– He was a victim of Hurricane Irma, and then allegedly a victim of something much worse. Police say William Reiss, 68, was murdered on Jan. 3 by the FEMA contractor who compiled the damage estimate of his Polk County, Fla., home in September. The New York Daily News describes Reiss as having "befriended" Gerjuan Jackson. The two reportedly discussed Reiss' gun collection, and the 18-year-old Alabama man purchased two handguns from Reiss weeks after they met for $800. The Miami Herald reports Jackson lost possession of those guns during a subsequent marijuana bust and allegedly decided to replace them via Reiss' stash. Police say he drove to the home with two accomplices who waited in the car. Jackson allegedly shot Reiss and his roommate Kenneth Maier, who initially managed to flag down help from his driveway but died of his injuries Friday, reports WFLA. Police say Jackson took roughly two dozen guns, a TV, and Reiss' truck, which was found burned in Alabama. He has reportedly confessed to the killings, and he and Kenley Campbell and Darril Rankin have all been charged with first-degree murder and other offenses. As for the FEMA connection, the agency says two private-sector companies provide the subcontractors who handle damage assessments, noting, "Questions about individuals employed within those contracted companies, or those companies' hiring practices, must be pursued through their individual contractors."

Expand this summary.

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. ||||| He survived Hurricane Irma, officials said, only to die by a FEMA contractor's hand.

 A Florida man was killed earlier this month by a FEMA contractor he befriended while the suspect was assessing his home for storm damage.

 William Reiss, 68, had shown the contractor, 18-year-old Gerjuan Jackson, his firearm collection and even sold him a pair of handguns, officials said.

 Jackson was arrested this week along with two suspected accomplices for the Jan. 3 slaying of Reiss, whose gun collection was also raided.

 Human remains found in trash can after Hurricane Irma

 They met last year after Hurricane Irma damaged Reiss’ Polk County home, NBC affiliate WFLA reported.

 Jackson, who lives in Mobile, Ala., bought the handguns from Reiss for $800 about two weeks after they met, the news channel reported.

 In November, Jackson was arrested for carrying a pistol without a permit in his native Alabama, the Polk County sheriff’s office said.

 On Jan. 3, he traveled back to Polk County with accomplices Kenley Campbell and Darril Rankin, both 22, to rob Reiss of more guns, the sheriff’s office said.

 12 deaths at senior facility after Hurricane Irma ruled homicide

 Reiss previously sold Jackson a pair of handguns, police said. (Facebook)

 Jackson allegedly went inside Reiss’ home that afternoon while his buddies stayed outside in Campbell’s Chevrolet Sonic.

 That’s when authorities say he shot Reiss four times and also wounded the victim’s roommate, Kenneth Maier, who died of his wounds Friday.

 They then took up to 25 guns from Reiss’ collection and a TV out of his home, loading them into Campbell’s car and Reiss’ Dodge pick-up, the sheriff’s office said.

 The trio torched Reiss’ truck when they got back to Alabama, and sold all but three of his guns on the street as well as the TV.

 Irma-battered Ritz-Carlton South Beach to lay off hundreds

 Cops recovered the remaining three firearms when they arrested the suspects, also finding Jackson’s FEMA ID card.

 Jackson admitted to investigators that he shot Reiss and Maier.

 All three were hit with a first-degree murder charge along with a handful of robbery, burglary and grand theft counts.

 Campbell and Rankin are accused of helping boost up to 25 firearms from Reiss' home. (Polk County Sheriff)

 FEMA, in a statement to WFLA, said it’s looking into the incident — noting Jackson worked for a private contractor tapped by the agency.

 Deputy caught on camera stealing from dead man’s home

 “Questions about individuals employed within those contracted companies, or those companies’ hiring practices, must be pursued through their individual contractors,” the agency said. “FEMA works closely with law enforcement on a regular basis, and will provide appropriate coordination with law enforcement on this incident.”

 He’d been tasked with assessing homes after Irma ripped through Florida last September.

 Jackson’s arrest left other Polk County residents startled that he was inside their home.

 “Oh my God,” an unidentified neighbor of Reiss’ told WFLA she yelled to her husband after the arrest. “Oh my God. This guy was in our house!”

 Jackson came to the woman’s home in late September, where he acted nervous as he asked about guns in the home and the local crime rate.

 “It was a rage that he passed a background check to work through FEMA,” she told the channel.

 Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing! ||||| POLK CITY, Fla. (WFLA) – A man who flagged down help from good Samaritans after his friend was murdered by a FEMA contractor and two others in Polk City succumbed to his injuries on Friday.

 Kenneth Maier, 57, was standing in the driveway of his home and managed to flag down three people driving by on Jan. 3.

 Maier had been shot several times. He told the good samaritans his friend had also been shot inside of their home on Berkley Road in Polk City.

 The good Samaritans entered the home and found 68-year-old William Reiss deceased.

 Three men were arrested and charged in connection with the murder of Reiss: Gerjuan Jackson, Kenley Campbell and Darril Rankin Jr.

 Jackson initially knew Reiss as a FEMA contractor.

 He met Reiss last year while conducting a damage assessment weeks after Hurricane Irma hit Polk County.

 Maier was taken to a local hospital, where he died on Friday.

 There men were arrested in charged in connection with the murder of Reiss, Gerjuan Jackson, Kenley Campbell and Darril Rankin Jr.

 Jackson initially knew Reiss as a FEMA contractor.

 He met Reiss last year while conducting a damage assessment weeks after Hurricane Irma hit Polk County.

 Additional murder charges against Jackson, Campbell and Rankin Jr. in the death of Maier are pending.

 “We are heartbroken to hear that Kenneth passed away today. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to Kenneth’s family and friends. This act of vicious murder should have never happened,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. |||||


News article:

Friends and colleagues had warned Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa to avoid the danger zones in Syria. Goto, a veteran war journalist, even advised the inexperienced Yukawa to stay away from the area.

 Now, the same friends and colleagues are praying for the safe release of Goto, 47, and Yukawa, 42, from the clutches of the Islamic State extremist group. In a video posted online on Jan. 20, a man wielding a knife and standing over the two kneeling Japanese men threatened to kill the hostages unless the Japanese government pays a ransom of $200 million (23.58 billion yen) in 72 hours.

 The two men, who met in a different hostage situation in Syria in April 2014, both dismissed the warnings and entered the war-torn country for different reasons.

 Yukawa told a colleague he was pursuing business opportunities in Syria. Goto entered the area controlled by the Islamic State in October for first-hand coverage, a task he has done for years to shed light on the plight of the innocent victims of conflicts.

 “It has been Goto’s life work to cover children in conflict-torn regions with a hope to convey to the world the harsh realities that those marginalized children are facing,” said Kazumasa Ito, a high school teacher from Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, who has been Goto’s friend for the past decade or so.

 In an e-mail sent to Ito on Oct. 22, Goto, the operator of the video news agency Independent Press, said he would make an overseas trip and return to Japan on the morning of Oct. 29.

 That was the last contact Ito had with the journalist.

 Ito said that he had asked Goto to give a lecture to children in Japan at the end of October titled, “What is happening to children in the world? The reality I saw from reporting from the front line of conflicts.”

 A Syrian man who has accompanied Goto during his news-gathering activities in the Middle East country said the journalist told him that he planned to enter the area controlled by the Islamic State when they last met on Oct. 24. The Syrian tried to discourage Goto, saying it was too dangerous.

 But Goto insisted on visiting the area and mentioned that he had personal connections to ensure his safety, according to the Syrian.

 Around the same time, Goto sent a column via e-mail to the online news site Christian Today. Based on his experiences in the Iraq War, he wrote about an invisible boundary between soldiers and civilians in combat zones, saying there is no guarantee for life when the latter steps over that line.

 After working in the TV production industry, Goto, a native of Sendai, established Independent Press in Tokyo’s Minato Ward in 1996.

 Freelance journalist Takeharu Watai, the 43-year-old co-founder of the company, said Goto has covered battlefields and conflict zones with camcorders since the mid-1990s.

 “I admired him for his bold efforts to gather news in Syria in recent years,” Watai said.

 Goto has also contributed to campaigns by the Japan Committee for UNICEF to raise awareness of children’s rights around the world.

 “He has made consistent efforts to uncover and report the realities of children who are denied the opportunity to attend school or are forced to become soldiers in developing countries and conflict-plagued areas,” said Hiromasa Nakai, the organization’s spokesman. “I humbly pray for his safe return home.”

 In April last year, Goto met Yukawa, who established a private military company called PMC in January 2014. Yukawa was being detained by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), an armed opposition group, in northern Syria.

 According to Nobuo Kimoto, a 70-year-old former Ibaraki prefectural assembly member and adviser to PMC, Yukawa was released thanks largely to Goto, who had connections with FSA members. The journalist translated Yukawa's words to explain that he had no purpose in Syria other than to acquire on-field experience.

 After returning to Japan, Yukawa told Kimoto about Goto, saying he found a good connection for business opportunities in Syria.

 Yukawa also told acquaintances that he received a request from an FSA general to supply medical goods and an ambulance to the group.

 Kimoto tried to discourage Yukawa from revisiting Syria. Goto has said he also urged Yukawa not to enter the conflict zones, considering his lack of experience.

 But according to Kimoto, Yukawa noted that he was not married and was not afraid of dying.

 Yukawa apparently re-entered Syria in July. He is believed to have been captured by the Islamic State in August.

 “I had been worried that he would end up like this one day,” Kimoto said.

 Yukawa’s father, Shoichi, told reporters at the family’s residence in Chiba on Jan. 20 that he cannot comment on the hostage crisis because he was concentrating on all the information coming in about his son’s situation. ||||| TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday that his government will use every possible diplomatic channel to secure the release of two Japanese hostages held by Islamic extremists.

 A video posted on a YouTube channel used by Islamic State’s publishing arm Tuesday showed a masked man with a knife threatening to kill two kneeling Japanese men unless the government paid a $200 million ransom within 72 hours.

 The... ||||| TOKYO -- The Japanese government has verified the identities of the two hostages held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after consulting with the victims' families, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday, adding that Tokyo would "exert its utmost to secure the men's release."

 Historically pacifist and heavily dependent on Mideast oil, contemporary Japan has reiterated that its aid to the Mideast nations and their allies battling ISIS was humanitarian in nature, and meant to promote the stability of the region.

 "We have been aggressively contributing, for the sake of peace and to improve the welfare of the people of the Mideast," Suga said. "Japan's aid is absolutely not being used to kill Muslims, as claimed by these brutal criminals."

 In a video released Tuesday, ISIS demanded $200 million in exchange for the lives of the two men, and accused Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe directly of donating "$100 million to kill our women and children, to destroy the homes of the Muslims ... and in an attempt to stop the expansion of the Islamic State, you have also donated another $100 million to train the (apostates)."

 "We will not yield to terrorism, and there is no change to our position of contributing to campaigns against terror in international society," Suga said Wednesday, reiterating remarks made immediately after the video surfaced.

 Japan has been at pains to emphasize that the aid announced in recent days is strictly non-military in nature.

 The widely circulated Asahi Shimbun newspaper said the ransom demand was more than four-times the amount of money extorted by ISIS in exchange for hostages over the past year.

 Japan's National Police Agency, meanwhile, said it was dispatching a counter-terrorism team, activated when Japanese citizens are abducted overseas, to Amman, Jordan. The government was also analyzing the hostage video itself -- shadows on the victims' faces and discrepancies in the way the wind is blowing their garments indicate the video may be doctored.

 Japan is renowned for its low crime rate. Japanese police do not carry firearms and the self-defense forces are not considered an actual military. Its remote location has largely isolated it from the terrorism that has plagued Western countries in recent years, and naiveté and miscalculations by both of the hostages apparently played a role in their abduction.

 "I was afraid something like this would happen eventually," Shintaro Kimoto, an acquaintance of hostage Haruna Yukawa, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

 Yukawa, despite having no experience or military background, set himself up as a private military contractor in January, 2014, telling Kimoto the venture would guard Japanese ships.

 In April he went by himself to Syria, saying on his blog that he wanted to "record everything that happens in a war zone."

 At the time, he was training with members of the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army rebels in northern Syria.

 "I came to get experience for my military contracting," he said. There, he met journalist Kenji Goto, who warned him, "if you identify yourself as a military contractor in a combat area, you'll be marked as an enemy."

 Yukawa returned to Japan. He expressed excitement over having had the chance to fire a gun -- something impossible in Japan, where strict laws forbid ordinary citizens from owning firearms.

 Unable to sell his services to Japanese shipping companies, Yukawa decided there was business to be had bringing medicine and ambulances to the Free Syrian Army, and providing bodyguard service to journalists like Goto.

 Kimoto said he told him the venture was too dangerous, to which Yukawa, a widower, replied, "I'm alone in the world, so even if I die, it doesn't matter." He returned to Syria in July.

 In mid-August, a YouTube video appeared, showing Yukawa being interrogated, his head bleeding.

 Swarmed by media in front of his home in Chiba city yesterday, Yukawa's father, Shoichi, said only: "My mind is confusion, I can't do interviews," and then he left.

 Unlike Yukawa, whose life was a series of personal reverses, Kenji Goto was a widely respected journalist in Japan, who set up his TV production company, Independent Press, in 1996, to cover conflicts, refugees, poverty, AIDS, and children's education. He had traveled repeatedly to Syria and was a prime source of reports from that area in the Japanese language media.

 Akira Ikegami, a leading journalist in Tokyo who had relied on Goto's expertise while producing a story on the Iraq war, praised him as a "veteran of combat reporting" and expressed shock over his abduction.

 Goto, Ikegami told various Japanese media, "tried to get across the tragedy of conflict. I am worried about him."

 Yet despite his experience working in war zones, Goto failed to heed warnings on his most recent trip.

 A Syrian guide interviewed in southern Turkey by several Japanese TV networks described how Goto tried to hire him for a trip into ISIS-held territory to search for Yukawa and report on civilian life under the militants' control.

 The guide took him from Kiris, Turkey, to the battlefront city of Aleppo in northern Syria, but refused to escort him to Raqqa, the de-facto capital of ISIS' territory, saying that foreign journalists were prime targets.

 The guide said Goto felt his nationality would shield him from harm.

 Goto's wife received an email, apparently from ISIS militants, demanding $17 million in ransom in December, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

 ISIS' well-documented social-media savvy was evident, according to the Japanese edition of Huffington Post, in their use of Twitter.

 In an effort to disseminate their video as far and fast as possible in Japan on Tuesday, the captors tweeted a link using unrelated Japanese-language hashtags that happened to be trending at the time: "Hitoshi Saito," a deceased judo champ; "coldest period of winter," and "snow crab," among others.

 As the news began to generate tweets in Japan, key phrases in Japanese, like "236 million yen," (the ransom amount in Japanese currency) and "within 72 hours," were copied and pasted into new hashtags, ensuring the news' quick spread. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Japan says it's exercising every diplomatic channel in the wake of ISIS' video threat to kill two Japanese hostages, emphasizing that the funds it's contributing to the international effort against the group are "not aimed at killing Muslims … and that [ISIS] shouldn't harm the two Japanese men," per Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday that the country wouldn't abandon plans to provide the money, which he said is intended to provide food and medicine for people affected by the crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. Suga responded to questions about whether a $200 million ransom would be paid by saying that Japan wouldn't submit to terrorists. But Japan will "exert its utmost to secure the men's release," he said. Japan is also sending a counterterror team to Jordan as it investigates the video, CBS News reports. Hostage Haruna Yukawa sought to become a military contractor without any experience in the field, CBS notes, via Japan's Asahi Shimbun. When a friend warned him about working in Syria, he said he was "alone in the world, so even if I die, it doesn't matter." Fellow hostage Kenji Goto, a journalist, made it his life's work "to cover children in conflict-torn regions with a hope to convey to the world the harsh realities that those marginalized children are facing," a friend tells Asahi Shimbun. For more on their story, click here.


News article:

Michelle Obama’s goodbye fete Wednesday on “The Tonight Show” was way more upbeat than President Obama’s emotional farewell address to the nation. She was Jimmy Fallon’s sole guest and the late night host dedicated his entire show to her.

 When she walked out onto the “Tonight Show” set, Fallon — who began hosting the show soon after the Obamas took office — said he felt emotional while watching the president’s final speech. “I lost it at home,” he said. “Malia was crying. Sasha she wasn’t there.”

 Michelle Obama explained that her youngest daughter stayed home. “You know the Obamas, �?Girl sorry. You better take your test. ... You can say goodbye later,’” she said, laughing.

 The first lady said the end of her husband’s administration has “been surprisingly emotional for all of us in ways that we didn’t expect.” She cried at her final event in the White House last week and Fallon asked her why.

 “Talking about kids. Kids are my heart,” she said. “When I think about the fact that some of them are afraid of the future, of what is to come. I don’t want them to be afraid. I want them to embrace the future and know that the world is getting better. We have bumps in the road. We have ups and downs but I want our kids to move forward — I don’t care where they come from — with strength and with hope.”

 First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a potato sack race with Jimmy Fallon in the East Room of the White House in 2012. (Chuck Kennedy/The White House)

 She also pledged to continue working on her initiatives to encourage young people to pursue higher education and eat healthy. “I’m not done. I’m too young. I’m too young to stop,” she said. “We’ve made plans for the continuation of all that we’re doing. I will continue to stay involved with these issues as long as I live. The fact that we have made huge strides especially in the school lunch program, which I hope does not get touched because it makes sense.”

 The closest Fallon got to asking the first lady about politics was a question about her meeting with her successor. Michelle Obama said she had given Melania Trump advice on how to create a safe space for her family while living in the White House. She added that she’d be there in the future to help Melania or Ivanka — if they want her assistance.

 Fallon also showed a pre-taped video of passerbys that he invited to record thank you messages for the first lady. After each one, the first lady popped from behind the curtain and surprised the overwhelmed fans with big hugs.

 Fallon has created some viral video moments with both Obamas through the years. The president slow jammed the news with Fallon twice. Michelle Obama has performed skits with him, including “The Evolution of Mom Dancing” where the two had a dance off. Fallon dressed in drag. Michelle Obama did the dougie.

 The first lady and Fallon did not reprise their skits Wednesday, though she was animated during a game of “Catchphrase” in which she and Fallon teamed up against Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld, who wore a tux for the occasion. Obama, who is competitive and grew up playing games, did the robot dance to convey a clue and the happy dance when she and Fallon won.

 In another segment, she and Fallon wrote thank you notes. The comedian penned one to Michelle Obama. “Thank you, Mrs. Obama, for being a strong, smart, independent woman — an activist, a style icon and a great dancer, and showing us all what it would look like if Beyoncé married a much nerdier Jay Z,” he said.

 She wrote one to her husband: “Thank you, Barack, for proving you’re not a lame duck but my very own silver fox.”

 First lady Michelle Obama. (Molly Riley/AP)

 The show closed with a performance by Stevie Wonder, who is the first lady’s favorite singer. He remixed one of his most famous songs for her. “My Michelle amour, lovely as a summer day. My Michelle amour, you’re the only one that we adore. … You’ll always be first lady in our lives.” ||||| This time, Michelle Obama got to say her goodbyes.

 With barely a week left in office, the First Lady joined Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” Wednesday night to talk about leaving the White House.

 “I didn’t think it was going to be that emotional,” she told the TV host. “It’s been surprisingly emotional for all of us in ways that we didn’t expect.”

 Speaking about what comes next, the First Lady said she was worried about children's futures.

 Michelle Obama will be remembered by her class, style and smarts

 Michelle Obama joined Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” Wednesday in her final late show appearance as sitting First Lady. (NBC/Andrew Lipovsky/NBC)

 “When I think about the fact that some of them are afraid about what’s to come. I don’t want them to be afraid. I want them to embrace the future and know that the world is getting better," she said. "We have bumps in the road, we have ups and downs. But I want our kids to move forward, I don’t care where they come from, with strength and with hope.”

 Obama offered her support to the incoming Trump family, including Melania and Ivanka, with the transition.

 “This democracy is not about party. We’re all trying to get things done,” she told Fallon. “We’re going to be supportive to the Trump administration for as much as we can be.”

 Michelle Obama: First Lady with Style

 As for the initiatives she’d put in place over the last four years, the First Lady said she intends to stay involved “as long as I live.”

 First Lady Michelle Obama calls the job her ‘greatest honor’

 She specifically picked out her school lunch program as an approach that she wants to outlive the Obama presidency.

 “I hope it does not get touched because that makes sense,” she said pointedly.

 Fallon also had “regular people” bid farewell to a portrait of the First Lady before revealing that she was standing behind a curtain listening.

 Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld joined the show for a game of Catchphrase and Stevie Wonder came in for a performance of “Isn’t She Lovely” and "My Cherie Amour" dedicated to Obama.

 Obama tearfully thanks Michelle Obama for her 'grace and grit'

 Obama’s final late show appearance as sitting first lady came just a day after her husband’s final speech, a message of hope in Chicago.

 Obama also played Catchphrase with Fallon, Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Chapelle. (NBC/Andrew Lipovsky/NBC)

 In the farewell address, the President thanked his wife for taking on “a role you didn’t ask for and made it your own with grace and with grit and with style and with good humor.”

 “You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody,” he said. “And a new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. You have made me proud and you have made the country prouder.”

 Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing! ||||| Published on Jan 11, 2017

 Jimmy and First Lady Michelle Obama write out Thank You Notes to President Obama, Inauguration Day and other things.

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 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon features hilarious highlights from the show including: comedy sketches, music parodies, celebrity interviews, ridiculous games, and, of course, Jimmy's Thank You Notes and hashtags! You'll also find behind the scenes videos and other great web exclusives.

 Thank You Notes with First Lady Michelle Obama

 http://www.youtube.com/fallontonight ||||| Published on Jan 11, 2017

 We asked regular Americans to record a video message saying goodbye to First Lady Michelle Obama - what they didn't know was that FLOTUS was right behind the curtain, waiting to surprise them.

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 http://www.youtube.com/fallontonight ||||| Published on Jan 12, 2017

 Music guest Stevie Wonder performs a special medley of "Isn't She Lovely" and "My Cherie Amour" for First Lady Michelle Obama and the Tonight Show audience.

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 Stevie Wonder Sings "Isn't She Lovely"/"My Cherie Amour" to Michelle Obama

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What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Jimmy Fallon devoted an entire episode of The Tonight Show on Wednesday to bidding farewell to First Lady Michelle Obama, whom he called "a strong, smart, independent woman, an activist, a style icon, and a great dancer." Obama was Fallon's sole guest, though Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld appeared for a game of Catchphrase. Obama even helped Fallon write his usual "thank you" notes, penning "Thank you, Barack, for proving you're not a lame duck but my very own silver fox," per the Washington Post. She was then serenaded by her favorite singer Stevie Wonder, who altered the lyrics of "My Cherie Amour," singing "My Michelle amour, you're the only one that we adore … You'll always be first lady in our lives." There were more serious moments, too. As guests delivered emotional farewell messages to a photo of Obama during one segment, the first lady jumped out from behind a curtain, leaving a few in tears. Obama also told Fallon that the end of her husband's term has "been surprisingly emotional for all of us." She said she felt like crying when thinking "about the fact that some [kids] are afraid of the future, of what is to come. I don't want them to be afraid," but rather "embrace the future … with strength and with hope," per the New York Daily News. Obama added she would return to the White House if invited by the Trump administration, but she plans to stay involved in the initiatives she set up as first lady "as long as I live."


– The Amtrak train that derailed in Washington state Monday morning, killing at least three people, was speeding, officials say, and not by a trivial amount: The train was going 80mph in a zone where the limit was 30mph when it came off the tracks on an overpass between Tacoma and Olympia, spilling cars onto Interstate 5, National Transportation Safety Board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said Monday night. She said it was "too early to tell" why the train, which was making its first run on a new route, was going so fast, the AP reports. Washington state transportation department spokeswoman Barbara LaBoe says the train was supposed to slow down dramatically as it entered the curve, and speed-limit warnings were posted two miles ahead of the zone as well as just before it, reports the Seattle Times. Amtrak President Richard Anderson says positive train control, a system that can slow down speeding trains, was not in use on the stretch of track where the accident occurred. More than 70 people were injured in the crash, at least 10 of them seriously, authorities say. It's not clear yet whether the three people killed were motorists or people from the train, which carried 80 passengers, five crew members, and a technician, the Oregonian reports. State police say 19 uninjured people from the train were reunited with their families. President Trump tweeted that the accident showed why his infrastructure plan "must be approved quickly," though the New York Times notes that the accident happened on brand new tracks that were part of a state-funded infrastructure investment program.

Expand this summary.

The Amtrak train that derailed Monday morning on its inaugural trip through a faster railway route was supposed to slow dramatically, to 30 mph, before entering the curve where the crash occurred.

 The Amtrak train that derailed Monday morning on its inaugural trip through a faster railway route was supposed to slow dramatically before entering the curve where the crash occurred.

 The speed limit at the curve where the train crosses Interstate 5 is 30 miles per hour, said state transportation department spokeswoman Barbara LaBoe, while the speed limit on most of the track is 79 mph. She said speed-limit signs are posted two miles before the lowered speed zone and then just before the zone.

 “Engineers are trained to slow trains according to posted speeds,” she said.

 Learn more about Traffic Lab » Traffic Lab is a Seattle Times project that digs into the region’s thorny transportation issues, spotlights promising approaches to easing gridlock, and helps readers find the best ways to get around. It is funded with the help of community sponsors Alaska Airlines, CenturyLink, Kemper Development Co., PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company, Sabey Corp., Seattle Children’s hospital and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Seattle Times editors and reporters operate independently of our funders and maintain editorial control over Traffic Lab content.

 Daniel Konzelman, who was driving on I-5 south parallel to the train, said he was traveling at 60 mph or more and watched the train pass his vehicle about a half-mile before the crash. A website that monitors locations and speeds of Amtrak trains, transitdocs.com, reported that the train was going about 81 mph shortly before the derailment, The Associated Press reported.

 A late-night news conference by National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials verified the train was going 80 mph in the 30 mph zone. Officials said they had no other information.

 Russell Quimby, a consultant who was previously an investigator-in-charge for the NTSB, said it appeared to him that the derailment was caused by speed. He said the track appeared relatively undisturbed, so it seemed unlikely that something knocked the train off the track, and he noted that it appeared the train drove in a straight line, missing the turn.

 The railway route had recently undergone a $181 million retrofit program in order to speed up passenger service that previously traveled away from the freeway and along the coast. Part of that retrofit was to include “positive train control” systems that can prevent dangerous situations such as excessive speed.

 The 14.5-mile corridor is now equipped for positive train control equipment, but the train controls aren’t operating yet in that area, said Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson. An Amtrak spokesman said the equipment was still being tested.

 Federal safety officials have been pushing for the implementation of those control systems for years, including in 1993 after a head-on crash between freight trains killed five crewmen in Kelso, Cowlitz County. Congress first mandated in 2008 that they be put in use by the end of 2015.

 Since then, other fatal passenger-train accidents have also come from speeding trains that did not have the train control system installed. That includes 2013 Metro-North commuter train in the Bronx and a 2015 Amtrak crash in Philadelphia, when a train traveling more than twice the speed limit went off the tracks, killing eight people.

 In Washington state, Amtrak suspended a train engineer earlier this year after a derailment near Steilacoom, Pierce County. Officials blamed speed and human error in that case, saying the engineer approached a drawbridge going faster than the 40-mph speed limit.

 While there has been progress on implementing train controls – Amtrak says it completed installation in 2015 of the systems on most Amtrak-owned routes on the Northeast Corridor – the congressional mandate on train controls has been delayed until the end of 2018. Lawmakers have also left open the possibility of another delay until 2020.

 Deborah Hersman, a former NTSB chairwoman who now leads the Chicago-based National Safety Council, said the technology is old and already in use in European and Asian countries with high-speed rail systems.

 “People have this technology in their phones,” she said. “A Pokémon app can tell you you’re driving and disable the app.”

 Watch:

 Here’s what we know about the Amtrak train derailment

 An Amtrak passenger train derailed near Olympia on Monday morning. It had been southbound from Seattle on the inaugural run of a new route. Transportation reporter Mike Lindblom explains what we know. (The Seattle Times)

 Times staff reporters Christine Willmsen, Evan Bush and Mike Lindblom contributed to this report. ||||| CONTINUING UPDATES: Train was 50 mph over limit before deadly derailment

 An Amtrak train making the inaugural run of a new route between Portland and Seattle derailed at high speed early Monday morning near Olympia, killing three and sending more than 70 to hospitals when railcars hurtled off an overpass onto vehicles traveling on Interstate 5 below.

 Authorities haven't released the names of those killed or hurt when 13 cars of the Portland-bound train jumped the tracks while traveling about 80 mph in Dupont, about 40 miles south of Seattle. At least 10 victims suffered serious injuries, authorities said.

 Kimberly Reason with Sound Transit, the Seattle-area transit agency that owns the tracks, confirmed to The Associated Press that the speed limit at the point where the train derailed is 30 mph. Speed signs are posted two miles before the speed zone and immediately before the speed zone approaching the curve where the train left the tracks, she said.

 Positive train control — a technology that can slow or stop a speeding train — wasn't in use on the stretch of track, according to Amtrak President Richard Anderson.

 Amtrak derailment occurred on highly anticipated new route

 The Associated Press mid-afternoon Monday cited a U.S. official as saying the train hit something that sent it off the tracks. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity; by mid-evening that account had not been confirmed.

 Earlier reports had said as many as six were killed. But at a news conference early Monday night, officials with the Washington State Patrol and West Pierce Fire and Rescue Officials said three had died. They did not address the discrepancy.

 It was unclear whether the deaths were I-5 travelers or those on the train, which carried 80 passengers, five crew members and a technician. State patrol later announced 72 people were transported to hospitals from the scene including four with moderate injuries and nine with minor injuries. There were 19 people who weren't hurt and have since been reunited with their families.

 Washington State Patrol spokeswoman Brooke Bova said investigators are expected to work through the night at the scene. Members of the National Transportation Safety Board are involved, she said.

 Southbound I-5 was closed indefinitely, and northbound travelers were caught in a massive backup throughout Monday.

 Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said cranes were being brought in to help remove rail cars. The state Department of Transportation will need to inspect the bridge before reopening southbound Interstate 5, he said.

 The southbound stretch is expected to remain closed during the Tuesday morning commute and possibly for several days, transportation authorities said, who asked drivers to avoid the highway in either direction near DuPont and find alternate routes.

 Jay Sumerlin, a West Pierce Fire and Rescue battalion chief, said the rescue effort wasn't easy, particularly because some train cars were dangling from the overpass. He said jaw tools, air chisels and different forms of saws were used to get into some of the crushed cars. Ladders were also used to reach victims.

 "It was just a difficult place to be," he said.

 Sumerlin described the day as shocking and surreal because crews have had mock training scenarios involving train cars dangling over a highway.

 "Everybody comes in and goes, 'That's not going to happen.' Well, here we are, it's exactly what happened," he said. "I'm glad we trained to that level, because today was one of those days."

 President Donald Trump tweeted his first public comments on the crash mid-morning, connecting the derailment to a need for increased spending on infrastructure.

 "The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long!"

 Derailment turns excitement to dismay at Portland's Union Station.

 Officials have not established that infrastructure played a role in the derailment.

 About 10 minutes later, he tweeted again, saying his "thoughts and prayers" were with everyone involved and praising the first responders.

 Bloodworks Northwest issued an urgent appeal for blood, especially O-type blood, AB plasma and platelets. Donations can be made at 9320 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive, Suite 100, Vancouver, WA 98662. For more information, go to bloodworksnw.org or call 800-398-7888.

 Amtrak released a statement late Monday afternoon, saying it was working closely with families of passengers. It established a Passenger Reception Center and public hotline at 800-523-9101 for those with question about family or friends.

 Anderson, the Amtrak president, said he was "deeply saddened by all that has happened today."

 In a radio transmission immediately after the accident, a railroad employee who was onboard can be heard saying the train had been coming around a corner and crossing a bridge that passed over I- 5 when it derailed.

 "We've got cars everywhere and down onto the highway," he tells a dispatcher, who asks if everyone is OK. "I'm still figuring that out."

 The train was part of Amtrak's Cascades service, which is owned by the Washington Department of Transportation in partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation. The daily service is run by Amtrak as a contractor.

 Some Amtrak trains continued to run between Portland and Seattle, bypassing the scene of the derailment. The rail system said trains 504 and 509 had been canceled, and that no alternate transportation would be provided.

 But it had not canceled other scheduled trains, including 517, 505 and 507 from Seattle to Portland and trains 518, 14, 506 and 508 from Portland to Seattle.

 Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency.

 The new train route was part of a $180.7 million project intended to cut 10 minutes off the stretch between Tacoma and Olympia by running alongside I-5 instead of hugging the Puget Sound. It also had fewer curves - limiting the need to slow down - and single-track tunnels where passenger trains must yield to passing freight trains.

 Track testing began in January and February in advance of Monday's launch and continued through at least July, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

 The tracks, known as the Point Defiance Bypass, were previously owned by BNSF and were used for occasional freight and military transport.

 Don Anderson, the mayor of Lakewood, Washington, a city along the route, had been critical of the new line, and he had predicted a deadly crash. But Anderson thought it would involve a fast-moving train hitting a car or pedestrian at a crossing.

 Doug Mitchem, 68, got up Monday morning in his Centralia home and turned the TV on. News of the derailment came on, and Mitchem started to worry, he told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an interview.

 His son Drew, an avid train enthusiast, had planned to ride the train from Tacoma to Olympia with a friend because they wanted to be on the first train on this new track.

 Mitchem tried to call his son's cell phone, but no answer. He tried a few more times. Still nothing. Then, around 8:20 a.m., he got a call from a woman who said she had seen Drew, who was OK. Paramedics had taken him to Allenmore hospital in Tacoma with a few broken ribs and, possibly, a broken back.

 Half an hour later, Drew Mitchem called his father from the hospital. He said he had been hurled from the train.

 Doug Mitchem said he will go with a daughter and grandson to see his son tomorrow. He's going to bring him a set of fresh clothes, he said, because Drew clothes had to be cut off.

 In Portland, other train enthusiasts had been ensconced in Union Station from about 6 a.m., excited to greet the first train on the new line.

 Dan McFarling, 70, was there with a therapy dog to talk to people about the importance and safety of rail travel. A longtime member of the Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates, he said he was in shock when he first heard the news.

 "It immediately made me realize our role today would be different that what we had planned," McFarling said, choking up.

 Mid-afternoon, about 10 passengers who had been on the derailed train arrived at Union Station by bus. They declined to speak to the media, but Red Cross spokeswoman Monique Dugaw said the disaster relief organization was working to take care of their immediate needs.

 "We're talking with them," she said, "making sure they have the next steps in place to have a hotel room or to be reunited with their family."

 Dugaw described the passengers as "in shock."

 Hundreds of people came to the aid of those involved in the derailment, according to those at the scene. Among the Good Samaritans was Nate Selden, a Portland neurosurgeon, who helped two dozen people.

 Selden was driving to Seattle with his son, when traffic slowed a few miles south of the derailment. When they got to the scene, Selden quickly started helping first responders triage victims.

 The younger patient he saw was an infant that had been thrown from their mother's arms. But the baby seemed OK.

 "This little infant appeared completely unharmed," Selden said, calling that incident "one of few moments of joy in that devastating scene."

 Reporters Fedor Zarkhin, Jim Ryan, Lizzy Acker, Elliot Njus, Molly Harbarger and Molly Young contributed to this report.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Cars from an Amtrak train lay spilled onto Interstate 5 below alongside smashed vehicles as some train cars remain on the tracks above Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, in DuPont, Wash. The Amtrak train making the... (Associated Press)

 Cars from an Amtrak train lay spilled onto Interstate 5 below alongside smashed vehicles as some train cars remain on the tracks above Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, in DuPont, Wash. The Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off the overpass Monday near Tacoma and spilled some... (Associated Press)

 DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — Federal officials confirmed an Amtrak train was hurtling 50 mph over the speed limit when it careened off an overpass south of Seattle, spilling cars onto the highway below and killing at least three people.

 Bella Dinh-Zarr, a National Transportation Safety Board member, said at a Monday night news conference that information from the event data recorder in the rear locomotive showed the train was traveling at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone when it derailed at 7:34 a.m. Mangled train cars ended up on top of each other - and one hung precariously over the freeway.

 When the clanging of metal and screeching stopped at first it was quiet. Then came the screams.

 After the crash, the injured called out as rescuers — including people who had been in cars on their morning freeway commute — rushed to help. One of the train passengers was Emma Shafer, who found herself at a 45-degree angle staring at the seats in front of her that had dislodged and swung around.

 "It felt oddly silent after the actual crashing," Shafer said. "Then there was people screaming because their leg was messed up ... I don't know if I actually heard the sirens, but they were there. A guy was like, 'Hey, I'm Robert. We'll get you out of here.'"

 Dinh-Zarr said it's not yet known what caused the train to derail and that "it's too early to tell" why it was going so fast.

 Positive train control — the technology that can slow or stop a speeding train — wasn't in use on this stretch of track, according to Amtrak President Richard Anderson.

 In 2015, an Amtrak train in Philadelphia was traveling at twice the 50 mph speed limit as it entered a sharp curve and derailed. Eight people were killed and more than 200 were injured when the locomotive and four of the train's seven passenger cars jumped the tracks. Several cars overturned and ripped apart.

 A track chart prepared by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows the maximum speed drops from 79 mph (127 kph) to 30 mph (48 kph) for passenger trains just before the tracks curve to cross Interstate 5, which is where the train went off the tracks.

 The chart, dated Feb. 7, was submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration in anticipation of the start of passenger service along a new bypass route that shaves off 10 minutes for the trip between Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

 Kimberly Reason with Sound Transit, the Seattle-area transit agency that owns the tracks, said speed signs are posted 2 miles (3 kilometers) before the speed zone changes and just before the speed zone approaching the curve.

 Eric Corp, a councilman for the small city of DuPont near the derailment, said he rode the train with about 30 or so dignitaries and others on a special trip Friday before the service opened to the public Monday.

 "Once we were coming up on that curve, the train slowed down considerably," he said, adding that "in no way did it make me feel like we were going too fast."

 The train was not full. Authorities said there were 80 passengers and five on-duty crew members on board when it derailed and pulled 13 cars off the tracks. Authorities said there were three confirmed deaths. More than 70 people were taken for medical care — including 10 with serious injuries.

 About two hours after the accident, a U.S. official who was briefed on the investigation said he was told at least six people were killed. The official said he had no new information to explain the discrepancy in the numbers. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

 In a statement, the FBI said local police were the primary responders and there was no information suggesting "an elevated risk to Washington residents."

 In a radio transmission immediately after the accident, the conductor can be heard saying the train was coming around a corner and was crossing a bridge that passed over Interstate 5 when it derailed.

 Dispatch audio also indicated that the engineer survived with bleeding from the head and both eyes swollen shut.

 "I'm still figuring that out. We've got cars everywhere and down onto the highway," he tells the dispatcher, who asks if everyone is OK.

 Aleksander Kristiansen, a 24-year-old exchange student at the University of Washington from Copenhagen, was going to Portland to visit the city for the day.

 "I was just coming out of the bathroom when the accident happened. My car just started shaking really, really badly," he said.

 The back of his train car was wide open because it had separated from the rest of the train, so he and others were able to jump out to safety.

 The train was making the inaugural run on the new route as part of a $180.7 million project designed to speed up service by removing passenger trains from a route along Puget Sound that's bogged down by curves, single-track tunnels and freight traffic.

 The new bypass was built on an existing inland rail line that runs along Interstate 5 from Tacoma to DuPont, near where Train 501 derailed.

 ___

 This story has been updated to reflect that authorities said Monday night that three people died. A U.S. official said earlier that six people were killed.

 ___

 Flaccus reported from Portland and Sisak reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press staffers Manuel Valdes in Dupont, Sally Ho and Phuong Le in Seattle and Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

 ___

 For complete coverage of the deadly derailment, click here: https://www.apnews.com/tag/TrainDerailment . ||||| The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! |||||


Write an article based on this summary:

– More legal trouble for the San Francisco 49ers' Aldon Smith: The linebacker-defensive end was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport yesterday for indicating he had a bomb, reports ESPN. Police say Smith became belligerent and uncooperative after being selected for secondary screening and was arrested in the gate area after making a comment suggesting he was in possession of a bomb. Smith—who was busted for drunk driving last September and still faces weapons charges from a party-turned-shootout at his home in 2012—could face up to a year in prison if found guilty of making a false bomb report. Another airline passenger ended up being hauled off a plane in handcuffs yesterday after trying to open a door midair on a Chicago-to-Sacramento flight, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Omaha, reports the AP. Witnesses say the man had been acting strangely throughout the flight and was tackled and restrained by other passengers after attempting to pry the door open. "Some gentleman just decided that he wanted us to visit the Lord today, and decided to open up the back hatch of Southwest Airlines flight while we were already up in the air," one passenger tells KABC.

Los Angeles police arrested San Francisco 49ers linebacker-defensive end Aldon Smith at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday afternoon after he indicated he was in possession of a bomb.

 Editor's Picks Fox: Troubled 49ers can learn from Seahawks The 49ers should follow the Seahawks' example of how to keep off-field incidents from derailing the team, writes Ashley Fox.

 More from ESPN.com The 49ers cannot be pleased defensive end Aldon Smith has had yet another run-in with the law. The franchise could rethink picking up his option for 2015, writes Bill Williamson. 1 Related

 Smith was booked Sunday afternoon, according to LAPD Sgt. Michael Fox. Smith was charged with a false bomb report, which is punishable by up to one year in jail. He posted $20,000 bail Sunday night, according to multiple reports.

 49ers general manager Trent Baalke issued a statement saying: "We are disappointed to learn of the incident today involving Aldon Smith. As this is a pending legal matter and we are still gathering the pertinent facts, we will have no further comment."

 According to Los Angeles World Airports PIO Sgt. Karla Ortiz, the incident happened as the man, later identified as Smith, was going through Terminal 1 screening and was randomly selected for secondary screening.

 Smith then became belligerent and uncooperative with the process and with the TSA agent, making a comment indicating that he was in possession of a bomb before proceeding toward the gate area, according to Ortiz.

 Troubled San Francisco 49er Aldon Smith was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

 Los Angeles Airport Police made contact with him at the gate and he then became uncooperative again and was detained and taken into custody by Airport Police.

 Many people on the scene, including former Marine veteran Clayton Mullaly, captured the incident on video.

 This incident is Smith's latest run-in with the law.

 In November, Smith pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from an incident at a party at his home in 2012.

 Smith also missed five games this past season while spending time in an alcohol treatment center. He entered treatment voluntarily three days after he was arrested for drunken driving for the second time since early 2012. ||||| SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California-bound Southwest Airlines flight was diverted to Omaha, Neb. on Sunday after witnesses said a passenger tried to open a door.

 The captain of the Chicago-to-Sacramento flight landed on Eppley Airfield to "have an unruly passenger removed" before continuing on to Sacramento, the airlines said in a statement.

 The flight with 5 crew members and 134 passengers arrived safely at its destination about two hours behind schedule.

 "Some gentleman just decided that he wanted us to visit the Lord today and ... open up the back hatch while we were all already up in the air," Monique Lawler told KABC-TV after reaching her final destination in Los Angeles.

 She said the man acted strangely during the flight, and that at one point he came out of the bathroom soaking wet. She said when he went to the back of the cabin to try to pry open the door, a flight attendant screamed for help.

 A doctor told KCRA-TV in Sacramento he and two other passengers tackled the man and restrained him until air marshals led him in handcuffs off the plane.

 "He was going to do bad things to the plane so it was pretty scary," Scott Porter said.

 The airline had no further details about the incident.

 A call to the Omaha Airport Authority seeking information about the passenger wasn't immediately returned. |||||


Summarize this article:

This post has been updated. See below.

 A Groupon Super Bowl commercial that pokes fun at the political situation in Tibet has managed to offend viewers both in the U.S. and China, and may have consequences for the fast-growing Internet company's expansion plans.

 The ad features actor Timmothy Hutton narrating a mock public service announcement about Tibetans that quickly turns into an ad for the type of group-buying deals Groupon offers its customers: "The people of Tibet are in trouble, their very culture in jeopardy," Mr. Hutton says in the ad. "But they still whip up an amazing fish curry. And since 200 of us bought on Groupon.com we’re getting $30 worth of Tibetan food for just $15 at Himalayan restaurant in Chicago.”

 It has been rumored for weeks now that the Chicago-based company, which offers daily deals from local businesses, has its eyes on China, which boasts more Internet users than any other nation. Local media outlets have reported that Groupon is on a hiring spree and is in talks to partner with Chinese Internet giant Tencent.

 China’s state-run newspaper China Daily reported today that a “well-placed source” said Groupon is going to partner with Tencent to offer its services in China, and that the Chinese website will employ 1,000 people within three months. Tencent’s own Web portal published a report (in Chinese) last month saying that Groupon is entering the China market and planning to hire many employees, while Ifeng.com, the web portal of Phoenix Television, said last month that Groupon and Tencent have jointly created a new website.

 None of those reports has been substantiated, with both Groupon and Tencent declining to comment. But if Groupon has aspirations in China, bringing up Tibet and saying its people are “in trouble” and that their “very culture is in jeopardy,” even jokingly, isn’t likely to please the Chinese officials whose blessing they'll need to set up operations.

 The Tibet ad was one of three the company aired during the Super Bowl, each of which makes fun of a different charitable cause. A statement on Groupon's official blog describes campaign as "a parody of a celebrity-narrated, PSA-style commercial that you think is about some noble cause (such as 'Save the Whales'), but then it’s revealed to actually be a passionate call to action to help yourself (as in 'Save the Money')." Perhaps anticipating a certain level of public criticism, Groupon is offering to match donations to charities associated with the causes it parodies.

 In the case of Tibet, the charity is the Tibet Fund, an organization backed partially by the U.S. State Department and which works with Tibet’s government in exile, the Central Tibetan Administration, that raises money for health care and education for Tibetan refugees.

 A copy of the ad with Chinese subtitles was reportedly posted on a Chinese video site not long after the spot aired in the U.S. but appears to have since been taken down. A number of Chinese Internet users were disapproving of the ad, slamming it as a bad business move and criticizing the company for mixing business with politics.

 "Groupon's Super Bowl commercial with Tibet as its main theme is super offensive," one user called Wandering D wrote on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging service. "Why did they have to link their commercials with politics?" Another Sina Weibo user called nixiner quipped: "Can anyone be more stupid than Groupon?" The company "made its first TV commercial as controversial as possible. Good job!"

 While Tibetan independence is treated as a sensitive topic in China -- and treated as such by the country's Internet filtering system -- it is not a topic on which most Chinese citizens vocally disagree with the government.

 Politics aside, if Groupon does manage to start a Chinese website, it will have to compete with local group-buying start-ups like Letao.com that are gaining popularity. According to the China Internet Network Information Center, China had 18.75 million group-buying users by the end of 2010, and the category is likely to have “rapid growth” in 2011.

 UPDATE, 10:35am Beijing time: An employee of SS PR, the public relations firm that represents Groupon, sent the following statement to CRT after this post was published: "We wanted to clarify the intention of the Super Bowl ad yesterday. The humor was designed to draw attention to causes including Greenpeace, The Tibet Fund, and Rainforest Action Network. Groupon actually started as a collective action and philanthropy site (ThePoint.com). Collective action is in Groupon's DNA and this campaign pokes fun at its own roots."

 -- Loretta Chao with contributions from Yoli Zhang. Follow Loretta on Twitter @lorettac ||||| WATCH: The Best and Worst Super Bowl Commercials of 2011

 Email This There is a contingent of fans that watches the Super Bowl and takes a bathroom break during the game so they don't miss the commercials.

 There is something at stake here for the companies who invested an enormous amount of money to buy time. A good spot can keep people talking for weeks or help launch a lasting campaign.

 Here is a list of the best, the worst and the indifferent of this year's Super Bowl spots, from the standpoint of pure entertainment. Volkswagen is the biggest winner, and Pepsi and Doritos peppered the Super Bowl with hit or miss adds.

 Watch the commercials after the jump! There is a contingent of fans that watches the Super Bowl and takes a bathroom break during the game so they don't miss the commercials.There is something at stake here for the companies who invested an enormous amount of money to buy time. A good spot can keep people talking for weeks or help launch a lasting campaign.Here is a list of the best, the worst and the indifferent of this year's Super Bowl spots, from the standpoint of pure entertainment. Volkswagen is the biggest winner, and Pepsi and Doritos peppered the Super Bowl with hit or miss adds.

 THE WORST

 Starting with a kid in a Darth Vader costume is almost cheating. You'd have to be kind of heartless not to smile at that. It would be like heckling kittens. You knew eventually The Force would work for the kid, but the reveal is still funny.Fun gag, and relatable. This might be the funny one people talk about this week.More monkeys from Careerbuilder.com, the idea being once again how frustrating it is to work with idiots. An easy concept for which to have sympathy.Creepy funny is always good. And the guy addicted to Doritos cheese dust is definitely creepy.Best of the Pepsi MAX commercials. Quick to the punchline, funny ending.A lot of short gags in this one help make it funny. The actors are also good.When you have one joke, get to it and get out. This one didn't go over the top.Ozzy and Bieber were amusing. "What's a Bieber?" was a good line. Bieber had to be in the mix somewhere today -- he's everywhere else.Solid ad. Another one with a good string of gags, although distracting from the point of the product.This is another one people might talk about. Clever enough premise, visuals will help.Cheesy, but always good to see a wordless concept pulled off well.Loved this one. Animals are hit and miss, but this was cute. It helps if you have a good, short story to tell.An inspiring sentiment about Detroit with one of its biggest stars, Eminem. Hopefully Detroit isn't counting on Chrysler to bring it back. Much better than the other Eminem commercial, for Brisk.Not sure this is the change people are looking for from LivingSocial.com, but it's amusing.Animation is pretty impressive. 'World of Warcraft' fans might enjoy this. It's a nice change of pace from polar bears.Can we please be rid of these? There is a school of thought that says advertising doesn't have to be good or pleasing -- if it's memorable and you remember the product, you can hate the ad. GoDaddy.com is the leading practitioner of this philosophy.Apparently, moguls, sea gods, aliens and ancient civilizations don't have $14,000 to buy their own Kia. No one is buying "an epic ride."Old people are funny! Sometimes they can't hear!The babies ads have been remarkably consistent. The streak ends here.Adrien Brody is an Oscar winner. Now he croons for beer commercials. That is sad enough to make me want to drink.A Pepsi MAX to the groin? Doesn't make me thirsty, or make me laugh.Who thought the Pug was in danger? Hands. No one? Who went to the kitchen for something other than Doritos during this spot? Hands. Smarter choice.Continuation of the diva theme. Doesn't outdo the Betty White/Abe Vigoda spot from last year.Kind of confused as to what the product is. Not curious to find out, even if it turns the fat thin, builds buildings and brokers peace between political factions.Eminem and tea aren't really a great match. Chrysler used Eminem much better.Peter Stormare stars in this centerpiece of the Bud campaign. Disappointing after having seen this spot hyped.This has the scale and length of a big Super Bowl ad, and "test baby" is funny. But it's hard to get excited about the possibility of cheaper hotels when there are a ton of sites doing this already. Not sure why HomeAway.com would be better from this ad.One of the longer spots, this one will be interesting to Mercedes aficionados for the variety of models. Diddy doesn't get to do much. If you're not already a fan of the vehicle, this is kind of a big shrug.This one will get a lot of attention for Kardashian. What you think of this commercial pretty much depends on how much you like watching her.Amusing reveal -- grandpa is funny. Still not terribly memorable.Making fun of rich people with a cameo by Kenny G. This is where most of America imagines Bernie Madoff has been assigned. Not bad, but again, not terribly memorable.No one is using a Xoom to create a better world. Hope we can avoid the future where everyone wears white running suits.See more at TV Squad ||||| In the Super Bowl of advertising, Justin Bieber replaced Ozzy Osbourne and Joan Rivers became a GoDaddy girl. But a pair of commercials by automakers took the early trophy for online buzz.

 This screen shot provided by Kia Motors Corp., shows a scene from the Super Bowl commercial titled "One Epic Ride," with the all-new 2011 Kia Optima being held by Poseidon. (AP Photo/Kia Motor Corp.) (Associated Press)

 COMMERCIAL IMAGE - In this photo released by Brisk on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011, Eminem is seen in puppet form for Brisk Iced Tea's Super Bowl TV spot shot in San Francisco. (Brisk via AP Images) (Associated Press)

 In this screen shot provided by TeleFlora, Faith Hill and actor, Kevin Manwarren are seen in Teleflora’s commercial, “Help me Faith,” that is scheduled to debut during the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/TeleFlora)... (Associated Press)

 In this photo released by Brisk on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011, Eminem in puppet form is seen in the recording booth, in an image from the taping of the Brisk Super Bowl TV spot in San Francisco. (Brisk via... (Associated Press)

 In this composite screen shot provided by Mars Inc., Comedians Richard Lewis (left) and Roseanne Barr (right) will appear in a SNICKERS® Super Bowl XLV commercial called “Logging." (AP Photo/Mars Inc.)... (Associated Press)

 In this screen shot provided by CareerBuilder.com, the CareerBuilder chimpanzees are back at work, in a scene from this years Super Bowl commercial. (AP Photo/CareerBuilder.com) (Associated Press)

 A two-minute ad for Chrysler starring Eminem and a Volkswagen ad featuring a mini-Darth Vader that went viral before it even aired were two of the most talked-about spots during advertising's big night, Super Bowl XLV, in which Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25.

 Chrysler was one of nine automakers that took advantage of advertising's biggest and most expensive showcase, at $3 million for 30 seconds, to try to show they're back after two tough years for the industry.

 The cinematic third-quarter Chrysler ad starred Eminem driving through Detroit and introduced a new car, the Chrysler 200 sedan, amid gritty scenes of the city. A voiceover talks about how the city has survived going through "hell and back."

 "This is the Motor City and this is what we do," Eminem says.

 The Chrysler ad was "the big story of the night," according to NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey Co. that tracks online buzz.

 Consumers repeated the "imported from Detroit" slogan over and over in online buzz, the company said.

 "It was a very risky commercial, but it scored very well with our panel" that rates the ads, said Tim Calkins, Clinical Professor of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management.

 Another hit was a Volkswagen's ad that showed a boy in a Darth Vader costume trying to use "The Force" on objects, including the Passat.

 "It really wasn't selling a car, it was selling a feeling, and it tapped into its target market of families very effectively, which you usually don't see in a car ad," said Robert Kolt, an instructor at Michigan State University College of Communication Arts & Sciences.

 Volkswagen released the ad early on Youtube.com and it had than 13 million views before the game even started.

 Elsewhere, celebrities and humor dominated. A scantily clad Kim Kardashian broke up with her trainer for Skechers, Roseanne Barr took a big hit from a log in a Snickers ad and comedian Joan Rivers, her head at least, became a GoDaddy girl.

 According to the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter, the best-scoring ads featured dogs: A Doritos ad that showed a man taunting a dog and getting smashed under a glass door, and a Bud Light ad that showed dogs catering a party. The newspaper uses a panel of viewers who rate the commercials as they watch them.

 After avoiding the Super Bowl for two years as it went in and out of a government-led bankruptcy, General Motors came back with five ads for Chevrolet. In one ad, a seemingly mundane car dealership ad is disrupted when a Camaro suddenly morphs into the Bumblebee character from the "Transformers" movies.

 One miss was daily coupon website Groupon's fake public service ad with Timothy Hutton, which appeared to be a plea for help for people of Tibet but instead touted a deal from Groupon for fish curry.

 While aiming for humor, "It wasn't a very effective piece of communication and clearly rubbed some people the wrong way," Calkins said.

 A Homeaway.com ad featuring a "test baby" smushed against a window also garnered negative reaction from ad experts and "didn't resonate with people," Calkins said.

 Some ads, predictably, drew criticism for being entertaining without doing much to sell people on the item being advertised.

 Among those was an ad for Lipton Brisk Iced Tea in which an animated Eminem explains why he doesn't usually do endorsements. He throws a business type off a roof when he refuses to rename the drink "Eminem."

 "It was confusing, and it didn't say a lot about the product," Calkins said.

 Not all ads went for laughs. Motorola Mobility's 60-second spot during the second quarter played off of the famous Apple ad "1984." The dialogue-free Motorola ad shows a world where drones dress all in white and wear Apple iPod-like earbuds and a man uses a Motorola Xoom tablet to free and woo a girl.

 The message is that Apple has become an oppressor rather than a liberator, and show Motorola's tablet as a worthy opponent to Apple's popular iPad, said Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer of Motorola Mobility.

 "A lot of people just try to go for laughs," he said. "There are all kinds of sex and monkeys and horses (during the Super Bowl), but what we were trying to do is a bit more of a serious story."

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– Man, isn’t the plight of the Tibetan people hilarious? Groupon hit a real nerve last night with a Super Bowl commercial that seemed to exploit said plight for yucks. “The people of Tibet are in trouble. Their culture is in jeopardy,” says narrator Timothy Hutton. “But they still whip up an amazing fish curry.” The ad—part of a whole series of mock-PSAs—generated an instant backlash on Twitter and YouTube for its insensitivity, the Huffington Post reports. To be fair, the company has offered to match donations to the causes it parodies. But at the same time, even jokingly referencing the Tibet situation has infuriated China, and may throw a monkey wrench in the company’s expansion plans, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Can anyone be more stupid than Groupon?” asked one Chinese blogger. “Made its first TV commercial as controversial as possible. Good job!” Other ads generating buzz included: Chrysler’s cinematic 2-minute “Imported from Detroit” spot starring Eminem was “the big story of the night,” a company that tracks online buzz tells the AP. Volkswagen’s young Darth Vader ad went viral before it even aired. “It really wasn't selling a car,” says one communications professor. “It was selling a feeling." GoDaddy also made waves with its Joan Rivers commercial… but perhaps the less said of that, the better. Click here for a complete rundown of the best and worst Super Bowl ads.


Clint Bench was born with with a congenital deformity that prevented his arms from fully forming. That didn't stop him from going to college, getting married, having children or from riding roller coasters at Six Flags Over Texas. He's done pretty much all of them: Batman, the Texas Giant, the Flashback, you name it. His limbs had never been an issue. Not much is, actually: He can do pullups, fire a gun and go mountain biking, for Christ's sake.

 Then, last May, he got on the Aquaman Splashdown ride, a Six Flags standby in which a boat plummets down a two-story decline before sending up a wall of water that soaks riders and the onlookers on the bridge below. It used to be called something generic before it was renamed for a second-tier DC Comics character.

 There's nothing particularly dangerous about Aquaman compared with the amusement park's other attractions, certainly nothing Bench couldn't handle, but nevertheless, a Six Flag employee asked Bench to get off the ride.

 "She told him that he could not ride Aquaman because he does not have hands," according to a lawsuit filed Bench filed yesterday. "This caused Mr. Bench considerable embarrassment, as his children had never seen anybody discriminate against him due to his lack of natural hands."

 When he complained to management, he was told that Six Flags policy dictates that riders "must have at least one fully formed arm all the way down to the fingers."

 But that wasn't exactly true, at least not until four months later, when Six Flags published an updated riders' guide explicitly stating that riders "must have one full arm" to ride Aquaman. The old policy said only that a rider has to be able to grasp, which Bench can do just fine.

 Bench claims discrimination under the Americans With Disabilities Act. Six Flags doesn't, after all, kick people off rides who, "for extra thrill or in a silly display of bravado," keep their hands in the air.

 Bench is asking for unspecified damages for suffering and mental anguish. And he still wants to ride Aquaman, goddammit. ||||| One Texas man is accusing Six Flags of barring him from a ride because he doesn't have hands.

 Clint Bench who was born without hands due to a congenital deformity, has led an active lifestyle, not letting his lack of hands stop him from mountain biking, getting a college education and doing one of his favorite activities: thrill-seeking at amusement parks, according to the Dallas News.

 That is until one May 2012 trip to a Six Flags in Arlington, Texas, where an employee refused to allow him to ride an attraction called the Aquaman Splashdown he’d been on several times before. Bench was apparently in violation of a new policy that said he "must have at least one fully formed arm all the way down to the fingers," The Dallas Observer reports.

 "This caused Mr. Bench considerable embarrassment, as his children had never seen anybody discriminate against him due to his lack of natural hands,” according to Bench’s lawsuit, which rather than money, seeks only to ensure “that this doesn’t happen again,” he told CBS Dallas.

 Six Flags declined to comment to CBS Dallas because the lawsuit is ongoing.

 The move seems somewhat of an about-face for Six Flags, which has historically been accommodating to those with disabilities. Disabled guests of the park were often allowed to cut lines and then given the opportunity to make reservations until 2007, when the park determined people were faking injuries to take advantage of the policy, Theme Park Insider notes.

 Sadly, this isn’t the only Six Flags lawsuit concerning those without four full limbs. In 2008, Six Flags made a confidential settlement with Kaitlyn Lassiter, a then 13-year-old guest whose feet were severed while riding the Superman Tower of Power, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.

 Also on HuffPost: Disabled Man Clint Bench Sues Six Flags Disabled Man Clint Bench Sues Six Flags

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Write a summary.

– A Texas amusement park enthusiast who was born without hands is suing Six Flags for refusing to let him onto a ride. Clint Bench alleges that last May a Six Flags Over Texas employee wouldn't let him on the Aquaman Splashdown (a variation on the classic log flume). When he complained, management told him Six Flags policy required riders to "have at least one fully formed arm all the way down to the fingers" to ride, according to the Dallas Observer. Bench was chagrined, given that he'd ridden the ride before. According to the Observer, Six Flags didn't have any such published policy at the time; it showed up in an updated riders' guide four months later. The old policy only required a rider to be able to grasp, which Bench is capable of—he can even do pull-ups, shoot a gun, and ride a mountain bike. He's asking for unspecified damages, saying he was discriminated against under the Americans With Disabilities Act.