Article:
Sen. Orrin Hatch won the GOP primary in Utah on Tuesday, handily turning back a challenge from tea party forces hoping to jolt the Republican Party again by defeating an incumbent who occasionally strayed from the movement's focus on shrinking the federal government.

 U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, greets members of his family on a street corner outside his campaign headquarters, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Salt Lake City. The 78-year-old, six term senator is facing... (Associated Press)

 Former Utah state senator, Dan Liljenquist, right, waves to motorists during last minute campaigning in a primary election against incumbent senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Salt... (Associated Press)

 Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., shakes hands with a poll worker as he arrives to vote in the Democratic primary, Tuesday, June 26, 2012 in New York. He faces State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who would be the... (Associated Press)

 U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, holds his 3-month-old great grandson, Beckham Wilson after arriving at his campaign headquarters to thank his staff and volunteers, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Salt Lake... (Associated Press)

 U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, greets members of his family on a street corner outside his campaign headquarters, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Salt Lake City. The 78-year-old, six term senator is facing... (Associated Press)

 U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, holds his 3-month-old great grandson, Beckham Wilson, as he greets his great grand daughter, 8-month-old Maggie Jennings, and her mother, Callie Jennings, after arriving... (Associated Press)

 Until this summer, Hatch, 78, had not faced a primary challenge since winning office in 1976. Former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist, who survived a 2008 plane crash in Guatemala that killed 11 of 14 on board, won just enough support at the state GOP's nominating convention to advance to the primary.

 But Liljenquist faced an overwhelming financial and organizational disadvantage. Hatch, learning from the defeat two years ago of his Senate colleague Robert Bennett, spent about $10 million blanketing the airwaves and building a campaign operation unlike anything Utah had seen before.

 Hatch's race was the premier event in Tuesday's primaries. In New York, 82-year-old Rep. Charlie Rangel won the Democratic primary in spite of a House censure 18 months ago for failing to pay all his taxes and for filing misleading financial disclosure statements.

 In Oklahoma, Rep. John Sullivan was in a close contest against political newcomer Jim Bridenstine, who ran to Sullivan's right and criticized the incumbent for missing hundreds of House votes in the past decade.

 A few months ago, Hatch was considered vulnerable like Bennett and six-term Republican Sen. Richard Lugar, who lost in last month's Indiana GOP primary. But Hatch got a huge endorsement from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who said he would need Hatch in the Senate if he wins the presidency.

 Romney easily won his final presidential primary Tuesday as GOP voters in Utah relished the chance to show their support for the Brigham Young University graduate.

 Hatch seemed to have an answer to every criticism in his quest for a seventh term. For those who said that 36 years in office was enough, he said that he wouldn't be running again if it weren't for the opportunity to serve as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee if the GOP wins control of the Senate. He also announced it would be his last term.

 For those who said he wasn't conservative enough, he gravitated to the right with his comments and his votes, scoring a 100 percent rating from the American Conservative Union in 2010 and 2011. His lifetime rating of 89 percent from the ACU would place Hatch among the Senate's most conservative lawmakers, but Hatch at times took stands that didn't sit well with the right. He worked with the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to establish a health insurance program for poor and moderate-income children. He also voted to establish a prescription drug benefit under Medicare and to rescue financial firms facing bankruptcy without government help.

 Liljenquist, 37, a relative newcomer to the Utah political scene, seized on voters' concerns about the growing national debt and tried to make the case that Hatch had been a major contributor to that debt.

 Hatch was widely viewed as most vulnerable when about 4,000 GOP stalwarts gathered at the state's nominating convention in April. Delegates at the convention tend to be more conservative than the GOP electorate, and the Hatch campaign team spent months trying to generate a new crop of delegates. That work paid off, with the large majority of delegates being new to the process. In the end, Hatch won 59.2 percent of the delegates, just shy of the 60 percent he needed to avoid a runoff with Liljenquist.

 The Hatch campaign included many of the state's top political consultants and strategists. It also hired some of the tea party activists who had helped generate Sen. Mike Lee's victory two years ago.

 With the primary victory, Hatch was a huge favorite to win the general election in November against Democratic candidate Scott Howell.

 ___

 Freking reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Beth Fouhy in New York and Anne Gearan in Washington contributed to this report. ||||| NEW YORK – Rep. Charles Rangel survived the toughest reelection fight of his career, overcoming health and ethics troubles to extend his four-decade run in the House with a win in the New York primary Tuesday night.

 With nearly 84 percent of precincts reporting, Rangel was ahead of state Sen. Adriano Espaillat by slightly more than 5 percentage points, and the Associated Press declared him the winner. In a statement just before midnight, Espaillat conceded and congratulated Rangel.

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 Appearing with supporters at his Harlem victory party Tuesday evening, Rangel, 82, did not address how much longer he plans to serve in the House, only saying that he’s committed to the next two-year term.

 “There are just too many people who have put their trust and confidence in me and President Obama in this great country,” said Rangel, who withstood a similar primary challenge in 2010. “We face real challenges.”

 The race was the most closely watched House primary of the night, but voters in five states cast ballots. The most surprising result came in Oklahoma, where GOP Rep. John Sullivan lost the seat he has held since 2002 to a little-known, tea party-backed opponent.

 In another closely-watched House race in the Empire State, state Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries crushed New York councilman Charles Barron, a former Black Panther with a history of fiery rhetoric whose candidacy spooked the Democratic establishment.

 Rangel’s triumph marked his latest display of survival instincts. He was dogged by a bad back and ethics controversy and managed to overcome a redistricting process that forced him to fight for reelection on less friendly political terrain.

 But in the campaign’s final weeks, the co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, who was first elected in 1970, made it very clear he still had some fight, staring down his opponents and lambasting the press corps for its coverage of him.

 His defiance continued through the final hours of the campaign.

 Dressed in a crisp blue suit and red tie and pocket square and accompanied by his wife, Alma, Rangel arrived at a Harlem polling station at around 11 a.m. to cast his ballot. He expressed confidence and said he hadn’t given much thought to the idea that he could come up short.

 “If I lose tonight I will sleep just like a baby and cry myself to sleep,” Rangel said. “If you have the spirit that’s necessary to overcome these political obstacles, and if you’re fortunate to know that they’re not obstacles that you can’t overcome, then the attitude of ‘What do I do if I lose?’ never reaches that level.”

 Rangel’s career was put in jeopardy after a 2010 ethics investigation that culminated in him being censured on the House floor. That year, he easily defeated several primary opponents who sought to exploit his political problems.

 Adding to his problems, earlier this year his seat was refashioned to include more Latino voters than blacks. That gave an opening to Rangel’s lead primary opponent, Espaillat, a 57-year-old state senator who is Dominican American. Making matters worse, Rangel had to compete with three lesser known black candidates who threatened to siphon African American votes from him.

 And the incumbent was incapacitated for three months this year by health problems, including a bad back and a viral infection. Rangel revealed last week that he had been receiving a daily IV infusion of antibiotics.

 But on Tuesday, Rangel said he had shown he’s just fine. |||||Summary:

– The Tea Party failed to claim another victim in Utah after Sen. Orrin Hatch easily won the state's Republican primary. Hatch—facing his first primary challenge since taking office in 1976—beat former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist after spending close to $10 million on advertising, and building one of the biggest campaign operations Utah has ever seen, reports AP. Mitt Romney, to nobody's surprise, scored upwards of 90% in Utah's Republican presidential primary, the final primary before the convention. In New York, Rep. Charles Rangel survived a tough re-election fight to win the Democratic primary, despite concerns about his age and ethics, reports Politico. The 82-year-old Harlem politician, who was censured by the House 18 months ago for ethics violations, was more than 5 points ahead of state Sen. Adriano Espaillat with 85% of precincts reporting. In another House race in New York, state lawmaker Hakeem Jeffries scored a resounding win over New York City Councilman Charles Barron, a former Black Panther who received a controversial endorsement from David Duke.


Article:
Image courtesy of Before the site went down for prolonged "maintenance" Accessory Outlet included a clause in its Terms of Sale that charged a $250 penalty to complaining customers.

 Online Retailer Will Fine You $250 If You Even Threaten To Complain About Purchase

 If you were put off by KlearGear.com’s ridiculous “Non-Disparagement” fee , which penalizes customers for sharing their bad shopping experiences with the public, another online retailer is apparently trying to go one further, by not only banning customers from saying bad things online, but by also forbidding them from even bringing up the threat of a complaint or a credit card chargeback.

 ——

 UPDATE: For more on the sketchy shenanigans of Accessory Outlet, check out this follow-up story.

 UPDATE #2: On the morning of 8/29/2014, the various Accessory Outlet sites were all pulled down and replaced with a message saying they were “undergoing maintenance.”

 ——

 Buried at the bottom of the Terms page for OnlineAccessoryOutlet.com, you’ll find the following insanely overreaching stipulations (bolded for emphasis):

 “You agree not to file any complaint, chargeback, claim, dispute, or make any public forum post, review, Better Business Bureau complaint, social media post, or any public statement regarding the order, our website, or any issue regarding your order, for any reason, within this 90 day period, or to threaten to do so within the 90 day period, or it is a breach of the terms of sale, creating liability for damages in the amount of $250, plus any additional fees, damages – both consequential and incidental, calculated on an ongoing basis.”

 The Terms also claim the customer agrees that, even after the 90 days are up, the “sole method of dispute resolution in all cases… shall be binding arbitration to take place in New York City, with all expenses paid by the respective parties.”

 So if your purchase is late, lost, damaged, broken, etc., and you even make the vague statement of “I’m going to write about this on Facebook” or “I’m going to call my bank to cancel this charge,” Accessory Outlet will tag you for $250. And even if you wait the full 90 days for that period to end, the only way to resolve the issue is by traveling — at your own expense — to New York City for an arbitration hearing.

 And this is apparently neither a joke nor an exaggerated policy made in the hope that someone will be too scared of the fine to complain.

 One Accessory Outlet customer in Wisconsin was fined the $250 for telling the retailer that she would issue a chargeback on her credit card because the $40 iPhone case she’d ordered hadn’t arrived after 10 days. And then when she refused to pay that fine, it was sent to collections.

 The customer has sued Accessory Outlet in a New York state court, arguing that the $250 “debt” she is now being hassled over is bogus. According to the complaint [PDF], the “terms are unenforceable, both because they are unconscionable as a matter of law and because [the Plaintiff] never agreed to them.”

 That last claim is the most obvious and the easiest to prove. Though the Terms are on the Accessory Outlet website, at no point in the purchase process is the customer required to check a box or otherwise acknowledge that the Terms have been read. We attempted to verify the Plaintiff’s claim by going all the way through the ordering process (up until actually hitting the “complete purchase” button, of course) and could not find any place in which it was even suggested that we read the Terms before placing an order.

 According to the customer, she placed her order on July 6 of this year. Four days later, she received an e-mail saying her order had shipped. The customer then checked the supposed USPS tracking number of her order and found that it had not been received by the Postal Service.

 When the item had not been received by July 16, she contacted the company via its website and requested that the order be canceled. Accessory Outlet replied that it could not be canceled because it had shipped.

 The customer checked the USPS tracking number again and then replied to Accessory Outlet that she would be requesting a chargeback from her credit card company because she believed the retailer was lying about whether the order had actually shipped.

 This is when they told her about the $250 fine that she hadn’t agreed to.

 The company told her in an e-mail that not only would she be hit for the $250 penalty but that her account would be sent to a collections agency, which would “put a negative mark on your credit for 7 years and will also result in calls to you home and/or work.”

 Accessory Outlet also threatened her with the prospect of “additional fees for any correspondence with your card issuer… billed to you on an hourly basis and a flat rate $50 fee for the dispute or claim.”

 When the customer replied that she had the right to contact her credit card company, the retailer replied that she now owed them “damages” and that her account would be referred to “multiple collections agencies.”

 After receiving additional, similar e-mails from Accessory Outlet, the customer responded that she was getting a lawyer.

 To which the retailer replied:

 “Contact your lawyer, spend more time and money if you wish. You will be billed and the amount we bill you for will continue to rise with every email and every second we dedicate o correspondence of any kind pertaining to your breach of the terms of sale. Thank you.”

 A subsequent e-mail from Accessory Outlet personally attacks the customer and closes on a menacing tone:

 “Read the agreement or have someone competent do so for you since your emails make it clear you did not read the agreement or do not understand the clauses contained therein. You obviously do not know how to use the tracking or are ignoring it… You are playing games with the wrong people and have made a very bad mistake given the legally binding contract we have in place. One we have successfully enforced on many individuals the same we will do with you.”

 The customer eventually received her order — nine days after it supposedly shipped — and claims it was defective and unusable. Her complaints to Accessory Outlet received no response.

 She seeks to have her alleged debts voided because she did not actively agree to the Terms of Sale, nor was she required to view them. Additionally, the customer claims the terms are unreasonably favorable to Accessory Outlet.

 “I want to go online and warn other customers about Accessory Outlet’s unfair terms and shoddy products,” said the customer in a statement. “But I’m afraid Accessory Outlet will claim I owe it more money and try to ruin my credit.”

 “Accessory Outlet is using unfair terms hidden in fine print, along with threatening emails, to bully a customer into keeping quiet about her bad experience with the company,” said Scott Michelman, the Public Citizen attorney handling the case. “But terms that prevent a customer from speaking publicly about her transaction and from contacting her credit card company are unreasonable and unenforceable.”

 UPDATE: While we had assumed that Accessory Outlet’s touted “A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau was as real as the time I made out with Scarlett Johansson, a reader points us to the New York BBB site, where Accessory Outlet not only has an “F” rating, but where the BBB states in all caps that “THIS FIRM IS NOT CURRENTLY A BBB ACCREDITED BUSINESS,” and that it has been served a cease-and-desist demanding it remove the badge from the site. “As of August 19, 2014 this firm has not replied to BBB’s requests and continues to advertise the BBB name, logo, and incorrect rating on its website,” writes the BBB.

 For fun and giggles, we’ve written to the three other organizations touted on the site — Angie’s List, buySAFE, and Trusted Shops — to confirm that these endorsements are also false.

 We’ve heard back from a rep for buySAFE, who confirmed that Accessory Outlet is not certified.

 “The seal you see is an old, bad copy of a buySAFE seal,” explains the rep.

 And a rep for Angie’s List says there is no way Accessory Outlet could have won a Super Service Award — which requires perfect scores — because it has no reviews on the site.

 “They have no reviews, which equals no grade,” explains the Angie’s rep. “They aren’t SSA winners and shouldn’t be using the badge.”

 And a rep for Trusted Shops, which does not certify companies in the U.S. says Accessory Outlet is definitely not certified by the service. ||||| A Wisconsin woman has filed a lawsuit in New York state court against a shady online retailer, Accessory Outlet, which had threatened her by saying, “You are playing games with the wrong people” after she attempted to cancel an order for a $40 iPhone case that did not arrive on time.

 The woman, Cindy Cox, is being represented by the advocacy group Public Citizen, which recently won summary judgment and damages of over $300,000 earlier this year in a related case in Utah involving the French parent company of KlearGear, a similarly unscrupulous vendor. She is seeking declaratory judgment that the company’s self-imposed “debt” of $250 is invalid and that the company engaged in deceptive practices.

 “Accessory Outlet is using unfair terms hidden in fine print, along with threatening emails, to bully a customer into keeping quiet about her bad experience with the company,” Scott Michelman, the Public Citizen attorney handling the case, said in a statement. “But terms that prevent a customer from speaking publicly about her transaction and from contacting her credit card company are unreasonable and unenforceable.”

 According to the civil complaint filed Wednesday, Cox is a disabled veteran of the United States Navy and is a substitute teacher for special needs children in the Kenosha Unified School District.

 Accessory Outlet did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.

 “You agree not to file any complaint…”

 The story begins on July 6, 2014, when Cox placed an order for $39.94 for an iPhone case. In so doing, she accepted to be bound by “all terms and conditions contained in [the site's] agreement,” which describes a refund policy and a privacy policy, but not the actual Terms of Sale that the company posts in a hard-to-find link at the bottom of the site.

 Those terms include this provision:

 You agree not to file any complaint, chargeback, claim, dispute, or make any public forum post, review, Better Business Bureau complaint, social media post, or any public statement regarding the order, our website, or any issue regarding your order, for any reason, within this 90 day period, or to threaten to do so within the 90 day period, or it is a breach of the terms of sale, creating liability for damages in the amount of $250, plus any additional fees, damages - both consequential and incidental, calculated on an ongoing basis.

 On July 10, Cox received an e-mail from Accessory Outlet saying that her order had shipped and provided her with a tracking number. When Cox went to check the tracking number online, she discovered that the package was not being processed via the United States Postal Service.

 Six days later, Cox e-mailed the company, asking that the order be canceled as it had not been received. Accessory Outlet informed her that the order could not be refunded as it had already shipped. When she checked the tracking number a second time and saw that the item had still not shipped, she informed the company that she would tell her credit card company to reverse the payment.

 “Contact your lawyer, spend more time and money if you wish.”

 Accessory Outlet responded with rhetorical force, saying that it would impose its aforementioned $250 penalty and would employ a collections agency to get its money. According to the complaint, the firm told her that “this will put a negative mark on your credit for 7 years and will also result in calls to your home and/or work."

 “Further," the company told her, "additional fees for any correspondence with your card insurer will also be billed to you on an hourly basis and a flat rate $50 for the dispute or claim.”

 Cox, undeterred, told the company not to threaten her and said that she would be contacting a lawyer and the Better Business Bureau.

 Accessory Outlet responded the next day, July 17: “Contact your lawyer, spend more time and money if you wish. You will be billed and the amount we will bill you for will continue to rise with every email and every second we dedicate to correspondence of any kind pertaining to your breach of the terms of sale. Thank you.”

 Cox discussed the transaction with her credit card company, but she opted to not dispute the charge on the off-chance that the item would finally arrive. She then informed Accessory Outlet that she had done so, to which it replied:

 There is clear proof it was sent and left NY and we will have proof of delivery. The collections action is separate and based solely on breach of contract and will be done even though you paid for and received the merchandise due to your breach of the terms of sale. Read the agreement or have someone competent do so for you since your emails make it clear you did not read the agreement or do not understand the clauses contained therein. You also obviously do not know how to use the tracking or are ignoring it. Either way you will pay us $250 on top of the order total or have continuous calls to your home, cell, and/or work phones to collect the debt due. You are playing games with the wrong people and have made a very bad mistake given the legally binding contract we have in place. One we have successfully enforced on many individuals the same we will do with you.

 On July 19, Cox finally received her iPhone case, but “it was warped and would not snap closed.” |||||Summary:

– You think fining people $500 for a crummy hotel review is bad? OnlineAccessoryOutlet.com will take $250 from your pocket if you even threaten to leave a less-than-stellar review. Customers "agree not to file any complaint, chargeback, claim, dispute, or make ... any public statement regarding the order," or threaten to do so, within a 90-day period after their order, or they'll be fined the $250 "plus any additional fees [and] damages," according to the site's terms of sale, spotted by Consumerist. That's right: Tell the website you'll post about a late order on Facebook—even if you don't actually do it—and you're out hundreds of dollars. One Wisconsin customer, however, is fighting the fine. Cindy Cox was fined after informing the retailer she'd be requesting a chargeback when an iPhone case she ordered didn't seem to have shipped after the retailer said it had. When she refused to pay the fine, the retailer sent it to a collections agency and allegedly informed her, "This will put a negative mark on your credit for seven years and will also result in calls to your home and/or work." The site allegedly added, per Ars Technica, "You are playing games with the wrong people." Cox wasn't deterred. She filed a suit, which notes the "terms are unenforceable, both because they are unconscionable as a matter of law and because [the plaintiff] never agreed to them." Consumerist adds that, as far as it can tell, at no point during the purchase process are the site's terms even mentioned. (Click to read about a customer who was fined $3,500 three years after complaining online about an order that never arrived.)


Here is a news article: Scientists have found the first evidence that particles of air pollution travel through pregnant women’s lungs and lodge in their placentas.

 Toxic air is already strongly linked to harm in foetuses but how the damage is done is unknown. The new study, involving mothers living in London, UK, revealed sooty particles in the placentas of each of their babies and researchers say it is quite possible the particles entered the foetuses too.

 “It is a worrying problem – there is a massive association between air pollution a mother breathes in and the effect it has on the foetus,” said Dr Lisa Miyashita, at Queen Mary University of London, one of the research team. “It is always good if possible to take less polluted routes if you are pregnant – or indeed if you are not pregnant. I avoid busy roads when I walk to the station.”

 A series of previous studies have shown that air pollution significantly increases the risk of premature birth and of low birth weight, leading to lifelong damage to health. A large study of more than 500,000 births in London, published in December, confirmed the link and led doctors to say that the implications for many millions of women in polluted cities around the world are “something approaching a public health catastrophe”.

 Air pollution harm to unborn babies may be global health catastrophe, warn doctors Read more

 Scientists are increasingly finding that air pollution results in health problems far beyond the lungs. In August, research revealed that air pollution causes a “huge” reduction in intelligence, while in 2016 toxic nanoparticles from air pollution were discovered in human brains.

 The new research examined the placentas of five non-smoking women who all delivered healthy babies. The researchers isolated macrophage cells, which are part of the body’s immune system and engulf harmful particles such as bacteria and air pollution.

 Using an optical microscope, they found 72 dark particles among 3,500 cells and then used a powerful electron microscope to examine the shape of some of the particles. They looked very like the sooty particles found in macrophages in the lung, which catch many – but not all – of the particles.

 While further analysis is needed for final confirmation, Dr Miyashita said: “We can’t think of anything else they could be. It is very evident to us they are black sooty particles.” Earlier experiments have shown that particles breathed in by pregnant animals go through the bloodstream into placentas.

 “We do not know whether the particles we found could also move across into the foetus, but our evidence suggests this is indeed possible,” said Dr Norrice Liu, also at Queen Mary University of London and part of the team. “We also know that the particles do not need to get into the baby’s body to have an adverse effect, because if they have an effect on the placenta, this will have a direct impact on the foetus.”

 The research is being presented Sunday at the European Respiratory Society’s (ERS) international congress in Paris. “This research suggests a possible mechanism of how babies are affected by pollution while being theoretically protected in the womb,” said Prof Mina Gaga, who is ERS president and at the Athens Chest Hospital in Greece.

 “This should raise awareness amongst doctors and the public regarding the harmful effects of air pollution in pregnant women,” she said, noting that harm to foetuses can occur even below current European Union pollution limits. “We need stricter policies for cleaner air to reduce the impact of pollution on health worldwide because we are already seeing a new population of young adults with health issues.”

 Unicef executive director Anthony Lake recently warned of the danger of air pollution to babies: “Not only do pollutants harm babies’ developing lungs, they can permanently damage their developing brains – and, thus, their futures.”

 Separate research, also presented at the ERS congress, found that children with early onset and persistent asthma fared far less well in education than those without the condition. Asthma in children has long been linked to air pollution.

 The study, conducted over 20 years in Sweden, showed that children with asthma were three and half times more likely to leave school at the age of 16 with only basic education and were also twice as likely to drop out of university courses.

 Dr Christian Schyllert, at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, said: “This study suggests [these] children have worse life chances when it comes to their education and their future jobs.” He said one possible reason could be that children with asthma are known to have lower school attendance. ||||| London (CNN) Scientists believe they have discovered the first examples of air pollution traveling through the lungs of pregnant women and into their placentas, potentially reaching their fetuses.

 The study, presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Paris, examined the placentas of five pregnant women in the United Kingdom and found that sooty particles had made their way into their placentas.

 "We do not know whether the particles we found could also move across into the fetus, but our evidence suggests that this is indeed possible," Dr. Norrice Liu, a pediatrician and clinical research fellow at Queen Mary University in London who led the research, said in a statement.

 "We also know that the particles do not need to get into the baby's body to have an adverse effect, because if they have an effect on the placenta, this will have a direct impact on the fetus."

 The five pregnant women who took part in the study all lived in London and were scheduled to have planned cesarean section deliveries. All five were non-smokers and gave birth to a healthy baby after uncomplicated pregnancies.

 Each of the women consented to having their placenta, an organ that attaches itself to the womb during pregnancy and links the mother to the fetus, examined by the research team.

 The placenta allows oxygen and nutrients to pass through the mother's blood supply to the fetus through the umbilical cord and also ensures the disposal of any waste..

 This particular study looked at placental macrophages. These cells are part of the body's immune system and tackle harmful particles such as bacteria and pollution particles, and are key in helping to protect the placenta.

 According to the report, the team examined 3,500 macrophage cells from the five placentas, finding that 60 of the cells contained 72 dark areas between them, which the researchers believe were carbon particles.

 "We've known for a while that air pollution affects fetal development and can continue to affect babies after birth and throughout their lives," said Dr. Lisa Miyashita, at Queen Mary University of London, who also presented the research.

 "We were interested to see if these effects could be due to pollution particles moving from the mother's lungs to the placenta. Until now, there has been very little evidence that inhaled particles get into the blood from the lung."

 Dr. Mina Gaga, president of the European Respiratory Society, added that "this new research suggests a possible mechanism of how babies are affected by pollution while being theoretically protected in the womb."

 "We need stricter policies for cleaner air to reduce the impact of pollution on health worldwide because we are already seeing a new population of young adults with health issues," she said in a statement.

 The research is at an early stage, but the findings build on previous research highlighting links between the exposure of pregnant mothers to air pollution and infant mortality, premature birth and low birth weight.

 "We have strong evidence that higher levels of road traffic air pollution in London are associated with higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as babies born of low birthweight. This innovative research provides new insight into potential mechanisms to explain this association and further our understanding of causal pathways to disease," said Dr. Mireille Toledano, chair in Perinatal and Paediatric Environmental Epidemiology, at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the new research.

 "It is clear that current regulatory air pollution levels are not sufficiently protecting pregnant women and their unborn babies and this needs to be urgently addressed by policy makers to improve public health." |||||
A summary of this is?

– The womb protects a developing fetus, but it might not be able to fend off air pollution. Researchers have presented a small study suggesting for the first time that air pollutants can make their way from a pregnant woman's lungs to her placenta, reports the Guardian. Because the placenta allows nutrients and oxygen to flow from the woman's blood stream to her fetus, that means it could similarly allow pollutants into the womb as well, per CNN. "Our evidence suggests that this is indeed possible," says Norrice Liu, a pediatrician who led the research at Queen Mary University in London. "We also know that the particles do not need to get into the baby's body to have an adverse effect, because if they have an effect on the placenta, this will have a direct impact on the fetus." The study, presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Paris, was indeed small, involving just five women. But researchers found "black sooty" particles, believed to be carbon, in the placentas of each one, says another of the researchers, Lisa Miyashita. Further analysis is in the works to confirm, but the results mirror similar ones in animals. Given previous research laying out the potential dangers that air pollution can cause to babies, the scientists say the study should factor into the advice given to pregnant women, even if it's as simple as wearing a mask or avoiding especially busy roads when out and about. The good news: All five of the women gave birth to healthy babies. (Air pollution might be the world's greatest killer.)


Chinese state media say disgraced politician Bo Xilai, who has been at the center of China's biggest political scandal in decades, has been kicked out of the country's Communist Party and will “face justice.”

 The long-awaited announcement regarding Bo's fate was made Friday by China's official Xinhua news agency. The brief announcement said Bo, once considered a rising star in Chinese politics, has been expelled from public office.

 In a separate article, Xinhua also said the 18th Party Congress, which will begin the process of transferring power to a new generation of leaders, will convene on November 8. ||||| The Chinese Communist Party expelled former high-flying official Bo Xilai, according to state-run media on Friday. Jeremy Page has details on The News Hub. Photo: Bloomberg.

 BEIJING—China's leadership expelled former highflying official Bo Xilai from the Communist Party and launched criminal proceedings against him, citing a litany of wrongdoing over 30 years, including taking huge bribes, abusing his power during a murder investigation against his wife and engaging in improper sexual relations with several women.

 The moves suggest China's leadership is trying to send a strong message to the public that it will tackle the issues at the heart of the Bo scandal—corruption, abuse of power, and the decadent lives led by some members of the party elite. That represents an acknowledgment that growing public anger over those issues constitutes a grave threat to the party's future grip on power.

 More

 The decision by the party's Politburo, announced by the state-run Xinhua news agency, came as the world's second largest economy wrestles with a host of knotty problems—an economic slowdown, a sovereignty fight with Japan over some islands, and a pending once-a-decade leadership shuffle that the Bo scandal had thrown into turmoil.

 There is also the issue of lingering support among the public for Mr. Bo and the populist style of government he pursued as party leader in Chongqing. There, he presided over a Maoist revival movement and heavy state spending on infrastructure and social programs. By accusing Mr. Bo of extensive wrongdoing, over his entire career, the party appears to be determined to crush that support.

 Another announcement Friday indicated that current and retired party chieftains have likely reached broad agreement in negotiations over the new leadership lineup. After weeks of feuding and horse-trading, the Politburo—the party's top 24 leaders—set Nov. 8 as the opening for a Congress at which President Hu Jintao and other senior figures are to retire from their party posts.

 The risk the leaders run with a broad judicial case against Mr. Bo is attracting criticism from members of the public who already have been wondering how he was able to rise almost to the pinnacle of power—and whether he would have gone further were it not for his former police chief.

 That chief, after a falling out with Mr. Bo, triggered the scandal in early February by going to a U.S. consulate and reporting evidence that Mr. Bo's wife had murdered a British businessman. Before then, Mr. Bo was a front-runner for a spot on the Politburo's powerful Standing Committee.

 "What we should be thinking about is how, at every step along the road, he was violating discipline. How did he climb so high? We should consider problems with the system," wrote Lei Yi, a historian, in a posting on Sina Weibo, a microblog service akin to Twitter.

 Differences over how to handle Mr. Bo, the son of a fabled revolutionary, are believed to have delayed an announcement on when the leadership succession would begin, according to party insiders, political analysts and diplomats.

 Those people say that powerful figures, thought to include former President Jiang Zemin, argued until recently that Mr. Bo should be disciplined within the party for limited wrongdoing in Chongqing rather than face criminal charges, which in China almost always bring conviction.

 Bo Xilai: A WSJ Documentary

 The fall of Bo Xilai, once a rising star in Chinese politics, has plunged the country into its biggest crisis since Tiananmen Square. In this documentary, The Wall Street Journal examines how his downfall has altered the debate about China's future.

 Next in Line After other trials, Bo is up Enlarge Image Close Associated Press Bo Xilai—The former party chief in Chongqing was suspended from Party posts and placed under investigation for unspecified "serious disciplinary violations" on April 10. Eexpelled from the party on Sept. 28 and accused of wrongdoing involving bribes, power abuse and improper sexual relations with multiple women. Enlarge Image Close CCTV/Reuters Zhang Xiaojun—The Bo family aide was convicted on Aug. 20 of murdering Briton Neil Heywood and sentenced to nine years in prison. Enlarge Image Close Associated Press Wang Lijun—The former Chongqing police chief was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison on Sept. 24 for defection, bribery, abuse of power and "bending the law for selfish ends." Enlarge Image Close Reuters Gu Kailai—Bo's wife on Aug. 20 was convicted of Heywood's murder and given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve (typically commuted to life imprisonment).

 Friday's announcement suggests that Mr. Bo's opponents, believed to include President Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao, convinced other leaders that he should face trial for serious crimes that lawyers say can carry the death penalty. Party insiders say Mr. Bo is more likely to draw a long prison sentence.

 Mr. Bo was dismissed from his Communist Party posts in April and put under investigation for unspecified "serious disciplinary violations" by the party's internal watchdog, which typically makes a recommendation to the party leadership on whether to file criminal charges. Xinhua said Friday that Mr. Bo's case had been transferred to "judicial organs." It gave no indication of when formal charges would be filed or when a trial might be held.

 "Bo's behaviors have yielded serious consequences, badly undermined the reputation of the party and the country, created very negative impacts at home and abroad and significantly damaged the cause of the party and the people," Xinhua said.

 It added that Mr. Bo had repeatedly "violated party discipline" over a lengthy career, dating back to his days as mayor of the northeast port city of Dalian from 1993 to 2001 and continuing through his time as governor of Liaoning province, as China's commerce minister and as party chief in Chongqing.

 Senior party figures have been convicted of serious crimes before, but it is extremely rare for one to be accused of serial violations over an entire career. Chen Youxi, a prominent lawyer, wrote on his microblog that "among Politburo members, Mr. Bo's crimes and punishment could set a new record."

 Xinhua said Mr. Bo had "abused his power, made severe mistakes and bore major responsibility" in his wife's murder case and in the case of Wang Lijun, the former police chief who fled to a U.S. consulate.

 Mr. Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted in August of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood. Mr. Wang this week was convicted of defection, bribery, abuse of power and "bending the law for selfish ends" by initially trying to cover up Ms. Gu's crime.

 The Chongqing Drama See key dates in the death of Neil Heywood in Chongqing and the drama surrounding Bo Xilai. View Graphics Players in China's Leadership Purge Read more about the players in the case. View Graphics

 During their trials, prosecutors made hardly any direct references to Mr. Bo, and no mentions of corruption, suggesting to some he would escape charges relating to economic crimes. But Friday's announcement made clear that corruption in his family had been a big part of the investigation.

 "He took advantage of his office to seek profits for others and received huge bribes personally and through his family," Xinhua stated. Ms. Gu also abused her position "to seek profits for others, and the Bo family accepted a huge amount of money and property from others," it said.

 It didn't mention any other members of the family. During Ms. Gu's trial, prosecutors said she believed Mr. Heywood had threatened her son, Bo Guagua, after they became embroiled in a business dispute over a failed property deal.

 Bo Guagua, who graduated from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government this year, and who friends say is still living in the U.S., didn't respond to an emailed request for comment.

 Zhang Ming, a political scientist at Renmin University in Beijing, said Friday's announcement was as politically significant as that of a failed 1971 coup attempt against Chairman Mao Zedong by his military chief and designated successor, Lin Biao.

 Mr. Zhang said he believed China's leaders were worried by recent anti-Japanese demonstrations, during which many protesters appeared to show support for Mr. Bo by carrying portraits of Chairman Mao, whose patriotic songs Mr. Bo had revived.

 "If they didn't take Bo Xilai's actions and announce them to the people, he would just turn into a populist leader," Mr. Zhang said.

 Xinhua went on to say that Bo Xilai "had or maintained improper sexual relationships with a number of women," without providing details. The investigation also found he had made "erroneous decisions in the promotion of personnel," the news agency said, and uncovered evidence that suggested his involvement in other crimes.

 Mr. Zhang said that citing Mr. Bo's relationships with women appeared to be an attempt to sully his reputation. "This is just to discredit him," he said, to tell Mr. Bo's fans: "Look at the person who you support."

 Mr. Bo has been unreachable for comment. He is believed to be under a form of house detention.

 A longtime friend of the Bo family said he didn't believe Mr. Bo would be executed, but most likely would face a life sentence. "If you want to be a politician, you have to think about one day it might happen," the friend said.

 While some observers said Mr. Bo's trial could be rushed through before the party Congress, He Weifang, a law professor at Peking University, said he thought it might not happen for several months.

 "I still don't think we'll find out the real facts of this case, and there is still the question of whether we would know any of this if Wang Lijun had not gone to the U.S. consulate," said Mr. He.

 —Brian Spegele and Josh Chin contributed to this article.

 Write to Jeremy Page at jeremy.page@wsj.com

 Corrections & Amplifications

 A former Chongqing, China, police chief accused the wife of Bo Xilai of murdering a British businessman. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he accused Mr. Bo. Also, in an earlier version, historian Lei Yi's name was misspelled Lei Yu. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Martin Patience reports: "Murder, corruption and cover-up" exposed at the heart of power

 Top Chinese politician Bo Xilai has been expelled from the Communist Party and will face justice, state media say.

 Mr Bo, the ex-Communist Party leader in the city of Chongqing, is accused of abuse of power and corruption.

 His wife, Gu Kailai, was given a suspended death sentence in August for murdering UK national Neil Heywood.

 The scandal has overshadowed the party congress that will oversee China's change of leadership. It will begin on 8 November, state media have announced.

 The BBC's Martin Patience, in Beijing, says the Bo Xilai announcement ends months of speculation over the fate of a man who was once one of China's most powerful politicians.

 Our correspondent says it is clear China's leaders wanted to try to end the damaging revelations, with the once-in-a-decade leadership change looming.

 He says Mr Bo's career is over and he will almost certainly spend time in jail.

 After months of speculation, this announcement seals the fate of the once-powerful Bo Xilai. China's leaders have chosen to bury him by demolishing his career over the last 20 years. But that runs the risk of raising awkward questions about why Mr Bo kept getting promoted - and why the party had so little apparent oversight. The timing of this announcement is also significant. Just minutes before the Bo bombshell, China's state-run news agency Xinhua announced the date of the 18th Party Congress. At the congress, China's once-in-a-decade leadership transition will begin. Before the scandal, Mr Bo had been expected to join the top rank of leaders. But now China's leaders want to try and end a scandal that has exposed murder, cover-up and corruption at the highest level of Chinese politics.

 'Grave repercussions'

 Mr Bo has not been seen in public since mid-March, shortly after the scandal erupted and it was announced he was under investigation. He was suspended from his party posts in April.

 Reporting an official statement from a party leaders' meeting, the state news agency, Xinhua, said Mr Bo stood accused of corruption, abuse of power, bribe-taking and improper relations with women.

 The statement carried by Xinhua said Mr Bo "took advantage of his office to seek profits for others and received huge bribes personally and through his family".

 It added: "Bo's behaviour brought serious consequences, badly undermined the reputation of the party and the country, created very negative impact at home and abroad and significantly damaged the cause of the party and people."

 The statement urged "party organisations at all levels" to take heed of the "negative example" of the Bo Xilai case.

 Xinhua said the violations included Mr Bo's time as an official in Dalian and Liaoning provinces, and as minister of commerce.

 Image caption Bo Xilai (C) with convicted wife Gu Kailai and son Bo Guagua

 "Bo had affairs and maintained improper sexual relationships with a number of women," the statement added.

 Xinhua said Mr Bo had been expelled from the party and the elite decision-making Politburo and Central Committee as he had "abused his power, made severe mistakes and bore major responsibility in the Wang Lijun incident and the intentional homicide case of [Gu Kailai]".

 Wang Lijun was Chongqing's former police chief who was sentenced to 15 years in jail for ''bending the law, defection, abuse of power and bribetaking" in the Neil Heywood case.

 Can people trust the government and the party any more? Post by Qinyang on QQ.com Chinese social media reaction

 The severity of the accusations against Mr Bo surprised some observers, who had thought he might escape criminal prosecution.

 "The party is very anxious to settle this contentious issue before the opening of the party congress," Prof Willy Lam of the Chinese University of Hong Kong told the Associated Press.

 "So I think even though there are still powerful supporters and patrons of Bo Xilai, they have agreed to this stiff penalty to be meted out against Bo. And having settled this contentious issue, the party leadership is in a position to start the party congress with a facade of unity."

 There had been no formal word on the congress date until now, but many observers expected it in October. Prof Lam suggested that any delay had been because of "intensive competition among the various factions".

 There was speedy reaction to the latest news on China's social media sites.

 Timeline: Bo Xilai scandal 6 Feb: Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun flees to the US consulate in Chengdu

 Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun flees to the US consulate in Chengdu 15 Mar: Bo Xilai is removed from his post in Chongqing

 Bo Xilai is removed from his post in Chongqing 20 Mar: Rumours suggest Mr Bo could be linked to the death of British businessman Neil Heywood

 Rumours suggest Mr Bo could be linked to the death of British businessman Neil Heywood 10 Apr: Mr Bo is suspended from party posts and his wife, Gu Kailai, is investigated over Mr Heywood's death

 Mr Bo is suspended from party posts and his wife, Gu Kailai, is investigated over Mr Heywood's death 26 July: Gu Kailai and Bo family employee Zhang Xiaojun are charged with killing Mr Heywood

 Gu Kailai and Bo family employee Zhang Xiaojun are charged with killing Mr Heywood 9 Aug: Gu one-day trial for murder held

 Gu one-day trial for murder held 20 Aug: Gu given suspended death sentence

 Gu given suspended death sentence 5 Sep : Wang charged with defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking

 : Wang charged with defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking 24 Sep: Wang sentenced to 15 years in jail

 Wang sentenced to 15 years in jail 28 Sep: Bo Xilai expelled from party to "face justice" Scandal timeline Bo charges: Party statement

 On Sina Weibo, Shenjing Jihua posted that Mr Bo had "finally met his end", adding: "So justice will prevail, and there is still hope for China."

 Although there were some postings in support of Mr Bo, others broadened the affair into a critique of Chinese corruption.

 Huaju Yanyuan on QQ.com said: "The case of Bo Xilai tells us that one overlooked event led to a series of troubles, and that there isn't any clean official in China."

 The news came on the eve of a national holiday, raising suspicions the authorities wanted to bury the announcement, some observers note.

 Xinhua also announced that the party congress, which will herald the change of China's leadership, will begin on 8 November.

 The Bo Xilai scandal has been China's biggest in two decades and has cast a long shadow over the run-up to the congress, which is expected to see Xi Jinping replace Hu Jintao as president.

 Mr Bo, 63, had been a prime candidate for a top post before the scandal broke.

 It started when Wang Lijun fled to a US consulate in February, alleging that Gu Kailai had poisoned Neil Heywood to death in November 2011.

 Gu was convicted of killing Mr Heywood after a multi-million dollar business deal turned sour. Mr Bo's supporters have claimed from the start that he is being framed by his political enemies, correspondents say.

 There are still questions surrounding the scandal. On Thursday, one of China's top forensic scientists cast doubt on Gu's conviction, saying there was no evidence the Briton was poisoned with cyanide. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Former Chinese political star Bo Xilai has been expelled from the country's Communist Party, Voice of America reports, following his wife's suspended death sentence in the murder of a British businessman. Once the party leader in the city of Chongqing and a likely candidate for high national office, Bo now stands accused of corruption, abusing power, taking bribes, and "improper relations with women," the BBC reports. "Bo Xilai's actions created grave repercussions, and massively damaged the reputation of the party and the state," said Xinhua, the state news agency, which adds that he will "face justice." The party also announced that the National Congress will convene Nov. 8, a meeting that will put into a place a new generation of leaders. The Wall Street Journal's take on the twin announcements: "By unveiling the accusations against Mr. Bo at the same time as it announced the beginning of the leadership change, party officials appear to be trying to send a signal to the country regarding corruption, the abuse of power and the decadent lifestyles of many within the party elite," writes Jeremy Page. It seems that the party finally recognizes the public's wrath.


Write an article based on this summary:

– Hoping scientists will find a brilliant alternative to oil and coal? How about a thermonuclear reactor that will hit temperatures ten times hotter than the sun and "could solve the world's energy problems for the next thirty million years," writes Raffi Khatchadourian in the New Yorker. The project—called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, in France—only needs to overcome rock-bottom morale, constant delays, tensions between engineers around the world, grumbling politicians, and a multi-billion-dollar budget that's never quite high enough. "There is a lot of anxiety here that it is all going to implode," says a physicist. Scientists have long dreamed of such a reactor to harness power by nuclear fusion, a cleaner process than fission that produces almost no radioactive waste. First proposed in 1985, ITER relies on an oft-squabbling, international cadre of experts who vie for the spotlight and struggle to convince politicians that it's still viable. The US has yanked and recommitted funding over the years, and a family-owned company in San Diego is building the all-important solenoid—in this case, a 20-mile-long cable wrapped around a metal column—to harness the plant's plasma in a "magnetic bottle" (because no physical material can contain it). But engineering challenges remain, and parts made around the world may or may not all fit together. If they do, Earth could have a new energy source in about 10 years. "I think ITER is an absolute necessity for the world—otherwise I wouldn't put up with the frustrations," says a top ITER official. Click for the full article, or see a Science Insider report on a damning assessment of ITER's management.

Years from now—maybe in a decade, maybe sooner—if all goes according to plan, the most complex machine ever built will be switched on in an Alpine forest in the South of France. The machine, called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, will stand a hundred feet tall, and it will weigh twenty-three thousand tons—more than twice the weight of the Eiffel Tower. At its core, densely packed high-precision equipment will encase a cavernous vacuum chamber, in which a super-hot cloud of heavy hydrogen will rotate faster than the speed of sound, twisting like a strand of DNA as it circulates. The cloud will be scorched by electric current (a surge so forceful that it will make lightning seem like a tiny arc of static electricity), and bombarded by concentrated waves of radiation. Beams of uncharged particles—the energy in them so great it could vaporize a car in seconds—will pour into the chamber, adding tremendous heat. In this way, the circulating hydrogen will become ionized, and achieve temperatures exceeding two hundred million degrees Celsius—more than ten times as hot as the sun at its blazing core.

 No natural phenomenon on Earth will be hotter. Like the sun, the cloud will go nuclear. The zooming hydrogen atoms, in a state of extreme kinetic excitement, will slam into one another, fusing to form a new element—helium—and with each atomic coupling explosive energy will be released: intense heat, gamma rays, X rays, a torrential flux of fast-moving neutrons propelled in every direction. There isn’t a physical substance that could contain such a thing. Metals, plastics, ceramics, concrete, even pure diamond—all would be obliterated on contact, and so the machine will hold the superheated cloud in a “magnetic bottle,” using the largest system of superconducting magnets in the world. Just feet from the reactor’s core, the magnets will be cooled to two hundred and sixty-nine degrees below zero, nearly the temperature of deep space. Caught in the grip of their titanic forces, the artificial earthbound sun will be suspended, under tremendous pressure, in the pristine nothingness of ITER’s vacuum interior.

 For the machine’s creators, this process—sparking and controlling a self-sustaining synthetic star—will be the culmination of decades of preparation, billions of dollars’ worth of investment, and immeasurable ingenuity, misdirection, recalibration, infighting, heartache, and ridicule. Few engineering feats can compare, in scale, in technical complexity, in ambition or hubris. Even the ITER organization, a makeshift scientific United Nations, assembled eight years ago to construct the machine, is unprecedented. Thirty-five countries, representing more than half the world’s population, are invested in the project, which is so complex to finance that it requires its own currency: the ITER Unit of Account.

 No one knows ITER’s true cost, which may be incalculable, but estimates have been rising steadily, and a conservative figure rests at twenty billion dollars—a sum that makes ITER the most expensive scientific instrument on Earth. But if it is truly possible to bottle up a star, and to do so economically, the technology could solve the world’s energy problems for the next thirty million years, and help save the planet from environmental catastrophe. Hydrogen, a primordial element, is the most abundant atom in the universe, a potential fuel that poses little risk of scarcity. Eventually, physicists hope, commercial reactors modelled on ITER will be built, too—generating terawatts of power with no carbon, virtually no pollution, and scant radioactive waste. The reactor would run on no more than seawater and lithium. It would never melt down. It would realize a yearning, as old as the story of Prometheus, to bring the light of the heavens to Earth, and bend it to humanity’s will. ITER, in Latin, means “the way.”

 The main road to the ITER construction site from Aix-en-Provence, where I had booked a room, is the A51 highway. The drive is about half an hour, winding north past farmland and the sun-glittered Durance River. Just about every form of energy is in evidence nearby, from hydroelectric dams to floating solar panels. Seams of lignite, a soft brownish coal, run beneath the soil in Provence, but the deposits have become too expensive to mine. Several miles from Aix, a large coal plant, with a chimney that climbs hundreds of feet into the sky, is being converted to burn biomass—leaves, branches, and agricultural debris. ITER is being built a mile or two from the wooded campus of the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, a state-funded research organization, created in 1945 to advance nuclear power, and now also renewable energy. Evergreen oak and Aleppo pine cover the foothills; beneath them, the French government maintains its largest strategic oil reserve.

 ITER’s headquarters, a five-floor edifice, was erected two years ago. An undulating wave of gray concrete slats shade its floor-to-ceiling windows. Its interior is simple: whitewashed walls, polished-concrete floors. The building’s southern façade overlooks a work site, more than a hundred acres of construction on the opposite side of a berm. By the time the reactor is turned on—the formal target date for its first experiment is 2020—the site will be home to a small city. Nearly forty buildings will surround the machine, from cooling towers to a cryogenics plant, which will produce liquid helium to cool the superconducting magnets. A skywalk extends from the second floor of the headquarters to the berm, where a capacious NASA-style control room will one day be built. For now, the bridge ends in a pile of ochre dirt, and the only way to the vast expanse of construction is via a circuitous drive. ||||| ITER, the international fusion reactor project in France, is reeling from an assessment that found serious problems with the project's leadership, management, and governance. The report is so damning, Science has learned, that after a 13 February special session that reviewed and accepted the report's conclusions and recommendations, the ITER Council—the project's governing body—restricted its readership to a small number of senior managers and council members. ITER leaders fear that the damning assessment, combined with expected delays, could cause backers to pull their funding.

 For the full story, see this week's issue of Science.

 *Update, 28 February, 3 p.m.: The executive summary of the report on management of the international ITER fusion reactor project was published today by The New Yorker. |||||


News article:

Harper Lee, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," filed a lawsuit Friday to re-secure the copyright to it.

 The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan seeks unspecified damages from the son-in-law of Lee's former literary agent and companies he allegedly created.

 The lawsuit alleges the son-in-law, Samuel Pinkus, failed to properly protect the copyright of the book after his father-in-law, Eugene Winick _ who had represented Lee as a literary agent since the book was published in 1960 through the firm McIntosh and Otis _ became ill a decade ago. The 87-year-old author alleges Pinkus took advantage of her declining hearing and eyesight seven years ago to get her to assign the book's copyright to him and a company he controlled.

 Lee, who lives in Monroeville, Alabama, has taken legal action to get the copyright reassigned but alleges Pinkus still received commissions.

 "The transfer of ownership of an author's copyright to her agent is incompatible with her agent's duty of loyalty; it is a gross example of self-dealing," the lawsuit says.

 The former agent's son-in-law didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

 "To Kill a Mockingbird" won the Pulitzer for fiction and is widely assigned in schools. The film version won three Academy Awards. ||||| Harper Lee, author of "To Kill A Mockingbird", smiles before receiving the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 5, 2007.

 Harper Lee, author of "To Kill A Mockingbird", smiles before receiving the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 5, 2007. Close

 Harper Lee, the 87-year-old author of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” sued her literary agent, claiming he took advantage of her age and infirmity to deprive her of royalties from the novel.

 Lee, of Monroeville, Alabama, sued Samuel Pinkus, the agent, and others seeking to ensure her ownership of the copyright to the 1960 novel and to compel forfeiture of the agent’s commissions, according to a complaint filed yesterday in federal court in New York.

 Lee, who has failing eyesight and hearing, was residing in an assisted-living facility in 2007 after suffering a stroke when she signed a document assigning her copyright to Pinkus’s company, according to the complaint. While the copyright was re- assigned to Lee last year after legal action and Pinkus was discharged as Lee’s agent, he was still receiving royalties from the novel as of this year, according to the complaint.

 “Pinkus knew that Harper Lee was an elderly woman with physical infirmities that made it difficult for her to read and see,” Gloria Phares, Lee’s lawyer, said in the complaint. “Harper Lee had no idea she had assigned her copyright” to Pinkus’s company.

 There was no immediate response yesterday to a message left on the voice-mail of Leigh Ann Winick of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, a defendant in the suit and the wife of Pinkus, according to the complaint. She is listed as the president of Keystone Literary LLC, a defendant.

 Also named as a defendant is Gerald Posner, identified as a New York lawyer and investigative journalist who incorporated one of Pinkus’s businesses. Posner didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail sent to his website yesterday seeking comment on the lawsuit.

 Judgment, Arbitration

 Lee’s literary agent for many years was McIntosh & Otis, according to the complaint. When its principal, Eugene Winick, became ill in 2002, his son-in-law, Pinkus, took over and diverted several McIntosh clients to a company he controlled, according to the complaint. McIntosh later won a judgment against Pinkus’s company in an arbitration over commissions he diverted from the firm, according to the complaint.

 “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a story of racial injustice in the American South, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was made into a film starring Gregory Peck, who won an Oscar for playing the lawyer Atticus Finch. It is Lee’s only published novel. The book has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

 The case is Lee v. Pinkus, 13-3000, U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

 To contact the reporter on this story: Don Jeffrey in New York at djeffrey1@bloomberg.net.

 To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha in San Francisco at mhytha @bloomberg.net |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Atticus! Harper Lee has sued her former literary agent, claiming that he tricked her into signing over the rights and royalties of To Kill a Mockingbird, reports Reuters. The 87-year-old author alleges that Samuel Pinkus, the son-in-law of her late longtime agent, pulled a fast one on her while she was recovering from a stroke in 2007. “Pinkus knew that Harper Lee was an elderly woman with physical infirmities that made it difficult for her to read and see,” says the complaint filed in federal court yesterday. “Harper Lee had no idea she had assigned her copyright." The story gets a little convoluted from there. The AP says Lee is suing to "re-secure" the copyright to the 1960 novel, but Bloomberg reports that she actually got the copyright back last year in a separate legal action. It adds, however, that Pinkus was still receiving royalties through the legal arrangement he set up in 2007. The new suit demands that he forfeit all of his Mockingbird commissions since the deal. Pinkus himself has not responded publicly.


(CNN) Idaho State University has been fined after it lost track of a small amount of plutonium 239, a substance used to make nuclear weapons.

 University Officials say the sample, missing since 2003, does not pose a direct health issue or risk to public safety. The substance had been used by the school to conduct several research experiments.

 The school realized it had lost track of the plutonium earlier this year and immediately notified the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ISU officials said the sample, weighing a gram, was lost as it was being taken out of service after employees only partially filled out the necessary paperwork.

 Although the ISU believes the tiny speck of plutonium was transferred to a licensed disposal facility, there are no records to prove that it was.

 The commission fined the university $8,500 for the lost plutonium.

 Read More ||||| FILE - In this May 11, 2015, file photo, nuclear waste is stored in underground containers at the Idaho Nation. A small amount of radioactive, weapons-grade plutonium about the size of a U.S. quarter... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this May 11, 2015, file photo, nuclear waste is stored in underground containers at the Idaho Nation. A small amount of radioactive, weapons-grade plutonium about the size of a U.S. quarter... (Associated Press)

 BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A small amount of radioactive, weapons-grade plutonium about the size of a U.S. quarter is missing from an Idaho university that was using it for research, leading federal officials on Friday to propose an $8,500 fine.

 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Idaho State University can't account for about a 30th of an ounce (1 gram) of the material that's used in nuclear reactors and to make nuclear bombs.

 The amount is too small to make a nuclear bomb, agency spokesman Victor Dricks said, but could be used to make a dirty bomb to spread radioactive contamination.

 "The NRC has very rigorous controls for the use and storage of radioactive materials as evidenced by this enforcement action," he said of the proposed fine for failing to keep track of the material.

 Dr. Cornelis Van der Schyf, vice president for research at the university, blamed partially completed paperwork from 15 years ago as the school tried to dispose of the plutonium.

 "Unfortunately, because there was a lack of sufficient historical records to demonstrate the disposal pathway employed in 2003, the source in question had to be listed as missing," he said in a statement to The Associated Press. "The radioactive source in question poses no direct health issue or risk to public safety."

 Idaho State University has a nuclear engineering program and works with the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, considered the nation's primary nuclear research lab and located about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of the school.

 The plutonium was being used to develop ways to ensure nuclear waste containers weren't leaking and to find ways to detect radioactive material being illegally brought into the U.S. following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the school said in an email to the AP.

 The university, which has 30 days to dispute the proposed fine, reported the plutonium missing on Oct. 13, according to documents released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The agency said a school employee doing a routine inventory discovered the university could only account for 13 of its 14 plutonium sources, each weighing about the same small amount.

 The school searched documents and found records from 2003 and 2004 saying the material was on campus and awaiting disposal. However, there were no documents saying the plutonium had been properly disposed.

 The last document mentioning the plutonium is dated Nov. 23, 2003. It said the Idaho National Laboratory didn't want the plutonium and the school's technical safety office had it "pending disposal of the next waste shipment."

 The school also reviewed documents on waste barrels there and others transferred off campus since 2003, and opened and examined some of them. Finally, officials searched the campus but didn't find the plutonium.

 The nuclear commission said senior university officials planned to return the school's remaining plutonium to the Energy Department. It's not clear if that has happened.

 Energy Department officials didn't return calls seeking comment Friday.

 Dricks, the commission spokesman, said returning the plutonium was part of the school's plan to reduce its inventory of radioactive material.

 He said overall it has "a good record with the NRC."

 ___

 This story has been corrected to show that the missing plutonium is about a 30th of an ounce, not a third of an ounce. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– A university has admitted to misplacing a gram of weapons-grade plutonium, and federal authorities want to fine them $8,500. Per CNN, Idaho State University has not been able to account for the bit of radioactive material since 2003 but, nonetheless, believes it was properly stored at a licensed disposal facility. However, with no documented proof, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it must propose the fine. Dr. Cornelis Van der Schyf, vice president for research at the university, blamed partially completed paperwork from 15 years ago as the school tried to dispose of the plutonium. "Unfortunately, because there was a lack of sufficient historical records to demonstrate the disposal pathway employed in 2003, the source in question had to be listed as missing," he said in a statement to the AP. The statement said the plutonium "poses no direct health issue or risk to public safety." The plutonium was being used to develop ways to ensure nuclear waste containers weren't leaking and to find ways to detect radioactive material being illegally brought into the US following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. While the missing amount could not be used to make a nuclear bomb, it could be used to create a so-called dirty bomb to spread nuclear contamination. The university, which has 30 days to dispute the proposed fine, reported the plutonium missing on Oct. 13, according to documents released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The agency said a school employee doing a routine inventory discovered the university could only account for 13 of its 14 plutonium sources, each weighing about the same small amount.


A Cambria County woman may have died last week as a result of making contact with drug paraphernalia while cleaning up from the suspected overdose death of her son, the coroner said Tuesday. (MGN)

 PORTAGE – A Cambria County woman may have died last week as a result of making contact with drug paraphernalia while cleaning up from the suspected overdose death of her son, the coroner said Tuesday.

 Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees said Theresa Plummer, 69, found her son, Ronald Plummer, 45, unresponsive in the bathroom Nov. 5.

 He was taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown for a suspected overdose.

 Ronald Plummer died Nov. 7, one day after his mother.

 Lees said Theresa Plummer’s death may have occurred as a result of her cleaning up her son’s drug paraphernalia in the bathroom.

 The coroner believes she likely absorbed a substance through her skin or had some sort of reaction to the paraphernalia after handling it.

 Lees said Plummer became short of breath and was taken to Conemaugh, where she died Nov. 6.

 "This is a caution for safety for anyone coming into contact with any type of powder substance," Lees said. "You should use extreme caution and notify the proper authorities.

 "My strong advice to any family that may have this happen to them is to call law enforcement to have them or EMS services come back and remove the substance or material that may have been left behind."

 Autopsies have been performed, but Lees is awaiting toxicology reports.

  ||||| A woman cleaning her home after the suspected overdose of her son is believed to have overdosed herself.

 Officials don’t believe she used the drugs – they think she accidentally touched something so strong it killed her, according to WJAC.

 >> Read more trending news

 Theresa Plummer stayed at her son's bedside in intensive care last week as doctors treated him for a suspected overdose, the news station reported.

 The 69-year-old woman had found her son, Ronald, passed out in the bathroom of his home, according to WJAC. After he was hospitalized, she wanted to help him in some way, so she went back to clean up his bathroom.

 Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees told WJAC that authorities believe Plummer absorbed a substance through her skin or had a reaction after handling drug paraphernalia while cleaning her son’s home.

 She began having shortness of breath and was taken to the hospital, where she died Nov. 6, WJAC reported. Her son died the next day, according to the news station.

 "This is a caution for safety, for anyone coming into contact with any type of powder substance,” Lees told WJAC. “You should use extreme caution and notify the proper authorities."

 Authorities couldn’t immediately identify the drugs involved in the case. Toxicology results for the Plummers won't be back for another six to eight weeks.

 The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.

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What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– A double tragedy in Pennsylvania, where authorities say a woman may have died because she cleaned up her son's drug paraphernalia after finding him unresponsive in the bathroom—and the son, too, ultimately died of a drug overdose. Theresa Plummer probably absorbed a substance through her skin or had a reaction to something she handled in the bathroom, the coroner says, according to WJAC. The 69-year-old found 45-year-old Ronald Plummer on Nov. 5; after he was taken to the hospital, she returned to clean up the scene, WOKV reports. She went to the hospital with shortness of breath and died Nov. 6. Her son died the following day. "This is a caution for safety for anyone coming into contact with any type of powder substance," the coroner says. "You should use extreme caution and notify the proper authorities. My strong advice to any family that may have this happen to them is to call law enforcement to have them or EMS services come back and remove the substance or material that may have been left behind." Toxicology reports are still pending, but autopsies on mother and son are complete.


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– Sarah Palin is feuding with notoriously outspoken rapper Azealia Banks—and even some of the Alaskan's detractors say this time, she appears to be in the right. Palin has threatened to sue Banks over an NSFW Twitter rant—which was deleted but can be seen here—in which Banks suggests Palin should be gang-raped by black men. Palin tells People that she is suing "on behalf of all reasonable women of every age, race and political leaning." "I've had enough of the unanswered threats and attacks against my family and me," says Palin, who, in an earlier Facebook post, said she would go through her "young daughter's playlist to make sure there hasn't been any inadvertent addition of any anti-woman, pro-rape garbage." Banks appears to have gone on the attack after reading a satirical news article with a fake Palin quote about black people enjoying slavery, USA Today reports. The rapper later "apologized" in a rambling open letter posted on Tumblr. "I want to start this letter off by telling you that I actually, really like you," she said, going on to claim that she had only been kidding, and the language she used referred to group sex, not rape. "Woman to Woman, I hope you will accept my sincerest apology," she concluded, adding: "If Bristol Palin listened to my music she probably wouldn't have all those cotdamn kids!"

CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Sarah Palin is not laughing about the very NSFW Twitter rant Azealia Banks went on Monday in which she said that the former Alaska governor should be sexually assaulted. According to People, Palin is planning to sue. USA TODAY

 Why are Sarah Palin and Azealia Banks fighting? (Photo: Cliff Owen/AP, Cassandra Hannagan, Getty Images)

 This week's NSFW Twitter fight is brought to you by Sarah Palin and Azealia Banks.

 Update: After Palin refused to accept Banks' apology and threatened to sue, the rapper fired back on Twitter with an incestuous trailer park joke about the Alaskan governor-turned-TV personality's family.

 Why are they fighting, you ask? Let's rewind.

 Their Twitter rumble all started with a satirical news article from Newslo.com on March 31 that Banks seems to have believed was real; it jokingly quoted Palin telling an Alaska newspaper that African Americans "enjoyed" being slaves.

 That set Banks, an outspoken reparations advocate for African-Americans, off into a heated tweetstorm. The rapper issued missives that can't be reprinted here, but the implications included that Palin should be raped by a gang of black men.

 Later, likely when Banks realized the original article was fake, she deleted the graphic tweets (Media Research Center captured them and Breitbart has them here), and said simply, "I can't."

 Palin, 52, responded Tuesday morning on Twitter and Facebook.

 "Hey Female Rapper," Palin addressed Banks in a post. "Listen up, little darling. No one has any idea what you're wigging out about in these bizarre, violent rants against me, but you're obviously not exercising enough intelligence to acknowledge you've been sucked into believing some fake interview in which I supposedly offered comments representing the antithesis of my truth."

 Palin went on to encourage Banks to use her platform for social good, while promising to "go through my young daughter's playlist to make sure there hasn't been any inadvertent addition of any anti-woman, pro-rape garbage that you seem to endorse."

 On Tuesday Banks was still tweeting about Palin, including this Saturday Night Live sketch starring Tina Fey.

 Banks' latest rant joins a long list of feuds, fights and controversial statements begun by the young rapper, 24. Last fall she declared gay men are "like the KKK" before deleting the tweet, and was caught on video having a tantrum on a Delta airplane. In December she was arrested outside an NYC nightclub.

 Recently, she declared she's voting for Donald Trump, because "Donald trump is evil like America is evil and in order for America to keep up with itself it needs him." Apparently voting for Trump is the one thing Banks and Palin have in common.

 Update: Banks apologized to Palin – sort of – in an open letter via Tumblr later Tuesday.

 "In my honest defense, i was completely kidding. I happen to have a really crass, New-York-City sense of humor," wrote Banks, in a meandering apology that attempted to define Palin's “je ne sais quoi," aimed for solidarity against "censorship" and clarified that her "joke" tweets referred to group sex "NOT" rape.

 Then, in a kicker to her "sincerest" apology, Banks added: "If Bristol Palin listened to my music she probably wouldn’t have all those (expletive) kids!!!"

 So, feud over? Doubtful.

 The Sarah Palin page in history will be condensed to a footnote in the Azealia Banks chapter. Well behaved women seldom make history. — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) April 5, 2016

 For one thing, Palin isn't letting it go. She issued a statement to People that she will take legal action against Banks "on behalf of all reasonable women of every age, race and political leaning."

 She said she's fed up with "unanswered threats and attacks against my family and me."

 "So, for the first time I'm going to enjoy the only retribution some protected 'celebrities' seem to understand – I'm suing Azealia Banks and can't wait to share my winnings with others who have gone defenseless against lies and dangerous attacks far too long."

 She said she was taking a stand against "problems like Azealia's mouth" and the "double standards that result in her actually being rewarded for her divisive tactics and aggressively inciting violence."

 If a white girl had said what Banks said, Palin charged, "the screams for the entire white population's head would be louder than the nonsensical rap that Azealia spews all the way to the bank."

 So no more just accepting lies and threats, Palin stormed.

 "I think this time I don't just sit back and swallow it, but put the fear of God in her by holding her accountable. As many of you have for years implored me to do, I'm finally going to sue."

 Details about how and when and where are still up in the air.

 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1MQvd4b ||||| Azealia Banks, the rapper known for calling paparazzi “f**gots” and demanding $100 trillion in slavery reparations, is calling for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be raped by a group of black men.

 In a series of now-deleted tweets, Banks stated Palin “needs” to be gang raped and forced to perform oral sex on men [Warning: Graphic content]:

 Banks wrote the rape should be filmed and uploaded to the website WorldStarHipHop, known for its graphic depictions of violence.

 Within minutes after posting the tweets, Banks deleted them and stated she simply “can’t.”

 Banks presumably fell for the satire article circulating that asserts Palin said African-Americans willingly accepted slavery.

 Banks has not issued an apology for saying Palin “needs” to be raped.

 Banks’ remarks on Palin come days after she reiterated her support for Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump (who is also endorsed by Palin) and stated “minorities” have “nothing to show” for voting Democrat.

 Banks’ new album, “Slay-Z,” was released on March 24. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. |||||