Chris Morris for The Boston Globe

Plenty of Americans cheered from their sofas as they watched Gwen Jorgensen press ahead Saturday to win the gold medal in the triathlon at the Olympics. But executives at Boston asset manager Columbia Threadneedle Investments weren’t just rooting out of patriotic pride.

The company began sponsoring Jorgensen in 2014, a move that turned out to be a smart investment now that the 30-year-old accountant-turned-triathlete came home with the gold.

Jorgensen quickly points to her coach Jamie Turner and her husband Patrick Lemieux as major factors behind her success in Rio. (Lemieux gave up his career as a pro cyclist to help Jorgensen chase her Olympic dream.)

But she also credits her sponsors — beyond Columbia, others include Red Bull, Asics, and Oakley — for making it all possible.

“It allows me to live the lifestyle I live,” Jorgensen said of her sponsorships. “It allows me to pick the best coach in the world, and to be abroad [for much of the year].”

Leslie Walstrom, head of US marketing at Columbia, rearranged her Saturday to watch the race. She traded e-mails with other execs, including chief executive Ted Truscott, throughout the event, reacting to Jorgensen’s moves.

Jorgensen’s schedule for the fall is still coming together. Walstrom says she hopes the gold medal winner can squeeze in some time to visit an industry conference or two, to speak with Columbia clients, and meet with employees.

That said, Jorgensen still has plenty of racing on the horizon, including the ITU World Triathlon Championships in Cozumel next month and the TCSNew York City Marathon in November. Long-term, Jorgensen envisions another longtime dream: being a mom. And she doesn’t seem to completely rule out a return to accounting someday. But she offers this understatement when explaining that she’s far removed from that world now: “I don’t think I’m done with sports yet.” — JON CHESTO

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Wednesday put out a press release all but guaranteed to set the hearts of literary urbanists aflutter citywide.

It was a reading list, designed to spark ideas for Imagine Boston 2030, the citywide planning project Walsh launched last year. “Members of the mayor’s team” — if not necessarily Walsh himself — came up with 12 titles, plus an eight-book list for children. And they’re taking online votes for a few more.

Recommendations include J. Anthony Lukas’ busing-era classic “Common Ground” and Southie memoir “All Souls” by Michael Patrick MacDonald, a study of the South End’s Villa Victoria, by University of Chicago scholar Mario Luis Small, and “The Given Day”, because what’s a Boston book list without Dennis Lehane?

There’s some global fare, too, like “The Price of Inequality”, by Joseph Stiglitz, and urban sociology in the form of “Evicted”, by Harvard’s Matthew Desmond, which is so well-regarded in City Hall that Desmond has been brought in to talk with staff at the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Department of Neighborhood Development.

All these books will be stocked up at Boston Public Library branches, and Walsh, in a statement, urged Bostonians to drop by and pick up a few, to inform their thinking about what this city might look like in 15 years, and beyond.

“This reading list is another tool we’re using to drive engagement and ask people to think about Boston’s first citywide planning undertaking in 50 years,” he said.

Still, “Make Way for Ducklings” aside, there’s some heavy reading here. Indeed, it might take until 2030 to get through the whole list, especially “The Power Broker”, Robert Caro’s epic biography of Robert Moses, the behind-the-scenes master who built much of modern New York City. It clocks in at 1,166 pages in paperback, with 80 more of notes.

By the time you’re done, you might be ready to work at the BRA yourself. — TIM LOGAN

A half-dozen murals that once hung in MIT’s Sloan business school might be making their way to the Ohio hometown of famed children’s author Robert McCloskey, who helped paint the towering artworks.

The paintings were installed in the late 1930s when the Sloan building was still the headquarters of the Lever Brothers Co., but came down in 2013 when the building underwent major renovations.

They’ve been in storage since, despite efforts to find a new home. But a Globe story in July, detailing the paintings’ pivotal role in the creation of McCloskey’s masterwork, Make Way for Ducklings, kick-started efforts by city officials in Hamilton, Ohio, to get ahold of them.

McCloskey was largely unknown and living in New York when he took an assistant’s job on the mural project. The idea for “Ducklings” took root while McCloskey was here, and he returned to New York with a draft of the book.

Earlier this month, the Hamilton City Council formally authorized efforts to transfer the orphaned murals — which depict scenes of Depression-era Boston — to the city, home to a McCloskey museum.

City officials are now working out the details with MIT, and trying to raise $100,000 from private sources to pay for the project. “That should be enough money to get the murals back to Hamilton and begin the restoration process,” said city manager Joshua Smith. — CURT WOODWARD

Summary: Plenty of Americans cheered from their sofas as they watched Gwen Jorgensen press ahead Saturday to win the gold medal in the triathlon at the Olympics. Among them, executives at Columbia Threadneedle.


The police officer who shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week has been charged with first-degree manslaughter over the unarmed man’s death.

Officer Betty Shelby was formally charged by Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, after aerial and dashcam footage of the shooting showed the victim walking away with his hands in the air, according to the Associated Press.

Officer Betty Shelby (left) has been charged over the death of Terence Crutcher. (AAP)

Selby’s attorney, Scott Wood, has said the victim was not following commands, and that the officer opened fire when Crutcher began to reach into his SUV window, as she believed he was reaching for a weapon.

Mr Wood also said his client believed Crutcher was acting like he was under the influence of synthetic drug PCP, which police later found in his car.

The victim’s family vehemently deny he posed any threat to officers.

No gun was found at the scene.

Protesters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (AAP)

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016


Harvard University administrators and union officials representing striking campus dining hall workers met separately with mediators Friday afternoon, but the two sides failed to reach a deal that would end a three-day work stoppage.

The 750 workers — who are demanding higher, year-round pay and a freeze on increases to health insurance premiums — will now continue to picket into the weekend, including at Saturday’s Harvard-Cornell University football game and Sunday’s HONK! Festival of Activist Street Bands in Somerville, according to union leaders.

Harvard, meanwhile, warned students that only limited dining hall service would be available this weekend, as managers, other Harvard employees, and temporary agency workers scramble to fill the shifts abandoned by the strikers.

Representatives of Harvard and the union, UNITE HERE Local 26, each said they will meet with mediators again on Saturday. The talks are being brokered by MIT professor emeritus Robert McKersie and Harvard professor Lawrence Katz.

A Harvard spokeswoman declined to comment on Friday’s negotiations. The university has previously argued that it already compensates workers generously. Earlier this week, workers rejected Harvard’s offer of an increase in average wages from about $22 an hour to $24 an hour over five years; a modified health insurance plan that would reduce costs for lower-income workers; and a summer stipend for longtime employees.

Brian Lang, the union’s president, said in an interview that no progress was made on Friday, with discussions comprised mostly of briefing the mediators on the workers’ demands: a base annual wage of $35,000 and no increases in health insurance premiums. He said the strikers — who are receiving $200 a week from a union fund during the strike — were resolute and prepared to stay off the job as long as necessary

“To us, at this point, it’s all a matter of Harvard developing the will to settle this,” he said. “We know they have the means.”

Harvard students, Lang said, largely support the workers, a fact he attributed to their personal relationships with the workers and their interest in the larger national discussion about income inequality. He blasted administrators at the wealthy school for seeking “more profits.”

“There’s a contradiction and a struggle going on within Harvard right now that this strike is highlighting,” Lang said. “There’s the human-values side of the organization and then there’s the administration. I’m confident the human-values side is going to win out.”

Harvard’s winter and summer breaks, when most of the dining hall employees go unpaid, are key sticking points in the labor fight. Workers are unable to collect unemployment during those periods. The union is also asking for contract language to form a task force to deal with issues of racism, Lang said.

Jorge Mendes, who has worked in Harvard dining halls for 15 years, said Friday that workers struggle to find other jobs during school breaks because employers are less likely to hire for the short periods of time between semesters. The possibility of higher health care costs further compounds the problem, he said.

“What are we going to bring home if we have to worry about paying the doctor?” he said from the picket line.

Some employees became alarmed Friday when their weekly paychecks were not deposited on time. However, a Harvard spokeswoman said the problem was due to power outages at a Florida data center caused by Hurricane Matthew, and that the issue was resolved before noon.

Several student groups and faculty members have offered their support to the striking workers. Outside the main freshman dining hall on Friday, students brought pastries and apples to the protesting workers who usually feed them. The students have been bringing food and coffee regularly, according to the workers.

The strike is the first at Harvard since 1983, when food service workers held a one-day work stoppage.

Summary: The union’s president said the workers are prepared to strike through the long holiday weekend and well beyond that if necessary.


Photo: Ezra Shaw, Getty Images

SANTA CLARA, CA - SEPTEMBER 12: Quinton Patton #11 of the San Francisco 49ers runs with the ball after a catch against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on September 12, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

SANTA CLARA, CA - SEPTEMBER 12: Quinton Patton #11 of the San Francisco 49ers runs with the ball after a catch against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on September 12, 2016 in

Trent Baalke’s 2013 draft class short on impact players

In April, as 49ers general manager Trent Baalke was being questioned about his recent drafts, he cautioned against a rush to judgment.

Baalke said college players were leaving school earlier than their predecessors and entering the NFL younger and less polished. In addition, he noted that many prospects played in systems, such as the increasingly popular spread offense, that don’t have NFL-level sophistication.

His message: Be patient, folks, before writing off his recent draft picks.

“I think Bill Walsh said it a long time ago — two years. Give them two full years,” Baalke said. “Well, now I don’t think it’s two years: Now I think it’s three years. When you look at a majority of players, how many first-round picks come into the NFL now and make an immediate impact? How many second-round picks? League-wide? Just start breaking that down.”

Given Baalke’s timeline, it’s now more than fair to start breaking down his 2013 draft, which consists of players who have been in the NFL for three-plus seasons. Three years ago, Baalke selected 11 players, including four in the top 100, and their contributions during this season’s 1-6 start help explain why he’s become the primary target for frustrated fans.

Baalke’s page on Wikipedia has been vandalized so often this month that Wikipedia put a temporary ban on edits last week. On Monday, NinersFans.com reported that a plane carrying an anti-Baalke banner (#FireTrent) will fly over Levi’s Stadium before the 49ers’ next game, against the Saints on Nov. 6. The flyover was made possible by a GoFundMe.com campaign by fans.

The news came on the heels of the 49ers’ sixth straight loss, 34-17 to Tampa Bay, in which the five remaining players from the 2013 draft class were on the 46-man roster: safety Eric Reid (first round), outside linebacker Tank Carradine (second round), tight end Vance McDonald (second round), wide receiver Quinton Patton (fourth round) and defensive tackle Quinton Dial (fifth round).

Of that quintet, Reid, a four-year starter in the midst of a down season, and Dial, a 28-game starter who was the 157th overall pick, could be safely classified as solid selections.

The others? McDonald, Carradine and Patton entered 2016 as disappointments, but it could be argued that circumstances had held them back. However, they’ve failed to change perceptions this season, despite having prime opportunities to do so.

•Carradine had legitimate reasons for his invisibility (39 tackles, four sacks) since he was selected No. 40 overall. In 2013, he didn’t play because of a torn ACL he suffered in college. And for most of the next two seasons he played defensive tackle, a position for which he was ill-suited.

Late in 2015, the 49ers moved Carradine to outside linebacker, a spot that more closely mirrored his defensive-end duties at Florida State, and the move appeared inspired. In the preseason, he collected 10 tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hits and, as a result, earned a modest one-year contract extension in early September.

With outside linebacker Aaron Lynch serving a season-opening, four-game suspension, Carradine had a chance to fill a pass-rushing void, but his disappointing season (six tackles, no sacks) bottomed out in Week 7: Carradine, who was healthy, didn’t play a defensive snap.

•McDonald had provided unreliable hands and modest production (40 catches) in his first three seasons, but he entered this year as the Week 1 starter for the first time in his career.

With Vernon Davis gone, however, he’s had just eight catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns in five games (he missed two with a hip injury). In Week 7, he had one catch for 24 yards and a drop on six targets.

McDonald, the fourth tight end selected in 2013, has the 10th-most receptions among the tight ends in his draft class.

•Patton’s first three seasons included just 36 catches, but limited snaps.

However, Michael Crabtree is now with the Raiders, Anquan Boldin is playing for the Lions, and Patton hasn’t produced much (19 catches, 187 yards) in his first season as a starter. Patton hasn’t shown the strength to consistently beat press coverage, or the speed to run away from defensive backs.

The bottom line: Baalke had 18 draft picks from 2012-13 — nine in the first four rounds — and only two of the five who remain on the roster can currently be deemed decent picks.

What about his 33 picks since 2014? Nineteen are on the 53-man roster and six are on injured reserve or the practice squad, but they’ve yet to play the three full seasons Baalke believes is needed to properly assess them.

The obvious issue for Baalke, of course, is there’s no guarantee that he’ll be around to see how those players develop.

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch

1st round: S Eric Reid (top right) — Pro Bowl alternate in 2013 has 7 interceptions in 54 starts (none since 2014)

2nd round: TE Vance McDonald — Has 48 catches, 617 yards and 5 TDs in 42 games; DL Tank Carradine — career totals: 4 sacks, 1 start, 45 tackles

3rd round: OLB Corey Lemonier — waived in September after 1 sack in 42 games

4th round: WR Quinton Patton (lower right) — has 55 catches, 659 yards and 1 TD in 33 games; RB Marcus Lattimore — retired in 2014 because of college knee injury; never played in NFL

5th round: DL Quinton Dial — No. 157 pick has made 28 starts; 111 career tackles and 4.5 sacks

6th round: LB Nick Moody — core special-teamer for two seasons; not in NFL

7th round: QB B.J. Daniels — waived in 2013; not in NFL; OT Carter Bykowski — signed off practice squad in 2014; on Atlanta’s practice squad; CB Marcus Cooper — waived in 2013; has 6 interceptions in 16-start career with Chiefs and Cardinals

Summary: [...] he noted that many prospects played in systems, such as the increasingly popular spread offense, that don’t have NFL-level sophistication.  When you look at a majority of players, how many first-round picks come into the NFL now and make an immediate impact?  Given Baalke’s timeline, it’s now more than fair to start breaking down his 2013 draft, which consists of players who have been in the NFL for three-plus seasons.  The news came on the heels of the 49ers’ sixth straight loss, 34-17 to Tampa Bay, in which the five remaining players from the 2013 draft class were on the 46-man roster: safety Eric Reid (first round), outside linebacker Tank Carradine (second round), tight end Vance McDonald (second round), wide receiver Quinton Patton (fourth round) and defensive tackle Quinton Dial (fifth round).  Of that quintet, Reid, a four-year starter in the midst of a down season, and Dial, a 28-game starter who was the 157th overall pick, could be safely classified as solid selections.  [...] for most of the next two seasons he played defensive tackle, a position for which he was ill-suited.  Late in 2015, the 49ers moved Carradine to outside linebacker, a spot that more closely mirrored his defensive-end duties at Florida State, and the move appeared inspired.  In the preseason, he collected 10 tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hits and, as a result, earned a modest one-year contract extension in early September.  With outside linebacker Aaron Lynch serving a season-opening, four-game suspension, Carradine had a chance to fill a pass-rushing void, but his disappointing season (six tackles, no sacks) bottomed out in Week 7:  McDonald had provided unreliable hands and modest production (40 catches) in his first three seasons, but he entered this year as the Week 1 starter for the first time in his career.  With Vernon Davis gone, however, he’s had just eight catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns in five games (he missed two with a hip injury).  Nineteen are on the  53-man roster and six are on injured reserve or the practice squad, but they’ve yet to play the three full seasons Baalke believes is needed to properly assess them.  2nd round: TE Vance McDonald — Has 48 catches, 617 yards and 5 TDs in 42 games; DL Tank Carradine — career totals:  4th round: WR Quinton Patton (lower right) — has 55 catches, 659 yards and 1 TD in 33 games; RB Marcus Lattimore — retired in 2014 because of college knee injury; never played in NFL  7th round: QB B.J. Daniels — waived in 2013; not in NFL; OT Carter Bykowski — signed off practice squad in 2014; on Atlanta’s practice squad; CB Marcus Cooper — waived in 2013; has 6 interceptions in 16-start career with Chiefs and Cardinals


A mentally-ill man who murdered a NSW police officer is expected to find out if his minimum 26-year prison sentence will be decreased, with a judgment due to be handed down in the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Mitchell Barbieri's lawyer, Janet Manuell SC, has argued the jail term was manifestly excessive because the sentencing judge failed to properly take into consideration his mental illness and that his mother was handed a lighter sentence for the 2012 murder.

The court has heard Barbieri was sharing mental delusions with his mother, Fiona, when he stabbed Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson twice in the chest with a hunting knife during a siege at the pair's rural property in Oakville.

During an appeal hearing in June, Ms Maneull argued Justice Robert Hulme had erred in 2014 when he failed to find Barbieri had shown remorse, despite him writing a letter to the family that was never sent.

The Crown, however, said Justice Hulme had adequately addressed Barbieri's mental illness, considering he had pleaded guilty to murder.

They also disagreed the disparity between his sentence and that of his mother, who was given a non-parole period of six-and-a-half years for manslaughter, was "too much".

A 2014 sentencing hearing was told Fiona Barbieri suffered paranoid schizophrenia and before Insp Anderson's death had lived with her son in squalor with no electricity.

The policeman's brother Warwick Anderson and other family want the murderer's lengthy sentence to remain unchanged in recognition of the dangers faced by officers in the line of duty.

Barbieri's matter is listed for judgment on Monday morning.

Summary: A man who murdered a decorated NSW policeman with a hunting knife in 2012 is due to find out if an appeal against the length of his sentence is successful.


Fire crews on Russell Island off Brisbane are confident they have a large grassfire under control despite several spot fires and flare-ups.

The blaze broke out about midday on Thursday and threatened about 60 homes, coming within 20 metres of some properties, forcing residents to leave.

One local man who joined fire fighting efforts said it was a very close call for many homes on Thursday.

"If there'd been any wind, we would have lost the lot," he told the Seven Network.

About 25 locals spent the night in an evacuation centre.

All but three had returned home by Friday morning, Redland City Council said in a statement.

The fires are under control and burning safely within containment lines, but the council says the threat is not over, with another hot day expected on Friday.

Crews are dealing with flare-ups around the middle of the island near Centre Road to Rampart Drive.

Another fire burning in the inaccessible Melomy's Wetlands, at the southern end of the island, is also being watched closely.

"Fires can burn for a long time underground. We're keeping a close eye on that," Redlands Mayor Karen Williams told ABC radio.

She said there'd been no reports of any injuries or damage to homes, and said it would be up to investigators to determine if the fires were deliberately lit or not.

"We have a very resilient and prepared community," she said.

"We're encouraging people to remain very much alert ... and have their emergency plans at hand."

Summary: A grassfire fire that threatened 60 homes on Russell Island, off Brisbane, is now contained and properties are no longer under threat.


On the outskirts of Tianjin, membership of the exclusive Goldin Metropolitan, China’s largest polo club, is by invitation only. Increasingly, wealthy Chinese parents are choosing polo and other equestrian activities for their children as a way to bolster their credentials for admission to top-tier universities in the US and UK. Photographer Kevin Frayer was given access to the club

Summary: On the outskirts of Tianjin, membership of the exclusive Goldin Metropolitan polo club is by invitation only. Photographer Kevin Frayer goes inside


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You probably don’t give much thought to the unused medications taking up space in your medicine cabinet. But those leftover pills are far from harmless.

Taking them incorrectly or accidentally could land someone in the emergency room or even prove deadly. Of particular concern are leftover narcotic painkillers such as Oxycontin, Percocet, and Vicodin.

Here are several ways to safely get rid of unwanted and expired medication year-round.

Return it to a pharmacy

Many drugstores, hospitals, clinics, narcotic treatment programs, and long-term-care centers will take leftover and expired medication any time of the year. Some locations might also offer mail-back programs.

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To find an authorized program near you, go to DisposeMyMeds.org or DEAdiversion.usdoj.gov and search for “drug disposal.” Or call the DEA’s Registration Call Center at 800-882-9539.

Walgreens has made this especially convenient by offering self-service kiosks, which the chain introduced earlier this year.

The kiosks are free, anonymous, and secure: Simply place unwanted and expired medication — including controlled substances — in the top slot and walk away.

Dispose of it at home

If your pharmacy won’t accept your medication and drop-off at an authorized location is not an option, you can toss most pills in your household trash (with the exception of narcotic painkillers), provided you take a few precautions.

First, remove the drug from its original container and mix it with a substance that makes it less recognizable, such as coffee grounds, kitty litter, or sawdust. Then place the mixture in a sealable plastic bag or other container that won’t leak and put it in the trash. As an added precaution, before you discard the prescription bottle, remove the label entirely or scratch away the personal information.

Recent data suggest that, when it comes to addressing accidental or intentional misuse, there’s a lot of work to do. In a survey of people who were recently prescribed opioids, published in JAMA Internal Medicine in June, 60 percent of respondents reported holding on to the drugs for future use. Almost half said they weren’t aware of how to properly store or dispose of opioids.

Leftover prescription painkillers can be fatal if ingested by someone in your home, including children, so they shouldn’t be tossed in the trash, Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Lyndsay Meyer says.

For example, Meyer said, “Too much fentanyl can cause severe breathing problems and lead to death in babies, children, pets, and even adults, especially those who have not been prescribed the medicine.”

The best way to handle leftover narcotic painkillers, such as fentanyl, hydrocodone (Vicodin and generic), meperidine (Demerol and generic), morphine, or oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet, and generic), is to take them to a pharmacy or authorized take-back location.

But if you can’t get there, leftovers of those and other controlled substances listed on the FDA’s website can be flushed down the sink or toilet, Meyer says.


Wednesday, October 21th 1998, 2:05AM

Christopher J. Georges, 33, a reporter in the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal, died Tuesday at Lenox Hill Hospital of complications from lupus. Georges, who lived in Washington, was born in Brooklyn and graduated from Poly Prep High School. He earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard.

He had been a reporter for The Washington Post, an editor for the Washington Monthly magazine and an investigative reporter for CNN.

He is survived by his parents, Mary and Jerry Georges of Manhattan, and two sisters, Gigi Georges and Stephanie Georges Comfort.

Visiting hours will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at Nagel Funeral Home, 352 E. 87th St., and tomorrow at the Greek Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, 319 E. 74th St., before a Mass of Christian Burial, which will be said at noon.

Burial will be at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Donations may be made to the Christopher J. Georges Journalism Scholarship Fund c/o The Wall Street Journal, Suite 800, 1025 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

Summary: CHRISTOPHER J. GEORGES Christopher J. Georges, 33, a reporter in the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal, died Tuesday at Lenox Hill Hospital of complications from lupus. Georges, who lived in Washington, was born in Brooklyn and graduated from Poly Prep High School. He earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard. He had been a reporter for The Washington Post, an editor for the Washington Monthly magazine and an investigative reporter for


BY JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER

Wednesday, April 12th 2006, 8:21AM

The freaky poster for the movie "Silent Hill," showing a girl with no mouth, is designed to get people talking.

It's also got them drawing.

Around the city, people are pulling out pens, markers and even lipstick (petal pink, at the 86th and Central Park West subway station) and filling in the child's blank expression.

Seems New Yorkers can't resist putting on a happy face. Everything from simple smileys to huge, gap-toothed grins to O-shaped pouts have appeared on the mouthless mug of 11-year-old actress Jodelle Ferland, who co-stars in the film, opening next Friday.

Some creative types have attached stickers; others have added pictures and puns naughty enough to make a bystander blush.

There's more going on here than outlaw artwork. The artists might unconsciously be leaving telltale clues about themselves. "The mouth expresses a whole range of emotions," says Manhattan psychotherapist Doe Lang. "As such, the drawings represent their feelings about how safe it is to smile."

A tiny mouth - like the sippy-straw- size "o" added to another poster on the upper West Side - might indicate a "tightly buttoned-up person," says Lang. "But someone who draws an enormous Julia Roberts-size smile is apt to feel like the world is a friendly place."

The people behind "Silent Hill" are feeling less than friendly toward the amateur Picassos.

"We're not happy about the fact that people are drawing on the poster, because other people then don't get to see it clean," says Marc Weinstock, a vice president at Sony Pictures. "But we are glad they're not dismissing it. It's arresting. People can't ignore it."

Indeed. Beyond graffiti, there's another sign that the "Silent Hill" poster has registered. A version of it on gossip site Defamer.com had Katie Holmes' face superimposed, along with the title "Silent Birth" - an allusion to Holmes' rumored labor and delivery plans.

Time was, when you wanted people's attention, you whispered. Now, apparently, it's silence that's golden.

Summary: By JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER T he freaky poster for the movie "Silent Hill,"showing a girl with no mouth, is designed to get people talking. It's also got them drawing. Around the city, people are pulling out pens, markers and even lipstick (petal pink, at the 86th and Central Park West subway station) and filling in the child's blank expression. Seems New Yorkers can't resist putting on a happy face. Everything from


Young married women in Asia have emerged as a fast-growing new group of AIDS sufferers despite remaining faithful to their husbands.

Infection rates are increasing at alarming rates among the group who were once considered at low-risk of infection but have been passed the disease by promiscuous partners, the United Nations and health workers said on Thursday.

In some Asian cultures including Thailand, extra-marital affairs for men are considered the norm while women lack knowledge of birth control and are unable in male-dominated societies to demand that their partner use a condom.

"Young women in this region are generally ill-equipped to protect themselves from the virus," said Lucita Lazo, the UN Women's Fund (UNIFEM) regional programme director for East and Southeast Asia.

"What used to be a disease that is prevalent among so-called high-risk populations ... is now among the low-risk population, and that means average, ordinary, monogamous relationships," she said during a visit to a women's HIV-AIDS shelter on the outskirts of Bangkok.

"I never really thought it would happen to me. I was not promiscuous and I never used drugs. It was my fate"Lek,HIV-infected woman

"It's not just sex workers, it's normal housewives faithful to their husbands who are picking up the epidemic. It's going into the average household."

Lek, a widow at the shelter, said she was pregnant with her second child when a doctor told her she had contracted the virus.

"I was infected by my husband" four years ago, said the 31-year-old, who said she had been aware of her husband's visits to sex workers but was never able to convince him to use a condom when he had sex with her. He died of an AIDS-related illness soon afterwards.

"He felt remorse, but there was nothing to say because we both felt that we were going to die," said Lek, who used a pseudonym when talking with reporters.

"I never really thought it would happen to me," she added. "I was not promiscuous and I never used drugs," she said. "It was my fate."

Last year the UN reported a dramatic difference in the number of men and women living with HIV. Globally, some 7.3 million women aged 15 to 24 were HIV positive, compared with 4.5 million young men, according to its figures.

Some 4.5 million young men and 7.3 million women are infected

In Thailand, the highest estimate for HIV prevalence among men is 1.33%, while for women it is two per cent.

UNIFEM's warning comes ahead of the 15th International AIDS Conference which is expected to draw up to 20,000 delegates, including world leaders, to the Thai capital from 11 to 16 July.

It has announced an expansion of programmes focusing on youth and women.

Lazo said cultures in Asia, where women often hold a lower status in society, had significant hurdles to overcome, particularly the imbalance of power between the genders.

"The culture of patriarchy, the culture of silence, the cultural taboos have to be addressed more systematically now," she said.

Women were expected to be virgins for their partners and not supposed to seek out sex education to prevent infection.

Maytinee Bhongsvej, executive director of the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women (APSW) which runs the women's shelter, said the government needed to take a new approach to fight the disease.

"Unless linkages between HIV and gender relations are better recognised, I think it will be difficult to make progress," she said.


By Pernilla Cedenheim and Samantha McIntyre

Update Sunday October 16, 2011 08:00 PM EDT Originally posted Sunday October 16, 2011 09:15 AM EDT

Bradley Cooper behind the wheel on Oct. 15

was seen in Los Angeles Saturday with a woman paparazzi say is

and who our exclusive photos reveal to be a woman who sure looks an awful lot like the

A source close to Lopez says the two spent time together on Saturday. Reps for both did not respond for comment.

This isn't the first time Lopez, 42 has been seen with the

star, 37. The pair had

at Per Se in New York City but quickly asserted that the meeting was nothing more than just business – but was it?

"After their date in New York, Bradley and Jennifer stayed in touch," says a source close to Lopez.

The source also says: "She does like his attention, and it makes her feel good that he seems so into her. She has a fun time with Bradley and he makes her laugh."

Adds another source: "She likes him."

Summary: A woman who sure looks like the Idol judge is seen with the Hangover star


It's an uncharacteristically cold Sunday night in October, yet on an otherwise empty street in Orinda, diners are spilling out of Alekos Cafe. I'm quick to join them -- the aroma of Greek cooking is irresistible.

The whole restaurant barely fits a pint-sized kitchen, a counter and three tables; four more tables line the front walk. An eclectic mix of framed art and photographs adorn a papered wall resembling ancient Grecian architecture, and blue sponge-printed tablecloths add a splash of color.

The hanging fake grape vines and copper trinkets feel a bit tacky, but the overall ambience is comfortable and inviting. The crowded space means that diners talk to each other, share menu suggestions and savor the food -- or they give up on getting a table and get the food to go.

A place this small dispenses with formal table service; two people behind the counter run the show. They're quick and efficient, and are happy to answer questions, or let you hang out by the counter to watch them grill.

More often than not, these roles are played by Basma and Azmi Masarweh, a couple from the Middle East who last year bought the restaurant from Alexander Gailas, who remains a frequent visitor. The Masarwehs focus on traditional Greek dishes, supplementing the menu with Middle Eastern- and Mediterranean- inspired twists.

Appetizers stick to Greek tradition. I loved the melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant salad, $5.95). Topped with diced tomatoes and onions, the flavor is pure and the texture creamy. It was delicious scooped up on warm pita.

The pita bread is not homemade, but it's soft and chewy, and is used as an accompaniment throughout the menu. I especially liked it in its most basic form, an appetizer of triangles served warm with a garlicky tzatziki dip ($3. 50).

Also satisfying are the fasolia gigantes ($3.50). The buttery beans are dressed in lemon and olive oil, served cold with another salad of tomatoes and red onions. My only complaint was that I would have preferred them at room temperature, if not warm.

Alekos Cafe also does a good version of Greek salad ($5.95), and they do it well. A balsamic- and oregano-based vinaigrette nicely offsets the pungent feta on crisp mixed greens. The calamari salad ($6.25) adds a pile of well- prepared calamari to the mix, a refreshing change from the rubbery calamari so common on these sorts of salads.

However, I was less impressed with the avgolemono soup ($3.25). This traditional lemon chicken soup uses egg as a thickener, but here, the taste was invasive.

The rest of the menu features pita wraps, sandwiches and entrees. The main difference between wraps and sandwiches, aside from the fillings, is a slightly thinner pita. The Greek salad is used as the base for these, complete with one or two other main ingredients, and often tzatziki sauce to finish.

The nicoise wrap ($5.95) is a standout, with chunky flakes of Genova tuna striking a good balance between the feta and Greek dressing. It's a wonderful option for lunch, much better than the hortopita ($5.95), a roasted eggplant- feta combination in which none of the flavors shine.

I'm a huge fan of falafel, but I'm also a stickler for texture. Too often, the insides are dry and the falafel lacks a crusty exterior. That's not the case here. Alekos has a winning rendition, tiny pucks of crispy and moist falafel snug in a warm pita ($5.95), dripping with the tangy tzatziki. I'd go back for this sandwich alone.

Entrees are a great value, topping out at $9.50. Most are served with Greek rice and excellent grilled vegetables -- red peppers, eggplant and zucchini -- cooked just enough to showcase their fresh flavors.

The cafe's moussaka ($7.25) is one of the better versions I've had, with tender layers of meat and eggplant, scented with oregano. The thin layer of béchamel on top was a touch overcooked, but the dish is otherwise light and complex.

I was thoroughly impressed with the prawns Corfu ($9.50). I'm always a little cautious when ordering a seafood ingredient that only appears once on a large menu. But the large prawns were succulent and fresh, baked in a ceramic dish and ensconced in a robust tomato-based feta sauce.

On the other hand, the Spartan piato ($7.50), a combination of grilled chicken souvlaki and Greek sausage, didn't match up. The oregano-flavored chicken was fine, but the sausage was dry and bland. Unlike the other selections, there was nothing particularly outstanding about this entree.

If you want dessert, chances are you'll end up with baklava. Even though the menu lists four desserts, the pastry (a good version, from the Oasis bakery) was all that was available on most visits. One night, the kitchen had prepared rice pudding ($2.25), slightly undercooking the rice but flavoring it pleasantly with cinnamon.

But aside from dessert, this tiny Greek cafe has it all -- excellent value, satisfying food and efficient service. Just be prepared to take it with you -- snagging a table is no easy feat.

Summary: Greek cuisine at Alekos Cafe making a hit  The whole restaurant barely fits a pint-sized kitchen, a counter and three tables; four more tables line the front walk.  An eclectic mix of framed art and photographs adorn a papered wall resembling ancient Grecian architecture, and blue sponge-printed tablecloths add a splash of color.  The hanging fake grape vines and copper trinkets feel a bit tacky, but the overall ambience is comfortable and inviting.  The crowded space means that diners talk to each other, share menu suggestions and savor the food -- or they give up on getting a table and get the food to go.  A place this small dispenses with formal table service; two people behind the counter run the show.  Topped with diced tomatoes and onions, the flavor is pure and the texture creamy.  The pita bread is not homemade, but it's soft and chewy, and is used as an accompaniment throughout the menu.  The buttery beans are dressed in lemon and olive oil, served cold with another salad of tomatoes and red onions.  A balsamic- and oregano-based vinaigrette nicely offsets the pungent feta on crisp mixed greens.  The calamari salad ($6.25) adds a pile of well- prepared calamari to the mix, a refreshing change from the rubbery calamari so common on these sorts of salads.  The rest of the menu features pita wraps, sandwiches and entrees.  The nicoise wrap ($5.95) is a standout, with chunky flakes of Genova tuna striking a good balance between the feta and Greek dressing.  Most are served with Greek rice and excellent grilled vegetables -- red peppers, eggplant and zucchini -- cooked just enough to showcase their fresh flavors.  The cafe's moussaka ($7.25) is one of the better versions I've had, with tender layers of meat and eggplant, scented with oregano.  The thin layer of bÃ©chamel on top was a touch overcooked, but the dish is otherwise light and complex.  [...] the large prawns were succulent and fresh, baked in a ceramic dish and ensconced in a robust tomato-based feta sauce.  [...] the Spartan piato ($7.50), a combination of grilled chicken souvlaki and Greek sausage, didn't match up.  Even though the menu lists four desserts, the pastry (a good version, from the Oasis bakery) was all that was available on most visits.  [...] aside from dessert, this tiny Greek cafe has it all -- excellent value, satisfying food and efficient service.  2 Theater Square, Suite 105 (next to the Orinda movie theater), Orinda  Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous.


Lindsay Lohan Arrested Allegedly Fled Accident Scene

Lindsay is telling friends she had no idea she hit anybody and it wasn't until she came out and got arrested that she knew anything was going on.

As for the story about one of the passengers in her SUV getting out of the car and checking for damages, she says it never happened. Nobody ever got out of the car.

Lohan is calling the incident "really fishy" because the man didn't appear to have any visible injuries and feels she's the victim of a set up. She's not going to let the incident go and is planning on fighting it to the end.

of the Lindsay accident appears to show her accuser was exaggerating.

-- Lindsay's accuser says she was

was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident early this morning after allegedly clipping a pedestrian in downtown Manhattan ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Lindsay was pulling in to park her Porsche Cayenne near the Dream Hotel in downtown NYC when -- at a very low speed -- she allegedly hit the knee of a 30-something year old guy. That was around shortly after midnight.

We're told one of Lindsay's passengers in the SUV got out and checked the vehicle for damage, and then LiLo and co. went inside the hotel.

We're told someone called police while Lindsay was inside ... and when she walked out of the hotel -- around 2:30AM ET -- officers arrested her.

As Lindsay was taken into custody she frantically screamed, "Call my dad! Call my dad!"

According to our sources ... Lindsay was taken to the station, fingerprinted, photographed and booked for leaving the scene of an accident -- a misdemeanor -- and then released with a desk appearance ticket ... meaning she did not have to pay bail before release.

We're told the alleged victim was hospitalized ... however, he was not knocked down or dragged, and didn't have any visible injuries.

This arrest could absolutely trigger a probation violation in Lindsay's jewelry theft case because one of the conditions of probation is she OBEY ALL LAWS.

-- the judge in the jewelry theft case -- could haul Lindsay's butt into court if there's probable cause to believe she committed a crime.

Summary: 6:00 AM PT -- Lindsay is telling friends she had no idea she hit anybody and it wasn't until she came out and got arrested that she knew anything was…


With hundreds of automotive journalists huddled in the lobby of Cobo Center on 15 January, Huang Xiangdong, vice president of Guangzhou Automotive Group (GAC), started the companyâs first appearance at the Detroit auto show with a short apology.

“We underestimated”, Huang began, “but this booth’s place is much better than any others, and in a more noticeable location.” Three cheers for silver linings.

GAC, however, needn’t have apologised about its booth, which contained two production models and one concept car. Based in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, GAC has yet to stake out territory in the North American market, but is looking to expand its global presence, according to Huang.

Hardly a fly-by-night upstart, GAC was in Detroit partially to announce the signing of preliminary agreements with the jointly operated Chrysler and Fiat to build their vehicles in China. To add some gravitas, Huang welcomed Jeep president Mike Manley to join him and GAC President Qinghong Zeng during his presentation.

“Our first participation in the Detroit show indicates GAC’s steps toward globalization,” he said.

GAC’s Trumpchi 4WD Hybrid is the first all-wheel-drive hybrid sedan produced by a domestic Chinese brand. The Trumpchi GS5 BEV, a battery-electric SUV, pilfers styling from the Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester to reasonably good effect, while deriving power from a 35-kilowatt-hour battery pack that – via a meaty 18-kilowatt charger – can recharge in approximately two hours. The third vehicle on display, the NEV E-Jet concept, is a sculpted, extended-range hybrid electric sedan with exterior styling that references everything from Ford’s Evos concept to Hyundai’s HCD-14 Genesis, unveiled here on Monday.

The Chinese auto industry has officially exhibited in Detroit since 2005, when Geely, which would later purchase Volvo Cars from Ford, entered the show. Other Chinese companies have presented here, perhaps most memorably in 2008, when BYD granted Matt Hardigree of Jalopnik a ride across the convention centre floor.

But where in past years Chinese manufacturers’ conferences felt like sideshows, even when staged on the main convention-centre floor, Guangzhou’s presence felt like the real thing.

Summary: In its first presentation at the Detroit auto show, Chinese manufacturer Guangzhou demonstrated it might eventually be a significant player.


Of course, there are also times when saying agreeing is critical. After all, Buffett didn’t advise saying vetoing everything. So how can you say ‘no’ gracefully and when is it important to say ‘yes’ with enthusiasm? And is ‘no’ really code for ‘not now’ sometimes?

Several LinkedIn Influencers weighed in this week. Here’s what two of them had to say.

Adam Grant, Wharton School professor, author of Give and Take

“If you want something done, ask a busy person. The old saying rings true, but it also spells doom for that busy person,” wrote Grant in his post 8 Ways to Say No Without Hurting Your Image. “When you develop a reputation for being responsive and generous, an ever-expanding mountain of requests will come your way.”

And it can feel like every ‘no’ is a “missed opportunity to make a difference and build a relationship,” wrote Grant. “And if it comes across the wrong way to the wrong person, it’s also a surefire way to brand yourself as selfish and rude.”

But, “saying no frees you up to say yes when it matters most,” he wrote. So, how do you say ‘no’ without damaging your reputation? Grant offers eight solutions he’s tried himself — and their pros and cons. Among them:

“The deferral. I’m swamped right now, but feel free to follow up.” Of course, this one has its downsides, he wrote. “This initial filter provided clues about who cared the most about connecting with me.” But, Grant wrote, this option can unwittingly reward aggressive or single-minded people, “stalkers” who will do whatever it takes to get what they need from you.

“The batch. Others have posed the same question, so let’s chat together.” Grant uses Google Hangouts to meet with people who want similar information or who have shared reasons to talk to him. “I... found that it helped people create a community around common interests. It also served as a low-commitment first encounter for me to gauge how helpful I could be in subsequent interactions.”

“The introduction. When I wasn’t in a position to help, I sometimes knew people who could... I facilitated the connection,” wrote Grant. “This was a huge time-saver and often proved far more helpful than the other approaches.” But, he cautioned, “there’s one major downside: [introductions] can be an imposition on the person who’s being enlisted to help.”

His solution: “I started checking with my colleagues first to see if they were comfortable with an introduction,” wrote Grant. “That way, I didn’t punish the most generous givers by overloading them with requests — and it was less likely to damage our relationship or my reputation.”

Linda Descano, managing director and head of content & social at Citi

Descano turned to other successful women for their advice on saying ‘yes’ and other career tips in her post Say Yes + Other Tips for Accelerating Your Career. Among the wisdom, she found some insight on when it makes sense to do something — even if it’s a big task to take on.

“I would encourage my younger self to say ‘yes’ to new challenges, often and easily,” advised Liz Kaplow, president and CEO of Kaplow PR who described a daunting proposal in the early days of the Internet. Other firms had more experience and know-how, but she decided to say yes to the request for a proposal. Her firm got the job. “Every time I’ve pushed myself to take on something I haven’t done before it has paid off…. Say ‘yes’, be resourceful and tackle something new: the professional and personal rewards are immeasurable.”

Summary: Billionaire Warren Buffett says very successful people say ânoâ to almost everything. How to do it gracefullyâ and when âyesâ is better for your career.


BMW has revealed the first official details and pictures of the new M4 Convertible, the drop-top version of the new M4 Coupe. Pictures are above. The details? There are many.

The first of which entails that new top. The M4 Convertible gets a three-part metal roof some 2dB quieter than that of the outgoing M3 Convertible, one that can be raised or lowered at speeds of up to 8mph in 20 seconds.

Then there's BMW's take on the Mercedes “air scarf”, here labelled “Air Collar”. It's a fan mounted between the head-rest and upper seat bolster to keep your neck warm when the roof's down.

The whole car is 60kg (132lbs) lighter than the outgoing, V8-engined BMW M3 Convertible, though still clocks the scale at a not-inconsiderable 1,750kg – the standard M4 Coupe weighs 1,500kg – despite the liberal use of aluminium (the bonnet, front wings and some chassis components), along with carbon-fibre reinforced plastic for the propeller shaft and strut brace.

There's nothing liberal about the engine, mind. It's the same twin-turbocharged, 3-litre straight-six as the new M4 Coupe and M3 sedan, producing the same 431bhp and 406lb-ft of torque.

Obviously that weight penalty means there's a mild performance deficit: zero to 62mph in this M4 Convertible takes 4.6 seconds with the standard-fit manual gearbox (4.3 seconds for the Coupe), or 4.4 seconds with the optional, £2,645 dual-clutch auto transmission (4.1 seconds for the Coupe). Should you care about such things, BMW claims 32.5mpg and 203g/km of CO2 for this auto box. The manual gearbox fares a little worse.

You get an active differential, DSC – including an M dynamic mode – and adaptive M suspension with three modes (Comfort, Sport and Sport+), though there's no mention of the Coupe's Smokey Burnout function. Yes, that's a real thing.

Inside there are electrically adjustable heated leather seats, an M steering wheel, individual rear seats and some boot space: 370 litres with the roof closed, 220 litres with it open/stowed. Outside there are 19in wheels, that “powerdome” bonnet, a really shouty front apron, side gills and air breathers and of course, the quad exhaust pipes.

Prices start at £60,730, and it'll go on sale in the UK on 6 September 2014.

A version of this story originally appeared on TopGear.com.

Summary: Powered by a twin-turbocharged, 3-litre engine and weighing as much as some mid-size luxury sedans, the Bavarian sports car is a heavy hitter in every way.


“Weird doesn’t begin to cover it,” says Rose (Zoey Deutch) minutes into director Mark Waters’s adaptation of Richelle Mead’s young-adult book series, “Vampire Academy.” She’s right; other adjectives would include contrived, ludicrous, cluttered, and derivative.

Like “City of Bones,” this attempt to capture the magic of the “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” franchises tries too hard to pack all the back story and borrowings into one film. It doesn’t help that Waters and his screenwriter elder brother, Daniel, chop the narrative into a farrago with less cohesion than a 104-minute trailer.

Luckily, Rose serves as a near-omniscient guide to what’s going on. Not only does she provide wall-to-wall voice-over narration peppered with wisecracks, but she has also achieved a mind-meld with her best friend Lissa (Lucy Fry), future queen of the good vampires, or Moroi, so she can keep track of what Lissa is up to as well. The problem is that Rose’s appeal fades fast; she’s like someone at a party who thinks she’s hip and funny but is really annoying.

They have achieved this bond in part because Rose is Lissa’s Dhampir, her bodyguard against the evil vampires, the Strigoi. However, since the bullies at Xavier’s School, er, St. Vladimir’s Academy for Moroi and Dhampirs seemed worse than the threat of death, the two had been on the lam for a year until forcibly returned by hunky instructor Dimitri (Danila Kozlovsky). During that period, to keep Lissa’s blood hunger satisfied (they have “blood donors” at the academy), Rose had offered her own neck for her BFF to suck on, and those scenes have the orgasmic sensuality of a PG-13 “Blue Is the Warmest Color.” So add “blood whore” to their tormentors’ store of insults.

But, as someone points out, there’s more than bullying to worry about, something to do with the school namesake long ago battling his dark side to achieve salvation, and so forth. The real issues, though, include such adolescent anxieties as peer pressure, crushes on teachers, homoerotic sexual attraction, self-destructiveness (there is a blatant cutting allusion), and, of course, shopping. Despite such attractions as Gabriel Byrne as a vampire with a skin disease and a décor that combines Hogwarts with “Suspiria,” the only lesson learned here is that Hollywood needs fresh blood.

Summary: “Weird doesn’t begin to cover it,” says Rose (Zoey Deutch) minutes into director Mark Waters’s adaptation of Richelle Mead’s young-adult book series, “Vampire Academy.” She’s right; other adjectives would include contrived, ludicrous, cluttered, and derivative. Like “City of Bones,” this attempt to capture the magic of the “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” franchises tries too hard to pack all the backstory and borrowings into one film. It doesn’t help that screenwriter Daniel Waters (elder brother of Mark) chops the narrative into a farrago with less cohesion than a 104-minute trailer.


âSomething you should never do is mess with success.â So spoke Tom Doll, president of Subaru of America, on 17 April at the New York auto show.

Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru’s parent, nevertheless messed with the Outback – a strong-selling if awkwardly styled all-wheel-drive family mover – and the results are decidedly clean. In fact they’re downright handsome.

The Outback is once more a wagon, a label once embraced by Subaru but shunned in favour of the marketing-friendly “crossover” during the car's fourth generation. Gone are that model's excessive plastic cladding, blocky bodywork and drab interior. In their place is a vehicle with all the attributes that made the Outback the de facto conveyance of buyers with all-weather needs but SUV aversions: utility, quality, value and looks.

Granted, Subaru isn’t rushing to call the 2015 model a wagon.

“It’s less SUV-like, more grown-up,” allowed Dominic Infante, a Subaru of America spokesman, speaking of the fifth-generation model’s differences from its predecessor. Translation: Subaru will call the 2015 Outback, whose circa-1995 ancestor was memorably branded “the world’s first sport-utility wagon” by Australian actor-spokesman Paul Hogan, anything but a wagon.

The Outback has nearly 9in of ground clearance, and exhaust pipes have been tucked underneath the rear approach to avoid scrapes during the occasional trail run. Matte-charcoal plastic cladding outlines the prominent fog lamps but does not mar the body sides like on the fourth-gen model, letting the sheet metal breathe a bit. Headlamps on higher-spec models are outlined by bright filaments coiled like twine around the main lenses. A neat crease now defines the beltline of the car, finishing tucked and tight at the tail lamp. The doors shut with the kind of Vacu-Seal whoomp common of a Bentley. The Outback has indeed grown up.

Nothing changes under the hood, with a 2.5-litre 175-horsepower flat four-cylinder and a 3.6-litre 256hp in-line six-cylinder carrying over from ‘14. EPA fuel-economy figures have yet to be verified, but Subaru maintains that the four-cylinder model will achieve 33mpg rating on the highway, aided by a more fuel-miserly continuously variable transmission. Real-world around-town mileage in the low 20s is common for the '14 models, though it has been known to dip into the teens in mountainous regions. These engines can be thirsty, betraying the politics broadcast by many a Subaru driver's bumper stickers.

In typical Subaru fashion, the interior breaks no aesthetic ground while looking utterly inoffensive. The touch points, from headliner to carpets, are of noticeably improved materials, with a richer wood grain on the displayed 3.6R’s dash. Subaru’s EyeSight passive safety technology has performed well in tests conducted by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), a non-profit funded by the insurance industry, and it too carries over.

Though its engineering might suggest otherwise, the Outback has been utterly transformed. Call it a wagon, a crossover, the anti-SUV or a floor wax – it’ll go about its work either way.

Summary: Bereft of major product debuts, the New York auto show allowed Subaruâs redesigned hauler to shine all the brighter.


WASHINGTON — President Obama rounded out his second-term Cabinet choices Thursday, nominating Penny Pritzker, his longtime financial backer and an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, to be commerce secretary, and Michael Froman, a law school friend and White House adviser on international economics, as trade representative.

Obama introduced his two friends in the Rose Garden just before leaving for a three-day trip to Mexico and Costa Rica, along with Froman. He has now completed his selections for a Cabinet depleted by departures after his first term.

Several nominees, including the new ones, still need Senate confirmation. Republicans are opposing the labor nominee, Thomas Perez, and are likely to closely scrutinize Pritzker’s financial and investment record.

Pritzker, a Chicago donor and fund-raiser for Obama, had been expected to be his pick for the long-vacant Commerce Department post, but vetting of her assets and ties delayed a formal announcement, administration aides have said. She had been a candidate for commerce secretary after Obama’s election in 2008 but withdrew from contention amid the public scrutiny at the time.

With Pritzker, Obama would bring a woman and a voice for business interests into a Cabinet that has been criticized as having too few of either.

Froman, 50, has served in the White House as deputy national security adviser for international economics since Obama first took office. The post is not a Cabinet position, but Froman had proximity to the president and a portfolio thicker than that of the Cabinet-rank trade representative, encompassing not only trade but international development and climate change issues.

Obama initially intended to nominate Jeffrey D. Zients, a businessman who had been acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, to be trade representative. But opposition to Zients from Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, scuttled it.

Froman has been the president’s ‘‘Sherpa,’’ making preparations for past and upcoming global summits, including the G-8 and G-20 gatherings and the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conferences. He also oversees economic relations with Europe, Japan, and the BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India, and China — and development policies for Africa and the Middle East.

On Thursday, Obama gave Froman credit, along with the man he would succeed, Ron Kirk, for finishing free-trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama begun in the Bush administration. The foremost issues will be to negotiate trade deals with Europe and the Pacific Rim region.

Summary: WASHINGTON — President Obama rounded out his second-term Cabinet choices Thursday, nominating Penny Pritzker, his longtime financial backer and an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, to be commerce secretary, and Michael Froman, a law school friend and White House adviser on international economics, as trade representative. Obama introduced his two friends in a Rose Garden announcement just before leaving for a three-day trip to Mexico and Costa Rica, along with Froman. With Obama’s nomination Monday of Anthony R. Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., to be transportation secretary, he has now completed his selections for a Cabinet depleted by departures after his first term. Several nominees, including the new ones, still need Senate confirmation. Republicans are opposing the labor nominee, Thomas Perez.


UPDATED 06/10/2014 at 02:25 PM EDT • Originally published 06/09/2014 at 01:00 PM EDT

isn't letting her breakup with

After reports that the singer had canceled her performance with

and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte at Thursday's World Cup opening ceremony in Brazil, her rep tells PEOPLE that the show will go on.

"Jennifer has always wanted to participate in the World Cup opening ceremonies," the rep says. "We have been trying to work out scheduling and logistics. Any statements to the contrary were premature. Jennifer would not want to disappoint her fans or fans of futbol. She will be there."

This statement comes a day after FIFA announced that Lopez, 44, had canceled her plan to perform this year's official World Cup song, "We Are One (Ole Ola)," due to unspecified production issues.

Lopez, Pitbull and Leitte will perform the song for the finale of the opening ceremony, which

says "is a tribute to Brazil and its treasures: nature, people, football."

Summary: The singer was rumored to have canceled her appearance at Thursday's opening ceremony


On the pavement outside Dundee Contemporary Arts, a rotating sign, painted in chunky retro 1970s lettering, flashes the word "love" and then "hate" to passers-by in quick succession. It marks out the extremes of emotion and the violence of language that Banner explores in this exhibition of recent work. Where once she incorporated the language of war films into her projects, producing written accounts of movies such as Apocalypse Now, the artist has moved from the pornography of violence to pornographic sex for her subject matter.

One of her points - hence that sign, rotating so fast as to almost blur love and hate into one new word - is that those things aren't as far apart as we might imagine. In both, sex and violence, words tend to be inadequate. But what a lot of words there are here, spilling indecently from the walls, across the floor and into side rooms. Two large-scale text works, one in pretty handwritten pink, one strident in eye-watering cerise, dominate. For all the filth and vigorous phrases they contain, neither holds our attention for long. Their excess is a turn-off and their intense narrative is finally unreadable.

At ground level sit their textual and sexual opposite: individual letters formed into often incorrectly spelt words of an insulting nature and unpredictable harshness: "tart", "spaz", "prick", "cunt", "twerp", "copycat". They litter the place in rough, messily made concrete that has left stains on the floor; blunt, drab little words in sharp contrast to the rush of language on the walls.

These suggestive juxtapositions continue. A gorgeous sliver of a neon sign in the shape of a bubble, cloud or an ice cream sits on a wall, silent and sweet compared with so much around it. It is made of several broken neon signs that Banner found and put together and is a relief from the torrent of ugly language elsewhere.

A recording of Banner reading pornography fills the gallery with obscene words, while one of the screenprints features only punctuation marks - the words of a story have been removed. This oscillation between presence and absence, silence and verbosity, structures the exhibition, provoking us to ponder how best to speak of lust and longing, beyond cliche and words that hurt.

· Until June 9. Details: 01382 909900.

Summary: Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee


The deregulation of the state’s auto insurance market in 2008 resulted in immediate and significant savings for Massachusetts consumers. But it didn’t last long, according to data obtained by the Globe.

Average premiums dropped sharply in the first two years as more insurance companies poured into Massachusetts, but costs quickly rebounded, rising faster than in any other state. Five years after the state allowed insurers rather than regulators to set rates, the average premium was essentially the same as before deregulation, data from the state Division of Insurance show.

“Is the consumer better off?” asked Deirdre Cummings, legislative director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. “If you look at rates and rates are going higher, that’s not in the consumer’s favor.”

Auto insurance premiums in the state dropped by about 12 percent between 2007 and 2009 to an average of $861 a year. For drivers, that meant an annual savings of $122.

But by 2012, the latest year for which statistics were available, the average annual premium had climbed to $974, just $9 below the average in 2007, the year before the state opened the market to competition.

In 2012, the average premium increased by 3.7 percent — more than double the rate of inflation in the Boston area, according to the US Department of Labor.

State insurance officials said the trend followed the pattern of deregulation in other industries, including airlines, in which prices fell at the outset, then quickly rebounded before the market stabilized.

But, they added, the increased competition that came with deregulation provided benefits other than price to consumers, including more choices, the ability to buy policies online, and more discounts for everything from good driving to good grades at school. All of that makes deregulation, on balance, a good idea, they said.

“It’s clear that the change in regulation has been a win for consumers,” said Joseph Murphy, the state insurance commissioner.

Prior to 2008, the commissioner set vehicle insurance rates, following what were typically contentious public hearings that pitted companies against consumers. The prices and offerings among insurers were essentially the same, and many of the largest carriers stayed out of Massachusetts because of its highly regulated environment.

Now, insurance companies can set their own rates and offer an array of options, from coverage for pets injured in an accident to discounts for buying homeowner’s insurance along with auto coverage.

The number of insurance companies operating in Massachusetts has almost doubled to 34, including national carriers such as Progressive Insurance and Geico.

Many of these new entrants slashed prices to grab a piece of the Massachusetts market, forcing established companies to follow, insurance industry officials said.

But as newer companies developed experience in paying claims in the state, the premiums started to go up to reflect the actual costs to the insurers.

The costs of repairs and medical care are increasing in Massachusetts faster than in the nation as a whole, which helps drive insurance premiums higher, industry officials said. Between 2009 and 2011, the last year for which national figures are available, the average amount that consumers across the county spent to insure rose just over 1 percent.

In Massachusetts, spending grew more than 9 percent, the biggest increase in the nation during that period, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a Missouri-based organization of state insurance regulators.

Ting Pen, a cofounder of ValuePenguin.com, a consumer research and data website that analyzed states’ insurance costs, said she was surprised by how quickly premiums have risen in Massachusetts in recent years.

At an initial glance, she said, it seems that “managed competition has resulted in higher costs for consumers.”

But consumers are not complaining about costs as loudly as they did when the market was highly regulated, said Frank Mancini, president of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents, a trade group based in Milford.

One big reason: If an insurance company boosts a premium, a driver can shop for a better deal somewhere else — an option that wasn’t available before the industry was deregulated.

But that means consumers must be better informed and look not only at prices, but at coverage levels and how the policies are designed, Mancini said.

Massachusetts insurance officials said prices appear to be stabilizing, because insurers have submitted fewer requests for rate increases in the past year.

Regulators can still reject rate increases if they are excessive or too much of the premiums go to profits, instead of to pay claims, said Murphy, the state’s insurance commissioner.

“It’s a lot healthier market,” Murphy said. “The consumers make the most important decision of whether to pay the bill or shop around. Insurers have to earn the consumer’s business.”

Summary: The state’s overhaul of car insurance regulations in 2008 resulted in immediate and significant savings to Massachusetts consumers. But it didn’t last long.


Meg Whitman, the former eBay CEO who got trounced in the race for California governor last November, has a new career plan: Venture capital with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Meg Whitman, who is in Hawaii until Wednesday with her neurosurgeon husband Griff Harsh, declined to comment, but sources close to her and to the venerable Silicon Valley venture capital firm say that Kleiner will bring Whitman in as a strategic adviser to help scope investments and coach startups.

Given Kleiner’s latest leanings toward mid- and late-stage bets on hot consumer businesses — Twitter, Groupon, and Spotify, to name three — getting Whitman’s help makes some sense. Her pedigree includes not only a decade building eBay EBAY , where she left the CEO post in 2008 after a series of missteps, but also previous stints at Walt Disney DIS and Procter & Gamble PG — whose board she rejoined after losing the contest for governor.

Moreover, Whitman, 54, is friendly with such Kleiner partners as Juliet de Baubigny. And this past winter, Whitman went on vacation to New Zealand with another partner of the firm: Mary Meeker, who is a fellow transplant to the VC world. Meeker quit Morgan Stanley MS , where she had built a reputation as Wall Street’s most influential Internet-stock analyst, to go to join Kleiner last November. And she’s made her mark quickly by applying her analytics and wielding her clout on those mid- to late-stage startups.

Whitman’s role at Kleiner will be part-time, as she pursues board duties (she recently joined the board of Hewlett Packard too) and other callings in her post-campaign life. By joining the same VC firm that lured Al Gore and Colin Powell in their respective political twilights, she’s making a pretty safe move image-wise.

Of course, a gig at Kleiner Perkins, the firm that bet early on such startups as Google GOOG and Amazon.com AMZN , could pay off in real dollars as well. That may be no small deal to the political neophyte who spent $145 million of her own money and got nothing to show for it.

One good sign for her new calling at Kleiner: A source close to Whitman says that by investing wisely in a rising stock market since last November, she has earned back that $145 million she lost.

Summary: Meg Whitman, the former eBay CEO who got trounced in the race for California governor last November, has a new career plan: Venture capital with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. By Patricia Sellers Meg Whitman, who is in Hawaii until Wednesday with her neurosurgeon husband Griff Harsh, declined to comment, but sources close to her and…


Eric Clapton is a disciple fervent about sharing his influences, whether they be bluesman Robert Johnson or, in this case, JJ Cale, the creator of the easy-loping Tulsa Sound. Clapton had two ’70s hits (“After Midnight” and “Cocaine”) with tunes by Cale, who died last year; now, he goes all out to honor Cale’s memory, recruiting Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, Willie Nelson, and John Mayer to cover his songs. Clapton shares some of his most transcendent guitar playing in years, especially the slide-guitar peaks of “I’ll Be There” and “I Got the Same Old Blues.” Most of his collaborations are inspired, notably with Knopfler on the chooglin’ “Train to Nowhere” and with Petty on the swampy “Rock and Roll Records” (with the typically wry Cale line: “I make rock and roll records / I sell ’em for a dime”). Guest guitarists include Albert Lee, David Lindley, and Derek Trucks, so there’s no shortage of virtuosity. (Out Tuesday)

ESSENTIAL “Call Me the Breeze”

Summary: Veteran guitar god Eric Clapton pays homage to a late collaborator and influence with a generous, star-packed tribute album.


1 Eduardo Paolozzi Shattered head (1956)

I was tutored by Eduardo. He would teach me every Wednesday after we first met at the RCA Foundry in Kensington, London in the late 80s. He taught me how to work in plaster and in wax, but every time I went back to clay. Two years ago I left fashion and began sculpting full time. I just love my life now. This is an early piece, made when Eduardo was only 22. It’s one of the first he cast himself in a friend’s garden in Hampstead; he made a little bronze foundry there. He created the head in clay first, then wax, then he smashed the wax into pieces, put them back together and cast the whole thing. It’s a very important piece - the beginning of him making work about the machine age. In my own show, I think one of my best portraits is the one of Eduardo.

2 Thutmose Bust of Queen Nefertiti (1340 BC)

Sometimes beauty can mask character but the face of this Queen Nefertiti is mysterious – there is something quite odd about the eyes because they are different. When something is not quite right it makes you wonder more about the personality of the person. I like that beautiful harmony which is disturbed by those eyes, the sensuality of the mouth, those hollow cheeks and that very long neck. She’s enigmatic and hides her feelings. The bust is so square, the facial forms are so soft and then suddenly you have the contrast with that severe crown, which is almost like a pyramid.

3 Auguste Rodin Monumental head of Balzac (1897)

What I learned from the great Rodin is that you don’t need to show the exact likeness of a face. Here he wanted to show the creative force of Balzac the writer. He exaggerated all the main facial features - the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the eyebrows, the hair - everything is too strong. But through that mouth, almost shouting, you get a real sense of this character. Rodin had been commissioned to make a full-length sculpture of Balzac and in preparation he did several studies of Balzac’s head. When he came to do the body, he did it very simply. It’s just a draped gown. So there is also that contrast with the way he dressed him at full-scale, and that very, very vivacious head.

4 Antoine Bourdelle Beethoven (1902)

The French sculptor Bourdelle was a student of Rodin so he learned a lot from him, and also did a lot of monumental work. Again, here there’s incredible hair which is almost not modelled, but swept off fiercely, and this face which is modelled but very expressive. The mouth is tight and the eyes are hollow, and it shows a tragedy. Because, I think, at the very moment that Bourdelle made a portrait of Beethoven, the composer was going deaf. You can almost hear the music of Beethoven; there is something passionate and tragic in that hair.

5 Brancusi Sleeping Muse (1910)

Through marble-carving Brancusi was trying to find simplicity in his work, and reducing his ideas to the minimum. This sleeping muse is a wonderful witness to his talent. I like the way her head is lying on the side. She’s resting peacefully but she’s almost held down by the weight of her head. Brancusi has done a lot of different versions, many in bronze, but it’s the one in marble I like the most. Maybe because the whiteness reinforces the serenity of the face.

6 Giacometti Portrait of Bruno (1917)

This is a portrait Giacometti did of his youngest brother Bruno, an architect. It’s not what you’d expect from the master of thin, emaciated figures, but I love the way he shows the strength and willpower of his brother. Giacometti said: “The object of art is not to reproduce reality but to create a reality of the same intensity.” It applies so well here because it’s more than just a realistic portrait. You get the whole person behind the man.

7 Germaine Richier La Regodias (1938)

Germaine Richier knew Giacometti and Bourdelle and used a lot of animal symbols in her work. But this is one of her early portraits. The subject is a professional model called Renee Regodias, but it’s the way Richier portrays her: she has a very elongated neck, twisted in a different way to the face, and that gives a lot of life to the face. There’s something very peaceful and mysterious about both this portrait and the bust of Queen Nefertiti. They talk to me, those two women.

8 Jean Fautrier Large tragic head (1942)

This is my favourite. It’s the most painful and touching of all the portraits. Fautrier has made the two sides of the face totally different – one is much more classical, rational, the side with the eye; on the other he wanted to represent the inhumanity of man. Fautrier was part of the French Resistance during the second world war, and was under house arrest on the outskirts of Paris where the Nazis were torturing and executing prisoners, and from the studio he could hear all the screams. And that’s when he did this. It’s an extremely powerful piece and very painful to look at.

9 Marino Marini Bust of Igor Stravinsky (1951)

I love his work, and the fact the face is modelled very simply, almost like you would do a mask. There is a feeling of death in that head, and yet at the same time there is a lot of sensuality. But then there is such sadness and understanding in the eyes; it makes you see the tragedy of life. I can feel the soul of the man. Marini said he preferred to do portraits of creative people because they don’t have just one facet in their face but hundreds; and what is so difficult is to find the essence in the multiplicity. Here he shows the anxiety, the nervousness, the sensuality, he shows so much.

10 G Manzu Portrait of Oskar Kokoschka (1969)

The modelling of the clay is quite sensuous, and then when you look at the hard lines on the forehead, and in the hair, there’s a real contrast; you realise the face is intense with sadness. He’s not making eye contact or engaging with the viewer. But Kokoschka was a very sad man. He had a very passionate affair witha married woman, which did not go well for him. When you look at Kokoschka’s own paintings you can see the violence of expression and the sadness. It’s perhaps no surprise that I have picked so many busts of artists here. When I sculpt artists and writers and actors myself, I am drawn to their multiplicity, as Marino Marini describes it, and I find I get something from their art in my work. As told to Liz Hoggard

Summary: On the eve of her debut sculpture exhibition, fashion designer turned artist Nicole Farhi chooses her favourite portraits of heads


Evan Ross and Ashlee Simpson

08/31/2014 AT 07:10 PM EDT

tied the knot on Saturday at the Connecticut home of the groom's mother,

The happy couple was surrounded by family and friends, including big sister

as a matron of honor and the bride's 5-year-old son,

. Simpson wore Neil Lane jewelry that complemented her engagement ring designed by the jeweler.

Simpson, 29, and Ross, 26,

on Jan. 13 via Twitter.

"The love of my life said YES!!!!!!" Ross

, "My baby love and I are ENGAGED!!! Hallelujah Hawaii!!!"

The announcement was soon followed by several celebrations, including an

in March at the home of Simpson's mother, Tina, and a

earlier this month at Jessica's L.A. home.

Simpson, who was previously married to rocker

star in July last year, walking out of the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles.

The couple were recently spotted

Ross' birthday on Aug. 26 at STK Downtown in New York, where a source says, "They were excited and talking about the upcoming wedding. Evan and Ashlee were kissing each other nonstop all night."

Summary: The couple announced their engagement in January


Life isn't fair. Neither is the NFC West.

It is the most powerful division in the NFL. It's probably the most powerful division in any professional sport, although we won't know unless the champion of the NFC West plays the winner of Major League Baseball's AL West in a best-of-five Super Series Bowl. Quidditch, anyone?

Here are some fun facts about the NFC West that will cause 49ers fans to sweat like 49ers fans at Levi's Stadium:

-- NFC West teams won a combined 42 regular-season games last season, way more than any other division. Second winningest was the AFC West (37 wins). Guess which AFC division the NFC West teams will play this season.

-- Russell Wilson's "What I Did in the Offseason" essay will be about his divorce from his high school sweetheart. Will the breakup cause Wilson to be haunted and distracted, or will he soar like a free bird?

-- Speaking of Wilson, he is in line to take advantage of the mythical Third-Year Leap. Many NFL experts believe a quarterback experiences his greatest improvement in his third season as a starter. This will be Colin Kaepernick's third season as starter, too, but technically his third season won't start until the 10th game, Nov. 16 at the Giants.

-- This division is killing off the old-school concept of the fire-and-brimstone coach. The four head coaches are all versions of the New Age, sensitive, love-my-guys type. Bruce Arians of the Cardinals wears hipster caps, and at 61, he says he's not a father figure to his players: "I'm the cool uncle you like to have a drink with." Jeff Fisher of the Rams is the caring-principal type. You already know about Seattle's Sneaky Pete, man of yoga and group hugs. Coaching-wise, who's got it better than the 49ers? We'll see.

-- If the Cardinals move the ball against the 49ers, the 49ers can blame the Raiders. Arizona really needed a left tackle and coveted Oakland's Jared Veldheer, but surely the Raiders would re-sign the free agent, or franchise-tag him. Nope. They let him go, and the Cardinals sent a limo and signed Veldheer for five years. D'oh!

-- The 49ers might have felt good about how the Seahawks were cuffed around by the Raiders in their recent exhibition game. But one theory is that Pete Carroll was simply trying to out-sandbag Harbaugh. New Age coaches are cagey. Their goal is to look just good enough in preseason to avoid getting fired, then pour on the coals when the action gets real.

-- Sorry, 49ers fans, the Seahawks seem not to be afflicted with Super Bowl Championship-itis. All their main men are back and happy, and forever young (second-youngest Super Bowl-championship team ever, average age: 26.4).

-- Other than in the Mike Martz era, the Rams haven't had a winning season since '89, but they might be the most dangerous last-place team in the league. They've lost quarterback Sam Bradford, but their QB now is Shaun Hill. He was 10-6 as a 49ers starting QB from 2007 to '09 under the offensively inept Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary. What can Hill do chucking under the direction of a real head coach?

-- "Legion of Boom" remains the most rousing and inspiring nickname for a unit in the NFL. ... Or, if you're a 49ers fan, the most annoying.

-- A few months basking in the national spotlight doesn't seem to have taken the braying edge off Richard Sherman. Look for more talk, more rock.

-- The Rams might have the best defensive front four in the league, having added tackle Aaron Donald. Also adding intimidation to the St. Louis defense: new coordinator Gregg Williams, who was going to sign with Fisher two years ago, until Bountygate hit the fan.

-- Sherman and Earl Thomas aren't the best cornerback-safety combo in the league. That would be Arizona's Patrick Peterson and Tyrann "The Honey Badger" Mathieu.

-- The new officiating emphasis on grabbing and holding by defensive backs could be called the Richard Sherman Rule. Or, you could call the Seattle defense the Legion of Glom. Regardless, any negative impact on the Seahawks of the new emphasis is likely to fade, as long as the Doomers "stick" to their defensive philosophy: If you do it enough, the refs will get tired of calling it.

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. E-mail: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler

Summary: Here are some fun facts about the NFC West that will cause 49ers fans to sweat like 49ers fans at Levi's Stadium:  -- NFC West teams won a combined 42 regular-season games last season, way more than any other division.  [...] winningest was the AFC West (37 wins).  Many NFL experts believe a quarterback experiences his greatest improvement in his third season as a starter.  Bruce Arians of the Cardinals wears hipster caps, and at 61, he says he's not a father figure to his players: "I'm the cool uncle you like to have a drink with."  -- The 49ers might have felt good about how the Seahawks were cuffed around by the Raiders in their recent exhibition game.  -- Other than in the Mike Martz era, the Rams haven't had a winning season since '89, but they might be the most dangerous last-place team in the league.  -- The Rams might have the best defensive front four in the league, having added tackle Aaron Donald.


Last year, when Ana Patricia Botín was named by BBC Woman’s Hour the third most powerful woman in Britain—just behind Queen Elizabeth and British Home Secretary Theresa May—she was embarrassed. Botín, then CEO of Santander UK, one of Britain’s largest banks, with $13 billion revenues in 2013, found the notion that her power was proximate to the Queen of England’s, laughable.

Botín is modest, but she is also, indeed, powerful.

A rare, high-profile woman in finance, she’s been a fixture on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in business list since its inception in 1998 (in February, she landed at No. 41 on our Global list and she’ll rate highly on our Europe Middle East Africa list which debuts next week). She’s on the board of Coca-Cola. She’s established multiple foundations. And yesterday, with her promotion to Global Chairman of Banco Santander SAN , Santander UK’s parent, the 53-year-old Botín became just one of six women at the helm of a Global Fortune 100 firm (Santander ranked No. 76 on Fortune’s Global 500 in 2014)—and the first woman to chair a global financial organization. “It’s another glass ceiling broken,” says Santander board member and Fortune columnist Sheila Bair.

Botín succeeds her father, Emilio, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack Tuesday and ushers in the family’s fourth-generation of leadership at the 157-year old Spanish bank. Though Banco Santander is a publicly traded company—the Botín family owns a 2% stake—it is described by many as a “family business,” one particularly shaped by Emilio, a charismatic and authoritarian figure, who aggressively pursued expansion and is credited for transforming the Santander from a tiny Spanish repository into one of the world’s largest banks.

Ana Patricia’s appointment was not unexpected. The eldest of six children and the only one in the banking business, she was clearly chosen and groomed by her father to succeed him, says Mauro Guillén, a professor at the Wharton School of Business who has written a book on Banco Santander.

Though some investors have grumbled about nepotism, Botín’s appointment won unanimous board approval. “It was the obvious choice,” says Bair. “She’s smart, she’s savvy, she works hard, and she’s devoted her career to Santander. I can’t imagine anyone better qualified.”

Ana Patricia has held a number of top jobs at the bank and joined its board more than 25 years ago. In 2004, she told Time magazine, “I started at the bottom. Nobody has given me anything.”

Educated at Bryn Mawr College and Harvard Business School, Botín did a stint at J.P. Morgan before joining Santander, where early on, she was charged with starting up investment banking services in Latin America. The venture was not a success, and though she received criticism, Guillén says the relationships and efforts she made paved the way for the expansion of Santander’s retail banking business in the region.

She later headed Banesto, the Spanish bank that accounts for 80% of Santander’s income, which she is credited for shepherding through the early years of the financial crisis,. Then came the stint running Santander UK, which in four years, she transformed into a highly-profitable and well-run business, says Bair, who notes she has excelled at “recruiting and inspiring talent there.”

Guillén saw Botín’s move to London as “revealing” and speculates it was less a test for her to run a bank than an effort “to get her acquainted with true owners of Santander, or the institutional investors based in London.”

Botín broke up her time at the bank with a period of entrepreneurship in the late ’90s—she started an Internet banking company and ran a private equity fund—which she considers some of the most demanding and rewarding experiences of her career.

Bair describes Botín as prudent and measured like her father; she is also, according to several people interviewed by Fortune, a good listener, communicator and consensus-builder.

“She has lots of experiences, she was very well trained, she’s worked in many different parts of the banking industry,” says Guillén, who emphasizes that Botín is of a different mold than her father. “She speaks several languages fluently. She’s worked on three continents. She’s cosmopolitan.” Now the test is more straightforward: whether she can lead a Fortune Global 100 firm through a turbulent financial era.

Summary: Ana Patricia Botín takes the helm of Banco Santander, the global banking powerhouse once headed by her father. (And surprise—nepotism has little to do with it.)