FAMILIES visiting Geneva in the winter usually find themselves there for one of two reasons: They are en route to a ski vacation or a parent has business to do.

Christophe Margot for The New York Times

Café Bon Vin, in the Rive neighborhood, has several varieties of fondue.

Christophe Margot for The New York Times

Feeding the seagulls at the Place du Rhône. Geneva has a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities.

But there are reasons for families to linger here a few days. Geneva is a small, lovely city with good public transportation, a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities and lots of ways to find warmth: hot chocolate in cozy cafes, roasted chestnuts in a streetside stand, fondue in a sit-down restaurant. English is widely spoken, especially in the central part of town.

Lake and mountain are the two visual focal points of the city. You can cross Lac Léman on foot, using one of several pedestrian bridges (the city is on the narrowest part of the lake, where the Rhone and the Arve rivers join, so traversing the lake is not a daunting task). Residents make a parlor game out of spotting Mont-Blanc  sometimes visible, sometimes not, depending on cloud cover and vantage point. But always in sight is the rocky and imposing Salève  which is almost too table-shaped to be called a mountain.

An activity not to be missed is to take the No. 8 bus to the Salève and board the "téléphérique," or cable car, (which runs only on weekends until March 31). It soars upward to a height of 3,600 feet, leaving the altitude-wary somewhat shaken. But the views are well worth some white-knuckled clenching. There are well-marked walking paths, and a paved road winds up the mountain, for those who prefer less-rugged terrain. For young children, who aren't quite ready for Alpine hiking, a small playground will satisfy any blowing-off-steam needs. (Bring your passport, as the Salève is in France.) Adults: 10.50 euros, or about $13, at $1.25 to the euro; children under 17 half price. For information, call (33-4) 50 39 86 86.

An excellent way to sightsee in cold weather is to snuggle up in your coziest down and take a Friday night fondue cruise. The lights of the hotels along the lake and the buildings emblazoned with the lit-up names of Swiss watch and jewelry makers make a great backdrop for a dinner of moitié-moitié, a classic fondue of half Vacherin cheese and half Fribourg (adults: 49 Swiss francs, or about $40, at 1.24 Swiss francs to the dollar; children: 37 Swiss francs). For information or reservations: (41-848) 811 848; www.cgn.ch. If you're in search of a shorter ride, try a mouette, a sort of water taxi, which is part of the city's public transportation system. Rides on the mouette take only about 5 to 10 minutes, and the price is included in an all-day bus or tram ticket. Depending on the line (there are four), it's either 2 or 3 Swiss francs; on the Web at www.swissboat.com; (41-22) 732 4747.

If you yearn for a quick dose of winter sports, you can choose from two spots within an hour's drive of the city: Col de la Faucille in France, (33-450) 20 91 43, for downhill skiing and a bit of sledding or La Givrine in Switzerland, (41-22) 360 1314, for tranquil cross-country skiing and gorgeous sledding hills. (Skis and sleds can be rented on site at both places.)

To add a little self-indulgence to your itinerary, create your own tour of the city's chocolatiers. Every Genevois you meet will have a different opinion about who makes the city's best truffles, pralines and nougat. But for starters, try Rohr, with shops at 3, place du Molard, (41-22) 311 6876, and two other locations. Then move on to Auer, 4, rue de Rive; (41-022) 311 4286, or Martel, both overflowing with luscious examples of the traditional chocolatier's art; at Martel, you can sit down and have a pastry or sandwich with a renverse, as the Swiss version of cappucino is called. For a sharp contrast, finish up at O'Saveurs, 27, quai des Bergues; (41-22) 301 9088, a starkly modern, stripped-down sliver of a shop with jewel-like candies that jump the chocolatier's art into the present moment.

There's nothing like a few quiet moments with a book to calm a too-traveled child. The Library in English, 3, rue de Monthoux, (41-22) 732 8097, is just around the corner from many of the lakefront hotels, with separate rooms devoted to very young children and slightly older ones. Nonmembers are welcome to come in and browse. For English books to buy, head to the Plainpalais neighborhood to Off the Shelf, 15, boulevard Georges Favon; (41-22) 311 1090, an excellent bookstore with helpful staff and a tiny but well-stocked kids' room.

Teenagers  and some of their parents  who have been swept up into the graphic novel/anime/manga craze will find refuge at L'Oreille Cassée (literally, the Broken Ear), 9, quai des Bergues; (41-22) 732 4080, a meticulously organized haven for every imaginable kind of comic book from those featuring the French icon Tintin to work by Marjane Satrapi, author of "Persepolis."

If your hotel does not have a pool, the Piscine de Varembe, 46, avenue Giuseppe-Motta; (41-22) 733 1214, is no-frills but clean as a whistle, with at least one (sometimes more) marked-off lap lane and a large free-swim area.

Fondue seems to make the grade with almost every child, no matter how finicky an eater. It must be something to do with the ceremonious arrival of the fondue pot, or caquelon, its flame burning underneath, and the long skinny forks and the goopy cheese. Two outstanding renditions of the dish are to be found in two very different neighborhoods  in chic Rive, Café Bon Vin, 17 rue Versonnex; (41-22) 736 87 90, serves up several varieties, including a notable version with mushrooms (23.50 Swiss francs). An "assiette valaisienne"  a plate of charcuterie, named for the nearby canton of Valais  makes a nice counterpoint at 22 Swiss francs. In Carouge, a quiet quarter of artisan's shops across the Arve River, the atmospheric Au Vieux Carouge, 27, rue Jacques-Dalphin; (41-22) 342 6498, serves up what many say is the best fondue in the city; the tomato fondue, served with boiled potatoes, is a standout for 25 Swiss francs. This place can get crowded and smoky, so come either early or late to avoid the crowds and be sure to call ahead to reserve.

For a major change of pace, sit at the U-shaped counter at Sushi Train, 21, rue Neuve du Molard: (41-22) 310 2727, and watch the little engine pull its cargo along the conveyor belt. The system is a bit like that used with dim-sum: the color of each plate signifies the price of the dish (from 3.80 Swiss francs for a white plate to 9.80 for gold). Hot dishes such as yakitori or udon noodle soup can be ordered from the menu. Children can order a "sirop" (water mixed with one of a variety of fruit syrups), the favored drink of the young in Geneva.

The elegant, historic Hôtel des Bergues is the very definition of stately. Situated right on the lake at 33, quai des Bergues, (41-22) 908 70 00; www.fourseasons.com, it recently became a Four Seasons property and has been spiffed up in style. Adjoining rooms can be reserved. Rooms from 550 to 900 Swiss francs.

Located just next to Geneva's extremely manageable airport, the Crowne Plaza, 34, route François-Peyrot, (41-22) 747 02 02; www.crowneplaza.com, is spacious and very American in feeling  not great for architecture buffs, but very good for families. Although you won't be right in the city center, a quick bus ride gets you downtown in minutes. The pièce de résistance here is the delightfully warm pool, equipped with kickboards and water wings. Rooms from 200 to 800 Swiss francs.

Summary: Geneva is a small, lovely city with a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities and lots of ways to find warmth.


Security researchers and civil liberties advocates on Friday condemned draft legislation leaked from the U.S. Senate that would let judges order technology companies to assist law enforcement agencies in breaking into encrypted data.

The long-awaited bill is emerging just as the U.S. Justice Department redoubles its efforts to use the courts to force Apple to help unlock encrypted iPhones.

The Senate proposal is an attempt to resolve long-standing disagreements between the technology community, which believes strong encryption is essential to keep hackers and others from disrupting the Internet, and law enforcement officials worried about being unable to pry open encrypted devices and communications of criminal suspects.

But the draft bill, leaked online Thursday evening, was planned as an overly vague measure that added up to a ban on strong encryption.

Kevin Bankston, director of the Open Technology Institute, said in a statement it was the “most ludicrous, dangerous, technically illiterate tech policy proposal of the 21st century.”

The leaked 9-page bill is the most current draft of the proposal, a source familiar with the language said.

The Laughably Bad Security at ‘Panama Papers’ firm Mossack

It would give judges broad authority to order tech companies to hand over data in “an intelligible format” or provide “technical assistance” to access locked data. It does not spell out what form the data must take or under what circumstances a company would be forced to help.

It also does not create specific penalties for noncompliance.

In a joint statement, the authors of the bill, Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, said they were still working with stakeholders to finalize the bill, which has repeatedly been delayed.

“The underlying goal is simple: When there’s a court order to render technical assistance to law enforcement or provide decrypted information, that court order is carried out,” they said. “No individual or company is above the law.”

President Obama is expected to be personally briefed by White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on the proposal on Monday, sources said.

But the administration remains deeply divided over encryption and views it as too controversial to offer public support or opposition for the bill as it is currently written, according to sources.

A White House spokesman told reporters Thursday the administration had not decided whether to support the measure, as it is still in a draft stage.

Apple Case Exposes Ongoing Government Rift Over Encryption Policy

The fight over encryption has been at the center of a months long dispute between Apple and the FBI over a phone linked to one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters.

Though the Justice Department withdrew its request in that case after a secret third party provided a way to unlock the phone, it announced Friday it would move ahead with an appeal of a court ruling blocking the government from forcing Apple to help unlock an iPhone in a separate New York drug case.

The bill from Burr and Feinstein would make it much more difficult if not impossible for Apple APPL to refuse to comply in such cases.

An Apple attorney declined to comment about the draft legislation on a call with reporters.

The proposal from Burr and Feinstein, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee respectively, is expected to face a steep climb in a gridlocked U.S. Congress during an election year.

“For the first time in America, companies that want to protect their customers with stronger security will not have that choice,” Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and vocal privacy advocate told reporters Friday. “They will be required by federal law per this statute to decide how to weaken their products to make Americans less safe.”

Matt Blaze, a professor and computer security expert at the University of Pennsylvania, said on Twitter TWTR that the bill was worse than a failed effort by President Bill Clinton’s administration in the 1990s to require a special computer chip in phones to give the U.S. government a way to monitor encrypted conversations.

They've actually come up with something worse than Clipper.

— matt blaze (@mattblaze) April 8, 2016

The Clinton-era push crumbled amid stiff opposition from the technology sector that included a crucial security flaw in the proposal detected by Blaze.

Summary: Remember the Clinton administration's Clipper chip? One expert thinks this bill is even worse.


America Ferrera stars as Amy, Cloud 9's intelligent and responsible floor supervisor on NBC's new comedy "Superstore." Ferrera also serves as a producer on the series.

Ferrera is an award-winning actress and producer, perhaps best known for her breakthrough role as Betty Suarez on ABC's hit comedy "Ugly Betty." For her performance on the show, Ferrera was recognized with Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as ALMA and Imagen Awards. Ferrera recently wrapped production on Ricky Gervais' satirical film, "Special Correspondents," set to premiere on Netflix in 2016, opposite Gervais, Vera Farmiga and Eric Bana. Her recent film credits also include Ryan Piers Williams' drama "X/Y," which she produced and starred in opposite Amber Tamblyn. The film premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. Also last year, Ferrera starred in Diego Luna's biopic "Cesar Chavez," opposite Michael Peña, John Malkovich and Rosario Dawson. Ferrera received an ALMA Award for her portrayal of Cesar Chavez's wife, Helen Chavez. The film premiered at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival. Ferrera continues to lend her vocal talents to DreamWorks' Oscar-nominated franchise "How to Train Your Dragon." Other film credits include police drama "End of Watch," co-starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick and Michael Peña; "It's a Disaster," alongside Julia Stiles and David Cross; popular YA titles "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (parts 1 and 2); the critically acclaimed biographical drama film "Lords of Dogtown," directed by Catherine Hardwicke; as well as festival entries "The Dry Land" and "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer." On stage, Ferrera starred in Terrence McNally's off-Broadway production "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" in 2014. In 2013, she appeared as Crystal in Laura Marks' off-Broadway play "Bethany" and in 2011 Ferrera starred as Roxie Hart in the West End production of the hit musical "Chicago" for an eight-week run. She also appeared off-Broadway in "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead," directed by Trip Cullman. Ferrera first garnered attention as one of Hollywood's most vibrant young talents with her starring role in the Patricia Cardoso film "Real Women Have Curves." Her performance earned her a Sundance Jury Award for Best Actress, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance and a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance for a Leading Young Actress. Ferrera appeared as an activist and correspondent in Showtime's 2012 Emmy Award-winning documentary "Years of Living Dangerously," which explores the acts, science and human cost of climate change. In the same year, Ferrera joined reporter Nicholas Kristof and actresses Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde in the four-hour international series for PBS "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide." In tandem with her work on the "Half the Sky" series, Ferrera served as ambassador on the campaign America4America, joining Voto Latino, the leading non-partisan national youth empowerment organization. The campaign, which engaged people across the country in online conversations, featured Ferrera discussing issues related to voter ID laws, education and immigration. Ferrera was the face of the initiative for the 2012 election. Ferrera also served as an artist ambassador for Save the Children and traveled to West Africa, where she raised funds to build a school in southern Mali. She has dedicated her time to the organization ONE in support of women facing the challenges of extreme poverty. Behind the scenes, Ferrera has started her own television and film production company, Take Fountain. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ferrera is the youngest of six children. A graduate of the University of Southern California, the actress studied international relations while pursuing her career in film and television.

Summary: Meet Amy from Superstore on NBC.com.


Few would describe picking health insurance as fun, but Jellyvision Lab is borrowing from its legacy as a best-selling games developer to make the process less intimidating.

The Chicago-based software company cut its teeth in the early 1990s with a series of successful, sassy trivia games marketed on CD-ROM under the name “You Don’t Know Jack.” (Those titles are now sold by a spinout company.) Today, Jellyvision’s most visible character is an interactive cyber-adviser called Alex. Its role is to make mind-numbing topics such as the differences between employee benefits plans more interesting. The theory, according to Jellyvision, is that Alex can encourage people to make better decisions about which one to use.

“We borrow liberally from behavioral science to communicate,” says Jellyvision CEO Amanda Lannert, who joined the company in 2000 and guided the company’s transition. “We listen to great explainers, those amazing advisers, and role-play conversations based on how they would respond.”

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What makes the Alex technology effective is its ability to customize responses based on an individual’s personal answers to a menu of questions—unlike a video or brochure that is very one-dimensional with its message, according to Lannert. That way, the viewer sees only the information most relevant to his or her specific needs instead of having to wade through reams of often confusing information.

An employee who doesn’t have children, for example, could consider costs from an individual’s or couple’s point of view without having to decipher data about the family options. Someone planning a child in the near future could weigh plans from that specific point of view. Alex also injects some sanctioned humor into the script, to keep people engaged without getting on the wrong side of your legal department. “We use Alex to communicate information with empathy, sympathy, intelligence, and comedy,” Lannert says.

MORE: Hiring More Contract Workers in 2016? Here’s One Way to Offer Feedback

So far, Alex has been adopted by hundreds of businesses including Adobe, American Eagle Outfitters, Best Buy, Comcast, FedEx, and Medtronic. Human resources departments at these companies use the Alex software to communicate information about health insurance to their employees, although the tool could easily be used for other topics, such as retirement plans (which is part of Jellyvision’s long-term plan). Companies pay an annual subscription, based on the number of employees, but Lannert won’t share specifics. She does say that it takes about six weeks to create company-specific scripts for Alex.

The motivation for employers that use Alex to communicate benefits information? Jennifer McCarthy, manager of enterprise health and wellness communications at FedEx fdx , which self-insures its employees, says a larger percentage of its workforce is reviewing “jargon-free” benefits information before making a decision. What’s more, they can review it on their own time. That saves money on group meetings, traveling presenters, and human resources support calls, she says.

WATCH: What makes for good corporate culture? Here’s what keeps employees at Twitter happy.

“We’ve been surprised and shocked and astounded by the feedback,” McCarthy says. “They understand their plan options, and make better choices as a result.”

Jellyvision has tripled its revenue for each of the last three years; according to reports, it now generates more than $20 million annually and employs about 300 people. Jellyvision was founded in 1989 by developer Harry Gottleib and changed its focus to interactive communications in 2001.

Summary: Jellyvision borrowed from its past as a games developer to create Alex, an interactive cyber-adviser.


United Airlines said Tuesday that it will stop running flights through New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 25, while bulking up its flights via Newark, N.J.

The airline has failed to post profits from its JFK routes over the past seven years, according to Reuters. United offered relatively few connections to other cities via JFK. By consolidating flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, United will look to offer more connection options to travelers flying on profitable transcontinental flights connecting the New York metro area with Los Angeles and San Francisco.

United, a unit of United Continental Holdings UAL , also noted that the move will bring the airline’s “Premium Service” Boeing 757 aircraft to Newark Liberty, boosting the number of the carrier’s “BusinessFirst” cabins available out of Newark by 44%. United also said the move also gives it the most round-trip seats available flying from Newark to Los Angeles and San Francisco (up to 10,000 round-trip seats daily).

United has agreed to exchange its flight slots at JFK with Delta Air Lines DAL in exchange for Delta’s slots at Newark. United will continue to fly dozens of daily flights out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

Summary: Like a young adult looking for cheaper rent, it's moving to Jersey


The season is just about to begin, so let’s talk about Aug. 1.

The trade deadline was pushed back one day (July 31 falls on a Sunday), and the extra 24 hours may be valuable. Because has a season ever started with more teams all in?

And you know what all-in teams do? They don’t stop.

For example, once Arizona gave the largest per-annum pitching contract ever — Arizona, for goodness’ sake — to Zack Greinke and trades the first pick of the 2015 draft, Dansby Swanson, among other big pieces for Shelby Miller, can the Diamondbacks really put the brakes on?

Red Sox ownership was adamant it was out of the practice of giving long-term mega-deals to starters in their 30s and more leery than ever of trading prospects. Until they finished last two straight years and hired go-for-it executive Dave Dombrowski, who gave David Price a seven-year contract and gave the Padres valuable youngsters for Craig Kimbrel. Do you think he’s going to stop?

In Boston, Theo Epstein was the architect who ended The Curse and now he tries to do the same in Chicago. He invested in Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and John Lackey and in retaining Dexter Fowler to overstock the roster as the Cubs try to win it all for the first time since 1908. Are the Cubs going to stop?

How about the Dodgers? They have tried to balance rebuilding with winning now via record payrolls. At some point, they will have to invest big prospects to get what they need. How about the Tigers? Even with Dombrowski gone, the mandate of owner Mike Ilitch to try to win every year goes on after they signed two nine-figure deals (Justin Upton and Jordan Zimmermann).

The Royals traded big prospects for Zobrist and Johnny Cueto last year and inked significant free-agent deals with Alex Gordon and Ian Kennedy. They have a team-record payroll and a shot at a dynasty. Are they stopping?

The acquisition and eventual re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes marked the Mets as big players at the table. Only the Cubs and Tigers outspent the Giants in free agency this past offseason as San Francisco — like Kansas City — feels the pull of history: What would it mean to win another even-year title, a fourth in seven seasons overall?

The Cardinals failed on Jason Heyward and David Price in the offseason, but what if they are in it as always in July? Do the Pirates — after three quick playoff exits — have to use their prospects more boldly come the deadline? The Astros and Rangers are co-AL West favorites, share a state and have deep farm systems. Is one really going to let the other break away from the other?

The Nationals could lose Stephen Strasburg after this season to free agency and Bryce Harper after 2018. There is pressure to win while they control those former No. 1 picks. That star-studded 2018 free-agent class actually creates a ticking clock.

The Orioles went heavily into free agency this offseason to try to win before Zack Britton, Adam Jones and Manny Machado can leave after 2018. Are they stopping?

The Red Sox (Price) and Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw) can have their aces opt out after 2018, so will they really not get the No. 2 starters they both seem to need? Which brings us to who could be available. The White Sox have made big additions the past two offseasons so they could be a go-for-it club under the right circumstance, but if they are pretenders, do they finally go toward a rebuild by moving Chris Sale?

Does Oakland ultimately relent and trade Sonny Gray? Jose Fernandez is due to be part of that 2018 free-agent class and is Miami really going to sign him long-term? It is hard to believe Tyson Ross will be a Padre on Aug. 1. As for relievers, could the Angels’ Joe Smith look good in, say, a Mets reunion? Do the Rockies finally move Carlos Gonzalez?

And we have come this far and not mentioned what used to be the ultimate go-for-it team — the Yankees, who could either be marketing Jose Mateo and Gary Sanchez to make a title run or punting for another day by putting Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Brett Gardner up for sale.

So the season begins with wondering what it means to have so many teams all in for this poker game. Here are some other story lines:

Summary: The season is just about to begin, so let’s talk about Aug. 1. The trade deadline was pushed back one day (July 31 falls on a Sunday), and the extra 24 hours may be valuable. Because has a season e…


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With so many temp agencies to choose from, how do you know which one is best for you? To take some of the guess-work out of your search, here are reviews of the eight leading agencies. Each review provides a brief history, a rundown of their process, the types of jobs and industries they represent and more.

Summary: With so many temp agencies to choose from, how do you know which one is best for you? To take some of the gue -work out of your search, here are reviews of the eight leading agencie


Big-budget action blockbusters usually boast over-the-top sequences that demand the audience suspend their disbelief — we have to buy the reality.

For “Mission: Impossible - The Ghost Protocol” that suspension takes place more than a quarter-mile off the ground.

After all, only in a screenwriter’s vivid imagination would a sane person willingly scale the outside of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, 123 stories up the sheer face of the world’s tallest building, just to reach a computer server room. It seems pretty far-fetched.

Only it really did happen, with the film’s star, Tom Cruise, putting himself in the harness dangling 1,700 feet off the ground. That’s nearly 250 feet higher than the Empire State Building, counting its spire.

During the eight days of shooting the sequence, only a cable with the thickness of a piano wire separated the 49-year-old actor from going from one of Hollywood’s biggest draws to one of its biggest cautionary tales.

“One night, after one of the earliest shooting days, I bolted up in bed realizing that we had our star dangling about a mile up in the air on a thin wire and my brain was screaming, ‘What the hell are we doing,’” director Brad Bird told the News by email. “The whole thing was one, extended, hair-raising moment but we planned well.

“It was one of the parts of the film planned as carefully as a D-Day invasion.”

Reporters at this week’s “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol” debut at the Dubai Film Festival asked Cruise what went through his mind when he first stepped out of the window and into the intense cross-winds that slammed him into the side of the building like a kite on the first day of shooting the scene.

“I hope I don’t fall,” he answered.

He didn’t. Audiences can see the result when the movie is released on IMAX screens Thursday.

The movie-history-making shot was an even craftier publicity stunt in a crowded holiday season at the multiplex, says Leonard Maltin, film critic for “Entertainment Tonight.”

“The fact that we’re all talking about this stunt answers the question,” says the movie historian. “They obviously went to great lengths or rather you could say great heights to do this and it has paid them back in terms of the kind of attention they’re getting before the film even comes out.”

Even in this computer-graphics era where Tobey Maguire can swing from buildings in the “Spider-Man” movies much easier than Cruise in this one, there is something special about a stunt where the audience can tell a real human being is actually in some semblance of real danger.

And make no mistake, Cruise was in real danger during the eight days of filming.

“We got all the measurements from the building and we built a mockup and we started testing in Los Angeles and there were so many problems, I can’t tell you,” says the film’s stunt coordinator, Gregg Smrz — the man entrusted with keeping Cruise alive.

“We probably put 200 hours in rehearsal, trying to R&D, trying to figure out how we’re going to do this. We were having problems on stage and wondering what’s it going to be like 1,700 feet in the air?”

Months before the stunt crew got anywhere near the Burj Khalifa, they had forged a pretty accurate replica based on hundreds of photos and the real dimensions. The glass was heated up to mimic the searing conditions they’d experience under the United Arab Emirates sun.

Smrz wanted his charge to do so many repetitions that Cruise could do the six-minute-45-second stunt sequence in his sleep — including free-falling four stories when his character loses his grip and running across the face of the building in something called an “Australian rappel.”.

Of course, nothing truly could prepare them for what it would actually be like stepping into the crosswinds or the dizzying height that turned the rest of Dubai into a picture postcard.

The Burj Khalifa is an engineering marvel, a $1.5-billion metal and glass finger tickling the sky — a landmark that has been requested as a shooting location roughly 1,000 times this year, according to Dubai Studio City, the city’s official film authority. Inside there is a projected inscription that begins, “I am the power that lifts the world’s head proudly skywards, surpassing limits and expectations.”

Surpassing limits sounds good on paper, but the stunt crew had to do a lot of convincing to get authorities to sign off.

“At Dubai Studio City, health and safety is of prime importance and all permissions granted for filming need to observe that,” Jamal Al Sharif, managing director, Dubai Studio City, said in a statement to the Daily News. “There were safety codes from Burj Khalifa as well that were in place. The mandate was tough but with the coordination of concerned authorities, we pulled it off and today we have the world witnessing the brilliance of Dubai on the big screen.”

To be sure that no one had to make a grim call to Katie Holmes on their watch, building management assigned two full-time engineers to keep an eye on things.

“The link to me is always the cable or the harness,” says Smrz. “Things can get hung up. There’s never a guarantee. We can get it 99.9% safe, but there’s always some sort of chance that something can go wrong and there’s nothing anybody could do about that.”

Every piece of cable used was sent to an engineering facility to be brake-tested. So were the tools that were used to crimp those cables.

“I’ve been doing this for 20-some years, the rigging end of it, you still crimp that cable and you look at the crimp and every time you think man I hope that crimp is right,” says Smrz.

When Cruise finally reached the safety of the room at the end of the last day of shooting the scene, Cruise turned to his director and flashed a big smile.

“He said, ‘When do we go back again,’” says Bird.

Cruise joined Smrz on a victory lap up to the very top of the building’s radio tower with a photographer for some publicity shots — a half-mile off the ground on a small platform that swayed in the wind.

Bird and producer J.J. Abrams exhaled when Cruise was back on terra firma, but Smrz knew they still had to return to the set-piece to shoot the dialogue snippets that would be edited into the scene. (The wind is just too loud outside the 123rd floor of the Burj.)

“They said, ‘Thank God we’re out of that, it’s safe now.’ And I said, “No, he’s actually 60 feet in the air, you can get killed just as easily from 60 feet as from 1,700; the only difference is how long it takes for you to hit,” Smrz recounts.

“I think I probably aged 10 years [making this film],” he says.


South Korea’s Hotel Lotte said on Monday it is postponing its up to $4.5 billion planned IPO indefinitely, as the wider Lotte Group reels from the impact of raids by prosecutors on group firms.

The raids on Lotte Group headquarters, Hotel Lotte and other Lotte companies on Friday were part of an investigation into a possible slush fund, three people with direct knowledge of the matter have said.

In addition to the derailment of an IPO billed the world’s biggest this year, the aftermath of the raids has also seen Lotte Chemical, the conglomerate’s biggest listed unit, bowing out of bidding for U.S.-based Axiall axll as well as a slide in share prices for group firms.

The scandal highlights the potential risks of investing in opaque South Korean conglomerates like Lotte, analysts said.

“Legal risks have upset Lotte’s listing plans. In the eyes of foreign investors, South Korea’s corporate governance is a very uncertain issue,” said Kim Sang-jo, a professor of economics at Hansung University.

Hotel Lotte said in a filing it made the decision to protect investors given recent “internal and external issues.”

The company, which is the world’s third-largest duty free store operator, said it will continue to pursue plans to expand its local duty free store business and new overseas duty free stores despite the withdrawal of its IPO plans.

The raids were the second setback this month for the deal.

Last Tuesday, Hotel Lotte cut the size of the IPO and pushed back the listing from June to July, after prosecutors launched a bribery investigation into a director.

Shares of Lotte group firms tumbled on Monday. Lotte Shopping and Lotte Confectionery fell 5.4% and 6% respectively, while Lotte Chemical was 3.9% lower. The broader market dropped 1.9%.

Summary: After prosecutors raided the company's headquarters.


Lytx, the leading maker of cameras for monitoring truck drivers, will be acquired by the Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR for a cash payment of $500 million. Lytx’s venture funders have included Insight Venture Partners, JMI Equity, and Menlo Ventures.

Founded in 1998, Lytx initally focused on providing monitoring for passenger vehicles, later offering a system recording driver behavior during unusual road events and then transmitting footage back to Lytx for analysis. For trucking companies, this provides potentially useful legal evidence because while car-truck collisions often result in large settlements, truckers themselves are at fault in only 30% of accidents.

In announcing the acquisition, Lytx said its current leadership will remain in place while expanded resources would help them provide a broader range of services. The acquisition is expected to be finalized by the end of March.

As Fortune reported last spring, cameras used to monitor truck drivers are experiencing fast adoption in the trucking industry. Last year, Lytx added 102,000 new systems across 365 companies. That included one of the largest contracts to date in the category, installing cameras in more than 6,000 trucks owned by Swift Transportation. The company provides ongoing services on a subscription basis and says it signed $200 million in new contracts in 2015 – 80 percent more than in 2014.

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That’s one heck of a year, but Lytx does face two potential headwinds. First, while they’re like catnip to fleet owners, truck drivers truly hate driver-facing cameras, which they say invade their privacy and compromise the solitude that drew many of them to the job in the first place. So far, operators like Swift haven’t responded to those concerns in any very concrete way, and a concerted backlash by drivers could conceivably push the cameras out of favor.

Second, Lytx’s driver cameras are almost certainly a transitional technology as the trucking industry is moving inexorably towards automation and, eventually, self-driving trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently considering mandating automatic emergency braking systems in trucks, and Daimler is already demonstrating fully-automated trucks. With a broad consensus that self-driving passenger vehicles could be on the road by 2020, trucks can’t be far behind – and an artificial intelligence doesn’t need a camera keeping an eye on it.

For more on transportation technology, watch our video.

Lytx has taken some steps that help prepare it for that shift, including an add-on to its camera system that provides drivers with alerts when they stray out of their lane or follow another vehicle too closely. That detection and decision technology could be integrated into more advanced forms of automation or autonomous driving.

Summary: Cameras to monitor truck drivers exploded last year, and Lytx is reaping the benefit.


Kit and Ace, the retail start-up launched by Lululemon Athletica Inc founder Chip Wilson’s family, has laid off roughly 10% of staff at its Vancouver headquarters, as the closely-held company slows its rapid pace of expansion.

The layoffs, which impact about 35 people, come as the luxury casual wear-maker shifts focus from opening dozens of new stores to brand building and expanding its product lines.

“Like other tech start-ups, we are in a constant pursuit of learning, improving and adjusting our strategy,” chief executive Paul Wilson said in an emailed statement on Sunday.

Launched by Chip Wilson’s wife and son in 2014, Kit and Ace went from a single shop in Vancouver to 61 locations across the globe in less than two years. But its rapid pace of growth is set to slow this year, with plans for just 10 new shops.

The company, backed by the billionaire’s vast fortune, has said it expects to turn a profit by 2018.

Known for its wash-and-wear cashmere blend dubbed ‘technical cashmere,’ Kit and Ace has gone to great lengths to distance itself from Wilson’s last company, yoga wear-maker Lululemon, though the two retailers do compete in the casual wear segment.

Wilson left Lululemon in early 2015, roughly a year after stepping down as Chairman while under fire for comments he made blaming overly sheer yoga pants on women’s bodies, and is now actively involved in the family’s newest business.

Prior to the layoffs, Kit and Ace employed some 600 people, most of them in Vancouver. There are still multiple jobs listed on its website, including positions in Canada for designers and e-commerce staff.

(Reporting by Julie Gordon; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Summary: It's known for its wash-and-wear "technical cashmere."


This is one happy man.

And why not? He's Bosley, after all, the only male regular on the greatest girl-watcher's show in TV history, Charlie's Angels. Sure, Doyle suffered a bit of panic earlier this summer when the superdraw of the gumshoe series, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, announced her departure. The unseen Charlie of the show's title was not modeled after Finley of the Oakland Athletics, but there was some resemblance to whoever was in chargeâthe producers or the ABC network. There was no way that Farrah's take was going to be bumped from $5,000 to $75,000 a show (if that's what she really wanted) or that she would be let out of her contract altogether.

By the time Doyle had calculated how long his savings account could survive if Angels folded its wings (18 months), he had recovered his sense of proportion and humor. "I figured there are four, maybe six good-looking girls who come to Hollywood every year," he cracks. In any case, at that point all the press clamor over Farrah's fate had hyped Charlie's Angels into the highest-rated show on the tubeâwhich it had not been before. Just as fortuitously, Cheryl Ladd, 25, had been signed to play Farrah's younger sister should she belatedly returnâor as her replacement. "Pinup-wise, Cheryl is just as impressive," Doyle glows, "and she's as gifted as, if not more so than, Farrah. I think it's a stronger show now."

That's the closest Doyle's ever gotten in his 47 years to an invidious statement. If there were a sealed intra-Angel ballot tomorrow to choose the most beautiful human of them all, the vote would go to David Doyle, 4 to 0. That counts fallen-away Angel FF-M, who remains as fond of him as he is of her. "She's a sweet girl," David says, "and if she has a fault, it's that she thinks with her heart rather than her head.

"We all knew the problems Farrah was having," he elaborates. "She is crazy about husband Lee Majors and anxious to spend more time with him. But she would be up at 5 a.m., work all day and then get home around 7." As for her $6 million man, "Lee would get home from tossing buildings around about 7:30, just in time for a bite to eat. Then they would study their scripts and go to sleep. On weekends Farrah was off shooting commercials. It wasn't any bed of roses.

"We all know what Farrah did for the show. Why resent it? I realize," David adds, "that's easier for me to say than for one of the girls." But what is astounding is that Charlie's two other charter Angels, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, are equally sympathetic to the show-stealing Farrah. "That's where their maturity comes in," David says, modestly downplaying his own decisive influence on morale on the set.

"If you want to sink into problems," notes Kate, "you'd better stay away from himâDavid's never down and keeps everyone else up." To her and Jackie, the other unmarried Angel, Doyle doubles as a confessor (heavy subjects arise, thoughâreports to the contraryâWarren Beatty isn't one of them). "He treats me like a daughter," says Jackie, "and I love him personally." When Ladd first arrived, feeling "like the new girl on the block," Doyle was a one-man welcome wagon. "Within two weeks, we were all friends," Cheryl smiles, "and I feel like David is my adopted dad." Says "Dad": "She was eager, a little nervous, but a pro." Cheryl had sung and worked in movies (on one set she met her husband of four years, David Ladd, the son of the late actor and brother of 20th Century-Fox chieftain Alan Ladd Jr.). But Doyle hastens to insert, "No one did this girl a favor by giving her a job. She can cut it, which we all knew after a couple days of shooting." Returning the compliment, Cheryl notes, "If anyone should act like a star, it's David Doyle. He really knows his craft the way I hope to someday, and he has real sensitivity."

That has come to him partially through tragedy. Doyle's first wife, Rachael, died in a freak staircase fall in 1968 when their daughter, Leah, was 7. And his second wife, Anne, suffers from a hereditary eye disease, Retinitis pigmentosa, that gives her night blindness and tunnel vision and could eventually cost her her sight. That just deepens the traditional closeness of the Doyles. David himself grew up in a very tight Nebraska-based family of lawyers (grandfather, father, brother, nephew).

Rambunctious as a kid, he once ignited his parochial school fire escape and by 13 was stealing his dad's Packard. Grabbed by the collar by an irate nun on one occasion, he recalls, "I fell to the floor in a phony faint. She thought she'd killed me, and there was quite a flap." His next showbiz audition was delayed by two years of prelaw majoring in Latin at the University of Nebraska. A summer at Virginia's Barter Theater ended all that, and in 1950 he switched his studies to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, where he was a classmate of Joanne Woodward. With Korea, he enlisted in the Navy in hopes of becoming a pilot, but his blood pressure was too high. "I blame that on the beautiful girl I would stay with until the wee hours of the morning," he quips. He fetched up as air controller, and later radio deejay at the U.S. base in GuantÃ¡namo Bay, Cuba.

Doyle's career got rolling after he replaced Walter Matthau on Broadway in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (His visiting mother lamented his working "in-such a dirty little vehicle.") His subsequent credits onstage included The Beauty Part with Bert Lahr, and he's also directed 60 plays. Among his films were Vigilante Force, with Kris Kristofferson, and David established his face on TV (to the extent it's still not confused with Tom Bosley) as the Irish dad in Bridget Loves Bernie and as the star's boss on The New Dick Van Dyke Show.

After his first wife's death, Doyle vowed never to marry again and "was resigned to a life totally focused on my daughter and career." Then, while in a revival of South Pacific, he met singer-dancer Anne Nathan. "Two weeks before he proposed he told me I really ought to be seeing other people," she grins. So when he did propose she said, "You're kidding." Explains Doyle: "By then I figured that eventually I would want to get married again, and if I waited for five years or so Anne wouldn't be around." She recalls that the initial months were "rocky." She's Jewish, and her mother had opposed her marriage to a Catholic. Also, Anne found herself "paranoid" in trying to take over as mom of Leah Doyle, then 8.

When away from their rambling Encino ranch house, David is a member of the so-called Hollywood Hackers, a hang-loose golf group consisting of Efrem Zimbalist Jr., David Wayne and Sheldon Leonard. He also keeps up with his old New York Players Club cronies like Jimmy Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Harry Morgan.

During the latest Angels recess he shot three films: The Comeback, with singer Jack Jones; a cameo as Elliott Gould's boss in the upcoming Capricorn I; and a larger role in an ABC movie-of-the-week with Desi Arnaz Jr. and Bill Bixby. His main professional objective right now is to get some "real dimension" written into his role on Angels. The first season, he feels, "Bosley was sort of an officious, effeminate snip. I fantasize Charlie really works for Bosley, who's the brains of the operationâa man with style, class and the nerve of Napoleon."

With a more favorable time slot (one hour earlier on Wednesday), more persuasive scripts, plus Cheryl Ladd, Doyle anticipates that the Farrah-less Angels can be still more formidable in the ratings. (And about the reviewers: "I'm tired of critics who think that if they're sarcastic enough people will mistake it for intelligence. To those demeaners," snorts David, "I say, 'Try to imagine how little I care.' ")

What Doyle and the new Angels do care aboutâand genuinelyâis FF-M herself. "We all feel she is making a terrible mistake leaving the show. One flop movie can put you out of action." "I just hope she's done the right thing for herself," chimes in Kate Jackson. Then she adds with a Sabrina smile: "I think it's about time everyone stopped asking us about last yearâdragging up stuffâand started thinking about this season. Everybody knows when you look back you turn to salt."

Summary: Welcome, Cheryl Ladd! David Doyle Is Still Charlie's Archest Angel


It had been 30 years since Thomas Jefferson likened the explosive issue of slavery expansion to “a fire bell in the night’” destined one day to sound “a death knell for the Union,” but the fulfillment of this grim prophecy seemed very much at hand in 1850.

Northern abolitionists had seemed to find their voice in the 1830s, and although it remained a minority voice, it grew loud and disruptive enough to spark genuine alarm in the slave states while making further political concessions to slavery increasingly problematic in the free states. Stung by abolitionist condemnations, enough northern Democrats abandoned their southern colleagues in 1847 to allow House passage of the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to keep slavery out of any territory acquired in the Mexican War. The slave-state/free-state balance in the Senate doomed the measure at that point, but population trends were changing. The slave states accounted for only 39% of the seats in the lower chamber when the admission of California as a free state, on Sept. 9, 1850, tipped the scales in the Senate as well.

With southern threats of disunion mounting, the measures comprising the “Compromise of 1850” undertook to mollify slaveholders in several ways, but none had more precisely the opposite effect in the free states than the incendiary Fugitive Slave Act, approved by Congress precisely 165 years ago, on Sept. 18, 1850.

Surely one of the most critically misguided pieces of legislation in U.S. history, it proved strikingly cruel, even for a pro-slavery measure. It forced the federal government to grossly overstep its bounds in defense of slavery at a time when anti-slavery sentiment was clearly on the rise, sparking outrage and defiance in the North, and, in turn, further deepening southerners’ suspicions that their rights could no longer be protected within the Union.

On its face, the new law simply set out to enforce the U.S. Constitution, specifically Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, which declared that slaves did not become free simply by escaping to a free state and thus stipulated their return to their lawful masters. Yet, moving well beyond earlier efforts doing little more than lip service to this mandate, framers of the 1850 measure stripped northern courts of their authority over cases in which slaveholders sought return of their reputed runaways, vesting it solely in the hands of federal commissioners, blatantly encouraged to find in favor of the slaveholder by a compensation rate of $10 for each black person remanded South (compared to only $5 when the claim was disallowed). Precluding testimony by the alleged fugitives themselves, the act also compelled otherwise disinterested private citizens, upon threat of fine or imprisonment, to assist in their capture and return of the suspects.

With annual documented cases of runaways amounting to 1,000 or fewer out of a total slave population that stood at 3.2 million in 1850, some thought the slaveholders who demanded a stronger, more enforceable fugitive-slave law were either paranoid or simply overreacting, but there were some more tangible concerns in play. Escapes had mounted as the increasingly dynamic abolitionist contingent urged slaves to take flight, and, beyond that, the most compelling and credible indictments of slavery came not from northern whites acting on principle, but from runaways like Frederick Douglass and Henry Highland Garnet, who had experienced its cruelties themselves.

It was no mere coincidence that both Douglass and Garnet had made their escapes from Maryland. Historians Joseph R. Hummel and Barry R. Weingast have shown that the odds of permanent escape were so much greater in the border slave states that Delaware, Maryland and Missouri accounted for less than 6% of the total slave population of the slave states in 1850 but 36% of the runaways. Because the worst flight risks were also the most expensive to replace, able-bodied male slaves became a notably less attractive investment in the border states. As dramatically higher prices in the Deep South enticed more and more slaveholders in states like Delaware and Maryland to sell off their human property, there was little reason to expect their future representatives in Washington to maintain their attachments to the institution.

Yet if the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was expected to bolster slavery in any concrete fashion, there is little evidence it actually did. In fact, though the Fugitive Slave Act itself marked a low point in American legislative history, its very egregiousness ultimately helped to bring down the barbaric institution it was crafted to defend.

Runaway totals fell by scarcely 200 over the decade that followed, and the 330 persons returned to slavery barely matched the number of escapes from the Border States alone in 1860. These numbers seem doubly anemic when discounted against the massive backlash against the act in the northern free states, where it clearly accelerated rather than impeded the abolitionist movement, helping, among other things, to set a most receptive stage for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and to bolster support for the Underground Railroad. Even northern whites who had previously been little disposed to have African Americans in their midst now demanded stronger state protections for personal liberty. They even rose up in direct physical defiance in Boston, Oberlin and elsewhere, resisting federal intruders empowered to override the local justice system and abrogate their civil rights. The oft-invoked “slave power conspiracy,” now seemed intent on imposing its sinister expansionist will not just on remote territorial outposts, but on their very own, ostensibly “free,” communities, under the aegis and muscle of their own government. As what historian Eric Foner called “the most powerful exercise of federal authority within the United States” prior to the Civil War, the Fugitive Slave Law not only exacerbated the very fears and concerns on both sides that had thrown the Union into crisis in 1850 but, as would soon be evident, it further undermined the political fortunes of those who demanded it in this first place.

Like their counterparts a century later who were slow to realize the explosive potential of a steadily rising outcry for racial justice, the southern Democrats of 1850 had sorely underestimated a very real threat—not only to their interests, but ultimately to the Union itself. As the Fugitive Slave Act made clear, the shift in substantive northern priorities and the concomitant rise of a new public morality would be incompatible with any further extension of the physical and political reach of human bondage.

Historians explain how the past informs the present

James C. Cobb is Spalding Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Georgia and a former president of the Southern Historical Association.

Summary: The terrible law was passed on Sept. 18, 1850


By Philip Boucher and Peter Mikelbank

06/29/2016 AT 03:25 PM EDT

that killed 41 and injured at least 239 has described the horrific scene.

"They had cuts. People were very badly injured," Adam Keally from Boston, Massachusetts, said. "One guy had holes in his back from shrapnel or from glass."

Keally, who had recently been working in Africa to combat malaria, described the scenes of chaos in the airport during the attack.

"People were shooting on one side and we all ran the other way," Kealy, a recent Fordham University graduate, said.

"Then the bombs went off and people started running the other way and there was more shooting. We came out and after that I think there was another bomb, but I'm not really sure," Keally added.

The attack began began just before 10 p.m. when two gunmen fired automatic weapons at a security checkpoint before detonating their explosives.

A third man set off a bomb inside the airport's parking lot.

Among those killed were 23 Turkish citizens and 13 foreign nationals – none are believed to be Americans, a U.S. State Department official tells PEOPLE.

Surveillance cameras stationed throughout the airport captured the moment one of the bombs detonated, sending pedestrians racing from the fireball.

A second video seems to show one of the gunmen being shot by security as he runs through the airport, firing his weapon. The gunman can be seen in the clip lying on the ground, fiddling with a detonator before blowing himself up.

While responsibility for the bombings has yet to be claimed, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has firmly pointed the finger at ISIS.

The terrorist group has previously called for their members to stage attacks during the holy month of Ramadan and has also focused attention on Turkey.

Over the past year, Turkey has endured a spate of terror attacks due to campaigns by both ISIS and Kurdish militants. In March, 37 people were killed by a Kurdish militant car bomb that exploded in the Turkish capital. One month before, 28 people died in an attack on Turkish security forces in Ankara, also orchestrated by Kurdish militants.

Summary: "People were shooting on one side and we all ran the other way," said Keally


by Andrea Park and Abby Stern

If you weren't one of the lucky few to score a ticket to the premiere of Kanye West's "Famous" music video at the Forum in Inglewood, California, on Friday night – understandably, since tickets sold out in 20 minutes on Ticketmaster – then you may have missed

Even if you watched the entire premiere from start to finish via the live broadcast on Tidal, you still might not have witnessed

's PDA or the spontaneous dance party that ensued after the premiere. Here are six things you didn't see while watching the "Famous" premiere from home.

The pair, who split up in May, were spotted holding hands throughout the event, sparking rumors of their reunion. A

the 26-year-old rapper and 18-year-old reality star have a magnetic relationship.

SAF / Splash News Online

"She can't resist him and he can't resist her. They are still so in love, so getting back together was relatively inevitable. They both knew that but needed their space to decompress and regroup and grow," the source said.

The source revealed that Jenner and Tyga are giving their love another shot, but "they are taking things a lot slower this time around, though, and are using their former arguments and fights as a learning curve and as a reference point for a more healthy future."

West arrived at the premiere early and spent time meeting with fans after the doors opened at 6 p.m. Kim Kardashian West also arrived early, wearing a beige tank top and skirt and carrying a fur wrap. Kardashian West blew kisses from her seat out to the cheering crowd.

Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble

SAF / Splash News Online

Other members of the Kardashian-Jenner squad in attendance were Kourtney Kardashian,

(accompanied by boyfriend Corey Gamble) and Kardashian family exes

After a countdown around the scheduled premiere time of 7 p.m., West grabbed a mic and announced the premiere was being pushed back 30 to 45 minutes so that all ticketholders stuck in the notoriously awful Los Angeles traffic could fill up the arena and see the video with everyone else.

Some of the KarJenner crew were among these latecomers, including Kourtney, Kylie and Tyga.

The music video features a row of naked celebrities, including Taylor Swift, George W. Bush,

, sleeping under the same white sheet.

Kanye West's "Famous" music video

Source: Kim Kardashian / SnapChat

When the camera zoomed in on West's ex Rose, the crowd went wild – but Kris simply shook her head.

After excitedly showing the video a second time, West played his own music and that of other artists in the crowd, including Desiigner, 2 Chainz and The Game.

A full-on dance party ensued, with West, 2 Chainz and Desiigner jumping up and down as the DJ spun their songs. After "Panda" finished, Desiigner vaped and threw money down to the crowd below him.

The crowd cheered, booed and tried to figure out whether any of the video's stars had actually posed for the clip as the camera panned over each of the celebrities in the video.

The audience jeered during the close up of Trump and, surprisingly, clapped when they saw Bill Cosby – who West previously deemed "innocent" in one of his infamous Twitter rants.

Summary: The rapper's latest music video premiered Friday night on Tidal and at the Forum in Inglewood, California


Jadyn Douglas plays Roxie Rios on NBC's new comedy "Telenovela."

Douglas started her pursuit of acting in 2011 while living in New York. In 2012, she was cast in the independent film "Greetings from Tim Buckley," starring Penn Badgley. Last year, she played a murdering con artist on NBC's drama "Taxi Brooklyn" and was also cast in the Andrew Levitas drama "Lullaby," alongside Amy Adams and Garrett Hedlund. Douglas was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and grew up in Nashville. She began a career in music at an early age, writing and touring around the world with her original songs. Music remains a passion as she continues on her journey.

Summary: Meet Roxie Rios from Telenovela on NBC.com.


NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton spoke with Attorney General Loretta Lynch during an impromptu meeting in Phoenix, but Lynch said the discussion did not involve the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email use as secretary of state.

Lynch told reporters that the meeting at a Phoenix airport on Tuesday was unplanned and happened while the former president was waiting to depart and walked over to the attorney general’s plane after she landed there.

Lynch was traveling with her husband and said her conversation with the former president “was a great deal about his grandchildren” and their travels. The former president told her he had been playing golf in Arizona and they discussed former Attorney General Janet Reno, whom they both know.

“There was no discussion of any matter pending for the department or any matter pending for any other body. There was no discussion of Benghazi, no discussion of the State Department emails, by way of example,” Lynch said in Phoenix.

The exchange comes as the FBI is investigating the potential mishandling of sensitive information that passed through the server Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, used for personal and government correspondence as secretary of state.

Republicans have called for an independent prosecutor, saying the Justice Department under a Democratic president should not be investigating a Democratic presidential candidate.

Lynch, in a later meeting with reporters in Los Angeles, deflected questions about whether the meeting was appropriate — or created an appearance of impropriety — given the investigation. She noted that the investigation is being conducted by career investigators and agents “who always follow facts and the law.”

David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, said on Twitter that he takes Lynch and the ex-president “at their word that their convo in Phoenix didn’t touch on probe. But foolish to create such optics.”

Hillary Clinton has not been interviewed by the FBI, but the Justice Department’s yearlong probe into the email server appears to be nearing a conclusion. Clinton has said that her decision to rely on a private server was a mistake but that other secretaries of state had also used personal email addresses.

The matter was referred for investigation last July by the inspectors general for the State Department and intelligence community following the discovery of emails that they said contained classified information.

Summary: Lynch said the discussion did not involve the investigation into Hillary Clinton.


A man was arrested at the home of

today after a housesitter discovered him inside without permission ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Cobain's housesitter came across the man when she returned home today. We're told the man -- a white male in his 20s -- claimed he knew Cobain and she had given him permission to stay there.

Our sources say the housesitter didn't buy his story, so she called police. When cops arrived, we're told he gave the same story.

Law enforcement sources tell us when cops reached out to Cobain, her people told them she had no clue who the man was.

He was subsequently arrested for burglary and is currently in custody.

Summary: A man was arrested at the home of Frances Bean Cobain today after a housesitter discovered him inside without permission ... TMZ has learned. Law…


Cars and trucks from the 2008 model year or older that were originally sold or registered in high humidity areas along the U.S. Gulf Coast are getting top priority for repairs as the government commences the massive Takata air bag inflator recall.

Honda Motor Co. leads all automakers with nine models designated as having the highest risk from air bag inflators that can explode with too much force, spewing metal shrapnel into drivers and passengers. Fiat Chrysler was second with seven.

On Nov. 3, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took control of the recall, which covers 19.2 million vehicles and is the largest in U.S. history. The agency wants to speed up the pace of repairs and make sure that the limited supply of replacement parts gets to vehicles with the highest risk.

Even with government management, it could take as long as four years to replace all 23.4 million potentially faulty inflators that are now on U.S. roads.

High-priority models were announced as part of an agreement with Takata Corp. of Japan to pay up to a record $200 million penalty for deception in reporting problems and delays in fixing the inflators.

Cars and trucks from Honda and its Acura luxury brand date on the high-risk list date to the 2001 model year. Vehicles from 11 other car and truck makers also are on the list.

Takata inflators can blow apart a metal canister and spew shrapnel into drivers and passengers. Eight people worldwide have been killed by the inflators and more than 100 injured.

In addition to Honda and Fiat Chrysler, Toyota had five vehicles in the top group, and Ford, Mazda, Nissan and Subaru tied with three each. Daimler vans, Mitsubishi and General Motors each had two models, while BMW and Daimler Trucks had one each.

In documents, NHTSA said cars and trucks in the "Priority One" group also have driver's air bags that have been recalled, or both the driver and passenger inflators are faulty, the documents said.

NHTSA defines the high-humidity region as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Saipan, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The agency says people with the vehicles should get them repaired as soon as possible.

The agency set deadlines to make sure older cars in the risky areas get inflators first. Honda, which is Takata's largest customer, has hired other inflator manufacturers to make replacement parts in addition to Takata. Honda and some other automakers have since said they won't buy Takata inflators.

Honda says it has fixed 44 percent of the recalled vehicles nationwide, nearly double the rest of the industry, which is at roughly 23 percent.

Ammonium nitrate is a likely cause of Takata's problems because it can degrade when exposed to airborne moisture and burn faster than expected. Takata has agreed to stop signing new contracts to make ammonium nitrate inflators.

All 12 automakers are required to contact other manufacturers to get inflators faster, and they must have a sufficient number of inflators to satisfy demand from "Priority One" vehicle owners by March 31, 2016. The recall of top priority vehicles has to be completed by Dec. 31, 2017, while all vehicles in four priority groups have to be fixed by the end of 2019.

A complete list of recalled vehicles can be found at http://www.safercar.gov/rs/takata/images/pdfs/TakataPriorityGroups.pdf

Unless Takata can prove to NHTSA that its inflators are safe, it may have to recall all of them, even those not yet implicated in the case. NHTSA says tens of millions of cars and trucks could be added to the massive recall.


Salt Lake City International, which for years promoted its five post-security smoking rooms as a convenience for smokers making connections, is now snuffing out those lounges.

But not all at once.

The first lounge will close July 5, at the end of the Independence Day weekend, and the last lounge will close the week of December 19, just as the Christmas holiday travel rush begins.

"This is first and foremost an issue of public health, both for travelers and our airport employees," Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski said in a May statement announcing the closure.

Read More: American Airlines Will Reward Fliers Based on Dollars, Not Miles

But she also noted that the "beyond capacity" airport was in dire need of the extra space.

"Every foot of available space should be used to the best advantage of the traveling public," said Biskupski, citing retail space, charging stations and extra seating as possible uses for the 1,200 square feet that will be freed up by the closure of the smoking lounges.

Going forward, the Salt Lake City mayor noted that smoking rooms are not included in the current designs for the airport's $1.8 billion terminal remodel program, which has a scheduled phase one completion date of 2020.

Response to the lounge closure announcement has been mixed, said SLC spokeswoman Nancy Volmer.

"Some are praising the closures, others are critical," with feedback arriving via email, letters to the editor and at least one newspaper commentary, she said.

"I fly frequently through SLC on business and use the rooms every time," one passenger wrote in an email shared by airport authorities, "I figured this day would come … What a let-down."

Public health advocates and organizations are applauding the airport's decision.

"This move will protect workers and passengers alike from exposure to secondhand smoke." said Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. She said the closures put SLC in good company: more than 600 U.S. airports are now 100 percent smoke free.

Travelers use a smoking room at Salt Lake City International Airport on Aug. 3, 2015. Ravell Call / The Deseret News via AP, file

Eliminating airport smoking lounges could also help improve the state's financial bottom line, said Brook Carlisle, Utah government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

Read More: Get Rid of Baggage Fees to Shorten Lines, Homeland Security Tells Airlines

"It's estimated that the annual health care costs directly caused by smoking in our state will reach $542 million this year," said Carlisle, "not to mention the $355 million in costs from smoking-related lost work productivity."

Noting that "We've had #SmokefreeSkies since 1990," even U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sent SLC a congratulatory tweet:

In 2015, Murthy posted a thumbs-down photo standing outside a smoking room at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

While SLC is closing its lounges, there are other major U.S. airports, including Washington Dulles, Hartfield Jackson Atlanta International, Denver International Airport, Nashville International, Miami International Airport and McCarran Airport in Las Vegas that still have smoking lounges or other areas where smoking is allowed indoors.

"Research has shown that ventilated smoking rooms and designated smoking areas in airports are not effective," said Dr. Brian King, deputy director for research translation with the Centers for Disease Control's Office on Smoking and Health, in an email. "This puts people who spend time in, pass by, clean, or work near these rooms at risk of exposure to secondhand smoke."

Whether smoking rooms at airports are effective or not may soon be a moot point.

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control, the smoking rate in the U.S. is on the decline: in 2015, 15 percent of U.S. adults smoked, down two percent from 2014 — the biggest decline in more than 20 years.

Summary: The first lounge will close July 5, at the end of the Independence Day weekend, and the last lounge will close the week of December 19.


Turner was “aggressively thrusting his hips into her,” he said in a police statement following the sex assault.

“We called him out on it and the guy ran away. My friend, Peter, chased after him," he continued.

But the pair managed to catch Turner and stayed with him until the police arrived.

Turner has since been found guilty of assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.

He has been sentenced to six months in jail and will have to sign a sexual offenders register.

The 23-year-old victim, who cannot be named, spoke up about her ordeal in a 12-page victim impact statement.

In it she spoke about going to a house party and waking up in a hospital with cuts, bruises and a sore vagina.

“I am a human being who has been irreversibly hurt, my life was put on hold for over a year, waiting to figure out if I was worth something,” she wrote.

“My independence, natural joy, gentleness, and steady lifestyle I had been enjoying became distorted beyond recognition.”

But in the letter she also thanked the two students who found her saying: “Most importantly, thank you to the two men who saved me, who I have yet to meet.

“I sleep with two bicycles that I drew taped above my bed to remind myself there are heroes in this story.

"That we are looking out for one another.”

Summary: The ‘hero’ students who stopped the Stanford sexual assault have spoken out.


I have the benefit of a restrictive covenant in my property deeds and want to enforce it against my neighbour. However, it was established before I bought the house and I’m worried that it is no longer valid?

If the covenant was entered into by a predecessor in title, you will need to consider a number of key points.

Firstly, the covenant must “touch and concern” your land. In other words, it must affect the land and not merely be of personal benefit to the original party.

You must prove you own the land and the benefit of the covenant must have passed to you. Detailed consideration of your deeds will help to establish this important fact.

Assuming that your neighbour was not an original contracting party, and to decide whether the “burden” of the covenant can be enforced against your neighbour, consider the following:

The covenant needs to have been correctly registered and genuinely restrictive in nature.

It must have been taken out to protect the land that was retained by the previous owner. The covenant must also benefit your land and it needs to state clearly that its burden was intended to run with the land.

Finally, you need to make sure that there has been no common ownership since the covenant was imposed.

I have a dispute with my neighbours over their plans to extend their property. There is restrictive covenant to prevent them building, but the situation has been dragging on for years now. I just want the matter resolved. What power do the courts have to help in this area?

Going to court should always be a last resort. But it can be an effective way to resolve a dispute of this nature.

Primarily, the court will decide whether or not to grant injunctive relief or damages. Injunctive relief is often the most sought after option. This involves a court order prohibiting the development, or ordering the removal/alteration of a development already constructed.

When considering injunctive relief, the court will ask whether the injury to your legal rights is small and if this can be valued financially. The judge will analyse if the injury can be adequately compensated by a payment, and if it would be “oppressive” to your neighbour to grant an injunction.

When a court considers the award of an injunction too oppressive or unjust and inequitable, damages are more likely to be awarded. The level of those damages should reflect the reduction in the value of your land as a result of the breach of the covenant.

Clearly there is a lot to think about, and you should seek specialist advice at an early stage. Evaluate the merits of a claim before doing anything drastic. Also, try to negotiate with your neighbour before any building work. This will help to avoid potentially time-consuming and expensive litigation bills.

Send your property problems to Property Clinic, The Daily Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT email propertyclinic@telegraph.co.uk

Our experts regret that they cannot answer readers’ letters personally. All correspondence should be sent to them at the address given above. We regret that we cannot acknowledge letters. Please keep them brief.

Are you affected by difficult neighbours and want legal advice? Telegraph Legal Services is provided by leading UK law firm Irwin Mitchell – experts in property disputes. For more information and discounted rates call 0800 085 0749 or visit telegraph.co.uk/legalservices

Summary: Danny Revitt and Matthew Wayman from national law firm Irwin Mitchell answer   readers’ questions on restrictive covenants.


Prime Minister’s wife turns into Lady Macbeth. The rest of the country cringes.

99 Letters of Ted Hughes

Faber & Faber, 2007 £12.99

Mesmerising account of Hughes, from hedgehogs to the zodiac, via Plath and Eliot.

98 Persepolis: the Story of an Iranian Childhood

Graphic novel about a young woman who copes with Iranian life by listening to punk.

DI Tom Thorne’s first outing, in which a serial killer puts his victims into a coma.

96 The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl

Revelations of a high-class hooker. Started as a blog; rumoured to be concocted by middle-aged male journalist.

95 A Short History of Nearly Everything

Travel writer explains Big Bang, black holes and time.

94 The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, or the Murder at Road Hill House

Victorian child murder history that could be sensationalist, but isn’t. Won Samuel Johnson prize.

Clones, apocalypses, gay musicians, nuclear power plants and vanity publishers make up the plot of this brilliant postmodern novel.

Late critic’s moving memoir of a dysfunctional family in post-war Wales.

91 The Crimson Petal and the White

Bawdy, Victoriana a-go-go, Faber romps his way through London with his novel-writing prostitute heroine.

by Robert Winnett and Gordon Rayner

Moat-cleaning and house-flipping: the story of the scoop that changed British politics.

The chef’s marvellously poetic writing urges the nation to cook with its senses.

Faber & Faber, 2006 £7.99

The farce and tragedy of Brian Clough’s 44 days as manager of Leeds United is brilliantly fictionalised.

by Irène Némirovsky, tr by Sandra Smith

Chatto & Windus, 2006 £7.99

A poignant fragmentary masterpiece which depicts life in France after 1940.

86 Stuart: a Life Backwards

Innovative biography of a homeless ex-junkie. “It’s bollocks boring,” Stuart objected. Not so; it’s brilliant.

Rich, languid and absorbing Southern Gothic mystery.

84 Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Bossy, humorous punctuation primer that taught us to love the semicolon.

83 The Life of Kingsley Amis

One of the finest comic novelists of his generation is given the full treatment in a boozy, warts-and-all biography.

“Erudition. Pain. Light.” Continues the poet Geoffrey Hill’s late flowering.

This first novel set on a Greek island was a Richard & Judy favourite.

by WG Sebald, tr by Anthea Bell

An experimental and haunting fictional investigation of the Holocaust.

79 Feminine Gospels, by Carol Ann Duffy

A witty and lucid collection from a future poet laureate that eulogises the female experience.

The stories of three lesbian women in the Second World War, this Man Booker-shortlisted novel cemented Waters’s reputation.

Two skeletons and buried secrets on an archeological dig in the south of France made this the thinking woman’s Da Vinci Code.

76 The Time Traveler’s Wife

Tear-jerking high-end chick-lit with a time-travelling device.

Hodder & Stoughton, 2007 £7.99

A “celeb” memoir par excellence: parodies itself in its shamelessness and debauchery.

by Henning Mankell, tr by Steven T Murray

Introduced a public hungry for crime to the world-weary, alcoholic Inspector Wallander.

Husain details his teenage years as a fanatic in a book that politicians love to quote.

Grim, grim grim: teenage girl is raped and murdered, and watches her family from heaven. Everyone loved it.

Faber & Faber, 2006 £9.99

Another bestselling collection from our favourite poet. This is as witty and in love with language as ever.

A highly influential book from a doctor debunking dodgy science stories in the media.

A former bank robber and heroin addict, Roberts’s novel about India was based on personal experience and became a favourite with gap-year students.

68 Never Let Me Go

Faber & Faber, 2005 £7.99

A tale of clones kept alive for their organs. A subtle and deeply moving novel about what awaits us all – death.

67 Imperial Life in the Emerald City

A critique of the US reconstruction project in Iraq, chronicling the transfer of power to the Iraqis against a background of insurgency.

“When I heard the figure of £55k, I nearly swerved off the road.” Cole’s reaction to Arsenal’s wage offer came to symbolise footballers’ greed.

A novel within a novel within a novel, this Booker winner set the tone for a decade of literary experimentation.

The geeks who made good: from their glass tower they control the world’s information.

63 The Dangerous Books for Boys

by Conn and Hal Iggulden

Highlights the decade’s hunger for whimsy and the supposed pleasures of the past.

62 Half of a Yellow Sun

The ugly side of Nigeria is turned into a touching novel.

Combined the decade’s two favourites: crime and Tudors.

by Günter Grass, tr by Michael Henry Heim

Revealed the novelist was enlisted into the Waffen SS.

59 How to Be a Domestic Goddess

Chatto & Windus, 2000 £15.99

A naughty mix of luscious food and intimate writing.

58 The Line of Beauty

Brought gay writing into the mainstream while snorting its way through Thatcherite Britain.

57 Kafka on the Shore

by Haruki Murakami, tr by Philip Gabriel

Talking cats, giant evil slugs, UFOs, mythical hinterlands and ambiguous sexuality: readers rejoiced.

Definitive insight into Afghanistan post-9/11.

Bringing historical fiction into the literary limelight, this was a magical Tudor saga.

54 The Plot Against America

Roth’s sweeping fiction with modern resonances imagines Nazi-sympathiser Charles Lindbergh as US president.

53 White Heat: a History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties

A leader in the history books covering single decades.

A post-apocalyptic novel, set in a destroyed world, that defined the decade’s fears and hunger for hope.

51 Edwina Currie: Diaries 1987-1992

Who would have thought it? Edwina Currie’s affair with John Major uncovered.

The second volume of an astounding exploration of the artist. Spurling’s biography is a milestone in the art.

The raw materials of Martin Amis’s life – including his relationship with his father.

48 Finest Years: Churchill as Warlord

The cigar-chomper is presented as a hero and saviour of Britain.

47 I Can Make You Thin

If we needed proof that we are obsessed with dieting, here it is.

46 The Return of the Naked Chef

The golden boy of cookery. Made men put on their pinnies and bin the barbecue. As influential as Germaine Greer in the battle of the sexes.

45 It’s Not About the Bike

He’s the Texan cyclist who triumphed over cancer to win the Tour de France. The arc of his narrative recurs in nearly every sports/misery memoir from the past 10 years.

44 We Need to Talk About Kevin

Controversial, Orange Prize-winning novel about a woman whose son commits a massacre at his school.

Barn-storming final part of His Dark Materials trilogy, this made us take children’s books seriously.

42 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

ed by HCG Matthew and Brian Harrison

Sixty volumes, 50,000 biographies, 60 million words. A monument against oblivion.

Beautiful and humbling memoir about the author’s childhood with his epileptic brother in Broughton Castle.

Tett argued that it was bankers’ greed, not derivatives, that caused the credit crunch.

Trashy high (or low) point of books on the Royal family.

38 A Million Little Pieces

Forced to confess on Oprah that his memoir was all lies, Frey epitomises the misery memoir’s problem with truth.

37 Somewhere Towards the End

Unsentimental book about old age. Its candid and clear prose marked what was best about the decade’s memoirs.

Intense and shocking, this memoir showed how Ballard’s extraordinary life informed his work and psychology.

Celebrity-spotter Morgan before he became a celeb himself: this is an enjoyable behind the scenes gape.

Chatto & Windus, 2000 £8.99

The turbulent early years of the princess who would become Gloriana, given new life in this biography.

This incisive study by the late Tim Guest explores the freedoms of virtual worlds.

Astonishing, mainly for the ineptitude of her prose. Teen vampire schlock that has the nation’s youth in thrall.

by Michel Houellebecq, tr by Frank Wynne

This novel about sex tourism made controversial remarks about Islam and encapsulated the moral torpor of our age.

30 Notes on a Scandal

The unreliable narrator is given new vigour in this gripping novel about female obsession, underage sex and repression.

Faber & Faber, 2001 £8.99

This bleakly honest account of motherhood ushered in a new genre of family writing.

Compassionate history of the city’s fall at the end of the Second World War.

Novel about a Bangladeshi woman’s life in East London. Ali was lauded briefly as the new Zadie Smith.

The Earth as sentient, organised being: the first in a wave of doom-mongering books on the environment.

From the creator of The Wire, this is reportage of the highest order as he travels with police in crime-ridden Baltimore.

Generation-defining, controversial family saga about a Midwestern couple and their three adult children.

This diary was indiscreet, vulgar, vainglorious – and utterly compelling.

A page-turning thriller about a prime minister’s ghostwriter.

by Steven Levitt and Stephen J Dubner

A book that applied the “dismal science” to the questions that affect us all and made economics fun.

This compendium of useless and amusing information had its origins in the Weekend section of the Telegraph.

by Orhan Pamuk, tr by Maureen Freely

Faber & Faber, 2004 £8.99

A political exile returns to Turkey and finds a country wasting away.

Clunky writing but a poignant tale, this timely novel about an Afghan boy became a bestseller.

17 Madoff: the Man Who Stole $65 billion

A gripping investigation into the fraudster by the whistle-blower who had been ignored.

16 The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

If you could condense charm into a paperback, this is what would result. Mma Precious Ramotswe appeared in 1998 but dominated the 2000s.

Magisterial biography of everyone’s favourite maid-tupping Restoration diarist.

14 Boyhood (1997), Youth (2002), Summertime (2009)

A beautifully written trilogy of fictionalised memoirs that challenged genre conventions.

Praised for its literary qualities as well as its findings.

We hated her, then we loved her. The first of many memoirs from the world’s first non-celebrity celebrity.

A rip-roaring account of how cultural events happen. The title entered the language.

10 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson, tr by Reg Keeland

A journalist hooks up with a girl punk to form detective fiction’s unlikeliest pair, wading through the murky depths of Swedish society.

Briony Tallis tells a lie and regrets it for the rest of her life. Metafictional country house war novel that became a literary bestseller.

Smith was feted for her incisive, funny account of two friends whose lives intertwine in London. The dilemmas of immigration are confronted with satire and sympathy.

7 The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

This mesmerising novel features a quest for the founder of the “visceral realists”, and showcases the magical quality of Bolaño’s writing. He called it “a love letter to my generation”.

Katie Price now heads a publishing industry, producing children’s books, novels and four volumes of memoir, of which this was the first – and the most revealing.

Belief in God is not only totally irrational, but actively harmful to society, says Richard Dawkins. Whether you agree with him or not, his book was a popular demolition job of the world’s great faiths.

4 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

One of the first of the “creative” memoirs, this chronicled Eggers’s life with his younger siblings after the death of their parents from cancer. Bold, dazzling and fantastical, it launched a new style of writing.

3 The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown may not be able to write, but he sure can pull in the punters. A mad mishmash of conspiracy theories about Jesus built around the most basic elements of a thriller, this has sold almost as many copies as the Bible and has made the world’s pulse beat faster.

2 Dreams from My Father

Originally published in 1995 in the US, this was launched in Britain to enormous acclaim before the first black president took to the world stage. Candid and sensitively written, the memoir is a search for his father (who left when Obama was two) and his racial identity. A touchstone for future politicians.

1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

If you don’t know what a Muggle is by now, you’re either Rip van Winkle or enormously stubborn. This is the seventh and final instalment in Rowling’s record-breaking series about Harry Potter, the world’s most famous lightning-scarred boy wizard and his tribulations with Lord Voldemort. We’ve seen Harry grow from a spindly, messy-haired 11-year-old into a heroic young adult. Children have grown up with him, finding in his battles metaphors for their own. This volume alone sold 15 million copies in the first 24 hours after it was published. Whether wickedly skewering suburbia, or bringing Harry, Ron and Hermione into mortal danger, Rowling is never less than absorbing. Some may sneer at her books, but they are triumphant sagas about the defeat of evil that tap into our basic hunger for stories. Most importantly, she makes reading a 700-page book seem easy. This one even has a quotation from Aeschylus as its epigraph. It stands as a cornerstone of the decade, a melding of high and low culture that appeals to all ages and nations.

To order the books on this list visit books.telegraph.co.uk/2000s or call 0844 871 1515.

Prices shown are special Telegraph Books rates and do not include p&p

Summary: Zadie, Nigella, Steig and, of course, the boy wizard. The decade has seen   publishing phenomenons like no other, but which books, for better or worse,   have summed up the noughties?


This is an occasional feature in which an adviser shares a chart or other visual presentation that he or she finds valuable to help clients grasp an aspect of personal finance or investing.

The adviser: Carolyn McClanahan, director of financial planning, Life Planning Partners Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla.

The chart: A table shows how annual premiums for a $1 million term life-insurance policy for a 43-year-old man and woman...

Summary: Financial adviser Carolyn McClanahan shows clients how the cost of life insurance varies based on weight and smoking status.


updated 07/25/2016 AT 07:00 PM EDT

•originally published 07/25/2016 AT 01:45 PM EDT

is staying neutral – despite partying with

after her Las Vegas show this weekend.

Lopez celebrated her 47th birthday in the City of Sin with Hollywood's finest, but Snapchats including Kardashian West and Harris in the same spot

that Lopez was on Team Kimye in the divisive feud.

However, the crew was simply enjoying the party.

"She isn't taking sides," a Lopez source tells PEOPLE.

Adds a source close to the Kardashians, "I'm sure J. Lo could care less [about a feud]. Kim always planned the Vegas trip because of her nightclub appearance. And J. Lo invited her to the show and birthday celebration because they're friends."

On Saturday night, the deejay posted a Snapchat video of himself dancing with the birthday girl. "They discussed the types of music they both love. Calvin was excited to be at the party, hanging out with Jennifer and chatting with Benny [Medina]," the source tells PEOPLE, adding that they discussed a possible music collaboration. He didn't ignore Kardashian West either – another source tells PEOPLE that the pair were friendly and chatted at the party.

Jennifer and Calvin discussed a possible music collaboration during her birthday party - Calvin approached Jlo at the party about working together.

Kardashian West turned up in Vegas all weekend long, starting with an appearance at Hakkasan nightclub at the MGM Grand hotel on Friday. She danced and sang with friends, including Larsa Pippen, Carla DiBello LaLa Anthony and Maria Menounos. The same crew was there for Lopez's show and birthday party, and Anthony posted an Instagram of the women with the caption, "Happy Birthday @jlo we had so much fun tonight!!! Concert was AMAZING!!"

Others at the birthday show included

and other A-listers. Many continued the celebrations in Lopez's villa at Caesar's Palace.

is her first-ever headlining residency at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Performances continue through the summer.

Summary: "I'm sure J. Lo could care less [about a feud]," a source close to the Kardashians tells PEOPLE


Until 1978, Blondie was a punk band with a cult following and not much visibility in the U.S. beyond New York’s Lower East Side. Eager for a hit album, Chrysalis, the band’s label, paired Blondie with Michael Chapman, an inventive producer who had success recording other downtown artists, including Suzi Quatro and Sweet.

The result was “Parallel Lines,” Blondie’s third album, and the single “Heart of Glass.” After the song’s release...

Summary: Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein talk about their “Disco Song,’ which with Michael Chapman they turned into “Heart of Glass.” It helped launch EDM.