Players say app is 'freezing' under weight of massive demand

There’s a spectre haunting Britain right now. In fact, there are probably millions of them.

We’re talking, of course, about the monsters of Pokemon Go – the video game sensation which launched in the UK today.

The game has caused hysteria around the world, with people crashing their cars and walking into ponds as they become engrossed in their mission to catch Pokemon.

But hours after it launched on the Apple App Store and Google Play, people clocking off work and kids leaving school were left disappointed when the game appeared to crash or freeze.

The problems are likely to be caused by the sheer number of people who are trying to have their first go on the app.

Similar problems have been reported in America, which has been gripped by Pokemon Go mania since last week.

We tried to log on and were shown an error message which said: “Failed to get game data from the server.”

Other people saw a message which said: “Our servers are humbled by your incredible response.”

Some players took to Twitter to express their rage and frustration after the game began freezing.

The gamers said Pokemon Go was freezing just as they captured a beastie, frustrating their attempts to “catch ’em all”.

no worse feeling than when a pretty person waves at you, you wave back, and it turns out to be a person behind you

— The Esports Writer (@FionnOnFire) July 13, 2016

Pokemon keeps freezing everytime I catch one????

— beth (@bethany_green16) July 14, 2016

Pokemon is a Japanese word which means ‘pocket monster’. The gaming giant Nintendo first introduced Pokemon to the world in 1995.The latest title is an “augmented reality game”. To play, gamers look through their smartphone camera to see the cute monsters superimposed on their view of the real world.

Players must walk around towns and cities to find Pokemon, which hide in various locations. They then collect the monsters and can use them to fight against other players in “gyms”, which tend to be landmarks such as the The Shard in London. To play at these gyms, players must physically visit them.

A “lure” can be set to draw Pokemon to a certain location, prompting fears this function could be misused.

It appears as if the weight of demand is simply too great for the servers of Niantic, the firm which made the game, to bear.

Writing for Forbes, gaming expert Dave Thier described the popularity of the game as “uncharted territory” for the tech industry.

“These are the growing pains of any new online game, exacerbated by Pokémon GO’s completely unprecedented success,” he said.

“Preparing for 21million downloads is just difficult to do, and there were bound to be glitches in these early days.”

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Summary: There’s a spectre haunting Britain right now. In fact, there are probably millions of them. We’re talking, of course, about the monsters of Pokemon Go – the video game sensation w…


Michael Buckner/AMA2014/Getty Images for DCP

08/17/2016 AT 05:20 PM EDT

The R&B legend congratulated her daughter,

"Congratulations to my daughter Tracee Ellis Ross on her nomination for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on

. So proud of you," the message reads in the latest issue of

before closing with "Love, Mom and the Ross family."

last month, her beloved mother was the first person she called.

"I got up and I ran and danced weirdly around my dining room," she

that day. "Then I opened my front door and I don't know where I thought I was trying to go, so I closed the door and I called my mom. She was really cute and we screamed for a little bit."

, who was nominated for lead actor in a comedy series, and

was also nominated in the category of outstanding comedy series.

"I was really excited when Anthony got nominated, then I was really excited when I got nominated, but the truth is that my thrill and over the moon-ness came from the show getting nominated," she said.

The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by

, will air live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles this Sept. 18.

Summary: The legendary entertainer took an ad out in The Hollywood Reporter to congratulate daughter Tracee on her first Emmy nod


Part of Los Angeles International Airport went into lockdown after loud noises like gunfire were heard, possibly caused by a man dressed in a black Zorro outfit who was later detained by police.

Passengers who fled in panic after hearing the noises slowly filtered back to the busy airport, as the departure and arrival areas of the central terminal that were closed for a police sweep were re-opened.

"Report of shooting at LAX proven to be LOUD NOISES only," Los Angeles Police Department chief spokesman Andy Neiman wrote on Twitter.

"No Shots Fired No Injuries investigation continues to locate source," he added.

However an individual "in Zorro costume has been detained" by airport police, airport authorities wrote on Twitter. It was not immediately known what role the individual played in the incident.

The Los Angeles airport, known as LAX, is the seventh busiest airport worldwide in terms of traffic. Los Angeles itself is the second most populous city in the United States.

Following the reports of an active shooter, passengers "in several LAX terminals self-evacuated onto the tarmac and rushed through federal security screening without being properly screened," airport public relations director Nancy Suey Castles said after the terminal was cleared.

Many passengers however were "being screened by explosive detection K-9 units" before being allowed to enter the terminals for re-screening, she said, adding that reports "of an active shooter at LAX were unfounded."

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016

Summary: A suspected security threat has reportedly forced the evacuation of hundreds of people at Los Angeles International Airport.


As a young real estate developer in Atlantic City,

dealt with people who had ties to organized crime, according to a new

reports that although Trump knew a business partner in Atlantic City had connections to "unsavory" people and although an FBI agent advised him in a sit-down that there were easier ways to invest, Trump nevertheless went ahead with plans to break ground in Atlantic City. He would ultimately go on to own four casinos there.

People Trump dealt with as a real estate developer in New York also had ties to the mob, according to the

Among these people were Kenneth Shapiro, who was identified by law enforcement as an agent of Philadelphia mob boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo; Robert LiButti, a gambler convicted of tax fraud who was banned from New York racetracks; and John A. Cody, a union leader found guilty of racketeering, the

The newspaper said it reviewed thousands of pages of legal and corporate documents and interviewed dozens of Trump's business associates in its examination. Here are five key takeaways:

But the now Republican presidential nominee told the

that he either wasn't aware of the ties at the time or that he had only casual relationships with the unsavory figures.

"If people were like me, there would be no mob, because I don't play that game," Trump said, adding that he's "the cleanest guy there is."

People in the industry told the

that dealing with people who had ties to organized crime was unavoidable in the construction, real estate and gambling worlds 30 or 40 years ago, especially in New York and Atlantic City.

Trump "wasn't going to build Trump Tower without having those connections. Every builder in New York had to do that at that time," said Michael Cody, the son of a mob-linked union leader Trump dealt with.

Asked about a concrete contracting firm he dealt with that law enforcement said had ties to New York Mafiosi, Trump said, "That was a major contractor. You hear stories that they may have been [mob-controlled]."

"In the meantime, I was a builder. I was never going to run for office," Trump said. "I'd go by the lowest bid and I'd go by their track record, but I didn't do a personal history of who they are."

Trump, as a casino owner, couldn't donate money to local politicians who controlled zoning and signs in Atlantic City. One man who Trump leased property from, alleged Philadelphia mob agent Kenneth Shapiro, told a federal grand jury that he secretly gave thousands of dollars to the mayor on Trump's behalf.

"Donald was always trying to maneuver politically to get things done," Shapiro's brother Barry told the

For his part, Trump denied making secret contributions to the mayor, saying, "I'm not interested in giving cash, okay? â¦ The last thing I'm doing is now handing cash."

Of Shapiro, who the government has described as a conduit the Scarfo crime family used to buy influence with the mayor, Trump added, "I never remember him asking me for money. He was always straight with me ... I didn't know Shapiro well other than to know that we did a pretty small little land transaction down in Atlantic City, which was fine."

described the late LiButti as a "major profit source" at one Trump casino, whose gambling losses earned Trump Plaza $11 million between 1986 and 1989. A Trump employee said LiButti, who had been convicted of tax fraud involving horse sales in 1977, repeatedly called New York gangster John Gotti "my boss," according to a 1991 state investigative report.

Trump, in an interview, described LiButti as a "high-roller in Atlantic City" and a "nice guy" but said he "had nothing to do with him." But according to Jack O'Donnell, who ran Trump Plaza in the late 1980s, Trump "spent time" with LaButti and even attended his daughter's birthday party. LaButti's daughter confirmed to the

that Trump attended her party.

reports, "regulators, in a ruling that didn't cite Mr. Trump personally, fined Trump Plaza for funneling Mr. LiButti $1.65 million via gifts of expensive cars quickly converted into cash."

"When you have those relationships, in the end, you lose," Trump told the

. "You can solve some problems short term, but long term, you've got a disaster."

Summary: Donald Trump has acknowledged that he sometimes worked with people who may have had ties to the mob


East Timor has reflected on the goodwill of its former invader as it seeks to settle sea borders with both Indonesia and Australia.

A conciliation hearing in The Hague this week between Australia and East Timor has wrapped up.

The United Nations commission is expected to announce whether it has the power to proceed with the process in a fortnight.

Australian officials made the case to shut the process down arguing the commission didn't have jurisdiction.

East Timor Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo has compared Indonesia's willingness to bilaterally negotiate a permanent sea boundary according to international law with Australia's refusal to do likewise.

"Timor-Leste and Indonesia have become close friends and remain a global model of reconciliation," he said in a speech.

"Australia, however, has refused to negotiate with us, despite our invitations."

The developing nation's "struggle for sovereignty is not over".

At the heart of the boundary dispute are oil and gas reserves worth an estimated $53 million.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop insists Dili got a fair deal with sea border treaties of 2002 and 2006 and they are consistent with international law.

But East Timor is unhappy with the temporary sharing arrangements for the reserves because Australian spies allegedly bugged the East Timor negotiators in 2004.

Summary: A UN commission will spend a fortnight deciding whether it has the power to hear a maritime dispute between Australia and East Timor.


A young Victorian man accused of the stabbing murder of a teenager in Bendigo is on medication for mental health issues.

Odin Gillin, 19, appeared via video link in the Bendigo Magistrate' Court on Tuesday, charged with the murder of Hayden Coleman, 18.

The Kangaroo Flat teenager died in the Bendigo suburb of Ironbank on Saturday.

Gillin's defence lawyer, Peter Baker, told the court his client had some injuries.

The lawyer also said Gillin was on four medications, including the antidepressant Lexapro, and had been seen by a forensic medical officer.

Gillin told the court he was also taking the anti-anxiety drug Valium.

"I've been taking it for a very long time," he said.

When asked by Magistrate Patrick Southey if he had a prescription for the drug, Gillin replied "yeah, I sure do".

Police have been given until December 21 to hand their brief of evidence to Gillin.

Police say Mr Coleman suffered fatal injures after 7pm on Saturday at a house on Energetic Street.

He died before he could be taken to hospital.

Hundreds of people have posted tributes to the Kangaroo Flat teen on social media.

On Sunday, siblings Karley, Nicole, Damien and Amanda Coleman said their brother was kind hearted, funny and respectful.

"At anytime anyone just wanted to chat we could go into your bedroom and you would be open ears," his siblings wrote on Facebook.

"Not only were you our brother, you were our friend and we where (sic) yours too."

They added while they were now "one man down on the ground" they would stand stronger than ever because they had a new angel watching over them.

No application for bail was made.

The accused is set to return to court for a committal mention on January 18.

Summary: A teenager accused of stabbing to death an 18-year-old has appeared before a Victorian court.


If a week in politics is a long time, a year must feel like an eternity.

So some of our politicians could be forgiven if their memories of past events get a bit jaded over time.

In a week when the focus has been on Malcolm Turnbull as he completed his first year as prime minister everyone has had their say on the government's performance, even the man he rolled for the top job.

Turnbull scored a modest result on his anniversary, securing a savings deal with Labor worth $6.3 billion on the government's so-called omnibus bill.

But former prime minister Tony Abbott doubts whether this is the start of consensus between the major parties as the coalition thinks spending is too high, while Labor believes taxes are too low.

"We think as a coalition that when the credit card is maxed out, we have to reduce spending. Labor thinks we just increase the credit card limit, and that's a big problem," he said.

An odd comment when it was Abbott's own treasurer Joe Hockey who, in a deal with the Greens, scrapped the national debt ceiling.

In government, Labor had repeatedly gone cap in hand to the parliament to reset the debt ceiling after initially setting a cap of $75 billion when the budget went into deficit at the start of global financial crisis.

By the time Labor lost office, the ceiling was $300 billion.

At the end of the 2016/17 financial year, the budget government debt is expected to be $497 billion before peaking at $640 billion in 2026/27.

However, the government argues the debt trajectory would have been worse if Labor had remained in power, which assumes Labor would have done nothing about the debt mountain.

Turnbull's minor $6.3 billion savings win will help cut $30 billion debt over the next decade.

Treasurer Scott Morrison is the first to admit while this will help it doesn't resolve the debt issue.

Even so, it allowed Turnbull another positive outcome on his anniversary.

Recent economic figures have also aligned to allow the prime minister to paint a picture of a government showing the leadership he promised when he won the backing of the party room 12 months earlier.

Annual economic growth is dashing along at 3.3 per cent, its fastest pace in four years.

It also means Australia has gone 25 years without a recession.

A series of confidence readings this week couldn't have been more timely.

Business confidence edged up to its long-term average last month, while a weekly gauge of consumer confidence jumped 3.3 per cent, lifting its four-year average to a three-year high.

Monthly consumer confidence also ticked up, to be eight per cent higher over the year.

However, details of these reports were not as rosy as the headline figures suggest.

Business conditions actually fell in August.

National Australia Bank chief economist Alan Oster says the recent downward trend in business conditions suggests the non-mining recovery may have "lost some vigour".

That fits in with the June quarter national accounts showing the economy had expanded at half the pace of the previous three months.

At the same time, those accounts showed household spending is easing despite upbeat confidence.

"Consumption has been a key driver of the non-mining recovery and this step down in (spending) growth is somewhat concerning," ANZ head of Australian economics Felicity Emmett says.

The monthly consumer confidence gauge compiled by Westpac and Melbourne Institute also asks respondents every three months to nominate their most recalled news items.

In the September "budget and taxation" was the most recalled category.

"News on this category has been assessed as more unfavourable than in June but still less unfavourable than a year ago," Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said.

Hardly a glowing assessment of the government's work.

Summary: It's been a week of reflection after Malcolm Turnbull survived his first year as prime minister.


Police have asked the public for help piecing together the last movements of an Adelaide grandmother who was murdered during a home invasion.

The body of Myrna Nilsson, 57, was found at her Valley View home on September 30.

Her daughter-in-law was bound and gagged but her three children were unharmed.

Investigators on Saturday appealed for any drivers with dashboard cameras to come forward if they were in the vicinity of Unley and Ms Nilsson's Bunbury Terrace home between 4.30pm and 7pm on the Friday she died.

Ms Nilsson left Unley about 6pm and drove home in her car, an off-white Fiat 500 with the personalised number plate MYRNA.

Her daughter-in-law, 27, told police they were attacked by two men in a home invasion.

It is alleged the two Caucasian males left the home in a white four-wheel drive.

One of the men was described as wearing a white T-shirt, the other was wearing a dark hooded jumper, he said.

Police have declined to comment on whether anything was taken from the house, or if the women knew their attackers.

The woman's son was at work when the pair were attacked.

Ms Nilsson's cause of death has not been released.

Summary: Detectives in Adelaide are trying to piece together the last known movements of a grandmother murdered during a home invasion.


The September jobs report perfectly captured the frustrating nature of the current economy, showing a healthy gain of 248,000 positions and a reduction in the jobless rate to 5.9 percent but no gain at all in hourly wages.

The report also highlighted the vexing and possibly unsolvable problem for President Barack Obama and the Democrats who want to take credit for measurable improvements in the economy from the rancid depths of 2009 but can't effectively cheerlead a recovery that the vast majority of Americans barely feel.

In most respects, the September report was quite strong. August's soft number got revised up to 180,000 and July was boosted to 243,000 from 212,000. History tells us September could get revised higher as well.

But there was a soft underbelly as well.

The size of the labor force dropped by nearly a hundred thousand putting the participation rate at a more than three-decade low of 62.7 percent. Before the recession the rate was 66 percent.

Read MoreWhy worry? Jobs report fuels relief rally

Even more troubling, average hourly wages actually dropped a penny to $24.53. The so-called U6 jobless rate, which takes into account involuntary part-timers and those too frustrated to look, is still at a very high 11.8 percent.

Obama's economic dilemma was on full display this week when aides touted a big presidential speech on the economy at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. The speech was intended to show voters who give the president dismally low marks on the economy that Obama was on the case while highlighting all the improvements over six years ago.

But the speech, which included a tired recitation of previous proposals that went nowhere on Capitol Hill, fell completely flat. In fact, the only real headlines out of the address were generated by Republicans crowing over Obama's remark that: "I am not on the ballot this fall. … But make no mistake: these policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them."

Democratic candidates in competitive Senate races are running as fast they can away from the president and his low approval ratings. But now GOP ad makers have a perfect sound bite to run in Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Alaska, Iowa and elsewhere tying Democrats directly to the president.

Read MoreJobs data won't turn heads at Fed but it may hurt Democrats: Pros

How Obama could have made such a rhetorically boneheaded move is hard to comprehend.

Polls show the public has largely rejected Obama's stewardship of the economy. They also show that the economy is the No. 1 issue in the midterms. The last thing the party wants are voters in battleground states making their decisions based on Obama's economic record. But now they may do exactly that and at the president's own request!

It seems like it is probably time for the White House to give up on the idea that the president will get much credit for where the economy is right now. Most of the policies that had significant impact—the stimulus and the bank bailouts—are well in the past. Since the 2010 midterms, Obama has little to show on trade deals, tax reform, immigration reform or any of the other big-ticket items that could move the economic needle and drive up wages and the pace of growth.

The White House argues that Obama tried on a lot of these items by sending proposals to the Hill. All fair and true. But people don't really care about what you tried to do (and in many instances the White House didn't try very hard). They care about what you actually did.

But there may yet be hope on the horizon for beleaguered Democrats hoping to maintain control of the Senate. According to Politico's Maggie Haberman, Hillary Clinton is preparing a midterm political blitz to aid Democratic candidates in Kentucky and other swing states.

The Clinton brand is much stronger than the Obama brand right now, particularly on the economy where voters still recall the Bill Clinton years quite fondly. Hillary Clinton may have some heavy foreign policy baggage from the Obama years but she is not tied to people's ill feelings about the president's job on the economy.

Read MorePolls giving GOP the edge in Senate takeover

Hillary Clinton can also make the midterms about the Democratic Party's future, not the last six years of painful, plodding, poorly distributed economic growth. That may not turn out to be enough to keep the GOP from picking up the six seats needed to retake Congress's upper chamber. But it's certainly preferable to Democrats than making the election all about Obama.

Summary: It is probably time for the White House to give up on the idea the president will get much credit for the economy, Politico's Ben White says.


A dusting of Clinique Stay-Matte powder in honey. A hand-stitched wig. Eyebrows glued up into tiny peaks. The rest is left to Alec Baldwin: the puckered lips, a studied lumbering gait and a wariness of humanizing a man he reviles.

The transformation of Baldwin, an outspoken liberal, into the president-elect, Donald Trump, for his running parody on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” entails a tangerine hairpiece and a tricky tightrope walk. It means balancing a veteran actor’s determination to merge his identity into a character, even as, in his offstage life, he is firm in his belief that the man about to take office is a dangerous figure.

The key to a convincing Trump, the actor said, are “puffs” — his word for the pregnant pauses in the president-elect’s speech. “I see a guy who seems to pause and dig for the more precise and better language he wants to use, and never finds it,” Baldwin said in an interview on Saturday in his dressing room at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, six hours before show time, his eyebrows already peaked. “It’s the same dish — it’s a grilled-cheese sandwich rhetorically over and over again.”

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Much has been made of Trump’s hands. For Baldwin, they are a focus, but for their movements. Before the actor’s first appearance, he watched hours of rallies and campaign appearances to mimic Trump’s style.

The actor took part in a very Boston sketch about Dunkin’ Donuts after having his history of sexual harassment allegations revisited online.

His Trump is as much censure as impersonation. He does not write the sketches. He is paid $1,400 for each appearance on the show, he said.

“I’m not interested much by what’s inside him,” he said, but in how he moves and takes up space. Baldwin then amplifies the gestures, and distills them. An emphatic wave becomes a goofy “wax-on, wax-off” movement, he said, the simple hand motion reducing a candidate to an essence: pitchman.

“Saturday Night Live” happens at a lightning pace: Those minutes of preparation include dusting the sunset color across Baldwin’s face — but not around his eyes, where “raccoon” circles of white are drawn, he said.

More: Casey Affleck on ‘SNL’: ‘This is the face of Dunkin’ Donuts right here’

The wig, which on Saturday night rested high on a shelf next to the actor Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton hair, is custom made for Baldwin’s head, via seven vectors measured forehead to nape, according to Jodi Mancuso, the show’s hair designer.

“It helps him transform instantly,” Mancuso said. “The minute it goes on with the makeup, it’s like, ‘Oh, I get it.’” Playing Trump as a buffoon landing headfirst in his own gaffes has at points rendered him almost sweetly silly on screen. After the election, Baldwin recalled, he was distressed to receive an email from a friend sardonically thanking him for humanizing Trump and helping him win.

“I do recognize that that is a possibility,” Baldwin said. “But I think that now that he is the president, we have an obligation — as we would if it was him or her — to dial it up as much as we can.”

As a result of his widely viewed appearances, his daily life has become a Ping-Pong match between Trump supporters’ revulsion and Trump haters’ adulation: Fans accost him on the street, some in tears. (On Sunday afternoon, while walking his dogs in Washington Square Park and talking on the phone with a reporter, Baldwin had a fan interrupt his call to bellow: “We will survive this thing!”)

Baldwin said that he planned to continue playing Trump on “Saturday Night Live” and perhaps elsewhere, but that his work schedule — he is about to film two movies — would mean his performances would be intermittent. Besides, he said, it might start to get old for audiences.

It has been suggested that Baldwin, 58, is uniquely able to portray Trump — and to rankle him — because of their similarities. In 2011, Baldwin mulled running for mayor of New York City. They can both appear thin-skinned. Antagonized by paparazzi and feeling harassed by what he says are false accusations that he uttered slurs, Baldwin has at times publicly denounced the media. On Twitter, he can be pugilistic, notably with Trump and with his brother Billy Baldwin, over their divergent political views.

Such a comparison profoundly pains Baldwin, whose father was a public-school teacher from Long Island, N.Y. He says he has striven not to let his financial success mar his values, and he vehemently denies the racist and homophobic slurs that have been ascribed to him. “The difference is, with Trump, it’s incontrovertible that he has said the things he’s said,” Baldwin said. “And he ran on them.’’

As a candidate, Trump protested the “Saturday Night Live” portrayal of him, calling it part of a “rigged” media campaign to undermine him. Baldwin said that Lorne Michaels, the creator and executive producer of “Saturday Night Live,” has countered that the sketch show has long been an equal-opportunity heckler.

Baldwin’s first appearance as Trump on the show was on Oct. 1, a little over a month before the election. He riffed on Trump’s irascibility and his pronunciation of “China.” Baldwin reprised the role four more times before the election, with each appearance building toward what many thought was the inevitable.

Trump’s win caught the show off guard, Baldwin said, countering expectations on the show’s set of four years of McKinnon playing her mildly maniacal Clinton as president. He also did not imagine that Trump would keep providing material. A skit on Dec. 3, depicting Trump as receiving a security briefing, hinged on the president-elect sharing a Twitter post by a 16-year-old from California. (“He really did do this,” McKinnon, playing Trump’s adviser, Kellyanne Conway, says to the camera.)

As president-elect, Trump has continued to tweet his displeasure. “Just tried watching Saturday Night Live — unwatchable! Totally biased, not funny and the Baldwin impersonation just can’t get any worse. Sad,” he posted just after midnight on Dec. 4.

Baldwin said that he considered the reprobation “funny,” even as a fake news article has circulated since his first appearance as Trump, mourning the actor’s death.

As the call to dress for rehearsal sounded in the eighth-floor corridor at 30 Rock, Baldwin ducked into his dressing room with his wife, Hilaria, and 3-year-old daughter Carmen, who had stopped by to kiss him good night, shutting the door.

Suddenly, he popped it back open.

“Whoever it is, wouldn’t it be great to be the person who pulls the sword out of the stone? Who gets rid of this guy?” Baldwin said into the hallway. “Wouldn’t that be thrilling?”

He closed the door and put on his suit.

Summary: The transformation the outspoken liberal actor into the president-elect for his running parody on NBC’s “SNL,” entails a tangerine hairpiece and a tricky tightrope walk.


Efforts to breathe new life into Chicago's Pullman neighborhood took another step forward Wednesday with the selection of VOA Associates to become the architect of the Pullman Artspace project.

Pullman Artspace will include artist housing and studio space, including community space that can be used for classes and exhibitions.

It's the first new residential housing to be created in the Pullman historic district in decades, according to Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, a community development group involved in the project.

Competing architectural firms from Chicago were required to have experience in developing multifamily housing that receives tax credits and were asked to design a building that joined two existing houses at 111th Street and Langley Avenue into a development that could accommodate up to 45 artist apartments.

A recently opened Wal-Mart and the Method soap factory, another Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives project, are nearby.

"VOA Associates' exceptional design and experience in adaptive reuse of buildings has the potential to bring a new group of unique residents to the Pullman community," Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives President David Doig said in a statement.

The units will likely rent for $750 to $1,000 per month, Doig said.

Also being built in the neighborhood, on a donated parcel near 103rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue, is a $15 million community center that's bigger than two football fields. Partially funded with $5 million in federal disaster relief tied to Hurricane Ike, it's under construction and should be completed in late 2016, Doig said. Backers also raised $2 million, and the group is also taking advantage of tax credits allowing people and corporations to make equity investments in projects in low-income areas in exchange for credits against their federal income taxes.

The Chicago Bears and ESPN are among the community center's sponsors.

Efforts also have been afoot over the past several years to rehab and sell to owner-occupants the row homes that once housed Pullman factory workers. Fifteen of those homes were sold as of last year, and Doig's group received $1.5 million from the Illinois attorney general's office to buy, renovate and resell another 20. Six of those 20 have been completed, of which four have been sold and two are on the market.

Twenty architecture firms applied for the Artspace project, and 10 semifinalists were selected to provide concept drawings and layouts for individual units and community space. Three finalists were each awarded $10,000, and VOA was the winner.

According to VOA's website, its other multifamily projects in Chicago include Lexington Park, Pershing Courts and Lake Park Crescent.

Artspace, based in Minneapolis, has a national network of 38 arts facilities with 1,500 units in 13 states.

Of the 38, three are in the Chicago area: Chicago's Garfield Park neighborhood, downtown Elgin and downtown Waukegan.


Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney ⇒ is facing a firestorm after speaking out against President-elect Donald Trump in an email to employees Wednesday, saying if employees don’t agree with creating a culture of support and inclusiveness, they should resign.

In the original, nearly 300-word email sent to the online food-ordering company's 1,400 employees Wednesday afternoon, Maloney said he rejects the “nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump.”

By the next afternoon, a Twitter campaign to boycott the company was in full force, as headlines claimed he told all pro-Trump employees to resign.

Maloney said in a blog post Thursday night his comments had been misconstrued, and that he was trying to say he doesn’t tolerate discriminatory activity or hateful commentary — not encourage Trump voters to quit.

In the original email, Maloney wrote: “While demeaning, insulting and ridiculing minorities, immigrants and the physically/mentally disabled worked for Mr. Trump, I want to be clear that his behavior - and these views, have no place at Grubhub. Had he worked here, many of his comments would have resulted in his immediate termination.”

He also wrote that the company promised to fight for any employee who was scared or felt personally exposed.

“If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here,” he wrote. “We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.”

In an emailed statement to Blue Sky, Maloney said his original email wasn’t intended to call out all Trump supporters.

“At Grubhub, we welcome and accept employees with all political beliefs, no matter who they voted for in this or any election,” he said. “We do not discriminate on the basis of someone's principles, or otherwise. The message was intended to advocate for inclusion and tolerance — regardless of political affiliation — during this time of transition for our country.”

In a tweet that was later deleted, Maloney added: "To be clear, GrubHub does not tolerate hate and we are proud of all our employees - even those who voted for Trump."

In a statement posted by Grubhub later Thursday evening, Maloney said his comments had been misconstrued.

"I want to clarify that I did not ask for anyone to resign if they voted for Trump," the statement said. "I would never make such a demand."

On the Apple App Store Friday morning, Grubhub's current app version had a one-star rating. One-star reviews claimed Republicans were “not wanted” as customers of the service and accused the company of political discrimination.

Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) shares closed Friday at $35.31 a drop of nearly 5 percent compared to the previous close. Trading volume spiked in early trading, with shares falling as low as $34.95, a nearly 6 percent drop, at one point.

On Friday morning, thousands of Twitter users were still urging others to #boycottgrubhub.

But those complaints may have a limited effect on the company’s operations given the company’s millions of users across major markets, said Aaron Turner, an equity research analyst with Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities.

“Given this scale I expect limited impact from a boycott and believe investors will feel the same,” he wrote in an email to Blue Sky. “This has been a very contentious election and tempers remain high on both sides, but I expect over time cooler heads, and hungry stomachs, will prevail.”

Turner said he believes the email’s impact on Grubhub’s stock will be minimal when the dust clears — and foresees minimal reaction from institutional investors.

“Investors are more focused on the possible ramifications of Mr. Trump’s policies on the tech sector rather than the knee-jerk reaction to an email intended to calm employees that may feel vulnerable after the conclusion of the election,” he said.

As for Maloney’s fate, Turner said he shouldn’t be worried.

“I would ascribe a 0% chance Maloney loses his job over this,” he said.

Nicholas Pearce, a clinical associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, said he thought forcing employees to agree with a leader's beliefs flies in the face of diversity and inclusion — though he said he did not think that was Maloney's intent.

He said Maloney’s email may have landed better if it focused on the company’s values and left the election out of it.

“If it's going to touch politics, it's important for the leadership to tie the conversation to the organization's values,” he said. “If it doesn't touch the organization's values, then a political conversation is unnecessarily incendiary.”

That said, Pearce said Maloney’s message may have still been received poorly by some, Trump mention or not.

"I think the note could have benefited from a little more strategic finessing, to be sure. At the same time, there is no way to insulate yourself from the potential backlash that being a word and deed advocate of diversity, inclusion and equity is likely to engender,” he said. “There will be a net business impact."

Michael Sheehan, an employment attorney and Chicago-based partner at DLA Piper, said employers should be careful about statements that might run afoul of National Labor Relations Board rules.

"I will advise clients, and my colleagues will advise clients, to stay away from chastising or in any way looking into or criticizing colleagues in the workplace for how they vote, period,” he said.

But Joseph Yastrow, also an employment attorney and Chicago-based partner at Laner Muchin, said he found it unlikely there would be any legal action against an email like Maloney’s. That said, “If they asked for my feedback, I think I would’ve softened the message,” he said.

In the aftermath of this week’s election, other CEOs have spoken out about the results to customers, employees and investors. Julie Smolyansky, President and CEO of Morton Grove-based Lifeway Kefir, had a strong message for shareholders after someone expressed displeasure at Smolyansky’s support of Hillary Clinton.

“Hey stockholders, if you are a rape apologist, sexist, racist, demagogue, bigot, feel free to no longer own shares,” she tweeted Thursday night.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also wrote an email to employees Wednesday, calling for unity.

“Regardless of which candidate each of us supported as individuals, the only way to move forward is to move forward together,” he wrote.

Here's the full text of Maloney's email to Grubhub employees, sent midday Wednesday, Nov. 9.

So... that happened... what's next?

I'm still trying to reconcile my own worldview with the overwhelming message that was delivered last night. Clearly there are a lot of people angry and scared as the antithesis of every modern presidential candidate won and will be our next president.

While demeaning, insulting and ridiculing minorities, immigrants and the physically/mentally disabled worked for Mr. Trump, I want to be clear that this behavior - and these views, have no place at Grubhub. Had he worked here, many of his comments would have resulted in his immediate termination.

We have worked for years cultivating a culture of support and inclusiveness. I firmly believe that we must bring together different perspectives to continue innovating - including all genders, races, ethnicities and sexual, cultural or ideological preferences. We are better, faster and stronger together.

Further I absolutely reject the nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump and will work to shield our community from this movement as best as I can. As we all try to understand what this vote means to us, I want to affirm to anyone on our team that is scared or feels personally exposed, that I and everyone else here at Grubhub will fight for your dignity and your right to make a better life for yourself and your family here in the United States.

If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here. We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.

I want to repeat what Hillary said this morning, that the new administration deserves our open minds and a chance to lead, but never stop believing that the fight for what's right is worth it.


If you're seeking a job in social media, we'd like to help out. For starters, Mashable's Job Lists section gathers together all our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter.

But we'd like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable’s job boards are a place for socially-savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space, and beyond. Have a look at what’s good and new on our job boards:

New Business Director at Luminosity Marketing in New York City.

Luminosity Marketing is seeking a sales/marketing director to lead our new business program. If you are an up-and-coming ambitious new business manager, with experience in the marketing communications space, who would like to turbo-charge your career with a move to a boutique firm, we’d love to hear from you.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Search Marketing Position at The JAR Group in Brooklyn, NY.

Tell us what you want your job to be! We may be small, but our goals are big. We pride ourselves on our ability to grow our clients’ revenues; clients seem to like that. The good news is, we’re growing, and what that means is that we need to bring in new people to join our team. We might just be looking for Y-O-U.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Marketing Program Manager, Social Media at LogMeIn in Woburn, MA.

The Marketing Programs Manager will manage a wide variety of marketing communications programs with a special focus on social media and campaigns to LogMeIn’s existing user base. This includes product announcements, newsletters, online events, social media programs, programs designed to encourage usage, and online community development. The primary goal is to drive a valued and positive experience for users, customers, prospects and other relevant audiences.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Copywriter at Carroll Enterprises, Inc. in Worcester, MA.

Write and edit copy for online marketing communications including but not limited to business letters, web site content, sales letters, email and direct marketing campaigns. Develop and update content of marketing materials and collateral. Establish strong relationships across departments with an understanding of marketing strategy and operational capabilities. Able to consistently deliver high quality work with attention to detail and correct form.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Proof of Concept Engineer at Bazaarvoice in Austin, TX.

Bazaarvoice is hiring a full time developer for its Proof of Concept Engineering group here in Austin. This group is responsible for launching customer driven product pilots. In addition to launching pilots, Proof of Concept Engineers are responsible for exploring new social technologies and will be involved in advanced data mining and web analytics projects.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Digital Media Strategist at Vanguard Communications in Washington DC.

Vanguard is looking for a full-time Senior Account Executive with a strong background in digital strategies and social media who can weave their work into public education and social marketing campaigns for our clients.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Tech Evangelist at Gigya in Palo Alto, CA.

This is an outward-facing position covering partner community outreach, community support, product integration, and plug-in and application development. This individual will be expected to represent Gigya at in-person meetings, conferences, product demonstrations, meet-ups, and other events. Also, he or she will promote Gigya through forums, articles, tutorials, and online communities.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Java Mobile Engineer at Loopt in Mountain View, CA.

You will be responsible to design, build and support mobile client application on a variety of mobile platforms, develop new mobile products and features for existing products using Java, port Loopt J2ME mobile client to a wide variety of handsets, work closely with QA to ensure quality of the J2ME client, and work with UI designers to deliver the best possible user experience

Read more about this opportunity here.

Server Engineer at Loopt in Mountain View, CA.

You must understand how computers, algorithms, memory, concurrency and data structures work, be willing and able to learn new things every day, have opinions, be confident enough to ask questions and challenge false assumptions, be creative, and have a degree in Computer Science or related field.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Digital Strategist at Ketchum in New York City.

We’re looking for a Digital Strategist to join our ranks, an individual deeply ingrained in media culture, “pull-not-push” marketing and the dynamics of on- and off-line community-building. This individual will play a critical role at Ketchum, helping clients monitor and interact with enthusiast communities; playing an active role in business development; helping develop and evangelize a company-wide perspective on the use of emerging media; and building new products and services for the agency.

Read more about this opportunity here.

iPhone Application Engineer at Loopt in Mountain View, CA.

To be considered, you must understand how computers, algorithms, memory, concurrency, and data structures work and be able to debug them; have experience with Cocoa and Objective-C; be a Loopt user and tell us your ideas and complaints; and have a degree in Computer Science or a related field.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Web Designer at Domain Development Corporation in Hermosa Beach, California.

DDC.com, a leader in domain development and monetization is seeking a strong, full-time web designer with a high-end aesthetic to help build out our prime website properties of top-level domain names such as Divorce.com and SkiResorts.com, among others. Ideal candidates will be independent creative thinkers who possess both strong technical abilities as well as a keen eye for polished, compelling web design and UI. This is a great opportunity to work on all aspects of web development from design to launch. Be part of a fun and fast-paced development environment with quick feedback and turn-around.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Online Marketing at Metierlink in New York, NY.

Metierlink is looking for a strategic and results-driven Director of Online Marketing for our client, located in Northern New Jersey. You must have several years of Online Marketing experience including heavy expertise in Site Analytics/Conversion, SEM, SEO, Email Marketing and Affiliate Marketing. Previous experience with a subscriber modeled site and social media a huge plus.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Chief of Party at Internews Network in Armenia.

Please pass this on to anyone who might be looking for an interesting, challenging job overseas (specifically in Armenia). They're looking for someone who can help some very talented (especially TV and documentary production) traditional media folks use new tools, including finding creative ways to reach folks in low-bandwidth environments. Also, to help them reach out to citizen media communities. An amazing opportunity for the right tech-savvy but also journalistically rigorous person.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Javascript Engineer at Meebo in Mountain View, CA.

Meebo is seeking top-notch JavaScript Engineers with strong CS fundamentals who feel at home developing high-quality web products that reach millions of users.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Junior Software Engineer at Simply Hired in Mountain View, CA.

We have openings for entry level software engineers for our Content Engineering Team to play a key role in making Simply Hired the best job search engine on the planet.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Web Specialist at Alliance Defense Fund in Scottsdale, AZ.

ADF is seeking a full-time and highly professional Sr. Web Specialist responsible for developing and executing creative concepts for all online marketing communication initiatives and the construction of all emails and landing page. The Sr. Web Specialist is responsible for increasing the quality, quantity and turnaround time of all ADF online marketing communications. As a result, there will be an increase in team capacity-allowing ADF to respond to a greater number of requests and opportunities for growth. Other responsibilities include managing and updating all content on the ADF websites.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Director at Alliance Defense Fund in Scottsdale, AZ.

ADF seeks a full-time Social Media Director responsible for developing and executing plans in social networking, video sharing, web communities and on other social media sites. Responsibilities include developing and executing quality web content and messaging that will drive appropriate traffic to specific ADF websites. You must love being personally/professionally active in social platforms and blogging and be an early adopter who is always the first to discover the latest on-line buzz.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Vice President of DialogueMedia at in New York City.

Some duties entail leading enterprise-wise social direction, via creation & execution of vision and mission statements, for areas such as: Social (general), Social Technology & Communities, Social Media, enabling and enacts social media strategies, campaigns, and ensures the optimal use of in-house technical and community platforms, and maintaining awareness of social technology & related trends, and communication of this aspect throughout the enterprise.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Marketing Communications Specialist at Simply Hired in Mountain View, CA.

Want to be a part of a growing Web 2.0 company that is gaining market share and media attention? Are you a marketer who enjoys using creative guerilla tactics to gain awareness? Help us get the word out! Join us in promoting pay-per-click advertising in the recruitment vertical. You can make a direct impact to the bottom line.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Producer Internship at The Branding Farm in Los Angeles, CA.

A Strategy Intern will work closely with our Creative Director, Art Director and Executive producer to help research background data for business pitches and internal initiatives and will play a supporting role on research and development. He/She will also assist Producers with active projects – sometimes this may involve QAing a new site, other times it might involve working with the team to add Social Networking value to existing projects.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Marketing Manager at HarperCollins Publishers in San Francisco.

You'd collaborate in the development and implementation of online marketing plans for all titles, create and execute social networking strategy for HarperOne, our imprint, authors and product lines, possess the ability to regularly build new networks and groups to facilitate community around key authors, brands and books, keep on top of and test new applications, websites and online tools for promoting authors and book (stay on the lookout for Web 3.0), and more!

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Social Media at Reprise Media in New York, NY.

Currently seeking Director to lead the growing social media arm of our business. This person will manage all parts of the social media department, including sales, execution, reporting, training, and departmental growth.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Manager, Online Publishing at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory seeks a highly gifted, creative individual with strong leadership skills and organizational abilities to manage JPL’s online publishing, including JPL’s World Wide Web home page site.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Manager, Online Marketing at Marketwire in El Segundo, CA.

Marketwire is looking for an ambitious online direct marketer to be responsible for developing and executing demand generation campaigns to drive new leads to our products as well as programs to nurture existing prospects and retain our customers. The online marketing and lead generation manager will develop integrated online marketing programs designed to drive traffic, leads, high response rates and quality opportunity conversions.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Web Developer at LOLapps in San Francisco, CA.

Lolapps is seeking engineers to work on a full spectrum of web development from front end through back end. You should be entrepreneurial, proactive, and love software development.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Social Media at Anthropologie in Philadelphia, PA.

We’re interested in someone who has extensive social media experience—someone who is active in the blogosphere and all forms of social media; someone who has developed and managed mobile and online symmetrical communication strategies. You must know how to facilitate conversations and empower others to talk about our brand. You must be dually focused on today—generating actionable social media deliverables—as well as tomorrow—thinking strategically and conceptually about long-term business needs and opportunities.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Associate Account Executive at IRME in Sparks Glencoe, MD.

Our ideal candidate will be a dynamic, creative and fun college graduate with a degree in communications or other related field. Must love the internet - frankly, maybe even obsessed with it and regularly access social networks, blogs, forums, and consumer reviews. Candidates must be a self-motivated and detail oriented team player and can often be found making YouTube videos just for fun.

Read more about this opportunity here.

PHP and Social Networking Guru Developer at Giantnerd in Boulder, CO.

Ideal candidate is extremely hard working, extraordinarily talented, entrepreneurial, THINKS OUTSIDE THE BOX, has great problem solving skills excellent intuition for user interface, and is extremely passionate about open source applications, web 2.0, mobile applications, social networking and social commerce. If are looking for a cutting edge and entrepreneurial dotcom company in silicon valley but would rather work with products which you are passionate about in an eco friendly industry in entrepreneurial Boulder, CO than this is the position for you.

Read more about this opportunity here.

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Summary: If you're seeking a job in social media, we'd like to help out. For starters, Mashable's Job Lists section gathers together all our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to ...


With the debut of autonomous and driverless vehicles, the Motor City is undergoing a transformation from Rust Belt relic to high-tech hub.

"There's a seismic shift underway right before our eyes," said Sandy Baruah, director of the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce, and "Detroit is at the center of it."

When U.S. auto sales began to collapse nearly a decade ago, many thought that the final chapter was about to be written for the Motor City, especially when two of the Detroit Big Three were forced to file for Chapter 11. Like a good novel, however, the story has taken some unexpected turns.

All three of the local automakers are expected to deliver solid earnings this year, something that might be written off as little more than a familiar, cyclical reality.

In a recent blog post, Lyft's president and co-founder, John Zimmer, suggested the country is on the edge of a "third transportation revolution." The first was triggered by the opening of America's canals and railroads, the second by the debut of the moving assembly line. The newest will come, Zimmer declared, with self-driving or driverless vehicles.

'Huge Critical Mass of Talent' in Detroit

More than a few skeptics are betting this shift will leave Detroit's Big Three out in the cold, but even if General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler can't keep up with their newer rivals, the Motor City seems well positioned to remain an automotive hub. While Ford earlier this year opened up a research complex in Silicon Valley, a growing number of high-tech firms are reversing course, establishing bases of their own in Michigan.

That includes Google, which is setting up a major autonomous vehicle testing center in the Detroit suburbs. Uber announced this week it will make a similar move.

"What we're realizing is there is a huge critical mass of talent in the Detroit area," said Sherif Marakby, a long-time Ford veteran who joined Uber as its head of vehicle development earlier this year.

There's also one of the country's first research complexes specifically designed for testing autonomous vehicles, the University of Michigan's 32-acre MCity. And an even bigger facility is planned for the suburb of Ypsilanti, perhaps fittingly, on the site of the old Willow Run B-24 bomber plant that was once the heart of America's so-called "Arsenal of Democracy."

Switching Lanes in Silicon Valley

Automotive researchers aren't about to abandon Silicon Valley. As Ford CEO Mark Fields pointed out, it also has a huge pool of high-tech talent, and there are great roads on which to test autonomous vehicle prototypes 24/7. But as the technology comes closer to real world deployment, bad roads and awful weather also will be needed.

"To be able to be used in the real world, you'll need cars not just able to drive around in California sunshine, but in the nastiest of weather," said Joe Phillippi, senior automotive analyst with AutoTrends Consulting.

Related: Ford to Offer Driverless Cars to Consumers by 2025

There are other reasons why high-tech firms are looking to Detroit. New companies like Tesla and the now bankrupt Fisker Automotive sorely underestimated the challenges of building products that require the validation of more than 10,000 different parts, along with the logistics of getting them all to the assembly line when needed.

"When you're putting all those parts together, they have to be right," said Phillippi, adding that "No one understands validation like Detroit."

Even before the relatively new push for high-tech cars got on track, Detroit was already beginning to see an influx of investments from more traditional automotive manufacturers and their suppliers. Toyota, for example, has set up a cluster of R&D facilities, including a major test track, near the college suburb of Ann Arbor. Nissan, meanwhile, has a high-tech design and engineering center of its own closer to Detroit.

'Detroit' is seen on the top of an iron man-hole cover on a street in Detroit, Michigan. REUTERS/ Rebecca Cook

Detroit Still in the Driving Seat

Indeed, the list of carmakers and auto suppliers with some presence in Metro Detroit reads like an industry Who's-Who, and it continues to grow. The local talent pool is one reason, the local university research base another. Then there's the government presence. The Environmental Protection Agency, for example, runs its key vehicle emissions testing center in Ann Arbor, about 45 minutes west of Detroit.

The EPA is currently conducting a mid-term review of its latest fuel economy regulations, but it is widely expected to maintain the 54.5 mpg target set for 2025. That will put even more pressure on automakers to tap into the emissions and engine know-how in Detroit, according to various industry observers.

That's good news for a region decimated by the Great Recession, which saw new vehicle sales drop below 10 million, a 40 percent decline, in 2010, forcing plants to close, costing tens of thousands of jobs and hammering local communities.

Unlike the earlier transportation revolution, however, Detroit's new investment boom is largely focused on technology and engineering, rather than manufacturing. The so-called Big Three have been investing in their factories, and some new supplier plants have opened. But most new assembly and parts operations are moving south, many all the way to Mexico.

The Motor City's future, said analyst Phillippi, "Is not as much about bending metal as making incredibly smart cars."

Summary: The Motor City is undergoing a transformation from Rust Belt relic to high-tech hub, putting it again at the heart of the transportation revolution.


More than 100 Illinois health care advocacy groups, medical providers and social service organizations are urging Gov. Bruce Rauner to tell Congress that proposed changes to Obamacare and Medicaid could result in "grave harm to our communities and the financial well-being of the state."

The groups sent Rauner a letter Thursday outlining their concerns and imploring him to pass them on to Congress.

In coming weeks, Congress is expected to pass a bill rolling back parts of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. It's unclear, however, whether congressional Republicans will have a replacement for the law ready to go right away. Many believe they'll more likely delay the effects of the rollbacks for a year or two while they work on a replacement.

Congress also likely will consider, as part of those changes, erasing the part of the law that allowed expansion of Medicaid — an insurance program for the poor — in Illinois and many other states. Congress also may consider President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to fund Medicaid through block grants to states.

In their letter, the groups told Rauner he must oppose such efforts for the good of the state. About 645,000 Illinoisans have benefited from Medicaid expansion, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

"These individuals and families can now address their health care needs without fear of financial ruin," the letter said.

A Rauner spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.

Medicaid expansion also has helped Illinois hospitals by reducing the numbers of uninsured people they have to treat for free, according to the letter.

It was a point Dr. Jay Shannon, CEO of Cook County Health and Hospitals System, also emphasized at an event Thursday with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Illinois Health and Hospital Association President and CEO A.J. Wilhelmi about the same topic. The event, the letter and a push by the organizations to inundate Rauner on Friday with calls about the issue are all part of a the national "Week of Action to Protect Our Care," by Families USA, a health care consumer advocacy group.

"It's brought in substantial dollars that have helped stabilize our health system," Shannon said of Medicaid expansion. Before the Affordable Care Act, in 2011, about 42 percent of patients at Cook County Health and Hospitals System were insured — a figure that's now risen to 67 percent, he said.

He said hospital systems across the country have had similar experiences.

Roberta Rakove, a senior vice president at Sinai Health System, said Medicaid expansion has allowed Mount Sinai and Holy Cross hospitals to offer more, sorely needed behavioral health services on Chicago's Southwest Side.

"We don't know what would happen to that if Medicaid expansion went away," Rakove said. "That would be a tragedy."

The letter and speakers at the event also railed against funding Medicaid through block grants to the states.

Proponents of block-granting Medicaid funding say doing so will give states more flexibility to meet their residents' health needs without federal overhead.

But opponents of block grant Medicaid funding say it would mean less money for states.

"The first thing it is, is a cut, and a huge cut," said Carrie Chapman, with the Chicago-based Legal Council for Health Justice.

The groups argue in the letter that the loss of funding would hurt Illinois and outweigh any advantages that could come from increased flexibility. The Illinois Health and Hospital Association also recently has sent a letter to all the members of Illinois' congressional delegation asking that any changes to Obamacare or Medicaid preserve coverage and access to care for patients.

Durbin said at the event Thursday he expects Congress to act in the next few weeks.


or vivid reporting from the enormous zone of tsunami disaster, it was hard to beat the blogs.

The so-called blogosphere, with its personal journals published on the Web, has become best known as a forum for bruising political discussion and media criticism. But the technology proved a ready medium for instant news of the tsunami disaster and for collaboration over ways to help.

There was the simple photo of a startlingly blue boat smashed against a beachside palm in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, at www.thiswayplease.com/extra.html. "Every house and fishing boat has been smashed, the entire length of the east coast," wrote Fred Robart, who posted the photo. "People who know and respect the sea well now talk of it in shock, dismay and fear."

At sumankumar.com, Nanda Kishore, a contributor, offered photos and commentary from Chennai, India: "Some drenched till their hips, some till their chest, some all over and some of them were so drenched that they had already stopped breathing. Men and women, old and young, all were running for lives. It was a horrible site to see. The relief workers could not attend to all the dead and all the alive. The dead were dropped and the half alive were carried to safety."

His postings included a photo of a body on a sidewalk with a buffalo walking by. "It now seems prophetic," he wrote, "for according to the Hindu mythology, Lord Yama (the god of death) rides on a buffalo."

Bloggers at the scene are more deeply affected by events than the journalists who roam from one disaster to another, said Xeni Jardin, one of the four co-editors of the site BoingBoing.net, which pointed visitors to many of the disaster blogs.

"They are helping us understand the impact of this event in a way that other media just can't," with an intimate voice and an unvarnished perspective, with the richness of local context, Ms. Jardin said.

That makes blogs compelling - and now essential - reading, said Dr. Siva Vaidhyanathan, an assistant professor of culture and communication at New York University and a blogger. Once he heard about the disaster, "Right after BBC, I went to blogs," he said.

"This notion that we now have eyes and ears around the world is more than something we've grown accustomed to; we've grown to demand it," he said.

Bloggers at worldchanging.com, some of them living in the affected nations, began chattering immediately after the waves hit and began discussions of ways to help. South Asian bloggers created tsunamihelp.blogspot.com to direct people to aid organizations. "I haven't seen this level of people saying, 'You know what? We can do something here. We can connect the pieces,' " said Alex Steffen, who lives in Seattle and edits worldchanging.com. "It's mind-blowing, and it's inspiring."

Howard Rheingold, the author of "Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution," about the use of interactive technologies like text-messaging to build ad hoc coalitions, said that using blogs to muster support for aid was a natural next step. "If you can smartmob a political demonstration, an election or urban performance art, you can smartmob disaster relief," he said.

One veteran of the online medium said he was initially "a little disappointed" in the reports he got from the blogs. Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future in California, said that with the widespread use of digital cameras and high-speed digital access, he was expecting to see more raw video and analysis.

He said that upon reflection he realized that it was difficult to get information out of hard-hit areas and that putting digital video online is still the domain of "deep geeks" with significant resources. "This brought home to me just how far we have to go," he said.

Ms. Jardin of BoingBoing said people online often argued about whether blogs would replace mainstream media. The question is as meaningless, she said, as asking "will farmers' markets replace restaurants?"

"One is a place for rich raw materials," she continued. "One represents a different stage of the process."

Blogging from the tsunami, she said, is "more raw and immediate," but the postings still lack the level of trust that has been earned by more established media. "There is no ombudsman for the blogosphere," she said. "One will not replace the other, but I think the two together are good for each other."

Dr. Vaidhyanathan said he was leaving for a long-planned trip to India today and, if possible, hoped to visit relatives in Madras. "As long as there is electricity and Internet access, I'll blog," he said.

Summary: For vivid reporting from the enormous zone of tsunami disaster, it was hard to beat the blogs.


n 2001, two researchers and a Columbia University fertility expert published a startling finding in a respected medical journal: women undergoing fertility treatment who had been prayed for by Christian groups were twice as likely to have a successful pregnancy as those who had not.

Three years later, after one of the researchers pleaded guilty to conspiracy in an unrelated business fraud, Columbia is investigating the study and the journal reportedly pulled the paper from its Web site.

No evidence of manipulation has yet surfaced, and the study's authors stand behind their data.

But the doubts about the study have added to the debate over a deeply controversial area of research: whether prayer can heal illness.

Critics express outrage that the federal government, which has contributed $2.3 million in financing over the last four years for prayer research, would spend taxpayer money to study something they say has nothing to do with science.

"Intercessory prayer presupposes some supernatural intervention that is by definition beyond the reach of science," said Dr. Richard J. McNally, a psychologist at Harvard. "It is just a nonstarter, in my opinion, a total waste of time and money."

Prayer researchers, many themselves believers in prayer's healing powers, say scientists do not need to know how a treatment or intervention works before testing it.

Dr. Richard Nahin, a senior adviser at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, said in an e-mail message that the studies were meant to answer practical questions, not religious ones.

"We only recently understood how aspirin worked, and the mechanisms of action of various antidepressants and general anesthetics remain under investigation," Dr. Nahin wrote.

He said a recent government study found that 45 percent of adults prayed specifically for health reasons, and suggested that many of them were poor people with limited access to care.

"It is a public health imperative to understand if this prayer offers them any benefit," Dr. Nahin wrote.

Some researchers also point out that praying for the relief of other people's suffering is a deeply human response to disease.

Since 2000, at least 10 studies of intercessory prayer have been carried out by researchers at institutions including the Mind/Body Medical Institute, a nonprofit clinic near Boston run by a Harvard-trained cardiologist, as well as Duke University and the University of Washington. Government financing of intercessory prayer research began in the mid-1990's and has continued under the Bush administration.

In one continuing study, financed by the National Institutes of Health and called "Placebo Effect in Distant Healing of Wounds," doctors at California Pacific Medical Center, a major hospital in San Francisco, inflict a tiny stab wound on the abdomens of women receiving breast reconstruction surgery, with their consent, and then determine whether the "focused intention" of a variety of healers speeds the wound's healing.

Two large trials of the effects of prayer on coronary health are currently under review at prominent medical journals.

Even those who defend prayer research concede that such studies are difficult. For one thing, no one knows what constitutes a "dose": some studies have tested a few prayers a day by individual healers, while others have had entire congregations pray together. Some have involved evangelical Christians; others have engaged rabbis, Buddhist and New Age healers, or some combination.

Another problem concerns the mechanism by which prayer might be supposed to work. Some researchers contend that prayer's effects - if they exist - have little to do with religion or the existence of God. Instead of divine intervention, they propose things like "subtle energies," "mind-to-mind communication" or "extra dimensions of space-time" - concepts that many scientists dismiss as nonsense. Others suggest that prayer may have a soothing effect that works like a placebo for believers who know they are being prayed for.

Summary:
The government has spent $2.3 million
in the past four years to study something that critics say has nothing to do with science.


Sunday, July 27th 1997, 2:02AM

On the same Saturday in 1987 that Tawana Brawley was found covered with feces and handwritten racial epithets, Steven Pagones spent the afternoon hanging out with a cop friend.

The former Dutchess County assistant district attorney now 36, married and the father of three children has been haunted by that day ever since.

"Can you imagine? I've lived with this now for almost 10 years," Pagones said. "And the scary thing is, I'm sure that even after the trial, this won't be the end of it. This is something I will live with for the rest of my life."

Pagones sued Brawley and her three advisers the Rev. Al Sharpton, C. Vernon Mason and Alton Maddox for defamation in 1988 after a special state grand jury concluded that her claim she'd been kidnaped and raped by six white men, including Pagones, was untrue.

After years of delay, Pagones' multi-million-dollar lawsuit is scheduled for trial on Nov. 10 in Poughkeepsie.

On Tuesday in Carmel, Sharpton will be deposed by Pagones' attorneys. Mason and Maddox will follow in the coming weeks.

Pagones, who already has been deposed by the defense, won his case against Brawley by default in 1991 after she failed repeatedly to respond to the lawsuit.

"I'm looking to hold these guys accountable for the damage they've caused. I hope they are made to realize that they are not above the law," Pagones said la st week.

"This put a major hurt on my life. They affected my health, my family," he continued. "They did nothing to help race relations. By making this a black-white thing, and by spreading their lies, which they continue to do to this day, they hurt race relations."

The way Pagones sees things, Sharpton may be running for mayor, but underneath he's the same old race-baiter.

"He's tried to change his appearance his hairstyle, the medallion is missing, the suit instead of the sweatsuit. I don't think he's lost any weight, though. But I believe his racist attitude is still there, and his desire to further his own agenda at anyone's expense. I don't think that's changed at all."

Hours after Brawley was found Nov. 28, 1987, curled up in a plastic garbage bag near her former apartment in upstate Wappingers Falls, a black police officer asked the then-15-year-old high school student who had attacked her.

She scribbled the words "white cop" on a notepad.

Three days later, part-time police officer Harry Crist Jr., a friend of Pagones, committed suicide.

Urged to investigate by the Brawley camp, detectives began reconstructing Crist's whereabouts during Brawley's four-day disappearance.

Pagones stepped forward to explain that his friend could not possibly have been involved: They had spent that Saturday shopping together in Danbury, Conn.

With one of his employes now an alibi for a potential suspect, county District Attorney William Grady withdrew from the case, but he did not publicly explain his reason.

Next, a court-appointed special prosecutor withdrew in a conflict of interest, which prompted Gov. Mario Cuomo to appoint Attorney General Robert Abrams to investigate.

That could have been the end of things for Pagones until Maddox, Mason and Sharpton connected the dots.

On March 14, 1988, during a news conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, Maddox announced without elaboration: "Mr. Pagones was one of the attackers."

In the ensuing months, according to Pagones' lawsuit, Maddox, Mason or Sharpton repeated the allegation no fewer than 32 times, without ever offering any proof.

On numerous occasions Sharpton taunted that Pagones must be guilty, otherwise he would have sued immediately. He promised repeatedly that if Pagones did sue, he would show up in court with "independent evidence proving that Tawana Brawley was raped and that Steven Pagones was involved."

"I sued when I was ready," Pagones said. "But he dared me. He said he would produce independent evidence. He said he would prove his case. Now you don't hear any of that."

In response, Sharpton contended that almost everyone misunderstands what the lawsuit is about.

"It's not going to be a retrial of the grand jury. It's not going to be about what happened to Tawana," Sharpton said. "It's going to be about whether we conspired to slander Steven Pagones and were motivated by malice to cause him harm. The issue is whether we had malicious intent. And we didn't."

Asked about his many promises to produce independent proof of Pagones' supposed guilt, Sharpton said he was not about to reveal his trial strategy. "Pagones isn't telling you what he's going to do why should I?"

When told of Sharpton's comment, Pagones chuckled, then observed: "A part of me is dreading this trial.

"I'm sure it's going to turn into a zoo. I don't want to be in the middle of it, but unfortunately I know that's where I'm going to be."

Here's what some of the key players in the Brawley story have been up to:

Tawana Brawley, who has never publicly provided a detailed account of her experiences, attended Howard University from fall 1989 until spring 1992. Brawley has converted to the Muslim faith and has used the name Maryam Muhammad. In recent years she has worked at a hospital in the Washington, D.C., area.

Alton Maddox was suspended from practicing law for five years in 1994 after he refused to cooperate with a lawyers' disciplinary committee investigating his conduct throughout the Brawley matter.

C. Vernon Mason was disbarred for seven years in 1995 for fee-gouging in a series of unrelated cases. He is a student at New York Theological Seminary.

Summary: On the same Saturday in 1987 that Tawana Brawley was found covered with feces and handwritten racial epithets, Steven Pagones spent the afternoon hanging out with a cop friend. The former Dutchess County assistant district attorney now 36, married and the father of three children has been haunted by that day ever since. "Can you imagine? I've lived with this now for almost 10 years,"Pagones said. "And the scary thing is, I'm


By K.C. BAKER and MIKE CLAFFEY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Wednesday, September 8th 1999, 1:61AM

A suicidal man shot his Russian-immigrant girlfriend through the eye while they were having sex before killing himself with a bullet to the head, cops said.

The decaying, naked bodies of Elena Drill, 27, and her unidentified boyfriend were found yesterday in the bedroom of her plush Manhattan highrise, the principals in the apparent sex-murder-suicide.

Drill, who worked for a blue chip Wall Street investment bank, and the boyfriend were discovered about 10 a.m. after a neighbor reported a foul odor.

When police entered apartment 20-L at 235 W. 56th St., they found the naked couple, the man's body on top of Drill.

She had been shot in the eye, and he was shot in the head.

A gun was lying near the man's hand, police said.

The couple may have been dead for several days, police added.

Autopsies were being done to determine the exact cause and time of death.

Drill was a research assistant since June 1998 in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The job was described as a junior level professional position.

"Obviously we're shocked and saddened by the news of Elena Drill's death," said Jeanmarie McFadden, Morgan Stanley's chief spokeswoman.

A source at the firm described Drill as "strikingly attractive." She dated frequently, and colleagues thought that she might have been in the middle of a divorce, the source said.

The apartment was registered in Drill's name, and the boyfriend had been staying there on and off for the past six months, neighbors said.

The 44-story luxury tower, named Symphony House, has a swimming pool and health club. One-bedroom apartments start at $ 2,800 a month. Tenants include "Saturday Night Live" comic Colin Quinn.

The murder-suicide was the talk of the building yesterday, as neighbors, many of whom thought Drill was a model, said that the couple had a stormy relationship.

"I would hear them arguing when I walked to the elevator," said Maxi Ngoue, who lived two doors down on the 20th floor. "I would hear loud voices, but I never heard what they were talking about."

She said that the boyfriend often acted "bizarrely" and that he had seemed highly agitated the last time she saw him, about a week ago.

A building employee, who asked not to be identified, said the boyfriend had been paying most or all of Drill's rent.

More recently, the employee had seen him using a nearby pay phone, sobbing, "I love you."


8/29/2007 4:34 PM PDT by TMZ Staff

The Nick Hogan car crash gravely injured a US Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, returning just last October.The St. Petersburg Times reported today that John Graziano, Nick's friend and passenger, joined the corps after graduating in 2003, serving twice in Iraq. The marine is still in "very serious condition," and his health status "hasn't changed since he arrived" at the hospital early Sunday morning. One of the men who found Graziano at the scene was the brother of one of Graziano's best friends.Law enforcement sources tell TMZ -- God forbid -- worst case scenario, Nick Hogan could face charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, if there's proof that alcohol, excessive speeding or drag racing were involved. The maximum sentence is 15 years in prison. Witnesses told the Times that they saw Hogan's Toyota racing a Dodge Viper just before the crash.

Tags: Celebrity Justice, John Graziano, Nick Hogan

Summary: The Nick Hogan car crash gravely injured a US Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, returning just last October. The St. Petersburg Times reported…


From left: Conan Conaboy, Sanford Bookstaver, Madeleine Stowe, Father Rick Frechette and Mudcat Saunders

We're nearing the end of our trip and we head for Fr. Rick's and the

team's weekly visit to the General Hospital morgue.

We pull up and Fr. Rick, beside me, bows his head and clenches his eyes tightly in anticipation for a job he will never be used to. We're about to pull out as many bodies from the morgue's lockers as we can possibly carry in three trucks. It's a devotion the team performs because of their belief in all human dignity – where the dead are lost or forgotten with no one to claim them, Rick and his men retrieve their broken bodies and give them a proper burial.

I've joined the team before in this ritual. There's the narrow, gray hall with the overwhelming smell of death. It's inescapable and I have to physically grasp my legs to keep them from giving out.

Raphael and Conan open the first locker, bodies spill across the room, their limbs in all directions, resting atop one another. Each man and woman, some with IVs still in their veins, has a story we'll never know.

The babies are the toughest to take in. They rest there, unclaimed, no one to give them passage to the next world.

The men, hands gloved, begin singing a vivid Creole spiritual from deep in their lungs. And to combat the odor of decay, they light cigarettes and pour rum from a bottle into their mouths. Fr. Rick takes a drag. There's no other way to stay in these rooms without passing out. I abstain and hang on.

For two hours we work away, lifting bodies, placing them in clean linen, a new rosary on each chest, then zip their bags. The men beat a rhythm on the walls, singing, willing the dead to be lifted from this earth and sent to a better place. For incomprehensible reasons, I don't want our work to end.

There are two more lockers and it seems wrong to stop before each body is pulled away to safety. I think we've been there 20 minutes when, in fact, it's two hours. The final body, a man, muscular even in death, frozen in time, is dragged from this fearsome in-between place. Rick bends over his body, gives a blessing. We cover his graceful figure and slide him away. Hand to hand, he's lifted and placed onto the truck with the others.

In 15 short minutes, Sanford and I, unable to speak change our clothes and go to the living. There are 800 children at the Academy of Peace and Justice (the country's first free high school) and it's final exam time in the sparkling new building. We wait to see their faces, joyful and new, all in uniforms.

The clock strikes 11 and they pour out of their classrooms, triumphant and giddy. It's the end of the first semester in a rare free secondary school. I'm acutely aware that life and death and life, again, exist within seconds of each other and that, right here in this compound and outside its gates, all things converge. Events flood and merge, then separate. We walk through this sea of glorious faces – alive, flourishing and safe. They are the new day.

During the evening, Sanford, Mudcat and I go upstairs to the hospital wing where malnourished babies are treated. An infant boy lays in his crib, unconscious, his arms stretched rigid and wide, his breathing labored. I can't pick him up, so I place my hand on his little chest. I feel his bones and skin so fragile, as if he would dissolve into ash under my fingertips. He fights for each breath and all I can do is hope he feels a warm hand receiving each gasp.

Another baby cries and coughs, and I ask the Haitian nurse if I can pick her up. She smiles sweetly and allows me this moment. The little girl sputters then starts, releases a small cry, then gradually calms. I carry her to the window so she can look outside. There's a world out there, vibrant and waiting. I have hope she'll know it in time.

Stowe, surrounded by boys orphaned in the quake.Â Many have received care from Fr. Rick's hospital.

It's well past midnight and we're finally in bed. From my room, I hear Mudcat and Sanford chatting. The Virginian is wired. I somehow fall asleep, then awaken at 3 a.m. Mudcat has gotten up and goes outside. In the morning, I ask Mudcat if he awoke to smoke a cigarette? He shakes his head, starts to tell me he went to look up at the stars, then confesses, of the organization that cares for 900,000 people, "This place is a miracle. Tell me I'm crazy, but all the money in the world couldn't have created anything like this. There's power here that I've never felt anywhere else."

I don't know about things like God, but I've seen faith at work in surprising ways. That maybe we see the intangible by being with one another and reaching out to needful strangers, and by taking their strong hands. They rid us of our own aloneness and they give us much in return. I think of the dead in the morgue and of the living all around us and how they're woven together.

And to this, Fr. Rick writes me:

by this mystery is subtle

the bonds of the invisible world are very

to the people in the morgue in a real way

and you are giving them strength

to a deep reality and keeping you focused on it

and friendship and solidarity produce heaven

even in the most unbearable circumstance

Summary: The Revenge star shares the grim reality of her tasks in Haiti


Regina King: "The universe pays it forward"

From child sitcom star to movie star, Regina King now plays a tough detective fighting crime on the streets of L.A. on the hit drama "Southland." King recently won the NAACP award for outstanding actress on a drama series. She joins "CBS This Morning" co-hosts Gayle King and Erica Hill to dish about her career and her most important role -- that of a mother.

Summary: CBS News video: Eye on Iran - Just a day after Iran halted oil exports to the U.K. and France, U.N. inspectors are in Iran to look at its nuclear capabilities. Charlie Rose and Erica Hill spoke with nuclear policy expert Joseph Cirincione about next steps for Israel, the U.S. and Iran.


Judd Apatow and Lena Dunham both brought their love of story-telling to the series “Girls.”

PASADENA, Calif. — After scoring critical acclaim with her 2010 indie film, “Tiny Furniture,” Lena Dunham has turned her attention to the small screen and her new HBO series, “Girls,” which premieres Sunday at 10:30 p.m.

Documenting the trials and tribulations of four 20-something women in New York, Dunham, 25, created and writes, directs, and stars in “Girls” as the confused but comical Hannah Horvath. Dunham and Judd Apatow, a “Girls” executive producer, chatted with reporters recently at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.

Q. How close did you get to the Hannah character in real life?

Dunham: It’s closely based on my own experience of getting out of college and not having a sense of whether I would ever get to do the thing I wanted to do, and I was really miserable. I was working in a baby clothes store and just excited that I got free cookies in the afternoon. It was a really confusing, frustrating time, and I saw a lot of my friends going through the same thing, and it didn’t feel like it was being reflected back at us. And I’ve always been someone who feels better if I see what I’m going through in a movie.

Q. You give a nod to “Sex and the City” in the first episode. Were you a fan?

Dunham: I did grow up watching “Sex and the City.” I don’t think I thought I would make a “Sex and the City” show. I think I thought I would move back to New York and have a really elegant boyfriend and a really incredible shoe closet, and that was not the reality that I was greeted with.

Q. Some people might look at these characters and think they need to grow up. How do you make it so that viewers can feel that they’re moving in some sort of direction?

Dunham: I think we’ve all been really conscious of making sure that it’s clear that they’re trying their hardest and that they make mistakes, but they’re also working toward something. It’s a “two-steps-forward, one-step-back” situation. They do need to grow up. That’s what the show is about.

Apatow: I think all along we’ve thought that it’s important that you realize that it’s OK to be annoyed by them, that they’re making terrible mistakes. There’s a sense of self-entitlement. They’re immature, and it is every disaster that happens before you figure out your life.

Q. What comic sensibilities did you each bring to this project?

Apatow: I loved “Tiny Furniture.” I just saw the movie, and then I saw in the credits, “Oh, [Lena] did all of this, and that’s her family?” I’m a big fan of doing personal storytelling, so when we started this show the only thing that I preached, having worked on “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Freaks and Geeks,” was we only have 27 minutes, and we have to tell these stories. It’s a little more compact, and we have to get to it and have some fun along the way.

Dunham: I think you would be surprised to learn that a lot of what Judd brought to the show was . . . what people might think of as the most feminine content. And I feel like I just brought my desire to share my shame with the world and be comforted by how these personal experiences can feel really universal. And I love flawed female characters duking it out.

Summary: After scoring critical acclaim with her 2010 indie film “Tiny Funiture,” Lena Dunham has turned her attention to the small screen and her new HBO series “Girls,” which premieres Sunday at 10:30 p.m. Documenting the trials and tribulations of four twentysomething women in New York City, Dunham writes, directs, and stars as the confused but funny Hannah Horvath. Dunham and “Girls” producer Judd Apatow chatted with reporters recently at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.