– More details from "one of the darkest chapters of Australia's maritime history" are coming to light, nearly 400 years after they occurred. On June 4, 1629, the Dutch East India ship the Batavia was downed by a reef on its maiden voyage. Most of the roughly 340 people aboard managed to reach nearby Beacon Island, off Western Australia, with the ship's captain setting off in search of help in a longboat. What happened in July of that year was gruesome: The West Australian reports that more than 120 people, among them women and children, were massacred by a group of mutineers led by undermerchant Jeronimus Cornelisz: Some were felled by musket fire or swords, others poisoned or drowned. Upon the captain's return, Cornelisz and many of his men were executed, reports the BBC. The Batavia's wreck was found in 1963, and a mass grave on the island was uncovered in 1999. Australia's ABC reports that the final day of searching the island during a 2013 expedition surfaced a tooth. Upon returning, archaeologists searched the area where the tooth was uncovered and have now found the island's 11th skeleton—with an archaeologist explaining it's the first to have been found using archaeology, while the others found to date were uncovered "by accident." Two musket balls were recovered near the remains, which are believed to be that of a youth. Jeremy Green, the WA Museum's head of maritime archaeology, says it doesn't appear the remains and the tooth are linked, however, indicating there may be another grave nearby. He frames the importance of uncovering more: "This was the first time that Europeans lived in Australia—albeit it wasn't in the mainland but it was here—so it's the oldest known European habitation in Australia." (The tragic story behind three partial skeletons was recently revealed, more than 160 years later.)

Expand this summary.

Unearthed grave sheds light on Batavia shipwreck mass murder

 Updated

 Secrets from one of the nation's most horrific maritime mass murders have been unearthed on a tiny island off Western Australia's coast.

 A new grave has been discovered almost four centuries after the Batavia was wrecked on Morning Reef, within the Abrolhos Islands.

 The Dutch East India vessel was on its maiden voyage when it wrecked with more than 300 people on board.

 The survivors managed to swim to the nearby Beacon Island, but about 40 people drowned.

 What then played out on the tiny coral outcrop was a 17th-century tale of mutiny and systematic murders of those aboard that inspired movies, books and plays and remained one of the darkest chapters of Australia's maritime history.

 Some of the evidence of the bloodthirsty episode has only now been uncovered, with experts revealing on Tuesday they have found another skeleton, the 11th found on Beacon Island since the 60s.

 Two musket balls were found near the body, which was about 1.5 metres underground.

 A forensic team was examining the remains and said they were believed to be that of an adolescent.

 The WA Museum's head of maritime archaeology, Jeremy Green, said the find was a major step forward in better understanding what was an internationally significant chapter in history.

 "This was the first time that Europeans lived in Australia — albeit it wasn't in the mainland but it was here — so it's the oldest known European habitation in Australia," he said.

 "So it's got to be important."

 Human tooth led archaeologists to discovery

 A human tooth found on the final day of an expedition at the island in 2013 led archaeologists to examine the same area where they eventually discovered the skeleton.

 Mr Green said mutton birds on the island dug down into the ground and brought little items to the surface, which indicated areas of archaeological interest.

 Surprisingly, he said it appeared the skeleton was not the owner of the tooth.

 "What's very interesting is that it looks like that tooth doesn't belong to that grave, which means that there's another grave very close," he said.

 A mass grave was discovered on Beacon Island in 1999, but archaeologists had to wait 15 years before old fishermen shacks were removed so they could comb the entire island for clues left behind in 1629.

 Many individuals died, it was a horrendous event ... we wouldn't expect at all for many of them to survive ... but we're finding them, so some of them do. UWA Archaeologist Professor Alistair Paterson

 The team of researchers was studying the island as part of the Australian Research Council-funded project, led by UWA archaeologist Professor Alistair Paterson.

 Professor Paterson said experts travelled from as far away as Holland to help piece together the Batavia story.

 "Obviously it's a really significant site, not just for Western Australia and the Dutch, but also for Australia ... so we're pretty excited to see this next phase occurring here," he said.

 "Many individuals died, it was a horrendous event, and yet we know many of those people died in the water. Presumably they were disposed of in surface conditions, so we wouldn't expect at all for many of [their remains] to survive ... but we're finding them, so some of them do."

 The Batavia was carrying gold and silver when it sailed from Texel for the Dutch East Indies on October 27, 1628, to obtain spices.

 But the vessel went off course and was wrecked in the Abrolhos on June 4, 1629.

 A total of 180 people – among them 30 women and children – were ferried off the ship, while about 70 men remained.

 According to the WA Museum, the survivors landed on Beacon Island.

 Some, including the ship's captain, navigated a longboat to Java to find help after it became clear they could not survive long on what was left of the ship's provisions.

 Undermerchant Jeronimus Cornelisz assumed charge of the group, and began picking off survivors, by sending them in search of water on nearby islands, where he thought they would not survive.

 His men drowned many others.

 He also murdered women and children, the ill and infirm. He kept a number of women alive to subject to repeated rapes.

 He was eventually overcome by a force he had sent to one of the islands, as he tried to lure them into a trap.

 When the captain returned to the site of the shipwreck, he sentenced the mutineers to having their right hands chopped off, then put them to death on the gallows.

 Some of the lesser offenders were returned to Holland, while another two men were left stranded on the mainland as punishment.

 Professor Paterson said the chapter in history needed more recognition.

 "I still think that we've got some way to go to realise the importance of this and other Dutch sites in Western Australia," he said.

 "West Australians know the story really well, particularly in Geraldton and other places, but I think there's a lot more of that story to be picked up elsewhere in the country."

 Topics: maritime, history, archaeology, geraldton-6530

 First posted ||||| Uncovered: The bones of the young person on Beacon Island. Pictures: Nic Ellis/The West Australian

 In July 1629, a wave of killings swept across tiny Beacon Island, about 80km off the coast of Geraldton.

 More than 120 people - including women and children - were shot by musket fire, run through with swords, strangled, poisoned, drowned and had their throats cut.

 They were the victims of the Batavia mutiny, perhaps the bloodiest and most fascinating chapter in WA's maritime history.

 Yesterday, the skeletal remains of one of the victims, perhaps a woman or a young man, were unearthed in a find described by forensic archaeologists and maritime experts as "extraordinary" and "exciting".

 As the sand was brushed away, the skeleton seemed largely intact.

 Its arms were crossed and, strangely, its skull sat perpendicular to the rest of its body. There were no signs of trauma but two musket balls lay alongside - clear indicators of the victim's violent death.

 "This is the first skeleton found on Beacon Island using archaeology," University of WA archaeologist Alistair Paterson said. "Some other bodies have been found since the 1960s but always by accident."

 The Batavia, a Dutch East India Company ship, was wrecked on Morning Reef near Beacon Island in the Houtman Abrolhos in 1629.

 Of about 341 people aboard, most made it to nearby islands but dozens were killed during a mutiny among the survivors.

 The wreck site was discovered in 1963, and since then archaeological work on nearby islands located material associated with the wreck, as well as human remains.

 In 1999, a WA Maritime Museum team working on Beacon Island found a mass grave.

 For the past 10 days, scientists from all over the world have been back on the island seeking to identify likely sites of mutiny burials.

 It is part of the Shipwrecks of the Roaring Forties project funded by the Australian Research Council.

 But yesterday's historic discovery nearly did not happen, according to WA Museum head of maritime archaeology, Jeremy Green.

 "We started excavating the area as a possible grave site on Sunday," he said. "We got to about a metre deep and had not found anything . . . we were thinking of filling it back in and trying another spot.

 "But suddenly one of our forensic anthropologists found what he thought was the top of a skull and, sure enough, the skeleton was found.

 "It is a very exciting find, especially after all the work that so many people have done."

 Part of the Roaring Forties project will be the creation of a virtual reality website that will allow visitors to see Beacon Island as it has stood over time. The website is expected to be online later this year. ||||| Image copyright Dr Paul Bourke Image caption Archaeologists say much can be learned from the excavated skeleton

 The skeleton of a victim from one of Australia's most famous shipwrecks has been unearthed by archaeologists.

 The remains on Beacon Island, off Western Australia, date from the wreck of the Dutch East India ship the Batavia in 1629.

 In the aftermath of the disaster, more than 100 survivors were murdered by a group of mutineers.

 Maritime experts hope the latest find will shed new light on the episode.

 The wreck site was first discovered in 1963 and a mass grave was found in 1999.

 But Dr Daniel Franklin, of The University of Western Australia Centre for Forensic Science, said this was the first skeleton to be found undisturbed on Beacon Island through archaeological investigations.

 He said it "represents a unique opportunity to reconstruct events surrounding this individual's death and internment".

 Image copyright Dr Paul Bourke Image caption The Batavia story is well-known across Australia

 Jeremy Green, head of maritime archaeology at the Western Australian Museum, said they hoped to learn more about about the life of sailors on board Dutch East India Company ships.

 "It is as much about knowing where the people came from, what their diet was, as well as how they died," he said.

 The skeleton is of an adolescent and two musket balls were reported to have been found nearby.

 The Batavia had sailed from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies but veered off course and was shipwrecked in the Abrolhos Islands.

 Of about 340 people on board, most made it to nearby Beacon Island and the ship's captain set off in a longboat to find help.

 A bloody mutiny then broke out among those left behind led by a merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz, and his group began killing off the survivors.

 Women and children were among those murdered and several women were kept as sex slaves.

 Cornelisz was later found guilty of mutiny and executed along with several of his henchmen.

 The fate of the Batavia and its passengers and crew has been the subject of books, documentaries and even an opera. |||||


Article:
Baffled Bay State Republicans have been left with a short list of little-known contenders for the special Senate election — if they manage to field anyone at all — after a veritable who’s who of local GOP bigs fell over themselves to avoid the race yesterday.

 “It reminds me of the Three Stooges episode where the sergeant says ‘I need volunteers for a dangerous mission. Step forward,’ and they all step back,” said a flabbergasted Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth). ||||| Joel Page/ASSOCIATED PRESS Tagg Romney hasn’t previously run for office himself, but got campaign experience speaking on his father’s behalf during last year’s presidential race.

 Tagg's not it.

 Tagg Romney, Mitt Romney's eldest son, told the Daily News on Monday that he will not launch a bid for former Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's Senate seat.

 "I have been humbled by the outreach I received this weekend encouraging me to become a candidate for the US Senate," Romney said in an e-mail. "I love my home state and admit it would be an honor to represent the citizens of our great Commonwealth. However, I am currently committed to my business and to spending as much time as I can with my wife and children."

 "The timing is not right for me, but I am hopeful that the people of Massachusetts will select someone of great integrity, vision, and compassion as our next US Senator," Romney added.

 The Boston Herald reported early Monday that Romney was considering a bid for Kerry's seat, after former Republican Sen. Scott Brown's decision to pass on a campaign left Republicans scrambling for an alternative.

 Tagg Romney, the wealthy founder of a private equity firm like his father, was a visible surrogate for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in the closing days of last year's race. There were also numerous news reports that Tagg Romney, frustrated that his father was being successfully caricatured as a hopelessly unlikeable plutocrat, was taking a more aggressive role in running the campaign. But those reports infuriated Tagg Romney, and he told associates at the time that he'd never run for any public office.

 William “Mo” Cowan, a former aide to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, is filling Kerry’s Senate seat until a special election decides his long-term replacement in June.

 klee@nydailynews.com |||||Summary:

– Looks like Massachusetts voters won't be getting another chance to elect a Romney after all, unless Ann steps in. Following reports that GOP leaders were interested, Mitt Romney's son, Tagg, has announced that he won't be seeking the Senate seat vacated by John Kerry. "I have been humbled by the outreach I received," the younger Romney tells the New York Daily News. "It would be an honor to represent the citizens of our great Commonwealth. However, I am currently committed to my business and to spending as much time as I can with my wife and children." Scott Brown's decision not to run for the seat has left the state GOP scrambling for a replacement, and Romney isn't the only possible contender to have ruled himself out, the Boston Herald reports. Former Gov. William Weld and former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey have also decided against running, leaving the party with a handful of little-known choices. "It reminds me of the Three Stooges episode where the sergeant says 'I need volunteers for a dangerous mission. Step forward,' and they all step back," says a Republican state senator.


Here is a news article: “Heart-wrenching!” the Shandong provincial prosecutor’s office wrote on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. “Put down your phone. Save the children!”

 The death of Tutu, as the girl was identified in Chinese news reports, is just the latest example of how “distracted walking” can threaten public safety.

 In August last year, a 2-year-old boy in the central province of Henan died after being struck by an S.U.V. near a shopping mall while his mother was engrossed in her phone. And in April, another 2-year-old boy with a phone-addled mother was run over and killed in the eastern province of Anhui.

 Photo

 Liu Qinxue, an expert on smartphone addiction at Central China Normal University in Wuhan, said the Yueyang accident could serve as a warning of the risks of overusing the devices.

 “People normally do not think about the potential dangers it might bring,” Professor Liu said. “There’s not enough discussion or awareness.”

 Officials in China have documented and publicized the risks of calling or texting while driving.

 In 2014, for example, the Shanghai police said that calling or texting while driving had caused nearly 30 percent of 690 fatal automobile accidents between January and October of that year, according to a report in China’s state-run news media. The city’s police installed high-definition traffic cameras to identify motorists who use smartphones while driving, and offenders are fined 200 renminbi, or around $30, and penalized through a points system.

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 In March, a lawmaker from the central province of Hubei proposed in the national legislature that drivers who use phones while on the road be criminally charged.

 But policy makers in many countries have paid far less attention to the problem of “distracted walking,” according to a 2015 study in the Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering. The study added that pedestrian-crash data was not yet detailed enough for researchers to determine a link between distracted walking and safety problems.

 Advertisement Continue reading the main story

 In Hong Kong, subway stations have signs that warn commuters not to stare at mobile phones on escalators. Officials in Seoul, the South Korean capital, announced recently that the city would install outdoor signs that warn pedestrians of the dangers of texting while walking.

 But such signs are rarely, if ever, seen in mainland China.

 Sherry Turkle, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies the relationship between humans and digital devices, said in an email that a declining capacity for solitude and self-reflection had given rise to a dependence on smartphones and created a need for phone-free “sacred spaces.”

 “Talk to your co-workers, talk to your family,” she said. “Never bring a phone to a meal. No phones in the car. No phones at meetings or in classrooms. We can find our way back to each other.”

 Many Chinese social media users have echoed that sentiment since the death of the 2-year-old in Yueyang.

 “Head-down tribe, it’s time to lift your head now,” one commenter wrote on Weibo, using a popular Chinese nickname for smartphone obsessives. ||||| Screenshot of the video clip shows the girl walking alone ahead of her mother. (Web pic)

 BEIJING, Oct.31 (Xinhua) -- The death of a toddler last week has triggered outrage over parents who are obsessed in smartphones and neglect their duty of parenting.

 A 2-minute video clip, widely shared on the Internet, captured a horrific scene of a 2-year-old girl being hit and then crushed by a car. When the accident took place, the girl was walking alone ahead of her phone-engrossed mother. The girl didn't survive. Police investigation said that the girl walked into the driver's blind zone.

 Netizens expressed their anger over the mother, saying that she should have kept an eye on her child. They said that parents should keep their responsibility and duty in mind.

 "If the mobile phone was so much fun, then why had you given birth to the child?" asked web user "Xiaodingdangmaimaijimiqiu".

 "It is a bloody lesson. Everyone should be alerted not to play with a smartphone while walking. God knows how regretful the mother is," a netizen in the username of "freeermiao" wrote on China's twitter-like microblog Weibo.

 The accident was not a single case. In April this year, a two-year-old boy ran into the center of a road while his mother was mesmerized by her mobile phone in east China's Anhui province. The boy was hit by a car and died. In August last year, a similar tragedy happened in central China's Henan province when a boy was hit by a car in a parking zone. His mother was checking phone somewhere else when the boy was knocked down.

 Parents have been urged to curb their smartphone addiction. In China, more than five in 10 adults own a smartphone. Over half of the people questioned in a poll conducted by Deloitte check mobile phone for 1 or 2 times per hour, and one fourth of the interviewees check their mobiles for over 50 times a day.

 Child Accident Prevention Trust, a UK children's charity, has warned that parents obsessed in their mobile phones are putting their children in danger of serious accidents.

 Almost a quarter of parents were engrossed in their devices when their children suffered an accident or had a near miss, according to a new research it released. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. |||||
A summary of this is?

– A 2-year-old girl was killed last month in China while her mother stared at her smartphone, leading many Chinese social media users to call for a change, the New York Times reports. Surveillance video (Warning: graphic content) posted online on Oct. 20 shows the toddler walking near an SUV while her mother is on her phone a few steps behind her, reports McClatchy. The SUV starts moving, running over the little girl as she walks in front of it. The mother doesn't appear to look up from her phone until her daughter had already been hit. The girl, identified as Tutu, died before an ambulance could arrive. Police determined the driver wasn't at fault because Tutu was in his blind spot. The video spread all over the Chinese web, leading to outrage, New China reports. "If the mobile phone was so much fun, then why had you given birth to the child?" one person writes online. "Everyone should be alerted not to play with a smartphone while walking. God knows how regretful the mother is," writes another. A local prosecutor's office calls it "heart-wrenching." "Put down your phone. Save the children!" it posts online. At least two other 2-year-olds were killed by cars while their mothers were looking at their phones in the past 15 months in China. "There's not enough discussion or awareness" of "potential dangers," a smartphone addiction expert tells the Times. (Two women go blind in one eye after using their smartphones.)


Write a summary based on this article:

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee high school student's anti-bullying video has resulted in nearly 600,000 views on YouTube and a suspension for its creator.

 Lebanon High School student Emily Gipson said school administrators accused her of "trying to incite violence" and gave her a two-day in-school suspension for the video entitled "Welcome to Lebanon High School," posted Jan. 22.

 In the video, prompted by a classmate's October suicide, she asks students to treat each other better. It's a broad indictment of campus culture, but contains neither profanity nor calls for direct action.

 "Welcome to Lebanon High School, where smiles are fake and suicide prevention is something to laugh at," she said in the video, criticizing her peers' reaction to the Stop It app the Wilson County school had put out in response to the death.

 Her ire was not restricted to students, however. Perhaps the harshest words in Gipson's free-verse speech were reserved for school administration.

 "Posters say 'Smile' and 'Be happy,' but how am I supposed to be happy in a world — no, in a community — where creativity is put down, where the people who make fun of others never get punished because 'There's no proof,' or 'There's nothing we can do about it,' or, my favorite, 'Kids will be kids,'" she says in the video.

 "So let's summarize: We're expected to come to this emotional prison every day, and we're expected to forgive the bullies because the authorities are sure they didn't mean it. Sometimes I wonder how many kids it takes dying to make a difference."

 Principal Scott Walters told The Lebanon Democrat he can't discuss the 16-year-old's punishment, but said he took issue with the fact that the free-verse speech was recorded in a classroom without a teacher's permission. Gipson disputed that, saying she had two coaches' permission.

 Walters also said the video hurt his feelings, and those of teachers, too.

 He said he's received feedback from parents and students who didn't agree with the video, including a gift from a student who told him he was doing a good job. He also said people could learn from Gipson's viewpoint.

 "I can appreciate the perspective of the video," Walters said. "Of course, she's 16, and her perspective is going to be different from mine."

 Kenneth Gipson, her grandfather and guardian, said the principal told him the only reason the teen was punished was because she didn't have permission to take the video on school grounds. "I don't have a problem with that. She violated their policies," he told The Associated Press

 But Gipson says he's proud of his granddaughter for expressing herself.

 "I applaud her for taking a stance. She's speaking against something that is obviously an issue in today's society — today's schools especially. I don't have a problem with the videos at all. I wish she hadn't of done the first one the way she did it inside the classroom, but as far as the message goes, I'm all for the message. I think she's done a great job in bringing to light a very sensitive and needed subject."

 Gipson said her punishment is worth the good she feels the video has produced.

 Then she posted another spoken-word poem on Youtube, titled "Have I Made a Difference Yet?" urging teenagers like her to speak up.

 "I never knew that it would get this big, and through it getting this big I've learned a lesson: This is not my school, this is everyone's school, this is a national problem," she said. ||||| (CNN) A high school student who posted an anti-bullying video attacking her school's administration was given a two-day suspension, but the school is saying it had nothing to do with her video's message.

 Emily Gipson is a student at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Tennessee. On January 22, she posted a YouTube video of her performing a free-verse poem about bullying and suicide at her school.

 "Welcome to Lebanon High School, where smiles are fake and suicide prevention is something to laugh at," she begins.

 In the days since it was posted, Gipson's video has racked up more than 700,000 views -- and has caused serious controversy at her high school.

 Gipson was given a two-day suspension for the video, a punishment some people attributed to her strong words against the school's handling of bullying.

 Read More ||||| The interactive transcript could not be loaded.

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– "We're expected to forgive the bullies because the authorities are sure they didn't mean it," Emily Gipson says in a YouTube video posted Jan. 22. "Sometimes I wonder how many kids it takes dying to make a difference." The 16-year-old sophomore at Tennessee's Lebanon High School made the video after a classmate's apparent suicide, the AP reports. The video went viral—surpassing 800,000 views—and Gipson has been hit with a two-day suspension. In the video, she says her school is an "emotional prison" and a place "where creativity is put down, where the people who make fun of others never get punished because 'There's no proof,' or 'There's nothing we can do about it,' or, my favorite, 'Kids will be kids.'" Principal Scott Walters says his feelings and those of teachers were hurt by the video, but that's not why Gipson was suspended. Gipson says the school administration accused her of "trying to incite violence," but Walters says she was suspended for filming in a classroom after school without the teacher's permission or knowledge, the Tennessean reports. Gipson says she had permission from two coaches, and in a statement quoted by CNN, Wilson County Schools spokesperson Jennifer Johnson confirms that Gipson asked a coach if she could use the classroom only to have the coach later be "mortified by the nature of her message." Johnson adds that it's "patently false" to say Gipson was punished for inciting violence and there's "no evidence whatsoever" that the student who died was bullied, despite the claims of other students. Gipson says she wanted "to be a voice for as many people as possible" and ends the video by imploring others "do not be the bully ... do not be the one that takes their own life."


Here is a news article: TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Pro-independence party candidate Tsai Ing-wen took a commanding lead in Taiwan's presidential election results late Saturday evening, and the candidate for the China-friendly Nationalist Party conceded a massive loss.

 Taiwan's ruling KMT or Nationalist Party presidential candidate Eric Chu, front center, with his wife Kao Wan-ching, front right, waves to supporters as he concedes defeat in the presidential election,... (Associated Press)

 Supporters of Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen cheer at the campaign headquarters as early polling numbers arrive in her favor, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Taipei,... (Associated Press)

 Taiwan's ruling KMT or Nationalist Party presidential candidate Eric Chu and his wife Kao Wan-ching bow to supporters as he concedes defeat in the presidential election, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Taipei,... (Associated Press)

 Voters cast their ballots in the presidential election at a local temple, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Taipei, Taiwan. Voting began Saturday in the election in which the island's China-friendly Nationalist... (Associated Press)

 A Taiwanese man exits a voting booth with his ballots in the presidential election at a local polling station in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. Voting began Saturday in Taiwan's presidential... (Associated Press)

 Supporters of Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen cheer at the campaign headquarters as early polling numbers arrive in her favor, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Taipei,... (Associated Press)

 Taiwan's ruling KMT or Nationalist Party presidential candidate Eric Chu delivers a speech as he concedes defeat in the presidential election, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Taipei, Taiwan. Pro-independence... (Associated Press)

 Supporters of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen cheer as they wait for election results at the party headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. Tsai... (Associated Press)

 The Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai was poised to become the self-governing island's first female president in an election taking place amid concerns that the island's economy is under threat from China and broad opposition to Beijing's demands for political unification.

 Tsai had about 60 percent of votes while Nationalist Eric Chu had about 30 percent, with about half of votes counted.

 "We failed. The Nationalist Party lost the elections. We didn't work hard enough," Chu said before a thin crowd of a few hundred supporters at his campaign headquarters. He followed his concession speech by making a long bow.

 "As the Nationalist Party chairperson, I need to pay the highest level of responsibility. Dear all friends, Eric Chu apologizes to everyone. I'm resigning as party chief," he said.

 Outgoing Nationalist President Ma Ying-jeou has served eight years and is constitutionally barred from another term.

 The outcome of the contest for a majority in the 113-seat legislature remained uncertain, with independents and smaller parties posing a threat to both the Nationalists and the DPP.

 "Taiwan and China need to keep some distance," said Willie Yao, a computer engineer voting in Taipei who said he backed Tsai. "The change of president would mean still letting Taiwanese make the decision."

 Reflecting unease over a slowdown in Taiwan's once-mighty economy, undeclared voter Hsieh Lee-fung said providing opportunities to the next generation was the most important issue.

 "Economic progress is related closely to our leadership, like land reform and housing prices. People aren't making enough money to afford homes," Hsieh said.

 A win for Tsai would introduce new uncertainty in the complicated relationship between Taiwan and mainland China, which claims the island as its own territory and threatens to use force if it declares formal independence.

 "This is not about defeating the other party. This is about working to overcome the obstacles in Taiwan's path," Tsai told supporters in the rain at a final rally Friday night in front of the presidential office building in the center of the capital, Taipei.

 Tsai has pledged to maintain the status quo of de-facto independence for the island of 23 million, although she has refused to endorse the principle that Taiwan and China are parts of a single nation to be unified eventually.

 Beijing has made that its baseline for continuing negotiations that have produced a series of pacts on trade, transport and exchanges. Observers say China is likely to adopt a wait-and-see approach to Tsai's presidency, but might use diplomatic and economy pressure if she is seen as straying too far from its unification agenda.

 Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1885 to 1945 and split again from China amid civil war in 1949.

 Chu was a late entry in the race after the party ditched its original candidate, Hung Hsiu-chu, whose abrasive style was seen as alienating voters.

 China has largely declined to comment on the polls, although its chief official for Taiwan affairs this month warned of potential major challenges in the relationship in the year ahead.

 Tsai supporters appeared confident that ties with China would weather a change in government.

 "As long as Tsai doesn't provoke the other side, it's OK," said former newspaper distribution agent Lenex Chang, who attended Tsai's rally. "If mainland China democratizes someday, we could consider a tie-up," he added.

 Candidates from across the political spectrum sounded a rare note of unity Saturday after a teenage pop star posted a video online apologizing for having waved the Taiwanese flag on a South Korean TV program.

 Sixteen-year-old Chou Tzu-yu, who performs under the name Tzuyu, had apparently been compelled to apologize after her South Korean management company suspended her activities in China for fear of offending nationalist sentiments on the mainland.

 Ma, Tsai and Chu all condemned what they described as the bullying of a young girl.

 ___

 Associated Press writer Ralph Jennings contributed to this report. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tsai Ing-wen said people in Taiwan wanted a transparent government

 Tsai Ing-wen has been elected Taiwan's first female president.

 Ms Tsai, 59, leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that wants independence from China.

 In her victory speech, she vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China, adding Beijing must respect Taiwan's democracy and both sides must ensure there are no provocations.

 China sees the island as a breakaway province - which it has threatened to take back by force if necessary.

 In her speech, Ms Tsai hailed a "new era" in Taiwan and pledged to co-operate with other political parties on major issues.

 The will of the Taiwanese people would be the basis for relations with China, Ms Tsai said.

 "I also want to emphasise that both sides of the Taiwanese Strait have a responsibility to find mutually acceptable means of interaction that are based on dignity and reciprocity.

 "We must ensure that no provocations or accidents take place," Ms Tsai said, warning that "any forms of suppression will harm the stability of cross-strait relations".

 She thanked the US and Japan for their support and vowed Taiwan would contribute to peace and stability in the region.

 Ms Tsai had a commanding lead in the vote count when Eric Chu of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) admitted defeat.

 Mr Chu congratulated Tsai Ing-wen and announced he was quitting as KMT head. Taiwan's Premier Mao Chi-kuo also resigned.

 Read more about Taiwan's election

 Image copyright EPA

 Taiwan's first female leader, shy but steely

 Why does this election matter?

 Who is running?

 Is it all about the economy?

 What's behind the China-Taiwan divide?

 Taiwan profile

 The election came just months after a historic meeting between the leaders of Taiwan and China.

 However, the flagging economy as well as Taiwan's relationship with China both played a role in the voters' choice, correspondents say.

 The KMT has been in power for most of the past 70 years and has overseen improved relations with Beijing - Ms Tsai's is only the second-ever victory for the DPP.

 The first was by pro-independence advocate Chen Shui-bian; during his time as president between 2000 and 2008 tensions with China escalated.

 Analysis: Cindy Sui, BBC News, Taipei

 The victory by Tsai Ing-wen marks a defeat for not only the pro-unification ruling party KMT but also China.

 Despite the past eight years of reduced tensions and much improved relations built by the KMT and China, Taiwanese voters have voted for Ms Tsai from the pro-independence party instead. Basically, they've voted to keep Beijing at a distance.

 This reflects not only widespread dissatisfaction with President Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT over insufficient measures to improve the lacklustre economy, low wages and widening wealth gap - it also reflects growing worries by Taiwanese people that the island may become too economically dependent on China and that this will make it hard for Taiwan to fend off pressures by Beijing to reunify with it one day.

 The message voters have sent Beijing is that, while they want reduced tensions and good relations, they cherish Taiwan's sovereignty, democracy and self-rule even more.

 The challenge now is for Ms Tsai to find a way to work with China, the island's biggest export market, trade partner and security threat.

 Ms Tsai, a former scholar, has said she wants to "maintain [the] status quo" with China.

 She became chairwoman of the DPP in 2008, after it saw a string of corruption scandals.

 She lost a presidential bid in 2012 but has subsequently led the party to regional election victories. She has won increased support from the public partly because of widespread dissatisfaction over the KMT and President Ma Ying-jeou's handling of the economy and widening wealth gap.

 Image copyright AP Image caption Eric Chu's loss shows the KMT has lost a nearly 70-year monopoly on power

 Saturday's polls come after a historic meeting between President Ma and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in November for talks that were seen as largely symbolic - the first in more than 60 years.

 Eric Chu, 54, is the mayor of New Taipei City and stepped up to become chairman of the party in October.

 The KMT has lost its majority in the legislature for the first time in history.

 The former accounting professor was seen as popular with young people in the party, but had been unable to change public opinion that is increasingly unhappy with the party's friendly stance towards China and the island's economic travails.

 In 2014, hundreds of students occupied the parliament in the largest show of anti-China sentiment on the island for years. Labelled the Sunflower Movement, protesters demanded more transparency in trade pacts negotiated with China.

 Taiwan for all practical purposes been independent since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist government fled to the island as the Communists, under Mao Zedong, swept to power. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Tsai Ing-wen promised a "new era" for Taiwan on Saturday after being elected as the island's first female president. The 59-year-old, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, defeated the Nationalist Party's Eric Chu with around 60% of the vote, reports the Los Angeles Times. Tsai will take office in May. Nationalist President Ma Ying-jeou has already served two terms and Taiwan's constitution didn't allow him to seek a third, the AP notes. "We failed. The Nationalist Party lost the elections. We didn't work hard enough," Chu told supporters at party headquarters, announcing his resignation as party chief. The election marks what the BBC calls a "turning point in Taiwan's democracy and relationship with China," which still officially considers the island to be a renegade province. "I am very happy. I feel I have finally accomplished something for Taiwan, so that Taiwan will have great autonomy instead of just following China," a 32-year-old engineer who voted for Tsai tells the LAT. Tsai has said she favors maintaining the status quo, though her refusal to support the principle of reunification between China and Taiwan makes it uncertain whether the closer ties with Beijing that Ma introduced will continue, reports the AP.


Summarize this article:

Story highlights House Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders say they'll stand by Steve Scalise

 Leaders were initially frustrated with Scalise's first response to the story

 Scalise called GOP members of the House on Tuesday

 House Republican leadership is standing by Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 3-ranking House Republican, in the wake of a firestorm of criticism surrounding his 2002 speech to a white supremacist group.

 Scalise's position as House majority whip has been thrown into doubt by the revelation, and the congressman had been calling members to gauge the level of support he had from his party, according to a senior House Republican source.

 But House Speaker John Boehner, in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, said Scalise has his "full confidence" as whip.

 "More than a decade ago, Representative Scalise made an error in judgment, and he was right to acknowledge it was wrong and inappropriate. Like many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I know Steve to be a man of high integrity and good character. He has my full confidence as our Whip, and he will continue to do great and important work for all Americans," he said.

 His message came shortly before a similar message of support from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

 The controversy surrounding Scalise's address to a group founded by former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke had become a major distraction for Boehner and his leadership team since the story drew national attention on Monday.

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 The fallout: What you need to know

 In a statement issued Tuesday, Scalise said he spoke to the group while he was barnstorming the district to build support for a piece of legislation — and that speaking to them was a "mistake I regret."

 "One of the many groups that I spoke to regarding this critical legislation was a group whose views I wholeheartedly condemn. It was a mistake I regret, and I emphatically oppose the divisive racial and religious views groups like these hold," he said in the statement.

 "I am very disappointed that anyone would try to infer otherwise for political gain," he added, and decried the group's "hateful bigotry."

 The statement did not address how much Scalise knew about the group at the time of the speech.

 Duke himself has said he doesn't know Scalise. Duke's former campaign manager, who said he organized the event, also said the congressman likely wasn't aware of the controversial history of his group.

 However, a Roll Call report from 1999 suggests Scalise knew Duke well, and was critical of his beliefs. At that time, both were considered potential contenders in a House special election, and Scalise panned him in comments to the paper.

 "The novelty of David Duke has worn off," Scalise said. "The voters in this district are smart enough to realize that they need to get behind someone who not only believes in the issues they care about, but also can get elected. Duke has proven that he can't get elected, and that's the first and most important thing."

 In a coordinated move Tuesday, Boehner and McCarthy issued statements supporting Scalise within minutes of Scalise's new statement. There was frustration, according to the aides, that Scalise's initial statement, in which he blamed sloppy staff work for his appearance before the group in 2002, made it appear he wasn't taking full responsibility for the incident and moving to get it passed him.

 It is unclear at this point how much blowback Scalise will get from rank-and-file Republicans, and that might now be fully visible until lawmakers return to work next week after digesting the unfolding situation. While the only public expressions from Republicans to this point have been supportive, the aides predicted Scalise still needs to work hard in the days ahead to maintain the confidence of his colleagues.

 Critics of Scalise have been bipartisan, but so have his defenders. He's received strong support from Louisiana politicians, with African-American Rep. Cedric Richmond — the state's only Democratic House member — defending him from charges of racism.

 "I don't think Steve Scalise has a racist bone in his body," Richmond told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "Steve and I have worked on issues that benefit poor people, black people, white people, Jewish people. I know his character."

 READ: Louisiana pols offer bipartisan backing for Steve Scalise

 But national Democrats have pounced on the episode, and as Boehner remained silent on the issue for most of Tuesday, ramped pressure on House Republican leadership to weigh in

 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's spokesman, Drew Hammill, said the news of Scalise's speech is "deeply troubling" for a GOP leader, but also declared that "actions [of the House GOP caucus] speak louder than whatever" Scalise said during the forum.

 "Just this year, House Republicans have refused to restore the Voting Rights Act or pass comprehensive immigration reform, and leading Republican members are now actively supporting in the federal courts efforts by another known extremist group, the American Center for Law and Justice, which is seeking to overturn the President's immigration executive actions," he said in a statement.

 The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a scathing statement charging Scalise "chose to cheerlead for a group of KKK members and neo-Nazis at a white supremacist rally" and slamming House leadership for their silence on the development.

 "While David Duke defends Scalise, Speaker Boehner and Leader [Kevin] McCarthy are refusing to condemn Scalise's choice of allies," said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee National Press Secretary Josh Schwerin.

 Schwerin said the incident made it "clear their leadership has a history of embracing anti-Semitic, racist hate groups."

 According to an agenda for the event and notes attendees posted afterward, Scalise appeared at the National/International EURO Workshop on Civil Rights, a white nationalist organization founded by David Duke, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

 The appearance was first reported on Sunday on CenLamar.com, a Louisiana politics blog run by Lamar White Jr.

 But Scalise vehemently disavowed the group's beliefs in his interview with the Times-Picayune, and said he "spoke to any group that called" — comparing it, as an example, to the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan group known for helping to register new voters.

 "When you look at the kind of things they stand for, I detest these kinds of views. As a Catholic, I think some of the things they profess target people like me. At lot of their views run contradictory to the way I run my life," Scalise added.

 READ: The GOP's 2016 problem

 Scalise also suggested the appearance was in part due to staffing issues.

 "I had one person that was working for me. When someone called and asked me to speak, I would go. I was, in no way, affiliated with that group or the other groups I was talking to."

 CNN has learned that the staffer at the time was Cameron Henry, who currently holds Scalise's former state House seat. Henry rushed CNN off the phone Monday night and declined to discuss the situation, but did not deny his work for the congressman.

 Henry's brother, Charles Henry, is Scalise's current chief of staff. Neither responded to requests for comment on Tuesday.

 The controversy comes just days before Republicans take full control of Congress with House Majority Whip Scalise poised to play a key role in shepherding through conservatives' legislative priorities.

 But even conservatives have expressed frustration with Scalise, who they believe hasn't stood strong on their priorities — pointing most recently to his vote for the government funding measure that drew heavy opposition from conservatives because it didn't address President Obama's immigration executive action.

 Some, however, expressed support for him Tuesday. Rob Maness, the former Louisiana Senate candidate backed by the Tea Party, has been named as a potential primary challenger to Scalise but backed him in a statement to CNN.

 "As Congressman Scalise has already conceded - attending this event was a mistake. I think we are all currently taking him at his word that this was an isolated incident that happened some 12 years ago," Maness said.

 He added that if that's true, "this is clearly an orchestrated attack designed to distract" from the real issues, including "fighting back against President Obama's executive amnesty, correcting a weak and feckless Foreign Policy and stopping the massive expansion of government growth and spending."

 More broadly, however, the establishment silence has infuriated conservatives still smarting over their loss in the Mississippi Senate race, when their chosen candidate, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, was narrowly defeated by Sen. Thad Cochran after establishment Republicans lodged racially-charged attacks against him.

 McDaniel came under heavy fire from establishment Republicans for being billed as a headliner for a rally alongside a white nationalist, though he never ultimately attended the rally. In an email to CNN, McDaniel said that "of course there is a double standard for the GOP establishment."

 He noted that former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour "has a long history of despicable comments, some of them overtly racist," pointing to a Politico article outlining some of the more salacious.

 "And yet, he receives a free pass from establishment politicians because of his perceived influence. All the while, others are forever tarnished for less serious deeds," McDaniel said.

 He added: "The establishment wings of both parties are more hypocritical than fair, seeking to crush anyone -- friend and foe alike -- who would threaten their hold on power."

 Politicians in Scalise's home state of Louisiana rallied to his defense on Monday, however, saying they don't believe he agrees with the white supremacist group's ideology.

 "I know Congressman Scalise to be a good man who is fair-minded and kindhearted. I'm confident he absolutely rejects racism in all its forms," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said in a statement.

 But Scalise's alleged appearance at the event drew a harsh rebuke from Erick Erickson, the conservative RedState.com blogger and former Louisiana resident who asked of the congressman: "How do you not know? How do you not investigate?"

 "How the hell does somebody show up at a David Duke organized event in 2002 and claim ignorance?" Erickson wrote in a post Monday.

 He said Trent Lott -- the former Senate majority leader who was driven from his post after praising Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential campaign -- lost his gig "for something less than this" in 2001.

 And he pointed to Republicans who hit Mississippi Senate candidate Chris McDaniel in 2014 for attending events hosted by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and for making plans to attend a rally where he was billed along with a white nationalist. ||||| House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) spoke at a white supremacist group’s event in 2002 while he served as a state representative, an unwelcome bit of news for Republicans preparing for the new Congress.

 Scalise acknowledged speaking to the group created by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, but said it was “insulting and ludicrous” to think he shared the group's views.

 “I didn't know who all of these groups were and I detest any kind of hate group," he said in an interview with Nola.com on Monday. "For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous,” he said.

 The Louisiana political blog CenLamar initially published posts from Stormfront.com, a white supremacist message board, which mentioned Scalise speaking at an event for the European-American Unity and Rights Organization.

 Scalise did not deny that he spoke to the group, but said he spoke to a number of groups about his opposition to governemnt spending when he served as a state representative.

 “When people asked me to go speak, I went and spoke to any group that called,” he said.

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 Scalise’s office in a statement said that Scalise didn’t know about the group’s white-supremacist leanings and that its message is a “stark contradiction to what Mr. Scalise believes and practices as a father, a husband, and a devoted Catholic.”

 “Throughout his career in public service, Mr. Scalise has spoken to hundreds of different groups with a broad range of viewpoints,” Moira Bagley Smith, Scalise’s spokeswoman, said in the statement.

 “In every case, he was building support for his policies, not the other way around. In 2002, he made himself available to anyone who wanted to hear his proposal to eliminate slush funds that wasted millions of taxpayer dollars as well as his opposition to a proposed tax increase on middle-class families.”

 News of Scalise's appearance before the group created a storm in Washington, and some conservatives lashed out at Scalise.

 Influential conservative blogger Erick Erickson doesn’t buy Scalise’s excuse that he didn’t know about the group’s leanings.

 “By 2002, everybody knew that Duke was still the man he claimed not to be. EVERYBODY,” Erickson said in a blog on his website RedState.com. “How the hell does somebody show up at a David Duke organized event in 2002 and claim ignorance?”

 The Post reported that a number of local businesses put out statements disavowing the event to create distance between its message.

 Duke’s group is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and regularly posted white supremacist and anti-Semitic content on its website, whitecivilrights.com. Posts on the white supremacist forum say that Duke spoke at the event through a teleconference.

 Scalise moved up to GOP whip this past summer after the primary defeat of former Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) caused a shake-up within the caucus.

 He defeated Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), who had been a deputy whip, in the race for the third-ranking House GOP leadership spot. Scalise had previously served as the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee.

 This story was updated at 9:09 p.m. ||||| Getty Congress Steve Scalise's office: Likely he spoke to white supremacist group

 House Majority Whip Steve Scalise spoke to a white supremacist group in 2002, an explosive allegation that first surfaced Sunday on a Louisiana blog.

 Scalise’s office acknowledged that he was making lots of speeches during that time period, as he built his political career, and it was “likely” he appeared before the group, an aide said.

 Story Continued Below

 However, Scalise will not definitively confirm that he spoke to the organization, founded by David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan member, or that he knew what the group supported.

 Louisiana Democrats mocked Scalise’s claim, calling it “ridiculous” as they sought additional information about the 2002 event.

 However, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and other Bayou State Republicans backed Scalise - at least for now - and other House GOP leaders remained silent on the issue, providing Scalise with an opportunity to try to defuse the crisis, the most serious for him during his six months in leadership.

 The 2002 speech by Scalise, now the third highest-ranking House Republican, was initially reported on CenLamar.com, the website of Lamar White Jr., a Louisiana progressive activist.

 Scalise reportedly spoke at the National/International EURO Workshop on Civil Rights a dozen years ago while still serving in the state legislature, the website asserted.

 The Southern Poverty Law Center says the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO) was founded in 2000 by Duke, who ran unsuccessfully for federal office several times. SPLC says EURO “claims to fight for ‘White Civil Rights’ for ‘Europeans and Americans Wherever They May Live.’”

 Scalise’s spokeswoman did not specifically confirm his appearance before the group, but she would not rule it out either.

 Moira Smith, Scalise’s communications director, also said the Louisiana Republican had nothing to do with EURO or its “abhorrent” views.

 “Throughout his career in public service, Mr. Scalise has spoken to hundreds of different groups with a broad range of viewpoints,” Smith said in a statement on Monday. “In every case, he was building support for his policies, not the other way around. In 2002, he made himself available to anyone who wanted to hear his proposal to eliminate slush funds that wasted millions of taxpayer dollars as well as his opposition to a proposed tax increase on middle-class families. He has never been affiliated with the abhorrent group in question. The hate-fueled ignorance and intolerance that group projects is in stark contradiction to what Mr. Scalise believes and practices as a father, a husband, and a devoted Catholic.”

 A Scalise aide said the Louisiana Republican “doesn’t remember speaking to this group and we don’t have any record of his agenda from ’02.” The aide said Scalise had just one staffer when he was a state representative.

 But the Scalise aide Monday said he spoke at that hotel “a lot” and frequently talked about a ballot initiative that would’ve impacted the slush fund being described. If he did speak to the group, the Scalise aide said, he “didn’t know they were a white supremacist group.”

 Scalise was elected House majority whip in June after former Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was defeated in a GOP primary.

 White’s website cited a description of Scalise’s appearance at the EURO event that was originally posted on Stormfront, which describes itself as “the voice of the new, embattled White minority.”

 Scalise reportedly “discussed ways to oversee gross mismanagement of tax revenue or ‘slush funds’ that have little or no accountability,” White said, quoting Stormfront.

 “Representative Scalise brought into sharp focus the dire circumstances pervasive in many important, under-funded needs of the community at the expense of graft within the Housing and Urban Development Fund, an apparent give-away to a selective group based on race,” White wrote, quoting the post on Stormfront.

 A few years later, the same user who described Scalise’s speech said he should run for Congress if Duke did not, saying that Scalise offered “his support for issues that are of concern to us.” Scalise was elected to Congress in 2006.

 Jindal, the son of Indian immigrants, said he backed Scalise in a statement released by his office.

 “I know Congressman Scalise to be a good man who is fair-minded and kind-hearted. I’m confident he absolutely rejects racism in all its forms,” Jindal said.

 But Louisiana Democrats said Scalise faces many questions about how he ended up at the EURO conference and why he didn’t know the group was affiliated with Duke, a well-known figure in Bayou State politics.

 “It’s disturbing to learn that Congressman Scalise has admitted that he spoke to an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has deemed a hate group and the Anti-Defamation League characterizes as anti-Semitic,” said Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “It’s even more disturbing to hear that his allies are trying to sweep this incident under the rug by blaming Scalise’s staff and claiming the then-state representative didn’t know the group’s ideology. That’s ridiculous... If someone in Louisiana didn’t know about David Duke’s beliefs in 2002, they must have been hiding under a very large rock somewhere.”

 Handwerk added: “Which leads to some uncomfortable questions. … Who exactly invited Scalise in the first place? Was it David Duke? Duke addressed the group via teleconference. Wasn’t Scalise present during Duke’s remarks? And what exactly did Scalise say that so impressed the attendees that they were raving about his appearance several years later? Has he accepted any subsequent invitations from the group? Has he accepted any campaign contributions from the organization’s members? Voters deserve answers to these questions.”

 Republican control of Washington begins next week, and it’s getting off to a rough start, at least for House Republicans.

 In addition to Scalise allegedly speaking to a white supremacist group, New York Rep. Michael Grimm pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion in federal court and is preparing to resign this week, according to GOP sources.

 And Texas GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold is facing a civil suit filed by his former spokeswoman that alleges improper behavior in his congressional office. Farenthold has denied any wrongdoing. |||||

– The third-ranking House Republican has admitted that he addressed a gathering of white supremacists in 2002—but House Majority Whip Steve Scalise says he didn't know the group's beliefs and it is "insulting and ludicrous" to suggest he shared them, the Hill reports. Scalise, who was a Louisiana state lawmaker at the time, tells the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he "spoke to any group that called" about his opposition to government spending. An aide says Scalise has spoken to "hundreds of different groups" and is in no way "affiliated with the abhorrent group in question." "I detest these kinds of views," Scalise says of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization founded by former KKK leader David Duke. "As a Catholic, I think some of the things they profess target people like me. A lot of their views run contradictory to the way I run my life." Louisiana politicians, including Gov. Bobby Jindal, have defended Scalise, saying they're confident he is not a racist, reports CNN. But Democrats—and some conservatives—say Scalise still has questions to answer, Politico reports. "If someone in Louisiana didn't know about David Duke's beliefs in 2002, they must have been hiding under a very large rock somewhere," says the executive director of the state Democratic Party.


Write an article based on this summary:

– This year will see almost 10,000 deaths in the US from melanoma, with nearly 74,000 new cases diagnosed. But most skin cancers, including melanoma, are curable if caught and treated early, which is why doctors are anxious to ID them ASAP. Researchers at King's College London say they've found a way to simplify counting one of the disease's prime markers—moles on the body—by using a "proxy site" that would allow physicians to more quickly pinpoint individuals who might need follow-up. Instead of going through the laborious process of counting moles on the entire body, doctors can count moles on the right arm, then use that figure to extrapolate to the number of moles on the body overall, per a press release. And there's a specific number that could serve as a warning sign: Find more than 11 moles on that arm, and your risk of melanoma could be higher. Researchers looked at data from nearly 4,000 female Caucasian twins who were studied between 1995 and 2003. They counted the number of moles on 17 body sites and found women who had at least seven moles on their right arm were nine times more likely to have at least 50 moles all over their body, and that when they had more than 11 moles on their right arm, they were likely to have more than 100 moles—signifying "a drastically increased risk of skin cancer," per Live Science. The scientists then replicated the link between arm mole count and total body mole count using another study that included both males and females. "The findings could have a significant impact for primary care, allowing GPs to more accurately estimate the total number of moles in a patient extremely quickly via an easily accessible body part," the study's lead author says. Two other proxy sites that may prompt a doctor visit: above the right elbow and the legs. (Downing a few cups of joe may help fend off malignant melanoma.)

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for melanoma skin cancer in the United States for 2015 are:

 About 73,870 new cases of melanoma

 About 9,940 deaths from melanoma

 Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers. Melanoma accounts for less than 2% of skin cancers. But it causes most skin cancer deaths.

 The number of new cases of melanoma in the United States has been rising for at least 30 years.

 Overall, the lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 1 in 40 for whites, 1 in 1,000 for blacks, and 1 in 200 for Hispanics. But each person’s risk is also affected by other factors.

 Unlike many other common cancers, melanoma occurs in both younger and older people. But the risk goes up with age. ||||| Researchers at King's College London have investigated a new method that could be used by GPs to quickly determine the number of moles on the entire body by counting the number found on a smaller 'proxy' body area, such as an arm.

 Naevus (mole) count is one of the most important markers of risk for skin cancer despite only 20 to 40 per cent of melanoma arising from pre-existing moles. The risk is thought to increase by two to four per cent per additional mole on the body, but counting the total number on the entire body can be time consuming in a primary care setting.

 Previous studies on a smaller scale have attempted to identify mole count on certain body sites as a proxy to accurately estimate the number on the body as a whole and found that the arm was the most predictive.

 This study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, used a much larger sample of participants to identify the most useful 'proxy' site for a full body mole count as well as the 'cut off' number of moles that can be used to predict those at the highest risk of developing skin cancer.

 The researchers used data from 3594 female Caucasian twins between January 1995 and December 2003 as part of the TwinsUK study protocol. Twins underwent a skin examination including recording skin type, hair and eye colour and freckles as well as mole count on 17 body sites performed by trained nurses. This was then replicated in a wider sample of male and female participants from a UK melanoma case control study published previously.

 Scientists found that the count of moles on the right arm was most predictive of the total number on the whole body. Females with more than seven moles on their right arm had nine times the risk of having more than 50 on the whole body and those with more than 11 on their right arm were more likely to have over 100 on their body in total, meaning they were at a higher risk of developing a melanoma.

 These findings could help GPs to more easily identify those at the highest risk of developing a melanoma (skin cancer).

 Scientists also found that the area above the right elbow was particularly predictive of the total body count of moles. The legs were also strongly associated with the total count as well as the back area in males.

 Lead author, Simone Ribero of the Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology said: 'This study follows on from previous work to identify the best proxy site for measuring the number of moles on the body as a whole. The difference here is that it has been done on a much larger scale in a healthy Caucasian population without any selection bias and subsequently replicated in a case control study from a similar healthy UK population, making the results more useful and relevant for GPs.

 'The findings could have a significant impact for primary care, allowing GPs to more accurately estimate the total number of moles in a patient extremely quickly via an easily accessible body part. This would mean that more patients at risk of melanoma can be identified and monitored.'

 ### ||||| Skin Cancer Facts

 What does the skin do?

 The skin is the largest organ of the body. It does many things, such as:

 Covers your internal organs and protects them from injury

 Serves as a barrier to germs

 Keeps you from losing too much water and other fluids

 Helps control your body temperature

 Protects the rest of your body from ultraviolet (UV) rays

 Helps your body make vitamin D

 How common is skin cancer?

 Skin cancer is the most common cancer. About 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed each year. (These are found in about 3.3 million Americans; some people have more than one.) Melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer, will account for about 76,380 cases of skin cancer in 2016.

 Types of skin cancers

 Skin cancer is by far the most common type of cancer. If you have skin cancer, it’s important to know which type you have because it affects your treatment options and your outlook (prognosis).

 Basal and squamous cell skin cancers

 These types of skin cancers start in the basal cells or squamous cells of the skin, which is how they get their names. These cells are in the outer layer of your skin.

 Most basal and squamous cell cancers develop on sun-exposed areas of your skin, like the face, ears, neck, lips, and the backs of your hands.

 Basal cell cancers tend to grow slowly and rarely spread to other parts of the body. Squamous cell cancers are more likely to grow into deeper layers of skin and spread, but this is not common.

 Both basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers can be cured if found and treated early – when they are small and have not spread. But either type can cause problems if left untreated.

 You can learn more about these skin cancers at Skin Cancer: Basal and Squamous Cell.

 Melanoma skin cancer

 Melanoma is a cancer that starts in melanocytes – the cells that make the brown skin pigment known as melanin, which gives skin its color. Melanin helps protect the deeper layers of the skin from sun damage.

 Melanoma can start on nearly any part of the skin, even in places that aren’t normally exposed to the sun, like the genital or anal areas. Melanoma most often affects the skin (including under the nails), but it can also start in other parts of the body, such as in the eyes or mouth.

 Melanoma is almost always curable when it’s found in very early stages. Melanoma accounts for only a small percentage of skin cancers, but it’s much more likely to grow and spread to other parts of the body, where it can be hard to treat. Because of this, melanoma causes most skin cancer deaths, accounting for more than 10,000 of the more than 13,650 skin cancer deaths each year.

 You can learn more at Melanoma Skin Cancer.

 Other types of skin cancer

 There are many other types of skin cancer, such as Merkel cell carcinoma, skin lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma, skin adnexal tumors, and sarcomas. These are all much less common than basal or squamous cell cancers or melanomas.

 Skin cancer risk factors

 Risk factors for skin cancer include:

 Too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (from sunlight or tanning beds and lamps)

 Pale skin (easily sunburned, doesn’t tan much or at all, natural red or blond hair)

 Exposure to large amounts of coal tar, paraffin, arsenic compounds, or certain types of oil

 You or members of your family have had skin cancers

 Multiple or unusual moles

 Severe sunburns in the past

 Weakened immune system

 Older age (although melanomas are also found in younger people)

 Signs and symptoms of skin cancer

 Skin cancer can be found early, and you and your health care providers play key roles in finding skin cancer. Learn how to examine your skin for changes. If you have any of these symptoms, see a provider:

 Any change on your skin, especially in the size or color of a mole, growth, or spot, or a new growth (even if it has no color)

 Scaliness, roughness, oozing, bleeding, or a change in the way an area of skin looks

 A sore that doesn’t heal

 The spread of pigment (color) beyond its border, such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark

 A change in sensation, such as itchiness, tenderness, or pain

 To see some examples of different types of skin cancers, see our Skin Cancer Image Gallery.

 Can skin cancer be prevented?

 The best ways to help lower your risk of skin cancer is to stay out of intense sunlight and practice sun safety. You can still exercise and enjoy the outdoors while practicing sun safety at the same time. Here are some ways to be sun safe: ||||| People who have 11 or more moles on one of their arms could have a higher risk of the deadly skin cancer melanoma, according to a new study.

 Researchers counted the number of moles that study participants had on 17 sites on the skin of their bodies — such as the left leg, the chest and the back — and found that the arms were the site that was the best indicator of the total number of moles on the whole body.

 For example, women with at least seven moles on an arm were nine times more likely to have at least 50 moles on their entire body than those who had fewer than seven moles on their right arm. And those with at least 11 moles on an arm were more likely to have at least 100 moles on their whole body — a sign of a drastically increased risk of skin cancer.

 The findings suggest that the arm could be the best place to look to estimate the number of moles on the whole body. "Many different body sites were predictive of total body mole count, but at the end, the strongest one was the arm," said lead study author Simone Ribero, a research fellow at King's College London, adding that the right or left arm work as a good indicator of the total number of moles on the whole body. [5 Things You Must Know About Skin Cancer ]

 There will be an estimated 74,000 new cases of melanoma in the United States in 2015, and 10,000 of those people will die of the disease this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

 The total number of moles a person has is an important marker that can help determine their risk of skin cancer, according to the researchers.

 In the new study, the researchers looked at data from 3,694 female Caucasian twins who were taking part in a long-running study of twins in the United Kingdom, called the TwinsUK study. Between January 1995 and December 2003, the participants underwent a skin examination in which researchers recorded their skin type, eye color and freckles, hair color and moles.

 The researchers also confirmed the link they found between total mole count and the number of moles on the right arm using data from another study, which included male and female participants.

 Two other body sites — the area above the right elbow, and the legs — were also found to be particularly predictive of a person's total body mole count. In men, the number of moles on the back was a good indicator of total mole count as well, the researchers said.

 A person's melanoma risk is thought to increase by 2 to 4 percent with each additional mole on the body, the researchers said. However, determining the total number of moles on the whole body can be difficult and time-consuming.

 "Every dermatologist and physician in general knows that the risk of melanoma increases with the total body number of moles, but counting moles is a very long procedure," Riberosaid. "We hope that this technique will be helpful for this."

 However, there are other factors that may better determine a person's risk of melanoma, said Dr. Hooman Khorasani, chief of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, who was not involved in the study.

 "Genetic composition is way more important, as well as how the moles look," Khorasani said. For example, moles that doctors call "dysplastic nevi," which are unusual, benign moles butthat resemble moles that indicate the presence of melanoma are essential to distinguish from other moles because they signal an increased cancer risk.

 According to the American Cancer Society, people with greater exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, and those with fair skin, freckles, light hair or a family history of melanoma face an increased risk of melanoma.

 "It's more important that you look at a person's risk factors than count the number of moles on their arm," Khorasani said.

 The study was published Monday (Oct. 19) in the British Journal of Dermatology.

 Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. |||||


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Nathaniel Marston UPDATE: November 11, 2015 - Dear family and friends, it is with a heavy heart that I share this devastating news. My beloved and cherished son, Nathaniel Marston, who was putting up the good fight until last night was not able to continue due to the traumatic and devastating nature of his injuries. Nathaniel passed away peacefully as I held him in my arms. Father William, myself and his second Mommy Lisa, and our dear friend Charlotte were by his bedside, he was not alone. His injuries, which Dr.’s did their best to heal were not responding to treatment and one after another his bodily functions failed to support his life.

 Had Nathaniel lived he would have required a ventilator and would never have been able to utter one more word and would have been sentenced to life as a quadriplegic. A condition that Nate would have never have been able to tolerate. By Gods love and mercy Nathaniel was spared this living hell and has traveled on to be with God, his cherished Grandmother Mary Jackson, Grandfather John Jackson and my sister his Aunt Nora…. God is merciful and because of his mercy God ended Nathaniel’s pain and suffering at 3:15 today PST in Reno, NV. Nathaniel now lives with Father God, surrounded with peace, love and light.

 Know that I am deeply grateful for all of you for taking this tragic two week journey with me Nathaniel and our family. Your unfailing support, prayers, love and positive thoughts that you have sent our way, in what has been the worst two weeks of my life, have held all of us up giving us the strength to get through each hellish day.

 Arrangements will be made for a memorial service in New York City, NY, Kauai, HI and Gerlach, NV. As soon as dates for these services are known they will be posted. Again, thank you for your prayers, your love, your kindness and your friendship which has allowed me and my family to be strong enough to be by my son's side for these past 12 days. The outpouring of your love came as an unexpected gift and I don't know how I will repay you for all of your love, prayers and support. Thank you for sharing your love, your experiences with me about how my treasured child, a man who grew into an individual who touched more lives than I ever could have known. XOXOXOXOXOOX ||||| Nathaniel Marston, former star of One Life to Live, appears to be fighting for his life following a horrific car accident.

 The 40-year-old soap star's mother, Elizabeth Jackson, has been posting updates of her son's condition to her Facebook page. Jackson wrote in her initial post on Saturday, "Please pray for my son Nathaniel Marston.. He was in a car accident last night and is in the intensive care on life support. Back and neck broken in several places.Other internal injuries.Please pray that he will recover and walk again."

 The Nevada Highway Patrol confirms to ET they responded to a single vehicle collusion on Oct. 30, at 9:10 p.m. According to a preliminary crash investigation, Marston was traveling southbound on SR447 in a blue 1985 Ford F-150 pickup, "when he allowed the truck to drift across the northbound travel lane and enter the east dirt shoulder. The vehicle then rotated and overturned multiple times. The vehicle came to rest on the west side of SR447 on its wheels facing west. Marston was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle during the course of the crash."

 His mother later wrote in another Facebook update that police told her Marston was sober at the time of the accident, and had sustained a broken and fractured neck, broken shoulder, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. "Please pray for him," she wrote.

 The upsetting news continued early into Sunday morning, when Jackson shared what Marston's doctor allegedly told her. "In all likelihood, if he lives, he will be paralyzed from the neck down and will not breathe without a ventilator machine," she relayed.

 PHOTOS: Stars We've Lost In Recent Years

 "Oh my God please give me strength," Jackson wrote.

 On Monday, however, Jackson said that Marston was able to communicate, and "is not going to give up without a fight."

 "He is going into surgery at 3:00 this afternoon. The goal is to get him breathing on his own," she said in her latest update. "The doctor said that there is a good chance that he will recover the use of upper body movement and a slim chance that he will walk again."

 WATCH: John Stamos and Julianne Moore Brilliantly Act Out Soap Scene Using Only Taylor Swift Lyrics

 "Recovery will take two or more years but, where there is life there is hope. Nate has never walked away from a fight and he is determined to win this one," Jackson said.

 Marston appeared starred as Michael McBain on One Life to Live, which is no longer on the air, from 2001-07. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. |||||

– One Life to Live fans are waking up to devastating news Thursday morning: Nathaniel Marston, the star who played Michael McBain on the long-running ABC soap opera, has died at the age of 40, People reports. Mom Elizabeth Jackson posted a heartfelt tribute to her son on Facebook Wednesday evening, informing readers that "my beloved and cherished son, Nathaniel Marston, who was putting up the good fight until last night was not able to continue due to the traumatic and devastating nature of his injuries. Nathaniel passed away peacefully as I held him in my arms." Jackson also noted doctors had done the best they could to save her son after the Oct. 30 car crash near Reno, Nev., that threw him from the car. "Had Nathaniel lived he would have required a ventilator and would never have been able to utter one more word and would have been sentenced to life as a quadriplegic. A condition that Nate would have never have been able to tolerate," she wrote. "By Gods [sic] love and mercy Nathaniel was spared this living hell and has traveled on to be with God." Jackson noted that memorial services would be held in NYC, Hawaii, and Nevada.