Xiaomi even took first place in a report from China Mobile on new users in April, indicating popularity among first-time mobile adopters such as teenagers. The world's largest network provider said the Chinese upstart led with 1.75 million new units, while Samsung was fifth at 1.27 million units and Apple 11th at 297,000 units.

Given that Xiaomi began selling smartphones just three years ago, its rapid growth in the domestic market is impressive. One of the reasons for the rise is the company's strong relationship with customers, analysts said.

The Beijing-based firm only sells through e-commerce retailers and directly to consumers, which is not typical, ABI Research analyst Nick Spencer said in a statement.

Read MoreWhy US venture firms can't get rich in China

Xiaomi offers a limited number of devices for sale during flash sales, which for the last few weeks have occurred on Tuesdays at noon. Customers must make accounts on the site prior to purchasing and are limited to one of each device in order to prevent scalpers, according to the website's FAQ.

With this strategy, Xiaomi claims to have sold more than 10 million smartphones in China in the first quarter of 2014, on track to reach its annual target of 40 million units in 2014 and to become the fourth largest player in China, Forrester analyst Bryan Wang said.

Last year, Xiaomi missed its 20 million goal by 1.3 million, but sales were more than double that of 2012, according to ABI Research.

Low cost is another key factor for Xiaomi's growth. On Amazon.com's Chinese site, the iPhone 5s lists at almost $800, while the latest Xiaomi phone, MI 3, costs less than $300. Other Xiaomi models such as Redmi sell for just over $100.

Read MoreThis market's in a sweet spot thanks to Apple

Just as importantly, Spencer said that Xiaomi has a well-developed ecosystem. Its devices run a customized, Android-based system called MIUI, which the company claims to make $4.9 million a month in revenue from, Spencer said. Other, non-Xiaomi devices can also download versions of the software.

"What makes Xiaomi interesting is that it has a software ecosystem play, and an innovative and highly effective marketing or user community strategy," he said.

With its own messaging service, virtual currency, games and e-book platform, Xiaomi also reaches into the territory of Chinese tech conglomerates such as Tencent and Weibo. Add the company's cute rabbit mascots and highly active user forums that discuss everything Xiaomi from the latest devices to product interface, and there is little surprise that the firm has gained what many call a cult following.

However, the allure Xiaomi has in China may keep it from succeeding in the United States and elsewhere.

"Xiaomi is a challenge in China and adjacent markets to Apple and Samsung, but its community-based strategy is hard to replicate beyond that," Spencer said.

Still, since Hugo Barra left Android product management at Google to become vice president of Xiaomi Global last August, the company has been taking steps toward expansion overseas.

In a shift from the original name, which literally means "Little Rice" in Chinese, Xiaomi rebranded in April to the more universal-sounding "Mi." Last month, the company also launched a website targeting India, adding to several other Asian branches outside of China.

But analysts said it will take a strong marketing plan and more unique devices to steal the spotlight from Apple and Samsung on the global stage. In particular, the carrier-dominated U.S. market will be hard to break into.

Xiaomi may have its own reasons for not wanting to venture far from its home base just yet. "They have not captured their whole market share there," Blair said. "They're not anxious to jump out of China because they're still in the copycat mode. Samsung was in the copycat mode for a long time."

The private Chinese company, which ABI Research values at $10 billion, did not respond to requests for comment.

Samsung's slow rise to global success included 10 years of marketing campaigns in the United States, analysts said.

"It's hard to imagine that Xiaomi could surpass Samsung," said Wharton professor of marketing Z. John Zhang, who previously provided marketing training for the Korean company. He added that Xiaomi, founded in 2010, "is not really a big company yet. It is at a growth stage."

No analysts saw Xiaomi breaking into the Western market before 2015, but many count on its potential.

Read MoreHomegrown brands lead India's mobile revolution

During a trip to Taiwan last month, Blair said investors there mentioned the company in every conversation with him. "This could be recognized as the next monster."

Summary: Few outside China likely know about this device maker, but some analysts call the company a threat to dominant players like Apple and Samsung.


Angelo Pizzo knows inspirational sports drama. As the writer of “Hoosiers” and “Rudy,” Pizzo has made a career out of mining the genre and its themes of underdog determination and locker-room brotherhood. But he’s overmatched in his directing debut, the well-intentioned football biopic “My All American.”

The bittersweet story of 1960s University of Texas shooting star Freddie Steinmark has the elements we’d expect from someone with Pizzo’s filmography: unabashed sentiment, infectious positivity, and enough game footage to leave even Bill Belichick bleary-eyed. The rookie helmer also gets a charismatic performance from his lead, Matt Damon look-alike Finn Wittrock (“American Horror Story”). But whether it’s because of energy expended on dramatic tangents or because the story’s difficult outcome demands a subtler touch, the film doesn’t hit the emotional crescendo that Pizzo clearly pictures. You won’t leave feeling inspirationally moved so much as depressed.

Things get off to a clunky start with legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal (unconvincingly aged Aaron Eckhart) reminiscing about how Steinmark was “my All American,” official recognition notwithstanding. The movie finds its footing in rewinding several decades to Colorado Friday-night-lights territory, where popular, irrepressibly optimistic Freddie is sure this is the year his losing high school squad will turn it around. Shy, pretty Linda (Sarah Bolger, “Once Upon a Time”) buys the various upbeat dreams he’s selling, and so does Bobby Mitchell (Rett Terrell), his physically gifted, initially cynical new teammate. Soon they’re all off to Austin, as undersize Freddie nabs a scholarship by making yet another believer out of Eckhart’s tough-but-accessible Royal (mercifully freed from the bad makeup).

Cut to training camp trials, coach-speak about the wishbone offense, quarterback controversy, and personal tribulations for Bobby. In short, there’s a lot going on besides more fully dimensionalizing Freddie’s character ahead of that ominous moment when — uh-oh — he winces and clutches his leg.

This mystery health issue comes to a head during an instant-classic matchup with Arkansas for the national title, as Royal reluctantly pulls struggling Freddie for another defensive back. Here again, the movie drifts off-topic, as we’re shown all of the game action that Freddie misses. If you happen to have, say, UT superfan Matthew McConaughey’s level of passion for the Longhorns, you might be into it. Otherwise, you might wonder about some of Pizzo’s narrative play calling, and how much more profound our empathy could have been.

Written and directed by Angelo Pizzo, based on Jim Dent’s book “Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story.” Starring Finn Wittrock, Aaron Eckhart, Sarah Bolger. Boston Common, suburbs.

118 minutes. PG (thematic elements, language, brief partial nudity).

Summary: A well-intentioned biopic that tells the bittersweet story of Freddie Steinmark (Finn Wittrock), an infectiously positive 1960s University of Texas football hero.


11/20/2015 AT 04:00 PM EST

an email recently and haven't heard back, don't be offended – he's just more of a phone call kind of guy.

"87 emails, that's it?" he told PEOPLE as he went through his phone. "[It's] usually higher than that! It's definitely better to call me if you really need a quick answer on something. I try and check emails every few days, but I'm not looking at them all day every day."

The country star will debut "Home Alone Tonight," his duet with Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild, at the

on Sunday (airing live at 8 p.m. ET on ABC), but on his downtime, he prefers working on his land in Tennessee.

Two of Bryan's favorite apps are Geo Measure and MyRadar, which he uses for hunting and fishing. "I'm somewhat obsessed with these," he says, adding that he uses Pinterest to gather ideas for the house he's building.

David Beckham is PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive 2015

And of course, front and center on his phone is

, which he uses to "interact with my fans," he says. "[The funniest thing I see is] fans creating their own Luke photo collages. Those are fun."

, Caroline, is also never far from his sight, even when he's traveling. The star's wallpaper features the couple dressed as sassy seniors on Halloween this year.

"Caroline is definitely an inspiration behind the song," he said earlier this year about

"Strip It Down." "It's just sexy to be thinking about her when I'm writing."

Summary: The country singer shows PEOPLE what apps he uses on the regular


Had Time Warner and Twenty-First Century Fox merged, it would have resulted in one of the world's largest media conglomerates, with two major movie studios, a portfolio of broadcast and cable networks and rights to lucrative sports programming.

"I think it became clear as we went along, because we are a fairly similar size, that we probably would be better off independent," Bewkes explained.

"The Fox team came to that conclusion as they looked at how this developed. You know as it started out, we were undervalued and that may have led to the whole situation."

Read More Starz will talk to anyone, consider anything: CEO

Time Warner shares spiked on news of the bid and dropped when it was rejected, but have since largely recovered those gains.

Bewkes said the biggest element of his plan is affiliate and subscriber support for the company's networks.

"Those are very good trends," he said. All over the world, people "are watching more video, they're liking it more and the big news is they are getting it on demand."

As for when HBO will break out of the cable TV bundle and become available to more people through a stand-alone subscription service, Bewkes said he's aiming for some time in 2015.

Read MoreOver the top is AOK with HBO: Plepler

However, he stressed that the move will not alienate traditional distributors.

"We're going to help and give them more products to sell any way they want to sell," he said.

"Our first focus is on the video/TV bundle. Some of the best distributors are selling 50 percent more of these bigger packages than the others. Those families and households, they ought to have an offer like that and they got to have it from those distributors. So we think that's the answer."

—Reuters contributed to this report.

Summary: Jeffrey Bewkes lays out his earnings per share goals of $6 a share in 2016 and $8 a share in 2018.


The American radical thinker Hakim Bey coined the term "temporary autonomous zones" in the 80s to describe the often illegal makeshift communities that were being created in cities and remote rural areas by squatters, travellers and the various alternative communities living outside society's norms. The term now also applies to the many illegal urban communities – made up mostly of migrant workers and their families – that have sprung up in European cities over the past decade or so. Many have become semi-permanent settlements, existing almost invisibly on the edges of mainstream society.

The Italian photographer Alessandro Imbriaco borrowed the title Temporary Autonomous Zones for his five-year project about migrant communities scattered along the outskirts of Rome. Back then, he photographed these precarious places in a classic documentary style influenced by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange's stark images of the Great Depression in 30s America.

Then, something happened almost by accident that shifted his style. Driving along a main road out of Rome, Imbriaco noticed a stretch of wasteland that looked like a swamp and, amid the trees, a makeshift wooden building. Intrigued, he went to investigate and bumped into a man from Sicily named Piero, who was living there with his family. So began an extraordinary journey, which led to The Garden, a strangely beautiful book about survival and belonging, exile and human resourcefulness.

The Garden foregoes a straight documentary style for an atmospheric one in which the sense of place is almost magical, even mythical. It is a dark book only in its use of colour – often you have to look hard to spy the human figures in the woods. Given that Piero, his partner Lupa and their young daughter Angela live a life of hardship and marginalisation, the tightrope Imbriaco walks – between representing their way of life and idealising it – is a tricky one. He has said that he "wanted to put something of the feeling of Piero and the swamp into the story, something connected to me and my emotional response to the place".

It seems both Piero and Imbriaco are romantics at heart: the swamp becomes "the garden", the woods a shelter from the city that surrounds them; the child is a free spirit wandering though a leafy eden. The struggles and defeats that brought Piero and Lupa to this place are not alluded to, nor is there much evidence of the cold and damp, or the lack of home comforts that go hand in hand with life at poverty level. Instead, the emphasis is on their close-knit family life and their self-made home in this strange hinterland.

By jettisoning his usual documentary style for one that draws unabashedly on the Romantic tradition, Imbriaco challenges our preconceptions about this exiled family and their surroundings. He highlights the dignity, and great beauty, of such an uncertain existence. Angela undoubtedly has a closeness to nature that most children no longer experience. "(She) grew up like a child of 60 years ago," notes Imbracio. "For this reason, she is very strong." Revealingly, though, while Piero and Angela seem comfortable with the photographer's presence, Lupa shies away from his camera. There is only one portrait of her in the book, surrounded by foliage as if trying to disappear into the woods.

The Garden won the European Publisher's award for photography last year; it's not hard to see why. Taken in late-afternoon natural light, the photographs exude an otherworldly atmosphere that reflects the family's self-contained, and occasionally magical, existence on the literal and metaphorical edge of a modern European city. They possess a quiet, cumulative power that attests to Imbriaco's intimacy with his subjects and his admiration for their undoubted resilience.

It is a way of life that has since come to an end. Lupa and Angela now live in a shelter for women and children in the city so that Angela can attend school, as is legally required by the state. An outsider by temperament, Piero now lives in the swamp – his garden – alone.

As part of a bigger exhibition devoted to Black Country legends, the Public in West Bromwich is showing Richard Billingham's classic 90s series Ray's a Laugh. It features "snapshots" of Billingham's alcoholic father – the Ray of the title – as well as his feisty, obese, jigsaw puzzle-obsessed mother. An insider's glimpse of an epically dysfunctional family, it is shot through with deep affection and tenderness. Not for the faint-hearted or easily offended, but a rare chance to see a classic series of dirty realist photographs shot from the inside out.

At Ffotogallery, Cardiff, Borderliners offers a chance to see another more recent dirty-realist series: Rimaldas Viksraitis's Grimaces of the Weary Village, which is being shown alongside an older series, Rural Markets (1969-1987) by fellow Lithuanian photographer Aleksandras Macijauskas. The unifying theme is the post-Soviet decline of rural village communities in Lithuania. In a related event, both artists will be talking about their work on 16 February.

Summary: Sean O'Hagan: Captivated by the plight of Piero and his family living in a swamp outside Rome, the Italian photographer created a book that casts them in an eerily beautiful light


Sharon's security cabinet, comprising his most senior ministers, voted nine to one for the plan on Tuesday, which military radio said would eventually see families receive between $200,000Â and $300,000 each. Â Â While sources described the meeting as stormy, it represents the first concrete step towards evicting all 8000 of Gaza settlers and residents from four illegal Jewish enclaves in the West Bank next year. Â Â The sole dissenter was Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev, a member of the far-right National Religious party, the political mouthpiece of the settler movement. Â Â Hysterical reaction

Eran Sternberg, a spokesman for the Gaza settlers, vented his fury at the proposals, saying Sharon had no mandate for the pullout. Â Â "This is a hysterical reaction on the part of the prime minister who feels he is about to lose power," he said.Â Â Â But Sharon said last month he expected his full cabinet to vote onÂ the final version of the plan on 24 October before parliament had its say on 3 November. Â Â The security cabinet vote is another sign of Sharon's determination to forge ahead with a project which has split his party, alienated his traditional supporters amongÂ settlers and even put his life in danger. Â Â Police revealed on Tuesday they were investigating death threats against Sharon and the head of the disengagement administration, Jonathan Bassi, which had been received in recent days. Â Â No delays

Tens of thousands demonstrated against the pullout on Sunday night, while Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Sharon to submit the plan to a referendum. Â Â However, Sharon said in a series of interviews published on Tuesday that there was simply no time to hold a nationwide poll.Â Â Â HardlineÂ settlersÂ have protestedleaving Israel's illegal colonies"The disengagement plan will be implemented without delay, according to the dates that were set. Were a referendum not to delay the process at all I might be able to consider it, but that isn't the situation," Sharon told the Maariv daily. Â Â The prime minister then took a swipe at Netanyahu, his chief rival within the main governing Likud party, without mentioning him by name. Â Â "Regretfully, there are people who are trying to torpedo and to delay the implementation of the plan, and who are motivated by foreign interests," he said.Â Â Â Arafat's days numbered

HardlineÂ settlersÂ have protestedleaving Israel's illegal colonies

Sharon also had a go at Palestinian President Yasir Arafat, renewing a threat to expel him from the West Bank. Â Â In an interview with the top-selling Yediot Aharonot, published a year after the security cabinet approved in principle Arafat's "removal", Sharon said the 75-year-old would be banished "at a time that suits us". Â Â The Israeli leader has made a number of previous threats against Arafat's life, but has settled for effectively imprisoning him for nearly three years inÂ the partly destroyed Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ram Allah.

However, Palestinian Negotiations Minister Saib Uraiqat said the threats "are very serious and are preparing the ground for a physical attack on president Arafat".

Summary: Israeli ministers have approved a compensation package to entice Jewish colonists who have illegally settled in Gaza to leave.


03/03/2016 AT 11:30 AM EST

The debilitating disease of Parkinson's may have "diminished him," but a friend of

says the boxing legend has never stopped fighting.

The sports icon is largely

85 to 90 percent of the time, his friend Davis Miller tells PEOPLE, but he "still plays with kids even in a wheelchair. He lights up around kids."

"He's 74 and in late stages of Parkinson's and still fights every day and all day long. There's a magic about Muhammad Ali – everything from his elegance in the ring to his sense of humor, which has a childlike quality to it. He connects with the child in us too."

Ali's extraordinary life is at the center of a new exhibit at London's O2 arena,

, opening on Friday. The exhibit features more than 100 artifacts and previously unseen footage and was partly curated by Miller, who is also the author of the new book

, which tells his own intimate story of knowing the boxer for more than 30 years.

magazine covers and boxing belts, there's a signed half-length cotton robe embroidered on the back with Ali's legendary statement, "Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee." It was worn by his cornerman Bundini Brown at the famed "Rumble in the Jungle" fight against George Foreman in 1974.

Poignantly, in London where it became famous, there is also the "split-glove" that Ali wore, and broke, during his 1963 fight against Briton Henry Cooper at Wembley. Boxing legend has it that attending to the split meant that Ali had a little bit more time at the break to recover. He came out for the fifth round and won the contest.

"It's one of the three most famous artifacts in Muhammad Ali's life, and probably the most famous pair of boxing gloves too," says Miller.

"The Brits have a particular affinity for Ali and he has also for the Brits. He has had a very long relationship with the British people going back to the first fight in 1963 here against Henry Cooper, right up to the present day."

There is a growing campaign, backed by British heavyweight David Haye for the star to be given an honorary knighthood. There are more than 20,000 signatures gathered so far on a petition.

Although he faced backlash in the U.S. for his stance on the Vietnam War, "the British didn't see it that way," says Miller. "The rest of the world came to love him and he became a hero."

In interviews and through his well-known quips and often forthright views, he "speaks with quickness and wit and cleverness," says Miller. "He stood up, and continues to stand up, for what he believed to be right."

. The exhibit opens March 4.

Summary: The boxing legend, who has Parkinson's Disease, is honored in a new London exhibit featuring previously unseen artifacts


04/21/2016 AT 11:00 PM EDT

He's had late-night jam sessions with Prince at his house and covered

's songs over the years, and now

is opening up about the impact the late singer had on his life.

"[I'll remember] just the great times that we had and just constantly being inspired by how he did things his way [and] never let anybody deter what he wanted to accomplish creatively and musically," Levine told PEOPLE at a

event benefitting the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Thursday. "As a musician, I can't tell you how much that's rubbed off on me."

The star was "lucky to call him a friend," he added. "[I] didn't get to see him enough, you know, especially towards the end."

Now, Levine is "still kind of processing everything" as he reflects on the

. "I'm still really shocked . . . I'm gonna miss the guy so much," he said.

also echoed Levine's sentiments, saying there "was no plastic or manufacturing" when it came to the singer's life and work. "It's sad that we lost somebody so epic. His talent was so genuine and authentic," she told PEOPLE. "I think that's a lesson and a great inspiration for every future artist of any generation."

: "It's just really hard to imagine that someone only on this planet 57 years could just have that kind of emotional intelligence and depth in his music the way that he did. It's

much music and so layered and so many styles. It's heavy and I feel like now that we've lost him, there's a hole in the ether."

in an elevator Thursday morning after sheriff's deputies received a call for medical help from his Paisley Park Studios home outside Minneapolis. He was pronounced dead less than 25 minutes later.

Summary: "He never let anybody deter what he wanted to accomplish creatively and musically," Levine tells PEOPLE


It was called vulture investing. Sam Zell Sam Zell , the grave-dancer of the early 1990s, was an archetypal bird of prey, snatching at properties (often high-quality properties) as developers and owners struggled with lenders.

It was a great foundation for building the nation’s biggest publicly traded office-building collection. With Zell steering it through the most prosperous years commercial real estate has ever seen, Equity Office Properties Trust created a draft stream that pulled many other companies along behind it.

Greater transparency in a famously opaque business converged with global capital flows to set in motion the sale of Zell’s collection of former commercial carcasses, grown to gargantuan size and scope. More than 500 buildings totaling more than 100 million square feet comprised the record-smashing $39 billion privatization sale of Equity Office Properties to the Blackstone Group on Feb. 7.

Now, with barely a blink, a huge chunk of those same assets (many of which have been revivified and filled out with prime tenants over the years, but many others still marking unfulfilled promise) are about to be offered up and out to multiple layers of investors–vulture and otherwise.

The sale itself, which promised to offer a High Noon style of business entertainment following a hugely dramatic buildup to the biggest leveraged buyout in U.S. history, came down to a brief and not particularly eventful last meeting of EOP shareholders and shareholder proxies on Feb. 7 in Chicago.

In a small auditorium in the EOP-owned Civic Opera Building, EOP CEO Richard Kincaid Richard Kincaid (Chairman Zell was out of town) called the meeting to order. Kincaid ascertained that every stockholder who wanted to vote on the Blackstone Group’s most recent offer ($55.50 per share, cash) had done so, and then asked for the tabulation of votes to be read.

Roughly 77% of all shares voted, and 92% of those voted yes, meaning that about 71% of all outstanding shares voted to be acquired by Blackstone. And that was that. Kincaid declared the deal done, and the 16-year run of EOP was history. The deal is expected to close with breathtaking speed later this week or early next.

Of course, it was a done deal even before that; any potential drama had been sucked out of the event when EOP’s other suitor, Vornado Realty Trust , withdrew its most recent competing bid for Equity Office Properties just before the vote.

“I’m not really surprised,” Kincaid said about Vornado’s decision in a press conference after the meeting. Blackstone’s offer, he added, “was too high a hurdle,” suggesting that there would not have been enough profit left at a higher bid.

Vornado’s offer was actually a little larger than Blackstone’s–$56 per share–but it was a combo of cash and Vornado stock. With Blackstone’s all-cash-this-minute-no-messing-around offer, cash is king, and the prospect of no strings attached and no worries about Vornado’s stock fluctuations carried the day. While some analysts had argued that the structure of the Vornado offer was indeed more advantageous to EOP stockholders, neither EOP’s board nor the broader base of stockholders seems to have thought so.

“We’re confident we got full value,” said Kincaid. For its part, he added, Blackstone is getting an “irreplaceable portfolio. They’ll do well with it. There’s a lot of demand for office properties.”

Which is probably understating the case. Before the day was out, investors who had lined up like hungry guests at a combination buffet line and raffle were beginning to walk off with their plates full. The apparent early plate-glass door prize winner: Macklowe Properties, which was widely reported to be set to take down a $7 billion Manhattan portfolio, with buildings such as 717 Fifth Ave.; 1540 Broadway; 1095 Sixth Ave.; and the behemoth Worldwide Plaza, which EOP acquired in the mid-1990s from … Blackstone.

It has been widely understood that Blackstone, which has only about a 10% equity stake in the transaction, would be selling off many of the properties it is acquiring almost immediately. And with its winning bid of $55.50 per share some 15% higher than its going-in offer of $48.50 from November, chances are that the sell-off will be even more aggressive than Blackstone had originally planned–especially if, as happened on Feb. 7, the 10-year Treasury continues to slide.

Indeed, it’s more than likely that Harry Macklowe himself already has an eager queue of partners waiting for their share of the spoils.

Will Vornado be one of those buying pieces of the late EOP from Blackstone? While some observers thought that likely, suggesting that the only reason VNO withdrew from a potential shareholder showdown was that it had reached a deal with Blackstone, others felt that the run-up to the vote may have left Blackstone chieftain Steve Schwartzman and VNO’s Chairman Steve Roth Steve Roth at odds. After all, it was Vornado’s intervention that forced Blackstone to pay up; however, the flip side (and we do mean flip) is that the properties became (demonstrably) that much more valuable through the competitive process.

Indeed, Vornado surely wanted the Manhattan buildings that Macklowe is getting, but sources say it also has its eye on EOP’s extensive Orange County, Calif., holdings. And investors overwhelmingly cheered VNO’s exit from the bidding war: The stock jumped nearly $9 on the day, from $127 to $135.75.

In a research report released early the day after Blackstone’s victory, Wachovia analyst Christopher Haley wrote that the move was “a clear fundamental and technical positive; we believe VNO’s $3 billion-plus of marginal investment capacity will generate higher ROAs than the $20 billion-plus of EOP-allocated capital, and possibly sooner.”

In other words, money well unspent.

Peter Slatin is editor of the Forbes/Slatin Real Estate Report. Click here to learn more about this newsletter and its model real estate portfolios.

Send comments and questions to newsletters@forbes.com.

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Summary: Blackstone cash talks loudly.  Now the bid winner will start selling some big buildings.


A favorite of Russian President Vladimir Putin has emerged as a leading contender to become the next UN secretary-general.

Irina Bokova, 63, the director-general of UNESCO, the UN’s cultural arm, was nominated by her government, Bulgaria, last week to succeed Ban Ki-moon, who steps down at the end of this year, the Sunday Times of London reported.

The US, Britain and other allies reportedly object and want a different candidate.

Bokova, a former Bulgarian Communist Party member, is thought to have angered Washington while at UNESCO by recognizing Palestine as a state.

She also was one of the few foreign officials to attend Putin’s World War II victory parade in Moscow last year, along with Cuban President Raul Castro and Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Summary: A favorite of Russian President Vladimir Putin has emerged as a leading contender to become the next UN secretary-general. Irina Bokova, 63, the director-general of UNESCO, the UN’s cultural arm, w…


On May 17th, Amazon-owned social reading platform Goodreads announced a new deals service, Goodreads Deals, that will notify users of ebook deals. The deals will be personalized according to genre preference and the reviews of fellow readers, as well as readers’ own wishlists.

Goodreads Deals is initially available only to U.S. users, and will include deals from a multiple platforms, including the Kindle Store, Apple APPL iBooks, Barnes & Noble BKS Nook, Kobo, and Google GOOG Play.

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The new service is a significant step towards realizing the value of Amazon’s 2013 acquisition of Goodreads, for a reported $150 million. Goodreads’ main source of revenue early on was book advertising, rather than sales. But as Wired points out, reading habits are remarkably personal, making Goodreads’ data a potential goldmine of insight into that subtlest of consumer metrics—taste.

Taste is such a nuanced thing that according to Netflix NFLX , another portal with a lot of data on media consumption, traditional demographic measures like location, age, and gender are “garbage” for helping divine what people want to read or watch.

While it’s starting close to home, Goodreads’ data could conceivably be leveraged much more broadly, to sell users not just books, but movies, games, even home décor or food. Amazon’s retail portal, of course, learned the ropes of that game long ago, also starting with books. But Goodreads has arguably managed to create a more dedicated and active community than Amazon amzn , which could produce better data. The site currently reports a userbase of 50 million.

For more on Amazon, watch our video:

Of course, when it comes to targeted marketing, Goodreads has one significant disadvantage compared to Netflix or other streaming services. Because users self-report what they’re reading, the platform will in some cases have less robust information than companies that comprehensively track user activity on a closed platform.

On the flipside, Goodreads might argue that it actually tracks more activity than streaming services, at least for its most dedicated users. The likes of Spotify and Netflix don’t capture it when a user watches a DVD or listens to a vinyl record, but a dedicated Goodreads user theoretically posts books they read across all platforms.

Summary: Reading habits offer a particularly deep view of consumer preferences.


Sports fans are notoriously contrary, and it would be tough to find any two — even two supporters of the same team — who could agree on everything having to do with, say, American football. It would be equally tough to find one issue that could somehow, miraculously, unite all fans, everywhere. But even the most vociferous and combative aficionados would agree that “the Super Bowl” is a far better, far snappier name for the sport’s ultimate contest than “the AFL-NFL World Championship Game,” which is exactly what it was called for the first two years it was played, in 1967 and 1968.

Despite its utterly prosaic name, the First AFL-NFL World Championship Game, in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 1967, remains a thrilling benchmark for fans not only because it was, in fact, the first-ever Super Bowl, but because of the jaw-dropping number of future Hall of Famers — and gridiron legends who never made it to Canton — who played, coached or were simply associated in one way or another with the event. The American Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs, for example, featured Len Dawson, Emmitt Thomas, Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan and long-time coach (of the Chiefs as well as the team’s previous incarnation, the Dallas Texans), Hank Stram.

The NFL champion Green Bay Packers, meanwhile, boasted the likes of Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Herb Adderley, Forrest Gregg, Willie Davis, Henry Jordan, Jim Taylor and Willie Wood. (Another Packer great, running back Paul Hornung, suited up for the game but did not play, having been injured earlier in the season.) Finally, Green Bay was coached by none other than Vince Lombardi, subsequently immortalized in the big game’s ultimate symbol: the big, silver Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Packers won the first Super Bowl in 1967 — the only Super Bowl that did not sell out — handily beating the Chiefs 35-10. Bart Starr was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. (He was also Super Bowl II’s MVP, when the Packers beat the Raiders, 33-14, in Miami.) Here, five decades later, LIFE.com presents a series of photos — none of which ran in LIFE magazine — made by Bill Ray and Art Rickerby before, during and after that in augural game, casting light on the hard-fought, hard-nosed conflict.

Here are players whose names immediately summon the no-frills look and feel of pro football in the mid-1960s (Starr, Buchanan, Otis Taylor, Sherrill Headrick, the great Fuzzy Thurston and so many others) as well as players who have long been forgotten by all but the most die-hard fans.

Here is Chiefs’ defensive back (and, later, an actor in scores of movies and TV shows) Fred “The Hammer” Williamson — very publicly over-cocky in the lead-up to the contest — carried from the field on a stretcher after being knocked unconscious.

Here is running back Elijah Pitts (see slide 11 in this gallery) and the Green Bay offensive line perfectly executing the team’s famed “power sweep.”

Here is a tired Len Dawson in the Chiefs’ locker room, taking a drag on a cigarette before heading back to play the fateful second half.

Here is Jim Taylor, the Packers’ indomitable fullback, almost tackled, off-balance, still grinding it out, pushing for that extra yard.

Almost everything about the Super Bowl has changed drastically in the long years since Green Bay won the first. But as the pictures here attest, what happens between the lines has always been all that really matters, and all that anyone ultimately remembers.

Summary: LIFE.com presents a series of photos — none of which ran in LIFE magazine — made before, during and after the first-ever edition of the Super Bowl.


Right now, the rich and famous are touring homes in virtual reality—and in a few years, so could everyone.

The Matthew Hood Real Estate Group at Sotheby’s International Realty BID has begun experimenting with Samsung Gear VR as a new showcase for multi-million dollar homes based in Los Angeles, as well as luxury residences in the Hamptons and in New York City.

Hood says the types of homes this works best for today are high-end homes, because the cost of scanning a home for VR ranges from $300-$700. The real estate agent first experimented with filming 360-degree video of homes using a stationary camera set-up with 10 GoPro cameras, but 3D scans allow a customer to walk through a house using a hand controller for navigation.

VR lets Hood show homes from across the country or across the world, and get the same view as the buyer.

“I can lead a VR tour remotely and even see where the client is looking, which allows me to address things like a kitchen counter style while they’re looking at it—just as I would in a real world tour,” Hood says.

Hood is pushing to create a network across Sotheby’s offices, so that when he has a listing like a $7 million Venice, Calif., home he just 3D-scanned for VR, the San Francisco office can access that content for Silicon Valley companies. (Venice has been dubbed “Silicon Beach” because of all the tech companies that have opened there recently.)

Los Angeles, in particular, is a city that was built for VR real estate tours, according to Hood. It can take two days to visit 10 houses because of traffic, which is a lot of time for an executive to take off work. VR also allows buyers throughout Asia and Europe to check out homes before flying in to finalize a deal. On the seller side, VR allows celebrities and owners of expensive homes to focus on only buyers with legitimate interest in purchasing.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes one of the reasons Facebook FB purchased Oculus VR last year for $2 billion is because of VR’s real estate potential.

“You could do real estate open houses with 360-degree views and have a client come to your office and check out 50 homes through a head-mounted display and then pick the top ones to visit in person,” Pachter says. “Facebook looks at VR as skipping the realtor completely.”

Hood doesn’t believe that will happen any time soon.

“Buying a home completely in VR may be possible, but not for another 15 to 20 years,” Hood says. “There are complications involving homes that require expertise and continue to require third-party involvement.”

Hood believes VR will trickle down to lower-priced homes for everyday sales within five years. He sees the floodgates opening once the Zillow of VR is created.

“A number of young tech companies are exploring an entirely in-VR experience where you enter search criteria like price, location, and number of rooms and you’re presented a number of homes and you can virtually tour,” Hood says. “Once that happens, you’ll look back and say, ‘How did we do this before?’”

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Summary: Sotheby's Internatonal Realty is using VR to sell luxury homes, and in the next few years everyone could be shopping for houses with virtual reality.


It was the end of a quiet summer day in Intervale, N.H., and Francis and Maria Limmer of Peter Limmer & Sons, custom bootmakers, were about to close up

shop when a bearded young hiker rushed in. He was having trouble with his Limmer boots, he said, a bone spur in his heel pressing against the leather was excruciatingly painful. Could something be done about it? Indeed it could. Mr. Limmer calmly set to work to ease the spot out, pressing a pocket to make room for the protrusion. Was that better? No? A further adjustment and the boot fit to the hiker's satisfaction. ''Are you a skier?'' Mr. Limmer asked in parting. ''Ah, I thought so, a ski boot will do that to you. You didn't get that from our boots.''

Dealing with such a problem is all in the day's work for Mr. Limmer, who, with his brother, Peter Limmer Jr., is carrying on the business started by their late father, Peter Limmer Sr., a master craftsman who emigrated to this country from Peterskirchen, Bavaria, in 1925.

The Limmer reputation rests on one item alone, a distinctive hiking boot constructed of one piece of black leather with only one seam. ''It's an expensive way. There's more waste out of a hide,'' said Francis Limmer. Such a boot, however, is particularly durable and bends with the foot naturally. The upper is turned out at the welt area to provide a waterproof flange, another important point. Of Swiss-tanned cowhide, the boot is leather lined, has a steel shank and a Vibram sole attached by cement and screws.

Despite the proliferation of commercially made hiking boots, Peter Limmer & Sons retains a loyal following and is holding its own. Legion are the hikers and backpackers who swear by the product and wouldn't dream of wearing anything else; besides, in hiking circles the boot is something of a status symbol.

Each year about 850 to 1,000 pairs of boots are sent to all 50 states and all over the world from New Zealand to Malaysia, from the Himalayas to the Andes to the Alps, as attested by the photographs tacked up on the workshop wall. Some hikers are so attached to their Limmers they insist on being married in them. Mrs. Limmer likes to show visitors the portrait of a formally clad couple cutting their wedding cake, the bridegroom's pants raised ever so slightly to reveal sturdy hiking boots.

Each pair of Limmer boots entails 12 hours of labor from start to finish. The older son, Peter Limmer Jr., comes in Mondays and sets up the lasts, leaving his brother, Francis, and his son, Peter Stefan, to spend the remainder of the week finishing the boots.

The Limmer boots, made to the size of the customer's larger foot, are $150 a pair, not bad Francis Limmer feels, considering that boots custom made for each individual foot by Merrell of Vernal, Utah, cost $450 a pair. For an additional $15 the Limmers will supply an insulated boot that is identical in appearance but has a layer of Ensolite between the lining and the outer layer of the uppers and under the innersole. Such a boot is good for use in weather as cold as 20 degrees Fahrenheit and is intended for hikers constantly on the move, rather than for climbers who may have to stand around between pitches or legs of the climb.

The founder of the company started his business in Germany in 1919. When he settled in Jamaica Plain, Mass., he opened a shoe repair shop but soon he was making sturdy low- cut walking shoes that took the fancy of students at Harvard and other colleges in the Boston area. From there he progressed to ski boots. ''He was the first to make ski boots in the United States,'' according to his son.

The Limmer sons were pressed into service after school. ''No hanging around on street corners for us,'' said Francis Limmer. ''Except for three and a half years in the service it's all we've ever done. We were a close family with an ethnic upbringing.'' Neither Francis, who saw action with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy during World War II, nor Peter Jr., who served with the Air Corps, bothered to avail himself of a college education under the G.I. Bill, since each already had a profession. And their sons, Peter Stefan Limmer and Karl Limmer, have followed suit. After eight years in the family business, however, Karl has set up shop on his own in Bakersfield, Vt., and he's still making boots - for loggers and horseback riders as well as for hikers.

Headquarters for the Limmers since 1950 has been a rustic old carriage house. Maria Limmer has her office just inside the front door next to an area with wooden benches, where customers can be measured and can try on boots. Francis Limmer and his nephew work at tables against big windows looking out west across the fields to the Moat Mountain range. They don't mind at all if visitors watch. Between the reception area and the workshop proper are shelves filled with shiny new boots awaiting their owners, each pair bearing a label with the customer's name and date of completion.

Recently, the Limmers again began making a few of the sturdy walking shoes that initially established their father's reputation in the 1930's; today the price is $75 a pair, against $7.50 in the 1930's.

Francis Limmer is reluctant to accept orders for children's boots. When a 16-year-old came in with her parents recently, he insisted she be measured wearing three pairs of socks and warned her parents she might outgrow the boots before she wore them out.

Indeed, with proper care Limmer boots will last for years, and many pairs come back to be resoled and reconditioned.

Maria Limmer recommends that the boots be treated with mink oil paste to waterproof and lubricate the leather. When wet she says they should be stuffed with newspaper and dried away from the heat.

Peter Limmer & Sons (State Route 16A, Intervale, N.H.; 603-356-5378) is open Monday through Saturday from 8 A.M. to noon and from 1 to 5 P.M.

Be sure to bring the socks you are going to wear with you when you come to be measured. You will probably have to wait about five months for your boots because of the backlog of orders.

Boots can also be ordered by mail: write to Peter Limmer & Sons Inc., Post Office Box 88, Intervale, N.H. 03845 for self-measuring instructions.

photos of boots; Map of New England


Lenders are no longer looking to your Facebook profile as a metric for creditworthiness, thanks in part to the social media giant’s decision to revamp its data access policies for third parties.

For a time, online banking institutions had lofty plans to use Facebook profiles as a new FICO score, downloading data from your profile to use as benchmarks for your level of creditworthiness. The idea was that this wide-reaching data could tell more about a person’s credit background than a traditional credit score, essentially giving online lenders a leg up over traditional banks, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Facebook even got in on the game for a bit. It secured a patent around assessing a member’s ability to repay a loan based on his or her social network last year. However, Facebook ended up going in a very different direction. As of May, the company opted to limit the amount of information available to third-party services, essentially shutting down online lender’s access to relevant data on members.

The Federal Trade Commission has also made hints that if social media platforms were to use their data for loan criteria purposes, it could then regulate the companies as a consumer-reporting agency. The FTC could also consider expanding what constitutes “criteria,” as well. Expanding the definition to include non-specific information, like social media patterns of people in a given area.

Facebook FB didn’t comment to the WSJ on any specific plans related to consumer lending, but the company would likely shy away from additional regulations imposed by the FTC.

Summary: No need to unfriend your deadbeat cousin after all.


March 14, 2014 12:32 p.m. ET

Stephanie Beatriz, 33, plays Detective Rosa Diaz on the Fox sitcom "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." She spoke with reporter Marc Myers.

Dolly Parton is cool. I started listening to her in the 1990s on the radio when I was in junior high school in Webster, Texas. When I found out what she looked like—the tight outfits, the cleavage, the bright lipstick and the big blond hair—I loved her even more. She was so comfortable in her own skin and liked looking that way. She's also a terrific singer-songwriter, and many of her lyrics are about her struggles coming up hard. My favorite is "Coat of Many Colors."

"Coat" [by Ms. Parton] was recorded in 1971 and is about Dolly's memories of her mother making her a winter coat by sewing together colorful rags. To keep Dolly from feeling shame, her mother told her that being poor was just a state of mind. When I first heard "Coat," I bought a cassette tape of the album for our boom box at home.

There wasn't a whole lot of music in our house growing up. Both of my parents are from South America, and I think they wanted to let my younger sister and me thoroughly explore American culture without being influenced by their own music. So no one blinked when I started playing "Coat" around the house.

We never wanted for anything in our home, but I know we struggled. To hear Dolly sing, "Now I know we had no money / But I was rich as I could be / In my coat of many colors /My momma made for me," it always reminds me to be grateful for everything I have, including a loving family.

Dolly's courage on "Coat" also helped me become an actress. The words took my focus off the superficial stuff and the discomfort of starting out and let me focus on what I needed to do to be good enough. Despite Dolly's background, she was able to find her self-worth, work hard and become special.

I haven't shared my interest in Dolly with too many people. Friends roll their eyes when I talk about her. My younger sister gets it—but she loves Loretta Lynn. My makeup staff knows, since I play Dolly's music in the trailer before I go on the set. I even made mix CDs of Dolly's music for two of the actors on the show, but I don't know if they've ever listened to them.

Summary: Actress Stephanie Beatriz from the sitcom "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" talks about how Dolly Parton and her song "Coat of Many Colors" have influenced her.


Ever since the movie "Jaws" popularized great white sharks as predatory man-killers, people have had misconceptions about these animals. That is why researchers have been doing everything they can to learn as much about them before they are hunted to extinction.

Something in the ocean is eating great white sharks

Enya Kim from the Natural History department at auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields stands inside one of the world's largest set of shark jaws comprised of about 180 fossil teeth from the prehistoric species, Carcharocles megalodon, which grew to the size of a school bus.

SLUG: WK-OCEAN HALL DATE: 9/18/08 CREDIT: BILL O'LEARY / TWP WASHINGTON, DC. Pictured, the fossilized jaw of a giant, prehistoric Megalodon shark.

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 2003: Reconstruction of Megalodon, (Carcharodon megalodon) extinct species of shark which lived between the Eocene and the Pliocene Period. Drawing.

A tooth of an extinct giant shark called 'Carcharodon megalodon' found by paleontologists during a project to recover fossils during the Panama Canal expansion, is displayed after a news conference in Panama City, Friday, April 26, 2013. A group of scientists and paleontologists have completed a project with the Panama Canal Authority to recover fossils of at least ten new species of animals that inhabited the earth millions of years ago.

A dead great white shark is seen in Mystic, Conn., Aug. 8, 1983. The shark, 16.5 feet long and weighing 3,300 lbs., was caught by two fishermen from Connecticut after a 10-hour battle 10 miles off the coast of Block Island, R.I. It is believed to be one of the largest great whites ever to be caught in the North Atlantic Ocean.

A schoolgirl reads a panel with information about an ancient whale fossil exibited at the National History Museum in Lima on July 01, 2010. The giant whale named Leviathan melvillei in honour of Herman Melville and his novel 'Moby Dick', live about 12 million years ago in the Miocene period of Peru. The prehistoric sperm whale gripped large prey with its interlocking teeth, inflicting deep wounds and tearing large pieces from the body of its victims, the researchers said.

Rodolfo Salas, one of the scientists that have discovered an ancient whale fossil, speaks next to the jaw of the fossil at the National History Museum in Lima on July 01, 2010. The giant whale named Leviathan melvillei in honour of Herman Melville and his novel 'Moby Dick', live about 12 million years ago in the Miocene period of Peru. The prehistoric sperm whale gripped large prey with its interlocking teeth, inflicting deep wounds and tearing large pieces from the body of its victims, the researchers said.

This photo released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department shows the surfboard being ridden by 39-year-old surfer Francisco Javier Solorio Jr., who was fatally attacked by a shark Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. An expert has determined that Solorio was killed by a 15- to 16-foot great white shark, according to Ralph Collier of the Shark Research Committee. He was bitten in the upper torso in the waters off Surf Beach on Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County and died at the scene despite a friend's efforts to save him.

In an undated photo provided by the Oregon State Police, a 12-foot Great White Shark is displayed near Depoe Bay, Ore. A 20-foot recreational fishing boat brought the shark to Depoe Bay and it likely died Saturday after getting tangled in his crab pot lines.

Crew of a fishing boat displays the business end of a Great White shark at Montauk, N.Y., Aug. 16, 1986. The 2,602-pound shark was the second Great White caught in Montauk waters in the past nine days. Sitting on the shark is Tom Lizza, captain of the The Violator, who harpooned the shark, and Gail Gutterman, who shot it before putting on the tail rope.

A great white shark surfaces and snaps at a seal-shaped decoy. These decoys, coupled with chumming, decrease unintended feeding of sharks by attracting them to dive boats by scent, and limit the amount of bait needed.

GANSBAAI, SOUTH AFRICA - JULY 08: A Great White Shark swims in Shark Alley near Dyer Island on July 8, 2010 in Gansbaai, South Africa.

A collection of whale bone fossils discovered during excavation of the reservoir in La Jolla, Calif., in Dec., 2000, are shown in this handout photo provided by the City of San Diego. The fossils were identified by paleontologists, in July 2001, as the remains of an extinct type of baleen whale that swam in a huge bay covering what is now Mount Soledad. Paleontologists, who are required by San Diego County to monitor sensitive construction sites, spotted the fossils and halted construction. They pulledout a partial skull, both ear bones, a lower limb bone and broken ribs from the soil. Shark teeth belonging to an ancestor of the Great White Shark also were found. (AP Photo/City of San Diego)

Visitors look at a brown-shark and a diver through the huge shatterproof window of the largest sea aquarium in Central Europe, the Tropicarium Ocenarium, in the Campona Shopping Centre, in Budapest on Saturday, May 20, 2000, a day after five tiger-sharks and two brown-sharks arrived in Hungary from Florida by plane. The 16 centimetres thick wall of the new shark aquarium was built in Japan, it has 1.5 million litre capacity. Tropicarium Ocenarium is to open to the public on May 26. (AP Photo/MTI Photo/Illyes Tibor)

Visitors look at a brown-shark through the huge shatterproof window of the largest sea aquarium of Central Europe, Tropicarium Ocenarium in Campona Shopping Centre in Budapest on Saturday May 20, 2000, a day after five tiger-sharks and two brown-sharks arrived in Hungary from Florida by plane. The 16 centimetres thick wall of the new shark aquarium was built in Japan, it has 1.5 million litre capacity, and will give home some rays as well as a great variety of sea fish. Tropicarium Ocenarium is to open to the public on May 26. (AP Photo/Tibor Illyes)

Prince Andrew the Duke and Sarah Duchess of York look at the display in the Shark Tank at Tounsvilles Greta Barrier Reef-Wonderland in Australia on Oct. 3, 1988. The huge tank holds several 2-3 meter Sharks and features a walk under dome. (AP Photo)

Whether you're frightened of them or not, it's still unfortunate to learn that one less great white exists now.

Researchers were tagging great whites to study their movements. In the process, they tagged a nine-foot female, who left the area safely. Four months later, her tag was found on a beach near where she was first caught -- and the data tells a very interesting story.

"It showed this profile going down the shelf to 580 meters, then a huge temperature change ... another living animal," said a Smithsonian researcher.

Yes, it appears that the nine-foot great white was eaten. The big question? What ate her? Whatever it was, it had to be big enough to swallow almost 10 feet of apex predator, and quick enough to drag it almost 2,000 feet in a few seconds.

So, what is it? A giant squid? Godzilla? A Megalodon? Well, actually, that last one is not too far off from the real theory.

The Megalodon was a prehistoric shark, much like a great white ... but 60-feet long. Researchers don't actually believe it was a Megalodon, but they do think it was a giant shark: a great white about 16-feet long and weighing over 4,000 lbs. This deduction came from studying the migratory patterns of other great whites that happened to be in the same area as the missing shark with matching body temperatures.

Still, that is just a hypothesis for now. They still don't know for sure what ate this great white.

Interested in this wild story? You can watch the full documentary, called the "Hunt for the Super Predator," on the Smithsonian Channel on June 25th.


The American people have for 76 years now celebrated the first Friday in June as a day on which to consume fried rings of dough caked in sugar, icing, sprinkles, coconut and other delicious toppings. (or plain, if you like to keep it Old Fashioned).

But the controversy over what to call these unquestionably glorious baked goods has only grown more heated with time.

The Official Dictionary Spelling of the word in question—if you’re into that sort of thing—is “doughnut.” The expedited, simplified, Americanized spelling of “donut,” as Grammarist tells us, has been around since at least the late 19th century. It didn’t catch on, though, until late in the 20th century.

Why? That’s when Massachusetts-based chain Dunkin’ Donuts first started taking off — so thank (or blame) Dunkin’ for the popularity of the “Donut” spelling.

The shortened—dare I say, optimized—spelling, “donut,” is no longer limited to Uncle Sam’s back yard, either. Grammarist finds examples of its use as far away as New Zealand and, *gasp,* the hallowed shores of the UK, guardian of the English language.

From the UK Independent: “Was it because the blog outed their favorite little-known coffee and donut shack, bringing hordes of unwanted tourists to their undercover hangout?”

Whether you’re on #TeamDonut or #TeamDoughnut, let MONEY show you how to get your hands on a free delicious pastry snack this National Do(ugh)nut Day.

Summary: National Donut Day is upon us. Or is it Doughnut Day?


On June 17, 1958, a sea lion by the name of Cyril managed to swim away from the premises of the Storybook Gardens Zoo in London, Ont. The creature, whose natural home lay by the islands near San Francisco, voyaged through the waters of Lake Erie, traversed an international boundary and was found lolling about near a boathouse in Sandusky, Ohio. Cyril was then transferred to the nearby Toledo Zoo, but he didn’t stay long — within weeks, he was sent back to Canada. But as a July 1, 1958, article in the Toledo Blade pointed out, Cyril could have been Toledo’s to keep: 60 years earlier, in 1898, the New York Supreme Court had ruled on a similar case of a “runaway sea lion” and “proclaimed that wild animals which escape from their owners are no longer the property of their former owners.” Yet Cyril was returned anyway. Chalk it up to good cross-border relations.

Summary: Take a look at some adorable fugitives


Even before the Sharks dropped the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final in Pittsburgh, the Bay Area already had the odds stacked against the possibility of an NBA-NHL championship parlay.

The Sharks and Warriors represent the ninth time that one market has fielded teams in the NBA and NHL finals in the same season. None of the previous eight instances produced a double-championship celebration. The breakdown:

-- 3: NBA team wins, NHL team loses. -- 2: NHL team wins, NBA team loses. -- 3: Both teams lose. -- 0: Both teams win.

On those eight occasions, the NBA and NHL teams played in the same gym/rink. That's not the case this time, but with the uniqueness of the Bay Area market, they represent the same general fan base.

When the Warriors won the title in 1975, their home games in the NBA Finals were played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, just south of San Francisco, because the Ice Follies were booked for the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The Sharks played their first two seasons in the Cow Palace while the arena in downtown San Jose was being built. The Warriors spent the 1996-97 season playing in San Jose while the Coliseum Arena underwent renovations. (It wasn't renamed Oracle until 2006.)

Here's what happened the other seven times when NHL and NBA teams from the same region went to the finals of their respective leagues:

With their star core of Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens, the Devils outlast Anaheim in seven games of the Stanley Cup Final. It's the third Cup for the Devils since 1995, and they have a different coach each time: Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson and Pat Burns. Defenseman Ken Daneyko, a part of New Jersey's original draft class in 1982, retires on top.

Led by the combination of Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin, the Nets reach the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season. Swept by the Lakers in 2002, the Nets push the Spurs to six games in 2003. Tim Duncan nearly has a quadruple-double with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and eight blocks in the clinching game.

The Rangers end 54 years of frustration by beating the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final. Brian Leetch, Adam Graves and Mark Messier score goals for a 3-2 win in Game 7. Leetch becomes the first American to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

The Knicks take a 3-2 series lead against the Rockets after winning Game 5, which gets one of the lowest ratings in NBA Finals history thanks to the O.J. Simpson freeway chase. In Game 6, John Starks, who scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, has his three-point attempt blocked by Hakeem Olajuwon in the final seconds, and the Rockets win 86-84. In Game 7, Olajuwon has 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, and the Rockets prevail 90-84. Starks shoots 2-for-18, including 0-for-11 on three-pointers. Knicks coach Pat Riley never brings veteran shooting guard Rolando Blackman off the bench to sub for Starks, a decision he calls "the biggest mistake I ever made."

With Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour, the Blackhawks roll into the Stanley Cup Final on an 11-game winning streak. Then they get swept by the Penguins, who repeat as champions, and Mario Lemieux does likewise with the Conn Smythe.

The Bulls also repeat by handling Portland in six games in the NBA Finals. In Game 1, Michael Jordan makes six three-pointers in the first half, prompting his famous shrugging gesture toward NBC color commentator Magic Johnson to express his own disbelief. In Game 6 at Chicago, the Trail Blazers lead 79-64 entering the fourth quarter. But the Bulls dial up the defensive pressure and win 97-93 as Jordan finishes with 33 points and four steals.

The Flyers set an NHL record with a 35-game unbeaten streak (25–0–10) and finish 25 points ahead of the Islanders in the regular season. But when the teams meet in the Stanley Cup Final, the Islanders win it in six games. Bobby Nystrom's OT winner in Game 6 clinches it, and it is the first of four consecutive Cups for the Islanders. Televised by CBS, this is the last Stanley Cup Final game broadcast on network TV in the U.S. until 1995 when Fox shows the Devils-Red Wings series.

With Julius Erving leading the way, the 76ers make their second trip to the NBA Finals in four seasons. But Lakers rookie Magic Johnson steals the show and the title. The Lakers take a 3-2 series lead back to Philadelphia for Game 6, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who has been dominating with a 33.4-point average in the Finals, stays in Los Angeles with a severe ankle injury. Magic delivers with 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists to win the first of his five NBA titles.

This title is notable for the Celtics because it's their first after Bill Russell's retirement. John Havlicek and Dave Cowens are the stars for Boston. The Bucks counter with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. The road team wins five of the seven games in the series. Cowens posts 28 points and 14 rebounds in Game 7, a 102-87 win in Milwaukee.

With Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972. In 1974, the Bruins post the best regular-season record with 113 points. But the Flyers, who won the Western Division with 112 points, take the Cup in six games. Philadelphia goalie Bernie Parent posts a 1-0 shutout in Game 6 and earns the Conn Smythe.

The Knicks win Game 1 of the Finals against Los Angeles, but they are overmatched. The Lakers set the NBA record with 69 regular-season wins and a 33-game winning streak. They finish the Knicks, who don't have Willis Reed because of a knee injury, in five games, and Jerry West finally wins a title.

Led by 50-goal scorer Vic Hadfield, the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1950. But they run into the Bruins with Orr, who wins his third consecutive Hart Trophy as league MVP this season. Orr scores four goals in the Final series to earn his second Conn Smythe in three years.

The Celtics beat the St. Louis Hawks to win the NBA title in 1957, Bill Russell's rookie season. Russell has 32 rebounds in Game 7, a 125-123 double-overtime win. They lose the rematch in 1958. Hall of Famer Bob Petit scores 50 points, including the Hawks' final basket, in a 110-109 win to clinch the title in Game 6.

The Bruins, captained by Hall of Fame defenseman Fern Flaman, lose both years to the Montreal Canadiens, who are in the process of winning an unprecedented five consecutive Stanley Cups.

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Basketball, Bay Area, Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Hockey, NBA, New Jersey Devils, New Jersey Nets, NHL, Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks

Summary: Having NBA and NHL champions from the same market crowned in the same season has never happened. Yet.


Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

Views of the new Bay Bridge span seen from the construction zone at Treasure Island in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, September 23, 2015. Caltrans will soon change contractors to maintain and fix the new span of the Bay Bridge.

Views of the new Bay Bridge span seen from the construction zone at Treasure Island in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, September 23, 2015. Caltrans will soon change contractors to maintain and fix the new

Bay Bridge worker sues over hangman’s noose, rope incidents

An African American iron worker for a Bay Bridge contractor says his foreman dropped a hangman’s noose next to him and a short time later a co-worker threw him a rope and told him to put it around his neck — and when he complained about racism, his work hours were reduced.

James H. Brown of Hayward made the allegations in a discrimination suit against his former employer, Adams & Smith, that was filed in Alameda County Superior Court on Jan. 18 and announced by his lawyers this week after it was served on the company. Brown seeks damages for lost wages, punitive damages and court orders requiring Adams & Smith to improve employee training.

“It is shocking and disturbing that more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, African American employees are threatened with nooses in the workplace while their employer, Adams & Smith, sits idly by,” said Brown’s attorney, Bryan McCormack.

There was no immediate comment from Adams & Smith, a nationwide construction contractor.

Brown said Adams & Smith hired him as an iron worker in late August but assigned him and another African American to mostly menial tasks, such as sweeping and picking up garbage, even though Brown is a certified welder.

On Sept. 25, the suit said, Brown was doing rigging work near the toll plaza when his foreman, a white man, dropped a noose next to him. About 20 minutes later, he said, a white co-worker tossed him a rope and told him to put it around his neck. Later that day, he said, the foreman placed a rope on the car of the other African American worker at the site.

Brown said he complained to his shop steward about both incidents, and spoke several days later to a company steward, who told him he was aware of what had happened and would take care of it. But Adams & Smith took no action against Brown’s foreman or the white co-worker, and instead reduced Brown’s daily work hours, the suit said.

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the company sent Brown home after a half day and told him it had no more work for him that week, the suit said. It said Brown learned that his white co-workers remained at their jobs for the week.

Brown, who needed full-time work, lined up another job through his union and now works for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in Stockton, his lawyer said.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko

Summary: An African American iron worker for a Bay Bridge contractor says his foreman dropped a hangman’s noose next to him and a short time later a co-worker threw him a rope and told him to put it around his neck — and when he complained about racism, his work hours were reduced.  James H. Brown of Hayward made the allegations in a discrimination suit against his former employer, Adams & Smith, that was filed in Alameda County Superior Court on Jan. 18 and announced by his lawyers this week after it was served on the company.  Brown seeks damages for lost wages, punitive damages and court orders requiring Adams & Smith to improve employee training.  “It is shocking and disturbing that more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, African American employees are threatened with nooses in the workplace while their employer, Adams & Smith, sits idly by,” said Brown’s attorney, Bryan McCormack.  Brown said Adams & Smith hired him as an iron worker in late August but assigned him and another African American to mostly menial tasks, such as sweeping and picking up garbage, even though Brown is a certified welder.


Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has launched an early access version of its new Lego Worlds game on digital game platform Steam for $15. It’s a game that lets players build anything they can think up, brick by brick.

Sound familiar? It should. Swedish game developer Mojang created a PC game based on a similar concept back in 2009. It’s called Minecraft.

Minecraft proved so popular, that after attracting over 100 million registered users, Microsoft MSFT purchased Mojang for $2.5 billion in September 2014.

Now gamers have a choice between building Minecraft worlds or using virtual Lego bricks.

Loz Doyle, executive producer of Lego Worlds at TT Games, knows that kids spend a lot of time playing Minecraft these days in the virtual world as well as with Lego play sets in the real world. He says the appeal is that they’re free to do whatever they want—build anything they can think of, put their creative hat on, experiment and have fun with their friends.

“Ultimately, our goal is to create a powerful digital building system based on creativity, discovery and exploration that is just as much fun as the physical Lego building experience, just offered in a new way,” Doyle says. “Minecraft’s building system is very simple, all blocks are the exact same size and shape, so it’s straightforward to build with. And unlike with Lego, there is no physical counterpart to compare the experience with. With the Lego Worlds in-game digital builder, we currently have more than 100 different bricks to choose from, along with a huge range of colors.”

Features will be added and changes will be made to Lego Worlds as the early PC players provide feedback on the game, according to David Haddad, executive vice president and general manager of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment TWX .

“We’re learning from the engagement of the community and we’re thinking about what features the community would want to engage in based on how they’re playing this early access version of the game today,” Haddad says.

“We worked with Steam as our early access partner because we wanted to go out to as broad an audience of digital gamers as possible and that’s the best marketplace to do it,” Haddad says, referring to Valve’s 125 million active Steam users. “We’re finding this game has an elastic audience age-wise and target-wise, and from early comments kids and parents are playing Lego Worlds together.”

Future plans for Lego Worlds will introduce multiplayer and sharing features, for friends to experience each other’s worlds and show-off their creations. That’s been a key component to the continued success of Minecraft, which recently topped YouTube’s list of the 10 Biggest Games of All Time.

Summary: Lego Worlds is the first game from Warner Bros. that focuses on brick building, which is the core of the Minecraft experience.


Bill Ackman won’t be able to trade shares of downtrodden pharmaceutical giant Valeant vrx —even if he wanted to.

The Canadian company received an order from its principal regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers in Canada, for newly appointed director Bill Ackman, CFO Robert Rosiello, and Valeant’s 12 other executives to cease trading of the stock in Canada.

The order also applied to U.S. stock exchanges, representatives from Valeant stated, adding that the drug company had requested the order.

According to papers from the AMF, the regulatory agency filed the order since Valeant is in breach of regulations: The company delayed filing its 2015 annual report again, which puts it at risk of debt default.

(For more on the Valeant affair read: How Bill Ackman and Valeant’s CEO Helped Fuel a Wall Street Disaster)

The order lasts for 15 days, though the Ontario Securities Commission will extend the temporary order if Valeant does not present the information within the period.

“The persons affected have also undertaken not to trade anywhere, including the US,” stated Sylvain Theberge, a spokesman for AMF in an email to Fortune.

On Wednesday, Valeant said the company wanted to delay filing its annual report by several weeks, moving the due date from May 31 to April 29.

“The company is working diligently and intends to make the required filings on or before April 29, 2016,” Valeant representatives said in a statement.

Shares of Valeant have sunk 74% year to date following waves of unfavorable news rocked came to light. Former CEO Mike Pearson returned from sick leave for a brief stint in February, before being ousted after the company’s disastrous fourth quarter earnings report. Activist investor Bill Ackman, who has a 9% stake in the company, then joined the board.

Ackman, whose fund Pershing Square has logged huge losses from its Valeant stake this year, previously stated he had no intention of selling his stake in the company.

Summary: At least not in the US and Canada.


Will Smith's old 'Fresh Prince' co-star is on the attack ... saying he and Jada Pinkett Smith are NOT the Obamas, and black Hollywood isn't gonna sing "we shall overcome" with them.

Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv, blasted Jada's anti-Oscars stance with a rambling video post that started ... "First of all, Miss Thang, does your man not have a mouth of his own with which to speak?"

Hubert goes on to accuse the Smiths of being sore losers, and says there are way more important things going on in the world -- "Our boys are being shot left and right, people are hungry, people are trying to pay bills and you talking about some motherf***ing actors and Oscars."

Aunt Viv clearly has some old beef with Will over her 'Fresh Prince' salary -- still, her rant about "blactresses" and karma is entertaining ... if nothing else.

Summary: Will Smith's old 'Fresh Prince' co-star is on the attack ... saying he and Jada Pinkett Smith are NOT the Obamas, and black Hollywood isn't gonna…


Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who considered a presidential run this year, blasted the partisan politics and “demagoguery” of the 2016 race in a commencement speech on Saturday, making reference to both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.

“In this year’s presidential election, we’ve seen more demagoguery from both parties than I can remember in my lifetime,” the billionaire businessman said, in a column adapted from his remarks at the University of Michigan. “Our country is facing serious and difficult challenges. But rather than offering realistic solutions, candidates in both parties are blaming our problems on easy targets who breed resentment. For Republicans, it’s Mexicans here illegally and Muslims. And for Democrats, it’s the wealthy and Wall Street. The truth is: We cannot solve the problems we face by blaming anyone.”

Trump, the Republican front-runner, has repeatedly promised to build a border wall and get Mexico to pay for it and has called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Sanders, a Democratic candidate, has repeatedly targeted Wall Street and the “billionaire class.” Both he and Hillary Clinton have said they will reform big financial institutions if elected.

Bloomberg—who has previously affiliated as both a Republican and Democrat and was considering a run for president as an Independent candidate—criticized “extreme partisanship” and “disturbing” intolerance for other political views in the U.S. and warned that “demagogues are always lurking.” He called on politicians to offer practical solutions instead of “scapegoats or pie-in-the-sky promises.”

“Every generation has had to confront its own demagogues. And every generation has stood up and kept them away from the White House. At least so far,” he said. “Today, when a populist candidate promises free college, free health care and a pony, or another candidate promises to make other countries pay for our needs, remember: Those who promise you a free lunch will invariably eat you for breakfast.”

This article was originally published on Time.com.

Summary: "We’ve seen more demagoguery from both parties than I can remember."


on Thursday, but her luck ran out on Friday ... when she was ticketed at the grand opening of HER OWN STORE ... and the crowd loved it.

Kim rolled up the new Dash store on Melrose in Hollywood this afternoon in her

by her side. They went in the store after being mobbed by fans and paparazzi, so you would think one of them would have gone inside a short time later as she was getting a ticket ... but that didn't happen.

Once the guy was done writing it up and placed it on the car, the fans and paps still outside gave the guy a bronx cheer. By the time KK and KW emerged from Dash, the ticket was gone ... probably scooped up by an assistant or security staffer.

In fact ... this could be the first time Kim even hears about it.

Summary: Kim Kardashian was able to get out of a ticket on Thursday, but her luck ran out on Friday ... when she was ticketed at the grand opening of HER OWN STORE…


Before you go, we thought you'd like these...

The views from these 10 hotels will blow you away

The interiors of the four-bedroom Owner’s Cottage on South Island feature rustic wide-plank wooden floors, locally sourced furniture, and New Zealand wool carpets. Rooms have expansive views of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountain range beyond. From $865/night; matakaurilodge.com

Situated just across the Seine from the City of Light’s beloved Eiffel Tower, the Shangri-La takes its decorative cues from France’s Empire period, courtesy of interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon. Shown is the view from the Eiffel Duplex Terrace Suite. From $853/night; shangri-la.com

Located at the cusp of the Empty Quarter—the largest uninterrupted stretch of desert on the planet—rooms at this stylish resort contain locally sourced Arabian fabrics and artifacts. From $350/night; anantara.com

Though magnificent views of the skyline can be had from throughout this hotel on the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula, perhaps the most striking is the one from the indoor pool. This Greco-Roman example has columns and statues hewn of Italian marble, elaborate friezes, cornices befitting a palazzo, and a waterfall. From $754/night; peninsula.com

Located just 650 yards from the revered Taj Mahal, this hotel’s decor is a tribute to Mughal and Moorish architecture and features lavish filigree and marble inlays, wood carvings, and handwoven tapestries. From $700/night; oberoihotels.com

Housed in an 11th-century palace perched on the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, the hotel features intricate frescoes and carefully restored period details. An infinity pool overlooking the Mediterranean makes for a truly unforgettable experience. From $537/night; belmond.com

Originally the site of a modest two-bedroom log cabin built in 1890 to attract visitors passing by train to the Banff Springs Hotel, the chateau’s current iteration dates to 1911. Inside, alpine-style interiors are paired with oversize windows that reveal one of the most picturesque views of Lake Louise and the Canadian Rockies. From $232/night; fairmont.com

Architects Marwan Al-Sayed, Wendell Burnette, and Rick Joy conceived this desert marvel, which seems to emerge from its rocky environs rather than overpower them. Furniture and color palettes are kept minimal, and strategically placed skylights and windows throughout the resort make the surrounding slot canyons a critical part of the design. From $1,200/night; aman.com

Architect and hotelier Nick Troubetzkoy eliminated the fourth wall from every room at this Caribbean paradise so guests can enjoy the picture-perfect views of the Petit and Gros Piton mountains, which are reflected in infinity pools that grace almost every room. Ecology was a priority for Troubetzkoy, who tapped recycled-glass-tile maker David Knox to clad the resort’s pools and other key design features in handcrafted iridescent tiles of all hues. From $1,185/night;www.jademountain.com

The dramatic design of Tierra Patagonia was a collaboration between Chilean architects Cazú Zegers, Roberto Benavente, and Rodrigo Ferrer. The team tapped into nearby sustainable forests to construct the mostly wood structure, envisioning the building as a fossil emerging from Lake Sarmiento. They drew on the talents of local craftsmen for the unique furniture and artifacts that define the interiors. Large glass expanses showcase the stunning views of the lake and the peaks of Torres del Paine National Park. From $833 per person/night (all-inclusive); tierrahotels.com

The stunning vistas from these properties around the world are worth the trek.

Summary: The stunning vistas from these properties around the world are worth the trek -- the best hotel views you will find around the world.


The sequel’s never as good as the first and the Sky News people’s forum – critically acclaimed, but never reaching a mainstream audience – won’t be the exception that proves the rule.

Turnbull considered the invite for a follow-up, scheduled for Wednesday evening in Brisbane, for a few days before eventually confirming it was a “thanks, but no thanks” – meaning Shorten has this one to himself. (He’s said Turnbull’s no-show is an “insult to Queenslanders”, but he can’t be too unhappy to have a stage to himself.)

Turnbull, however, has confirmed his participation in an online debate hosted by Facebook and news.com.au early next week because – as you might have inferred from his wearing VR headsets all the time – he is a man who embraces technology, and the future more broadly, almost as much as he does jobs and growth.

It’s traditional, he noted, to have three debates – “so let’s have the third one in an innovative way and that every Australian can participate in, that allows the interactivity that the old formats ... don’t allow for that interactivity.”

#Auspol Turnbull proposes online debate. Lucky for those who have NBN ...

Shorten has also confirmed that he’s onboard (after getting a jibe in about the NBN) – so, it’s on ... line. Finally: an opportunity to use those new “reaction” features!

“We are in 2016. This is the 21st century,” Turnbull continued, before – yes: “This is the most exciting time to be an Australian and to participate in an election debate in the media of our time.” Spoken like a true dad online.

Exclusive footage of Turnbull at the Facebook #leadersdebate pic.twitter.com/5U9kS3NCRT

Both Turnbull’s and Shorten’s campaign plans were put on hold today to accommodate visits to flood-affected New South Wales. Shorten began his day in Adelaide with a seven-kilometre run with premier Jay Weatherill.

@TomMcIlroy yes he did & at a good clip

Shorten then sung from his competitor’s songsheet about jobs and growth (the tune was a bit different: today’s policy was on apprenticeships) before winging his way back to the east coast to inspect the devastation caused by the weekend’s storms.

He said he contacted Turnbull – who also suspended campaigning today – to offer to visit affected regions together in a show of bipartisanship: “The issue is not Mr Turnbull or I, it is the people experiencing loss, and damage.”

Related: Guardian Live election special event with Lenore Taylor and Katharine Murphy

The joint billing didn’t happen, but Turnbull later echoed Shorten’s sentiment (“we are absolutely united”) at his stand-up in Picton alongside Mike Baird, the NSW premier.

Shortly after holding a baby, Turnbull said the “powerful” storm was no match for the powerful community spirit. “We’re here to support them, admire them and thank them,” he said of Picton’s residents.

PM flood tour press conference, Picton pic.twitter.com/gWJbSJ3HwQ

As much as it’s nice to be appreciated, in terms of practical assistance, Baird said the state would provide “as much support” as it could as soon as possible, including grants or supplies to low-income households and low-interest loans for businesses.

A bit meta. Treasurer Morrison switches to TV ad of Bill Shorten on company tax cuts #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/9ogubnOPty

Over in Perth, treasurer Scott Morrison – who’s proved himself to be the Coalition’s attack dog this campaign – launched a new ad about Shorten’s past support for lowering the corporate tax rate.

You might remember Shorten addressed this apparent disparity last week – he thought at the time the cut was affordable, he doesn’t now. Simple, you might think. Morrison doesn’t.

“Mr Shorten is just playing rank politics on this issue,” seethed Morrison. “It is not a game, Bill.”

The former prime minister John Howard was also in Adelaide today, campaigning for Jamie Briggs in Mayo, who had Turnbull at his elbow just last week. Hmm – perhaps Turnbull’s assertion he wasn’t worried by the threat posed by the Nick Xenophon Team in the electorate was not strictly true.

Howard likened Xenophon to Pauline Hanson on free trade in an interview on 5AA this morning, for which the independent later thanked him: “I’m very grateful that he’s given the Nick Xenophon Team so much oxygen in South Australia with his attack. Deep down I think he must really like me ...”

Howard was also asked on 5AA whether his friendship with his fellow former prime minister Tony Abbott meant he campaigned for Turnbull “with any sense of melancholy” – a question he gave short shrift. “I campaign for a Liberal government ...

“I think what the public wants is a bit of stability,” he continued, “and if you want that there’s only one bloke to vote for and that’s Malcolm Turnbull.” He also described Briggs as “the Turnbull Liberal here in Mayo” – a masterful example of damning with faint praise.

Picton in New South Wales is cleaning up after the floods. Mike Bowers followed Malcolm Turnbull as he suspended his campaign to pay the town a visit.

• Essential: it’s still locked tight (Crikey) “On voting intention, the government is headed for a win, albeit a narrow one. But Bill Shorten has so far had a better campaign than his opponent.” Bernard Keane has good news for both sides.

• Kristina Keneally: the truth about election tax cut promises The former NSW premier joins Gabrielle Jackson and Miles Martignoni of Guardian Australia for a Behind the Lines podcast to discuss Morrison’s reference to “toxins”, among other recent highlights of the campaign.

• PS can we remind you, if you’ve not already bought your tickets, of the Guardian Live election special event. Join Lenore Taylor and Katharine Murphy for panel discussions about policies, candidates and key battlegrounds in Melbourne and Sydney.

Australia’s natural wonder is in mortal danger. Bleaching caused by climate change has killed almost a quarter of its coral this year and many scientists believe it could be too late for the rest. A Guardian special report investigates how the reef has been devastated – and what can be done to save it. Explore the full series, with exclusive photographs and new data.

A “burst of last-minute support from superdelegates” has appeared to put Hillary Clinton over the threshold to become the first female presidential nominee of a major party.

The Food Safety Information Council is warning that politicians on the campaign trail – shaking hands with voters; holding babies; in some memorable cases (OK, one), being “pash-tackled” – might encourage outbreaks of the highly contagious norovirus gastro bug.

“Norovirus outbreaks are common where people are in close spaces, such as when travelling and at community events,” said Rachelle Williams, chairwoman. “Once norovirus is contracted, a single infected person can easily spread gastro to many others, especially by handshaking.”

Those on the federal election campaign trail should keep their hands clean by washing them with soap or using hand sanitiser to avoid the risk of catching and spreading it, she advised. Plus, it’s strongly inferred: Don’t Stand So Close To Me.

Never miss another catchup: If you’re reading this in the Guardian app, tap on ‘Australian election briefing’ at the top or bottom of this page, then tap on ‘Follow series’ to get an app notification as soon as the Campaign catchup publishes every afternoon.

Summary: Election 2016: leaders halt hostilities to visit flood-hit New South Wales, Howard lays it on Xenophon in Mayo, and the next leaders’ debate looks set to be streamed on Facebook


Christopher Meloni remains very proud of his role on "Law & Order: SVU" as Detective Elliot Stabler, but he disagrees with the show's diehard fans on one fundamental thing: Stabler and Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson definitely did not belong together, he says.

Meloni told James Lipton on Thursday's episode of "Inside the Actors Studio" that while fans often pulled for a relationship to happen between their characters, the show's cast and crew "always knew it would have been the death knell of that relationship."

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: 'LAW & ORDER: SVU' BOSS REVEALS SCRAPPED PLANS FOR POSSIBLE CHRISTOPHER MELONI RETURN

We "needed to keep that line taut but very clear," Meloni said. "Keep the tension — never cross it."

He added that he admired his co-star Hargitay, who was the first to point out to him that they were the parents of the show. "I'm the guy who will right the wrong and she's the one who will nurture," he said, adding that a romance would have ruined that dynamic.

The actor has also starred in Oz, True Blood, Wet Hot American Summer and now appears on WGN America's Underground. In Thursday's episode, Meloni shared with Lipton how hard it was to play both Stabler and Oz inmate, murderer Chris Keller, simultaneously.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: 'CHICAGO LAW': BIGGEST BURNING QUESTIONS ABOUT NBC'S 'CHICAGO LAW' AND LATEST POTENTIAL SPINOFF

"I knew I was the luckiest actor in New York City," Meloni said. "To be a working actor in New York City is good enough, to have a steady gig in New York City is a dream come true. To have two, which are awesome shows — forget about it."

"It wasn't easy," said Meloni. "For about two or three years, I would wake up at 4:30 a.m., get in the van at 6 a.m., drive to Oz, kill people and sodomize them until about noon, jump in the car, go to SVU and go arrest people who murder and sodomize people until about 2 a.m."

When Lipton asked what motivated Keller to kill in the show, Meloni joked, "I think he was framed."

Lipton also went back into Meloni's background, talking about how he knew he wanted to be an actor. In 1984, Meloni told Lipton, he "didn’t know what I was going to do, so I called up a high school friend. He said he’s going to New York to study acting. And that was it, I went, 'Oh my god, so am I!"

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: 'LAW & ORDER: SVU' BOSS ON TEAM'S 'CHALLENGING YEAR' AHEAD

Throughout the hour-long interview, Meloni opened up to Lipton about his insecurities, his biggest regret (he never played college football), flying planes with John Travolta and his proudest moment: "peeing in a bucket" on Oz. Watch a clip below.

Summary: Meloni tells James Lipton it "would have been the death knell of that relationship" on 'Inside the Actors Studio.'