Relax, everyone — he’s only kidding!

A beloved Park Slope bodega owner has renamed his Seventh Avenue store The Bad Wife — but he insists that his spouse is anything but.

“She’s my best friend,” said Jim Lee, owner of the store between 11th and 12th streets. “It’s a joke.”

Lee said the name comes from a long running gag, where he teases his wife, Sungki, for being a great wife and mother.

“It has a positive meaning,” he said. “Customers tell me that they like it.”

And how does the Mrs. feel?

“She loved it,” Lee said, adding that if his wife didn’t like the name, they wouldn’t have used it. “She’s the queen. Park Slope women are strong.”

Strong enough to know that they don’t like references to wives being “bad.”

“It’s unpleasant,” said one of the Lees’ devoted shoppers, who didn’t wish to be named. “I’m worried that people won’t shop there because they think it’s sexist.”

Others said that if you don’t know the Lees, you’d be left thinking that the store is owned by a man who doesn’t respect his wife — a problem in a neighborhood that judges male-female relations by such benchmarks as love, honor, and an exact division of household responsibilities.

“I have mixed feelings,” said one neighbor. “I wish it said, ‘The Bad Husband,’ but unfortunately that’s not the traditional humor.”

Of course, some customers love the sign.

“It’s funny,” said Jean Beeks. “It wouldn’t bother me if I were the wife.”

Most customers know Lee and his wife as the ultimate example of an affable Mom and Pop. They opened the tiny fruit and vegetable store as J H Marketplace almost 25 years ago, and have been a neighborhood institution ever since.

Now it’s time to expand, and when he opens next month, he’ll use the extra space for flowers, plants, and oriental groceries.

And, of course, for paying an odd tribute to his wife.

The Bad Wife [378 Seventh Ave. between 11th and 12th streets in Park Slope, (718) 499-7513].

Summary: Relax, everyone — he’s only kidding!A beloved Park Slope bodega owner has renamed his Seventh Avenue store The Bad Wife — but he insists that his spouse is anything but.“She’s my best friend,” said…


Colonial Williamsburg stands to fulfill any photographer's need for unique subject material during any season of the year. The historic buildings, colorfully costumed interpreters and working craftsmen provide plenty of options. Be sure to rise early and capture photo opportunities Williamsburg offers on Duke of Gloucester Street before it gets crowded. A wide angle and zoom lens will prove useful. If you're lucky enough to attend the December Grand Illumination, bring a tripod and use a slow shutter speed to film the fireworks display.

Beyond the historic area other regional suggestions include Busch Gardens, Jamestown and Yorktown. Choose from the offerings below for the Williamsburg's best photo ops.

Popular rumors state if two lovers cross the Crim Dell Bridge together and kiss at the crest, they will remain together forever. Another similar urban legend claims if someone crosses Crim Dell alone, they will be alone forever.

The bridge lies in a rather secluded area at the rear of what is known as the Sunken Garden on the

. It's an arched wooden span with intricately carved railings rising over a pond. The railings are painted a rusty Williamsburg red. Pathways leading to Crim Dell are planted with rhododendron, azaleas and spring and fall-blooming camellias. Large groupings of Mountain Laurel bloom in May in this idyllic spot.

The College of William & Mary

has been consistently voted among the most beautiful theme parks for the past 20 years, so shutterbugs ought to find more than a few candidates for their best photo from Williamsburg. For a quirky one, try to capture the Griffon roller coaster when it briefly stops 205 feet above and the riders look straight down. You'll need a zoom lens to catch your friends or family faces on this floorless and 70-miles-per-hour fast ride.

Or try the Loch Ness Monster, an interlocking, double-looping coaster, which reaches the height of a 13-story building.

Adults $63.99, children 3-9 $53.99, children 2 & under free

If ever there was a Williamsburg best photo op for a family, it has to be the carriage ride. The horse-drawn coaches are a signature experience in the restored former state capitol, worthy of a photo by themselves, but capturing the classic family vacation moment is even better. The costumed drivers will pose while you snap away.

Carriage rides can only be booked on the day of the tour by stopping by any of the

. Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis. Prices are $12.50 per person with a Colonial Williamsburg admission ticket and $20 per person without. Rides are available in the daytime only.

, home to several Royal Governors in the 18th century, sits on its original site and is truly a national treasure. It's also the iconic photo of Williamsburg. The Palace is a classically balanced architectural delight, and its intricate iron gates create prize-winning angles for images. The classic shot is taken from the Palace Green through the gates with a wide-angle lens, but snap all the way around this magnificent structure.

The formal gardens in the back always show well, but walk as far back as you can for a slightly raised point of view. Shoot through openings in the brick walls. The Palace maze delights all ages; however, children make good subjects here. Meander down to the pond and photograph the lovely footbridge; pose a couple crossing the bridge if available. Look for the colonial rare breed sheep grazing in the adjoining pasture. They make another wonderful Williamsburg photo op.

The Palace has several out buildings, including the wheelwright works. All the craftsmen offer numerous possibilities for Williamsburg travel photography. Shoot an close-up shot of them working, take a portrait using the shop as the background, and photograph their tools and works, such as wheels, mugs and jewelry.

perform more than 700 times per year, with the majority of those performances as a parade on Duke of Gloucester Street. You'll have to work fast as they march by. If you zoom in to capture one or two members, you'll likely get a better image than trying to shoot the whole corps. Remember, you'll be competing with plenty of other tourists and their cameras.

The Fifers and Drummers usually end their march on the Palace Green so photographers may wish to position themselves toward that side of the street for one of the most memorable photo opportunities Williamsburg gives you.

Summary: Lee Van Grack   Colonial Williamsburg stands to fulfill any photographer's need for unique subject material during any season of the year. The historic buildings, colorfully co


Dean Baquet, formerly the national editor of The New York Times and newly appointed as editor in Los Angeles, found himself directing coverage of what he said was "the most emotionally difficult story I've ever been involved with." At the same time, he was the worried son and brother, constantly on the phone to his family, trying to be useful.

His wife, Dylan Landis, flew in from Los Angeles for a week to furnish and decorate the bare apartment in Conyers with zebra prints and family photographs. But there is no front porch, and diversions are few. "I went one time to look at them shooting pool," Myrtle Baquet said gamely. "Went one time to look at them swim in the pool."

Phyllis, suddenly the sole chauffeur, caretaker and appointed family liaison to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, watched her children for signs of trauma even as she went sleepless. "I see it on everyone's face," she said, "and sometimes we talk about it and sometimes we don't, and when we don't talk about it it's because I'm going to cry."

Not all the Baquets were immediately determined to return to New Orleans, even though they can trace their roots there back 200 years. Phyllis insisted that she would not place her family in danger again. Story, the adventurer, thought her new school was fun. Wayne, the risk taker, and his wife, Janet, explored the idea of opening a restaurant at the nearby Mall at Stonecrest, even negotiating a bargain rent.

But Miles was despondent. He had been looking forward to his sophomore year at St. Augustine High School in the Seventh Ward, spending time with his girlfriend and taking his driver's test. Now he was the new kid at a public school in Conyers, and adding further injury, his Timberland boots had been stolen. "I was in a fog," Miles said. "I was like, I can't believe this."

At one point he made a poor grade, and his father threatened to take away his iPod. Miles's response was a reminder that the normal rules of parenting had been suspended. As Terry recalled ruefully, "He looked at me and he said, 'Go ahead, take it. I lost everything else.' "

Terry became the unofficial cheerleader for a homecoming, conspiring with Miles to persuade his wife to return. He also worked on Wayne. "I told him, 'You can open up a Baquet's restaurant in Georgia, and the same people who came to Zachary's won't be there,' " Terry said, referring to the most ambitious of his brother's string of restaurants. "It means something to be a Baquet in New Orleans."

Terry said he hoped his house would be ready for the family to move back in by the end of the school year, and he is looking for a new home for his mother and Rudy.

Eddie and Myrtle Baquet were perfect examples of the pillars of New Orleans, who are often working-class, neighborhood people -- people whose standing has more to do with history and values than money or race. The Baquets, descendants of musicians and cigar makers, raised five sons in the Seventh Ward, a neighborhood of masons, plasterers and other Creole tradesmen who helped build New Orleans. Mrs. Baquet's father was a cement finisher. Eddie Sr. was at one time a mail carrier.

But in the 1960's, he quit and opened a bar and restaurant, Eddie's Place. The family lived in back, even after some of the sons had wives and children of their own. Eddie butchered the beef himself, and the staff took orders on torn sheets of waxy paper. The restaurant catered to customers who made their living outdoors.

"If it rained in the morning, at 8 in the morning we better start icing the beer down," Wayne Baquet recalled.

When Eddie's began adding New Orleans favorites to the menu, asserting the unsung claim of African-Americans to Creole cuisine, word filtered out of the Seventh Ward. Bill Cosby dined there and plugged it on the "Tonight Show," making it a destination for out-of-towners as well as locals. A photograph of Eddie Sr. shows him aproned and beaming below the red restaurant awning, with the bearing of a benevolent ship captain. He died in 1993. His eldest son, Eddie Jr., died in 1994.

Ultimately, Wayne, 58, expanded the family business, opening a series of restaurants in the genre he calls Creole soul, which includes crawfish pie but never chitlins. He "retired" two years ago, selling an uptown restaurant and downsizing to Lil' Dizzy's, a modest one-room joint that serves breakfast and lunch. (He gave it the nickname of his grandson Zachary, a trumpet player in the revered St. Augustine marching band.)

After learning that starting a new restaurant in Georgia would cost $250,000, he decided his best course was to reopen Lil' Dizzy's.

"Why am I going to have a new restaurant, when I already got this one?" he asked the other day as he supervised preparations for the reopening.

Still, the restaurant was not in good shape. It had been flooded once and looted twice, Wayne said. Frequent calls to the insurance company have accomplished nothing, besides the instant recognition of his voice by the receptionist: "Hello, Mr. Baquet. Not yet, Mr. Baquet." And the restaurant's employees are scattered, with no place to live even if they could be enticed to return (one of the cooks is bunking upstairs in the private dining room).

But he was confident that the customers would come. When he opened the doors this month, there was an immediate stampede. About 70 percent of the customers, Wayne said, were "New Orleans people." One of the first was Terry Baquet.

Summary: Pillars of New Orleans, working-class, local people, struggle to return and rebuild in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina; article focuses on Baquet family, prominent New Orleans Creole family whose community standing has more to do with history and values than money; Myrtle Baquet, family matriarch and several family members struggle in Conyers, Ga, where they took refuge; Wayne Baquet has returned to New Orleans to try to salvage family restaurant and home; photos (M)


Vikas Rajkumar, an engineering student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., has found a way to save up to $1,000 a year on textbooks. He buys them in India when he visits his home there, or has relatives ship them to him.

Over the last few years, many American students have been cutting costs by buying textbooks published in the United States for half the price, or less, from booksellers in Europe. But recently, more of them have been buying American textbooks printed in India, as word has spread of the larger savings available, publishers and booksellers say.

The textbooks are printed legally in India under copyright arrangements worked out over the last decade by American and British publishers. Using tax breaks and cheap labor, Indian companies publish the books in black-and-white, low-quality paperback editions, and sell them for as little as 10 percent of the cost of the same book in the United States. But under the licensing agreement, the books may be sold only on the Indian subcontinent and in surrounding countries — limits that are stamped on the books' covers.

There are no penalties for students who import books for their own use, under a 1998 Supreme Court decision that ruled that manufacturers who sell goods more cheaply overseas than in the United States have no protection against having their products sold back to the American market. But businesses or individuals who buy books for resale outside India could face prosecution for copyright infringement.

The Association of American Publishers and its British counterpart last month asked the Indian government to crack down on middlemen who buy large quantities for export, said the association's president, Patricia S. Schroeder, a former congresswoman from Colorado.

"The Indian government is very concerned, because they want to put out the current materials over there," she said. "They don't want to go back to the bad old days," when American publishers sold only out-of-date textbooks to overseas markets, she added.

There are no firm estimates of how many textbooks are being illegally exported from India. Wendy Spiegal, a spokeswoman for Pearson Education Inc., a large textbook publisher, said the company "suspects the damage to the industry might be in the tens of millions of dollars."

Akash Chittranshi, a lawyer in New Delhi who has investigated the practice for British publishers, said in a telephone interview that companies printing Indian editions reported that their sales had recently risen by as much as 25 percent, although it was unclear how many of those books were later exported.

Mr. Chittranshi said one of the first signs of the trend was the mushrooming in India of Web sites devoted to textbook sales, even though few Indian students buy books online. A quick Internet search reveals many sites selling books, many labeled "Special Indian Edition" at big discounts. For instance, one electrical engineering book, "Analog Signal Processing," was found for under $8, compared with $140 on Amazon.com.

Mr. Chittranshi said his investigators had tracked crates of books, all clearly stamped not for international sale, from the loading docks of Indian publishers to distributors who had ordered them and then to international shipping firms. The investigators also posed as buyers, for individual or bulk orders.

"We've had people offering 20-foot containers of books," Mr. Chittranshi said.

Ms. Spiegal of Pearson said the company had filed suit against several distributors, and had reached settlements that included cease-and-desist agreements.

Tom Frey, the owner of the University Bookstore at Purdue, said he was taken aback when he was approached for advice by a student collecting orders for a shipment of books from India — enough to fill a shipping container.

The student had, in effect, set himself up as a low-cost alternative to Mr. Frey's store.

"He was doing it out of his dorm room," Mr. Frey said.

Mr. Frey added that he doubted that the imports would abate unless publishers deal with the root cause: the high cost of textbooks, which can run as high as $250 for engineering courses.

"I think it's a classic case where companies have gotten fat and don't realize what they're doing," Mr. Frey said.

Mr. Rajkumar, the Purdue engineering student, is the president of the Indian Students Association at the university. He said his group recommended that its members abide by the spirit of the copyright agreement by not reselling Indian textbooks. But he said he expected that his American classmates would continue to shop for Indian editions.

"If the market is there, students are going to buy," he said.

He said he planned to import fewer books for himself in the future, for a reason that he said would be an even bigger threat to traditional publishing.

"I didn't buy any textbooks this semester," he said. "I can just find the information online."

Summary: Word has spread of the larger savings available by buying American textbooks that are printed in India.


Richard C. Ernst, former chairman of Bloomingdale Properties and a founder of Atheneum Publishers, died of cancer yesterday at his home in Manhattan. He was 69 years old and also had homes in New Canaan, Conn., and Elk Lake in the Adirondacks.

Mr. Ernst was president and later chairman of the board of Bloomingdale Properties, an investment organization for members of the Bloomingdale family, from the mid-1950's to 1983. At his death, he was chairman of the company's executive committee.

In 1959, he was a founding director of and stockholder in Atheneum Publishers. Atheneum merged with Charles Scribner's Sons in 1978 to become the Scribner Book Companies, of which Mr. Ernst was also a director. Scribner Book Companies was taken over by Macmillan Inc. this month. Earned Service Awards

Mr. Ernst, a graduate of Harvard University and the Columbia University Law School, was associated with the publishing companies of Howell Soskin and Alfred A. Knopf before joining Bloomingdale Properties.

During World War II, Mr. Ernst was promoted to captain while serving in Europe with the Ninth Infantry Regiment of the Second Army Division. He took part in the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge and earned five battle stars. He also received the Bronze Star, the French Croix de Guerre and the Belgian Fourrag ere.

Mr. Ernst's wife, Susan Bloomingdale, a granddaughter of the founder of Bloomingdale's department store, died in 1981. His father, Bernard M. L. Ernst, was attorney for the escape artist and magician, Harry Houdini. The younger Mr. Ernst kept his father's memorabilia, which he made available to Houdini's biographers.

Mr. Ernst is survived by a son, John L., of New York; two daughters, Carolyn E. Stewart of New York and Dorothy P. Ernst of Geneva, N.Y.; two sisters, Eleanor Timberg of Washington and Cornelia Zagat of Stamford, Conn., and four grandchildren.

photo of Richard C. Ernst


The good news first: Financial advisors say this is no time to "go all Grinch" on those lucky enough to get a little extra.

"The people who would ask me, 'Should I save or spend this?' are usually the ones who would do fine spending it," said Tim Maurer, director of personal finance at the BAM Alliance and a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. He said it's the people who fear they are behind who usually are ahead, and sadly, the reverse often holds true. Since most of us "fall somewhere on a continuum between hopeless spendthrifts and miserly ogres," Maurer said, deciding how to spend a bonus is actually a good year-end exercise, an annual opportunity to examine your financial life and see if its balanced.

Read MoreThe highly effective habits of super-investors

A "balanced" approach to spending the bonus check—when it's not being used for retirement—is what the E*Trade survey details reveal. Among experienced investors, the responses were:

Still, that's not balanced enough, claims E*Trade. According to a spokesperson, you can look at this two ways: glass half full (retirement the second biggest piece of the pie) or glass half empty (72 percent of a bonus going to things other than retirement). E*Trade believes that when taken in context with the other data, the glass is more empty than full.

The other data E*Trade is referring to: The survey found that 2 out of 5 (40 percent) investors (and 58 percent of those under 34) agree that saving for retirement is difficult because they would rather spend on themselves today. Worse yet: Almost half (47 percent) of all young investors have made early withdrawals from their 401(k), and half of this population relies on it as their sole retirement account.

"What's more important to you? Today's short-term happy purchase or knowing you can retire?" asked Lena Haas, senior vice president of retirement at E*Trade.

Read MoreWork longer, retire richer

E*Trade has also tracked an uptick in Americans who are more inclined to spend on themselves, up from 37 percent in the first quarter of the year to 40 percent. And the percentage of those who have withdrawn money from their 401(k) has increased from 19 percent to 30 percent—but from 26 percent to 47 percent for investors under 34.

"It's always a balance between living for today and preparing for tomorrow, isn't it?" said Mitch Goldberg, president of ClientFirst Strategy. He said any investor should at least think about the consequences of not saving a bonus. Then consider the consequences of spending part of it as a compromise. But Goldberg said of this "first world problem," the decision must be the client's to make. "Potential regret is one of those qualitative factors that has to be considered. You can't just tell a client to save, save, save and live like he or she is living in the Depression. People have other things to live for besides what the [financial] industry wants them to buy."

Summary: Savvy investors plan to spend 2014 bonus checks, according to an E*Trade survey, but only some have really earned the right to do that.


There have been plenty of newsworthy incidents in the past that were caught on video by a bystander and streamed live on a social network or through an app. But it’s hard to remember a week like this one, with so many terrible reminders that we live in an era of always-on, real-time media—and just how chaotic and complicated and disturbing that can be.

The upside of a world in which everyone has a camera, and can perform essentially the same function as a journalist, is that we can see events unfolding in an uncensored and unfiltered way. That can bring with it a kind of horrible truth, but it can also create a fog of uncertainty.

While the use of video-streaming tools like Facebook Live can create a compelling real-time record of news-worthy events—a rough draft of history, as someone once said of newspapers—it also raises questions about how platforms like Facebook fb and Twitter twtr handle that kind of information.

What responsibilities do these companies have as the new gatekeepers for news? And what responsibility, if any, do we have as users when it comes to sharing that content?

Facebook Live video has completely changed media forever and it's done it in less than 3 days.

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) July 8, 2016

The week began with the death of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man who was shot multiple times by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as he lay on the ground outside a convenience store. Police described it as a reasonable use of force, but videos shot by witnesses painted a very different picture of a man already subdued, with no gun in sight.

Less than 48 hours later, another black man was shot by police as he sat in a car in Minneapolis, having been pulled over for a broken tail-light. Philando Castile’s girlfriend broadcast the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook Live, including a polite discussion with the officer about her dying partner, and some heartbreaking comments from her 4-year-old daughter, who watched the whole thing from the back seat.

Diamond Reynolds later said that she live-streamed the incident on Facebook because she “wanted it to go viral,” so that everyone would understand the kind of treatment black people in the U.S. are routinely subjected to at the hands of the police.

On Thursday night, shots rang out during an otherwise peaceful protest in Dallas, and within a matter of minutes three police officers were dead—two more would pass away in the hours following what turned out to be an orchestrated sniper attack. Multiple bystanders streamed video on Twitter and Facebook as it was happening, with bodies lying in the street.

At one point, the Dallas police department released a picture of a man they called a suspect. Within a matter of minutes, Twitter users had identified him in one of the eyewitness videos—clearly not involved in the shooting—even as the police message was being retweeted tens of thousands of times, and TV news channels were still calling him a suspect.

All of these events are testimony to the power of live reporting, and what some like to call “citizen journalism.” In a sense, by watching and sharing these photos and videos, we all become instant eyewitnesses to the deaths of these young black men—and to the often wide gulf between the “official” story of what happened and the murky truth.

This brings the reality of life in the 21st century into sharp relief, which is a good thing—even if it doesn’t always feel that way while it is happening. It allows us to bear witness to things like systemic racism and violence in a way that was never really possible before. But it can also whip up hysteria in an instant and fan the flames of violence and mistrust.

In journalistic terms, meanwhile, social networks like Twitter and Facebook make the always-on news environment of CNN and other TV channels feel like something from the days of the horse-drawn wagon.

Twitter makes TV look so slow even when it's live TV. CNN is building a case against a guy that Twitter has already exonerated.

— Roy Pickering (@AuthorofPatches) July 8, 2016

While social tools like Reddit have been rightly blamed in the past for the misidentification of suspects during events like the Boston bombings in 2013, Twitter demonstrated on Thursday night that a group of smart people paying attention to the blur of real-time video and photos can sort fact from fiction a lot faster than a team of journalists working for a traditional TV network.

In some ways, the rise of ubiquitous smartphone video and eyewitness journalism has made the world seem like a much more chaotic and dangerous place than it used to be.

cant decide if we are encountering new terrible frontiers or if the world was always this horrific and now we just have better access to it

— ಠ_ಠ (@MikeIsaac) July 8, 2016

It was easier to believe that everything was under control when we got our news through one or two professional media outlets, manned by avuncular TV anchors and seemingly omniscient columnists and editorial writers. Now, the news comes at us in a thousand different ways, from people we barely know—and much of it is live and unfiltered and disturbing, and raises more questions than it answers.

Is it better to live in this way because at least we know more about what is going on around us, and we get a tangible sense of the violent state of the world? Or does it make things worse, and create more problems for society than it solves? In a way, those questions are all moot—we are living it, and we will have to figure out the rules (if there are any) as we go.

Summary: Such tools make for a more chaotic and disturbing world, but perhaps a more truthful one as well.


The United States, which has the largest and most technologically advanced economy in the world, has increased domestic security in the past several years. Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States has shifted a great deal of natural resources and spending to the military.

Comments are turned off for this post.

Summary: Research shows that citizens of relatively new nations, like South Africa, the Philippines and the United States, have more pride.


THE government of Laos had been exuding a bluff, self-congratulatory air towards the end of 2012—having won admission to the WTO in October and then playing host to the Asia-Europe summit in November—until suddenly a foul wind blew through, mid-December. The country’s most distinguished leader of an NGO was grabbed at a police checkpoint in the capital, Vientiane, and has not been seen since.

Sombath Somphone founded the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) in 1996 with the aim of fostering sustainable, equitable and self-reliant development in Laos. In 2005 Mr Sombath won the prestigious Magsaysay award, often regarded as Asia’s answer to the Nobel prize. Today, nearly three weeks since his extraordinary kidnapping, he is nowhere to be seen.

His disappearance has triggered an unprecedented flood of international dismay. Foreign NGOs, Asian parliamentarians and Western governments have raised their concerns with the Lao authorities. “Missing” posters have popped up in Vientiane, appealing for word of his whereabouts. Farther-reaching campaigns to draw attention to this case have been circulating on Facebook, Twitter and Avaaz. The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has also expressed deep worry over his disappearance.

Eight days before Mr Sombath’s abduction the government of Laos deported Anne-Sophie Grindoz, the director of Helvetas, a Swiss NGO. Her offence was in writing a personal appeal addressed to development partners and donors, which then became public:

We are working in a challenging environment: This is a country governed by a single-party regime, where there is little space for meaningful democratic debate.

Indeed there is far less “space” in tiny Laos than in its fellow-travelling Communist neighbours, China and Vietnam. Ms Grindoz went on to complain that elements of civil society in the capital, Lao and international alike, are so cowed by the restrictions they face as to be, in effect, stifled by a system of self-censorship.

Several other NGO workers have fled in fear for their own safety during the past two weeks. A chill has gripped the wider aid community in Vientiane; a foreign resident calls it a wave of fear. Government officials have offered only a deadpan reply: foreigners must abide by the rules and the country’s constitution.

And for Lao nationals? The police have confined their inquiries into Mr Sombath’s abduction to the possibility of his having untoward “business conflicts” or personal enemies. His colleagues insist however that Mr Sombath, a popular and notably non-confrontational professional, had no known enemies and no business interests external to his work as a development specialist.

Then there is the CCTV footage. A camera captured images that seem to show traffic police stopping Mr Sombath at a checkpoint. Another man arrives on motorbike and is next seen driving away in Mr Sombath’s car. Minutes Mr Sombath is whisked away by plainclothesmen, who drive him off in a white jeep with lights flashing.

On January 3rd the Lao ambassador to the UN in Geneva sent a letter that was supposed to clarify the case of Mr Sombath, in response to official queries raised at the UN. His statement accepts that Mr Sombath was probably kidnapped, but then it has nothing to say about the odd behaviour of the two traffic policemen. Surely they must have witnessed the incident, so close to their checkpoint as to be captured by their CCTV camera?

The traffic policemen, after ostensibly stopping Mr Sombath to inspect his driving documents, demonstrated no apparent concern about the strange person who arrived at the scene by motorbike then drove off with the NGO leader’s car. Certainly they made no attempt to stop him. The ambassador’s letter leaves us to wonder. Have these two policemen—key witnesses, if there are to be any—even been interviewed? So far the authorities have failed to report anything that could indicate that a serious police investigation is under way.

In 1996, as the director of PADETC, Mr Sombath started a programme that trained young volunteers to run a series of community-based services: improving water and sanitation; setting up small rice mills; and establishing small banks to finance farming and livestock operations.

Prior to PADETC, the work Mr Sombath did as a consultant for UNICEF in Cambodia in 1985 earned him a remarkable degree of admiration and respect. The Cambodian government sent an official letter of thanks to the government of Laos, for having lent the talents of “such a competent expert” to their country.

Many of the NGO workers in Vientiane discern a connection between the abduction of Mr Sombath, the expulsion of the Ms Grindoz, and their involvement in the Asia-Europe People's Forum of NGOs (AEPF), which was held in Vientiane in October, just before the Asia-Europe summit. In preparation for the AEPF, Mr Sombath led a ground-breaking survey of all of Laos’ 16 provinces, with support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and co-operation from provincial and village authorities.

Mr Sombath, along with Minh Pham, the UNDP’s resident co-ordinator, described the principles of the survey in a draft intended for publication in the Vientiane Times in October, titled “Listening to the People’s Voice”.

These grassroots consultations did not measure income or material poverty. Instead, they adopted an innovative approach focused on clear concepts that are easily understandable by all: “happiness” (khouam souk in Lao) and “suffering” (khouam thuk). This first-of-its-kind exercise produced very interesting results.

Across all 16 provinces, highly diverse groups were asked to identify issues that affect their own personal “happiness” or “well-being” as well as their “suffering” or “poverty.” These included not only ordinary villagers and workers, women’s representatives, and local government officials, but also business owners, monks, people with disabilities, HIV-positive people, and young people.

It concluded that the Lao people want good governance and more consultation about development projects.

The people have spoken. We encourage the Government to make a substantive response, so that this becomes a true national dialogue on common development concerns and interests as Lao PDR moves forward...

It seems that this draft angered someone at the top. As far as “substantive responses” go, within 24 hours of the piece being posted online, Mr Minh, Mr Sombath’s counterpart from the UNDP side, had been pressured to disown his role in the story. A revised version, signed by Mr Sombath alone, appeared in the Vientiane Times later in October.

Some hardliners in the Lao politburo are not at all enthusiastic about pursuing a path of development based on GNH—“Gross National Happiness”, a yardstick championed by Bhutan and echoed in Mr Sombath’s proposal.

Many individual members of Laos's civil society are critical of the regime’s big-dam projects and of the large foreign-owned plantations that tend to marginalise small farmers. However unlike NGOs in Cambodia and Vietnam, Lao NGOs have not come out officially against the construction of the Xayaburi dam project.

Lao citizens with unpopular views have a way of vanishing. In 2007, Sompawn Khantisouk, the owner and manager of an eco-tourism lodge—and a vocal critic of the proliferation of those Chinese-owned plantations that expand by expropriating land from smallholders—disappeared. He has never been seen since.

Mr Sombath, as the national organiser of the AEPF, had identified himself with a civil-society forum that clearly drew mixed reactions from the regime.

On the one hand Thongluon Sisoulith, the foreign minister and deputy prime minister, welcomed the participants warmly and seemed to take a positive view of their in development activities. But then, according to several international NGO workers present, during the forum plainclothes agents could be seen copying notes, filming the forum’s local participants and creating an intimidating atmosphere. Several Lao speakers were so alarmed as to withdraw from the event.

The mixed reception for the AEPF may reflect a conflict inside the government. While the younger generation and better-educated bureaucrats have come to accept a role for NGOs, the old guard—the men who fought the “secret war” of the 1960s, waiting out the American bombing campaign from the caves of Sam Neua—see the same NGOs as a threat to their position as an invincible ruling elite.

Mr Sombath is neither a political dissident nor has he publicly attacked the system of one-party rule. Paval Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at the South-East Asian Studies centre at Kyoto University, thinks that Mr Sombath’s kidnapping has ensured that “the spotlight will be on this landlocked country. [Whether it releases] him or not, the reputation of Laos has already been damaged.”

Even this much seems hopeful. So much for a happy new year in Laos, where neither political liberalisation nor the urgently needed debate about development look likely.

Demonstrating outside the embassy in Bangkok

(Picture credit: The Economist, T.F.)

Correction and a clarification: We have had to change several lines in this article to correct a confusion regarding which report on the survey of 16 provinces was actually published by the Vientiane Times. The report entitled “Listening to the People’s Voice”, which we quoted, was a draft; it differed from the version that was eventually printed.

We also wish to clarify that while PADETC is not officially involved in dam-related issues, though they are concerned with sustainable development and the protection of the environment. It is not an activist organisation and takes no position on specific projects.

These changes were made to the original article on 11 January, 2013.

Summary: Even non-political activists must beware the white jeeps with flashing lights


When a maniac rained bullets on Dallas policemen this month, one man caught in the chaos started streaming the scene to Facebook from his phone. The video shows the man, Michael Bautista, gasping in fear as he records police officers attempting to return fire as they huddle over a fallen comrade.

The clip immediately went viral with millions of views on Facebook and YouTube. Soon, however, copies of Bautista’s video began to disappear as a company called ViralHog used copyright claims to knock them off the Internet.

The dispute over the video comes at a time when first-person footage is coming to define major news events, and raises the question of who should control and profit from such clips.

ViralHog is among a handful of startups that pay people for videos that could attract buzz. Most of the clips are typical Internet fare—goofy animals, sports mishaps and so on—but also include news events like natural disasters.

In the case of the Dallas video, it took less than 24 hours for Bautista’s clip to reappear on YouTube with a licensing proposition:

In response, some YouTube users posted complaints about ViralHog, saying the company had taken down copies of the Bautista video they had previously posted online.

According to Ryan Bartholomew, one of the founders of ViralHog, the site makes money by collecting license fees on behalf of those who are typically, in his words, “in the right place at the right time.” Payouts vary but the company typically gives a 60% cut to those who supply the videos.

ViralHog does not, added Bartholomew, take an ethical stance on what type of videos it will license.

“Whether a video is of a funny cat or a tragic event, the videographer owns their work and is entitled to control it,” he said by email. “A viral video will always be monetized by someone, and representation can ensure a video’s owner reaps the benefits rather than those who steal it.”

Fortune was unsuccessful in attempting to reach Bautista for comment about the Dallas video.

This is hardly the first time, of course, that someone has sought to make money from footage obtained from a tragic news event. In another racially charged episode from 1992, a helicopter crew who filmed the beating of a white truck driver in Los Angeles successfully sued a TV station for playing the clip without permission.

More recently, a bystander filmed a policeman murder an unarmed man, Walter Scott, in South Carolina. The footage went viral on social media and, one week later, led the bystander to claim news outlets had to pay him $10,000 if they wanted to run it. The claim, and the manner it was reported, attracted considerable criticism from some in the media.

The decorum of seeking profit from footage of a tragedy may be a question for ethicists. But from a legal standpoint, the issue raises hard questions about how copyright law should apply in events that become part of public memory.

Fair Use and Viral News

The idea of fair use means that, in some cases, it’s OK for reporters, artists, and others to use a work without the permission of the copyright owner. Sometime the fair use is clear-cut—such as when paragraphs from a novel appear in a book review. Other times it’s not.

According to professor Pamela Samuelson, an authority on fair use at Berkeley, the law has long been ambiguous when it comes to breaking news and significant events. In the 1992 case of the beaten truck driver, fair use did not apply but, in a 1967 dispute over footage of the Kennedy assassination, a court sided with a book publisher who used still photos of the event without permission from the owner, Time Inc.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

In the case of viral videos like the Dallas shooting or the police killing of Philando Castile (the Minnesota motorist whose girlfriend recorded and narrated his death on Facebook Live), Samuelson says there is a fair use argument in favor of using these videos.

One reason is that, unlike the film of the Los Angeles beating, the videos in Dallas and Minnesota were not shot as part of a commercial venture. But there is also something more at stake.

“It seems to be that for these breaking news videos, we’re not watching for the entertainment value or beautiful aesthetics. It’s about the importance of documentation,” said Samuelson.

Such documentation ensures the video incidents become part of the national memory. For this reason, fair use may provide a way to ensure they do not become invisible as a result of copyright claims.

But, for practical purposes, there is still the question of who should get paid and when. In the case of Bautista’s Dallas video, the clip is still there for anyone to see on YouTube and the only ones who will have to pay appear to be news agencies that want to use it on their own sites.

According to Bartholomew of ViralHog, the company’s enforcement practices only extend to takedowns. ViralHog does not send settlement letters demanding payment to avoid a lawsuit (a controversial practice known as “copyright trolling.”)

As for the fair use question, so far no court appears to have ruled on how it should apply to viral videos situations like Dallas and Minnesota. It’s an open question whether it’s enough for the video makers to be recognized for sharing their testimony, or if they should be able to collect money as well.

Summary: The law is unclear


I was just beginning to think that Liss Ard was somewhat lacking in character when I bumped into Aiden. A long-serving maintenance man on the West Cork estate, he is, of course, Irish.

He is also talkative and blessed with that dry wit that is the reason any trip to the Emerald Isle, whatever the hotel, whatever the weather, is an uplifting joy. The twinkle, the friendliness, the good craic, is like nowhere else in the world.

Aiden happened to be passing as I was twisting the confusing walking map of Liss Ard Estate in my hands, plainly lost. Armed with his simple, invaluable advice, I was able to explore the estate properly, culminating in the extraordinary Sky Garden for which it is renowned.

I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the hotel (there are six rooms in the Country House, nine in the adjoining Garden Mews and 10 in the separate Victorian Lakeside Lodge). The chiefs of the O’Donovan clan built the white, now rather featureless Country House on their estate in the 1850s, but by the turn of the next century they had left and Liss Ard passed from one foreign owner to another.

In the late Eighties, it was bought by Swiss art dealer Veith Turske. He developed the gardens and employed James Turrell, a celebrated American conceptual land and sky artist, to create the Sky Garden. Turske then sold the estate to the (also Swiss) Stern family. Currently, it is young Timo Stern who runs it.

Hardly, then, the stuff of traditional Irish hospitality. The reception rooms are comfortable and colourful, decorated in arty minimalist style, but there was no one around to bring a drink or a cup of tea. Not, that is, until the wondrous Aiden popped in to check that I had survived my walk and brought me one.

The food in the rather atmosphere-free restaurant was peculiar: along with my very good mushroom risotto came three bowls of vegetables: green beans, red cabbage and mashed potato. Breakfast was chain-hotel ordinary, I’m afraid to say.

My bedroom, too, was lacklustre. Apart from a pretty wardrobe and some sage green silk curtains, it felt more Ikea than Irish; essentially, there was a sense that no one had really thought how to make the place special for guests.

All in all, I found Liss Ard difficult to engage with, lacking the beating heart essential for a hotel to be enjoyed, cared for, and returned to.

The gardens, leading down to a sheltered lake that’s perfect for kayaking, are full of surprising twists and turns and curiosities, and the secretive, dramatic, cleverly conceived Sky Garden, which culminates in a plinth at the bottom of a grassy crater, specially designed for stretching out and observing the heavens above, is exhilarating, especially at night.

“Well now,” said Aiden, delivering my tea, “as you listened to what I said and approached the Sky Garden in just the way I told you, I’m going to show you a special Liss Ard secret, so I am.”

He led me to a huge cedar tree near the house and told me simply to look at it… and wait. It would be breaking the secret to tell you what appeared to me, but it was by far the most memorable thing about my visit to Liss Ard, including the Sky Garden.

Doubles from £145 per night, with breakfast. Ground floor rooms for guests using wheelchairs. Castletownshend Road, Skibbereen, Co Cork (00 353 2840 000; lissardestate.com). Fiona Duncan travelled as a guest of Tourism Ireland (0800 039 7000; ireland.com).

Summary: Fiona Duncan has a memorable encounter in the grounds of Liss Ard Estate, which is home to a revealing cedar tree and a bowl-shaped Sky Garden offering heavenly views of the night sky


Today's science museums are interactive, kid- (and adult-) friendly, multimedia sites of adventure and discovery. A Disney World for the mind. And the astonishing Perot Museum of Nature and Science, designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Thom Mayne and his Morphosis Architects, is noteworthy for at least three reasons: its stunning architecture; its exhibits and educational missions; and its financing, which would be possible only in a city like this one, which cherishes capitalism and philanthropy in equal measure.

Ross Perot has lived in Dallas for 50 years and made his fortune here. In 2008, at the start of the last recession, his five children together pledged $50 million for a new museum to replace older facilities in Fair Park, the 1936 home of the Texas Centennial, and to honor their father and mother, Margot, a former teacher with a passion for education. Carolyn Perot Rathjen said she and her siblings knew exactly how to celebrate their parents—"with a mission to inspire minds through nature and science"—when they saw Mrs. Perot's eyes light up at the sight of yellow school buses in front of Houston's Museum of Natural Science. Thus far, at the Perot Museum, attendance includes 2,000 schoolchildren a day (and total attendance in the first two months has exceeded 200,000).

Other local industries and philanthropists made up the rest of the total $185 million cost. The major donors' list in the entry hall reads like a Who's Who of Dallas's elite business leaders and corporations: The more-than-$5-million crowd includes names like Clements, Dell (OK, he's really an Austinite), Hill, Hoglund, Hunt, Jones (think "Cowboys"), Meadows, McDermott, Moody, Pickens, Rees-Jones, Rose, Texas Instruments, plus a $10-million challenge grant from an anonymous donor. Anonymous donors are scarce in these parts.

All these benefactors made it possible to open the museum on Dec. 1, well ahead of schedule; to put it on firm financial footing; and to meet the estimated $14 million annual budget, which includes such educational outreach as lab opportunities for local students whose schools may lack even microscopes. No public money, no bonds were needed to build and to sustain the museum.

The building itself is a commanding 10-story concrete cube, with walls striated rather than smooth; it looks like a peeling geological formation rising beside a freeway at the edge of Dallas's burgeoning arts-and-culture district. It both stands apart from the earth and seems to be a part of it. Its urban setting is softened by the subtly appropriate landscaping—representing various Texas ecosystems—that surrounds it. The museum has already won accolades for its "green" status. Inside and outside the museum, nature and art, and technology and art, work together.

Everywhere you look inside the 180,000-square-foot building, you can glimpse other parts of it. Infrastructure—heating ducts, lighting, pipes, solar panels—is as visible as the occasional work of art, like Englishman Daniel Chadwick's "Superorganism," a giant mobile of transparent discs with solar-powered cells that provide movement depending on available sunlight.

The elevators have glass walls. Piranesian angles and shadows intersect everywhere. You can watch the surrounding city from indoors and see a landscaped, energy-saving, water-collecting, "living" roof from one level above. Within the galleries, the traffic flow is ingenious, and the 11 halls never feel cramped, even with hundreds of rambunctious schoolkids, from pre-K to high school, running around.

A one-way escalator, part of which is encased in glass and looks stapled onto the outside of the building, takes visitors to the top floor, after which they descend by stairway or elevator. You start with the cosmos, the solar system and the stars. Printed wall matter—of greater interest, of course, to adults than to youngsters—complements hands-on displays. Then come fossils, dinosaurs, evolution and paleontology, including a new specimen, uncovered in Alaska, named Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum for the Perot family. How many philanthropists get an extinct species of their very own?

On the mezzanine, reachable by staircase, is the brilliantly arranged Rose Hall of Birds, which permits a bird's-eye view of the dinosaur exhibits below. You can stare at Alamosaurus, with its tiny teeth, virtually eye to eye, after you have seen it, on the lower level, towering above you. The arrangement also reminds us that birds are in fact dinosaurs' modern relatives. You can "build your own bird" by selecting—at various stations—body shape, wing shape and span, beak and song, and then see whether it will actually fly. This cafeteria model of experimentation works well.

Other displays attempt to engage all the senses, even smell, as in a series of Texas landscapes that lets you sniff such specimens as pine needles, prickly pear flowers, skunk, and coyote urine.

On the third level, it's "Earth Over Time"—i.e., land, water, air, geology and weather. The most beautiful, subdued and quiet section is the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall, a low-lit space with blackened vitrines in which objects are brilliantly lighted, as in an art museum: case after case of minerals you have heard of (gold, quartz and tourmaline), and others, even more dazzling, that you probably have not (rhodochrosite). I can imagine some visitors getting ideas for dining-table centerpieces. No surprise: This room attracted fewer children and more adults; fewer boys, more girls.

It goes without saying that a Texas museum will lean heavily on studies of energy, especially oil and gas. There's an almost perfunctory section at the close of the Tom Hunt Energy Hall on "alternate energy sources." Some viewers will doubtless quibble with the presentation on horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing (i.e., fracking), in the Barnett Shale, on which Dallas sits. The end of the video acknowledges that "there has been some controversy" regarding this method.

Although "interactive" has many meanings, an adult visitor may come away thinking that "active" is its main ingredient. Put "hyper" in front of that. Concentration here looks to be in short supply. Kids are all over the place, having a ball and—presumably—also getting educated, at least subliminally or unconsciously. Some will come back, after school or on their own, in future years. I stopped a group of lively, wide-eyed, third-grade boys turning a giant crank that opens and closes, behind glass, a 1.5-ton geode. I asked: "What's your favorite part here?" One said unhesitatingly, as I might have predicted, "Space and Dinosaurs." His pal said "All of it," and they sped off, in a nanosecond, to the next room.

Mr. Spiegelman is the Hughes Professor of English at Southern Methodist University, and editor-in-chief of the Southwest Review.

Summary: The new Perot Museum of Nature and Science is notable for at least three reasons: its stunning architecture; its exhibits and educational mission; and its financing, possible only in a city like this one. By Willard Spiegelman.


Beijing issuing a red alert in response its toxic air yesterday might be the most positive recent development in China’s struggle with air quality.

Red is the most severe warning of a four-colored warning system developed in 2013. But calling it a warning is misleading. It is a really mandate that gives the city government broad powers to ensure that already toxic air doesn’t become nuclear waste over the coming days.

There was some proof it was having effects: the air quality index stayed around 350 Tuesday night. Early last week, when the government didn’t’ issue a red alert, the index rose above 500 for two days, or roughly 25 times the healthy level recommended by the World Health Organization.

The government said the alert would run 7 a.m. Tuesday to noon on Thursday. Beijing’s school system is shut down for kindergarden, elementary and middle schools. Outdoor construction is banned and heavily polluting industrial plants are required to cut down on production or close down entirely. Cars with even or odd license plates are restricted to driving only on alternating days.

The cost of a red alert isn’t cheap. A few economists surveyed didn’t have a ready estimate on Tuesday. But this is the first time Beijing has released one since instituting a color-coded alert system in 2013, following a public uproar over the city’s terrible smog spell in late 2012. When Beijing prepared for a military parade earlier this year, it ordered 10,000 businesses in surrounding provinces to cease operations for more than a week. One economist estimated off-the-record the total cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The government issuing a red alert actually shows some progress. International news stories ran pictures of smoggy Beijing last week at the same time President Xi Jinping was talking about China’s environmental progress in Paris at the U.N. Climate Change Conference. Chinese Internet posters cried hypocrisy—and it appears the government listened.

Still, even though the government talks more openly about smog, and the state-press issues pictures of a smog-infused Bird’s Nest stadium, there’s still evidence the country is keeping a tight lid on how much information is shared.

For instance, the most popular air quality app in China for the iPhone, released by a Chinese company called Fresh-Ideas Studio, doesn’t include the more reliable air quality data from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Only when another app is used to bypass the country’s government censorship do the embassy figures appear.

Around my neighborhood in central Beijing, away from the city’s skyscrapers, life was normal. There were a few more pollution masks and a few less cars on the road.

My Tuesday was probably typical of many. I woke up, saw the outrageous AQI reading, turned up my air purifier, and stayed home to work. A foreign friend posted a picture of him sleeping in after getting notice the Chinese school where he teaches would be closed for a couple days.

It’s not unlike a snow day in the Midwest: you know the smog is coming, so you laugh about the fun of a “smog day” and move on.

Beijing has suffered from choking air throughout its history: first from coal-fired heating stoves, and now effects of rapid development and a city bursting with 22.5 million people.

But for the first time the government is screaming “red alert”—and taking drastic measures to fix the short term effects, even though it’s clear Beijing will continue suffering from smog for a while.

Summary: The city's first "red alert" shut schools, businesses and kept half the city's cars off the road.


“When the Republican is getting only 5 or 6 percent of the black vote anyway, and the Democrat simply needs to say ‘I’m on your side’ to win the black vote, then what option do you have?” said Ward Connerly, a former regent at the University of California and a leader in national efforts to end affirmative action in college admissions. “You support law and order. That will bring out a certain amount of support for a lot of Americans who are afraid because they see society as crumbling.”

“Politically, it’s a smart move to make,” Mr. Connerly added, “but whether Republicans are solving the problems of the black underclass or not is another question.”

The first day of the Republican National Convention did not go as planned, and on the second night in Cleveland, staying on message proved difficult for the campaign and the speakers.

Several black political figures and candidates skipped the event altogether. “Haven’t been watching,” former Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote in an email.

And those who did speak from the podium seemed focused more on castigating black protesters, scolding other blacks for their behavior and exalting Mr. Trump than on trying to help Republicans make inroads with undecided or skeptical black voters.

“Somebody with a nice tan needs to say this: All lives matter!” declared Darryl Glenn, a commissioner of El Paso County, Colo., who is African-American, in a line that drew a thunderous ovation from delegates.

Mr. Glenn repeatedly struck a moralizing tone. “If we really want to heal our communities, more men need to start stepping up and taking care of their children,” he said at one point. “Safe neighborhoods happen when fathers and mothers are in the home,” he said at another.

The convention’s most prominent black speaker, Ben Carson, by contrast, suggested Tuesday night that Hillary Clinton was seeking to deceive poor blacks and other disadvantaged people.

Republican delegates from every state in the nation are in Cleveland, where they nominated Donald J. Trump for the presidency on Tuesday. Here, some of them talk about how they will vote in November.

“She would continue with a system that denigrates the education of our young people, puts them in a place where they’re never going to be able to get a job, where they’re always going to be dependent, and where therefore they can be cultivated for their votes,” Mr. Carson said. “This is not what America is all about.”

Though Mr. Carson and Mr. Glenn were enthusiastically received, their overtures to blacks seemed all the more discordant given the racial makeup of the audience in the convention hall here.

This convention has fewer black delegates and speakers than any in two decades, according to several African-American Republicans who are regulars at party gatherings. The Republican National Committee could not provide definitive counts of delegates by race; one party official estimated that there were 80 black delegates, but that was based on an informal crowd count that might have included people on the convention floor who were not delegates. There are 2,472 delegates in all.

Fred Brown, the chairman of the National Black Republican Council, said he had been going to Republican conventions since the 1970s and believed that this year’s convention was one of the whitest in memory.

“The Republican Party has not done enough to enrich the party and create an opportunity for black members to become more involved,” said Mr. Brown, 80, who lives in the Bronx.

We analyzed the second night of the Republican National Convention in real time. The highlights.

Referring to Republican outreach to blacks, he said: “They haven’t put the resources behind it to make that happen. The money should be there. It’s like we created the Southern strategy in the South, and right now we control the South because the Republican Party under Nixon put the money up. The same thing they did there, they could do with the African-American community.”

Melanie Collins, a computer programming teacher from Cape May, N.J., who said she had been a Republican for a decade, said she felt alienated by the messages she had heard lately from Mr. Trump and other Republicans.

“I would not have been part of a party if that had been their messaging all along,” she said. “That’s not a party that I would be in.”

After wrestling with whether to support Mr. Trump, Ms. Collins said she would, but only in a transactional sense — as if she were doing business with someone with a “horrible personality” because “you had no choice.”

The speech by Mr. Glenn, and Mr. Giuliani’s hand-waving turn on the stage — in which he seemed to condemn people who held negative views about the police — were among several moments at the convention that unnerved some Republicans.

Another came when David Clarke Jr., the sheriff of Milwaukee County, declared that “blue lives matter” and argued that the Black Lives Matter movement was contributing to “a collapse of social order.” He also praised the acquittal of one of the Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. (Efforts to reach Mr. Glenn and Mr. Clarke on Tuesday were unsuccessful.)

“How we talk directly about a community of people, and how we talk indirectly about a community of people, matters,” said Michael Steele, who was the first black chairman of the Republican National Committee. “Rudy’s not living in their neighborhoods. And he doesn’t understand what’s motivating them.”

Mr. Steele added, “The coding, the language and the wording becomes a distraction.”

Some Republicans said privately that they were uncomfortable that convention planners had tapped black speakers to chastise black protesters in front of a mostly white crowd, which seemed to lap it up. But others, like Mr. Brown from New York, said it was a “farce” to say that African-Americans like Sheriff Clarke were being cynically used by Republicans to deliver stern rebukes to people of their own race.

“He’s saying blue lives also matter to create a balance,” Mr. Brown said.

Telly Lovelace, the national director for African-American initiatives and urban media for the Republican National Committee, said the party’s estimates indicated that this year’s convention was more diverse than the last two. Still, he said he had felt uncomfortable during some speeches, including Sheriff Clarke’s.

“I don’t think Sheriff Clarke fully understands what those who live in urban communities, and particularly black men, have to deal with and have to go through, dealing with the police and being racially profiled,” he said. “I do believe that black lives matter. And Black Lives Matter is not this quote-unquote anarchist movement, as he described it in his speech.”

Summary: For many black Republicans, speeches have veered toward moralizing on race, an off-putting posture given Donald J. Trump’s unpopularity with minority voters.


A man who allegedly threatened people with a knife and stole cars during a crime spree in South Australia's southeast on Wednesday has been arrested.

Detectives found the 25-year-old - who allegedly stole two cars and then dumped them, and ran someone off the road when they tried to follow him - on Thursday night.

He will face the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Friday, charged with a range of offences.

Summary: A man wanted over a spate of criminal incidents across South Australia's southeast on Wednesday has been tracked down by detectives.


The reviews for Batman v Superman are in, and they’re disappointingly tepid. Their most glowing features have tended to focus on a certain Amazonian princess played by Gal Gadot. As Michael Phillips wrote in the Chicago Tribune, “An hour into ‘Batman v. Superman,’ you wonder: Can we just settle this little spat and move on to Gadot’s ‘Wonder Woman’ movie?”

To get a better sense of how that movie is coming together, TIME spoke to Deborah Snyder and Charles Roven, producers of a host of DC Comics movies who count not only Batman v Superman but also Wonder Woman, due out on June 23, 2017, among their projects. Here’s everything they shared about the superheroine’s first big-screen hurrah:

Read More: How Wonder Woman Steals the Spotlight in Batman v Superman

The movie targets hardcore fans and Wonder Woman newbies alike: “We wanted to make sure that there were touchstones if you were a fan, but also make sure that you didn’t really need to know about her up until the time that you walk into the movie,” says Roven. “There will be Easter eggs for those who know to look for them, or hopefully just a compelling story for those who are there because they are fascinated by the idea of a female superhero.”

Wonder Woman will draw inspiration from various previous iterations, but her fundamental values will look familiar: “Even though Wonder Woman has changed as women’s place in society has changed, I think what she stands for—her pillars of truth and of love and of peace, of justice—those things are very constant,” says Snyder. “I think maybe with all the talk about gender equality, this is the right time for her to be coming and taking the spotlight from all the male superheroes.”

Gadot was cast in part for her off-screen persona: “A lot of times, kids don’t distinguish between an actor and the character. So we had to make sure that whoever we were casting would really represent who this character was and be a great role model personally,” says Snyder. “When we did the tests, all our department heads—the hair and makeup, the stunts—they were rooting for her, just the way she carried herself. She really embodies all these things we were looking for.”

The movie is not merely targeting a female audience: “For me, as a woman, getting her story right [is] more for the young girls,” says Snyder. “They need role models and they need to see not just Batman and Superman but women superheroes.” Still, Snyder continues, “She’s very universal. I think for men to see such a strong, powerful woman is a really great thing, too.”

Her costume was designed to resemble armor: Zack [Snyder, director of Batman v Superman] and [costume designer] Michael Wilkinson said, ‘We want to make sure that she’s a warrior, that her costume feels ancient because she’s immortal.’ We went for something that felt more like armor, that was more practical.” Is it still a little bit sexy? Sure it is, but that doesn’t bother Snyder. “Women can be strong and beautiful and intelligent and tough—we’re complex people and part of our freedom is that we get to express ourselves in many ways.”

They prioritized hiring a female director: Wonder Woman will be directed by Patty Jenkins, who wrote and directed the 2003 drama Monster, for which Charlize Theron received an Oscar. “I really wanted a female director,” say Snyder. “Patty Jenkins is going to be the first female director to direct a studio tentpole action movie, and I felt like for Wonder Woman, how could you not hire a woman? We’re bringing this iconic feminist character to the screen for the first time, it should be from a woman because we need more women behind the camera.” (Aaaand, mic drop.)

The producers don’t see the future of all female superhero movies as riding on the success of Wonder Woman: Roven admits that “If the film’s not successful, they’re going to go, ‘Well, there you go, that proves that you can’t make a female superhero movie.’” But he doesn’t view the situation in such binary terms. “Hopefully we’ll be successful and we don’t have to have a post-mortem discussion like that, but if the film wasn’t successful I would simply say that we just didn’t get it right, as opposed to the idea of, it isn’t worthy.”

Summary: Producers Deborah Snyder and Charles Roven on making the anticipated female superhero movie


Last year, 82-year-old Rafael Lee was threatened with eviction from the rent-controlled apartment where he had lived for 48 years in Upper Manhattan because of what turned out to be a clerical error.

He was so upset that he went to court seeking damages for the anxiety he said he suffered. Now a federal judge has agreed with him in a case that is causing alarm among lawyers who represent landlords in housing court.

Summary: A tenant reached a settlement for $22,000 as well as $108,000 in legal fees in an incorrect eviction case. But in a twist, it wasn't the tenant's landlord who was found liable in the suit.


After 120 years of selling tobacco users their daily fix of nicotine, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings is now working to sell its nicotine know-how for use in drugs.

Armed with decades of sophisticated research on nicotine, the maker and marketer of Camel and Winston cigarettes has launched a venture to develop new drugs that can mimic nicotine's potent effects on the brain but without the deadly baggage of cigarette tars connected with...

Summary: A new R.J. Reynolds unit, Targacept, is competing with drug companies to develop an emerging class of drugs that mimic nicotine's effects.


With a hotel, statue, wax work, underwear range, fragrance, movie and museum already paying homage to the 31-year-old, you probably thought we had reached peak Ronaldo. But last month, Madeira International Airport was renamed after Portugal’s answer to David Beckham after he visited the island for the opening of his hotel.

Summary: Cristiano Ronaldo, the Real Madrid star and budding hotelier, will be opening a new hotel in the Portuguese capital next month, the country's ministry of tourism announced this week.


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

When it comes to adding property value to your home, you've probably already gone through the basic upgrades and renovations that are frequently recommended. New flooring, new roof, updated landscaping: All of these can have positive effects on your property value, but they are also expensive projects that can have a negative effect on your bottom line. And whether you're flipping a house or just improving home value, return on investment is key.

4 room renovations under $5K that add serious property value

We all know that the bathroom, or any room with utilities, is a great place to do some upgrading when you want to add value. If your bath features an old, outdated tub/shower combo, it may be a good time to replace it with a modern fixture like a glass or tiled shower stall or a jetted tub. For an average-sized bathroom, you'll spend between $2,800 and $4,700 updating this feature. With bathroom renovations regularly recouping 80% to 90% of their costs in home value, this simple update could easily add an extra $3,500 to $4,000 to the price of your home. Other ideas for the bathroom include new vinyl flooring, updated sink fixtures, and updated lighting. All of these together will run you less than a few thousand dollars and can help rack up another $2,000 to $5,000 on your home's total price.

2. Invest in a small-scale kitchen remodel

The kitchen is just like the bathroom: full of fixtures that can make your house look like a million bucks. The kitchen is where a buyer inspects closely, and they'll be able to tell if you skimped here. If new appliances aren't in the budget, or if you've already upgraded those, consider stone countertops, which would run somewhere around $4,500 for an average-sized kitchen. Natural materials are often key selling points of a home, especially in the kitchen, and these minor kitchen upgrades frequently have a return on investment of up to 85%. By spending $4,000 here, you could add another $3,200 to your overall house price, and it may make the difference between a sale and a miss. Bonus: You'll get to enjoy them in the meantime!

3. Replace your entry door

Buying a new front door is one of the best inexpensive upgrades you can make, because it has a nearly 100% return on investment. Spend a little extra on a custom, hand-carved door that will run you around $3,000, and you can tack $3,000 onto the price of your home. Additionally, the first impression to potential buyers makes every part of the house feel richer and fills the house with character that buyers are looking for.

4. Add a wooden deck

If you have an extra outdoor space, adding a small wooden deck is a great way to bump up the value of your property. Wooden decks can be installed for as little as $1,000, especially if you are handy and can do all or part of the installation yourself. The most expensive small decks are around $8,300, so it would be easy to get a great deck made of excellent material for $5,000. A few extra features like a higher privacy fence and a low-maintenance finish will mean that you could add another $4,000 to the property value.

With just a few small renovations, you can see how your property value can shoot up very quickly. While you won't recoup 100% of your investment with every renovation, being smart about where you put your money can help add to the bigger picture, all of which can be helpful when it's time to sell.

More from Trulia: 7 Ways To Determine A Home's Architectural Style My Home Sale Fell Apart: How To Avoid These 5 Real-Life Scenarios Trulia's Guide To The Most Popular Home Styles In America

RELATED: 13 features homeowners want the most

4 room renovations under $5K that add serious property value

2. ENERGY STAR® appliances (90%)

4. ENERGY STAR® rating for whole home (88%)

5. ENERGY STAR® windows (87%)

8. Full bathroom on main level (83%)

9. Hardwood on main floor (82%)

10. Insulation higher than required by code (81%)

12. Table space for eating in kitchen (80%)

Summary: Whether you’re flipping a house or just improving home value, return on investment is key. These are smaller projects that won't break the bank.


BIZZBY, based in London's TechCity, has developed a fully autonomous drone equipped with a secure storage box capable of holding items weighing up to 500g. It can fly up to 400 feet into the air, avoiding collisions with birds and other obstacles thanks to several sensors.

The system, called Prime Air, could dispatch products within half an hour of ordering, and be commonplace within four to five years.

Google announced its own drone goods delivery service in August, which it said could help provide aid to disaster-stricken areas.

The company flew chocolate bars, dog treats, cattle vaccines, water and radios between locations in the Australian outback over a week.

Keys and other small objects could be shuttled between addresses via drone

Concerns have been raised over the safety and efficiency of drone delivery. The Civial Aviation Authority (CAA) is yet to authorise the use of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) within populated areas, and a fully automated drone cannot currently weigh more than 22 kilos without the CAA's permission.

A Lords committee investigating the civilian use of drones met with operators and developers last week to discuss regulations around the civil use of the machines. Mr Luvaglio has created an e-petition requesting the government to consider a Drone Bill to permit the use of drones for filming and deliveries within the UK.

It came in through the bathroom window: drone delivery

Summary: A UK start-up is testing out a drone delivery on demand service, delivering   small items between addresses via your smartphone


It must have been quite a surprise for some residents of Sag Harbor this summer when they wandered over to their beloved Bay Street restaurant, Tutto Il Giorno, only to discover it was now called Dopo La Spiaggia (“After the beach”). Was it possible that the immensely popular Tutto had fallen victim to the Hamptons restaurant scene’s revolving-door epidemic?

The answer, many will be relieved to find out, is, not really. Two of the original owners, Gabby Karan de Felice and Maurizio Marfoglia, have decided to part ways, with Ms. Karan de Felice taking over the Southampton and Manhattan Tutto locations, and the rights to the restaurant’s name. Mr. Marfoglia remains in Sag Harbor at the newly born Dopo La Spiaggia.

The changes to the restaurant’s décor are subtle. The space is the same chic cottage with a charming outside patio that offers views of nearby Sag Harbor Marina. New art and chandeliers have been hung.

More significant is the menu’s new focus. “Lighter, simpler, with more local ingredients,” Mr. Marfoglia said by phone after our two visits. He is also the executive chef, and by our estimation, his Northern Italian menu’s greatest strengths lie in the appetizers and pasta selections.

There is an impressive spicy tuna tartare appetizer, for example, which combined some very fresh fish with cucumbers and avocado, and which came off as cool, light, and delicious. A scallop crudo, meanwhile, was nothing short of fabulous, the diver scallops sliced paper thin and topped with sea salt, American sturgeon caviar and a drizzle of olive oil. You may never want to cook a scallop again after tasting this melt-in-your-mouth raw version.

A burrata with organic tomatoes and basil was, in its own way, almost as good. Mr. Marfoglia won’t say where he buys his burrata, which is spectacularly moist and creamy. “I don’t want anyone else to know,” he said. “They’re already complaining we buy too much from them!” And a frito misto of calamari and shrimp leaned heavily on the calamari, but was very light and crispy with not a drop of residual oil to be found. It was also served with fried squash and a chunky marinara sauce.

Pastas are uniformly excellent. Our favorite was the homemade ravioli, which was filled with a duxelle of local shiitake mushrooms and served with a restrained coating of a sage-butter sauce. The squid-ink tagliolini, also made from scratch, came chock-full of seafood, including bay scallops, shrimp and calamari, all of which was tossed with chili flakes and tomato.

After so many outstanding dishes, you may find yourself slightly let down by Dopo’s entrees, which tend to be more solid than spectacular. The best of the bunch might be the poached branzino, served in a white wine sauce with spinach and tomatoes. The fish was fork-tender and the portion plentiful — even diners with the heartiest of appetites might want to take home one of the four fillet-sized pieces. And a seafood stew had a very nice spicy tomato broth and was satisfying despite a disproportionate allocation of seafood. A single large shrimp and some bites of a sea bass, for example, were overrun by a cockles convention — I stopped counting these little clams at 30.

Mr. Marfoglia’s heart doesn’t really seem to be in the meat dishes the way it was with some of the others. A sliced rib-eye was grilled and served with some arugula, shaved pecorino cheese and a salsa verde. It was perfectly O.K., if not wholly inspired. A veal chop Milanese tried for something more interesting: Instead of a cutlet, a whole veal chop was used, pounded out thin, breaded and pan fried and still attached to the bone. The accompanying chicory salad was under-dressed, however, and the dish ended up seeming bland.

Things picked up again with dessert, which included a stellar tiramisù and a generous berry tart with crème Anglaise. Both were large enough to share.

In our phone conversation, Mr. Marfoglia stressed how his staff is much the same as it was in previous years, and in fact the service is notably professional. Indeed, Dopo La Spiaggia seems to have kept the best elements of its predecessor, while moving — however incrementally — in a new direction. “There are customers who don’t notice the new sign,” Mr. Marfoglia said. “I think some of them don’t even realize we’ve changed the name.”

Dopo La Spiaggia6 Bay StreetSag Harbor631-725-7009dopolaspiaggia.com

The Space Chic cottage has seats for 40, with 25 more outside on the charming patio where there is a retractable awning. Chairs and tables are tightly spaced inside and out.

The Crowd Well-heeled summer residents with a European contingent. No children on the nights we were there. Service is notably professional.

The Bar Small, six-seat lacquered wood bar with street views. Fifteen wines by the glass, $15 to $22; 52 in bottles, $40 to $420. House cocktails, $15 each. Beers by the bottle only, $7.

The Bill Dinner appetizers, $18 to $25; pastas, $25 to $29; entrees, $33 to $46. Lunch appetizers, $17 to $22; pastas, $23 to $27; entrees, $25 to $39. Desserts, $12 to $14.

What We Liked Scallop crudo; tuna tartare; frito misto; shiitake ravioli; squid ink tagliolini; branzino; prime rib-eye; tiramisù; berry tart.

If You Go Sundays through Thursdays, noon to 10:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, until 11:30 p.m. No reservations accepted. Parking along Bay Street and adjacent side streets can be tricky at times.

Ratings Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor

A version of this article appears in print on August 7, 2016, on page LI9 of the New York edition with the headline: With a Change in Leadership, a Lighter Menu. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: After a split with a co-owner, Maurizio Marfoglia decided to stay and turn Tutto Il Giorno into something new, though some regulars may not have noticed the changes.


I have a small team of people but they don't all work everyday. When everybody's here, there are around eight people, which makes for a lively creative atmosphere, even if I wasn’t there, but hopefully it gets more lively when I am. I've always worked with technical help, so there has always been a social element to my practice, someone to turn around and talk to about the work. Not necessarily on a practical level, on a philosophical level, too.

I've used shared studios in the past. I had one through the charity ACAVA on Charing Cross Road, with Sam Taylor Johnson.

Before I had kids, I used to work in a very blinkered way. My method was to have an idea and then just stay in the studio until it was made, so that would be day and night, day and night, day and night. Then I might wait ages for another idea. Now I have quite a structured week – it took me quite a long time to get into some sort of pattern.

I’m sort of eclectic with the kind of work I make, and the way that work gets produced. I've got projects that take years to make and others that might take a few minutes. Sometime I'm working for a specific show, sometimes for a commission. Sometimes I’m just making things on spec, with no idea of how I’m going to put it into the world. I’m just making it because I want it made.

Summary: Gavin Turk, 48, was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) whose work featured in Charles Saatchi's Sensation exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1997.


It's his twenty-sixth birthday today, but Mario Balotelli is struggling to securing a move away from Anfield in time for the start of the season.

Whilst Liverpool are keen to offload him in good time, and have reached deals with multiple clubs, the Italian's wages have proved a stumbling block for any potential transfer.

Chievo, Sassuolo and Palermo have all expressed interest in the maverick striker, but all have found it near-impossible to meet his wage demands.

Advisor Enzo Raiola, cousin of Paul Pogba's agent Mino, has described Sassuolo as being "light years away" from reaching Balotelli's demands. Earlier in the week, Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini told Italian radio that he couldn't "solve Balotelli's problems", and appeared to end the potential for any arrival.

It would seem that Chievo are the Italian's last hope, but it's clear that the striker will have to accept a wage-cut if he is to push through any kind of exit from the Liverpool wilderness.

Summary: <a href=


The first prospective buyer who came to look at the house where

... and who knew he was so loaded?

Our spies saw Robbie roll up to the house Thursday afternoon in his Range Rover.

The house was just listed -- again -- this time the asking price is $23.9 million.

We know anyone who looks at the estate has to pre-qualify ... meaning they have to show they can afford the steep purchase price.

As for Robbie, a London newspaper estimates his 2011 net worth at $149 mil. Robbie currently owns a home in the Beverly Hills area -- he paid $16 mil back in 2008. And he bought a house down the street and uses the land as a soccer field. Now that's rich.

As for the Holmby Hills estate -- Michael was renting it from Hubert Guez, the CFO of Ed Hardy. The house is 17,000 square feet, with 7 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.

As for whether Robbie is interested in making an offer ... his rep had no comment.

Summary: The first prospective buyer who came to look at the house where Michael Jackson died was singer Robbie Williams ... and who knew he was so loaded?Our…


TNT’s Animal Kingdom, premiering Tuesday night, is the television equivalent of a summer movie that you go to precisely because it’s unambitious. Its premise is at least intriguing, relocating young J (Finn Cole) from the home of his mother (dead, when the show begins, of a heroin overdose) to that of his long-estranged grandmother (Ellen Barkin). Smurf, as played by Barkin, is no typical grandmother: while she’s happy to whip up meatloaf or green juices for her boys, she’s as excited to watch them fight, snort drugs and plot jewelry-store robberies for her.

Adapted from the superior 2010 Australian film that got Jacki Weaver an Oscar nomination, Animal Kingdom does little, plot-wise, that’s particularly thrilling in its first three episodes. But Barkin is delivering an incredible performance. Weaver’s Smurf concealed toughness and violence behind maternal care; Barkin’s take on the role merges predatory appetites with a threatening sexuality. Her bemusement, as she watches her progeny misbehave in every sense, is tinged with an edge of attraction. It’s no wonder she has pushed them into a life of crime. She doesn’t just want money—she’s energized by bad behavior.

Smurf is in complete control of her sons at all times, but she herself is a volatile madwoman. It’s little wonder that there’s no father in the picture. Barkin convinces you that Smurf has the sheer force of will to generate children from her ribs. An innocent grandson (Finn Cole), who has just moved in with her after 11 years without contact, watches her with confusion. He (and we) haven’t met someone like Smurf before. Her bordering-on-incestuous leering would feel like a cheap bid for edginess in the hands of a performer less able to sell a taste for extremity, but it only emphasizes Barkin’s talent. She’s spinning an eerie tale of maternal devotion on the margins of a conventional crime story.

And there’s just enough cliché here to make Animal Kingdom as comfortable as air-conditioning. But Ellen Barkin’s reinvention of the Smurf role, finding new provocations in the already provocatively written role of a grandma crime boss, is a pleasant jolt. Barkin, recently very good on the not-good NBC sitcom The New Normal, is an under-utilized actress. Her inherent toughness makes her an ill fit with more genteel prestige TV. Animal Kingdom does everything else well enough, and uses her shrewd, assessing eyes and unmannered delivery perfectly.

Summary: The actress is at last used perfectly, even on an imperfect show


It is unfortunate that Anne Hanley, who wrote “A Weekend in the Yoga Positions” (Travel section, June 11), chose to approach Yoga irresponsibly. The physical benefits from Yoga ex ercises alone should be greatly en couraged. Everyone stands to gain from them. Meditation comes more slowly to the western mind, but its positive effects on thinking and behavior should not be minimized. It can give you peace of mind without interfering with your religious beliefs. After years of suffering from a hack condition, followed a series of “Yoga for Health” exercises. Within a short time I could walk through an exhibition, or drive for several hours free of pain, where as, before, such physical strain was sheer torture. I feel I cannot allow Miss Hanley to scoff at Yoga, or dismiss it, without a reply.

[Miss Hanley replies: I think Yoga is a good thing. It teaches self‐discipline, and certainly many people derive enor mous personal benefits from it. Rut, as Mrs. Mien states, Yoga is not a religion. Therefore it should not he above little honest criticism, humorous or otherwise. She is far advanced into Yoga; I ant just beginning. I have the right to a hit of skepticism before maize any sort of a commitment. I never meant to scoff at Yoga, I onl'y meant to scoff at my own mental and physical awkwardness approaching Yoga.]

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.

A version of this archives appears in print on August 6, 1972, on page XX4 of the New York edition with the headline: Letters:. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: Mrs M Otten lr scores A Hanley June 11 article on yoga for approaching meditation 'irresponsibly'; Hanley replies


NEW YORK — Walmart’s vast fleet of stores and its online business are starting to click together.

The company raised its earnings outlook for the year Thursday and delivered strong profit and sales for the second quarter, as moves to improve the store and online experience are winning over customers.

Walmart has launched a flurry of changes, from making sure vegetables look good to cleaning up stores, to being sharper on keeping prices low. It’s melding online services with the stores — rolling out a mobile payment system to speed checkouts. And it’s pressing ahead with online grocery and pickup services.

As a result, the Bentonville, Ark.-based company reported its eighth consecutive quarterly increase in comparable-store sales, and the seventh straight quarterly gain in customer traffic at its Walmart US namesake business.

‘‘We’ve got existing customers who are visiting stores more often and putting an extra item in their basket,’’ Greg Foran, chief executive of Walmart’s US business, told reporters on a call Thursday. Walmart is also picking up some new customers, but that will take some time, he added. And growth was solid and consistent across all types of merchandise from toys to clothing.

Walmart shares rose $1.37 to close at $74.30.

Like its direct store rivals, Walmart is reinventing itself to be more nimble as it tries to fight off competition. In particular, it’s trying to compete with online leader Amazon.com, whose Prime shipping program is swiftly converting members into loyal shoppers. And it faces competition from dollar stores and traditional grocers like Kroger, which are ramping up promotions and lowering prices.

The report contrasts with results from Target Corp., which cut its profit forecast Wednesday as customer traffic fell for the first time in a year and a half. Target blamed a number of factors, including that it focused too much marketing on its stylish merchandise and didn’t do enough to bring in customers looking for essentials like detergent. It’s also struggling to reinvent its food section, and it also cited weak electronics sales. Target chief executive Brian Cornell also noted sales varied widely from region to region.

Walmart, meanwhile, is vastly expanding the items available on its website, and global online sales rose 11.8 percent in the second quarter. That’s up from the 7 percent pace of the first quarter but still far weaker than the 20 percent increases from less than two years ago. It’s also spending $3 billion to acquire fast-growing online retailer Jet.com, which it says will help it grab higher-income and younger customers. It will incorporate some of Jet.com’s technology that lowers prices in real time.

Summary: The company’s vast fleet of stores and its online business are starting to click together.


08/22/2016 AT 12:00 PM EDT

is batting back at reports of tax drama.

star, 48, owes a total of $824,366.01 in back taxes for the year 2014. On Sunday, the reality star seemed to make light of her situation in posts on social media.

"4 all those that r asking, reporting & concern...Yes I am broke & unemployed," her first tweet began. "Just another dumb Celeb that doesn't know how 2 money manage. My priorities r all screwed up! I'm just a damn fool out here about to lose my house! Please start a Go Fund Me."

4 all those that r asking, reporting & concern...Yes I am broke & unemployed. Just another dumb Celeb that doesn't know how 2 money manage

My priorities r all screwed up! I'm just a damn fool out here about to lose my house! Please start a Go Fund Me

Some fans jumped to the assumption that Leakes was hacked, but she declared it was in fact her and added "pray for me."

Leakes, whose real name is Linnethia Monique Leakes, was hit with a federal tax lien on July 22 in a Georgia court, according to the documents. The IRS has made a demand for payment of the liability, but it remains unpaid. As a result, Leakes' assets and properties may begin to be seized in order to collect on her debt.

Following the surfacing of the court documents, Leakes shared a lighthearted photo on Instagram with the caption: "Running out the hotel to pay this bill y'all know I ain't got no jobsssssss let me borrow 20$."

Summary: NeNe Leakes addresses her financial situation in a series of sarcastic posts on social media


TOKYO — Global economic leaders stepped up warnings that the populist mood sweeping many developed nations is a threat to trade and growth, calling on the Group of 20 summit for governments and businesses to fight to keep goods flowing across borders.

International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde urged corporate chiefs to lobby governments to keep trade flows up as she cautioned about the outlook for growth into 2017. Her comments on Saturday in Hangzhou, China, were echoed by World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo, while Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said it’s right to worry about protectionist sentiment.

“Trade is way too low and has been way too low for a long time,” Lagarde told business leaders, citing an antitrade movement in politics, policy, and public opinion. “If there is no international trade, if there is no cross-border investment, if services, capital, people, and goods do not cross borders, then it’s less activity for you, it’s less jobs in whichever country you are headquartered.”

Lagarde’s warning comes amid a dimming global growth outlook and faltering momentum for the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact in the final months of President Barack Obama’s term. Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have both spoken against the deal, which excludes China, while progress on a US-European Union trade and investment deal known as TTIP has also stalled.

“We’ve heard here at this G-20 a lot of talk — and I think it’s right that we’re talking about it — about the protectionist sentiment which is really sweeping the world,” and we should be worried about it, Freeland said in an interview.

“Those fears people have are real,” she said. “If we can show people that trade is good not just for Wall Street or Bay Street or the city of London but is good for small companies, then we’ll be doing a huge amount to push back against that protectionist sentiment.”

G-20 leaders are under pressure to jump-start growth that slowed to 2.7 percent last year among their economies, which represent about four-fifths of global gross domestic product. Growth is projected to slow to 2.4 percent this year before picking up to 3 percent next year and 3.1 percent in 2018, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Summary: Global economic leaders stepped up warnings that the populist mood sweeping many developed nations is a threat to trade and growth.