The latest version of proposed district lines for the City Council encountered loud and long opposition yesterday as residents and groups from around the city joined numerous Council members in attacking the plan.

The criticism came at a hearing before the Districting Commission at City Hall that began in the morning and ran until 7 P.M.. Applause and occasional catcalls punctuated the testimony of about 100 people, virtually all of whom opposed at least part of the plan.

In addition to expressing doubt that the plan would do much to help more black and Hispanic candidates win election to the Council, many speakers accused the Council leadership of drawing the lines in secrecy and providing insufficient public notice of the changes or of yesterday's hearing. Presently, eight of the 43 Council members are from minority groups.

''The public was shut out of the process,'' said Alan Rothstein, associate director of the Citizens Union, a private, nonprofit group. ''There was no attempt to gain citizen input.'' Members Speak Harshly

Some of the charges against Council leaders were delivered in unusually harsh language by Council members. Mary T. Codd, a Democrat-Liberal member from Staten Island, termed the proposal a ''farce'' and said it was ''drawn behind closed doors in smoke-filled club houses by political hacks.''

Ruth W. Messinger, a Manhattan Democrat, said she was ''embarrassed'' by the fact that the public was not invited to be heard before the lines were drawn. ''And now we have a New Year's rush to judgment,'' she said.

Redistricting is required every 10 years because of population changes. An initial plan, passed by the Council and signed by Mayor Koch last summer, was rejected by the United States Justice Department last October on the ground that it diluted minority voting strength in the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn. Approvals May Take Months

Justice Department approval is required for electoral changes in those three counties, as well as in numerous others across the country, under the Federal Voting Rights Act because of low voter registration among minority groups there. Changes in Queens and on Staten Island do not need Federal sanction.

The 1981 Council elections were postponed and cannot be held until the Districting Commission, a group of citizens appointed by the Council, and the Council, the Mayor and the Justice Department approve new lines. Yesterday's hearing was the first step in that approval process. The required approvals are likely to take at least several more mo nths, officials said yesterday, with many more contentious moments pr edicted. Especially upset are several Council members who, under th e proposed plan, would find themselves living outside the district th ey now represent. They would either have to move or run against ot her incumbents under the proposed plan.

Also, several groups and Council members have threatened to challenge the lines in court for a variety of reasons. Earlier this week, a Federal judge in Manhattan dismisse d a suit challenging the Council's rig ht to continue to function beyond last Dec. 31, when theterms of all members expired. Creating More Districts

The central issue surrounding redistricting is the number of socalled minority districts - districts where black and Hispanic-people make up at least 65 percent of the population. The 65 percent figure is often used by the Justice Department as the minimum necessary to elect black and Hispanic candidates.

In its October ruling, the department said it believed the lines could be drawn in such a way as to create at least 11 and possibly 12 minority districts, instead of the eight contained in the original plan. It recommended changing the lines in each of the affected counties to accomplish that goal.

Although Council leaders and lawyers first insisted that eight minority districts were all they could create, they eventually decided they could find more. They have been working since October to do that in a way that was palatable to county political leaders. Request for More Hearings

They say the plan now being debated has 12 districts - three in Manhattan, three in the Bronx, five in Brooklyn and one in Queens - where people from minority groups make up at least 65 percent of the population. Overall, the Census Bureau reported that about 48 percent of the city is made up of minorities.

Marvin Markus, the chairman of the nine-member Districting Commission, said yesterday he thought the plan would meet with Federal approval, but acknowledged that many New Yorkers might feel otherwise. He said he would ''take into consideration'' suggestions made by several speakers that copies of the lines be distributed to community boards and that hearings be held in each borough.

He said he did not know when the unsalaried commission would vote or when it might meet again. Regarding the widespread criticism of the plan, he added: ''Gerrymandering is in the eye of the beholder.''

Illustrations: Photo of Edward Costikyan 2 maps of city council districts


06/14/2015 AT 09:30 AM EDT

Michael Clifford, guitarist for pop-rockers

, was injured during the band's Saturday night performance after it appears he walked into one of the pyrotechnics on stage.

"What the f---- up. sorry I couldnt finish the encore, but at least I look like two face. thanks for worrying every1," Clifford

, alongside of a photo of him giving a thumbs-up, his face wrapped in bandages.

The band, known as 5SOS, was performing at Wembley Arena in London when Clifford seemed to walked too close to a jet of fire from the stage floor, singing his head and face, which can be seen smoking in video posted by audience members.

In the video, he walks quickly off stage, rubbing at his head with a towel.

WATCH MIKEY I HOPE HES OKAY I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND IT WAS AN AMAZING SHOW pic.twitter.com/rGdlCudGGk

Clifford's injury to the audience, and ended the show: "Michael has hurt himself so we will not be continuing the show right now."

: "Early morning breaths... Today we are playing wembley for the 3rd time! Last night was crazy, happy my dude is ok..."

"my face is fine :)."

He did have one request.

If I obviously don't want to have my picture taken right now please don't take my picture :) see everyone tomorrow!!

Summary: The musician can be seen in video walking too close to a jet of flame on stage


To the collection of collaborative workspaces with craft beer on tap, foosball in the games area, and conference rooms with quirky names, you can soon add

. It will combine desks and conference rooms for entrepreneurs with a traditional Chinese tearoom.

There’s also a venture capital fund in residence that will put money into some of the startups that work in the space. InTeahouse is the brainchild of entrepreneur Xin Liu, CEO of a battery company in Acton called Hipower Energy Group, and Liu said it could be partially open as soon as August.

Liu said that she recently opened the first InTeahouse in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province.

“We wanted to open Boston first, but Cambridge is very difficult sometimes, and we are in an old historic building,” Liu said.

The Cambridge location will occupy the first floor, and a modern workspace will be on the second floor, with room for up to 20 startups.

Liu said the Cambridge site will focus on companies working on connected devices and “Internet of Things” technologies.

The slogan for InTeahouse is: “We sip. We listen. We share. Then we go make things happen.” Access to the teahouse will be for members only. Students and startups will be eligible for free memberships, but Liu said that “successful entrepreneurs,” executives at big companies, and venture capitalists will pay a $6,000 annual membership fee.

Liu said that the third location for InTeahouse will be in Monheim am Rhein, Germany.

According to the InTeahouse website, a $30 million venture capital fund called the InFund will focus on making early-stage investments “in the high-growth, tech-enabled companies our membership deems promising.”

Liu said the fund’s investors are in China, New York, and Boston. She said she has previously made investments in startup companies, including Boston-based XL Hybrids, which converts traditional cars and trucks into hybrid-electric vehicles.

Summary: To the collection of collaborative workspaces with craft beer on tap, foosball in the games area, and conference rooms with quirky names, you can soon add InTeahouse. It will combine desks and conference rooms for entrepreneurs with a traditional Chinese tearoom.


07/21/2015 AT 09:00 PM EDT

new life following her transition, premieres on Sunday.

The premiere episode, which was filmed before

showed up to support her at the ESPY Awards on July 15, features Jenner, 65, expressing her fears about how her new life will be received by her family.

"They keep saying to me openly that everything is great," Jenner says at one point in the premiere episode. "'We want you to live you life.' And then they never show up. So, you know, something else is going on in in their head."

Jenner expresses her fears that her transition could cause a rift in her family.

"There are a lot of families that are justâ¦torn apart by it," she says. "I don't want to tear my family apart."

Jenner also discusses her fears about how her children and stepchildren will react.

"Even Kylie coming over today – you never know, when they get away from here and they go home they go 'Oh my god, that it is strange.' Khloe hasn't been here. Kourtney hasn't been here and hasn't met Caitlyn. Rob. Maybe them not being around is, you know, kind of their way of saying, 'I don't really agree with this or what.'

She also expresses concern about how her mother will regard her new life.

"I just sit here and â¦ wonder. Everybody is very positive, and everybody feels really good about all this stuff but, you know, I'm kind of waiting for Mom to go, in a quiet time, 'Oh my god, what's happening?' "

Members of Jenner's extended family have since made statements of support for her. Daughters

, saying, "This is Caitlyn's moment and it's her time to express herself and just be herself, and that's really what life is about."

In June, Jenner's mother, Esther,

that Caitlyn's new identity would take time to get used to. "I've called [Caitlyn] Bruce since the day he was born. It's going to take some time, but I will adjust."

premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on E!.

Summary: The premiere of I Am Cait has Caitlyn Jenner pondering how her transition will be received by her family


08/05/2015 AT 10:00 PM EDT

Donald Sterling, former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, has filed for divorce from Shelly Sterling, his wife of nearly 60 years.

Papers filed by Donald Sterling, 81, on Wednesday cite "irreconcilable differences" between the couple following their highly publicized legal battle, which ended in August 2014 when Shelly Sterling

to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.

, Donald Sterling is alleging that his wife has not given him his share of the money made from the sale. The papers note that "Donald hereby demands an accounting and distribution."

In 2014, Donald Sterling faced scrutiny after the public release of a recording of him

. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver subsequently banned him and encouraged other team owners to pressure him to sell the Clippers.

In the end, two doctors found Donald Sterling mentally incompetent, and Shelly Sterling negotiated the sale to Ballmer. (Donald has since

that Shelly Sterling has no comment on the matter.

At the time of the scandal, Shelly Sterling told ABC news that she had long

"For the last 20 years, I've been seeing attorneys for a divorce," she said. "In fact, I have here – I just filed – I was going to file the petition. I signed the petition for a divorce. And it came to almost being filed. And then, my financial adviser and my attorney said to me, 'Not now.' "

In April 2015, Shelly Sterling won a

, V. Stiviano, when a judge ruled that Stiviano had to return $800,000 in cash and automobiles that Donald Sterling had given her, in addition to vacating a $1.8 million duplex he had provided her.

Summary: Sterling alleges his wife hasn't given him his share of profits from the 2014 sale of the L.A. Clippers


Iggy Azalea and Nick Young

08/20/2015 AT 01:30 PM EDT

First comes the proposal, then comes the hometown visit!

has been spending time in her homeland with her fiancé of just over two months, Los Angeles Lakers player

, and showing him some of her favorite sites,

in June at his 30th birthday party, but Azalea tells

"I had a feeling before he proposed because he kept saying drunkenly, 'If I asked you to marry me right now, would you say yes? Would you? Would you?' " she told the anchors, impersonating him.

"I was like, 'I feel like he is going to probably propose to me and he's trying to make sure I'm definitely going to say yes.' "

Azalea also appeared on the Australian

show on Wednesday to spill some details about the big day.

Although the newly engaged couple has been exploring Australia, Azalea says the wedding will be in Los Angeles.

"I haven't done the dress yet," she said. "I've done the photographer, the date and the place."

Azalea admitted it was hard to even get her new fiancé to explore her native land, let alone plan a wedding there.

"It took some convincing, because he's 6'8" so he's always too big for the seats on the plane, and he's like, '14 hours? How am I going to make it there? I'm huge!' " she said. "But he made it, he came and I think he's enjoying himself."

The Grammy-nominated rapper says she would like a string quartet to play at the wedding.

"My stepmother, she plays the cello, so I just think that string instruments are so beautiful," Azalea explained. "Whatever it is, it has to be string instruments – they always make everybody cry."

Summary: The Los Angeles Lakers basketball player proposed to Azalea in June


Michael Robinson Chavez | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

: Los Angeles Police Department Commander Andrew Smith (C) talks with an officer at the entrance to Montcalm Avenue, near where the body of Andrew Getty was found in his Hollywood Hills home March 31, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

Andrew Getty, 47, grandson of the oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, was found at his Hollywood Hills home, his family said Tuesday night. No cause of death was given.

Sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News that there was trauma to Getty's body but that its cause wasn't immediately unidentifiable.

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Los Angeles County Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter told reporters "there doesn't appear any criminal activity" and that Getty had been feeling ill in recent days and was supposed to see a doctor Wednesday.

As camera crews from around the world gathered outside the home, police told NBC News that a call came in from an unidentified woman at 2:18 p.m. (5:18 p.m. ET) who reported there was someone dead in the bathroom. Cmdr. Andy Smith, a Los Angeles police spokesman, said a woman who was in the home was being questioned and was being cooperative.

Winter said Getty's body was found lying on his side between a hallway and a bathroom.

Getty was the son of Ann Getty and Gordon Getty, whom Forbes lists as the 869th richest person in the world. The Gettys said they would have no further comment and asked for privacy "during this extremely difficult time."

Summary: Andrew Getty, 47, grandson of the oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, was found at his Hollywood Hills home. No cause of death was given. NBC News reports.


08/24/2015 AT 06:25 PM EDT

wants to make a change.

actress has teamed up with her former classmate, producer Bruce Cohen, to fight for a new name for their Virginia high school, currently named after a Confederate general.

The one-time classmates created a

calling for J.E.B. Stuart High School to be renamed for civil rights leader and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

"When our school was founded in 1959, it was named after Stuart, a Confederate General, to protest the 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling that ended the segregation of public schools,"

. "Today, this school is attended by a diverse group of students who should not have to attend a school that bears the name of a man who fought to keep African Americans enslaved."

It continues: "No one should have to apologize for the name of the public high school you attended and the history of racism it represents, as we and so many alumni of Stuart have felt the need to do our whole lives."

By Monday evening the petition had drawn nearly 29,000 signatures.

Summary: Julianne Moore has teamed up with producer and former classmate Bruce Cohen to bring in nearly 29,000 signatures


Jon Stewart hosts WWE SummerSlam 2015

08/24/2015 AT 12:55 PM EDT

From behind the desk of

... to wielding a chair in the WWE ring!

took his role as host of WWE's SummerSlam 2015 to the next level on Sunday night, hopping into the Barclays Center ring in Brooklyn, New York, to attack U.S. champion (and

after 16 years earlier this month, intervened during a championship match between Seth Rollins and Cena.

Stewart ran up into the ring, shocking fans by throwing a chair not at Rollins, with whom he's verbally sparred before, but instead at Cena. The interference allowed Rollins to walk away with the win. The crowd responded with chants of "Thank you, Stewart."

The Stewart-Rollins "feud" stems back to earlier this year, when the actor teased the athlete online. Rollins subsequently challenged to Stewart to stop by

– and he did, delivering a swift kick to the heavyweight champ.

Another TV star also made his SummerSlam debut on Sunday:

's Stephen Amell. Amell held his own against some of the WWE's best.

Summary: Jon Stewart went after wrestler Jon Cena with a chair during Sunday's WWE SummerSlam


Martin said that in the first six weeks, he had been approached by more than 1,000 investors. He added that between both of his appearances on the show, the company website had 36 million views, numbers that any small company would kill to have. But what does this mean in terms of the only number that really matters—dollars?

"We've had phenomenal growth," he said. "We have revenues of almost $25 million as a company in three years. We're in Wal-Mart, Madison Square Garden ... their sales are up over 30 percent. Radio City Music Hall. There's a lot of NFL locations where it's been fantastic."

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Martin said that he's hoping to double his numbers in 2014. In all, it transformed his business to a degree that would be difficult to replicate through traditional channels.

"If you have an opportunity to be on that show I would go on that show," he said.

Summary: James Martin appeared on “Shark Tank” twice and walked away twice. But like a lot of others who left without a deal, just showing up changed things.


WHEN: Today, Tuesday, July 21st

Following is the unofficial transcript of a FIRST ON CNBC interview with Jet.com Founder and CEO Marc Lore on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) today. Following is a link to video from the interview on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000399355.

All references must be sourced to CNBC.

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: WE'VE GOT TO INTRODUCE A NEW GUEST TO THE TABLE. WATCH OUT AMAZON. THERE'S A NEW PLAYER IN THE E-COMMERCE GAME. AFTER A LOT OF BUZZ, JET.COM WENT LIVE THIS MORNING. THIS IS A NEW PLATFORM THAT AIMS TO GIVE MORE POWER AND PROFIT TO MERCHANTS. IT HAS SET ITS SIGHTS ON A LOFTY BENCHMARK. JET PLEDGING TO REACH $20 BILLION IN REVENUE AND 15 MILLION USERS BY 2020. LET'S HEAR FROM THE MAN BEHIND THE MISSION. MARK LORE'S THE FOUNDER AND CEO OF JET.COM. HE'S ALSO THE FOUNDER OF QUIDSI, THAT WAS THE PARENT COMPANY OF DIAPERS.COM AND SOAP.COM, WHICH AMAZON ACQUIRED FOR $550 MILLION IN 2010. YOUR PARTNER IN THAT WAS THE BROTHER OF PREET BHARARA. LITTLE QUICK FACTOID FOR THOSE PAYING ATTENTION. GOOD MORNING.

SORKIN: SO WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TRYING TO DO HERE? AND HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE ON AMAZON?

LORE: WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO TAKE ON AMAZON, BUT IT'S A SHOPPING CLUB THAT ALLOWS YOU TO SAVE ON EVERYTHING YOU ALREADY BUY. FROM TOOTHPASTE TO TVs, SMALL SIZES, LARGE SIZES, YOU CAN SAVE 10% TO 15% VERSUS THE LOWEST PRICES ONLINE.

MICHELLE CARUSO-CABRERA: I INTERVIEWED YOU BACK WHEN YOU DID A ROUND OF FUND RAISING – YOU WERE ON THE HALFTIME REPORT. IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THE TRADEOFF IS, IF I'M AN AMAZON PRIME MEMBER, I'M GOING TO GET THIS IN TWO DAYS. WITH YOU, I GET IT CHEAPER WITH YOUR SERVICE.

LORE: YEAH, YOU SPEND $50 A YEAR AND THE IDEA IS THAT YOU'LL SAVE HUNDREDS DOLLARS A YEAR VERSUS THE LOWEST PRICES ONLINE.

CARUSO-CABRERA: RIGHT. BUT I DON'T GET IT IN TWO DAYS. I GET IT OVER WHENEVER.

LORE: ALL OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS YOU GET IN ONE OR TWO DAYS. AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE, TWO TO FIVE DAYS.

SORKIN: OK, SO HERE IS THE THING I DON'T GET ABOUT THIS. WHAT I DON'T GET IS HOW YOU CAN OFFER LOWER PRICES AND STILL MAKE A PROFIT THAN AMAZON, WHICH IS CLEARLY BUILT IN INFRASTRUCTURE, HAS A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MERCHANT IN A WAY THAT YOU CAN'T. AT LEAST NOT YET.

LORE: YEAH, TWO WAYS THAT WE DO IT. FIRST, WE ONLY PROFIT FROM THE $50 MEMBERSHIP FEE. SO ALL THE PROFIT WE MAKE ON SELLING PRODUCTS WE PUT BACK INTO PRICE. ALL THE COMMISSION WE GET FROM THIRD PARTY MERCHANTS GOES BACK INTO PRICE. THAT'S FIRST. SECOND THING IS WE BUILT THIS PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY THAT ACTUALLY PULLS COST OUT OF THE SYSTEM. WE ARE PULLING SUPPLY CHAIN COSTS OUT OF THE SYSTEM.

LORE: DYNAMICALLY REPRICING PRODUCTS AS YOU SHOP TO REFLECT THE TRUE MARGINAL COST OF GETTING THAT PRODUCT TO YOU. SO IF YOU HAVE TWO THINGS IN YOUR BASKET AND YOU SHOP FOR A THIRD THING, THE COST OF GETTING THAT THIRD PRODUCT TO YOU VARIES DRAMATICALLY BASED ON WHAT'S YOUR IN BASKET. IF WE CAN GET THAT THING TO YOU IN THE SAME BOX IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO YOU, THE SHIPPING COST IS MUCH LOWER.

CARUSO-CABRERA: AM I GOING TO SEE THAT AS A CUSTOMER? IF I HAD INSTEAD PUT THAT IN MY BOX FIRST, WOULD IT HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT PRICE? YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING?

LORE: YEAH, NO, IT DOESN'T EFFECT THE ORDER. ALWAYS LOOKING AT THE MARGINAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE PRODUCT YOU SEARCH FOR. BUT YES, AS A CONSUMER, YOU'RE EMPOWERED TO PULL COSTS OUT OF THE SYSTEM. WE MAKE ALL THE SUPPLY CHAIN COSTS TRANSPARENT IN THE FORM OF LOWER PRICES. AND SO CERTAIN ITEMS WILL BE CONSIDERED SMART ITEMS AND WILL HAVE BETTER PRICING. AND WE'RE GOING TO SORT OF STEER YOU TO THOSE ITEMS.

SORKIN: OK EXPLAIN THIS. THIS IS A "WALL STREET JOURNAL" STORY THAT SAYS THERE ARE PRODUCTS THAT YOU DON'T SELL OR YOU DON'T KEEP IN INVENTORY. AND SO YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTUALLY GOING OUT AND EFFECTIVELY BUYING THEM FROM OTHER PEOPLE AND YOU'RE LOSING MONEY ON EVERY SALE THAT YOU DO LIKE THIS.

LORE: THAT'S CORRECT. THERE'S A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF PRODUCTS TODAY THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM THIRD PARTY MERCHANTS THAT AREN'T DIRECT MERCHANTS ON THE PLATFORM. BUT THAT'S SIMPLY A BRIDGE TO SCALE. SO WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THOSE PRODUCTS ON THE PLATFORM SOON AND WE DON'T WANT TO DISRUPT THE CONSUMER VALUE PROPOSITION TODAY.

SORKIN: SO HOW MUCH ARE YOU LOSING ON EVERY SALE TODAY AND HOW LONG CAN IT GO ON FOR? AND IS THIS – YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT THE TOP OF SORT OF THE DOTCOM BUBBLE. THERE WERE A LOT OF COMPANIES OUT THERE, THEY WOULD LOSE MONEY ON EVERY SINGLE SALE AND YOU'D SAY, WELL HOW IS THIS REALLY GOING TO WORK?

CARUSO-CABRERA: CASH BURN, CASH BURN. RIGHT.

LORE: YEAH, THE MARKET SIZE IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN IT WAS BACK THEN WITH $300 BILLION ONLINE GOING TO $1.2 TRILLION IN TEN YEARS. THIS IS A MASSIVE MARKET. WE KNOW THE COSTS IT TAKES, WE KNOW WHAT SCALE LOOKS LIKE. WE KNOW HOW MUCH CAPITAL IT IS GOING TO TAKE TO GET THERE.

SORKIN: SO WHAT IS SCALE? HOW LONG CAN YOU GO?

LORE: $20 BILLION. AT $20 BILLION IN REVENUE, YOU'RE AT SCALE. THE MODEL IS ECONOMICALLY VIABLE. AND WE KNOW PRECISELY HOW MUCH CAPITAL IT IS GOING TO TAKE TO GET THERE.

SORKIN: HOW MANY CUSTOMERS DOES THAT REQUIRE?

LORE: IT'S ABOUT 14 OR 15 MILLION CUSTOMERS.

SORKIN: 14 OR 15 – AND HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE IN THE BANK?

SORKIN: BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO BE BURNING THROUGH CASH IT SOUNDS LIKE.

LORE: YEAH, WE HAVE $180 MILLION IN THE BANK TODAY. AND YES, WE'RE GOING TO NEED ACCESS TO MORE CAPITAL AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.

SORKIN: HOW MUCH CAPITAL WILL YOU NEED TO ACTUALLY MAKE THIS MODEL WORK? BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT JEFF BEZOS, BY THE WAY, HE'S NOT MAKING MONEY EITHER. I MEAN, THE STOCK MARKET – YOU KNOW, INVESTORS SEEM TO LIKE IT. BUT FOR SOME REASON I DON'T UNDERSTAND PARTICULARLY. I MEAN, IT'S A VERY INTERESTING COMPANY, BUT –

LORE: LET'S SAY THIS. THE AMOUNT OF CAPITAL WE NEED IS A FRACTION OF THE VALUE WE'LL CREATE WHEN WE GET THERE.

CARUSO-CABRERA: HAVE YOU SPOKEN WITH JEFF BEZOS? I MEAN, YOU OBVIOUSLY KNOW HIM –

SORKIN: DO YOU KNOW – DOES HE HAVE A VIEW ABOUT THIS?

SORKIN: OK SO JUST GO BACK TO THE BUSINESS MODEL FOR A SECOND. HOW MANY YEARS?

SORKIN: IT TAKES YOU FIVE YEARS –

CARUSO-CABRERA: TO GET YOUR $20 BILLION IN REVENUE.

LORE: BUT THEN THE OPPORTUNITY IS THIS IS $1.2 TRILLION MARKET IN TEN YEARS. THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO CREATE A MULTI-HUNDRED-BILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS. SO YEAH, THERE IS PLENTY OF UPSIDE ONCE YOU GET TO $20 BILLION. THAT'S THE IDEA.

CARUSO-CABRERA: SO ARE YOU RELYING ON TAKING MARKET SHARE FROM AMAZON OR ARE YOU RELYING JUST ON THE FACT THE MARKET IS GOING TO GROW SO SUBSTANTIALLY?

LORE: WE'RE GOING TO ADD $900 BILLION ONLINE IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.

CARUSO-CABRERA: "WE" YOU MEAN COLLECTIVELY AS A POPULATION

LORE: COLLECTIVELY. YEAH AS A POPULATION.

CARUSO-CABRERA: HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

LORE: IN THE U.S. ALONE. YEAH.

SORKIN: MEANWHILE, YOU HAVE AMAZON AND WALMART AND OTHERS WHO ARE GOING TO BE INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE, GETTING THE PRODUCT TO YOU, FORGET ABOUT IN A DAY OR TWO. THEY'RE NOW TRYING TO GET YOU THE PRODUCT IN AN HOUR. IN FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, DOES THIS MODEL EVEN LOOK COMPETITIVE ON A RELATIVE BASIS?

LORE: WHEN YOU'RE GETTING THE PRODUCT FASTER, AN HOUR, TWO HOURS, THAT'S EXPENSIVE. YOU'RE ADDING COSTS TO THE SYSTEM. WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS EDUCATE AND TRAIN PEOPLE HOW TO PULL COST OUT OF THE SYSTEM. SO BUILDING BIGGER BASKETS, SMARTER BASKETS TO SAVE MONEY. THIS IS NOT GOING AFTER THE PRIME CUSTOMER.

CARUSO-CABRERA: BUT ULTIMATELY, IT COMES BACK TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION, WHICH IS YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION IS THAT YOU'RE ASSUMING CUSTOMERS WILL WAIT FOR CERTAIN PRODUCTS LONGER. AND THEY ARE WILLING TO DO THAT AND HENCE – AS OPPOSED TO ME, I LIKE EVERYTHING YESTERDAY.

LORE: NOT NECESSARILY. THERE'S 90 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS IN AMERICA THAT DON'T HAVE PRIME AND THIS IS GOING TO BE THE FASTEST AND CHEAPEST SHIPPING OPTION FOR THOSE HOUSEHOLDS. SO TAKE PRIME OUT OF THE EQUATION, THIS IS AN AMAZING VALUE PROPOSITION.

SORKIN: IF I GO ON THE PLATFORM RIGHT NOW, WHAT AM I GOING TO SEE?

CARUSO-CABRERA: I'M ON THERE RIGHT NOW.

SORKIN: WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

SORKIN: AND WHAT SHOULD I BE BUYING? WHAT'S ON SALE TODAY?

LORE: THERE'S NOTHING ON SALE. IT'S EVERYDAY LOW PRICE. THERE'S MILLIONS OF PRODUCTS. THE PRICES ON THE SITE ARE, LIKE I SAID, 10% TO 15% BELOW WHAT YOU WILL FIND ANYWHERE ELSE. AND AS YOU START TO BUILD A BIGGER BASKET, THE PRICES WILL COME DOWN. AND IF YOU ARE CHOOSING SMART CART ITEMS, IT WILL COME DOWN EVEN FURTHER.

CARUSO-CABRERA: I LOOK FOR THINGS LIKE SNEAKERS. YOU DON'T HAVE THAT. THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT I COULD GET ON AMAZON.

LORE: YEAH, THE WHOLE FASHION CATEGORY IS LAUNCHING IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS. RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN SAVE ON SITES LIKE SEPHORA AND ANTHROPOLOGIE AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER SITES. SO WE ACTUALLY JUST SEND YOU TO OTHER RETAIL SITES OUT THERE TO BUY SHOES AND CLOTHES NOW FOR THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS.

SORKIN: GOT IT. LOOK, IF YOU'RE LOSING MONEY ON EVERY PURCHASE, AS A CUSTOMER I HAVE TO LIKE THAT. HOW MUCH ARE YOU GOING TO LOSE? WHAT'S YOUR AVERAGE BURN FOR EACH SPEND?

LORE: YEAH, IT'S ABOUT TODAY ABOUT 20%.

SORKIN: 20%. OK. SO THAT IS A 20% DISCOUNT FOR EVERYBODY.

LORE: BUT THAT GAP CLOSES OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS AND LIKE I SAID, THE AMOUNT OF CAPITAL WE NEED TO GET TO SCALE IS A FRACTION OF THE VALUE WE'LL CREATE WHEN WE GET THERE. E-COMMERCE IS A SCALE GAME. THAT IS WHAT IT IS.

SORKIN: RIGHT. AWESOME. THANK YOU FOR COMING IN. WE WISH YOU ALL THE LUCK WITH IT. THE MORE COMPETITION THE BETTER.

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Summary: First on CNBC: CNBC Transcript: Jet.com Founder & CEO Marc Lore Speaks with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Today


There's several factors that are modestly helpful to stocks today: 1) oil up and stabilizing in the low $80's, 2) some relief that the terrible incident in Canada appears to be the work of alone wolf, and 3) China's manufacturing number slightly better than expected.

Read MoreLook what lower oil prices do to company profits

But these seem like modest contributions to the rally. Two additional factors seem more important:

1) Earnings. By the end of the day, almost 40 percent of the S&P 500 will have reported for this quarter, and the numbers have been good. S&P Capital IQ blended earnings are up 5.5 percent for the S&P; if recent trends hold we should end up roughly 9 percent.

Revenues are up 3.3 percent.

Today, strong reports from 3M (MMM), Caterpillar (CAT) and Union Pacific (UNP) are lifting the Industrials and Transports. A strong report from Diamond Offshore (DO) is lifting drillers. Excellent reports in the automotive space from Group 1 Automotive (GPI), Dana Holdings (DAN) and O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY) are lifting that sector.

Read MoreWatch Art Cashin: Econ data, earnings jolt stocks

One important point: the commentary on weakness in Europe has not been as dire as I thought it would be. S&P 500 companies get roughly 15 to 20 percent of revenues from Europe, so I was assuming that weakness there would be widely discussed. Europe is mentioned in about a quarter of the reports I have seen, but the concerns have been offset by comments about strength in the U.S. or even in China.

2) Hedge funds forced in. This is difficult to measure, but traders almost unanimously have said that hedge funds have been very active sellers during the panic sell-off two weeks ago, and in recent days have been active buyers.

Why? The underperformance of many long/short equity hedge funds has been well-documented. For whatever reason, many have been unsuccessful picking individual long and short stock names that outperform the broader market. We are now entering a seasonally strong period of the year, and with most funds underperforming they are being FORCED into the market.

Bottom line: good earnings, best economy in the world, and money is piling into the U.S. market. One manager told me that all his European clients, the only thing they want to do is buy stuff in the United States. Stocks. Farmland. Anything.

Summary: Good earnings and improving economic data are causing money to pile into the U.S. stock market.


Competitive pricing is relative, however. All three providers have mid-to-high revenue-per-user figures, Brannon said. A company with more subscribers will create savings through economies of scale. "When you think of the pricing power that would give the combined company, I would expect that [consumer] rate increases would be somewhat less," Brannon said. But he said that's a "best-case scenario." The new company might also choose to use any savings to boost its revenue or apply the funds to other projects.

In at least one market—Southern California—consumers could also have access to more content. There, Time Warner Cable is the only major distributor to carry the SportsNetLA channel, jointly owned by the Los Angles Dodgers, Major League Baseball and Time Warner Cable, which means fans of the baseball team who live in one of Charter's service areas currently can't tune in for a game. "It's pretty reasonable to assume that as part of the regulatory conditions for an approval here, the Dodgers problem be worked out once and for all," said Brannon. (A Charter spokesman said that the company will be adding the SportsNetLA channel in "the coming weeks.")

Read MorePriciest concert: Grateful Dead or Taylor Swift?

Where consumers really stand to benefit is in better services. Paid TV providers have been competing more on features than price, said Krishna, and subscribers of the new company could have more access to options like video on demand and app access than they do under current providers. Internet service could improve, too. Time Warner Cable has lagged on broadband speeds; the merger could yield faster connections for those customers, said Brannon. "There is room for tremendous improvement across the board," he said.

It's worth noting that cable companies tend to have dismal customer service reviews. According to the 2014 American Customer Satisfaction Index, subscription television service providers averaged 65 out of 100 points, with Charter and Time Warner scoring even lower at 60 and 56, respectively. (Bright House was not listed.) For perspective, by the latest rankings, consumers were happier with hospitals (average score of 80), airlines (71), and the U.S. Postal Service (69).

To an extent, combining forces provides a clean slate. "When you come up with a new company, saying this is New Charter or what-have-you, it gives you a very, very good way to write a lot of things off your books," said Krishna. "From a marketing standpoint, there's an ability to go back with new messaging." Promises of better service could be enough to lure new subscribers who had a bad experience with one of the companies previously, he said—although how long that grace period will last still depends on whether the cable guy actually shows up on time.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC and CNBC.com.

Summary: Charter Communications' plan to acquire Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks could slow price hikes and improve service.


Beijing and Moscow are competing for influence and profits in Central Asia, invoking a centuries-old battle for the energy-rich area, but political pundits are at odds as to who's winning so far.

Home to some of the world's largest natural gas and coal reserves, Central Asia has been a region of geopolitical strife ever since the original 'Great Game,' a reference to Britain and Russia's political rivalry during the 19th century.

The region has traditionally yielded to Russian power due to its inclusion in the Soviet Union, but China has emerged as a new patron in recent years through new trade relations and investments. Countries like Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are strategic players in Beijing's 'New Silk Road' project, an ambitious attempt to expand Chinese infrastructure across three continents.

Most importantly, Beijing is a net importer of oil and needs the natural resources and raw materials from Central Asia at affordable prices, noted Bhavya Sehgal, head of Asia-Pacific research at Frontier Strategy Group.

In reaction, Moscow has ramped up efforts to secure its position as the region's leading superpower. In January, President Vladimir Putin formally launched the Eurasian Economic Union, comprised of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan.

"Russia is reluctant to further empower China, even in a multilateral setting, as it prefers instead to promote its own regional economic architectures," noted Alexander Cooley, professor of political science at Columbia University, in a March research paper.

Moreover, Russia is making a concerted effort to increase its military and security presence, political risk firm Stratfor argued in a recent report. Putin is likely to use the threat of spillover violence from Islamist militancy in Afghanistan to justify the move, when in reality the Kremlin remains preoccupied with Chinese and U.S. influence, the report said.

Summary: Beijing and Moscow are competing for influence and profits in Central Asia, but political pundits are at odds as to who's winning so far.


For some, the work of the pre-Raphaelites represents little more than a nice birthday card image or chocolate box cover. But that is to underestimate these "revolutionary" paintings, according to Tate Britain, which has announced details of a show presenting the artists in a new light – as radicals who did nothing less than change the world.

The gallery in London said its big autumn show this year would be an exhibition five years in the planning, the first major survey of the 19th-century movement in nearly 30 years.

"We want to present the pre-Raphaelites as the Victorian avant garde," said curator Alison Smith. "Painters who self-consciously reacted against convention, against orthodoxy and established new a benchmark for modern painting both in Britain and internationally."

She said the pre-Raphaelites were revolutionaries. "The movement was invented in Britain and spread abroad. It is the one time when a British art movement changes the world."

Interest in the pre-Raphaelites – in film, TV and music – has rarely been higher, but there has not been a major show since 1984. Before that, the biggest exhibition was in 1948, the movement's centenary year.

The exhibition will argue that the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood – a movement led by William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais – were radicals in terms of technique, choice of subject matter, composition and the way they engaged with the viewer. They explored social, moral and political issues in a way that was new and often shocking.

Smith said the gallery had been planning and negotiating loans for the past five years. Among the highlights will be Hunt's Lady of Shalott, owned by the Wadsworth Atheneum in Connecticut, which has not been seen in the UK since 1951. More than 150 works are due to be exhibited along with photography, furniture and sculpture.

Smith added: "We'll also be showing how they advocated a co-operative or collaborative working practice, to which end they sought to obliterate distinctions between the fine and the decorative arts in order to place art at the centre of life and society."

The pre-Raphaelites entranced audiences but infuriated many critics. Millais even stopped exhibiting publicly because of the hammering he got in the press, but by the end of the century the artists were superstars. "Everyone knew their names and they were the equivalent, you could say, of Damien Hirst today," Smith said.

The Tate will show works that have aroused immense passions. Wyndham Lewis, for example, once hailed Edward Burne-Jones's The Doom Fulfilled as one of the great paintings of all time. Other paintings in the show include The Pretty Baa-Lambs by Ford Madox Brown, perhaps the first time a figure had been painted outside, and many other crowdpleasers such as Millais' Ophelia.

The show will run in London from 12 September to 13 January before travelling to Washington DC and then the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

Some Victorians thought this painting was of a brother and sister in a parlour and at first glance it does look fairly innocent – a bit of playfulness between a man playing the piano and a woman on his lap.

It is, though, nothing less than an explosive exploration of sex, morality and prostitution.

The painting is stuffed with symbolism and required audiences to read it in a completely new way.

The woman is in her undergarments and must be the man's mistress because she is wearing rings on all her fingers bar her wedding finger. The man, a member of the vulgar nouveau riche (all the furniture is brand new), has just arrived and has been fondling her bottom. The shawl around her hips accentuates erogenous parts of her body.

She's in a mess. The man's fallen glove suggests her fate as a discarded mistress will be prostitution while another clue to her plight is the tangle of threads in the bottom right hand corner. The garden reminds her of her innocent past. The light suggests salvation is possible.

It is a good example of Pre-Raphaelist provocation. Curator Alison Smith said: "The colours shock the eye and force you to look at the composition and read it bit by bit. Rather than it being art where you escape from reality, it is art as a means of making you engage or think about something you'd rather not think about."

Summary: Tate Britain's big autumn show is the first major survey of the 19th-century movement in nearly 30 years


It was 1992, and Sarah Lucas and I were on the hunt for a studio. She'd been sharing one with her boyfriend, Gary Hume, but they'd split up. Although I had no money, Sarah had just sold some work to Charles Saatchi for £3,000. "I don't really want to be an artist," I told her, "but I would come to a studio to write, make tea and chat." She said: "You're on." We decided to look around the East End. Back then, nearly every shop on Brick Lane was boarded up – everywhere was, in fact. We looked at each other and said: "It'd be good to have a shop." We knew what each other meant – not a studio, but an actual shop. Once we had the idea, it took us just two days to find one. There's this great photo of us down Bethnal Green Road, drinking a weird East End drink, port and lemon perhaps, toasting our shop. We moved in on 2 January 1993.

We went radical and painted it magnolia because, in those days, everything in the art world was white, white, white, all plinths and perspex. We made as much stuff as we could in the three days before our official opening – anything that came into our heads, out of materials from Brick Lane market. We drew labels on ribbons that said "Help me" and "So boring". They went inside your coat, attached with safety pins. When you were out and got trapped in a difficult conversation, you could flash the label to a friend to get help. They cost 50p. On our opening night, only about six people turned up – but we still sold all our stock.

After that, we made loads of badges and T-shirts. Sarah's slogan for our first batch of T-shirts was "I'm so fucky", and mine was "Have you wanked over me yet?" We had others too: "She's kebab" and "Complete arsehole" – which had complete arsehole backwards on the back, too, so if you saw yourself in the mirror it still said it. It meant you were an arsehole all the way through, the whole of you was a total arsehole. It was really puerile.

We even made a David Hockney altarpiece called Our David. I'd been at a Gilbert & George show and had asked this guy for a light. He said he didn't have one, and I said: "But you've got your cigarette." He still said no. Turns out it was Hockney! I hadn't recognised him. The next day, Sarah and I made loads of drawings of him smoking, then pinned them to our chicken-wire altar.

We used to chain smoke, though we never had any money. But I knew how to make a rabbit and a cat out of a cigarette box, so we'd get the box, sign it, put it in the window and sell it for £3.10 – the price of our next pack of cigarettes.

We had a fish pond, too. All four goldfish were called Ken – it was a popular name then, because of Ken Livingstone [then MP for Brent East]. People could make a wish and throw pennies in the pond. When Sarah and I were broke, we'd raid the wishing well, then write the fish an IOU.

The Shop was open from 11am to 6pm Tuesday to Friday, and from 11pm on Saturdays all the way through to Sunday afternoon. In those days, pubs all closed around 11, so to have somewhere people could go on to was pretty radical. The best party we threw was the last one – on our final night, after being open for about six months. It was my 30th birthday, too. The theme was She's Just About Old Enough to Do Whatever She Wants – no one knew whether it was my birthday or Sarah's. We wanted to go out like rock stars, so we left the door open all night, the idea being that everything would get trashed or stolen.

But what actually happened was that [gallerist] Joshua Compston got us sponsorship from Zeiss beer, which was beer and champagne mixed. So the Zeiss girls turned up: blondes with big makeup and swimsuits with sashes saying Zeiss. They worked behind the counter serving booze and selling our stuff. Sarah and I just partied. In the morning, the shop door was open, there were 500 empty bottles of Zeiss outside, and lots of stuff was missing – but all the money was safe under the counter where the girls had put it.

Lots of people now say they went to The Shop when they didn't, but we know exactly who did because we were there every day. Damien Hirst came in and saw our ashtrays that had his face in them – you put your cigarette out on him. They weren't nasty, though: he was making work about cigarettes then, so it was a homage. And the collector Anthony D'Offay definitely visited, too. There was no advertising, though, just our business cards, made with felt-tip pen. People found out about it through word of mouth. We'd have massive art collectors get off the plane from New York and come in at 11pm on a Saturday night.

Sarah was a hot ticket, at the start of her career, and everyone was coming to London to experience this great new art scene. So if you heard about The Shop, you'd definitely go along. I had no career whatsoever, though. I'd been to art school and done an MA in 1989, so I'd been out in the wilderness for some time, while Sarah had only just finished her degree. In terms of art, she was the most exciting person I'd met in years – hands-on like me, and not really fitting into what was successful at the time. It was quite difficult for us to get into art school. We didn't have A-levels or anything, so we came from a different place and we wanted to work hard at that different place.

Politically, The Shop was a reflection of the times. Everyone was so anally retentive – while me and Sarah were the antithesis of that. People would go: "Have you seen them riding their bikes? It's like a performance. Look!" And we'd go: "How else are we supposed to get around?" The way we priced everything was totally arbitrary, too. It started at 50p and went up to £500 for Sarah's proper work. God knows how much it would all be worth today.

It was just an idea we had at an Indian restaurant on Brick Lane, but we were excited about it right away. We both had an anti-art slant, and this was always more than just a shop: it was a social thing. I remember we wanted it to be in the Brick Lane area mainly because of its bagel shop! But both of us were marketgoers and had sold stuff there when we needed a few bob.

I'd given up on art two years before, but then I had my first solo show and people were clamouring to offer me exhibitions. I needed more time, though, and was giving that whole world a wide berth, or saying: "Well, I'm doing this, see it if you want." I'd stopped having a studio: I've never been very studio-ish, I'm still not. And Tracey was mainly writing at the time, although she had been to art college. "I'll just work at home," I thought, but my place was very small, and you do start climbing the walls.

We never knew who or what would come in the shop door. It was all quite surreal, especially the Saturday nights. There was always an opportunity for a chat, which Tracey and I both enjoy. I got to know so many new people from the broader art scene. Our personalities, our ways of dealing with people, are totally different: Tracey would be brutally honest – if she hasn't got time for you, she says so in no uncertain terms – whereas I was quite nice. It was your typical good cop/bad cop scenario. If you're open all night, though, things can get troublesome. One time we were in there drunk and someone lobbed a bottle right through the window.

We would buy cheap things then customise them. Tracey's T-shirt with the slogan "She's kebab" was a bestseller, and the Damien Hirst ashtray was Tracey's idea, too. We also stuck pictures of ourselves on mugs. Not everything was collaborative, though. The best things I made alone were small, delicate mobiles with pictures of me hanging from them.

Tracey decided we would sell the first T-shirt of a batch for a fiver, the next for a tenner, and keep doubling. They never really got past £50 though. The most expensive thing we sold was an octopus I made with a bit of help from Tracey – she stuck a hairpiece on it. We sold it to Anthony D'Offay. He said he liked it, so we proposed a price: our rates bill. We hadn't paid it and were worried about not having enough. It came to around £600.

The Tate now has an artwork called The Last Night of The Shop, a sheet hung with things we sold in there. Everyone was trashed at the massive, crazy closing party. Tracey's dad was even there, which was funny. We heaped up all the empties into a mountain. I must have temporarily blacked out because I remember waking up on top of it.

I'm not a spokesperson for the time, but The Shop did bring a lot of strands together. It was a part of the Shoreditch revolution, of east London becoming somewhere to hang out. After it shut, we were knackered. It had been round-the-clock for six months. Tracey and I were offered an art project in Geneva, which we said yes to. Eating ice cream out there the whole time, we felt like a couple of recuperating old grannies.

Summary: Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas on the brazen T-shirts, big-name clientele and wild closing party that made their art shop the place to be in 93


J.P. Morgan, which was overweight South Korean shares at the start of 2014, downgraded its rating to underweight last month. Apart from worries about a stronger won, the recent collapse in the oil markets contributed to downward pressure on the Kospi.

"We are nervous about the auto industry's competitiveness, considering the weakening of the euro and yen, as well slowing auto sales in China," Mowat said. "There are also worries about engineering construction companies, which are very exposed to oil fluctuations."

Standard Chartered also cut its rating, although it went to neutral, in a report issued last week, citing risks from rising interest rates in the U.S. and the lack of a strong pickup in earnings growth next year.

Read MoreWhy China-South Korea trade pact is a win-win

Meanwhile, HSBC expects lukewarm growth in the country's exports to limit advances of the South Korean bourse next year. Out of the 770 companies listed on the Kospi, 74 percent are export-oriented firms.

"The U.S. was a bright spot in the latest export data, [but] Europe continued to disappoint while exports to Japan decreased due to yen depreciation. Emerging market exports, including China, increased, but only marginally," HSBC's analysts wrote in a note. "Taking all this into account, exports in 2015 will only show gradual improvement, which means corporate earnings will find it difficult to escape the low growth environment."

However, the government's mulling of new tax breaks to encourage businesses to increase wages and dividends may provide room for an upside surprise in 2015, according to Ryan Huang, market strategist at IG.

"The new rules may spur companies to divert the cash to investments, dividends or share buybacks. Samsung has reportedly made plans to boost its dividend [payout] to 50 percent next year and we may see more following suit," Singapore-based Huang told CNBC. "This could attract more investors and funds into South Korean equities and lift the Kospi."

Summary: South Korean shares started 2014 as analysts' darling, but after losing nearly 5 percent year-to-date, they are fast falling out of favor.


The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 closed about 1.3 percent lower Tuesday after an earlier rally, their biggest negative reversal since October 2008. Apple—which Seymour called a "market proxy stock"—climbed as much as 7 percent before ending the day up 0.6 percent.

Read MoreDow swings 645 points in massive reversal

Apple can be traded if it approaches $94 per share, he said. The stock—which Seymour owns—closed just below $104 Tuesday.

Trader Karen Finerman looked to another blue chip, JPMorgan Chase to ride out volatility. The stock closed Tuesday about half a percent lower.

Finerman said she added to her stake in the bank Monday. She highlighted its dividend yield of almost 3 percent and price-to-earnings ratio of about 10.

Read MoreCramer: The huge surge reversal—get ready for more

Southern could also serve as a "safe" play, trader Steve Grasso added. It fell about 2.5 percent Tuesday but looks appealing at that price as it has a dividend yield of about 5 percent, he said.

Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JPM, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, SINA, YHOO.

Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long DVN, BP, COP, CVX, FCX, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, VALE

Karen is long BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, M call spreads, SUNE call spreads, SUNE puts, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International.

Summary: "Fast Money" traders picked stable stocks after the Dow and S&P 500 saw their biggest negative reversal since October 2008.


Hillary Clinton and John Legend

10/15/2015 AT 04:15 PM EDT

Happy birthday, Madame (potential) President.

is turning 68 on Oct. 26, and to celebrate she's throwing herself a blowout

The sure-to-be star-studded guest list is still unknown but we can tell you that

is set to perform at the party – where Clinton says she "might even dance," according to an invitation obtained by PEOPLE.

The Democratic front-runner, who became a

in September 2014, is embracing turning another year older.

"Some women don't like to discuss their ages, but I think that on your birthday, you should live it up!" Clinton writes on the invite. "This year, I'm excited to celebrate the fact that I'm running to be the youngest woman ever to be President of the United States."

Tickets run from $250 to $2700. Proceeds for the party – on Oct. 25, one day before Clinton's actual birthday – will go to her campaign.

Summary: Hillary Clinton is throwing herself a birthday party in NYC on Oct. 25


Aerosmith screamer Steven Tyler walked his way right onto the stage at Fenway Park Sunday night, joining the Zac Brown Band on a couple of Aerosmith classics: “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.”

Before launching into the latter of the two songs, Tyler turned to Brown and said, “Gee, let me think, what else could we do — something the [Boston] Globe maybe could write about?”

Aerosmith performed at Fenway in 2010, but it was Zac Brown who made history this weekend, becoming the first act to sell 105,000 tickets during their three-night run at the ballpark.

Tyler wasn’t the only special guest Sunday. The Berklee Reverence Gospel Choir, directed by Dennis Montgomery III, joined Brown and his band on stage all three nights. The choir, which includes Montgomery singing falsetto, backed ZBB on “Remedy,” “I’ll Be Your Man,” and a cover of “Let It Be.”

Montgomery, who’s been directing the choir for 25 years, told us afterward he had two members of the Zac Brown Band as students at Berklee — Clay Cook and Matt Mangano — and a third student of his — Maureen Murphy — returned to perform with the choir at the Fenway shows.

“I felt like a proud papa,” Montgomery said, admitting he’d never been to Fenway before despite living in Boston since 1983. “What I really loved about it was that it was almost as if my past students never left my classroom, the musical chemistry was so great.”

Brown played Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” on Friday, and a rendition of the Dropkick Murphys’s “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” Saturday. So Tyler’s appearance Sunday closed out a weekend of Boston-inspired music.

Watch Steven Tyler perform with the Zac Brown Band here:

Summary: The Boston native and Aerosmith frontman joined the Zac Brown Band on stage at Fenway on Sunday night.


Five years ago a new poet appeared, styling himself the representative of America, the mouthpiece of free institutions, the personification of all that men had waited for. His writings were neither poetry nor prose, but a curious medley, a mixture of quaint utterances and gross indecencies, a remarkable compound of fine thoughts and the sentiment of the pot-house. It was not an easy.

LEAVES OF GRASS. Boston: THAYER & ELDRIDGE. Year 85 of the States -- 1860-61. 1 vol., pp. 456.

THE PANIC, AS SEEN FROM PARNASSUS, and other Poems. By CHAMPION BISSELL. New-York: T.J. CROWEN. 1 vol., pp. 286.

POEMS. By WILLIAM H. HOLCOMBE, M.D. New-York: MASON BROTHERS. 1 vol., pp. 360.

POEMS: LYRIC AND IDYLLIC. By EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN. New-York: CHARLES SCRIBBER. 1 vol., pp. 196.

task to winnow the chaff from the wheat; the tares came up in such heavy luxuriance that they stunted the chance kernels of the grain, and nothing hut the most vigorous of threshing was adequate to the elimination of one pure thought. That first edition of the Leaves of Grass was the earliest appearance of Mr. WALT. WHITMAN as an author. For a debutant, he was sufficiently egotistic and assuming. He announced, with a degree of confidence which could only have been the natural result of unparalleled self-conceit, that his mission lay in the reformation of the public taste, that the American people were to be enlightened and civilized and cultivated up to the proper standard, by virtue of his superior endowments, and that, being "a Kosmos," and inclined to "loafe" at his ease, and "invite his soul," he could afford to wait for the public's warm appreciation of his self-sacrifice, and to recline in a comfortable attitude until the world saw fit to come round to him Two years after the publication of the first thin and unprepossessing volume of the Leaves, a larger edition appeared, and that again is followed by a third and still more pretentious book, the present issue from the Boston house of THAYER & ELDRIDGE.

Mr. WHITMAN has added to this volume a large collection of his writings which have never been given to the public. If possible, he is more reckless and vulgar than in his two former publications. He seems to delight in the contemplation of scenes that ordinary men do not love, or which they are content to regard as irremediable evils, about which it is needless to repine. Mr. WHITMAN sees nothing vulgar in that which is commonly regarded as the grossest obscenity; rejects the laws of conventionality so completely as to become repulsive; gloats over coarse images with the gusto of a RABELAIS, but lacks the genius or the grace of RABELAIS to vivify or adorn that which, when said at all, should be said as delicately as possible.

Yet it would be unjust to deny the evidences of remarkable power which are presented in this work. In his hearty human sympathy, his wonderful intensity, his fullness of epithet, the author shows that he is a man of strong passion, vigorous in thought and earnest in purpose. He is uncultured, rude, defiant and arrogant, but these are faults of his nature which have not been tempered by severe training. Occasionally, a gleam of the true poetic fire shines out of the mass of his rubbish, and there are tender and beautiful touches in the midst of his most objectionable and disagreeable writings. A rough diamond, much in need of cutting and grinding and polishing, he has great intrinsic worth, but the impurities which cling about him must keep him out of the refined company he desires to enter. To bean agent for the civilization of men, he must first himself become civilized. He can do no manner of good by throwing fifth, even though a handful of pure gold be sometimes mingled with a cast from his moral cesspool.

Nearly two hundred poems, of all sizes and qualities, are contained in this edition. Two dozens of these are properly the Leaves of Grass, grouped under that title, and mainly published in former editions. Chants Democratic and Native American comprise twenty-one curious specimens of composition, which are neither metrical nor harmonious. Fifteen others are collected under the comprehensive heading of Enfans d'Adam, and are humanitary. Fifteen others are Messenger Leaves. Four hundred and fifty pages of these productions establish the industry of the writer; and the fact that a respectable house has undertaken their publication, illustrates a lively faith in the eagerness of the public for the reception of novelties.

Some of the finer passages in this intricate maze of incongruous materials occur in the first hundred pages. Take the following weird conceit:

A child said: What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands.

How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is, any more than he.

..... I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord, A scented gift and remembrancer, designedly dropped, Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say, Whose?

...... Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the vegetation:

...... And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves."

In "Chants Democratic," the poet discourses of strong wills, and mirrors the image of the reformer.

"How beggarly appear poems, arguments, orations, before an electric deed!

How the floridness of the materials of cities shrivels before a man's or woman's look!

All waits, or goes by default, till a strong being appears;

A strong being is the proof of the race, and of the ability of the universe;

When he or she appears, materials are overawed, The dispute on the Soul stops.

The old customs and phrases are confronted, turned back, or laid away."

Again, he studies faces, and draws sharply-lined portraits:

This face is a life-boat;

This is the face commanding and bearded; it asks no odds of the rest;

This fact is flavored fruit, ready for eating;

This face of a healthy, honest boy, is the programme of all good."

Summary: Five years ago a new poet appeared, styling himself the representative of America, the mouthpiece of free institutions, the personification of all that men had waited for. His writings were neither poetry nor prose, but a curious medley, a mixture of quaint utterances and gross indecencies, a remarkable compound of fine thoughts and the sentiment of the pot-house. It was not an easy...


A California jury awarded Apple Inc. $1.05 billion and a sweeping victory in its patent infringement suit against South Korean electronics maker Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday, a decision that could make it harder for competitors to challenge the iPhone and iPad in the massive global market for smartphones and tablet computers.

“It appears to be a total victory for Apple,” said Michael J. Belliveau, a patent attorney with the Boston law firm Clark & Elbing LLP. “All its patents survived and most, if not all, of Samsung’s devices were found to be infringing. A lot of smartphone companies are going to be thinking about how they can redesign their phones, starting tonight.”

After a three-week federal trial in San Jose — just 10 miles from Apple’s Silicon Valley headquarters — a jury of seven men and two women found that Samsung infringed six of the seven Apple patents at the heart of the suit. They included designs for some of the user-friendly features that have made smart devices so popular, including the “bounce” users see when scrolling a list and reaching the end, and the “pinch” used to shrink or expand images on a touchscreen.

“Apple’s innovations are being vindicated here, and, in particular, the software and user interface design innovations that they’ve created are being upheld most strongly,” said Charles Golvin, principal analyst with Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge. “That has implications not just for Samsung but also for Google, as the maker of the Android platform, and for all of the other Android licensees — Motorola, HTC, and also potentially for Microsoft, who uses similar features in the Windows phone.”

For Samsung alone, the stakes are huge. Samsung has sold 22.7 million smartphones and tablets that Apple claimed use its technology, according to Apple attorney Harold McElhinny, who said those devices have accounted for $8.16 billion in sales since June 2010. Apple is pursuing additional legal action, challenging more recent products from Samsung.

There are some 50 lawsuits over technology rights among companies jockeying for position in the growing $219 billion market for smartphones and computer tablets.

Although the $1.05 billion in damages awarded to Apple is one of the largest penalties in an intellectual property case, it fell short of the $2.5 billion Apple contended that Samsung should pay for copying its iPhone and iPad technology. The jury also denied a Samsung claim that Apple had copied some of its designs, and denied a Samsung request that Apple pay a penalty of $399 million.

The verdict is “huge,” said Michael Oh, founder of Tech Superpower, a local Apple retailer. “Samsung obviously skirted pretty close to the iPad design and has paid the price.”

Samsung and Apple are the world’s two largest makers of the high-end, hand-held devices that blend the functions of a phone with a computer. Together they control nearly half of the worldwide market for smartphones. Apple extended the iPad’s dominance in tablet computers in the second quarter, shipping nearly 7 out of every 10 tablets, according to research firm IHS iSuppli in El Segundo, Calif.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

“Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer,” Samsung said. “It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies. . . . This is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world.”

The patent fight dates to 2010, when Samsung released its Galaxy line of smartphones. Steve Jobs, the cofounder of Apple who died Oct. 5, contacted Samsung over his concerns that the phones copied the iPhone, according to trial testimony.

The allegations over intellectual property contrast with the commercial ties that bind the two companies. Apple is Samsung’s biggest customer, accounting for about 9 percent of its revenue, according to a Bloomberg analysis. The sale of Samsung chips to Apple, destined for iPhones and iPads, will be worth as much as $7.5 billion this year, a 60 percent jump from 2011, according to estimates from Gartner Inc., a researcher based in Stamford, Conn.

Yet Samsung and Apple have faced each other in a number of legal battles. Apple won a US court order on June 29 blocking sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone, the first to use Google Inc.’s Android 4.0 operating system. The product has remained on the market as Samsung appeals the order.

In November, Samsung won a battle in an Australian court that allowed customers to buy Samsung’s rival to the iPad.

On Friday, a court in Seoul ordered each company to stop selling some smartphones and tablets in South Korea and pay damages after ruling that they infringed each other’s patents.

Today, Apple has a market valuation of $622 billion, higher than any other company on the planet. Apple had revenue of $39.2 billion in the second quarter of this year, compared with Samsung’s revenue of $41.4 billion for its most recent quarter. Apple’s stock closed Friday at $663.22, up just 59 cents for the day. Within an hour of the verdict, its shares had surged more than $10 in after-market trading.

Summary: A California jury awarded Apple Inc. $1.05 billion and a sweeping victory in its patent infringement suit against Korean electronics maker Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday, a decision that could potentially make it tougher for competitors to challenge the iPhone and iPad in the massive global market for smartphones and tablet computers. “It appears to be a total victory for Apple,” said Michael J. Belliveau, a patent attorney with the Boston law firm Clark & Elbing LLP. “All its patents survived.”


11/13/2015 AT 03:30 PM EST

isn't immune to embarrassing dad stories.

to discuss the final installment of the film franchise, while offering up hilarious childhood tidbits – as one does when prompted by Jimmy Fallon.

It didn't take long for Banks to think of an embarrassing story from her childhood, especially when her father and sister are sitting in the audience.

"I was 12 or 13 years old, so the peak of embarrassment and horribleness," the actress-director begins, telling the TV host about what starts off as an innocent car ride.

"He hocks up a loogie, spits it out the front window, aerodynamics takes it, right into the back window and slaps me in the face with it," she says before offering up an appropriate hashtag for the occasion: "#StopItDad"

If a teen Banks is anything like us at that age, we're not sure if we'd be able to have the strength to sit near an open window again. Unsurprisingly, the

director no longer has any qualms with her dad about the incident.

"I obviously love him, he's here," she says.

Elizabeth Banks: actress, director and survivor of embarrassing dad stories.

Summary: The Hunger Games actress shares a LOL-worthy story involving her dad and a car ride


Cambridge biotech Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it is eliminating 80 jobs, about 25 percent of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting push.

The move, which will affect all major departments, will leave about 230 employees at the 11-year-old company, which develops treatments for rare diseases.

Aegerion said in a statement that the cuts are an effort to conserve cash and reduce expenses in the face of increased competition. In particular, it cited the introduction of rival therapies vying with its cholesterol-lowering drug Juxtapid, approved by US regulators in 2012.

The company plans to complete its layoffs, including severance payments and related costs, by the end of the second quarter, its statement said.

“We believe this action better aligns the company’s resources with our current strategy and market opportunity for Juxtapid,” said Aegerion chief executive Mary Szela.

Szela took the helm at Aegerion at the start of 2016 after the resignation of her predecessor, Marc Beer, who was scolded in so-called warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration in 2013 for exaggerating Juxtapid’s benefits in a television appearance.

Summary: Cambridge biotech Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it will eliminate 25 percent of its workforce. The move will leave about 230 employees at the 11-year-old company, which develops treatments for rare diseases.


02/12/2016 AT 04:55 PM EST

When it comes to finding love in unexpected ways, one couple from Florida takes the prize.

Amy Giberson and Justin Pounders, both 33, matched on a dating site in 2014, but it took them months to figure out they had been

. The two actually met for the first time at Sunshine Preschool in their hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida – flirting over building blocks and games of tag.

Amy and Justin in Pre-K and Amy and Justin now

Now, Amy and Justin are engaged to be married and they want to share their tips for finding true love – online.

"Valentine's Day is the best time to give online dating a go, because what do you have to lose?" Amy tells PEOPLE. "Put yourself out there! Hey, you could even meet your long lost love from preschool!"

Her fiancÃ© agrees. "You never know what you may find," Justin tells PEOPLE.

The couple says that if you're meeting a date for the first time on Valentine's Day, consider bringing them a fun gift.

"A sports shirt of their favorite team or a bottle of wine or a case of beer is pretty safe," says Amy. "It shows them you're thoughtful without being too heavy."

"Yes and I would also say flowers are a good bet. I feel like flowers are also sort of expected!" says Justin.

Newly engaged Amy and Justin sharing a hot chocolate

"Be honest about whether you're ready to date and find someone and commit to them. Online dating can deter people because you can feel like one of the many," says Amy. "But be positive! Think of it as an exciting adventure."

"Fifty selfies on a profile is really not impressive," advises Justin. "What drew me to Amy was her positive energy, she looked like she was enjoying life."

"I've seen profiles where it's like reading a book," Justin says. "Keep it simple!"

"Unless you're Ben Higgins, a helicopter ride for the first time you meet in person usually isn't the best choice. Avoid loud places so you can have an actual in-depth conversation. That way you can really get to know the person!" says Justin.

Summary: "Valentine's Day is the best time to give online dating a go, because what do you have to lose?" Amy, 33, tells PEOPLE.


02/23/2016 AT 08:25 PM EST

isn't letting heartbreak hold her back.

A few days after announcing her

, Alexander is back at work on set of NBC's

Lucky for Alexander, 31, her character Jane has helped her learn how to cope with challenges and start fresh.

"The great thing about Jane is she takes it one day at a time and I think that's such an important lesson for all of us," the actress tells PEOPLE of what she's learned from her character. "Anything you have coming your way, good or bad, just take it one day at a time. You don't have to worry too much about what's to come or what has been, you just focus on the present situation."

actress has also learned that she can look to others during tough times.

"When things get a little heavy for her, which is pretty much all the time, she puts her focus on others," she says of Jane.

While this action heroine frequently plays the tough girl she's got a softer side and she connects to her

"I can relate to her vulnerability," she says. "She continually inspires me to better myself and be myself and be true to what's going on in my life."

After being engaged for nearly one year, Alexander and Facinelli, 42, announced on Friday that they were going their separate ways.

"Due to conflicting family and work commitments on opposite coasts, and after much consideration, Peter and Jaimie have chosen to part ways amicably and remain good friends," their reps told PEOPLE exclusively.

returns Monday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

Summary: The Blindspot actress reveals what she's learned about coping from her on-camera persona


No character in world literature brings in quite so many dawns as Genji, the dashing, amorous hero of the 11th-century court romance “Genji Monogatari” (”The Tale of Genji”). That’s partly due to the prolific nocturnal exploits of this sybaritic son of the Heian emperor and a favorite concubine.

The arrival of dawn is a kind of narrative code, telling us by an elegant act of indirection that the protagonist has taken an encounter with a lady the whole way. We grow used to the spectacle of Genji engaged in repartee, often through highly stylized poems—and then suddenly it is dawn. The tale is one of the most emphatically erotic yet discreetly hushed works of literature ever written.

The signposting of dawn reminds us also of the extent of the empathy exhibited by and the limits of the freedoms available to the writer Murasaki Shikibu, herself a Japanese noblewoman of the Heian court.

Murasaki describes a lush, courtly world where love is not just beautiful in itself, but also subsumed in a cult of beauty. Paper, poetry, letters, conversation, curtains, robe-sleeves and flowers carry intricate romantic meanings in this massive book, newly translated into more than 1,300 resplendent pages of English by Dennis Washburn, a professor of Asian Studies at Dartmouth College.

Despite the decorum, there is still much that is shocking and thrilling about Murasaki’s material. Not only is the protagonist a compulsive womanizer, but his amours also overturn the boundaries of hierarchy and morality. The greatest obsession of Genji’s life is Fujitsubo, the woman taken as a consort by his father, the emperor.

When he grows up, Genji has many affairs, but the one woman unavailable to him, Fujitsubo, is the one he desires the most. Finally he has his way with her, and she becomes pregnant by him. When she gives birth to a son, everyone believes that it is the Emperor who is the child’s father.

Later, Genji falls in love with, and takes into his own household, a beautiful child named Murasaki. A passage in which Murasaki is shown realizing that her protector is not so much a father as a husband, and she herself is an object not of compassion but of desire, is one of the book’s many fine moments in which characters are shown being transformed by the turnings of thought. Somewhere between the start of a sentence and the end, a child has become an adult.

It’s not without reason, then, that “Genji Monogatari” has been called “the world’s first novel” because of the level of psychological depth achieved in its depiction of character. Mr. Washburn asserts that the label “novel” is false in that it retrospectively imposes a literary category, with its own history in place and time, onto Murasaki’s work.

But then novel-writing has always invited a productive miscegenation of genres. Murasaki’s work borrows elements of folk tales, diaries, court chronicles, nature poetry and Buddhist parables. Her characters repeatedly assert the Buddhist belief in the transience of worldly pleasures and the law of karma. Yet their sexual and spiritual torments and moral and aesthetic acuity overspill the very frame they fashion—which is another sign of the complex meaning-making and dramatic irony that is the natural province of fiction.

Genji’s shenanigans can sometimes become wearisome. But what redeems him as he grows older is his expanding awareness not just of the ecstasies, but also the duties, of desire.

Knowing that he has led perhaps the richest and most varied life of anyone in his age, Genji strives to forge an ethical system beyond the rules and codes of tradition. He installs the most cherished women of his life in separate parts of an elaborately landscaped estate, repeatedly inquiring after old lovers even after all passion is spent. And he attends fondly to both his own children and those of others.

Power does not make Genji a coarser man. Rather, from first to last we see him rapt in both nature and culture: birdsong, moonlight, clouds and the play of the seasons, as also the subtleties of poetry, painting, music and dress. Even when he finds out that he himself has been cuckolded, Genji’s natural empathy eventually leads him to feel for his adversary. “He was by nature a tolerant man,” murmurs the narrator, “who never tried to impose on others the idea that there was only one right way to lead their lives.”

Late in the story, we see Genji’s love of life broken, finally, by the death of his beloved Murasaki. In one of the book’s most poignant reversals, his son finds Genji gazing at his departed wife “in the dim light of early dawn.”

Mr. Choudhury is a Delhi-based writer. His books include the novel “Arzee the Dwarf” (HarperCollins) and the anthology “India: A Traveler’s Literary Companion” (Whereabouts).

Summary: One of the most erotic yet discreetly hushed works of literature ever written. ‘The Tale of Genji,’ reviewed by Chandrahas Choudhury in The Wall Street Journal.


General Michael Hayden, a former director of the National Security Agency (NSA), has been chosen to replace Porter Goss, who unexpectedly quit on Friday after only 18 months in the job.

The appointment of Hayden, barely 72 hours after his predecessor resigned has thrust the US intelligence community back into the spotlight.

Hayden, who was also the deputy director of national intelligence, will take over, pending congressional confirmation, at one of the most difficult times in the CIA's history.

Speaking at the White House announcement, Hayden addressed CIA employees who will have to adapt to another change in leadership at America's premier spy agency.

"To the men and women of the CIA, if I'm confirmed, I would be honoured to join you and work with so many good friends. Your achievements are frequently under-appreciated and hidden from the public eye."Cross-party concernBut there was criticism from both Democrats and Republicans on the choice of appointing a military officer as head of a civilian spy agency.

Susan Collins, a Republican senator, said: "To send a signal of independence from the Pentagon, he may want to consider retiring from the Air Force."Â

Dick Durbin, a Democratic senator, called the appointment "troubling", saying "many Republicans and Democrats believe he is the wrong choice, at the wrong time".Some have questioned whether Hayden will be able to provide the president with the independent voice he needs at the CIA and whether his allegiance to the Pentagon will hamper his new role. "The appointment of General Hayden is the latest example of President Bush giving promotions to those who have led the greatest attacks on our Constitution and fundamental freedoms"Anthony Romero, American Civil Liberties UnionDuring his tenure at the NSA, Hayden saw the creation of a warrant-less domestic surveillance programme aimed at intercepting communications between suspected terrorists outside the US and those within it.

"The appointment of General Hayden is the latest example of President Bush giving promotions to those who have led the greatest attacks on our Constitution and fundamental freedoms"Anthony Romero, American Civil Liberties Union

The undertaking of that programme will certainly be raised during Hayden's confirmation hearings in Congress.

Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union has already criticised the nomination, saying: "The appointment of General Hayden is the latest example of President Bush giving promotions to those who have led the greatest attacks on our constitution and fundamental freedoms." Many questionsAdmiral Stansfield Turner, a former CIA director, said Hayden was qualified to head the spy agency but raised concerns on what role he played in the NSA domestic surveillance programme.

"By background, by training, by his experience he certainly is qualified to be the director of the CIA for our country but you have to worry about whether he has broken the law in his previous activities, and if so then he is not qualified."

John Negroponte, the national intelligence director, defended the choice of a military officer.

"I believe the president has selected the best person, civilian or military, to lead the CIA in this critical period."

He also cited Hayden's experience at the NSA adding that he expects "quite a bit of questioning about this issue" but believes that Hayden "will be prepared to answer any questions that might arise".Â

Some administration officials have been quick toÂ play downÂ the resignation of Goss and the nomination of Hayden, saying it is part of an overhaul being spearheaded by Josh Bolten, the new White House chief of staff.

Summary: George Bush's choice for the next director of the CIA has drawn criticism in Washington.


Al-Arabiya's Atwar Bahjat and two colleagues from the local Wassan media company, engineer Adnan Khairullah and cameraman Khalid Mahmoud, were in the city to cover the bombing on Wednesday of a revered Shia shrine.

Their employers lost contact with them on Wednesday night.

Their bullet-riddled bodies were found on Thursday morning near their vehicle, cameras and satellite dish on the outskirts of the city, 95km north of Baghdad, police Captain Laith Muhammad said.

The office ofÂ Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president,Â called the killing "a criminal and cowardly act" in a statement that praised Bahjat and her colleagues as professional journalists who "never stopped defending the truth".Â When a reporter asked Talabani during a news conference to allow journalists to carry weapons to defend themselves, he said: "Send me an official request and I will approve it and inform concerned agencies to give you the right to carry arms."Â Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the Iraqi prime minister, ordered security authorities to find the killers of the three journalists and bring them to justice.

The three journalists had been reporting live on Wednesday from the edge of Samarra, which was sealed off by security forces after the early morning explosion at the Askariya shrine, also known as the Golden Mosque.

Bahjat's last broadcast was at 6pm (1500 GMT), Al-Arabiya said.

The team was preparing to return to Kirkuk when two gunmen pulled up in pickup truck, shooting in the air and shouting: "We want the correspondent," according to a cameraman who evaded capture, Al-Arabiya reported.

The three were taken away, and their bodies were found about 10km northeast of Samarra, police and Al-Arabiya said.

Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders expressed horror at the killings.

"We will never stop repeating that journalists are neutral and vital observers," the group said in a statement. "They are neither combatants nor targets to be shot down. Their work must be protected and respected, whatever their nationality and regardless of which media they work for."

A total of 82 journalists and media assistants have been killed since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, including seven this year, according to a Reporters Without Borders Count.

Bahjat, who left Aljazeera in December to join Al-Arabiya, was the seventh woman journalist killed.

Summary: The bodies of three Iraqi journalists, including a well-known correspondent for Al-Arabiya television, have been found near Samarra, police and the Arabic network said.


At this 4-hour intensive class from Constant Contact, attendees will learn the basics of digital marketing, including best practices for social media and public relations, and how to build and manage an online brand. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Constant Contact, 1601 Trapelo Rd., Waltham. Free.

The Boston Area sustainability Group, a group for environmental professionals, will meet to discuss the hidden costs of climate change. State Senator Michael Barrett of Lexington is one of the speakers slated to talk about how businesses and regulators can work together to address the climate crisis. Tuesday, 6 to 8:30 p.m., Cambridge Innovation Center, Venture Cafe, fifth floor, One Broadway, Cambridge. $10 for students and nonprofits, $12 for professionals.

Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Robert DeLeo will be speaking at a Government Affairs Forum event by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Seats must be reserved one day in advance. Wednesday, 7:45 to 9 a.m., Boston Park Plaza, 50 Park Plaza, Boston. $55 for members, $100 for non-members.

The Center for Collaborative Leadership at UMass Boston is hosting a full-day leadership workshop for executives. The interactive session will teach attendees problem-solving and management skills. Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Seaport Hotel, 1 Seaport Lane, Boston. $750.

The Harvard Ed Portal is having an event for job-seekers on how to use LinkedIn to build a career. This workshop will teach attendees how to tailor a profile to target a specific professional sector or industry. Wednesday, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Harvard Ed Portal, 224 Western Ave., Allston. Free.

Summary: Online marketing, carbon realities and more notable things to know.


03/09/2016 AT 01:50 PM EST

Tom England is on a lucky streak.

The college student won fourth-row tickets to a

concert that just happened to fall during his spring break, meaning he was at home in St. Louis, Missouri, for it, instead of at school at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's La Salle University.

Then, he happened to be friends with Anthony Lucci and Greg Squassi, two fellow La Salle students and Springsteen fans who made it onstage with the Boss in 2014 during a stop in Hershey, Pennsylvania. England drafted them for advice on how to fulfill his goal of getting onstage with the Boss.

Lucci's suggestion was to make a sign and throw it in the air as soon as Springsteen finished playing

," the 1980 album he's been playing in its entirety on the current tour. England's sign "was big and obnoxious,"

, and read, "Can I work on the highway with the E Street Band?" a reference to the song of the same name from Springsteen's

That was half the battle. "I saw him read it," England continued. He told Springsteen he plays guitar. "Okay, if you play guitar, what key is 'Working on the Highway' in?" Springsteen asked. "C!" England responded from the crowd. Springsteen then turned to the band in jest and asked, "Is that right? Is it in C?"

England then found himself onstage with an acoustic guitar in his hand, with Springsteen jokingly warning him, "I hope you know what you're doing."

"I was so just happy," England, a business student, recalled. "It felt like I was playing with my really good friendsâ¦ It was just so surreal and Bruce was just so graciousâ¦ I want one more chance just to thank him again."

"I've never felt more alive. That was the most fun I've ever had in my life and Bruce was able to make it happen."

Summary: "I hope you know what you're doing," Springsteen joked to Tom England after inviting him onstage


Working in a cubicle is a daily reality for millions of people across the U.S., and much of the time, the luck of the draw determines which co-worker will sit on the other side of the divider. That person may have distracting idiosyncrasies, but with a little communication, patience and sound-canceling headphones, peaceful coexistence is possible.

As anyone who's worked in an open-plan office can tell you, it doesn't always work out that way. Many such workplaces are plagued by larger-than-life personalities whose quirks and habits are difficult to work around and impossible to ignore.

CNBC.com asked people from all over the professional world if they had ever had cubicle neighbors fitting this description, and they spat back a hornet's nest. It would seem that when it comes to cubicle neighbors with unbearable behavior, the supply far exceeds the demand.

Here are some cubicle dwellers you hope you'll never have to sit next to.

—By CNBC's Daniel BukszpanPosted 11 March. 2014

The Profit, a reality series with multimillionaire Marcus Lemonis turning around struggling companies, Tuesdays at 10 p.m ET/PT.

Summary: You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your office neighbor. Here are some types of cubicle dwellers you hope you won't sit next to.


A sales boom is shifting some of the longstanding laws that governed the Hamptons, the pricey resort communities on the eastern end of Long Island.

Sales activity in the Hamptons is now on par with, or even higher than, the mid-2000s peaks. While prices are still below boom-time levels, most of the inventory from the recession has now been absorbed. And in some areas, "there are more buyers than sellers," says real-estate broker Andrew Saunders of Saunders & Associates.

As a result, buyers and renters are widening their search to areas previously viewed as less desirable. Even the once-titanic divide between north and south of Montauk Highway is less pronounced. Because of their proximity to the ocean, homes south of the highway have long been the most expensive, but houses to the north are now seeing more demand than in the past.

Here is a guide to the personality of the housing market in eight Hamptons villages and hamlets—from genteel Southampton to the new money mansions of Sagaponack.

SOUTHAMPTON Southampton Village, with 7 miles of beachfront on the Atlantic, has long been a bastion of old money.

In the estate section, grand historic homes sit on grassy lawns concealed by hedge rows to protect owners' privacy. But the requirement for a blue-blooded pedigree is fading, agents say, as long-standing Southampton families sell compounds to newcomers.

Summer rentals are expensive: Harald Grant of Sotheby's International Realty is listing an 18,000-square-foot rental on 10 acres in the estate section. The price: $900,000, for Memorial Day to Labor Day.

EAST HAMPTON Smaller than Southampton, East Hampton Village also has grand estates dating to the Victorian era. But while Southampton is known for being understated and discreet, East Hampton has a more artistic, glamorous vibe.

This is where celebrities come to nest: Martha Stewart, Ron Perelman, Jerry Seinfeld and Sean "Diddy" Combs. The village's Main Street has its own Tiffany & Co. A house on Further Lane closed for $62.5 million in May.

WAINSCOTT This hamlet borders sought-after Georgica Pond, site of the exclusive Georgica Association. Despite its small size, the hamlet is home to "tremendous wealth," says Judi Desiderio of Town & Country real estate, due in part to its proximity to East Hampton Airport—helpful for commuting by private plane.

Wainscott has only a few oceanfront lots—one is on the market for $23.5 million.

SAGAPONACK In the past two decades, Wall Streeters have discovered once-rural Sagaponack, where they've built sprawling mansions on former potato fields.

Sagaponack buyers tend to be younger, and their money newer, than those in Southampton or East Hampton. The village has almost no retail and few historic homes. But that doesn't deter buyers lured by the wide-open ocean views, which contrast sharply to the hedge rows found in other areas.

BRIDGEHAMPTON Also rural for most of its history, Bridgehampton is big with the horse crowd. A popular event each year is the Hampton Classic Horse Show.

Bridgehampton also is popular with Wall Street types, many of whom choose the area because it has less restrictive zoning than Sagaponack. "In Bridgehampton, you can create a much larger home on a smaller lot," says Mr. Saunders. The hamlet does have a small commercial strip with restaurants such as Bobby Van's Steakhouse.

WATER MILL Large estates were built on Mecox Bay in the early 1900s, but much of the hamlet was undeveloped. Now, there are many lavish new homes.

Water Mill is popular with executives and celebrities; residents include Jennifer Lopez.

Rentals range from a 3,400-square-foot house on an acre asking $50,000 for the summer, according to the real estate listings website StreetEasy.com, to a 10,000-square-foot home on 2.7 acres that asks $475,000.

AMAGANSETTCorcoran Group broker Susan Breitenbach refers to Amagansett as "the TriBeCa of the Hamptons." The hamlet has several popular eateries and bars like the Stephen Talkhouse nightclub, where Jon Bon Jovi has performed unannounced. Actress Scarlett Johansson bought a $2.2 million house in the Amagansett Dunes about a year ago.

Prices are a bit lower. According to StreetEasy, summer rents range from $18,000 for a three-bedroom beach cottage to $525,000 for a seven-bedroom, 9½-bathroom estate.

SAG HARBOR A once-gritty former whaling village, Sag Harbor is now one of the most popular areas for dining and shopping.

"People are going to Sag Harbor who in the past would have ended up in East Hampton," said Noble Black, an agent at the Corcoran Group in Manhattan who paid $1.75 million in August for a home here.

With its narrow streets and boutiques, Sag Harbor is "a little bohemian, a little funky," says Ms. Breitenbach, the agent. "You're not going to see Tiffany's."

Summary: These highly groomed, highly expensive Long Island villages are experiencing a sales boom that is transforming many areas—even those north of the highway.