– The Syrian boy who drew worldwide attention last August after he was bloodied by an airstrike in Aleppo has resurfaced looking like any other healthy 5-year-old. But some are cautioning that looks can be deceiving. In interviews with pro-government outlets—including reporter Kinana Allouche, who once shared a selfie with the bodies of rebel fighters—Omran Daqneesh is seen next to his father as the older man accuses rebels of using Omran as a propaganda tool. "They wanted to trade in his blood and published his photos," he says, per the BBC. Mohamad Daqneesh, who lost an older son in the airstrike, adds he refused rebel offers to leave Aleppo because the rebels only seek to hurt the reputation of the Syrian Army, per Mashable. Allouche notes "those who tried to shed Syrian blood mislead the news that he was hit by the Syrian Arab Army. Here he now lives in the Syrian state with its army, its leader and its people." The interview marks a decided turn for the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who last year said the photo of Omran in an ambulance was "forged." But a rep for the Syria Institute suspects a propaganda campaign has only just begun and says the family was "probably" coerced. Since rebels withdrew from Aleppo in December, "they are under government control now and this is a government that we know arrests and tortures anyone that speaks out against it," the rep tells Reuters. The Assad regime is known to offer incentives to those who speak out against rebels, reports the Guardian.

Expand this summary.

BEIRUT (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A young Syrian boy, whose stunned image covered in dust and blood became an iconic symbol of suffering in Aleppo, has appeared in new footage posted by a pro-Syrian government television presenter.

 Omran Daqneesh and his father appeared in a video clip, apparently still living in Aleppo telling the reporter, Kinana Allouche, he didn’t want to leave Syria.

 A photograph of the wounded boy, sitting blankly and alone in the back of an ambulance after an airstrike, was circulated worldwide last August, highlighting the suffering of civilians in besieged east Aleppo. His older brother, Ali, died from his wounds after the attack.

 Daqneesh’s father told the reporter his son was in good health in Aleppo - now under the control of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. He said he had cut his son’s hair and changed his name to protect him from being kidnapped and accused rebels of intimidating the family.

 It was not clear whether the family had been coerced into taking part in the short video posted on Facebook, the first time the boy had been seen publicly since he was wounded.

 However, Valerie Szybala from the Syria Institute, an independent research organisation focused on Syria, said the family was unlikely to have been speaking freely.

 “They are under government control now and this is a government that we know arrests and tortures anyone that speaks out against it ... to me the situation seems to suggest this is probably coerced,” Szybala told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

 Rebel resistance in Aleppo ended last December after years of fighting and months of bitter siege and bombardment that culminated in a bloody retreat, as insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire.

 Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 has killed an estimated 465,000 people. ||||| Image copyright @khalediskef Image caption Journalist Khaled Iskef took a selfie with Omran Daqneesh (2nd left) and his family

 New pictures have emerged of Omran Daqneesh, the young Syrian boy who became a symbol of civilian suffering in the city of Aleppo last year.

 A bloodied Omran was filmed after what activists said was an air strike on a rebel enclave that killed his brother.

 On Sunday, he was photographed at his new home in the city, which is now under full government control.

 In interviews with pro-government journalists, Omran's father complained that he had been used as "propaganda".

 Image copyright AFP Image caption The image of Omran sitting in an ambulance sparked international compassion

 Mohammed Daqneesh told a reporter from Iran's Al-Alam TV that the Syrian opposition and international media had wanted to use Omran to attack President Bashar al-Assad.

 "They wanted to trade in his blood and published his photos," he added.

 Mr Daqneesh said he had been sitting with his then five-year-old son when their home was hit on 17 August and that he had not heard a plane overhead.

 He added that Omran had suffered only minor injuries and that the blood on his son's face had dripped on to him from one of his own wounds.

 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Omran Daqneesh's home was destroyed

 As he searched for his three other children among the rubble, "gunmen" took Omran to an ambulance in the street outside and started filming him, Mr Daqneesh said. They then took him to hospital despite there being no need, he added.

 Video footage of Omran being carried from a damaged building and being placed on a seat in the back of an ambulance by an unarmed man who appeared to be a rescue worker was filmed by the pro-opposition Aleppo Media Centre (AMC), after what it said was a series of overnight Russian air strikes on the Qaterji district.

 A doctor at the hospital where Omran was taken told the BBC at the time that he had a head wound that required stitches and was suffering from shock.

 When troops pushed into eastern Aleppo at the end of last year, Mr Daqneesh and his family reportedly chose to cross into government-controlled territory along with thousands of other civilians, rather than be evacuated to rebel-held Idlib province. ||||| Images and a short video clip show Omran Daqneesh for the first time since he was wounded in a regime airstrike

 New footage emerges of Syrian boy who gave a face to the suffering in Aleppo

 New footage has emerged of Omran Daqneesh, the boy whose bloodied and dusty image gave a face to the suffering of Aleppo’s civilians in last year’s siege.

 'I filmed the Syrian boy pulled from the rubble - his wasn't a rare case' Read more

 The images were posted on the social media account of a pro-Syrian government television presenter and appeared to show the young boy in good health and living in Aleppo, which is now under the control of forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad.

 As the rebels retreated from Aleppo, reports had emerged that the Daqneesh family had crossed over into government territory, but they had not been heard from until now.

 The images and a short video clip posted by Kinana Alloush – a reporter who once posted a selfie with the corpses of rebel fighters – marked the first time Omran had appeared publicly since he was wounded in a regime airstrike.

 An image of Omran, stunned and sitting alone in the back of an ambulance after a regime airstrike, quickly went viral when it emerged last August and highlighted the suffering of east Aleppo’s besieged civilians. His brother later died of his wounds from the same airstrike.

 In a short interview clip posted by Alloush, Omran’s father tells the TV presenter that he did not hear a plane above his house before the strike and said he rejected offers to leave Syria by parties wishing to damage the reputation of the country’s armed forces. He said that he changed his son’s name and his hairstyle to evade individuals who threatened to kidnap him and accused rebels of intimidating him.

 It was unclear if the family had been coerced into conducting the interview. The Syrian government has carried out similar disinformation efforts in the past, promising benefits to defectors or displaced civilians if they speak out against alleged rebel crimes. ||||| Rating is available when the video has been rented.

 This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. ||||| Omran Daqneesh became a symbol of the suffering in Aleppo after a heartbreaking photo showing him sitting in the back of an ambulance — bloodied, dazed, dusty and confused — went viral on social media.

 Doctor in #Aleppo just sent this photo of a dazed child who survived an airstrike pic.twitter.com/IHLDc6KPh8 — Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) August 17, 2016

 Now, photos and video of Omran show a young boy in good health and living in Aleppo, which is now under firm control of the Syrian regime.

 A pro-Assad reporter, Kinana Alloush, who once posted a selfie with the dead bodies of rebel fighters, published the first pictures of Omran and his family since they were struck by bombardments conducted by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

 "The child Omran, those who tried to shed Syrian blood mislead the news that he was hit by the Syrian Arab Army," she wrote. "Here he now lives in the Syrian state with its army, its leader and its people."

 Other pro-regime outlets and the Kremlin-funded video news agency Ruptly also conducted interviews with the boy (Russia is a major ally of the Syrian regime).

 That raises questions over whether the boy is being exploited for a pro-Assad agenda or the family had been forced to conduct the interview.

 Last year, images of Omran being loaded into the emergency vehicle were posted on social media — where it quickly went viral — by rebel groups, including the The Syrian Civil Defense and Aleppo Media Center (AMC).

 It highlighted the suffering of besieged civilians in east Aleppo, drawing the world's attention to the crisis. His brother later died of his wounds.

 But now media loyal to the Assad government appears to be spinning the story for their own agenda.

 In the interview posted by Alloush, Omran's father said he changed his son's name and shaved him to protect him from media attention. "They wanted to trade in his blood and published his photos," he said.

 He added that he refused offers by rebel groups to leave Syria because they want to damage the reputation of the country's army. The family reportedly fled to regime-held west Aleppo as soon as they had a chance.

 It's not the first time that children who went viral on social media during the Syrian civil war are being exploited from one side or another for propaganda purposes.

 Bana Alabed, the 7-year-old girl who tweeted her experience of living in besieged Aleppo, was depicted with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan after her family was evacuated from the devastated Syrian city and allowed into Turkey, with permission to remain.

 I was pleased to host @AlabedBana and her family at the Presidential Complex today. Turkey will always stand with the people of Syria. pic.twitter.com/VuPtmFl7Lr — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RT_Erdogan) December 21, 2016

 In a video, Bana can be heard telling Erdoğan: “Thank you for supporting the children of Aleppo and help us to get out from war. I love you.” ||||| Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email

 Usually you snap a selfie on holiday, with your mates or just having a bit of fun.

 But this selfie with corpses from Syrian journalist Kinana Allouch has left many shocked and horrified.

 The veteran journalist works for Addounia TV, seen by many as a mouthpiece for the Assad regime.

 Her Facebook profile includes a picture of her posing with the brutal dictator, Bashar al-Assad.

 Her selfie appears to be a triumphant message of victory against terrorists during the battle now raging in Aleppo.

 But angry Facebook commentators said the bodies belonged to rebel fighters.

 One, Ashraf Abdullah, called her a "war criminal" and warned her "everything is being recorded".

 As well as her notorious selfie, Allouche posted pictures of herself with Syrian army soldiers .

 She reports on Aleppo, Syria's second city, which was once known for its ancient markets and hilltop fort.

 But since 2012, a bloody battle has raged between the regime and rebels. At least 50,000 Syrians are believed to have fled the city.

 In March, both sides agreed to a ceasefire, but Russian-backed regime forces are said to be attacking the rebel-held neighbourhoods

 (Image: Getty)

 Kyle Orton, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society who studies Syrian propaganda, said "gloating" photos like this one are quite rare, but "triumphalist reporting" is very common.

 He told The Mirror : "The intention of pictures like this from the Assad regime and its surrogates is to say: 'We're tough enough to protect you - or to hurt you if you abandon us - so stay with us.' It's both a threat and an inducement.

 "The dead in the picture will be presented by the regime as from the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, or some other extremist force - who are, in the regime's telling, its only opponents. Who they actually are is not clear at this time.

 "The regime and its sympathizers regularly use the term 'rats' to describe the armed opposition, though Assad has - perhaps drawing on his medical background - called them 'germs'.

 "In either event the dehumanization of the opposition and the need to exterminate it is a well-worn trope in regime circles."

 The regime is not the only side in the Syrian civil war to use propaganda. A crack rebel Syrian sniper recently filmed himself killing victims and posted it online .

 And ISIS regularly uses hi-tech cameras to make gruesome videos of executions of its enemies and hostages. |||||


Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday it's now "pretty clear" that separatists were responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine and most likely received help from Russian forces.

 "It's pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia into the hands of separatists," Kerry said on CNN's "State of the Union." "We know with confidence, with confidence, that the Ukrainians did not have such a system anywhere near the vicinity at that point and time so it obviously points a very clear finger t the separatists."

 On Thursday, Malaysian airliner was likely shot down over Eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people and sparking international controversy. After days of investigations, Kerry reported new intelligence on Sunday.

 Kerry said he knows "for certain" that within the last month a convoy of armored personnel carriers, rocket launchers, tanks and artillery crossed over the Russian border into Eastern Ukraine and was turned over to separatists. He also described separatists receiving training from Russians and evidence that shows the particular system used to shoot down the plane passing through two towns in the vicinity of where the missile was launched within hours of the tragedy. Other instances, such as separatists tampering with evidence and stealing pieces of the plane, also point towards the group's involvement.

 "Now we have a video showing a launcher moving back through a particular area out into Russia with at least one missing missile on it, so we have enormous input about this, which points fingers," Kerry said.

 Read more about: Ukraine Plane Crash ||||| Secretary of State John Kerry struck an optimistic tone on Sunday, saying the United States was hopeful that the showdown between Israel and Hamas in Gaza would end in a cease fire soon.

 “We're hopeful, very hopeful, that we could quickly to try to find a way forward to put a cease fire in place so that the underlying issues, so that we can get to the questions. But you cannot reward terrorism. There can't be a set of preconditioned demands that are going to be met,” Kerry said on NBC’S “Meet the Press.”

 “We support the Egyptian initiative, joined in by Israel and others, to have an immediate cease fire. And we're working that cease fire very, very hard. I have been in touch all yesterday, day before, many days now, with my counterparts. The president has been in touch with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu I think day before yesterday. They will talk again today," Kerry said. "I talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. And I believe the president wants me to go very, very shortly to the region in order to try to see if we can get a cease fire in place."

 Kerry also defended Israel’s right to defend itself.

 “This is a very, very difficult moment, also, and a very difficult situation. Israel has been under attack by rockets," he said. "I don't think any nation in the world would sit there while rockets are bombarding it."

 Read more about: John Kerry, Israel ||||| Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday the investigation into the crash and likely shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 has already been “seriously compromised.”

 “On Friday, the monitors and the people trying to get in there to secure the site were given 75 minutes. Yesterday, they were given three hours,” Kerry said on “Fox News Sunday.”

 Kerry went on to describe “drunken separatist soldiers” taking bodies from the crash site and airline parts being removed from the area.

 “Anything that has been removed compromises the investigation,” Kerry said.

 “We need full access” to the site, Kerry said. “This is a moment of truth for Russia.”

 The Kuala Lumpur-bound flight was apparently shot down over separatist-controlled Ukraine on Thursday.

 Read more about: John Kerry, Ukraine Plane Crash ||||| Secretary of State John Kerry was caught on an open mic just before his interview with “Fox News Sunday” candidly speaking about the conflict in Gaza.

 “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation, it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,” Kerry said to an aide on the phone, with some measure of frustration.

 His comments seemed to be criticizing the Israeli government’s assurances about the limited scope of its attack and ground invasion of Gaza.

 Kerry, speaking by phone to one of his top aides, then added: “We’ve got to get over there. Thank you John. I think John, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around.”

 (Also on POLITICO: Kerry asserts American authority)

 Kerry was confronted on air by host Chris Wallace, who asked if Kerry was implying that the Israeli government had gone too far in its Gaza operations.

 “While you were on camera and while you were on microphone, you just talked to one of your top aides about the situation in Israel and the fact that 14 Israelis have apparently been shot and killed in an operation,” Wallace said.

 Kerry stood by his comments, while defending Israel’s right to defend itself.

 (Also on POLITICO: Kerry: Crash investigation has been compromised)

 “It’s tough to have these kind of operations. I reacted, obviously, in a way that anybody does with respect to young children and civilians,” Kerry said,

 “War is tough. I’ve said that publicly and I've said it again. We defend Israeli’s right to do what it is doing,” Kerry said.

 “We support Israel’s right to defend itself against rockets that are continuing to come in. Hamas has started its process of rocketing after Israel was trying to find the people who killed three young [people] — one American kid, three young Israelis,” Kerry said.

 Read more about: John Kerry, Israel, Chris Wallace, Gaza, Middle East |||||

Write a summary.

– John Kerry is off and running on the media blitz known as appearing on all five Sunday talk shows, and—with developments breaking this morning from Israel to the Malaysia Airlines plane crash—he has no shortage of things to discuss. Highlights, as per Politico: On the crash site: "It's been seriously compromised. On Friday, the monitors and the people trying to get in there to secure the site were given 75 minutes. Yesterday, they were given three hours. Drunken soldiers are piling bodies into trucks unceremoniously and disturbing the evidence. Anything that has been removed compromises the investigation. We need full access. This is a moment of truth for Russia." Further, "What's happening is really grotesque." On the Ukraine rebels involvement in the crash: "It's pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia into the hands of separatists. We know with confidence, with confidence, that the Ukrainians did not have such a system anywhere near the vicinity at that point and time so it obviously points a very clear finger to the separatists." His hot mic moment: While talking to an aide ahead of his appearance on Fox News Sunday, Kerry was caught discussing Israel. "It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation, it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation," he said. "We’ve got to get over there. Thank you John. I think John, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around." On a ceasefire in Gaza: "We're hopeful, very hopeful, that we could quickly to try to find a way forward to put a cease fire in place so that the underlying issues, so that we can get to the questions. But you cannot reward terrorism. There can't be a set of preconditioned demands that are going to be met."


News article:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney drew jeers from black voters Wednesday as he criticized President Barack Obama and pledged to repeal the Democrats' health care overhaul.

 N. Scott Phillips of Baltimore, center, and others, listen as Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at the NAACP annual convention, Wednesday, July 11, 2012,... (Associated Press)

 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney points to someone as he leaves the stage after speaking at the NAACP annual convention, Wednesday, July 11, 2012, in Houston. (AP... (Associated Press)

 Romney told the annual meeting of the NAACP that backing him over the Democratic incumbent, who won their overwhelming support in 2008, is in the best interest of their families. He acknowledged his Republican Party doesn't have a perfect record on race relations, but pledged during a sometimes rocky speech that, if elected, he would work with black leaders to put the country back to work.

 "I am going to eliminate every non-essential, expensive program that I can find _ and that includes Obamacare," Romney said, drawing his first boos of the day.

 Romney stood motionless with a reserved expression for 15 seconds before noting a survey from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as support for his position. His rebuttal was greeted with silence.

 Indeed, Romney at times found himself adjusting his prepared remarks _ with its typically business-oriented language _ for his audience and sounded like an like an instructor explaining policy. Once he noted the slow growth of the GDP, the Gross Domestic Product, only to quickly adjust by adding "the economy."

 Romney received polite applause at several points during the speech. But he was interrupted again when he flatly accused Obama of failing to spark a more robust economic recovery.

 "I know the president has said he will do those things. But he has not. He cannot. He will not. And his last four years in the White House prove it definitively," Romney said as the crowd's murmurs turned to louder groans.

 Finally, he stopped amid loud jeers.

 "If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him. You take a look," Romney shot back.

 Romney, running against the nation's first black president, isn't going to win the African American vote. But he made a pitch with a major speech that also was aimed at showing independent and swing voters that he's willing to reach out to diverse audiences _ and demonstrating that his campaign and the Republican Party he leads are inclusive.

 Looking to cut into Obama's support among African Americans, Romney called education the "civil rights issue of our era" and vowed to put blacks back to work. Citing June labor reports, he noted that the 14.4 percent unemployment rate among blacks is much higher than the 8.2 percent national average. Blacks tend to be unemployed longer and black families have a lower median income, Romney said.

 All told, it's a difficult sell _ 95 percent of blacks backed Obama in 2008. But Romney's speech aside, Republicans and Democrats say he's making a statement just by showing up and speaking to the nation's oldest and largest civil rights group.

 "The first thing you need to do is show up, so I ultimately think he's doing the right thing," said Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., one of two black Republicans in Congress. "What he's saying to everyone is that he's (running to become) America's president and not just those folks he thinks he can get votes from right now. I think that's a very important statement."

 "You've got to get credit for showing up _ for being willing to go _ no question," said Karen Finney, a Democratic consultant who worked in the Clinton White House. "It's more about your actions than it is about what you say."

 Obama spoke to the group during the 2008 campaign, as did his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain. Obama doesn't plan to speak this year. Instead, Vice President Joe Biden will address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Thursday. Obama is scheduled to address the National Urban League later this month.

 Romney rarely speaks to predominantly black audiences at political events. One exception was a May visit to a charter school in Philadelphia, where he cast fixing the education system as a way to help blacks and other minorities.

 In framing education as a civil rights issue, Romney is following in George W. Bush's footsteps. At a sweeping address to the NAACP in 2000, Bush, then the Republican presidential nominee, said the education system should "leave no child behind" and labeled the "soft bigotry of low expectations" as part of the problem facing black students.

 Romney has a personal history with civil rights issues. His father, George, spoke out against segregation in the 1960s and, as governor of Michigan, toured the state's inner cities as race riots wracked Detroit and other urban areas across the country. He went on to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he pushed for housing reforms to help blacks.

 In recent months, Obama has approached race from an intensely personal perspective. After the shooting of unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin in a Florida neighborhood _ an act many blacks saw as racially motivated _ Obama spoke directly to Martin's parents from the Rose Garden. "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said.

 Diminished enthusiasm for the president following the economic downturn could dampen black turnout, and that could make the difference in Southern states Obama won in 2008, particularly North Carolina and Virginia.

 ___

 Associated Press writers Philip Elliott in Washington and Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report. ||||| Mitt Romney told members of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization on Wednesday that he would be a better president for the nation’s black families than President Obama has been. It was a bold appeal aimed at some of Obama’s most ardent supporters and cast Romney as someone willing to forcefully speak his piece even in unfriendly territory.

 But the presumptive Republican nominee’s speech here received the most hostile reaction from any campaign audience this year, and Romney appeared unsettled by three rounds of loud boos.

 “If you want a president who will make things better in the African American community, you are looking at him,” Romney said. When the crowd booed and hissed, he said, “You take a look.”

 Romney made a direct appeal for support from black voters, who polls show overwhelmingly back the reelection of the nation’s first black president. Romney said his policies would help black families succeed in a sputtering economy, with rising federal debt and poor schools.

 He also highlighted his father’s civil rights legacy as governor of Michigan and tried to build a bridge with black voters by talking about their shared faith in God and support of strong families.

 “I believe that if you understood who I truly am in my heart, and if it were possible to fully communicate what I believe is in the real, enduring best interest of African American families, you would vote for me for president,” Romney said. “I want you to know that if I did not believe that my policies and my leadership would help families of color — and families of any color — more than the policies and leadership of President Obama, I wouldn’t be running for president.”

 Romney said that black families have suffered disproportionately under the Obama presidency, noting that the unemployment rate for African Americans rose to 14.4 percent last month, while the overall rate was 8.2 percent.

 “If equal opportunity in America were an accomplished fact, then a chronically bad economy would be equally bad for everyone,” he said. “Instead, it’s worse for African Americans in almost every way.”

 Romney asked black voters to give him “a fair hearing” and promised that if he is elected, and if the NAACP invites him to return, he would address the group next year and “count it as a privilege.”

 “In campaigns at their best, voters can expect a clear choice, and candidates can expect a fair hearing — only more so from a venerable organization like this one,” he said.

 The hundreds of African Americans in attendance at the NAACP’s national convention in Houston gave Romney polite although subdued applause. But he received a loud and sustained spattering of boos when he referenced his opposition to the health-care law he called “Obamacare,” when he said Obama’s policies are not helping to create jobs and when he said he would be a better president for black families. Many portions of his speech received reserved cheers, such as his promise to defend traditional marriage, and many black voters in the audience stood to applaud him when he finished.

 Although Romney appeared surprised by the booing, a campaign aide said he took it in stride, and his advisers said they were not bothered by the reaction. Indeed, they considered the speech gutsy. One adviser said privately that Romney has presented the same agenda to every audience since the start of the campaign and did not back down from advocating policies here that he knew black voters generally oppose, such as repealing Obama’s health-care overhaul.

 “We understand that folks aren’t going to agree with us 100 percent, but at the end of the day, I think Governor Romney’s message was bold, he’s said things that needed to be said, he’s said things he’s always said about ending Obamacare and about bringing this economy back,” Tara Wall, the campaign’s black-outreach adviser, told reporters.

 Later Wednesday, at a fundraiser in Montana, Romney said he gave the same speech to the NAACP that he gives to supporters.

 “I don’t give different speeches to different audiences, all right?” Romney said. “I gave them the same speech. When I mentioned I am going to get rid of Obamacare, they weren’t happy. . . . That’s okay. I want people to know what I stand for, and if I don’t stand for what they want, go vote for someone else. That’s just fine.”

 Obama is not addressing the NAACP convention this year, although Vice President Biden is scheduled to speak to the group Thursday. The Obama campaign issued a statement arguing that Romney is “the wrong choice” for black families.

 During the 2008 campaign, Republican nominee John McCain addressed the NAACP. Although President George W. Bush had declined invitations to speak during the first five years of his presidency, he accepted in 2006. In his speech that year, he lamented the Republican Party’s difficult relations with black voters, adding, “I understand that racism still lingers in America.”

 On Wednesday, the Obama campaign responded to Romney’s remarks by issuing a statement saying that “African Americans can’t afford Romney Economics.”

 It added: “At the NAACP today, leaders in the African American community recognized the devastating impact Mitt Romney’s policies would have on working families,” campaign spokesman Clo Ewing said in a statement. “He’d gut investments in education, energy, and infrastructure, and raise taxes on the middle class even as he gives $5 trillion in tax cuts weighted towards millionaires and billionaires. He’d put insurance companies back in charge, threatening the health of more than 30 million Americans who will gain coverage because of the Affordable Care Act. And he refused to use the opportunity today to finally lay out a plan for improving health care or education in this country.”

 Romney — who met privately with NAACP leaders before his remarks — directly responded to attacks from the Democrats that he would help only the wealthiest Americans.

 “The opposition charges that I and people in my party are running for office to help the rich,” he said. “Nonsense. The rich will do just fine whether I am elected or not. The president wants to make this a campaign about blaming the rich. I want to make this a campaign about helping the middle class.” ||||| HOUSTON — Mitt Romney drew boos, shouts and jeers from attendees while speaking here to the NAACP convention, who balked at his claim that he — not the country’s first black president — could best represent black America.

 “If you want the president who will make things better in the African-American community, you’re looking at him," Romney said, as he was immediately met with loud shouts.

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 reset Romney booed on Obamacare Mitt: See what's 'in my heart'

 (See also: Romney at NAACP: Mission impossible?)

 The Republican’s call to repeal the health-care overhaul — which forms a standard part of Romney’s stump speech — also drew loud cries that temporarily drowned out his speech, causing Romney’s reception by the group to veer from genial to borderline hostile.

 “If our goal is jobs we must stop spending over a trillion dollars more than we earn,” Romney said, speaking to a community that has been hit hard by the economy. “To do this, I will eliminate non-essential programs like Obamacare.”

 While the somewhat hostile reception is likely to dominate the cable news cycle and be used as evidence by Romney’s detractors that he’s out of touch with blacks and working-class Americans, the majority of the Republican’s talking points received polite applause, even in a period of heightened racial tension after the U.S. House recently voted to hold in contempt the country’s first black attorney general.

 “I believe that if you understood who I truly am in my heart, and if it were possible to fully communicate what I believe is in the real, enduring best interest of African-American families, you would vote for me for president,” said. “I want you to know that if I did not believe that my policies and my leadership would help families of color — and families of any color — more than the policies and leadership of President Obama, I would not be running for president.”

 Romney campaign aides dismissed the at times rowdy reception and said that “the door is open” now for Romney to make more inroads in the black community.

 They cast the NAACP speech as an introduction to a community that they know is overwhelmingly expected to favor President Barack Obama in the fall — and a successful one at that.

 “He had a standing ovation at the end. There was a lot more applause than disagreement,” said Tara Wall, a senior Romney adviser who was recently hired to reach out to African-Americans. “Obviously there’s going to be some disagreement. We understand that folks are not going to agree with us 100 percent. But at the end of the day, I think Governor Romney’s message was bold. He said what needed to be said.”

 Wall said she didn’t believe Romney’s ideas were unpopular, even among the black community.

 “I think again you may have been sitting in a different section than I was sitting in,” she told reporters. “I heard applause for a number of things that this governor communicated…I think coming in here he said there was going to be disagreement…You still at the end of the day are not going to back down to what he’s asserted all along when it comes to repealing Obamacare.” ||||| HOUSTON — Less than four years after President Obama swept into the White House with the overwhelming support of black voters, Mitt Romney appeared on Wednesday before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People with a bold claim: “If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him,” Mr. Romney said.

 His assertion was met with cackles and boos — as well as some tepid applause — and was emblematic of his entire speech, in which he tried to appeal to African-Americans, while still offering some tough medicine and policy prescriptions unpopular with them.

 In his roughly 25-minute speech at the N.A.A.C.P.’s annual convention here in Houston, Mr. Romney promised to fight teachers’ unions and repeal the president’s health care plan, both positions that are unpopular among blacks.

 When he said would “eliminate every nonessential expensive program I can find, that includes Obamacare,” the crowd began to boo — the first of several instances of vocal disagreement. Mr. Romney grinned nervously and deviated slightly from his prepared remarks, as he tried to explain his position.

 He also said he would “defend traditional marriage.” Though many African-Americans have not warmed to same-sex marriage, the N.A.A.C.P. passed a resolution in May supporting marriage equality.

 “I believe that if you understood who I truly am in my heart, and if it were possible to fully communicate what I believe is in the real, enduring best interest of African-American families, you would vote for me for president,” Mr. Romney said.

 Mr. Romney’s speech was blunt and delivered with little of the typical rhetorical flourishes and soaring language that is often aimed at celebrating the history of the civil rights movement.

 Instead, the presumptive Republican nominee came straight to the point, awkwardly acknowledging the lack of support among African-Americans for a candidate from his party.

 But even as he accepted that reality, Mr. Romney appeared determined to deliver a tough critique of Mr. Obama’s economic policies in the face of a restless crowd that at several points booed him.

 To the audience, he suggested that their support for the president was misplaced, a mistaken assumption that his policies would make their lives better. In fact, Mr. Romney said, African-Americans would do better if he was president.

 “If I did not believe that my policies and my leadership would help families of color — and families of any color — more than the policies and leadership of President Obama, I would not be running for president,” he said.

 His message — offered with little veneer — was basically this: you should not support Mr. Obama just because he is an African-American.

 Though Mr. Obama, the country’s first African-American president, won 95 percent of the black vote in 2008, Mr. Romney is not ceding any ground in what his campaign anticipates will be a close election in November. The black vote, which is still solidly in Mr. Obama’s column, could prove crucial in swing states like North Carolina and Virginia.

 “This is an honor to address you, and one I had not expected, and one I value very highly,” Mr. Romney said, before later promising that, as president, he would return to the convention next year, if invited.

 In May, Mr. Romney hired a consultant, Tara Wall, to help with outreach to black voters, and he also visited an inner-city charter school in West Philadelphia, where he was heckled. But his appearance on Wednesday was his most pointed wooing of black voters this campaign, even as he offered a speech that was less conciliatory in tone that many in the crowd had expected.

 Mr. Romney also offered an economic pitch to the group, similar to the one he has been making to Hispanic voters — another critical voting bloc, especially in swing states like Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia.

 “The unemployment rate, the duration of unemployment, average income, median family wealth are all worse in the black community,” he said. “In June, while the overall unemployment rate remained stuck at 8.2 percent, the unemployment rate for African-Americans actually went up, from 13.6 percent to 14.4 percent.”

 Last month, speaking to an annual conference of Hispanic officials, Mr. Romney addressed the topic of immigration — both legal and illegal — but ultimately gave a tweaked version of his economy-driven stump speech.

 Many in the audience gave Mr. Romney credit for showing up and speaking to the group, but said they were frustrated with certain aspects of his speech.

 “I give him thumbs up for being courageous,” said William Braxton, 59, a retired attendee from Charles County, Md., with a chuckle. “He was courageous without a doubt.”

 But Mr. Braxton said he took issue with Mr. Romney’s claim that he would be the best president to serve black citizens.

 “Oh my God, I was shocked,” Mr. Braxton said. “Never ever have I heard him say anything about how he would help the poor or underprivileged, let alone the black community. Maybe his view is that he could tell us what we want to hear and we’re supposed to swallow it.”

 Donna Payne, 48, of Washington, D.C., who was at the convention as a representative of the Human Rights Campaign, said that she thought Mr. Romney “did the best he could,” before dissolving in laughter.

 “To say he would repeal Obama’s health care plan is absolutely a joke,” Ms. Payne said. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to even bring up repealing the plan in the middle of speaking to an audience that fought hard for the health care plan and for coverage. It’s a total misread of who you’re talking to.”

 In recent national polls, Mr. Obama still overwhelmingly leads Mr. Romney among black voters, many of whom are suspicious of Mr. Romney’s record on civil rights and diversity, especially when he was the governor of Massachusetts. Upon taking office, for his instance, he eliminated the state’s Office of Affirmative Action.

 Mr. Romney is also a member of the Mormon Church, which until 1978 barred blacks from entering the priesthood. But Mr. Romney’s father, George Romney, a former governor of Michigan, was known for his aggressive stance on civil rights. The elder Mr. Romney refused to support Barry Goldwater in 1964 because he was worried about his extreme rhetoric and his campaign’s appeals to the Southern white segregationist vote, and he later used his perch as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development to try to integrate the suburbs.

 Mr. Romney mentioned his father near the end of his speech, mentioning several instances of his civil rights work and concluding: “He was a man of the fairest instincts, and a man of faith who knew that every person was a child of God.”

 Though Mr. Obama was invited to address the group as well, he canceled, citing a scheduling conflict, and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will speak at the convention on Thursday. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Mitt Romney spoke to the NAACP national convention today, and most of the headlines are centering on the boos he got when he started talking about ObamaCare and the president himself. He endured three rounds of jeering in all, which amounted to the "most hostile reception of his campaign so far," according to the Washington Post. The candidate himself appeared "visibly unsettled," it adds. Politico, too, uses "hostile" to describe the crowd at points, though it adds that most of Romney's speech was received politely. The first boos came after this line, notes AP: "I am going to eliminate every non-essential, expensive program that I can find—and that includes ObamaCare." The New York Times says he also got some cackles for this assertion: "If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him."


Write a summary based on this article:

Man with a grudge over mother’s death sought in slaying of Houston doctor

 Houston Police Department chief Art Acevedo releases a photo of Joseph James Pappas, the suspect in the murder of Dr. Mark Hausknecht, during a press conference at HPD headquarters Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, in Houston. less Houston Police Department chief Art Acevedo releases a photo of Joseph James Pappas, the suspect in the murder of Dr. Mark Hausknecht, during a press conference at HPD headquarters Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, in ... more Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Man with a grudge over mother’s death sought in slaying of Houston doctor 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

 After apparently nursing a grudge for 20 years, former constable deputy Joseph James Pappas allegedly got on his 10-speed Schwinn bicycle, rode to the Texas Medical Center and gunned down Houston cardiologist Mark Hausknecht in broad daylight, authorities said.

 Police late Wednesday were searching for the accused killer whose mother died on the operating table under Hausknecht's care two decades ago. The 62-year-old may be suicidal and should be considered armed, according to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.

 "I don't know when he decided to do this, but I'm very familiar with how this murder was committed and there was a lot of planning that went into this," Acevedo said during an afternoon news conference to announce charges against Pappas. "There was a lot of planning and sadly some skill."

 Five days after Hausknecht's slaying, a man using the same phone number as Pappas tried to sell a stash of weapons, ammunition and tactical vests online. When police searched his Westbury home early Wednesday, he already had given away many of his belongings, according to sources close to the investigation, but he left behind a gun and several holsters.

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 For nearly two weeks, the case baffled police, who pored through surveillance footage as they struggled to solve the brazen July 20 killing. That morning during rush hour, Hausknecht was biking near the intersection of Main and Holcombe when the another man on a bike passed him from behind. Two blocks later, the man turned around on his 10-speed Schwinn bike and fired at least twice. The doctor — a famed physician who once treated former President George H.W. Bush — went down immediately. The gunman rode off in a northbound direction.

 Afterward, Crime Stoppers offered a $5,000 reward for information, but authorities remained tightlipped about their investigation, save for a slow trickle of surveillance video and still photographs from the moments before and after the killing.

 On Monday, one of those videos broke the case. A tipster alerted police to a possible connection to Pappas, whose mother was one of Hausknecht's patients.

 "It appears that this may have been a 20-year-old grudge that this man held," Acevedo told reporters.

 Police kept investigating and eventually learned that Pappas had texted someone he knew indicating he wanted to kill himself, and that he hadn't been heard from in more than a day. Late Tuesday, officers showed up at his home for a welfare check, but Pappas was not there.

 They returned around 4 a.m. Wednesday with a pair of warrants — one to search the house and another to arrest Pappas for murder.

 They did not find their suspect, but they did locate evidence tying him to the killing.

 "We believe that this man is absolutely the killer," Acevedo said, declining to offer more details. As of late Wednesday, Pappas still had not been found.

 "We need to find this guy," the chief said. "This man is dangerous, this man is capable, this man has some skills."

 Until about five years ago, Pappas worked in Harris County law enforcement for roughly three decades, according to state records. From 1997 to 2013, he served as a reserve officer with Harris County Constable Precinct 2, after a number of years on the force there and at Precinct 7.

 At HoustonChronicle.com: Slain Houston doctor remembered at memorial service

 Pappas also had an active real estate license with a business address on Westheimer, and a phone number matching several online weapon sales listings. A call to that number Wednesday went straight to voicemail.

 The items for sale, posted July 25, include two tactical vests, a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver, a $4,500 semi-automatic FN rifle, two sets of ballistic door panels for a Crown Victoria and a box of ammunition.

 An ad on another site in January lists the seller's name as "Joe," notes a southwest Houston location, and offers a variety of ammunition reloading equipment.

 It was unclear whether the guns for sale included the weapon used in the doctor's fatal shooting. Asked for comment, police said they would investigate.

 "We are looking at all aspects of the suspect's life and activities," Acevedo said in a text late Wednesday.

 "It is highly probable he was targeted," Acevedo said in a text message Thursday morning.

 The suspected shooter's neighbors had little to say about him. One woman said she knew he had grown up there, but that they only made neighborly chit-chat and and that he seemed normal.

 A former acquaintance, Yvonne Shaw, said she had stayed with Pappas at his apartment in Houston for about two weeks more than 15 years ago. He told her he worked as an undercover police officer. He seemed caring, she said, but did not like to talk about his job or his past.

 "I couldn't figure anything out, and I didn't want to ask him too much because I hardly knew him," Shaw said, later adding, "I thought he was a little secretive about that stuff."

 The two lost contact when she left Texas, and she had not heard from him since.

 "To me, he was a very nice person," Shaw said. "He cared about people. He didn't seem like someone who would hurt anybody."

 He never talked about his family or his relationship with his mother, she said. However, she said he frequently rode a 10-speed bicycle.

 "He always had it inside so no one would steal it," Shaw said.

 TRIBUTES: Family, friends fondly recall doctor shot while on bike

 Grudge-motivated violence against health-care providers is rare but not unheard of. A 2012 study in Annals of Emergency Medicine identified 154 hospital-related shootings between 2000 and 2011, of which more than 27 percent involved a "determined shooter" harboring a grudge. The victim much more often was a hospital employee than a doctor.

 "Sometimes the hardest part of our job isn't diagnosing or treating the disease, but communicating the gravity of the patient's circumstances," said Dr. Douglas Curran, president of the Texas Medical Association. "It's a struggle. Loved ones can have a hard time comprehending that we can't fix everybody."

 It was not clear what may have prompted the accused killer to act so many years after his mother's death.

 "Never underestimate how deeply people care about and feel the loss of a loved one," said Dr. Edward Poa, a forensic psychiatrist at The Menninger Clinic. "If they blame someone for that loss, they can really want retribution, an eye-for-an-eye sort of thing. They can see their act as righting a wrong."

 The homicide stunned members of the Texas Medical Center Community, including at Houston Methodist, where Hausknecht was an interventional cardiologist. Such specialists treat cardiovascular disease and congenital and structural heart conditions through catheter-based procedures, such as angioplasty and stenting.

 "The Houston Methodist family is still in shock about the senseless killing of one of our longtime physicians, Dr. Mark Hausknecht," said Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist. "We are relieved that the Houston Police Department has identified the suspect and are confident he will be apprehended soon."

 Hausknecht, 65, earned his degree from Baylor College of Medicine in 1980, and started practicing in Houston seven years later. He biked to work every day, and took exceptional care of himself, according to those who knew him.

 In 2000, Hausknecht appeared at a news conference at Methodist with Bush after the 41st president was treated for an irregular heartbeat.

 A spokesman for the former president offered prayers and condolence to the doctor's family, colleagues and supporters.

 "Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," Bush said in a statement. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers."

 The family held a funeral Saturday at First Presbyterian Church. In addition to his wife, Hausknecht is survived by two sons, his mother and three siblings.

 Julian Gill, Fernando Alfonso, Stephen Tucker Paulsen, Victoria Cheyne and Nancy Sarnoff all contributed to this report. ||||| (CNN) A man whose mother died during surgery 20 years ago is the suspect in the fatal shooting of a prominent Houston cardiologist who performed the operation, police said Wednesday.

 Chief Art Acevedo said the mother of Joseph James Pappas, 62, was a patient of Dr. Mark Hausknecht , who was fatally shot as he rode his bicycle to work at Houston Methodist Hospital on July 20. Police earlier said Pappas was born in 1953.

 Houston Police released a photo of Joseph James Pappas, who is a suspect in the death of Dr. Mark Hausknecht.

 "So, it appears that this may be a 20-year-old grudge that this man held," Acevedo told reporters.

 CNN called a phone number listed for Pappas' real estate company on Wednesday, but the call went to voice mail.

 That phone number also is linked to recent listings on a firearms auction website for several guns, ammunition, tactical vests and ballistic plates for car doors. The posts, from a user in Houston, apparently went online days after Hausknecht was shot.

 It is unclear whether any of the firearms listed online were used in the shooting.

 A spokesman for Houston police would not comment on the ads.

 Suspect likely owned several guns, chief says

 Acevedo said a tip came in Tuesday after surveillance video released a day before showed the suspect, whom someone said they recognized. Police got a search warrant and went to Pappas' home, but he was not there.

 Acevedo said Pappas had made phone calls indicating he was considering suicide. The suspect has not been seen in almost two days.

 "This man is dangerous. This man is capable. This man has some skills (with firearms)," he said.

 There was evidence at the home linking Pappas to the killing, the chief said. A lot of planning went into the killing, according to Acevedo.

 The suspect appeared to own multiple guns, he said.

 Pappas worked for 30 years as a constable, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records.

 He worked for both Harris County Constable Precincts 2 and 7 as a peace officer and a reserve officer from May 1983 to July 2013.

 Pappas took law enforcement classes through August 2017.

 Video captured images of suspect

 The renowned cardiologist, who treated former President George H.W. Bush, and the suspect were seen shortly before the shooting riding their bicycles on South Main Street, police said.

 This surveillance image shows a suspect in the shooting of Dr. Mark Hausknecht, police say.

 Surveillance footage showed the suspect following Hausknecht as both pedaled north, police said.

 Hausknecht's wife, Georgia Hsieh, said police told her that her husband was riding through a construction area when the gunman rode up in front of him and fired three shots while facing him.

 The cardiologist was found feet away from the construction site, where about 500 workers were on duty at the time, a construction manager at the site said. But no one heard anything because of the equipment.

 Hausknecht, circled in green, was followed by a cyclist, in red, shortly before the shooting, police say.

 A close-up surveillance image showed the suspect wearing a blue, short-sleeve polo shirt, a khaki or white cap, khaki shorts and an olive-green backpack, police said.

 The suspect, circled in red, nears Hausknecht on the road.

 Other surveillance images showed the suspected gunman just behind Hausknecht as both headed north on Main across West Holcombe Boulevard, police said.

 Police highlighted Hausknecht with a green circle and the suspect with a red circle on images posted on Twitter. The fatal shooting happened moments after that crossing, one block away, police said. ||||| This undated photo provided by the Houston Police Department shows Joseph James Pappas. Authorities on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, identified a man who they believe gunned down one of former President George... (Associated Press)

 This undated photo provided by the Houston Police Department shows Joseph James Pappas. Authorities on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, identified a man who they believe gunned down one of former President George H.W. Bush's doctors last month as Pappas, the son of a woman who died while the doctor was operating... (Associated Press)

 This undated photo provided by the Houston Police Department shows Joseph James Pappas. Authorities on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, identified a man who they believe gunned down one of former President George H.W. Bush's doctors last month as Pappas, the son of a woman who died while the doctor was operating... (Associated Press) This undated photo provided by the Houston Police Department shows Joseph James Pappas. Authorities on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, identified a man who they believe gunned down one of former President George... (Associated Press)

 HOUSTON (AP) — A man suspected of killing one of former President George H.W. Bush's doctors may have been seeking revenge for his mother, who died on the doctor's operating table more than 20 years ago, authorities said Wednesday.

 Joseph James Pappas, 62, should be considered armed, dangerous and possibly suicidal, Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

 "There was a lot of planning that went into this. There was a lot of planning and, sadly, some skill," Acevedo said of the July 20 attack on Dr. Mark Hausknecht. Hausknecht was gunned down while riding his bike to work at Houston Methodist Hospital, which is part of the busy Texas Medical Center. Authorities say the shooter rode past Hausknecht before turning around and firing.

 A tip on Tuesday led police to suspect Pappas, the chief said, though he didn't elaborate as to the nature of the tip.

 Acevedo said Pappas hadn't been seen in 36 to 48 hours. He said the last anyone had heard from Pappas was in a Tuesday morning text message in which Pappas wrote that he was going to kill himself.

 Acevedo said police searched his home at 4 a.m. Wednesday and found evidence that ties Pappas to the killing, but he declined to elaborate as to the nature of the evidence.

 The chief said Pappas is white and very fit, and that he's likely getting around on his 10-speed bicycle, which he rides "extensively and almost exclusively."

 Friends and family have described Hausknecht as a humble and generous man who was adored by his patients, volunteered in his community and cared about the environment.

 Hausknecht was also an avid cyclist and rode his bike to work each morning, as he lived less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from his office.

 In 2000, Hausknecht treated Bush for an irregular heartbeat after the ex-president complained about lightheadedness.

 ___

 Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 |||||

– A man suspected of killing one of former President George HW Bush's doctors may have been seeking revenge for his mother, who died on the doctor's operating table more than 20 years ago, authorities said Wednesday. Joseph James Pappas, 62, should be considered armed, dangerous, and possibly suicidal, Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. "There was a lot of planning that went into this," Acevedo said of the July 20 attack on Dr. Mark Hausknecht, adding that it appears a "20-year-old grudge" led to the attack, per CNN. Hausknecht was gunned down while riding his bike to work at Houston Methodist Hospital, which is part of the busy Texas Medical Center. Authorities say the shooter rode past Hausknecht before turning around and firing. A tip on Tuesday led police to suspect Pappas, the chief said, though he didn't elaborate as to the nature of the tip. Acevedo said Pappas hadn't been seen in 36 to 48 hours, the AP reports. He said the last anyone had heard from Pappas was in a Tuesday morning text message in which Pappas wrote that he was going to kill himself. Acevedo said police searched his home at 4am Wednesday and found evidence that ties Pappas to the killing, but he declined to elaborate as to the nature of the evidence. The chief said Pappas, who was a peace officer in Harris County for three decades per the Houston Chronicle, is white and very fit, and that he's likely getting around on his 10-speed bicycle, which he rides "extensively and almost exclusively." Friends and family have described Hausknecht as a humble and generous man who was adored by his patients, volunteered in his community and cared about the environment. He was also an avid cyclist and rode his bike to work each morning, as he lived less than 2 miles from his office.


Riled Robin: Russell Crowe storms out of Radio 4 interview after being accused of giving hero an Irish accent

 It was the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull.

 Russell Crowe - already smarting over the critics' reaction to his portrayal of Robin Hood - stood accused of making the hero of Sherwood Forest sound a little Irish.

 Interviewer Mark Lawson should have known what was coming.

 There was a simmering denial, an expletive or two and a rather sudden end to the conversation.

 SCROLL DOWN TO LISTEN TO AUDIO (WARNING: CONTAINS BAD LANGUAGE)

 Gladiators, ready! Russell Crowe became riled when Mark Lawson queried his accent on Radio 4 arts show Front Row

 Crowe, who has a prickly reputation, had been talking to Lawson about his new film Robin Hood for BBC Radio 4's Front Row programme.

 Things went wrong when Lawson started dissecting Crowe's accent in the movie.

 He suggested there were 'hints' of Irish in the supposedly English accent.

 Outburst: Hollywood star Russell Crowe walked out on a BBC Radio 4 interview after being riled by accusations he had made Robin Hood sound Irish

 The 46-year-old New Zealandborn star, who lives in Australia, was having none of it.

 'You've got dead ears, mate,' he said ominously.

 'You've seriously got dead ears if you think that's an Irish accent.'

 HOW THE TESTY EXCHANGE UNFOLDED Mark Lawson: 'The accent that you've given him, there are hints to me of Irish, but what... were you thinking in those terms?' Russell Crowe: 'You've got dead ears mate, you've seriously got dead ears, if you think that's an Irish accent.'

 Lawson: 'Hints of, I thought...'

 Crowe (interrupting): 'B*******.' (Crowe then talks about his portrayal of Robin Hood before coming back to the accent issue)

 Crowe: 'I'm a little dumbfounded you could possibly find any Irish in that character, that's kind of ridiculous anyway, but it's your show.'

 Lawson: 'So you're... well, I am just asking... so you're going for northern English?'

 Crowe: 'No, I was going for an Italian, yeah, missed it? (Laughs) F*** me! (The actor then refuses to answer a question about whether he had not wanted to deliver some of his most famous lines in Gladiator)

 Crowe: 'I don't get the Irish thing by the way. I don't get it at all.' (He finishes the interview, waving his cigarette and walking out). Crowe went on to talk about the character but the accusation had clearly hit a raw nerve. 'I'm a little dumbfounded that you could possibly find any Irish in that character - that's kind of ridiculous, but it's your show,' he said. Lawson, who was interviewing Crowe at the Dorchester Hotel in London, did his best to smooth things over. But there was no turning back.

 Crowe then refused to answer questions about whether he had not wanted to deliver some of his most famous lines in the blockbuster Gladiator. He is said to have then waved his cigarette and walked off. Voice coaches working on Robin Hood, which like Gladiator-was directed by Ridley Scott, have said they wanted their hero to have an accent closer to the natives of Rutland, which is south east of Nottingham in the East Midlands. But one critic has claimed Crowe's accent 'sounds like an Australian doing an impression of Jim Bowen off Bullseye', while another suggested he had 15 different accents. Last week, Crowe revealed how he had worked on his English accent by listening to tapes of Michael Parkinson.

 'If you look at the early ballads about Robin Hood he's connected to Barnsdale and historians argue Yorkshire and Nottingham are the two places he could have come from,' he said.

 'So yes, I listened to a lot of Parky - that was a great help.' Crowe's bad temper has led to a number of run-ins over the years.

 In 2005, he was charged with second-degree assault after throwing a telephone at a worker at the Mercer Hotel in New York. ||||| Broadcast on: BBC Radio 4, 7:15pm Wednesday 12th May 2010 Duration: 30 minutes Available until: 12:00am Thursday 1st January 2099 Categories: Factual,

 Arts, Culture & the Media

 Russell Crowe talks to Mark Lawson about playing Robin Hood in Ridley Scott's new prequel.Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, discusses 400 years of the library of his official residence, Lambeth Palace.Ashes to Ashes writers Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham on winding up the final series.And Love the Sinner, a new play at the National Theatre, which focuses on the tensions around the ordination of homosexual priests in the Anglican church.Producer Nicki Paxman. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– He didn't throw anything, but Russell Crowe is making headlines again for his temper. The Robin Hood star walked out on a BBC interviewer who pushed him a bit too far with questions about the legendary outlaw's accent—and some stale gossip about Gladiator. "Front Row" host Mark Lawson said he detected some Irish in the accent the native New Zealander adopted for Robin Hood, and Crowe responded, "Bollocks," reports the Daily Mail. The interview proceeded, and Crowe eventually returned to the matter of the accent, saying, "I'm a little dumbfounded you could possibly find any Irish in that character—that's kind of ridiculous, but it's your show." He was a lot less forgiving when Lawson brought up a recent book that claims Crowe didn't want to do the climactic scene in Gladiator—the actor got up and left. Listen to the interview here; it gets contentious at around 5:50 and ends shortly after the 10-minute mark.


Article:

A taxi driver from southwest China who spent 24 years searching for his missing daughter will finally be reunited with her on Tuesday after she responded to his appeal for information.

 Wang Mingqing and his wife Liu Chengying briefly took their eyes off their daughter Qifeng, who wandered off while they were busy running their fruit stall in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, in January 1994.

 The girl’s father told the West China Daily: “It was only five minutes and then my daughter was gone.”

 The couple abandoned their stall to search for their daughter, but for years their efforts appeared to be in vain.

 Although the couple went on to have a second child, they never gave up looking for the girl.

 In 2015 Wang became a taxi driver. When he noticed how much his customers were using their phones, he enlisted their help by asking them to post appeals on social media in the hope his missing daughter might see them.

 Chinese girl adopted in US has miraculous reunion with birth parents

 He also printed and distributed 10,000 fliers that outlined the details of the case, including a description of how the young girl looked when she went missing in January 1994 and a local newspaper also published a report about his appeal.

 Over the past three years Wang had been contacted by scores of young women who suspected they might be his daughter, but DNA tests ruled this out.

 One of 60 million: life as a ‘left-behind’ child in China

 There are no official statistics about how many children go missing in China each year, but it is a long-standing problem in the country.

 Every year tens of thousands are believed to be kidnapped, many of whom are then sold on for adoption.

 Two weeks ago a 27-year-old woman in Jilin province contacted the Wangs via social media after reading about his search and realising she might be the girl in question.

 The woman had been told she was adopted as a child and grew up under the name Kang Ying in a town only 20 kilometres (12 miles) away from her birth parents.

 Chinese orphans adopted in US return to help less fortunate ones

 With the help of a non-governmental organisation that helps reunite parents with their missing children, the woman, now a mother of two young children, took a DNA test that on Sunday confirmed she was Wang’s daughter.

 She is flying to Chengdu on Tuesday to meet her birth parents. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Kang Ying, 27, was reunited with her mother after 24 years

 A Chinese couple have been reunited with their daughter who went missing 24 years ago.

 Wang Mingqing and his wife Liu Dengying had looked for Qifeng since she disappeared aged three in 1994.

 His tireless search included becoming a taxi driver, in the hope he might one day pick her up as a passenger.

 His daughter made contact earlier this year after coming across an online post about him. At the tearful reunion he hugged her and said: "Daddy loves you."

 The incredible story has swept China, where many are celebrating the reunion.

 Wang Mingqing and Liu Dengying were fruit sellers, selling their wares at a roadside stall in the south-western city of Chengdu.

 On one particularly busy day, Mr Wang ran out of change, and briefly went to a neighbouring stall to change money for a customer.

 When he was back minutes later, his daughter was nowhere to be found, Chinese media reported.

 Image copyright CFP Image caption For years Wang Mingqing handed out leaflets appealing for information about his missing daughter

 Mr Wang and his wife spent years searching for her in the city and surrounding areas, taking out advertisements in newspapers and setting up online appeals. The couple, who have another daughter and a son, never left Chengdu, in the hope that Qifeng would find her way back to them.

 In 2015, Mr Wang decided to broaden the search by signing up as a driver with ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing.

 He put up a large sign appealing for information on his rear window, and also gave out cards with information about Qifeng to every passenger he ferried.

 Mr Wang did not have a picture of Qifeng as a toddler so he used a picture of his other daughter in his leaflets, as they looked similar.

 His unique method gained attention from the Chinese media. "One day, my daughter may just be the person sitting in my car!" he was quoted as saying.

 Image copyright Thecover.cn Image caption Kang Ying flew to Chengdu with her husband and children to meet her parents

 Image copyright Thecover.cn Image caption Supporters gave her bouquets of flowers

 Over the years Chinese police identified several women who could have been Qifeng, but DNA tests showed they were not his daughter.

 But a breakthrough finally came late last year, when a police sketch artist read about Mr Wang and decided to help by producing a drawing of what Qifeng might look like as an adult. The picture was circulated online.

 Thousands of kilometres away, on the other side of the country, a woman called Kang Ying saw the picture - and was shocked by how much it resembled her.

 She had been raised by adoptive parents in a nearby town just 20km (12 miles) away, Chinese media reported.

 Her adoptive family had told her that she was found on the side of a road in Chengdu as a child, Shanghaiist said.

 Image copyright TheCover.Cn Image caption Kang Ying's family greeted her with signs with messages including "welcome back, child" and "sister, I really miss you"

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 She contacted Mr Wang earlier this year, and found that she shared some unusual traits with his missing daughter, including a small scar on her forehead and a tendency to get nauseous whenever she cried.

 They quickly arranged for a DNA test. This time, the result was positive - Mr Wang had finally found his long-lost child.

 On Monday, Mr Wang and Kang Ying spoke for the first time via a voice messenger app, thecover.cn reported (in Chinese).

 "From now on, Dad is here - you don't need to worry about anything - Dad will help you," Mr Wang said.

 He also shared the news with his friends on social media, telling them: "My efforts of 24 years were not wasted! My daughter has been found - thank you everyone."

 Image copyright Thecover.cn Image caption Kang Ying's younger sister (left) holds up her new-found niece

 On Tuesday, the pair were reunited in person when Kang Ying, who lives in northern Jilin province, flew to Chengdu with her husband, son and daughter.

 Kang Ying and her mother, Liu Dengyeng, hugged each other tightly and cried as they were reunited - and were quickly joined by the rest of the family.

 Kang Ying told reporters tearfully: "The whole world told me I didn't have a mother - but I do!" thecover.cn reported.

 "I can't tell you how much hope, disappointment and despair we have gone through these past 24 years. Now we can finally meet again," Mr Wang was quoted as saying in the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper. ||||| Taxi driver finds daughter after 24-year search

 A taxi driver in Sichuan Province has been reunited with his long-lost daughter after 24 years thanks to a news article detailing his relentless search.

 Police DNA tests on Monday confirmed Wang Mingqing to be the father of Kang Ying, who had disappeared in 1994.

 The family is to be reunited today for the first time in 24 years, Huaxi Metropolitan Daily reported.

 Kang, now 27, was found as a child on the side of a road in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

 At least that was what her adopted family had told her, the paper reported.

 Wang recalled taking his three-year-old daughter to their family fruit stand in Chengdu back in October 1994.

 He turned his back momentarily to make change for a customer, only to find his daughter - then named Wang Qifeng - had disappeared.

 "Our daughter only knew our first names and did not know where we lived," said her mother Liu Dengying, in tears.

 "For the next six months, I would walk and my husband would ride his bike looking for her. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack."

 Years later, Wang hit the pavement again. He became a driver for Didi Chuxing, a China's Uber equivalent, in the hopes he would one day pick up someone who recognized his daughter, passing out cards with his daughter's information and photo to passengers.

 In 2015, Wang's touching story attracted the attention of Huaxi Metropolitan Daily. The article gained traction and was later picked up by CCTV.

 The news miraculously caught Kang's eye while living in Northeast China, Jilin Province - nearly 2,800 kilometers away from where she was lost in Chengdu.

 Kang, now a mother of two, contacted Wang on March 16 in the hopes her own search for her biological family would finally come to an end.

 Police on Monday said a DNA test confirmed Wang's parentage of Kang.

 She is scheduled to arrive in Chengdu today and be reunited with her father, mother and a younger sister who she has never met.

 Huaxi Metropolis Daily

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What is a summary?

– A small scar on the forehead. A habit of feeling nauseous when she cried. These are traits that a woman named Kang Ying and a child named Qifeng shared—helping to prove the two are one and the same. The BBC reports on the 24-year search for Qifeng, who disappeared from her parents' roadside fruit stand in Chengdu city in January 1994; she was just 3. Wang Mingqing and wife Liu Dengying spent more than two decades searching for their girl, through newspaper ads and online posts. They remained in Chengdu, hoping it would increase the chances that Qifeng would find them, and in 2015, Wang began driving for the Uber-like Didi Chuxing and spreading the word. His car contained information about his search, passengers were given information about his daughter, and the South China Morning Post reports he asked riders to post about his search on social media. Then, a break, by way of a police sketch artist. The artist heard about the search and offered to create an age progression drawing showing what an adult Qifeng might look like—and, in a province far to the north, Kang Ying saw it and thought it looked a whole lot like her. She reached out to Yang in mid-March, per Global News, and a DNA test was arranged for; it proved she was Qifeng, and the family was reunited on Tuesday. The Morning Post reports Kang grew up 12 miles from Chengdu, with parents who told her they had adopted her. (This missing 9-year-old was found thanks to a reality TV show.)


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– Belgium's former king has to undergo a paternity test. Per the Telegraph, a mandate just handed down by a Brussels appeals court will force King Albert II, who gave up his crown in 2013 so his son Philippe could sit on the throne, to have his saliva tested to see if he's the father of 50-year-old multimedia artist Delphine Boel. The ex-monarch has denied for more than 10 years that he's Boel's dad, but a 1999 biography on Albert's wife, Queen Paola, tells a different story. That tome alleges Albert had a long-time affair with aristocrat Sybille de Selys Longchamps, a relationship that allegedly resulted in the birth of Boel in the late '60s; the affair reportedly ended in 1976, when Albert chose to stay with Paola so he wouldn't have to abdicate. Albert has admitted his marriage to Paola, which produced three children of their own (all older than Boel), wasn't always smooth, per Reuters. The man Boel grew up believing was her father, Jacques Boel, has already been determined via DNA testing to not be her biological father. The court order, which overturned an earlier ruling and can't be appealed, says Albert has three months to comply with the testing. If he refuses, he'll be legally deemed Boel's father. (Salvador Dali, you are NOT the father of this Spanish woman.)

The retired King of the Belgians has been ordered to take a DNA paternity test by a Brussels court, raising the prospect of finally resolving whether he is the real father of Delphine Boël, a 50-year-old aristocrat artist.

 King Albert II, who has refused to recognise Ms Boël as his daughter for more than a decade, must submit to the test within three months or be legally presumed to be the multi-media artist’s father.

 An earlier court-ordered DNA test proved that Jacques Boël, scion of one of Belgium's richest industrial dynasties, was not her biological father. Since that 2013 test, Ms Boël, who has two children, has tried to prove that Albert is her father.

 The former monarch, 83, abdicated in 2013 in favour of his son Philippe after 20 years on the throne. The decision also cost him his immunity to court judgments such as the paternity test, which would be a saliva test carried out on Albert, Ms Boël and her mother at a Brussels hospital.

 Ms Boël's lawyers said in their statement that they were pleased with the "strong affirmation of the principle of acting in the interests of the child" as she seeks legal confirmation of her true identity. ||||| FILE PHOTO: Belgium's King Albert and Queen Paola attend a tribute to the victims of Brussels suicide attacks, at the royal palace in Brussels, Belgium, May 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fred Sierakowski/Pool/File Photo

 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Brussels appeals court has ordered the retired king of Belgium to take a DNA paternity test, overturning an earlier ruling in a suit brought by 50-year-old artist Delphine Boel.

 Under the judgment, reported by Boel’s lawyers on Monday, King Albert II must take the test within three months or risk being presumed to be her father — although his lawyers could seek to challenge the court’s legal argument.

 The 84-year-old monarch, who in 2013 abdicated in favor of his son Philippe after 20 years on the throne, has contested Boel’s claim for more than a decade. Court-ordered DNA tests have proved that she is not the daughter of Jacques Boel, scion of one of Belgium’s richest industrial dynasties.

 The court could not be reached, and there was no immediate comment from the royal house. Boel’s lawyers said in their statement that they were pleased with the “strong affirmation of the principle of acting in the interests of the child” as she seeks legal confirmation of her true identity.

 That identity became a topic of public debate after the publication in 1999 of a biography of Queen Paola, Albert’s Italian wife, which alleged that he had had a long extra-marital relationship from which a daughter was born in the 1960s.

 Albert, who has no formal public role, has acknowledged that he and Paola had marital difficulties. Their three children are all older than Boel. Next in line to the throne is 17-year-old Princess Elisabeth, daughter of Philippe and Queen Mathilde. |||||


Here is a news article: CLOSE Steve Simoff takes his long commute to Lakeside Hotel and Casino in stride, walking and catching rides when possible

 Buy Photo Steven Simoff heads out of Davis City on foot Feb. 13 on the way to his overnight janitorial job at Lakeside Casino, 35 miles away in Osceola. (Photo: Rodney White/Register photos)Buy Photo

 Steve Simoff's daily commute to and from work can be more than a full-time job.

 His route stretches 35 miles from this "deader-than-a-doornail" small town near the Missouri border all the way north to Lakeside Casino in Osceola.

 And Simoff, 61, often hoofs it to work. That's right, he walks along Interstate Highway 35, the lone figure striding along the shoulder of the road, dwarfed by semitrailer trucks that whoosh by at 70 miles per hour.

 He doesn't clock in until 11 p.m. for his overnight shift as a janitor. But to give himself time to get there on foot, he bounds out of the front door of his basement apartment at 3:30 p.m.

 On those days, his 2002 Ford Windstar minivan with 105,000 miles on its odometer stays parked in the driveway. The Simoffs haven't always had a car. But even now that they do, gas money is tight.

 Simoff doesn't see himself as extraordinary. He lives here with his wife, Renee, and their grandson, Steven III, whom they adopted. In his mind, he merely takes the necessary steps — pun intended — to help his household scrape by.

 "First of all, when you got a family, and you've got a job," he said, "you've got to be able to support your family. And you've got to keep your job — the most two important things I can think of."

 KINDRED SOUL IN DETROIT

 If Simoff's story has a familiar ring to it, it's because of his kindred soul in Detroit.

 James Robertson, 56, made national headlines last month when it was revealed that he spent years walking 21 miles round trip through city streets to and from his factory job.

 Instant fame bestowed both financial boon and inevitable complications. Robertson received a $350,000 windfall from a GoFundMe campaign and a new Ford Taurus. But he also had to move amid concerns that he'd become an easy target.

 Now we have Robertson's rural Iowa doppelganger, also clinging to the socioeconomic fringe while hidden in plain sight as an extreme pedestrian commuter.

 On average, Simoff says he catches rides perhaps three out of the five days during his Thursday-to-Tuesday work week. Sundays are the sparsest.

 Some days, he might walk for only an hour or two. Other days, he might trudge along for six or more. Overall, he probably averages nearly four hours a day walking to work.

 Lately, Simoff has been hitching a ride most of the way home with a co-worker who lives in Leon, leaving him a morning jaunt of barely more than eight miles.

 Simoff has become "a public figure, but nobody really knows him," said Steven, 22, who has been unemployed since January. He considers his grandfather his hero. When Steven worked an overnight warehouse job for several months, the extra money meant the two of them could put gas in the minivan and carpool.

 Unlike the Detroit commuter, Simoff doesn't blend into the city landscape among typical pedestrians.

 But that also is an asset: Since he's more visible, Simoff benefits from sympathetic good Samaritans who stop and ask if he needs a lift. He doesn't thumb rides.

 "It all depends on weather and what people feel like that day, if they're going to stop and pick you up," he said.

 Simoff has cultivated a diverse patchwork of road friends in his on-and-off decade as southern Iowa's epic walker.

 "He can't go into the grocery store without seeing one of them," Renee said.

 On milder winter days, Simoff usually pulls on his pair of black SAS shoes, bundles in a warm coat and slaps a ballcap atop his thick head of salt-and-pepper hair. No gloves.

 A RECENT COMMUTE

 Register photographer Rodney White and I decided to join Simoff on one of his recent commutes.

 • 3:30 p.m. — Simoff gave Renee a final kiss and stepped out into the crisp cold and bright sunshine. His weather-beaten face appears flaky red from sun and wind.

 Early in his trek west along U.S. Highway 69 toward the interstate, Simoff walked along a narrow strip of pavement. Occasionally as traffic approached, he veered onto the gravel shoulder, following the tracks of Amish buggy wheels and horses' hooves.

 He might spot the occasional lucky penny. But mostly, his commute is strewn with tire shreds, beer cans and fast-food debris.

 • 4:10 p.m. — Sheena Melody Lee of rural Leon and her two great-grandsons were en route to the bank in Lamoni when they saw Simoff. She chauffeured him a couple miles along Highway 69 and dropped him off at the entrance ramp to I-35.

 • 4:30 p.m. — Simoff strolled beneath the I-35 overpass at 280th St., about 51/ 2 miles into his commute. Cattle in a nearby field stared at him.

 • 5:46 p.m. — He reached the stretch of I-35 where the median widens with a patch of timber. Simoff had walked fewer than 10 miles at this point. Minutes later, Emil Segebart pulled alongside Simoff in his Mercury sedan. Segebart, general manager of utilities in Lamoni, has been giving rides to Simoff for a decade and admires the man's fortitude.

 "He's trying to earn a living," Segebart said. "That's how I look at it. You're trying to earn a living and doing what it takes. And this is what it takes."

 Buy Photo Steven Simoff of Davis City, Iowa leaves for work Friday Feb 13, 2015. Steven works at Lakeside Hotel and Casino in Osceola and walks the over 30 miles to work. (Photo: Rodney White/The Register)

 The two men met on an I-35 entrance ramp, "and we've been sort-of friends ever since," Simoff said, turning to Segebart. "I guess that's the way you'd classify us. Otherwise you wouldn't pick me up all the time."

 • 6:12 p.m. — Since he wasn't in a hurry, Segebart went out of his way to drop off Simoff at the front door of the casino. On this day, the janitor had to trudge less than one-third the distance to work.

 "Now all it is is the waiting game," Simoff said.

 He wound his way into the bowels of the gambling complex. He poured a coffee and sat in the break room, where a free buffet and a blaring TV are provided for employees.

 "It's just an iffy thing," he said of his commute. "Today I got lucky."

 Julio Camacho works security at the casino.

 "He's dedicated, and he works his buns off," Camacho said of Simoff. "If I see him, I pick him up."

 The morning after White and I followed him, Simoff made it back to Davis City before 9:30 a.m.

 PLAYING THE ROADSIDE ODDS

 Simoff says he has walked in rain, sleet, even calf-deep snow.

 His commute would be slightly shorter — and more scenic — if he headed straight north along U.S. Highway 69. But swinging west to the interstate offers higher traffic volume: For a guy who works at the casino, Simoff knows how to play the roadside odds.

 "Everybody in the county knows him as far as I know," said Herbert Muir, who has been sheriff of Decatur County for 17 years. He and his deputies have given Simoff rides.

 Muir first met Simoff after his office began receiving calls in winter "about a guy in black walking up the highway."

 "There's no danger about him or anything," the sheriff added. "He's personable. He's not been in trouble. He just walks."

 MONEY STILL TIGHT

 Simoff says he's never been injured while walking to work. He still cuts a reasonably trim figure. A case of osteoarthritis in his right knee nags at him.

 He's doesn't take any medication beyond the occasional aspirin or Tylenol. He swigs a lot of coffee. A lump of Grizzly Wintergreen Long Cut chewing tobacco tucked between his cheek and gums is his "only downfall," he says.

 "I may have slowed up a heck, but it don't feel any different," he said of covering so much ground at his age. "I try to find my comfort zone."

 Simoff also spends his eight-hour shift on his feet cleaning the casino, except for two 15-minute breaks and a half hour for lunch.

 After Renee, 61, suffered a stroke nine years ago, walking became empowerment.

 Hand-in-hand with her husband around Lamoni, in ever longer distances, Renee leveraged her stubbornness to retrain her body and brain to walk.

 Renee then suffered a pair of heart attacks within the same day in 2010 and required heart bypass surgery.

 Her disability — Renee's Supplemental Security Income checks add a little cushion to Simoff's $9.07-per-hour job — prodded Simoff to walk to work on a more regular basis.

 "When you add everything up, I feel like we're going broke," Renee said.

 A RELIABLE EMPLOYEE

 The couple is often asked why they haven't just moved closer to Simoff's job.

 Renee's daughter, Melinda Lee, 40, lives in Truro. In the next year or two, the Simoffs may relocate closer to her.

 "He's been a dad to me in every way possible since I was 15," Lee said of Simoff.

 In this sense, the Simoffs' situation also seems to echo Robertson in Detroit: Low-wage earners may keep such a tenacious grip on any sort of stable housing — such a core sense of security — that they'll go to extraordinary lengths in their everyday routines.

 Robertson more or less benefited from free housing in Detroit.

 “If I don’t get to work, bills don’t get paid. As long as my two feet are good and my health is good, I don’t think I’ll change. ” Steve Simoff

 Monthly rent of $400 in Davis City is the Simoffs' biggest expense, followed by groceries.

 Simoff has been a steady, reliable employee, cultivating a long career in security jobs. He worked at the casino from about 2000 to 2006, then got jobs at the detention center in Bethany, Mo., and at Graceland University in Lamoni before returning to the casino about five years ago.

 Simoff is proud of every merit pin awarded by the casino, which he adds to his name badge.

 "If I don't get to work," he said, "bills don't get paid. As long as my two feet are good and my health is good, I don't think I'll change."

 MARATHON COMMUTERS

 To be clear, Simoff didn't seek me out. I first heard about him after posting a link online to the story of the Detroit commuter.

 CLOSE One week after he gained global attention for his daily 21-mile commute by foot for work, James Robertson looked no different, but the 56-year-old Detroit man has lot more to be thankful for.

 There's a guy in southern Iowa who walks even farther, somebody told me on Twitter.

 At first I couldn't believe it.

 But when I began to independently poll some contacts in and around Decatur County, it seemed nearly everyone had heard of Simoff, seen him or given him a ride.

 I stopped a woman at random in Davis City. Melissa Adams lives in Lamoni and was visiting town. She didn't remember Simoff's name or where he lived, but she had once given him a ride.

 "It's amazing to me that he can actually walk that far," Adams said.

 It's almost as if these marathon commuters — Simoff, Robertson and untold others — are all-too-visible illustrations of America's wider gulf between the haves and the have-nots.

 And at some point, not even the most industrious, tireless walker is able to bridge the gap.

 THE AMERICAN WALK TO WORK

 According to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, marathon walking commuter Steve Simoff of Davis represents a slim minority.

 Among all American workers — nearly 140 million people age 16 and older — fewer than 3 percent commute on foot.

 In Iowa, 3.6 percent of workers are walking commuters — compared with 2.2 percent in Michigan, where newly famous walking commuter James Robertson has trod the streets of Detroit.

 Contrast that with the 6.4 percent of New Yorkers who walk to work. A whopping 22 percent of New Yorkers don't even have access to a vehicle, compared with 4 percent in Iowa, where mass transit is less common.

 Among all workers nationwide, according to these five-year estimates from 2013, only about 8 percent need an hour or more to get to their jobs.

 Read or Share this story: http://dmreg.co/1Apzhew ||||| In order to support his family, Steve Simoff walks 35 miles from his home in Davis City, Mo. to his job at Lakeside Casino in Osceola, Iowa.

 Ben Carson drops campaign for book tour. Will it hurt his polls?

 Steven Simoff heads on foot out of Davis City, Iowa, on the way to his overnight janitorial job at Lakeside Casino, 35 miles away in Osceola, Iowa.

 Steve Simoff doesn’t clock into work at Lakeside Casino, where he works as a janitor, until 11 p.m., but his daily commute begins nearly eight hours earlier.

 At 3:30 p.m., Simoff leaves his basement apartment in Davis City, Mo. to walk the 35 miles to his job in Osceola, Iowa. He walks along Interstate Highway 35 in the hopes that he will be able to hitch a ride with one of his many “road friends” he has gotten to know over the years of walking to work.

 Simoff makes this daily trek so that he can support his wife, Renee, who has undergone treatment for numerous health problems in the last decade, and their grandson, Steven III, whom the couple adopted.

 "First of all, when you got a family, and you've got a job, you've got to be able to support your family. And you've got to keep your job — the most two important things I can think of," Simoff told the Des Moines Register.

 His story mirrors that of James Robertson in Detroit, whose 21 mile commute made national headlines and motivated a college student to raise $350,000 via a Kickstarter campaign to fund a car, gas, and insurance.

 Unlike Robertson, Simoff does have a car, a 2002 Ford Windstar minivan, but gas is a luxury he can rarely afford.

 But Simoff’s community often helps him on his way.

 "Everybody in the county knows him as far as I know," said Herbert Muir, who has been the sheriff of Decatur County for 17 years. Muir and his officers have given Simoff rides to work in the past. "There's no danger about him or anything. He's personable. He's not been in trouble. He just walks."

 On average he walks four hours a day to get to work and is able to get a ride, at least part way, three out of five days during his work week. Simoff opts for a route that is longer, but with heavier traffic, to increase the chances of getting a lift, even for just a few miles.

 Lately he has been able to get rides home from co-workers who live in nearby towns. "He's dedicated, and he works his buns off," casino employee Julio Camacho said of Simoff. "If I see him, I pick him up.”

 While many in the community are impressed by Simoff's hard work and perseverance, particularly his grandson, who considers his grandfather his hero, he remains humble.

 “If I don't get to work, bills don't get paid,” Simoff said. “As long as my two feet are good and my health is good, I don't think I'll change." |||||
A summary of this is?

– After hearing about the Detroit man who walks 21 miles to work, a Des Moines Register reporter was told about "a guy in southern Iowa who walks even farther" and discovered resolute pedestrian Steven Simoff. The 61-year-old regularly walks 35 miles from his home in the small town of Davis City near the Missouri border to his job as a casino janitor in Osceola, setting off at 3:30pm to start the night shift at 11pm. He says he makes the trek to support wife Renee, who has suffered serious health problems, and grandson Steven III, whom the couple has adopted. "First of all, when you got a family, and you've got a job, you've got to be able to support your family," he tells the Register. "And you've got to keep your job—the most two important things I can think of." Simoff, who earns $9.07 an hour at the casino and lives in Davis City because rent is cheap there, has a 2002 minivan but can't afford to fill it up very often. But he does get plenty of help from the community, the Christian Science Monitor reports. He often gets rides home from work from colleagues who live in nearby towns, and he has a network of "road friends" who give him rides at least part of the way to the casino most days. Still, Simoff says he averages around four hours of walking a day, much of it on Interstate 35. "If I don't get to work, bills don't get paid," he tells the Register. "As long as my two feet are good and my health is good, I don't think I'll change." (A Canadian city is considering freezing an old rail line so commuters can skate to work in winter.)