All artists are selfish. They have to be. You can't create a masterpiece if you're worrying about whether it's your turn on the kitchen rota. Writing requires a similar single-mindedness, where the needs of the creator come before all else. At least that's what I told my family – wife and four young children – when I recently insisted on a four-hour detour on a drive through France. As far as they were concerned, I was being a prat. I wanted to go and look at a bridge.

We drove across the Massif Central and headed for Millau, a town that had been largely unknown to the outside world. That was until the French decided to spend €400m (£314m) building the world's largest vehicle bridge, and invited Norman Foster to design it. The Millau Viaduct opened in 2004. This was one bridge I had to see.

My six-year-old was the first to spot it. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "There's a big white ship sailing on top of that mountain." Up to a point he was right; it did look like a three-masted white sailing ship. But it didn't look big: it looked colossal, truly monumental. It was awesome. A feeling that was accentuated with each passing kilometre. By the time we reached the bridge, nobody was complaining. This was a detour worth taking: a family moment to treasure. But my mind wasn't with Foster and his bridge, nor even with my family. It was with an octogenarian British sculptor called Anthony Caro.

Caro was on my mind for two reasons. The first was that I suspect Foster could not have achieved such an aesthetic bullseye without first having worked with Caro on the Millennium Bridge in London a few years before. The second reason was more profound. When I first saw Anthony Caro's 1962 sculpture, the goal-sized Early One Morning, 10 years ago, I realised that, in the right hands, steel had the ability to be breathtakingly beautiful.

Let's be clear about this: Anthony Caro is a great man. He is not only one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century, he is also one of the most important teachers of sculpture in the 20th century. The alumni from his time lecturing at St Martins School of Art (now Central St Martins College of Art and Design) in London (1953-81) reads like a who's who of contemporary British sculpture: Bruce McLean, Barry Flanagan, Richard Long and Gilbert and George are all graduates of his inspiring and innovative classes. He challenged what a sculpture could and should be. He took the artform off its pedestal – literally.

Early One Morning does not look down upon the viewer from a plinth, a column or any other raised device to give it perceived grandeur. The sculpture sits on the floor: all hierarchy removed. That might not seem particularly radical in light of today's pickled sharks and exploding sheds, but at the time it was revolutionary. It marked the end of classicism. It changed everything.

Placing Early One Morning directly on to the floor was a stroke of genius. The work changed from being an impressive piece of non-figurative sculpture in to a magical masterpiece. And I do mean magical, in the sense of suspending belief. When you look at Early One Morning it simply is not possible to believe that the sculpture is made of steel; it looks weightless. Which would be fine if it was a teaspoon, but it's not. It is very big, very red and very heavy.

The artwork stands at three metres high, is three metres across and is over six metres in length. It is a misshapen, scaffold-like construction of metal poles and beams, which at first glance appears to be the sort of twisted configuration a young child makes out of pipe-cleaners and cardboard. But spend a moment or two with the sculpture: walk around it, peer through it. The illusion is of watching a prima ballerina dancing only for you. To my mind it is one of the most significant abstract expressionist sculptures ever created. I think if Willem de Kooning, the God of abstract expressionism, had been a sculptor and not a painter, this is the sort of work he would have made.

The clues to Caro's radicalism lie in his backstory. He was born in 1924 and after a brief stint in the navy he became an assistant to Henry Moore. It was while he was working for Moore that Caro met an American sculptor called David Smith, who had spent the early part of his working life as a welder. An intelligent and sensitive man, Smith had enrolled in evening art classes to see if he could use his metalwork skills to create artworks. The ensuing sculptures made of welded steel and bent metal were a revelation, changing Smith from artisan to artist.

Caro was captivated and liberated. He quickly moved away from making figurative sculptures to abstraction. Suddenly sculpture to Caro was not a lump of carved stone; monolithic and opaque: it was about creating three-dimensional forms that explored the themes of balance, tension and translucence. It was the classic Damascene moment we all dream of – he was away. By the mid 1950s he was teaching regularly at St Martins, had an admiring American art world, and was making sculptures as good as any in the world. Early One Morning is a result of this purple patch, a sculpture so powerful that after encountering it you can no longer see an old-fashioned plough or a roll of barbed wire in the same way again. They too become light and lyrical: almost musical.

And the same applies to Norman Foster's bridge at Millau. On the one hand, it's a functional piece of design; on the other, it is a sublime piece of sculpture. The effect it has on you really depends how you see things. And that is what Anthony Caro has spent his life teaching us.

Summary: After encountering Caro's sculptures, I realised metal could be breathtakingly beautiful. And nothing will deter me from sharing this with my family ... or the world, writes Will Gompertz


WARNING THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT “GAME OF THRONES”

“Game of Thrones” viewers are howling about last night’s shocking death.

We’re not just talking about Hodor’s heartbreaking fate. No, the bloodthirsty showrunners behind the HBO drama also sacrificed another one of the long-suffering Stark family’s direwolves on Sunday.

'Game of Thrones' Season 6, Episode 5 recap: Winter arrives for Bran

George R.R. Martin talks killing off characters, scaring children

And Game of Thrones does it again and kills another dire wolf. Rip Summer :'(

“Thrones” author George R. R. Martin first introduced the oversized wolves in the series premiere six years ago as legendary creatures that hadn’t been seen for hundreds of years. Ned Stark found five orphaned pups in the snow, and each was paired with one of his children.

Yet the animals have suffered as much as the beleaguered Starks over the past six years.

Bran’s direwolf Summer perished protecting him from the White Walkers and their undead army in Sunday’s episode “The Door.” And fans who tolerate mass human casualties on the show each week were barking mad about axing another animal.

The most annoying thing about last nights episode of Game of Thrones is that Summer got killed off 😢😢Why you do this? Why? @GameOfThrones.

“Stop killing wolves!” tweeted Aline Pereira.

'GoT' actors and showrunners weigh in on devastating plot twist

“So damn unnecessary having Summer die in Game of Thrones,” mourned another Tweeter.

“The most annoying thing about last nights episode of Game of Thrones is that Summer got killed off,” tweeted user @FeelTheKarma. “Why you do this? Why?”

So damn unnecessary having Summer die in Game of Thrones

It was insult on top of injury, considering Summer was the second direwolf to die this season. Just two weeks ago, the severed head of young Rickon Stark’s wolf Shaggydog was presented to Ramsay Bolton by the traitor Smalljon Umber.

“And Game of Thrones does it again and kills another dire wolf,” mourned Twitter user Ramsin.

“PETA is about to be all over Game of Thrones if they keep killing the wolves,” agreed another user.

Game of thrones has made me cheer for for the hanging of a kid and has got me sobbing over the death of direwolfs #GameofThrones #summer

As a matter of fact, PETA spoke out against Summer's untimely end.

As ‘GoT’ marches to war, a breakdown of the show’s death toll

"Direwolves display the same loyalty to their human companions that so many animals do, so it's no wonder that viewers are saddened when one dies," PETA's senior vice president Lisa Lange told The Daily News in a statement. "Especially given the resemblance of these creatures to real wolves and the breathtaking computer-generated imagery - which also proves how unnecessary and indefensible it is nowadays to exploit live animals for a film or TV show."

So what’s happened to the Stark family’s direwolf pack that’s enraged fans? Let’s recap:

I need Game of Thrones to stop killing off Stark direwolves or I am calling PETA

The Stark girls Sansa and Arya lost their direwolves back in season one. After Arya’s wolf Nymeria bit Prince Joffrey during a childish scuffle along the Kingsroad, Arya sent her four-legged friend away to escape the royal family’s wrath. But Queen Cersei demanded that Sansa’s innocent creature, Lady, be sacrificed instead as punishment.

[But cheer up: In real life, Sansa actress Sophie Turner adopted the dog who played Lady, so they are living happily ever after off-screen.]

Then Robb Stark, the eldest of Ned’s sons and the King of the North, was assassinated along with his direwolf Grey Wind at the infamous Red Wedding in season three. The treacherous Walder Frey’s soldiers surrounded the penned creature and shot him with crossbows. The soldiers then desecrated both bodies by decapitating Robb Stark and sewing Grey Wind’s head onto his body. They paraded the mutilated corpse around on horseback.

Rickon’s direwolf Shaggydog is presumed dead since Umber presented its head on a spike two weeks ago. But many fans are wildly speculating online that the head is a fake, since it appeared too small to belong to a direwolf. Yet actor Art Parkinson, who plays Rickon, has said that Shaggydog is sadly gone.

And Bran’s wolf Summer was torn apart by the reanimated wights Sunday night after the White Walkers attacked the cave where Bran was learning to harness his psychic powers. Both Summer and the gentle giant Hodor sacrificed themselves so that Bran and Meera could escape.

Ruff stuff. That leaves us with Nymeria, still in exile somewhere in Westeros, and Jon Snow’s albino direwolf Ghost, who is still alive by his master’s side and marching off into war to retake the North.

Here’s hoping they hang in there, as fans can’t take losing another direwolf.

“If Ghost dies in Game of Thrones I’mma riot,” warned Janet Guzman.

Summary: “Game of Thrones” viewers are barking mad about this shocking twist.


It may still be March, but at least one Fortune 500 company has already fallen prey to what appears to be an April Fool’s joke in honor of tomorrow’s unofficial holiday.

A press release announcing that Pfizer pfe would no longer increase the prices of its drugs began circulating Thursday afternoon—a seemingly watershed decision in the pharmaceutical industry, which for months has faced intense scrutiny of its drug price hikes and accusations of price-gouging.

Alas, the announcement, as well as a website it linked to pfizerinternational.com, turned out to be fake. Pfizer denied association with the “anonymously issued” press release and website in its own statement a few hours later, saying “it was erroneously attributed to Pfizer and should be disregarded.” Both the website and the false release have apparently since been removed, and Pfizer said it was investigating the incident and could pursue legal action.

It wasn’t clear whether the perpetrators of the prank were trying to manipulate Pfizer’s stock price, or merely playing a trick on the company, perhaps to celebrate April Fool’s Day. The scheme was reminiscent of recent stock manipulation scams where fraudsters filed bogus SEC filings about Warren Buffett’s stock purchases and takeover offers in an attempt to pump up stock prices for their own gain.

But at least one news outlet fell for the hoax, with the Washington Post publishing a story headlined, “Pfizer vows to stop raising the list prices of its drugs.” (The newspaper removed the story after it was revealed to be false.)

Investors, however, were not so gullible. Pfizer’s stock price fell only 2% after the hoax came out—a minor dip for an announcement that implied Pfizer was giving up one of its key tools for preserving profit margins—and soon recovered, closing the day down 1.4%.

One market analysis firm, Connecticut-based Hammerstone Group, warned its hundreds of clients at 2:46 p.m to beware that the drug pricing announcement was fake. “**CAREFUL xxxxx,” it wrote in an alert to traders and investors.

Others expressed their incredulity and outrage at the scam on Twitter:

Fake website up in $pfe on month and quarter end. SEC needs to put a stop to this nonsense. Talk about integrity.

— Eric Dubowsky (@EricDubowsky) March 31, 2016

$PFE talks about fake website… we alerted subs at 2:46PM to be aware it was fake

— Jamie Lissette (@jamielissette) March 31, 2016

Summary: The pranksters' drug price promise was too good to be true.


The recent decision by the United States and Cuba to renew diplomatic relationships is a sign not only of changes in how the U.S. and Cuba operate, but an indication that more Cubans will be moving away from governmental jobs and into entrepreneurial roles.

Cuba has authorized 201 job categories, and their emerging private sector is expected to absorb the country’s informal employment activity as well as massive layoffs by state-owned entities. Many of these jobs, not surprisingly, are service-oriented and leverage the growing and successful tourism industry in Cuba.

But how does a Cuban entrepreneur get started?

Consider a paladar – a family owned and operated restaurant permitted by the government. Is building one and operating one a good investment? What capital requirements, supplies, labor, and other equipment are needed to get started and to be successful? Might other ventures be a better investment or better risk, given an entrepreneur’s goals, talents, and needs? In short, is a new entrepreneurial venture a good opportunity given the many rules and regulations on its operation?

For a country operating outside traditional business markets and business practices, the answers to these questions are not so obvious. In fact, operating in a regime that had stifled entrepreneurship for many years has removed examples of success and even placed limits on access to capital and goods.

As a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, I recently examined these questions with my students as part of our Risk Lab, an experiential learning class. We looked at real-world problems of risk and exercise frameworks for the improved management and selection of risk. It is not about risk avoidance but rather about finding the right level or risk.

For the Cuban entrepreneur, risk is uniquely challenging. In addition to byzantine governmental regulations, the availability and price of various items are problematic. Cuba makes few things, so even basic items, must be imported. For instance, operating a hair salon (one of the permitted Cuban businesses) requires equipment like brushes and lotions not made on the island. Importation duties on many classes of items can be hefty. So deciding to borrow or to import critical goods are some of the decisions that Cuban entrepreneurs must consider when forming a business. We looked at the business decisions and return on investments of these newly permitted businesses in Cuba and found an immense need to connect Cuban entrepreneurs with international markets.

During this process, we collaborated with Tomas Bilbao, who is the executive director of the Cuba Study Group – a non-partisan group that works to increase the economic prosperity of Cubans.

The study findings highlight the importance of importation and access to capital (seed money, if you will) for many Cuban entrepreneurs. The study also led to U.S.-Cuba policy recommendations on eliminating Cuban family remittance limits, expanding banking services in Cuba, facilitating imports to Cuba, and prioritizing trade services such as cargo and express mail offerings that can connect Cuban entrepreneurs to U.S. markets.

Raising the importance of these changes is possible when looking at how Cuban entrepreneurs could prosper under such changes. In particular, these changes will allow Cuban entrepreneurs to access seed money from families in the U.S. and to buy basic and necessary goods for their businesses through importation from the U.S. These changes are fundamentally necessary for the growth of entrepreneurship in Cuba because of the nearly nonexistent supply of basic goods and access to capital.

This experiential learning garnered real-world solutions to the growth of the Cuban private sector. With the Cuban economy in great flux, the role of individual entrepreneurs has never been greater. Providing these entrepreneurs tools for success also provides pathways to prosperity that have not existed to date.

Russell Walker is a clinical associate professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the founder of the Risk Lab experiential course and the author of Winning with Risk Management and From Big Data to Big Profits: Success with Data and Analytics. Kyle Bell is a Kellogg MBA student.

Summary: For a country operating outside traditional business markets and business practices, answers to the most basic business questions aren’t so obvious.


President Obama’s acting secretary of education, John King, hijacked Martin Luther King Jr. Day to accuse public schools of racism because black students are punished more often and more harshly than others.

The Obama administration has been threatening school districts with lawsuits and federal funding cuts wherever it finds “racial disparities” in who gets suspended or expelled.

But racism isn’t to blame. Black students misbehave more often. Tragically, school administrators are so fearful of saying it that they’re being intimidated into ceding control of classrooms to violent, disruptive students.

That’s the story in New York City, where serious crimes in schools are soaring. Forcible sex offenses are up 90 percent year over year, according to state statistics. Assaults with weapons causing serious injuries are up 69 percent.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has implemented the Obama administration’s policy of replacing suspensions with “restorative justice” — a kind of talk therapy — even for serious offenses such as insubordination, fighting, arson, assaults and marijuana possession.

The only penalty for a student at Adlai Stevenson High School in The Bronx caught with seven bags of marijuana on him was being handed a warning card that said, “Please bring this card home to your parent(s)/guardian so you can discuss the matter with them.”

Sounds more like “Leave It to Beaver” than 2016. It would be laughable — if it weren’t so destructive.

The de Blasio administration is touting a dramatic decrease in school suspensions. That’s only because the unruly students are allowed to stay in the classroom, continuing to disrupt. Last week, at a United Federation of Teachers meeting, 81 percent of teachers said their students are losing learning opportunities because of the disorder and violence.

No one believes black students should be treated differently from others. The notion that racist educators are to blame for more suspensions and expulsions of black students is preposterous, says Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald. Teaching is “the most liberal occupation.”

A primary cause of student discipline problems is the breakdown of families, Mac Donald says, which is especially severe among African-Americans. These households are missing fathers. When discipline isn’t enforced at home, students don’t behave in school, either.

Or on the streets. Mac Donald points out that the homicide rate among males age 14 to 17 — high schoolers — is nearly 10 times higher for blacks than for whites.

Families for Excellent Schools, a pro-charter group, is lambasting de Blasio for misrepresenting what’s happening in schools. City Hall claims school crime is down, but the pols are playing numbers games, mixing minor infractions with major crimes.

In terms of serious and violent crime, schools are more dangerous than before. Assaults are up a shocking 40 percent in one year.

The mayor’s coverup is an insult to caring parents and dedicated teachers alike. No wonder on this issue, de Blasio and the unions part ways.

De Blasio’s lax policies are “grooming criminals,” according to Gregory Floyd, president of the union representing school safety officers. Eighty-four percent of the schools deemed persistently dangerous by the state’s Education Department are in New York City.

“The mayor is saying crime is down in the schools. Crime is not disappearing. It’s just that we’re ignoring it,” reports Floyd, who is also opposing de Blasio’s push to reduce the use of metal detectors at schools.

Ignoring school crime punishes all students. But the biggest losers are from poor, often minority, families who can’t afford to escape these dangerous schools.

That’s why de Blasio and the Obama administration should stop the racial head-counting and adopt a color-blind approach to discipline. That would actually honor, rather than exploit, the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., who had a dream that “children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.”

Betsy McCaughey is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research.

Summary: President Obama’s acting secretary of education, John King, hijacked Martin Luther King Jr. Day to accuse public schools of racism because black students are punished more often and more harshly th…


Polyvore is wading into a new territory: menswear.

The Yahoo-owned company debuted its new category Wednesday. Menswear is Polyvore’s fourth category, along with women’s fashion, beauty, and home décor, and the first it’s added since Yahoo YHOO acquired the site last year for $230 million.

The 9-year-old company is best known for letting users create online fashion collages from the site’s vast catalog of items or by uploading their own. Polyvore’s catalog is also shoppable, often serving as a way for users to discover new items to purchase for their wardrobe. The company touts its powerful search engine for images and its ability to recommend items based on the heaps of data it has analyzed from users.

According to the company, menswear has been a highly requested category from its user community, so it decided to roll out it out during New York City’s men’s fashion week, which ends later this week.

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With that said, Polyvore has more than 20 million monthly active users, a number is hasn’t publicly updated since 2012, and currently 84% of them are women, according to its site. This begs the question of what exactly does the company want to accomplish through this new category. Constructing collages or even simply searching for men’s apparel and shoes will surely appeal to some of its female users, but does Polyvore hope it will attract more men to its service?

That’s hard to tell. As we’ve seen with Pinterest, a digital service also centered around creating digital collections of items, shopping, and generally searching for images, attracting male users to these services is still a challenge.

For more on Polyvore, watch:

But there is hope. In July, Pinterest marketing partner Ahalogy released the results of a survey which found that men now make up 18% of Pinterest users, a 5% jump from the previous year. Moreover, almost two-thirds had joined in the past year, making them the fastest growing group on the service.

And attracting male users may not even matter to Polyvore.

When asked about its goals for the category, a Polyvore spokeswoman told Fortune that the company is “always looking for new ways to delight our users and help them give and get styling inspiration from our global style community,” reiterating that it’s responding to a demand from users, both men and women.

The company also pointed to a 2015 study by research firm IbisWorld that found that online sales of men’s clothing grew by 17.4% on average every year between 2010 and 2015. The study also projects that the category will see average annual growth of more than 14% over the next five years, which Polyvore views as an opportunity.

Summary: Despite having 84% female users, Polyvore says there's been a high demand.


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

The right necklace can make an outfit—whether you're wearing a sexy dress or pared down basics—and

from Jessica Elliot is definitely the right necklace. With three mixed-metal layers and a crystal layer, it's the perfect blend of hard and soft. Watch fashion stylist Tienlyn Jacobson show you how to wear this showstopper whether you're dressing up or kicking back.

Summary: Take your outfits to a whole new level with this mixed-metal necklace, which is one of the hottest fashion trends of the moment.


A former chief officer of Calpers, the nation’s largest public pension fund, was sentenced by a federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday to 4-1/2 years in prison on a bribery conviction.

Federico Buenrostro, who served as chief executive officer of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 2002 to 2008, had admitted to accepting gifts, travel and other benefits totaling approximately $200,000.

The president of the Calpers Board of Administration, Rob Feckner, in a statement on Tuesday expressed relief that “this saga has now come to an end. We are stewards of a sacred trust, and it must never be compromised for personal gain.”

The public pension fund has incorporated a number of critical measures since 2009 to strengthen internal controls and risk management, improved accountability, and increased openness and transparency.

“This chapter in our history is now behind us, and Calpers has emerged a stronger, more dynamic organization,” Calpers CEO Anne Stausboll said in a statement.

Prosecutors said Buenrostro was involved in a scheme with Alfred J. Villalobos, a former member of the pension fund’s board, who later worked as a placement agent that solicited investments by public pension funds.

In 2014, Buenrostro pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud as part of a federal conspiracy case. Villalobos, who also faced federal corruption charges, died in 2015.

Summary: Federico Buenrostro got 4-1/2 years for accepting $200,000 in gifts, travel, and other benefits.


Republican candidate and real estate tycoon Donald Trump's alleged voicemail inbox (which is full by the way) shows he's cozy with MSNBC hosts and has a nice discount at Gucci. Gawker reported Friday that it received an anonymous email with an audio attachment that the source claimed is the GOP frontrunner's voicemail inbox — and it's full with 21 messages reportedly including ones from liberal MSNBC hosts Tamron Hall, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady among others whose alleged messages show they like him a lot.

"It's T Hall," alleged Hall referred to herself in one of her two message to Trump. She thanked him for setting up a meeting with a guy named "Matt" for her that she said said "was pretty cool" and that she was going to celebrate by buying a $3,000 Gucci dress using his discount because it's bigger than hers. In her second message, allegedly left in 2012, she said she was a "huge fan," emphasis on huge, and thinks "the world of him" but scolded him for an unidentified YouTube video she saw of him that day.

Hall hasn't used that friendly tone in her aggressive coverage of his 2016 presidential bid.

Scarborough and Brzezinski left their alleged voice message together on an unknown date, according to the report. In it, Scarborough had his kids thank Trump on speaker for an unknown reason that he "just wanted to call [Trump] and tell [Trump] how much it means to us." Brzezinski chimed in that "it was amazing."

The email attachment also included voicemails from Brady, Barack Obama's advisor David Axelrod and boxing promoter Don King, according to Gawker, who all allegedly spoke to him in quite the congenial manner.

This comes as Trump's opponents Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz urge Trump to allow the New York Times to release a full transcript of an newspaper interview he had that was partly off the record.

20 celebrities who endorse Donald Trump:

Leaked Donald Trump voicemails reveal MSNBC hosts and Tom Brady among friends

Kid Rock showed his support for the presidential hopeful in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying he's "digging Trump." He also added, "Let the motherf---ing business guy run it like a f---ing business. And his campaign has been entertaining as shit."

The former heavyweight champion announced that he would endorse Trump while appearing on HuffPost Live back in October of 2015. "He should be president of the United States," Tyson said.

As for what Trump has said about immigration, Tyson said the words were "crude" and someone could work with him on the delivery of his message.

Baldwin, who was fired by Trump on two different seasons of "The Celebrity Apprentice," said during an interview with Don Lemon on an episode of "CNN Tonight" that Trump would make a "great" president "because he's not a politician, and he doesn't care what anybody thinks."

The actor endorsed Trump back in 2011, even after being fired from season four of "The Celebrity Apprentice," and offered his praise for the presidential hopeful again recently. "He's a great guy. He's sharp. He's fast," he told Fox411. "He can change the country after the last eight years."

The retired pro-basketball player tweeted: "@realDonaldTrump has been a great friend for many years. We don't need another politician, we need a businessman like Mr. Trump! Trump 2016." He was fired from season two of "The Celebrity Apprentice."

When asked by TMZ for his thoughts on Trump, the actor and former bodybuilder said, "I hope Donald goes all the way." He was also fired from a season of "The Celebrity Apprentice."

TMZ asked Hogan which 2016 Republican presidential candidate he would want to face in the ring, but instead of answering the question, he said he'd want to be Trump's running mate.

The musician wrote an article for WorldNetDaily in which he said, "[Trump] should be given the Medal of Freedom for speaking his mind in such a bold, honest, and straightforward manner."

The model and reality star posted a video on YouTube expressing her support for Trump.

The Las Vegas entertainer announced his support on "Fox and Friends," “I love Donald, and he would make a great president,” he said. But he also voiced his support for other hopefuls, such as Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, and Ben Carson.

The businessman and star of A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” supported Trump at a rally in Oklahoma last year, where he was invited up on stage. He officially announced his endorsement in January.

The former pro wrestler, former Minnesota governor, and actor was speaking with previous Trump staffer Roger Stone for "Off the Grid," when Ventura said, "I shocked my staff today. I came in and said, ‘You know what, as far as the Republicans are concerned, I hope Trump wins.'" Though he also added, "Now I’m not a Republican — I’m not a Democrat either — so ultimately, I’d like somebody else to win overall.”

After initially calling Trump a "shame pile of idiocy" in a tweet, Sheen had a change of heart a month later and tweeted that he'd be Trump's "VP in a heartbeat!"

The socialite held a luncheon in support of her ex-husband.

The retired NFL coach said of Trump, "I think that he has the fire in his belly to make America great again and probably do it the right way," in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.

The retired NFL wide receiver told TMZ Sports, "This may be what the country needs and Trump... He’s a guy who won’t put up with B.S. and has what it takes to change how government is run." He appeared on the most recent season of "The Celebrity Apprentice."

James, a TV personality and founder of West Coast Choppers, posted a lengthy Facebook message in January supporting his former "Celebrity Apprentice" boss. He said:

"Ive met a lot of people in life and I have found it best to form opinions about them by actually meeting them in person. ... What I personally observed is a man that is perfect suited to run this country. ... One thing you know about me is Good or bad I will always tell it like it is. This guy is the Real Deal, and will Make America Great Again."

More election 2016 news: Trump, Clinton look to extend leads as five more states vote 'Joe the Plumber' praises Trump, cites his 'beautiful women' Did Trump and Megyn Kelly really play nice at the debate? A body language expert weighs in

Summary: Gawker reported Friday that it received an anonymous email with an audio attachment that the source claimed is the GOP frontrunner's voicemail inbox.


JERUSALEM — Israel’s state prosecutor indicted four new immigrants from France on Wednesday for allegedly running a major international scam, impersonating company executives and costing five European companies about 9.1 million euros, or over $10 million.

The companies that lost money included German electronics retailer MediaMarkt, Belgian electronics company Eldi, European supermarket chain Cora, multinational perfume chain ICI Paris XL, and Dutch hardware store owner Intergamma, according to the indictment.

About two dozen other companies were also entangled in the case, including candy maker Mars, high fashion company Chanel, Italian athletic clothing retailer Diadora, beer brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, and car manufacturers Kia Motors and Toyota, though not all the companies fell for the trick, according to the indictment.

The case suggests that the so-called fake CEO scam is still thriving in Israel, where the man widely credited with pioneering the technique, Gilbert Chikli, continues to live openly, evading French attempts to arrest him.

Chikli is not suspected in the current case. The French-born defendants were identified as Henri Omessi, Daniel Michael Allon, Jeremy Lalloum, and Mordechai Lellouche. They appeared at a court hearing on Wednesday. Rotem Tubul, a lawyer for Omessi, said her client and the other defendants pleaded not guilty.

‘‘Because it involves evidence from many countries around the world, there are clear difficulties in handling this case in Israel, and it is doubtful whether it will be possible to overcome them,’’ said Liya Felus, an attorney for Allon.

Israeli prosecutors says the immigrants collected information on European companies, including names of company employees and details on vendors with which they did business.

Then, according to prosecutors, they created fake e-mail accounts to send forged documents to an employee in charge of finances, presenting themselves as a CEO or representative of a vendor. They would then instruct the employee to send money to a new ‘‘clearing firm’’ used by the vendor. In reality, the clearing firms were shell companies with bank accounts controlled by the defendants.

In one scam that took place in November and December, according to Wednesday’s indictment, defendants impersonated an executive of German electronics giant Bosch and e-mailed an executive of Eldi, telling him that Bosch had begun to work with a new clearing firm and asking him to update his records with the firm’s new bank account information.

Later, Eldi transferred 794,175.70 euros owed to Bosch to the shell company’s bank account at PKO Bank Polski, Poland’s largest bank.

In another scam, according to prosecutors, defendants impersonated an employee of Swedish home appliance company Electrolux, and tricked German electronics retailer MediaMarkt into sending them more than 1 million euros.

Defendants also allegedly impersonated the chief financial officer of Mars — the manufacturer of M&Ms and Snickers candy — and convinced supermarket chain Cora to send 322,264.70 euros owed to Mars to their bank account instead. Meanwhile, the defendants allegedly impersonated a Cora representative and tried to convince Mars that the money transfer was delayed for technical reasons.

In the biggest single scam, the defendants, allegedly impersonating an employee of Chanel and convinced ICI Paris XL to transfer nearly 5.5 million euros to an account at a Slovakian branch of the Bulgarian bank UniCredit Bulbank.

In March, two Italian-born immigrants, Enzo Bondi and Yitzhak Sonino, were allegedly recruited to expand the con to entrap companies in Italy. The prosecutor indicted them in a separate case for attempting — but failing — to steal money from Diners Club Italia and other companies.


What would you do for a free tablet? Amazon amzn thinks you might switch your cable provider.

At least that’s the online retailer’s current promotion—sign up for Comcast cmcsa through Amazon’s Cable Store and get a free tablet. According to TVPredictions, you have to submit your order by June 16, activate your service, and remain with the cable company for at least 45 days. You should expect an email from Amazon in the latter half of July with a code that will let you redeem your gift.

Those who sign up for either Comcast’s Internet service or its Internet/TV bundle can collect a $49 Fire HD tablet. You’ll be upgraded to the $229 version if you sign a two year contract for select Comcast Triple Play services, which include Internet, television, and phone.

Amazon’s Cable Store debuted in March. Comcast is the only cable provider available through the store so far, though Consumerist notes that the e-retailer is currently working with a second provider to expand its new service.

Summary: There's one condition, and it's a big one.


This is the last tax season that Bryan Parsons, an associate director at Ernst & Young, will have to pay extra income taxes for the health benefits his employer provides to his domestic partner Carlo Iyog.

That’s because starting Jan. 1, Ernst & Young became one of a growing number of companies who will compensate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees for a provision in federal tax law that forces them to pay income taxes on health and wellness benefits for same-sex partners, a sum that heterosexual married couples don’t have to pay.

“I’m looking forward to this time next year, when I can go back and do the calculation and see how much money I’ve saved,” says Parsons, expecting that it will amount to a couple thousand dollars.

“There’s a huge sense of pride that the firm has taken an opportunity to put its money where its mouth is,” he says. “I don’t know that there’s any monetary figure that could match that.”

Ernst & Young is one of about 35 businesses that offer the benefit now — often called a gross-up benefit — nearly triple the 12 companies that offered it just a year ago, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights organization. Other companies that began offering the benefit on Jan. 1 of this year include American Express AXP , Bank of America bac , Microsoft msft , Morgan Stanley ms , and Yahoo yhoo , according to interviews with spokespeople.

The problem the benefit aims to address occurs even in the eight states that legally recognize gay marriage. That’s because federal tax law treats those couples as unmarried due to a provision in the Defense of Marriage Act.

“If you’re a gay couple in Massachusetts you’re not going to incur the state taxes,” explains Deena Fidas, deputy director of corporate programs for the Human Rights Campaign. “Because of the way DOMA defines spouses, if I have a husband who’s on my health care plan, I don’t pay federal taxes on his share of benefits, but if I have a domestic partner, I do.”

For instance, an employee in the 20% tax bracket whose partner’s health coverage is valued at $200 each pay period will pay $40 of income tax. The employer would pay that individual $48 to compensate for the inequity: $40 to reimburse for the tax, and another $8 to reimburse the tax paid on the gross-up payment itself. The value of a domestic partner health and wellness benefit is calculated at the end of the year and added to your W2, so companies typically cannot determine the cost of the gross-up tax benefit until the end of the year in which it begins.

Ernst & Young has offered same-sex domestic partner benefits since 2002. The issue of tax inequity was raised at a November town hall by a member of the firm’s LGBT affinity group and quickly addressed. “We were able to implement it rather quickly,” says Karyn Twaronite, Americas inclusiveness officer at Ernst & Young. “At the end of the day, it was just a matter of fairness.”

HRC estimates that, on average, the benefit provides an extra $1,200 to an employee’s family. Shortly after Ernst & Young announced the new benefit, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers followed suit.

“In our observation, the changes tend to move like wildfire, because these are extremely competitive industries that watch each other very closely,” notes Fidas, citing law, financial services, Internet, accounting and consulting firms as especially interested in keeping pace with each other’s benefits packages to recruit and retain top talent.

Bank of America began offering domestic partner health benefits in 1998 and added the tax benefit this year for partners and any eligible children. Morgan Stanley has offered domestic partner health benefits since 2001 and added the equalization payment this year.

At American Express, the new benefit grew from the partnership between the benefits team and the PRIDE network for LGBT employees, according to spokeswoman Iris Hernandez. Effective this year, the firm also waived the same-gender domestic partner affidavit requirement and added coverage for gender reassignment surgery up to a maximum of $100,000.

Summary: Ernst & Young is one of about 35 businesses that offer tax benefits to same-sex couples, nearly triple the 12 companies that offered it just a year ago.


SAN FRANCISCO — Apple unveiled improvements to maps, messaging, and its Siri voice assistant. It’s also bringing an ‘‘SOS’’ feature to its watch to automatically call for help in an emergency.

The company previewed new features for its iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and Mac software as the weeklong Apple Worldwide Developers Conference opened in San Francisco on Monday.

Here is a look at some of Apple’s announcements:

Apple is trying to make its messaging app smarter, more versatile, and more engaging as part of an upcoming update to its iPhone and iPad software.

Users will be able to change the size of the bubbles surrounding the text to help convey the feelings underlying the words. For example, an expression of love might be displayed in a large bubble while a message of condolence might be shown in a very small bubble.

The updated app will also automatically suggest emojis to place alongside texts using machine learning.

The digital assistant, first introduced on iPhones in 2011, will now be available on Mac computers.

That follows a trend in which Microsoft and Google have built similar voice services to their operating systems for computers. Microsoft added its digital assistant, Cortana, to the Windows 10 operating system released last year.

Apple is also letting Siri work with applications made by other companies. The change will open up new ways for Siri to help iPhone owners get things done more quickly.

Apple wants to make Siri smarter by using what it calls differential privacy. Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy explains it as Apple using nonpersonal information in aggregate to teach Siri new tricks, then having all the personalization take place on the individual device. It’s in contrast to Google’s approach of doing everything over the Internet.

Apple has opened its once-maligned Maps app to developers. The company says that will enable you to find a restaurant, book a reservation, request a car from Uber or Lyft, and pay for it using Apple Pay, all without leaving the Maps app.

Apple is unveiling a redesign of its music service, Apple Music, aimed at simplicity and making it easier to find music stored on the device as opposed to streamed from the Internet. It also has lyrics now, as well as personalized, daily curated playlists and a ‘‘discovery mix’’ to help users find new music.

The service now has 15 million paying subscribers, 2 million more than in April.

Apple’s payment system, Apple Pay, is coming to the Web.

The service already lets people pay in stores without opening a separate app, by holding their phone or watch near a reader.

Apple says users can now use their phone’s fingerprint sensor to pay and check out when they are shopping online using a Web browser. Google brought a similar feature to Android Pay last month.

Apple will bring fitness tracking to wheelchair users in an upcoming Apple Watch update. Among other things, it will prompt users to wheel themselves about — an equivalent to standing breaks. The efforts may boost the image of Apple’s smartwatch over stand-alone fitness trackers, though the target market isn’t huge.

The next version of Apple’s software for watches will also include an ‘‘SOS’’ feature that will automatically call for help in emergencies.

Apple’s new Mac system will be called macOS Sierra. In addition to getting Siri, it will let users move more seamlessly between different kinds of Apple devices. It will help people move more files to the Internet to free up space. And Apple Watch owners will be able to log into their Macs without a password.

Apple is making it easier to use its Apple TV set-top box as the new hub of a digital home. You’ll be able to sign in once to access multiple apps from various TV network providers. You can launch live TV viewing with a voice command and search YouTube and the iTunes store for videos using Siri.

A new, free app for the iPad aims to make learning to code ‘‘fun and easy for anyone,’’ Apple says. The app, Swift Playgrounds, will use on-screen characters and animations to teach basics as well as more complex lessons.

The company developed a set of lessons that teach computer programming through core coding concepts. It plans to regularly release new challenges so students can continue to improve their coding skills.

Summary: Apple unveiled improvements to maps, messaging and its Siri voice assistant. It’s also bringing an “SOS” feature to its watch to automatically call for help in an emergency.


(Originally published by the Daily News on May 22, 1983. This story was written by Gene Siskel.)

George Lucas is a shy, soft-spoken man, bearded and slightly built, who is often compared to another movie empire-builder, Walt Disney. Lucas wrote and directed “Star Wars” (1977), which became one of the most popular movies of all time. The third of his “Star Wars” films, “Return of the Jedi,” opens here Wednesday.

Lucas also co-wrote and directed “American Graffiti” (1973) and served as executive producer on his good friend Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), one of the top five all-time box-office hits. (Spielberg is now in the Far East filming the “Raiders” sequel.) With the millions of dollars Lucas made on “Star Wars” and the followup film, “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), he is building his own film studio on 3,000 acres of wooded land north of San Francisco. Lucas is in a perpetual state of rebellion against corporate Hollywood, and he boasts that he has never made a film in Hollywood and, thanks to the success of “Star Wars,” he never will.

The following are highlights of a recent interview.

Alden Ehrenreich to play young Han Solo in ‘Star Wars’ spinoff

Q. There is a rumor that you are exhausted and that even if “Return of the Jedi” is a hit, you may never make another “Star Wars” movie. What’s the truth?

A. The truth is that I was always going to take a couple of years off. I’ve been working solid on this one thing for 10 years, and it has been very, very difficult. You don’t get much of a personal life, and I’ve got a family now and really want to focus on my family. And I don’t want to put in the long hours and have all the tension and anxiety associated with making movies… When it was just my wife [noted film editor Marcia Lucas, who edited “Taxi Driver” as well as “Star Wars”] and me, she sort of understood. But I’ve got a daughter now [Amanda, age 2], and she’s growing up around me and she’s not going to wait. She’s not going to understand why I come home so late and why I’m so tired.

Q. So what is your timetable?

A. I’m going to take off two years, and after those two years, I am going to try to sort out what I wanted to do in life, and what my goals are. I’ve reached that stage where I need some time to reflect on things.

Q. When you say “take off,” do you mean you will do no work?

A. Well, I’ll still spend a minimal amount of time at the company, but it won’t be very much time. I’ve sort of got the company, but it won’t be very much time. I’ve sort of got the company to the point where it can operate by itself. We’re still building this ranch, and I’ll check in there from time to time. But a few hours each week isn’t like the 80 hours a week I’ve been doing.

'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' trailer premieres

… I didn’t have a choice until I got this film done. I’ve always thought of it as “one film.” In my view “Empire” was not a sequel to “Star Wars’ and “Jedi” was not a sequel to “Empire.” It was all one movie, one book. And “Star Wars” was the first chapter. And I felt I had an obligation to finish the book… There may be two other books in my mind, but whether I start another book is not crucially important. The next book doesn’t have anything to do with this book. Different sets, different actors. So it’s not like I have to rush out and do another.

Q. But let’s say “Jedi” is a big success. What story would you do next?

A. The one that begins before “Star Wars.” It will be about Luke’s father and Obi-Wan before Luke is born. Luke is born in the last part of the third film in that book.

Q. How have the three completed “Star Wars” films from your original story ideas a decade ago? Any characters left out?

A. The original treatment was much more amorphous. Characters were created and sort of evolved into other characters. Originally Luke had a brother, but the brother evolved into Han. Ben (Obi-Wan) and Luke’s father originally were the same person - the whole story happened to one guy - but then he got split in half into a good father-bad father relationship.

With Yoda, the concept of a Jedi master who would teach Luke was always there. At one point that was Ben. And in one of the original screenplays of “Star Wars,” Ben didn’t die. He just sort of hung around for the last part of the movie, so that he would fulfill Yoda’s role in the next movie.

Q. Where did Yoda’s name come from?

A. It’s an amalgamation of a lot of different words and letters. You develop these lists. For a while his full name was Mincha-Yoda, but we shortened it. You want these names to have certain influences, but you don’t want them to remind people of a special ethnic group. You don’t want people to say that he’s German or Japanese.

Q. Did Luke Skywalker have another name?

A. Originally he was called Luke Starkiller, and his best friend was named Skywalker. But then I decided that Skywalker was a much more positive name than Starkiller.

Q. You’ve lived 39 years and enjoyed extraordinary success; what do you know for sure about life?

A. If there’s anything I know for sure it’s that the human race knows very little about what’s going on. That may be heresy in this day and age of science and technology, but I think if you took the reality of what the cosmos is about and put man’s knowledge of it in it, it wouldn’t fill one-half of 1%.

Published via News wire services

Summary: George Lucas talks about taking a break after working on the Star Wars and the original drafts ideas for the films.


The San Francisco Zoo is opening a new exhibit this Saturday and the giraffes are moving into the Bernard Osher Foundation Giraffe Lodge today. Kristin (lft), almost 2 years old, and Patricia (right), 26 years old, checks out their new home. Shot on 5/25/04 in San Francisco. LIZ HAFALIA / The Chronicle

The San Francisco Zoo is opening a new exhibit this Saturday and the giraffes are moving into the Bernard Osher Foundation Giraffe Lodge today. Kristin (lft), almost 2 years old, and Patricia (right), 26 years

The San Francisco Zoo is opening a new exhibit this Saturday and the giraffes are moving into the Bernard Osher Foundation Giraffe Lodge today. Patricia , 26 years old, hesitates at new home. Chris Willers (left) and Anthony Brown (right) helping to coax her in. Shot on 5/25/04 in San Francisco. LIZ HAFALIA / The Chronicle

The San Francisco Zoo is opening a new exhibit this Saturday and the giraffes are moving into the Bernard Osher Foundation Giraffe Lodge today. Patricia , 26 years old, hesitates at new home. Chris Willers

The San Francisco Zoo is opening a new exhibit this Saturday and the giraffes are moving into the Bernard Osher Foundation Giraffe Lodge today, as construction workers stop to watch. Shot on 5/25/04 in San Francisco. LIZ HAFALIA / The Chronicle

The San Francisco Zoo is opening a new exhibit this Saturday and the giraffes are moving into the Bernard Osher Foundation Giraffe Lodge today, as construction workers stop to watch. Shot on 5/25/04 in San

The San Francisco Zoo is opening a new exhibit this Saturday and the giraffes are moving into the Bernard Osher Foundation Giraffe Lodge. Shot on 5/25/04 in San Francisco. LIZ HAFALIA / The Chronicle

The San Francisco Zoo is opening a new exhibit this Saturday and the giraffes are moving into the Bernard Osher Foundation Giraffe Lodge. Shot on 5/25/04 in San Francisco. LIZ HAFALIA / The Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO / Moving day a tall order at snail's pace / It takes hours for zoo's 4 giraffes to get into new $18 million home in Savanna

For a giraffe, moving day is never simple. It took three hours for four of them to go a fifth of a mile the other day at the San Francisco Zoo --

and this was considered efficient.

The nerve-racking operation was the most daunting yet at the 3-acre African Savanna, an $18 million exhibit opening Saturday that is the largest habitat the zoo has ever built. It will be home to 22 species that eventually will mingle, and comes at a time when the zoo has lost two elephants and one gorilla -- and is facing criticism from animal rights activists and scrutiny from the Board of Supervisors.

As the giraffe move began, zoo veterinarian Jacqueline Jencek said any number of things could go wrong. For example, a giraffe could slip and fall, hurting its head or breaking its leg, or a human could be kicked.

"The larger the animal, the more challenging and worrisome the move," she said. "There's some adrenaline going on today. It's quite dangerous what we're doing."

For Patricia, the 23-year-old grande dame, the short trip amounted to an epic journey. She was the only native San Franciscan of the four, which meant she'd never been anywhere. But at 8 a.m. Tuesday, the zoo's largest giraffe found herself in a trailer only slightly taller than her 16 1/2-foot frame.

"Once we have them in the trailer, they could be boxes of cereal," said the vehicle's relieved owner, Peter Lang, who runs the Safari West wildlife preserve near Santa Rosa.

"They seem pretty calm," one keeper said.

"They're on drugs," another responded.

Jencek said zoo workers had practiced the relocation for months. For example, instead of opening the door of the giraffe barn in the morning to let the ruminants outside, they built a chute to herd them through -- just like the one they navigated on moving day.

"The only foreign thing is the trailer at the end of the chute," Jencek said. "We didn't want the move to be a horribly stressful event."

The giraffes were transported in pairs. Patricia was joined by Kristin, a friendly 2-year-old from Ohio who didn't require the anti-anxiety medicine her peers had been given.

"Kristin is just people-oriented," Jencek said. "I think she thinks she's a person."

A forklift inched the trailer from the yard and a pickup truck took over -- all at a glacial pace.

Ninety minutes after Lang had shown up with his trailer, Kristin and Patricia finally arrived at their luxurious new indoor home, where they'll sleep and be serviced. An impromptu crowd was waiting outside.

"Here we are in the bleachers," said the zoo's curator of planning and design, John Aikin, standing between piles of dirt with other zoo employees and construction workers in hardhats.

The only thing they could see was Patricia's nose poking through slats in the trailer. It seemed to be enough.

Minutes later, it was the giraffes' turn to gawk and gape. They'd definitely moved up -- from a faded old hovel to a palace with skylights, rubberized floor, 40-foot-high vaulted ceilings, wood walls with a cedar finish and three smaller rooms for privacy.

They even had a view. A huge picture window showed part of the Savanna, cypress trees, the Pacific Ocean and Great Highway.

Patricia began to rub her nose against the glass.

"She's never experienced glass," said animal keeper Anthony Brown. "She can't understand why her nose can't go through."

"Now we'll see if the drains work," Aikin said.

Kristin sauntered over to a mezzanine overhanging their pen -- allowing keepers to be as tall as giraffes during feedings -- and thrust her 18-inch tongue at two maintenance workers.

"It's probably the first time she's ever looked up at a person," Brown said.

Patricia was licking everything in sight and rolling her neck around like a yoga queen. It was a sign of stress.

Aikin said she was making a subsonic call inaudible to humans.

"She's trying to keep in touch, to keep the herd together," he said.

There was no need to worry. After Patricia and Kristin were sequestered in a smaller room, Floyd and Gezi were invited into their new home, one at a time.

The rambunctious 18-month-old Floyd, a.k.a. Samson during his previous life in Albuquerque, raced around in circles before skidding into a wall and falling.

"Easy, Sam," said giraffe keeper Ron Amiot, holding up his hands. "Stop! Steady! Slow down!"

The giraffe froze, then took off again. After he'd fallen four times, Amiot led him to a dark room.

"He splays and lays all the time," Jencek said. "He's in that gangly phase. He's still getting used to his four feet under him."

Oakland-born Gezi, 4, who became head of the herd six months ago "when Patricia handed over her crown," showed no leadership qualities at all.

After repeated coaxing from Amiot, she finally backed out of the trailer. At long last, Giraffe Lodge had four giraffes inside.

"I'm thrilled," Jencek said. "There were no broken legs, no hurt people."

The kudus, zebras and ostriches, wearing hoods, already have moved into the Savanna. Because construction is behind schedule, the aviary won't open until June 15.

"It will be an evolving exhibit," Jencek said diplomatically.

Summary: SAN FRANCISCO / Moving day a tall order at snail's pace / It takes hours for zoo's 4 giraffes to get into new $18 million home in Savanna  The nerve-racking operation was the most daunting yet at the 3-acre African Savanna, an $18 million exhibit opening Saturday that is the largest habitat the zoo has ever built.  "Once we have them in the trailer, they could be boxes of cereal," said the vehicle's relieved owner, Peter Lang, who runs the Safari West wildlife preserve near Santa Rosa.  A forklift inched the trailer from the yard and a pickup truck took over -- all at a glacial pace.  Ninety minutes after Lang had shown up with his trailer, Kristin and Patricia finally arrived at their luxurious new indoor home, where they'll sleep and be serviced.  "Here we are in the bleachers," said the zoo's curator of planning and design, John Aikin, standing between piles of dirt with other zoo employees and construction workers in hardhats.  A huge picture window showed part of the Savanna, cypress trees, the Pacific Ocean and Great Highway.  Kristin sauntered over to a mezzanine overhanging their pen -- allowing keepers to be as tall as giraffes during feedings -- and thrust her 18-inch tongue at two maintenance workers.  The kudus, zebras and ostriches, wearing hoods, already have moved into the Savanna.  Because construction is behind schedule, the aviary won't open until June 15.


Range Resources Corp said on Monday it would buy fellow oil and gas producer Memorial Resource Development Corp for $3.3 billion plus assumption of $1.1 billion in debt to expand in the Appalachian and U.S. Gulf Coast regions.

Memorial Resource Development’s shareholders will receive 0.375 of a Range Resources share for each share they hold, the companies said.

The all-stock deal is valued at $15.75 per share, a 17 percent premium to Memorial Resource Development’s Friday close.

About 95 percent of Range Resources’ production comes from its Appalachian operations.

Memorial Resource Development’s shareholders are expected to own about 31 percent of Range Resources after the close of the deal, expected in the second half of the year.

Memorial Resource Development will also have the right to nominate an independent director to Range Resources’ board.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC was financial adviser to Range Resources, while Sidley Austin LLP was its legal adviser.

Morgan Stanley & Co LLC and Barclays Capital Inc were Memorial Resource Development’s financial advisers and Vinson & Elkins LLP and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP were its legal advisers.

Summary: Range to expand in the Appalachian and U.S. Gulf Coast regions.


A few months ago, McDonald’s shared an inside look at how the chain makes its signature french fries. Now, thanks to this handy tutorial from PopSugar, you can make your own copycat snack at home.

It’s certainly a much more labor-intensive process than simply walking to the nearest McDonald’s location and buying some — but this way, you can make them without chemical additives like citric acid and sodium acid pyrophosphate. According to another McDonald’s video released earlier this year, the recipe contains 19 ingredients, but to make this at-home version, you just need potatoes, corn syrup, peanut oil, beef lard, water and salt. Oh, a decent knife will help too.

Watch the video tutorial above, and check out the full recipe here.

Summary: A recipe for those delicious, crispy fries without ingredients like citric acid


Monday is Tax Day, of course—everyone’s favorite holiday. It’s that time of year when the weather begins to warm up, the sun spends more time in the sky, and the government comes knocking on your coffers. Not far behind: Hackers and fraudsters trying to score some of the levied loot.

This past week John Koskinen, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill. He has borne the unenviable task of explaining to various committees how the agency has used its “constrained resources” to secure its computer systems and protect taxpayer information—though neither approach appears to be working. Indeed, thieves have been pummeling the agency with cyberattacks—more than one million per day, by Koskinen’s count. And the attackers have been making out like bandits by impersonating citizens and exploiting website weaknesses. In February the agency said that hackers looking to fraudulently claim tax refunds had stolen 724,000 people’s data—double the number it estimated last summer. It hasn’t helped that the IRS has debuted faulty transcript tools, nor that the agency has had at least one identity thief within its own ranks.

For a worthwhile summary of the agency’s technology troubles, read this overview by my colleague Jen Wieczner, which appeared in the April 1st issue of Fortune magazine. Or you can read this damning report from the Government Accountability Office, which concluded that the IRS has remained “unnecessarily vulnerable” with “significant deficiency in internal control.” The title of the assessment? “IRS Needs to Further Improve Controls over Financial and Taxpayer Data.” Although specifics about the office’s 43 technical recommendations are reserved for a separate, private report—to keep the information from falling into the wrong hands—the imperative is clear: Improve.

To be fair, the IRS is a top target for cybercriminals. The GAO is a known harsh grader. And the agency has faced a multitude of funding challenges over the past few years. The IRS’s $11.2 billion budget for fiscal 2016 is less than its inflation-adjusted budget in 1995, even while attacks have increased, as Wieczner points out. To make matters worse, the government has had an unquestionably tough time luring talent away from the private sector, where technologists are in high demand—and compensated accordingly.

These points are all elements of Koskinen’s plea: Thanks for the $290 million year-end bump in cybersecurity funding—really, thank you—but it’s not quite enough. (Not a surprising position given the raison dêtre of the agency he leads: Taxation.) Specifically though, Koskinen has asked for the reauthorization of a provision that has helped the IRS attract IT and business smarts since 1998. The so-called critical pay authority expired in fiscal 2013.

“Out of the many expert leaders and IT executives hired under critical pay authority, there are only 10 IT experts remaining at the IRS, and we anticipate there will be no staff left under critical pay authority by this time next year,” he told the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, per his prepared remarks. Referencing the president’s fiscal 2017 budget, which reinstates the pay measure, he added: “I urge the Congress to approve this proposal.”

Say what you will about the federal government’s ability to spend smartly: Cybersecurity is worth paying for.

Welcome to the Cyber Saturday edition of Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily tech newsletter. Fortune reporter Robert Hackett here. You may reach me via Twitter, Cryptocat, Jabber, PGP encrypted email, Wickr, Signal, or however you (securely) prefer. Feedback welcome.

Summary: Cyberattacks on taxpayers


Mong La’s degeneracy became all too apparent straight after check-in. On the hotel carpet, in the doorway of Room 286, lay a calling card advertising prostitutes as young as 16. The flat-screen TV shows round-the-clock porn — mostly Japanese housewives punctuated by bronzed American couples — and a sign by the bed lists hotlines serving up yet more sex with teenagers.

“We’ve got girls aged 15,” said the Yunnanese madam who runs the massage parlor cum brothel adjoining the Ba Lai Hotel. “They’re asleep upstairs. Do you want one?”

Carved into a jungle valley on northeastern Shan state’s border with China, Mong La is the biggest town in tiny Special Region 4, a land that Burmese reforms forgot. While much of the former pariah state has witnessed greater freedoms since the election of a quasi-civilian government in 2010, the rebels that run this autonomous fiefdom — slightly smaller than Delaware — have instead pursued freewheeling economic policies based around garish Chinese casinos. After authorities across the border in Yunnan province began to restrict access following stories of gambling excess, rising numbers of Chinese began entering illegally to head to the casinos, to party and to do business.

“Most cross early in the morning or late at night,” said a Burmese motorbike-taxi driver looking at a gaping hole in the mesh border fence. “But it’s easy to enter at any time. Everyone does it.”

(MORE: Burma’s Opium Production Has Hit Record Levels Because Farmers Have No Choice)

With the influx of Chinese, fortunes have flourished. Mong La’s potholed roads boast a sprinkling of Range Rovers and Mercedes — rarities elsewhere in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation — and there’s a construction boom of hastily built hotels and apartments.

Mong La runs on Beijing time, 90 minutes ahead of Burma proper — the country is now officially called Myanmar. Every word spoken is in Mandarin, and everything paid for in Chinese renminbi. In Kengtung, the nearest major government-controlled town 75 miles (120 km) away, a woman told me she was eagerly heading to Mong La to open a hair salon with hopes of cashing in on the boom.

But easy money has come at a price. As Chinese have taken over Mong La, forcing Burmese to the outskirts, the downtown area has turned into an oasis of vice. Locals, including teenagers, gamble up to 50 yuan ($8.15) on dice at one casino. At others frequented by Chinese, stakes reach a hundred times that.

Meanwhile, the easy passage of visitors across this porous border has created smuggling routes for drugs, human traffickers and endangered animals. On Mong La’s main dining strip, a Sichuanese restaurant features a tank filled with a rotting tiger carcass on a bed of ginseng, its head emerging from a pond of baijiu, or Chinese liquor. “It will make you virile,” urges a giggling Chinese waiter.

(MORE: Can Burma Avoid the Curse of Sex Tourism?)

A shop across the street was selling dead, curled-up pangolins (a type of scaly anteater) in baijiu, a tiger skin, ornaments made of ivory and bear-bile powder from nearby Laos. Much of the exotic wildlife comes from Burma, the rest is brought in illegally from Africa, India and China as smugglers have sought the comfort of lawless Mong La, said Chris Shepherd, Southeast Asia director of the wildlife-protection agency TRAFFIC.

“In terms of animal parts being sold for trophies, meat and medicine, it’s pretty much the biggest market in Southeast Asia right now,” he said following a January visit to the area. “Something has got to be done.”

Special Region 4 has its own police force, but the rules — if any — are unclear. Central Burmese government has no jurisdiction here, and China’s efforts to rein in Mong La remain half-hearted, said Shepherd, even though his team has alerted authorities.

Ruled by the enigmatic 66-year-old warlord Sai Linn, Special Region 4 has proved adept at playing off much bigger powers. And with no oversight, it is difficult to know exactly what is happening here. The U.N. has limited access, the only newspaper folded more than a decade ago, and there is no immediate prospect of democratic reforms seen in the rest of Burma. Like China, Special Region 4 has an unelected leader and a standing committee, which is headed by the leader’s son, Thein Linn. “Elections haven’t been discussed so far,” Special Region 4 Agriculture Secretary Aik Daw Mwe tells TIME in a rare interview.

(MORE: The Scramble for Burma)

Following the end of fighting with the Burmese military in 1989, the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) that runs the area set about appeasing China by cracking down on morphine and heroin commonly trafficked into Yunnan, declaring itself “opium-free” in 1997. Since then, mass seizures of amphetamines in China and nearby Thailand have led to widespread suspicions the NDAA and the much bigger Wa area next door are concocting crystal meth in jungle labs.

“We don’t have any production of opium or other drugs in this area,” says Aik Daw Mwe. He and external-affairs officer Sai Mouk claim their administration has enacted strict drug policies including forced rehabilitation programs lasting six months and urine testing on every one of the region’s 89,000 residents.

If true, such a scheme would be remarkable. “I have not heard of any place in the world where they have tested the entire population,” says Tom Kramer, a Rangoon-based researcher for the Transnational Institute’s drugs-and-democracy program in Burma. Moreover, such a program would violate international human-rights standards, he adds. Then again, judging by what’s on offer at the Ba Lai Hotel, Mong La was never going to shine on that score.

Summary: Mong La by Burma's border with China is the ultimate oasis of sin


Knut Ditlev-Simonsen and his big sister, Helen, were sitting on a gold mine: water-view lots in Snarøya, a peninsula on the northwest corner of the Oslo fjord that has become one of Norway’s most expensive areas.

But it took some years before the two cashed in. Mr. Ditlev-Simonsen, a 42-year-old lawyer, and Ms. Ditlev-Simonsen, a 43-year-old chiropractor, were given the land from their family’s 4½-acre compound about 15 years ago. Careers, travels and, ultimately, difficulties with the local planning commission delayed their plans to build. Finally, in 2013 they were ready to break ground on their adjacent quarter-acre lots.

They shared an architecture studio, Oslo’s Mopo, founded by Kaja Poulsen, a childhood friend, and Siri Moseng. They also shared some materials and some construction costs. But they had different visions.

“Helen and Knut came to us with opposite ideas,” says Ms. Poulsen. “Knut wanted a modern house—it could look like a bunker toward the road, but it needed to be open to the sea. Helen didn’t want something flashy, and she didn’t want one square meter of wasted space.”

What she did want, says Ms. Poulsen, was a link with her family’s past—one that could accommodate children, pets and homey furniture.

Mr. Ditlev-Simonsen and his longtime partner, attorney Hedvig Bugge Reiersen, 37, spent about $1.7 million on their stark concrete home. The 3,800-square-foot boxlike structure has two stories and a flat roof. They live in the four-bedroom, 2½-bathhouse with their two daughters, Sienna, 8, and Sara, 4.

Ms. Ditlev-Simonsen went smaller: 3,100 square feet. She spent about $1.3 million on her home, which has a wood-clad pitched roof. She shares the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with her daughters, Nora, 14, and Marthe, 12.

The building also has a 215-square-foot apartment with its own entrance that Ms. Ditlev-Simonsen rents out.

The family has deep ties to the parcel of land. Their mother’s family bought the property and summer home in the 1940s. The entire clan used it for family vacations for decades. In the 1970s, a year-round villa was built on one parcel. In the 1990s, that villa was sold off, and their mother built a new one on the site of the original summer house, closer to the water. She later gave the lots to her three children.

Mr. Ditlev-Simonsen, who has an eye for architecture, knew the home he wanted.

“The concrete was nonnegotiable,” says Ms. Bugge Reiersen of his choice, despite its high price tag.

“I like concrete’s roughness,” says Mr. Ditlev-Simonsen. “And I like how it changes with the weather.”

Because he chose the exterior’s look, she planned the interior. “The wooden ceilings are mine,” she says.

One splurge, at nearly $72,000, was the finished basement, a rarity in Norway. He wants it for storage, but Ms. Bugge Reiersen is campaigning for a home gym. In the meantime, she says, “The children love to sleep down here.”

The couple economized in the kitchen. They installed an $11,200 kitchen from IKEA, then added green tiles to decorate a wall and the wood-burning stove designed by Mopo.

The architects used alcoves off the larger rooms as a way to keep family members together while giving them space. One alcove is a reading area off the living room, but the children use it as a make-believe shop. An upstairs sitting room has two alcoves, one for a home office for Ms. Bugge Reiersen, a law professor who also practices corporate law.

The master bedroom, with its fjord views, and bathroom can be closed off into a suite.

In planning Ms. Ditlev-Simonsen’s home, Ms. Poulsen said she and her client-friend recalled the compound’s onetime summer house. The early-20th-century cottage had a memorable bathroom: terrazzo floors, views of the water and a sunken tub.

Ms. Ditlev-Simonsen now has a spacious bathtub, as well as terrazzo tiles in her ground-floor kitchen and living room. She kept pieces from the summer house, such as the antique kitchen table.

Ms. Ditlev-Simonsen’s big splurge was on retractable glass doors that open up her living room on two sides, and cost $9,600 above what she would have spent on sliding doors. “I want to bring nature inside,” she says.

The home’s pitched roof has an unusual 120-degree angle, giving the master bedroom the feel of space while being cozy. The property also includes a small shed, built for $28,800. It is used as a children’s clubhouse and storage area, but it may one day serve as a therapy room for Ms. Ditlev-Simonsen’s patients, she says.

Ms. Poulsen says the two siblings each saved $32,700 on their homes by sharing roughly the same construction site. The extended family pitched in on a number of jobs, leading to shared savings of another $49,000.

The siblings moved into their homes In 2014. Last year, their younger brother, who declined to be interviewed, moved into his new house on the compound with his own family. His home is below the bluff where his siblings’ homes stand.

All share a pier and a boathouse—and some ground rules. “We have a deal that the kids can walk over whenever they want, but the adults have to be invited,” says Ms. Ditlev-Simonsen.

The siblings could have sold their lots alone and paid for a whole home in another prime area of greater Oslo. They chose to stay together.

They got just want they wanted—and so did their mother, adds Ms. Poulsen. “She wanted to have her children’s houses on the site, and now she does.”

Summary: A Norwegian brother and sister add their own homes to a family compound


In this file photo, an airplane is pictured being de-iced at Logan International Airport in Boston on Jan. 2, 2014. (Yoon S. Byun/Getty Images)

With more than 2,000 flights cancelled and nearly 700 delays in the U.S. today - and more expected for Wednesday - what's a traveler with a flight to do? Airlines issue flexible policies in the case of bad weather, which typically means you can change or cancel your flight, even if you're traveling on a non-refundable ticket.

Airline policies vary, but most require that if you change plans, you take your flight within a week or so. If you're not able to postpone your trip, it's time to hit the phones and social media. Twitter has become one of the most effective ways to contact an airline and change a trip.

Airline Twitter handles: @AlaksaAir @AllegiantTravel @AmericanAir @DeltaAssist @FlyFrontier @JetBlue @united @USAirways @southwest @SpiritAirlines

Links to individual airline change policies: Alaska Air Allegiant Air American Airlines Delta Air Lines Frontier Airlines JetBlue United US Airways Southwest Spirit Air

Summary: With more than 2,000 flights cancelled, what's a traveler to do?


-- Franco just pled "not guilty." He's due back in court later this month.

The man who allegedly broke into

's L.A. house is a homeless man who was doing laundry when he was discovered ... this according to police.

The LAPD says the suspect is 22-year-old transient Marc James Franco -- who's been charged with 1st degree burglary for entering Frances' pad on October 13.

Cops say Frances was out of town when Franco entered the home -- and was discovered by a relative who went to the pad to care for Cobain's dog.

Franco allegedly told the relative he was a friend of Cobain's -- but the relative didn't buy it and called police.

If convicted, Franco faces up to 6 years in state prison.

Summary: 4:00 PM PT -- Franco just pled "not guilty." He's due back in court later this month.The man who allegedly broke into Frances Bean Cobain's L.A. house is…


Several high-profile social networking and messaging services were shut down in Turkey on Friday amid an attempted military coup.

Facebook fb , YouTube goog , and Twitter twtr were reportedly offline, according to Turkey Blocks, an organization that monitors social networking and messaging services in Turkey. It’s worth noting that it was only certain social networking and messaging services that went offline in Turkey, not the entire Internet.

The Turkish government often imposes a media ban during periods of political crises that includes blocking access to social media sites and services. The purpose is to prevent potentially damaging news reports on the country that could hurt its image and help opponents organize.

CTV News said that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were blocked for two hours following the initial military coup in the Turkey and have yet to come online. However, other reports and tweets seem to indicate that some people in Turkey are able to access some social networking and messaging services.

Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube is back up in Turkey, just this second.

— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) July 15, 2016

The Internet is working here in istanbul, and so is twitter, facebook and youtube. #Turkey

— Omar Bashar (@omar92bashar) July 15, 2016

Twitter’s Periscope video service appears to be working as well for some users.

A YouTube spokesperson told Fortune, “We are aware of reports that YouTube is down in Turkey, however, systems seem to be functioning normally.”

Facebook declined to comment on the news.

Twitter just released a statement via a tweet:

We have no reason to think we’ve been fully blocked in #Turkey, but we suspect there is an intentional slowing of our traffic in country.

— Policy (@policy) July 15, 2016

Meanwhile Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued a statement via the video streaming service FaceTime in an undisclosed location. Erdoğan condemned the military uprising and reportedly said that military opponents that are part of the uprising would “pay a heavy price,” the Financial Times reported.

ERDOGAN IS DELIVERING HIS SPEECH VIA FACETIME. https://t.co/Pnds7S7ayx— Oren Kessler (@OrenKessler) July 15, 2016

Erdogan, from his presidential plane: "I'm the commander in chief"

— Oren Kessler (@OrenKessler) July 15, 2016

Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at web-monitoring company Dyn, said Dyn noticed that Internet traffic to Facebook and Twitter within Turkey “slowed to a crawl” and rendered the sites inaccessible. Dyn did not spot any problems with YouTube, but Madory said Dyn has “also seen others report problems accessing that website.”

Madory also said in an email to Fortune that Turkey’s methods for blocking access to social media sites and services have gotten more sophisticated over the years. Turkey used to block so-called DNS queries to websites the country wanted to prevent citizens from accessing, which led to citizens using “public DNS services like Google DNS” to bypass the government’s censorship techniques. This time, however, Turkey “appears to be restricting bandwidth when accessing social media,” which “represents a more sophisticated censorship technique that is harder to detect.”

He added that some tech-savvy Turkish citizens could bypass the censorship techniques through using a so-called virtual private network, which provides an encrypted network that prevents unwanted parties from spying on communications.

“Users should still be able to circumvent it using a VPN, but the average user in Turkey may still not have that technology readily available despite a history of Internet censorship in Turkey,” Madory said.

This is a developing story

Summary: However, some people in Turkey claim the services work for them.


© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2016

Summary: The Philippines says it will not “


At a time when Muslims in America are facing scorn and bigotry, the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali should be remembered as the true, peaceful face of Islam, residents of his home town say.

Hundreds of people filed past his childhood home in Louisville on Sunday, now a museum dedicated to his remarkable life, to honour the three-time heavyweight champion known simply as "The Greatest".

Mourners left flowers and other mementos remembered his sporting prowess and his activism, but also spoke of Ali and his Muslim faith and how his example can help dispel stereotypes about Islam.

"With the stuff going on these days, most of the time, you see in the media there's a bad image of Muslims," said Hamza Shah, a doctor in Louisville, where Ali grew up and first started boxing.

"The one person we can definitely get a good image of was Muhammad Ali, and he portrayed what the real Islam is."

READ MORE: Why we mourn Ali

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump in December sparked outrage when he suggested a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States.

"We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda," Ali said in a sharp rebuke to the Trump proposal.

"I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam, and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people's views on what Islam really is."

"He stood up as a man of truth, and Muslim countries look to people who not only are truthful but also compassionate and merciful," Chicago-based imam Syed Hussein ShaheedÂ said.

Ali was respected throughout the Muslim world - from Pakistan to Indonesia, from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia and across Africa - for the values he espoused and promoted, the imam added.

That message of tolerance and compassion was celebrated Sunday at an interfaith prayer service in Ali's honour at the Islamic Center in Louisville.

"At a time when a candidate for the most powerful position in the world encourages us to fear those who are different from us, we need the voice, we need the presence of Muhammad Ali," said Derek Penwell, who leads a Christian church in the city.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, Ali sharply cautioned Americans against categorising all Muslims as "extremists".

Muhammad Ali: Rumble in heaven as you did on Earth

"Islam is a religion of peace. It does not promote terrorism or killing people," he said.

"I am angry that the world sees a certain group of Islam followers who caused this destruction, but they are not real Muslims. They are racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims, permitting the murder of thousands."

He repeated the message in his December response to Trump, saying: "True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion."

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who is fighting Hillary Clinton for the right to face Trump in November, said on Saturday that Ali was not only an elite athlete but a champion of civil rights, and a true believer in Islam.

"To all of Donald Trump's supporters who think it is appropriate to tell us that they love Muhammad Ali but they hate Muslims, understand that Muhammad Ali was a devout Muslim who took his religion very seriously," Sanders said.

Ali's funeral will be held on Friday in Louisville, and will be preceded by a public procession.

The interfaithÂ service will be led by Imam Zaid Shakir, a close friend of Ali and co-founder of Zaytuna College, the first Muslim liberal arts college in the US, who will lead the Muslim funeral prayer.

Former President Bill Clinton, TV journalist Bryant Gumbel and actor Billy Crystal will be among those giving a eulogy for Ali at the service.

Summary: At a time when Muslims in the US are facing scorn and bigotry, the boxing legend is remembered as the face of Islam.


On the cover of the book she recently co-authored with her son, Gloria Vanderbilt appears poised and confident. The 92-year-old also looks as though she could easily pass for a woman 30 or even 40 years her junior.

Vanderbilt, who told "The Telegraph" in 2004 that she had plastic surgery, is one of countless people taking advantage of cosmetic procedures to hide the signs of aging. From coloring hair to going under the knife, there are plenty of options for every budget.

Here's a look at the most common age-defying procedures and the average price you could pay.

[See: The High Costs of the Retirement Dream.]

Hair. The easiest way to take years off could be to color grey hair. Ricky Pennisi, owner of Atelier Salon and Spa in New Jersey, says there are differing opinions on grey hair, but it does age a person.

Instead of going straight to a permanent hair color, blending in a semi-permanent color or highlights can help mask the appearance of grey. "It'll give the illusion of a different color," Pennisi says. "That usually buys some time."

For those who decide to embrace grey hair, Pennisi says it's wise to avoid wiry, uncontrolled long grey hair. He suggests using a shaped style and perhaps a clear glaze to add shine. "If you're going to go grey, make sure you have an incredible cut to go with it."

Skin. Anti-aging creams, lotions and serums promise dramatic results, but some may include ingredients with questionable credentials. However, that doesn't mean all skin products should be dismissed. "Retinol is a very tried and true ingredient," says Samantha Estrella, sales and education director for LifeCell skincare. The ingredient can smooth wrinkles and improve skin texture, but users should be aware it can make skin sensitive to sunlight and may be best used at night.

Vitamins C and E have also been shown to be beneficial in treating damaged skin. Since most skin damage is related to sun exposure, wearing sunblock every day is another key to maintaining a youthful appearance. Some skincare ingredients may cause allergic reactions or aggravate conditions such as rosacea, so it may be best to get the opinion of a dermatologist or allergist to avoid unpleasant side effects.

The price of looking youthful

Sign up to be a Sephora Beauty Insider Sephora's rewards program is one of the few retail rewards programs that's worth the occasional pesky email.

There are three levels to the program, with benefits ranging from exclusive free make-up classes, free unlimited makeovers, handpicked products and flash 2-day shipping online.

Each dollar you spend will earn you a point, which you can redeem for sample and full-sized gifts that are valued at different point amounts.

Check "Beauty Deals" for current promotions Sephora's Beauty Deals section will give you access to special online codes you can use for discounts.

They'll also list current and upcoming deals and promotions both in-store and online. A must-look at before you shop!

Remember that products are organized with price in mind In simplest terms, products on the outside aisles will be cheaper than those further inside the aisles, and products at eye-level will be more expensive (and aesthetically pleasing) than those on lower levels.

Look to see if items you already bought are now discounted Sephora will honor a price adjustment if an item you purchased within the last two weeks has been dropped to a discounted price.

Keep your eyes peeled for newly discounted items and always save your receipts.

Sign up for a free beauty class Many people aren't aware that Sephora offers several weekly beauty training classes for free.

From everything to perfecting your brows to nailing a natural look, beauty experts will show you the ropes without even making you buy any of the products you use.

You'll save yourself so much time and frustration (and money!) by not having to test hundreds of different products to find out what works best for you.

Indulge in a free 15-minute makeover Much like the free beauty classes, this in-store feature will help you figure out exactly what products you like best.

You'll have a customized one-on-one experience in which you can (quickly, of course) explain what type of product you want and what your budget is so that your beauty expert can help you find what you need.

Plus, who doesn't want to bat their eyelashes after a free makeover? Treat yourself!

Don't be fooled by sample-size products Sample-sized products may appear to be more manageable, and because of how small they are, most people assume they're much cheaper.

Though they will be lower in price than larger sizes of the same product, they're nowhere near as cheap as they should be for the amount you're getting.

Some sample sizes will only be $5-10 cheaper than a full size of the same product and you're only getting a tiny fraction of the full size.

Engage on social media Sephora will post deals, promotions and free events on its different social media outlets.

By "liking" them on Facebook or following them on Twitter, you can catch wind of a sweet deal that you might have otherwise missed.

Cash in on Sephora's liberal return policy One of the best in retail, Sephora's return policy allows for any item to be returned to the store within 60 days of purchase so long as the product is in decent condition.

Don't feel weird about returning that bronzer!

Take all of the free samples that you can Customers are entitled to three free samples per department--all you have to do is ask!

Sephora's samples are usually pretty generous, and they're a great way to get product for free as well as test something out before you invest.

That way you really know whether or not a product will react well with your skin or if it's worth the extra few bucks.

As for when to begin using them, Estella says you're never too young to start. "Everyone – even as young as 20 – should be working to prevent damage in the skin," she says.

[Read: 10 Financial Perks of Growing Older.]

Teeth. As teeth age, they tend to darken, says Bruce Seidner, founder of Seidner Dentistry and Associates in Randolph, New Jersey, and a fellow at the Academy of General Dentistry. Whitening is the cheapest and easiest way to make a smile look younger. However, not everyone can have their teeth successfully whitened. Sometimes a person's enamel or damage to the teeth make it difficult to achieve lasting results. In those cases, a veneer covering the tooth may be a better option.

Veneers are said to have a 10-year lifespan, but Seidner has found they can last much longer. "I had some [patient veneers] I put in 30 years ago, and they are still in," he says.

When damage, and not darkness, is the issue, dentists may be able to add crowns to teeth to improve their look. However, in severe cases, implants may be the only option. For those who want to avoid dentures, dental implants have become a popular choice. While pricey, their price can be half to a quarter of the cost of the implant method used a decade ago. "It's not really a cosmetic procedure, but the cosmetic result is unbelievable," Seidner says.

Body. Cosmetic surgery and invasive treatments are the most extreme ways to stop the natural aging process. Procedures range from Botox injections to plump lips and fill in saggy skin by the eyes and forehead to major surgeries such as breast augmentation and tummy tucks.

You will likely need to pay for these treatments out of pocket. "Insurance doesn't pay for anything cosmetic," says Daniel Maman, a board-certified plastic surgeon at 740 Park Plastic Surgery in New York city.

Given the serious financial, physical and emotional implications of cosmetic surgery, people should take their time considering why they want the change and which surgeon to use. "Make sure you want the procedure," says Norman Rowe, a board-certified plastic surgeon at New York City-based Rowe Plastic Surgery. "Once you have had the [surgery], it's nearly impossible to reverse."

To find a surgeon, look for someone certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and beware of other cosmetic surgery associations that are not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. In addition, don't shop by price alone. "When you go to low-end facilities – we call them chop shops – they just want your money," says Maman, who won't operate on smokers or those with unrealistic expectations. More expensive clinics may provide lifetime follow-up services and be more candid about whether you're a good candidate for surgery.

[See: 12 Great Things About Retirement.]

Chasing the fountain of youth is not cheap, or even particularly easy. However, there is no denying cosmetic procedures can have a dramatic effect on appearance. Before spending the time and money, it may be best to ask yourself how important is it to look like you're 30 when you're 50, 60, or 90.

Copyright 2016 U.S. News & World Report

More on AOL 25 secret ways to save money at Target Save money (and space) by purging old technology from your life 9 easy ways to teach your child to save money

Summary: Here’s how much you can expect to pay if you want a natural forever young look for the rest of your life.


La Buvette is a one-woman show. Camille Fourmont is not just the owner of the hyper-fashionable Paris wine bar on an unfashionably dull stretch of the Rue St.-Maur in the 11th Arrondissement, she is the sommelier, waiter, cook and dishwasher. She selects wines, fills glasses, assembles plates of food and cleans up after the tastefully tousled young things who crowd the brightly lighted room every night.

She makes it look easy. Until Ms. Fourmont, 29, opened La Buvette over the winter in a former cheese shop, she was behind the bar at Le Dauphin, the spot the chef Iñaki Aizpitarte opened once fame made it impossible to get a table at Le Chateaubriand, his restaurant next door. For almost two years, she was a cooling presence at the center of that white-hot scene.

Now Ms. Fourmont has a stage all to herself. She favors obscure wines that don’t cost a lot, cult bottles from unorthodox vintners whose labels often look like arty liner notes. Haven’t heard of Julien Courtois or Marcel Joubert? You’ll need some guidance, which is why she’s there.

Ask for a crisp white with a little funk and she might steer you to Murmure, a rustic muscat from Jean-Pierre Rietsch that stands up to decanting. “I fell in love with this little muscat last week,” Ms. Fourmont said in her accented English during a recent visit. “It’s very simple, and very honest, and very pure. The kind of wine I really like for this place.”

The food is also simple and honest. White beans are doused in new-harvest olive oil from the specialty shop La Tête Dans les Olives and garnished with chive and garlic blossoms; pata negra ham is cut on a hand-cranked slicer in back.

On another summer evening, the most complicated dish was wild asparagus, the grassy stalks sprinkled with lemon zest and Parmesan. Dessert choices included fresh ricotta with strawberries and rhubarb jam, or a chocolate éclair.

It’s just enough to get you through to the next strange bottle, or to the end of the night. As a Parisian dining companion put it, “This is what you do before you do the next thing, only you never do the next thing.”

La Buvette, 67, rue St.-Maur, Paris; (33-9) 83-56-94-11. An average meal for two, without drinks or tip, is about 45 euros, about $57 at $1.25 to the euro.

A version of this article appears in print on July 28, 2013, on page TR2 of the New York edition with the headline: The Sommelier Cooks, Too. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: At this fashionable wine bar that opened over the winter, the owner is also the sommelier, waiter, cook and dishwasher.