Article:
The New York Times also faced criticism for publishing the Color Purple author’s recommendation without qualification

 The New York Times Book Review and Alice Walker have come under criticism for comments the celebrated writer made in an interview with the publication in which she recommended a work by someone accused of antisemitism.

 How David Icke helped unite Labour's factions against antisemitism | Rachel Shabi Read more

 Asked what books were currently on her nightstand, Walker, the author of The Color Purple, mentioned among others And the Truth Shall Set You Free, by the controversial British figure David Icke. Icke, an author and public speaker in his own right, has long propounded a series of conspiracy theories in his work that many see as antisemitic.

 “The book is an unhinged antisemitic conspiracy tract written by one of Britain’s most notorious antisemites,�? wrote Tablet magazine’s Yair Rosenberg, among the most strident critics of Walker’s comment. Rosenberg also faulted the Times for failing to react to or qualify the contents of the book to its readers.

 Icke has long claimed that a shadowy cabal controls the world, a familiar antisemitic trope.

 Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) Uh, have we talked about Alice Walker keeping a David "shapeshifting Lizard People control the universe" Icke book on her nightstand? https://t.co/5HMBOcggeb pic.twitter.com/4pojRibVeb

 “And like many conspiracy theorists, Icke claims that this secret conspiracy happens to be Jewish,�? Rosenberg added.

 Ideas in the book in question and much of his other work revolve around concepts expressed in the fraudulent antisemitic propaganda text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

 This isn’t the first time Walker has expressed her affinity for Icke’s work or been accused herself of antisemitism. In 2013 Walker praised another Icke book in an interview for the British radio show Desert Island Discs.

 Danny Gold (@DGisSERIOUS) Apparently this isn't the first time Alice Walker has publicly exposed her unhinged anti-Semitism? pic.twitter.com/vfMGXMwHw3

 A poem of hers from last year called It Is Our (Frightful) Duty has also been derided as antisemitic as well.

 “By the Book is an interview and portrait of a public person through the lens of books; it is not a list of recommendations from our editors,�? a New York Times spokesperson has said following the backlash.

 Rebecca Pierce🕸 (@aptly_engineerd) This Alice Walker thing is really fucking sad and it makes me angry that she can’t see that the anti-Jewish conspiracies she uplifted and adopted are part of the same white supremacist power structure she so deftly fought through her written work in the past

 “The subject’s answers are a reflection on that person’s personal tastes, opinions and judgments. As with any interview, the subject’s answers do not imply an endorsement by Times editors. Moreover, our editors do not offer background or weigh in on the books named in the By the Book column, whether the subject issues a positive or negative judgment on those books. Many people recommend books Times editors dislike, disdain or even abhor in the column.�? ||||| Over the weekend, the New York Times Book Review published a full-length interview with Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple. The very first question: “What books are on your nightstand?” Walker replied with four, the second of which was:

 “And the Truth Shall Set You Free,” by David Icke. In Icke’s books there is the whole of existence, on this planet and several others, to think about. A curious person’s dream come true.

 This passed without comment from the New York Times interviewer, and the publication passed it on to readers without qualification. This is rather remarkable because the book is an unhinged anti-Semitic conspiracy tract written by one of Britain’s most notorious anti-Semites.

 A former soccer player turned professional hate peddler, Icke is one of the most influential conspiracy theorists in Europe, and certainly in Britain. Today, he has over 777,000 followers on Facebook, and speaks to audiences around the world. Like many conspiracy theorists, Icke claims that a secret conspiracy controls the world. And like many conspiracy theorists, Icke claims that this secret conspiracy happens to be Jewish. In And the Truth Shall Set You Free, the word “Jewish” appears 241 times, and the name “Rothschild” is mentioned 374 times. These references are not compliments. Indeed, the book was so obviously anti-Semitic that Icke’s publisher refused to publish it, and he had to print it himself.

 In the book and elsewhere, Icke draws liberally upon the infamous anti-Semitic pamphlet, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion—a Russian forgery about an alleged global Jewish cabal that is widely considered one of the most influential anti-Semitic works in history. Magnanimously, Icke calls the hate tract by a different name. As he writes in the book promoted by Alice Walker:

 In the very late 1800s, a controversial document came to light called the Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion. I call them the Illuminati Protocols and I quote many extracts from them in The Robots’ Rebellion. Some say they were a forgery made public only to discredit Jews, and I use the term ‘Illuminati Protocols’ to get away from the Jewish emphasis. If they were a forgery, something that is quite possible, what were they a forgery of, and by whom? The authors of the best-selling book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, conclude that the original Protocols were indeed authentic.

 Realizing that this may not convince readers of his good intentions, Icke attempts to head off charges of anti-Semitism by casting himself as a moderate in the reasonable debate over whether a Jewish conspiracy does in fact control the world:

 I believe that researchers over the years who have blamed the entire conspiracy on the Jewish people as a whole are seriously misguided; similarly, for Jewish organisations to deny that any Jewish person is working for the New World Order conspiracy is equally naive and allowing dogma or worse to blind them to reality.

 So, is Icke anti-Semitic? Well, here are some other things that he says in the book:

 • The Talmud is “among the most appallingly racist documents on the planet.”

 • B’nai Brith, the world’s oldest Jewish service organization, was behind the slave trade (an anti-Semitic canard popularized by Louis Farrakhan) and controls the Ku Klux Klan: “B’nai B’rith means ‘Sons of the Alliance’ (Ed: Actually, ‘Children of the Covenant’) and was established in 1843. Many of its speakers openly supported slavery during the American Civil War and it covertly supports and controls the Ku Klux Klan.”

 • Racist far-right groups are actually Jewish fronts. “In Britain,” he writes, “I am told by an extremely reliable source very close to the intelligence organisations that the ‘far Right’ group, Combat 18, is a front for the sinister Anti-Defamation League, the United States and of the ‘Israeli’/Rothschild secret service, Mossad. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has been operating in Britain and Europe since at least 1991 and its role is to brand as anti-Semitic anyone who is getting close to the truth of what is going on. What better way to discredit an investigator than to have a ‘far Right’ group like Combat 18 to praise them?” (The “18” in “Combat 18” refers to the first and eighth letters of the alphabet: A and H, for Adolf Hitler.)

 • Jews are behind anti-Semitic attacks: “If you really want to discredit someone, you arrange for anti-Jewish or anti-whatever events such as the smashing of graves, assaults on people, even a terrorist bomb in the extreme. You then point the finger at your target person or group. You say they are either directly responsible or ‘incited’ the actions by what they are writing and saying.”

 • Quotes and seconds the heinous assertion of Gary Allen—the John Birch Society spokesman and former George Wallace speechwriter—that Jews bankrolled their own extermination in the Holocaust:

 The Jewish members of the conspiracy have used an organisation called The Anti-Defamation League as an instrument to try to convince everyone that any mention of the Rothschilds and their allies is an attack on all Jews. In this way they have stifled almost all honest scholarship on international bankers and made the subject taboo within universities. Any individual or book exploring this subject is immediately attacked by hundreds of ADL communities all over the country. The ADL has never let the truth or logic interfere with its highly professional smear jobs … Actually, nobody has a right to be more angry at the Rothschild clique than their fellow Jews. The Warburgs, part of the Rothschild empire, helped finance Adolf Hitler.

 • Equates the anti-Semitic Nazi media of the Third Reich with a company that closed down a publication after it printed Holocaust denial: “What is the difference between the controlled anti-Jewish media under Hitler and the way the Japanese magazine, Marco Polo, was closed down by its parent company in 1995 because of a campaign by the global Jewish hierarchy to stop its advertising revenue after it published an article questioning some of the official stories of the Nazi concentration camps?”

 • Calls on schools to teach the controversy about whether the Holocaust really happened: “Why do we play a part in suppressing alternative information to the official line of the Second World War? How is it right that while this fierce suppression goes on, free copies of the Spielberg film, Schindler’s List, are given to schools to indoctrinate children with the unchallenged version of events? And why do we, who say we oppose tyranny and demand freedom of speech, allow people to go to prison and be vilified, and magazines to be closed down on the spot, for suggesting another version of history?”

 (Icke never does explain how Jews could have funded the Holocaust if the Holocaust didn’t actually happen.)

 As can be seen from these extracts, and the chapter titles of the work (“Master Races,” “The Hidden Hand”), anti-Semitism is not incidental to Icke’s book, it is essential. It is impossible to miss it. (And we have not even touched on Icke’s climate change denial, 9/11 trutherism, and anti-vaccination misinformation.)

 This is the book that Alice Walker recommended to New York Times readers.

 That a celebrated cultural figure like Walker would promote such a self-evidently unhinged bigot might seem surprising at first glance. But this is only because the cultural establishment has spent years studiously looking away from Walker’s praise of Icke and his work, and her repeated expressions of anti-Semitism.

 Back in June 2013, Walker wrote an effusive blog post showering accolades on Icke and his book Human Race Get off Your Knees. “It’s an amazing book, HUMAN RACE GET OFF YOUR KNEES,” she enthused, “and reading it was the ultimate reading adventure. I felt it was the first time I was able to observe, and mostly imagine and comprehend, the root of the incredible evil that has engulfed our planet.”

 In May 2013, Walker told the BBC’s Desert Island Discs that if she could have only one book, it would be Icke’s Human Race.

 In December 2013, Walker offered end-of-year thanks to an array of “beloved humans who’ve stuck their necks out for the collective.” One of them was David Icke, whose Human Race Get off Your Knees book also got its own entry.

 In July 2015, Walker shared an interview between David Icke and Alex Jones, his American analogue. The account that posted the video has since been banned from YouTube.

 In September 2016, Walker promoted a lecture of Icke’s to her readers, writing, “I decided to find, among Icke’s numerous videos, one lecture that might offer an introduction that wouldn’t be too scary for folks leery of being nudged in a direction of inquiry that might upset, destroy possibly, their worldview. I think this one might fit the bill.” YouTube has since taken down that lecture.

 In November 2017, Walker posted an explicitly anti-Semitic “poem” on her blog titled, “It Is Our (Frightful) Duty to Study the Talmud.” The composition blames all the world’s ills, from Israel to America, on the ancient Aramaic compendium of Jewish law and lore, and checks nearly every anti-Semitic box, from attacking Jews as Christ-killers to claiming that Jews view gentiles as “sub-human.” A representative excerpt:

 For the study of Israel, of Gaza, of Palestine,

 Of the bombed out cities of the Middle East,

 Of the creeping Palestination

 Of our police, streets, and prisons

 In America,

 Of war in general,

 It is our duty, I believe, to study The Talmud.

 It is within this book that,

 I believe, we will find answers

 To some of the questions

 That most perplex us. Where to start? You will find some information,

 Slanted, unfortunately,

 By Googling. For a more in depth study

 I recommend starting with YouTube. Simply follow the trail of “The

 Talmud” as its poison belatedly winds its way

 Into our collective consciousness. Some of what you find will sound

 Too crazy to be true. Unfortunately those bits are likely

 To be true. Some of the more evasive studies

 Will exhibit unbelievable attempts

 At sugar coating extremely disagreeable pills.

 But hang in there, checking

 And double checking, listening to everybody,

 Even the teachers with the twisted pasts

 That scare you the most,

 And the taped rants of outraged citizens that sound

 Like madcap characters on Car Talk

 Except they are not laughing

 But are righteously outraged. Study hard, with an open

 If deeply offended mind,

 Until you can sift the false

 From the true. Is Jesus boiling eternally in hot excrement,

 For his “crime” of throwing the bankers

 Out of the Temple? For loving, standing with,

 And defending

 The poor? Was his mother, Mary,

 A whore? Are Goyim (us) meant to be slaves of Jews, and not only

 That, but to enjoy it?

 Are three year old (and a day) girls eligible for marriage and intercourse?

 Are young boys fair game for rape?

 Must even the best of the Goyim (us, again) be killed?

 Pause a moment and think what this could mean

 Or already has meant

 In our own lifetime.

 Anti-Semitic slanders of the Talmud’s contents are almost as old as the Talmud itself, and are one reason why Albert Einstein advocated that it be translated into English, “in order to cut the ground from under certain malevolent attacks, of anti-Semitic origin, which borrow countenance from the obscurity and inaccessibility of certain passages in the Talmud.” Clearly, Einstein did not anticipate the likes of YouTube-educated Talmud scholars like Alice Walker.

 And yet, despite all of this, Walker has never been held accountable by elite cultural critics for repeatedly promoting Icke and anti-Semitism. In fact, this is not even the first time the New York Times helped give her a coveted and uncritical platform: in 2015, New York Times theater reporter Michael Paulson interviewed Walker at the New School to mark the premiere of The Color Purple musical revival on Broadway. He did not ask her about anti-Semitism, despite collecting questions in advance on Twitter, several of which raised the issue, likely because it would have been too uncomfortable.

 Normally, this is where I’d say that it was good that the Times published Walker’s Icke recommendation because it lets us know who she is. But we have known who she is for many years. It is rather the Times and other cultural elites who have opted to ignore this inconvenient fact. Thus, the only thing that is accomplished by uncritically disseminating Walker’s bigoted book bon mots is ensuring that the racism is disseminated to more people.

 Why has Walker escaped accountability for so long? Perhaps it is due to her Israel politics, which have been used to confuse the issue. Walker is a prominent supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, famously forbidding The Color Purple from being translated into the language of Hebrew. Because Walker—like Icke—is a strident critic of Israel, her defenders—like Icke’s—have dismissed allegations of anti-Semitism by claiming they are merely an attempt to quash her criticism of the Jewish state.

 But it should not surprise anyone that the world’s only Jewish state, home to half its Jews, would attract the attention of anti-Semites, who would use the legitimate debate over its conduct to smuggle in their anti-Jewish bile. Anti-Zionism may not be anti-Semitism, but plenty of self-described anti-Zionists are anti-Semites. A progressive left that is serious about anti-Semitism will call it out not only when it comes from a white supremacist and is presented as “race realism,” but when it comes from their own camp and is presented in the righteous guise of “anti-Zionism.”

 Not publishing anti-Semitic book recommendations unchallenged in the New York Times would be a good place to start.

 Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. ||||| Viet Thanh Nguyen, Arundhati Roy, Yaa Gyasi, Aida Edemariam, Joseph O’Connor, Helene Cooper, Chris Hedges and Elizabeth Gilbert are a few I think of!

 What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

 That though captured while in Africa, Africans became slaves only during the long crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, when they were treated so horrifically that those who could manage it jumped into the sea. They had no place in their psyches to fathom their abuse: Subjected to every kind of depravity and horror, during the passage and after, they arrived to be forced onto platforms and bid on, a process that could drag on and on, as plantation owners rejected those for whom they had no use. Africans were “broken in” physically, and broken down spiritually, to such an extent they became what they had not been in their homelands or halfway through the voyage: slaves. This treatment, deliberately calibrated to destroy their inner sovereignty, was called “seasoning.” In Daniel Black’s extraordinary book “The Coming,” we have an unprecedented opportunity to be with ancestors who probably never dreamed a scribe would one day appear to make their descendants not only imagine their plight but also, by being brought to tears by the narrative, gain access to an emotion that makes us one with them. Shamanic work.

 What moves you most in a book?

 The witnessing of a great soul. A magnificent spirit in action. A warrior whose mental weapons seem to come equally from heart and air, and whose soul is nourished by solitude and dreams. In other words, the writer’s courage.

 Did you read poetry as a child?

 We owned two or three thick volumes of English literature called “Prose and Poetry.” I wish I knew where they are now! They were the foundation of the family’s literacy and love of literature. “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.…” The refrain was: “You’ll be a man, my son.” But I ignored the “man” part. I knew I was being spoken directly to, and this has turned out to be true. I have gone my own way, because of that early impression that it is right to do so. Poetry is that kind of gift.

 I was also strengthened by the love the people in my community had for poetry. They appreciated my first poem: “Easter lilies pure and white, blossom in the morning light.” Their praise, when I was 3 or 4, gave me permission to be a poet, with all the intrigue and adventure that would later involve. Well, if only they knew!

 Was there a book of poems or a poet in particular that inspired you to write?

 I loved Emily Dickinson. Robert Frost. T. S. Eliot. Paul Laurence Dunbar. Langston Hughes. Margaret Walker’s “For My People” moved me deeply. Also her poems “October Journeys” and “We Have Been Believers.” But no, I think sorrow more than poets inspired me to write. That and the most rapt love of nature all around me, that seemed to require something creative from me to attempt to match — a gold and crimson leaf, perhaps, or the way a turtle’s shell fits perfectly, or the notion that horses, though heavy, could swim! The wonder of it. I felt from a very young age that somehow we had, as humans, emerged into a magical world, a true wonderland, for which my deepest sadness was no match.

 Which poets continue to inspire you?

 Taoist poets. “The Activist’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for a Modern Revolution,” by William Martin, is a recent inspiration. Rumi, always. Among modern poets, I like Mary Oliver. |||||Summary:

– The New York Times is standing by its Q&A with Pulitzer-winning author Alice Walker despite complaints about her comments on a book by an accused anti-Semite. The 74-year-old author of The Color Purple told the newspaper's By the Book column that was she was currently reading David Icke's And the Truth Shall Set You Free and called it "a curious person's dream come true." At Tablet, Yair Rosenberg writes that the book referencing The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a text accusing Jewish people of a plot for global domination, "is an unhinged anti-Semitic conspiracy tract written by one of Britain's most notorious anti-Semites." The Washington Post highlights this quote: "I strongly believe that a small Jewish clique which has contempt for the mass of Jewish people worked with non-Jews to create the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Second World War." A Times rep says the column is a "portrait of a public person through the lens of books; it is not a list of recommendations from our editors," who might "dislike, disdain or even abhor" the books mentioned, per the Guardian. But Amy Russo at HuffPo notes the paper failed to provide context in an editor's note, "thereby allowing [Icke's] name to be promoted unchecked." Rosenberg argues the column only ensures "racism is disseminated to more people." Walker also said this of the book: "In Icke’s books there is the whole of existence, on this planet and several others, to think about." Her comments are "especially corrosive because the anti-Jewish conspiracies she uplifted and adopted are part of the same white supremacist power structure she so deftly fought through her written work in the past," adds Jewish filmmaker Rebecca Pierce. (Walker once blocked an Israeli publisher from printing her book.)


Summarize this article:

Issa’s letter is unlikely to force action but it is sure to build drama. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Issa escalates 'Furious' war

 Rep. Darrell Issa escalated the legal war over Fast and Furious, directly accusing President Barack Obama of either abusing his power by withholding information or having his aides conspire with Justice Department officials to manage the aftermath of the failed ATF gun-walking program.

 In a letter to Obama to be released Tuesday morning, the California Republican and chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee charged: “Either you or your most senior advisors were involved in managing Operation Fast & Furious and the fallout from it…or, you are asserting a presidential power that you know to be unjustified solely for the purpose of further obstructing a congressional investigation.

 Story Continued Below

 “To date, the White House has steadfastly maintained that it has not had any role in advising the Department with respect to the congressional investigation. The surprising assertion of executive privilege raised the question of whether that is still the case.”

 ( Also on POLITICO: Perry: Obama Fast and Furious executive privilege 'Nixonian')

 While Issa’s letter is unlikely to force action by the president, it is sure to grab headlines and build drama before the House votes this week on whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over what they say is more than 100,000 documents. Just before Issa’s panel voted to recommend a contempt finding last week, Obama asserted executive privilege to prevent Holder from having to share certain information with the committee.

 Now, Issa has taken his still-unfinished fight with Holder directly to Obama. The White House has indicated it was not involved in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives program. Furthermore, Issa offered no evidence to back up his accusation but instead extrapolated from Obama’s assertion of privilege to cover Justice Department communications.

 ( Also on POLITICO: Issa: 'We got a lie, we got a cover-up' from DOJ)

 “The congressman’s analysis has as much merit as his absurd contention that Operation Fast and Furious was created in order to promote gun control,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. “Our position is consistent with Executive Branch legal precedent for the past three decades spanning Administrations of both parties, and dating back to President Reagan’s Department of Justice. The Courts have routinely considered deliberative process privilege claims and affirmed the right of the executive branch to invoke the privilege even when White House documents are not involved.” ||||| Democrats are seeking to portray the Republican contempt motion against Attorney General Eric Holder Eric H. HolderDems pledge to fight Sessions nomination Trump taps Sessions for AG Facebook, Instagram helping White House aides find jobs: report MORE as an assault on minority rights.

 Republicans have repeatedly accused Holder and the Obama administration of stonewalling Congress, but Democrats are now trying to steer the “Fast and Furious” debate away from transparency and toward voter suppression.

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 At the front of the push is a group of seven national civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, that is scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday about the effect that placing Holder in contempt of Congress would have on his ability to protect the rights of black and Hispanic voters, homeowners and immigrants.

 “I’m not saying that this is because Holder is black, and I’m not calling [Republicans] racists. I’m saying what they’re doing has a racial effect, and that’s what we’re going to talk about [on Tuesday],” said Sharpton in a phone interview.

 “The question one would have to raise is: If he is held in contempt, under that cloud, how does he fight for voter rights? This compromises the Justice Department from being able to do a lot of fighting.”

 The civil rights leaders are expected to echo concerns raised by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) last week.

 Republicans have scheduled a floor vote for Thursday if the Department of Justice doesn’t fork over documents they subpoenaed on the botched gun-tracking operation.

 Pelosi said it is “no accident” that Republicans are pressing for a contempt vote at the same time the DOJ has ramped up efforts to stymie voter ID laws. Democrats argue the laws prevent black and Hispanic voters from casting their ballots, while the GOP says they help prevent voter fraud.

 “They’re going after Eric Holder because he is supporting measures to overturn these voter-suppression initiatives in the states,” said Pelosi.

 House Republicans soundly reject those allegations. They have stuck firmly behind House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who has said the DOJ has failed to comply with his subpoena.

 “Eric Holder ends up being the custodian of the documents,” said Issa on “Fox News Sunday.” “We would go to the deputy attorney general just as easily if he would give us the documents. That’s all we are looking for, is documents, which are internal to the false statement and not part of the deliberative process.”

 The contempt motion passed Issa’s committee along strict party lines. It is expected to pass the House, but securing Democratic support appears unlikely.

 Issa’s investigation has proven to be divisive, with Democratic leaders calling it politically motivated.

 In a move that surprised many on Capitol Hill, the Obama administration last week claimed executive privilege on the documents Issa is seeking.

 Issa has noted that 31 Democrats sent a letter to President Obama expressing serious concerns about the administration’s handling of Fast and Furious and the tragic fallout of having used the “gun-walking” tactics.

 “I believe it will be bipartisan,” said Issa of the measure’s support. “You’ll never know how many. But there are a number of Democrats, 31, who wrote to the administration, asking them to be forthcoming. Many of them will stay with us now that the administration has not been.”

 The Hill contacted all 31 Democrats for this article. Four lawmakers — Reps. Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Tim Ryan (Ohio), Martin Heinrich Martin HeinrichTom Udall eyes NM governor bid Dems to McConnell: Pass 'clean' extension of Iran sanctions Election-year politics: Senate Dems shun GOP vulnerables MORE (N.M.) and Gene Green Gene GreenCures, mental health bills near finish line House Dems call for NHL to reduce head injuries Top Dem: Cures bill funding cut to B MORE (Texas) — said they were definitely not going to support the measure. A spokesman for Rep. Mike Michaud said the Maine Democrat is undecided. The remaining 26 House Democrats did not respond to requests for comment.

 Holder is the first black attorney general, and in an op-ed published last week, Sharpton used charged language to emphasize the racial overtones that might arise as the contempt measure comes to a head.

 Sharpton wrote that Holder has been “stopped and frisked” by Republicans over the course of their investigation and has been “profiled” in his role as a prominent black federal official.

 “AG Holder was in essence ‘stopped & frisked’ without probable cause, and after he cooperated, he was made an example of,” wrote Sharpton in the Huffington Post. “What Issa just showed us is that no matter what our stature in this world, someone can easily try to ‘put us in our place.’ ”

 Rep. Allen West (Fla.), one of two black Republicans serving in the House, will support the contempt measure.

 Should the House find Holder in contempt, it can refer the charge to the DOJ. Legal experts don’t expect the DOJ to act on such charges, and the GOP-led House would then have to decide if it will file a legal challenge in federal court.

 Many Republicans have called for Holder to resign, expressing frustration with Fast and Furious as well as the administration’s challenge of state election laws.

 During a recent Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. John Cornyn John CornynTrump taps Sessions for AG GOP senators slam House for funding bill decision Dems begin plotting ObamaCare defense strategy MORE (R-Texas) told Holder, “Your department blocks states from implementing attempts to combat voter fraud. In short, you violated the public trust, in my view, by failing and refusing to perform the duties of your office.”

 Cornyn is the highest-ranking Republican to call for Holder to step aside.

 — David Kaner and Jennifer Smola contributed to this article.

  |||||

– Darrell Issa is upping his attack on President Obama following the president's use of executive privilege in an attempt to bail out Eric Holder. A letter to Obama released today minces no words: "Either you or your most senior advisors were involved in managing Operation Fast & Furious and the fallout from it," it reads, "or, you are asserting a presidential power that you know to be unjustified solely for the purpose of further obstructing a congressional investigation." The White House has continued to insist it has not been working with the DOJ during the congressional investigation into the failed ATF gun-walking operation, but Issa says Obama's use of executive privilege raises doubts about that assertion. Politico notes that the letter probably won't force Obama to do anything, but will definitely get attention. This week is a particularly tense one for the White House: It's very possible the House's decision on whether to hold Holder in contempt will come on the same day as the Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare. Meanwhile, Democrats are looking to spin the contempt motion—as an assault on minority rights that could possibly suppress voters, seeing as the DOJ is currently fighting against voter ID laws. Al Sharpton and a number of other civil rights leaders will hold a press conference on the issue today. "I’m not saying that this is because Holder is black, and I’m not calling [Republicans] racists," Sharpton tells The Hill. "I’m saying what they’re doing has a racial effect, and that’s what we’re going to talk about."


News article:

Scientists say they are well on the way to resurrecting an ancient species of super-cow revered by the Nazis after it went extinct nearly 400 years ago.

 The auroch roamed the grassy plains of Europe for 250,000 years until it died out in Poland in 1627, and Adolf Hitler's followers tried to breed a similar beast as part of their Aryan mythology.

 Now conservationists who believe the bovine ancestor was key to preserving the continent's ecosystem have said they are 'rewilding' the fourth generation of their experimental auroch replacement as part of the Tauros Project.

 Founder and ecologist Ronald Goderie told CNN: "We thought we needed a grazer that is fully self-sufficient in case of big predators...and could do the job of grazing big wild areas. We reasoned that this animal would have to resemble an auroch.

 "We see progress not only in looks and behavior but also in de-domestication of the animals."

 In conjunction with the Rewilding Europe group, the Tauros, bred from a number of current species with auroch ancestry, have been released into areas of Spain, Portugal, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Romania, where they have had to contend with wolves and other predators.

 Mr Goderie believes that by 2025, the seventh generation of neo-aurochs will be as close as possible to the originals.

 In 2015 a British farmer was forced to kill off half his herd of auroch-derived Heck cattle because they kept trying to kill him.

 The aggressive breed was produced by German zoologists and brothers Heinz and Lutz Heck, whom the Nazi party commissioned to produce a breed of cattle based on the aurochs, a taller and leaner animal than today's cows.

 Derek Gow said: "What the Germans did with their breeding programme was create something truly primeval.

 "When the Germans were selecting them to create this animal they used Spanish fighting cattle to give them the shape and ferocity they wanted."

 He turned the rogue cows into “very tasty” sausages that tasted a bit like venison, he said. ||||| (CNN) Our ancestors learned to respect the auroch, and immortalized them in pre-historic cave paintings.

 The earliest cows were mighty beasts that stood almost as tall as elephants, with lean, powerful frames and fearsome horns that would make a hunter think twice.

 For thousands of years the aurochs were the largest land mammals in Europe, until the rise of human civilization decimated their numbers, and the last of the species died in Poland in 1627 -- one of the first recorded cases of extinction.

 Conservationists now believe the loss of the keystone herbivore was tragic for biodiversity in Europe, arguing that the aurochs' huge appetite for grazing provided a natural "gardening service" that maintained landscapes and created the conditions for other species to thrive.

 The theory is now being put to the test, as a "near 100% substitute" of the beast is returned to the forests.

 Cave painting in Lascaux, France dating back around 17,000 years which is believed to depict an auroch.

 Speed breeding

 Ecologist Ronald Goderie launched the Tauros programme in 2008, seeking to address failing ecosystems. The most powerful herbivore in European history seemed to offer a solution.

 "We thought we needed a grazer that is fully self-sufficient in case of big predators...and could do the job of grazing big wild areas," says Goderie. "We reasoned that this animal would have to resemble an auroch."

 Rather than attempt the type of gene editing or high-tech de-extinction approaches being employed for species from woolly mammoths to passenger pigeons , Goderie chose a method known as back-breeding to create a substitute bovine he named "Tauros."

 Auroch genes remain present in various breeds of cattle around the continent, and the team identified descendants in Spain, Portugal, Italy and the Balkans. Geneticists advised breeding certain species together to produce offspring closer to the qualities of an auroch, and then breed the offspring.

 Maronesa cow, a close descendent of the auroch.

 The animals get closer with each generation, and the team have the advantage of being able to test the offspring's DNA against the complete genome of an auroch, which was successfully sequenced at University College Dublin.

 "You could see from the first generation that apart from the horn size, there was enough wild in the breed to produce animals far closer to the auroch than we would have expected," says Goderie.

 The ecologist had predicted that seven generations would be necessary for the desired outcome, which might be achieved by 2025.

 The program is now in its fourth generation, and pilot schemes across Europe are offering encouragement.

 'Manolo Uno' - one of the first cross-breeds of the Tauros programme.

 In the wild

 The Tauros programme connected with Rewilding Europe early on, a group that supports the restoration of natural processes through projects that range from rebuilding rivers to introducing apex predators.

 Rewilding Europe was able to provide protected land across the continent; in Croatia, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Romania, where Goderie's cross-breeds could test themselves in the wild. In many cases they rose to the challenge.

 "We see progress not only in looks and behavior but also in de-domestication of the animals," he says. "This is a challenging process as they have to adapt to the presence of large packs of wolves."

 Herds of herbivores are habitually decimated by local wolves at the Croatian site, says Goderie. By contrast, the Tauros learned to defend themselves and suffered few losses.

 Selective breeding will continue toward creating the ideal animal. But the current crop is already serving a function.

 Small Tauros herd in the Czech Republic.

 Shades of green

 For Goderie's partners, the auroch project offers an opportunity to restore natural order.

 "We support the come-back of large herbivores as they are key species for the specific role of grazing and browsing," says Frans Schepers, managing director of Rewilding Europe.

 "Bovines can shape habitats and facilitate other species because of their behavior, and the more primitive and close to the wild the better because it means that eventually they can become part of the natural system."

 Many European landscapes are in dire need of grazing animals, which can otherwise become uninhabitable for other species.

 "Without grazing everything becomes forest, or barren land when there is agriculture," says Schepers. "The gradients in between are so important for biodiversity, from open soil to grassland and 'mosaic landscapes.'"

 "The Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria are among the richest areas for reptiles such as tortoises, snakes and lizards. But they need open spaces or they lose their habitat."

 Aurochs were formidable grazers and are expected to restore dysfunctional ecosystems.

 Targeted intervention

 Critics of rewilding initiatives have suggested that introducing new species could have unintended consequences.

 The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has issued new guidelines in an effort to manage such impacts.

 "Bringing back close approximations of original species may help to reverse losses from emotional to ecological grounds, but often the devil lies in the detail," says Dr. Axel Moehrenschlager, IUCN Chair of the Reintroduction Specialist Group.

 "Typically emphasis is placed on technical feasibility, without sufficient emphasis on risks. Questions abound whether primarily wetland forests like the aurochs used to inhabit still exist, whether it could negatively impact wild or domestic plants or animals, and if it might endanger people."

 The successful introduction of bison in the US shows that such initiatives can have a positive impact, says Dr. Eric Dinerstein of conservation group Resolve, but he adds that one intervention can lead to another.

 "If an ecosystem evolved with large herbivores...there is not an alternative and you need something in its functional role," he says. "But to introduce aurochs, you may need predators as well." |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Standing nearly as tall as an elephant, the aurochs grazed for 250,000 years until its extinction in 1627. But its story may not end there: Scientists say they are close to resurrecting the "supercow," once the largest land mammal in Europe, reports CNN. In search of herbivores to maintain land areas at risk of becoming barren, geneticists began breeding aurochs descendants with similar cattle breeds in 2008 and found they could "produce animals far closer to the aurochs than we would have expected," says Ronald Goderie of the Tauros Project. Fourth-generation beasts have now been introduced in Croatia, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Romania, with promising results. "We see progress not only in looks and behavior but also in de-domestication of the animals," says Goderie, noting one herd has learned to defend itself against wolves. The hope is that they will become part of the ecosystem to maintain land for other animals. But a rep for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature says it's unclear "whether primarily wetland forests like the aurochs used to inhabit still exist, whether it could negatively impact wild or domestic plants or animals, and if it might endanger people." Indeed, a British farmer had to kill some of his aurochs-descended cattle in 2015 because they tried to kill him, per the Independent. That species, however, came from a Nazi breeding program that used Spanish fighting cattle. (Tinder could save giant pandas from extinction.)


Article:

Even the most drama-free relationships take work — and Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau's marriage is anything but drama-free. Having started their illicit affair when Fualaau was just 13 and Letourneau was 34, the spouses of 10 years have had to overcome almost impossible odds to be together. And while they're still happily wed with two kids, they've had more than their share of highs and lows.

 PHOTOS: Unlikely couples

 "I don't think there's ever a full 10 good years of marriage. You have your ups and downs in marriage," Fualaau, now 31, told Barbara Walters in an exclusive interview set to air Friday, April 10, in honor of the couple's upcoming 10th wedding anniversary. "But, you know, what matters is how you pull through all the bad times."

 PHOTOS: Celeb couples and how they met

 Those bad times include a seven-year prison sentence for Letourneau, now 53, who was a married mother of four when she and Fualaau — then a student in her sixth-grade class — began their sexual relationship. By the time he was 15, they had two kids together, Audrey and Georgia.

 PHOTOS: Celeb couples, then and now

 "It was a huge change in my life, for sure," Fualaau told Walters. "I don't feel like I had the right support or the right help behind me…From my family — from anyone in general. I mean, my friends couldn't help me because they had no idea what, what it was like to be a parent, I mean, because we were all 14, 15."

 As was well-documented at the time, Letourneau and her student-turned-lover wed in 2005, a year after she was released from prison. In the time since, they've kept a relatively low profile — but that's about to change.

 PHOTOS: Couples with huge age differences

 "It is our 10-year anniversary, and we already know that no matter how protective we are, that there's going to be a wave of intrusion in our life right now that we can't stop," Letourneau explained to Walters. "So it's about doing the most responsible thing to protect our girls for the inevitable."

 Barbara Walters' interview with Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau airs Friday, April 10, on ABC's 20/20.

 Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!

 Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now! ||||| Airing on “20/20”

 Friday, April 10, 10 pm ET on ABC

 In an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters, Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau and Vili Fualaau sit down together on the eve of their 10th wedding anniversary, sharing intimate details about their headline-making marriage. Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau is the former Seattle-area sixth-grade teacher who, at the age of 34, had an affair with her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau, and served seven and a half years for their inappropriate relationship. In the candid interview, Mary Kay tells Walters what makes their marriage work in spite of their huge difference in their age. She also discusses her surprising plans to teach again, as well as her intentions to have her status as a registered sex offender lifted. Vili Fualaau, meanwhile, discusses his bouts with alcoholism, depression and why he believes the system failed him while he was still a minor.

 Also, for the first time ever, viewers will meet their two teenage daughters, Audrey and Georgia, who are now older than Vili was when he conceived them. The interview airs on “20/20” on FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015 (10:00 – 11:00 pm ET) on the ABC TELEVISION NETWORK.

 Letourneau first spoke to Walters in 2004 after being released from prison. At that time, she said that she wanted to marry her former student, who was 13 when their liaison began. “We’ve always planned that and it hasn’t changed,” she told Walters. |||||
What is a summary?

– The mother of all teacher-student sex scandals is returning to the national spotlight—just ahead of the 10th wedding anniversary of the two people involved. That would be Mary Kay Letourneau and husband Vili Fualaau, whose interview with Barbara Walters airs on ABC tomorrow night. Letourneau is 53 and Fualaau 31, but their relationship made national headlines when Letourneau became pregnant with Fualaau's child when he was all of 13. She had been his sixth-grade teacher. Letourneau spent nearly eight years in jail, but the couple stayed together and now have two teenage daughters, Audrey and Georgia. ABC is providing a few teasers, including the nugget that Letourneau wants to teach again, presumably only after getting her status as a sex offender lifted. Fualaau, meanwhile, will discuss his struggles with alcoholism and depression, notes Us Weekly. "It was a huge change in my life, for sure," Fualaau recalls of the scandal. "I don't feel like I had the right support or the right help behind me ... from my family, from anyone in general. I mean, my friends couldn't help me because they had no idea what, what it was like to be a parent, I mean, because we were all 14, 15." Letourneau says they did the interview in part because they figured they'd be deluged with attention ahead of their May 20 anniversary, like it or not. "So it's about doing the most responsible thing to protect our girls for the inevitable."


Article:
HONG KONG — Every June, millions of high school seniors in China sit down for a grueling university entrance exam, knowing they may not get into a top school or any school at all. If their results are disappointing, finding another route to university can take a year or more.

 Now they may have a faster option.

 The University of New Hampshire says it will start accepting scores from the Chinese exam, making it the first flagship state school in the United States to evaluate Chinese applicants using the results from that test, known as the gaokao.

 There are 377,000 Chinese students in the United States, representing more than one third of all international students, according to the federal government. Since they often pay full tuition, they are an important source of revenue for American universities, which have been intensifying their efforts to recruit Chinese students.

 Erika Mantz, a spokeswoman for the University of New Hampshire, said the gaokao program was meant to attract “outstanding Chinese high school graduates” after they get their test results in late June, months after the deadline has passed under the regular admissions process. Most incoming freshmen would have been admitted by the time Chinese students take the gaokao test. ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Nearly 10 million people took the Gaokao exam in China last week

 A US university will begin accepting the Chinese university entrance exam known as the Gaokao in an effort to attract more Chinese students.

 The University of New Hampshire will be the first state university in the US to accept the standardised placement test.

 China is the largest exporter of students to the US, with 377,000 currently enrolled in US universities, according to government data.

 An estimated 10 million students took the nine-hour test in China last week.

 The exam - which takes place over two days in June each year - is taken by nearly every Chinese pupil and plays a crucial role in determining a person's career and future prospects.

 A 'life-defining' test

 Howard Zhang, BBC Chinese Service Editor

 Gaokao literally means High Exam. It refers to the annual National Higher Education Entrance Exam in China, similar in format to the SAT in the United States.

 Millions of Chinese high school seniors who sit through this highly competitive multi-subject exams each year see it as a life-defining moment.

 Graduates who make it into top universities often end up in top companies and with good careers. Those who fail to enter university are often condemned to a life with little prospects.

 Almost 10 million students sat through this year's Gaokao; one out of four won't end up with a university place.

 The Gaokao predates modern times, having its roots in imperial China.

 The University of New Hampshire had 781 international undergraduate and graduate students on campus last fall, according to the Union Leader newspaper - double the figure from five years previous.

 About half of those foreign students - 357 - came from China.

 As part of the new initiative, the university has launched a recruiting website in Chinese and English.

 "This initiative is part of UNH's commitment to attracting more and stronger applicants from around the world," said university spokeswoman Erika Mantz.

 "This new programme will in no way limit access for New Hampshire students," she added.

 Image copyright Reuters Image caption The students see huge public support during the Gaokao season - here some are being cheered on their way to sit the tests in Anhui

 In addition to submitting their Gaokao results, students must also take an English test, participate in a video interview and send their high school transcripts before moving forward with the application process.

 Ms Mantz added that the process was still being finalised, but that Chinese students may still need to take the American SAT or ACT exam.

 Students who are accepted will be able to begin classes in Durham this January, allowing them to start a semester early.

 Previously, students from China would have had to wait for a new application period to begin in the autumn, putting them behind the rest of the first-year class.

 A similar programme at the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit college, allows Chinese students to bypass US standardised tests altogether and instead submit just their Gaokao score, grades, and English language interview.

 Image copyright BBC/ Gaokao Image caption A maths question on the 2014 exam asks: "If A= {}, and B={}, then A I B = ( )"

 Up to three percent of Chinese students bypass the Gaokao by paying to for an "international track" programme, which prepares them for standardised testing abroad.

 International enrolment - in which students are required to pay full priced tuition - helps universities bolster revenue.

 The University of New Hampshire charges $45,000 (£34,000) per academic year for tuition and housing costs.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chinese students explain why they came to the US - and how college life differs to home

 Dozens of universities in Europe, Australia, and Canada already accept Gaokao results on applications.

 The US university's decision comes amid a federal crackdown on Chinese student visas.

 The Trump administration announced in March that it is considering limiting the visas as part of a broad package of measures against China, which the US accuses of violating American intellectual-property laws.

 The goal, the White House says, is to reduce "economic theft by non-traditional intelligence collectors".

 Details have not been officially announced, but students studying high tech manufacturing fields, such as aviation and robotics, are expected to now receive visas with shorter lengths of stay.

 The Associated Press reported in late May that US consulates have been directed by the Department of State to now only issue Chinese students with one-year - rather than five-year - visas. ||||| Our Innovative Gaokao-based, Early Admission Program For Superlative Chinese Students

 The University of San Francisco is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for our Admission By Gaokao Examination Program for the Fall 2018 Semester.

 We started this innovative program to enable Chinese students who score well on the Gaokao taken in June to study in the United States as early as the coming Fall Semester (August 2018).

 Students will be admitted to USF based on their Gaokao test scores, school record and a one-on-one English interview with USF Professors Via Zoom. There are no other admission requirements.

 USF President Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. explained:

 Many studies have shown that the SAT is not a very good predictor of how well students will do at university. We are aware of the many criticisms that have been made of the Gaokao, but it has the advantage of being what educational experts call a 'criterion-referenced' exam: It tests whether students are able to master a given body of knowledge, as well as their ability to work hard and consistently.

 USF recognizes this and wants to give excellent Chinese students the opportunity to start their education in the USA, immediately—without spending an extra year preparing for IELTS, TOEFL or SAT tests.

 Eligible student scores will be established after Gaokao results become available in the third week of June. The interviews will begin July 2 (Monday) and will be held via Zoom.

 Successful candidates will be able to start their studies in America as soon as August of this year.

 The admission process will be streamlined so that qualified students will receive formal admission letters within days of their successful personal interviews, enabling them to schedule visa appointments. This will allow them to arrive in time for the beginning of classes on Tuesday, August 21.

 Unfortunately, space is limited. Interested Gaokao students and parents should contact USF immediately to register for the program.

 Additional Information

 INQUIRY/REGISTRATION FORM

 APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION BY GAOKAO EXAMINATION

 CERTIFICATION OF FINANCES

 旧金山大学高考招生项目

 ——为最优秀的中国学生而开设

 旧金山大学很高兴宣布：我们现已开始接收2018年秋季学期的高考招生项目的申请了。

 我们创办这个新型招生项目的目的是为那些在六月份高考中取得优异成绩的学生提供一个尽早赴美深造的机会（最早可早至2018年秋季学期，今年8月份开学）。

 学生录取仅需两项条件：高考成绩、高中成绩和与旧金山大学教授的英文面试。此外无其他录取条件。

 旧金山大学校长保罗▪ J ▪ 菲茨杰拉德解释道：

 “多项研究显示SAT成绩并不能很好的预测学生进入大学后表现是否优异。尽管我们也意识到有很多针对中国高考的批评，但是它有一个被教育专家称为“标准参照”的优势：它能测试出学生是否熟练掌握一个特定知识体系，以及他们是否具备刻苦学习并坚持到底的品质。”

 正是认识到高考的这一优势，旧金山大学希望能给优秀的中国学生一个尽早赴美留学的机会，而无需再多花一年的时间去准备雅思、托福或者SAT考试。

 符合我们录取要求的高考分数线将在高考成绩公布以后，大约为六月份的第三周，向公众公布。面试活动将于7月2日开始，通过Zoom进行远程视频面试。

 被我校成功录取的学生今年8月份即可赴美学习。

 旧金山大学简化了申请流程，符合录取要求的学生面试后几天内就能拿到正式的入学通知书，这样他们就可以尽早申请签证，并且能在2018年8月21日（周二）开课前顺利抵美。

 遗憾的是，我们的名额非常有限。因此感兴趣的高考学生和家长应尽快联系我们报名。

 更多信息，请点击以下链接:

 咨询/报名表 (INQUIRY/REGISTRATION FORM)

 申请表 (APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION BY GAOKAO EXAMINATION)

 财力证明 (CERTIFICATION OF FINANCES)

 联系人信息

 朱靓(Amy Zhu)

 旧金山大学北京办公室

 北京市朝阳区东三环北路甲19号嘉盛中心3708室，100027

 联系电话: (010) 8446 4615

 传真： (010) 8446 4650

 邮箱： azhu3@usfca.edu

 为什么选择旧金山大学？ ||||| BEIJING (Reuters) - Lu Mengqi showed up for the first day of China’s annual college entrance exam, known as the “gaokao”, in a black Nike T-shirt featuring the brand’s trademark swoosh logo. In red.

 Students are checked with metal detectors as they enter the venue for the annual national college entrance examination, or "gaokao", in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

 “This is my lucky outfit,” said the 18-year-old. “I bought it specifically for gaokao because Nike is my favorite sports brand and the shirt has a big check on it.”

 A high score in the exam, the culmination of 12 years in a notoriously stressful education system, is seen as opening the way to a prestigious university and a life of opportunity.

 Foreign institutions are also getting into the act, with the University of New Hampshire this year wooing students with high exam scores for the first time.

 Some Western clothing brands recognize the high stakes.

 Nike is selling 299-yuan ($47) T-shirts emblazoned on the back with the Chinese characters for “full marks” and the prerequisite swoosh on the front.

 “I know that outfit by Nike, but I haven’t seen it in the shopping mall,” Lu said. “If I had seen it, I would have considered buying it.”

 Most students were in uniform outside five Beijing schools Reuters visited on Thursday, but many others, particularly male students, wore Nike T-shirts and sneakers.

 Others favored Champion, owned by HanesBrand Inc, or Supreme, a U.S. brand in which Carlyle Group has invested. Adidas and Hollister, owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, were also in the mix.

 Red, a color associated with good fortune in China, found favor among both students and parents.

 An Weiling, 49, a teacher from Beijing Hepingjie No.1 Middle School, said all her colleagues were wearing red T-shirts.

 Some mothers wore the traditional cheongsam, or qipao.

 One mother, dressed in pink, said she would wear a different colored outfit for each day of the exam.

 “As the saying goes, unfurl one’s flag and secure victory,” she said, outside Beijing No. 161 Middle School. “On the second day I’ll wear red, and on the third green.”

 The government expects 9.75 million students to do the exam this year, the largest number in eight years, most of them “millennium babies” born in 2000, the Chinese year of the dragon. |||||Summary:

– Although high school students in the US might view taking the SAT or ACT as an ordeal, those college entrance exams have nothing on China’s gaokao, a grueling two-day, nine-hour test that Chinese students spend years preparing for. This year, an estimated 9.75 million students will take the test, notes Reuters, and less than 1% will do well enough to earn a spot in one of China’s premier universities, reports the New York Times. Now, the University of New Hampshire plans to cull some of that talent. The school has announced that it will accept scores from the Chinese exam on entrance applications, making it the first "flagship" state school in the US to do so. But submitting the gaokao results will not be the only test criteria. Students will also be required to take an English test, participate in a video interview and send their high school transcripts, reports the BBC, and they may still need to take the SAT or ACT exam. If admitted they would pay out-of-state tuition and housing costs of more than $45,000 a year. A few private institutions in the US as well as dozens of universities in Europe, Australia, and Canada already accept gaokao results on applications. The University of San Francisco has an early admissions program that allows June test takers to enroll in the fall semester, based on their grades, gaokao score, and personal interview in English. Not everyone is a fan of the gaokao. Critics say the test emphasizes memorization over creativity, but University of San Francisco president Paul J. Fitzgerald notes that the gaokao can assess a student’s determination to work “hard and consistently.” (She called a Texas standardized test a "big baloney sandwich.")


4/20 UPDATE: Hammond was arrested last night on a pair of felony charges and booked into the Camden County jail, where he is being held without bond.

 Georgia police have identified the man who burglarized a GameStop store while wearing the world’s worst disguise--the plastic wrapping used to package water bottles.

 Cops report that Kerry Hammond Jr. is wanted in connection with last Friday’s burglary of the video game store in St. Marys, a city in Georgia’s southeastern corner.

 Investigators allege that the 22-year-old Hammond sought to hide his identity by wearing the plastic wrapping around his head. But Hammond--who is 6’ 1” and 275 pounds, did a poor job obscuring his face, as seen in video surveillance stills released by police. A distinctive tattoo on Hammond’s right forearm can also be seen in GameStop security video.

 Hammond, last spotted driving a white 2006 Ford Taurus, has two other active felony warrants charging him with burglary and criminal damage to property.

 Hammond--who has been dubbed “Big Dasani” by one Georgia wag--is seen in the below mug shot snapped after a prior arrest. In seeking the public’s assistance St. Marys police have noted that, “You can help us catch him, once you stop laughing.” ||||| Meet the Guy Who Told the World About Christine O’Donnell’s Pubes

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 It takes an unheard of amount of skill scumminess to unite all factions of the Internet behind Christine O'Donnell, someone the Internet usually enjoys mocking to no end. But according to the Smoking Gun, Dustin Dominiak is the guy who, with an anonymous Gawker essay that revealed information about O'Donnell's lady parts, was able to do it. They tracked him down through his former roommate, Brad Kurisko, a Boy Scouts of America employee whose uniform Dominiak was wearing for Halloween in the photos that ran with the Gawker story. They couldn't get Kurisko to tell them who "Anonymous" was, but soon enough, Kurisko and "Anonymous" gave it away by accident.

 While Kurisko refused to out “Anonymous,” some online activity this evening may point to the author’s identity. Shortly after his last phone conversation with a TSG reporter, a single name disappeared from Kurisko's list of Facebook friends.

 The man with whom electronic ties were abruptly cut is Dustin Dominiak, a 28-year-old buddy who attended Albion College with Kurisko. Records show that Dominiak has previously shared a Philadelphia address with Kurisko. One online posting reports that Dominiak, a Michigan native, has worked as an auditor at the Federal Reserve in Philadelphia. Dominiak is pictured at left.

 Soon after Dominiak's name vanished from Kurisko's list of friends, Dominiak’s entire Facebook page (which listed 356 friends) was suddenly deactivated. Perhaps this was Dominiak’s attempt to achieve a greater degree of anonymity.

 Later, the Smoking Gun was able to wrangle a confession out of Kurisko: It was Dominiak. |||||

Write a summary.

– It's tough to remain "anonymous" online these days, especially when the post is salacious. The Smoking Gun has made quick work of identifying the writer of yesterday's "I Had a One-Night Stand With Christine O'Donnell" essay on Gawker. TSG names 28-year-old Dustin Dominiak as the author after tracking him down via his Halloween costume in the accompanying photos—the Boy Scout uniform of a friend. Said friend, Brad Kurisko, initially refused to give up his buddy, but tipped his hand by removing Dominiak's name from his Facebook friends list after TSG's initial phone call. On a follow-up call, he fessed up but said he had no idea Dominiak was going to write the piece. Kurisko is now worried about losing his job—as a district executive with a Boy Scouts council in Philadelphia. Not much is known of Dominiak, but given the outrage surrounding his O'Donnell essay, he could be in for some rough treatment. Click here for more.


– Early yesterday, the CBC announced that it was terminating the employment of Q radio host Jian Ghomeshi, explaining somewhat vaguely that "information came to our attention recently that ... precludes us from continuing our relationship with Jian." The details didn't remain vague for long. The 47-year-old took to Facebook last night, writing that "I was given the choice to walk away quietly and to publicly suggest that this was my decision. But ... that would be untrue." Ghomeshi's version of the truth is that an unnamed "jilted" ex has launched a smear campaign against him, centered around his bedroom activities, which he writes "may not be palatable to some folks." Ghomeshi describes "a mild form of Fifty Shades of Grey": rough sex that was consensual and involved safe words. The Toronto Star tells it quite differently: It says it has heard allegations from three women (none willing to go on the record) who describe incredibly violent and non-consensual sex. One told the Star that Ghomeshi had expressed that he would be aggressive, which she took to mean "he would want to pull my hair and have rough sex. ... [Later] he attacked me. Choked me. Hit me like I didn't know men hit women. I submitted." The women told the paper they have not gone to police, reportedly over concerns their names would leak or that sexual texts they sent Ghomeshi would be used against them; they cited the case of Carla Ciccone, who was lambasted online after publishing a story on XOJane about a date she had with a popular radio host and "repulsive sexual predator." Ghomeshi plans to file a $50 million suit against the CBC today; Q is one of the most successful shows the network has ever run.

Expand this summary.

Shortly after CBC announced Ghomeshi was out the door on Sunday, Ghomeshi released news that he was launching a $50-million lawsuit claiming “breach of confidence and bad faith�? by his employer of almost 14 years. He later followed that up with a Facebook posting saying he has been the target of “harassment, vengeance and demonization.�?

 CBC star Jian Ghomeshi has been fired over “information�? the public broadcaster recently received that it says “precludes�? it from continuing to employ the 47-year-old host of the popular Q radio show.

 The three women interviewed by the Star allege that Ghomeshi physically attacked them on dates without consent. They allege he struck them with a closed fist or open hand; bit them; choked them until they almost passed out; covered their nose and mouth so that they had difficulty breathing; and that they were verbally abused during and after sex.

 Ghomeshi’s statement said that he has been open with the CBC about the allegations. He said the CBC’s decision to fire him came after he voluntarily showed evidence late last week that everything he has done was consensual. Ghomeshi blames a woman he describes as an ex-girlfriend for spreading lies about him and orchestrating a campaign with other women to “smear�? him.

 In his Facebook posting Sunday evening, Ghomeshi wrote in an emotional statement that he has “done nothing wrong.�? He said it is not unusual for him to engage in “adventurous forms of sex that included role-play, dominance and submission.�? However, he said it has always been consensual.

 Over the past few months the Star has approached Ghomeshi with allegations from three young women, all about 20 years his junior, who say he was physically violent to them without their consent during sexual encounters or in the lead-up to sexual encounters. Ghomeshi, through his lawyer, has said he “does not engage in non-consensual role play or sex and any suggestion of the contrary is defamatory.�?

 “I have always been interested in a variety of activities in the bedroom but I only participate in sexual practices that are mutually agreed upon, consensual, and exciting for both partners,�? Ghomeshi said in his posting.

 A fourth woman, who worked at CBC, said Ghomeshi told her at work: “I want to hate f--- you.�?

 “Let me be the first to say that my tastes in the bedroom may not be palatable to some folks. They may be strange, enticing, weird, normal, or outright offensive to others. … But that is my private life. … And no one, and certainly no employer, should have dominion over what people do consensually in their private life.

 In September, Ghomeshi told the Star that he did not understand why the newspaper was continuing to pursue allegations when “my lawyers have already told you it is untrue.�? Over dinner at a chance meeting at a public event, Ghomeshi said he is a “good person�? and described many of his recent successes, including an interview with Barbra Streisand. He said he could not answer any of the Star’s questions about his alleged abusive conduct.

 Early last summer, the Star began looking into allegations by young women of sexual abuse by Ghomeshi over the past two years. The Star conducted detailed interviews with the women, talking to each woman several times. None of the women filed police complaints and none agreed to go on the record. The reasons given for not coming forward publicly include the fear that they would be sued or would be the object of Internet retaliation. (A woman who wrote an account of an encounter with a Canadian radio host believed to be Ghomeshi was subjected to vicious Internet attacks by online readers who said they were supporters of the host.)

 Ghomeshi is the co-creator of Q , one of the most successful shows in CBC history. It is the corporation’s flagship radio show in Canada and is syndicated to 180 radio stations in the U.S. In his Facebook posting, Ghomeshi paid homage to his “fantastic team,�? a group of “super-talented�? journalists whom he works with to produce the show five days a week.

 That all ended over the weekend, Ghomeshi said. On Friday came the news that he had been put on indeterminate leave by the CBC to deal with “personal issues.�?

 Then on Sunday, two bomb shells.

 First, CBC issued a statement shortly after noon saying Ghomeshi was gone. “Information came to (CBC’s) attention recently that in CBC’s judgment precludes us from continuing our relationship with Jian Ghomeshi,�? CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson said in an interview.

 Ghomeshi said in his Facebook posting that his CBC bosses gave him a choice to “walk away quietly�? or to be fired. He chose not to walk away and “publicly suggest that this was my decision.�? And so, Ghomeshi said, he was “stripped from my show, barred from the building and separated from my colleagues.�?

 Two hours later, his lawyers announced that Monday morning, when courts open, Ghomeshi would be filing a $50-million lawsuit against the CBC, a corporation he later said on Facebook he has “doggedly defended�? for years.

 His law firm, Dentons LLP, stated the lawsuit will claim general and punitive damages for breach of confidence and bad faith. The firm’s statement also noted Ghomeshi will “commence a grievance for reinstatement under his collective agreement.�?

 Sources say top CBC brass spent the weekend in closed-door meetings at their Front St. head office. Ghomeshi is a huge part of the CBC brand, and a fear that the brand would be tarnished is causing the CBC to try to “get out ahead of the story�? by taking action before damaging reports in the media surfaced, sources say.

 In his Facebook posting Sunday, Ghomeshi blames an ex girlfriend — whom he does not name — for spreading lies after he broke off the relationship early this year. He said he and the woman “began engaging in adventurous forms of sex that included role-play, dominance and submission.�? They used “safe words�? and “regularly checked in with each other about our comfort levels,�? he said.

 Ghomeshi also said he and the women jokingly talked about how their relationship was a mild form of Fifty Shades of Grey or a story from Lynn Coady’s Giller Prize-winning book.

 The Star had several detailed interviews with each of the three women, who said they experienced violence from Ghomeshi without consent, and with the former CBC employee, who complained of verbal and physical harassment in the workplace.

 The women now accusing Jian Ghomeshi of violence began as his fans. Two had very similar early experiences with him. After Ghomeshi met them at public events, which he had promoted on CBC Radio, he contacted them through Facebook and asked them on dates. They eagerly accepted.

 Each woman said she remembers Ghomeshi being initially sweet and flattering, then later suggesting or hinting at violent sex acts. When they failed to respond or expressed displeasure, they recalled Ghomeshi dismissing his remarks as “just fantasies,�? reassuring them he wouldn’t ask them to do anything they weren’t comfortable with. The women deny that “safe words�? were employed in the relationship.

 In one woman’s case, she visited Ghomeshi at his Toronto home and alleges as soon as she walked into his house he suddenly struck her hard with his open hand, then continued to hit her and choked her. The woman alleges Ghomeshi repeatedly beat her about the head and choked her.

 The Star’s interviews of the women were lengthy. The women, all educated and employed, said Ghomeshi’s actions shocked them.

 Another woman, who described a similar alleged attack, said that in the lead-up to their date Ghomeshi “warned me he would be aggressive.�?

 “I thought this meant he would want to pull my hair and have rough sex. He reassured me that I wouldn’t be forced. (Later) he attacked me. Choked me. Hit me like I didn’t know men hit women. I submitted.�?

 None of the women has contacted police. When asked why by the Star, the women cited several reasons including fears that a police report would expose their names and worries that their consent or acceptance of fantasy role-play discussions in text or other messages with Ghomeshi would be used against them as evidence of consent to actual violence.

 Only one of the alleged victims worked at the CBC. She never dated Ghomeshi. She alleges he approached her from behind and cupped her rear end in the Q studio, and that he quietly told her at a story meeting that he wanted to “hate f---�? her.

 The woman said she complained about Ghomeshi’s behaviour to her union representative, who took the complaint to a Q producer. As the woman recalls, the producer asked her “what she could do to make this a less toxic workplace�? for herself. No further action was taken by the CBC, and the woman left the broadcaster shortly thereafter.

 The Star presented allegations gleaned from its interviews to the CBC. Spokesman Chuck Thompson said he could not respond to any of the allegations, citing both privacy rules related to the employer-employee relationship and Ghomeshi’s intention to file a lawsuit.

 Each of the women accusing Ghomeshi cite the case of Carla Ciccone as a reason why they desire anonymity. Last year Ciccone wrote an article for the website XOJane about a “bad date�? with an unidentified, very popular Canadian radio host whom readers speculated to be Ghomeshi.

 In the days that followed, Ciccone received hundreds of abusive messages and threats. An online video calling her a “scumbag of the Internet�? has been viewed over 397,000 times. Ciccone’s claims about the behaviour during her “bad date�? were far less severe than the allegations of abuse from the women now accusing Ghomeshi, who fear the online backlash could be significantly worse for them if their names were made public.

 After the Star initially sought comment from Ghomeshi in the summer (after interviewing the women), Ghomeshi’s lawyer, Neil Rabinovitch, wrote to the Star saying that he had reviewed “emails and text messages�? between Ghomeshi and the women Rabinovitch believed were the Star’s sources. The lawyer said in a letter he believed this information would “discredit the individuals we believe to be your sources.�?

 Rabinovitch said he was unable to disclose the emails and text messages because it “violates the privacy of all involved.�?

 Ghomeshi is using the same law firm and has also hired crisis communication consultants Navigator.

 In his Facebook posting, Ghomeshi stated there have been no complaints about him to the CBC human resources department, nor have there been any “formal allegations�? or “formal complaints�? about his behaviour.

 Ghomeshi was to host the Giller Prize awards ceremony Nov. 10 but the Giller organizers said Sunday he would not longer be the host.

 Jesse Brown can be reached at jesse@jessebrown.ca

 Kevin Donovan can be reached at 416-312-3503 or kdonovan@thestar.ca or follow at @_kevindonovan ||||| I met a man I'll call Keith at an outdoor concert in Toronto last year. I was sitting with a group of people, Jake Gyllenhaal among them (sorry for the name drop, but he factors into the story later), and Keith* walked up to introduce himself to us. I knew of Keith because he has a successful radio show in Canada. A lot of Canadians love him for his views, interviews, and radio voice.

 As Keith schmoozed with the people around me, I enjoyed the concert and also tried to make Jake fall for me using telepathic love vibes. Just kidding. There were no love vibes, and the only feeling Jake had was annoyance after Keith arrived.

 He kept trying to talk to Jake, who wasn’t feeling his “I really want to get you on my show and maybe into your pants” vibe, so Keith soon turned his attention to me.

 “Sorry, how do you pronounce your name again?” he said.

 “Um, Carla,” I replied.

 “Oh, I thought it was more complicated, like Carafalooota,” he said. I laughed. A few minutes later, the concert was over, and my party and I left.The next day, I sent Keith a public Twitter message saying it was nice to meet him. It was. I, like many Canadians, was a fan of his show. Actually, truth be told, I’ve never listened to his show, but still, I appreciated him as a talented radio personality.

 Keith wrote me a private message soon after saying he read some of my work online and really liked my writing. He also asked me if I’d like to join him to see Metric play the next night at the Opera House. I’d always wanted to see Metric live, and I thought I might be able to make Keith my best gay friend in Toronto. I was still a newbie and needed friends. I also figured that the friendship might lead to exciting Toronto career opportunities down the line. He did say he liked my writing.

 The next night, I met him at a wine bar for a quick drink before the show. When I walked in, I was greeted by both the overwhelming stench of his cologne and the sinking feeling that Keith was not, as I had assumed, gay. This wasn’t a friend date; it was a date, date –- at least to him.He looked at me the way a creepy older man looks at a young, silly girl he’s going to buy a drink he’s planning to slip a roofie into. I didn’t know what to do. He was 15 years older than me, but what’s more, I found him totally unattractive and didn’t want to be on a date with him.But I couldn’t just leave.

 “So, you’re friends with Jake Gyllenhaal?” he asked.

 “No. I met him yesterday and we talked about baseball for five minutes,” I said.

 “Oh. He seems like a jerk, eh?” he said.

 “I thought he was nice,” I said.

 Nervous and trying to avoid eye contact with him, I proceeded to talk about nothing in particular for the next 20 minutes with such speed, he might have thought I had just done an eight ball in the bathroom.

 He checked his phone approximately 35 times and mentioned the memoir he was writing about 10 times. Apparently, he was in a band when he was younger, or something. I wasn’t really paying attention.

 Before my drink was finished, Keith rushed me out of the bar to get to the concert down the street.

 In front of the small venue, he introduced me to a bunch of people he thought I would know.

 “You’re meeting the who’s who of Canadian indie rock!” he whispered into my ear enthusiastically. I had no idea who they were, but most of them had cool beards. The way he introduced me, however, was disconcerting. I was being “presented,” in the same way Tom Cruise used to present Katie Holmes on red carpets. I did not like it.

 I wanted to let him know I wasn’t into him, but he seemed like a harmless dork, and I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his bearded friends.

 As I talked to one of them, I’d look up every now and then to catch a glimpse of Keith staring at me intently with a strange smile on his face. He was giving me the heebie jeebies and, again, I wanted to leave.

 But Metric. It’ll be fine once we’re inside, I thought, we’re just watching a concert.

 There was no assigned seating, and we were standing on the balcony. As soon as the lights went down, and the first notes started playing, I felt a sweaty hand travel across the back of my dress and grab my ass.

 That hand was Keith’s.

 Shocked, I looked up at him like “WHAT?!” He looked back at me with sex eyes and smiled. Disgusted, I asked him to stop, and stepped away from him and his hand.

 I figured he’d get the point since I moved, but instead, he followed me. I watched the concert intently, but he soon grabbed my hand to hold it.

 His friends were right behind us, and they all smiled when I looked back. Despite my extreme discomfort, I felt I couldn’t tell Keith off, so I discreetly pulled my hand away, crossed my arms over my stomach and stared straight ahead.

 When he started rubbing my back, I again told him to stop, and when he put his hand over my shoulders, I said I was hot and lifted it off.

 “Oh yeah, you’re hot,” he replied.

 Dying inside, I felt sad that not only had I lost interest in watching Metric, but they were also starting to sound like tainted torture music.

 I was planning my exit strategy when Keith grabbed the strap my large purse and took it off my shoulder.

 “What are you doing?” I said.

 “Shhh,” he replied, placing my purse on the ground and slipping his arm around my waist to pull me closer.

 “What the fuck?!” I said. “You don’t put a woman’s purse on the dirty ground.” Apparently, I have more respect for a leather purse from my mom than for my own body. Not really -- but this was my breaking point.

 “But it’s in the way,” he said. He seemed intrigued, and challenged, by my passionate reaction.

 “I’ll be back.” I couldn’t take it anymore. Keith had gone from harmless dork to repulsive sexual predator.

 I ran down the stairs and called my sister from the bathroom. “What do I do?” I was concerned that he would somehow ruin my fledgling career in Canadian media forever if I bailed on him, as stupid as that sounds.

 “Get outta there,” my sister said. I wanted to. Desperately. Running down the stairs had given me a taste of the freedom that could so easily be mine if I just ran outside and never looked back. But I didn’t want to be rude, and I thought it best to leave on good terms.

 (This is the part where I really want to go back in time and shake myself.)

 I did what any good, failed Catholic girl plagued by a crippling sense of guilt would do: I lied.

 “I have to go, I have a terrible headache -- a migraine. I also have to work very early. Sorry,” I said, looking towards the EXIT sign with a renewed hopefulness that I hadn't felt in hours.

 “Oh no. I’ll drive you,” he said.

 “NO! I mean, no. I don’t want to ruin the show for you. I’ll get a cab.”

 “I can’t let you take a cab if you have a migraine,” he said, leading me down the stairs with a “concerned” creepy hand on the small of my back.

 I insisted on taking a cab until I realized that he was walking me to his car, which was right outside.

 All but defeated, I got into his car, pissed off that I was doing so, and stared out the window listlessly.

 Even though I had a terrible fake migraine, he insisted on talking to me.

 “Do you recognize the colors of my car?” he said.

 “They are black and red. Like Spider-Man?” I said.

 “Ha! No. That’s silly. They’re the colors of my show,” he laughed.

 “But your show is on the radio, and I don't listen to it,” I confessed. I was DONE.

 “Did I tell you I’m writing a book?” he asked.

 “Multiple times,” I said. “You can stop here.”

 We were a block from my apartment and there was no way he was going to know my address.

 “I’ll walk you to the door,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

 “No, you won’t,” I said. “Thank you for the concert and the ride. Have a good night.”

 He leaned in and I avoided his lips by giving him a half-hearted hug, but he still managed to peck the side of my pursed mouth as I was turning to get out of the car. I urgently yanked on the door handle until the door sprang open, and scurried out.

 Once I reached my front door, I started crying in shame. A thick layer of self-loathing had settled over my once-optimistic heart. Why had I handled the night that way? Why didn’t I tell him he was acting like as asshole and I only agreed to meet him because I, like the rest of Canada, thought he was gay? Why am I so passive in awkward situations? WHY? WHY? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

 I had a hot shower to remove his gross cologne stench, which had stuck to me like an airborne virus.

 The next morning, I awoke to a text from him.

 “If you’re late for work, blame it on me ;)”

 I didn't reply to Keith’s text, thinking that he would take the hint; but based on past experience I should have known Keith does not a hint take.

 As his messages became more and more pathetic, (e.g., “Did we break up already?”), I eventually confessed the truth and told him that I was sorry but I thought it was a friend date, not a real date, and I wasn’t interested.

 To this, he replied: “Eeep! Totes diff. vibe from yest.” (He actually texted those words. Like that. To a girl he was interested in.)

 Over the next two weeks, his texts begged me to give him another chance. He even went so far as to promise that he looks better with TV makeup on, like that would make a difference.

 I felt sorry for him. Clearly being a C-list Canadian celebrity hadn’t afforded him any “game.”

 He finally stopped texting, but every time his name came up in conversation, or I saw his face in an ad, I cringed.

 In talking to my friends Crystal and Melissa, I found out that Keith has tried his same creepy-ass moves out on many other girls. He once lured a friend of theirs into a hotel room to “watch a movie,” and tried to sleep with her once she sat on the bed. She, too, had thought him harmless and gay beforehand.

 Two months later, I was walking down the street and past a man who was wearing an offensive amount of Keith’s pungent cologne. Overcome by scent-memory nausea, I vomited into a nearby trashcan. A concerned older lady came up to me. “Are you pregnant, dear?” she asked.

 “Only with disgust, thank God,” I said, smiling. She smiled back, perplexed.

 And that was how I expelled the gross feelings left over from the worst “date” I’ve ever gone on.

 * Please note that the subject's name was changed to Keith.

 Read more from Carla over on our sister site, xoVain. |||||


Write a summary based on this article:

Woman sues for wrongful conception after doctor said she couldn't get pregnant Local News Woman sues for wrongful conception after doctor said she couldn't get pregnant

 - It is an unusual civil case out of Oakland County. A woman is suing her doctor for the stress caused by an unplanned pregnancy.

 He told her there was no chance she could get pregnant but she did, with a child who has Down syndrome.

 The woman is not suing for wrongful birth - she is suing for wrongful conception. She blames her doctor and according to our legal expert - it sounds like she has a case.

 Pictures show Lori Cichewicz as a doting loving mother. Reportedly she always planned to give birth but the problem, she never wanted to be pregnant.

 "This is really very close to a medical malpractice case," said FOX 2 legal analyst Charlie Langton. "That's really essentially what it is."

 In 2008 she went to get a permanent birth control procedure, to get her tubes tied. But her doctor told her that her fallopian tubes were blocked. She had no chance of getting pregnant and she didn't even need birth control.

 Three years later Lori got pregnant with a baby who had Down syndrome.

 Lori is now suing her doctor for "wrongful conception" - basically his negligence. She is seeking damages for the emotional distress caused by the unplanned pregnancy.

 Cichewicz is now 50 years old and raising a special needs child.

 According to Langton, the courts have already decided damages are limited to the stress of the conception.

 "The stress associated with thinking about of having to be pregnant or being pregnant when she didn't want to be pregnant are the only damages," he said. "It's not the fact she is going to get money for having to raise a Down syndrome child, the court already said no."

 The case is expected to go to a jury trial within the next few months - unless the doctor settles it before then. ||||| DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) - In a case of so-called "wrongful conception," an Oakland County woman is suing her doctor for the stress caused by an unplanned pregnancy.

 Lori Cichewicz said her doctor was unable to perform a permanent birth control procedure on her in 2008 because he found her fallopian tubes were already blocked. She said he assured her she could not get pregnant, and told her she didn't need to take contraceptives.

 Cichewicz gave birth to a child with Down Syndrome in April 2011.

 "She’s full of life, loving, kind, sweet, everything you could ever imagine," Cichewicz described her daughter, Reagan, now five-years-old.

 Cichewicz said Reagan is adored by her big brother and her father, Cichewicz's boyfriend.

 But she said she is seeking damages for the emotional distress caused by the unplanned pregnancy. The 50-year-old mother said the thought of raising a child with special needs at her age, the added financial burden, and her doctor's broken promise all took an emotional toll.

 “I’m older, I don’t know, will I see her graduate college? Will I see her go to college? Will I see her get married? Will I see her graduate high school? All this is going through my mind," Cichewicz said.

 Tim Takala, Cichewicz's attorney, said the lawsuit seeks to keep Cichewicz's doctor accountable for his alleged misguidance that Cichewicz could not get pregnant and did not need to take contraceptives.

 “That’s advice that misled Lori and caused her to go down and make a decision that she never should have had to make," Takala said.

 Cichewicz said there was never any question whether she would have Reagan.

 "I mean, I can’t imagine life without her now. When they say having a child with special needs is a gift, it’s a gift," she said.

 When the case goes to trial sometime within the next few months, the jury will be able to consider the fact Cichewicz knew she would have a child with Down Syndrome.

 Calls to Cichewicz' doctor and his attorney weren't returned Thursday. ||||| Pontiac — The Michigan appeals court says an Oakland County woman can seek financial damages for the emotional distress of knowing she would deliver a child with Down syndrome.

 Lori Cichewicz says she was assured by her doctor her fallopian tubes were blocked and she didn’t need to use birth control. But she became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter in 2011. It’s a case of so-called wrongful conception.

 In a 3-0 decision released Wednesday, the appeals court says Cichewicz can’t seek a financial award for the costs of raising a child with Down syndrome. But the court says she can seek compensation for the stress associated with the unplanned pregnancy like any medical malpractice claim.

 The lawsuit now returns to Oakland County Circuit Court.

 Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/28Ra2lh |||||

– "She's full of life, loving, kind, sweet, everything you could ever imagine," Lori Cichewicz describes her 5-year-old daughter, Reagan, to WXYZ. But the 50-year-old from Oakland County, Mich., worries about the financial strain and other issues involved in raising a child with special needs (Reagan was born with Down syndrome), as well as whether she'll be around to celebrate all of Reagan's milestones as she gets older—and she's now suing her doctor for damages for what she says was a pregnancy that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Per Fox 2, Cichewicz went to get her fallopian tubes tied in 2008 as a permanent birth-control measure, but her doctor informed her that her tubes were blocked and that surgery was unnecessary—in fact, he said, she could go without any contraception from that point forward and not worry about getting pregnant. Fast-forward about three years, when a shocked Cichewicz found out she was pregnant with Reagan. A Michigan appeals court ruled last week that while Cichewicz can't sue for funds to cover raising a child with Down syndrome, she can file a complaint to be compensated for the emotional stress of the unplanned pregnancy, per the AP. "[The doctor's advice] misled Lori and caused her to ... make a decision that she never should have had to make," her lawyer tells WXYZ, while a Fox 2 legal analyst says she likely has a solid case, calling it "very close to ... medical malpractice." The case is expected to go to trial later this year. Not that the outcome of the suit will affect how Cichewicz feels about her daughter. "I can't imagine life without her now," she tells WXYZ. "When they say having a child with special needs is a gift, it's a gift." (Read about why a woman in her 20s chose to have her tubes tied.)