One of the hallmarks of the Woods Hole Film Festival is showcasing independent filmmakers with local roots. This year’s 24th edition, running July 25 to Aug. 1, is particularly rich in fiction features, documentaries, and short films with New England ties.

Writer-director Lindsey Copeland revisits the Boston of her student days for her feature debut “Girls Night” (July 27 at 7 p.m.). Copeland shot nearly all of her comedy, about five college friends who reunite for a concert in Boston, in the city and surrounding areas, including Somerville and Cambridge.

A Boston University graduate now living in New York, Copeland says she still has “an emotional attachment” to Boston, where she spent such formative years. The friends in her film, she says, “are two years out of school, in that weird area of transition from the college security net, wondering whether they’ll remain friends. . . . There aren’t enough movies that focus on Boston’s heavy student population. Every indie feels like it’s shot in New York City. This is the right story for the right place.”

Copeland, who’ll be at the festival to introduce her film, is in pre-production on her second feature, “Hedgehog,” about a young female comic trying to avoid the shadow of her father, who was a Boston comedy legend.

The WHFF opens with Cambridge native Maya Forbes’s semi-autobiographical “Infinitely Polar Bear” (July 25 at 5 p.m.). Forbes will be on hand to introduce her poignant memory piece based on her mother (played by Zoe Saldana) and father (Mark Ruffalo), who, despite his battle with mental illness, provided a loving home. Family and memory are also themes in Cambridge filmmaker Avery Rimer’s short “His Last Game” (July 26 at 9 p.m.). Adapted from Brian Doyle’s essay and shot in Cambridge, Sudbury, and Concord, it’s the second collaboration between Rimer and BU professor-screenwriter Debbie Danielpour, who wrote Rimer’s first short film, “Halfway Somewhere Else,” which played the festival in 2013. “His Last Game” was selected for the Short Film Corner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Other highlights include Massachusetts filmmaker Diego Ongaro’s “Bob and the Trees” (July 28 and Aug. 1 at 9 p.m.), a fiction film about a real-life logger struggling to make ends meet in the Berkshires during the brutal 2014 winter. “Happy 40th” (July 30 at 7 p.m.), directed by and starring Madoka Raine of Newton, follows Sophia, who uses a wheelchair after a car accident, and her caregiver husband as Sophia celebrates her birthday with her three best friends.

On the documentary front, Harvard University grad Richard Ray Perez presents “Cesar’s Last Fast” (July 26 at 7 p.m.), about the historic grape boycott led by Cesar Chavez and organized by the United Farm Workers (Perez’s father was among them). Perez also conducts a master class on social issue documentary filmmaking on July 27 at 1 p.m.

Singer-songwriter and Martha’s Vineyard resident Sally Taylor (Carly Simon and James Taylor’s daughter) will screen “Consenses” (July 28 at 5 p.m.), in which 150 artists from around the world interpret each other’s work. Brandeis University professor Laurie Kahn-Leavitt shows “Love Between the Covers” (July 26 at 5 p.m., Aug. 1 at 7 p.m.), a look at the subculture of women, mostly, who read and write romance novels.

For more information go to www.woodsholefilmfestival.org.

Fans of short films should consider taking in the Bluestocking Film Series at the Space Gallery in Portland, Maine, July 17-18. Celebrating its fifth year, Bluestocking showcases films with complex female protagonists. Fifteen award-winning short films from Pakistan, Ireland, Australia, Sweden, Turkey, Mexico, and the US will screen with many filmmakers and industry professionals in attendance. Ireland’s Maureen O’Connell will introduce her film “Girls,” about a teenager who seeks attention from her family and peers with dire consequences. Australia native and now New York resident Lucy Griffin will attend for the world premiere of her film “Sunroom,” about a 20-something woman who must reconcile her sentimental attachment to her stuffed animals and dinosaur figurines with her notions of what it means to be an adult woman. In “The Boots,” director Carin Bräck from Sweden examines how a pair of embroidered boots links three stories of awkward encounters and grief.

For more information go to bluestockingfilms.com/bluestocking5.

If you’ve never experienced live opera at the Met, here’s the next best thing. The Met Live in HD summer encore series offers a look at Lehár’s enchanting operetta “The Merry Widow,” starring the great Renée Fleming, with new staging by Broadway director and choreographer Susan Stroman, on July 22 at 7 p.m. On July 29, catch the Met’s spectacular production of Verdi’s Egyptian epic “Aida.” Locally, the series screens at Fenway 13 and suburbs.

For more information go to www.fathomevents.com.

Summary: This year’s Woods Hole Film Festival, running July 25 to Aug. 1, is particularly rich in fiction features, documentaries, and short films with New England ties.


07/24/2015 AT 02:45 PM EDT

is moving on as best he can following his split from wife

The country star, 39, has continued to work and

in the days following Monday's

He was photographed for the first time in public on Wednesday leaving tapings for the new season of

– and his wedding ring was nowhere in sight.

The "God Gave Me You" singer

on Wednesday that he was "Back to work filming @NBCTHEVOICE today," before adding that he wondered whether he would be the only one who "rolls in a full ice chestâ¦"

Back to work filming @NBCTheVoice today. Wonder if I'm gonna be the only one who rolls in a full ice chest....?

The Tweet is the latest in a series of lighthearted posts from the singer. On Thursday, Shelton

with his agent Laurie Pozmantier, both sporting smiles.

Hanging out with my @Lauriepoz... She's so weird. pic.twitter.com/A9h5wG91D8

Shelton and Lambert, 31, announced their split earlier this week, saying they are now going to "move forward separately."

In the wake of the announcement,

told PEOPLE, "He's devastated, but he's been really private about it."

"He's focused on the job and has been as engaged and friendly as he has always been."

Indeed, he and Lambert prefer to turn the spotlight on their pal

, was just released. After Lambert

for "A Heart like Mine," Shelton

, Tweeting, "Now THIS is what everybody needs to be talking about!!!!!!!!! Go Ashley!!!"

Now THIS is what everybody needs to be talking about!!!!!!!!! Go @ashleymonroe !!! https://t.co/P5mHExR8Et

Summary: The singer was photographed on the set of The Voice Wednesday for the first time since the divorce


"We’re going to do this again," one reporter said before a question was asked.

With that the NBA press corps battled once again for the attentions of league MVP Steph Curry as his daughter Rilee stole the show at the post-match press conference.

The Warriors star had once again brought along his show-stopping two-year-old as he answered questions from reporters, despite being criticised by some for bringing her to one on May 20.

The adorable toddler once again lapped up the attention, yawning throughout and speaking into the microphone, forcing Curry to repeatedly pull it away from her.

“Let me try that again, I’m going to let her go,” Curry was forced to say at one point.

Not that no longer sitting on her dad’s lap stopped Rilee, who began to play in a curtain to the side.

“I think she’s taking advantage of the moment that’s for sure, she’s way too comfortable,” Curry replied when asked about his daughter.

Despite the criticism from some reporters, it’s fair to say the score in this latest NBA series is: Rilee Curry 2. Media 0.

Do you have any news photos or videos?

Summary: The NBA press corps has battled once again for the attentions of league MVP Steph Curry as his daughter Rilee stole the show at the post-match press conference.


08/14/2015 AT 05:00 PM EDT

are so hot they could make reading the phonebook look sexy – and that's exactly what they do in this hilarious new video.

costars sensually read the yellow pages with all the panache of a couple late night phone sex operators.

Doing their best not to break character, the pair read lines like, "Making you feel better from the bottom up for 25 years," from a doctor's office ad, and "The more you play the

it gets" for a video arcade hall, all against a background of seductive music and dreamy crossfades.

Cavill wraps things up in his sexy, breathy English accident, saying "The yellow pages: let your fingers do the walking."

Next, we'd happily watch the fellas put up some dry wall, or peel carrots, or maybe even caulk a sink.

In the meantime, you can watch Cavill and Hammer looking debonair in the 60's spy reboot,

Summary: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. costars Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer prove they can be sexy even while reading a phonebook


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* U.S. and Franco-Italian bids also made for system

* Russia renews its interest in contract

* Defence officials seek to calm NATO integration concerns

ANKARA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Turkey is pressing ahead with talks with U.S. and European firms over its first long-range missile defence system, as the preferred Chinese bidder has yet to meet all requirements for the multi-billion dollar project, two officials said on Thursday.

NATO member Turkey chose China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp in 2013 as the preferred candidate for the $3.4 billion deal, prompting U.S. and Western concern about security and the compatibility of the weaponry with NATO systems.

Turkey's defence minister said last week it did not plan to integrate the system with NATO infrastructure, only for the presidential spokesman to say days later that the systems would be integrated.

One of the defence officials told Reuters on Thursday there were still question marks over the Chinese proposal, particularly around "technology transfer" to boost the Turkish defence industry.

"Contacts on this issue are continuing. Securing technology transfer is one of the most important subjects in the tender and on this subject a full guarantee has not been provided," the official said.

U.S. and NATO representatives were unhappy with Turkey's choice of China Precision Machinery, which has been under U.S. sanctions for selling items to Iran, Syria or North Korea that are banned under U.S. laws to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In addition to bids from the U.S. firm Raytheon Co and the Franco-Italian group Eurosam, the officials told Reuters that Russia, eliminated in the first stage of the tender, was still keen on providing a surface-to-air missile system - a prospect that could also raise concerns in NATO.

Eurosam, which is owned by the multinational European missile maker MBDA and France's Thales, came second in the tender. U.S.-listed Raytheon Co also put in an offer with its Patriot missile defence system, which is now operated by 13 countries around the world.

One of the officials said defence representatives had gone to Italy at the end of January for talks with Eurosam.

"In March, a delegation will go to the United States for talks with the other bidder. Finally, a delegation will go to China and hold talks there," he said.

The sources said Russia had renewed its interest in the project. Officials previously said Russia had revised an initial bid and offered to sell Turkey its S-400 medium- to long-range anti-aircraft missile system.

However Turkey is not currently holding talks with the Russians.

(Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Summary: NATO member Turkey chose China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp in 2013 as the preferred candidate for the $3.4 billion deal, prompting U.S. and Western concern about security and the compatibility of the weaponry with NATO systems. Turkey's defence minister said last week it did not plan to integrate the system with NATO infrastructure, only for...


Three-year-old Lyft uses a smartphone app to connect riders to drivers using their own car. The service is known for the pink fluffy moustaches drivers put in their vehicles.

"With this new investment, we are closer than ever before to realizing our vision of re-connecting people and communities through better transportation," John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft, said in a press release.

The company said it planned to use the money to expand into more U.S. cities, and also focus on its carpooling service called Lyft Line, which was launched last summer. Lyft Line brings together customers traveling in the same direction, so they can share a car and split the cost. In a blog post, Lyft said it would expand the service to new cities.

The latest funding follows a $250 million round last year, which included money from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Rakuten's investment in the company highlights the growing trend of Asian companies pouring money into U.S. start-ups in an effort to get a foothold in the market. Rakuten led a $100-million funding round in social media company Pintrest in 2012, while Chinese internet giant Baidu poured money into Uber in December.

Lyft's funding should give it a boost as it battles rival Uber, although the company is nowhere near as big. Lyft has raised $860 million to date and is valued at $2.5 billion, compared to Uber's $5.6-billion of fund raising and $41-billion valuation.

Uber has had its fair share of bad publicity, however, amid concerns over passenger safety and the ethics of its management team. Lyft has tried to differentiate itself as the more community-driven service. Previously, the company encouraged riders to sit in the front seat and bump fists with their driver, but last year Lyft said this was no longer a requirement.

Summary: U.S. ride-sharing app Lyft has been valued at $2.5 billion as it looks to take on Uber.


In short, it’s hardly as momentous as the next Bond transition to watch British replacement Ed Skrein (“Game of Thrones”) get behind the wheel of Frank’s Audi S8 for a fourth, rebooted entry. (It’s the second recasting, for the record, as we’ve also gotten pay cable’s “The Transporter: The Series.”) With his male-model cheekbones and scruff, Skrein swaps out some of the character’s dangerous edge for studly mischievousness. But he’s still as thinly drawn as ever, as anonymous as your Uber ride, only with karate skills and a better sense of direction.

Frank’s gig this time out is to chauffeur femme fatale Anna (French model Loan Chabanol) and her friends around the Riviera as they plot to escape forced prostitution and rob their scary Russian slavemaster (Radivoje Bukvic, dropping in from central casting). The plan is supposed to be secret — as always, deniability-minded Frank doesn’t want details — although for whatever reason, the girls’ definition of “secret” involves platinum-blond disguises straight out of those old beer ads with the Swedish Bikini Team.

The more intentional nonsense involves Frank palling around with and rescuing his dear old dad (Ray Stevenson), a newly retired spy with a longtime, comical cover as an Evian sales rep. Their occasional zippy exchanges are the best thing in the movie, as Stevenson, Skein, and the filmmakers make a nice showing in their bid for a Ford-and-Connery “Indiana Jones” vibe. At least we’re guessing that’s what they’re after, given how Stevenson’s veteran charmer calls Frank “Junior” throughout.

Director and Team Besson member Camille Delamarre (“Brick Mansions”) speeds us from one action sequence to the next with a style that alternates between routine, clunky, and modestly inspired. Frank floors it and sends his car sailing through the void and onto an airport jetway — but the ensuing run through the terminal looks about as dicey as a golf cart racing for last boarding call. Frank acrobatically flings himself from a jet ski into a bad guy’s car — then caps the scene with a fight so rudimentary, rocks are involved. Same old story: proficient enough, but mostly generic. They could have called this one something else entirely — “The Driver,” say, or “The Courier” — and the way it sold the movie’s uniqueness would have been just as legitimate. Or just as forced.

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Summary: “The Transporter Refueled” review: It’s hardly as momentous as the next Bond transition to watch Ed Skrein (“Game of Thrones”) get behind the wheel of Jason Statham’s Audi S8 for a fourth, rebooted “Transporter” entry.


NEW YORK — The release of the new Star Wars movie may still be months off, but Disney is unleashing its full marketing ‘‘Force’’ behind the launch of hundreds of toys and other items related to the film.

The massive marketing blitz, which Disney has named ‘‘Force Friday,’’ spans all kinds of media and included an 18-hour global ‘‘unboxing’’ streamed live on YouTube. Meanwhile, major toy retailers planned to be open and hold special events when the toys first became available just after midnight Friday. Among the first cities was Hong Kong with toy stores open at midnight.

The marketing push behind ‘‘Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens,’’ is unique because it’s so far ahead of the movie’s US release, 116 days to be exact. But analysts say it can work because Star Wars is such a popular franchise.

Leaked images of action figures of characters that have not even hit the big screen — like Sarco Plank, some kind of alien desert nomad that has only been glimpsed in a Vanity Fair on-set shoot — are only likely to fuel consumer demand, says Steve Pasierb, CEO of the Toy Industry Association.

‘‘It’s pretty rare, but in the age of social media, you can get those characters out and create buzz around these things in ways that you couldn’t in the past,’’ Pasierb says. ‘‘There’s something easy to tap into, which is the Star Wars mystique which is some 30 years old.’’

Industry analysts at PiperJaffrey say they expect some $3 billion worth of Star Wars merchandise will be sold this year and that sales next year could be even larger.

Even in a non-movie year, Star Wars merchandise has consistently sold well — $2 billion annually around the world, according to Pasierb. So it’s not so far-fetched that Disney will exceed that in the publicity-blitz filled weeks ahead of premiere of the first Star Wars movie since Episode III in 2005.

Walt Disney Co. is fanning the flames of its Lucasfilm unit by making special use of the network of YouTube talent that it acquired when it bought Maker Studios for upwards of $500 million last year. It arranged for 14 Maker stars around the globe to open new merchandise in live Web videos starting Wednesday afternoon. The event included a splashy special appearance Thursday morning on ‘‘Good Morning America,’’ the variety news program of Disney-owned ABC.

While it isn’t paying the stars — other than travel and expenses — it’s hardly a non-partisan group of reviewers. The finale in San Francisco was hosted by Chris Pirillo, a self-described super fan who named his daughter Jedi.

Toy makers both big and small are gearing up for a big rush on Friday, then another wave of sales as the holiday shopping season gets going and the movie’s Dec. 18 release date draws closer.

Hasbro Inc., which has been making Star Wars toys for more than 30 years, planned to unveil more than 100 different items Friday.

‘‘There’s a new generation of boys and girls who are going to be brought in who may not even be aware of Star Wars yet,’’ says Joe Ninivaggi, Hasbro’s senior brand manager for Star Wars.

The Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based toy maker’s offerings include Furbacca, a Chewbacca version of its Furby toy. It’s also selling several different versions of lightsabers that feature the glowing daggers noticeable in the movie’s previews.

Sphero, a Boulder, Colorado-based robot maker and one of the first members of Disney’s Techstars program for startups, created a $150 mini version of the BB-8 droid featured in the new movie.

In the movie, the BB-8 is kind of like an updated version of R2-D2. It’s a giant rolling sphere, with a traditional droid head that somehow manages to stay on top. The mini version created by Sphero moves much the same way.

Developing and producing its BB-8 used up the majority of Sphero’s resources for this year. But the company, which has received funding from Disney, expects that investment to pay off for years to come.

Other toys coming out include Toronto-based Spin Master Corp.’s ‘‘Legendary Yoda,’’ a 16-inch version of the Jedi Master that boasts lifelike movements and voice recognition. It’s yours for $180.

Fuhu, which makes the nabi tablet computer for kids, has created $170 Star Wars-themed accessory bundles that include a new 7-inch table. They come with sound effects, themed wallpapers and stickers designed to let kids customize their tablets.

While most of the people buying Friday will be the die-hard collectors who have to have the hot items first, sales momentum will continue into the holiday shopping season as nostalgic parents introduce a new generation of kids to Star Wars, says Rob Maigret, Sphero’s chief creative officer.

‘‘There’s just this evangelism that exists for the movie, because this movie is part of our lives, because we all have some sort of connection to it,’’ Maigret says.

Nakashima reported from Los Angeles.

Follow Bree Fowler at http://www.Twitter.com/APBreeFowler

Summary: The release of the new Star Wars movie may still be months off, but Disney is unleashing its full marketing “Force” behind the launch of hundreds of toys and other items related to the film.


Aug 14 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks were largely flat on Friday, when global markets calmed after China's central bank soothed investor fears triggered by the yuan's shock devaluation earlier in the week.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.1 percent, to 23,991.03, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.2 percent, to 11,060.06 points.

For the week, the Hang Seng lost 2.3 percent.

China's central bank stunned markets on Tuesday by devaluing the yuan by nearly 2 percent, and the currency fell more the following two days.

But on Friday, the yuan held steady against the dollar after suspected intervention by the central bank, who said on Thursday there was no reason for it to fall further.

Telecommunications and Utility stocks rose while energy and property shares fell.

Shares in Lenovo Group Ltd slumped for the second day, after the Chinese personal computer giant said its quarterly net profit was halved as its mobile division lost nearly $300 million.

(Reported by Samuel Shen and Pete Sweeney; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Summary: Aug 14- Hong Kong stocks were largely flat on Friday, when global markets calmed after China's central bank soothed investor fears triggered by the yuan's shock devaluation earlier in the week. China's central bank stunned markets on Tuesday by devaluing the yuan by nearly 2 percent, and the currency fell more the following two days. Shares in Lenovo Group Ltd...


09/16/2015 AT 02:45 PM EDT

's aunt, Leolah Brown, is claiming that both her niece and

"I believe somebody killed my niece, just like they killed her mother," Brown tells

in an interview airing Wednesday. "Nick murdered Bobbi Kristina. When Nick gets arrested, everything will fall like dominoes."

Bobbi Kristina's boyfriend, Nick Gordon, has not been charged with her death and has

Brown is also speaking out about her outburst at

"I got up when I saw Pat making her way to the podium to speak," Brown says, referencing her tumultuous relationship with Pat Houston, the wife of Whitney's brother Gary. "I turned and looked at Pat and I said, 'This is wrong. You know you're wrong for this.' I said, 'Whitney will haunt you from the grave.'"

According to Brown, âKrissy was surrounded by people that cared nothing, nothing for her. They didn't care about her, just like they didn't care about Whitney.â

Brown is also insisting she chose to leave the service early and was not kicked out, as had been reported when she was seen leaving prematurely and escorted by security.

"The whole set up of the funeral was wrong," says Brown. "Krissy has a lot of nephews who were not allowed to be pallbearers. The way the program was set up, Pat was being biased. I walked out a little early because I couldn't take it anymore.â

Tension between the Brown and Houston families has been a repeated sore spot since Bobbi Kristina's hospitalization after she was

in her Roswell, Georgia, home on Jan. 31. She

Summary: "When Nick gets arrested, everything will fall like dominoes," claims Brown to Inside Edition


A London interior designer and a real estate firm have launched a special new home.

It's got a marble entry hall, hand-polished parquet floors, Nina Campbell wallpaper, handmade furniture and bedding, and remote control lighting. And it's only $40,000!

There's only one catch: It's 6,045 square inches. That's right, it's a dollhouse.

Every Christmas seems to bring news of hyperpriced dollhouses, but this one caught our attention for its incredible detail. (See the pictures below.)

The sale price for the house is $40,000, but if the seller gets more than one offer, it will take sealed bids.

The design firm behind the house, Dragons of Walton Street, will be donating 10 percent of the proceeds of the sale to charity, and Savills, the broker, also plans to donate its "agent fee."

Sure it's expensive for a dollhouse. But Savills said that if the house were real, and located in London's Chelsea neighborhood, it would cost as much as $20 million.

Summary: For $40,000 this 6,045-square-inch dollhouse could be yours, but if it were a real home in London's Chelsea, it would cost as much as $20 million.


The nasty succession battle exemplifies the opaque nature of chaebols, experts say.

"At times like this, it's of paramount importance to have transparent rules and procedures and rational norms of succession. In that sense, the perceptions and actions of the chaebol families are astonishingly out of touch," noted a recent editorial in daily newspaper The Hankyoreh.

Families running chaebols control a vast network of companies through a circular holding structure and their control rights typically exceed cash-flow rights, giving them the final say on corporate decisions. Negative consequences of the system include mandatory support of distressed subsidiary firms, excessive concentration of power within a small group and inheritance of the controlling shareholder position by heirs that may not be qualified to effectively shape a company's future.

Other well-known chaebols include Hyundai, Daewoo and LG.

Asia's fourth-largest economy is no stranger to controversial family dynasties. In July, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries agreed on a deal that would consolidate the Lee family's power over Samsung Electronics, sparking the ire of activist shareholder Paul Singer, CEO of U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates, who said the deal undervalued Samsung C&T while overvaluing Cheil.

Read MoreInvestors approve fraught Samsung C&T-Cheil deal

The chaebol structure also has a broader economic impact.

The tight control exercised by family owners is a hindrance to the liberalization of South Korea's services sector, which should be the economy's next leg of growth, Barclays economist Wai Ho Leung told CNBC, adding that the entire sector remains insular and domestic-oriented.

An editorial in The Korea Times on Tuesday said the Lotte scandal offered South Korean President Park Geun-hye the perfect chance to toughen corporate laws, including replacing owners' arbitrary decisions with legal institutions and setting stricter limits on cross-shareholding.

"At stake is not the image and performance of a single group, but the reputation of entire Korea Inc. That is why the ongoing succession scandal can be a blessing in disguise―depending on how Seoul deals with it."

However, no major changes are expected.

"There has been talk that the Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries deal would push people to think that chaebols shouldn't have such a big hold, but I don't see it easing unless the government needs to break them up for various reasons, which may happen in future," Port Shelter Investment chief executive Richard Harris told CNBC in July.

"Investors know that and will continue to consider it when investing in South Korea."

Summary: South Korea's largest retailer is embroiled in an intricate succession battle that exemplifies the pitfalls of the country's family-run conglomerates.


"That is anemic performance. It's attracting very little demand," said Bill O'Neill, co-founder of commodities investment firm LOGIC Advisors in New Jersey.

"There's no compelling reason to really get into these markets and there are doubts on the demand side, and that's the worst thing that can happen to these markets."

Gold has been weighed down by expectations the Fed will raise U.S. interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade, lifting the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold while boosting the dollar.

"Commodities got something of a lift late yesterday as the dollar dropped back on the Fed's 'lower for longer' stance, and the upwards momentum appears to have carried through today despite the dollar paring back some losses," Jonathan Butler, an analyst at Mitsubishi Corp, said.

"Today was a rare 'up' day on the Shanghai Commodities Exchange, perhaps the government's interventions are starting to pay off."

Read MoreChina stock rout: Boon or bane for gold?

Commodities across the board were lifted by a rebound in battered Chinese stocks, after China's securities regulator took measures to halt a plunge in stock prices.

Traders are also awaiting news on Greece, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi voiced doubts about the chances of rescuing the country from bankruptcy.

Among other metals, spot silver was up 1.8 percent at $15.40 an ounce.

Palladium was down 2.5 percent at $634.72 an ounce after slipping overnight to its weakest since June 2013. Platinum was down 0.7 percent at $1,022.50 an ounce after falling on Wednesday to its lowest since February 2009.

The gold-to-platinum ratio rose for the fifth straight session to 1.14 ounces, the highest since August 2012.

The palladium and platinum markets remain technically weak.

Summary: Gold pared gains on Thursday after climbing from the prior session's four-month low as a recovery in Chinese shares cooled fears of a wider rout.


Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis will submit the final plan for 2015 to the President of the Parliament at 10 a.m. GMT on Friday. Negotiations in Parliament on the Greek budget for 2015 will then start December 4.

The Troika—the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank—is worried that the budget will land Greece with a much bigger fiscal gap next year than the government says. The disagreement has already delayed the country's review by the Troika and Greece risks missing a December 8 deadline to receive the final instalment of its bailout from Europe, which is worth 144.6 billion euros. This completion of the review would also pave the way for talks on a possible financial backstop for Greece after the European part of its bailout expires at the end of this year.

Read MoreEU leaders weigh plan for Greek exit

"Only once a staff-level agreement has been reached for the conclusion of the review can discussions on the follow-up to the program take place. The full staff mission will return to Athens as soon as the conditions are there," Margaritis Schinas, chief spokesperson of the European Commission told CNBC in an emailed response.

Uncertainty has sent once again sent Greek bond yields soaring.

"The on and off of this uncertainty is what worries investors. The disagreement between the Troika and the government, as well as the Presidential election risk, completely overshadows the short- to mid-term bullish view on the Greek sovereign," David Schnautz, director of interest rate strategy at Commerzbank, told CNBC.

"Greece will need a financial backstop for 2015. Once we clear these key events, things will clear out for Greece. It may get worse before it gets better."

The Greek economy seems to be improving. Greece returned to growth this year after a six-year recession, posting 0.7 percent growth in the third quarter. The European Commission forecasts Greece will grow by a healthy 2.9 percent in 2015.

Read MoreEuro zone GDP beats, Greece emerges from recession

Some economists are skeptical however. "I am not sure about the sustainability of this and how much of this growth is really an outcome of local-based productivity versus an injection of European Union subsidised funding," Elena Panaritis, a former World Bank economist and founder of thinktank Thought For Action told CNBC on the phone.

The latest figures showed that 25.9 percent of the Greek workforce was unemployed in August. This is an improvement from the 28 percent highs reached in late 2013, but Greece still boasts the highest unemployment rate in the euro zone.

Summary: Greece’s proposed budget for 2015 has put it at loggerheads again with the “Troika” of international monitors.


June 25 (Reuters) - Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA on Thursday announced flights between the United States and two islands in the French Caribbean, hinting that more routes and heightened competition with U.S. carriers are to come.

Beginning in December, Norwegian will fly from three U.S. cities to Guadeloupe and Martinique, overseas departments of France. Bilateral agreement allows Norwegian to fly between the United States and any point in European Union territory.

While American Airlines Group Inc is the only major U.S. airline that now serves the islands, with direct flights from Miami, U.S. carriers dominate U.S.-Caribbean travel broadly and may view the routes as an incursion by Norwegian.

The Oslo-based airline plans to serve the islands from New York three times per week on Boeing Co 737-800 aircraft. It plans to fly there on the same aircraft type twice per week from Boston and Baltimore, where it operates no other flights, unlike in New York.

Adding flights between Europe and those two cities is "definitely on our list" to do, Chief Executive Officer Bjoern Kjos said in an interview.

Norwegian has expanded rapidly with the addition of long-haul flights in 2013, making it the only budget carrier to fly between Europe and the United States. It also wants to add U.S. flights under an Irish subsidiary, but the U.S. Department of Transportation has not approved or denied its application since it was filed more than a year ago.

U.S. airlines and unions have charged that the subsidiary would undermine wages and working standards. Norwegian has dismissed claims about labor unfairness, noting that it is unconcerned if workers unionize and saying U.S. airlines simply fear Norwegian's low fares.

Travel agents and industry groups have said the feud is part of a two-front war U.S. airlines are waging against new competition. The U.S. carriers have said three Gulf airlines have received state subsidies in violation of bilateral aviation agreements.

Norwegian has vowed to fly more to the United States under its parent operation if its Irish subsidiary is blocked.

Seasonal service to Guadeloupe and Martinique make sense for Norwegian so it can use aircraft it would otherwise ground in Europe because schedules slow in the winter, Kjos said.

"We anticipate that there is a market from these islands into the U.S," he said. "You have to take into consideration that the dollar is very strong against the Euro, so it's cheap to go to these islands now."

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in New York)

Summary: June 25- Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA on Thursday announced flights between the United States and two islands in the French Caribbean, hinting that more routes and heightened competition with U.S. carriers are to come. Bilateral agreement allows Norwegian to fly between the United States and any point in European Union territory. Norwegian has expanded rapidly...


There could be significant political cost—such as losing elections—from such structural reforms, Gabriel said, but stressed there was no other choice.

"There is no alternative. The alternative is to simply prolonging the crisis and this situation becomes untenable for citizens," he said during a discussion about Europe's economy.

Gabriel also said that reform was possible with growth.

"I also believe that, on the whole, European politics and policies...to stimulate growth, activity and recovery, should not be undertaken by one institution alone," he said.

"The German government is convinced that the program of the European Commission and the one proposed by the President, Mr. (Jean-Claude) Juncker, at least bears in it the opportunity of combining structural reform and growth initiatives and incentives."

He added that he hoped such stimulus efforts would boost areas like research and development, energy efficiency and "digital progress."

Read MoreMarkets primed forECB debt-buying splurge

Summary: Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's Minister of Economic Affairs, said at Davos that Germany will support regional economic stimulus.


Viola Davis in How to Get Away with Murder

10/16/2015 AT 11:00 AM EDT

It's four weeks before the stomach shooting, and Annalise is going full Meredith Grey and attempting to nap under water. She's suddenly interrupted by a phone call from Nate, or at least a phone call from Nate's phone. Instead, it was Nate's cancer-ridden wife, Nia, which is the worst kind of interruption when you're taking a bath nap.

Annalise visits her, and Nia asks what kind of woman can sleep with a dying man's wife and whether Annalise loves Nate. Annalise can't answer: maybe because she lacks emotion or maybe because Annalise has a little bit of love for everyone. That's when Nia goes all in and grabs Annalise's hand and asks her to kill her.

In reality, she doesn't need Annalise to do the job. She just needs her to get the pills that will allow her to do it herself. Annalise pretends that she doesn't have access to that (lies, girl), but Nia begs and tells Annalise that she owes her. And if she doesn't owe her or Nate, she should do it for herself. Annalise said she'll try, but she can't promise anything.

Frank gets her the pills, and when she runs into Nate, she keeps her word to Nia to not say anything about the plan. Annalise makes it back to Nia and tells her that she's thought about killing herself a lot – even as a child. She explains that if she deserves to live, so does Nia. Nia then says, "I thought you'd do it. You've killed before." It's dripping with the threat of a setup, but Annalise simply says, "I'm not the woman you think I am."

Annalise gets called in on a new case for a girl named Zoe Mitchell. She seems like a nice girl – a teenager who just likes to hang out with her best friend and a couple other girls who sometimes like to single out the first and stab her 52 times. What keeps her from being a total sweetheart is that Zoe admits to it outright.

Annalise is so distracted by Nia's request that she struggles in focusing on the case at hand. But the real issue is that Zoe's friends come up to her and tells her that she's a slut, which is like â¦ totally not chill to hear from your homicidal besties.

How to Get Away with Murder

Summary: Two is twincest, three's a crowd


LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The Lloyd's of London insurance market posted a 28 percent drop in first-half pretax profit on Thursday and said pricing remained tough in a competitive market.

The insurance and reinsurance markets have attracted new players in recent years, drawn by high returns compared with other markets.

"We are in an intensively competitive environment at the moment because of the attractive returns," chief executive Inga Beale told Reuters by telephone, adding this meant "there has been some pressure on pricing."

Pretax profit for the half-year ending June 30 fell 28 percent to 1.19 billion pounds ($1.83 billion), the firm said in a trading statement on Thursday.

Lloyd's' combined ratio, a measure of profitability showing how much of insurance premiums are paid out in claims and expenses, rose to 89.5 percent from 87.4 percent a year earlier. A level below 100 percent indicates a profit.

Low interest rates have also eroded gains on investments.

Gross written premiums rose to 15.5 billion pounds, up 7 percent from a year earlier, but investment returns more than halved to 0.6 percent.

Return on capital dropped by a third to 10.7 percent.

Ninety-six syndicates underwrite insurance at Lloyd's, housed in one of the most recognizable buildings in London's main financial district, including listed companies such as Hiscox and Beazley.

Overseas insurers have been snapping up Lloyd's companies as the easiest way to access this 300-year old market.

MS&AD said this week it had agreed to buy Lloyd's insurer Amlin.

Meanwhile, Everest Re said late on Wednesday it had received approval for a new Lloyd's syndicate.

Beale said there was no limit on the number of syndicates that could set up at Lloyd's, but new firms needed to offer new types of business, such as cyber insurance.

"We do like to set the bar reasonably high."

Lloyd's is looking to develop business in emerging markets and has opened offices in Dubai and China this year, with plans to open in Malaysia.

"We are also looking at India and Korea and we recently went down to sub-Saharan Africa with over 20 underwriters -- that's the next continent on our radar," Beale said.

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Mark Potter)

Summary: LONDON, Sept 10- The Lloyd's of London insurance market posted a 28 percent drop in first-half pretax profit on Thursday and said pricing remained tough in a competitive market.  "We are in an intensively competitive environment at the moment because of the attractive returns," chief executive Inga Beale told Reuters by telephone, adding this meant "there has been...


George Orwell berated them as "fruit juice drinkers, nudists, sex maniacs, Quakers, nature-cure quacks, pacifists and feminists", while others have, outrageously, labelled them Guardian writers and readers. Better to refer to them as left-leaning, middle-class intellectuals proudly united by their footwear: the sandal.

The origins of the left-wing sandal-wearing craze are to be found in an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, it was announced on Wednesday.

Not only that, the original sandal, the start of it all, the holy grail if you like, will go on display when the gallery stages its exhibition in the autumn exploring William Morris, right, and his influence on 20th century life.

The cultural historian Fiona MacCarthy will curate a show that looks far beyond the aspect for which Morris is best known, his wallpaper designs. It will look at his politics, his revolutionary zeal, his undying belief in "art for everyone", and his enormous influence on some of the most radical characters of the past 150 years.

That includes Edward Carpenter, a "simple life" Victorian philosopher who, courageously, lived openly with his male partner, George Merrill, for 30 years, long before same-sex relationships were legal in Britain.

Carpenter was keen to liberate people from "the coffin-like imprisonment of shoes" and in the 1880s seized upon the Indian sandal as the way forward. He set up a sandal-making workshop at his Millthorpe home near Sheffield and the footwear soon became something of a craze.

"Carpenter was the man who introduced the sandal into left-wing circles," said MacCarthy, delighted to be borrowing the original sandals from Sheffield Archives. "They became a kind of cult among left-leaning middle-class intellectuals."

As well as sandals there will be sex, principally from another free thinker influenced by Morris. The sculptor and typeface designer Eric Gill is, thanks to MacCarthy's 1989 biography, as renowned for his eye-opening sex life as he is for his importance to the Arts and Crafts movement. Few escaped his ardour. He had numerous affairs, was guilty of incest with his sisters and daughters, and abused the family dog. One of the exhibits in the show will be an erotic garden roller that he made called Adam and Eve with the pair literally having a roll in the Garden of Eden.

MacCarthy said the exhibition would be a story of "networks and connections and influences". It will cover 1860 to 1960 embracing Socialism, the Suffragettes, the Pre-Raphaelites, garden city pioneers, the 1951 Festival of Britain, and post-war designers such as Terence Conran.

MacCarthy, who published her biography of Morris in 1994, said the exhibition would look far beyond Morris the wallpaper designer. It would reveal "the revolutionary, driven, visionary Morris", a man "right there in the melee of late 19th century revolutionary politics", a leading light of the Socialist League, who was forever demonstrating, agitating, street preaching and getting into scrapes with the police.

One of his unshakeable beliefs was that art was for the people, that "beauty was a basic human birthright", MacCarthy said.

That is the reason he encased his copy of Le Capital, which will be in the show, in gold. "Only William Morris would encase Karl Marx in a gold-tooled binding," said MacCarthy. "It was part of his religion of nothing but the best – not for the elitist connoisseur but nothing but the best for the whole populace."

There will be about 70 objects and 70 portraits in the show, including Morris's portrait of his wife, Jane, a "stunner", said MacCarthy. The picture is the artist's only known oil painting.

MacCarthy, who was the Guardian's "swinging 60s" correspondent some 50 years ago, said she was still learning things about Morris, and his influence still resonated today. Not that he would be very happy at how things had turned out.

"It is worrying what is happening with the art-for-the-people concept," said MacCarthy, pointing to the increasing commodification of art as well as the government budget cuts. "He would have been angry and in despair."

• Anarchy & Beauty: William Morris And His Legacy, 1860-1960, will be at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 16 October to 11 January

Summary: National Portrait Gallery exhibition takes broad look at Morris legacy, covering 100 years from suffragettes to 60s design


A widower has returned his wife's posthumous Woman of the Year award after learning Caitlyn Jenner (pictured) was also honoured with the award. (AAP)

The widower of a September 11 hero has returned his wife’s posthumous Woman of the Year award to Glamour magazine after learning the same honour was awarded to Caitlyn Jenner last week.

Police officer Moira Smith died aged only 38 when she ran into the south tower on September 11, 2001, to help save people trapped inside.

She was later presented with the Woman of the Year award by Glamour Magazine for her heroic actions.

Moira Smith died after running into the south tower to help save people trapped inside. (Getty)

Now her husband, James Smith, has sent the award back to the magazine, citing Caitlyn Jenner also being honoured with the award as the reason for his decision, the New York Post reports.

“I was shocked and saddened to learn that Glamour has just named Bruce Jenner ‘Woman of the Year’,” Mr Smith wrote in a letter to Glamour editor Cindi Leive.

“Was there no woman in America, or the rest of the world, more deserving than this man?

“At a time when we have women in the armed forces fighting and dying for our country, heroic doctors fighting deadly diseases, women police and firefighters putting their lives on the line for total strangers, brave women overcoming life threatening diseases… the list of possibilities goes on… is this the best you could do?”

Jenner was one several women honoured at the awards night at Carnegie Hall last week.

Tennis champion Billie Jean King, President of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards, and five Charleston Church shooting survivors were also crowned Women of the Year.

A spokesman for Glamour magazine told the New York Post they had received Mr Smith’s letter but it would not change its decision about honouring Caitlyn Jenner.

“We were proud to honour his wife,” the spokesman said.

“And we stand by our decision to honour Caitlyn Jenner.

“Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards recognize women with a variety of backgrounds and experiences.”


Tom Williams | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., addresses supporters at the Wichita Area Builders Association, in Wichita, Kan., October 9, 2014, at an event to kick off his statewide bus tour.

"You can't predict a campaign," said Roberts, an ex-Marine who vowed to battle hard for his seat during the homestretch. "Fight's a good way to put it.

"Yeah, this is a close race, but I'm going to win," he said. "And I'm going to win it because people know that the road to a Republican majority runs right through Kansas. And a vote for me will be a vote for that Republican majority that will put the brakes on President Obama."

Read MoreThis heartland battle may tip control of the Senate

He ascribed Orman's success to far to millions of dollars of TV ads, aired before he started running his own. He also acknowledged that Orman has made widespread gains on unhappiness with both parties.

"I think that my opponent has tapped into what is very real public dissatisfaction with not getting things done in Washington," he said. "Everybody has some blame in that."

He didn't apologize for campaigning alongside Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a hero among conservative voters he needs but a symbol of partisan warfare after last fall's government shutdown.

"I don't think he promoted the government shutdown," Roberts insisted. "Everybody says that. That's not the case. What he did is, he took a whole filibuster and discussed every facet of Obamacare. He's the first one to really alert the American public, and for that matter senators, and said 'This is not going to work. This will be a disaster.' And he was right, and I credit him for that."

Read MoreBerkshire's Buffett predicts Hillary Clinton will win 2016 presidency

Because Kansas is such a conservative state—it has voted Republican for president in 10 straight elections—Roberts' principal message now is that Orman is hiding traditional Democratic beliefs behind the cloak of independence.

"Voters now in Kansas are finding out who he is," Roberts said, standing outside his campaign bus at the outset of a tour across the state. "He's a liberal Democrat. He ran against me in 2008, he donated all these dollars to Obama, to Hillary Clinton, to Harry Reid. By the stand he takes on the issues: Obamacare, he's for that. He's against the pipeline. First and Second amendments, there are changes he'd like to make. He is not an independent."

And the ex-Marine had a message for any Republican preparing to blame him for another GOP setback this fall: he'll overtake Orman by Nov. 4.

"I've always fought every day or I wouldn't ever enter any race," Roberts said emphatically. "Semper Fi —Marines take the hill."

Summary: GOPer Pat Roberts has found himself in the center of the partisan war for control of the Senate, not the sort of October he was expecting.


LONDON — OPEC signaled no respite from the global oil glut that has driven prices to a six-year low.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will keep pumping about 31.5 million barrels a day, the group’s president, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, said Friday after a meeting of ministers in Vienna. Members set aside their previous daily output target of 30 million barrels, a ceiling breached for 18 months. OPEC will wait until June to decide on a new limit, Secretary General Abdalla El-Badri said.

“Why should OPEC alone sacrifice its part in the market,” Iraq’s oil minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, said after the meeting. “Americans don’t have any ceiling, Russians don’t have any ceiling, why should OPEC have a ceiling?”

OPEC has increased output in an oversupplied market in a bid to force higher-cost producers to scale back their operations. A proposal from Venezuela for a 5 percent cut in production went nowhere.

Crude slumped about 38 percent in the last year. Brent fell 1.9 percent to $43 a barrel Friday, while West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 2.7 percent to $39.97.

Failure to reduce the global oversupply could push oil prices $20 lower next year, Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino warned before the OPEC meeting.

Summary: Faced with low prices and plentiful supply, OPEC oil ministers are pondering ways to turn the market around — but may lack options to do so.


A Mexican artist whose work powerfully and movingly illuminates the senseless violence of drug-related organised crime in her country has been named winner of the fifth Artes Mundi prize.

The international award is given out every two years in Cardiff, rewarding artists from around the world who engage with social reality and the human condition. Teresa Margolles won the prize for work that includes bloody floor tiles from a building in Guadalajara where one of her friends, a promising young artist called Miguel Suro, was murdered, and water which was used to clean bodies in a morgue dripping and hissing on to hotplates.

The chair of the judges, the curator and broadcaster Tim Marlow, said they had been particularly struck by "the visceral power and urgency" of Margolles "as well as the sophistication of her work in confronting an ongoing human tragedy".

The artist won £40,000 – the most lucrative arts award in the UK – after being chosen from a shortlist of seven, all of whom have works on display at the National Museum of Wales until 13 January. The other artists were Phil Collins (UK), Miriam Bäckström (Sweden), Tania Bruguera (Cuba), Apolonija Šušteršič (Slovenia), Darius Mikšys (Lithuania) and Sheela Gowda (India).

The prize was created 10 years ago, partly as a way to get important contemporary art shown in Wales, and it has grown in stature over the decade. This year's exhibition, which opened in October, has already had 30,000 visitors.

Summary: Mexican artist's work includes bloody floor tiles from building where friend was murdered


01/21/2016 AT 01:20 PM EST

through mutual friends in 2012, "we just both knew," he says of falling in love.

So when the actress, 34, confided in Dykstra within a week or two of dating that she had been

(an incurable autoimmune disease, also known as MS) at age 20, the pro baseball player wasn't fazed.

"I know she was nervous in telling me," he tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "But I just wanted to make her feel not so alone ... to know that I would always be there."

For Sigler, the support meant "everything" to her. "It's something I might have been able to keep to myself a little bit longer, but MS does affect things in your life like intimacy. And I wanted to be able to share that with him," she says. "And he said, 'That's okay, it doesn't change anything that I feel and doesn't make me look at you differently.' He's given me the courage to be able to sit here today and talk about this."

Jamie-Lynn Sigler with Cutter Dykstra

knew it was important to let Sigler decide when she wanted to go public with her illness.

"I think everyone around her always wanted her to come out with this but no one would ever push it. We wanted her to want to do it," he says. "I knew it would be such a weight off her shoulders and make her feel so much better. Everyone is so proud of her."

Celine Dion on the cover of PEOPLE

Sigler's symptoms, which have been stable for six years thanks to medication, include difficulty walking for long periods of time and not being able to run.

Dykstra admits it's hard to see his wife struggle at times: "I just want to help her so much, whether it's going about the day to day things or getting her something from the kitchen or just letting her talk about it," he says. "I just always want to be there for her and know what she's going through; I don't want her to hold it in."

, the couple is looking forward to their future together and possibly giving their

, a sibling. "I've prepared myself for everything that could happen," Sigler says. "But I've got an amazing husband, the best son, and I hope that we can make more babies and just keep having fun."

Summary: "Everyone is so proud of her," the pro baseball player says of Sigler revealing her illness


02/08/2016 AT 08:50 AM EST

to the Denver Broncos in

still fresh, the Carolina Panthers quarterback cut his post-game press conference short – abruptly walking out of the session.

When reporters asked what went wrong during the game, Newton kept his answers short, repeating that the Panthers "got outplayed."

In a video of the conference, Newton appeared solemn and downcast. He answered questions for nearly three minutes before abruptly getting up and leaving.

In his lengthiest response to reporters, Newton noted that the Broncos simply played better than the Panthers. "I don't know what you want me to say. They made more plays than us, and that's what it come down to. We had our opportunities," he said. "It wasn't nothing special that they did. We dropped balls, we turned the ball over, gave up sacks, threw errant passes. That's it. They scored more points than us."

Newton had a rough time during the big game. He was sacked six times and had two fumbles, one of which landed the Broncos a touchdown.

He completed 18 of 41 pass attempts for 265 yards – a season-worst 55.4 passer rating,

However, Newton did leave a hopeful message before making his exit.

"We'll be back," he said.

Summary: Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton kept his answers short in a post-game press conference


Radio Flyer — the US-based toymaker responsible for the iconic red wagon — has joined forces with Tesla Motors to create perhaps the hippest children's car on the market.

For $500 plus cost of additional customisation, youngsters can hit the sidewalks in sheer style in the front — and only — seat of a Tesla Model S for Kids, which begins shipping to US buyers in May.

The toy is powered by a lithium ion battery “engineered to provide the best performance available in a battery powered ride-on with a lower impact on the environment”. Because, well, Tesla. Unfortunately, there is no Ludicrous mode, and the car's top speed is limited to a modest 6mph — making it quicker than a Power Wheels ride-on but only half as fast as the new Actev Arrow Smart-Kart.

To combat childhood range anxiety, the tiny Tesla's swappable power pack is promised to “provide more playtime than any competitive product”, boasting a short three-hour charging time for more than triple the drive time offered by other kids’ cars powered by lead-acid batteries.

Working headlights, "frunk" (that's a front trunk), spacious interior (if you're 81lbs or smaller), sound system and “premium paint finish with authentic model S" colours come standard with the $500 model, but additional features such as the personalised parking sign, premium battery and custom licence plate will cost extra.

While a svelte motorised Radio Flyer could seem at odds with the wagon-maker's modest little-red-cart beginnings, the company's founder Antonio Pasin, who launched Radio Flyer in 1917, might disagree. In fact, he modeled wagon production after the auto industry's mass production and metal stamping techniques, earning Radio Flyer the nickname "Little Ford".

If you would like to comment on this or anything else you have seen on BBC Autos, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Autos, Future, Earth, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

Summary: This battery-powered four-wheel toy is far cry from the red wagon of your childhood – or is it?


02/20/2016 AT 12:55 AM EST

The "Confident" singer showed off her vocal chops during Friday's appearance on

in the fan favorite Musical Impressions game.

of Lionel Richie's "Hello" at the Grammys, Lovato, 23, further proved her impressive singing abilities by taking on the voices of

She began by copying Cher's signature androgynous timbre with "Bingo Was His Name-O." As for her impression of Aguilera, who is well-known for beautifully belting out a note, Lovato channeled the

coach for the theme song from

But most impressive of all was Demi's impersonation of Fetty Wap doing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

And Fallon, 41, brought his A-game as well impersonating Louis Armstrong for "Mr Roger's Neighborhood" and Dave Matthews for "I'm A Little Teapot."

Summary: Fallon also does a pretty great Louis Armstrong and Dave Matthews.


03/17/2016 AT 08:45 AM EDT

is used to being on stage as a performer, but hosting the iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 3 will be a new experience for him.

"I have a little bit of nerves," the "Want to Want Me" singer, 26, tells PEOPLE. "It's something new, it's something a little different. I've co-hosted some award shows overseas before, but never hosted on my own, so that's brand new."

Despite the nerves, Derulo is looking forward to playing emcee for the evening.

"I'm excited," he says. "It's an amazing celebration."

And Derulo's just as excited to see the performances as he is to host.

"iHeart always brings out the biggest artists in the world," he says. "I listen to all of the performers – you've got

Before prepping for his hosting duties, Derulo was able to make time for a little R&R on a Mexican vacation with his

"It was unbelievable," he said of the trip, in which the couple stayed at Joe Francis' resort home in Punta Mita. "The house was right on the water and had a full staff."

The getaway marked another milestone for the couple, who

at the People's Choice Awards in January.

"That was the first vacation we've taken," says Derulo. "It was really cool."

A photo posted by Jason (@jasonderulo) on Mar 10, 2016 at 5:12pm PST

While he loved their luxurious vacation, Derulo says his date nights with Joy, 29, are typically a lot more low-key.

"I love the simple things," he says. "I like just kicking back and getting that one-on-one time, watching a movie at the house, or she cooks dinner. She's an unbelievable cook!"

Despite their busy schedules, they both make time for the relationship.

"It's tough at times because I'm always on the road, but with modeling she's more flexible than I am so she'll come to some of my shows," says Derulo.

And while the singer admires his girlfriend's beauty, he's also in awe of the person that she is on the inside.

"She has an understated personality," he says. "I love that about her. She's absolutely gorgeous, but it's really amazing to me that she's really humble."

The event will air live on TBS, TNT and truTV at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will be simulcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide, as well as on the iHeartRadio digital music platform.

Summary: The singer also reveals details from his first vacation with girlfriend Daphne Joy


Debt-laden state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd. defended the price it paid for a power company in 2012, saying it had received “independent valuation” advice during the transaction.

A person familiar with the transaction said the valuation was done by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which advised the fund on the deal and therefore wasn't considered independent because it would benefit financially if the transaction was completed.

The 1MDB fund was formed by Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to help develop Malaysia’s economy. It also indirectly supported his party’s re-election campaign two years ago. The fund has amassed more than $11 billion in debt that it now struggles to repay and is the subject of four government investigations.

The Wall Street Journal last week reported the fund paid what appeared to be an inflated price for a power plant owned by Malaysian conglomerate Genting Group . The conglomerate subsequently contributed to a Najib-led charity that announced projects that Mr. Najib was able to tout as he campaigned.

The statement about the independent valuation on its power-plant purchase came in response to The Wall Street Journal article. “We only acquire assets when we are convinced that they represent long-term value, and to suggest that any of our acquisitions were driven by political considerations is simply false,” 1MDB said in the statement, which was released on Tuesday and expanded on its comments in the original article.

In the statement, 1MDB defended the 2.3 billion Malaysian ringgit (about $740 million at the time) it paid for the Genting unit. The fund said the price was based on “advice received from independent valuation advisers.”

The person familiar with the matter said Goldman Sachs, which was 1MDB’s financial adviser on the purchase, was also the only party to conduct a valuation of the power unit on behalf of 1MDB. Goldman had a long relationship with 1MDB, underwriting bonds and advising it on other transactions.

To help them assess the value of assets in a deal or justify the deal to investors, lenders or regulators, companies often seek independent valuations from investment banks, accounting firms or consultants that aren't involved in it. A firm advising on the deal could benefit financially if the transaction is completed, potentially creating a conflict of interest.

A 1MDB spokesman said its adviser’s opinion wasn’t biased, adding: “Any valuation produced by 1MDB’s financial adviser is by definition independent as it is independently produced by that third party for 1MDB’s consideration.”

The spokesman said 1MDB had appointed a number of third-party advisers including lawyers and accountants to look into different areas of the purchase, such as the power assets’ technical specifications. All of these parties contributed to the valuation, according to the spokesman.

The 1MDB spokesman declined to make any valuation available. “It is not a policy of 1MDB to share such information,” the spokesman said.

The 1MDB fund acquired the Genting unit—which owned a 75% stake in a 720-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Kuala Lumpur—in October 2012. Genting later reported a 1.9 billion-ringgit extraordinary gain on this sale, implying a value for its stake of just 400 million ringgit, or less than one-fifth what 1MDB paid for it.

In a second sign that 1MDB paid a high price, the fund’s financial statement for the fiscal year ended in March 2013 said the power unit’s property, plant and equipment were worth a little under 500 million ringgit at the time of acquisition.

The fund cited 1.7 billion ringgit in “intangible assets”—that is, the plant’s agreement to sell power to a state-owned entity. But this valuation appeared to be contingent on Genting’s obtaining a renewal of its power-sale agreement, which would run out in 2016.

Genting announced the terms of the sale to 1MDB in August 2012. Equity analysts at the time called the price positive for Genting, given that its contract to sell power was set to end within a few years. In early October, Malaysia’s Energy Commission, an independent body that regulates the energy sector, announced Genting had won a 10-year extension, giving it the right to sell power through 2026. A few days later, Genting and 1MDB completed the sale.

Soon after the purchase, 1MDB appeared to recognize that it had overpaid for the power assets. In its financial accounts for fiscal 2013, the fund took an “impairment” charge of 1.2 billion ringgit, writing down part of the premium it had paid for power assets from Genting and another Malaysian company.

A few months after the sale, a unit of Genting called Genting Plantations Bhd. donated about $10 million to a Najib-linked charity, according to a spokesman for Genting Plantations. The charity, Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia, lists Mr. Najib as chairman on its website.

Though set up to help underprivileged Malaysians through education and sport, this charity soon got involved in spending that appeared designed to help Mr. Najib retain power in a May 2013 election. It and other charities linked to the government spent millions of dollars before the voting in Penang, a northern state that was an important election battleground. Mr. Najib visited Penang during the campaign and announced that Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia would donate two million ringgit (about $660,000 at the time) to two local schools. These schools serve Chinese communities that aren't a poor demographic, but whose support would be crucial to win voting in the area.

Write to Tom Wright at tom.wright@wsj.com

Summary: Debt-laden Malaysian state investment fund says it got “independent valuation” advice in $740 million purchase of power assets that it appears to have paid several times too much for.


Emily Blunt and Charlize Theron in The Huntsman: Winter's War

04/13/2016 AT 05:30 PM EDT

Can an action heroine be dressed to the nines and still kick major butt? That was the question facing

Dressed in costume designer Colleen Atwood's gorgeous and lavishly detailed fairy-tale wardrobe for the sequel to

, the trio of actresses discovered that as eager as they were to take on some hardcore fight scenes, sometimes their fancy frocks and footwear weren't very cooperative.

"Charlize and I spent our time hobbling around in high heels going, 'My feet hurt!' " said Blunt, who plays the film's ice-powered snow queen Freya, in an exaggerated Valley Girl-ish whine at a press conference for the film on Tuesday in Los Angeles. "That was like the extent of our actions."

"'This dress is heavy!' " echoed a chuckling Theron, who reprises the role of the evil queen Ravenna, Freya's sister, from the earlier film. "The costumes really changed my posture. I would say that definitely came into play. There's something about a corset that will make you just sit up straight! The cape was, for me, a big one ...I had to kind of veer my neck forward, otherwise my hair and my crown would kind of get caught in the neck part of it."

Blunt admitted that, weighed down by their uber-glam gowns, they left much of the heavy lifting in action sequences to their costar Chastain, who plays a huntswoman with fighting skills on par with her former love Eric (played by returning star

). "And Jessica would like come into the makeup bus just pouring with sweat from some awful stunt coordinating."

Chastain revealed she started to get pretty confident about her fighting prowess after undergoing weeks of pre-shoot stunt training in London, learning to used speed and momentum to make her a genuine match in battle with the much more imposing Hemsworth.

"I thought after a few weeks with a stunt guy, I was like, 'Oh I got this' – in my tennies," said Chastain. "The last week I started training in the shoes that I wear [on screen], which have lifts in them. About four-and-a-half inches. They look like flats, but inside it's a heel. And that was shocking. All of a sudden, I put the boots on and was like 'Wow, this is really different.' "

Theron remembers a moment where she got slightly irked with director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan when he was trying to help choreograph quick movements in her heavy, awkward garb. "And I was, like, 'Do you know what I'm wearing? You lost me at fast. Nothing's going to be fast about this.' "

But she was chastened when she saw Chastain's can-do spirit as she prepped for a big stunt fall. "As I'm bitching and moaning about turning in the scene, I'm looking up at Jessica who's like ready to jump. She's like up there, she's got like barely a harness on. There's no mat. I'm just like, 'Oh my God, I need to shut up. Pull it together.' "

Nicolas-Troyan says Theron was more of A trouper than she admits, citing the very same fight sequence she thought she couldn't handle. "Like she said, she can't turn, but that's half the truth. Because what you have to realize is like, a lot of those shots, she is actually doing it. The amount of shots in that sequence that are performed by the stunt double are minimal. Every time you see all those [shots], she does it in that dress. That was amazing."

"I had four crew members holding me up, but I did it myself, guys!" agreed Theron triumphantly. "I was like, 'Can I get somebody to just hold me right here?' There was like five guys surrounding me. I was just holding on to them. They're like, 'We can't get Chris in the frame.' I was like, 'I don't care. I can do it now. Let's do this.' "

Summary: The Huntsman stars admit their glamorous costumes didn't allow for much movement when it came to stunt scenes


Willem Dafoe is joining the good guys in Justice League.

The movie began production last week with Zack Snyder, fresh off of the worldwide tour promoting Batman v Superman, in the director’s chair.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: 'BATMAN V. SUPERMAN,' 'STAR WARS,' AND HOLLYWOOD'S NEW OBSESSION WITH THE 'REQUEL'

Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), the Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) are the super-powered characters who must team up to combat a threat beyond each member's capabilities. (Warner Bros. is playing it coy about whether the villain is classic DC bad guy Darkseid, who was hinted at in BvS.)

Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay for Justice League, which will be released in two parts by Warner Bros. Justice League: Part One will hit theaters on Nov. 17, 2017, while Part Two is slated for release on June 14, 2019.

In early March, the production added J.K. Simmons to the cast as the Gotham City Police Commissioner Gordon.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: THE COMIC BOOK ORIGINS OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE

Dafoe, who starred as the villainous Marvel character Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies, is playing a good guy in a role that will see him appear in both parts of the JL movies. Details of his character, however, are being kept under lock and key.

Charles Roven, Snyder and Deborah Snyder are producing Justice League.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: 'JUSTICE LEAGUE' ADDS jk SIMMONS AS COMMISSIONER GORDON

Dafoe memorably appeared in the Keanu Reeves action movie John Wick and recently wrapped shooting Legendary’s fantasy The Great Wall with Matt Damon.

He is repped by CAA and Circle of Confusion.

Summary: He'll go from Marvel villain to DC good guy, although the details of his new character are being kept under lock and key.


You have ambitious plans for your future. You have almost achieved them, but one item stands in your way – a test. Whether it is the GRE, the SAT, or a professional certification exam, it is all too easy to become lost in worry about that one test that seems to bar your path to a better life. It is perfectly normal to be at least a little bit worried about an exam, and there are a number of resources that can help you cope with your test-day anxiety. But what about the weeks and months prior to your exam? How can you maintain your focus while mitigating unnecessary obsessing?

“Knowledge is power,” may be a trite statement, but it is also true. Humans have masterful imaginations, and we excel at filling the dark corners of our world with monsters. When we are faced with an unknown exam, for example, we imagine impossible odds. In this case, knowledge is the best cure for uncertainty.

If you suffer from test anxiety, first investigate the specifics of the exam. The more you familiarize yourself with the challenges you will face, the more you can focus on strategies that will help you do your best. Examine all the details of the actual test – where is the exam center? What time does the test start? What materials will you need? Answering these questions in advance can reduce the uncertainty surrounding the exam. More importantly, it can limit your anxiety over common fears like getting lost on the morning of the test.

When I was seven, I joined the baseball team at my elementary school. But even when my father threw the slowest pitch possible, I struck out. Each trip to bat became more and more stressful, but I finally broke this pattern after my mother told me to imagine walking up to the plate, and to imagine the feel of the bat hitting the ball, and to practice that sensation in my mind again and again. While I did not go on to realize my dream of starting for the Seattle Mariners, I did learn a lesson about the power of imagination.

As cliche as it may sound, visualization works because it creates an alternate narrative. When you imagine driving to the exam center, parking your car, and sitting for your exam, you are creating a story that you will live out. Avoid imagining a vague narrative, like “I will do great!” Instead, concentrate on the emotions you want your future self to experience: your determination as you set out for the test, your tension as you first arrive at the center, your satisfaction as you successfully answer one question after another, and your relief when you are done. Practice with low-stakes scenarios this summer (such as an intramural sporting event), and by the time your exam arrives, you will be living a story that you have already written.

Identify the parts of the test that you are most worried about, and develop a plan to address each area before your exam day. “I will study diligently,” does not count as a plan. Divide the material that you must master into sections, and schedule a time to review it piece-by-piece. This can be difficult, if only because you will be forced to confront the task before you. However, the simple act of creating a plan can do wonders. Setting meaningful goals equips you with achievements to check off as you approach your test date. Instead of wondering how you will ever scale that towering mountain, you can point to a trail that, while challenging, is manageable with a bit of patience and persistence.

Psychologists are now recognizing procrastination as a fear-based response, rather than one rooted in laziness. That fear is often not just of failure, but of being exposed as a fraud. After all, if you do not fully engage with a challenge, your failure is not entirely your fault – or so the logic goes. The mind can be an irrational beast, since procrastination is an almost certain way to guarantee the thing you fear most. Psychology is beyond the scope of this article, but I have found that it helps my own struggles with procrastination when I understand my motivations. When I delay a difficult writing project, it is not that I am lazy. Instead, I am afraid that what I will write will be terrible. The key to ensuring a great product, of course, is to start early and to revise, just as the way to earn a great test result is to prepare well in advance.

Above all, remember to maintain perspective. Even if the worst case scenario somehow occurs, you will survive, and you will find a path forward. Make a plan, stick to it, and think positive thoughts. Good luck!

Brian Witte is a professional SAT tutor with Varsity Tutors. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington and holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.

Summary: Make a plan for yourself


Despite concerns that Android is susceptible to some scary security issues, Google argues its mobile operating system has never been better.

The company on Tuesday released its Android Security 2015 Annual Report, which shows that as long as users were downloading apps from the company’s Google Play marketplace, they were unlikely to have faced much trouble. In fact, Google’s GOOGL report shows that “potentially harmful apps,” or PHAs, “were installed on fewer than 0.15% of devices that only get apps from Google Play.”

Google broke down its findings by the potentially harmful application. The company said that installs of apps that collected data were down more than 40% to 0.08% of all Google Play downloads. Spyware app installs decreased by 60% to 0.02% of installs, and “hostile downloaders,” which download malicious apps on a user’s device without their permission, were down 50% to 0.01% of installs.

“We protected users from malware and other PHAs, checking over 6 billion installed applications per day,” Android Security lead engineer Adrian Ludwig said in a statement. “We protected users from network-based and on-device threats by scanning 400 million devices per day. And we protected hundreds of millions of Chrome users on Android from unsafe websites with Safe Browsing.”

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Google’s report comes as users again question how safe their Android devices are in light of a report last month that found a new hack affecting Android devices.

Israel-based security firm NorthBit reported that it had discovered a vulnerability that allows a hacker to exploit the Android code library known as “Stagefright” that processes several media formats. While the issue was discovered last year, NorthBit claims it could affect as many as 275 million Android devices.

The report followed last year’s Stagefright trouble, where hackers could exploit a bug in Android by sending users a malicious MMS message. Soon after, the Android phone could be accessed to comb through a user’s data, photos, camera, and other data. What’s worse, users wouldn’t even know their handset had been compromised.

While Google fixed the bug—as well as the one NorthBit announced earlier this year—getting updates to users has always been difficult. Google first needs to release the patch to vendors, which may or may not pass it on to their customers. The updates then must travel over carrier networks until they’re finally delivered to a device. In some cases, those updates never make their way to affected handsets, through no fault of Google’s own.

For more on Google’s Android security, watch:

There’s also the issue of where a user downloads apps from. While Google operates its own Google Play marketplace, Android users can get apps from any number of third-party application stores. In many cases, those stores feature content Google doesn’t allow, or hasn’t yet allowed, into its store. And in some cases, they contain apps filled with malware.

Indeed, while Google noted that fewer than 0.15% of the Android devices running worldwide were affected by apps downloaded from Google Play, that figure soared to 0.5% of devices with apps from both Google Play and “other sources.” And the threats don’t appear to be getting better.

“In 2015, we saw an increase in the number of PHA install attempts outside of Google Play, and we disrupted several coordinated efforts to install PHAs onto user devices from outside of Google Play,” Ludwig said in a statement.

In one such case, Google took aim at Ghost Push, a family of hostile downloaders that placed malicious apps on a device. The company noted that during the summer last year, Ghost Push represented up to 30% of all app-installation attempts worldwide.

New ‘Stagefright’ Hack Exposes 275 Million Android Phones

“For roughly seven weeks, Ghost Push installation attempts contributed up to 30% of all installation attempts worldwide,” Google wrote in its report. “In total, we found more than 40,000 apps that we categorized into this family and we logged more than 3.5 billion installation attempts for these apps.”

Google added that it investigated the issue, found that four million devices worldwide were infected with Ghost Push, and has since remedied the issue and reduced the number of infected devices by 90%.

Ludwig also touched on Google’s bug-bounty program, which aims at allowing hackers to find flaws in Android and tell Google about them. Google pays the bounty hunters for the bugs they find based on the severity of the bugs. While that program started in June, Ludwig said that Google has already fixed more than 100 vulnerabilities and paid out $200,000 to researchers. Google is continuing its bug bounty program in 2016.

Summary: Chances are, your Android device doesn't have malware.


The major parties should crack down on alcohol consumption through taxing it by volume, adding graphic health warnings and restricting trading hours, Australia’s largest non-profit provider of health and aged care services has said.

St Vincent’s Health Australia, which runs St Vincent’s public hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne, has released an election wishlist designed to decrease alcohol-related illness and injury by 20% by 2025.

It calls for an end to all alcohol advertising on free-to-air TV sporting broadcasts, as well as sponsorship of music events and sporting merchandise.

Related: Sydney lockout: facial trauma cases fall 60% after laws introduced, hospitals say

St Vincent’s called for an increase in the price of alcohol to reduce consumption and related harm, with products taxed on the basis of value of alcohol content.

St Vincent’s wants to develop national guidelines on alcohol outlet density and opening hours, including measures such as banning pubs and clubs serving alcohol after 3am and forcing bottle shops to close at 10pm.

It also called for cigarette-style pictorial health warnings on all products and a study of plain packaging for alcohol.

St Vincent’s chief executive, Toby Hall, told Guardian Australia one in 10 of those who came to its Sydney hospital was there due to alcohol.

“When you look across wider society, 15 people are dying every day due to alcohol-related issues and 430 a day are hospitalised. It’s having a massive impact on society and on the individual,” he said.

According to Hall, fewer Australians consume alcohol on a regular basis than in the past, but 4 million people consume 75% of the total alcohol consumed.

Hall defended restricting trading hours, pointing to a 9% reduction in assaults in New South Wales after liquor stores were required to close at 10pm in 2014. The restrictions accompanied the state’s controversial 1.30am lockout for licensed venues, which was credited with lowering assaults but also accused of dampening Sydney’s nightlife.

Hall said a 10pm closing time for bottle shops was reasonable. “That policy should be nationalised to protect people including women at risk of domestic violence, and the community, to prevent the 4 million people who overindulge in alcohol from accessing at all times.”

Related: Which countries have the worst drinking cultures?

He said a study had found for every 10,000 additional litres of pure alcohol sold at a packaged liquor outlet, the risk of violence experienced in a residential setting increased 26%.

Hall said volumetric taxation would have the biggest impact in the short term, to prevent consumers buying alcohol for as little as $2 for a bottle of wine at bottle shops.

The chief executive of the Australian Hotels Association, Stephen Ferguson, said any alcohol policies should “target individuals or groups that misuse (or risk misusing) alcohol beverages and not the whole population”.

“Liquor licensing laws are about controlling behaviour, and regulators already have all the power they need to limit trading hours if they’re a source of problems. The AHA supports local solutions for local problems so you don’t punish responsible venues and responsible drinkers,” he said.

Ferguson said “there is very little evidence that alcohol taxation increases have any effect on those that misuse alcohol”.

“Rather, such increases generally have the effect of reducing consumption by the vast majority of people who enjoy alcohol beverages on a moderate and responsible basis.”

Hall said in the long term “banning alcohol ads at sporting events is absolutely vital to stop young people getting involved in alcohol to begin with”.

“The Wallabies, Cricket Australia, State of Origin, they are all brands well known by children and directly linked to alcohol. That association that alcohol and sport are synonymous ... cutting that link is vital.”

“If governments pursue our recommendations, I’m confident we’ll not only see significant change, but we will literally save hundreds of lives,” Hall said.

Ferguson said alcohol advertising met community expectations and represented only 1.3% of all ads.

A Coalition spokesman said it had no plans to introduce volumetric taxation and did not support a ban on alcohol sponsorship of music and sports events.

When asked about national guidelines on trading hours, he said: “These are matters for state governments, but we support any state government that takes steps to reduce the level of alcohol-fuelled violence.”

The Greens policy on alcohol includes a tax based on alcohol content and a ban on ads and promotions in sport.

Related: Sydney lockout laws a 'sledgehammer' to night life: Clover Moore

Labor’s alcohol spokesman, Stephen Jones, told Guardian Australia: “We can’t stick our head in the sand when it comes to alcohol. Police report that the majority of domestic violence incidents involve alcohol and it is still the biggest cause of personal injuries, road accidents and an underlying cause for many chronic diseases.”

Jones said Labor was committed to producing a new national alcohol strategy. “We believe we need to do more to tackle the harms associated with alcohol in conjunction with the states and territories and we will look closely at the report from St Vincent’s Health Australia.”

Summary: Health and aged-care services provider releases election wishlist, including a ban on alcohol ads on free-to-air sporting broadcasts and at music events


The British government has found a way to deal with its embarrassing Boaty McBoatface conundrum.

In case you missed this glorious example of democracy gone awry, the U.K.’s National Environmental Research Council is building a new polar research vessel, and it asked the public to name it through an online poll.

The British public overwhelmingly opted for Boaty McBoatface, to which the government said something along the lines of “Er, no.”

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On Friday, the government said the £200 million ($254 million) ship, which will set sail in 2019, would instead be named the Royal Research Ship (RRS) Sir David Attenborough, after the naturalist and broadcaster whose dulcet tones have graced many documentaries about the natural world (and whose 90th birthday is on Sunday).

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the name “captures the ship’s scientific mission and celebrates the broadcaster’s contribution to natural science.”

But this isn’t an outright rejection of Boaty McBoatface—that first half of that name will adorn one of the remotely-operated submarine vehicles on the RRS Sir David Attenborough, which will help the crew collect samples from the Arctic and Antarctic depths.

“The ship has captured the imaginations of millions, which is why we’re ensuring that the Boaty name lives on through the sub-sea vehicle that will support the research crew, and the polar science education program that will bring their work to life,” said science minister Jo Johnson in a statement.

Summary: The U.K.'s new polar research vessel will be named after David Attenborough, and one of its sample-gathering vehicles will be called Boaty.