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 A woman accused of abusing a 2-year-old girl to the point of causing the baby’s death and then not showing up for her trial was arrested Tuesday in Portland, and authorities say the woman may have been living in a Vancouver apartment for the past year.

 Janet Killough Barreto is wanted in Mississippi for failing to appear on charges of manslaughter of a child, three counts of child abuse, six counts of child neglect and tampering with a witness, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

 Barreto and her husband, Ramon Barreto, allegedly traveled to Guatemala multiple times in 2005 and 2006 to adopt children, but when they returned to the U.S., the couple allegedly abused the children, left them malnourished and forced them to live in “deplorable conditions,” according to a news release from the law enforcement agency. The children reportedly received abusive punishments, including being duct-taped to their beds, punched in the stomach and having their heads submerged under water.

 In 2008, one of the adopted children, a 2-year-old girl, died as a result of the abuse, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

 Janet Barreto was arrested in 2008 and released on bond. The following year, she was arrested for witness tampering and released on bond again. Two months later, she didn’t show up for her trial in the death of the 2 year old.

 “Janet Barreto is a malicious individual who allegedly abused innocent children on multiple occasions and forced them to live in appalling conditions,” William Snelson, U.S. Marshals Service’s assistant director for investigative operations, said June 2013 in a news release announcing that Janet Barreto had been added to the agency’s 15 Most Wanted list.

 A reward of up to $25,000 was offered for information leading to Janet Barreto’s arrest. Barreto’s husband also was sought by authorities.

 At about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, someone spotted the couple with an 11-month-old boy leaving Burlington Coat Factory in the Jantzen Beach SuperCenter, said Eric Wahlstrom, a supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal. The couple was taken into custody and authorities called Child Protective Services to take the boy.

 The Barretos were using the aliases Emily and Juan Chavez, Wahlstrom said. Officials recently interviewed one of Janet Barreto’s associates, who said Barreto and her husband have been living in a Vancouver apartment for the past year, he said.

 The couple was booked into the Multnomah County jail and face extradition to Mississippi. ||||| Story highlights She was on the run for five years

 The woman was taken into custody at an Oregon shopping mall

 She and her husband are accused of abusing their adopted children

 For five years, they pursued her, always one step behind as she used aliases and altered her appearance to elude them.

 But Janet Killough Barreto's luck ran out at a shopping mall in Portland, Oregon, where the U.S. Marshals Service caught up with her -- the lone female fugitive in their 15 Most Wanted list.

 "The crimes they are alleged to have committed are nothing short of horrendous and despicable," Union County, Mississippi, Sheriff Jimmy Edwards said, about Barreto and her husband. His department aided in the search because her alleged crimes took place in his jurisdiction.

 "Now it is time to let justice be served."

 Abuse leads to death

 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted U.S. Marshals' most wanted – A dog found a skull that authorities identified as being the remains of fugitive Kevin Patrick Stoeser , U.S. Marshals in Texas said Monday, November 17. Stoeser, who escaped from a halfway house in Texas last year, pleaded guilty in 2003 to child sexual assault and child pornography charges and was sentenced to 13 years behind bars. Click through to see others who are on the Marshals' Most Wanted list Hide Caption 1 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Raymond Abbott – From the U.S. Marshals website: Raymond Abbott "used the alias Robo-Cop while smuggling weapons, such as AR-15's and other automatic rifles, out of Orlando, Florida and selling them in Puerto Rico. The weapons ultimately were being distributed to local gangs and drug cartels in Puerto Rico that had strong ties to groups in Colombia. ... He pled guilty to weapons smuggling in April 1992, and was scheduled to be sentenced in Federal court when he escaped, amid a hail of gunfire, from the maximum security penitentiary in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico on July 3, 1992." Hide Caption 2 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Peter Castillo – From the U.S. Marshals website: In May 2012, Peter Castillo "allegedly shot 22-year-old military veteran Stephen Perez in the back killing him following an altercation that occurred in the Boston Theater District. Castillo was immediately identified as the shooter by the Boston Police Department and a warrant was issued for homicide. Shortly after the incident, he allegedly fled to New York then to the Dominican Republic where he has extensive ties." Hide Caption 3 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Larry Porter Chism – From the U.S. Marshals website: Larry Porter Chism "is wanted for charges stemming from his Escape from the Lonoke County Jail in Arkansas in December 1978. He was serving a 40 year state sentence for armed robbery and narcotics violations and an additional 30 year federal sentence for kidnapping and airplane hijacking. During a previous escape, Chism shot and seriously wounded a correctional officer." Hide Caption 4 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted David Benjamin Creamer – From the U.S. Marshals website: David Benjamin Creamer has been "charged with distribution of child pornography, transportation of obscene materials, firearms violations, money laundering and income tax evasion." Hide Caption 5 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Corey Deshawn Gaston – From the U.S. Marshals website: Corey Deshawn Gaston "is wanted in Michigan by the Detroit Police Department and the U.S. Marshals for failure to appear on the original charges of rape (1st and 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct/person under 13), kidnapping, home invasion and child enticement. A federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution has also been issued." Hide Caption 6 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Daniel Hiers – From the U.S. Marshals website: Daniel Hiers "is wanted for the gunshot murder of his wife, and the sexual molestation of a child. He is a former police officer with 11 years of experience and is proficient in police tactics and procedures." Hide Caption 7 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Robert Lee King – From the U.S. Marshals website: Robert Lee King "is wanted by the Shelby County (TN) Sheriff's Department for the brutal murder of his girlfriend and the attempted first degree murder of his girlfriend's daughter. On December 1, 2005, King allegedly murdered his girlfriend then turned his aggression towards her daughter by seriously injuring her with a sharp object before fleeing the scene." Hide Caption 8 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Frederick Cecil McLean – From the U.S. Marshals website: Frederick Cecil McLean "was charged in San Diego Superior Court in January of 2005 of four counts of child molestation and one count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14." Hide Caption 9 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted Andre Neverson – From the U.S. Marshals website: Andre Neverson "is wanted for the murder of his sister and an ex-girlfriend, as well as for parole violation and illegal entry into the United States." Hide Caption 10 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marshals' most wanted John Ruffo – From the U.S. Marshals website: John Ruffo "is wanted in the Eastern District of Virginia for failure to surrender for service of a 17 year sentence federal sentence. Ruffo and a co-defendant set up a fraudulent business scheme through which they defrauded United States and Foreign Banks of $350 million dollars." Hide Caption 11 of 11

 Barreto, 43, and her husband, Ramon, allegedly traveled to Guatemala on multiple occasions in 2005 and 2006 to purchase children from a local adoption agency. Authorities say the children were brought back to the United States and were malnourished, physically abused, and forced to sleep on beds with plywood bottoms.

 "The children were purportedly often punished with beatings and on various occasions duct-taped to their beds, punched in the stomach, and forced to endure having their heads submerged under water," the Marshals Service said.

 In 2008, the abuse allegedly led to the death one of their adopted children, a 2-year-old girl.

 Barreto was arrested in May of that year for child abuse, neglect, and manslaughter. She was released six months later on bond.

 On the run

 In March 2009, Barreto was arrested again for tampering with a witness and later released on bond. Two months later, she never appeared in court to face the charges against her, authorities said.

 The Union County Sheriff's Office began searching, aided by the U.S. Marshals when Barreto was added to their "15 Most Wanted" list in June 2013. Authorities asked the public for any information leading to Barreto, offering a $25,000 reward.

 A "Wanted" poster distributed by the Marshals Service said Barreto was known to change her appearance using wigs. It also said Barreto would evade law enforcement through the use of several aliases, fleeing before her true identity was discovered.

 Cornered

 The call came in on Monday.

 According to authorities, the five-year investigation gained considerable momentum when a "concerned citizen" called the U.S. Marshals task force in Oxford, Mississippi, with information that placed Barreto in either Oregon or Washington. The caller also told authorities that the Barretos might have a small child with them.

 The investigation moved swiftly.

 Less than 24 hours after that initial tip, a lead about a possible location sent agents to Oregon.

 They cornered Barreto and her husband late Tuesday afternoon at the Jantzen Beach Center, a shopping mall in Portland.

 At first, the Barretos refused to identify themselves, but the husband was identified on the spot when his fingerprints were verified digitally.

 Though Barreto continued to be uncooperative, her identity was revealed once she was fingerprinted at a local jail.

 "Janet Barreto is a malicious individual. Through her alleged crimes, Barreto demonstrated a blatant disregard and lack of respect for life other than her own," said U.S. Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton.

 The infant found with the Barretos during their arrest was placed with child protective services, authorities said.

 Six years after the death of their daughter, it's uncertain what the Barretos will face upon their return.

 Both are currently being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland, awaiting extradition to Mississippi, authorities said.

 It is unknown whether either has retained an attorney. |||||

– Janet Killough Barreto, who apparently adopted multiple kids from Central America in the mid-2000s, was ultimately accused of abusing one of them to death and released on bond, reports the Columbian. But she was a no-show at her 2009 trial to face charges of manslaughter, child abuse and neglect, and tampering with a witness, and authorities have been looking for her ever since—until now. The only woman on the US Marshals' "Most Wanted" list was arrested in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday with her husband, notes CNN, and officials say the pair may have been holed up in Vancouver, British Columbia, for at least the past year. Barreto and husband Ramon Barreto allegedly bought several children from a Guatemalan adoption agency in 2005 and 2006, but once they got the kids home, what transpired was "nothing short of horrendous and despicable," the sheriff of Union County, Miss.—where the crimes reportedly took place—tells CNN. The children weren't properly fed and suffered physical abuse that was said to include having their heads pushed underwater, punches to the stomach, and being duct-taped to hard-bottomed beds. In 2008, their 2-year-old daughter died, reportedly as a result of abuse, but the Barretos skipped town before the trial. The couple was arrested Tuesday after someone spotted them outside a Portland Burlington Coat Factory with an 11-month-old baby. The baby was placed with CPS.


– Human smuggling is suspected in an early morning crash outside Houston that left six people dead, seven injured, and two arrested, KTRK reports. The incident started when police tried to pull over an SUV for a traffic violation, according to the Houston Chronicle. The driver allegedly sped off, leading police on a nearly 10-minute freeway chase before losing control of the SUV. The vehicle flipped multiple times, ejecting four people, all of whom died at the scene, the Chronicle reports. Two others later died at the hospital. Officers reportedly arrested two suspects who fled from the scene; the extent of their injuries is unknown. According to KTRK, the SUV's middle seats had been removed and the rear seats folded down in an apparent attempt to fit more people inside. Police say 15 people believed to be immigrants were crowded into the vehicle, reports the New York Times. The youngest, age 18, didn't survive. Police say most are from Honduras or Guatemala.

Expand this summary.

Six people are dead and two people were arrested after a police chase Thursday morning in Edna, a town northwest of Victoria. Human smuggling is suspected in this case.The crash happened on Highway 59 after police say they tried to stop a Ford Explorer for a traffic violation. The driver wouldn't stop, so police gave chase.Police say the vehicle fled north on Highway 59 feeder, but then turned around at the dead end of the feeder road and headed back into Edna. The vehicle turned onto Highway 59 northbound at County Road 300. Officers say they believe the driver thought to take the Loop 521 exit, then at the last minute decided to continue on Highway 59 North.Police say just after 1:30am, the driver appeared to over-correct, rolling or flipping the vehicle several times, ejecting four people inside. Three people were flown by Life Flight to area hospitals, and six others were transported via ambulance to Jackson County Hospital."We estimate there where anywhere from 14 to 15 people in the vehicle," DPS Trooper Ruben San Miguel told Eyewitness News.Edna police say the rear seat of the Ford Explorer was folded down and the middle seat removed, apparently to create more room in the vehicle.Two people who fled the crash on foot are now in police custody.All but one of the seven surviving victims are in stable condition. Most victims have since been turned over to U.S. Border Patrol agents. Authorities say some of the victims have been identified as being from Honduras and Guatemala.Fatality accidents involving related to human trafficking are not uncommon in southeast Texas. In April 2012, nine people were killed near McAllen when the minivan they were riding in crashed while being pursued by Border Patrol agents. In July of the same year, 14 people died outside Goliad when a pickup truck veered off the road. In many cases, authorities say smugglers are attempting to move large groups of undocumented immigrants between "stash houses" to evade capture."(U.S. 59) is a major corridor to get to Houston from the Valley and from the border. It is why it is used for not only human trafficking, but also drug trafficking as well," said Trooper San Miguel. ||||| 6 die, 7 hurt in crash during police chase in Edna

 Six people died and seven others were injured early Thursday morning in a traffic crash during a police chase in Edna.

 The wreck happened about 1:30 a.m. on northbound U.S. 59 near Loop 521, according to Clinton Wooldridge, Chief of the Edna Police Department.

 In a statement released to the media, Wooldridge said the incident began when police tried to stop a 2003 Ford Explorer for a traffic violation on U.S. 59. The driver refused to stop and sped away, traveling north on the freeway service road.

 Police followed the Explorer, which was registered in Corpus Christi. Wooldridge said the Explorer driver turned around and headed southbound on the freeway.

 The chase, lasting nearly 10 minutes, came to an abrupt end on U.S. 59 when the driver lost control of the SUV, ran off the road, and flipped multiple times.

 Wooldridge said four people were tossed from the SUV during the crash. They died at the scene.

 Nine other people were injured. Three of them were flown by LifeFlight medical helicopter to Memorial Hermann-The Texas Medical Center. Two of them later died.

 DPS: 1 surviving victim from Edna rollover at Memorial Herman, 6 others at Jackson Co Hospital in stable #khou11 pic.twitter.com/YqlLgDu8Tc — Drew Karedes (@DrewKaredesKHOU) September 24, 2015

 The other injured people were taken by ambulance to Jackson County Hospital. Details of their injuries and conditions were not released.

 Two people in the Explorer ran away. Officers later found them and took them into custody. It's not known if either of them was the driver. No information was released about their possible injuries.

 Wooldridge said investigators are trying to identify the people who were in the SUV. Some of them were from Honduras and Guatemala.

 Wooldridge said he did not know the their legal status but some of them were from South America. The rear seats in the Explorer had been folded down, he added, and the middle seats had been removed as if to allow for more space inside the SUV. The Department of Public Safety is investigating the wreck. ||||| AUSTIN, Tex. — Traffic stops of vehicles carrying immigrants are fairly common on a stretch of Texas highway that begins in Laredo and runs northeast to Houston and beyond. Often, the police say, the immigrants, many of whom have crossed the border illegally, try to make a run for it when the vehicle is stopped.

 Early Thursday, what started as a traffic stop by the local police ended with six people dead, Texas officials said, when the driver of a sport utility vehicle overloaded with immigrants sped away from officers and lost control, flipping over several times and ejecting several occupants.

 The accident along Highway 59, about 90 miles southwest of Houston, near Edna, Tex., also injured 10, said the police chief of Edna, Clinton Wooldridge. At least three remained in a nearby hospital.

 Federal immigration officials conducting a criminal investigation into the crash determined that the S.U.V., a 2003 Ford Explorer, was being used by a human smuggling ring to transport 12 undocumented immigrants, all adults, from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, according to a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. |||||


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Google CEO Sundar Pichai describes one of the company’s new Android Nexus smart phones in 2014. Alistair Barr for The Wall Street Journal

 Alphabet Inc. granted Sundar Pichai, chief executive of the company’s main Google business, an equity award valued at nearly $200 million, making him one of the world’s highest-paid executives.

 In a securities filing Friday, Alphabet said it awarded Mr. Pichai 273,328 Class C Google stock units on Feb. 3. At that time, the grant was valued at $199 million, though subsequent declines in Alphabet shares put the current value at about $182 million.

 The new award vests in quarterly increments over the next four years as long as Mr. Pichai is employed by Alphabet.

 The grant lifts the value of Mr. Pichai’s equity stake in Alphabet to more than $600 million. That is still well below the stakes held by co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt, Alphabet’s executive chairman, who was hired several years after the company started.

 However, the award is one of the largest by a U.S. company. In 2011 Apple Inc. awarded Tim Cook a grant valued at about $376 million when he was named chief executive, succeeding co-founder Steve Jobs.

 Click here to continue reading.

 For breaking news, features and analysis from India, follow WSJ India on Facebook. ||||| Pichai received 273,328 shares, company filing shows, bringing his holdings in Alphabet to $650m – still far less than the net worth of Google’s founders

 The boss of Google, Sundar Pichai, has been awarded $199m (£138m) worth of shares, making him the highest paid chief executive in the US.

 Pichai, who became Google’s CEO in October following its reorganisation into holding company Alphabet, was handed 273,328 shares, according to a company filing, worth $199m when they were awarded.

 The new shares takes the value of Pichai’s Alphabet holdings to roughly $650m – or 14,440 times the $45,000 median net worth of US citizens as calculated by Credit Suisse.

 But it is still far short of the fortunes made by Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who are worth $34.6bn and $33.9bn according to Forbes. It is also a lot less than Google’s former CEO, Eric Schmidt, who holds shares worth $3bn.

 Sundar Pichai: Google's rising star reaches the top (like his teacher said he would) Read more

 Pichai’s award is worth more than the £130m ($187m) Google has grudgingly agreed to pay the UK government in back taxes since 2005. Critics of the controversial tax deal have calculated that Google generated sales of £24bn ($34.6bn) in the UK between 2005 and 2014 on which it has reported profit margins of between 25% and 30%, which works out an estimated profit of about £7.2bn ($10.4bn). As it already agreed to pay about £70m ($101m) in addition to the £130m ($187m) settlement, Google’s effective tax rate is between 2% and 3%, compared to the UK’s 20% headline corporation tax rate.

 Pincai celebrated his award, which will vest in quarterly increments until 2019, by watching the Super Bowl and meeting NFL legend Ronnie Lott.

 sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) Great game, even more so meeting a true NFL legend Ronnie Lott #SB50 pic.twitter.com/pUPjBsbYEh

 Pichai, 43, was not the only Google executive given a big payday. Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s chief financial officer, was handed shares worth about $38m. That is on top of the $30m signing bonus she was given to lure her away from Morgan Stanley last year.

 Diane Greene, who has been head of Google’s cloud computing business since November, was awarded shares worth $42.8m. This was on top of $148m worth she was granted last year following Google’s takeover of Bebop Technologies, a tech company she founded. |||||

– Google's parent company appears to be satisfied with how Sundar Pichai has performed during his four months as Google CEO, judging by the gargantuan $199 million equity award revealed in a securities filing. Alphabet stated that Pichai was awarded 273,328 Class C Google stock units on Feb. 3, bringing his holdings to around $650 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. The award makes Pichai the highest-paid CEO in America, according to the Guardian, which notes that Pichai's fortune is dwarfed by those of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who are worth around $34 billion each, and by that of previous CEO Eric Schmidt, who's sitting on around $3 billion. (A former Google employee was awarded exactly $6,006.13.)


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McKinnah Sinclair, 18, and Charlie Daniels, 19 have been spotted in Beverly Hills, Calif., according to Las Cruces police (Photo: Courtesy)

 LAS CRUCES - The two New Mexico State University students reported missing earlier this week have been located in Idaho and are said to be in good condition, the Las Cruces Police Department reported in a news release

 McKinnah Sinclair, 18, and Charlie Daniels, 19, were located by police Thursday morning in Nampa, Idaho, just west of Boise.

 The release stated the LCPD detective in charge of the case learned that shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday, a Nampa police officer observed a red Ford Focus traveling 30 miles per hour below the posted speed limit on an interstate highway. The officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle driven by Daniels. Sinclair and Daniels were the only occupants of the vehicle.

 The Idaho officer discovered the vehicle had a fictitious, or fake, license plate.

 The Ford Focus the women were in belongs to the parents of Daniels, police said. However, the license plate at the time of the traffic stop in Idaho belongs to another vehicle. Police said investigators learned that the women intentionally switched plates before embarking on their interstate trip.

 The Nampa Police Department officer who carried out the traffic stop opted not to charge Daniels for the fake license plate, according to that department.

 Lt. Eric Skoglund of the Nampa Police Department said the vehicle in which the two were driving had been reported stolen.

 "My understanding is the car belonged to one of their parents and was reported stolen, but because of the nature of the relationship and the circumstances surrounding that, that was not determined to be the case, so there are no charges here based on that," Skoglund told the Sun-News on Thursday afternoon.

 After investigating the matter, the Nampa Police Department didn't detain the women further. Had they been minors — under the age of 18 — authorities could have detained them and notified parents to pick them up, but that wasn't the case, Skoglund said.

 "We checked on their welfare, talked with them, talked with family and talked with the agency that reported them missing to let them know the status," he said. "So, that was the extent of our contact with them."

 LCPD has learned that their families made arrangements to have the women returned to New Mexico.

 Sinclair and Daniels attended the Rare El Paso hip-hop concert on Friday, Feb. 3, at the El Paso County Coliseum. Missing person affidavits were filed with LCPD Tuesday morning after the women failed to return home or contact family.

 Sinclair and Daniels were captured on a surveillance camera Monday at an ATM in Beverly Hills, California. Police believe the women traveled to California and Idaho on their own, but failed to inform family or friends of their plans. Attempts to reach the women via cell phone or social media were ineffective and it appears the two were trying to keep their whereabouts unknown.

 The driving distance from El Paso to Beverly Hills to Nampa is about 1,600 miles.

 The Las Cruces Police Department received assistance on this case from various law enforcement agencies in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada and Idaho.

 According to Minerva Baumann, the director of media relations at NMSU, Daniels enrolled at the university in the fall of 2015 and is studying in kinesiology.

 Sinclair enrolled at NMSU in the fall of 2016 and is majoring in pre-social work, Baumann said. Sinclair also is a member of the NMSU cheerleading squad.

 Sun-News reporter Diana Alba Soular contributed to this story.

 Read or Share this story: http://lcsun.co/2kTIobJ ||||| Copyright 2017 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 El Paso, TX (KTSM) - Las Cruces Police say that the two missing NMSU Students have been located and are in good condition in Idaho.

 McKinnah Sinclair, 18, and her roommate, Charlie Daniels, 19, were reported missing over the weekend after they came to a concert in El Paso on Friday night and were never heard from again.

 Monday, LCPD said that the the girls were seen on surveillance footage at a Beverly Hills ATM and appeared to be in good condition.

 On Thursday morning, a police officer in Nampa, Idaho - just west of Boise - pulled over a red Ford Focus that was driving 30 MPH under the speed limit. When they officer was investigating the stop, they learned that Daniels was the driver and Sinclair was the passenger in the car.

 According to the Nampa Police Department, the Focus had a fake license plate on it. Police learned that the teens allegedly switched plates before leaving on their multi-state trip.

 The Focus is registered to Daniels' parents and she is facing charges in Idaho for driving a vehicle with fictitious plates.

 The girls families have made arrangements to have the pair returned to New Mexico. It is still unclear why the girls left without telling their families or what their final destination may have been.

 Las Cruces Police would like to thank various law enforcement agencies in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada and Idaho. |||||

– A multi-state hunt for two missing New Mexico State University students ended in Idaho Thursday morning. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that 18-year-old McKinnah Sinclair and 19-year-old Charlie Daniels, missing since they attended a hip-hop concert in Texas last Friday, were found driving in Nampa and said to be in good condition. A Facebook post from the Las Cruces Police Department notes a Nampa cop pulled over a red Ford Focus crawling along at 30mph below the highway speed limit and found Sinclair and Daniels inside, with Daniels behind the wheel. A lieutenant with the department tells the Sun-News the car, which apparently belonged to one of the teens' parents, had been reported stolen and was sporting license plates from another car. Investigators say the women purposely switched plates before they started traveling the country. Before they ended up in the Gem State, they had been caught on camera in Beverly Hills, Calif., Monday at an ATM. All told, they covered a driving distance of at least 1,600 miles before they were located, the Sun-News estimates. They hadn't been answering calls to their cellphones or contact on social media since they vanished after the concert. KTSM reports it's still vague what the teens' final destination was, or why they didn't tell anyone where they were going. The police in Nampa didn't detain the women after determining they were OK (both are technically adults), but the LCPD says their families have put things in place to get them back to New Mexico.


News article:

By David Nelson CFA

 Sentiment coming into 2017 was mixed, mostly divided around political affiliation. Those in support of change pointed to aggressive growth expectations on the heels of tax reform and deregulation. On the other side, economists like Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman believed expecting anything approaching 3-3.5% GDP was little more than economic arrogance.

 Investors have cast their votes driving up U.S. stocks more than 20% in 2017. Today, as we approach the end of the year it’s natural for those same investors to turn their attention to 2018 and beyond. It’s a ritual as old as markets but fraught with risk. After a 20% rise in stocks Wall Street has become unquestionably bullish with Oppenheimer’s John Stolzfus already announcing an S&P 500 target of 3000 for next year. Even Goldman which spent much of the year focused on the downside is looking for a modest rise on the heels of tax reform.

 One thing about crystal balls. When you look at the beginning of the year they seem decidedly clear with all but a GPS moving map showing us the path down the Yellow Brick Road. Unfortunately, just when you need it most it starts to malfunction failing to alert you when the Wicked Witch of the East zooms in for the kill.

 The danger in these predictions is that more often than not we extrapolate recent history into the future. If the market was up in the last year, than by all means it should continue. If we’ve been in a prolonged downturn than of course expect markets to continue to struggle.

 The most dangerous predictions of all are those that go out 3-4 even 5 years. Anyone making long term predictions about how something as complex as the world economy is going to react 5 years from now, is likely on par with my prediction the New York Jets will re-sign Joe Namath and win the Super Bowl in 2020.

 The above doesn’t make predictions a useless exercise. It’s ok to plan ahead but explore both sides of the issue knowing that your opponent’s crystal ball may be more accurate than your own.

 I currently fall into that same camp as many extrapolating 2017 a very good year into the next. PMI data around the world points to geosynchronous growth which doesn’t happen all that often. Strength in overseas markets means our customers are doing well and that’s great news for U.S. multinationals.

 Markets are driven by all sorts of factors but in the long run they follow earnings. There are any number of items in this tax bill I don’t agree with but if the corporate rate comes in anywhere close to 20%, then 15% earnings growth is doable. $150 in S&P earnings isn’t out of the question.

 Add the fact that these very same large caps will get access to a couple trillion dollars parked off shore and the picture looks pretty bright. The question is; what will they do with it? I’ve been critical of CEOs for focusing too much attention on buybacks. I believe, we’re at the beginning of a capex cycle as CEOs understand that they have to start growing the top line if they want to remain competitive.

 Buybacks are slowing

 Buybacks have already started slowing, peaking in early 2016. You’ve heard me say this in any number of interviews; “the next leg of the bull market isn’t going to come on the heels of financial engineering.” There are too many examples of buyback casualties that bought back their own stock at higher prices effectively destroying capital.

 Story Continues ||||| We polled the experts, consulted the analysts, and read the white papers. Herewith, Fortune’s best guess for what will happen to the economy in 2018.

 The article is part of the Fortune 2018 Crystal Ball, our predictions for the year ahead. Find the whole list here.

 Tax Reform Passes…but GDP Can’t Reach 3%

 President Trump and the GOP-led Congress are able to enact some corporate tax reforms, but learn that tax cuts alone can’t quickly compensate for an aging population and an under-skilled middle class. GDP grows by 2.5% for the year.

 The Federal Funds Rate lands at 2.25% the end of 2018.

 Yuge economic growth remains elusive, but continued low unemployment puts enough upward pressure on wages and prices to prompt more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and new chairman Jerome Powell. The Fed’s benchmark tops rate 2% for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.

 Oil Will Cost $55 a Barrel Next Christmas

 Politics and the occasional disruptive summer storm will make the price of crude fluctuate plenty in 2018. But U.S. shale oil will keep the domestic supply flowing, putting an expiration date on any price spikes. No need to pawn the SUV just yet.

 Home Prices (Barely) Rise

 Zillow asked more than 100 economists and real estate experts where they thought home prices would wind up next year. The average answer? Up by 4.1%—significantly slower than the current rate of about 6.9% growth.

 The U.S. IPO market jumps to life again

 Last year was particularly weak for domestic IPO proceeds, at just $16.2 billion. That ticked up to a projected $39.7 billion this year, and—according to global law firm Baker McKenzie— will hit $70.9 billion in 2018. Investors will thank a robust stock market and tech companies for the boost.

 A version of this article appears in the Dec. 1, 2017 issue of Fortune as part of the Fortune 2018 Crystal Ball package. Click here to see our full list of predictions. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– It's that time of year when financial experts are asked to dust off their crystal balls and tea leaves and offer up their predictions for the economy in 2018. At Yahoo Finance, David Nelson warns that the problem with these predictions is that experts tend to extrapolate, i.e., believing a healthy market will continue to be healthy, and vice versa. That said, he admits he falls "into that same camp as many extrapolating 2017 a very good year into the next. ... Strength in overseas markets means our customers are doing well and that's great news for US multinationals." We round up five predictions from Fortune and WalletHub, which notes its last six years of predictions have been relatively prescient, with an average GPA of 3.56.


The South Korean military says North Korea attempted to launch a missile on April 15, the birthday of the country’s "eternal president," Kim Il Sung, but that it failed. (Reuters)

 North Korea tried but failed to launch an intermediate-range missile Friday, American and South Korean military officials said, dealing the regime an embarrassing blow on the most important day of the year on the North Korean calendar.

 To mark the 104th anniversary of the birthday of the country’s "eternal president," Kim Il Sung, North Korea launched a missile from its east coast at about 5:30 a.m. local time. But it deviated from a "normal" trajectory, an official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in Seoul.

 “North Korea appears to have tried a missile launch from the East Sea [Sea of Japan] area early morning today, but it is presumed to have failed,” the official said.

 But South Korea's military is still on high alert. "We are preparing against the possibility that the North could carry out heavyweight provocations at any time, including the fifth nuclear test," a military official said, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

 [North Korea unveils homemade engine for missile capable of striking U.S.]

 A U.S. defense official said that the U.S. Strategic Command systems had also “detected and tracked” the missile. “We assess that the launch failed,” he said.

 Initial analysis suggested that the missile was a Musudan, also known as a BM-25, the kind that South Korean authorities had detected being moved Thursday near Wonsan on North Korea’s east coast.

 The Musudan is an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of traveling 1,500 to 2,500 miles — putting the U.S. territory of Guam within reach — and of carrying a 1.3-ton nuclear warhead, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

 North Korea has displayed the Musudan at its military parades and is believed to have supplied assembly kits for the missile to Iran, but it had never tested this model of missile before.

 Jeffrey Lewis, head of the East Asia program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California, said the failure would “reinforce the persistent denial” about North Korea’s capabilities.

 “But in fact, they will have learned a lot from this launch. Not as much as they would have learned if it had succeeded, but still something,” Lewis said.

 The Musudan uses the same sort of engine as the submarine-launched ballistic missile that North Korea tested last year but that also failed.

 “Clearly they have a problem, but maybe next time it will work. It took them a couple of launches to get the Taepodong-2 going,” Lewis said, referring to the ballistic-missile technology that has now put two North Korean satellites into orbit.

 At the same time, North Korea has been making a series of claims about technological advances, from building solid-fuel rocket engines to miniaturizing nuclear warheads. The regime recently claimed that it could send a nuclear-tipped missile to the U.S. mainland.

 [North Korea claims it could wipe out Manhattan with a hydrogen bomb]

 Although this has not been proved, U.S. military officials and nonproliferation experts say that North Korea is clearly working toward this goal. The Musudan test could be part of this program.

 At a hearing of a Senate Armed Services subcommittee this week, Brian McKeon, a senior Pentagon official, said North Korea’s weapons and missile programs pose a growing threat to the United States and its allies in East Asia.

 North Korea is “seeking to develop longer-range ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons to the United States and continues efforts to bring [a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile] to operational capacity,” he said.

 Although an untested long-range missile was unlikely to be reliable, North Korea’s successful satellite launches showed it was mastering the technologies that would be needed, McKeon said.

 China’s official Xinhua News Agency said North Korea’s failed firing of a mid-range ballistic missile Friday was “the latest in a string of saber-rattling that, if unchecked, will lead the country to nowhere.”

 Since Kim Jong Un ordered his military to conduct a fourth nuclear test in January — which North Korea claimed was a hydrogen-bomb explosion, although outside experts are highly skeptical — there has been a steady stream of projectiles emanating from North Korea.

 1 of 50 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × What life looks like inside North Korea View Photos Scenes from the hermit kingdom. Caption Scenes from the hermit kingdom. April 14, 2016 A girl dances ballet at the Mangyongdae Children’s Palace in the Pyongyang suburbs. The large facility, opened in 1989, has hundreds of rooms for various activities, including mathematics, chemistry, computer science, sports, music and dance practice. Franck Robichon/European Pressphoto Agency Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

 In February, Kim oversaw the launch of what North Korea said was a satellite launch vehicle but which was widely viewed as part of an intercontinental ballistic missile program. Since then, there have been numerous short-range missile launches and rockets fired into the Sea of Japan.

 [North Korea has new rocket system that could strike Seoul this year, South Korea warns]

 North Korea is banned by U.N. Security Council resolutions from launching ballistic missiles or carrying out nuclear tests, but it continues to do so.

 The international community has responded to North Korea’s latest provocations with tough sanctions aimed at cutting off the state’s ability to procure parts and finance its weapons-of-mass-destruction program.

 This push coincided with two-month-long drills between the U.S. and South Korean militaries, during which they are practicing their response to the collapse of North Korea. The drills, which conclude at the end of this month, include computer-simulated “decapitation strikes” on the North Korean leadership.

 Amid this background of heightened tensions, North Korea has been preparing for two key events — the anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth and the first congress of the communist Workers’ Party in 36 years.

 The country is in the grip of a “70-day campaign” to prepare for the congress, set for early next month. Analysts expect Kim Jong Un to use the event to bolster his legitimacy.

 Kim, who is 33, is not only incredibly young by the standards of Korea, where age is revered, but he also did not have the kind of long preparation and introduction that his father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, enjoyed.

 Read more:

 North Korea scolds Obama by adopting the voice of Abraham Lincoln

 What it’s like to be an American held in North Korea

 The weird world of North Korea’s restaurants abroad ||||| SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea attempted and failed to launch what experts believe was an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Friday in defiance of U.N. sanctions and in an embarrassing setback for leader Kim Jong Un, drawing criticism from major ally China.

 North Korea leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he visits Sohae Space Center in Cholsan County, North Pyongan province for the testing of a new engine for an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 9, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA

 The U.S. Defense Department called the test of the road-mobile missile, which came as North Korea celebrated the birthday of Kim’s grandfather and North Korea’s founding father Kim Il Sung, a “fiery, catastrophic” failure.

 The test, on North Korea’s so-called “Day of the Sun,” followed its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February, which led to new U.N. sanctions that have failed to halt Pyongyang’s weapons programs.

 South Korean officials and international experts said the failed test heightened the possibility that North Korea would conduct a fifth nuclear test, possibly within weeks.

 The U.S.-based 38 North website, which specializes in North Korea, said there has been activity at the country’s nuclear site based on satellite imagery and on Wednesday said the possibility of a fifth nuclear test “could not be ruled out.”

 U.S. officials said the missile tested on Friday never got off the launch pad but further tests were expected.

 “We’re still assessing the specifics of it but I can tell you that it was a fiery, catastrophic attempt at a launch,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told a briefing. “It was not successful.”

 Davis said the U.S. military thought the device was a road-mobile missile because the launch occurred at a coastal site where Pyongyang ordinarily does not test rockets.

 He said North Korea, which regularly threatens to destroy South Korea and the United States and often fires missiles during periods of tension, remained a security concern in spite of the failure.

 “We know that this is a capability that they are aiming towards,” he said. It’s ... a missile system that they’ve displayed on multiple occasions and that is why we have a ballistic missile defense system that we have invested in very heavily to be able to outpace that threat as that threat develops further.”

 CHINA ANGERED

 The White House strongly condemned the latest launch attempt and said Washington would work with China and other countries to put pressure on North Korea, which faced the prospect of further isolation.

 China, North Korea’s most important economic and diplomatic backer, has been angered by Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and rocket launches and has backed U.N. sanctions.

 “The firing of a mid-range ballistic missile on Friday by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), though failed, marks the latest in a string of saber-rattling that, if unchecked, will lead the country to nowhere,” China’s official Xinhua news agency said in an English language commentary.

 “... Nuclear weapons will not make Pyongyang safer. On the contrary, its costly military endeavors will keep on suffocating its economy.”

 Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the U.N. Security Council was clear on North Korean rocket launches.

 “At present, the situation on the peninsula is complex and sensitive,” he told reporters. “We hope all parties can strictly respect the decisions of the Security Council and avoid taking any steps that could further worsen tensions.”

 In 2012, Kim Il Sung’s birthday was also marked by an attempted long-range rocket launch, which also failed.

 The missile was likely a Musudan, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said, an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a design range of more than 3,000 km (1,800 miles) that can be fired from a road mobile launcher but which has never been flight-tested.

 Experts see North Korea’s Musudan test as part of an effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the mainland United States. The Musudan theoretically could reach the U.S. Pacific island of Guam.

 North Korea is to hold a congress of its ruling Workers Party - the first such meeting in 36 years - in early May, at which Kim Jong Un is likely to trumpet his achievements in building up Pyongyang’s weapons prowess.

 South Korean officials and experts say he will be keen to go into that with a show of strength, not a failed rocket launch, making the possibility of another nuclear test more likely.

 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the ballistic rocket launch drill of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) at an unknown location, in this undated file photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on March 11, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA/Files

 In a new report on Friday, 38 North said it had seen fresh activity in satellite images of North Korea’s main nuclear complex, suggesting that reprocessing may be under way to produce more plutonium for atomic bombs.[L5N17I4IM]

 38 North predicted last year that North Korea’s nuclear weapons stockpile could grow to 20, 50 or 100 bombs within five years, from an estimated 10 to 16 weapons at that time. |||||

Write a summary.

– North Korea's "Day of the Sun" became the "Day of the Flop" after an attempt to mark its founder's birthday with a missile launch fizzled, according to South Korean officials. An official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the missile launch from the country's east coast early Friday deviated from a normal trajectory, the Washington Post reports. An American military official says the US also detected and tracked the failed launch, which took place on the most important day in Pyongyang's calendar, the birthday of Kim Il Sung. Officials suspect the missile was a Musudan intermediate-range missile, also known as a BM-25, which Pyongyang has displayed in military parades but never tested before. The country fired a different kind of medium-range missile into the sea last month. Even North Korea's closest ally denounced the latest launch attempt, reports Reuters. The launch, "though failed, marks the latest in a string of saber-rattling that, if unchecked, will lead the country to nowhere," China's Xinhua news agency said. "Nuclear weapons will not make Pyongyang safer. On the contrary, its costly military endeavors will keep on suffocating its economy." (Seoul is getting some vital information from a high-level defector.)


News article:

The Washington media loves Mitch McConnell as a creature of the establishment and hates Donald Trump with a burning passion. So the Washington media has a vested interest in savaging Donald Trump for Luther Strange’s loss, while protecting Mitch McConnell.

 But ask any Roy Moore voter and you’ll find that they believed Donald Trump really wanted Moore, not Strange, in the Senate. They believe, rightly, that Trump was just going through the motions with Strange. Trump was trying to play nice with the establishment in hopes they might get their butts in gear on Obamacare. But he had no real affinity for Luther Strange. His rhetoric was all in Roy Moore’s wheelhouse.

 McConnell poured money into the race for Strange and even blessed Luther Strange deciding at the last minute to start campaigning against Mitch McConnell. Moore made running against McConnell the theme of his campaign.

 Both sides claimed they were going to help Trump against McConnell, but Moore’s base really believed him. Strange’s was just going through the motions.

 It is harder and harder to get honest reporting from DC when it comes to Trump. Reporters just hate him so much. So the DC press corps is celebrating the Roy Moore win as a Trump defeat when the reality and truth are that Moore is the most Trumpian senate candidate in America today.

 His race is not over, but the Democrats will mount little credible opposition. And when Donald Trump comes back to campaign for Roy Moore, Moore’s base will know Trump means it this time. ||||| For Mitch McConnell, Tuesday was about as bad as it could get.

 A vulnerable incumbent senator, Luther Strange of Alabama, lost handily to Roy Moore, who used the Senate leader as his campaign punching bag. McConnell pulled the plug — again — on repealing Obamacare. One of his close allies, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), announced his retirement.

 Story Continued Below

 And President Donald Trump is back on McConnell’s case, dubbing him “weak” at a private dinner with conservative activists on Monday evening.

 McConnell’s job is in no immediate danger, and he hopes to pivot quickly to tax reform. Yet months of woes are now taking their toll on the GOP leader’s agenda, and his caucus.

 “It’s been a hard summer for all of us,” admitted Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 GOP senator.

 Asked Tuesday whether he was having a “tough day,” McConnell ignored the question. And that was before Corker announced his retirement and Moore won.

 “We haven’t given up on changing the American health care system,” McConnell said. “We’re not going to be able to do that this week, but it still lies ahead of us, and we haven’t given up on that.”

 McConnell’s long-shot bid to save Strange, who had Trump’s backing as well, failed spectacularly as the former Alabama attorney general was trounced by Moore in the deep red state. And that soon could be a daily problem for McConnell. Moore, twice ousted as a judge on the Alabama Supreme Court for defying federal edicts, has openly said he wants to dump McConnell as the top Senate Republican.

 “Judge Roy Moore in the U.S. Senate means the END of Mitch McConnell’s reign as Majority Leader,” Moore vowed in one fundraising pitch. Moore now faces Democrat Doug Jones in the Dec. 12 general election.

 Moore’s win came just hours after McConnell, faced with unwavering opposition from a trio of his GOP colleagues, was forced to ditch the latest GOP proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare. McConnell’s choices were grim: Hold another failed vote, or concede another defeat.

 Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

 McConnell chose to call it quits and perhaps try again next year. Yet it was another embarrassing setback in McConnell’s failed months-long effort to overturn the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and it came at an even heavier price this time — more problems for McConnell from the occupant of the Oval Office.

 Trump spent much of August publicly bashing McConnell but stopped after the two held a private meeting several weeks ago. But now the president is bad-mouthing the Senate leader again.

 During a dinner with conservative activists on Monday night at the White House, Trump laid into McConnell, according to two attendees. Trump told the activists that McConnell was “weak” because he couldn’t pass the GOP health care plan, and the president complained at length about how Republicans had failed him on the issue, while asking the activists what they should do next.

 Trump added that he was disappointed in McConnell for not changing the Senate filibuster rule so that only 51 votes are needed to pass legislation, also dubbing McConnell’s resistance to the idea as “weak.” That criticism does not ring true to Senate Republicans, given that Democrats have barely been able to use the filibuster due to McConnell mostly holding party-line votes.

 A McConnell spokesman declined to comment.

 A person briefed on the meeting noted Trump took aim at far more than McConnell during the meeting, distancing himself from Strange and whacking Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as well. Trump called McCain “disgraceful” on health care and mocked his thumbs-down gesture on the Senate floor against a GOP proposal in July, complete with a facial expression, attendees said.

 After the race was called Tuesday, McConnell vowed to support Moore in the general election despite the candidate’s opposition to him personally.

 “He ran a spirited campaign centered around a dissatisfaction with the progress made in Washington. I share that frustration,” McConnell said of Moore in a statement. “Senate Republicans will be as committed to keeping Alabama’s Senate seat in Republican hands with Roy Moore as we were with Luther Strange.”

 McConnell’s support in the Republican Conference remains solid despite what Trump, Moore and former Trump aide Steve Bannon say about him. Bannon has launched a crusade against the Senate leader and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Ohio) since leaving the White House.

 “It’s not even a close question there,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said of McConnell’s position. “It’s not easy being majority leader, which is why many people choose not to run for it.”

 The way to put an end to anti-McConnell challengers, Cornyn said, is “you win. Really, it’s about that simple.”

 After ushering through the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, McConnell has found himself in a box. Trump will receive the lion’s share of credit for legislative victories that McConnell or Ryan engineer, but the president has made clear he’ll blame the GOP leaders when bills falter.

 Trump might turn to Democrats again in search of victories — as he did earlier this month to put off a fight over the budget and debt ceiling — which would again test McConnell and Ryan’s loyalty to the president.

 Some Republicans said that at least in the case of Obamacare, McConnell was not to blame for the failure of the proposal pushed by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.).

 “The whole health care thing right now was sort of inspired by Graham and Cassidy, and the president, who kept it alive. I don’t think Mitch has much ownership other than to try to see if there’s a path forward,” Thune said.

 Thune added that Strange’s situation in Alabama was a “unique set of circumstances. I think everybody in a lot of these places, particularly primary voters, want to send a message to Washington.”

 Strange was appointed to the seat by former Republican Gov. Robert Bentley, who later resigned in a sex scandal. Strange’s appointment didn’t sit well with Alabama voters. The Senate Leadership Fund, a pro-McConnell super PAC, dumped $9 million into the race in a bid to derail Moore, but he proved far too strong. And Trump’s endorsement of Strange proved to be too little, too late.

 “What happens today in Alabama with Luther Strange has nothing to do with Mitch McConnell. It has everything to do with Alabama,” Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said before the results were tallied.

 Personal loyalty to McConnell remains high among his colleagues. They remember him as a two-term chairman of the NRSC. He led the fight against former President Barack Obama for eight years. And he got Gorsuch onto the Supreme Court, which is Trump’s only real win in Congress so far.

 When it comes to who to blame for a difficult year with just a 52-seat majority, McConnell’s colleagues refuse to point to the majority leader as the source of the problem. They criticize each other, not McConnell.

 “You can only fight with the troops that you’ve got,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said of McConnell’s predicament. ||||| Why it matters: A funding freeze could be seen as a slap against the organization — which the U.S. and Israel consider to be biased against Israel and too politicized — and an attempt to pressure the Palestinians to return to peace talks with Israel. But a State Department official said that the fact the money wasn't transferred on Jan. 1 doesn't mean it was frozen. "There are still deliberations taking place, and we have until mid January to decide what we are going to do,” the official said.

 The Trump administration has frozen $125 million in funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides aid to Palestinian refugees, according to three Western diplomats who were informed of the move. They said the funding, one third of the annual U.S. donations to the agency, was supposed to be transferred by Jan. 1 but was withheld.

 The details: The diplomats, who asked to speak on conditions of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the funding was frozen until the Trump administration finishes its review of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority.

 The move comes after the Palestinian Authority suspended their contacts with the Trump administration in response to its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A senior White House official said no decision have been made yet, but confirmed that a review of the U.S. assistance to the Palestinians is underway "in light of the Palestinians' recent conduct."

 The diplomats added that U.S. officials told U.N. officials in the last two days that President Trump is considering totally cutting the part of the funding which was frozen, and is even considering cutting up to $180 million, which amounts to half of the U.S. funding to UNRWA.

 The impact: The Western diplomats said freezing or cutting of such a big part of the U.S. funding would be catastrophic for the organization, would hamper its work and might lead to negative consequences for the Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon.

 U.N. secretary general António Guterres has spoken with senior U.S. official about the UNRWA funding and also consulted with foreign ministers from other donor countries, according to the diplomats.

 The Israeli security establishment and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories — the Israeli organization that oversees government activities in the West Bank and Gaza — are concerned about possible freezing or cutting of U.S. funding to UNRWA, fearing the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

 “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is complicated enough and harming UNRWA funding will only make it more complicated," a senior Israeli security official told me.

 What we're hearing: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not enthusiastic about the cutting of U.S. funding to UNRWA, but is politically pressed by conservative ministers in his cabinet and by the fact he can't be more dovish on the Palestinian issue than President Trump.

 Officials in the prime minister's office told diplomats from several western countries that Israel does not object to the cutting of U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority, but prefers that the U.S. doesn't cut funding to UNRWA due to the fact it also serves Israeli security interests.

 A senior Israeli official told me Netanyahu is in touch with the White House on the UNRWA funding issue, and conveyed the message that Israel prefers “gradual disengagement" with UNRWA by the U.S. and not a big funding cut.

 The prime minister's office said in a statement: "Netanyahu supports President Trump's critical attitude towards UNRWA and believes practical steps need to be taken in order to change the fact that UNRWA is being used to entrench the Palestinian refugee problem instead of solving it." |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– As has been widely noted, Mitch McConnell had a truly awful Tuesday. The Senate majority leader had to surrender on ObamaCare repeal, ally Bob Corker announced he was retiring, and, perhaps worst of all, the Senate candidate that McConnell strongly backed in Alabama got trounced by one backed by the Steve Bannon contingent. Just how bad is it for McConnell? Here's a look at coverage: Mocked by Trump: The president has taken to doing physical impressions of a slump-shouldered McConnell, reports Axios. Trump also reportedly called out McConnell as "weak" at a dinner with conservative activists, reports Politico. On the wane: McConnell has gone from "brilliant tactician" to looking vulnerable after the defeats this week, reports the New York Times. If the GOP fails to get tax reform passed this year, his post as majority leader could be in jeopardy—especially with populist insurgents backed by Bannon looking to win more seats. No immediate danger: Both Politico and the Times say McConnell retains rock-solid support in the Republican Conference and thus is not in any immediate peril. Much of that support is based on his formidable fundraising skills on behalf of Senate Republicans. Beware the midterms: In a piece subtitled, "Is the Senate Leader Losing His Grip on the GOP?," Abigail Tracy at Vanity Fair notes that midterm elections in general are often unkind to the party in power: "With the GOP in the midst of an ideological schism, McConnell’s faction could be headed for a reckoning." Indeed, Tuesday's triple whammy "just shows how weak the Republican establishment is right now," writes Harry Enten at FiveThirtyEight. Boehner's fate? McConnell is willing to take all the criticism coming from conservatives over the ObamaCare fail, especially if it protects rank-and-file Republicans, per an analysis at the Washington Post. "But one thing that could hamper McConnell’s long-term standing would be if he became a real albatross to his own incumbents in primary elections ahead," writes Paul Kane. Fear of that played a role in John Boehner's resignation as House speaker two years ago. False narrative: Many in the media are portraying the Alabama results as a loss for Trump, but winner Roy Moore is decidedly Trumpian, writes Erick Erickson at the Resurgent. No, this was all about McConnell—in fact, Moore made running against him "the theme of his campaign."


Article:

Donald J. Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to comment on the news that a cousin of Dwyane Wade, the N.B.A. star, had been shot and killed in Chicago, linking the death to his effort to win support from African-American voters.

 “Dwayne Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago,” Mr. Trump wrote, misspelling Mr. Wade’s given name, which was later corrected. “Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”

 Mr. Trump, who initially did not express sympathy for the family of the slain woman, Nykea Aldridge, later in the day posted a Twitter message offering his condolences.

 Mr. Trump has been courting African-American voters by painting a dire picture of life in minority communities, one troubled by poverty, violence and dysfunction, especially in “inner cities.” ||||| Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more |||||
What is a summary?

– Donald Trump was criticized Saturday for taking a "self-congratulatory" tone in the wake of tragedy. Again. NBA player Dwyane Wade's cousin Nykea Aldridge was killed when she was hit by a stray bullet while pushing her baby in a stroller Friday in Chicago, CNN reports. On Saturday, Trump tweeted: "Dwayne Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!” Hours later, he corrected the spelling of Wade's name, according to CBS News. An hour after that, Trump tweeted condolences to the family, as well as his "thoughts and prayers." He went on to call Wade a "great guy" during a rally Saturday in Iowa. Trump was widely accused of crassly exploiting a tragedy. Actor Don Cheadle was particularly outspoken, calling Trump "truly a POS" and requesting he "die in a grease fire." Tim Kaine also called Trump out for the tweet, saying sympathy is the "only reaction that is appropriate right now." A recent poll showed Trump with only 1% support among black voters. The New York Times reports he's been trying to change that by talking about how bad life is for black people in the US and asking, "What the hell do you have to lose?" Many saw Saturday's tweet as a sequel of sorts to when Trump tweeted "appreciate the congrats" following the massacre at an Orlando gay club.


Write a summary based on this article:

The New York Police Department is investigating embattled Hollywood director Bryan Singer for a forcible sexual assault that was allegedly committed last year against a man in his twenties, an NYPD spokesperson has told BuzzFeed News.

 The 48-year-old Singer, known for directing the X-Men movies, has not been charged with a crime. Whether he ever will be depends largely on what the investigation turns up. Two civil lawsuits accusing Singer of sexual abuse of underage boys have recently been dropped.

 Singer's lawyer, Martin Singer (no relation), wrote in an email, "Neither my client nor any of his representatives have been contacted by the NYPD, or anyone else about an alleged criminal investigation of my client. My client did not engage in any criminal or inappropriate behavior with anyone in New York or elsewhere." He added, "False investigations are filed all the time and no action is taken by the authorities."

 Martin Singer also accused BuzzFeed of conducting "a witch hunt against my client because he is gay" and warned that publishing the story would expose BuzzFeed "to tens of millions of dollars in damages."

 After a tip from a confidential source, BuzzFeed asked the NYPD if it was investigating Bryan Singer over a complaint about sexual assault. "We have a formal compliant [sic] on file for criminal sexual act," NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster replied in an email Wednesday. "The complaint was filed on May 9th of this year, however the incident occurred on March 23, 2013. The case is open and being investigated by our Special Victims Squad."

 In a follow-up interview Thursday, Royster said the case involved a male in his twenties who was allegedly forcibly sexually assaulted. She said the suspect is Bryan Singer. She said she could give no more information about the victim because it's a sexual assault case.

 Asked if it is unusual for Singer not to have been contacted, she replied, "I'm not sure of that," adding "not necessarily if you're building a case."

 Told of what Royster said in the follow-up interview, another attorney for Singer, Andrew Brettler, wrote to BuzzFeed, "Your source is obviously not reliable. Less than 12 hours ago, you claimed that our client was being investigated for a criminal sexual act under the statute that covers sex with underage minors. Now you are claiming that the alleged complaining witness is a male in his 20s. Are you going to identify your alleged NYPD source by name in the defamatory story you intend to publish?"

 Deputy Chief Royster is the commanding officer of the NYPD's public information division.

 Under New York law, a criminal sexual act applies to an adult having sex with someone who is underage. The statute also covers sexual acts between adults when, for example, the sex is by "forcible compulsion" or when the victim is incapable of giving consent because he is "physically helpless" or "mentally incapacitated."

 Singer's Twitter feed appears to indicate that he was in the New York City area on March 23, the date of the alleged incident. ||||| Michael Egan, the 31-year-old who accused director Bryan Singer and others of sexual abuse earlier this year, has dropped his suit against Singer. Though a momentary loss, the suit was dismissed without prejudice, which means he can file again – without his attorney Jeff Herman, who dropped Egan as a client last month.

 You'd be forgiven for not remembering every twist and turn in the Singer case. Since Egan first accused the director of abusing him at parties in the late '90s last April, the tale has taken several different twists and turns. This is our best effort to put the pieces of the puzzle back together.

 NOTE: For simplicity's sake, this timeline focuses primarily on the suits against Singer, not on Egan's other suits. Another plaintiff's suit against Singer and another defendant is referenced.

 April 16: Egan files his lawsuit in Hawaii District Court eight days before the statute of limitations was set to expire. Egan, now 31, accuses Singer of abusing him when he was 17 in both California and Hawaii. However, only the latter state's statute of limitations still applies.

 April 17: Singer's attorney, Marty Singer (no relation, but boy does it make talking about the two of them messy), says in a statement that the claims were "completely without merit." Herman says there will be more lawsuits against other individuals in a press conference. Singer drops out of press for his new film X-Men: Days of Future Past.

 April 18: BuzzFeed uncovers that Egan and Alexander Burton, who played Pyro in Singer's first X-Men film, were plaintiffs in a 2000 sexual abuse suit against Marc Collins-Rector. Collins-Rector is a friend of Singer's who allegedly threw the parties where Singer and others abused Egan. Gawker's Jordan Sargent publishes a set of anonymous letters from those who have allegedly witnessed Singer's predilection for younger men.

 April 24: BuzzFeed reports that Collins-Rector renounced his American citizenship in 2011, and hasn't been heard of since.

 May 4: A second lawsuit, first reported by The Daily Beast, is filed against Singer and theater producer Gary Goddard. The plaintiff, a John Doe, is British and was allegedly abused several times from age 15 onward by both men.

 May 13: BuzzFeed publishes a 2003 deposition in which Egan swore he'd never been outside of the continental U.S. Whether this includes Hawaii or not isn't immediately clear; Herman tells BuzzFeed, “I’m not sure how he interpreted the continental United States." This is significant, of course, because if the claims in Hawaii aren't valid, the suit is dead.

 May 21: The Hollywood Reporter reports that Singer files a motion to dismiss against Egan's suit, citing the 2003 deposition.

 May 23: Goddard files a motion to dismiss and provides evidence that he was not in Hawaii at the time the lawsuit alleged (mostly receipts and other time-stamped items).

 June 26: BuzzFeed finds Collins-Rector. He's living in Antwerp, Belgium.

 July 3: Singer files a motion to dismiss against the John Doe's suit.

 July 25: John Doe's suit against Singer is dismissed. The suit against Goddard stays alive.

 July 29: Herman, Egan's lawyer, drops the plaintiff as a client. BuzzFeed publishes documents that show that Singer tried to settle the suit for $100,000 in June, but Egan didn't agree.

 August 28: A judge grants Egan's motion to dismiss without prejudice. Egan is free to gain new representation and file suit again. |||||

– Two lawsuits claiming director Bryan Singer sexually assaulted teenage boys have been dropped, but that doesn't mean Singer's troubles are over. The director of X-Men: Days of Future Past is now being investigated by New York police regarding an alleged "forcible sexual assault" in March 2013, BuzzFeed reports. While Singer hasn't been charged with any crime, an NYPD rep says he is a suspect in a case involving a male in his 20s that "is open and being investigated by our Special Victims Squad." The complaint was filed in May of this year. Singer did not "engage in any criminal or inappropriate behavior," says his lawyer, adding that "neither my client nor any of his representatives have been contacted by the NYPD or anyone else about an alleged criminal investigation." The NYPD rep says that is "not necessarily" unusual "if you're building a case." The lawyer also calls BuzzFeed's reporting "a witch hunt against my client because he is gay." (The Wire has a chronology of the allegations against Singer here.) In dropping his case against Singer, alleged victim Michael Egan has retained the ability to re-file at a later date.


Here is a news article: Gunman's Brother On 'Preliminary Charges'

 Mohamed Merah was shot dead by a police sniper after a 30-hour siege at his flat

 French prosecutors have filed preliminary murder and terrorism charges against the brother of a gunman who killed Jewish schoolchildren and paratroopers.

 An official from the prosecutor's office confirmed the charges of suspected complicity were handed to Abdelkader Merah, 29.

 He has denied helping his 23-year-old sibling Mohammed, who was killed by police on Thursday, commit three deadly attacks that claimed the lives of seven people.

 Preliminary charges under French law mean there is strong reason to suspect a crime was committed but allow magistrates more time to investigate.

 Merah's younger brother Mohamed, 23, was shot dead by police after claiming responsibility for killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers earlier this month.

 His older brother and his partner, who has since been released, were arrested on Wednesday after Mohammed Merah was shot at the end of a 30-hour siege at his flat in Toulouse.

 A post-mortem examination showed he was hit by more than 20 bullets.

 Bullet holes in the wall of Mohammed Merah's flat

 During the standoff, Mohammed admitted killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three soldiers in separate attacks.

 The Paris public prosecutor's office earlier said in a statement: "Police inquiries have produced grave and matching pointers that suggest his (Abdelkader's) participation as accomplice in crimes relating to a terrorist enterprise is plausible."

 The inquiry will seek to establish whether Abdelkader, who state prosecutors say was already known to security services for helping to smuggle Jihadist militants into Iraq in 2007, should stand trial.

 Abdelkader said during preliminary questioning he was proud of his sibling's killing spree, a police source has said.

 Police also found explosives in a car that he owned, according to the Paris prosecutor leading the case.

 Zoulika Aziri, the mother of the siblings, was released on Friday. ||||| Image caption Abdelkader Merah was taken in for questioning on Wednesday

 The brother of the man who killed seven people in south-west France in recent weeks has been charged over the murders, judicial sources say.

 Abdelkader Merah, 29, is suspected of complicity in murder and theft, and involvement in terrorism. He will be kept in custody, prosecutors said.

 Abdelkader Merah denies the accusations but says he was there when his brother stole a scooter used in the attacks.

 He also denies being proud of his brother, who was killed on Thursday.

 According to his lawyer, Abdelkader Merah "strongly condemns" his brother's actions, saying he is "not at all proud" of them.

 "Otherwise, he just hopes he does not become the scapegoat for his brother's acts because this is in some ways what is happening," Anne-Sophie Laguens said.

 Mohamed Merah died in a shoot-out with police following a 32-hour siege of his apartment in Toulouse.

 During the stand-off, he had admitted shooting dead three soldiers in two separate incidents, and, last Monday, killing three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in the city.

 Investigators are trying to establish if Merah, a 23-year-old French citizen of Algerian descent, acted alone.

 His older brother - and a woman described variously as his wife or girlfriend - were detained by police on Wednesday, and taken for questioning at domestic intelligence agency (DCRI) headquarters in Paris.

 The woman was released without charge earlier on Sunday.

 Meanwhile, several thousand people marched in silence through Toulouse and the French capital, Paris, urging unity and tolerance of all religions and cultures following the shootings.

 Image caption Demonstrators in Paris bore a giant French flag as they marched for unity and tolerance

 'Radical Islamist'

 Prosecutors said Abdelkader Merah was presented to a judge in Paris on charges of criminal conspiracy aimed at planning terrorist acts and of complicity in murders and gang robbery.

 He was handed preliminary charges of complicity in murder and theft, and involvement in preparing a terrorist attack.

 Correspondents say that under French law, preliminary charges are filed when there are strong reasons to suspect a crime was committed, but more time is needed to investigate.

 "Police inquiries have produced grave and matching pointers that suggest his participation as accomplice in crimes relating to a terrorist enterprise is plausible," the Paris public prosecutor's office said in a statement earlier.

 Police and prosecutors have previously reportedly said Abdelkader is a radical Islamist and that traces of what could be an explosive material were found in his car.

 He was questioned several years ago about alleged links to a network sending Toulouse-area youths to Iraq, but no action was brought against him at the time, police sources say.

 Mohamed Merah had described himself as an al-Qaeda member, and told police he had bought weapons for 20,000 euros (£16,700; $24,400) using money taken through break-ins and hold-ups.

 He recorded the shootings on a video camera strapped to his body.

 The brothers' mother, 55-year-old Zoulika Aziri, had also been taken in for questioning, but was released without charge on Friday.

 Her lawyer said her world had been "turned upside down" by the events. "At no time could she have imagined that her son was the one who did it," Jean-Yves Gougnaud told reporters in Toulouse. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Toulouse gunman Mohamed Merah may be dead, but French authorities are eying complicity charges for his brother, Abdelkader, reports Sky News. "Police inquiries have produced grave and matching pointers that suggest his (Abdelkader's) participation as accomplice in crimes relating to a terrorist enterprise is plausible," says a statement from the Paris prosecutor's office. The elder Merah, 29, has been in custody since Wednesday, and will be detained indefinitely as charges are weighed, notes the BBC. Abdelkader Merah's companion, variously described as his wife or girlfriend, had also been held since Wednesday, but was released earlier today.


Article:
Sen. Bill Nelson released a statement Wednesday morning announcing that he was disappointed in the election night results. | Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Elections Nelson, Scott race headed to recount

 The razor-thin Florida Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and the state’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott is headed to a recount, Nelson’s campaign announced Wednesday morning.

 With more than 8 million votes cast, the two candidates are separated by fewer than 35,000 votes, with Scott holding the slim lead. Nelson’s campaign sent out a statement at 1 a.m. saying it was “not the result Senator Nelson and his campaign had worked so hard for,” but that the statement was "not a concession.”

 Story Continued Below

 In a followup statement at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nelson’s campaign announced that overnight the lead shrunk to a 0.4 percent lead for Scott, which is within the one-half percent margin to trigger a recount under state law.

 Florida is not new to the election recount national spotlight. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court had decide the outcome in Florida in that year’s presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Ultimately the court settled in favor of Bush, who went on to win the state by 537 votes and serve two terms as president.

 Scott spokesman Chris Hartline hammered the move.

 “This race is over. It’s a sad way for Bill Nelson to end his career,” Hartline said in an email. “He is desperately trying to hold onto something that no longer exists.”

 Florida’s 67 counties now must recheck their tallies, a process they initially have until noon on Nov. 10 to complete. In addition, Nelson’s campaign is sending monitors to every county across the state. The campaign is already working with well-known Democratic attorney Marc Elias with the firm Perkins Coie.

 In the statement, Elias hinted at some areas of the state that will get the campaign’s focus. He noted a Tampa Bay Times story where Madison County’s GOP Supervisor of Election Thomas Hardee, a Scott appointee, was quoted saying he wanted to meet with Nelson to “eat his lunch” over claims Nelson made that Russians had been interfering in Florida’s 2018 midterm elections.

 “I was trying to give him as much of a fit as I could,” Hardee told the newspaper.

 Elias singled that comment out and said they would be watching supervisors across the state.

 "We expect the supervisors, regardless of their party affiliation, will discharge their constitutional duties," Elias said.

  ||||| The race for U.S. Senate in Florida between Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott could be headed to a recount.

 >>>Complete election results here

 Scott declared victory Tuesday night, but Nelson’s chief of staff says there will be a recount in the Senate race, per state law.

 "We are proceeding to a recount," Sen. Nelson said this morning, in a brief statement.

 Scott’s lead in the race is 38,717 votes out of more than 8 million cast — a margin of less than one half of 1 percent.

 Nelson's campaign put out a statement on Wednesday saying the race remains tight and Scott prematurely claimed victory. Under Florida law, there is an automatic recount if the margin is one-half of one percent or less. Scott leads Nelson by slightly more than 30,000 votes out of more than 8.1 million votes cast.

 State officials will not officially order a recount until Saturday, when the first set of unofficial returns are due.

 Scott spokesman Chris Hartline criticized Nelson for pushing for a recount, calling it a "sad way" for him to end his political career.

 Rick Scott's campaign put out a statement that said it is embarrassing Nelson would resort to "these low tactics" after voters have clearly spoken.

 Under state law in Florida, a recount is mandatory if the winning candidate’s margin is less than 0.5 percentage points.

 The next step in the process is for the 67 county supervisors of election to recheck the total tally, and for the Nelson campaign to contact voters whose ballots were not counted due to a lack of ID or a matching address, for instance. The deadline is noon Saturday, or perhaps longer under certain circumstances, to determine whether the recount proceeds under law.

 During his speech Tuesday Scott talked about the campaign and described campaigns in general as “divisive” and “tough.”

 “And they’re really actually way too nasty,” he said. “But you know what? We’ve done this for over 200 years, and after these campaigns, we come together.”

 The governor vowed to bring to Washington the same business-like approach he used as an outsider when he assumed office eight years ago as governor. Scott, a wealthy businessman who had not previously held political office, was elected governor in 2010 by beating Republican establishment candidate Bill McCollum and Democrat Alex Sink.

 “The federal government is frustrating. It’s outdated. It’s wasteful. It’s inefficient,” Scott said. “All of us in state government have dealt with the federal government over the last eight years, and we can tell you story after story after story. Now, I’m just one individual, but there are a lot of other individuals in D.C. that want to do the same thing. And I’m going to work with them and we will change, like we did in Florida, the direction of Washington, D.C.”

 Scott choked up after saying there were “a couple people looking down from heaven I want to recognize.”

 “I had the most wonderful mom,” said Scott, who frequently speaks about growing up poor. “She never would believe that I’d be a governor or a U.S. senator.”

 Scott also thanked Jeri Bustamante, a former aide who died in a boating accident this year and who was his Spanish coach.

 AlertMe |||||Summary:

– Republican Rick Scott declared himself the victor in Tuesday's Florida race for a US Senate seat, but it looks like people may have to bite their nails on this one a little longer. Politico reports that the team of his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, sent out an early morning statement noting the vote tally was "not the result Senator Nelson and his campaign had worked so hard for." But the campaign also said that statement didn't mean Nelson was conceding, and later Wednesday morning came another statement from Nelson's camp: "We are proceeding to a recount." Per WESH, Scott's lead was 38,717 votes out of more than 8 million cast—which comes out to a margin that's less than one-half of 1%. In Florida, once the margin dips below that benchmark, a recount is automatically triggered. State officials will reportedly order the recount on Saturday. Scott, currently the governor of Florida, reacted via his spokesman, per Politico: "This race is over. It's a sad way for Bill Nelson to end his career. He is desperately trying to hold onto something that no longer exists."


Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

 With reporting by Josh Horowitz

 When the 2016 Emmy nominations dropped earlier today (July 14), the internet’s boyfriend, Tom Hiddleston, earned his first-ever nomination for Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He starred on AM’'s six-part miniseries, The Night Manager, based on John le Carré’s espionage novel of the same name.

 “I could not be more delighted,” Hiddleston told MTV News via phone while taking a break from filming Thor: Ragnarok in Australia. “It was a huge undertaking and an enormous labor of love and one of the proudest achievements of my short life and career.” The actor was excited his costars Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman were also nominated, as was director Susanne Bier. The series itself received an Outstanding Limited Series nomination, too.

 Des Willie/The Ink Factory/AMC

 Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine on The Night Manager.

 Notably a film and theater actor, Hiddleston explained how switching over to television never felt like an unusual or out of place career move. In fact, he was totally on board after reading the very first script: “It never felt like a break in continuity. It felt like the most exciting script to come across my desk for some time, and I jumped at the chance after just reading the 60 pages of Episode 1.”

 So how does Tom Hiddleston, a known dancing machine, celebrate an Emmy nomination? With more dancing, of course — or whatever the equivalent of rug-cutting is at 3 a.m. after a long day on a fantasy movie set. “I did a little sort of shake of happiness,” he said. “There were rumblings, there were stirrings, but they didn’t fully express themselves in explicit dance moves, shall we say.”

 This summer has been good to Hiddleston, as he’s also been spotted out with new girlfriend Taylor Swift since mid-June, including on Australia’s Gold Coast. “We are together and we’re very happy,” he confirmed. ||||| Kim Kardashian West Blasts Taylor Swift Over Kanye Feud: 'I've Had It ... Just Another Way to Play the Victim'

 RELATED VIDEO: Kim Kardashian West Slams Taylor Swift for Drama over Kanye West 'Famous' Verse: 'She Totally Approved That'

 Don't mess with Kim Kardashian West 's family or else!In a sneak peek at Sunday's Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the 35-year-old reality star unleashes fury over Taylor Swift 's reaction to Kanye West 's song, "Famous.""I never talk s--t about anyone publicly, especially in interviews. But I was just like I had so had it," she tells her sister Kourtney . "I wanted to defend him in it. She legitimately quote says, 'As soon as I get on that Grammy red carpet I'm gonna tell all the press. Like I was in on it.'"Kim is referring to her recent GQ article where she revealed that Swift, 26, personally approved Kanye's controversial lyrics in the song, ("I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, I made that bitch famous")."And then she just didn't like the reaction?" Kourtney, 37, asks."Yeah, and you know just another way to play the victim," Kim adds. "It definitely got her a lot of attention the first time," – referencing when Kanye, now 29, jumped on stage during Swift's VMA Awards acceptance speech. "I just don't think he should be punished for it still to this day," she continues."I feel like I've had it with people blatantly treating my husband a certain way and making him look a certain way, and I'm gonna say how I feel," Kim says during her interview. "Kanye is always so honest and speaks his mind. And you know, when we were first dating, people would always talk s--t and he always had my back. At this point, I really don't give a f--- so I'll do whatever to protect my husband."She then goes on to add that Swift even helped the rapper rewrite the lyrics within the song."I'm so glad that you said the truth," Kourtney tells her sister. "Yeah, I'm just speaking the truth," Kim says.Keeping Up with the Kardashians airs Sundays (9 p.m. ET) on E! ||||| Calvin Harris is still at it. The DJ-producer returned to Twitter on Thursday, July 14, after going off on ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift yesterday.

 In response to ongoing chatter about the feud, the “This Is What You Came For” producer (or should we be calling him a songwriter now too?!) tweeted two different photos of men with spoons covering their eyes. “Really me,” he added alongside one image, which he later deleted.

 The photos seemingly correspond with Vine star Brandon Bowen’s viral “blocking out the haters” video. In Bowen’s July 2014 clip, which has garnered more than 2 million views, the YouTuber places spoons over his eyes and tells the camera: “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there. I was busy blocking out the haters.”

 In case you missed it, the internet blew up after Harris went HAM on Swift for allegedly trying to make him “look bad” after her rep confirmed that Swift did indeed write his hit track with Rihanna, “This Is What You Came For.”

 “I wrote the music, produced the song, arranged it and cut the vocals though,” Harris tweeted on Wednesday, July 13. “And initially she wanted it kept secret, hence the pseudonym. Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though.”

 He continued: “I figure if you’re happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet that was liked almost 3,000 times within half an hour. “I know you’re off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy [Perry] ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it. Please focus on the positive aspects of YOUR life because you’ve earned a great one. God bless everyone have a beautiful day.”

 As previously reported by Us, Swift blindsided the DJ by cozying up with new beau Tom Hiddleston just two weeks after ending things with Harris. Swift, who is busy galavanting around the world with Hiddleston, has yet to respond to his tweets and was last seen shopping solo in Gold Coast, Australia.

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

 Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now! ||||| 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. ||||| What goes around, comes around. Katy Perry felt liberated when Calvin Harris slammed Taylor Swift in his explosive Twitter rant on July 13. Not only did he back Katy up, but he shined a light on who Taylor really is!

 As you’ll recall, the British DJ said how he didn’t appreciate the way Taylor Swift was trying to make him look bad in the press, even noting that he won’t let her “bury” him “like Katy [Perry].” It was quite shocking, but we discovered Katy is very pleased that her side of the story has now been confirmed.

 “Katy can’t help but feel vindicated by this. She’s glad Calvin [Harris] is finally shining the light on exactly who Taylor is,” a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. “Katy is still bitter about the way Taylor went after her.” The drama started when Calvin took to Twitter and shared a plethora of tweets, defending his reputation against Tay. He confirmed that his ex did indeed write and put vocals on the first version of his hit, “This Is What You Came For,” which now features Rihanna, 28, and praised her for it, but he didn’t appreciate how she seemed to be downplaying his success.

 Calvin brought Katy in the mix by addressing the previous beef between the “Roar” songstress and Taylor: “I know you’re off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it.”

 Even though Katy was unwillingly interjected into the controversy — she took it upon herself to share the most epic GIF as a response. Katy used an animation of Hillary Clinton raising her eyebrows and shrugging in a nonchalant manner, while replying to a question at the podium. It definitely has the “I didn’t say it, but it’s not exactly wrong,” type of vibe! LOL!

 The raven-haired songstress later shared a short, but simple message that seemed to get right to the point of the matter: “Time, the only truth teller.” A source also dished to HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY, “Katy definitely had thoughts to squash their beef in light of all the bigger things happening in the world. But as the weeks have gone by and seeing what she is doing in this whole Calvin debacle has really lit the fire again.”

 HollywoodLifers, do you think Katy’s response to Calvin’s Twitter rant about Taylor was priceless?! Let us know! ||||| "The truth is that Taylor Swift and I are together, and we're very happy," says the actor, who was nominated for an Emmy for his role in AMC's 'The Night Manager.'

 Tom Hiddleston is finally responding to the rumors about his relationship with Taylor Swift, which has taken the internet by storm.

 While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter over the phone in Australia, where he is filming Thor: Ragnarok, about his Emmy nomination for his role in The Night Manager, the 35-year-old touched on his very high-profile relationship. When asked whether or not it was all a publicity stunt, as several outlets have speculated, the actor responded with an unequivocal no.

 "Well, um. How best to put this?" said Hiddleston, chuckling. "The truth is that Taylor Swift and I are together, and we're very happy. Thanks for asking."

 He even went on to clarify: "That's the truth. It's not a publicity stunt."

 Read the full interview with Hiddleston about his Emmy nomination to find out who he plans on bringing with him to the Emmys, how he'll celebrate the nomination with Thor co-stars Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo and how he first heard the big news. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Yes, Hiddleswift is legit. Unless, of course, Tom Hiddleston is lying. "We are together and we’re very happy," Hiddleston told MTV, regarding Taylor Swift, on Thursday. He went further when the Hollywood Reporter asked him whether the relationship is for real: "Well, um. How best to put this? The truth is that Taylor Swift and I are together, and we're very happy. Thanks for asking. That's the truth. It's not a publicity stunt." More from the land of T-Swift: Her ex, Calvin Harris, appeared to continue his Twitter references to the Swift situation, tweeting a couple references Thursday to him "blocking out the haters," Us reports. He later deleted them. As for Harris' original Twitter rant against Taylor, in which he made a reference to her feud with Katy Perry, Perry appeared to respond by retweeting her own tweet from last year, CBS 8 reports: "Time, the ultimate truth teller." And, a source tells Hollywood Life, "Katy can’t help but feel vindicated by this. She’s glad Calvin is finally shining the light on exactly who Taylor is." Kim Kardashian also recently went after Swift. In a preview for Sunday's Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kim explains why she trashed Swift in a GQ interview, People reports. "I never talk s--- about anyone publicly, especially in interviews. But I was just like I had so had it. I wanted to defend him in it. She legitimately quote says, 'As soon as I get on that Grammy red carpet I'm gonna tell all the press. Like I was in on it,'" Kim tells Kourtney in the preview, referring to Kanye West's lyric about Taylor in "Famous." But then Swift wasn't happy with the reaction, Kim claims: "You know, just another way to play the victim."