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'Alien: Covenant': Film Review

 Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup lead the ensemble of Ridley Scott's second installment in the 'Alien' prequel series.

 There's life in the old bugger yet. And, as always, plenty of death. After the Alien series looked as though it had hit the rocks creatively (not for the first time) with the last entry, Prometheus, five years ago, savvy old master Ridley Scott has resuscitated it, and then some, with Alien: Covenant, the most satisfying entry in the six-films-and-counting franchise since the first two.

 Gripping through its full two hours and spiked with some real surprises, this beautifully made sci-fi thriller will immeasurably boost fan interest in the run of prequels which Scott has recently said will consist of at least two more films until the action catches up to the 1979 original. This Fox release is a lock for major early summer box-office worldwide.

 Is there a director who has ever been artistically committed to a franchise as long as Scott has to the Alien series? None comes to mind (Steven Spielberg made his first Indiana Jones adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark, in 1981, two years after Alien was released). It's a matter of record that Scott will turn 80 later this year, and Clint Eastwood will be 87 when he starts his new film; from the evidence on the screen, 80 may well be the new 50 where some top helmers are concerned, especially those who, like Scott and Eastwood, make a new film almost every year.

 It also helped to recruit a couple of very good writers, John Logan and Dante Harper, to dig the series out of its hole. No matter that these aliens have been around far longer than most of the viewers who will see this film opening weekend have been alive; this entry feels vital, freshly thought out and keen to keep us on our toes right up to the concluding scene, which leaves the audience with such a great reveal that it makes you want to see the next installment tomorrow.

 The elegantly spare opening, in which a “synthetic,” Walter (Michael Fassbender), engages his “father” (an uncredited Guy Pearce) in a pointedly philosophical conversation, simply and effectively frames the thrust of the film's central interest in human life's origins and its prospects for survival. Casual viewers may assume that Walter is the same character Fassbender played in Prometheus. But, no, Walter, who sports an American, not British, accent, is an updated version of that all-purpose butler, factotum and technical wizard — a far friendlier iteration of the know-it-all computer Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

 And as in 2001, Alien: Covenant involves a long outer space voyage during which the 2,000 human passengers, along with 1,140 embryos, will linger in a deep-freeze sleep for several years while the humanoid plays watchdog. The giant ship, called Covenant, is headed for a very distant planet, Origae-6, which is considered a promising new home for humanity to settle. For this reason, not only the slumbering immigrants, but the crew, too, are composed of prospective parents meant to propagate and establish a new homeland for homo sapiens.

 This couples-only orientation lends a fresh feel to this group of space travelers, and definitely cranks up the emotional distress quotient as partners start splitting open and giving birth to the wrong kind of offspring. When a space storm hits and damages the ship's giant wind sails, the first to perish is the ship's captain (James Franco, seen ever-so-briefly), which devastates his mate Daniels (Katherine Waterston), assigned to oversee terraforming on humankind's new planet.

 This accident promotes second-in-command Christopher (Billy Crudup) to run the show, but he's portrayed from the outset as uncertain and lacking in confidence; more than that, he's a “person of faith,” which puts him at great philosophical odds with most of the others. Unfortunately, once this element is introduced, the writers don't do much with it, so it feels like a missed opportunity to engage in some pithy religion vs. science debate. Worse, the character's overriding weakness as a man won't go over too well with faith-based audiences.

 Not only that, but when the crew discovers a nearby “hidden planet” that seems potentially compatible to human life, it's Christopher who makes the fateful decision to land there rather than to continue with their seven-year-long voyage. Farris (Amy Seimetz), the flier wife of the Covenant's main pilot Tennessee (Danny McBride), goes down for a peek and it looks pretty darn good, just like New Zealand, in fact, where half the world wants to move to right now.

 But as inviting as are the beautiful landscapes, mountains and lakes, there's trouble lurking in the magnificent flora and fauna and, given the particulars of this bloody franchise, it doesn't take long for humans to fall ill and start bursting with nasty and ferocious critters they never imagined could spring from their innards. This is not the sort of propagation the earthlings had in mind when they set off.

 In a brilliant stroke, the voyagers also encounter David, Walter's double, the very same “synthetic” who co-starred in Prometheus. Distinguishable from his supposedly new and improved relative by virtue of his long hair and British accent, this lone survivor of the previous voyage, who lives among the ruins of a great civilization wiped out by the aliens, gives Fassbender the delicious opportunity of a double performance. The actor makes the most of it, subtly delineating two nearly identical characters as they enact a contest for dominance, the details of which touch in clear but unpretentious ways on the notion of playing God. What goes down between the two remains uncertain right up to the fabulously diabolical twist ending.

 Scott and the writers have achieved an outstanding balance in Alien: Covenant among numerous different elements: Intelligent speculation and textbook sci-fi presumptions, startlingly inventive action and audience-pleasing old standbys, philosophical considerations and inescapable genre conventions, intense visual splendor and gore at its most grisly. The drama flows gorgeously and, unlike in many other franchises in which entries keep getting longer every time out, this one is served up without an ounce of fat. It provides all the tension and action the mainstream audience could want, along with a good deal more.

 Stylistically, the film is a thing of cool beauty, with superb effects and a lovely score. Creatively, it's a major reset on a level with the series' best.

 Production companies: Scott Free Productions, Brandywine Productions

 Distributor: Fox

 Cast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollett, Callie Hernandez, Amy Seimetz, Benjamin Rigby, James Franco

 Director: Ridley Scott

 Screenwriters: John Logan, Dante Harper, story by Jack Paglen, Michael Green, based on characters created by Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett

 Producers: David Gerber, Walter Hill, Ridley Scott, Mark Huffam, Michael Schaefer

 Director of photography: Dariusz Wolski

 Production designer: Chris Seagers

 Costume designer: Janty Yates

 Editor: Pietro Scalia

 Music: Jed Kurzel

 Visual effects supervisor: Charley Henley

 Special effects supervisor: Neil Corbould

 Casting: Carmen Cuba

 Rated R, 122 minutes ||||| Before chewing over the more predictable parts of Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant,” let’s salute a really smart thing that Mr. Scott and his writers, John Logan and Dante Harper, have done with the latest edition of the “Alien” saga.

 Seizing on the only source of sustained vitality in the director’s 2012 film “Prometheus,” they’ve made the most of it this time around. “Prometheus,” a sci-fi adventure set in the “Alien” universe, was concerned with such cosmic questions as the origin of life. But the answers it came up with... ||||| Alien: Covenant

 What does she see? Katherine Waterston treads cautiously in a scene from Alien: Covenant. ( Mark Rogers / Twentieth Century Fox )

 Starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir and Carmen Ejogo. Directed by Ridley Scott. Opens Friday in major theatres. 122 minutes. 18A The cast keeps expanding and the critters keep evolving, but there’s one constant to Ridley Scott’s Alien series. It’s the horrific fear of personal invasion, by something that’s about to leap up and latch onto you, causing unimaginable mayhem.

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 Alien: Covenant has this dread in abundance. It ranks among the better chapters of a sci-fi horror franchise that began with the original Alien in 1979. Scott knows he dropped the ball with Prometheus, the erstwhile Alien prequel he foisted onto the unhappy masses in 2012. It barely showed the infamous beasties, choosing instead to batter senses with windy dialogue and events that seemed to betray basic elements of this decades-long saga. Alien: Covenant brings back the visceral panic that fans expect from the franchise, along with the show-stopping title creatures: among them the face-hugger, the chest-burster and the canoe-headed xenomorph of artist H.R. Giger’s terrifying imagination. They’re waiting to greet the unsuspecting crew of the spaceship Covenant, who have travelled to the far reaches of the galaxy in search of an Earthlike planet to colonize. (The most terrifying thing of all, barely acknowledged, is the thought of what must have happened to Earth if large-scale evacuations are underway.) The Covenant carries 2,000 passengers and 1,140 human embryos, all frozen in cryogenic deep sleep and with an emphasis on preserving couples and families as they make the years-long journey to a planet called Origae-6. Something happens that interrupts the journey and prompts the exploration of an unknown closer planet that looks to be every bit as inviting — until events prove that theory disastrously wrong. Scott and screenwriters John Logan (Spectre) and Dante Harper tidy up loose ends from Prometheus, making a much better story of the gods vs. men vs. machines ideas that director Scott has being exploring for decades, with Alien and also with Blade Runner.

 In so doing, they revive a moribund franchise in much the same way The Force Awakens reignited the Star Wars saga, by reconjuring characters and themes from the past. It won’t take you long to figure out who the “Ripley” character is here, for example, and the perilous planet narrative dates right back to the original Alien, and indeed to the dawn of sci-fi moviemaking.

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 This might make the film seem too derivative for some. But for those willing to embrace the retro elements — count me among them — it works like gangbusters. And a story like this can’t get by on terror alone. It also needs good actors to put it across, and Alien: Covenant more than delivers on that score. Michael Fassbender reprises his android character David from Prometheus, but this mechanical man acquires deeper intrigue when he’s matched against his factory double, an upgraded model named Walter, also played by Fassbender. This is a grand performance times two that demands to be remembered at awards time. Other standouts from the brilliant cast are Katherine Waterston as fearless scientist Daniels, Danny McBride as good ol’ boy pilot Tennessee and Billy Crudup as tragically promoted second-in-command Christopher, a weak man who assumes authority at exactly the wrong time. (Watch also for cameos from Guy Pearce and James Franco, as they help connect the dots between Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.) Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski and composer Jed Kurzel skilfully combine to boost the film’s fear of the unknown. They make the remote New Zealand shooting locale look and sound both like the verdant paradise the mystery planet is thought to be and the brutal hellhole it actually is. Franchise films very often disappoint, especially as later instalments run out of fresh ideas. Not so Alien: Covenant, which breaks new ground even while revisiting old concepts. It leaves us seriously wondering what will happen next, but I can’t tell you more or you’ll yell — not only on Earth, but maybe also in space, where no one can hear you scream. |||||

– A spaceship arrives on a distant planet that looks like a perfect new home for humans in Alien: Covenant. But if you know anything about Alien movies, you'll know there's only terror in store. Here's what critics are saying about the latest installment of the franchise, with director Ridley Scott of 1979's Alien returning: The filmmakers have finally managed to "dig the series out of its hole," Todd McCarthy puts it at the Hollywood Reporter. He calls Alien: Covenant "the most satisfying entry in the six-films-and-counting franchise since the first two." Beautiful and gripping, it "feels vital" and is "keen to keep us on our toes right up to the concluding scene, which leaves the audience with such a great reveal that it makes you want to see the next installment tomorrow." Peter Howell at the Toronto Star agrees this flick "ranks among the better chapters" of the franchise. Scott "breaks new ground even while revisiting old concepts" and "brings back the visceral panic that fans expect." Actors Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Billy Crudup, and Michael Fassbender—who delivers "a grand performance times two" as two separate robots—also deserve high praise, he writes. The inclusion of Fassbender's David, from 2012's Prometheus, was an incredibly smart move, writes Joe Morgenstern at the Wall Street Journal. But there was little else that impressed him. There's just "nothing new" to this "gore fest," he writes. He acknowledges, however, that "many Alien fans will come looking for something old, and that's in bloodily abundant supply." Chris Klimek had his own issues with the film. For example, "a religious subtext is introduced and then immediately abandoned," he writes at NPR. But he, too, had to marvel at Fassbender, whose "existential rap session" provides the "freshest part of the movie." Then again, Fassbender's David "is the only character in whom Scott seems truly interested," he writes.


– World-class alpinist Hayden Kennedy and his partner, Inge Perkins, were skiing in Montana on Saturday when an early-season avalanche on Imp Peak near Bozeman took the couple by surprise at 10,000 feet, reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The slide buried Perkins, 23, and partially covered Kennedy, 27. He searched in vain but never found Perkins. Then Kennedy headed home and took his own life, Outside reports; his family says Kennedy was unable to deal with the "unbearable loss." Kennedy didn't call 911 but left "incredibly clear directions for where to find her," Doug Chabot of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center tells Outside. Perkins, also an accomplished climber, was wearing a beacon that could have led rescuers to her, but it was turned off, Chabot says. Her body was recovered Monday morning under 3 feet of snow, per the Post Independent. The couple had moved to Bozeman so Perkins could pursue a degree in math and education at Montana State University. Kennedy, hailed in 2014 as maybe "the best young climber on the planet," was studying for an EMT certification. He wrote recently of the pain of seeing "too many friends go to the mountains only to never return … Climbing is either a beautiful gift or a curse." As tributes flowed to the pair, Kennedy's family says they "sorrowfully" respect his final decision and remembered "an uncensored soul whose accomplishments as a mountaineer were always secondary to his deep friendships and mindfulness." (Another climber survived one avalanche on Everest, but perished on his second ascent.)

Expand this summary.

May 2008: 17-year-old Hayden Kennedy, Jonas Waterman, and I were a few pitches up El Cap’s El Niño (VI 5.13 b/c A0), a notoriously runout, nearly-free route on El Cap’s steep southeast face. The wall looked absolutely huge from our belay stance a few hundred feet off the ground.

 Hayden stepped off the anchor and headed into one of the first few cruxes—near vertical face climbing with minuscule handholds and little crystals for footholds. He moved quickly, confidently, and when he got into big-fall territory on hard climbing he simply “journeyed on,” as he said. It didn’t take long to see that Hayden, on his first El Cap route, was the future of climbing. Here was a kid ticking off 5.14s at Rifle every few weeks, with a solid lead head, and miles and miles of hard and varied climbing under his belt. I was impressed.

 Then Hayden and I drove out to Yosemite that May, he pointed out towers that he’d climbed long before he “officially became a climber,” when he began taking the sport seriously at age 13 or 14.

 “I grew up climbing with my dad when I was super young. But I wasn’t that into it,” he tells me. “Then as a teenager I did more sport and trad climbing. When I was in high school, when I met you, I started climbing with other people then, and not just my dad, and that’s when I became my own climber. Know what I mean?”

 Hayden has it in his genes. He’s the son of Julie and Michael Kennedy. Michael, a renowned alpinist in his own right, established such routes as the Moonflower Buttress on Mt. Hunter among others. He has completed countless first ascents on ice and rock and was editor-in-chief at Climbing magazine for 30 years. Hayden graduated from high school at Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, Colorado, and decided to pass on college for that moment, and just focus on his passion: To climb how he wanted to, where he wanted to. Oh, how he has succeeded.

 “My first expedition, I went to Patagonia in 2009-2010. I turned 20 there. I’ve been there three more times. I climbed Fitz Roy my first year, and then smaller peaks and started free climbing peaks.”

 To sustain a living Hayden works like anyone else—just not a regular job. “I work for sure,” he says. “I have the sponsorship gig, and I hang Christmas lights, paint. I’ve worked at a bar, consignment work, odd jobs and different stuff.”

 Kennedy relies on grants from the outdoor industry to fund his expeditions. “We got the AAC [American Alpine Club] Mountain Fellowship grant my first year. I also got a grant to go to the Bugaboos one time. That was pretty cool.”

 n recent years, Kennedy has grown as an alpinist, climbing more towers in the Fitzroy massif, including a near bolt-free first ascent of the southeast face of Cerro Torre. It was an ascent that proved controversial due to their removal of over 100 bolts of the neighboring Compressor Route when they rappelled down the wall. Back in town, they were threatened by locals, arrested, and spent the night in jail for removing the bolts.

 His career highlights include the first ascent of Carbondale Short Bus (named after his van) a 5.14- in Indian Creek; an ascent of the notoriously runout Bachar/Yerian 5.11c R/X; climbing a new route up K7, followed by a new route up the South Face of the Ogre (Baintha Brakk), a formation near K2, topping out at 7,285 meters that had only been previously climbed twice. In May, he and Nik Berry made a 10-hour all-free ascent of the Hallucinogen Wall (VI 5.13+ R) in Colorado’s Black Canyon.

 Regarding Hayden’s ascents of K7 and the Ogre in the same season, Berry stated that Kennedy had “probably had the best season of climbing in alpine history. Its ridiculous. It’s so fun climbing with Hayden Kennedy. He’s such a rad, humble dude. He has this lighthearted attitude about everything. And super-psyched as well. His skill base is insane. This kid can climb everything. He doesn’t get super pissed if it’s not his day or things aren’t going well or whatever. He doesn’t throw wobblers. He’s just like ‘whatever, I’ll come back or not come back, it’s not a big issue.’”

 Hayden takes it in stride: “I’ve had lots of big adventures and lots of close calls. In 2011 Jason Kruk and I tried to climb the North Face of North Twin. It was scary. We got caught in bad weather. It was too dangerous to rappel off and we had to traverse off. We spent a few nights out in the open without enough bivvy stuff. I don’t know if I would call that an epic. We got out of that unscathed.”

 Regarding his success rate of climbing big mountains, Hayden says, “I think alpine climbing comes down to 40 percent luck, 40 percent motivation, and 20 percent skill. You have to be really motivated to do that. You have to be able to climb pitches that aren’t that good. You’re just climbing to the top of these things instead of the next pitch. You just keep building and dealing with the bad rock and deal with whatever. I feel if you’re really motivated to do it you can just keep doing it. I don’t really know.”

 I ask him how he does it and his reply sums up what makes him so special: “I’m just trying to have fun and not take it too seriously.” Indeed, Hayden Kennedy’s career is going to be fun. ||||| On Saturday, October 7, 27-year-old alpinist Hayden Kennedy was skiing with his girlfriend, Inge Perkins, 23, on Imp Peak south of Bozeman, Montana. The pair triggered a slide that buried and killed Perkins. Kennedy survived the slide, but returned home and took his own life.

 Perkins had a beacon, but it was turned off and in her pack, said Doug Chabot, director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center in Bozeman. “That’s why she wasn’t found.”

 Hayden “never called 911” to report the slide, Chabot said. “He left a note with locations as to where the avalanche happened. They were incredibly clear directions for where to find her.”

 Early-season avalanches “catch people all the time,” Chabot said. “This was not a particularly huge avalanche” yet “it packed a punch....We had huge storms back in September that put three or four feet of snow on the ground” then another foot around October 1, with high winds that loaded the snow on a firm bed.

 Kennedy’s family released a statement saying that they sorrowfully respected Hayden’s decision and praised their son’s openness to the world while he was alive.

 Perkins was a beloved climber from Bozeman who was working on a degree at Montana State University. “Just like Hayden was someone I looked up to, you were, too,” professional climber Chelsea Rude wrote on Facebook, addressing Perkins. “You two were perfect for each other. Both with the biggest hearts a human can have and smiles that made anyone feel welcome, heard and loved.”

 Trying my best to honor you. Thanks for putting up with my camera guys. A post shared by Michael Lim (@murkytimes) on Oct 10, 2017 at 11:17am PDT

 Kennedy has long been one of the top climbers in the world. Though, unless you were steeped in the minutiae of climbing, you wouldn’t necessarily know it. He avoided most media. When Outside reached out to him four years ago about coverage he replied that he was “just not really interested in being in the mag. I have nothing against Outside but I would rather just be out of the media in general. I think that it distracts and over hypes everything, for me it’s just not worth it. My passion for climbing is my own experience and doesn't need to be blow[n] out of portion.”

 Though his accomplishments were many—from big walls in Mexico to bold first ascents in the Karakoram—he was mostly widely known to the non-climbing world for removing 125 bolts from Cerro Torre’s Compressor Route in Patagonia after making the first fair means ascent of the Southeast Ridge with Jason Kruk in 2012. Casare Maestri had put in and used the bolts to ascend the pillar 42 years before, and many had followed in his path. Some thought the bolts should be left as a monument to history. Kennedy and Kruk sought to return the mountain to its initial state, and were both praised and criticized for that decision.

 In a letter to his son published in the Alpinist shortly after their effort, Michael wrote: “The story of the Southeast Ridge is one of the distance between our ideals and what we are willing to sacrifice to live up to them. As alpinists, we should strive to reach our dream summits with a minimum of means, leaving the least trace of our passage...Chopping the bolts was a reminder that we need to abide by what we say we believe in. For making that decision, some will call you and Jason heroes. Others will call you villains. Don't buy into either narrative.”

 Just a few weeks ago, Kennedy published an essay on the climbing blog Evening Sends that contemplated climbing, loss, and mortality.

 “Over the last few years, as I’ve watched too many friends go to the mountains only to never return, I’ve realized something painful,” he wrote. “It’s not just the memorable summits and crux moves that are fleeting. Friends and climbing partners are fleeting, too. This is the painful reality of our sport, and I’m unsure what to make of it. Climbing is either a beautiful gift or a curse…I see both light and dark in climbing. Through this recognition, true learning begins and a full awareness of the brevity of our time becomes clearer. It’s difficult to accept the fact that we cannot control everything in life, yet we still try, and maybe our path changes to something totally unexpected…Maybe the most genuine aspects of any tale are the sputterings and the silences, the acknowledgments of failure, the glimmerings in the dark. And maybe one genuine reason to try to share our stories about days we actually send something, when we are alive and at the height of our powers, is to try to bring back what’s past, lost, or gone. Perhaps by doing so, we might find some light illuminating a new way forward.” ||||| Close Get email notifications on Whitney Bermes daily!

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Article:

TAMPA — Jessica Raubenolt seized on the sunshine and blue sky at midday Wednesday to take her daughter out in the stroller for a walk along scenic Bayshore Boulevard. Visiting from Ohio, the family had been cursed by rain all week.

 At the same time, Cameron Herrin and John Alexander Barrineau hit the gas, witnesses said, as they raced each other north on Bayshore, a main drag for the two teens who lived less than a mile away. Both had graduated just two days earlier from Tampa Catholic High School.

 RELATED COVERAGE Three arrested for street racing after mother fatally struck pushing stroller on Bayshore Boulevard

 Raubenolt, 24, was pushing 21-month-old Lillia across the northbound lanes from the sidewalk on the bay toward the neighborhood where her uncle lives when they were struck by a black 2018 Mustang with Herrin at the wheel police said.

 One witness heard the distinctive roar of the Mustang’s engine just before the crash. Another saw Raubenolt thrown into the air. The mother was soon pronounced dead at Tampa General Hospital. Her daughter Lillia died on Thursday.

 Raubenolt was crossing legally at the intersection, police said.

 RELATED COVERAGE Tampa lowers Bayshore speed limit in response to fatal pedestrian accident

 On Thursday, her uncle, John Reisinger, offered words of forgiveness to those blamed for the death of his niece and her daughter. He spoke to the Tampa Bay Times before police announced that Lillia had died.

 "We’re praying for those young boys and their families," said Reisinger, 62, who lives a quarter-mile from the scene of the crash. "We hope something good will come of this foolish accident. That’s what Jessie would want."

 At the same time, Reisinger is mourning his family’s loss. Raubenolt was a devoted mother, wife and niece who married two years ago after meeting her husband-to-be, David, while studying nutrition at Kent State University. A health and fitness advocate, Raubenolt was visiting Florida with her family so David could obtain his certification in Pompano Beach as a single-engine airplane pilot.

 The bad weather Raubenolt was waiting out also delayed her husband’s certification. The family planned to return home in a week.

 "She made a mark on this world," Reisinger said, "that her death will not diminish. The biggest tragedy is that more people didn’t know her."

 The two teen drivers and Herrin’s older brother, a passenger in his car, were taken into custody at the scene. Cameron Herrin, 18, and Barrineau, 17, each face two counts of vehicular homicide and street racing. They were freed from the county jail on Thursday after each posted $10,000 bail. Tristin Herrin, 20, who faces a misdemeanor charge of racing, was freed that same day after posting $500 bail.

 The Herrins’ address was listed as the home of their parents, Chris and Cheryl Herrin, on Gardner Court just south of the accident scene. The Herrins paid $1.4 million for the house in 2005. Cheryl Herrin was a vice president for State Farm Florida and is a former member of the Citizens Property Insurance board of governors. Chris Herrin works as a videographer/editor, says his account with the online LinkedIn business network.

 Barrineau’s address is just down the street from where Raubenolt’s uncle lives. Barrineau also works nearby, as a part-time bus boy at the Tampa Yacht & Country Club.

 None of the three have a criminal record in Florida, according to a search of Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. They could not be reached for comment.

 The Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg confirmed Thursday that the three are recent graduates of Tampa Catholic High School — Cameron Herrin and Barrineau on Monday, and Tristan Herrin in 2016.

 In a statement, the diocese said it is praying for the victims.

 "Our prayers and hearts go out to the young mother who died ... and all affected by this tragic loss of life," said Teresa Peterson, executive director of communications for the diocese, before the child’s death was announced.

 Witnesses who were walking and driving along Bayshore told police they saw a black Mustang and a gold Nissan racing, arrest reports say. Police said Barrineau was driving the Nissan. One pedestrian described hearing the sound of an engine revving, then turning and seeing the two cars speeding north with the Mustang in front. The vehicles changed lanes to avoid slower traffic, the witness said. Soon after, the witness heard a crash.

 After a while, David Raubenolt began to wonder where his wife and daughter were, so he headed out to Bayshore to look for them, Tampa police spokesman Steve Hegarty said. He came upon the scene and the damaged stroller after they had been taken to the hospital.

 Those who knew Jessica Raubenolt spoke of her passion for heath, exercise and gardening.

 In high school, she developed a garden as her Girl Scout Gold Award project, said Reisinger, her uncle. The garden is still thriving.

 "Anybody who knew Jessica knew she was full of life," said Greta Siler, 55, manager at Food 4 Thought at Kent State, where Raubenolt worked for about three years. "If you knew her, you were a better person after that moment."

 Raubenolt worked to connect people with healthy food and the power of growing and harvesting it, Siler said. They last saw each other just over two years ago, around the time Raubenolt graduated from college.

 "David and Jessica were a sweet, loving couple, full of life and promise," Siler said. "She told me how excited she was, she was engaged. She had her whole life ahead of her."

 The Raubenolts lived on a farm in Jeromesville, surrounded by a patchwork of plowed fields and pastures. David Raubenolt’s grandmother Lillian Raubenolt, for whom their new daughter was named, lives nearby. She said Thursday she can see the house lights the couple left on before they left for Tampa.

 "Every time I saw the lights on, I knew they were there," Lillian Raubenolt said. "But they’re not. It all seems like a fairy tale that ended so quickly."

 Times senior researcher John Martin and staff writers Sue Carlton, Anastasia Dawson, Paul Guzzo and Will Kennedy contributed to this report. Contact Tim Fanning at [email protected] Follow at @timothyjfanning. ||||| An Ohio mother and her 21-month-old daughter are dead after they were run over by a teen allegedly racing another car in Florida.

 Jessica Raubenolt, 24, was pushing her daughter Lillia in a stroller across the street on Wednesday when a Ford Mustang slammed into them, according to police.

 Mother and daughter were rushed to Tampa General Hospital, where Jessica was pronounced dead. Lillia was put on life support but late Thursday she passed away.

 The driver of the 2018 Mustang was 18-year-old Cameron Herrin, the Tampa Police Department said in a press release Wednesday.

 Herrin’s older brother, Tristan, 20, was a passenger in the vehicle. A gold Nissan driven by 17-year-old was seen racing alongside them, according to the department.

 “Witnesses said that at times the cars were side by side, and at other times they switched places and switched lanes,” the police said.

 Jessica Raubenolt holding her daughter Lillia

 Raubenolt was crossing legally at the intersection, police told The Tampa Bay Times.

 Raunbenolt, who lived in Ohio, was in Tampa visiting her uncle as her husband, David Raubenolt, was waiting to obtain his certification as a single-engine airplane pilot, according to the newspaper.

 They were staying with her uncle, John Reisinger, who spoke to the Times before Lillia’s death about the three men involved and expressed words of forgiveness.

 “We’re praying for those young boys and their families,” Reisinger said. “We hope something good will come of this foolish accident. That’s what Jessie would want.”

 Cameron and Tristan Herrin Tampa Police Department (3)

 The two drivers, Herrin and the 17-year-old were charged with street racing, vehicular homicide, and reckless driving resulting in serious bodily injury, police said in their release. On Thursday, following the announcement of Lillia’s passing, Tampa police tweeted the charges against them “will be enhanced” as her death will be taken into account.

 • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

 Both were let out of jail on bail after they posted $10,000 each, according to the Times.

 Herrin’s brother Tristan, the passenger, is facing one misdemeanor count of racing. He was released from jail the same day of the incident after posting $500.

 There is no attorney listed for any of them, according to the Associated Press. |||||
What is a summary?

– A beautiful sunny day in Tampa, Fla., turned tragic on Wednesday when Jessica Raubenolt, 24, who was visiting from Ohio, went out for a walk with her 21-month-old daughter, Lillia. While pushing the toddler across scenic Bayshore Boulevard, Raubenolt and her daughter were struck by a black Ford Mustang, police say. Witnesses say the car had been racing side-by-side with a gold Nissan. One witness described hearing the sound of a roaring engine, then seeing the two cars speeding with the Mustang in the lead before the fatal collision, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Raubenolt was taken to Tampa General Hospital where she was pronounced dead, and Lillia died a day later. The driver of the 2018 Mustang has been identified as Cameron Herrin, 18, according to a police report. His brother Tristan, 20, was a passenger. Police say the Nissan was driven by John Barrineau, 17. Cameron Herrin and Barrineau face two counts of street racing and vehicular homicide. Tristin Herrin faces a misdemeanor charge of racing. In the face of tragedy, her uncle offered words of kindness. "We’re praying for those young boys and their families," John Reisinger, 62, told the Times, and that the biggest tragedy was that more people didn’t know Raubenolt. "She made a mark on this world," he said. A GoFundMe account that has been set up for the family has raised more than $58,000, reports People.


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To the Editor:

 Re “Donald Trump Gets Weirder,” by Gail Collins (column, April 2):

 Even before Gail Collins was with The New York Times, she has written nasty and derogatory articles about me. Actually, I have great respect for Ms. Collins in that she has survived so long with so little talent. Her storytelling ability and word usage (coming from me, who has written many best sellers), is not at a very high level. More importantly, her facts are wrong!

 As far as her comments on the so-called “birther” issue, I don't need Ms. Collins's advice. There is a very large segment of our society who believe that Barack Obama, indeed, was not born in the United States. His grandmother from Kenya stated, on tape, that he was born in Kenya and she was there to watch the birth. His family in Honolulu is fighting over which hospital in Hawaii he was born in -- they just don't know.

 He has not been able to produce a “birth certificate” but merely a totally unsigned “certificate of live birth” -- which is totally different and of very little significance. Unlike a birth certificate, a certificate of live birth is very easy to obtain. Equally of importance, there are no records in Hawaii that a Barack Hussein Obama was born there -- no bills, no doctors names, no nurses names, no registrations, no payments, etc. As far as the two notices placed in newspapers, many things could have happened, but some feel the grandparents put an ad in order to show that he was a citizen of the U.S. with all of the benefits thereto. Everybody, after all, and especially then, wanted to be a United States citizen.

 The term used by Ms. Collins -- “birther” -- is very derogatory and is meant in a derogatory way. Had this been George Bush or almost any other President or Presidential aspirant, they would never have been allowed to attain office, or would have been thrown out of office very quickly.

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 For some reason, the press protects President Obama beyond anything or anyone I have ever seen. What they don't realize is that if he was not born in the United States, they would have uncovered the greatest "scam" in the history of our country. In other words, they would become the hottest writer since Watergate, or beyond.

 Open your eyes, Gail, there's at least a good chance that Barack Hussein Obama has made mincemeat out of our great and cherished Constitution! ||||| “That first book was total genius and helped get him elected,” Trump continued. “But you can tell Obama did the second book himself because it read like it was written by somebody of average intelligence with a high school education.”

 Did I mention that, in his letter, Trump complained about my calling him a “birther” because the word was “very derogatory and meant in a derogatory way”? Obama, of course, graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School — if you can believe Columbia and Harvard Law.

 “Three weeks ago I thought he was born in this country. Right now I have some real doubts. I have people that actually have been studying it, and they cannot believe what they’re finding,” Trump announced on “ Today .”

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 Trump does not actually seem to have people studying, or even Googling. Still, he sounds very self-assured. This is because before he was a reality-show host, he was in the New York real estate business, a profession in which it is vital to be able to say imaginary things with total certainty. (“I have five other people who are begging me to sell them this property. Begging.”)

 Let’s run over some of his arguments:

 THE GRANDMOTHER STORY “His grandmother in Kenya stated, on tape, that he was born in Kenya and she was there to watch the birth,” Trump wrote. This goes back to a trans-Atlantic telephone call that was made in 2008 by Ron McRae, an Anabaptist bishop and birther, to Sarah Obama, the president’s 86-year-old stepgrandmother. He asked her, through an interpreter, whether she was “present when he was born in Kenya.” The translator responded: “She says, yes, she was. She was present when Obama was born.”

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 It is at this point that some of the tapes floating around the Web stop, which means that the listener doesn’t get to hear the follow-up, which makes it very clear that Sarah Obama misunderstood. The full conversation ends with the interpreter saying, for the umpteenth time: “ Hawaii . She says he was born in Hawaii. In the state of Hawaii, where his father, his father was learning there. The state of Hawaii.”

 THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE If only Hawaii made its birth records public, and charged people a thousand dollars a pop to look at them, the state’s budget problems would be solved by the conspiracy theorists. However, it doesn’t. If you were born in Hawaii and request a copy of your birth certificate, you get a certification of live birth, which the federal government accepts for passports. Barack Obama requested his in 2007, and his campaign posted it on the Internet.

 “A certificate of live birth is not even signed by anybody. I saw his. I read it very carefully. It doesn’t have a serial number. It doesn’t have a signature,” said Trump on “Today.”

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 The document has the stamped signature of the state registrar. The University of Pennsylvania ’s FactCheck.org made a pilgrimage to the Obama campaign headquarters, examined the document, felt the seal, checked the serial number and reported that it looked fine.

 THE EMPTY PHOTO ALBUM “Our current president came out of nowhere. Came out of nowhere,” Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference to great applause. “In fact, I’ll go a step further. The people that went to school with him, they never saw him; they don’t know who he is. It’s crazy.”

 This week on CNN, Suzanne Malveaux played Trump clips of Hawaiians reminiscing about the schoolchild Obama for a documentary the network had done on the president.

 “Look, I didn’t say that ... If he was 3 years old or 2 years old or 1 year old and people remember him, that’s irrelevant,” Trump responded. “You have to be born in this country.” ||||| Vote for Donald Trump, the man who can make Bill O’Reilly look like the most sensible guy in the room.

 Trump’s main argument for why he should be taken seriously as a presidential contender is his business success. Has Obama ever hosted a long-running reality series? Owned a bankruptcy-bound chain of casinos? Put his name on a flock of really unattractive high-rise apartment buildings? No!

 “By now my name is big enough and equated with the gold standard to the extent that I don’t have to say too much about it,” wrote Trump in one of his books, before going on to say a lot more about it. He is extremely sensitive to any gibes about his business record, which has been up and down over the years.

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 During one down period, I referred to him in print as a “financially embattled thousandaire” and he sent me a copy of the column with my picture circled and “The Face of a Dog!” written over it.

 Trump was one of the first people I interviewed when I came to New York as a reporter back in the ’80s when he was a developer-wunderkind who had started in the business with nothing but a smile, a dream and his father’s large holdings in real estate.

 He’s still promoting, 24/7. Some people believe that his presidential flirtations are an attempt to draw viewers to his TV show, “Celebrity Apprentice.” In it, people who are alleged to be famous compete for money for their favorite charities and what one former contestant revealed was a salary of $16,000 apiece. That isn’t much for network TV work, but since one of this year’s celebrities, disgraced former steroid -using baseball player Jose Canseco , recently tried to make a $5,000 fee by sending his brother to impersonate him in an exhibition boxing match, you have to figure it comes in handy.

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 “Celebrity Apprentice” is widely regarded as terrible and cheesy programming, but, actually, it has its moments. I recently saw an episode in which a former top model had a serious discussion with a fellow competitor about whether this was the 20th century or the 21st. You can’t get stuff like that on “ Mad Men .”

 The series is a perfect reflection of Trump himself: an orgy of product-placement and personal aggrandizement. All the contestants, including the ones in their 70s, have to refer to their host as “Mr. Trump.” They all somberly devote themselves to making faux commercials about whatever enterprise has coughed up cash for a major mention that week. Then it’s off to the boardroom where people talk ceaselessly about their performance in order to stretch the whole enterprise into a low-cost, two-hour show.

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 When you think about it, “Celebrity Apprentice” has a lot in common with the current Republican presidential campaign. Endless blathering. Strange contenders who did something vaguely notable in 1986. And Donald Trump, looking extremely cheerful.

 Beyond having the moral fortitude to tell Dionne Warwick she is fired, Trump’s qualifications for being president of the United States include having co-written a large number of books, including “Think Big and Kick Ass” (“People always ask me: ‘How did you get so rich?’ ”) and “ Never Give Up .” (“This book is about a subject near and dear to my heart — never giving up.”)

 To establish his birther creds, this week Trump produced his own birth certificate, after one failed attempt in which he came up with a document that was too weak to qualify for a passport. By the time he worked things out, we had an entire news cycle devoted to Donald Trump having been born in New York. |||||

– Last week it was apparent that there's no love lost between Donald Trump and New York Times columnist Gail Collins, but this week it's all-out war. Seems the Donald responded to Collins' column, which tweaked him as a loopy birther, with a letter to the editor tweaking her in turn as a no-good hack for writing "nasty and derogatory articles about me." "Actually," Trump writes, "I have great respect for Ms. Collins in that she has survived so long with so little talent. Her storytelling ability and word usage (coming from me, who has written many bestsellers), is not at a very high level." Snap! This week, Collins slaps back, noting that the bestselling author himself once sent her an "aggrieved message ... in which he misspelled the word 'too.'” Further, she runs down his birther allegations, dismissing his doubts about President Obama's birth certificate, his grandmother, and his authorship of Dreams From My Father as all but absurd. "Recent polls have shown Trump running second among potential Republican primary voters," Collins concludes. "I believe this is not so much an indication of popularity as a desperate plea to be delivered from Mitt Romney."


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– Sienna Miller is set to join the growing list of outraged public figures taking legal action over phone-hacking by reporters at Britain's News of the World. Lawyers for the star say she plans to add her name to those seeking a review of how the police handled the case and sources at the Rupert-Murdoch owned paper say she's taking steps toward suing it because reporters allegedly listened to her voicemails, the Guardian reports. (For background and opinion on the scandal, click here.) Miller's friends say she changed her number after noticing signs that somebody else was listening to her voicemail, but jailed reporter Glen Mulcaire appears to have obtained her new number as well, although police didn't notify her when they found her PIN code in his possession. A former News of the World reporter who says his editor asked him to hack phones was interviewed by British police last night, the BBC reports.

Sienna Miller was today expected to become the latest public figure to join the legal assault on Scotland Yard and the News of the World over the phone-hacking scandal.

 Lawyers for the actor, whose private life has long been a tabloid staple, said she was ready to join the former deputy prime minister John Prescott and others in asking the courts for a judicial review of the police's conduct of the case.

 Sources at the News of the World said she had taken the first step towards suing the paper for invading her privacy by allegedly listening to her voicemail messages.

 The legal moves came after Miller, 28, discovered that the paper's private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, had procured her mobile phone numbers, account number and secret PIN code, needed to intercept the voicemail of the minority of people who change the factory settings on their phones.

 It also emerged today that Sean Hoare, a former News of the World journalist who told the New York Times and the BBC about hacking at the paper under Coulson, has been interviewed by police under caution. Lawyers said this indicated he was being treated by police as a suspect. "An interview under caution would follow someone being arrested as a suspect, except in the most exceptional circumstances," said Peter Lodder QC, a criminal barrister.

 Paul McMullan, a second former News of the World staffer who told the Guardian that hacking was rife at the paper, was also contacted by detectives and told that they would like to question him under caution.

 Scotland Yard has had the information about Miller being targeted in its possession since August 2006, when Mulcaire was arrested and his records seized, but failed to say anything to Miller until her lawyer, Mark Thomson, of Atkins Thomson, wrote to ask them. Even then an answer was delayed for 14 weeks.

 Thomson said: "Our client only discovered that the Metropolitan police held this information on 15 October 2009 in response to our letter of 10 July 2009."Miller had previously sued the News of the World for invading her privacy by running intrusive stories about her relationships and publishing photographs of her in a bikini in Italy and of her filming a nude scene on a closed set.

 In 2008, the paper settled the claims by paying her damages and sending her a written acknowledgement that they had been wrong to publish stories and photographs about her private life.

 Friends of Miller said she had noticed warning signs with her voicemail, including new messages being recorded as old before she had listened to them.

 For this reason, they said, she had changed her mobile number, but the material seized from Mulcaire suggested he had been able to discover her new number.

 Former staff at the News of the World say Mulcaire was able to obtain confidential information from mobile phone companies and British Telecom.

 Miller plans to join the legal action being run by Bindmans law firm to seek a judicial review of Scotland Yard's failure to warn potential victims of the hacking.

 Those already involved in the action include Prescott, Brian Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard, the Labour frontbench spokesman Chris Bryant and the investigative journalist Brendan Montague.

 Meanwhile it was revealed last night that MPs are to investigate whether parliamentary privileges were breached by Mulcaire. The Commons standards and privileges committee, which has been asked by MPs to investigate the matter, has decided to ask the clerk of the House and outside legal experts to advise on whether phone hacking is a contempt of parliament.

 Miller is waiting for Scotland Yard to reply to a letter asking for an explanation of its failure to warn her, and Bindmans said she would join the legal action if a satisfactory response was not forthcoming.

 During the original investigation in 2006, police told the director of public prosecutions that they would contact all "potential victims". But they failed to inform all those where there was clear evidence of successful hacking until after the Guardian revived the story last year and still have not warned all the owners of the 91 PIN codes found in Mulcaire's possession – Miller was one of them. Police continue to refuse to say how many people they have warned on the grounds that releasing the numbers would risk identifying the individualvictims. ||||| Police quiz ex-News of the World reporter over hacking

 Andy Coulson has denied Mr Hoare's claims

 Continue reading the main story Related Stories

 The former News of the World reporter at the centre of phone hacking allegations has been questioned by police, his solicitor has said.

 Sean Hoare was interviewed by officers under caution. He was not arrested.

 Mr Hoare alleged in a recent interview with a US newspaper that his former editor at the News of the World, Andy Coulson, asked him to hack phones.

 Mr Coulson, who denied Mr Hoare's claims, is now Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief.

 Earlier on Tuesday, Parliament's Standards and Privileges Committee said it would launch an inquiry into whether the hacking of MPs phones amounts to contempt of parliament.

 The committee was asked to look into the issue of MPs phones being hacked following a Commons vote last week.

 The committee now says it will not look into specific cases - such as alleged hacking of MPs' phones by News of the World journalists - but instead question experts on whether hacking amounts to contempt of Parliament.

 If the committee decides that phone hacking does not amount to contempt it would be expected to hold only a brief inquiry, and would be unlikely to call any witnesses from the News of the World.

 However, if the committee decided that there had been possible contempt, a wider inquiry could be triggered.

 Former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed in 2007 for accessing the voice mails of public figures.

 Also on Tuesday, representatives of comic Steve Coogan and presenter Chris Tarrant said they were taking legal action after the Metropolitan Police confirmed that their clients' personal details were in the possession of Mr Mulcaire.

 Mr Tarrant's lawyer, Mark Lewis, said the action was "at a very early stage". |||||


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 She survived a gunshot wound to the head, can stand with a little help and even gave her husband a neck massage from her hospital bed. But now, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is facing what may prove to be her biggest challenge yet: rehab."It will be grueling. It's hard work, and it's definitely a lot harder than the first stage, at least for her," Dr. Christina Kwasnica, director of the Neuro Rehabilitation Program at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, told AOL News by phone.As the 40-year-old congresswoman heads to Houston today to begin a monthslong recovery at a rehabilitation center, doctors say her progress has been impressive. But they warn that people who've suffered severe brain trauma like Giffords often have to relearn even the simplest tasks, from tying their shoes to forming complete sentences."One of the hardest parts is realizing how long the road is," Kwasnica said. "People who are successful like the congresswoman often think that if they just work hard they'll recover quickly, but it doesn't work that way. It just depends on how quickly the brain is healing."Giffords' new doctors at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston avoided predicting when she might be fully recovered. Mark Kelly, Giffords' astronaut husband, has said his wife may be walking on her own within two months, but her new doctor, Dr. John Holcomb, said it was too soon to tell."Captain Kelly is an astronaut and a space shuttle commander. You never want to say no to what he says. He's got great hope, they've got great support for family," Holcomb told ABC's "Good Morning America." "And you know the individual outcomes of individual patients are always a little unclear. But she has done remarkably well with great care in Tucson and we expect that to continue."In Houston, Giffords will first get a medical checkup to make sure she tolerated the travel well from Tucson and is strong enough to begin rehabilitation. Then, the hard work will begin for the congresswoman. Doctors have said her recovery will include at least two to three hours a day of intensive rehab for speech, and for occupational therapy with exercise equipment to help her fine-tune her motor skills and language. Giffords' doctors won't say how long she'll remain at the Houston center, but neurological experts have said the process could take three months.Because the bullet went through the left side of her brain, doctors say Giffords' vision and language could be especially affected. "Some with brain injury like this lose the ability to speak, lose the ability to understand. Their personality changes, they have problems with memory, it changes how they relate to people," Gerard Francisco, the chief doctor at the Houston center, told reporters, according to The Washington Post While Giffords' progress has been described as miraculous, doctors say brain injuries are incredibly complex, and they caution that there's a possibility she may never recover completely. They say that even in rehab, medical risks remain. Too much stimulation too quickly, for example, can cause seizures in survivors of traumatic brain injury."The nerve cells in the brain have been damaged and stressed, so if they're pressed too soon, it can trigger a seizure. Just getting up too quickly or doing a crossword puzzle when the brain isn't ready can cause one," said Dr. Mark Herceg, head of Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology at Burke Rehabilitation Center in White Plains, N.Y.Herceg said Giffords is also at an increased risk for dramatic weight loss and even depression. "Her brain chemistry has been altered," he told AOL News. "Sometimes the brain's ability to be hungry or recognize that the body needs food is a concern."And surgeons will also have to replace the portion of the skull they removed to allow for brain swelling just after the shooting, a procedure neurosurgeons say is simple but will put still more strain on the congresswoman's healing body.But Dr. Eugene Flamm, the head of Neurological Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, said Giffords' progress so far is encouraging. "If she's up and walking, even a little at this point, she's 90 percent recovered already," he told AOL News by phone.Flamm said Giffords' impressive recovery suggests the bullet may have missed the most sensitive and crucial parts of her brain. He said he'd seen several cases where a bullet entered the brain and simply traveled along its natural contours -- not unlike a pinball in a pinball machine -- before exiting on the other side without causing much damage. "Not all of the brain is essential," he said.And Herceg said Giffords' age, the support she's received from her family and her intelligence will help her immensely. "She's young, she's got her family with her, and we'd guesstimate that she's really smart as well -- all factors that make her more likely to recover." ||||| TUCSON - For U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her family, today's trip is expected to be a special and uniquely triumphant journey.

 Less than two weeks after being shot in the head at point-blank range, she is scheduled to depart the hospital for the airport and a trip to a rehabilitation center in Houston.

 A day after being taken outside the hospital to gaze at the Catalina Mountains, Giffords will be transported by ambulance through the city she loves, from University Medical Center to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

 A group of VFW motorcycle riders has volunteered to escort the ambulance to the base. The congresswoman rode with this group in May 2009, when they escorted the remains of Civil War-era veterans from Tucson to Sierra Vista.

 Her husband, mother, staff members and medical personnel will accompany her in an air ambulance to William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. Air ambulance flights differ from traditional plane flights because air ambulances fly at a lower altitude and the cabin pressure is altered so it does not impact a patient with a head wound.

 From there, she will be taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann hospital's trauma center, where she will be evaluated before being transferred to TIRR (The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research) Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital.

 Astronaut Mark Kelly, who took in the mountain views with his wife, voiced optimism about Giffords' long-term recovery during a news conference at University Medical Center on Thursday.

 In two months' time, he said, "She'll be walking through the front door of this building. She's a fighter like nobody else that I know."

 Kelly also thanked doctors, nurses and others for the "perfect" care she had received at the medical center, which helped Giffords reach the next phase in her recovery.

 TIRR Memorial Hermann specializes in helping patients rehabilitate after penetrating brain injuries.

 "One of the best rehab hospitals in the nation is in the city of Houston," Kelly said. "It's got an outstanding, world-class reputation."

 In addition, Kelly said, he and his teenage daughters live in Houston, where he works for NASA. With Giffords undergoing rehabilitation there, he said, he can be with her every day.

 At TIRR Memorial Hermann, Dr. John Holcomb will be in charge of her care.

 One of her Tucson neurosurgeons, Dr. Michael Lemole, said Thursday that Giffords continues to show improvement both neurologically and physically, including standing up while being supported.

 But rehabilitation will be an arduous process, which could include months of intense physical, speech and occupational therapy.

 "I do want to caution everyone that she has a long road ahead of her," Lemole said.

 Asked if Giffords has spoken, Kelly said that "she has made some attempts" and noted that she still has a tracheal tube to protect her airway.

 She is scrolling through her iPad and touching her husband frequently. Yet she remains vulnerable, with sections of her skull still missing. They were removed in surgery immediately after the shooting to allow the brain to swell.

 She will have to wear a helmet while she undergoes therapy at the rehabilitation center in Houston, doctors said. When her skull will be reattached or reconstructed, and who will do it, has yet to be determined.

 The route through Tucson to the base will be: Cherry Avenue to Helen Street, east on Helen Street to Campbell Avenue, south on Campbell Avenue and Kino Boulevard to Aviation Parkway, southeast on Aviation Parkway to Golf Links Road, and east on Golf Links Road to the base's Swan Road gate. |||||Summary:

– Following her first trip outside yesterday, Gabrielle Giffords today departed on an even bigger one: She left her Tucson hospital for a rehabilitation center in Houston. Crowds saw her off holding “Get well” signs and flags as an ambulance carried her to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, MSNBC reports. Giffords was escorted by motorcycle riders from a Veterans of Foreign Wars post, and was then taken via medical flight to a Houston airport. From there, a helicopter will carry her to the rehab hospital. Giffords’ husband, mother, and staff members were expected to ride alongside her in the air ambulance, the Arizona Republic reports. US Capitol police put extra security in place at the Houston facility, where she will remain until she no longer requires 24-hour care. First order of business: Check her vitals and give her a number of tests to determine what she can and cannot do, from walking and swallowing to brushing her teeth and combing her hair. Click to see what else might be in store for Giffords.


Global stocks kicked off 2016 with a stumble, as a disappointing report on China’s economy rekindled concerns over slowing global growth and tempered hopes for a better year.

 U.S. stocked tumbled at the open and remained lower throughout the session on the heels of a rout in European and Asian markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 467 points in morning trading before recovering slightly.

 The... ||||| The S&P 500 posted steep losses on Monday, marking it the worst start to a new year in more than a decade.

 Investors dumped risky assets such as equities and piled into havens, bidding up prices of gold and Treasurys following a rout in Chinese shares overnight as well as heightened tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia that sparked a global equity selloff.

 See recap of live blog: U.S. stocks unravel on renewed China worries in 2016

 The S&P 500 SPX, +1.32% fell 31.28 points, or 1.5%, to 2,012.66, led by a decline in financials, health-care and consumer discretionary stocks, while all 10 main sectors closed lower.

 “It is not surprising to see such a selloff considering negative headlines from China and tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. What is surprising is that it is happening on the first day of the year,” said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management.

 “While trading desks are busier than they normally would be on Mondays, this is not a panic selling, it’s orderly. We are likely to see this kind of volatility a lot in 2016,” Larson said.

 The S&P 500-tracking “SPY” ETF opened down nearly 2%. According to Bespoke Investment Group analysts, since the SPY SPY, +1.33% began trading in 1994, the ETF has opened lower on the first trading day of the year only twice, and never by more than 1%.

 The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.38% closed off session lows, but still recorded a triple-digit loss. The blue-chip index fell 276.09 points, or 1.6%, at 17,148.94, led by a drop in DuPont Co. US:DD and J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. JPM, +1.62%

 Meanwhile gold prices US:GCG6 settled at two-week highs, while Treasurys rallied, as the uncertainty spurred a flight to havens.

 The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +1.03% tumbled by 104.32 points, or 2.1%, to 4,903.09.

 China slump: The sharp losses followed an almost 7% slide in China’s Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +0.56% on the back of a weak manufacturing reading. The slide activated a new circuit-breaker system for Chinese stocks, halting trading on the mainland for the rest of the day. European stocks also slumped.

 “It is unclear if the rout in China is more of a function of overvalued markets there or deteriorating economy,” said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors.

 “We believe China’s economy is growing at a much more modest 2%-4% range, not the 7% officials in China say. But that is not news to most investors. However, trading halts and market plunges did spook global investors,” Ogg said.

 Opinion: China’s rigged markets could fall much further, much faster

 Last summer, a severe selloff in China’s stock market sparked a global market rout, which was seen as one of the reasons the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady at its September meeting.

 Chinese officials announced plans for the circuit-breaker system in December, as a measure to prevent the wild swings that accelerated this summer’s stock-market crash. But analysts and investors say the circuit breaker could trigger more selling, as the freeze spooks investors and losses snowball, setting off the halt all over again.

 U.S. stocks ended 2015 mostly lower after a losing session on Thursday. Markets were closed Friday for New Year’s Day.

 Saudi-Iran tensions: Investors also monitored developments in the Middle East, where a rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran raised concerns about further disruptions to oil prices. Saudi Arabia over the weekend cut ties with Iran after attacks on its embassy in Tehran by people protesting the execution of prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Nemer al-Nemer.

 Oil prices CLG6, +0.00% briefly spiked on the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, but have since fallen and settled lower.

 Data: In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index slipped to 48.2% last month from 48.6% in November. That’s the lowest reading since the last month of the Great Recession.

 U.S. construction spending sank 0.4% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.12 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Monday. That was well below the 0.9% gain expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

 Movers: Pharmaceutical company Baxalta Inc. US:BXLT jumped 5.5% after speculation Shire PLC UK:SHP is close to completing a takeover of its U.S. rival.

 Shares of Tesla Motors Inc. TSLA, -12.97% dropped 6.9% after the electric car maker released delivery numbers for the fourth quarter on Sunday.

 Netflix Inc. NFLX, -3.99% slid 3.9% after Baird Equity Research downgraded the stock to neutral and said risk-reward is balanced following its recent strength.

 Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.18% fell 5.8% after Monness Crespi Hardt downgraded the stock to neutral from buy and suspended its price target.

 Other markets: European stock markets SXXP, +1.80% skidded, with Germany’s DAX 30 index DAX, +2.63% off more than 4% and on track for its worst day since August.

 The dollar traded mixed against other major currencies, although the ICE Dollar Index DXY, -0.13% was up 0.2% at 98.827.

 The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen AG VOW, +1.10% , US:VLKAY alleging the car maker installed illegal emissions-defeat devices in some 600,000 vehicles.

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– It's a bleak start to the new year on Wall Street Monday morning: The Dow fell more than 360 points at the open after China's stock market suffered a huge plunge of its own. Chinese stocks fell 7%, spooking US investors worried about a global slowdown, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down similar percentages. "The rout in China is placing pressure on markets more globally, although it remains to be seen how long the hit to market sentiment will persist," says a note at Investec, per MarketWatch.


Here is a news article: 'You Should Resign': Watch Sen. Elizabeth Warren Grill Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf

 Enlarge this image toggle caption Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

 Facing off with the CEO whose massive bank appropriated customers' information to create millions of bogus accounts, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., had sharp questions Tuesday for Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf. She said Stumpf made millions of dollars in the "scam," telling him, "You should resign ... and you should be criminally investigated."

 As we've reported before, Wells Fargo is paying $185 million in penalties for acts that date to at least to 2011. The firm says it fired some 5,300 employees who were found to have created false accounts as it sought to increase "cross-selling" — building the number of accounts each customer holds.

 The exchanges between Warren and Stumpf were among the sharpest, but other senators also pressed the executive about what have become hot topics as public outrage has grown over the case. Here's some of what panel Chairman Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and others wanted to know:

 Whether Stumpf regards the case as one of fraud

 Whether the bank will "claw back" any of the millions it has paid to former executive Carrie Tolstedt, who is retiring with nearly $125 million

 How the bank will help customers whose credit ratings have been hurt by the fake accounts

 Responding to those questions, Stumpf said he lacked the appropriate expertise, declaring himself at various times not to be a lawyer, a compensation expert or a credit consultant.

 Warren began her questioning by citing Wells Fargo's Vision and Values Statement, particularly its suggestion, "If you want to find out how strong a company's ethics are, don't listen to what its people say, watch what they do."

 "So, let's do that," Warren said. She then accused Stumpf of failing to hold himself or any other senior executives accountable for the company's actions. "It's gutless leadership," she said, noting that Stumpf is not resigning, returning any of his earnings or firing any senior executives.

 Warren moved on to the subject of cross-selling — calling it a particular focus of Stumpf's tenure as CEO, citing his goal of eight accounts per customer and saying that cross-selling was "one of the main reasons that Wells has become the most valuable bank in the world."

 The senator asked Stumpf, "Cross-selling is all about pumping up Wells' stock price, isn't it?"

 "No," the executive answered. "Cross-selling is shorthand for deepening relationships," he continued — before Warren cut him off.

 She then produced 12 transcripts of Wells Fargo earnings calls Stumpf participated in from 2012 to 2014 — "the three full years in which we know this scam was going on," Warren said.

 "In all 12 of these calls, you personally cited Wells Fargo's success at cross-selling retail accounts as one of the main reasons to buy more stock in the company," Warren told Stumpf. She went on to quote him from the transcripts, as he touted the company's record growth to more than six accounts per household.

 When Warren asked Stumpf — who made $19.3 million in annual compensation (including a performance bonus of $12.5 million) in 2015, how much his stock holdings at Wells Fargo had gained during the period in question, the executive said that the information was all in the public record.

 Warren then produced the information herself, saying that Stumpf held an average of 6.75 million shares in the company in that time frame — and that the share price had risen by about $30, "which comes out to more than $200 million in gains, all for you personally, and thanks in part to those cross-sell numbers that you talked about on every one of those calls."

 Here's what Warren said toward the end of her allotted time to question Stumpf:

 "Here's what really gets me about this, Mr. Stumpf. If one of your tellers took a handful of $20 bills out of the crash drawer, they'd probably be looking at criminal charges for theft. They could end up in prison. "But you squeezed your employees to the breaking point so they would cheat customers and you could drive up the value of your stock and put hundreds of millions of dollars in your own pocket. "And when it all blew up, you kept your job, you kept your multi-multimillion-dollar bonuses, and you went on television to blame thousands of $12-an-hour employees who were just trying to meet cross-sell quotas that made you rich. "This is about accountability. You should resign. You should give back the money that you took while this scam was going on, and you should be criminally investigated by both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. This just isn't right."

 Stumpf testified with a conspicuously bandaged right hand — it was particularly noticeable when he raised it to be sworn in Tuesday morning. A bank representative says he injured himself playing with his grandchildren.

 During his allotted time to question Stumpf, Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., voiced skepticism at the idea that the 5,300 Wells Fargo employees who were fired had all acted independently.

 "You state unequivocally that there are no orchestrated effort or scheme, as some have called it, by the company," Toomey told Stumpf. "But when thousands of people conduct the same kind of fraudulent activity, it's a stretch to believe that every one of them independently conjured up this idea of how they would commit this fraud." ||||| Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday called for a criminal investigation into Wells Fargo executives over the cross-selling scandal that has engulfed the bank and told CEO John Stumpf he should resign.

 As her colleagues grilled Stumpf, Warren lit into the head of the nation's second-largest bank, saying reform won't come to the industry until executives are sent to jail.

 "This is about accountability," she said. "You should resign, you should give back the money you took while this scam was going on and you should be criminally investigated by both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission."

 "The only way that Wall Street will change is if executives face jail time when they preside over massive frauds," she added. "Until then it will be business as usual, and at giant banks like Wells Fargo, that seems to mean cheating as many customers, investors and employees as they possibly can."

 As Warren accused Stumpf of "gutless leadership," Wells Fargo's stock price dipped. By midday. it was at $46.20 a share, up 0.43 percent.

 Warren's comments came amid testy questioning of Stumpf, who presided over what authorities have labeled as illegal cross-selling to millions of customers who often were enrolled into programs without their knowledge.

 She ripped into the culture that created the scandal.

 "If one of your tellers took a handful of 20-dollar bills out of the cash drawer, they'd probably be looking at criminal charges for theft," she said. "They could end up in prison, but you squeezed your employees to the breaking point so they could cheat customers and you could drive up the value of hyour stock and put hundreds of millions of dollars in your pocket."

 "It wasn't a scam, and cross-selling is a way of deepening relationships," Stumpf said.

 Warren, who earned her reputation on Capitol Hill as a crusader for Americans against the financial services industry, is one of the scant few on the Senate banking committee who has not been cut a check by Wells Fargo's political action committee.

 —Jon Marino contributed to this report.

  ||||| Donald Trump is expected to announce that he plans to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday. The decision is, in some ways, a compromise. Trump had previously pledged to move the United States embassy to Jerusalem, a decision that would have set off an even greater international firestorm. The administration has insisted that it still plans to move the embassy to Jerusalem, but Trump will sign another six-month waiver, meaning that no change is imminent.

 Still, the decision has been met with predictable criticism. Pope Francis called on the United States to respect the status quo in Jerusalem, which both the Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital. The U.S. has historically insisted that Jerusalem’s status be resolved in peace talks; endorsing Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided” capital will likely poison the well before talks have even begun. (West Jerusalem is predominantly Israeli, while East Jerusalem is largely Palestinian; pushes for a Palestinian state have typically called for East Jerusalem to be the capital of such a state.) Manuel Hassassian, the Palestinian representative to the U.K., told the BBC that recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would be the “kiss of death” to the peace process. Violent protests are expected in response.

 The decision comes amidst a broader shift in Middle East politics. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presented Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, with a peace plan “that would be more tilted toward the Israelis than any ever embraced by the American government.” Per the Times:

 The Palestinians would get a state of their own but only noncontiguous parts of the West Bank and only limited sovereignty over their own territory. The vast majority of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which most of the world considers illegal, would remain. The Palestinians would not be given East Jerusalem as their capital and there would be no right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

 The Saudis have denied the contents of the report. But with both Saudi Arabia and the United States growing closer to Israel, it’s becoming increasingly doubtful that Trump will uphold his previous pledge to be a fair broker in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Sen. Elizabeth Warren went after Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf during a Senate hearing Tuesday with the kind of heat she usually reserves for Donald Trump tweetstorms. "You should resign ... and you should be criminally investigated," NPR quotes Warren as saying. Stumpf was in front of the Senate banking committee after Wells Fargo employees created millions of fake accounts for customers without their permission in order to charge them extra fees. Stumpf said he was "deeply sorry" for what happened, New Republic reports. But—according to CNBC—he maintained it wasn't a "scam"—Warren's word—but a "way of deepening relationships" with customers. Warren accused Stumpf of "gutless leadership" for passing responsibility for what happened away from himself and other senior executives while blaming "thousands of $12-an-hour employees who were just trying to meet cross-sell quotas that made you rich." The employees' cross-selling scheme was at least partially responsible for Wells Fargo stock going up, making Stumpf's shares alone gain $200 million in value. While more than 5,000 Wells Fargo employees were fired, none of the senior executives are losing their jobs. Warren said the only way Wall Street will be reformed is if CEOs like Stumpf start seeing jail time. She's one of only a few members of the Senate banking committee that hasn't gotten money from Wells Fargo's PAC.


– It's hard to pinpoint what the absolute "best" job is: Whether a person's time in front of a computer screen, on the floor, or in the field is heaven or hell depends on one's particular interests and talents, and that assessment can be clouded by other factors like how long it takes to get to work or even how much someone likes their co-workers. So 24/7 Wall St. ran through CareerCast's data on various occupations, which pays attention to more objective qualifiers such as salary, environment and safety, stress levels, and industry outlook. You'll need to have an aptitude for data and stats for many of the top jobs on this list, but you'll be paid well for your efforts. Here, the best prospects, along with median annual wages: Statistician, $80,110 Medical services manager, $94,500 Operations research analyst, $78,630 Information security analyst, $90,120 Data scientist, $111,267 Check out the entire list. (If you're just going by pay, see the 10 best US jobs here.)

Expand this summary.

Source: Thinkstock

 10. Speech pathologist

 > Annual median wage: $73,410

 > Projected job growth, 2014-2024: 21%

 > Total employment: 135,980

 Speech pathologists, or speech therapists, work primarily in schools and hospitals. They primarily treat communication disorders in children and help adults with speech problems — many of which are the consequence of disease, injury, or surgery complications. The job is one of three on this list in the health care field.

 As is the case with many of the best jobs identified by CareerCast, speech pathologist positions are not especially easy to get as they often require a master’s degree.

 Source: Thinkstock

 9. Occupational therapist

 > Annual median wage: $80,150

 > Projected job growth, 2014-2024: 27%

 > Total employment: 118,070

 Occupational therapists work with patients that have a range of disabilities and afflictions. They help the patients to accomplish everyday tasks and expand their capabilities. Employment opportunities for occupational therapists are projected to increase by 27% between 2014 and 2024 — more than triple the projected 7% employment growth rate across all occupations. Not only are occupational therapists in demand, but they are also well compensated. The median salary in the field of $80,150 a year is more than double the $37,040 median salary across all occupations.

 Source: Thinkstock

 8. Software engineer

 > Annual median wage: $100,690

 > Projected job growth, 2014-2024: 17%

 > Total employment: 1,604,570

 Software engineers have been among the best jobs in the country for years, and the occupation will likely remain in high demand in the future. The number of software engineers in the United States is estimated to increase 17% in the decade ending 2024, much faster than the 7% average for all U.S. occupations.

 Software engineers concentrating specifically on applications development are likely to be in even higher demand as the number of products that use such software — mobile phones and appliances, for example — continues to increase.

 Source: Thinkstock

 7. Mathematician

 > Annual median wage: $111,100

 > Projected job growth, 2014-2024: 21%

 > Total employment: 2,730

 As the increasing digitization of commerce, social interaction, and other aspects of everyday life generates increasing amounts of data, companies will require mathematical models and people capable of analyzing the large amounts of information.

 The BLS projects the number of mathematicians will increase 21% in the 10 years ending in 2024, three times the 7% projected growth rate for all U.S. occupations. Most mathematician positions require a graduate degree and a strong quantitative background — and they pay relatively well. The typical mathematician earns $111,100 annually, far more than the $37,040 median for all workers.

 Source: Thinkstock

 6. University professor (tenured)

 > Annual median wage: $72,470

 > Projected job growth (includes untenured), 2014-2024: 13%

 > Total employment: 1,530,010

 University professors, specifically those who are tenured, have one of the best jobs in the country. Tenured professors benefit from nearly unparalleled job security as — unlike adjunct and associate professors — their positions are effectively permanent. One of the most difficult jobs to get, university professors typically have a Ph.D. Tenure is typically only granted after at least seven years teaching in a post-secondary institution and a peer review of the candidate’s research and teaching. ||||| The U.S. economy is constantly evolving. So, too, is the U.S. job market. Some occupations that were once high paying and relatively stable are now fading from the economic landscape, while others jobs that are now in high demand practically did not exist 50 years ago.

 Identifying the best and worst jobs for an individual is inherently subjective as people can have a wide range of interests and abilities. However, by accounting for certain objective factors, such as pay and job security, certain jobs stand out as better than others.

 Job database website CareerCast provided 24/7 Wall St. with its 2017 list of the 10 worst and 10 best jobs in the country.

 Click here to see the best jobs in America.

 Click here to see the worst jobs in America.

 According to the report released today, a statistician — a relatively high-paying occupation with rapid employment growth — is the best job in the country. Meanwhile, a newspaper reporter — a relatively low-paying occupation with declining employment — is the worst job in the country.

 Many of the worst jobs in the country are low paying. Of the 10 worst jobs, seven have a lower median income than the $37,040 annual median income for all occupations. Many of the worst jobs are also disappearing.

 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment across all professions is projected to increase by 7% between 2014 and 2024. Of the worst jobs, taxi driver is the only profession with greater than average projected employment growth, while the BLS projects total employment to contract in five.

 Some of the worst jobs are also dangerous. Military service members are expected to work in life-threatening situations; pest control workers often work with poisonous chemicals; and loggers, the third worst job in the country, also have the highest fatality rate of any profession.

 On the other side of the equation, the best jobs tend to be both high paying and in demand. All of them have higher than average projected growth and high median annual income.

 Of the 10 best jobs, four require advanced math skills and three are in medical care. Growth in these areas in the coming years will be driven by industries becoming more computer-based and data-driven, and an aging baby boomer population.

 To determine the best and worst jobs in the country, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed data from CareerCast’s “The Best Jobs of 2017” and “The Worst Jobs of 2017” reports. CareerCast provided the top and bottom 10 jobs, as well as the annual median salary and projected growth outlook from 2014 to 2024 for these professions. CareerCast’s rankings are based on four criteria: environment, income, outlook, and stress. A complete breakdown of CareerCast’s methodology may be found at this link.

 Employment figures for all occupations other than enlisted military personnel came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are as of May 2016. The total number of enlisted military personnel came from the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and includes Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard and is for February 2017. |||||