never shared a sunrise with Rita Hayworth; and I did not try to save her, nor could I have. The best I was able to do was take into my arms someone no longer any of the things she had once been: Movie Star, Princess, Goddess, or Gilda. Just a 54-year-old courageous and gentle woman named Margarita Carmen Cansino, one of God's lost souls, clinging in the night to a man whose name she could not remember. From the book Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women as I Knew Them by Frank Langella. To be published this month by HarperCollins Publishers. © 2012 by Frank Langella. Only Angels Have Wings (1939) Her breakthrough film alongside Cary Grant as a pilot in South America. You'll Never Get Rich (1941) Twirled onto the A-list as Fred Astaire's dance partner in this wartime musical comedy. This film made her such a popular pinup her picture was pasted onto a test atomic bomb. The Lady From Shanghai (1947) A noir directed by Orson Welles, who divorced Hayworth shortly after it was released. This Oscar winner was her last great film.

Attorney General blocks release of devolution papers Published on Wednesday 8 February 2012 16:08 Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, has blocked the release of Cabinet committee papers relating to devolution under the Freedom of Information Act. Grieve confirmed today his belief that their release would not be in the public interest. Instead, Grieve said he believed it would undermine the operation of government. A request had been made for publication of the minutes of the Cabinet Ministerial Committee of Devolution to Scotland and Wales and the English Regions, dating from 1997 and 1998. Such a veto has only been used twice in the past, once relating to further devolution papers and once over a request for Cabinet minutes relating to Iraq. Mr Grieve's veto related to two specific requests for documents. The first, received by the Cabinet Office on May 24 2010, asked for the "minutes of the 1997 Cabinet meeting on devolution." The request was rejected on June 18 2010, and the applicant requested an internal review of the decision on July 14 2010. Refusal was upheld the following month, on August 11 2010. A request for further appeal was then made to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and on September 12 2011, having reviewed the decision, the Information Commissioners ordered the material be released. A second request, made on June 7 2010, asked for "the minutes of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Devolution for Scotland, Wales and the Regions." The Cabinet Office rejected the request on July 5 2010, and an appeal was made on July 21 2010. An internal review upheld the refusal on November 24 2010. The request was referred to the ICO on November 29 2010 for further investigation. The Information Commissioner ruled on September 13 2011 that the information should be released. In his statement, Mr Grieve said: "This is only the third time the power... has been exercised since the (Freedom of Information) Act came into force in 2005. In that time, central Government has released an enormous amount of information in response to FoI requests - including in October 2010 the minutes of the Cabinet discussion of the Westland affair. My decision to exercise the veto in this case was not taken lightly but in accordance with the Statement on Government Policy on the use of the executive override. In line with the policy, I have both assessed the balance of the public interest in disclosure and non-disclosure of these minutes and considered whether this case meets the criteria set out in the Statement of Government Policy for use of the veto. I consider the public interest falls in favour of non-disclosure and that disclosure would be damaging to the doctrine of collective responsibility and detrimental to the effective operation of Cabinet government. I have concluded, in light of the criteria set out in the Government's policy, this constitutes an exceptional case and the exercise of the veto is warranted. A spokesman for the Information Commissioner's Office said: "The Information Commissioner is aware that the Attorney-General has exercised the veto and regrets that the tribunal has, for the second time, been denied an opportunity to consider the issues as provided for in the Freedom of Information Act. "The commissioner will study the Attorney-General's statement of reasons to understand what "exceptional circumstances" there might be to justify the use of the veto in this case. The commissioner will then make a special report to Parliament. The House of Commons Justice Committee is conducting a post-legislative review of the Act, which has been in operation for seven years. Former justice secretary Jack Straw exercised the veto on both previous occasions it has been used. Most recently, in December 2010, Mr Straw blocked the release of Cabinet minutes on talks about devolution dating back to 1997. He said at the time that collective Cabinet responsibility meant it was in the public interest for the papers to remain unreleased. In February 2009, Mr Straw vetoed the release of Cabinet minutes relating to the Iraq War.

Snow cancels flights in Chicago; NYC braces Updated 11:10 PM ET CHICAGO - Chicago officials worked Friday to prevent a repeat of last year's "snowmageddon," when a blizzard left hundreds of drivers stranded along one of the city's main thoroughfares for up to 12 hours overnight. With the city getting socked by its first major snowstorm of the winter and drifts forming, officials detoured buses off icy Lake Shore Drive, the iconic road running along Lake Michigan. Bus service was partially restored by the end of rush hour except for the southern portion of the road. Last year's storm, which dumped more than 20 inches of snow, brought Chicago to a standstill and caused serious embarrassment to a city known for its ability to keep working in some of the most severe winter weather. Transit spokesman Brian Steele said icy ramps and drifting snow led to the decision to move buses away from the lakefront Friday and onto roads where there was less wind and slower traffic. No significant problems had developed yet, he said, adding, "The decision was made solely as a precaution." More than 700 flights were cancelled at Chicago's airports, the bulk of them at O'Hare International Airport, the Chicago Department of Aviation said. While the snow started in the morning, the worst of the storm hit just at rush hour. Eight inches of snow were expected by nightfall, and the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning lasting until late Friday. Chicago deployed its full fleet of 278 plows to push through the snow on main streets and Lake Shore Drive, but they had to inch along with commuters headed home in heavy traffic. The biggest challenge for us right now is congestion. We're caught in it just like everyone else," said Guy Tridgell, a spokesman with the Illinois Department of Transportation. During last year's February blizzard, the city's third-worst storm on record, authorities had to remove 525 vehicles that got stuck on Lake Shore Drive, which was closed for 33 hours. City officials began work in November to create two turnaround points on the road to make it easier for cars to avoid getting stuck.

Obama Campaign Ad on Romney Cutting Public Sector Jobs As I wrote yesterday on this blog, and as the board wrote on the editorial page today, President Obama and Mitt Romney differ on a very basic question: Does the federal government have a duty to use its economic power in times of deep economic hardship to help states keep teachers, firefighters and policemen on the job? Mr. Obama thinks it does. Mr. Romney thinks it does not. In fact, Mr. Romney summed up the divide rather well last week, when he said "[The president] wants another stimulus, he wants to hire more government workers. The Obama campaign is pressing this issue hard, as it should, with a new ad featuring a policeman, firefighter and a teacher pleading for their jobs. "Mr. Romney wants to cut taxes for people like himself by cutting jobs like mine," says Mike, the firefighter. "Jobs that support our families, strengthen our communities and grow our economy," says the police officer, De Mar. Martha, an AP physics teacher, sums it up: "You know what we really need less of? Romney economics. Mr. Romney is running against "big government" and uses as a prime example the stimulus plan that Mr. Obama managed to get through Congress in 2009. The stimulus was, indeed, a big government measure - big government at its best, doing what individuals and even states cannot do for themselves. Though not as large as it should have been, the stimulus still helped create jobs and stave off depression. Cutting back on government may assist the wealthiest Americans - who are no longer suffering from the recession, and don't need assistance - at least in the short term. But by Mr. Romney's own admission, cuts will hurt teachers, firefighters and police officers, and all the people who depend on them. That's what this election is about: Do we want politicians to help the 1% prosper, or help everyone else scratch their way back to something resembling stability?

Larry Hagman's epitaph: Evil does good'

Infrared By Nancy Huston - Reviews - Books - The Independent Nancy Huston was born in Canada, brought up in New York and, as a student, was supervised in Paris by Roland Barthes. Her latest novel expresses elements from these disparate experiences as it journeys through the mysteries of the Italian Renaissance and the insistent memories of a destructive liberal, Jewish family. Infrared, like her bestselling novel Faultlines, was originally written in French and translated by the author. Huston has a raw psychoanalytic style. Most refreshing in her jagged storytelling is the interplay between Jewish secularism, French radicalism, and post-Seventies American feminism. The narrative starts in the "American abroad" genre, following photographer Rena Greenblatt on her travels to Florence with Simon, her geriatric father, and Ingrid, her Dutch stepmother. Rena is a middle-aged woman in love with fellow journalist Aziz, a Muslim Arab. As a photojournalist, her speciality is infrared: through this technique she seeks to capture what the human eye cannot. After sex with a Turkish pick-up she zones under his skin with her forensic technique. Her reward for intimacy is his image in her lens. But although the book is full of erotic adventures, dreams and political questions, Huston is most absorbed by the relationship between father and daughter, and their shared secret. Infrared has the appearance of a modern Renaissance intrigue but its core is that of a Freudian detective story. The villain at its heart is the hell that is family. Huston plays with father-daughter relationships on several levels. American Jewish dissidence is juxtaposed with the power of Italian Renaissance artists. Who are the great men that shape us? Leonardo? Michelangelo? Our fathers? Galileo's daughter sought solace in a convent. But Simon, an admirer of Timothy Leary, is no Galileo and his daughter prefers jouissance to Jesus. Rena chooses a free life in Europe, unfettered by American puritanism. But she doesn't allow any simple America-versus-Europe dialectic. Huston complicates her central character in two ways. First, she gives Rena an alter ego: Subra (as in photographer Diane Arbus, inverted). The invented "friend" from childhood is an adult suicidal twin. This allows her to give backstory and explore trauma. She also creates a character who is rootless. The Canadian-American Rena is a francophile intellectual and artist. However, she is also a Jew ignorant of her own culture, in exile from family, community, history and the modern France she inhabits. The underlying tension between these intertwining worlds hides a memory so shameful that it cracks the narrative arc and explodes the coolness of much of the writing. Although the book is short, it has an epic quality which mixes fact and fiction. Infrared sprawls across the Atlantic, and the decades, and yet has a thrilling emotional cohesion. Huston's prose is magnetic. This is daring writing which pushes the novel of ideas into a new world.

Hibs parade won't see sunshine on Leith By JENNY FYALL Published on Sunday 13 May 2012 00:00 Sorrow. The hearts of thousands of Hibs fans have been broken by a decision not to send a victory parade through the club's spiritual heartland if it wins the Scottish Cup on Saturday. The disgruntled fans say it is "nonsensical" that the open-top bus carrying the triumphant players and their silverware - should they triumph over city rivals Hearts - will miss out Leith and instead travel straight from Edinburgh city centre to their Easter Road ground. Leithers are traditionally the most staunch Hibs supporters and the club's unofficial anthem is Sunshine On Leith by the Proclaimers, whose lyrics are sung at every home game. However, the planned victory parade on Sunday will start on the Royal Mile before heading across North Bridge and past the St James Centre. But instead of heading down Leith Walk it will then head along London Road and Easter Road to the ground. Kevin Williamson, a Leither, poet and Hibs fan, said he thought the decision not to go through Leith was "a really big mistake" and that the parade should take the same route as in 2007, when Hibs won the Scottish League Cup. On that occasion it went down Leith Walk, along Duke Street and back up Easter Road. It was brilliant. Everyone came out on the streets of Leith," he said. "Now some numpty has decided to send it across London Road and miss out Leith," he said. I think it's a really big mistake. Everybody feels exactly the same. I think they are trying to dampen our enthusiasm. I think Hibs fans should cordon off London Road and force them to come down Leith Walk. Williamson thinks that the decision has been made to try to force fans from Leith up to London Road to keep them out of trouble. It's totally nonsensical. They are dragging everybody up to London Road and out of the pubs in the hope they will go home afterwards. What they don't realise is that when Hibs and Hearts go to the final it will be a big, happy family atmosphere. There will be no trouble, but the authorities want to do everything they can to treat fans like animals. In contrast, he thinks the route of the Hearts victory march goes exactly where fans would want it. Frank Dougan, a staunch fan and ex-treasurer of the Hibs Supporters Association, agreed it was the wrong decision. I think it's very important they go through Leith, and the fans will be really disappointed if it doesn't. That's where most people will be, so that's where they will want to see the victory parade. However, Mike Riley, chairman of the Hibs Supporters Association, said the route of the victory march was of "secondary importance." He said the issue had been discussed at the club, but for him winning was key: "I don't really care where it goes, because if it's happening at all it means we've won the cup. That would do me. Where it actually parades is a minor detail if we've won. But he did have some sympathy with the views of Leithers. Folk are traditionalists. I don't entirely disagree with what they are saying. I can sympathise that a lot of folk take it to their hearts and Leith is Leith and they are proud of it. But to me it's secondary to winning the cup. They can parade through Gorgie as far as I'm concerned. The twin routes were announced on Friday after each club submitted its preferred option for the victory parade and Edinburgh City Council approved the plans. A spokesman from Hibs declined to comment yesterday. Chief Superintendent Gill Imery, divisional commander for Edinburgh at Lothian and Borders Police, has said the police and council worked "closely" with Hibs on the route of the parade, to make sure it will "provide fans with an optimal view." Extra police patrols will be deployed to safeguard the huge crowds expected to line the streets to cheer an open-top bus on its way to a celebration inside the winning stadium. Hibs have won the Scottish Cup twice, in 1887 and 1902, but have lost nine Scottish Cup finals since, most recently in 2001. Hearts have won the Scottish Cup seven times, most recently in 2006.

5 Spots for 7 Pitchers, One Named Pettitte March 16, 2012, 2:39 pm The news that the left-handed pitcher Andy Pettitte is coming out of retirement to attempt a comeback with the Yankees gave the team's preseason a jolt of electricity. Pettitte, a fan favorite, will turn 40 in June, and last pitched in 2010. The Yankees already had six starting pitchers competing for the five spots in the rotation: C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda, Michael Pineda and Freddy Garcia. The introduction of Pettitte into the mix will certainly ramp up the competition and make this preseason extremely interesting. What are your thoughts on Pettitte's attempted comeback?

Greenbriar: Chantilly's Levitt town By Ann Cameron Siegal Special to The Washington Post Friday, March 4, 2011; 11:40 AM The minute Shelly and Trey Lackey drove into Chantilly's Greenbriar neighborhood 11 years ago, she thought, "Oh my goodness, I've been here before!" But "here" actually had been another Levitt and Sons community, in Willingboro, N.J. The Cape Cod they were considering - and eventually bought -was identical to Shelly's childhood home. "The house across the street was the same-style rambler, too," she said. The deja vu moment was so strong that when the couple faced a locked house with a no-show real estate agent, Shelley accurately sketched its floor plan for Trey. Greenbriar, where all street names start with a P or an M, is a planned community of more than 1,900 single-family homes, most built by Levitt in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Most residents are within walking distance of at least one of the community's four schools and Rocky Run Stream Valley Park. Greenbriar Town Center, the Chantilly library and ball fields are also walking distance for many. Volunteerism, and a few shenanigans, among original owners - dubbed the Greenbriar Pioneers -shaped today's community. First-person accounts are in a hard-bound history, "The Way It Was," published by the civic association in 2006. For example, part of the gravel path along Rocky Run, which meanders for two miles through Greenbriar, happened by stealth. When a bulldozer began cutting a swath for the trail, all the operator knew was that he was supposed to keep the orange markers to his right, unaware the markers had been moved in the middle of the night by lantern-toting residents who didn't want the path abutting their rear property lines. There are still about two dozen pioneers in the community, including the current president of the civic association, Emerson Cale. Cale's first volunteer task in the early 1970s was rounding up thousands of gallons of water for circus elephants entertaining the community. He quickly learned to seek help from local entities, in that case the fire department. Now retired from the Pentagon, Cale is still a hands-on community leader who has helped Greenbriar build relationships with county officials and organizations. When the community sought streetlights several years ago, he recalled "sitting at a lot of kitchen tables getting permission for easements," thereby shortening the process. By 1967, a reversal of the racial exclusion policies that Levitt applied to its earlier subdivisions led Preston Pierce and his family to be among the first African Americans to move to Greenbriar. They had been living in an apartment in the District. "When our children were ready for school, we began looking for a house," Pierce said. It was during the early stages of integration in neighborhoods like Columbia [Md.]. I heard Levitt had integrated housing and saw an ad [in The Washington Post] for Greenbriar. For 37 years, Pierce was the face of Little League in the community. "I started off raking fields," he said, "then was an assistant coach." By the time his two sons were in high school, he was a team manager. He umpired, trained umpires and became District 10 manager, finally hanging up his Little League cap in 2006. The Preston Pierce ball field, dedicated in 2009, is across from Chantilly High. "I've had a great experience in Greenbriar," he said. Greenbriar's 3,600-square-foot community center was financed and built by residents and local organizations in 1974. Nine hundred families pledged a combined $13,000, and many worked every weekend to pull it together. Today, it is self-supporting. Pioneer Hal Strickland said, "In the community, there were always people who realized if we didn't do it, it wouldn't get done." In 1975, Strickland proposed forming the Chantilly Youth Association, still a key community organization. "By bringing youth together in teams, you bring parents together, too," he said. Strickland now is a board member of the Fairfax County Park Authority. While pioneers faced a sea of muddy red clay as the predominant landscape feature and found chickens from neighboring farms wandering through their yards, today Greenbriar is surrounded by major commuter routes. Shade trees are liberally sprinkled around the ramblers, split-levels, Cape Cods and Colonials. Because the houses lack basements, popular renovations include bumping up or out and converting garages to living spaces. "If the home is priced right and shows well, it sells right away," said Joe Dettor, a 19-year resident and a real estate agent with Keller Williams. We have not had a lot of short sales or foreclosures compared to other neighborhoods. There are only 25 rental houses in the community , he said. There is no homeowners association. "The nice thing about Greenbriar is how people have made these Levitt houses their own," said Anna Nurmi, a piano teacher whose family moved from Arlington in 1992. Ed Conley, retired from the Air Force, moved to Greenbriar in 1994 because his family needed a one-level house. Since then, he bumped out one bedroom by 12 feet, converted the one-car garage to a storage area and added a two-car garage. His once-L-shaped house is now U-shaped with a welcoming entryway. Some residents have added second stories to their ranch-style houses. Civic association dues are a voluntary $25 a year, with about a 70 percent participation rate. Dues go toward holiday parties, concerts in the park and other activities open to all. The pool, which operates as a private club with its own activities and swim team, is open to residents and those beyond Greenbriar but is limited to 600 households. Lackey maintains the waiting list, currently at 40, but some memberships are transferred with house sales and others are privately sold. "The seller dictates the price," she noted, with current buy-in fees hovering around $1,000, plus annual dues of $350. She suggested that prospective members "do your own legwork" by advertising an interest in joining. One outlet for those ads and for community, school and county news is the Greenbriar Flyer, the community's free newspaper, published continually since 1967. Financially independent, the 20-page publication is produced by volunteers. Archived copies are on microfilm in the Chantilly library. "We're now beginning to see more new young families," said Strickland. The community's history is preserved because "we wanted folks to understand that the things they enjoy today were hard fought for," he said. There's a lot of pride in being part of the Greenbriar community.

CCTV hunt after cash stolen in community centre raid A COMMUNITY centre has issued a plea to help track down a thief who broke into the building and stole a three-figure sum of cash. The Calton Centre in Montgomery Street, Leith, was broken into in the early hours of Friday, November 30. Now staff have put out a picture of someone they believe may be able to help solve the case. The culprit stole the petty cash box after smashing their way in at around 4am, leaving the centre £500 out of pocket. Owner and proprietor Barbara Brandt posted an image of a man seen wearing a hooded top and glasses on stairs leading to the centre earlier in the evening, who they believe may be able to provide information on what happened. She said: "I was so angry. The person who broke in smashed the window, kicked in the office door, pulled apart two filing cabinets and took the cash book which had cash and cheques inside. The Calton Centre opened its doors to clients as a privately-run community centre in March 2011 and is home to a range of community groups, dance classes, religious groups and other activities. Ms Brandt added: "At the moment, I'm working 60 hours a week so this is the last thing I need. I'm not sure if I will be able to claim anything on the insurance. Now I'm going to have to dip into another fund to make sure my staff get paid and I'm going to have to tell my clients that I would prefer not to be paid in cash. This is the first time anything like his has happened. A Gothic church, the Calton Centre was formerly the Kirk Memorial Evangelical Union Church and was built in 1895. Leith Walk councillor Gordon Munro said: "This is a crime against the community. It's a real shame because the staff are trying to make a real effort to keep the centre going and a crime like this totally undermines their efforts. A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "Police are investigating following a break-in and theft from a community centre in Montgomery Street. Officers are currently following a positive line of inquiry. However, anyone who can assist with our investigation is asked to come forward.

Austerity helps budget focused H&M grow Hennes & Mauritz said its sales rose in June - up three percent from the same month last year on a direct comparison of stores. The Swedish budget fashion firm enjoyed robust demand for its cheaper clothing from austerity-hit shoppers. H&M, the world's second-largest clothing retailer, does most of its business in Europe, but is broadening its geographic spread with almost 2,600 stores in 44 markets. In Germany, H&M's single biggest market by far, the overall clothing market was down two percent, according to industry data. In May and in the fiscal first half of the year, H&M's like-for-like sales were up three percent, and total sales rose 12 percent. The leader in the sector, Zara owner Inditex, also defied the economic gloom in its second quarter, proving it can sell to both fashion-hungry shoppers in emerging Asia and cash-strapped consumers in Europe. More about: Economic growth, Sweden, Textile industry

American Rapping Jihadi Added to FBI's Most Wanted An Alabama-born rapping jihadi fighting half a world away is among the new entries on the FBI's infamous Most Wanted List, the bureau announced today. Omar Hammami, also known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, has been fighting with the Somalia-based terror group al-Shabaab since 2006. Hammami has allegedly been a propagandist for the al Qaeda-linked group and has released several rap songs praising jihad against the West. Hammami was originally indicted in the U.S. on terrorism-related charges in 2007 and faced additional charges in a superseding indictment in 2009. Douglas Astralaga, the Supervisory Special Agent for the FBI in Mobile, Ala., told ABC News he couldn't comment on exactly why Hammami was being added to the list now, but said there is an ongoing investigation into Hammami's alleged terrorist activities and, after a lengthy review, information against him "met the criteria" for being added to the list. READ: American Terrorist's Mom Wants Him Back Home Earlier this year Hammami said he feared for his life, but it wasn't the American government he was worried about. In a video posted online, Hammami said he suspected his fellow militants might turn their guns on him due to ideological "differences." He has apparently survived that tiff, but his terror group has been on the losing end of several recent battles in Somalia. In September, al-Shabaab was pushed out of its last urban stronghold in Kismayo by African troops. In a recent autobiography written by Hammami and posted online, he describes a daily fear of drone strikes and jokes that the drones are "racist" - they prefer to target white people in Somalia. He may have reason to worry. In late September 2011, a high-profile al Qeada recruiter, Anwar al-Awlaki, and an al Qaeda propagandist, Samir Khan, were killed in a CIA drone strike. Both were American citizens. In addition to Hammami, the FBI added Raddulan Sahiron, a suspected leader of the Filipino terror group Abu Sayyaf, to the list. The bureau said it is also seeking information about Shayk Aminullah, an alleged recruiter for al Qaeda and the Pakistani-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. CLICK HERE to see the FBI Most Wanted List announcement.

free diet may be a waste of money for some, new research suggests. Gluten-free products can be considerably more expensive than their gluten counterparts -- and they're not lower in calories. Gluten-free products are everywhere, but many people who buy them are probably wasting their money, according to Italian research released Monday. The worldwide market for gluten-free products is nearly $2.5 billion, spurred in part by the Internet, alternative medicine and questionable scientists with ties to manufacturers, coauthor Dr. Roberto Corazza of the University of Pavia told msnbc.com in an email. Gluten is a component of the protein mixture in wheat, rye and barley flour. For people with the autoimmune condition celiac disease, foods that contain gluten trigger the immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine. The only treatment is a lifelong, gluten-free diet. Untreated, celiac disease raises the risk of life-threatening conditions such as digestive tract cancers. About 1 in 133 Americans has celiac disease, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. Far more people think they have what has come to be called "nonceliac gluten sensitivity," Corazza says. Sufferers, in whom celiac disease has been ruled out, complain of a variety of symptoms after consuming gluten, including bloating, abdominal discomfort, flatulence and headache. The problem, Corazza and Dr. Antonio Di Sabatino write in an opinion piece in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is that no one is quite sure what gluten sensitivity is. "Considerable debate about nonceliac gluten sensitivity has recently surfaced on the Internet, with a sharp increase in forums, patients or patient groups, manufacturers, and physicians advocating a gluten-free diet," the two write. Claims seem to increase daily, with no adequate scientific support to back them up. Gluten-free diets have become "trendy, fashionable," says Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research in Baltimore, who coauthored an article about gluten-related disorders Feb. 14 in BioMed Central. I would say the occasional consumers are the ones who have no reason to be on a gluten-free diet. Gluten-free products can be considerably more expensive than their gluten-containing counterparts. Part of the gluten-free fad comes from the misperception that the foods are healthier or more diet-friendly. The main health concern is that people cut out all gluten as a way to self-diagnose a sensitivity or celiac disease. But, Corazza notes, it's impossible to diagnose celiac disease in someone who's gone gluten-free before being evaluated. When he sees patients who complain of symptoms after eating bread or pasta, Fasano says, he'll order a blood test to check for biomarkers of celiac disease and a skin test for the far less common wheat allergy. If necessary, he'll then perform an endoscopy to look for damage in their digestive tract characteristic of celiac disease. He was skeptical when he first started hearing about nonceliac gluten sensitivity a few years ago, Fasano says, but he since has come to realize that some sufferers are "severely impaired." But because doctors aren't exactly sure what the condition is, it's difficult to diagnose. The best-known diagnostic method, Fasano and Corazza say, is a double-blind oral "challenge." Patients are given drinks with and without gluten and then asked how they feel. Neither the patient nor the doctor knows which is which at the time of the testing. Such tests are expensive and time-consuming, though, Corazza says. "The bottom line for gluten sensitivity," Fasano says, "is there are very little facts and a lot of fantasy." TODAY contributor and nutritionist Joy Bauer clears up common confusion regarding gluten-free diets, defining Celiac disease and warning against self-diagnosing. She suggests keeping gluten in your diet unless you have a health aversion. Gourmet gifts for your gluten-free friends and family

Hundreds of Fishermen Missing in Philippine Storm The number of people missing after a typhoon devastated parts of the southern Philippines jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing companies reported losing contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea, officials said Sunday. The fishermen from southern General Santos city and nearby Sarangani province left a few days before Typhoon Bopha hit the main southern island of Mindanao on Tuesday, triggering flash floods that killed more than 600, Civil Defense chief Benito Ramos said. Ramos said the fishermen were headed to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and to the Pacific Ocean. He said there has been no contact from them for a week. "We have declared them missing," he said. Maybe they are still alive. Ramos said they may have sought shelter on the many small islands in the Spratlys and the Celebes Sea, and lost battery power and have not been able to call. He said the coast guard, navy and fishing vessels have launched a search. After slamming into the southern Philippines, the typhoon moved out to sea but then veered back toward the country's northwest on Saturday, prompting worries of more devastation. As of late Sunday, however, it had begun to dissipate and weaken into a low pressure area as it moved farther into the South China Sea, about 105 kilometers (65 miles) west of the Philippines' Ilocos Norte province. Residents affected by typhoon Bopha beg for aid from passing motorists along a highway at Montevista township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines Sunday Dec. 9, 2012. The number of missing in the wake of a typhoon that devastated parts of the southern Philippines has jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing companies reported losing contact with more than 300 fishermen in the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean, officials said Sunday. Rescuers continued searching for bodies or signs of life under tons of fallen trees and boulders in the worst-hit town of New Bataan, where rocks, mud and other rubble destroyed landmarks, making it doubly difficult to search places where houses once stood. Hundreds of refugees, rescuers and aid workers took a break Sunday to watch the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on a big TV screen, only to be dismayed by their hero's sixth-round knockout. Elementary school teacher Constancio Olivar said people fell silent when Pacquiao, who comes from the southern Philippines where the storm hit, fell heavily to the canvas and remained motionless for some time. Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental province, have lost their homes and are crowded inside evacuation centers or staying with relatives. President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of national calamity on Friday, which allows for price controls on basic commodities in typhoon-affected areas and the quick release of emergency funds. Officials said Sunday that 316 people were killed in Compostela Valley, including 165 in New Bataan, and 301 in Davao Oriental. More than 45 people were killed elsewhere. Nearly 900 are missing, including the fishermen and 440 from New Bataan alone. Davao Oriental authorities imposed a curfew there and ordered police to guard stores and shops to prevent looting. The typhoon destroyed about 18 percent of the banana plantations in Mindanao, causing losses estimated at 12 billion pesos ($300 million), according to Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association. The Philippines is the world's third-largest banana producer and exporter, supplying international brands such as Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte.

Briar Woods moves one step closer to third straight Virginia AA Division 4 title; Burns leads Stone Bridge into AAA Division 5 semis Amidst the two straight championships, the three consecutive region titles and its current 13-0 record, it's easy to forget that just four years ago, Briar Woods finished 4-6 and out of the playoffs. But for Falcons Coach Charlie Pierce, that season is one he recalls fondly when considering what it took to build his program's current dynasty. "The last part of the 2009 season, we won our last three games and that gave me an inkling of what this program could be," Pierce said, two days after the Falcons blew past Loudoun County 31-0 to claim another AA Region II Division 4 crown. At that time, only six teams made the playoffs, and I remember telling people that if eight teams had gotten in, we could have caused some problems because I liked the direction we were headed in. Briar Woods beat Loudoun County for its third straight region title. Still, the 2010 season brought its doubts after star running back Michael Brownlee broke his leg in the first contest. During the five games that Brownlee was sidelined, Pierce adjusted his offensive scheme, turning to then-freshman quarterback Trace McSorley to lead more of a spread attack. "Our offense really evolved and it allowed Trace to get a handle of things so that when Brownlee came back, we were really balanced and could do a lot more on offense," Pierce said of a unit that produced 4,530 yards that season. The rest, as they say, is history, with the Falcons winning the first of back-to-back state titles and setting the stage for this year's program, which is averaging nearly 45 points per game while giving up less than a touchdown per contest. Briar Woods hosts Courtland in Saturday's AA Division 4 semifinals. Two years ago the Falcons crushed the Cougars 52-8 in the same round before beating Harrisonburg for their first title. Bulldogs keep rolling with Burns at the helm Stone Bridge quarterback Ryan Burns set a new school record during Friday's 69-50 win in the Virginia AAA Northern Region Division 5 championship. The senior's 163 passing yards in the contest pushed his total to 2,337 (and counting) for the season, marking the highest single-season output for a quarterback in program history. "It feels good to have achieved something like that," the Stanford recruit said. I guess I'll have my name on the wall in the gym after this season, which is pretty cool. But really, my focus is on winning a state championship, so hopefully we'll have bigger things ahead to celebrate. Burns, who went 4-for-6 with three total touchdowns in last week's win, has also thrown for 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions entering Saturday's Division 5 semifinal at Hanover.

Terror charges for three more West Midlands men

Ashton Kutcher Mum Over Demi Moore's Hospitalization Ashton Kutcher has so far had nothing to say about his ex Demi Moore, who is currently seeking treatment for "stress" and "exhaustion" after being rushed to a Los Angeles hospital Monday night. The "Two and a Half Men" star is in Brazil doing a fashion shoot for the brand Colcci and has been seen out and about with multiple celebrities, including Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio. This morning, TMZ posted a video of Kutcher leaving a nightclub Wednesday night. Asked by a photographer, "Is Demi okay," the actor kept silent, piling into a waiting car with two people, including a blonde female. Moore, 49, has checked into a treatment center, her publicist told ABCNews.com Tuesday in an email statement: "Because of the stresses in her life right now, Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health. She looks forward to getting well and is grateful for the support of her family and friends. She will also no longer be playing feminist Gloria Steinem in the upcoming Linda Lovelace biopic. "She is not doing the film," her publicist said today. TMZ first reported that Moore was rushed to the hospital Monday night after a 911 call was placed from her Los Angeles home. She had been looking frail and tired since announcing her divorce from Kuthcher late last year amid reports of his infidelity.

Police search for killer of 'Wild Dogg,' San Diego motorcycle club president San Diego -- Police are looking for the gunman who fatally shot a San Diego motorcycle club leader outside the group's clubhouse. The shooting happened around 11 p.m. Police said a drive-by gunman fired several shots, killing 51-year-old Clyde Thompson Jr., the San Diego Chapter president of the Black Sabbath Motorcycle Club Nation. Thompson was known by his motorcycling nickname, "Wild Dogg." Police said Thompson and a friend were working on a motorcycle when a sport utility vehicle pulled up and a passenger opened fire. Thompson was pronounced dead at a hospital. Detectives haven't identified a motive for the shooting, police Lt. Ernie Herbert said, according to The Associated Press. The Black Sabbath Motorcycle Club's Facebook page had this post up Sunday: We continue to struggle to cope with the sobering reality that despite four decades of peaceful, non-violent existence and extensive community service contributions at 4280 Market Street, we awake this Mother's Day Sunday having suffered the cowardly, brutal assassination of a Black Sabbath M.C. President, Wild Dogg. Wild Dogg's brothers want the world to know that he was a family man who loved to do things for others. He worked his way up from an "Honorary" member to becoming the President of the San Diego chapter. He led by example, rolling up his sleeves to accomplish menial tasks around the club because he felt that he wasn't better than anyone, he wouldn't ask a prospect to paint a wall that he wouldn't paint first himself. He took on the formidable task of leading the San Diego chapter forward after a difficult club split late last year. He was a responsible brother with big shoulders. He was simply a very nice person who did not deserve to be shot down in the street like a rabid dog. Wild Dogg was a well respected leader and brought great credibility to the Mighty Black Sabbath M.C. Nation. He held himself to our highest standards in keeping with our bylaws, greatest traditions and his personal integrity. Our brother Wild Dogg's martyrdom will never be forgotten. According to the club's Facebook page, Thompson is survived by his girlfriend and two daughters. Read local coverage on NBCSanDiego.com On Saturday, witnesses told NBC 7 San Diego that the victim also went by the name "CJ." According to witnesses, CJ was working on a friend's bike and went outside to put his tools away when they heard gunshots. When witnesses went outside, they said they saw the victim lying on the ground. Black Sabbath Motorcycle Club member Larry Blackman told NBC 7 San Diego that CJ was a "family man" and a "real nice guy." He was well-loved and liked by everyone especially on the motorcycle side. I want him to be remembered as a real loving guy, family guy, brother and president of our club," said Blackman. Blackman said Friday night was "Bike Night" at the clubhouse and the group of bikers were playing cards, dominoes and watching television when the shooting occurred. NBCSanDiego.com contributed to this story.

David Byrne: Room for London When it comes to a room with a view, it's hard to beat a new one that's been installed on top of London's South Bank arts centre, facing the Thames. It looks like a boat marooned on the roof of a building and it was inspired partly by the river boat from Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It doubles-up as a temporary home for performers from around the world to develop new work and among them, recently, was David Byrne, the front man of the band Talking Heads. New York correspondent Matt Wells caught up with him back at home in Manhattan, to reflect on his stay in London hearing how he had a "little issue" with the slow elevator to get up to the installation called Room for London. He described how he went there to collect sounds such as a train in Southwark, a passionate voice at Spitalfields market. He also measured the tempo of the city at 82.6 beats per minute.

Michael Green shows entrepreneurial skills with Tech Coast Angels The gig: Founder of Dakota Financial, an equipment-leasing company, Michael Green is president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Tech Coast Angels, a group whose members invest seed money in start-up companies. Green, 39, grew up in Los Angeles and now lives in West L.A. The day-trading craze: After earning an undergraduate business degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 1995, Green tried to produce a movie - "like every L.A. kid," he said. But he couldn't raise sufficient funding to make the film and eventually lost $70,000 of his own money. At the suggestion of a few friends, he set out on an even riskier path - launching a day-trading business. His timing was excellent. He opened a Santa Monica office of New York-based Momentum Securities at the height of the Internet-stock boom in 1997. The operation was lucrative but stressful as many customers lost money. "People were smashing keyboards, punching holes in the walls and throwing monitors off of desks," Green said. Some customers became addicted and couldn't be talked out of trading despite sizable losses. "I was very upfront with people about what the risks were," he said. There were some guys I was like 'You are ruining your life. Please stop [trading]. I beg you.' A new path: Green closed the business in November 2001 as the day-trading frenzy petered out in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and, for the second time in five years, he had to cast about for a new career. After a chance meeting on a golf course, Green co-founded an equipment-leasing company in 2002 (he bought out his partner six months later). He was drawn to the steady nature of the lending business, a contrast to the volatile day-trading industry. Dakota Financial borrows money from big banks and other institutions, buys equipment and leases it to small businesses in the trucking and construction industries. Green focuses on subprime borrowers who can't get bank financing. Many clients are hard-working and have solid businesses, he said, but have fallen into financial purgatory through poor money management or because their own clients haven't paid their bills. "You're trying to find people that are good humans but just happen to have bad credit," he said. Business lesson: As Dakota Financial grew, Green groomed his staff to run the business as though he wasn't there. His logic: Many entrepreneurs are so involved in their companies that the businesses can't function without them. Rather than being a positive quality, that actually lowers the value of a company if a founder executive ever wants to sell it, Green said. "A company has much less value if it is too dependent on the CEO," he said. If everything is in the CEO's head, if a buyer wants to buy it, they're very worried what will happen when you retire or leave. "The worst two years of my life": The relative calm of his new profession was shattered in 2008 when the global financial crisis struck and banks cut off funding to borrowers perceived as risky. Green's lender refused to renew his credit line, a normally routine process, and instead demanded immediate repayment of his $10-million loan balance. A default would have destroyed his business and forced him into personal bankruptcy. "Here I was lending to construction [companies] and truckers with subprime credit in the middle of the collapsing housing market," he said. There was no one on the planet that wanted to give me money. Green searched frantically for new funding while pleading with his lender every month to extend his credit line. I would say 'Look my business is sound. My customers always had bad credit. They're no worse off today,'" he said. He got a series of extensions over the next 12 months, but the lender added $600,000 in fees on top of interest rates that exceeded 16%. He found a new lender within a year, but at an even loftier rate. "I spent all day, eight hours a day, for two years" scrambling for cheaper financing, Green said. I cold-called every single bank in the country, every wealthy person I knew in the country. He finally refinanced at a reasonable rate in June 2010. "I literally was like in tears when it closed," he said. The entrepreneurial bug: With his company on solid ground, Green wanted a new challenge with an entrepreneurial tinge. He found it in the Tech Coast Angels, which matches fledgling start-ups with potential early-stage investors. He joined the group in early 2011 and became president a year later. His advice to entrepreneurs seeking to raise money? Try your best to prove that there is a real need for your product or service before you approach potential investors. You're likelier to get financing if you can demonstrate that there is a market for your product and that you have a well-thought-out business model. "The more you can validate what you're doing, the more investors are likely to believe in what you're doing," Green said.

Analysis: In secret, justices to decide fate of health care overhaul Justices believed to have voted Friday; now hard work of crafting opinions begins Many legal observers think votes of Roberts, Kennedy are in play Not even justices know how this saga will end WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The public drama surrounding the Supreme Court's extraordinary three-day review of President Obama's health care reform law has faded, but the real intrigue has just begun. You just won't see it, and the final yet-unwritten chapter will come unannounced. The nine justices met privately Friday in their weekly closed-door conference, and were expected to vote -- at least preliminarily -- on the four healthcare cases. Writing assignments will now be made, and the weeks-long process of crafting opinions will commence -- a tedious, arduous, often contentious exercise in judicial craftsmanship and diplomacy. And all of this will be done in secret -- no press releases, no leaked behind-the-scenes spin. "This case is on a rocket ship," said Thomas Goldstein, a Washington lawyer and publisher of SCOTUSblog.com. Because there may be as many as four decisions, the justices work collaboratively. The majority opinion writer circulates it for other people to comment, dissenters will circulate their opinions and that process will go back and forth, back and forth until about mid-June, when they will just get down to finalize it. The opinion-writing exercise is little-known, and the court likes it that way. Only the justices and their law clerks will have any real idea how these rulings will be framed and crafted. Consistently predicting the outcome is a time-honored Washington parlor game, but rarely successful. Obviously everybody in a case of this magnitude is trying to read tea leaves. I think it's hard to read tea leaves," Paul Clement, lawyer for the 26 states opposing the law, told CNN Correspondent Kate Bolduan, moments after the last of the cases were argued Wednesday. I suppose if half the justices were snoozing through it, that would have been a bad sign for my side of the case. They obviously weren't snoozing through it. Anything but. A little bit of everything The public sessions were a blend of question-and-answer fusillades from the bench, mixed with often outrageous hypotheticals testing the limits of the law. The six hours of debate had almost everything. A sample: Funny: Chief Justice John Roberts: "You have another 15 minutes" to argue your case. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli: "Lucky me, lucky me." Wonky: Verrilli: "The language in 7422 (a) is virtually identical to the language of 742 (a)...." Justice Anthony Kennedy, interrupting: "Although in the refund context, you have the sovereign immunity problem...." Don't understand what they are talking about here? Neither do we. Dramatic: Justice Sonia Sotomayor: "We're going to tie the hands of the federal government in choosing how to structure a cooperative relationship with the states. We're going to say to the federal government, the bigger the problem, the less your powers are. Emphatic: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: "The people who don't participate in this market are making it much more expensive for the people who do." It's all about the mandate The first lawsuits challenging the health overhaul began just hours after the president signed the law two years ago this month. After a series of reviews in various lower federal courts, the petitions arrived at the high court in November, when the justices decided to review them. Written briefs were filed, oral arguments held. A doctor's view of health care law The court is considering four key questions: Does the law overstep federal authority, particularly with the "individual mandate"? Must the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be scrapped if that key provision is unconstitutional? Are the lawsuits brought by the states and other petitioners barred under the Anti-Injunction Act and must they wait until the law goes into effect? Are states being "coerced" by the federal government to expand their share of Medicaid costs and administration, with the risk of losing that funding if they refuse? Everything hinges on the mandate, also known as the "minimum coverage" or "must-buy" provision. It is the key funding mechanism -- the "affordable" aspect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- that makes most of the other 450 provisions so possible. This provision requires nearly all Americans to buy some form of health insurance beginning in 2014 or face financial penalties. May the federal government, under the Constitution's Commerce Clause, regulate economic "inactivity"? A coalition of 26 states led by Florida say individuals cannot be forced to buy insurance, a "product" they may neither want nor need. The Justice Department has countered that since every American will need medical care at some point in their lives, individuals do not "choose" to participate in the health care market. Federal officials cite 2008 figures of $43 billion in uncompensated costs from the millions of uninsured people who receive health services, costs that are shifted to insurance companies and passed on to consumers. Opinion: Why health care law is unconstitutional As with multiple cases, the justices have multiple options: allowing the mandate to stand or fall; if it falls, keeping all, parts, or none of the rest of the law; how broad or narrow a ruling can we expect; whether a broad statement be made on the centuries-long tension between federal and state power; treating health care as a unique aspect of "market" activity, allowing an exception upholding the law; and deciding who will craft the all-important opinions. 'It's so close' The key players could be two conservatives: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy, long labeled a "swing" vote. "With the four more liberal justices almost certain to vote to uphold the individual mandate the administration is really hoping for the votes of either the chief justice, who signaled that he had questions for both sides," said Goldstein, "or the traditional swing vote in the court, Anthony Kennedy who really was tough on the government lawyer but toward the end suggested that maybe insurance was special enough that he could vote to uphold the mandate." Roberts has long talked about trying for consensus on divided issues, saying it brings long-term credibility and public confidence to the court's work. It's been mostly a pipe dream, as his nearly seven years of leadership has shown a continuing 5-4 split on most hot-button issues. If the White House and congressional Democrats do get his vote, it may simply be because he does not think the Third Branch should be overturning such an important economic law. Opinion: Health ruling can't avoid politics Kennedy too seemed to be struggling mightily, tough on both sides at argument, but perhaps tougher on the government. "When you are changing the relation of the individual to the government in this" mandate, he told the solicitor general at one point, "what we can stipulate is, I think, a unique way, do you not have a heavy burden of justification to show authorization under the Constitution?" That internal ideological struggle could ripple to the chambers of his eight colleagues. To get his vote -- if that vote is in play -- how far will the majority go to accommodate and assimilate his views. No matter what side wins this case, it's going to win barely. It's so close," said Goldstein. If the individual mandate is upheld it's almost certain to be an opinion by five, maybe six justices saying Congress can go this far, but no further [saying]: We're never going to allow Congress to do things like order people to buy broccoli or buy cars. The justice's initial votes this week are not cast in stone. They can and do change their minds. Kennedy in 1992 initially voted with conservatives to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. But after several weeks in internal discussions with colleagues he changed his mind, reaffirming most of the Roe precedent. How will it end? Who knows Health care will soon enter the history books, among the handful of the high court's greatest cases, the stakes no doubt monumental -- legally, politically, socially. An issue that affects every American will naturally attract that kind of attention. So the court must quickly get itself organized, identify the different majorities, then write and circulate what are expected to be multiple dissents and concurrences. Add to that the other three dozen or so other cases they must also finish, and the makings of three-month sprint to an uncertain finish has the makings of a courtroom thriller. Just don't expect any sneak peeks or coming attraction previews. Even the nine justices do not yet know how this will end. CNN Correspondent Kate Bolduan contributed to this report.

Best bets: Complex 'Cloud Atlas' floating on Oscar buzz There's one promising major movie coming out this week ("Cloud Atlas") plus a bunch of titles that look awful ("Fun Size," Chasing Mavericks," "Silent Hill" Revelation 3D"). So if "Cloud Atlas" and its complex storylines aren't your thing, you may want to check the new DVD titles, which include "Magic Mike" and "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter." TUESDAY: 'Magic Mike' on DVD and Blu-ray Girls' night in! If you missed "Magic Mike" in theaters, or if you just want to see Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey boogieing it up as male strippers once again, you can scoop it up on DVD or Blu-ray this week. The film was probably better than it needed to be for all the naked eye candy it offered up. It performed magic at the box office too, where it was such a big hit that a sequel is planned. Matthew McConaughey steals the show as Dallas, the older stripper who now owns the club at the heart of the film. Out on DVD and Blu-ray Oct. 23. TUESDAY: 'Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter' Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," a serious look at the beloved president, comes out in a month. You'll never confuse that film with "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter," which came out earlier this year and is now on DVD and Blu-ray. In "Vampire Hunter," Lincoln learns at a young age that there's a whole supernatural world of bloodsuckers out there. By the time he's president, he's fighting two armies, the Confederates and the vamps. Critics gave it mixed reviews, but it's a fun night's rental. FRIDAY: 'Cloud Atlas' Do we start the Oscar buzz now? Tom Hanks and Halle Berry star in "Cloud Atlas," the new film based on David Mitchell's 2004 novel. It reportedly received a whopping 10-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. But the trailer doesn't make the movie's plot immediately clear. The film winds together numerous storylines and spans centuries. Don't think you can just sit back and let it wash over you, either: Variety's critic calls the film: "an intense three-hour mental workout rewarded with a big emotional payoff." But can it suck in enough regular moviegoers willing to tackle that workout? Opens Oct. 26.

Acrobat Jerry Brown does a flip on tax measure Back in the day, when Gov. Jerry Brown would dazzle us with a flip-flop, he'd land on his feet spouting philosophy. "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds," he'd intone, quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson. The best-known Brown acrobatic was his turn-around on Proposition 13, the revolutionary initiative by apartment owners' lobbyist Howard Jarvis that dramatically slashed property taxes. Brown loudly opposed the measure when it was on the 1978 primary election ballot. But after voters passed it by 2 to 1, he proclaimed himself a "born-again tax cutter." The governor became so enthusiastic in implementing Prop. 13 that he earned the nickname "Jerry Jarvis." And Jarvis endorsed him that fall for reelection. The first significant flip of his second act as governor - maybe it isn't a total flip-flop, but it's a big leap nevertheless - was performed Wednesday when he reshuffled his position on increasing taxes. "The life of politics is something that changes and evolves," Brown told reporters who asked for an explanation of why he was suddenly switching directions. I don't have an ego in this. My goal is to balance the budget. It's been in disarray for more than a decade in California. The governor basically got rolled by the California Federation of Teachers, the smaller of the two major teachers unions. The largest union, the California Teachers Assn., had endorsed Brown's original tax-hike initiative. Brown cut a deal with the CFT to avoid butting heads on the November ballot with its "millionaires' tax," which would have socked the rich hard but absolutely no one else. Punching multimillionaires is particularly popular these days as the gap widens between the haves and have-nots. But the governor had argued, as late as Monday, that his original proposal was better public policy because it was "balanced" - burdening everyone slightly with a half-cent sales tax increase, and capping the wealthy with a relatively modest hike in the income tax. The Brown-CFT deal would cut his sales-tax hike in half. And it would smack the wealthy more than the governor had wanted - raising state income-tax rates by one percentage point for single-filers earning more than $250,000; by two points for those making more than $300,000; and by three points on earnings exceeding $500,000. Currently, the top rate for million-dollar earners is 10.3%. The income-tax increases would last seven years, rather than five, as Brown originally proposed. The tiny sales-tax hike would last four years. The reshaped proposal is bound to be more popular with the electorate than Brown's original. A larger share of the tax load would be shifted to fewer voters. But it's poor public policy. Although it may be satisfying for the majority, smacking the rich worsens a California tax system that badly needs to be overhauled. The top 1% already pay roughly 40% of the state income tax. This results in an extremely volatile revenue roller-coaster. In boom times, the rich prosper and pour money into the state vault. During periods of bust, their capital gains dwindle and so does the state's revenue stream. The state suffers budget deficits. Schools, universities and the poor people's safety net are slashed. But this is what Brown and Democrats were thinking Wednesday: "It dramatically increases our chances of success in November," said Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). "The most important thing was to broaden the coalition," the senator explained, meaning to get the CFT off Brown's back. If both their measures were competing on the ballot, odds are neither would have passed. Brown's next move should be to coax aside another tax measure - one by mega-rich civil rights attorney Molly Munger. She proposes raising income taxes on all but the poorest and generating $10billion, primarily for schools.

Andy Pettitte thinks he can help Yankees' pitching staff right now Andy Pettitte thinks he can help the struggling New York Yankees right now. Sidelined since suffering a broken left ankle June 27 on a line drive against Cleveland, the 40-year old left-hander threw another simulated game Wednesday at Fenway Park and said he thinks he can rejoin the rotation immediately. Pettitte said he felt great and could give the team "60, 65 pitches." Standing in the middle of the Yankees' clubhouse about three hours before their game against the Red Sox, Pettitte voiced his desire to start as the Yankees fight to hold on to a playoff spot in the tight AL East race. I did everything I needed to do. I felt good. It's another step," he said. They felt like my stuff was great. I just don't know what the next step is; hopefully, I'll get back in the rotation. That's what I want to do. Manager Joe Girardi said it would be a group decision among General Manager Brian Cashman and the medical staff, but he knows Pettitte's experience will play a part in the next move. Girardi also said the only way Pettitte would be back with the team would be as a starter, knocking down any thought of his making relief appearances. Chicago White Sox slugger Adam Dunn was not in the lineup Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers, the sixth straight game he will miss because of a strained muscle on his right side. Dunn tried swinging a bat and realized he was not ready to return, saying he would try again Thursday for the finale of the key AL Central series. Dunn said he's afraid he might cause further injury and be lost for a longer period. He's concerned about swinging and missing - something he does frequently. Dunn leads the White Sox with 38 homers and said not being able to play in the stretch run for the playoffs is "terrible."

Peter Guber joins bid group for LA Dodgers: report Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:23pm EDT (Reuters) - Film producer Peter Guber has joined the bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team as part of a group led by Magic Johnson, the Los Angeles Times reported. In a report published on its website, the newspaper said Guber, chief executive of Mandalay Entertainment, will be a minority investor in the former basketball player's group. The Johnson bid is one of four expected to be submitted to major league owners for approval next week, the paper said. The baseball team filed for bankruptcy protection in June last year. It owner, real estate developer Frank McCourt, has been evaluating prospective bids for the franchise since November. The sale is being conducted by the Blackstone Group. Reuters reported in February that hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen and St Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke were among seven parties who had advanced to the next round of bids for the team. A spokesman for Guber was not immediately available for comment. Representatives of the Dodgers and Magic Johnson were also unavailable. Reporting by Sharanya Hrishikesh in Bangalore; Editing by Michael Watson

Small, interactive macaron-making classes will start on Saturday at Mille-Feuille Bakery, 552 LaGuardia Place (Bleecker Street), in Greenwich Village. The classes begin at 2 p.m., run for about four hours and cost $190 a person, with discounts for larger groups of up to six at $115 a person. Register online. Ines Sun, who once owned Wild Lily Tea Room in Chelsea, will lead a 90-minute tea workshop on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Pencil Factory, 61 Greenpoint Avenue (Franklin Avenue), in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The class, $25 per person, focuses on designing a personal tea ritual. For $100, you can take the class and bring home four boxes of tea. In a celebration of chili and beer, chefs from nearly two dozen New York restaurants will compete in the New York Chili Fest on Sunday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Avenue (between 15th and 16th Streets), in Chelsea. Tickets are $55 with beer and $45 without beer. Proceeds from the event benefit Food Systems Network NYC. Two recently opened restaurants will begin serving brunch this weekend. Kutsher's Tribeca, 186 Franklin Street (between Greenwich and Hudson Streets), will serve dishes like smoked salmon and knishes, pastrami and more from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. At King, 5 King Street (Avenue of the Americas), in SoHo, brunch and lunch fare with a European theme will be served starting on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Kaffeeklatsch, at the Standard Hotel's outdoor rink, 848 Washington Street (13th Street), in the meatpacking district, is now offering a $24 made-to-order powdered sugar crepe with a flute of Veuve Clicquot from noon until 2 a.m. on weekends. The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park, 2 West Street (1 Place), on Wall Street, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with $10 cocktails, a 10-course tasting menu and other specials beginning Sunday and running through February.

Fragile Syrian ceasefire under threat © Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Gunshots have been heard in the Syrian town of Erbin on the same day as a visit by United Nations monitors. An internet video shows people running after hearing the sound of shots in the Damascus province. It is not known if the monitors were present when the gunshots were fired. As well as the shooting reported by the Syrian state media and activists, there has been a bombing in the province of Idlib. The blast killed six Syrian state soldiers and injured 11 others. State news SANA say the bombing was carried out by armed terrorists, the second in two days. These incidents highlight how fragile the week long ceasefire promised by President Bashar al-Assad is. In areas where opposition to the government is strong the army are still fighting rebels using heavy weapons. The ceasefire has held in some parts of Syria. Syria have questioned the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon over the 'neutrality' of the peace monitoring mission. The army are shelling the city of Homs and do not want a large UN presence there. Morocco and a Syrian opposition group are asking Russia to put pressure on Assad's government to enforce the ceasefire. Saad-Eddine Al-Othmani, Morocco's foreign minister, said: "[We] believe the Russian Federation can play an effective role in convincing the Syrian government to respect the ceasefire regime and the conditions for the withdrawal of forces from cities." Russia do not want to use military force in Syria and approved a Security Council resolution to provide unarmed monitors to supervise the ceasefire.

Rock Center The iron workers assembling the last few floors of One World Trade Center say that their work above New York City's skyline is more than just a job. It's a part of history. It's a part of rebuilding you know, part of putting lives back together to show people that the spirit won't be broken," iron worker Marvin Davis told Harry Smith in an interview airing tonight on Rock Center with Brian Williams. Davis is the general foreman at the World Trade Center site. He is part of the generations of Mohawk Indians who have built New York's famous skyscrapers. Both Davis and his son are helping construct One World Trade Center, formerly called the Freedom Tower. It's a fortress. It's a better built building than I've been on ever," Davis said. With the concrete and the steel, you know, both of them together combined, you know, this thing is, I think is impenetrable. The original One World Trade Center was destroyed in the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers on Sept. In the 10 years since 2,753 people perished in attacks on the towers, a team of more than 200 iron workers clad in fluorescent vests and hard hats have nimbly built One World Trade Center. The building now soars more than 1,244 feet. The tower is a couple of weeks away from surpassing the height of the roof of the Empire State building. "We're right there," said iron worker Kevin Murphy. In the next couple of weeks, we're there. That's going to be another big, you know, special day. Pretty much from here on up, everything's special, you know? Murphy is one of several iron workers who lost someone they knew on Sept. The completion of the building will mark an emotional moment for Murphy, the lieutenant superintendent of steel erection at One World Trade Center. Just to be part of something that's going to be the tallest building in the nation and a monument to all the people that lost their lives down here. As an iron worker, you couldn't ask for a better place to work," Murphy said. John Makely/MSNBC.com As the workers ascend farther into the heavens each day, placing and setting beam after beam, scrawled on some of the beams are the names of those who perished on 9/11. The building, made of steel and glass, is also full of emotion. Way more emotion than we're used to. We're iron workers. We don't show our emotions well, but around here, you can't help it, you know. You see families come. You're looking down at the memorial. You see everybody looking at the memorial. This is definitely a very emotional place," Murphy said. In a matter of months, the tower is expected to "top out." That's what it means when the last steel beam gets put in place. After the spire is added, One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the United States at a symbolic 1,776 feet. For Murphy, the construction of the World Trade Center towers is in his blood. His father helped build the first World Trade Center towers. Murphy came to Ground Zero to clean up in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. "[I] didn't really talk about it with anybody when it first happened, because it was so intense, just to be down there and then to come home and have to answer the questions about it, but it was definitely surreal and the things we saw, nobody should really have to see," Murphy said. Murphy's wife, Heather Murphy, said her husband's chance to build One World Trade Center is helping him heal. Having been there right when it happened, I didn't know if he would ever come out of that. He was so sad for so long, so the fact that now he's in a place and bringing it back is so big, so huge. It's kind of the best part about it. He gets to rebuild it. He doesn't just have to have the memory of what it was," said Heather Murphy through tears. Murphy's fellow iron worker, Eric Hunt, also helped sift through the smoldering debris 10 years ago. "I was down here doing some burning one night and I was burning this big gusset plate open and I started on one end and worked my way to the other end and when the steel opened up, there was two ladies laying there holding hands," said an emotional Hunt. Hunt, a veteran iron worker who helped repair the World Trade Center after the 1993 bombing, said he's thankful to be building One World Trade Center. In the beginning, it was sad and every day, you had to overcome that, but as you get into it and you make it through your days and you spend a month, a year, whatever, it becomes a sense of necessity. You know, this had to be done," Hunt said. Hunt said that as they build higher and higher, the iron workers feel a "little bit of glory." Every man here has put a sense of pride into this building and it's just heavy duty, has armor. It's modern day pyramids," Hunt said. Editor's Note: Harry Smith's Full report, "The Rising," airs on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams tonight at 9 pm/8 c.

UK survey finds science misconduct alive and well LONDON (Reuters) - More than one in 10 British-based scientists or doctors have witnessed colleagues intentionally altering or fabricating data during their research, according to a survey by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Thursday. The survey, which collated more than 2,700 responses, also found that 6 percent of scientists said they were aware of possible research misconduct at their institution that had not been properly investigated. The results suggest "research misconduct is alive and well in the UK," the BMJ said in a statement, and highlights the need for better systems to deter, detect, and investigate it. According to BMJ editor-in-chief Fiona Godlee, who wrote a commentary about the findings, high profile cases of misconduct have led many other countries, including the United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Poland, to create formal mechanisms for overseeing research integrity. "Why does the United Kingdom have no plans to do the same?" she wrote. The survey, which was conducted via email and is ongoing, has so far received responses to 31 percent, or 2,782 of the 9,036 emails delivered to researchers. The doctors were asked whether they had "witnessed or have first-hand knowledge of UK-based scientists or doctors inappropriately adjusting, excluding, altering or fabricating data during their research or for the purposes of publication," - to which 13 percent said yes. Godlee, whose journal has long been campaigning for greater scrutiny of scientific research and greater transparency in clinical trials, said the results exposed as myth the idea that research misconduct was very rare in Britain. One of the most high-profile and damaging cases in recent years involved Andrew Wakefield, the now-disgraced British doctor who researchers believe falsified data for a 1998 study which convinced thousands of parents that MMR (measles mumps and rubella) vaccines are linked to autism. Wakefield was exposed and struck off the medical register in Britain in 2010 after his paper was discredited and withdrawn by the Lancet, which originally published the research. Godlee said there was "a prevailing view within the UK's research establishment that we don't have a problem; that a major global scandal like Wakefield's ... is a one off." The survey's results tell a different story, she said. "There are enough known or emerging cases to suggest that the UK's apparent shortage of publicly investigated examples has more to do with a closed, competitive, and fearful academic culture than with Britain's researchers being uniquely honest," she said. MMR may indeed be an extreme example, but it is not an isolated case. Godlee was scheduled to present the survey's results at a meeting hosted by the BMJ and the UK's Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which is seeking a consensus among institutions and funders towards tackling misconduct in Britain. Elizabeth Wager, COPE's chair, said the findings chimed with her committee's experience: "We see many cases of institutions not cooperating with journals and failing to investigate research misconduct properly," she said in a statement. Godlee said her journal had been told of junior academics being advised to keep concerns to themselves to protect their careers, being bullied into not publishing their findings, or having their contracts terminated when they spoke out. UK science and medicine deserve better. Doing nothing is not an option," she said.

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Jessica wins reader £3,000 - Telegraph You wrote again reminding the insurer that you were 90 years old and wanted it sorted out. Then you heard that the matter had been redirected to the complaints department. You retorted that you hadn't complained. A month after that, the insurer sent you £25. You wrote back saying you did not need this compensation and it could be deducted from the payout. The insurer replied: "This policy has not matured, it is a whole life policy and will never mature." Some forms and another quotation were enclosed, now for £2,887. You responded that, among other things, you had taken this out more than 40 years ago and there was a huge difference between £2,887 and £3,500, the sum assured. You said you would accept £3,250 considering the circumstances. Barclaycard refunds £150 and cuts interest rate on card I received notification from Egg that it intended to increase the rate of interest that applied to an established Visa account I had, from 16.9pc to 21.9pc in two months from the date of the letter. The letter advised me of the ability to opt out, which I did that same month online. I was sent no acknowledgement and so made a note of the time and date on the interest correspondence. I had thought this registration sufficient but this appears not to be the case. I was next aware that all was not well when I received correspondence from Barclaycard that it was in the process of taking over Egg's business. On reading the terms and conditions, I was dismayed to note that the interest rate that was to apply was 21.9pc. I called Barclaycard to advise them that the interest was incorrect. Despite talking to several people, none could advise. My new Barclaycard confirmed it intended to charge interest at 21.9pc. I contacted Egg online and it confirmed that interest would be 16.9pc. I wrote to Barclaycard but it seems to remain of the view that the appropriate interest rate is 21.9pc. Six months have passed since this issue was first broached. SB London At the root of this is the right of consumers to opt out of a higher rate of interest should one be imposed on their credit card. No more spending will be allowed on the card but the remaining balance can be paid off in the same way as it was before, at the old rate of interest. My investigations found out that Egg had in fact refunded the £15.92 which had been overpaid on the account when it was with it. However, when Egg migrated to Barclaycard, the new card company said it did not receive notification that you had opted out of this increased interest rate. Further to my involvement, Barclaycard reduced the interest rate to 16.9pc and made up the £144.63 discrepancy that had applied to your Barclaycard account since it came from Egg. It also sent you £100 for goodwill. I can't get money out of my Giro account I have a problem with Santander, which is sitting on a balance of £606 in a current account which I cannot get them to repay. Originally this was a Giro account which I started more than 20 years ago to use for small purchases. Then in 1996, Giro was taken over by Alliance & Leicester, but it was when A&L was taken over by Santander that the problems started. KA Spain You were first alerted that something was wrong when a £105 cheque bounced and the would-be beneficiary was informed that the account had been closed. You speculated incorrectly that the chequebook you were using might be out of date. You sent your passport and last statement to retrieve the balance but it wasn't forthcoming. You tried calling one of the people who had written to you along the way, quoting the latest reference number. They pleaded ignorance of the matter and, after questioning you for 10 minutes, transferred you to someone else who said "can I help?." Then you were cut off. This, I am afraid, being an all too familiar scenario for anyone making a call to various providers these days. You did try again but that proved futile and so, at 85 and with health problems, you wrote to me. Santander said that the system had incorrectly shown the transaction previous to the problematic one as having been made eight months before when it actually had been. So, because of the perceived inactivity in the account, a dormancy block had been placed on the account. The £606 balance has now been sent to you, along with £150 for goodwill.

'Boris Island' airport could become reality

CSI Oxford: behind the scenes at Britain's top forensic lab We're in a long - a very long - corridor. The overriding theme, colour-wise, is blue. Clean enough to be a hospital, except nothing is worn or in need of repair; all is pristine. Either side, set after set of swing doors. Security keypads. On the doors, bright red and yellow notices: No Entry for Unauthorised Personnel. Danger, Hazardous Materials. Approved Clothing Must Be Worn. And the one that gives you instant pause: Stop - DNA Sensitive Area. Do Not Enter Unless You Have Given An Elimination Sample. Behind the doors, figures in hairnets and face masks, scrubs, lab coats, and two pairs of latex gloves (one long, blue, pulled up over coat cuffs; the second short, flesh-coloured, changed with alarming frequency). The figures sit at desks covered with brown paper, poring over sweatshirts, jeans, trainers. Scratching at barely visible stains with small paper pads. "KM screening," pronounces Caroline Sheriff, forensic scientist. You drip the solution on to your filter paper, then hydrogen peroxide. If it goes pink, it indicates the presence of blood. Down the corridor, lengths of clear sticky tape are patted patiently on to a blouse, and removed again, lifting off fibres. A woman stares into a microscope. "Sperm heads, probably," Sheriff says. CSI this isn't. But it is perhaps a real-life equivalent: LGC Forensics, on a former RAF base in deepest Oxfordshire. (This lab deals mainly in chemical and biological traces, and DNA. Half a dozen others across the UK do marks and tracks, drugs, forensic pathology, firearms and digital forensics.) The company is Britain's largest single supplier of outsourced forensic science services. It was scientists from LGC Forensics - it employs 675 of them, 225 on this site - who found the evidence that helped convict the killers of Joanna Yeates, Damilola Taylor, Milly Dowler, Vikki Thompson, Rachel Nickell and, most recently and famously, Stephen Lawrence. For a much-hyped, very modern science that has advanced at breakneck speed since the discovery of genetic fingerprinting by Sir Alec Jeffreys in the mid-1980s and the launch, barely a decade later, of the world's first national DNA database by Britain's soon-to-be-defunct Forensic Science Service or FSS, DNA forensics still relies, above all, on painstaking process. There's little glamour here, and a lot of methodical, meticulous, minute and above all time-consuming graft. Exhibits come in and are logged. Depending on the nature of case and evidence, an appropriate reporter, the senior scientist on the investigation, is allocated. "The reporter liaises with the police, establishes what has to be looked for, draws up a strategy," Sheriff explains. They instruct the forensic examiners, review and interpret what they find. And it's the reporter who stands up in court. Rigour, continuity, integrity of procedure are all. Everything is recorded: who handles material, where it's come from, what they do to it, what they find, where it goes next. Stray DNA, any risk of contamination, must be minimised: hence the protective clothing (junked after every session), the brown paper (bagged for eventual debris), the company DNA database that allows any staff DNA found to be swiftly discounted. Because the thing about DNA evidence, strong as it is, large as it looms in the public's imagination, is that it connects a human and an object. It doesn't prove when the two came into contact. Nor does it necessarily prove they were actually in direct contact at all. "It's not just the finding of the evidence," says Ros Hammond, a senior scientific adviser who has worked on many high-profile cases. It's how did it get there, and can we rule out any other way it did so? And what does it mean? You have to be careful, analytical, determined, patient and - as five experts relate, in relation to six major cases - occasionally inspired. A 15-strong team headed by Roy Green, senior scientific adviser, worked on Lawrence's 1993 murder for five years from 2006. The strategy, he says, "was to look for anything at all that could have been transferred to, or from, Stephen. In cold cases, there are three possibilities: there's nothing there, it was missed, or it wasn't looked for. You have to start from scratch, assume nothing. First the scientists found red fibres on Stephen's jacket, which could have come from his polo shirt. "So we wondered," Green says, "whether, if those fibres were available, any could had transferred elsewhere - like to the attackers' clothes." They found the same red cotton-poly fibres on Gary Dobson's jacket, and on Stephen Norris's sweatshirt. They widened their search, and found fibres from Stephen's jacket on Dobson's jacket and cardigan, and from his trousers on Norris's sweatshirt. Then, says Green, the team did an MSP test on one of the fibres from Stephen's shirt that was found on Dobson's jacket. MSP, or microspectrophotomoter testing, shines different wavelengths of light through fibres, and measures what emerges the other side. In this one fibre, it revealed possible evidence of a bloodstain. Then we found, in the debris from the bag Dobson's jacket had been in, blood flakes including one with a couple of fibres in it. The fibres matched Stephen's cardigan. The blood matched his blood. "We had blood in the bag, and indications of blood on a fibre - we wanted to see if we could find blood on the jacket," Green says. Finally, through a low-powered microscope, the team found a minute, near-invisible stain on the back of the collar. It, too, matched Stephen's blood. That was the breakthrough: "It was a wet blood stain - which ultimately put the jacket at the scene of the crime, or a short time thereafter." As anticipated, the defence argued, strongly, that all the evidence was contaminated. The scientists showed that was impossible. And the jury decided, beyond reasonable doubt, "it wasn't the explanation." It started as a missing person inquiry on December 18, 2010, says Lindsey Lennen, a body fluids and DNA specialist (who, like many forensic scientists, says the work is "all I ever wanted to do"). The team started by examining items from Joanna's home, looking for foreign DNA. Then on Christmas Day, Yeates was found dead, on a country road. A colleague went down to supervise the removal of her clothing and preserve any body fluids: "The body was frozen, so that was quite tricky." Under the media glare, the work was flat-out: clothing, swabs, suspect's clothing, all analysed and turned round in 48 hours. "Eventually, we found something," Lennen says. On swabs and tapes from her breasts, and tapes from three areas of her jeans. There were DNA components that matched one of the suspects, Vincent Tabak. But there wasn't enough, of enough quality, to evaluate - perhaps because of the high salt levels where the body was found, following heavy snowfall. So the team deployed an LGC technique known as DNA SenCE, which purifies, concentrates and enhances otherwise unusable DNA: "We couldn't say whether the DNA was from saliva, or semen, or even touch. But we could say that the probability of it not being a match with Tabak was less than one in a billion. With the killer's confession, Lennen's DNA evidence was not further tested. "It happens, in court," she says. You get called biased, in the police's pay. You have to tell the truth, not stretch what you have. If you don't know which of two alternatives is more likely, you must say so. Sometimes with forensic DNA, ruling things out can take as long - and prove as important - as ruling them in. With Rachel Nickell, Green says, "we had the evidence two years before the killer was charged. We spent two years trying to prove it could only be what we believed it to be. Nickell was murdered on Wimbledon Common in 1992, in front of her two-year-old son, Alex. In a heavily criticised police entrapment operation, an unemployed local man, Colin Stagg, was charged, but acquitted in 1994. The case was reopened nearly a decade later. The original tapings from Nickell's body had been analysed by the FSS using Low Copy Number DNA, a technique that works by repeatedly amplifying minute quantities of DNA evidence to allow a match to be found. They had revealed little. Diluting the DNA back down to its original level, Green says, "we found a big profile of her, and also some DNA that didn't match hers, nor Colin Stagg's." That DNA profile was more than 1.4m times more likely to have come from the man eventually convicted, Robert Napper, than anyone not related to him. Green's team also examined the hair combings taken from Alex, and found flakes of red paint that matched Napper's toolbox. Finally, he says, "we got down on our hands and knees on Wimbledon Common and showed that the kind of shoes he'd been wearing, in those ground conditions, could leave prints smaller than the heels themselves" - just like those on the path near where Rachel was murdered. This one, says Andy Laws, former RAF targeting specialist turned LGC digital imaging expert, was different to the work he usually does, which is "basically identification: is the person in this not-very-clear CCTV image this suspect?" With 13-year-old Milly, who disappeared walking home from Walton-on-Thames station in March 2002, "the police were asking questions they didn't know the answer to. Much more interesting. First, Laws identified the make and model of their suspect car, and matched it with the one driven by Milly's killer, Levi Bellfield. The big question he then had to answer, using recordings from two rotating - and unsynchronised - CCTV cameras mounted at either end of an office building, was "whether it was possible for somebody to walk down Station Avenue undetected by those cameras." Because if it wasn't, that's where Milly had to have disappeared. And given that Bellfield's flat was halfway along it, behind a hedge, and the last eye-witness sighting of Milly placed her about 50 yards from there, it was crucial information. "To cut a long story short, my answer was: no," Laws says. There were trees and traffic, so I had to do a bit of calculating, and glare in a carpark; I had to do some image enhancing. But I worked out it wasn't humanly possible. To say so, however, Laws had to track and identify everyone who passed the cameras in a 30-minute window. That was 98 people: "I also had to show it wasn't possible for a car to stop and pick someone up undetected. Quite a complex piece of work. For Laws, satisfaction comes "from the actual forensic work, obviously. But the real high is presenting evidence, letting it speak in the truest way possible. When I present evidence, and the interpretation is subtle, and complicated, and afterwards both sides say: 'Yes.' That's a buzz. Damilola Taylor was stabbed in the leg with a broken bottle in November 2000. Danny and Ricky Preddy, 18 and 19, were convicted of his manslaughter nearly six years later. It was not classic cold case, says Hammond, who is currently working on six of them: "We couldn't apply new techniques. We just had to re-examine everything. So they did, and found a bloodstain, "quite large, visible to the naked eye," on the heel of Danny Preddy's trainer, and another microscopic stain on the cuff of Ricky's sweatshirt. There was also plentiful fibre evidence. "Sometimes, under the constraints of a live murder investigation, people concentrate on specific things," she says. Searching for blood is a human process, not automated. People are human; we occasionally make errors. It shows how painstaking you have to be. Vikki Thompson, on the other hand, was a cold case: reopened in 2005, 10 years after her death, one of the first murders to be re-examined following changes to the law that allowed a suspect to be tried twice for the same crime. An LGC team headed by Hammond spent three years on it. Partly because, says Hammond, "blood just shows up better under fibre optic lamps rather than regular tungsten," they found some bloodstains, a few millimetres across, on the front of suspect Mark Weston's boots, at the base of the tongue, that matched Vikki's: enough to apply for a retrial. "We look harder for smaller spots now, because we can exploit smaller quantities of DNA," she says. Hammond "doesn't watch CSI. But it's had an effect: customers expect turnarounds in seconds. Juries expect DNA evidence, and to hear 'A one in a billion chance ...' But sometimes, other evidence can be more significant. At the end of the day, you're there to serve the court. That's your job.

The road to Mandalay proves huge boost for Suu Kyi She is known simply as, "The Lady" and she arrived in Mandalay to the ecstatic welcome from a crowd reckoned to be around the 200,000 mark. It was Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy Party. This was her first appearance on the election campaign trail in the country's second largest city. The polls next month are not just on the minds of the voters but also in the focus of the U.S. and Europe as they contemplate lifting sanctions that have stunted growth in the developing country for years. From the platform a gentle warning from the Nobel Laureate. It is difficult to achieve democracy.And after we achieve democracy, it is hard to maintain. We have to do a lot of work and we have to take things slowly," she told the crowd. Suu Kyi's party is fielding 48 candidates in the vote which is seen by many as a symbolic challenge to a government controlled by former generals. Despite irregularities in the country's 2010 election, analysts expect April's poll will be free and fair because of Suu Kyi. More about: Aung San Suu Kyi, Electoral campaign, Myanmar, Myanmar politics

Major Alastair Coke - Telegraph The wounded were extricated only with great difficulty. Coke refused to be evacuated until his company's position was stabilised. He was awarded the first of his MCs, the citation stating that his leadership in the action had been beyond praise. Alastair Hall Coke was born in Calcutta on December 2 1917. He was educated at Seaforth College and Sandhurst and joined the regimental centre of the Garhwal Rifles in Lansdowne, India, in 1937. After the campaign in Eritrea he was, for a time, ADC to "Bill" Slim (then a major-general), in Egypt. He was subsequently transferred to 1/18 RGR, which moved to the Arakan region of Burma. On the morning of March 25 1944, Coke was in command of two companies in Wet Valley which were pinned down by heavy fire from Japanese units, preventing them from crossing a road. An attack was launched at one o'clock in the morning behind a heavy concentration of mortar fire. After a determined charge, and some fierce, close-quarter fighting, the enemy position was taken. Although wounded in the head, Coke insisted on carrying on until the objective was achieved. Further successful operations took place in the days following and, by March 29, Wet Valley - which had been held by the Japanese in strength - was open again. Coke was awarded a Bar to his MC. After Independence in 1947, the Garhwal Rifles were allocated to the new Indian Army. Coke had to take down the Union Flag from a fort on the North-West Frontier. On his return to Bombay he saw at first hand the terrible sectarian violence as the nationals of India and the newly formed Pakistan clashed at the new borders between their countries. Having returned to England, he trained as a land agent and, after qualifying as a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, managed several large estates. In retirement he lived in Devon and later in Dorset. Alastair Coke married, in 1947, Pamela Van Someren. She predeceased him, and he is survived by their son and daughter. Major Alastair Coke, born December 2 1917, died May 24 2012

Travel in 2013: Holidays for train fans The vintage carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (0845 217 0799; vsoe.com) head for Scandinavia next year, visiting Stockholm for the first time. A seven-night package from Venice to Stockholm, including two nights at the Hotel Cipriani, two nights' full board on the train, one night in Copenhagen and two in Stockholm at the Grand Hotel, plus BA flights from Heathrow or Gatwick (into Venice, out of Stockholm) on 6 April is £4,860pp. If that's a little outside your budget, a new trip along the Pembrokeshire coast on the Orient Express's Northern Belle departs Cardiff and Swansea on 2 March, and Bath, Bristol and Cardiff on 9 May, from £340pp, including brunch and a four-course dinner. Travel back to the days of the Cold War and ride Marshal Tito's Blue Train between Belgrade in Serbia and Bar in Montenegro. The new 12-hour journey in the 1950s carriages will cross the Serbian plains and Montenegrin mountains, with talks by expert guides. A one-week break, featuring the train ride, costs from £699pp, based on two sharing, with Explore Montenegro (020-7118 1002; montenegroholi days.com), including JAT Airways flights from Heathrow into Belgrade, out of Tivat to Gatwick with Montenegro Airlines, two nights' B&B in Belgrade and five nights' self-catering with car hire in Montenegro. The Rocky Mountaineer (rockymountaineer.com), is launching its first trip starting in the US, the Coastal Passage route, in 2013. The double-decker train with panoramic views will head from Seattle along the shores of the Pacific to Vancouver and on into the Canadian Rockies to Banff. Trailfinders (020-7368 1200; trailfinders.com) is offering a week from £3,099pp, including indirect Delta flights from Heathrow to Seattle and out of Calgary, three nights' half board on the train, six nights' room-only accommodation in Seattle, Vancouver and Banff, and three days' car hire. Departs 21 August.

Gareth Bale signs a new four-year contract at Tottenham Hotspur with Andre Villas-Boas managerial talks ongoing Spurs are, meanwhile, still extremely confident that they had gazumped Liverpool to sign 22-year-old midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson from Hoffenheim after an £8 million fee was agreed. Spurs are also very hopeful that they will sign the Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen this summer, despite a hitch over the 15 per cent of the £9.5 million transfer fee he is due, as the club begins an overhaul of their squad. While Spurs are braced to lose Modric they will be heartened to have secured 22-year-old Bale on a new contract after he complained that he would struggle to remain at the club if there was no Champions League football next season. Barcelona have watched him on numerous occasions but appear set to sign Jordi Alba from Valencia, a far cheaper option, as their new left-back. Bale's new deal is the third he has signed at Spurs in recent years, following Levy's policy of incremental increasing the pay of star performers. The Welsh international said: "The club is progressing and I want to be part of that, so it was great to get the deal done. I love the club and the fans and I want to play my part in trying to get us back into the Champions League - where we belong. Securing Champions League qualification, reducing the average age of the squad and nurturing young talents such as 20-year-old defender Steven Caulker, only loan to Swansea City last season, will be the primary aims of the new manager. He will also have to show a commitment to attacking football. Despite his torrid eight months at Chelsea, Villas-Boas would appear an ideal fit for the kind of manager Levy wants. He remains a very able coach, whose ability is admired, and is also desperate to succeed in England and has learnt from the mistakes he made at Chelsea. With Spurs missing out on the Champions League, despite finishing fourth, after Chelsea won the competition, with one more year on Redknapp's contract and with the move to a new state-of-the-art training ground at Bull's Cross then Levy felt the time was right for a change of approach. The chairman would like to hire a director of football to work alongside the new manager/ head coach but may have cooled on that idea for now as he searches for the right candidate. He will also find an enhanced role for Tim Sherwood, one of the few members of Redknapp's backroom staff to survive, who is highly-rated by Levy and may be asked to be chief scout with extra responsibilities. In a sign that talks are progressing well, Villas-Boas, on Tuesday, turned down the chance to become the new coach of the Brazilian club Sao Paulo. As part of the changes to the squad, Vedran Corluka on Wednesday left Spurs after agreeing a three-year deal with Lokomotiv Moscow where he will work with their new coach, and his former coach with Croatia, Slaven Bilic.

Insight: U.S., China turned EU powers against airline pollution law By Barbara Lewis and Valerie Volcovici BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The European Union's landmark effort to charge foreign airlines for carbon emitted on flights in and out of Europe was already failing by the time French President Francois Hollande shared his deep concerns with the European Commission chief in October. The U.S. aviation industry had mustered fierce political opposition, China was threatening to withhold aircraft orders from Airbus and the most influential European nations feared retaliation against their national carriers. Chinese and Indian airlines refused to submit emissions data; U.S. lawmakers were readying a law that could make it illegal to pay the tariff. Ultimately it came down to an economy-versus-environment debate, with issues of national sovereignty and freedom of the skies also playing a decisive role in grounding the effort for now, to the relief of global carriers and airplane makers whose businesses stood to lose out. Direct pressure from the EU's three most powerful members, and France in particular, forced an abrupt one-year postponement of one of the most contentious efforts to curb global greenhouse gas emissions since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, according to European sources familiar with the negotiations. Hollande, nervous about the possible job losses at major French and European employer Airbus, raised the issue with EC President Jose Manuel Barroso at a meeting in Brussels in October, one of dozens of such encounters focused mainly on taming the debt crisis, one of the sources said. Barroso decided the EC needed to make its move before the United States finalized a law that would formally shield its airlines from complying "so as not to be seen to be pushed," said the source, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the disclosures. Weeks later, on November 12, EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard told a hastily convened news conference that she was "stopping the clock" for a year before enforcing the law, a painful about-face on a signature initiative that has become the latest example of how difficult it remains to tackle climate change globally. "Hedegaard was under extreme pressure," one senior EU official said. Another source said Britain, France and Germany were pushing to abandon the inclusion of aviation altogether. Hedegaard held out for a freeze with automatic reimposition of the law if no progress were made at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations' aviation body. " (Hedegaard) fought very, very hard for a year-long freeze," said the source. Barroso backed her. The delay took both environmental campaigners and industry by surprise, although pressure had been building steadily for months, even as the EC steadfastly defended the law. A day after Hedegaard's news conference, the U.S. Congress approved the EU Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act, which can be used to shelter U.S. airlines from compliance with the EU law. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the act on November 27. Less than two weeks later, Chinese carrier China Eastern Airlines announced plans to buy 60 Airbus aircraft, a reversal of its earlier threats to withhold orders from Airbus because of the EU law. Fellow carrier China Southern ordered a further 10 Airbus aircraft last week. China buys more than one in five Airbus planes currently being produced, according to the European aircraft maker. Hedegaard gives a different reason for the delay. She says that an ICAO meeting earlier in November had made good progress toward a global framework to address aviation sector emissions, and she wanted to give it more time. Asked about the lobbying effort, Hedegaard declined to comment but told Reuters she had the support of Britain, France and Germany for the freeze, meaning it would almost certainly be endorsed by member states. Commission spokesman Isaac Valero-Ladron declined to comment on any lobbying by member states, citing the ICAO progress. The European Union has long taken the lead on tackling climate change with ambitious carbon-cutting goals. Its Emissions Trading System (ETS) was designed to be the cornerstone of its climate-change policy, and it has led the way in saying it will sign up for a second Kyoto period. But its efforts have run into the counter-force of economic pressure in difficult times. The European Commission and environmental groups had argued that including the global aviation sector under the EU ETS was justified because airlines do not face any emissions regulation. Adding on an extra one or two euros per passenger per flight seemed entirely reasonable. To opponents, however, charging all airlines for emissions generated in international airspace just because they were using EU airports was a major breach of national sovereignty. Long before Hollande's meeting with Barroso, nervous EU airline chiefs, including from French carrier Air France-KLM and Germany's Lufthansa, and top brass at Airbus wrote to the prime ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Spain, warning of the risk of jobs losses because of canceled orders and other potential retaliation. "The aim must be to find a compromise solution and to have these punitive trade measures stopped before it is too late," the CEOs wrote in a letter in March. Airbus, part of aerospace group EADS, said early this year that China had been holding back on deals to buy passenger jets worth at least $12 billion. That forced the company to delay part of a planned production increase that would have generated an extra 1,000 jobs, it said. Airbus employs about 55,000 workers, most in Europe. Beyond those directly employed are tens of thousands of workers whose employment is indirectly linked to Airbus. Still, Hedegaard insisted publicly and privately that the only way the EU would back down would be the creation of an alternative global scheme, and that individual nations could be exempt if they introduced their own plans for cutting aviation emissions. For example, in a letter to Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on March 30, Hedegaard said the commission could meet half-way provided "India itself undertook comparable action" to tackle emissions. Around the same time, before Hollande's election in May, then French Prime Minister Francois Fillon wrote to Barroso urging a resolution, saying the European Union must "make all the necessary efforts" to find a solution acceptable to countries outside the region. Only months later would other EU members begin to express their reluctance, according to an EU official close to the debate. Some countries began to realize that their own agencies, not the EC, would be responsible for collecting fees from and imposing penalties on hostile non-EU airlines that have threatened to retaliate. Under EU law, penalties start at 100 euros ($130) per ton of carbon. While China pressed from the east, U.S. politicians pressed from the west, with the powerful airline lobby joining forces in the name of protecting the sovereignty of U.S. airspace. Florida Republican Congressman John Mica, who co-authored the House version of a bill blocking U.S. airlines from the EU ETS with Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota, says U.S. lawmakers made several direct appeals to their European counterparts to back down. We knew there was opposition from other countries. We met with the EU and also the folks we considered our allies," Mica told Reuters in an interview. Airlines for America (A4A), a lobbying group, spent more than two years convincing the Obama administration and Congress to oppose the EU scheme. It has spent over $4.3 million so far this year to influence the blocking bill and other industry issues, according to lobbying tracking website Open Secrets. The group is now taking advantage of its success to lobby for a national overhaul of U.S. airline regulations and taxes. "This issue has really united unions, corporations and the industry in a new way, and the airlines absolutely want to build on that as we move into a national airline policy," said Sean Kennedy, senior vice president for global government affairs at A4A. The way forward for the law after the one-year moratorium looks uncertain. The dominant influence of Britain, France and Germany within Europe could make it difficult to restart the clock, although Hedegaard insists it would start automatically if ICAO fails to deliver. Mica said the U.S. law was necessary because he is skeptical ICAO can deliver. More than a decade of fruitless debate at the ICAO was what led the EU to impose its aviation law in the first place. More than a year of high international tension has galvanized the slow-moving U.N. body, which requires the approval of all 190 members to seal any deal. Its first meeting of high-level diplomats, which takes place in Montreal this week, is charged with devising a framework and will be closely watched. "The United States and its coalition of unwilling surrogates blamed Europe and said an ICAO global agreement was the only way," said Bill Hemmings, program manager at campaign group Transport & Environment, an environmental campaign group. Well now's the time for this coalition to deliver the goods in ICAO. Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris and Luke Baker in Brussels; Editing by Alden Bentley and Prudence Crowther

Even in a Super Bowl Week, It's Still Peyton's Place - Leading Off We have reached the point in the pre-Super Bowl wind cycle where everyone arrives in the host city and begins to take stock of it. In Indianapolis, that means cringing at a giant set of Roman numerals in Monument Circle and a fresh round of "oh my goshes" about the Peyton Manning standoff. The "oh my goshes" aren't about any actual news because even though the latest whisper campaign has Manning headed for neck-induced retirement, as far as we know Manning's vertebrae are pretty much in the same state as they were yesterday. Colts owner Jim Irsay shed little light on anything as he spoke at a news conference that officially kicked off Peyton Manning Circus Week, but clearly the decision on Manning isn't getting made before Sunday. Nonetheless, as Michael Silver writes on Yahoo.com, the story will swallow this week anyway. Elizabeth Merrill writes on ESPN.com that Indianapolis fans are only starting to come to grips with things, and they've been thinking about it all season. Eventually, things should circle back to the game being played - including the Manning who is actually playing in the Super Bowl (Eli) - although all sanity will take a break on Tuesday for Media Day, which as Bob Kravitz puzzles over in The Indianapolis Star, 7,000 people actually bought tickets to watch. They will certainly not be getting money for their entertainment dollars from the two coaches. Yes, there is a semi-rational argument to be made that the Giants" Tom Coughlin could make the Hall of Fame if he wins this Super Bowl, writes Ashley Fox on ESPN.com, and the Patriots" Bill Belichick regularly torments his players in film sessions, but neither are guys you want to sit in a stadium seat and listen to from a quarter-mile away. Eddie Izzard, they ain't. A few more worthwhile thoughts amid the Super Bowl lead-up include why Honda is previewing its Ferris Bueller Super Bowl ad, because doesn't that sorta take away the fun of watching during the actual Super Bowl? And how exactly did the N.B.A. schedule the Orlando Magic to play the Pacers the day before the Super Bowl without considering there would be no hotel rooms? The scrambling, ridiculous answer to that riddle is, the team is staying in Cincinnati. At least it's something else for Magic fans to think about other than Dwight Howard's impending exit, writes Ken Berger on CBSSports.com. Elsewhere in the N.B.A., the Clippers" Blake Griffin has taken up residence in the stratosphere around the hoop with this preposterous dunk over the Thunder's Kendrick Perkins Monday night. And LeBron James staked out space in Miami's bike lanes to beat traffic to a game on Sunday. While the N.H.L. ramps back up after its All-Star weekend, the missing star Sidney Crosby continues to perplex the sport, including making The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Dejan Kovacevic wonder just how on earth the Penguins doctors managed to miss his broken neck. The league's goalies might want to take a second to learn from Karri Ramo of Avangard Omsk in Russia's K.H.L., how not to bat the puck back into your goal with your stick. Had that happened in Indianapolis, we'd all know about it by now and what it means for Peyton Manning's future. Instead, we have to stick to just guessing.

Wedding photograph mishap leaves bridal party in a lake

Daniel Whiteley assault: Three charged with attempted murder

Entire DNA of fetus revealed through risk-free testing Scientists have pieced together the entire DNA sequence of an 18-week-old fetus without having to use any invasive tests that could result in a miscarriage - an advance that offers a glimpse of the future of prenatal testing. Using blood drawn from the mother and a sample of saliva from the father, the researchers were able to scan the fetus' genome and determine whether it contained any of the myriad single-letter changes in the DNA code that can cause a genetic disorder. They could even pinpoint which mutations were inherited from Mom, which came from Dad, and which were brand-new. If the technique is refined and the technology becomes inexpensive - as many experts anticipate - this type of prenatal testing could provide prospective parents with a simple, risk-free way to screen for a broad array of simple genetic disorders, according to the authors of a report in Thursday's edition of Science Translational Medicine. The work is based on the fact that small fragments of fetal DNA circulate in the blood of pregnant women. Several biotech companies are developing tests that capture those DNA fragments and screen them for signs of Down syndrome and other disorders that result from having an extra copy of an entire chromosome. But that type of screening is far easier than searching for single-letter variations in individual genes, said senior author Jay Shendure, a geneticist at the University of Washington in Seattle. An additional chromosome is "the equivalent of an extra chapter in a book," he said. What we're trying to do is pick up a typo in a word. To set about their task, Shendure's team started by sequencing the genome of an anonymous pregnant woman, using a complete sample of her DNA obtained from her blood cells. They also sequenced free-floating DNA fragments extracted from her blood plasma, repeating their work until they had decoded every part of the human genome 80 times. That plasma contained a mix of 10% fetal DNA and 90% maternal DNA, all in tiny fragments. The scientists needed to be able to tell which pieces were from the mother and which belonged to the fetus. To solve that problem, the scientists relied on the fact that genetic material is inherited in long strands of DNA, called chromosomes - and that tiny genetic variations on the same chromosome are usually inherited together, in blocks known as haplotypes. If a given haplotype was present in the fetus as well as in the mother, it would be detected in the plasma in extra amounts. The scientists also sequenced the father's DNA, which was extracted from saliva. This allowed the team to figure out whether genetic variations in the fetus that didn't match the mother were inherited from the father or were new mutations. On average, about 50 new mutations show up in a fetus. The scientists checked their results against a blood sample taken from the baby's umbilical cord after birth. Their calculations were more than 98% correct, they found, and they had detected 39 out of the 44 new mutations. None of those mutations had known medical consequences, the researchers said. This approach could be used to devise a single test to screen for the 3,000 known disorders that are caused by mistakes in single genes. Individually, they are rare, but together they affect about 1% of births. Technology like this could lead to more widespread screening of fetuses for genetic disorders that could benefit from early treatment, said Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, senior vice president for research and global programs for the March of Dimes in White Plains, N.Y. It might even help doctors identify women at heightened risk for problems such as pre-term birth, he said.

California Clean Cars Deal Criticized as Hurting Green Sales When California's air regulators approved new car-pollution rules to cut down on smog and global warming, they included a provision that critics described as a loophole that could substantially reduce the number of electric vehicles sold in the state in coming years. Under the new Advanced Clean Cars Program rules, approved last month, automakers will be required, beginning in 2018, to sell an escalating number of automobiles and light vehicles in California that can run on electricity, fuel cells or other zero-tailpipe-emission technologies. As a result, state officials calculated that 78,100 such vehicles would be sold in California in 2018, rising to 163,600 by 2021. But under a deal reached by automakers, the Obama administration and two senior California Air Resources Board officials, manufacturers that exceed new federal fuel-efficiency standards, even slightly, will be allowed to reduce the number of zero-emission vehicles they sell by up to 50 percent in 2018, a reduction that will drop to 30 percent by 2021. The new rules also allow carmakers that do not meet their sales goals to purchase credits from other companies that surpass the goals, like Tesla Motors, a Bay Area company that plans to sell only electric vehicles and electric vehicle components. "It's really a matter of flexibility," said John Cabaniss, the environment and energy director for the trade group Global Automakers, which lobbied during the negotiations for the so-called overcompliance provision. Mr. Cabaniss said the provision was important for Honda, Hyundai and other manufacturers that build and sell fuel-efficient, gasoline-powered cars that limit air pollution. David Friedman, deputy director of the Union of Concerned Scientists" clean cars program, said the provision could reduce the number of zero-emission vehicles on Californian roads by 100,000 in 2021. "We didn't see it as a really good deal for California," Mr. Friedman said. What we suggested was either get rid of the provision or tune it up. But when air-quality board members tried to vote to impose a more stringent provision, one that would have required automakers to surpass federal mileage standards substantially to qualify, their efforts were blocked by Mary Nichols, the board's chairwoman. She said the provision, the result of federal negotiations, could not be amended. "I can't let you go in this direction," Ms. Nichols told her colleagues as they pushed for a vote on a more stringent provision. This is completely inconsistent with the discussions that we had at the national level. Tom Cackette, an air board official, who negotiated the agreement in tandem with Ms. Nichols last summer, said the provision was needed to secure support from some automakers for the far-reaching package of federal and state rules. Other states are expected to adopt California's rules on nongasoline cars. "The idea was to try to get one set of agreements that everybody could live with," Mr. Cackette said.

Woman infected with HIV by boyfriend Les Pringle stands by him as he is jailed for infecting an ex-girlfriend The lover of a photographer who infected her with HIV said she will stand by him after he was jailed for doing the same to an ex-girlfriend. Les Pringle, 48, from Tynemouth, North Tyneside, was jailed for three and a half years yesterday at Newcastle Crown Court for inflicting grievous bodily harm on a woman known as X. He had unprotected sex with her, despite knowing he had HIV and being told by doctors that he could pass on the virus. After the case, it emerged another woman has been infected, but that she is standing by her lover. They were at school together, had a relationship in later life, but they broke up suddenly. She fell ill and eventually had a HIV test which was positive, and she suspected Pringle had infected her. Pringle was in denial about his illness, but following a suicide attempt in the River Tyne, his state of mind changed, and she decided to help him. Over time, their romance was rekindled and she remained supportive of him through his trial. She told the Newcastle-based Evening Chronicle newspaper: "I had to think very hard about whether I could forgive him, and it did take a while. I realised he wasn't a bad person. He just wasn't dealing with it. He said he had finally had his head dragged out of the sand. The woman, a mother, who has not been named by the newspaper, does not believe he deliberately infected her and can now forgive him. He dated X at a separate time and was in a loving relationship with her. She only found out she had HIV after they had split up and was about to start another romance. After Pringle was jailed for infecting X, Detective Superintendent Steve Wade said: "We welcome this sentence which will see Pringle serving a considerable time in custody. He breached a partner's trust and showed absolutely no regard for her personal safety by withholding the information that he was HIV positive. Pringle knew he was HIV positive but recklessly ignored the health advice he had been given by having unprotected sexual relations with the victim. This has been a long and difficult inquiry and our thoughts continue to be with his victim who will have to live with the consequences of Pringle's actions for the rest of her life. After Pringle was convicted, X released a statement saying: "The selfish behaviour of Les Pringle is nothing short of appalling. Through the position he now finds himself in, I hope Les Pringle uses this time to reflect on the damage he has done through his treatment of others, and learn something of compassion. There is no shame in having an HIV test, or indeed being HIV positive. Look after yourself and others, going for a test may well save your life.

Romanian Protesters Urge Government's Ouster BUCHAREST, Romania - Thousands of protesters gathered in Romania's capital on Thursday to demand the ouster of the government and new elections, as a week of demonstrations against far-reaching austerity measures and years of difficult reforms seemed to gain strength. Economic frustrations have spilled into the streets here, as they have in Spain and Greece. Protesters in University Square downtown shouted chants calling for the resignation of President Traian Basescu and his ally, Prime Minister Emil Boc. Around 11 p.m. several demonstrators began dragging metal barricades into the street, and some hurled bottles and other objects at the police. Hundreds of riot police officers in black ski masks moved in, clearing the square and nearby streets. Fifty-five people were arrested, and five were treated for injuries, according to Realitatea TV. The demonstrations were reminiscent of Sunday's protests, which turned violent, with demonstrators smashing store windows, setting newsstands on fire and throwing stones at police officers, who dispersed the crowds with tear gas and arrested dozens of people. The wave of protests, which have spread across the country, broke out after a popular health official resigned last week over government proposals to overhaul the health-care system. The official was reinstated this week, and a controversial proposal to partly privatize the medical emergency-response system has been shelved for now, but the protests have continued. "I want the president to resign, the prime minister to resign and the entire government to be replaced with experts who are not involved in politics," said Mihaela Leonte, 31, a hairstylist who joined the raucous crowd in the square in Bucharest on Thursday night. The dispute over the health overhaul "was the final straw," said Ms. Leonte, who held a picture of President Basescu with the nose of a pig superimposed on his face. But it is more than that. People are determined. Protesters focused much of their anger on Mr. Basescu, a former ship captain whose leadership style has been widely criticized as increasingly authoritarian. They cited cuts to government salaries, frozen pensions and an increase in the value-added tax, as well as what they said was deep-seated corruption and a broader sense that the government served only its own interests and those of its richest constituents. Many of the same broad themes have been voiced by demonstrators in countries as diverse as Israel and India, from the "indignados," or outraged, in Spain to the Occupy Wall Street protests that started in New York and spread around the world. In Romania, news media reported that the unrest had spread over the past week to about 60 cities nationwide. About 7,000 people turned up at a rally in Bucharest on Thursday organized by the opposition National Liberal Party, according to the Ministry of the Interior, and the crowd in the downtown square later was said to number about 1,500. Romania had to turn to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Union in 2009 for 20 billion euros in emergency loans (about $27 billion at the exchange rates then). In response the government took tough steps to rein in the budget deficit, which was 7.3 percent of gross domestic product that year. Without the spending cuts and tax increases, that could have risen to 13.7 percent in 2010, according to Andreea Paul, an economic adviser to Mr. Boc. Instead the deficit was cut to 6.9 percent in 2010 and an estimated 4.2 percent in 2011, and the economy began to grow again. "It was not easy at all, politically speaking, but these are times when political leaders separate themselves from demagogic politicians," said Ms. Paul, who placed blame for the protests on opposition parties trying to drum up discontent in an election year. Laura Stefan, a senior analyst at the Expert Forum, a research institute in Bucharest, disputed the government's characterization of the demonstrations as driven by the opposition parties. "Economically, those were sound decisions taken by the government, but that doesn't mean people were happy with them," Ms. Stefan said. It's not at all an attempt to change the government for the opposition, but people saying that all parties are just as dirty. Octavian Caldararu, 75, a retired construction worker, said he was not a member of any party but took part in the opposition rally at Bucharest's triumphal arch, modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, to show his displeasure with the direction the country had taken in recent years. "I took part in the revolution in 1989" against the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Mr. Caldararu said, "and the ideals of the revolution have not only been forgotten, they have been broken." Mr. Ceausescu and his wife were executed on Dec. 25, 1989. Since then, Romania has made significant strides, joining the European Union and NATO. But the recession in the wake of the global financial crisis struck the country of 22 million particularly hard. And even as the economy has recovered here, some Romanians who used to work in other European Union countries whose economies have slowed, particularly Spain and Italy, have been forced to come home, making the search for jobs even harder for the long-term unemployed. Alexandru Dragan, 46, an electro-technician, said he had been unemployed since 2009 despite having a lengthy résumé and work experience in Germany. "Regular Romanian citizens who are not a part of any political party should be asked about new laws," Mr. Dragan said. If we look at the people, we can find smarter individuals than the ones in the current government. Mihai Radu contributed reporting.

The unseen Titanic: Photos reveal life aboard doomed ship The photographs of a single camera enthusiast who traveled aboard the Titanic before its fatal voyage have resurfaced for the 100th anniversary of the sinking, revealing a remarkable glimpse at what life was like for passengers of the ill-fated ship. The Rev. Francis Browne, a Jesuit priest, sailed the first leg of the Titanic's maiden voyage, between Southampton, England, and Cobh, Ireland -- taking a series of black-and-white photos of life onboard the luxury liner. He planned to stay on the ship to New York but was ordered by his superior to return home instead. Browne was lucky. After striking an iceberg on April 15, 1912, the Titanic took 1,500 people with it to its watery grave miles below the surface of the Atlantic. Browne survived, thanks to the demands of his ministry, and so did his photographs, which were rediscovered in 1985 by a fellow priest. His fantastic tale is documented in the book "Father Browne's Titanic Album: Centenary Edition," a unique memoir and photographic record of HMS Titanic on her maiden voyage that publisher Messenger Publications in Ireland is rereleasing to coincide with the anniversary. Book available from Messenger Publications. The photographs Browne took were used as references during the set design process for the film "Titanic," a spokeswoman for The Sacred Heart Messenger told FoxNews.com, because of the remarkable documentation they provide of life on the ocean liner. Pictures reveal an exercise room being put to use, passengers boarding by gangplank and luggage being loaded, as well as the grand scale of the ship itself. Browne's story is as amazing as his unique photos: He was offered a ticket to ride to New York on the next leg of the Titanic and likely would have drowned had he not been called back to his parish, the spokeswoman said. His passion for the emerging practice of photography became well known; 24 books of his photographs have been published, according to the Messenger. And his dual roles -- as priest and cameraman -- are no coincidence, according to the Rev. John Looby, editor of the Messenger. "I do not believe that there is merely some coincidence here between Father Browne being a priest and a photographer," Looby recently wrote. The priest tries to see God in each person he meets and ministers to, and the photographer tries to capture what is revealed in his photos. The wreckage of the Titanic has been a source of fascination for millions. New images of the wreck recently were revealed showing for the first time the full stretch of the "unsinkable" boat -- sprawled silently 12,500 feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean's surface. That set of new photographs, released in the April 2012 edition of National Geographic magazine to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the shipwreck, reveal the full expanse of the ship, rather than the dim images of bits of the hull or pieces of wreckage seen to date. The meticulously stitched-together mosaic took experts at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution months to construct, the magazine said. "Now we know where everything is," Bill Lange, head of the organization's Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory, told National Geographic. After a hundred years, the lights are finally on.

TUC Congress: UK's railways "a gigantic scam"

Educational development: One in four children 'at risk'

A&E considers calling in Army medics due to shortage of doctors Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which was mired in scandal when an investigation found appalling standards of care and at least 400 more patients died there than would be expected, has also used Army doctors in recent months. Yvette Cooper, MP for Pontefract and Castleford said: "The Government needs to explain how it has come to this, with two NHS hospital trusts now needing help from the army to keep services open. Twelve thousand people have signed our petition to get Pontefract A&E re-opened and we want to see action by Mid Yorkshire Trust to deliver on their promises to local people. So clearly action which brings additional doctors into Pontefract to re-open services is important and welcome. But it is deeply worrying that two hospitals have now had to seek help from the Army because of the shortage of doctors and the government needs to explain urgently why they have allowed it to come to this and what action Ministers will take to deliver the doctors we need. Dr Taj Hassan, vice president of the College of Emergency Medicine, said there was a shortage of around 270 middle grade doctors in emergency medicine and also a shortage of consultant. He said the shortage will continue as there are too few juniors entering the specialty so the problem may get worse in the future. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said no approach had been received from the Department of Health. For Army doctors to be used in this way the trust would have to appeal to the Department of Health for help, which would then contact the MoD. Two Army consultants worked at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust for six weeks last year along with a number of nurses to mentor and train staff but were not there to replace regular NHS doctors. Professor Tim Hendra, Medical Director at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Local people in Pontefract have told us very clearly that they want their A&E department open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We remain committed to meeting that demand and recruiting sufficient doctors to operate a safe service so that we can re-open their A&E at night as soon as possible. He said a review had been conducted to consider all the options. That review confirmed that the Trust had fully considered all the options but suggested that it would be appropriate to approach the army for doctors who could temporarily help. These doctors would be trained medical staff that are not currently on military service who could provide temporary support with our staffing rotas. We understand that this is only offered in exceptional circumstances. So far, we have only had some very early exploratory conversations with the army," he said. A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "The number of doctors is rising - we have 3,700 more doctors since May 2010, and the number of those specialising in emergency medicine is going up. We are working with the College of Emergency Medicine to ensure that high quality doctors are recruited and appropriately trained as well as increasing the numbers of doctors in the specialty of emergency medicine.

Benefits families could pay off £1m mortgage including 80 who receive at least £1,100 a week, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. This is in stark contrast to the majority of the near five million claimants, four in five of whom receive less than £100 a week. Concerns over housing benefit deepened in 2010 when it emerged that a family of former asylum seekers from Somalia were getting £2,000 per week to live in a £2.1million home in Kensington. Abdi Nur, 42, an unemployed bus conductor, his wife Sayruq, 40, and their seven children moved after complaining their previous home had been in a "poor" part of the city. Last year, another family who fled war-ravaged Somalia exchanged a modest home in Coventry for a £2million house in West Hampstead, north-west London. Saeed Khaliif, 49, who was unemployed, was able to sign what was believed to be a £2,000 a week lease for the six - bedroom property despite having no connection with their new area. The Government announced last year that housing benefit, which currently costs the taxpayer £22billion every year, should be capped at £400 per week for any new applicants from last April. Anyone in receipt of greater handouts prior to that date was given nine months to move to a cheap property or renegotiate rents to come under the cap. But as of September, some 10,480 families were still being paid in excess of £400 a week for rent. It raises serious doubts as to how many will meet the transition deadline. Emma Boon of the TaxPayers" Alliance said: "This is further evidence that it is right to cap benefits. It is unfair to ask taxpayers to pay for swanky central London homes for others when they can't afford to live in those postcodes themselves. A DWP spokeswoman said: "These figures underline exactly why our Housing Benefit reforms are so necessary." Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said the figures underlined the need for a benefits cap. But he said the fact that the highest claimants were in London showed the need for different caps in different parts of the country.

Ex-President Plans Return to Madagascar JOHANNESBURG - The ousted former president of Madagascar plans to return to his country from exile here on a flight Saturday morning, he told a news conference here on Friday. Marc Ravalomanana, the former business tycoon who was twice elected president before going into exile in 2009, said he was planning to return to Antananarivo, the capital, to help rebuild the impoverished island nation. "It is with great pleasure and carrying the hopes and aspirations of all Malagasy for a return to peace and freedom in our beloved country that I announce, once again, that I will return to Madagascar tomorrow," he told reporters here. Mr. Ravalomanana was ousted in a military-backed putsch in 2009. His archrival, a young former disc jockey who had been mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, took office as president with the military's blessing. Mr. Ravalomanana tried to return home last February, but he was not allowed to board his commercial flight because Madagascar's civilian aviation board had sent a letter saying that he was "non grata persons in Madagascar. So to preserve public order don't take them aboard. That order has since been rescinded, said Patrick Gearing, a spokesman for Mr. Ravalomanana, and the former president expected to be allowed to board a South African Airways flight on Saturday. "We have assurance that he will be allowed to board the plane," Mr. Gearing said. But Mr. Ravalomanana is likely to face legal trouble the moment he arrives. He was convicted in absentia in 2010 in a case that stemmed from the deaths of at least 25 antigovernment protesters shot by his presidential guard. Mr. Gearing called that conviction the result of a "kangaroo court." A government official told The Associated Press that Mr. Ravalomanana would be arrested on arrival. Mr. Ravalomanana was elected president in 2001 and reelected in 2006, and still commands considerable support in Madagascar. Large crowds gathered to welcome him during his failed attempt to return in 2011, and his arrival will surely rattle an already tense nation. Madagascar, a former French colony off the coast of southern Africa with 20 million residents, has been deeply isolated since the coup. But in recent months diplomats from the region have been working to broker a political agreement that would allow exiles like Mr. Ravalomanana to return and take part in new elections.

Italy farm lobby lifts quake damage estimate ROME (Reuters) - Recent earthquakes in northern Italy have severely damaged some 2,000 farms and inflicted losses amounting to 705 million euros, agricultural lobby group Coldiretti said on Wednesday, lifting previous damage estimates by over 200 million euros. The revised estimate came as the head of Italy's main business association said the earthquakes would halt output in many local factories for up to six months and could crimp national gross domestic product. Earthquakes hit the area around Modena in the prosperous region of Emilia Romagna last month, killing 26 people, leaving more than 10,000 homeless, and damaging or destroying thousands of buildings including farms, factories and historic churches and castles. Coldiretti said damage of about 400 million euros had been caused to farm buildings and another 70 million euros would be needed to secure damaged irrigation installations. In addition, 220 million euros worth of damage had been done to production of Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, the two main varieties of parmesan cheese, and another 15 million euros of damage to production of Modena balsamic vinegar. Coldiretti had previously estimated damage to the agricultural sector would total around 500 million euros. Confindustria President Giorgio Squinzi said the two quakes and the almost uninterrupted series of smaller aftershocks that have rattled the area since would halt production in many factories by between four and six months. "The area generates around 1 percent of GDP, so we risk losing a few fractions of a point of GDP just from the earthquakes," he told reporters at the margins of a conference in Rome. In the latest in a series of aftershocks, a magnitude 4.5 tremor struck off the coast of the city of Ravenna early on Wednesday without causing any damage. But with the summer holiday season approaching, the shock raised fears of a negative impact on tourism revenues. Reporting By Antonella Cinelli; Editing by Mark Heinrich

Debating the Death Sentence for 'Honor' Killings Five people from Delhi were sentenced to death on Friday for the "honor killing" of a couple, the latest in a series of death penalty judgments in India for the murder of young people who wish to marry outside their caste or religious group. The victims, who belonged to different castes and hoped to get married, were reportedly tied with ropes and beaten with sticks and pipes before being electrocuted to death in 2010. "Such cruel and barbaric acts cannot be allowed to take place in developed metropolitan cities," the sessions judge, Ramesh Kumar Singhal, said while sentencing. So-called honor killings take place in many parts of India, particularly in the northern states of Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, where caste continues to be a decisive factor in marriage. Young men and women who violate the traditional rules that prohibit marriage outside their own castes and religious communities are regularly ostracized, tortured and sometimes even murdered by members of their family, village or community. On some occasions, self-appointed caste councils, called khap panchayats, pass diktats ordering such attacks, claiming they hope to protect the honor of their communities. In recent years, India's highest court has taken a strong position against this practice. "There is nothing honorable in such killings," the Supreme Court said in 2006, "and in fact they are nothing but barbaric and shameful acts of murder committed by brutal, feudal minded persons who deserve harsh punishment." Last year, the court went one step further and prescribed the death sentence to punish those guilty of honor killings, saying it was time to "stamp out these barbaric, feudal practices which are a slur on our nation." "All persons who are planning to perpetrate honor killings should know that the gallows await them," the court said. But not all institutions in India agree with the court's stance. In a report released in August this year, India's Law Commission, an advisory body of legal experts, criticized the court's directive, saying that the death sentence in India is to be used "only in very exceptional and rare cases," when "aggravating and mitigating circumstances" are found. The commission found that since the decision was given, the lower courts of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi had sentenced almost all accused in cases of honor killings to death. Disapproving of this trend, the commission said that each case needed to be judged on its own facts and circumstances and criticized what it called the Supreme Court's "blanket direction" to give the death penalty in all instances of honor killings. "No hard and fast rule can be laid down," the report said, in sharp contrast to the court's decision prescribing the death penalty for honor killings committed "for whatever reason." In the 2011 case decided by the Supreme Court, a man strangled his daughter to death for having a relationship against his will. The court said that if a person is unhappy with the behavior of a relative or a member of his caste, "the maximum he can do is to cut off social relations," but he "cannot take the law into his own hands by committing violence or giving threats of violence." India has retained the death penalty, but since the 1980s this extreme form of punishment has been used only in the "rarest of rare" cases. Statistics show that even where the death penalty is given, execution is uncommon. According to Amnesty International's recent data, 435 people were sentenced to death in India between 2007 and 2011, but none have been hanged. Honor killings, which have been under intense media scrutiny, now fall within the "rarest of rare" category. In a bid to combat the practice more effectively, the government began considering various legal proposals in 2009, including an amendment to the country's penal code to explicitly mention honor killings. The Law Commission, tasked with evaluating this proposal, advised against it, saying the amendment would cause "interpretational difficulties." Instead, the Law Commission proposed a law to ban the now infamous "khap panchayats," which are different from the country's gram panchayats, or local self-governments. The bodies of community elders have been called "undemocratic" by the government, and the report labels them a "pernicious practice." "Often young couples who fall in love have to seek shelter in the police lines or protection homes to avoid the wrath of kangaroo courts," the report said. The proposed law seeks to prohibit any group from gathering "to deliberate on, or condemn" any legal marriage, "on the basis that the marriage has dishonored the caste or community tradition or brought disrepute to the family, village or locality." The intention of the law, the report said, is to "curb the social evil of caste councils or panchayats" that endanger the "life and liberty of young persons."

Paco Rabanne announce new artistic director Lydia Maurer has been named as the new artistic director of womenswear at French fashion house Paco Rabanne. A month after Manish Arora amicably parted ways with Paco Rabanne, the design house has announced that Lydia Maurer will take on the role of artistic director. Maurer, who has previously worked at Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent, had previously held the positon of studio design director since November 2011. The 29-year-old will present her first collection for the house at Paris Fashion Week in October. READ: Manish Arora to revive Paco Rabanne She has a true vision of what Paco Rabanne's [fashion voice] is and what sets the house aside from the pack in terms of design signatures. She brings a real freshness," Vincent Thilloy told WWD . She has this sensual Latin side, but also this sense of rigor that is very Germanic, with a real architectural approach to construction - she is very Rabanne. The label hope that Maurer will continue the revival of the brand that was started upon Arora's appointment, but will sway more towards the side of elegance and wearability than her predecessors more outlandish attempts. "We don't want to say no to performance artists like Lady Gaga [who wore pieces from Arora's first collection for the house] because obviously that is part of [the Paco Rabanne] universe, but that is not the only reason we are here," Maurer said. Obviously, the Paco Rabanne woman likes to go out, she's a woman of the world....She is not necessarily going to come to Paco Rabanne to buy clothes for wearing to the office, but we also want to appeal to women who don't necessarily want to be living sculptures.

Obituary: Michael Marra, singer-songwriter - Obituaries - Scotsman.com Scotland has no shortage of fine songwriters, but the passing of Michael Marra means that someone else will now have to take on the mantle of great. His death at the age of 60 - news of which came on the day of the launch of the 20th Celtic Connections festival, a celebration of Scottish music which saw some of his best performances in the past - came after a battle against throat cancer, and prompted an outpouring of love and appreciation from the musical community for a man described as peerless by so many who worked with him. He was raised in Lochee in Dundee - a city he described as "a rich, dark, healthy place for art and artists and a beautifully lit vantage point from which to look at the world" - and his home town shaped his views, as did his love of football, with Hamish the Goalie, his musical tribute to Dundee United's famous shot-stopper McAlpine, showcasing his lyrical skills and passion for the city. He left school at 14 and tried a variety of trades - electrician, baker and builder - before heading for the folk clubs of London and played in the band Hen's Teeth with fellow Scottish songwriter Dougie MacLean, before forming Skeets Boliver with his brother Chris. But it was as a solo artist - releasing his first album Midas Touch in 1980 - that he found fame. His ability to capture the essence of a city wasn't confined to Tayside. Hue and Cry made Mother Glasgow famous, but it was Marra's song, and was embraced by the "second city of the Empire" as an anthem. His talent for capturing a distinct Scottish slant on the world, and the nation itself, without mawkishness, and without fear to take on the things which he saw as limiting Scotland, was particularly evident in Chain Up The Swings, a plea for a more secular approach to life in Scotland. But a routine fingerprinting with US Customs as he travelled to Washington DC for Tartan Week in 2006 made him turn his eye on the notorious Shirley McKie fingerprint case. He did not miss his target in I Am Shirley McKie, with a lyric warning any First Minister that honesty can only be encouraged by example. This social conscience - which carries on in his family with niece Jenny Marra last year elected a Labour MSP - informed much of Marra's work, and he provided original songs for Chris Rattray's The Mill Lavvies, a slice of life in Dundee's jute mills of the 1960s, with If Dundee Was Africa showing a songwriter more than confident with using language to create quirky, but apt, comparisons. Quirkiness and an undemanding persona - outwith rider requests for Smarties, with the red ones removed in a distinctly low-key twist on rock and roll excess - made Marra a significant presence in a variety of arts. Theatre proved a rich outlet for him, collaborating with Graham McLaren for Theatre Babel's The Demon Barber and Liz Lochhead's Beauty and the Beast. He also worked with Lochhead on In Flagrant Delicht. He wrote the operetta If The Moon Can Be Believed and the play St Catherine's Day and worked with choreographer Frank McConnell's dance Company Plan B. While called upon to duet with many famous Scottish names such as Karen Matheson, Eddi Reader and Karine Polwart, he was also in demand outside the folk world, and worked with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish National Orchestra. His unofficial title of "Bard of Dundee" was in effect made official in 2007 when Dundee University recognised his contribution to his city's cultural life and awarded him an honorary doctorate. Glasgow Caledonian followed suit in 2011. But live performances at gigs up and down the country - by a man described as "an incredible presence on stage" - were what cemented his reputation as a musician, leading to the Herald Angel award in 2010 for his The Acoustic Music Centre during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His children Alice and Matthew are members of The Hazey Janes, and Marra performed with them. Celtic Connections director Donald Shaw said: "He was just one of the great humanist people. Very soft spoken and great to be around. His songs have so much heart and he had so much insight into the Scottish psyche. I think he's played a big part of the renaissance of music in this country. He just went along, did his thing, turned up, sang his songs. In 20 years people are going to say, "Why didn't people give him his credit when he was alive?" People will realise what a legend he was musically. Pat Kane of Hue and Cry said: "Marra was one of Scotland's greatest ever songwriters and performers. It's rare to have an artist who can move you to tears, make you think, and explode you with laughter - often in the one song. Glasgow songwriter James Grant, of Love and Money, said: "Michael was a brilliant song writer - he was Scotland's Tom Waits or Shane MacGowan and that's possibly the highest praise you could give. A great craftsman, very self-effacing and unassuming. Marra's Hermless is often cited as a possible alternative anthem for Scotland, but in some ways was an autobiographical song - "Hermless, hermless, There's never nae bother fae me."

Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi launches fashion line LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Olympic figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi, 41, has launched a fashion line called Tsu.ya, featuring t-shirts, leggings, jackets and other active wear. Yamaguchi spoke to Reuters about her post-skating career and life with her two daughters and her husband, retired professional hockey player Bret Hedican. Q: What's behind the name Tsu.ya? A: "It's actually my middle name, and it was my grand-mother's name. I liked it because it's a nod to my Japanese heritage. We put the period in there because we thought it would break it up and make it easier to pronounce. And it looks good too. Q: Have you always been interested in fashion? A: "I'd always been interested in developing some type of line. Now as an active mom, I was looking for clothes that fit into my current lifestyle and could accommodate other busy women out there. Q: What makes your line of active wear different from others? A: "I wanted to infuse fashion into the active wear ... I wanted to do something feminine, something that could go from the gym to other areas of your life, whether you're running errands or carpooling the kids. I also wanted to create a brand that gave back to the community. A portion of the proceeds of Tsu.ya go back to my foundation, Always Dream Foundation, which supports childhood literacy. Q: Do you have a favorite item in the line? A: "There's this one jacket - part of the line is called Flirt and it has ruffles for the accents. I find myself wearing that jacket quite a bit. It's comfortable, lightweight and has a nice silhouette. The ruffles make it fun. Q: Do any of your girls exhibit your talent on the ice? A: "The younger one has been skating since last November and loves it. But I don't see a lot of me in her - she's just not very focused! (laughs) Also, she has a different body type and a different cadence on the ice than I did. But I could care less whether she ends up competing or not. I just like to see her smiling out there. Q: Do you find yourself resisting the urge to correct her? A: "Oh yeah, all the time! (laughs) And I do correct, but I'm not sure she listens!" Q: When was the last time you were on the ice? A: "I haven't performed in almost three years. I never officially retired from the ice and don't want to because who knows what can happen? I would really have to change my lifestyle to spend more time in the rink and train if I wanted to perform again. As of now, I'm happy with the path I'm on. Q: You've teamed up with Smucker's Uncrustables sandwiches for a photo contest. What is that about? A: "People can submit photos to www.uncrustables.com of their family doing something fun with their sandwiches. Then they are eligible to win a $15,000 check towards a family vacation. ... It's all about being an 'unstoppable' family, which my husband and I consider ourselves to be, having kids and running from place to place. Reporting By Zorianna Kit

UPI Poll: 37% rate Obama's presidency as a failure; 31% see success President Barack Obama walks across the South Lawn of the White House after returning home from a series of campaign events across the country in Washington on October 25, 2012. UPI/Kristoffer Tripplaar WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- More U.S. likely voters said they think Barack Obama's presidency is a failure than a success, a United Press International poll indicated. Thirty-seven percent of adults said Obama's presidency is a failure while 31 said it was a success, results of the UPI-CVoter poll released Friday indicated. Twenty-nine percent said Obama's record reflected neither success nor failure. More men than women labeled Obama's presidency as a failure, 40 percent to 34 percent, respectively. While young voters generally have been supportive of the president, 27 percent of those in the 18-34 age group said he failed, results indicated. Thirty-four percent said the president's first term was a success. Forty-four percent of adults age 55 years and older and 40 percent of the 35-54 age group said they thought Obama failed during his first term. States considered Democratic strongholds were closely divided -- 34 percent adults in blue states said Obama failed and 35 percent said he succeeded. The data is based on nationwide telephone interviews Oct. 10 through Wednesday with 3,065 adults who said they were likely to vote in the Nov. 6 election. The margin of error in the data is 3.5 percent.

Bargain Hunter: Gallic chic and the Twenties chair Gallic chic for inside and out For beautifully made furniture that is perfect for a sunny terrace or a sophisticated interior, consider the Transatlantik collection from Sifas. The leading French design house has just launched this luxurious seating range in the UK and is offering Bargain Hunter readers a 15 per cent discount. This versatile collection is made from a specialist material called Hularo®, which is resistant to sunlight, rain, salt water and chlorinated water. The collection is available in two colours: white oak (see picture) or dark sienna. More than 70 other pieces, including sofas, armchairs, dining tables, chairs and loungers are available. They come with a 10-year guarantee. To claim visit sifasuk.com or call 0845 677 6766, quoting "Atlantik," before April 7. Full prices listed online.

Video: Explosion rocks Syria's capital Damascus Syria's state-run TV said the explosion was in the car park of the Palace of Justice, a compound that houses several courts. The blast happened at 1 p.m. near the capital's famous Hamidiyeh Market, an area crowded with families stocking up on food and other supplies for the weekend, which begins on Friday in Syria. Witnesses reported hearing one blast, but state-run TV said two explosions struck the area. The report also said a roadside bomb was found but did not explode.

Burton and Taylor in love Richard Burton did "something beyond outrage" at noon on September 30 1967: he gave Elizabeth Taylor the jet in which they had flown to Paris the day before. It was just one of the gestures that gave their marriage an air of Renaissance excess, for in the days of the Medici it was reckoned a virtue for the Prince to display magnificence. Though their marriage resembled too the kind of affair punctuated by sex and cruel rows, in which both give as good as they get, Taylor outdid Burton in grandeur. Had they not fallen in love on the set of Cleopatra, the costliest film ever made? It was her idea for him to buy her a 69-carat diamond - in response to his insult that her hands were "large and ugly and red and masculine." If the insult has the sound of Noël Coward about it, the stage was the making of Burton, for good and ill, and he knew it. The orphaned barmaid's son, 12th of the 13 children of a South Wales miner, had made his world magnificent by exerting his natural, and studied, charm, and at his back he always heard a nagging voice of fear that it would crash into ruins. In the remarkable extracts from The Richard Burton Diaries in today's Review section, his insecurities (over spelling and grammar, acne and income) meet hers: "Tells me twice an hour how lonely she is." But they were stars. Who could find in the diaries, if they are kept, of today's mere celebrities the feeling evoked by this great duo of the century, Burton and Taylor?

Baldwin Hills oil fracking report raises community ire The environmental impact report on hydraulic fracturing at the Inglewood Oil Field was supposed to address key concerns raised by residents of the Baldwin Hills area. Instead, the report has deepened tensions between the oil field's owner, Plains Exploration & Production Co., and the community after the findings were released last week. The yearlong study - conducted by an environmental consulting firm and paid for by the owner and operator of the oil field - concluded that the controversial extraction method used at two wells did not affect the environment or health of those living nearby. But critics, after days of reviewing the study, say it lacks independent scientific scrutiny and that at least one of the peer reviewers has close ties to the energy industry. Moreover, the critics say, the report's conclusion is based on near-term impacts and fails to address fears of long-term damage - such as the potential risk of chemical additives leaching into groundwater. The report was peer reviewed by two firms selected by the oil company and Los Angeles County. Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes the communities around the field, advised caution. "The point is, we have more than one peer reviewer here," Ridley-Thomas said. It's hardly done; it is up for further examination, further discussion and this is an important step in the process, but hardly a conclusive one. Funding of the landmark study and selection of the reviewers was part of a settlement with environmental and community groups that had sued Plains Exploration. Officials from the company are scheduled to discuss the study at a community meeting on Monday. Dave Quast of Energy in Depth, an advocacy group funded by the energy industry, hopes the report will be useful to other gas and oil companies. "The study reconfirms what scientists have been saying all along; that it's a safe and proven technology that's been used for more than 60 years," he said. Critics, though, say the report is tainted because one of the reviewers, John Martin of JPMartin Energy Strategy, is a well-known consultant for the oil and gas industry and is already embroiled in a controversy involving another study on hydraulic fracturing. As director of the State University of New York at Buffalo's new Shale Resources and Society Institute, Martin co-wrote a study this spring that said fracking was becoming safe in Pennsylvania due to state oversight and better industry practices. Environmental watchdogs were quick to question the study's data and point to the authors' ties to the industry. The university's board of trustees asked that the matter be looked at, but administrators found no violation of its ethics or conflict of interest policies. Food Water & Watch, a nonprofit environmental group, says that controversy and the Inglewood study's narrow scope raises more questions about the validity of the Plains Exploration report. "The job of the reviewer is to look at what's been written and offer suggestions where it is inefficient or where it can be better, not a process to debate the issue," Martin told The Times last week. Fracking is a technique involving the pressurized injection of water, sand and chemical additives into a wellbore that fractures the rock formations deep below to release trapped oil and gas. But the method has come under fire amid allegations that it contaminates water supplies and increases seismic activity. Dozens of homeowners who live near the Inglewood Oil Field have seen giant cracks form on their property. The area is on the Newport-Inglewood fault. All of this comes as new regulations for fracking are being drafted by the California Department of Conservation, which oversees the drilling, maintenance, and plugging of oil, natural gas and geothermal wells. Jason Marshall, chief deputy director, confirmed the department is reviewing the Inglewood report. "As we draft regulations ... we surely will be looking to any information or studies that identify areas of concern, whether those studies focus on individual wells or fields," he said. That worries Dr. Tom Williams, a retired geologist and engineer, who for 40 years has assessed hundreds of such reports for various companies and government agencies. He fears the study will lead to expanded use of fracking before long-term damage is assessed and will set a bad precedent in California, the fourth-largest oil-producing state. "Hermosa Beach is going through the electoral process to stop oil drilling, and the new oil field operator will probably use the Inglewood Oil Field report as a means of trying to convince voters not to stop oil development," he said. Jeff Cohn, a resident and founder of Stop Oil Drilling In Hermosa Beach, agrees. I'm terrified of the domino effect. The repercussions it will have across the Southland," he said. Environmental and community groups say the Inglewood report is based on the effects of a single fracking stage of two vertical wells, when the company plans to frack horizontally in many stages. Effects those stages might have on the Newport-Inglewood fault need to be taken into account, they said. But the California Independent Petroleum Assn. defends the method and argues that it has created thousands of jobs, billions in tax revenues and has led to more energy security for the country. Armed with the Plains Exploration study, proponents say they hope fracking will play a key role in California's Monterey and Santos shale formations, estimated to hold 15.4 billion barrels of oil.

Seahawks Lock up RB Lynch to Multiyear Deal Marshawn Lynch is staying put in Seattle. The Seahawks' bulldozing, Skittles-loving running back has agreed to a multiyear deal to keep him in a Seattle uniform coming off the finest season of his NFL career. Seattle announced the deal Sunday night and was able to avoid having to use the franchise tag on its star running back. Terms of Lynch's deal were not immediately available. Lynch rushed for 1,204 yards and 12 touchdowns last season and embodied the attitude head coach Pete Carroll wanted the rest of his roster to emulate. Lynch also showed a maturity this season that might have been absent in the past. General manager John Schneider says getting Lynch locked up long-term was what the Seahawks hoped would happen when they acquired him from Buffalo.

INDIANAPOLIS - A waitress at an Indianapolis Olive Garden mistakenly served rum to a 10-year-old boy Thursday, police said. According to police, the boy had ordered a non-alcoholic wildberry frullato daiquiri for children but the waitress mistakenly brought back a drink that had rum in it. The child drank about 2 ounces of the 4 ounce drink before the waitress realized her mistake. The waitress told management about the error and the restaurant's manager then told the parents. The manager reportedly said the child would be fine but the parents took the boy to the hospital just to be sure. Tests revealed the boy did have alcohol in his system, but that it equaled less than 1 percent. Officers said the child appeared to be fine, though he was a little shaken up. Police determined the waitress acted without any malice. Police also determined the family's tab didn't show that any alcohol had been ordered. Olive Garden released the following statement Friday: We find this situation completely unacceptable and we are extremely upset that this occurred. Please click here for more from Fox59.com

Serena Williams Reflects on Rankings JOHANNESBURG (AP) - In the midst of the Williams sisters" first bustling visit to Africa, Serena wasn't quite sure which country she was in Saturday. But she's certain of one thing - it's only "a matter of time" before she'll be world No. 1 again. Serena and older sister Venus arrived in South Africa on an early flight from Nigeria, though Serena told reporters at a luxury hotel and casino complex how nice it was to be in Australia. She quickly corrected her slip, joking that she was already focused on next season. "I'm already thinking of the Australian Open," she said, smiling. I'm constantly thinking of Grand Slams. Venus also was feeling the travel fatigue after the siblings" arrived in Johannesburg after a busy three-day stop in Nigeria that included an exhibition match against her sister in Lagos. She opened the morning briefing with "good afternoon." The duo arrived more than two hours late because of flight delays. But they were applauded once they arrived. "It's so great to be in South Africa," Venus said. It's an honor to be here. The sisters went to the famous Johannesburg township of Soweto to pass on some tips to a group of local children, who got to hit balls with the multiple Grand Slam winners at the township's Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre. The biggest cheer there was for a young boy in a bright red cap and white t-shirt who hammered a forehand winner past Serena. It also earned him a wide smile and a high five from Venus. The sisters were in Africa in support of a women's charity, but also spent time coaching young kids in Nigeria and South Africa. They'll renew their rivalry on court in a second exhibition match on the tour in Johannesburg on Sunday in front of a sellout crowd of 4,000 fans. It's understandable that Serena wants to get to Australia and on court at a major tournament soon. She had a stellar second half of 2012, when she won Wimbledon, Olympic gold, the U.S. Open and the season-ending WTA Tour Championships. Serena finished ranked No. 3 after a slow start to the season, which was epitomized by a first-round exit at the French Open. But the ranking didn't concern her. I'm not thinking about that (not being No. 1) so much," Serena said. For me, I'd rather have Grand Slams and victories. I've been No. 1 before and believe me, I'll be No. It's just a matter of time. Her fifth Wimbledon title was probably the highlight of a good year, although collecting pins from other athletes at the London Olympics was almost as good as collecting the gold medal in singles and doubles, she said. Winning Wimbledon was really great. I'd probably have to lean towards that (being the highlight)," she said. Venus beat higher-ranked Serena on Friday in Lagos after Serena had gone 31-1 since her first-round loss in Paris. "We're going to go all out," Serena said, promising to avenge that loss to Venus in Nigeria. I may make a few unforced errors, but I'm going to do my best. Venus said when the pair played in the past, their parents "don't say too much," but always want the one who lost the last game to win the next contest.

Google maps app returns to iPhone The new app includes turn-by-turn navigation, like its Android counterpart, as well as directions for public transport, integrated Street View, and a Google Earth view. Users complained that Apple's service, based on data from various companies including Dutch satnav maker TomTom, contained glaring geographical errors and lacked features that made Google Maps so popular. Google's maps came pre-installed on the first iPhone, released in 2007, and were a feature of every software update until the release of iOS 6 in September. Increased competition between the two firms in the mobile phone business as well as Apple's perception that Google was saving the best features for its Android operating system led to a souring of relations between the two. In a warning on its website, Victoria police said: "Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception." The Maps debacle also contributed to the departure of Scott Forstall, the executive in charge of iOS, at Apple. In a blog post today, a Google spokesman said of its maps app: "It's designed from the ground up to combine the comprehensiveness and accuracy of Google Maps with an interface that makes finding what you're looking for faster and easier. The app shows more map on screen and turns mobile mapping into one intuitive experience. It's a sharper looking, vector-based map that loads quickly and provides smooth tilting and rotating of 2D and 3D views. A parody account of Apple Maps on Twitter

Hartley cited over 'foul play' against Ulster England forward Dylan Hartley has been cited for alleged foul play during Northampton's Heineken Cup defeat against Ulster on Friday. The Saints captain has been reported by match commissioner Jean-Claude Legendre for striking his opposite number, the Ulster hooker Rory Best, with his arm, European Rugby Cup announced. No date has yet been set for Hartley's disciplinary hearing. Hartley has only just returned to action after suffering an injury that kept him out of England's autumn Test campaign. Earlier this year, the New Zealand-born hooker was banned for eight weeks after being cited for biting the Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris during an Six Nations match at Twickenham.

Officials Push for Illegal Immigrant Licenses Illinois could become the third state in the U.S. to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants - a move top officials from both parties are pushing as a way to make roads safer and one that could have political implications for lawmakers seeking to court Hispanic voters. Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said Tuesday that he believes he has the votes to get the measure through his chamber next week. Gov. Pat Quinn said he will sign it if it passes the House and makes it to his desk. New Mexico and Washington are the only states in the U.S. to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Quinn and Cullerton, both Democrats, were joined at a news conference by several key Illinois officials, including former Gov. Jim Edgar and Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, both Republicans, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a fellow Democrat. All predicted bipartisan support. The turnout showed the growing importance of Latinos and other immigrant groups. The bloc is credited with helping Democrats win big in Illinois and across the country on Election Day, and several top Republicans have said the GOP needs to change a perception their party is anti-immigrant if it is going to pick up seats in the next election. Supporters of the measure say Illinois has about 250,000 illegal immigrant motorists who can't get a driver's license or insurance. Allowing illegal immigrants to obtain a license would mean more of those drivers would have to pass road and written driving tests and vision tests, supporters say. Also, uninsured, unlicensed immigrant drivers are responsible for $64 million in insurance claims each year - costs that are picked up by people with insurance. "By passing this legislation, this is going to incredibly benefit all of us," Cullerton said. Quinn called the bill "the continuation of a movement" to support immigrants in Illinois that also has included passing the DREAM Act, which made college more affordable for illegal immigrants. Democrats proposed a similar bill in 2007 that passed the House but didn't get to a vote in the Senate. Although Democrats control the House and the Senate in Illinois, they don't all always vote together and measures generally need some GOP support to get through the General Assembly. Edgar said he has been talking with Republican lawmakers and he expects more of them to support the legislation this time around. "I think Republicans now realize we need to change our image if we want to be a successful and a viable party in America," Edgar said. It's important that we show these immigrants that we appreciate them being here, we appreciate what they contribute to our society and that we want to make it easier to contribute. Lawrence Benito, chief executive officer for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said he believes the Nov. 6 election was a factor in the decision to introduce the bill next week, though it's "first and foremost" about safety. We're doing this for good public policy reasons. If there are good political reasons as well, that's great," Benito said. Republican leaders of the House and Senate were notably absent from Tuesday's news conference. However, Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno said that was because she had a scheduling conflict. She said she supported the 2007 measure but wanted to wait to see the new proposal before backing it. Vicki Crawford, spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Tom Cross, said she had not yet spoken with Cross about the bill. Benito said supporters will be talking to Cross once the final bill is drafted. The General Assembly will meet Tuesday for the start of the postelection veto session. The session concludes Jan. 9.

Cuomo's Adirondacks Outing From Behind the Scenes NORTH HUDSON, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo positioned himself in the stern of a canoe on Sunday while I clung to dry land a few feet away, befuddled by the straps on my life jacket. "We're going to make an outdoorsman out of him," Mr. Cuomo declared. I had been headed back to the lodge that served as Cuomo base camp when the governor approached. It was Hour 3 of Mr. Cuomo's field trip with members of his cabinet and the news media to the Boreas Ponds. I had already been on a walk - calling it a hike would be an exaggeration - with Joseph J. Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the governor had been fishing, on an expedition where reporters' access was limited. "Don't call it the ship of state," he exhorted about his vessel. But now the governor was eager to get back to the water. "Do you canoe?" he asked me. I do not. But, taking a lesson from the 21 months I have spent observing Mr. Cuomo field questions, I answered a slightly different question. "I've kayaked," I said. It quickly became apparent that, if I did not accept the governor's invitation, a reporter from The Wall Street Journal was ready to jump into the gubernatorial canoe. "Come on, Kaplan," Mr. Cuomo instructed. I got in the boat. "This is what you do with an uncooperative reporter: a one-way canoe trip," Mr. Cuomo announced to the journalists on land. Perhaps his staff members knew something when they asked the reporters going on the trip to sign waivers of liability in case of accidents involving canoes - as well as cars, vans, motorboats, kayaks, rafts and bicycles. Mr. Cuomo, clad in a "Team Cuomo" Windbreaker (but not a life jacket - a choice the governor defended at a news conference Monday), sat in the back. He suggested that my primary responsibility was to ensure I did not fall out of the boat. He did not seek to correct my poor paddling form - which, in my own defense, was affected by my attempt to hold on to my tape recorder. We quickly encountered other canoeists, including Mr. Cuomo's environmental conservation commissioner, Joseph Martens, who yelled out to the governor: "Who's the guy at the front of the boat? He looks like he's undercover. "State Police," Mr. Cuomo joked. I never go anywhere without them. As we paddled - or, more accurately, Mr. Cuomo paddled, and I attempted a movement that approximated paddling - the governor said he was very pleased with his outing as a means to talk up tourism, to call attention to the state's purchase of 69,000 acres for conservation in the Adirondacks, and to bond with his aides and commissioners. A flotilla materialized nearby, some boats piloted by unlikely pairings of Cuomo aides and political reporters. Mr. Cuomo's spokesman, Josh Vlasto, was described as an "unruly" canoe-mate by his canoeing companion, Reid Pillifant, of Capital New York, who said Mr. Vlasto "splashed at least one reporter and repeatedly shook our canoe as if to capsize it." During our 15-minute voyage, Mr. Cuomo demonstrated his political chops by canoeing while simultaneously taking questions from reporters. As he paddled, he offered an assessment of the scenery ("magnificent"), rebuffed a request from a pair of reporters to race ("No, we're just here observing the beauty") and joked about his history with boating ("I'm from a big canoeing family in Queens.") Soon, it started to rain. "When the sun goes down, and it starts to rain, it gets cold fast," Mr. Cuomo warned me. It took a few minutes to reach the shore, and the governor continued to talk about the weather. "Gotta love it," he said. Nothing like cold rain in the Adirondacks.

Rod Stewart counts paintings to sleep

Army attends bomb alert at Queen's Bridge in Belfast

P&O cruise struck by norovirus told passengers crew 'could not cope' During the tour, which took in the Christmas markets of Zeebrugge, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Hamburg, many were left furious after they reportedly had to queue for hours to see the ship's doctor and were forced to endure the smell of vomit below deck. He said: "The captain has admitted at the height of the outbreak the crew could not cope. We had a show of hands of how many people were affected, which was filmed by many of the passengers that attended the meeting. Large parts of the ship were closed off to avoid the virus spreading further while many passengers were forced to miss stop offs at cities including Amsterdam, Oslo and Hamburg, One elderly female passenger said travellers were planning to protest as they disembarked the ship. We're all respectable middle-class travellers of a certain age. I have never been on a protest in my life but this trip has infuriated me," she told the Daily Mail. P&O initially said the outbreak of norovirus had affected only nine passengers. However, this morning they confirmed 300 people had been sick with the bug. Passengers, who paid up to £4,000-a-head for the ten-day Baltic tour, reported restaurants on the board the ship were operating only limited service during their stay. The luxury liner's owners Carnival UK have offered to waive fees for anyone who had to visit the on-board doctor and said a protest had not been staged. Spokeswoman Carol Marlow said: "The number of people affected was at an unprecedented level but we did not put profits before health."

Google's Screenwise program will pay you $25 to search the Web A photograph from Google headquarters, circa 2006. Mark Lennihan / Associated Press February 8, 2012, 7:12 p.m. Google Inc. is looking for a few good Web surfers. But just a few. Last month the company launched a market research program called the Screenwise Project, in which it hoped to follow a small group of people as they made their way around the Internet. The program is totally voluntary -- similar to TV market research in which people have a box on their television -- and Google is offering to give participants up to $25 in Amazon gift cards for allowing the company to track the way they use the Internet. And to quell any lingering fears about loss of privacy, people who sign up are free to opt out at any time, according to a statement from Google. That's not a bad deal, especially to those of us who already assume everything we do on the Internet is being monitored anyway. To become a Screenwise panel member, you must be at least age 13, have a Google account, or sign up for a Google account, and use the Google Chrome browser while searching the Web. "People can choose to participate if it's of interest (or if the gift appeals) and everyone who does participate has complete transparency and control over what Internet use is being included in the panel," a Google spokesperson said in a statement emailed to the Los Angeles Times. People can stay on the panel as long as they'd like, or leave at any time. Google's goal is simply to understand its customers habits better and to use this understanding to improve Google products and services. Like any marketing panel. And if you're wondering if anyone is interested in signing up, the answer is a big fat YES. Too many people, in fact. Google's Screenwise panel page ends with a statement in bold that reads, "We appreciate and are overwhelmed by your interest at the moment. Please come back later for more details.

Pictures of the day: 3 February 2012 A couple demonstrate the latest extreme sport craze - paragliding with vultures. Tourists can try their hand at parahawking, a fusion between falconry and paragliding, at Scott Masons centre in Nepal. Scott, 40, lives in Pokhara with his wife Anita Hjertas where the couple offer the amazing adventure experience all year round. They own two specially trained vultures named Kevin and Bob who fly alongside the gliders. Although one session will set you back £115 Scott maintains the experience is more than worth the money.

US credit rating under fire again, Moody's warns lawmakers on debt America's credit rating is once again at risk. Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday that it would probably cut its triple-A rating on U.S. government debt by a notch unless congressional leaders can strike a budget deal in the coming months to bring down the deficit. "If those negotiations lead to specific policies that produce a stabilization and then downward trend in the ratio of federal debt to GDP over the medium term, the rating will likely be affirmed," Moody's said in a press release Tuesday. If those negotiations fail to produce such policies, however, Moody's would expect to lower the rating, probably to Aa1. The threat comes after one of the other big three ratings firms, Standard & Poor's, downgraded the U.S. last year following the brawl in Washington over the debt ceiling. The country is once again headed for a debt-ceiling showdown, with Moody's predicting the country will run up against the ceiling "around the end of this year." Any potential downgrade is not likely until at least next year. House Speaker John Boehner, reacting to the latest warning, called on Congress to take major steps to reform the tax code, cut spending and overhaul entitlements. "Today's warning by Moody's underscores the point we have been making all year: the threat to American jobs comes not from action on our debt, but from inaction on our debt," he said. Lawmakers, though, are unlikely to do much until after the November election, when the balance of power in Washington is more clear. Moody's said the firm will wait for a budget deal -- or the collapse of one -- before determining the U.S. credit rating. The big wild card in the near-term concerns the so-called "fiscal cliff" -- the slew of tax hikes and spending cuts set to take effect in January 2013 unless Congress averts them. Ironically, Moody's said one of the few ways the U.S. could maintain its current status, of triple-A with a "negative outlook," would be if Congress actually lets those tax hikes and spending cuts happen. But even that doesn't guarantee a sterling credit score. Going over the "fiscal cliff" would help close the deficit, but the flip side is it could destabilize the economy. And Moody's said it would need evidence the economy could "rebound" before returning the U.S. rating to triple-A and "stable." Boehner expressed doubt Tuesday that much of anything could be done to avert the tax hikes and spending cuts -- potentially good news for the budget, but bad news for the economy. "I'm not confident at all," Boehner said. The Ohio Republican reminded reporters that the House has passed legislation to both avoid the automatic, across-the-board cuts next year and to renew the Bush era tax rates for one year as well. Republicans warned of the impact of the impending cuts on the military and implored Senate Democrats to act to avoid them. The Senate, however, has deadlocked over taxes and failed to address the across-the-board cuts, known as a sequester in Washington parlance.

Chuck Brown dies: King of D.C. go-go music, influential sample source When the funk music known as "go-go" comes up in casual conversation - and that's not nearly often enough - it's inevitably accompanied by the mention of one man's name: Chuck Brown. The Washington, D.C. funk band leader and composer, whose biggest hit was the 1978 song "Bustin' Loose," died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore at age 75. He was the king of an East Coast subgenre that rose alongside New York funk and hip-hop in the 1970s and '80s. Featuring remarkable Afro-Cuban polyrhythms via pounding congas and rototoms, punctuated bursts of brass and Brown shouting out call-and-response phrases alongside grooves that extended many songs to over eight minutes long - and, more importantly, almost two or three times that in a live setting - Brown's music was for partying. Though it flirted with mainstream success in the '80s, the music has remained a regional phenomenon, a uniquely American strain of dance music. But that doesn't mean its influence hasn't spread. The rhythms he built were some of the earliest tracks sampled by electronic dance music producers, especially when rave culture was being born in England. Coldcut's influential 1987 jam "Say Kids What Time Is It?" is built on the back of a Chuck Brown rhythm from "Bustin' Loose" - as is the Farm's breakout rave-pop anthem "All Together Now" from 1990. In hip-hop, Eric B. & Rakim's classic "Paid in Full" album adapted two Brown songs, and most prominently, Virginia producers the Neptunes used Brown's "We Need Some Money" on Nelly's smash "Hot in Herre." Fans of Brown spoke volumes about his work in the live setting; I never saw him, so I feel at a great disadvantage when addressing his version of go-go music, because as dance music, it was built to be experienced live, to move a crowd. In her wonderful essay over at the Root, writer Natalie Hopkinson suggests that this allegiance to the live experience is what separated it from the music of hip-hop - and perhaps what doomed it in the pop marketplace. "It stayed true to time-honored cultural scripts such as live call-and-response, live instrumentation, as well as its locally rooted fashions, slang, dance, distribution and economic systems," she writes. Simply put: Go-go never sold out. There is a grit and texture to the music - sometimes derided as 'pots and pans' - that gives voice to the communities where it was created and from which profits are taken. If you've never heard Brown's music, a story relayed in Jeff Chang's history of hip-hop, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop," captures the essence of Brown's go-go sounds. He quotes Brown producer Reo Edwards, describing the message of the music: "I was talking to a go-go songwriter one time," Edwards told Chang. I said, 'Man, you need a verse here.' The guy said, 'The rototom's talking! Hear the rototom? Swear to God, he said the rototom was telling the story. 'Can't put no verse there, the rototom telling the story.' Photo: In this Jan. 18, 2010 file photo, master of ceremonies Chuck Brown speaks during a program to celebrate the legacy of the late Martin Luther King Jr. at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington. Brown died Wednesday. Credit: Nick Wass / AP Photo.

Two killed after car hits tree Two people were killed and another was injured after a car left the road and hit a tree. Lincolnshire Police were called to the A15 Leasingham bypass at about 2.50am today. Two men who were passengers in the car were pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver, a 27-year-old woman from Sleaford, was taken to Lincoln County Hospital. Her injuries "are not thought to be life threatening" said a police spokesman. Separately, a 23-year-old man killed in a crash on Christmas Eve in Lincolnshire was today named by police as Christopher Edward Jones of Water Lane, North Witham, near Grantham. A blue Peugeot and a white Fiat were involved in the crash at about 5.30pm on the Sleaford Road in Metheringham. Mr Jones, who had been driving the Peugeot, died a short while later, but nobody else was injured. A spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said: "These deaths bring the total number of people killed on the county's roads this year to 39, compared with 46 this time last year."

Former Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov Dies Kiro Gligorov, the first democratically elected president of Macedonia who served two terms at the helm of the country in the 1990s as it became independent from Yugoslavia, has died. He was 94. The head of Gligorov's office, Zivko Kondev, said Monday that the former president died in his sleep at his home in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, on Sunday evening. Gligorov became president of Macedonia in January 1991, when it was still a Yugoslav republic. He led his countrymen through a referendum, in which they voted for independence. The territory of 2.1 million people became the only republic to secede from Yugoslavia without a war. Gligorov suffered head injuries and lost an eye during an assassination attempt in October 1995 when a bomb blast targeted his car as he headed to work in Skopje. His driver and a bystander were killed. The president spent several months in the hospital, emerging with a lifelong deep scar above his right eye. No suspects were ever arrested for the bombing, and the investigation into the attempted assassination has made little headway in the intervening years. FILE - In this file photo taken on March 26, 2009, the first Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov is seen in his office in Skopje, Macedonia. Kiro Gligorov, the first democratically elected president of Macedonia who served two terms at the helm of the country in the 1990s as it became independent from Yugoslavia, died on Sunday Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski, File) Close Born in the central Macedonian town of Shtip on May 3, 1917, Gligorov served two consecutive presidential terms, leading the nation from January 1991 to November 1999. The early days of his presidency were overshadowed by a bitter dispute with southern neighbor Greece over the newly independent nation's name - a dispute that continues to this day. Athens objected to the use of the name "Macedonia," saying it implied territorial ambitions on its own northern province of the same name. It also objected to a symbol on the new country's flag and articles of the Macedonian constitution that Greece believed implied territorial claims. Greece imposed a crippling 19-month embargo on its northern neighbor, hammering the emerging country's economy. In 1995, the Macedonian government signed an accord with Athens agreeing to remove the symbol from its flag and revising some articles of the constitution, but talks on the country's name have made little progress. In official bodies such as the United Nations, the country is known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Gligorov also faced domestic unrest, with the republic's large ethnic Albanian minority pressing for greater cultural and political autonomy. The demands eventually boiled over into armed conflict about two years after Gligorov's second term was over, with ethnic Albanian rebels battling government troops for about six months in 2001. The two sides eventually signed an internationally brokered peace accord under which minorities were guaranteed greater rights, and NATO peacekeepers were sent to the country. Gligorov is survived by two daughters and a son. His wife, Nada, died in 2009.

Race-day medication will be banned at Breeders' Cup this weekend The Breeders" Cup comes to Santa Anita this weekend with a controversial mandate to begin eliminating race-day medication in its thoroughbreds at a time when sports organizations worldwide are cracking down on competitors who use performance-enhancing drugs. Much of the focus is on Lasix, a powerful diuretic that helps prevent bleeding and has been widely used in the U.S. since the 1970s to combat lung hemorrhaging in thoroughbreds. In California, the drug is injected four hours before post time. But the drug will be banned in horses competing in five Breeders" Cup races for 2-year-olds on Friday and Saturday. Next year, Lasix will be banned in all 15 Breeders" Cup races. "Every other major championship race around the world outside of Canada and the United States is under a race-day medication ban," said Craig Fravel, president of the Breeders" Cup. Lasix is prohibited on race days in Europe, and in the last year various racing groups in the U.S. actively campaigned for its ban. "Even the horseman who sincerely believes he or she is doing right by the horse by racing on medications should grasp that the public can hardly be expected to distinguish between a syringe that provides the proper therapy and one that introduces chicanery," the breeding registry group, the Jockey Club, said in 2011. The Lasix ban will take effect at the sport's marquee race, the Kentucky Derby, by 2015, if the state Legislature approves a proposal by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. "We cannot succeed as a sport with drugs," Tracy Farmer, a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission member, said in June. Lasix, also known as furosemide, is used to treat high blood pressure in humans. The drug is also banned by anti-doping agencies in major and Olympics sports because it can mask other drug use. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, Uzbek artistic gymnast Luiza Galiulina was banned from competition and Moroccan 1,500-meter runner Amine Laalou was stopped from entering England after each submitted tests showing traces of Lasix. Horsemen treat their thoroughbreds with the drug to avert bleeding in the horses" lungs during workouts and races, a condition known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH). A 2007 study in South Africa found that Lasix sharply reduced bleeding in racehorses, but it also revealed why some in the industry label it a performance-enhancer. Thoroughbreds treated with Lasix, rather than a placebo, lost an average of 16 pounds of water, according to the study. And that weight loss equated to a 3.5- to five-length advantage in a six-furlong race. "This is a diuretic, and diuretics can be used to flush the system of steroid metabolites," said Victor Conte, the notorious founder of the steroid-distributing Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). If this is allowed, and we're talking about horses, this could be way worse than what we've seen in cycling. Despite the drug's ban, racing's major stakeholders are divided about Lasix. The Thoroughbred Owners of California issued a statement strongly supporting the use of Lasix on the day of a race. "We're against any sort of performance-enhancing drug," TOC President Lou Raffetto said. That's not Lasix. Veterinarian Jeff Blea, a fixture on the Southern California horse racing circuit, also supports using the drug. Lasix should stay in place and be used. It's been scientifically proven to be advantageous for treating EIPH," he said. Not using it has health consequences, including leaving the animals subject to lung tissue scarring and reduced lung function, he said. "It's one of the most divisive issues in horse racing in a long time," Blea said. There is a basis for use as a valid medication versus the perception that all drugs should go away and are bad. What's important to me is the health of the horse, and I think this helps their health in racing. This weekend, much attention will be directed at how the 2-year-olds perform without Lasix. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will be sending out Executiveprivilege, a heavy favorite in the $2-million Juvenile Fillies, for the first time without Lasix. "Lasix affects you if your horse is a bleeder," Baffert said. She's never bled. If they don't bleed, you don't have a problem. For one day, it's not an issue. Down the road, it is. There have been a few defections because of the Lasix ban. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer decided not run the 2-year-old filly Scarlet Strike in the Breeders" Cup. And East Coast-based owner Mike Repole told the Daily Racing Form that the Lasix ban was one of the main reasons he didn't enter four 2-year-olds. "The idea all horses have to have Lasix to run is nonsense," said Rick Arthur, equine director for the California Horse Racing Board. "If the goal is to identify the best horse for the breeding pool for future years, the Breeders" Cup has a very good argument for the stance it has taken."

Video: Police raid dozens of gang suspects' homes in London A series of co-ordinated operations took place across London. There were 121 arrests in total. Hundreds of Metropolitan Police officers tracked down and arrested suspected gang members believed to be involved in crimes including assault, robbery and drugs supply. The major operation, spearheaded by the Met's newly-formed Trident Gang Crime Command, marks what senior officers have described as a "step change" in the way the force tackles gangs. Scotland Yard revealed it has now committed 1,000 dedicated officers to fighting the problem, with the creation of the central Trident gang command and 19 new task forces to deal with local gang crime in problem boroughs across London. Operation Trident was originally set up in 2000 to tackle gun crime in black communities across the capital and has gradually grown over the past decade.

Olympics: Kelly Holmes feels for trials hopefuls who fall short By STUART BATHGATE Published on Friday 22 June 2012 01:11 KELLY Holmes was fortunate enough - and talented enough - to win a place in Great Britain's athletics team every time she had to come up with the goods at the national trials. But the double Olympic gold medallist also had some severe disappointments in an injury-ravaged career. So many, in fact, that she feels it easy to empathise with those competitors who will miss out on a place at London 2012 this weekend. The AAAs championships, which begin in Birmingham today and double up as the Olympic trials, offer a position in the GB team for an athlete who comes first or second in their event, provided they also have the qualifying mark. The pressure would be tough enough in normal circumstances but, if the bad weather holds, it will be doubly difficult for those still chasing a time or distance. And Holmes, who was in Glasgow this week to help launch the city's bid for the 2018 Youth Olympics, warned that, whatever the weather, there will be a lot of deeply disappointed athletes when the action at the Alexander Stadium ends on Sunday evening. "It is always a tough situation, and I think [it's tough] this year more than ever because the level of competition and the depth across the disciplines is higher," she said. And, as we all know, the prize is bigger. The pressure is there, because this is the moment when you can actually be selected for London - or not. People do not always see the heartache that happens in sport, and come Sunday night or Monday morning there will be some devastated athletes after all the work and effort they have put in, not just this year but for a number of years. Some will be at the right level and have their hearts set on being selected, yet still might not perform on the day in Birmingham. Deep disappointment doesn't really cover it. But that is what happens with trials. I recall being involved in that situation on 12 occasions and each time I won through, because being on Team GB was so important to me. I just had to secure that place. People will be doing all they can this weekend. Several Scots are among those whose Olympic hopes are in the balance over the next three days, but Holmes warned that the standard in Great Britain is becoming higher all the time. The likes of [400m hurdler] Eilidh Child and [steeplechaser] Eilish McColgan have the A standard, and I know Steph Twell is hoping to be there and with Scotland at Glasgow 2014. Middle-distance running is improving in Britain and for some it will be one Games too early for them. Maybe the experience of the trials will be good for them and drive them on towards 2014. I mentor athletes at 800, 1500 and 5,000 metres and have done so for eight years. Fingers crossed I will have girls at London 2012. Lynsey Sharp is up against a few of them in the 800m. She is a very good athlete and she is looking for a time this weekend as well. In the 800 it is heats and then a final, so it will be cut-throat for sure. In the field events, hammer-thrower Mark Dry is another Scot in serious contention for a place in the Olympic team. Back on the track, Lee McConnell is all but sure of being selected for London as a member of the 4x400m relay squad but the 33-year-old is also aiming for a first or second in the individual 400m. For many spectators, however, the highlight of the weekend will be watching someone who has no selection worries when it comes to London - Jessica Ennis. The world No 1 in the heptathlon is taking part in four events, the 100m hurdles and high jump tomorrow and the long jump and 200m on Saturday. "I want to use the meet to give myself a real physical test over two days," Ennis said. Everything is focused on London 2012 for me, and a packed Alexander Stadium will be the closest I'll come to replicating that tough schedule and environment ahead of the Games. UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee is confident that British track and field is heading in the right direction. "There is a depth in the sport that we have not seen for 20 years and we have a number of events where five or six athletes are competing for three places," he said. There will be athletes who don't perform and others who will surprise us, which will make for a fantastic weekend of top-level British sport.

Search Ends for Victims of Nigeria Plane Crash Rescue officials in Nigeria said Wednesday they have ended their search for bodies in the site where an airliner crashed into a densely populated area, killing all 153 people aboard the plane and a still-unknown number of people on the ground. Workers cleared away the remaining pieces of the wreckage of the MD-83 aircraft Wednesday from Iju-Ishaga, the Lagos neighborhood about nine kilometers (five miles) from Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport where the Dana Air flight went down on Sunday. Emergency workers there have recovered 153 complete corpses as well as fragmented remains, said Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency. It is unclear if the fragmented remains represent less than a dozen victims, or dozens. Officials now plan to survey the neighborhood to find who remains missing after the plane smashed into two apartment buildings, a printing business and a woodshop, Shuaib said. Authorities have discussed using DNA to identify the dead. Samples would have to be sent abroad for testing. The cause of the crash on a sunny, clear Sunday afternoon remains unclear. The crew radioed the tower that they had engine trouble shortly before the plane went down. Authorities already have collected the flight voice and data recorders and plan to send them abroad for analysis. Popular anger has risen in the country against the airline since the crash. On Tuesday, the Nigerian government indefinitely suspended Dana Air's license to fly in Nigeria, Africa's most population nation, as a safety precaution, said aviation ministry spokesman Joe Obi. Family members who lost relatives in a plane crash wait to identified their bodies at the Lagos state university teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, June 5, 2012. A commercial airliner crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood in Nigeria's largest city on Sunday, killing all 153 people on board and others on the ground in the worst air disaster in nearly two decades for the troubled nation. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) Close Officials with Dana Air could not be immediately reached for comment. A statement posted to the company's website described the airline as "professionally managed," saying the flight's captain had logged 18,500 flight hours, with 7,100 hours on an MD-83. Dana Air said the plane that crashed had its last safety inspection on May 30 and was certified to fly by Nigerian regulators. However, oversight remains lax. Nigeria's government is hobbled by mismanagement and corruption. At least seven American citizens are among those killed in the crash, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. Some, he said, were dual U.S.-Nigerian citizens, but he could not provide more details. A woman from West Hartford, Connecticut, her husband and four young children died on the flight. Their neighbors identified them as Maimuna Anyene, her Nigerian husband Onyeke, and their children, a 5 month old, 1-year-old twins and a 3 year old. Americans Josephine Onita and Jennifer Onita of Missouri City, Texas also were killed in the crash, their sister said. She said her sisters were heading to Lagos for a wedding. Britain's foreign ministry said Wednesday that a woman with dual Nigerian and British citizenship was believed to be among the dead and confirmed that members of her family in the U.K. were traveling to Lagos. The woman is believed to have been living in Britain, but no other details about her identity have been confirmed, officials said. The Press Trust of India reported diplomatic officials there believe Indian national Rijo K. Eldhose and co-pilot Mahendra Singh Rathore, an American of Indian origin, were killed in the crash. Others killed in the crash included at least four Chinese citizens, two Lebanese nationals, a French citizen and a Canadian, officials have said. The crash is the worst to hit the country since September 1992, when a military transport plane crashed shortly after taking off from Lagos, killing 163 people. Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap .

Funeral for Officer Killed in Obama Motorcade Police officers have bid a solemn farewell to one of their own who was killed in an accident while leading President Barack Obama's motorcade. Bruce St. Laurent was hit by a pickup truck Sunday while attempting to shut down a stretch of Interstate 95 in West Palm Beach, where Obama was traveling for a campaign stop. Officers from around the state and country turned out his funeral Friday. Gov. Rick Scott and the director of the U.S. Secret Service were among those who paid their respects. St. Laurent's casket was carried into a Palm Beach Gardens church by eight uniformed officers. Eulogies honored him as a trusted colleague and big-hearted friend.

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Dulles seen as potential engine for revenue But officials at the authority that manages Dulles and National say they see far more than a problem. They see potential. "Dulles is the opportunity for our future," Margaret McKeough, chief operating officer of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, told members of the authority's board Wednesday. It is a tremendous asset. . . . We are not close to maximizing the potential of that infrastructure. In a presentation to the board, staff members outlined two ways to generate more revenue from Dulles. One option focuses on the airport itself, with plans to improve concessions, increase advertising, and add shops and restaurants. The other option looks beyond the airport. The land managed by the authority around Dulles is largely undeveloped, and when Metro's Silver Line extension reaches the airport in several years, McKeough said, that land will become more vital - and valuable. "As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to Dulles, the sky's the limit," Jack Potter, the authority's president and chief executive, told board members. In an interview after his presentation, Potter stressed that there are no specific plans for development of the 3,000 acres surrounding Dulles. Still, the MWAA board took a step in that direction Wednesday, approving an amendment to the lease that transferred control of the airports from the federal government to the authority in 1987. The amendment loosens the lease's restrictions on business in and around the airports. The lease largely restricts land use to business relating to air travel. But under the amendment, as long as the U.S. transportation secretary approves, the authority can use the land around Dulles to generate revenue. "We need that flexibility," Potter told the board. Dulles has not seen the increase in travelers that the authority had projected for the past decade, a period that saw billions of dollars in renovations and expansion. The number of passengers traveling through National increased to 18.8 million last year from 18 million in 2010. Officials are projecting about 19 million travelers this year. Meanwhile, the number of travelers at Dulles declined to 23.2 million from 23.7 million in 2010 and 24.7 million in 2007. BWI, which is operated by the state of Maryland, has seen year-to-year increases in four of the past five years, jumping from 21 million travelers in 2007 to 22.3 million last year. The authority expects growth at Dulles this year to be relatively flat. That lack of growth and debt from the airport expansion have increased Dulles's average cost per traveler. It costs $25.30 per traveler boarding a plane at Dulles, roughly double the $12.72 per traveler boarding at National and nearly three times as much as BWI's $9.29 per passenger. Eventually, Dulles is expected to see the number of travelers increase, driven by overall growth in air travel. The Federal Aviation Administration projects that three times as many passengers will be boarding planes at Dulles by 2040. MWAA officials say that the efforts of the past several years have positioned Dulles well to handle additional future travelers. With only minor alterations, Dulles could handle about 45 million passengers per year, said Frank Holly, MWAA vice president of engineering. Even as board members weighed the future of Dulles, they were busy dealing with the aftermath of recent investigations into the authority. A report issued last month by the Transportation Department's inspector general castigated the authority for ethical lapses and a dysfunctional corporate culture. Potter said that the authority will complete each of the report's 12 recommendations by next year. We believe we're on the right track. . . . We know we have work left to do," he said. As part of the lease amendment approved Wednesday, the authority must adopt, maintain and follow the "best practices" regarding transparency, travel and ethics. At the meeting, the board approved an update to the authority's travel policy. The new policy, approved in September, requires directors to sign off on board-related travel. But the audit noted that "gray areas" remained under the new policy, which encouraged travelers to find reasonable rates but didn't specify what that meant. The update specifically directs travelers to use lower group rates when available and says that luxury hotel costs will be reimbursed only up to the rate of a more affordable hotel nearby.

Monaco Grand Prix 2012: live 12:31 Fantastic bit on the F1 coverage right now, Jenson Button interviewing Mark Webber and asks: "What's it like to work with the best driver in F1?" To which the Australian says "Well I haven't worked with Lewis Hamilton just yet." Telegraph Sport columnist David Coulthard has backed Lewis Hamilton to win in Monaco this weekend, here's what he's had to say in the build up: Monaco's an extraordinary spectacle. On track, I will be watching the Lotuses of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. Had qualifying taken place on Thursday, a Lotus would have been on pole. Can we have a sixth winner from a sixth team in six races? Very possibly. Lewis Hamilton, after his travails in Monaco last year, will be extra keen to get his first win of the season here. 12:24 there was high drama in the GP3 yesterday. If you missed it, American driver Conor Daly was lucky to walk away unharmed from a spectacular crash as he came out of the tunnel near the harbour. He hit the back of Dmitry Suranovic as he tried to overtake and was sent airborne. As you'll see in the video, Daly's car was almost vertical as it slid for 40 metres meters before hitting the very top of the catch fencing on the left, almost flipping right over. 12:18: Here's what the Williams team had to say about the extra grid penalty handed to Maldonado: The car had a lot of damage in it, to the point where we are having to change the gearbox in it as well," Williams' chief operations engineer told reporters. There was a significant amount of damage to the car, so the guys did a really good job to even get it out for qualifying. Plenty of familiar faces in Monaco this weekend: 12:10 If you haven't read or heard much since qualifying yesterday then there is a little adjustment to make to the grid standings. As if a 10-place penalty wasn't enough for Maldonado he's been handed a further five for a gear-box change so things have altered a little since the end of Q3. The Venezuelan is now starting from the back alongside Sergio Perez. 12:00 good morning/afternoon/evening depending on where in the world you are joining me from for the Monaco Grand Prix the most glamorous race on the F1 circuit. It's been an action packed weekend on the Cote D'Azur already so plenty to look back on before lights out at 1pm [BST]. Let's be honest the winner of this race is really anyone's guess isn't it? Almost a case of put all the names in a hat and pull one out! You'll all be well aware that there have been five different winners already this season so to add to the prospect of a record sixth, there have been five different winners is as many consecutive years in Monaco...so as ever...it's going to be on heck of a race. As a footnote to the record and landmarks, today celebrates the 70th time the Monte Carlos street circuit has hosted a Grand Prix. How the grid looks: Webber, Rosberg Hamilton, Grosjean Alonso, Schumacher Massa, Raikkonen Vettel, Hulkenberg Kobayashi, Button Senna, Di Resta Ricciardo, Vergne Kovalainen, Petrov Glock, De La Rosa Pic, Karthikeyan Maldonado, Perez

'Hundreds' of homes destroyed in Colorado wildfire The damage has not yet been fully tallied. Many of those who fled are sleeping in high school gymnasiums in the east of the city and still do not know if they will have a home to return to. Aerial pictures appeared to show at least 300 homes destroyed in one small area. The city's mayor confirmed yesterday morning that "hundreds" of homes had been hit but said exact figures were still not clear. We now know hundreds of homes have been destroyed. We are working through the process, which is very painstaking, of assessing every address to make sure that we have absolutely accurate information on each address," said Steve Bach. The worst thing we could do would be to put out information that's inaccurate. Meanwhile the FBI confirmed that it is looking into the possibility that the fire could be arson. FBI Denver Division spokesman Dave Joly said: "The FBI Denver Division is working closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement to determine if any of the wild land fires resulted from criminal activity." The Waldo Canyon fire started on Saturday and had burned 24 square miles by Wednesday with only five per cent of the flames under control. Rich Harvey, the incident commander, said that Wednesday "was a good day" in fighting the fire. "We are going to be incredibly aggressive" on Thursday, he added. We expect that (containment) figure to jump dramatically. Firefighters are hoping that favourable conditions, specifically a lack of wind and possible rain, will stop the fire spreading any wider. Previously Rich Brown, the Colorado fire chief, said the blaze was a "monster" which was "not remotely close to being contained," adding: "This is a fire of epic proportions. This is an active fire. Please do not be deceived. John Hickenlooper, the governor of Colorado, described the scene as similar to "looking at the worst movie set you could imagine."

Petition demands probe into comments by MPAA chief Chris Dodd As if former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd needed another headache. Last week the Internet lobby defeated anti-piracy bills in Congress heavily backed by the entertainment industry. Now, the Motion Picture Assn. of America's chairman is under fire for remarks he made on a news program. On Sunday, an online petition claiming more than 10,000 signatures demanded that the White House investigate comments made by the Dodd last week in an interview on Fox News. During the interview, Dodd suggested that lawmakers who don't support tougher anti-piracy laws could lose financial contributions from Hollywood. "Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake," said Dodd. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake. Those comments, the petition stated, represent "an open admission of bribery and a threat designed to provoke a specific policy goal. This is a brazen flouting of the 'above the law' status people of Dodd's position and wealth enjoy. MPAA spokesman Howard Gantman responded: "Senator Dodd was merely making the obvious point that people support politicians whose views coincide with their own. When politicians take positions that people disagree with, those people tend not to support those politicians. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

The future of cyberspace needs to be a genuinely world wide web. In Budapest this week, here's how we'll make that happen A year ago we began the collective endeavour of enhancing and protecting this for future generations. For the first time the London Conference on Cyberspace brought together Ministers, industry leaders, the internet technical community, civil society and youth from across the world to begin a dialogue on shared principles and to set out the agenda for how to build a secure, resilient and trusted global digital environment. This week, Hungary will host a conference to drive this agenda forward "with trust and security for freedom and prosperity." In London we highlighted the importance of a future where the benefits of the digital age are expanded to all peoples and economies of the world. But we also made clear the need to minimise the risks as much as possible, without undermining our commitment to fundamental freedoms. In Budapest we must accelerate our work to deliver this vision. Our meeting comes at crucial time. The global economic climate means we must work harder to maintain and enhance the benefits of the internet for all. And as cybercrime increases we must work together to address a threat that does not recognise national borders, is costing the world economy billions of Euros every year and the numbers and sophistication of cyber attacks on national infrastructures is rising all the time. We should not ignore this, just as we should not try to shackle transparency, open information and the free exchange of ideas. These are what have made the internet such a success and inspired such innovation. It should be a space which is not stifled by government control or censorship; one where innovation and competition flourish across national borders; where investment and enterprise are rewarded; where information is shared easily, and where human rights carry the same force online as they do offline. The Budapest Conference is a chance to review the international debate on how to achieve this delicate balancing act and ensure that critical work done in a variety of fora is co-ordinated. In the last year we have made good progress: OECD policy principles have established a benchmark to preserve the fundamental openness of the Internet; the UN has begun work on norms for behaviour in cyberspace including at the Human Rights Council; the Den Haag Conference Declaration established a cross-regional coalition of countries in a Freedom Online Coalition to protect and promote freedom of expression online; the Council of Europe has driven further implementation of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime; and there has been increasing agreement between members of the OSCE and ASEAN Regional Forum on how to develop confidence building measures to reduce the risk of unintended conflict between states. Budapest will build on this. We will explore in more depth the free and secure use of cyberspace; the importance of capacity building for internet security; and the drivers behind the continued development of cyberspace, particularly increased prosperity and enhanced benefits to societies. We will also push the debate on how these can be maintained and improved through mechanisms which promote innovation, freedom and co-operation, but manage the threats from crime, inequalities of access and a lack of trust. It is not just governments who are meeting. Among more than 600 expected participants will be senior representatives from international and regional organisations, the business community, civil society and academia. Bringing together such a wide group of leaders will enable us to discuss and agree the key principles that we can use to drive the myriad of detailed working level meetings and conferences that will take place during the next year. It is crucial that we maximise the synergies and cooperation between the public and private sectors. London was the start of a process. This week we take the next step. We hope the Budapest Conference on Cyberspace will be a major milestone in building a broad, international consensus on the future of cyberspace. We call on governments, international organisations, civil society and industry experts to take responsibility for making the world, virtual and real, a freer and safer place as we address one of the great challenges of our time. The writers are Foreign Secretary of Britain and Hungary respectively