News article:

BALTIMORE As night falls on Baltimore on Tuesday, thousands of police and National Guard troops fanned out to enforce a new curfew and prevent further violence as the mayor fended off criticism that she responded sluggishly to a night of rioting, looting and fires.

 More than 3,000 police from Maryland, New Jersey and the District of Columbia, and National Guard members in helmets, took up posts in front of businesses and hospitals in Baltimore a day after the worst rioting in the United States in years.

 Shops were looted, buildings burned to the ground, 20 officers injured and police arrested more than 250 people in the violence that erupted following Monday's funeral of a 25-year-old black man who died in a hospital on April 19 a week after sustaining injuries in police custody.

 The death of Freddie Gray gave new energy to the public outcry that flared last year after police killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri; New York City and elsewhere.

 For nearly a week after Gray died from a spinal injury, protests in Baltimore had been peaceful and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she acted cautiously on Monday because she wanted to avoid a heavy-handed response that would incite more violence.

 "It's a very delicate balancing act, when we have to make sure that we're managing but not increasing and escalating the problem," said Rawlings-Blake, 45, an African-American and Democrat who grew up in the city 40 miles (64 km) from Washington, D.C.

 Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said he had called Rawlings-Blake repeatedly Monday but that she held off requesting the National Guard until three hours after looting started.

 "The mayor of Baltimore had the city of Baltimore police on the ground. Quite frankly, they were overwhelmed. All the rest of the (boots) on the ground came from us," the Republican governor said the day after declaring a state of emergency in the largely black city.

 Rawlings-Blake imposed a one-week curfew but stressed the need to respond in a way that did not incite more violence.

 Bars and restaurants were shutting down early since they did not expect clients due to the 10 p.m. curfew for all adults, which will last the rest of the week.

 "We have no exceptions other than for medical or coming and going from work. We will be stopping people who are out after curfew. We are taking that seriously. We don't want to engage in any forceful action," Police Commissioner Anthony Batts told reporters.

 Peaceful protesters marched through some Baltimore streets on Tuesday, but there was no sign of the rock- and brick-throwing that set off a night of looting and arson that burned 19 buildings and left one person in critical condition.

 "They tore the city down last night, and today we're trying to rebuild it again," said Perry Hopkins, who formed a line of men from the community separating police from the crowd in the afternoon.

 Volunteers armed with brooms cleaned up debris from burned out and looted buildings in the city of 620,000 people, where schools, many businesses and some government offices closed until security improved.

 The security crisis disrupted the city's daily routines. In a rare move, the Major League Baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox will be played as scheduled Wednesday but closed to the public.

 Acrid smoke hung over the streets and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was sending two teams to Baltimore to investigate the multiple blazes on Monday night.

 Gray was arrested on April 12 while running from officers. He was taken to the police station in a van, with no seat restraint and suffered a spinal injury.

 Six officers have been suspended, and the U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible civil rights violations.

 'DELICATE BALANCING ACT'

 "There's no excuse for the kind of violence that we saw yesterday," said President Barack Obama, who said he spoke to the governor and the mayor. "It is counterproductive."

 Obama also said at a news conference the problems in places such as Baltimore were not new and need to be addressed by everyone.

 "We can't just leave this to the police," Obama said, adding that "we as a country have to do some soul searching. This is not new. It's been going on for decades."

 Almost a quarter of people in Baltimore live below the poverty line and decayed, crime-ridden areas of the city inspired the gritty television police drama "The Wire."

 Monday's ransacking of stores, pharmacies and a shopping mall and clashes with police in riot gear was reminiscent of rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 after authorities declined to indict a white police officer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager.

 Police in Ferguson came under intense criticism last year for quickly adopting a militarized posture, using armored vehicles, showing heavy weapons and using tear gas.

 Baltimore police Captain John Kowalczyk told reporters that the city had prepared for protests by teenagers on Monday. But as the violence increased, older people were involved.

 "When we deployed our officers yesterday, we were deploying for a high school event," Kowalczyk said. "I don't think there's anyone in the country that would expect us to deploy with automatic weapons and armored vehicles to an event with 13- 14- and 15-year-olds."

 (Additional reporting by Jim Bourg and Scott Malone in Baltimore, Laila Kearney in New York, Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Writing by Mary Milliken and Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Grant McCool) ||||| December 15, 2015

 Quality bicycling trails help define a region’s quality of life. They provide health and transportation benefits. They’re fun and becoming a major tourism draw for the places with compelling facilities. Trails appeal to teenagers, millennials, families, and retirees. Unfortunately, the Baltimore region’s combination of trails is far inferior to Washington’s, Philadelphia’s, New York’s, Boston’s, and we are falling behind Pittsburgh. These other northeastern metros have invested far more and have developed networks and high profile trails. Our region should at least try to be in the same league. The good news is–the six projects identified below, collectively, would cost less than one basic highway interchange and help Baltimore take a giant leap forward.

 Other Northeastern Metros are investing in their trail systems. Here are a few of their investments.

 This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 Right now, Baltimore has a handful of average to good trails, but mostly they are one-offs, with little relation to one another. Imagine if I-95 didn’t connect to the 695 Beltway and 695 didn’t connect to I-83 or 795. These highways by themselves would be useful, but the connected network is exponentially more beneficial. Over the next decade, the Baltimore region should connect its primary trails. It should also develop a few marquis trails that show off the beauty of our city, watershed, and region. Here are six projects that would create the backbone of a connected regional trail network reflective of our affluent region.

 Project 1–Gwynns Falls/Middle Branch Trail to BWI/B&A Trail. (Shown in orange)

 Estimated cost and length: $10 million, 10 miles (7 miles shared with project 6)

 Sister trail: Guadalupe River Trail, San Jose, CA

 Project 1, from the Middle Branch Trail’s end in Baltimore’s Cherry Hill Park, to the BWI trailhead-at the BWI rail station, is approximately 10 miles. By completing this missing link, the trail network could continuously reach from Mt. Washington in Northern Baltimore City to Greater Annapolis, a roughly forty mile spine.

 There is good news. It’s feasible. The Patapsco River and Stony Run tributary valleys provide virtually continuous right-of-way, which would make the trail relatively free of street crossings, with little need for property acquisition or easements.

 There are more reasons to like this project. The river valleys provide great scenery of Baltimore’s most significant river. There are marshes, riverscapes, forests and lots of other features that make for a scenic recreational trail. If project 1 is completed, the trail will connect job centers, neighborhoods, and the rail transit system.

 Project 2–Baltimore Trail “Beltway”

 Estimated cost and length: $10-20 million, 15 miles of new trail to make 35 mile loop

 Sister trail: Beltline, Atlanta

 This project is the urban trail version of I-695. It fills in the gaps that would enable a continuous 35 mile loop in Baltimore City. To complete the loop a little over 10 miles of trails would need to be constructed and some additional upkeep on existing trails would improve the experience. This project is being spearheaded by the Rails to Trails organization, headquartered in Washington DC.

 This project may not be as logistically easy as Project 1 because it loops through neighborhoods and requires cooperation with CSX and BGE in a few places. However, a theoretical right-of-way has been established and with a little cooperation, this project is feasible.

 There are lots of reasons to like this project. It has many of the benefits of Atlanta’s Beltline, but with a fraction of its price. The Baltimore Trail “Beltway” is a home run waiting to be hit because it covers so many bases. Tourism, health, better transportation, recreation, and economic development are expected benefits of its completion.

 Project 3–Jones Falls Trail to Torrey C. Brown Trail (Shown in red (Towson Run Trail) and then blue)

 Estimated cost and length: $15-20 million, 14 miles (This includes Towson Run Trail Project)

 Sister Trail: Rock Creek Trail, Washington DC and Montgomery County, MD

 Project 3 connects a trail gap between Mt. Washington in Baltimore City and Hunt Valley, Baltimore’s most northern suburb. The completion of the project would also fill in the missing vertebrae in a trail spine and create a continuous link from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to York, Pennsylvania.

 The Torrey C. Brown trail is, arguably, the Baltimore region’s most popular paved trail. It is heavily used and is part of the Rails to Trails Hall of Fame, but it is isolated.

 This connecting project would have to bisect suburban neighborhoods and would likely contain some street routes in spots (with buffered lanes). The bad news is there is no obvious path north of Towson, but the good news is there are many possible routes the trail could take. This project could be challenged by NIMBYism and crossing over the 695 Beltway may be a challenge depending on the course.

 There are many reasons this is a good project. We will start with the East Coast Greenway (ECG). The ECG plan is a continuous trail from Maine to Florida. Project 3 fills a key gap in the ECG. Another good reason is access. By extending the mostly rural Torrey C. Brown Trail into the inner suburbs and ultimately the city, far more people will be within reach of a super trail.

 Project 4–Middle Branch Loop Trail (Shown in yellow of the Project 1 map)

 Estimated cost and length: $4-10 million, 3 new trail miles, 4 total miles (If a trail right-of-way can be constructed on the Hanover Street Bridge replacement, the trail cost will be on the lower end)

 Sister Trail: Lake Union Loop, Seattle

 The Middle Branch Trail Loop, if completed, will hug the water and help connect Baltimoreans and visitors to the city’s waterfront. The Middle Branch is destined to be the new home for Under Armour. A premier waterfront recreational amenity would be a great cultural compliment between the company, the city, and the water.

 The challenge is adding a trail facility on a little-used century-old CSX owned swing bridge and the heavily used Hanover Street Bridge. Furthermore, Under Armour would need to be supportive of a public facility and not seek to privatize the space to the water’s edge.

 An urban waterfront loop that utilizes two large bridges may be a big attraction because it’s a unique design that’s rarely implemented. Also, a trail running across a former train bridge adds historical value.

 Project 5–The Towson Run Trail (shown in red)

 Estimated cost and length: $6-8 million, 5 miles of new trail

 Sister Trail: Capital Crescent Trail, Washington DC and Montgomery County

 This project would connect the Jones Falls Trail (Shown in brown), the Falls Road Light Rail station, and Lake Roland with Towson University and Downtown Towson and its “bike beltway.”

 Building a trail adjacent to the Towson Run stream into the center of the university and to the business district appears to be feasible, but might face some NIMBY opposition in the area between Lake Roland and Charles Street. The trail may need a bridge to cross Lake Roland.

 This is a good project because Towson, the Baltimore County government seat and home to over 55,000 people, has few recreational bicycle facilities. Linking Towson via the valley of the Towson Run Creek into the Jones Falls Trail would help solve that problem, while tying Towson into the regional trail network. This project could fill a gap in the East Coast Greenway Project and share the first five miles of Project 3.

 Project 6–The Patapsco Trail (shown in dark yellow on the Project 1 map)

 Estimated cost and length: $15-20 million, 16 miles of new trail and 18 total (7 miles shared with Project 1)

 Sister Trail: Schuylkill River Trail, Philadelphia

 This project is identical to Project 1 for about the first seven miles, sharing the Patapsco River Valley at its source in the Middle Branch. Project 1 makes a southerly turn to connect with the BWI Trail. Project 6 continues northwest along the Patapsco Valley paralleling the river. It will feed into the Grist Mill Trail and then extend into historic Ellicott City.

 This project appears logistically easy because of existing public right-of-way next to the river. There are a few places the trail will likely have to go underneath major roads. There will be some wetlands the trail may pass through.

 Project 6 is a trail with tourist and transportation benefits. It would connect charming historic Ellicott City with downtown Baltimore, while taking a scenic, flat, and relatively direct path along the river. It would provide a great day trip in either direction.

 Regions in the Northeast and across the US are investing in their trail networks and marquis trails. They know that quality of life amenities are a major component to region attractiveness and competitiveness. The Baltimore region’s trails are inferior to many of our competitors and the gap is widening. It may be a leap to propose more trails when some of our major existing trails are not well designed and are in poor repair. However, the workforce of the future and tourists will want quality trails. The state, counties, corporations, or even wealthy individuals should help fund it.

 It is time for Baltimore to develop a regional trail plan and invest.

 Jeff La Noue

 Edited by Laura Melamed |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Some Baltimore residents aren't standing by idly in the mess after yesterday's violence. Volunteers took to the streets today to clean up their "Comeback City." Gawker has culled a series of tweets showing images of helpers picking up debris on the roads and sidewalks, sweeping up in front of a burnt CVS, and handing out refreshments to other volunteers and police monitoring today's activities. "I'm just here to help out, man," one local sweeping broken glass in front of the CVS tells Reuters. "It's the city I'm from."


Here is a news article: Ivanka Trump had Justin Trudeau on her arm at a Broadway show about embracing strangers.

 The First Daughter took in “Come From Away” with the Canadian prime minister Wednesday night, according to the New York Times.

 Trudeau had previously announced that he'd be in attendance with his wife.

 Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, was also with the group.

 New besties Trudeau and Trump have more in common than you think

 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ivanka Trump, shown here in February, were spotted together at the Broadway show “Come From Away” Wednesday night. (Evan Vucci/AP)

 “Come From Away,” with book, music and lyrics by Canadian husband-and-wife team Irene Sankoff and David Hein, begins on Sept. 11, 2001, and tells the true story of a group of 6,579 people on 38 planes forced to land unexpectedly in Gander, Newfoundland and how the local residents embrace their new neighbors.

 The musical had successful runs in Ontario, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C., before opening on Broadway on March 12 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

 “Come From Away,” directed by Tony nominee Christopher Ashley, stars Petrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Jenn Colella, Joel Hatch, Rodney Hicks, Kendra Kassebaum, Chad Kimball, Lee MacDougall, Caesar Samayoa, Q. Smith, Astrid Van Wieren and Sharon Wheatley.

 “Come From Away” begins a week after the Sept. 11 attacks and tells the true story of a group of 6,579 people on 38 planes forced to land unexpectedly in Gander, Newfoundland and how the local residents embrace their new neighbors. (Broadway.com)

 Trudeau spoke to the audience before the show Wednesday night and thanked the cast, who “worked to pull together such an extraordinary crowd to celebrate this story of friendship during extraordinarily difficult times between individuals between countries.”

 Trump takes softball questions at talk with Canadian leader

 The Prime Minister also spoke about “the close relationship between the United States and Canada.”

 “The world gets to see what it is to lean on each other and be there for each other,” he said.

 The unlikely friendships within the Trump family

 Trudeau and Trump had previously met during a roundtable discussion about women in the workforce in February.

 Press reps for the show told the Daily News that the Canadian Consulates had arranged a block of tickets, but that they were unaware of the guest list.

 Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing! ||||| NEW YORK—A political power-crowd including U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, cabinet members and scores of foreign countries’ ambassadors to the United Nations attended a Broadway play about Canada’s assistance to Americans after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The crowd delivered a standing ovation as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced the play with a short speech — he began with some jokes about the unusually wintry New York weather and concluded with a more serious point about neighbourly relations.

 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the audience before the start of the Broadway musical "Come From Away" in New York City on Wednesday. ( Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS )

 Trudeau got some laughs when he told the audience: “Thank you for making us feel so welcome with the snow. It’s a nice touch. You really went out of your way.” There were cheers later when Trudeau referred to the Canada-U.S. bond: “There is no relationship quite like the friendship between Canada and the United States . . . Our friends are there for those tough times . . .” Trump, the president’s daughter and a close adviser, sat in Row F between Trudeau and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and directly behind Jean Chrétien, the former prime minister, and his wife, Aline, the New York Times reported.

 Article Continued Below

 Created by husband-and-wife team Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come From Away is set in the remote East Coast town in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The town saw its population double in size after local residents sheltered 6,579 passengers and crew from 38 planes diverted when U.S. air space was closed following the tragedy. Come From Away had its official Broadway opening on Sunday, which was followed by widespread critical raves from publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Chicago Tribune. The play offers the proverbial emotional roller-coaster that swings from tear-jerking moments to knee-slapping jokes from Newfoundland residents overwhelmed with the task of handling an influx of visitors. One recurring subplot involves prejudice against Muslims. An Egyptian man is continually sidelined by frightened characters, rebuffed from helping with the cooking before he can explain he’s a world-class chef. Guests were arriving at the theatre amid breaking political news that a U.S. court ordered a halt on the president’s latest executive action freezing refugee processing and limiting travel from a handful of majority-Muslim countries. The president slammed the ruling as unprecedented judicial overreach.

 Around that time, the theatre was filling up. The prime minister arrived at the midtown Manhattan venue in the same motorcade as Ivanka Trump. They rolled up to the theatre in separate vehicles, and quickly entered the building where they chatted with other guests.

 Ivanka Trump greets patrons as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, left, looks on before the start of the play on Wednesday. ( Ryan Remiorz )

 It was their second event together in a month. Trudeau had a roundtable meeting with Ivanka at the White House when they created a women’s business group — one the president has since saluted by referencing in different high-profile settings, including his address to Congress.

 Article Continued Below

 Read more: ‘Come From Away’ greeted with rave reviews as Tony buzz begins ‘Come From Away’ has a hopeful message that strikes a chord in New York In ‘Come From Away,’ a small town’s legacy soars The president’s daughter chatted with people who came up to her seat in the middle of the hall to get their picture taken. She also exchanged words with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her father’s ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley. There were up to 150 other UN ambassadors in the crowd — people Canada will spend the next few years lobbying in its effort for a temporary seat on the security council. There were also diplomats and politicians who were involved in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. As he walked in, former prime minister Jean Chretien shared some memories about the tragic events that inspired the story being told on stage. Chretien says he and the minister of transportation were made aware of residents of Gander, N.L., taking in thousands of passengers when U.S. air space was closed following the tragedy.

 Former prime minister Jean Chretien shared some memories before the play. “It was quite a day," he said. ( SAM HODGSON )

 He also recalled speaking with then-president George W. Bush about Canada’s role in assisting its crisis-stricken neighbour. “We were involved in many things,” Chretien said as he walked in. “It was quite a day.” Prior to its arrival on the Great White Way, the homegrown production had earned strong reviews as it criss-crossed the continent with shows in La Jolla, Calif., Washington, D.C., Seattle and Toronto. Trudeau previously announced on Twitter that he planned to attend the show with his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and that he was “looking forward to showing New Yorkers Canada at its best.”

 Read more about: ||||| Ivanka Trump has joined Justin Trudeau in attending a Broadway show that celebrates giving foreigners a warm welcome.

 The president's daughter and the Canadian prime minister, who sat next to each other during the play, were part of a political power-crowd at the new musical “Come From Away” on Wednesday night.

 Celebrating Canadian compassion following 9/11, the story is set in the small Newfoundland town of Gander, which saw its population double after it took in thousands of passengers and crew from dozens of planes diverted when US air space was closed following the terror attacks. One recurring theme involves prejudice against Muslims. |||||
A summary of this is?

– While President Trump was defending his travel ban in Nashville, Tenn., his daughter Ivanka joined Canada's prime minister for a Broadway show with a message of tolerance. Ivanka Trump and Justin Trudeau attended Come From Away, a musical about how the residents of Gander, Newfoundland, welcomed more than 6,000 people stranded in the small town when planes were diverted there after the 9/11 attacks, when US airspace was closed, the New York Daily News reports. The show opened in New York Sunday to rave reviews after runs in cities including Seattle and Washington, DC. Ivanka and Trudeau arrived in the same motorcade and sat next to each other during the play, the Telegraph reports. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was also in the crowd, as were up to 150 other UN ambassadors, reports the Toronto Star, which notes that the musical has a recurring subplot about anti-Muslim prejudice. Trudeau received a standing ovation for his speech introducing the play. He thanked the cast for working "to pull together such an extraordinary crowd to celebrate this story of friendship during extraordinarily difficult times between individuals between countries" and spoke about the close relationship betweeen the US and Canada. "The world gets to see what it is to lean on each other and be there for each other," he said. (Trudeau says Canada will welcome refugees of all faiths.)


Once again, it’s the tale of an older entertainer with a drinking problem who discovers and falls in love with a gifted younger woman, only to struggle when he sees her fame surpass his. This time, Lady Gaga, without much makeup, plays Ally, the shy chanteuse who initially doesn’t believe in her own talent or beauty. Mr. Cooper directs and co-wrote the movie.

 A pair of stand-up comedians, Andrew Dice Clay (who does not appear in the trailer) and Dave Chappelle, are cast as Ally’s father and Jackson’s old friend, respectively, and Sam Elliott plays the manager for both singers. ||||| Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Lady Gaga is ready for her big screen debut!

 The musician stars alongside Bradley Cooper in A Star is Born — a remake of the 1976 film starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Gaga plays an aspiring singer whose career begins to take off after she meets Cooper’s washed up country singer Jackson Maine.

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 The first trailer offers a hint of the drama to come in the film, but mainly focuses on how Cooper and Gaga’s characters meet and her reluctance to want to be on stage.

 “I don’t sing my own songs. I just don’t feel comfortable,” Gaga tells Cooper. “Almost every single person has told me they like the way I sounded but they didn’t like the way I look.”

 When Cooper replies by telling her “I think you’re beautiful,” the trailer shows them falling in love and Cooper eventually encouraging Gaga to overcome her fears of performing.

 The movie also marks Cooper’s directorial debut and features the actor singing live. A portion of the film was shot during Coachella in 2017.

 Watch the full season of Search History on PeopleTV.com or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.

 “It all came down to this broken love story, and there’s no better way to express that than through singing because there’s nowhere to hide when you’re singing. Your whole body is electrified,” Cooper told Entertainment Weekly of the film in December. “That was the initial igniter of the passion for me.”

 A Star Is Born opens October 5. ||||| Lady Gaga in A Star is Born

 Lady Gaga makes her feature film debut in Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star is Born. Ahead of the film’s October 5th release, the first trailer has arrived and you can watch it below.

 In addition to directing the film, Cooper co-stars alongside Gaga. He plays a season musician named Jack Maine, who discovers and falls in love with a struggling musician named Ally (played by Gaga). “She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight,” reads a plot synopsis. “But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons,”

 The film also stars Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Elliott, and Dave Chappelle.

 As previewed in the trailer, the film features original music which Gaga wrote with Cooper and a handful of other musicians, including Lukas Nelson, Jason Isbell, and Mark Ronson. All of the music is original and was recorded live. ||||| Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– The first trailer for the latest remake of Hollywood classic A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga as the singer discovered by Bradley Cooper's fading country music star, was released Wednesday and the internet approves. Twitter was going nuts for the trailer—Katy Perry, for example, simply tweeted, "IM SCREAMINGOSBEJRMF$&2@!K." Media outlets are calling Gaga "unrecognizable" in the trailer; the New York Times went with the headline, "Yes, That Really Is Lady Gaga in the Trailer for A Star Is Born." The film, out Oct. 5, is Gaga's feature film debut and Cooper's directorial debut, Consequence of Sound reports. The soundtrack features all original music written by Gaga alongside Cooper and other musicians including Lukas Nelson, Jason Isbell, and Mark Ronson.


Write a summary based on this article:

(CNN) Hurricane Harvey has claimed another victim, about two months after making landfall in Texas .

 A 31-year-old man died last week after being diagnosed with a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection known as necrotizing fasciitis, the Galveston County Health District announced Monday.

 The man has been identified as Josue Zurita, according to the Houston Chronicle , and he was helping repair several homes damaged by flooding from Harvey.

 Zurita went to the hospital on October 10 with a seriously infected wound on his upper left arm and was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, according to the Galveston County Health District.

 In an obituary on the Galveston-based Carnes Brothers Funeral Home's website , Zurita was called a "loving father and hard-working carpenter" who moved to the United States from Mexico to help his family and "remained to help with the rebuilding after hurricane Harvey."

 Zurita's death follows that of Nancy Reed, a 77-year-old Houston-area woman who died in September from necrotizing fasciitis related to Harvey floodwaters.

 J.R. Atkins, a former first responder, also contracted a flesh-eating bacterial infection but survived, according to CNN affiliate KTRK . He had been kayaking through floodwaters to check on neighbors affected by the hurricane, according to a Facebook post in September

 "We're surprised we saw three of them in the region, but given the exposure to all the construction and potential injuries that people would have ... it shouldn't be surprising. It's well within what we would expect given those numbers," said Dr. Philip Keiser, the Galveston County local health authority.

 Yet such infections as necrotizing fasciitis are very rare, Keiser said. Since 2010, about 700 to 1,100 cases occur each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 JUST WATCHED Floods pose more health risks than you may think Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Floods pose more health risks than you may think 01:43

 Several types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis, according to the National Institutes of Health . Such an infection can spread quickly and kills the body's soft tissue, especially if it infects a wound that is not properly cared for, Keiser said. The infection also can become lethal within a short amount of time.

 "What happens is, you get some kind of break in the skin, and in that area -- between the skin and the muscle -- it's a fairly open space where the bacteria can grow," Keiser said.

 "I have seen these things spread over hours. Even in one case, as I was examining a patient, I could see the red spread in the minutes I was examining him, and that's the real danger to it," Keiser said. "As it spreads, it's going up the space between the muscle and skin, and as it does that, it kills all the nerves and the blood vessels can clot."

 Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.

 To prevent such deadly infections, proper wound care is key, according to Keiser and the CDC.

 Keep open wounds covered with clean, dry bandages until they heal, especially if you are working in floodwaters, and avoid contact with natural bodies of water if you have an open wound. Don't delay treating minor, non-infected wounds, and wash hands often with soap and water.

 Also, if you notice any redness or swelling of a wound, or if you have a fever, seek medical attention. ||||| Josue "Cochito" Gedeon Perez Zurita September 01, 1986 - October 16, 2017

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 GALVESTON: Josue “Cochito” Gedeon Perez Zurita age 31 of Galveston died Monday, October 16, 2017 at Jennie Sealy Hospital in Galveston. Funeral services are 7:00pm Sunday, October 22, 2017 at Carnes Brothers Funeral Home in Galveston. Visitation will begin at 4:00pm with a rosary to be recited at 5:30pm. He will be laid to rest in his hometown of Miahuatlan, Oaxaca, Mexico.

 Josue was born on September 1, 1986 in Oaxaca, Mexico. He was a loving father and hard working carpenter. He moved to the United States to help his family. He remained to help with the rebuilding after hurricane Harvey that hit Harris and Galveston Counties. While working the current rebuilding efforts he was struck with an illness that claimed his life. He will be remembered as a loyal friend and devoted Christian father who remained faithful to his Catholic Faith.

 Survivors include his parents, Castulo Perez Reyes and Juliana Zurita Martinez Reyes; wife, Gloria Zurita Zurita; daughter, Carolina Perez Zurita; sisters, Yolanda Perez Zurita and Elvia Perez Zurita; brother, Efrain Perez Zurita; cousins, Anastacio Zurita and Silvia Gaspar; close friends Mr. Oscar, Mr. Eliseo, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Rigo., Mr. Caal, and the many friends that loved him dearly.

 SERVICES Visitation Sunday, October 22, 2017

 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM CARNES BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME

 1201 23rd street

 GALVESTON, Texas 77550 Get Directions on Google Maps Rosary Sunday, October 22, 2017

 5:30 PM CARNES BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME

 1201 23rd street

 GALVESTON, Texas 77550 Get Directions on Google Maps Funeral Service Sunday, October 22, 2017

 7:00 PM CARNES BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME

 1201 23rd street

 GALVESTON, Texas 77550 Get Directions on Google Maps |||||

 A homeowner dumps flood-damaged debris on his front yard in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey at the Canyon Gate community in Katy, Tex., in September. (AP)

 A 31-year-old Texas man died of a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection last week, nearly two months after Hurricane Harvey made landfall and the man began repairing homes damaged by the floods.

 On Monday, the Galveston County Health District said the man went to a hospital on Oct. 10 with a “seriously” infected wound on his upper left arm. He was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis — a rare bacterial infection that kills soft tissue — and died six days later.

 The Houston news channel KHOU identified the man as Josue Zurita. An obituary said Zurita was a hard-working carpenter who left Mexico to help provide for his family, and that he became infected while working to rebuild Harris and Galveston counties.

 “He's a very caring person,” Brenda Avalos, the wife of one of Zurita's cousins, told KHOU. “He has a lot of friends here in Galveston that love him. Everybody is very sad. He was very young and always smiling.”

 [Houston spent massively on new stadiums, not its aging dams. As Harvey proved, that was a very bad.]

 Philip Keiser, the local health authority for Galveston County, said in a news release published by the health district that the infection most likely occurred when bacteria from hurricane debris or floodwater entered the man’s body through a wound or cut. This case was the only known instance of necrotizing fasciitis in Galveston County related to Hurricane Harvey, according to the news release.

 Keiser told CNN that he has seen such infections spread over mere hours.

 “Even in one case, as I was examining a patient, I could see the red spread in the minutes I was examining him, and that's the real danger to it,” Keiser said. “As it spreads, it's going up the space between the muscle and skin, and as it does that, it kills all the nerves and the blood vessels can clot.”

 Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane late on the night of Aug. 25. Analysts described the storm as a 1-in-1,000-year flood event that dominated huge swaths of Southeast Texas. In mid-September, Texas officials said more than 80 people had died as a result of the storm and the subsequent flooding throughout Houston and coastal areas, though it would take weeks to determine an exact death toll.

 Infectious disease after a flood is typically a short-term concern, as The Post's Ben Guarino reported last month. In September 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the CDC reported 30 cases of MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus bacterium, among a group of evacuees sent to Dallas.

 Tetanus booster shots can be one means of defense against infectious diseases. The health district's news release also noted that proper wound care is vital to preventing infections. That includes keeping wounds covered with clean, dry bandages until they heal, and seeking medical attention for any redness, swelling or fever. Even minor, noninfected wounds — like blisters or scrapes — should be treated immediately.

 [Texans’ do-it-ourselves rescue effort defines Hurricane Harvey]

 Stress also has a negative effect on the immune system, and ensuring food hygiene can be especially difficult in disaster zones. People’s risk of getting sick increases further when they are packed into crowded areas, like a mega-shelter, after a natural disaster.

 The CDC warns against eating or drinking anything contaminated by floodwater that can cause diarrheal disease, such as E. coli or salmonella infection.

 CNN reported that on Sept. 15, a 77-year-old woman, Nancy Reed, also died of flesh-eating bacteria near Houston. A medical examiner report said the cause of the Reed's death was necrotizing fasciitis. Reed was helping her son clear out his home when she accidentally injured herself and contracted the disease, according to an associate pastor at the church that hosted Reed’s memorial service.

 One man, J.R. Atkins, told KHOU earlier this month that he was fighting flesh-eating bacteria. Atkins, a former first responder, wrote on Facebook about how he “nearly died” after noticing a small bite on his left arm that gradually swelled to his hand. Atkins spent time in the ICU after kayaking through his neighborhood checking on people affected by the floods.

 On Facebook, Zurita was remembered his for his smile and willingness to help his neighbors.

 “I'll never forget sitting on the front porch playing Lotteria [Mexican Bingo]," read one post.

 Read more:

 Clinton campaign, DNC paid for research that led to Russia dossier |||||

– A 31-year-old Texas man has died from flesh-eating bacteria, the third reported victim to be infected with the rare bug linked to Hurricane Harvey. Josue Zurita, a carpenter helping repair flooded homes, died on Oct. 16, six days after he went to the hospital with a serious infection to his upper left arm, KHOU reports. Necrotizing fasciitis had already claimed the life of a 77-year-old Houston-area woman; a man who'd kayaked through floodwaters to check on neighbors and contracted the bacteria survived, per CNN. Dr. Philip Keiser, the local health authority for Galveston County, which announced Zurita's death on Monday, says the risk of contracting necrotizing fasciitis is "well within what we would expect" given the amount of construction and resulting injuries after the storm. "You get some kind of break in the skin, and ... it's a fairly open space where the bacteria can grow," he notes. The infection can "spread over hours," Keiser adds. Several types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis, which kills the body's soft tissue. The risk of disease following a flood is usually short-lived, per the Washington Post. But to prevent infection, it's important to treat even minor wounds by cleaning them thoroughly, then covering them with clean, dry bandages. Tetanus shots can prevent infection. Zurita was remembered in an obituary as a "loving father and hardworking carpenter" who moved to the US from Mexico to support his wife and daughter back home. "He's a very caring person," a relative tells KHOU. "He was very young and always smiling." (Sewage in floodwaters was a prime culprit for spreading infection.)


Article:

A defining moment of the “old” John McCain—as many Americans, even some of his friends, have begun to refer to him as he was before his run for the Presidency in 2008—took place in February, 2000, during his first bid for the White House, when he was challenging George W. Bush for the Republican nomination in the South Carolina primary. McCain had recently upset Bush in New Hampshire and was in a buoyant mood, vowing that, like “Luke Skywalker fighting the Death Star,” he would not only defeat Bush but reform a party corrupted by “big money” and, as he later put it, “agents of intolerance.”

 Within days, sordid attacks began to appear: flyers on car windows claiming that McCain, who had adopted an orphan from Bangladesh, actually had fathered a black child; recorded phone messages, or robo-calls, spreading rumors that McCain’s wife, Cindy, who had once been addicted to prescription painkillers, was a junkie; and lies, propagated by an obscure group of Vietnam veterans, suggesting that McCain had become a traitor while serving in Vietnam.

 McCain’s response was decisive: he pulled from television his negative advertisements, and announced to supporters, “If we don’t prevail, my friends, we know that we have taken the honorable way.” On the evening of the primary, McCain and his family watched the returns in a hotel suite in Charleston. As the polls came in, showing that he had lost by more than ten points, Cindy wept. “How could they believe all that about you?” she said of the public.

 McCain, after embracing his wife and children, headed down to a ballroom to deliver his concession speech. “I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land,” he said. “I want the Presidency in the best way—not the worst way. The American people deserve to be treated with respect by those who seek to lead the nation. And I promise you: you will have my respect until my last day on earth. The greatest blessing of my life was to have been born an American, and I will never . . . dishonor the nation I love or myself by letting ambition overcome principle. Never. Never. Never.”

 In the final weeks of the 2008 campaign, it became clear that John McCain might lose more than the Presidency. On October 6th, slipping steeply in the polls, he held a rally in Albuquerque. Rather than speak off the cuff, as he preferred, he kept his eyes on a teleprompter. During the 2000 race, McCain was known as the “happy warrior,” but now his tone was harsh. Angrily waving a finger, McCain portrayed his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, as a shadowy figure who never seemed to reveal his true identity. McCain noted that Obama’s campaign recently had to “return thirty-three thousand dollars in illegal foreign funds from Palestinian donors.” McCain urged the audience to wonder, “Who is the real Barack Obama?”

 Before he even finished the speech, he and his aides had begun their now notorious campaign—sometimes in public, sometimes sub rosa—to supply insinuating answers to this question. Ads appeared accusing Obama, who had served on the boards of two charities with William Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground, of being allied with a “terrorist.” Voters received flyers featuring a mug shot of Ayers and the words “Terrorist. Radical. Friend of Obama.” Then came the same kind of robo-calls that had savaged McCain in 2000, and that he had once denounced as messages of “hate.” McCain even hired one of the same firms that Bush used in 2000. The messages warned, among other things, that Obama had tried to stop doctors from caring “for babies born alive after surviving attempted abortions.” Meanwhile, McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, charged that Obama was “palling around with terrorists.” Other surrogates claimed that Obama was “anti-American,” a “guy of the street” who “used cocaine,” and had “friends that bombed the Pentagon.” According to Newsweek, Michelle Obama asked an aide, “Why would they try to make people hate us?”

 Early on, McCain vowed that he wanted “the most positive kind of campaign.” But even though he sometimes seemed uncomfortable, shifting in his chair or looking away from the camera, he was at the heart of those personal attacks—demanding that Obama confess his relationship to a “washed-up terrorist,” and proclaiming that Obama would “lose a war in order to win a political campaign.”

 As the rallies of McCain and Palin grew angrier—at the mention of Obama’s name, supporters yelled “Traitor!,” “Kill him!,” and “Off with his head!”—McCain seemed startled by what he had helped unleash. When, at one rally, a woman called Obama an untrustworthy “Arab,” McCain turned ashen and stammered, “No, Ma’am. He’s a decent family man.” Afterward, Ray LaHood, a Republican congressman from Illinois, who earlier had condemned the campaign’s inflammatory rhetoric, told me, “That’s the John McCain I know.”

 Obama and his supporters decried McCain’s tactics. Yet some of the strongest criticism came from people whom McCain revered or who had long revered him. And it was not merely about strategy—the backbiting that always consumes losing campaigns. It was about the very nature of John McCain. In their eyes, at least, their hero was losing not only an election but his reputation—or, as one prominent backer put it, “his soul.”

 William G. Milliken, a moderate three-term Republican governor of Michigan, was part of the unusual coalition that had made McCain an almost singular figure in American politics. Although for most of his career McCain’s voting record was consistently conservative, he was far more popular with centrist Republicans, independents, and many Democrats than he was with the Party’s base. His appeal was rooted less in ideology than in character: he presented himself as a figure who would never pander or betray his convictions. When he fell short of his principles, as in the 1989 Keating Five scandal—the Senate Ethics Committee found that he “exercised poor judgment” in helping a major donor—his willingness to lacerate himself in public only reinforced this impression for many. ||||| George W. Bush’s bombastic return to the world stage has reminded me of my favourite Bush anecdote, which for various reasons we couldn’t publish at the time. Some of the witnesses still dine out on it.

 The venue was the Oval Office. A group of British dignitaries, including Gordon Brown, were paying a visit. It was at the height of the 2008 presidential election campaign, not long after Bush publicly endorsed John McCain as his successor.

 Naturally the election came up in conversation. Trying to be even-handed and polite, the Brits said something diplomatic about McCain’s campaign, expecting Bush to express some warm words of support for the Republican candidate.

 Not a chance. “I probably won’t even vote for the guy,” Bush told the group, according to two people present.“I had to endorse him. But I’d have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me.”

 Endorse Obama? Cue dumbfounded look from British officials, followed by some awkward remarks about the Washington weather. Even Gordon Brown’s poker face gave way to a flash of astonishment.

 To be fair, this wasn’t completely unexpected. The degree of enmity between Bush and McCain — particularly following their legendarily dirty fight in the 2000 South Carolina primary — is hard to exaggerate.

 Indeed Bush is far from kind to McCain in the parts of his new book that relate his “complex relationship” with the Arizona senator. I’ve yet to see a copy, so I don’t know whether he mentions how he voted. But it might be worth asking. He was certainly wavering. |||||
What is a summary?

– George Bush's stop-the-presses revelations just won't stop, though the latest comes by way of a dusty anecdote that's finally seeing the light of day. Alex Barker, writing for the Financial Times reveals that in an Oval Office meeting with Gordon Brown and other British dignitaries during the 2008 campaign season, John McCain came up in conversation. Bush reportedly told the group (according to two who were there): "I probably won’t even vote for the guy. I had to endorse him. But I’d have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me." Barker recounts the "flash of astonishment" that befell the British crew, but says the alleged comments weren't "completely unexpected," considering the lack of love between Bush and McCain (he points to their dirty fight in the 2000 South Carolina primary).


Article:

CALGARY, Alberta May 8 (Reuters) - A female Suncor Energy employee has been killed by a bear on the company's oil sands base camp site near Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, a company spokeswoman said.

 The large male black bear attacked the woman in a busy part of the sprawling industrial complex, approximately 25 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, on Wednesday afternoon. The employee was pronounced dead at the scene.

 "We are shocked by this very unusual incident and there are no words to express the tragedy of this situation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to family, friends and co-workers," said Mark Little, Suncor executive vice president, Upstream.

 "All of us need to focus on personal safety and I would urge everyone to be extremely vigilant in dealing with wildlife."

 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Alberta Environmental and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD) responded to the incident and the bear was put down.

 Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said at this stage there were limited details of what happened but a full investigation was underway into why the bear attacked.

 "It's a major industrial site with lots of noise and activity. Other workers tried to intervene," she said.

 AESRD officers are in the process of installing traps and cameras and helping patrol the borders of the site, Seetal added.

 Suncor is Canada's largest oil and gas company, with the majority of production coming from the oil sands, a region heavily populated with bears and other wildlife. Black and grizzly bears come out of hibernation at this time of year.

 This is the third employee death on Suncor's oil sands site this year, although the two other incidents were work-related.

 Seetal said she did not know of any other bear attacks on site. (Editing by David Gregorio) ||||| WATCH: A worker at a Suncor oilsands site north of Fort McMurray was attacked by a bear in the middle of the afternoon. It all happened as her horrified co-workers tried to stop the attack. Francis Silvaggio reports.

 EDMONTON – Global News has learned the Suncor employee who was killed by a black bear in northern Alberta on Wednesday was Fort McMurray resident Lorna Weafer.

 The Suncor instrument technician reportedly came face to face with the bear shortly after coming out of a washroom at the company’s oil sands base plant, located about 25 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

 Global News has been told fellow employees witnessed the attack and tried to stop it, but were unable to. They called RCMP around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday; Weafer was later pronounced dead at the scene.

 The 36-year-old was born in Ireland, and emigrated to Canada with her parents more than 30 years ago, according to The Irish Independent.

 Dublin actor Alan O’Neill, a relative of Weafer’s, sent out the following message on Twitter regarding her death on Thursday:

 Heartbreaking & devastating news for all my family at the very tragic passing of my beautiful vivacious cousin in Canada. #RIPLornaWeafer xx — Alan O'Neill (@alanwoneill) May 8, 2014

 Her family has sent out a statement, which reads, in part:

 “Lorna’s warmth and compassion knew no bounds. She had a busy full life, loved her family and her dog.

 She absolutely adored children and had volunteered as a Big Sister.

 Lorna was a warm, conscientious person and she made fast friends.

 Although Lorna had only been working with Suncor as an instrumentation tech since October, she was extremely well-liked and had many friends at the company…

 She had been talking about going back to study and become a psychologist because she loved helping people – she’d have helped anyone. And she often did.

 She will be greatly missed by her immediate and extended family, and her many, many friends.

 On behalf of our family we’d like to recognize the co-workers who tried to help Lorna. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We understand you are grieving as well and we are sending you our best regards.

 Due to the sudden and tragic circumstances of Lorna’s death, we are asking for privacy while we grieve.

 Suncor’s executive vice president Mark Little said the company is shocked “by this very unusual incident.”

 “There are no words to express the tragedy of this situation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to family, friends and co-workers.”

 “We don’t know why this happened and that’s why it’s so important we conduct a complete, thorough investigation,” Suncor spokesperson Sneh Seetal after the event on Wednesday.

 According to Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), the bear, which was later killed by officers, was male and of “above-average size.”

 READ MORE: How common are black bear attacks? And what should you do if you ever encounter a bear in the wilderness?

 “There are a lot of people on these sites, so we had to take the safety of those people into account,” explained Cpl. George Cameron of Ft. McMurray RCMP. “That’s probably the main reason why the bear was shot. We didn’t want this unfortunate incident to happen again.”

 The wildlife officer investigating this case says there was no open food in the area at the time, and the garbage bin was sealed.

 It’s believed the attack was of a predatory nature.

 Traps have since been set up in the area, and another bear has been caught.

 “Part of the wildlife training that we do offer for our employees and that employees partake in does speak to alerting any sightings through to people on site so appropriate steps can be taken,” Seetal said.

 She said as a result of the attack, “we are reminding people not just at our site, but in the broader community, to be especially vigilant in dealing with wildlife.”

 “We do know that the bears are coming out of hibernation now and so, from an Occupational Health and Safety Perspective, we want to ensure that all workers — whether at this site or any other — are well trained to know how to handle these situations should they occur, ” said Barrie Harrison of OHS.

 OHS says it will work with Suncor to see if anything could have been done to avoid this attack.

 It adds that it can’t recall any other time there’s been a wildlife attack on a job site in the province.

 Follow @TrishKozicka

 With files from Kendra Slugoski and Shannon Greer Global News, and The Canadian Press |||||
What is a summary?

– A female employee of Canada's largest oil and gas company was killed by a black bear at a work site in northern Alberta, reports the CBC. The 36-year-old had just emerged from a washroom at Suncor's oil-sands site when she encountered the bear, reports Global News. Co-workers tried in vain to save her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police then killed the bear. “We don't know why this happened," says a company spokesperson, who promised an investigation. "We are reminding people to be especially vigilant in dealing with wildlife." Most of Suncor's production comes from these oil sands, also called tar sands, explains Reuters, and the company has a sprawling industrial complex at the site. The region is heavily populated with bears now emerging from hibernation, it adds.


News article:

GENEVA (Reuters) - Smoking costs the global economy more than $1 trillion a year, and will kill one third more people by 2030 than it does now, according to a study by the World Health Organization and the U.S. National Cancer Institute published on Tuesday.

 That cost far outweighs global revenues from tobacco taxes, which the WHO estimated at about $269 billion in 2013-2014.

 “The number of tobacco-related deaths is projected to increase from about 6 million deaths annually to about 8 million annually by 2030, with more than 80 percent of these occurring in LMICs (low- and middle-income countries),” the study said.

 Around 80 percent of smokers live in such countries, and although smoking prevalence was falling among the global population, the total number of smokers worldwide is rising, it said.

 Health experts say tobacco use is the single biggest preventable cause of death globally.

 “It is responsible for... likely over $1 trillion in health care costs and lost productivity each year,” said the study, peer-reviewed by more than 70 scientific experts.

 FILE PHOTO: An ash tray with cigarette butts is pictured in Hinzenbach, Austria, February 5, 2012. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

 The economic costs are expected to continue to rise, and although governments have the tools to reduce tobacco use and associated deaths, most have fallen far short of using those tools effectively, said the 688-page report.

 “Government fears that tobacco control will have an adverse economic impact are not justified by the evidence. The science is clear; the time for action is now.”

 HOW TO QUIT

 Cheap and effective policies included hiking tobacco taxes and prices, comprehensive smoke-free policies, complete bans on tobacco company marketing, and prominent pictorial warning labels.

 Tobacco taxes could also be used to fund more expensive interventions such as anti-tobacco mass media campaigns and support for cessation services and treatments, it said.

 Governments spent less than $1 billion on tobacco control in 2013-2014, according to a WHO estimate.

 Tobacco regulation meanwhile is reaching a crunch point because of a trade dispute brought by Cuba, Indonesia, Honduras and Dominican Republic against Australia’s stringent “plain packaging” laws, which enforce standardized designs on tobacco products and ban distinctive logos and colorful branding.

 The World Trade Organization is expected to rule on the complaint this year. Australia’s policy is being closely watched by other countries that are considering similar policies, including Norway, Slovenia, Canada, Singapore, Belgium and South Africa, the study said. ||||| This article is over 3 years old

 Tobacco giant fails in its bid to overturn laws using clause in 1993 Hong Kong bilateral trade deal after arbitration court rules it does not have jurisdiction

 Australia has won an international legal battle to uphold its world-leading tobacco control measures, with Philip Morris failing in its long-running attempt to challenge plain packaging laws under a bilateral trade agreement with Hong Kong.

 The decision could give other countries greater confidence to follow Australia’s lead in outlawing tobacco company logos on cigarette packets and moving to drab, uniform designs dominated by graphic health warnings.

 Ireland passes plain packaging bill for cigarettes Read more

 Philip Morris Asia Limited launched its challenge against the Australian government in 2011, seeking to rely on an argument that the ban on trademarks breached foreign investment provisions of Australia’s 1993 Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with Hong Kong.

 But the arbitral tribunal has declined jurisdiction to hear the case, the company said in a statement issued on Friday.

 The minister responsible for tobacco policy, Fiona Nash, said: “We welcome the unanimous decision by the tribunal agreeing with Australia’s position that it has no jurisdiction to hear Philip Morris’s claim.”

 Philip Morris said it was reviewing the decision in detail to consider its next options, but sought to head off suggestions that other countries should follow suit.

 “There is nothing in today’s outcome that addresses, let alone validates, plain packaging in Australia or anywhere else,” said Marc Firestone, Philip Morris International senior vice president and general counsel.

 “It is regrettable that the outcome hinged entirely on a procedural issue that Australia chose to advocate instead of confronting head on the merits of whether plain packaging is legal or even works.”

 But the Public Health Association of Australia welcomed the decision as “the best Christmas present for public health nationally and internationally”.

 “Smoking in Australia is falling in adults, in children and by tobacco volume sales,” said the association’s chief executive, Michael Moore.

 “Now the tobacco companies have lost another crucial legal bid to stop this life-saving measure. The message is loud and clear – plain packaging works, and it is here to stay.”

 Tobacco companies challenge legality of UK plain packaging rules Read more

 Professor Mike Daube, who chaired the government’s expert committee that recommended plain packaging, said the tobacco companies were “desperate to prevent plain packaging here and internationally because they know it works”.

 Todd Harper, the chief executive of the Cancer Council Victoria, said the implementation of plain packaging on a global scale was “the worst nightmare of the tobacco industry”.

 “Overnight we have heard that France will progress with plain packaging, marking yet another country to adopt this important tobacco control initiative,” he said.

 “Other countries should feel confident that bullying tactics of big tobacco cannot stand in the way of public health measures.”

 Australia’s plain packaging laws were introduced by Julia Gillard’s Labor government in 2011. The laws banned tobacco companies from displaying their distinctive colours, brand designs and logos on cigarette packs.

 In 2012, the Australian high court rejected a domestic challenge against the laws brought by major tobacco companies.

 The Australia-Hong Kong investment treaty at the heart of the international challenge contained the type of “investor-state dispute settlement mechanism” that has caused controversy in trade policy debates.

 The Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said Australia had “dodged a bullet” because of the jurisdictional ruling, but kept signing trade deals that gave corporations “the right to sue us for making laws that might impinge on a foreign corporation’s profits”.

 Whish-Wilson renewed his concerns about the 12-country Trans Pacific Partnership and said such clauses were “the Damocles Sword hanging over Australia’s sovereignty and our right to legislate in the public interest”.

 Labor’s health spokeswoman, Catherine King, seized on the ruling as a vindication of the strategy adopted by the former health ministers Nicola Roxon and Tanya Plibersek.

 “As feared by tobacco companies, Australia’s lead is now creating an unstoppable momentum with France today joining Britain and Ireland in voting to introduce plain packaging, and dozens of other countries set to follow,” King said.

 The permanent court of arbitration is yet to publish the decision outlining its reasons.

 But in legal arguments (PDF) about why the claims under the Hong Kong agreement should fail, Australia said the company bringing the challenge – Philip Morris Asia – had acquired its shares in Philip Morris Australia in early 2011 “in the full knowledge” of the government’s decision in 2010 to introduce plain packaging.

 Guardian Australia has been told the decision means the arbitration is over, other than any proceedings related to the recovery of Australia’s costs and subject to any appeal Philip Morris Asia may seek to launch in Singapore, which is the seat of the arbitration.

 The government still faces a separate challenge against plain packaging in the World Trade Organisation after Ukraine, Honduras, Indonesia, Dominican Republic and Cuba argued the measure breached Australia’s international obligations. A decision is expected in the second half of 2016.

 The foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, and the trade minister, Andrew Robb, said the government was committed to defending the international challenges because the plain packaging laws were “an important and legitimate measure” designed to protect public health. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Smoking costs the global economy an eye-popping $1 trillion a year, and despite anti-tobacco efforts, deaths are rising, Reuters reports. Tobacco-related illnesses will claim 8 million lives per year by 2030, up from the current 6 million, warns a new study by the World Health Organization and the National Cancer Institute. There are more people lighting up in middle- to low-income countries, which is where 80% of projected smoking deaths will occur in the coming years. Lost productivity and health care costs top $1 trillion per year (that's 12 zeros), a figure that dwarfs that $1 billion governments spent on anti-tobacco measures in the 2013-14 year. Governments could do more to curb smoking and reduce their health-care costs, the authors say. Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of death, notes Reuters. Global efforts to curb tobacco use have fallen short, the study says. "Government fears that tobacco control will have an adverse economic impact are not justified by the evidence," the authors write. "The science is clear; the time for action is now." They suggest boosting tobacco taxes and the price per pack along with better anti-smoking policies, warning labels and a total ban on marketing tobacco. Australia's strict plain-packaging laws banning cigarette company logos have been praised by health experts as a model for other nations, though the policy has sparked legal challenges. Australia won a legal fight against Philip Morris in 2015 to keep cigarette packs there as drab as possible, per the Guardian. (Smoke just a little bit? It'll still kill you.)


– A nice bit of schadenfreude for Twilight haters: Breaking Dawn Part 2, the merciful final installment in the vampire saga, leads this year's nominations for the Golden Raspberry Awards (aka Razzies), which honor the year's worst films. It managed to grab a nomination in each of the 10 categories, plus an 11th nomination because it was nominated twice in the Worst Screen Couple category, E! reports. Lead actress Kristen Stewart scored a second Worst Actress nomination too, for Snow White and the Huntsman. Other much-dishonored films: Adam Sandler's That's My Boy, with nine nominations, and Rihanna's Battleship, with seven. Awards are handed out the day before the Oscars, Feb. 23. On a more serious note, BAFTA nominations also came out today, and Steven Spielberg's Lincoln dominated that field with 10 nominations, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tom Hooper's Les Miserables and Ang Lee's Life of Pi came in second with nine nominations each, followed by James Bond flick Skyfall with eight. All of the above except Skyfall were nominated for best film, along with Ben Affleck's Argo and Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty. Those five best film nominees also made up the five Director's Guild of America Award nominees that were announced yesterday, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The DGA Awards will be held Feb. 2; the BAFTAs are Feb. 10.

Expand this summary.

Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" dominated the nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards early Wednesday. The historical American epic earned 10 nominations including best film, best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, best supporting actor for Tommy Lee Jones and best supporting actress for Sally Field.

 Tom Hooper's musical "Les Miserables" and Ang Lee's adventure "Life of Pi" received nine nominations each from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, while the James Bond thriller "Skyfall" earned eight nominations.

 Besides "Lincoln," best film nominees are "Argo," "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi" and "Zero Dark Thirty."

 Joining Day-Lewis in the lead actor category is Ben Affleck for "Argo," Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook," Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables" and Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master."

 COMPLETE LIST: British Academy of Film and Television Awards nominees

 Lead actress nominees for the BAFTA are Emmanuelle Riva for "Amour," Helen Mirren for "Hitchcock," Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook," Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty" and Marion Cotillard for "Rust and Bone." ||||| Once again, the Twilight Saga has been deemed so much swill by Razzie voters.

 Breaking Dawn Part 2 leads the field heading into the 33rd Golden Raspberry Awards with a whopping 11 nominations, meaning it's up for dishonor in every category, including Worst Picture, Actor, Actress, Ensemble and Director.

 They even doubled up on Kristen Stewart, making her Worst Actress nod a twofer, for Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Snow White and the Huntsman. (Think she'll show up like Halle Berry and Sandra Bullock have good-naturedly done in the past?) ||||| Kelsey Grammer will host the 65th annual event Feb. 2.

 Ben Affleck scored the first DGA Award nomination of his career as the Directors Guild of America announced its motion picture nominees Tuesday. Affleck, who was welcomed into the club for his work on Argo, was nominated along with four past winners of the DGA Award: Kathryn Bigelow, nominated for Zero Dark Thirty; Tom Hooper, Les Miserables; Ang Lee, Life of Pi; and Steven Spielberg, Lincoln.

 Among the directors who failed to make the cut are Django Unchained's Quentin Tarantino, Silver Linings Playbook's David O. Russell, The Master's Paul Thomas Anderson -- all previous DGA Award nominees -- and Moonrise Kingdom's Wes Anderson.

 Bigelow, receiving her second nomination, won the award for 2009's The Hurt Locker. Hooper is also a two-time feature nominee, having won the award for 2010's The King's Speech.

 Lee had been nominated three times previously and won for 2005's Brokeback Mountain and 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Spielberg's nomination was the 11th of his career; he won for 1998's Saving Private Ryan, 1993's Schindler's List and 1985's The Color Purple.

 The 65th annual DGA Awards will be held Feb. 2 in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. Kelsey Grammer will host the event for a second consecutive year.

 The DGA Award usually points the way toward the winner of the Academy Award for best director; only six times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the winner has not gone on to score the Oscar. The most recent was Rob Marshall for 2002's Chicago, after which Roman Polanski won the Academy Award for The Pianist.

 PHOTOS: THR's Director Roundtable: 6 Hollywood Auteurs on Tantrums, Dealing With Actors and When They'll Quit

 The guild will announce its television and commercial nominees Wednesday.

 Here are the feature nominees and their respective directorial teams:

 BEN AFFLECK

 Argo

 (Warner Bros. Pictures)

 Mr. Affleck’s Directorial Team:

 · Unit production manager: Amy Herman

 · First assistant director: David Webb

 · Second assistant director: Ian Calip

 · Second Second assistant directors: Clark Credle, Gavin Kleintop

 · First assistant director (Turkey Unit): Belkis Turan

 KATHRYN BIGELOW

 Zero Dark Thirty

 (Columbia Pictures)

 Ms. Bigelow’s Directorial Team:

 · Unit production manager: Colin Wilson

 · First assistant director: David A. Ticotin

 · Second assistant directors: Ben Lanning, Sarah Hood

 · First assistant director (Jordan Unit): Scott Robertson

 · Second assistant directors (Jordan Unit): Jonas Spaccarotelli, Yanal Kassay

 · Second second assistant director (Jordan Unit): Tarek Afifi

 · Unit production manager (India Unit): Rajeev Mehra

 TOM HOOPER

 Les Miserables

 (Universal Pictures)

 Mr. Hooper’s Directorial Team:

 · Unit production manager: Patrick Schweitzer

 · First assistant director: Ben Howarth

 · Second assistant director: Harriet Worth

 · Second second assistant director: Dan Channing Williams

 ANG LEE

 Life of Pi

 (20th Century Fox)

 Mr. Lee’s Directorial Team:

 · Unit production manager: Michael J. Malone

 · Unit production manager (Taiwan): Leo Chen

 · First assistant directors: William M. Connor, Cliff Lanning

 · Second assistant directors: Robert Burgess, Ben Lanning

 · Unit production manager (India Unit): Sanjay Kumar

 · First assistant director (India Unit): Nitya Mehra

 · Unit production manager: Susan McNamara

 · First assistant director: Adam Somner

 · Second assistant director: Ian Stone

 · Second second assistant directors: Eric Lasko, Trevor Tavares

 STEVEN SPIELBERG

 Lincoln

 (DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox)

 Mr. Spielberg’s Directorial Team:

 · Unit production manager: Susan McNamara

 · First assistant director: Adam Somner

 · Second assistant director: Ian Stone

 · Second second assistant directors: Eric Lasko, Trevor Tavares |||||