Lithium-ion batteries are having a moment. After becoming the de facto battery in laptops and cell phones over the years, they’re now starting to power electric cars (like those made by Tesla) and plug into the power grid.

But lithium-ion batteries aren’t the only battery type in town. Some brand new battery varieties could actually be more promising than lithium-ion when it comes to storing energy generated by solar panels or used to power remote villages in Africa, India, and Asia.

Many of these new battery types are highly experimental in nature and are just coming out of university and corporate labs. But one of these new batteries isn’t a pipe dream, and it has quietly been sold to major telecom companies, utilities, and governments across the developing world over the last five years.

This new battery, which unusually stores electricity through a combination of metal and air, is being produced by a startup called Fluidic Energy, based in Scottsdale, Arizona. While many of Fluidic Energy’s battery startup competitors have hit speed bumps and faltered over the years, Fluidic Energy has been growing its customer list under the radar.

The company has now deployed 75,000 batteries at 1,200 different sites across the world, which is far more than many of its competitors. Last year, the company scored an important distribution partner (and investor) in construction and mining gear giant Caterpillar CAT . Over the last decade, Fluidic Energy has managed to raise $200 million in funding to grow its business.

The company’s progress—little discussed publicly until now—is a big deal and a major milestone for the new types of batteries that can store energy at a low cost for the power grid or be paired with solar panels to house energy at night. Lithium-ion batteries are great at delivering energy for short bursts of time, but they are less well-suited for discharging energy for many hours of duration. New types of batteries could help unlock clean energy and power off-grid villages like never before.

If Fluidic Energy is able to sell more batteries to more customers, it could grab a major piece of these potentially massive new markets that are emerging for batteries. Companies across sectors, both big and small, are racing to compete in these new industries, including Tesla TSLA , LG, Panasonic, Johnson Controls JCI , and others. Will Fluidic Energy be the rare battery manufacturing startup that actually breaks out and makes it big?

One part metal, one part air

Researchers the world over have long coveted the metal air battery. A battery is usually made up of an anode on one side, a cathode on the other, and an electrolyte in between. For a lithium-ion battery, lithium ions moves from the anode to the cathode (and back) through the electrolyte during charging and discharging.

The idea behind a metal air battery is to use air—which is free, lightweight, and widely available—for the cathode part of the battery. Metal air batteries basically suck in the freely-available air and can ditch the heavy casing that would normally hold the anode material inside the battery. Using air basically makes these batteries fundamentally lighter and cheaper.

Fluidic Energy makes a specific type of metal air battery called a zinc-air battery. Zinc, which is abundant and low cost, is the key material that sits in the electrolyte of their battery and moves onto the anode during charging and discharging.

“Fundamentally zinc is the lowest cost winner for energy storage,” says Fluidic Energy’s CEO Steve Scharnhorst during an interview with Fortune in San Francisco last month. Zinc has been used in batteries for years (like button batteries for hearing aids), but many of these zinc batteries haven’t been able to be recharged. Once the energy stored in them is used up, they’re kaput.

That was one of the key breakthroughs that Fluidic Energy’s early team worked on: making a zinc battery that can be recharged. It all started back in 2004 and 2005 when Chuck Ensign and partner Mike Pierce, longtime investors and entrepreneurs, decided to take a hard look at emerging ways to store energy.

Around that time, Ensign had been working with True North Partners, a private equity firm co-founded by John Walton, the son of the founder of Walmart WMT . True North Partners invested early in solar panel giant First Solar FSLR and wind materials company TPI Composites.

After Walton passed away suddenly in a tragic airplane accident in the summer of 2015, Ensign formed TN2 (True North Two) with a similar strategy to focus on difficult science-based technology, including tackling world energy challenges. Though, without access to the Walton funding, TN2 had a smaller purse to work with.

Few have likely heard of TN2 and its partners. They have no website and rarely give interviews. Ensign describes the firm in an interview with Fortune only as an investment vehicle to fund promising startups. But if Fluidic Energy scores it big, TN2 could be one of the biggest winners. The firm is the largest shareholder and has invested in almost every round that Fluidic Energy has raised.

A decade ago, under TN2, Ensign started researching energy storage long before many venture capitalists or many large corporations were eying the sector. His interest led him to Arizona State University and the labs of ASU Professor Cody Friesen, who was working on designs for a rechargeable metal air battery.

Over the next few years, Friesen, Ensign, and a handful of PhDs worked on developing a zinc-air battery that would be reliable, long-lasting, low cost, and attractive to customers in the developing world. Ensign says along the way the team changed technical strategies a few times, but they always focused on building a product that a customer would want to buy.

The U.S. government also played a helpful role in these early years. In 2009, the Department of Energy launched its ARPA-E program, which gives small grants ($1 million or so) to early stage, high-risk startups looking to achieve “moonshots” (an industry term for very difficult goals) in energy. At the time, Fluidic Energy was one of those lab startups struggling to figure out how to get its battery to achieve ambitious milestones.

Today, Fluidic Energy is one of the poster children of the ARPA-E program. Every year at the annual ARPA-E Summit in February in Washington D.C., where the projects that the ARPA-E progam has funded show off their progress, Fluidic Energy is often highlighted as what the ARPA-E program can achieve. It’s rare that the ARPA-E Program’s moonshots actually reach a commercial stage like Fluidic Energy has.

Fluidic Energy’s market strategy, like its chemistry, has been unusual. Ensign says the company wanted to find a beachhead or an early market where the company could initially test out its technology and find some core customers before expanding more broadly.

That beachhead turned out to be telecom in the developing world. Fluidic Energy has sold its batteries to close to a dozen major telecom companies in Indonesia, Central America, and Africa.

These telcos have many cell phone customers living in remote, rural areas far from a reliable power grid. The telcos need to keep cellular signals up and running for these customers by using their base stations, but without relying on a reliable grid to power their network gear.

Often times, these off-grid—or “weak grid” as Fluidic Energy’s CEO Scharnhorst calls them—base stations use diesel generators for power or for backup power. But the problem with diesel generators is that they require a lot of expensive and dirty fuel to run. That fuel can get exorbitantly expensive the more remote the location is, like on an island off the coast of Indonesia.

Fluidic Energy says it can cost-effectively replace diesel generators in these types of markets. While Scharnhorst is quiet on the exact cost of Fluidic Energy’s batteries, he said they’re currently competitive with lead acid batteries, which are one of the lowest cost battery options available for the power grid. Lead acid batteries (the kind that are used in traditional gas-powered cars) are much cheaper than lithium-ion batteries.

Beyond telecom, Fluidic Energy is selling its batteries to utilities and governments in developing countries to be paired with clean energy, like solar panels, and to provide power for off-grid villages. In these areas, Fluidic Energy’s batteries are providing energy for people that earn less than $5 a day and likely wouldn’t have access to the power grid for another ten years, says Scharnhorst. In that way, “it’s a good social feeling to bring power to these people,” he adds.

Providing energy storage for these off-grid villages could be a huge opportunity for Fluidic. A few weeks ago, the company announced that its batteries will be used in a project to bring power to 400,000 people in rural areas of Madagascar while working with the government of Madagascar.

Last year, Indonesia’s state-owned utility, called PLN, announced that it will use Fluidic Energy batteries to bring power to 500 remote villages in the country. Working with Caterpillar, the batteries will be paired with solar panels and used to create and store electricity for 325,000 households, encompassing 1.7 million people. It’s one of the largest off-grid clean energy microgrid projects under development in the world.

For a battery startup, Fluidic Energy has come a long way. Still, the company is small, new, and young compared to some of the major global battery players out there looking to sell into the same markets.

Asian giants like LG, Samsung, and Panasonic have spent decades pushing down the costs of lithium-ion batteries and making them ultra reliable. Innovators like Tesla are now packaging up these lithium-ion batteries and selling them to utilities and other companies to be paired with solar panels and used on the power grid. Last year, Tesla launched its grid battery business, which uses similar batteries to the ones powering its electric cars.

Industry watchers debate if lithium-ion batteries will eventually become cheap enough to completely undercut the novel battery makers like Fluidic Energy. If lithium-ion battery prices plummet—like silicon solar panels have over the years—they could be cheap enough that very few or no new battery chemistries could cost effectively compete. If that happens, many of the battery manufacturing startups will struggle, potentially including Ambri, Aquion Energy, and even Fluidic Energy.

Fluidic Energy is also competing against low-cost, lead-acid batteries, which some of its customers, like telcos, are already using. But Fluidic’s Scharnhorst notes that its batteries can be lower cost than lead-acid and still have other features like integrated smart software, a longer life, and more reliability.

Competing with major battery conglomerates—both lithium-ion makers and lead-acid firms—will take a lot of cash. Fluidic Energy has a post-money valuation of just $200 million (after its recent raise), according to the company, which is tiny in comparison to the Asian giants.

But Fluidic Energy has a head start when it comes to metal air battery tech. Though, we’ll have to see if that’s enough. As both Scharnhorst and Ensign concur, materials science innovations can be extremely difficult for startups to pull off.

However, for all the startups that have failed in energy tech, there are a few outliers that have wildly succeeded beyond expectations. Years ago, SunPower SPWR founder Dick Swanson beat all odds when he helped the solar panel maker eventually succeed. The same went for First Solar, True North Partners helped break out. Tesla is another, and even though it isn’t yet profitable, it has passed major hurdles that would have felled most others.

Will Fluidic Energy rise to the ranks of solar panel giants SunPower and First Solar, or even Tesla? That remains to be seen. But if more and more customers across the world are willing to buy its batteries, it just might have a chance.

Summary: Is this brand new type of battery the key to clean energy and off-grid electricity?


By Danielle Garlock and Brittany King

05/25/2016 AT 03:30 PM EDT

is physically gone, he is still very much emotionally with his wife,

host delivered a heartfelt speech for her late husband on Tuesday while accepting received a Gracie award for outstanding on-air talent.

Of their two children, Gifford said, "They are the greatest expression of the love that I shared for 29 years with the greatest man I've ever known, my husband Frank. Thanks. This is for you, honey. You make me laugh. God bless you all."

The Giffords were married for 29 years before Frank

in August at age 84.

"I'm a grateful girl tonight," Kathie Lee, 62, told PEOPLE at the event. "Grateful for everybody that helped me along the way. You never do these things alone. And grateful my son and daughter could be here with me tonight."

"It's been almost 10 months," she said. "We're doing great. Our faith is very deep and very strong. We know where Frank is, and we know where we're going to be with him one day."

Summary: The Giffords were married for 29 years before Frank died of natural causes in August at age 84


Welsh swimmer Chloe Tutton's "meteoric rise" has been a boost for British swimming, says Sharron Davies.

Tutton won European bronze in the 100m breaststroke on 18 May after setting a national record for the 200m in April.

Davies, an Olympic silver medallist in 1980, says the 19-year-old "came out of nowhere" but does not expect her to win a medal at Rio 2016.

"We needed it because British women's breaststroke has not been amazing," said the 53-year-old Briton.

Tutton shaved three seconds off her personal best when she broke the British record in Glasgow - a performance that led to selection for the GB team going to this summer's Olympics in Brazil.

Her bronze medal-winning performance at the European Championships in London was followed by sixth place in the 200m final.

After that race Tutton vowed to improve before the Games, which start on 5 August.

"It's an amazing experience and I think I can learn a lot," she said.

"So that's what I'll do - I'll go away and I'll see what I can improve on and hopefully come back stronger."

Davies, runner-up in the 400m medley in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, added: "I don't think we're expecting Chloe to go there to win medals.

"She could probably make a final, which I think would be her target - certainly a semi final."

Sign up to My Sport to follow swimming news and reports on the BBC app.

Summary: Sharron Davies praises Welsh swimmer Chloe Tutton's emergence as a boost for Britain, but does not expect a medal in Rio.


While there’s moonlight and love and romance, diamonds will always be special – as the men who founded the great jewellery houses knew

From Marilyn Monroe’s fuchsia-and-diamond-clad performance in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to Audrey Hepburn staring doe-eyed at gems in Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961, pop culture has buyers believing that dangling a diamond in front of a woman makes her yours forever.

Behind the beginnings of some of the world’s most coveted jewellery powerhouses were men: Harry Winston, Charles Lewis Tiffany, Alfred Van Cleef and Salomon Arpels.

A lot is known about their jewellery and the women who wore it, but the determination, innovatiion and originality of these entrepreneurs is not always honoured as it should be.

The jewellery house responsible for the little blue box packaging that has become as iconic as its engagement rings, Tiffany & Co, has a story that began in 1837.

Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B Young opened the doors to their stationery and fancy goods emporium in Lower Manhattan. In 1853, with Charles at the helm, the company turned its talents to jewellery.

But they didn’t stop at trinkets. Tiffany & Co has a rich history, which includes designing swords for the Union Army in 1862; the 1902 redesign of the Medal of Honor for the US Navy; and in 1956 Tiffany collaborated with Andy Warhol to create a collection of Christmas cards.

In 1884, Greek jeweller Sotirios Boulgaris opened a shop on Via Sistina in Rome. This was the second shop Boulgaris, the founder of Bulgari, ever opened. His first venture into jewellery was a store in his home town of Paramythia, Greece, which can still be seen today.

“At the age of 12, eagle-eyed jeweller’s son Harry Winston spotted a two-carat emerald in a pawn shop. He snapped it up for 25 cents and sold it for $800”

Along with his sons, Costantino and Giorgio, Sotiros built up a family empire in jewellery and luxury goods which is as strong today as it has ever been. Bulgari’s designs do not shy away from being bold, the strong, architectural lines include interlocking steel and link motifs.

In contrast to Bulgari are the delicate flower and fairy designs of Van Cleef & Arpels which have been adored for more than a century by royalty and Hollywood royalty alike.

The story began in 1896, when Alfred Van Cleef and his uncle Salomon Arpels founded the jewellery giant. Princess Grace and Elizabeth Taylor were fans, while one of the company’s most important commissions was to design the coronation crown for Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran in 1967.

Harry Winston, earned the title "Jeweller to the Stars", as he was the first to loan diamonds to an actress for the Academy Awards. In 1943, Best Actress nominee Jennifer Jones graced the red carpet in Winston’s diamonds.

Since then, a trend for award season has been to adorn female actors with the best and the brightest diamonds the jewellery world has to offer.

Legend has it that in 1908 at the age of 12, eagle-eyed jeweller’s son Harry Winston spotted a two-carat emerald in a pawn shop. He snapped it up for 25 cents and in just two days turned a handsome profit by selling it for $800.

For something special for a loved one, check out Fellows’ Antique & Modern Jewellery auction on 11 February 2016 which includes diamonds by Cartier, as well as pieces by Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co and more.

Search more than 28,000 pieces of jewellery at barnebys.co.uk

Summary: Learn about the amazing men who founded the great jewellery house we still know and love today


Christina Aguilera looks better than ever! The recently slimmed down star showed off her sexy body on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' on Sept. 18 and now a new report is spilling her stay-slim diet! See the exact foods she eats below!

Christina Aguilera is "as happy as can be, as fit as can be and as full of life as can be. She looks amazing," The Voice producer Mark Burnett told

at a Sept. 20 event. The magazine is giving a glimpse into Christina's diet - and you'll be shocked at what she is and isn't eating and drinking!

Life & Style is breaking down Christina's balanced diet. In addition to limiting alcohol, Christina now avoids unhealthy favorites like Nate 'n Al's restaurant, a place with everything from chocolate chip pancakes to corned beef.

For breakfast, Christina starts with blueberries, half an avocado and turkey bacon, an ideal combo of healthy fats and protein.

For a snack, she relies on celery with almond butter. For lunch she goes lean, eating chicken breast over a veggie-filled salad. No creamy dressings!

Christina also loves shrimp cocktail as a healthy snack. For dinner, she loves chicken or fish curry and splurges with a glass of wine!

"Christina is refreshed and rejuvenated this season. She's really looking after herself and seems genuinely happy inside - and it shows, " a Voice insider told Life & Style.

Summary: After Christina Aguilera's dramatic weight lo , we're now learning exactly how the star singer dropped the lb


Peel, roughly chop and boil 500g of potatoes in deep, lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender enough to mash. Remove the core from 250g of spring cabbage, then roughly chop the leaves and wash them. Cook the cabbage in a saucepan with a little boiling water then drain thoroughly.

Slice 3 spring onions finely, discarding any tough dark green leaves as you go. Chop 8 tbsp of herbs. I used dill, mint, tarragon and parsley – but it will depend what you have around. Wash a couple of handfuls of watercress, shake them dry and set aside.

Drain the potatoes thoroughly, add 40g of butter then mash them using a food mixer fitted with a flat paddle, or with a potato masher. Fold the drained spring cabbage, well drained of any liquid, and the herbs into the potato together with a little ground black pepper.

Roll the mixture into 9 balls or thick patties, using a little flour on your hands if necessary. Warm a thin layer of olive oil and a little butter in a shallow, nonstick pan over a moderate heat, then lower in the patties, letting them cook for 5 or 6 minutes until pale gold and lightly crisp on the underside. Turn each over and brown the other side.

Divide the watercress among 3 plates then add the sizzling patties. Serves 2-3.

Traditionally, bubble and squeak was a way to use up leftover vegetables from the Sunday roast, but I think it is worth making from scratch, with freshly mashed potatoes and crisp spring greens. Drain the potatoes thoroughly, to avoid a wet mash. Wring the greens lightly in your fist – this is important - to squeeze out any excess water.

I like this made with pale green early summer cabbage, but also try cavolo nero or tenderstem broccoli. The mixture of herbs is up to you. Parsley is a must, but any soft-stemmed herbs can be used. Avoid thyme, sage and rosemary here and go for the tender herbs such as tarragon, mint, fennel fronds and dill.

Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater

Summary: A classic vegetarian dish given a seasonal twist with a plethora of spring herbs. By Nigel Slater


7:18 AM PT -- TMZ Sports spoke with Early's mother who said her son "was in good spirits." New York Knicks guard Cleanthony Early was shot in the leg during a robbery just after leaving a Queens strip club ... and his assailants made off with a gold necklace ... and the gold caps on his teeth.

According to the NYPD, Early was leaving CityScapes Gentleman's Club early Wednesday morning in an Uber when the car was boxed in by three other vehicles. Cops say a group of men approached Early and robbed him, shooting him once in the knee for good measure.

Police say Early called 911 and was taken to a nearby hospital. He's in stable condition.

Just last week, another New York Knicks player, Derrick Williams, was the target of of thieves ... who allegedly made off with over $600,000 in jewelry.

Early is in his second season with the Knicks. He's appeared in just 10 games this season.

Summary: 7:18 AM PT -- TMZ Sports spoke with Early's mother who said her son "was in good spirits." New York Knicks guard Cleanthony Early was shot in the leg…


With a sea of device accessories designed by other people, one company, Caseable, is turning the tables and letting you be the designer.

The company, which has offices in Brooklyn and Berlin, has its eye on urban consumers who like to customize their devices. To meet their desire, Caseable offers easy tools on its website to let customers create their own cases for Apple, Samsung and Kindle devices, among others. The cases incorporate durable recycled products wherever possible; iPhone cases, for instance, are made entirely from recycled plastic bottles.

Users can upload their graphics or photos, edit them and add text. To offer ideas to those who might need a little creative inspiration, Caseable has a gallery dedicated to user submissions, which include a lot of selfies and vacation photos, but also a few smart designs.

The website also includes a gallery of ready-to-use designs from featured artists. The series, a collaborative effort between Caseable and graphic artists around the world, includes some striking urban artwork — this is definitely not Shutterfly. Artists receive about 10 percent of net sales, according to Caseable.

To create a case for my iPhone 5, I submitted a high-resolution image of Batman (naturally, because I’m a nerd). About a week later, my handmade case arrived in the mail. Caseable says the typical delivery time “from click to door” is less than 12 days.

The case was sturdy, although a little stiff, as you might expect of a product made from recycled plastic. The design looked great, and it has not faded or scratched in the couple of weeks that I’ve used it.

Caseable offers a fun way to personalize your devices and show off your artistic side. At $35 for an iPhone case, the price is low enough that I can afford to get a Superman case to go with the Dark Knight.

Summary: A start-up, Caseable, offers easy tools on its website that let customers create cases for devices from Apple, Samsung and others.


Meet the Twins Unlocking the Secrets of Space The Kelly twins–one in orbit and one on Earth–may help NASA unlock the secret of long-term space travel

America’s Uneasy Path Abroad in 2015

The U.S. is still the world’s leading economy, but its geopolitical clout isn’t what it used to be

In a dismal political year, these Americans went far beyond the call of duty

Amy Schumer: Class Clown of 2015

The comedian has found a devoted audience by sending up sexism–including her own

After more than 50 years, the U.S. looks to a future 90 miles away

After the Senate report, would the U.S. torture again?

Where 2015’s heroes will duke it out and embark on journeys

How to Make Your Resolution Stick

One goal, 365 days. Science says you’ve got this

Creator of the modern baseball card

The next frontier for lgbt rights is equal treatment at home, work and in the public square

Martin Dempsey must decide whether to send U.S. ground troops to Iraq for a third war

In cyberwar, information is a weapon–and our culture is the battlefield

No Company Is Immune to a Hack Like Sony’s

Why no company is immune

Europe Plays Out Its Anxieties

Two great thinkers see danger in AI. Here’s how to make it safe.

How Bremmer Sees the World

How We’ll Pay in 2015

Rebecca Minkoff’s Digital Retail Retrofit

Fashion boutiques are leading the charge to merge connected technology with real-world retail outlets

The latest updates from some of music’s biggest names

Edibles are throwing a wrench in the legal-weed movement

From kale hybrids to ancient wine, here’s what’s trending for 2015

The world cup is the most important title in soccer–and the only big one Abby Wambach has never won. 2015 may be the last chance for one of the game’s all-time greats

The New Rules of Culture

Forget global warming–and get ready for global weirding

News Quiz: 2015’s Major Events

Practice your punditry in 10 questions

What to be afraid of–and what to be extremely afraid of–in 2015

The New Rules of Power

Lee Daniels and Danny Strong—the team behind The Butler—launch a Shakespearean hip-hop drama for prime-time TV

Meet Larry Wilmore, Your New Fake News Host

Comedy Central’s new guy has a few tricks up his sleeve

He’s been out of politics for nearly a decade, but he thinks he knows how to fix the country

Hillary Clinton, Up, Up and Away

Hillary Clinton prepares a 2016 campaign on promises of upward mobility for the middle class

From Obamacare to religious freedom, several charged issues will make their way back to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. By the time the term ends this summer, we could have a definitive ruling on whether Chief Justice John Roberts’ court is the conservative juggernaut many believe it to be.

Top destinations for travelers of every kind–from art enthusiasts to history buffs

A massive Middle Eastern desalination plant could show how to quench a crowded planet’s growing thirst

Can a Risqué Novel Go Mainstream?

Sorry, George, there’s a new royal in town

Will Virtual Reality Finally Go Mainstream?

The lone hope of an otherwise lost season (ask Astros fans) comes from new prospects. Here’s who’s due to emerge in 2015.

Medicine Is About to Get Personal

How can Americans get better health care for less money? There’s a quiet experiment going on among primary-care physicians, and the results are intriguing

Silicon Valley’s top investors predict a big year for bitcoin, extruded gastronomy and me

Drone Country: See America From Above

Affordable drones are giving us a new—perhaps temporary—vantage on the world

Moments from the past you’re sure to hear about in the future

Summary: Meet the Twins Unlocking the Secrets of Space The Kelly twins--one in orbit and one on Earth--may help NASA unlock the secret of long-term space…


“It’s still early and details are still emerging and right now this just hurts,” John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, said.

Because his show aired Sunday night, Oliver was the first late-night host to address the Orlando mass shooting on his show, and he delivered uncharacteristically somber opening remarks. He said “the worst thing is, this pain is so familiar. In Paris last November, terrorists seemed to target places that symbolize everything that is wonderful about France — culture, music, restaurants. And in Orlando early this morning a gunman attacked a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world. And for the record, I will happily embrace a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world as the ultimate symbol of what is truly wonderful about America.”

Oliver also admitted, “It’s hard to even know what to do in the wake of an event like this.”

He explained that the comedy show would proceed with “jarringly inappropriate jangly music,” and he explained why: ” …on a day when some dipshit terrorist wants us to focus on one man’s act of brutality and hatred, it might be worth seeing this video, which was posted to Twitter today.”

Oliver then showed a clip of hundreds of people lined up outside a blood bank in Orlando to donate blood to the victims of the gay nightclub shooting in which 50 died and 53 were killed.

“It shows hundreds and hundreds of people this morning lining up around the block in Florida waiting to donate blood,” said Oliver. “And it kind of reminds you that that terrorist dipshit is vastly outnumbered.”

Oliver then proceeded with tackling America’s retirement crisis.“I know that sounds boring,” Oliver said, without a hint of irony. “But as a favor to your future self, it’s worth watching for 20 minutes. Because you could easily make small mistakes that end up costing you down the line.”

READ: HBO’s John Oliver Gleefully Skewers Trump University’s Salesmanship

To the segment of the population lucky enough to be able to afford to put money aside for their golden years, the fake anchorman’s advice was threefold: be extremely leery of who is helping invest, watch out for hidden fees and actively managed retirement funds may, in all likelihood, be complete hogwash.

His granular description of Excel spreadsheets, hidden percentage points and broker miscalculations were no doubt intended to underscore how needlessly complicated the voodoo economics of our country’s retirement financials can be. But the case study ultimately slowed the show’s comedic momentum to a crawl. Given the tragedy that preceded the show just hours earlier, perhaps the lack of humor was understandable.

Chris Lee is a former staff writer for Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and The Daily Beast. He covers entertainment, culture and business in Los Angeles.

Summary: The HBO comedian was uncharacteristically somber.


Shares of SolarCity scty , the nation’s largest solar panel installer, tanked by over 35% after New York trading hours yesterday, following a weak earnings report of missed forecasts and downward adjustments on future sales.

“We are not happy with these results, and recognize our need to revamp our guidance methodology to avoid any potential shortfalls going forward,” SolarCity, where SpaceX’s Elon Musk serves as chairman, said in its earnings report.

“The primary focus of the company is on cash generation, with growth our secondary focus,” CEO Lyndon Rive said in the letter. He reiterated plans to become cash flow positive by the end of the year, potentially by slashing growth.

During the earnings report, the company attributed its missed annual forecast to delayed commercial projects and its disappointing fourth quarter results to policy changes in Nevada that made solar panels less attractive to consumers; the company shuttered its business in the state.

“They could grow faster if they chose to,” Pavel Molchanov, an analyst with Raymond James Financial, told Bloomberg on Tuesday. “Part of their goal is to get to positive cash flow by the end of the year. There’s a trade-off; they could push to do growth at any price, or take their foot off the accelerator.”

In the end, SolarCity needs to prove that the trade-off will have a positive effect on its balance sheet, analysts say.

“The growth they were hitting was phenomenal. Now that the growth is questioned, if not questionable, at an accelerated pace, you need to show me cash generation,” Gordon Johnson, an analyst at Axion Capital Management, said to Bloomberg.

At 10:20 a.m. ET, shares of SolarCity were trading at $19.17, down 27% on the day.

Summary: Shares of Elon Musk's Solar City tanked by 35% after the bell yesterday.


Addressing the elite of New York City's interior construction industry at an awards breakfast earlier this year, Dennis M. Cahill, the publisher of Interiors magazine, made a little joke that hit painfully close to home. He said he would understand if anyone had to leave early to talk with a lawyer about indictments or subpoenas.

A long-running investigation into allegations of bid-rigging and kickbacks in New York's huge but largely hidden office construction business has been the subject of dark humor, feverish rumors and legal maneuvering for much of the 1990's. But now it is drawing to a close, with the Manhattan District Attorney's office negotiating plea deals with officials from as many as six companies.

The plea arrangements could come within the next few weeks, said lawyers involved in the negotiations. And if those talks fall apart, the lawyers and industry executives say, prosecutors are expected to bring charges of tax evasion, money laundering and bid-rigging against more than a dozen executives. Eventually, the charges are expected to involve architects, real estate brokers and corporate managers, as well as lighting and furniture suppliers.

''This is going to be a steamroller over the industry, and it'll cause a major restructuring,'' said Thomas D. Thacher 2d, president of Thacher Associates, a corporate investigations firm, who has monitored the industry for 15 years. ''Every single corporation that renovated its space or relocated in the past decade could well be affected by what will come out of this.''

Investigators say they believe a group of construction executives rigged the bidding on almost all the major corporate renovation and relocation jobs in the 1990's in exchange for millions of dollars in payoffs and kickbacks from contractors. As a result, investigators say, major corporations were overcharged by as much as 20 percent for office construction.

The contractors have told the District Attorney's office that the payments were legitimate commissions for helping them obtain contracts, and not kickbacks. They also maintained that they did not raise their prices to offset the commissions.

Influential Executives At Center of Inquiry

While corruption investigations in the construction business are not new, most have involved union officials and organized-crime figures. This inquiry, by contrast, strikes at an elite segment of the industry, whose executives have vast wealth and influence.

The investigation began after the chairman of a construction company pleaded guilty to money laundering in 1995 and began to guide investigators through a maze of corporate relationships. The inquiry now encompasses much of the $5 billion-dollar-a-year industry, which is thriving in the city's building boom, just as it did during the recession, when businesses were forced to renovate rather than relocate.

Because of the pending plea bargaining, most of the people involved in the case, including prosecutors, either refused to comment or declined to be quoted. Six of the people involved agreed to be interviewed on the condition of anonymity.

Even without any charges filed, many large corporations have dismissed or avoided tainted contractors. For example, Christie's, the auction house, said that it ended its contract with a consulting firm, Bennis & Reissman, and would end its dealings with a construction company, A. J. Construction, because of the investigation, said Taggarty Patrick, a Christie's spokeswoman.

''It's a cloud over the entire industry,'' said Richard T. Anderson, president of the New York Building Congress, a trade association. ''We'd like to see it resolved.''

Central figures in the inquiry, company executives and lawyers said, are Howard Lazar, 55, and Robert Bennis, 52, childhood friends from Queens who went on to become two of the most powerful people in the industry.

After pleading guilty to charges of attempted bribery in the 1970's, Mr. Lazar, a diminutive, athletic man with a talent for sales, established one of the city's largest interior construction companies, NICO Inc. In the 1990's, Mr. Bennis became the most powerful owners' representative in the business.

A trim, white-haired man who drives a Bentley convertible, Mr. Bennis helped develop budgets and schedules for relocation and renovation work for his clients. He also coordinated the work of architects, real estate brokers and, because he was so highly regarded, often solicited and accepted the bids from contractors. His fees amounted to $1.50 to $4 a square foot, or about $2 million for a 1 million square-foot project. His firm, Bennis & Reissman, which once had as much as two-thirds of the business in New York, closed its doors in January.

'Pay to Play' Was Rule, Office Contractors Say

The contractors under investigation are suspected of having made $14 million in payments to JDL Holdings, a company with ties to Mr. Lazar. Executives with two of the contractors and a lawyer familiar with the investigation said that the money was provided to insure that the contractors obtained work. They also said Mr. Lazar split the proceeds with Mr. Bennis, who was in a position to direct companies to particular contractors.

Contractors who did not ''pay to play'' did not get work, said representatives of three of the contractors under investigation.

Mr. Bennis, Mr. Lazar and their lawyers did not return repeated phone calls requesting comment.


The U.S. Transportation Department and NXP Semiconductors NV are joining forces in a pilot project to use communication technology to reduce congestion and speed traffic, they said on Friday.

The department said in December that it would award up to $40 million to a mid-size U.S. city to pilot the efforts.

NXP and partner Cohda Wireless will give the winning “Smart City” wireless communication modules that allow cars to securely exchange data like hazard warnings over more than a mile to prevent accidents and improve traffic flow.

Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communication could prevent up to 80% of crashes where alcohol is not a factor by alerting drivers to hazards like an icy bridge or speeding car, the government said.

“In the near term, it’s not about automated driving as much as it’s about assisted driving,” NXP Chief Executive Officer Rick Clemmer said in an interview.

AT&T Just Announced a Huge Smart Cities Initiative

The technology could be added to police, fire, or other municipal vehicles, but that depends on the winning bid and how the city wants to deploy it, he added.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Saturday will announce the five finalist cities in Austin. Nearly 80 U.S. cities applied, including Detroit, Boston, Anchorage, Alaska, San Francisco, Baltimore, Cleveland, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh.

Finalists will each get $100,000 to refine their plans before the winner is named in June.

For more on smart cities, watch:

Foxx said in an interview on Thursday that he thought the winning city would “serve as a catalyst for widespread change.”

The goal of the Smart Cities project is a “fully integrated, first-of-its-kind city that uses data, technology, and creativity to shape how people and goods move in the future,” the department said.

The effort is the latest bid by the Obama administration to advance technology fixes to address the nation’s clogged roads.

In January, President Barack Obama proposed nearly $4 billion over 10 years to speed deployment of connected and self-driving vehicles.

Summary: One mid-size U.S. city could be awarded 40 million for assisted driving tech.


Unlike in the physical world, setting up a booth eats all of 30 minutes and takes no sweat. Designers like ON24 will do the booth construction free of charge. All it takes is a brief phone call to lay out the general set-up; you’ll also have to send them your materials (white papers, audio and video clips, logos) for formatting. If you’d rather do it yourself, you can log on to the designer’s Web site and work within a template wizard that walks you through the process. As for placement, “It absolutely helps drive attendees if you pay for prime real estate in the virtual exhibit hall,” says Paul Scroggs, founder of Huntley, Ill.-based GoExhibit. Generally, attendees “enter” the exhibit hall from one main doorway, so getting near that portal is important. Prime placement could run a few thousand dollars more, but it’s still significantly cheaper than a bad spot at a physical show for $25,000.

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Summary: Sponsors, exhibitors and visitors can save a bundle if they know how.


These are the days of miracle and wonder, or so it seems if you’ve spent time with any among a number of iconic veterans who’ve played here recently, delivering career-spanning shows at seemingly untenable levels of potency. To a list that includes Brian Wilson, Dolly Parton, and — relatively speaking — the Cure, add Paul Simon, who presented an engrossing, entertaining set for a sold-out, wildly appreciative audience at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Friday.

Simon, 74, has shown no appreciable diminishment of ambition or skill over the years. Earlier this month he released his 13th solo album, “Stranger to Stranger,” chock full of memorable tunes in rich, unorthodox arrangements. It’s his strongest effort since “Graceland,” his career-redefining 1986 smash, but it’s no reheat; largely propelled by snappy flamenco rhythms, “Stranger” lives up to its title with pensive introspections and vignettes of characters at society’s margins.

Simon — animated and in strong voice, if not particularly chatty — offered just three songs from the new album during his expertly paced show, all holding their own amid vintage material. The title track, dreamy and ruminative, provided space to breathe between the beat-happy “Obvious Child” and crowd-pleasing “Homeward Bound.”

Wiry and loping, “The Werewolf” prefaced a set-ending sequence that peaked with two “Graceland” showstoppers, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” (gamely harmonized in the absence of the glorious South African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo) and “You Can Call Me Al.” And “Wristband,” a wry twister in the playful spirit of “Al,” kicked off the first encore soon after.

Simon’s always been a savvy bandleader; here, old and recent tunes alike took on fresh verve and sinew in the hands of his versatile crew. Alongside signature stylists like the guitarist Vincent Nguini and the bassist Bakithi Kumalo were idiosyncratic multi-instrumentalists like Mark Stewart (guitars, baritone sax, whistles, PVC didgeridoo), C.J. Camerieri (trumpet, French horn), and Mick Rossi (keyboards, harmonium, percussion).

Joel Guzman, an accordion player and guitarist, proved particularly vital in the set-opening “The Boy in the Bubble” and the zydeco-charged “That Was Your Mother.” The saxophonist Andy Snitzer, potent all evening, soloed with passionate grit on “Still Crazy After All These Years.” Jamey Haddad’s percussion lent colorful elaboration; when the drummer, Jim Oblon, reeled off bluesy guitar solos while keeping time with hi-hat and kick-drum foot pedals, Haddad reinforced the beat.

That deep bench allowed Simon to prowl around his storied catalog at will, from canonical hits to worthy recent songs like “Dazzling Blue” and “Rewrite” — the latter paced with plucky acoustic guitar, prepared-piano jangle, and clattering angklung (Indonesian tuned percussion).

The audience, good sports during unfamiliar stretches, roared mightily for an early amble through “Slip Slidin’ Away,” “Mother and Child Reunion,” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” and again for the concert’s second encore, where a limber “Late in the Evening” prefaced “The Boxer,” here a rousing sing-along. Dismissing his band, Simon ended the evening alone, the pensive opening notes of “The Sound of Silence” commanding a near pin-drop hush.

At Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, June 24

Summary: Touring in support of “Stranger to Stranger,” his 13th solo album, Paul Simon led a brilliant, eclectic band in a concert that spanned his storied canon.


06/27/2016 AT 12:15 PM EDT

A 69-year-old man held this weekend in an Arizona jail is a person of interest in the disappearance of three separate women over several years, PEOPLE learns.

Mohave County sheriff's officials told PEOPLE they believe Robert Carnochan is connected in some way to the disappearances of Verna Clayton, who was last seen in 2008, and Neva Lindley, who was last seen in 2011 – and that he is possibly connected to the disappearance of Nancy Hartz, who was last seen in 2015.

A search of his home revealed evidence that links him to their cases, sheriff's officials tell PEOPLE.

All three women lived within a roughly 100-mile radius and are around the same age, officials said. All three women had been dating a man they met online, though police would not confirm this man was Carnochan. Hartz sold her home and was closing her bank account just before disappearing.

Carnochan was located by authorities in April, in Yucca, with another woman, according to the sheriff's office.

He was allegedly found with "several aliases and firearms," and authorities soon confirmed he was actually a Canadian citizen who allegedly illegally immigrated into the U.S. more than 20 years ago, officials say.

Mohave County Sheriff's Office via AP

Carnochan is currently being held in the Mohave County jail on unrelated charges of forgery, identify theft and weapons violations, according to records. It was not immediately clear if he had entered a plea to those charges.

Carnochan told authorities that he last saw Hartz alive when he dropped off her in March at a business in Kingman.

His attorney, Ting-Wei Chiang, declined to comment to

on his alleged connection to the missing women. (PEOPLE was not immediately able to reach Chiang for comment.)

Mohave County Sheriff's Office via AP

Hartz's daughter, Denise Baggs, told the AP she attends each of Carnochan's court appearances and no longer believes her mother is alive.

"I want him to tell me where he left my mother," she said.

Summary: His attorney declined to comment on the accusations


Understanding what's in your cereal bar — and whether it is indeed gluten-free or low-carb — can be a baffling process.

It's also tricky for retailers. That’s why Chicago-based Label Insight builds technology that scans food packaging, extracts information from nutritional information to marketing claims, then provides data to retailers or consumer packaged-goods manufacturers. The company, founded in 2008, closed a $10 million Series B funding round led by KPMG Capital in mid-January.

The company tries to make sense of a world where a type of food coloring could be called different names when used in different products.

“If you wanted to find out if a particular product contained a specific artificial color, it’s actually quite a complex process,” Label Insight CEO and co-founder Anton Xavier said.

Label Insight wants to help retailers understand what’s in their products quickly and thoroughly — so a store could point customers to specialty or allergen-free products using signs, or keep tabs on which items customers are buying, Xavier said.

The company could see, for instance, whether fewer customers are buying foods with trans fats, and the retailer could adjust offerings accordingly.

The company also helps manufacturers translate product information into data needed by different retailers. Whether a product fits into something like Wal-Mart’s “good for you” category, for example, requires knowing which standards an item needs to meet — and those standards differ from store to store, Xavier said.

“It’s the challenge around providing that information to all of these different partners in different ways — that’s what we do,” Xavier said.

KPMG Capital Investment Director Kim Houston said the investment will let clients, including Fortune 500 retailers and manufacturers, use Label Insight’s product data platform. She said the scalability of the business was attractive to KPMG.

Label Insight has 22 employees in its Chicago headquarters and 23 more in a St. Louis office, Xavier said. The company will use the funding to hire data scientists and build out new services.


Though you'd never know it from recent examples, a decent romantic comedy should be easy to find. After all, what do we really need? Likable leads, a beautiful setting and a script that follows a reliable formula without feeling overly formulaic. Case in point: Gary Winick's "Letters to Juliet," a $12 trip to Tuscany that's cheerfully undemanding, but doesn't insult our intelligence.

The action actually begins in Verona, where Shakespeare's young heroine once stood looking down at her Romeo. While on vacation with her fiancé, Victor (Gael García Bernal), Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) lingers beneath Juliet's balcony, where women tuck love letters into the ancient wall. Sensing a story that might elevate her from fact-checker to writer at The New Yorker, Sophie volunteers to help collect these notes, only to find one from decades earlier.

The author was Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), who fell in love with Lorenzo (Redgrave's real-life husband, Franco Nero) as a teenager. When Sophie sends her the faded letter, Claire returns to Italy, looking for her lost love. With Victor eternally preoccupied by business, Sophie joins Claire and her skeptical grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan), on the search for renewed romance.

Winick, who has had his highs ("13 Going on 30") and lows ("Bride Wars"), makes the most of his well-matched leading ladies. Redgrave brings a lovely gravity to the lightweight proceedings, while Seyfried again proves an unusually levelheaded presence.

Aside from the goofy ending, there are no silly pratfalls or fumbling misunderstandings - just several adults connecting to each other and the beguiling setting. It's a refreshingly sensible approach that should appeal to fans of both actresses. (If you ever wanted to plan a double date with your grandmother, now's the time.)

The weakest link is Egan, his blandly stuffy Brit a regrettable contrast to the distracted but appealing Victor. It's hard to complain about two hours in Italy, especially with Redgrave as our tour guide. But García Bernal's irrepressible charm provides a burst of welcome energy with each brief appearance. And when he steps aside so our star-crossed lovers can meet their destiny, parting is sweet sorrow, indeed.


There he is, the President of Russia, riding bare-back and bare-chested astride a galloping steed; spending $50 billion on a resort town most Russians will never see; seizing Crimea, instigating unrest in Ukraine; maybe even making himself indirectly responsible for the murder of nearly 300 innocents aboard a downed passenger plane: Vladimir Putin, shaking his fist in the face of a West that often seems unable to do more than avert its eyes.

When we in The West do look, it can seem perplexing: How can Russians buy into such blatant bravado? How can a country that is (at least nominally) democratic support such near-authoritarian power? And why does Putin remain so popular?

“Why,” Russians might ask us in return, “do you support a system of government that is so weak?” In 2010, traveling through Russia to research a novel, I was asked this a lot. I’d press people on the way Putin had cowed political opposition, castrated the parliament, brought the media mostly under his control. Usually, they’d shrug. Then they’d tell me, “At least he does stuff, makes stuff happen. Unlike in America. Where your government can’t get even the smallest things done.” Yes, Putin goes big, they’d say—maybe even sometimes goes wrong—but we in America can’t manage to go anywhere at all. Heck, we can barely manage to fund our own government, let alone set aside our squabbling long enough for anyone to actually lead.

I’m not a political scientist; I couldn’t respond with more than a layman’s opinion. I’m not a scholar of Russian history; it’s not my place to proclaim intimate knowledge of a complex and multifaceted culture. And I’m not Russian; I’d never purport to speak for the people themselves. But I am a novelist. And, as a novelist, my job is to listen—to the voices of others, to the voice of a place—and then to attempt to understand, not just intellectually but emotionally. In other words, to empathize.

Everywhere in Russia that I traveled to research my new novel, The Great Glass Sea, I felt a yearning. Sometimes it took the shape of nostalgia: a man who’d made a fortune in the early ‘90s lit up talking about that wild time of unleashed, unfettered capitalism when millions could be made overnight; a school teacher spoke of the way, under communism, everyone knew their neighbors, shared what little they had—a birthday cake cut into dozens of tiny slices to serve the entire apartment block, an apartment block now filled with families too busy trying to make ends meet to even know each others’ names; I even spoke to young men who hungered for a return of the tsar. Sometimes the yearning was for a future for which they fiercely grasped: I saw a deep appreciation for the opportunities that the release from communism had afforded, the new paths capitalism had opened up.

But in all of it there was an undercurrent of aggrievement; a sense of having to restart after seven decades of the Soviet State, having to retrace steps back to the path the rest of the world had been on—and then struggle to catch up; a feeling that the chance for Russia to remake itself had been hampered by the hegemony of the West; a knowledge that the county was less than it could be, should be, that their individual lives were lessened too; or maybe just a knowledge—especially among the populace in poorer towns and villages outside of Moscow—that what wealth and success has come to the county has come only to a very few.

That’s a feeling a great number of Americans can relate to: not only the frustration with growing inequality, but the sense that our country is also somehow becoming smaller than it should be. Here, when our sense of self is threatened, we turn to historical mythology that buttresses our belief in who we are: The American Dream, our forefathers wrestling with what that would be, the presidents who, through our beloved democracy, shaped how we understand it now—FDR, JFK, Reagan. We look for the next in that mold.

But Russians don’t have that history. Theirs is one in which revolutionary uprisings led to instability before being channeled by a system of control; one in which democracy is associated with a time of devastating economic collapse. We all know the long history of Russian strongmen—from Ivan the Terrible to Joseph Stalin—but can you imagine having that history as our own, having those leaders to look back on? Can you imagine our own country collapsed, our own inequality increased, our own dreams squeezed? Maybe you can, all too well. Now imagine that we had a leader who not only gave us hope, promised us change, but delivered.

Josh Weil is the author of the novel The Great Glass Sea and the novella collection The New Valley, which was awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. A Fulbright Fellow and Nation Book Award 5-under-35 honoree, he has written for The New York Times, Granta, and Esquire.

Summary: The history of strongmen leaders helps fuel a passion for capitalism—even if there's a cost


In Barcelona four years ago, she was the heartbreak kid. Just 10 seconds into the gymnastics competition, on the first move in the first event, Kim Zmeskal fell off the balance beam. A lifetime of dreams ended with that slipâalong with America's best hope for a gymnastics gold medal in almost a decade. "I was worried I let everybody down," says Zmeskalâ"everybody" being her coach, Bela Karolyi; her team; her country. The next day, Zmeskal rallied to give a nearly perfect performance, leading the U.S. squad to a bronze. "I'm really proud of that team medal," she says.

Zmeskal returned home to a hero's welcome in Houston and then retreated to what she hoped would be the luxurious obscurity of a normal teenager's life. "When I was training, I always thought I was missing out on all these wonderful, great things," Zmeskal says. "I wanted to know what it would be like to be a regular person." (Touchingly, on her 20th birthday last February, Chris Burdette, 21, her first serious boyfriend, and a score of their pals restaged in miniature her senior prom, complete with tuxes, gowns and corsages.) But only a few months into her retirement, Zmeskal discovered one of the side effects of normalcyâboredomâand she returned to the gym. Inspired by figure skater Katarina Witt's comeback in the '94 Winter Games, Zmeskal decided to try for her own encore. That dream died, too, after Zmeskal injured her knee and finally realized that her heart was no longer into competition.

But she continues to revel in performing in exhibitions without judges, and after the Atlanta Games she is scheduled to appear in a tour with the nation's best gymnasts. Wherever she goes, she continues to be the poster child for kids who crumble under the weight of other people's high expectations. Zmeskal herself tries not to focus on what might have been. Failure has its compensations. She carried the Olympic torch when it passed through Houstonâa pleasure Coach Karolyi denied his women in training. Her friend Nadia Comaneci says Zmeskal's struggle and grace actually made her more popular with the public. "She has a story," says Comaneci, "that makes her bigger than anybody else."

Summary: After the Trauma of Barcelona, She Has Found Her Balance in the Everyday


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

-Surveillance video recently taken at the Espanola police station is a bit freaky.

On Saturday Officer Karl Romero was keeping an eye on surveillance cameras around the station when he spotted something in the sally port. A sally port is a controlled gate or passage in a fortified place.

Ghost-like figure shows up on New Mexico police station video

Romero said what he saw looked like a ghost walking across the lot, right through cages and a gate.

He reported it to his supervisors.

Detectives said there is no way in or out of the secured area without the gates opening and an alarm sounding. Police said they hear strange noises and see unexplained images in the lobby of the building, too.

Action 7 News asked Detective Solomon Romero if he thought the image was a ghost.

"I do believe in ghosts -- I don't know (what exactly was on the video), but we've had some unsolved murders in the area," Romero said.

Police said as far as they know the building is not on a burial ground and no inmates have ever died at the police station. More on AOL: 5,000-year-old monument found in Israel Four fireballs seen across the US in one day Pa. troopers: Murder suspect Eric Frein 'playing games' in manhunt

Summary: ESPANOLA, N.M. -Surveillance video recently taken at the Espanola police station is a bit freaky. On Saturday Officer Karl Romero was keeping an eye on surveillance cameras around the


Attorney General Eric Holder endorsed a proposal Thursday that would result in shorter prison sentences for many nonviolent drug traffickers, saying the change would rein in runaway federal prison costs and create a fairer criminal justice system.

Holder's backing for a U.S. Sentencing Commission proposal to lower the guideline penalties is part of a broader Justice Department effort to lessen punishment for nonviolent drug dealers. He has been pressing to ease long mandatory sentences and has called for greater discretion for judges in sentencing.

"This focused reliance on incarceration is not just financially unsustainable. It comes with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate," Holder said in an appearance before the Sentencing Commission, an independent agency that establishes sentencing policies.

In a country where nearly half of all federal inmates are serving time for drug crimes, the harshest penalties should be reserved for violent drug convicts and criminals with long rap sheets, Holder said.

Holder directed prosecutors in August to stop charging many nonviolent drug defendants with offenses that carry mandatory minimum sentences. He has also said he wants to divert people convicted of low-level offenses to drug treatment and community-service programs and to expand a prison program to allow the release of some elderly, nonviolent offenders. Bipartisan legislation pending in Congress would give judges more discretion in sentencing defendants for drug crimes.

The attorney general last year asked the commission to consider reductions in the sentencing guidelines for nonviolent drug crimes. The commission responded with a proposal in January that would tie many drug offenses to shorter sentencing ranges.

The effect, the Justice Department says, would be to reduce by 11 months the average sentence of a drug dealer and would trim the federal prison population by roughly 6,550 inmates at the end of the fifth year. The proposal would affect about 70 percent of drug-trafficking offenders.

"I understand that people feel a sort of tension in this notion that we're going to spend less, we're going to put people in jail for smaller amounts of time and yet you're going to tell me that we're going to be more safe," Holder said in response to a question about whether the proposal could compromise public safety. "And yet the empirical studies that I have seen, and which I have faith in, indicate that if done appropriately, those are, in fact, the results that you can get."

The commission was not expected to vote on the proposed change until at least April, but Holder planned to instruct prosecutors in the meantime not to oppose sentencing recommendations in line with the newly proposed ranges.

Holder's announcement won support from groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, which decried what it called the "failed, racially biased war on drugs."

But a national association of prosecutors is opposing the proposal, arguing that mandatory sentences have been helpful in securing cooperation from defendants and witnesses and that the majority of federal prisoners "have been very bad actors for a long time."

"Rewarding convicted felons with lighter sentences because America can't balance its budget doesn't seem fair to both victims of crime and the millions of families in America victimized every year by the scourge of drugs in America's communities," Raymond Morrogh, the top prosecutor in Fairfax County, Va., and the director at large of the National District Attorneys Association, said in prepared remarks.

Thursday was Holder's second appearance before the Sentencing Commission.

Summary: Attorney general argues it will fix moral inequality and financial instability of current incarceration system


People complain that Donald Trump changes his positions as often as he touches up his comb-over. But he is consistent about at least one thing: When he says something unhinged from reality and is confronted about it, he doubles down.

So it went with the Republican nominee’s threat to bar Muslims from immigration until terrorism is no longer a problem (in other words, forever).

Appearing on the NBC program “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Trump was asked whether he had pulled back on his no-new-Muslims pledge by not talking specifically about those who follow Islam during his convention rant on Thursday.

First, he babbled about the Constitution. “Our Constitution is great,” he said.

But it doesn’t necessarily give us the right to commit suicide, O.K.? Now, we have a religious, you know, everybody wants to be protected. And that’s great. And that’s the wonderful part of our Constitution. I view it differently.

“I live with our Constitution. I love our Constitution. I cherish our Constitution,” he said, because of course the rest of us don’t live with the Constitution or love it or cherish it.

Trump explained that he was expanding his ban beyond Muslims and taking it “territorial:”

“We have nations and we’ll come out, I’m going to be coming out over the next few weeks with a number of the places” from which he would ban immigration, Trump said.

Arguments, provocations and observations from Times Opinion writers.

His interviewer, Chuck Todd, suggested that countries like, say, Germany and France, have been compromised by terrorism. Mr. Consistent did not waver.

“It’s their own fault, because they’ve allowed people over years to come into their territory,” Trump said.

To fix the problem, he said, he would impose “extreme vetting.” The word extreme he pointed out, is a “tough word.”

It is, real tough, even though he didn’t give the slightest hint about what he actually meant. And the last time a president who wanted to look tough advocated extreme measures against terrorism, we ended up with waterboarding and other forms of torture, violating several American and international laws and staining this country’s reputation.

Given that most of Europe, a great deal of Asia, the entire Middle East, and virtually all of Africa have been compromised by terrorism (not to mention the United States), it’s hard to imagine what countries would not make Trump’s T List. Even Russia, run by Trump’s buddy and role model, Vladimir Putin, has problems with terrorism, including Islamist terrorism.

Monaco could be an exception, and a few South American nations, maybe, but the latter are already covered by Trump’s anti-Hispanic immigration views.

Should we brace for an influx from the Pacific island nations like Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Nauru? Does Trump know they exist?

Summary: The Republican nominee doubles down on his wacky immigration ban.


"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Pardon the literary reference, but that's probably what people will say when they look back on this "increasingly Dickensian era," Cramer said. Unlike fast-growing countries, like Brazil, China and India, the U.S.'s middle class is evaporating. In turn, the rich are spending more while everyone else is pinching pennies, he explained. As a tip of the hat to Charles Dickens, Cramer called it "A Tale of Two Cities." However disturbing this trend may be, it's Cramer's job to help make you some money. Click ahead to see how he suggests doing so.By Drew SandholmPosted 21 June 2011

Summary: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That's probably what people will say when they look back on this "increasingly Dickensian era," Cramer said.


The Rachel Maddow Show, 7/27/16, 10:55 PM ET

Watch President Obama’s entire speech at the DNC in Philadelphia.

Much of the speech was focused, appropriately, on the president’s praise of Hillary Clinton, and by any measure, Obama made the case for his former Secretary of State better than anyone has before.

But the president’s denunciation of Trump’s vision and values was as complete as any you have (or will) hear.

“Ronald Reagan called America ‘a shining city on a hill.’ Donald Trump calls it ‘a divided crime scene’ that only he can fix…. He’s just offering slogans, and he’s offering fear. He’s betting that if he scares enough people, he might score just enough votes to win this election.

“And that’s another bet that Donald Trump will lose. And the reason he’ll lose it is because he’s selling the American people short. We’re not a fragile people. We’re not a frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don’t look to be ruled. Our power comes from those immortal declarations first put to paper right here in Philadelphia all those years ago: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that We the People, can form a more perfect union.

“That’s who we are. That’s our birthright – the capacity to shape our own destiny.”

It’s important to appreciate the irony: Trump has spent much of the last eight years questioning whether the president actually appreciates what it means to be an American. Last night was Obama’s opportunity to not only answer the question, but also to turn the table.

“[A]nyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end.

“That is America. That is America. Those bonds of affection; that common creed. We don’t fear the future; we shape it. We embrace it, as one people, stronger together than we are on our own. That’s what Hillary Clinton understands – this fighter, this stateswoman, this mother and grandmother, this public servant, this patriot – that’s the America she’s fighting for.”

And that’s the optimistic, resilient America that Donald J. Trump doesn’t even recognize.

Well, yes, I suppose so, but Republicans did leave their best stuff lying around, neglected and ignored, so you can hardly blame Democrats for picking it up.

And last night wasn’t the end of Obama’s message; it was the beginning. The president has made no secret of the fact that he intends to be the first two-term president of the modern era to maintain a robust campaign schedule, which means Obama will be repeating his message to audiences nationwide for the next 100 days or so.

Not to put too fine a point on this, but as was clear in Cleveland last week, there is simply no one on the Republican Party’s roster who can come close to delivering the kind of message President Obama delivered in Philadelphia.

Summary: In a contest over who understands America, Obama thinks he, not Trump, has the stronger case. At the Democratic convention, Obama proved how right he is.


Tesla Motors Inc. ’s second-quarter financial results are expected to be released after market close on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:

EARNINGS FORECAST: Tesla is expected to post an adjusted net loss of 52 cents a share compared with a loss of 48 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Costs are increasing amid big investments in a new battery factory in Nevada and future products.

REVENUE FORECAST: Second-quarter revenue is forecast to equal $1.6 billion, a 36% increase compared with a year ago. A 25% increase in deliveries of its vehicles is the main reason revenue is up, but it also books revenue from selling U.S. federal emissions credits and selling batteries for residential use. Sales, while up, didn't meet expectations, with 14,370 sales falling well short of the company’s initial 17,000 forecast.

CASH: Tesla raised $1.7 billion in an offering in May, but Chief Executive Elon Musk has since said the company may require more money to finance additional products. Sales came in short of expectations in the second quarter and spending on the company’s battery factory increased, likely increasing the need to dig into the company’s cash reserves.

SOLARCITY: Tesla announced a plan late in the second quarter to combine with SolarCity Corp. Both companies share Mr. Musk as a chairman and top shareholder. On Monday, the electric-vehicle maker announced it reached a firm deal with SolarCity valued at $2.6 billion in cash. Analysts are likely to probe the financial impact of the merger on both companies and how the two entities will benefit by coming together.

MODEL 3: Tesla may update the number of reservations it has for its Model 3, a sedan due late next year to compete near the lower end of the EV market. At last count Tesla had 373,000 nonbinding reservations. But in the interim, Tesla also has lowered the price of its Model S and Model X to try to capture more sales ahead of its release, and it has endured scrutiny related to its deployment of semiautonomous technology.

MODEL X: The quality of the company’s first SUV is still in question nearly a year after Tesla delivered the first handful of units. Customers continue to complain about glitches and output of the model haven’t approached those of the Model S. If deliveries don’t pick up in the second half, Tesla has little chance to meet its 80,000 delivery goal.

AUTOPILOT: Tesla been working on an update to its Autopilot after a Model S driver died using the company’s semiautonomous system. Eventually, the company will need to rework its system without a major ally: Mobileye NV said in July it is planning to end its relationship Tesla. Look for Tesla to talk about how it will go forward system without one of the leading suppliers on its team.

NEW MODELS: Mr. Musk introduced a new long-term plan in July that included commitments to make an electric semi-truck, a pickup, a small SUV and a small bus-like vehicle. Mr. Musk often uses earnings calls to elaborate on business plans, and there are many blanks left to fill in on this blueprint.

Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com

Summary: Tesla Motors’ second-quarter financial results are expected to be released after market close on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know.


Adapted from Gene & Georgetti, Chicago

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine lettuce, salami, mozzarella, pimento, onion, radishes, celery and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad and toss until well mixed. Divide salad among four plates and top each with a shrimp.

A version of this recipe appears in print on , on page F3 of the New York edition with the headline: Garbage Salad Adapted from Gene & Georgetti, Chicago Time: 10 minutes. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: A recipe for Garbage Salad.


Overtired pilots and and freak winds may have combined to send a Russian airliner nosediving into the ground in a disaster that claimed 62 lives, officials and aviation experts said on Saturday.

The crash site of the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 Photo: TASS

FlyDubai flight 981 from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don crashed and exploded in a fireball while trying to land in strong winds at the southern Russian city in early hours of Saturday morning.

A Russian Emergencey Ministry worker at the crash site of the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 Photo: TASS

All 55 passengers, from Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and India, and seven crew members from Cyprus, Spain, Russia, the Seychelles, Columbia and Kyrgyzstan, were killed in a powerful blast that scattered fragments of the aircraft across the airport.

Law enforcement officers with a police service dog at the crash site of the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 Photo: TASS

"Our primary concern is for the families of the passengers and crew who were on board. Everyone at FlyDubai is in deep shock and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those involved," said Ghaith al-Ghaith, the carrier’s CEO, at a press conference in Dubai.

Vladimir Putin offered condolences to the relatives of the victims and and ordered emergency officials and the regional governor to provide support for the bereaved, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Russian Emergency Ministry employees investigate the wreckage of a crashed plane at the Rostov-on-Don airport. Photo: AP

Mr al-Ghaith officials from the UAE civil aviation authority are travelling to Russia to assist in the investigation. He said there was no indication that the disaster was an act of terrorism.

The disaster comes at a time of heightened security alert for Russia, where airports have been on high alert since a suspected terrorist bomb destroyed a Russian airliner over Sinai in October, killed 224 people in Russia’s worst ever air disaster.

Investigators quickly recovered both flight recorders from the wreckage. Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s rough equivalent of the FBI, said they were concentrating on “pilot error caused by poor weather or technical failure” as the main lines of enquiry.

Weather data citied on Russian television indicate low cloud, rain, and wind speeds of 30 meters per second (67 miles per hour) at 500 meters (1,640 feet) and higher at the time of the crash.

Vasily Golybev, the governor of Rostov region, said a sudden “hurricane force” gust of wind seemed to have struck the aircraft as it was coming into land, sending it off course and causing it to slam into the ground 250 meters from the runway.

That would be consistent with a sudden change of wind direction that pilots call a “wind shear,” which would have been difficult to recover from at low altitude.

Flight data shows the pilots had aborted an earlier landing attempt and circled for two hours before making a second, fatal, attempt to land.

Data from FlightTracker24, a website that monitors air traffic, showed that another aircraft aborted three successive attempted landings before diverting to another airport just before the crash.

Some aviation experts said the decision to push ahead with the landing in such obviously difficult conditions was unusual, and that pilot fatigue could have been a factor.

“The fact two captains were flying together leads me to believe one of them was probably called out off standby. Being on standby on a night shift is really difficult because you really never know if and when they will call you for a flight,” said Fabrizio Poli, managing director of aircraft trading company Tyrus Wings and an experience airline pilot.

“After one attempt and while in the hold and seeing another aircraft divert after three attempts I would have personally elected to divert to the alternate airport,” he added.

Mr al-Ghaith played down questions about the decision to go ahead with the landing, saying that Aristos Sokratous, the Cypriot pilot, and Alejando Alava, his Spanish co-pilot, had nearly 6,000 hours of flying experience between them.

“As far as we know the airport was open and we were good to land there,” he said.

Summary: Pilot fatigue also cited as possible factor in crash of Boeing passenger jet,   flight FZ981, at Rostov-on-Don airport in Russia


Spiegel said Mr Kohl had been in the intensive care ward for three weeks and was in a "critical" condition.

Queen Elizabeth II and Helmut Kohl

In early May, Bild newspaper had reported that Mr Kohl had successfully undergone a hip replacement operation and quoted him as saying he wanted "to be home again as quickly as possible".

• Angela Merkel 'cannot use a knife and fork': Helmut Kohl

Mr Kohl, who served a record 16 years as chancellor from 1982 until 1998, oversaw his country's peaceful reunification the year after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and the end to the Cold War.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was seen as Mr Kohl's protegee and he brought her into the cabinet in 1991, but she later turned against him when he became embroiled in a slush-funds scandal.

The affair is seen as having helped propel Mrs Merkel to the helm of the Christian Democratic Union party and later the country.

Mr Kohl exited active politics in 2002 and has been recently confined to a wheelchair with his speech severely impaired after his jaw was paralysed in a fall.

One of the key architects of Europe's push towards unity, Mr Kohl is a passionate European and has often argued that building an integrated Europe is crucial to ensuring that war will never again ravage the continent.

He published a book last year entitled "Out of Concern for Europe", in which he lashed out at his successors over their policies in Russia and on the euro.

In 2001, his wife Hannelore, with whom he had two sons and who had long suffered with an excruciating sunlight allergy, committed suicide.

In 2008, Mr Kohl married economy ministry aide Maike Richter, 35 years his junior.

He survived the massive 2004 tsunami that wrought widespread death and destruction in southeast Asia and had to be evacuated from a beach resort in Sri Lanka.

Summary: Media reports citing his entourage earlier said that Mr Kohl was in intensive   care after undergoing surgery


South Sudan's government has agreed to allow the deployment of a regional protection force in the country, according to an East African bloc,Â after renewed fighting between rival groups last month put a fragile peace deal in danger.

Such a force has been a key demand of former vice president Riek Machar, who fled the capital, Juba, after the outbreak of violence.

The decision about the force was reached on Friday at a summit meeting in Ethiopia of the leaders of the eight countries in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) regional bloc.

READ MORE: South Sudan humanitarian situation could worsen, says UN

"The government of South Sudan has accepted (the deployment of troops) with no condition," Mahboub Maalim, IGAD's executive secretary, said after the meeting in Addis Ababa,Â adding that the specific scope and mandate of the force had yet to be decided.

The force could be used to help implement the August 2015 peace deal, as well as protecting civilians and carrying out humanitarian duties, Maalim said.

South Sudan was founded with optimistic celebrations in the capital on July 9, 2011, after it gained independence from Sudan in a referendum that passed with nearly 100 percent of the vote.

The country descended into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused First Vice President Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

Civil war broke out when soldiers from Kiir's Dinka ethnic group disarmed and targeted troops of Machar's Nuer ethnic group.

Machar and commanders loyal to him fled to the countryside, and tens of thousands of people died in the conflict that followed. Many civilians also starved.

The rivals signed a peace agreement late last year, under which Machar was once again made vice president.

But renewed fighting has seen Machar go into hiding, and a member of his opposition - Taban Deng Gai - take his place as First Vice President. Machar rejects the appointment, while Kiir has no objection.

The latest setbacks are putting the fragile peace plan at risk.

Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi, reporting from Addis Ababa, saidÂ military chiefs from member states also agreed that they would travel to Juba to work with South Sudan's government on the deployment of the new force.

"South Sudan's new Vice PresidentÂ Taban Deng Gai told the heads of states that he is ready to step down if, or when, the opposition leader Riek Machar returns to the capital," she said.

Fighting broke out in Juba last month between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Machar, his long-time rival, threatening to send the world's youngest country back to all-out conflict.

More than 300 people were killed in the violence, while up to 60,000 others were forced to flee to neighbouring Uganda.

Up to 1.6 million people are internally displaced.

According to the UN, close to five million people in the country were made hungry after the fresh eruption of violence, with South Sudan's high inflation rate making steep food prices unaffordable to many.

The 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, has faced criticism for failing to halt the latest bloodshed or fully protect civilians during the fighting.

IGAD had previously raised the possibility of deploying an "intervention brigade" with a more aggressive mandate within the UN mission currently present.

The intervention force for South Sudan could be modelled on the Force Intervention Brigade of 3,000 troops deployed within the UN's mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which proved decisive in neutralising the M23 rebellion in 2013.

Also on Friday, South Sudan's government rejected accusations from the UN that its soldiers had raped and killed civilians during last month's clashes.

On Thursday, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at least 217 cases of sexual violence in Juba had been documented between July 8 and July 25.

Lul Ruai Koang, the government's military spokesman, said the UN, through the UNMISS force, should provide evidence that government soldiers were involved in the crimes, adding that they had not received any formal complaints.

Inside Story - What's hampering peace in South Sudan?

Source:Â Al Jazeera and agencies

Summary: The decision comes a month after fighting broke out between army rival factions that has put peace deal in danger.


Taco Bell is making urban inroads this month, venturing away from its traditional suburban drive-through model in favor of the first alcohol-serving “Cantina” restaurant, set to open next week in downtown Chicago.

The first of the new “Taco Bell Cantina” restaurants will open on Sept. 22 in Chicago’s hip Wicker Park neighborhood. On the menu: wine, beer, sangria, “twisted freezes”—margarita-like frozen blends spiked with rum, tequila, or vodka—and tapas-style group appetizers. A second Cantina location is expected to open near San Francisco’s AT&T Park before the end of September and will serve wine and beer, Reuters reports.

The move to booze comes as part of the chain’s bid to expand the number of restaurants—from 6,000 to 8,000 by 2022—and compete with Chipotle for the business of city-dwelling millennials. Chipotle, a popular destination for quick Tex-Mex, already serves alcohol (usually beer and margaritas) at some 1,000 locations and boasts an open kitchen for transparency, another feature the Cantina restaurants will imitate. Also to feature in the new Cantina restaurants: local touches, such as a mural by Chicago street artists Revise CMW in the Wicker Park location; reclaimed, recycled materials; and more energy-efficient LED lighting—all part of an attempt to answer customers’ calls for “urbanization,” according to Meredith Sandland, Taco Bell’s chief development officer.

“We’re trying to provide restaurants where they work, live and play that can be accessed easily on foot, rather than the drive thru,” Sandland said in Tuesday’s announcement—”on foot” being the operative term, now that margaritas are on the table.

Read next: Why Whole Foods Is Selling Coffee for 25¢

Summary: In a bid to compete with Chipotle, Taco Bell is breaking out the booze.


Big breasts are a big problem.At least that's what Tori Spelling believes.In an interview with "Good Morning America," the 38-year-old pregnant actress reveals that as a mom, her biggest regret is getting breast implants when she was younger."Well I got my boobs done in my early 20's and if I had known it would or could possibly impact production of milk, I would never had had them done," she said.

HAS HOLLYWOOD TAKEN PLATIC SURGERY TOO FAR?

Spelling is pregnant with her third child with husband Dean McDermott and says playing mom is her favorite job of all."I love being a mom. I am on my third baby. We want to have more," she said. "That's my role … these don't matter." While Spelling regrets getting implants, actress Denise Richards has revealed that she is finally happy with hers after undergoing a third surgery to correct previous botched jobs.

HAD WORK DONE? WHICH CELEBS HAVE GONE UNDER THE KNIFE"When I was 19, a doctor put in bigger implants than what I asked for. I was in such a hurry to get them that I didn't research my doctor," the now 40-year-old told Us Weekly. "I just thought because they're a plastic surgeon, they must be good."After undergoing a second surgery with a different surgeon in order to correct the first one, Richards said that she ended up with even larger implants than the pair she had before."I felt very vulnerable," she told the magazine. "I was getting ready to film [1998's] 'Wild Things,' and I didn't want to get into a lawsuit with some plastic surgeon. It wasn't right what the doctor did, but it is what it is."Now after three surgeries, Richards said she is finally content with the way her breasts look — for now."This is the size I wanted them to look at 19! There's a long investment with breast implants. They're not going to last a lifetime and things can go wrong. I'm happy with them now, but in a year that could change."

Summary: Big breasts are a big problem according to actress Tori Spelling. While Spelling regrets her implants she got at a young age, Denise Richards is very content with hers after she underwent a third surgery to repair botched jobs.


The men's Laser and women's Laser Radial classes faced tougher and more inconsistent conditions than the RS:X on the Pao de Acucar course. Stipanovic leads the Laser with six points after finishing first and fifth in Monday's two races.

Argentina's Julio Alsogaray is second, also with six points, after fourth and second place finishes. Russia's Sergei Komissarov is third with 11 points after finishing second and ninth.

Alison Young, who finished fifth in the class at London 2012, ended the day in 13th position. However, she refused to be too downhearted about the result.

“It was a tricky day out there racing. There were lots of opportunities on the racecourse but unfortunately I made a few too many mistakes so there’s room to work on through the rest of the week," she said.

“The breeze is pretty shifty, we had some differences in the tide as well so it was just tricky racing.

"But I expect it to be challenging all the way through the week from what we’ve seen out here so far, so there are plenty of opportunities still to go."

Summary: Flukey winds, moderate currents and crowded upwind fleet racing challenged sailors on the Olympic regatta's opening day as Britain's Nick Dempsey and France's Charlie Picon took impressive leads in the men's and women's RS: