MUNCIE, Ind., Oct. 15— Recall the glory days of Ronald Reagan. Attack Bill Clinton. Forget George Bush. Avoid troublesome social issues like abortion. Attack Washington. Move to the right.

Six years after Mr. Reagan left the White House and two years after Mr. Bush lost the party's hold on it, Republican candidates around the country are once again trying to revive Mr. Reagan's legacy and, to some degree, his conservative legislative agenda.

An examination of campaigns for the House, the Senate and governorships nationally found that Republican candidates willing to call themselves moderates had all but disappeared. Former President Bush, who is still kept at arm's length by the right wing despite his fumbling embrace of it during the 1992 party convention, gets not even a passing reference from most candidates.

Still, this second attempt at a Reagan Revolution appears to be falling short of growing into a national legislative agenda, particularly the effort by Representative Newt Gingrich of Georgia, the House Republican whip, to unify House candidates with a grand agenda called "Contract With America." Although the contract reads like the Reagan playbook, promising to cut taxes, increase military spending and balance the budget, many candidates are more comfortable espousing conservatism on their own terms. That leaves Bill Clinton as the single theme galvanizing Republicans.

"This election is going to be a referendum on Clintonism versus a more conservative agenda that Ronald Reagan and Dan Quayle articulate," said David McIntosh, a Republican running for the House in the Second Congressional District here in east-central Indiana. "My platform is for lower taxes, less Government and restoring Hoosier values."

Mr. McIntosh, who is seeking the seat being vacated by Representative Philip R. Sharp, a Democrat, was among more than 300 Republican candidates who marched to the steps of the Capitol last month to sign the contract. But back home, Mr. McIntosh is not making much of the document. Like many other Republicans who trooped to Washington, he is using the Reagan mantle largely to define what he is against.

In front of his headquarters in San Diego this week, Brian Bilbray, a Republican who is trying to unseat Representative Lynn Schenk, a first-term Democrat, also sounded a conservative call to arms: "The public is really in a state of mind where it's ready for a revolution."

Yet he, too, was reluctant to make too much of the contract, asserting that its goals were "not exactly the Ten Commandments."

The rightward, if independent-minded, tilt is significant. It would undoubtedly carry over to Government if, as many analysts predict, the election left Mr. Clinton facing more Republicans in Congress than any Democratic President since Harry S. Truman.

Indeed, Mr. Gingrich's strategy in trying to "nationalize" the elections has as much to do with trying to set a course for those Republicans who win as influencing the races in which they are running. And even some Republicans who are tempering their support of the contract now said they would push for it once they were in office.

Mr. Bilbray, a county supervisor, asserted that even if the Republicans did not win the 40 seats they need to take control of the House, their ideology would eventually triumph. "A lot of Democrats will start changing their approach to policy making," he said.

But as a campaign tactic, it is the Democrats -- eager to shift the political dialogue from attacks on Mr. Clinton -- who are trying to keep the contract alive so they can depict Republicans as being in lockstep with their leaders in foolishly advocating warmed-over Reaganomics.

No one has tried to draw the line more sharply than Mr. Clinton, who has derided the contract in recent days as a return to "failed policies of the past." A new advertising campaign by the Democratic National Committee stresses the same point.

Still, contract or not, Republican candidates do not seem wary of the memory of Mr. Reagan's Administration. "This is a much more ideological election year than conventional wisdom has it," said William Kristol, a conservative theoretician who was former Vice President Dan Quayle's chief of staff. "The Republican Party is more Reaganite through its ranks today than when Ronald Reagan was President. Bush has truly become the invisible political man."

The shift is particularly apparent in Senate races, where Republican nominees are generally far more conservative than in decades, candidates like Spencer Abraham in Michigan, Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania, John Ashcroft in Missouri and Rod Grams in Minnesota.

Here in Indiana, the 36-year-old Mr. McIntosh went so far as to lump Mr. Bush with Mr. Clinton, asserting that there are "similarities between Bush and Clinton" in that the core ideology of each man can be hard to pin down. Even Mr. Bush's sons, who are running for governor in Florida and Texas, have chosen the more conservative themes of Mr. Reagan rather than those of their less ideologically bound father.

David S. Johnson, executive director of the Virginia Republican Party, explained the move to the right this way: "For years, the traditional Republican line was to stop the rate of growth in spending. This year, for the first time, we are talking about slashing spending."

There is no more talk about using Government to solve some problems, like bad schools. And rather than dwell on the divisive social themes that caused trouble in 1992, like abortion and flag burning, these candidates are careful to speak in broader terms about the moral decay of American society and are emphasizing less controversial issues like welfare overhaul, crime and a $500-a-child tax credit.

"I'm a conservative, but I'm not a zealot," said Fred Heineman, a former police chief in Raleigh, N.C., who is running for the House. Mr. Heineman signed the contract, but said, "I can't say that I agree with everything in that contract."

Such hesitation makes sense, suggested Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster in Atlanta. Mr. Ayres said the contract will have "short-term detriment and long-term benefit" for the Republican Party.

"In the short run, it probably gave the Democrats an argument they didn't have otherwise," he said. "In the long run, if a party hopes to lead, they're going to have to stand for something."

In a memorandum this week, Stanley Greenberg, President Clinton's pollster, said Democratic candidates could make inroads if they mentioned Reaganomics and "trickle-down policies" in their references to the contract. "Clearly," he wrote, "the explicit images of the Reagan era are very negative for the public, particularly Reaganomics."

Yet other evidence suggests that Republicans who invoke Mr. Reagan may benefit. Recent polls have shown that Mr. Reagan is viewed favorably by a large majority of the public and is a far more popular figure than Mr. Clinton.

Even so, Republicans clearly fear playing into the Democrats' hands. Mr. McIntosh's Democratic opponent, Joseph H. Hogsett, the Secretary of State in Indiana, tried to stir up the issue on a radio program here on Friday when he asserted, "I'm not going to fly to Washington and sign a contract with a bunch of people who don't represent Indiana's Second District."

Such criticism has left Mr. McIntosh somewhat in conflict. In an interview, he endorsed the pact and disputed the Democrats' notion of the 1980's as "a decade of greed."

"I don't think the '92 election was a referendum on the '80s," he said. "They were dissatisfied in '92 with the direction Bush was taking things."

But rather than emphasize the contract, Mr. McIntosh reminds voters that he drafted his own contract with Indiana residents when he started his campaign. And he makes a point of telling them that he urged Mr. Gingrich to make the national contract even stronger by calling for repeal of the tax increases passed during the Bush and Clinton Administrations.

Another Republican who signed the contract but has played it down in his campaign is Representative Jay Dickey of Arkansas. "The contract is not important to voters right now," said Bob Brooks, his campaign manager. "It does not affect this election specifically. This is not a national race."

A smaller number of the Republican candidates surveyed said they were confident enough to embrace the contract, though it does not appear to be a dominant theme of many Republican races. "I take the contract we signed very seriously, and I talk about it all the time," said John Pappageorge, who is waging a tough fight against Representative Sander M. Levin, a Democrat, in suburban Detroit.

The increasingly conservative tone this season, which comes more easily to Republicans but is also evident in some Democratic campaigns, seems to reflect an electorate that is increasingly skeptical of the Government's ability to accomplish anything and frustrated by the moral state of American society.

Mr. McIntosh, who as executive director of Mr. Quayle's Council on Competitiveness led an assault on environmental regulations, said he speaks of "Hoosier values" because "family values" would only remind voters of how nasty the values debate became in the 1992 campaign.

"We have to be loving," Mr. McIntosh said, though when pressed he argued that it would be "a cop-out" for the Republicans to abandon a national platform against abortion. He is so intent on portraying himself as a family man that in one television commercial, his wife, Ruthie, leaves the impression that they have children -- they do not -- when she says her husband "came back to Indiana to raise our family."

Mr. McIntosh is not a firebrand in the Gingrich mold. He is so low-key that he campaigned at bowling alleys here the other night on the advice of Mr. Quayle, who he said told him he would "meet a lot of guys at the country club" but needed to branch out.

Republicans make no apologizes for their unabashed conservatism. At a candidates' forum in Iowa, former Representative Dave Nagle, a Democrat who is trying to make a comeback, accused the incumbent, Representative Jim Nussle, of being part of the "hard, sharp, partisan reality of the far right wing of the Republican Party."

But Mr. Nussle responded that he was happy to accept the label: "If it's far right wing to say the Government is too big and spends too much, if it's far right wing to think that you've got to leave some cash in the pockets of Iowans so that they can make better decisions about their daily lives than the Government can for them, if it's far right to be worried about the fact that babies are having babies in our country, then I guess maybe that's where you ought to put me."

Photos: Republican candidates, trying to revive Ronald Reagan's legacy and political agenda, appeared last month at a rally in Washington. (Stephen Crowley/The New York Times); David McIntosh, a Republican running for the House in Indiana. (Mary Ann Carter for The New York Times)(pg. B8)


Veteran British pop star Cliff Richard has confirmed he will sue the BBC and the police after a raid on his home was broadcast live on TV.

Richard, 75, who was Britain's first home-grown pop star and considered the UK's answer to Elvis Presley, was told last month that he would face no charges over allegations sexual abuse dating back decades, following an investigation that took two years, due to lack of evidence.

The South Yorkshire Police force was severely criticised by lawmakers over its handling of the case after it struck a deal with the BBC to broadcast the police raid on Richard's home.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper said Richard's case could be worth more than £1 million ($1.7 million AUD).

"My life was effectively turned upside down and my reputation, worldwide, was unnecessarily damaged. I would not want the same to happen to others whether in the public eye or not," Richard said in a statement.

"I firmly believe that privacy should be respected and that police guidelines are there to be followed.

"That means that, save in exceptional circumstances, people should never be named unless and until they are charged. As everybody has accepted, there were no such 'exceptional circumstances' in my case."

After the BBC got wind of the investigation, South Yorkshire Police cut a deal with the broadcaster in a bid to delay them breaking the story.

The BBC was tipped off about the raid on Richard's home and was outside in advance to film detectives sweeping in, broadcasting the search live from a helicopter.

The BBC has said it is "very sorry" for causing the singer distress but stood by its decision to report the investigation. South Yorkshire Police also apologised to the star.

Richard, who burst onto the pop scene in the late 1950s, is the third biggest-selling artist in British singles chart history, behind The Beatles and Presley.

His hits include "The Young Ones", "Living Doll", "Summer Holiday", "Congratulations", "Mistletoe And Wine" and "The Millennium Prayer".

There has been a wave of accusations of historical sex abuse against prominent figures in Britain since 2012, when the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile was revealed to be a serial paedophile.

Summary: Veteran British pop star Cliff Richard confirmed Sunday he will sue the BBC and the police after a raid on his home was broadcast live on TV.


Some people give Mom flowers and jewelry, but Ne-Yo gives homes.

TMZ has learned the singer just handed over a $300k townhouse in Mableton, Georgia to his mother, Harriet Loraine Burts.

It's not the first crib he's gifted to dear ole mom. She already has a $550k mansion in nearby Alpharetta ... which Ne-Yo bought in 2012.

The Mableton home is smaller -- only 3 bedrooms compared to 6 in the Alpharetta pad -- but it's closer to Atlanta.

Ne-Yo's becoming ATL's mini-Donald Trump, as real estate goes anyway -- he dropped $1 mil last year for a downtown ATL condo for his baby mama and 2 kids.

Summary: Some people give Mom flowers and jewelry, but Ne-Yo gives homes. TMZ has learned the singer just handed over a $300k townhouse in Mableton,…


Thrive Capital, which gained fame with early investments in technology darlings and then began incubating businesses like health insurers, is about to become bigger.

Thrive plans to announce on Monday that it has raised $700 million for its fifth fund, pushing the firm’s overall size to just under $1.5 billion.

Over its six years, Thrive has become a quiet force in venture capital. At its helm is Joshua Kushner, the younger son of a New York-area real estate family — his brother is Jared Kushner, who leads the family business and is the son-in-law of Donald J. Trump — who has carved his own path.

Mr. Kushner, who began investing while at Harvard Business School, left Goldman Sachs soon after arriving to focus on his venture endeavor, which became Thrive.

Since its founding, the firm has invested in number of businesses, including the computer code repository GitHub, the fitness class discounter ClassPass and the men’s grooming start-up Harry’s.

Even at its bigger size, the firm does not plan to change its investment strategy. Its focus will remain getting into start-ups early, as it did with the photo service Instagram — Thrive invested in Instagram just days before it sold itself to Facebook for about $1 billion in 2012 — the eyeglasses seller Warby Parker and the video-game spectator site Twitch.

But the firm also intends to keep its options open, with the potential for investing in later-stage start-ups. Among the so-called growth stage companies it has invested in are the payments processor Stripe and the chat software company Slack.

Thrive will also continue to build and nurture homegrown businesses, a roster that includes Oscar, a health insurer.

“We are humbled by the entrepreneurs that we work alongside,” Mr. Kushner said in a statement. “We are also mindful that we are only as good as our next at-bat.”

A version of this article appears in print on July 19, 2016, on page B4 of the New York edition with the headline: Tech-Focused Firm Raises $700 Million for Fifth Fund. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: With the new financing, the firm, known for early investments in companies like Instagram and Warby Parker, will be valued at just under $1.5 billion.


Nineham took this further and asserted, again in the company of certain German scholars, that the expressions of faith found in the Bible and in the credal statements compiled during the early centuries of the Church were inevitably influenced by cultural factors and needed to be disentangled from these factors if they were to be of use to people living in different ages and with different understandings of the way in which the universe is ordered.

This view was most powerfully argued in his major work, The Use and Abuse of the Bible (1976), but it received much wider notice through the essay he contributed in the following year to a highly controversial volume, The Myth of God Incarnate, which, in a matter of weeks, sold more than 30,000 copies.

Nineham was at this time a member of the General Synod and also of the Doctrine Commission and, as a former Regius Professor at Cambridge and now the head of an Oxford college, could not easily be dismissed as a wild radical who had been nurtured in the trendy 1960s. In his contribution to a report of the Doctrine Commission, Christian Believing (1976), he had also argued persuasively for a faith that was not dependent upon a neo-fundamentalist approach to the Bible and the classical Creeds.

But the days of such arguments by those in official positions were numbered. The arrival of Archbishop Donald Coggan at Canterbury led to a change in the membership of the Doctrine Commission in a more conservative, and it has to be said less distinguished, direction. Nineham left the Commission and also the General Synod in 1976 and henceforward concentrated on teaching, writing and university administration.

Dennis Eric Nineham was born in Southampton on September 27 1921. He went from King Edward VI School in that city to Queen’s College, Oxford, as a scholar, and took Firsts in Mods and Greats, followed by a First in Theology.

He then went to Lincoln Theological College to prepare for ordination and straight back to Queen’s College in 1944 as assistant chaplain, becoming Chaplain and Fellow two years later.

He remained in Oxford until 1954, when his friend Eric Abbott, who had moved from the Wardenship of Lincoln Theological College to become Dean of King’s College, London, persuaded him to take the chair of Biblical and Historical Theology at King’s and thus help strengthen the theological faculty of both the college and the university.

This he achieved with considerable panache. He was both a demanding and a popular teacher who soon began to achieve impressive results from his undergraduate and post-graduate pupils. He made theology exciting and helped to make King’s College one of the foremost centres of theological research and teaching in the world. When the Regius chair of Divinity at Cambridge became vacant in 1964, Nineham was the obvious choice for the post and he entered fully into the lively theological debates that characterised Cambridge life throughout the 1960s. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College.

In 1969, however, the early death of Austin Farrer left Keble College, Oxford, without a Warden and, since at that time tradition required the head of the college to be an ordained Anglican, Eric Abbott, who had been Farrer’s immediate predecessor, once again persuaded Nineham to go. It was a good move in that it provided Keble with a distinguished Warden and an able administrator, but it was a wasteful move in that it deprived the realm of theological research and teaching of one of its most able practitioners.

After 10 years, Nineham returned to teaching as Professor of Theology and head of the Department of Theology at Bristol. It was a less elevated position for a scholar with such a past, but the small yet lively ecumenical department at Bristol suited him well and left time for further writing, mainly essays in symposia on biblical interpretation and hermeneutics. He retired in 1986.

Dennis Nineham was also an Honorary Canon of Bristol Cathedral and generous in accepting invitations to lecture and preach both locally and internationally. He was an avid reader of detective novels and a railway enthusiast.

He became a Governor of Haileybury College in 1966 and was awarded an Oxford DD in 1978.

His wife Ruth and a daughter predeceased him and he is survived by a daughter and two sons.

The Rev Prof Dennis Nineham, born September 27 1921, died May 9 2016

Summary: The Reverend Professor Dennis Nineham, who has died aged 94, was one of the Church of England’s most distinguished scholars and teachers.


Melanie Griffith walked the red carpet with makeup covering up her famous forearm tattoo that bears her husband Antonio Banderas’ name. The two announced that they would split earlier this month. She’s now getting the tattoo removed, at least according to the Daily Mail, which published photos of the star leaving a Los Angeles tattoo removal office on Thursday.

Getting rid of ink is serious business: the best way is to laser it off, which apparently feels like you’re being burned. Plenty of celebs have removed tattoos they later regretted, including Pharrell, 50 Cent and Megan Fox. Mark Wahlberg even took his children with him to get his tattoos removed in order to scare them out of making the same mistake.

But removing a tattoo with a lover’s name is more than just physically painful: it must be emotionally wrenching as well. Luckily for Griffith, she’s in good company. Here are six other celebrities who have had to remove permanent ink post-breakup.

After divorcing Billy Bob Thornton in 2003, Angelina Jolie had her forearm tattoo of his name removed. She has replaced it with the longitudes and latitudes of her six children’s birthplaces.

Eva Longoria had her ex-husband Tony Parker’s basketball jersey number lasered off after she split with the Spurs’ point guard in 2011.

Johnny Depp is perhaps the greatest example of how to rework a tattoo post-breakup. Once upon a time, Depp had “Winona Forever” tattooed on his arm while dating Winona Rider. The relationship didn’t last, so Depp artfully amended the tattoo to read “Wino Forever.”

Model and reality show host Heidi Klum removed the name of her former husband Seal from her arm last year, according to People. The tattoo consisted of singer Seal’s name followed by three stars with their three children’s initials in them. Klum filed for divorce in April 2012 after seven years of marriage.

Marc Anthony removed Jennifer Lopez’s name from his wrist before he even filed for divorce, according to the Hollywood Reporter. He has since replaced the tattoo with a picture of the Statue of Liberty and his girlfriend Shannon De Lima’s name.

Denise Richards replaced her ankle tattoo of Charlie Sheen’s name with a picture of a fairy after the two split. Sheen also got his tattoo of the name “Denise” removed from his wrist.

Summary: Love doesn't always have to leave scars


It was widely assumed that the Church would have to accept same-sex marriage for fear of appearing out of touch. Dr Sentamu says the bishops in the House of Lords did not try to stop Labour introducing civil partnerships in 2004, giving homosexual couples improved legal rights.

The Church tolerates clergy who are in civil relationships but expects them to be celibate. The Archbishop says the Church was also content with last year’s move to allow civil partnership ceremonies in places of worship, as long as it is voluntary and agreed by the governing body of any particular denomination.

But Dr Sentamu is opposed to the homosexual civil marriage proposal, and says the Government would face a rebellion on any changes in legislation. His intervention may serve as a rallying cry for traditionalist Tories who oppose Mr Cameron’s plan.

“The rebellion is going to come not only from the bishops,” he says. “You’re going to get it from across the benches and in the Commons.

“If you genuinely would like the registration of civil partnerships to happen in a more general way, most people will say they can see the drift. But if you begin to call those 'marriage’, you’re trying to change the English language.”

“That does not mean you diminish, condemn, criticise, patronise any same-sex relationships because that is not what the debate is about.

“The Church has always stood out – Jesus actually was the odd man out. I’d rather stick with Jesus than be popular because it looks odd.”

Dr Sentamu, in Jamaica to mark its 50 years of independence, also says the Church’s leadership needs to become less middle class.

Summary: Marriage must remain a union between a man and a woman, says the Archbishop of   York, and David Cameron will be acting like a “dictator” if he allows   homosexual couples to wed.


‘Fun’ is not a go-to descriptor for an art installation — unless, of course, the art is in the form of a 584-ft-long slide.

The world’s longest and tallest tunnel slide opens Friday in east London, and the new structure is a dream come true for children and the child within everyone (who isn’t afraid of heights). Artist Carsten Höller designed the attraction, which is entwined in and around Anish Kapoor’s ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture.

Unlike most ephemeral slide experiences, ‘The Slide’ takes a full 40 seconds to shoot down. It winds riders around the sculpture 12 times at a speed of up to 15 mph, and includes a section called ‘‘bettfeder” (German for bedspring) along with a straight shot to the ground at the end.

When it opens Friday, visitors can buy tickets to ride the art that cost 10 pounds ($15) for general admission. For non-Londoners, travel to the slide may be slightly more expensive, but they say you can’t put a price on happiness.

Summary: The most fun art installation ever is just another reason to head to Europe.


It will take some time before the turmoil and turbulence eases after Britain’s vote to exit the E.U. The U.S. economy is resilient enough to withstand the short-term impacts of this volatility. What should be of greater concern is the political thunderbolt of anti-globalization we’re seeing in many parts of the world – including here at home.

The same isolationist arguments which fueled support for the U.K.’s exit from the E.U. are evident in America’s current political climate, too. And that spells even more trouble for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) later this year.

I am a pro-trade Democrat, and I strongly support the proposal to join 12 countries into a common set of rules governing trans-Pacific commerce. America should maintain a leadership role in setting the trade rules in the world’s fastest-growing region.

TPP will support jobs here in America, while strengthening environmental protections and improving working conditions across the Pacific Rim. TPP is expected to boost U.S. economic output by billions of dollars, and support millions of new and existing American jobs

The Brexit vote shows that all the data, and all of the experts in the world, cannot convince a community to support global trade when it has seen its large employers close their doors and move abroad. I am a former business executive who built companies with a global footprint, and I am a former governor who tried to help displaced textile and furniture workers in Virginia, but I must acknowledge many of the arguments made by advocates simply are no longer convincing to millions of Americans.

We know the economic benefits of increased trade will not be distributed evenly, and the downside costs are likely to fall largely upon those who live and work in communities reliant upon a single local employer or industry. So if advocates of free trade—and I’m one of them—expect to win congressional approval for TPP later this year, we need to be honest that we have to do more.

For instance, Congress has approved only $4.5 billion in assistance for displaced workers over 10 years, while the new economic activity from TPP is valued at $750 billion over the same time frame. If we really believe the projections about increased economic activity with TPP, surely we can do better than simply half-a-percent in assistance to help displaced workers pivot to new jobs.

We should invest more, and do more to better synchronize training with the jobs that are actually available within a community or region. We should be open to reimagining a much more forward-leaning trade assistance program—one that recognizes previous efforts have not always been successful, and often resulted in training for jobs that no longer exist in the community. We also should consider incentives, coupled with appropriate transparency and accountability, for those employers who design and deploy their own training programs that will actually result in jobs. This could be an opportunity to try innovative approaches to worker training, including pay-for-performance.

In addition, while many industries will win under TPP, manufacturing and tech are expected to be among the biggest winners. Executives in those industries, and companies in their supply chains, should acknowledge their responsibility to invest more and create jobs in communities facing negative consequences from trade. This provides an opportunity for creative public-private partnerships to make this happen.

Congress also should consider moving TPP legislation alongside tangible infrastructure investments. Improving our roads, rail networks, ports and airports is directly tied to trade: it allows us to move products and crops more efficiently, and infrastructure improvements also could put tens of thousands of people to work right away.

We also must prove we’re doing all we can to ensure American workers, businesses and farmers are being treated fairly. We must recommit to aggressive U.S. enforcement of all of our trade agreements. That means calling-out those countries who cheat, and using the World Trade Organization and any other enforcement tools to pursue and resolve trade disputes.

Regardless of the Brexit vote, global trade remains essential to America’s economic durability and leadership in the world. But honesty about the downside risks needs to be part of the conversation, too.

Summary: Isolationist arguments are evident in the U.S., too


Coalition talks are close to breakdown over whether the government will exercise its opt-out of more than 130 EU police and criminal justice measures, the Guardian has learned.

The Tory Cabinet Office minister, Oliver Letwin, and the Liberal Democrat Danny Alexander, have been trying to hammer out a deal over which of the 130 measures are regarded as so vital that Britain would immediately ask Brussels for permission to opt back into them.

But it is understood that the talks have effectively broken down with the Lib Dems digging their heels in over such emblematic issues for the Tory right as the European arrest warrant.

A source with knowledge of the talks has confirmed that "they are not making a great deal of progress, they are having to work through the package on a case by case basis".

The talks have been going on since October when the home secretary, Theresa May, told the Commons of the government's intention to exercise Britain's mass opt-out of police and criminal justice measures agreed between the 1992 Maastricht treaty and the 2007 Lisbon treaty under the banner of "repatriating British powers from Brussels".

The Lib Dems are prepared to sign up to the mass opt-out but only if the Conservatives agreed beforehand to provide the list of measures that Britain would immediately ask permission to opt back into.

It now appears that the coalition talks to reach that agreement have run into the sand.

A breakdown over the issue has serious implications for David Cameron's strategy on Europe as this is one of the main issues he was hoping to secure demonstrable progress on this side of the general election, regardless of any promises of a referendum afterwards.

The row at the heart of the coalition's European strategy broke cover on Thursday morning when the minister without portfolio, Ken Clarke, "announced" on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, that ministers would opt back in to 30 of the 130 measures that were regarded as essential for crime and justice purposes.

However a senior Lib Dem source rapidly made clear that the politician was jumping the gun: "There's a lot of common ground between Ken Clark and the Liberal Democrats on Europe, but he's getting ahead of himself on the justice and home affairs issue. No decision has been taken about how many measures the UK will opt back into. The question of whether to exercise the mass opt-out remains under discussion in government."

One of the big bones of contention in the Letwin/Alexander talks has been the future of the European arrest warrant which Tory right-wingers have put at the centre of their campaign for the repatriation of British powers from Brussels.

The Lib Dems, with the support of the police, have argued that there would be wide support across Europe to reform the workings of the arrest warrant.

The Eurosceptics argue that it is a waste of money to spend £30,000 sending a Pole back from London to Warsaw to face charges of 100 outstanding parking tickets.

But the Lib Dems have been arguing that this could be dealt with by simply raising the threshold for the seriousness of the crimes that would trigger the use of the warrant, and that the entire system did not have to be dismantled.

Sarah Ludford, the Lib Dems' home affairs spokeswoman in the European parliament, said in a Times letter on Thursday, that the arrest warrant had led to more than 300 paedophiles, murderers and rapists being returned to Britain to stand trial. She also said it would be folly to abandon the European-wide sharing of DNA and fingerprints found at crime scenes.

The only point of agreement the Lib Dems seemed to have reached with the Conservatives is that the plans for a European public prosecutor (which does not yet exist) should be abandoned.

Summary: Ken Clarke accused of 'pre-empting' decision to 'opt back in' on some measures, while Lib Dems dig in heels for deals


Where’s Boris? Where’s Mikey? You’d have thought the two Brexit architects would have been only too keen to share their cunning plans with a divided nation, but the merry pranksters had other things on their mind. Lunch. Cricket. Lunch. That sort of thing. So in their absence, the Sunday morning TV politics shows had to make do with decidedly B-list guests from the two main parties.

First up on the Marr show was the business secretary, Sajid Javid, whose sole achievement in government so far has been to be on holiday when Tata announced it was going to close down the British steel industry. “So when is the brutal punishment budget coming?” demanded Andrew Marr.

Javid looked astonished that someone might have thought that when he said he was supporting remain in the referendum campaign he had actually meant it. “The thing is, everything is probably going to be OK,” he said. Every time the business secretary tries to say something reassuring, he knocks another few billion pounds off the value of the stock market. “Have you actually spoken to the chancellor since Friday?” Marr asked. “Um, er, I’ve been in touch.” Translation: I’ve sent him a couple of emails that he hasn’t bothered to reply to. Or just no. Divided country, divided government.

Related: Brexit triggers Corbyn coup: seven shadow cabinet members quit – live

Realising that trying to get sense out of Javid was a total waste of time, Marr tried his luck with Iain Duncan Smith. “What’s the plan?” he said. IDS’s face bristled with irritation. Why was everyone so keen on hearing about a plan? Couldn’t they understand that Brexit was never about having a plan? It was about taking back control of not having a plan. “How do you mean?” he said, defensively.

Marr considerately chose to start with something easy. Something tangible. The £350m per week that Vote Leave had said would be used to fund the NHS. “We never said that,” IDS replied.

“Yes you did. So even if there was £350m per week, which there isn’t, how are you going to fulfil all of your other spending promises?”

“We never made any commitments. We just made a series of promises that were possibilities.” Well, thanks for clearing that one up.

IDS reached for his Brexit media training manual. Page 3: when your appearance is going tits up and you can’t think of anything to say, lean forward and try to make eye contact with your interviewer. IDS leaned forward. Marr recoiled, unnerved by the coldness of the intimacy. Dead eyes, dead heart.

“We do need to get going on the shape of Brexit,” IDS admitted, somewhat late in the day. Three months ago might have been a better time to start. “But we will be getting some experts in to help with our renegotiations.” Back home, Gove choked on a pre-lunch glass of champagne. Experts? He’d absolutely forbidden any experts from being engaged in anything. How dare that fool IDS go so seriously off-message.

Over on ITV, Robert Peston had to make do with the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond. It must have been nice for Phil’s family to get him out the house for the morning, even if it wasn’t such a joy for everyone else. Phil’s approach to reassuring the country is sleep therapy. “We all just need to go back to bed,” he snored. When the foreign secretary talks, the country nods off. After his own lacklustre performance for the remain campaign, he looked increasingly like a dead man walking. But since he looks that way even when things aren’t going quite as badly as they might be for him, that may not be such a terminal career signifier.

Not to be left out, Labour was also keen to reassure the country it could make a good fist of acting like a headless chicken. Ever since Jeremy Corbyn accidentally put his X in the box for Britain to leave the EU and a poll suggested about a third of those unhappy few who voted Labour in the last general election wouldn’t do so again, there have been moves in the parliamentary Labour party to depose their leader for someone who might stand a chance of winning. Hilary Benn had been the most vocal and had duly been sacked as shadow foreign secretary the previous night.

On Marr, Benn was at his most sphinx-like. “I am a huge admirer of Jeremy, but I think he’s truly hopeless,” was one of his kinder observations. Benn has always been a man who prefers to do his killing with kindness. “No, I wasn’t surprised to be sacked,” he added. No shit, Sherlock. While Benn was on air, the shadow health secretary, Heidi Alexander, chose to announce her resignation. On Peston, she gave her explanation. “It just seemed like a good idea that as the Conservatives are tearing themselves apart in a leadership struggle, that Labour should do exactly the same thing,” she said coyly. “It’s what the public would have wanted.” Liberté, égalité, stupidité and all that.

Meanwhile, on the Sunday Politics – it was one of those mornings when there were so many car crashes taking place at the same time it was hard to know where to look – the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell was saying he didn’t care if the entire shadow cabinet resigned as Jeremy was going nowhere. “Look,” he said menacingly. “There may be only 400,000 people left in the country who are willing to vote Labour, but they are all members of the party and adore Jeremy, so he can stay as leader forever and ever, hooray.”

This prompted Gloria De Piero to say she was also going to resign from the shadow cabinet. By the end of the day, Cat Smith, one of the few true Corbyn devotees left among Labour MPs, could find herself trebling up as shadow foreign secretary, shadow health secretary and shadow equalities minister after little more than a year in parliament.

Here a cluster-fuck, there a cluster-fuck, everywhere a cluster-fuck. The rest of the EU must be quite enjoying this. Even if we aren’t.

Summary: It was one of those mornings when there were so many car crashes at the same time it was hard to know where to look


The estate is suing the Miramax studio, film distributor Roadside Attractions, and director Bill Condon, who previously directed Chicago and Dreamgirls.

In a complaint filed in New Mexico, the estate said: "Reviews of early screenings, together with trailers released in the United States, reveal that the motion picture uses the same elements from Conan Doyle's copyrighted stories."

The film is based on the book 'A Slight Trick of the Mind' by Mitch Cullin

It is also suing the author and publishers of the book A Slight Trick of the Mind, on which the film is based, and demanding damages and a share of profits from both the film and book.

The case is the latest development in a long running legal saga over who owns rights to the fictional sleuth.

Last year the US Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings that only the last 10 of Conan Doyle's 60 stories remained in copyright.

They were published between 1923 and 1927 and are therefore still subject to America's 95-year copyright laws.

Only the last 10 of 60 stories by Conan Doyle, pictured, remain in copyright

The rest were ruled to be in the public domain, which has led to a boom in Sherlock Holmes entertainment projects.

However, the estate claims there are similarities between Mr. Holmes and The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier, one of the 10 stories still under copyright.

The alleged similarities include that "Watson has remarried and moved out of Baker Street".

The estate, which filed its complaint in New Mexico, also suggests that the details of Holmes' retirement are developed from elements of the final 10 stories.

In its claim the estate said: "We admire both the book and the movie, and we have told the defendants that. But much of the setting, plot and especially the character and emotional makeup of Sherlock Holmes as an older man, come straight from copyrighted stories.

"Those stories are among the most original and creative works of modern fiction, and they should not be ripped off just because older Conan Doyle stories are in the public domain."

Summary: Author's estate claims an upcoming summer blockbuster starring Sir Ian   McKellen as the great sleuth infringes copyright


YEREVAN, Armenia — All 20 gunmen inside a police compound in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, surrendered on Sunday, ending a two-week standoff that left two police officers dead and several people wounded on both sides, the security service said.

The standoff, involving armed members of a radical opposition group, also set off protests that led to unrest in the capital.

The leader of the gunmen, Varuzhan Avetisyan, said in a phone interview with local news outlets that they had decided to surrender after security forces used armored vehicles to enter the police compound.

Another factor, Mr. Avetisyan said, was that the police had started to shoot gunmen who ventured outside. Most were hit in the leg, but a man was shot in the chest on Sunday, he said.

A total of 31 armed men seized the police compound on July 17 to demand freedom for the leader of the opposition group, who was arrested in June. The group, Founding Parliament, has criticized the government and called for people to take to the streets to force the president and the prime minister to step down.

Several thousand people joined nightly rallies to support the gunmen, occasionally clashing with the police. Some of the worst violence took place Friday, when 75 people were injured.

In recent days, four members of the group had surrendered, including two earlier on Sunday, and at least seven were wounded.

Mr. Avetisyan said the security forces had tried to storm the compound on Saturday night and used a vehicle to smash a wall, but then retreated. On Sunday, “there was intense shooting, stun grenades exploded, and armored vehicles entered the territory,” he said.

The gunmen surrendered to avoid heavy losses on both sides, he said.

In the initial attack, the gunmen killed one officer and wounded several others. The police accused them of killing a second officer on Saturday in a vehicle away from the compound, but Mr. Avetisyan denied it.

The gunmen had held four police officers hostage for a week before releasing them unharmed. They later seized four members of an ambulance crew, but freed the last two on Saturday.

On Saturday night, demonstrators marched down Baghramyan Avenue toward the main government buildings and the presidential residence, but they were stopped by the riot police, who strung coils of barbed wire across the road. The demonstrators blocked traffic for two hours but dispersed peacefully early Sunday.

A version of this list appears in print on August 1, 2016, on page A3 of the New York edition with the headline: Armenian Gunmen Surrender After Two-Week Standoff. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: All 20 holdouts ended their occupation of a police compound in Yerevan, the capital, which they seized July 17 to demand the freedom of the leader of their opposition group.


The lower rungs of the Chinese market are still dominated by domestic brands like Chery, whose name and numerous models suggest more than a passing resemblance to Chevy. The affluent, however, are flocking to an increasingly diverse array of foreign luxury offerings. The rapid market expansion has presented some foreign carmakers with a chance for brand reinvention, while posing public relations challenges to others.

“Because the market is so young, brand perceptions and a car’s face” — an idiom meaning prestige or repute — “are both critical,” said Mr. Zhang, pointing out that 80 percent of car purchases are made by first-time buyers.

Audi’s party technocrat associations are a result partly of the car’s early market entry and its longstanding place on the government’s coveted purchasing list. Audi, the German automaker, gained access to the Chinese market in 1988 when its owner, Volkswagen, struck a joint venture with Yiqi, a Chinese carmaker. By contrast, BMW’s first domestic factory opened in 2003, giving Audi 15 years to establish itself as the premier vehicle for China’s elite.

This early advantage has helped Audi to dominate China’s lucrative government-car market, with 20 percent of its China revenue in 2009 drawn directly from government sales. Each year, the Procurement Center of the Central People’s Government releases a list of the cars and models acceptable for government purchase. While the A6 has long been a mainstay on the list, which had 38 brands in 2010, BMW made the cut only in 2009.

“When people see government officials in BMWs, they automatically suspect corruption or malfeasance — but Audis are to be expected,” said Jessica Wu, a public relations professional with almost a decade of experience in the Chinese car industry. A basic model Audi A6 costs 355,000 renminbi, or $56,000, while the BMW 5 series Li costs about 428,000 renminbi, or $67,520.

Such market positioning has brought significant financial results for Audi — in 2010, the company sold 227,938 vehicles in China, more than double the number in the United States.

The Munich-based automaker BMW, on the other hand, has found itself in a contrary position. Since entering the Chinese market, BMW has acquired a reputation as a vehicle for the arrogant and the rash, making it largely off-limits to wealthy officials who prefer a low-key public image.

Part of this stereotype is rooted in a 2003 incident in which a young female driver in the northeastern city of Harbin intentionally ran over and killed an impoverished man who had accidentally dented her BMW X5. Despite the transparent nature of the case — a clear motive and numerous eyewitnesses — the case was settled out of court for $11,000. The incident was seen as driving a wedge between China’s rich and poor, damaging BMW’s nascent image.

More recently, a driver in a BMW M6 struck and killed a pedestrian in May during an illegal street race in the city of Nanjing, setting off a public outcry.

“If it hadn’t been a BMW, I don’t think it would have been as big of a deal,” said a young man who had taken part in the race and spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was awaiting trial. “Had it been all Toyotas, Mitsubishis or even Audis, I don’t think it would have provoked as dire a reaction.”

Despite such public relations travails, BMW has posted strong sales in China, selling 121,614 units in the first two quarters of 2011, or 27 percent of the company’s total sales during that period.

The American carmaker General Motors has found the Chinese market to be a life-saving opportunity for the reinvention of the Buick brand. Since 2005, when Bob Lutz, the vice chairman of G.M., famously declared Buick a “damaged brand,” America’s oldest surviving automobile make has successfully positioned itself in China as a top-tier luxury carmaker.

Largely the result of effective marketing and remodeling, China’s romance with the Buick also has historical roots. The last Chinese emperor, Pu Yi, was the proud owner of two Buicks, as was the country’s first provisional president, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The black Buick 8 driven by a onetime premier, Zhou Enlai, is still displayed at his former residence in Shanghai, now a museum.

In 2010, Buick sold over 550,000 cars in China, more than triple its sales in the United States.

“We joke that our market revived Buick from the dead — it’s only partly a joke,” said Liu Wen, a reporter for China Auto News.

On Sina Weibo, the country’s most popular microblogging service, a recent posting tried to sum up the car clichés. “A gathering of Mercedes indicates a get-together for old folks,” the writer said. “A group of BMWs means young nouveaux riches are about to run someone over and have a party; several Audis, and you know it’s a government meeting.”

A version of this article appears in print on November 15, 2011, on page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: In China, Buick’s for the Chic. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: Car companies are grappling with an alternate universe of brand associations in China, where Buicks are status symbols and a Mercedes-Benz is the domain of the retiree.


In the 1500s, the place was owned by Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII. The story goes that Cromwell lost his tenure (and his head) in 1540 after a neighbour, Sir George Throckmorton, gave evidence against him when he was tried for treason and heresy, and Throckmorton acquired the property for the knock-down sum of £774 9s 2d. Not that this would buy you much these days.

The Harveys have divided the castle into five apartments, and added a four-storey circular turret to replace the one demolished in the 19th century. They have also restored nine barn conversions within the 65-acre grounds, and asking prices range from £300,000 up to £2 million. It will be open to the public – no armies required – for a week from September 11 to 20 (oversleycastle.com).

“We envisage the castle as providing lock-up-and-leave properties,” says Harvey. “The kind of place where you chuck your keys to your neighbours while you go off to Spain for three months.”

Oversley Castle, left, once owned by Thomas Cromwell, has been split into five apartments.

This is by no means the only sliced-up castle on the market in the UK. In Aberdeenshire, Hilda Aitken is selling a two-bedroom apartment in Keith Hall House, a 16th-century former castle near Inverurie, for £295,000 (on the market with Strutt & Parker, struttandparker.com).

Is she local? Not at all. She lives in Hornchurch in Essex, and when she first came to visit the house (which is divided into eight apartments), it took her and her husband 10 hours to drive there. Nevertheless, they fell for the property straight away. The castle stands in 26 acres of parkland, with a three-acre lake in the middle, deer in the grounds and an imposing coat of arms over the front entrance.

• In pictures: top class family homes near Britain's best schools

• Video: Inside homes where the art costs more than the walls its hanging on

Of course, two questions immediately spring to mind when a property is shared. The first is, will the upkeep of the grounds require a king’s ransom? Aitken says no. She pays £700 a year. The second question concerns the other occupants. Do they welcome newcomers or do their best to pretend that they are the sole owners of the fortress?

“Quite the reverse,” says Aitken. “Everyone has been very friendly, and the place is so big you don’t feel you’re living right up against each other. I’m sad to be selling, but the journey has just got too far for me now. When I left, though, all the other residents gave me a dinner party to say goodbye.”

Indeed, one of the surprising bonuses of buying a shared castle or stately home is the company of your fellow residents.

“Obviously, it’s dependent on the individuals,” says Andrew Ireland, who lives in the Library Suite at Ottershaw Park, in Chertsey, Surrey. The original Palladian building at Ottershaw was erected in 1762, and has served in various guises: as a Second World War hospital, then as a college, then as a school until 1980, when it was turned into residential apartments.

It’s not all that often that any of the 13 properties here come on to the market, but the house’s beautifully parquet-floored Octagonal Suite (two bedrooms) has just been put up for sale for £1.5 million (savills.com).

“It’s actually much friendlier than you might imagine,” says Ireland. “The people who choose to live here are often quite successful, with driven personalities, and more often than not are quite gregarious. Each year, we throw three different parties for all the residents. On top of which, there is a shared sense of ownership, which brings you together.”

That sense of camarderie also means the residents of Ottershaw Park don’t shy away from the work required to keep the house up to scratch.

“Five years ago, we decided to take a progressive attitude towards the upkeep, and doubled the service charge for the next five to six years,” says Ireland

“The property was showing signs of wear and tear, and we decided to replace the stone roofs. It was an expensive, but necessary, course of action. We don’t have a management company, but many of the people living here have relevant skills, and that saves us a good deal of money each year.”

The imposing front of Wyfold Court

By and large, people buying into a castle tend to be those who have owned large places before, and most are over 50.

“One of the benefits of these country house conversions is that they provide impressive proportions and grand settings but without the worry of the maintenance” says Nigel Mitchell, of Knight Frank estate agents, in Guildford.

“The recent trend has been for buyers in their 60s, who may spend six months of the year overseas, and who have downsized from the family house, but still require fewer but large rooms.”

But even though these aren’t always full-time homes, it is often harder for people to leave one of these historic houses than it is to arrive.

• Mapped: the best university towns if you want to buy a home for your student child and make some money

• Revealed: the most family-friendly place in Britain to bring up your kids

“We have loved being here,” says Jane Brooks, who, with her husband Bob, is selling their first-floor apartment at Glebe House, in Northleach, Gloucestershire (£254,950 with Knight Frank, knightfrank.co.uk).

“We’ve owned this apartment for 10 years now, and come here for two or three days at a time,” she says. “The view from our kitchen window looks right out over the church. Northleach is a lovely setting. It’s quite small, but it’s got a wine bar, a restaurant, a prize-winning butcher and a grocery shop that sells everything.”

There are eight apartments altogether, in what used to be the old vicarage, standing next door to a lovely Cotswold parish church. Take a photograph in the snow and you would never need to buy a Christmas card again.

Of course, the biggest advantage of buying a divided-up fortress or mansion is that you get lots and lots of space.

The two-bedroom Octagon Suite is one of 13 apartments at Ottershaw Park, a Palladian mansion with panoramic views, manicured gardens, tennis courts, indoor pool – and £6,480 service charge (2014)

“Moving from a large country house to part of one, with all the associated proportions, window sizes and high ceilings, great views and general grandeur, is much more satisfactory than relocation to a small cottage, even though the square footage may be similar,” says Christopher Bartlett, of Stacks Property Search.

“Divisions are often more generous, and original rooms are left intact. Also, there are many community advantages. Residents are brought together and bonded by the communality of living. There are huge security advantages, and for those who travel extensively, the lock-up-and-leave aspect is appealing.

“Plus, there is always a nosy (in a good way) neighbour to keep an eye on things.”

It isn’t just in the countryside that you can walk into your very own slice of the past.

Honor Grant is a 35-year-old accountant who has bought an apartment in the old Royal Arsenal Riverside gun carriage factory, at Woolwich, south London (royalarsenalriverside.co.uk), just one of some 20 listed buildings that have been converted on the site.

Apartment 2, Keith Hall House, Aberdeenshire, is a two-bedroom ground-floor apartment in a 16th-century former castle. Stunning views, 26 acres of parkland with deer and a communal great hall

“My parents bought a place in Woolwich in 2003, and there have been so many changes in the area since then,” she says.

“I have watched the developments go up, I have watched the rail links being built, and the area has changed beyond all recognition.

“And for me, the great thing is that the place I am buying has so much history attached. It’s where they made the ammunition two centuries ago, and yet it’s got floor-to-ceiling windows in the living area.

“I suppose I’m like lots of people, really. I love the feeling that every time I walk through the front door, I get this great feeling of the past.”

Have a lake in your back garden rather than a goldfish pond in the grounds of Keith Hall

Summary: Fortified mansions and stately homes are no longer the preserve of the   aristocracy - find out how to play lord of the manor from £300,000


When Melissa Ben-Ishay was fired from her New York City advertising job in June 2008—amid the recession—she went home and baked some cupcakes.

It was the best decision she ever made, she says.

Within a week, and with some help from her brother, she had a new job: president and chief product officer of Baked by Melissa, her own cupcake...

Summary: Melissa Ben-Ishay talks about what went into making her cupcake business in New York, Baked by Melissa, a big success.


By studying data from about 30,000 of its policies linked to small family, family and MPV-style cars, Warranty Direct claims to have found the 10 most reliable family cars - just in time to start planning the annual summer holiday.

The study analysed cars aged three to five years, and found the 10 models that suffered the fewest breakdowns. It also examined what the most common failure for each was and how much the largest claim cost.

Duncan McClure Fisher, managing director of Warranty Direct, said: “Most cars will go wrong at some stage but there’s nothing worse than the family’s excitement at setting off on holiday being destroyed by a morning spent on the hard shoulder.

“And, as well as the inconvenience to your holiday, a breakdown can also put a serious dent in your wallet.”

You can view the top 10, including the most reliable family car, by clicking through this gallery

Summary: As the summer holidays approach one company claims to have found the UK's 10   most reliable family cars.


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

20 Things to do with Leftover Bread

Read on to learn several ways to use leftover bread.

French Toast With Amaretto Crème

Morning decadence at its best—vegan-style. Simplify this recipe by skipping the Amaretto Crème and serving it with fresh berries and a bit of maple syrup. Although, if you’re a sucker for anything almond-flavored, the crème is a must.

Get the recipe: French Toast with Amaretto Crème

Forget the salty, greasy croutons from the store. Keep this homemade version around for salads and soups.

Get the recipe: Whole-Wheat Skillet Croutons

Both simpler and more decadent than a chocolate croissant, a grilled chocolate sandwich is a marriage of bread and chocolate in which the two components are evenly matched.

Get the recipe: Grilled Dark Chocolate Sandwich

Looking for the perfect appetizer for entertaining? Try this creamed kale with two cheeses and red pepper flakes served on toast.

Get the recipe: Creamed Kale Crostini

The kids will love these sweet bread sticks—and they're super easy to make!

Get the recipe: Sweet-Spiced Bread Sticks

Toast With Honey Mascarpone And Nutella

This recipe is so simple and delicious. All you need is mascarpone, honey, strawberries and Nutella.

Get the recipe: Toast with Honey Mascarpone and Nutella

Also known as “earth’s butter,” velvety avocados add richness to your plain toast, and their heart-healthy fats will keep you satisfied with this snack until lunch.

Get the recipe: Avocado Toast

Turn leftover loaves into creamy, nutty parfaits. This is another one the kids will love!

Get the recipe: Chocolate-Bread Parfaits

This is a white pizza-inspired grilled cheese with taleggio, fresh ricotta, basil, spinach, bacon, red pepper flakes and olive oil—all sandwiched on sliced focaccia.

Get the recipe: The Pizzawitch

Savory Bread Pudding with Spinach & Mushrooms

Bread pudding, an economical dish designed to use up stale bread, is most often associated with dessert. But this version is equally comforting as a savory option, enriched with cheese and studded with vegetables.

Get the recipe: Savory Bread Pudding with Spinach & Mushrooms

Studded with strawberries, this breakfast recipe is a cross between a baked French toast and a dessert bread pudding. Swap in almost any fruit depending on what’s in season. Although we typically suggest using whole-grain bread, we stuck with challah for this recipe (because the results are so luscious).

Get the recipe: Breakfast Fruit Bread Pudding

This garlic bread is topped with an abundance of herbs, garlic and butter. A sprinkling of spices is mixed in to perk up the flavors, while a bit of lemon acts as a brightener.

Get the recipe: Garlic Bread with Everything

This high-protein, low-carb salad has gotten a bad rap because of unappealing deli versions served on soggy bread. But, oh, how wonderful an egg salad can be when well made, with its bright yellow yolk, flecks of herbs, and a bit of mayonnaise. This basic salad can be embellished with many flavorings—crumbly bacon, a chopped pickle, diced red bell pepper, capers, olives, chives, dill, or a sprinkling of curry powder. Serve with lettuce, and maybe cheese and tomato, on hearty bread (sliced on the thin side).

Get the recipe: Egg Salad Sandwich

Tomatoes, onions and garlic develop a deep, rich flavor when roasted for this warm meal. A mix of different colored cherry tomatoes will add a playful note.

Get the recipe: Roasted Tomato-Bread Soup

Gather tomatoes and basil from your garden, cut up some day-old country bread and make this flavorful, easy salad. It's our take on the classic Italian bread salad known as panzanella.

Get the recipe: Bread & Tomato Salad

Cornbread stuffing, a Southern favorite, is a nice change from more traditional white bread stuffing. This delectable recipe uses Italian turkey sausage, rather than pork, and omits all the butter and cream to cut the fat by two-thirds. This stuffing is lower in sodium as well, and it's so easy to make that it’s sure to become a favorite side year-round.

Get the recipe: Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing

Do you prefer a stuffing that's a little sweet? Try this exquisite version that balances the savory ingredients with apples, raisins and a touch of cinnamon.

Get the recipe: Apple-Raisin Stuffing

Pineapple & Ham Bread Soufflé

A bread pudding-soufflé hybrid, this dish gets its inspiration from a rich, pineapple soufflé traditionally served as an accompaniment to baked ham. For the best texture and flavor, look for soft whole-wheat sandwich bread without any added malt or molasses. Be sure to use canned, not fresh pineapple—fresh pineapple makes the soufflé too wet.

Get the recipe: Pineapple & Ham Bread Soufflé

Bread is a pretty fantastic food. It's the backbone of any sandwich, and is often used to accompany meals when entertaining.

It's incredibly versatile, which means if you have a lot of it left over, you can use it in ways you've probably never thought to before. From soups to soufflés, you won't have any reason to toss that extra loaf with these ideas.

Check out the slideshow above to learn how to use leftover bread.

Summary: Looking for ways to use leftover bread? It's incredibly versatile. From French toast to garlic bread, you won't have any rea


Lilly King of the U.S. set an Olympic record in winning the 100-meter breaststroke Monday night in Rio, then punched the air with her fist.

The feisty 19-year-old beat Russian Yulia Efimova by more than half a second, finishing in 1:04.93 in a race that carried tensions like sporting battles out of the Cold War.

Efimova’s time was 1:05.50. Katie Meili of the U.S. won the bronze in 1:05.69.

“Tonight has been so crazy,” King said. “My life is changing right now. I’m a gold medalist and it’s what I’ve always wanted to be and it’s an incredible feeling.”

Spectators booed when Efimova walked to her starting block and loudly cheered King.

Efimova, a four-time world champion initially barred from competing at the Rio Games because of a prior doping violation, was added to the event after an international court ruling on Thursday. Her entry was vivid fallout from the move to exclude Russian athletes from Rio in the wake of evidence of state-sponsored drug cheating at the 2014 Sochi Games.

“A week ago, I didn’t even know if I could race because I’m Russian,” Efimova said after Monday’s race. “I’m just happy to be here.”

After posting the top time of the qualifying heats Sunday, King extended an index finger at Efimova to boast her position. The Russian responded in kind after her semifinal heat Sunday night. King responded by wagging her finger at a TV monitor showing Efimova after King narrowly secured the top qualifying time for the final.

“I think it’s unfortunate that we have to deal with these things in this sport,” King said Sunday. She said she accepted but disagreed with the ruling allowing Efimova to swim. “A level playing field would be preferred.”

Efimova initially was banned from the Olympics after an investigation for the World Anti-Doping Agency detailed state-sponsored cheating in Russia and the International Olympic Committee barred Russian athletes who had served prior drug bans. Efimova tested positive for a banned prescription steroid in October 2013 and was suspended 16 months, until February 2015.

Efimova appealed, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport last Thursday ruled the IOC’s Olympic ban “unenforceable.”

“It’s a shame,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a Monday morning news conference. “We wanted to be tougher on doping. They took that decision, they are the highest court in sport and so we accept that.”

Asked what he would say to swimmers upset about known cheaters competing, Adams noted that many nations’ teams included athletes previously punished for doping.

Officials from FINA, swimming’s governing body, did not respond to requests for comment.

Other swimmers also expressed frustration with Efimova’s inclusion.

Fiona Doyle, an Irish swimmer who swam in Efimova’s qualifying heat and just missed qualifying for the semifinals, held back tears after the race. “Cheaters are cheaters,” she told the Irish Times.

“It’s like FINA keep going back on their word, and the IOC keep going back on their word,” she said. “And FINA caved in to (Vladimir) Putin, and that’s just not fair on the rest of the athletes who are clean. Who are you supposed to trust now? They have signs all over the village saying we are a clean sport, and it’s not. And I just don’t think that’s fair.”

In the men’s 200 meter freestyle Monday, another controversial figure took the gold medal. China’s Sun Yang beat Chad le Clos swimming 1:44.65, a little more than a half second ahead of le Clos. Yang tested positive for performance enhancing drugs two years ago.

Mack Horton of Australia, who beat Yang in the 400-meter freestyle, called him a drug cheat. Yang said he wasn’t bothered by the comment because he knows how hard he has worked.

Asked about losing to someone who failed a doping test, Conor Dwyer, who won the bronze, declined to comment on the drug issue and called Sun “a good guy and a great competitor.”

—Anton Troianovski and Matthew Futterman contributed to this article.

Summary: Lilly King of the U.S. set an Olympic record in winning the 100-meter breaststroke Monday night in Rio, beating Russian Yulia Efimova by more than half a second.


As the 2016 Olympics bring plenty of sports to watch in Rio de Janeiro, there’s also a plenty to see within the city hosting the games.

This 360-degree video, shot using the Ricoh Theta S camera by TIME’s Julia Lull, offers immersion in the sights and sounds of the city. It takes viewers through the city’s famous Selaron Steps, the Ipanema beach, the beach at Arpoador, Sugarloaf Mountain and the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer.

One shot shows tourists ambling up the Selaron Steps, as others show beach-goers screaming and jumping into waves at Ipanema at Arpoador. Another scene is shot high up from a cable car traveling to Sugarloaf Mountain.

Summary: Explore the city's many attractions


In September 2012, about 20 restaurant workers protested in front of the popular Davidâs Cafe inÂ Miami Beach, a restaurant owned by their former employer, Adrian Gonzalez.Â

They give you cheques, three or four, you go to the bank and there is no money. The bank says that is a crime so you go to the police, but the police tell you no, they can't do anything.

They had all worked at David's Cafe II prior to its closing in 2011 and were demanding over $70,000 in unpaid wages. After months of little action from authorities, including the department of labour and local agencies, they had few options but to take things into their own hands.

They decided to go on strike - a step that brought the issue of their low wages to the nation's attention. And it is a scene that is playing out on streets across the US with increasing frequency as two-thirds of low-wage workers report some form of wage theft every week - whether that means being cheated out of hours worked, paid less than the minimum wage, or not being paid at all.

One study estimates that low-wage workers - over 30 million Americans - lose 15 percent of their income each year, the restaurant industry being one of the worst offenders.

According to the department of labour, 84 percent of sit-down restaurants inspected in the last three years were in violation of wage laws.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the food services industry is an organised and powerful opponent against increased minimum wage and workplace protections, spending millions of dollars each year to lobby against regulations and increased wages.

In this episode, Fault Lines travels to Miami, Chicago, and Washington DC to speak with restaurant workers, hear their grievances, and find out what recourse they have when they are not paid what they are owed.

Fault LinesÂ can be seen on Al Jazeera English each week at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 2230; Thursday: 0930; Friday: 0330; Saturday: 1630.

Summary: How low-wage restaurant workers in the US are fighting an uphill battle to be paid what they are owed.


At 17, Dorothy Williams started taking tap, acrobatic, ballet and character dancing and entered show business as a chorus girl, solo dancer and as a sister team with her sister in various nightclubs. They performed in Chicago full-time after graduation. After seven years, she went to work in a supermarket for 25 years, but continued her performing on weekends. She also became a clown, waitress, taxi driver and had her own dancing school. Williams got married and moved to Hilo, Hawaii. There she became Yummy the Clown for the next 40 years. She also volunteered as Welcome Wagon Lady for 20 years. Now she is the president of a senior center, where she teaches and performs ukulele, tap, hula and line dancing. At 90 years old, she wants to be an inspiration to seniors to keep on doing what makes you and everybody happy, no matter what!

Summary: Meet Dorothy Williams from America's Got Talent on NBC.com.


Touched, she tried to find out why the little boy was doing this, and who he was, by posting the footage on Facebook.

She wrote: "Attn Neighbors! Anyone know who this sweet little boy is? Every now and then when he rides his bike he will quickly come and love on my dog or play fetch real quick, but always leaves quick like he doesn't know if he should be here!

"I'd like to tell him he's welcome to stay and play, she loves the attention!"

The video was viewed 1.3 million times - and the child has been identified as a local boy named Josh. His mother wrote: "Thanks for the add Hollie! Josh talks about your dog all the time! Every time we pass he looks to see if she was sitting where he could see her. Just didn't know he was doing things like this,

Summary: A woman has shared heartwarming footage on Facebook of a little boy seeking comfort in her dog after his own passed away.


More than 13,000 people have been busted by NSW police in a fortnight as part of a major road safety operation.

Eight hundred motorists were caught without seatbelts, almost 9000 drivers clocked speeding, and more than 2000 fined for illegally using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

"It's very concerning that so many people are still taking these kinds of risks on the road - these decisions can and do result in people dying," NSW Centre for Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon said.

There were 18 deaths on NSW roads during the operation, which was run by NSW Police and NSW Centre for Road Safety between August 8 and August 22.

Summary: NSW police have fined more than 13,000 people as part of a road safety operation between August 8 and August 22.


A Queensland tow truck company have issued a warning to distracted motorists: pay attention to the road ahead and not what’s happening on the side of the road.

The warning comes after a crash was caused this morning when a driver lost control beside a tow truck's crash recovery effort on the side of the road as they were driving past.

The ute can be seen veering off the side of the Sunshine Motorway in Peregian on the Sunshine Coast as it passes a tow truck.

It then skids through a grassy embankment before flipping over.

A spokeswoman for Clayton's Towing told nine.com.au that their drivers see accidents similar to this one "a couple of times a year".

In this instance, they believe the crash was caused because the driver hadn't slowed down when approaching the tow truck and became distracted by the crash recovery on the side of the road.

She said drivers sometimes fail to show caution by slowing down near crashes and then cause subsequent crashes.

It is a problem seen by tow truck drivers "no matter where you are".

Another problem for tow truck drivers is people not giving them enough room while attempting to pass and clipping the side of their trucks, which are "well off the side of the road".

Clayton's Towing confirmed that while the ute driver survived the ordeal, they are unsure of their condition.

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016


Defence, like its minister Marise Payne, is refusing to reveal what part Australian aircraft played in an incident in Syria in which coalition aircraft inadvertently bombed Syrian troops, killing more than 60 soldiers.

Defence said the US-led coalition would review the incident thoroughly and Australia would co-operate fully.

"In order to maintain the integrity of this review, Defence will not provide any further details at this time," it said on Tuesday.

In the operation, coalition aircraft attacked what they thought were Islamic State vehicles south of the town of Dayr Az Zawr in eastern Syria on Saturday.

As the strike unfolded, Russian officials contacted the Coalition Air and Space Operations Centre in Qatar to say they were hitting the Syrian military.

The strike was halted. Russia claimed it killed 62 soldiers and wounded another 100. Reports from Syria suggest the attack was carried out by two US F-16s and a pair of US A-10 ground attack aircraft.

The Australian Department of Defence subsequently confirmed that Australian aircraft participated in this operation.

But it's declined to say just what aircraft were involved and what part they played.

The RAAF air task group in the Middle East comprises six F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters, a KC-30A tanker aircraft and an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft.

They fly from bases in the United Arab Emirates and conduct missions over Iraq and Syria.

RAAF chief Air Marshal Leo Davies said the vast majority of Australian operations were over Iraq.

"It is a very small proportion of missions that goes across the border," he told reporters in an interview last week.

Australia conducted the first mission over Iraq in October 2014 and Syria in September 2015. Over the last two years, missions have evolved as Islamic State forces have adjusted their tactics.

Initially, IS forces moved openly in large groups but speedily learned to minimise the risk of air attack by travelling in small units. More recently, improved intelligence from the battlefield has allowed an increase in attacks on IS forces in their defensive positions.

Summary: Defence says it won't provide further details on what part Australian aircraft played in a mishap in which coalition aircraft bombed Syrian troops.


A four-year-old girl has woken her mother and helped two families flee a potentially deadly house fire in Melbourne.

The MFB says the families, comprising two adults and six children, evacuated the Broadmeadows home on Friday morning after the girl heard the smoke alarm and woke her mother.

The house was destroyed by the blaze which was brought under control by 8am.

A 22-year-old woman was treated at the scene after suffering burns to her back and smoke inhalation.

"The cause of the fire was unattended clothes placed on a heater to dry," the MFB said in a statement.

Summary: A woman has suffered burns to her back as she and her family fled a burning house in Melbourne.


Queensland's opposition has used unflattering property sector figures to accuse the government of destroying jobs and confidence in the Sunshine state.

An ANZ Property Council report has revealed Queensland suffered the largest shift in confidence of an Australian state, recording a decline of 12 index points since December 2015.

"This government is anti-jobs, anti-business and anti-investment, but importantly, they can't be trusted to keep their word," shadow treasurer Scott Emerson said.

The Liberal National Party (LNP) used the report as political ammunition during Thursday's sitting of parliament.

"Not once since the election in 2015 has there been a positive view of the Palaszczuk government amongst property industry professionals," Mr Emerson said.

"Is it any wonder they don't have confidence in this government or this treasurer?"

Treasurer Curtis Pitt hit back by awarding Mr Emerson the title of "the nation's greatest cherry picker".

"He always finds the cloud in the silver lining," Mr Pitt said.

The Treasurer cited "more widely-based surveys" including an NAB monthly business survey that showed Queensland was placed equal first in the country in terms of business confidence.

Other figures showed consumer confidence in Queensland had increased for a fourth consecutive month and growth in state final demand over the last two quarters.

"At least under this government the economy has turned the corner," Mr Pitt said.

The treasurer was also keen to highlight that the property survey was taken before the government's announcement that it will offload surplus state-owned land for development in key areas - a move praised by the Property Council Queensland.

The council's Executive Director Chris Mountford warned a greater level of government activity was needed.

"Critical to confidence is stable policy-making and strong government investment in new infrastructure, two ingredients not currently in abundance in Queensland," he said.

Mr Mountford also said the introduction of a new tax on foreign investors in residential property sent the wrong message.

Mr Emerson said it flew in the face of a Labor election promise of no new taxes.

"That new tax, that broken election promise, has destroyed jobs and destroyed confidence in the property sector," he said.

Summary: Queensland's opposition has attacked the Labor government for being "anti-jobs" after figures showed a slide in confidence in the property sector.


Tanya Plibersek has voiced concerns about a Trump presidency. (AAP)

Deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek has voiced concerns about the security issues a Donald Trump presidency would create across the globe.

"We are really in extraordinary times ... he has broken so many conventions for us to say as Australians that we are deeply concerned about the security issues his candidacy has raised," Ms Plibersek told Sky News today.

Ms Plibersek also said Mr Trump's relationship with Russia "really bothers me too".

She said Mr Trump had continually proved how unsuitable he was to be president, although it was increasingly unlikely he would win with many senior Republicans distancing themselves from him.

Asked what would happen in the situation of a Trump presidency and a Bill Shorten-led Labor government in the future, Ms Plibersek said the relationship is "country to country" and not about personalities.

"Our relationships between the United States and Australia are deep and strong and go well beyond any two people," she concluded.

Summary: Deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek is concerned about the security a Donald Trump US presidency would bring.


The cheers and applause rang out in the small bar upstairs in Sydney's inauspicious Rugby Club.

But the jubilation wasn't for the Wallabies or another Australian sporting team.

The cheers were solely for Donald Trump.

A ragtag group of about 50 mainly middle-aged, white Aussie blokes gathered there on Wednesday to watch the US election coverage beamed in by Fox News from the US.

No one had really expected the outspoken Republican to win, but as the hours ticked by hopes soared as Trump won key swing states from his presidential race rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump", they chanted as news broke the billionaire had won Pennsylvania, all but assuring his victory.

While no one in that room had cast a vote for Trump at the ballot box, their elation at his victory could easily serve as a warning to Australia's main political parties.

"I love his phrase 'drain the swamp'," says Jeff, who declined to give his last name.

"America isn't the only place with a swamp, we have a swamp here - it's called Canberra and that needs draining as well.

"I hope whatever he does there, reverberates here as well. We need an Australian Donald Trump because our swamp is fettered as well and needs draining."

A home-grown Donald Trump is a real possibility unless our major political parties lift their game, says Monash University political science lecturer Dr Matthew Laing.

He believes Trump's election win gives a huge confidence boost to populist political groups across the Western world, including One Nation and Rise Up Australia.

"I think it's a warning sign to the major parties that unless they get their act together we could be in Trump land in 10 years," he says.

"We ignored Brexit, we thought it was an aberration. Trump proves that it's not, that it's there, the wave is on.

"Australia cannot assume that it's going to be insulated from it. We think we have a progressive coalition all sorted out and it couldn't happen here, but I'm sure it definitely could."

Trump's surprise win came despite outrage at his boasts about groping women, his desire to ban Muslims from the US, and descriptions of Mexicans as rapists and criminals.

In his victory speech, he spoke of the need to "bind the wounds of division" and promised to take care of "the forgotten men and women".

And there's plenty of people feeling forgotten, not just in the US but in Australia as well.

Assoc Prof Laing says while Australia's economy didn't fall into recession like the US as a result of the GFC, leaving millions of people out of work, there's a risk that in the long term people here will look for scapegoats as the local economy feels the pinch from the mining boom's end.

"A large section of Trump voters were so desperate for change and if you look at the areas that really switched to him the rural areas, the regional towns, they are so desperate for economic hope that they were willing to hold their nose even though they were well aware Trump was a flawed candidate and a flawed man," he said.

"At the end of the day people will still vote for their economic interests and vote for what they think are hopes for their own lives rather than try and conform to political norms."

Trump had huge appeal among white working-class men in America. But a majority of white women also voted for him.

Shortly after congratulating Trump on the phone on Thursday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged that Australian politicians had to ensure that no one felt left behind during times of rapid economic change.

"It is vitally important for leaders such as ourselves here, and around the world ... to make the case for strong economic growth and above all ensure that in our own nations, in our own communities, everybody is able to benefit from that and that nobody feels left out or overlooked as those changes occur," he said.

Populist politicians including Pauline Hanson, Jacqui Lambie and Bob Katter were all quick to congratulate Trump.

Mr Katter also had this message for the Liberal and Labor parties: "I warn the major parties that we little parties got 25 per cent in the last election, and we will get much more in the next election. When we hit 30 per cent your day is finished, and you deserve it to be finished."

Assoc Prof Laing says given the recent lacklustre federal election, low voter enthusiasm and inability of politicians to get on with fixing the budget and outlining a vision for Australia, the path is opening up for populist politicians.

"I think we've already had a canary in the coal mine in the form of Clive Palmer," he said.

"Someone who was more competent than Clive Palmer could easily have mobilised a bigger section of the vote.

"If we continue to play the race to the bottom between the Liberals and Labor then I think the inevitable result is the populists come in and say, 'Well they're all hopeless, let's get rid of them all'."

Summary: Australia's major parties are being warned a home-grown Donald Trump could be leading Australia within a decade unless they lift their game.


An Old Bailey jury took just over 90 minutes to convict loner Neo-Nazi Thomas Mair, who gunned down Labour MP Jo Cox while shouting "Britain first", of what was described in court as an act of "sheer brutality and cowardice".

He murdered mother of two and Remain campaigner Cox, 41, as she arrived for a constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire, a week before the EU referendum.

The 53-year-old white supremacist, who gave no evidence in his defence, shouted "Britain first" as he fired three shots at his MP and stabbed her 15 times.

He gave no reaction as he was convicted on all counts on Wednesday in London.

The MP's family sat in silence in the packed courtroom as the verdicts were delivered.

Summary: Neo-Nazi Thomas Mair, who gunned down Labour MP Jo Cox while shouting "Britain first", has been found guilty of her murder.


Shipbuilder ASC has pledged to continue negotiations on a new enterprise agreement as workers engage in five days of industrial action after what they say has been two years of little progress.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union says ASC workers are unhappy about proposed revisions to their enterprise agreement that would strip back rights and entitlements.

AMWU acting state secretary Colin Fenney says workers are taking a rostered day off on Friday and will not work on Saturday or Sunday because of a ban on overtime.

They will also stay on strike on Monday and Tuesday.

"Workers have been left with no option but to engage in protected industrial action," Mr Fenney said.

"This is the first time that ASC has sought to impose Australian Public Service guidelines on its workforce which is removing flexibility from the ASC enterprise agreement and clearing the decks for privatisation."

In a brief statement on Friday, ASC said it would continue to seek a resolution to the current dispute.

"ASC acknowledges the rights of its workers to take protected industrial action as part of enterprise agreement negotiations," the company said.

"ASC will continue constructive negotiations in pursuit of a new agreement."

The government-owned shipbuilder came under the Public Service guidelines last year in line with coalition policy.

Under the guidelines, workers may lose the right to be consulted on changes to such things as hours of work and their preference for permanent employment over casual or contract work.

They also place restrictions on wage negotiations.

In terms of wages and conditions, ASC has operated autonomously for the past 26 years.

Summary: ASC workers in Adelaide will take industrial action over the next five days as they campaign for a new enterprise agreement.


Of course someone finally made a movie called “Office Christmas Party.” How could they not, given all the camera-ready bad behavior commonly associated with these holiday ragers? The mistletoe-goaded sloppy clinches? The nog-fueled, unfiltered remarks to bosses and co-workers? The inevitable juvenile defilement of the copy machine? For purveyors of R-rated comedy, it has to be a lowbrow, high-concept dream. Unforgettable inappropriateness is what they’re always shooting for, right?

It’s surprising, then, to see what a listless bacchanal we get from directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon (“Blades of Glory”) and their stacked cast. Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, T.J. Miller (“Silicon Valley”), and colleagues aren’t a chore to watch, but they don’t get up to much that’s inspired, either – just a sly comment from Bateman here, a fun bit of loopiness from Miller there. They’re supposed to be living out a night destined to be the stuff of company legend, but audiences will be hard pressed to retain much. (Aniston’s amusingly vicious exchange with a little girl in an airport lounge is an exception, but it’s a scene mostly designed to keep her back-burnered character involved in the story.)

Josh (Bateman) is a capable if slightly beleaguered tech company manager whose easygoing style meshes with the scattered magnanimity of his corporate-scion boss, Clay (Miller). Unfortunately, their business approach doesn’t fly with Clay’s hard-driving sister (Aniston), who turns up at their Chicago office threatening sweeping cuts. They’ll get a reprieve if they can somehow land a big client they’ve been eyeing, but the client’s rep (Courtney B. Vance) isn’t encouraging. The answer: an unprecedented holiday blowout to impress Vance’s character, a closet partier.

What follows is all pretty predictable, from the ill-advised staircase tobogganing to the fake snow mixed up with real blow. Kate McKinnon plays a dowdy H.R. head who cuts loose, and the office geek (Karan Soni) turns to a killer-pimp service to conjure up his fictitious squeeze.

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This last angle had us thinking back to “Risky Business,” as did the Chicago setting and the reveling gone off the rails. Here, though, there’s no edge to the wildness, nothing memorable. Oh, well, at least the movie’s raunchy variation on that trusty copier gag might stick with us.

Directed by Will Speck, Josh Gordon. Written by Justin Malen, Laura Solon. Starring Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Olivia Munn, Kate McKinnon. At Boston Common, Fenway, suburbs. 105 minutes. R (crude sexual content and language throughout, drug use, graphic nudity).

Summary: “Office Christmas Party” is a surprisingly listless bacchanal from directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon (“Blades of Glory”) and a stacked cast that includes Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston.


The United Nations diplomats told Fox News that the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a French-drafted resolution on Sunday.

The world is looking to clamp down on North Korea and, this time, China appears to be on board.

The 193 United Nations member states of the General Assembly on Thursday elected Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres as the next secretary-general of the UN.

Rival resolutions on Syria backed by the West and Russia were defeated in the U.N. Security Council on Saturday, offering no relief to the besieged city of Aleppo and leaving the k...

The UN Security Council held a closed-door emergency meeting on Syria Friday, one day after U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura warned that the lives of some 275,000 people were hanging ...

Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres, who was formally approved on Thursday to be the next U.N. secretary-general, said he faces "huge challenges" and hopes to see uni...

The Security Council unanimously agreed Wednesday that Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres should be the next secretary-general of the United Nations.

As deadly airstrikes pounded Aleppo, Syria over the weekend, a major foreign ground force was also converging on the region.

At least 23 civilians were killed in renewed government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an...

The United States and Russia blamed each other for Syria's failing cease-fire Wednesday, illustrating why a fractured U.N. Security Council has been unable for more than five years...

Summary: UN Security Council news articles and videos from FoxNews.com's World section.


Barry Williams' admiration for Florence Henderson went way beyond a teenage crush.

Williams — who played eldest son Greg Brady on "The Brady Bunch" — remembered actress Florence Henderson as a successful TV mom, a loyal role model and an even better friend.

Williams told the Daily News on Friday that the news of Henderson's death hit close to home.

"I have not had many people this close to me pass," he said, adding that Henderson's death due to heart failure came very unexpectedly — he last spoke to her in the spring.

The two kept in touch ever since "The Brady Bunch" ended its five-season run in 1974. They were even neighbors for a few years out in Marina del Rey, Calif.

"I would go to her sometimes when I was struggling with issues," he told the Daily News. "(She was) very wise, worldly and helpful."

Despite once having a crush on the show's matriarch, Williams said their relationship eventually grew over the years and some of Henderson's actions became more motherly.

The 62-year-old actor famously detailed in his autobiography, "Growing Up Brady," that he had a crush on Henderson — even noting that the pair went on a date.

"I did have a crush on her — I was also, like, 16," Williams told The News with a laugh.

"But I think that my approach to going out and Florence's were slightly different. Did I wish maybe in fantasy world that it could turn into a romantic encounter? Yes, but the reason that I asked her to go out was to talk about music and performing."

He distinctly remembered one touching moment — when she came to his side while he auditioned for the role of "Pippin" at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway.

"Even though I was prepared, I was a little unsettled," he said. "Before my name was called and I was ready to go out, Florence appeared at the theater backstage."

Henderson, a Broadway veteran, broke the ice for Williams, so when it was finally his moment to audition, he was much more relaxed and confident.

"I became the next 'Pippin,' " he said.

And Henderson came to see him perform in the role — just like a "proud mom," he added.

"It's this kind of loyalty and support and caring ... this is the way she was in life with people. I learned so much about how to be in public from her graciousness, the way she would stop and really give undivided attention to fans, she took her fan mail very seriously," he said.

Until the day she died, Henderson was answering each piece of fan mail by hand — complete with an autographed picture.

"I feel like it's a loss for many,” Williams said.