News article:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch, but the controversial activist isn’t happy with the actor’s new WikiLeaks film, “The Fifth Estate.”

 Cumberbatch, who portrays Assange in the DreamWorks drama, had apparently reached out to Assange before shooting the film, but the WikiLeaks founder later declined and went on to explain in a new letter why he refused to meet with the British actor while again voicing his displeasure with the film.

 “I believe you are a good person, but I do not believe that this film is a good film,” Assange wrote.

 “Your skills play into the hands of people who are out to remove me and WikiLeaks from the world…I believe that you should reconsider your involvement in this enterprise.”

 This isn’t the first time WikiLeaks has criticized the Bill Condon-directed drama, which is partly based on the book “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time With Julian Assange and the World’s Most Dangerous Website,” by Daniel Domscheit-Berg.

 Last month, the controversial site blasted the new film for its inaccuracies and depictions of the WikiLeaks staff.

 “Most of the events depicted never happened, or the people shown were not involved in them. It has real names, real places, and looks like it is covering real events, but it is still a dramatic and cinematic work, and it invents or shapes the facts to fit its narrative goals,” the org wrote.

 Related How Does Benedict Cumberbatch's 'Grinch' Measure Up to the Classic Christmas Tale? TV News Roundup: Natasha Lyonne's 'Russian Doll' Sets Netflix Premiere Date

 Read Assange’s letter to Cumberbatch below:

 Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2013

 From: Julian Assange

 To: Benedict Cumberbatch

 Subject: Message from Assange

 Dear Benedict,

 Thank you for trying to contact me. It is the first approach by anyone from the Dreamworks production to me or WikiLeaks.

 My assistants communicated your request to me, and I have given it a lot of thought and examined your previous work, which I am fond of.

 I think I would enjoy meeting you.

 The bond that develops between an actor and a living subject is significant.

 If the film reaches distribution we will forever be correlated in the public imagination. Our paths will be forever entwined. Each of us will be granted standing to comment on the other for many years to come and others will compare our characters and trajectories.

 But I must speak directly.

 I hope that you will take such directness as a mark of respect, and not as an unkindness.

 I believe you are a good person, but I do not believe that this film is a good film.

 I do not believe it is going to be positive for me or the people I care about.

 I believe that it is going to be overwhelmingly negative for me and the people I care about.

 It is based on a deceitful book by someone who has a vendetta against me and my organisation.

 In other circumstances this vendetta may have gone away, but our conflict with the United States government and the establishment press has created a patronage and commissioning market – powerful, if unpopular – for works and comments that are harmful to us.

 There are dozens of positive books about WikiLeaks, but Dreamworks decided

 to base its script only on the most toxic. So toxic is the first book selected by Dreamworks that it is distributed to US military bases as a mechanism to discourage military personnel from communicating with us. Its author is publicly known to be involved in the Dreamworks production in an ongoing capacity.

 Dreamworks’ second rights purchase is the next most toxic, biased book. Published and written by people we have had a bitter contractual dispute with for years, whose hostility is well known. Neither of these two books were the first to be published and there are many independent authors who have written positive or neutral books, all of whom Dreamworks ignored.

 Dreamworks has based its entire production on the two most discredited books on the market.

 I know the film intends to depict me and my work in a negative light.

 I believe it will distort events and subtract from public understanding.

 It does not seek to simplify, clarify or distil the truth, but rather it seeks to bury it.

 It will resurrect and amplify defamatory stories which were long ago shown

 to be false.

 —

 My organisation and I are the targets of political adversary from the United States government and its closest allies.

 The United States government has engaged almost every instrument of its justice and intelligence system to pursue—in its own words—a ‘whole of government’ investigation of ‘unprecedented scale and nature’ into WikiLeaks under draconian espionage laws. Our alleged sources are facing their entire lives in the US prison system. Two are already in it. Another one is detained in Sweden.

 Feature films are the most powerful and insidious shapers of public perception, because they fly under the radar of conscious exclusion.

 This film is going to bury good people doing good work, at exactly the time that the state is coming down on their heads.

 It is going to smother the truthful version of events, at a time when the truth is most in demand.

 As justification it will claim to be fiction, but it is not fiction. It is distorted truth about living people doing battle with titanic opponents. It is a work of political opportunism, influence, revenge and, above all, cowardice.

 It seeks to ride on the back of our work, our reputation and our struggles.

 It seeks to cut our strength with weakness. To cut affection with exploitation. To cut diligence with paranoia. To cut loyalty with naivety. To cut principle with hypocrisy. And above all, to cut the truth with lies.

 The film’s many distortions buttress what the prosecution will argue. Has argued. Is arguing. In my case, and in that of others. These cases will continue for years.

 The studio that is producing the film is not a vulnerable or weak party.

 Dreamworks’ free speech rights are not in jeopardy – ours are.

 Dreamworks is an extremely wealthy organisation, with ties to powerful interests in the US government.

 I must therefore question the choices and motives behind it: the opportunism, fears and mundanity; the unwritten rules of film financing and distribution in the United States; the cringe against doing something useful and brave.

 I believe that you are a decent person, who would not naturally wish to harm good people in dire situations.

 —

 You will be used, as a hired gun, to assume the appearance of the truth in order to assassinate it. To present me as someone morally compromised and to place me in a falsified history. To create a work, not of fiction, but of debased truth.

 Not because you want to, of course you don’t, but because, in the end, you are a jobbing actor who gets paid to follow the script, no matter how debauched.

 Your skills play into the hands of people who are out to remove me and WikiLeaks from the world.

 I believe that you should reconsider your involvement in this enterprise.

 Consider the consequences of your cooperation with a project that vilifies and marginalises a living political refugee to the benefit of an entrenched, corrupt and dangerous state.

 Consider the consequences to people who may fall into harm because of this film.

 Many will fight against history being blackwashed in this way. It is a collective history now, involving millions of people, because millions have opened their eyes as a result of our work and the attempts to destroy us.

 I believe you are well intentioned but surely you can see why it is a bad idea for me to meet with you.

 By meeting with you, I would validate this wretched film, and endorse the talented, but debauched, performance that the script will force you to give.

 I cannot permit this film any claim to authenticity or truthfulness. In its current form it has neither, and doing so would only further aid the campaign against me.

 It is contrary to my interests, and to those of my organisation, and I thank you for your offer, and what I am sure is your genuine intent, but I must, with inexpressible regret, turn it down.

 Julian Assange ||||| Julian Assange rips the movie about him as a ‘geriatric snoozefest’

 By Agence France-Presse

 Wednesday, October 9, 2013 22:22 EST

 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange Thursday renewed his attack on a film about the whistleblowing website, calling it a “geriatric snoozefest” as he released a letter written to its star Benedict Cumberbatch.

 The Australian hacker, who has been holed up at the Ecuadoran embassy in London after claiming asylum a year ago to avoid extradition to Sweden, has refused to meet the British actor.

 Cumberbatch stars as Assange in director Bill Condon’s thriller “The Fifth Estate,” which won a long ovation at its world premiere during the Toronto Film Festival last month and is due for release in the United States next week.

 He requested a meeting to study his subject’s manner, but Assange refused as “such an interaction might appear to legitimize a film intending to mislead the public with numerous inaccuracies”.

 “I believe you are a good person, but I do not believe that this film is a good film,” said Assange’s letter to the actor, who revealed last month he considered quitting the movie after receiving it.

 “Feature films are the most powerful and insidious shapers of public perception, because they fly under the radar of conscious exclusion,” said the letter.

 “This film is going to bury good people doing good work, at exactly the time that the state is coming down on their heads. It is going to smother the truthful version of events, at a time when the truth is most in demand.

 “As justification it will claim to be fiction, but it is not fiction. It is distorted truth about living people doing battle with titanic opponents. It is a work of political opportunism, influence, revenge and, above all, cowardice.”

 In comments accompanying the release of the letter, he added: “The result is a geriatric snoozefest that only the US government could love.”

 According to Assange, Cumberbatch’s reply was “courteous and considered” with the actor admitting aspects of the script troubled him.

 The letter exchange took place in January.

 At the Toronto Film Festival, Cumberbatch, who has won rave reviews, said he wanted to see Assange carry on his work exposing secrets.

 “What I’d like to see is the man … able to carry on his work as founder of WikiLeaks. Beyond that, due process has to take place in whatever shape or forms that happens,” he said.

 WikiLeaks enraged the United States in 2010 by publishing hundreds of thousands of classified documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a huge cache of US diplomatic cables that embarrassed governments worldwide.

 Ecuador granted Assange asylum last year but Britain refuses to grant him safe passage out of the country, leaving him stuck inside the embassy.

 Britain says it is obliged to see him extradited to Sweden where he faces sex crime allegations that Assange denies and claims are politically motivated. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– The fight between Julian Assange and the team behind the upcoming WikiLeaks movie, The Fifth Estate, is apparently more personal than we realized. In a letter from January, Assange denies a request to meet with Benedict Cumberbatch, the actor who plays Assange in the film, noting, "I believe you are a good person, but I do not believe that this is a good film," the letter says, as per Variety. "Your skills play into the hands of people who are out to remove me and WikiLeaks from the world ... Surely you can see why it is a bad idea for me to meet with you." "I believe you are well intentioned," he continues, noting he would enjoy meeting the British actor and is fond of his work, but "you will be used, as a hired gun, to assume the appearance of the truth in order to assassinate it. By meeting with you, I would validate this wretched film, and endorse the talented, but debauched, performance that the script will force you to give." Ultimately, he encourages Cumberbatch to reconsider his role in the movie; afterward, the actor did consider dropping out, Raw Story reports. The movie is due out next week. Click for the full letter.


Article:
Ben Affleck is heading back to rehab.

 The actor, 46, is seeking treatment for alcohol addiction, PEOPLE confirms.

 Get push notifications with news, features and more.

 A source tells PEOPLE, “He is seeking treatment. He knew he needed help and was vocal about it.”

 The move to enter a treatment facility came after his ex Jennifer Garner was photographed arriving at his home on Wednesday.

 The Peppermint actress was seen leaving Affleck’s upset and shaking. When she returned, Garner, Affleck and an unidentified woman who arrived at the actor’s home with her were photographed in a car the actress was driving.

 The mother of three reportedly stopped by a Jack In The Box in the Pacific Palisades before the trio drove to a treatment facility in Malibu.

 On Monday, the Justice League star was photographed receiving an alcohol delivery outside of his Brentwood, California, home.

 RELATED: Jennifer Garner Stops by Ex Ben Affleck’s Home After He Was Linked to 22-Year-Old Playboy Model

 Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner X17online.com

 Affleck was seen outside of his house wearing a dark gray T-shirt and light gray sweatpants as he picked up a Pacifico beer-branded box filled with what appeared to be Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch whisky in a blue case and some other unidentifiable bottles.

 While the actor, 46, has been in ongoing treatment and attending meetings for alcohol addiction, his new flame, Playboy’s May 2018 Playmate, 22, told the magazine her go-to drink is “whiskey all day.”

 “Bourbon, for sure,” she added. “I like whiskey and soda, which makes people cringe, but I like it.”

 RELATED VIDEO: Ben Affleck Likes to ‘Date Who He Wants and Not Feel Tied Down’: Source

 A source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue Garner’s focus remains on their children.

 “Is she happy about him hanging out with a very young Playboy model? Certainly not,” a source says in this week’s new issue. “But her concern right now is not who he is dating. What she ultimately cares about is his sobriety and whether she can rely on him to co-parent.”

 RELATED: Ben Affleck’s New Flame Shauna Sexton Flashes Abs, Jokes About Paparazzi: ‘We’re Getting Serious’

 Affleck picking up an alcohol delivery outside of his home BackGrid

 Just before his 46th birthday on Aug. 15, a friend of the actor told PEOPLE that “Ben is doing well. He is in a good place mentally and has worked really hard to get there.”

 “He continues to focus on himself and the health of his relationships,” the friend added. “He attends meetings, many meetings, and he also does meditation and yoga.”

 “While he still has his moments — and let’s be honest, everyone struggles — he continues to work hard on himself.”

 RELATED: Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus Split Over Distance, Says Source: ‘They Tried to Make It Work’

 His first time in rehab was in 2001. In March 2017, Affleck announced that he had completed treatment for alcohol addiction.

 “I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I’ve dealt with in the past and will continue to confront,” he wrote on Facebook. “I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be. I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step. I’m lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I’ve done the work I set out to do. This was the first of many steps being taken towards a positive recovery.”

 TMZ first reported the news.

 If you or someone you know is in need of help, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. ||||| Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

 Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

 Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

 Ben Affleck has broken up with “SNL” producer Lindsay Shookus after more than a year of dating, friends believe.

 The Oscar winner was spotted with Playboy’s Miss May 2018 Shauna Sexton, at posh eatery Nobu Malibu on Thursday night.

 He hasn’t been seen in public with Shookus since July. Shookus is believed to be in LA for work — making it all the more strange that she wasn’t seen out and about with Affleck. And a source told us: “If your boyfriend is seen with a Playboy model out in public at dinner, then I’d say Ben and Lindsay have been split for a while.”

 The night before, Affleck had celebrated his birthday with his three kids from his marriage to Jennifer Garner.

 Again, Shookus was nowhere to be seen.

 She has also deleted her Instagram account. ||||| ...

 # DRC ||||| Following Jennifer Garner's rare Hollywood Walk Of Fame appearance, and Ben Affleck's newly kindled romance with a 22-year-old Playboy model making headlines, the estranged couple's relationship status has once again entered our consciousness, prompting us all to ask the question: why aren't they divorced yet? If you haven't been keeping up with Garner and Affleck's rollercoaster of a relationship post-split, allow us to get you up to speed.

 The couple made headlines worldwide after announcing that they would be going their separate ways after 10 years of marriage. Just days after the pair marked their ten year wedding anniversary, the couple released a short statement about their separation back in 2015: "After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce. We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time. This will be our only comment on this private, family matter. Thank you for understanding." RELATED VIDEO: JENNIFER GARGER ON HER RELATIONSHIP WITH BEN AFFLECK: "WE MAKE IT WORK"

 Since first announcing their separation, the couple have maintained an amicable relationship, successfully co-parenting their three children—Violet (aged 12), Seraphina (aged nine) and Samuel (aged six). The pair seem so friendly, in fact, that many people have taken their delay in divorcing, paired with their cheerful demeanour in public and several family holidays, to mean that there may be a chance that the two will reunite once again. But considering Affleck's many highly publicised relationships—notably with SNL producer, Lindsey Shookus, and most recently with model Shauna Sexton—and Garner's solo public appearance, we suspect that a rekindling may not be on the cards. So what could possibly be holding up their final and legal split?

 After reportedly trying to work on their relationship after announcing their separation, with Affleck even attempting to win his ex-wife back, Garner ultimately filed for divorce in April 2017. But rather than progress with legal proceedings, the actress seems to have put a hold on the whole thing. The divorce has taken so long to finalise that the judge handling their case is even threatening to dismiss it. According to The Blast, the court is quickly losing patience, telling the couple "If you fail to take the appropriate steps in your case, the court may dismiss your case for delay in prosecution." RELATED VIDEO: JENNIFER GARNER AND BEN AFFLECK'S DAUGHTER VIOLET IS SO GROWN UP

 It seems the one thing holding Garner back from signing off on the divorce is one single frustration she still has with her ex-husband—his sobriety. A source close to the actress voiced her concerns, explaining that his current state makes her uneasy about progressing with their divorce. "Jen is on good terms with Ben for the most part, [but] they still have their frustrations," they told Us Weekly. "It's a working progress and they're still taking it one day at a time." The source went on to say: "The one thing she's not flexible on is sobriety. Jen is hesitant to sign off until she's certain that the kids will be in the best hands at all time. Finalizing the divorce has been a long process because of it."

 Affleck has since been spotted arriving at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. "This is part of his practice and how he maintains his personal health," a source told Us Weekly. "He's been doing these classes for months. He's also been spotted outside of meditation classes as well as meetings. He's focused on being there for those in his life." Progress aside, the couple are now aware that they may need to re-file for divorce considering Garner's still-existing hesitation when it comes to Affleck's suitability as their childrens' guardian. ||||| Ben Affleck Seeks Help and Back in Rehab After Intervention by Jen Garner

 Ben Affleck Seeks Help and Back in Rehab After Intervention by Jen Garner

 EXCLUSIVE

 8/23 -- The photo above is Affleck at Jack in the Box, where he stopped before arriving at the rehab center.

 8/22 7:20 PM PT -- We've learned Ben has arrived at a live-in rehab facility and will check in for an extended period of time.

 Jennifer Garner has staged an intervention to help Ben Affleck, and TMZ has learned Ben wanted the help and agreed to go to rehab.

 Jennifer went to Ben's Pacific Palisades home Wednesday afternoon to sit down with her estranged husband, begging him to get help. We've learned Ben didn't need begging ... he knows he needs help and was receptive.

 Jen and Ben drove off at around 6 PM PT from the house ... and sources say the destination is a rehab facility. Our sources say Ben will enter a facility in L.A. County. We just found out they stopped at a Jack in the Box en route to the rehab place.

 We're told Ben fell off the wagon a while ago, and has gotten progressively worse.

 Our sources say the tipping point came 2 days ago when Jen saw a pic of Ben grabbing a box from a delivery man ... a box filled with beer and liquor.

 Ben has been to rehab before ... back in 2001 for alcohol abuse. He also went back to rehab last December.

 Jen filed for divorce in April, 2017 ... 2 years after they announced their split. The former couple remained close -- partly for their 3 kids -- and they are still not officially divorced.

 Ben showed signs of excessive drinking when he took his date Playboy Playmate Shauna Sexton to Nobu in Malibu last week. His face was blotchy and he looked disheveled.

 Originally Published 8/22/2018 6:25 PM PDT ||||| Staying Sober

 Affleck has battled alcohol addiction for many years, seeking treatment for the first time in 2001. He wrote about his struggles after completing a program in March 2017. “I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be. I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step,” the actor wrote on Facebook at the time. “I’m lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I’ve done the work I set out to do. This was the first of many steps being taken towards a positive recovery.” |||||Summary:

– The "tipping point" that led Jennifer Garner to stage an intervention and get estranged husband Ben Affleck into rehab came from a photo. That's what sources tell TMZ, which reports the 46-year-old actor left his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Wednesday with Garner and an unidentified woman and headed to a rehab facility somewhere in Los Angeles County, where he's reportedly staying for an "extended period of time." Per People, which notes this would be Affleck's third time in rehab, Garner was "upset and shaken" and behind the wheel as the trio drove away from the home. TMZ notes a picture of Affleck earlier this week meeting a delivery man with what appeared to be a box filled with hard liquor and beer seems to have concerned Garner and led her to intervene. A source tells People that Affleck "is seeking treatment. He knew he needed help and was vocal about it." The couple, who have three kids together, have been separated since 2015 but haven't yet divorced, and Harper's Bazaar notes Affleck's struggles to stay sober may be keeping Garner from making a final split. "Jen is hesitant to sign off until she's certain that the kids will be in the best hands at all time," a source in July told Us Weekly, which notes Affleck was spotted earlier this month going to an AA meeting. Affleck is said to have recently split with girlfriend Lindsay Shookus and has been seen of late around town with 22-year-old Playmate Shauna Sexton, who tells People her drink of choice is "whiskey all day." "I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I've dealt with in the past and will continue to confront," Affleck posted on social media in March 2017. "I want to live life to the fullest and ... my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it."


Write an article based on this summary:

– An anonymous person dropped a single gold coin worth about $1,200 in a Salvation Army kettle in South Carolina. The 1-ounce South African Krugerrand was dropped into a Salvation Army kettle during a fundraising drive at a Walmart store in Tega Cay, the Herald reports. The coin will likely be sold to a jeweler's store, with proceeds going to Salvation Army programs. Mike McGee of the Salvation Army in Rock Hill says a typical kettle fundraiser will raise about $300 a day, the AP reports. "We would like to say thank you to the donor who dropped the gold coin into the kettle," McGee says. "Your generosity helps us fight for good in our community all year. God bless you." (Other extraordinary donations have included gold teeth, pot, and a $500,000 check.)

SHARE COPY LINK An anonymous person dropped a coin worth $1,200 into a Salvation Army red kettle during a local fundraiser held at a Tega Cay Wal-Mart. The coin was appraised at a local Brownlee Jewelers store. The coin will likely be sold and all proceeds will g David Thackham dthackham@heraldonline.com

 An anonymous person dropped a coin worth $1,200 into a Salvation Army red kettle during a local fundraiser held at a Tega Cay Wal-Mart. The coin was appraised at a local Brownlee Jewelers store. The coin will likely be sold and all proceeds will g David Thackham dthackham@heraldonline.com ||||| This will appear next to all of your comments

 This will NOT appear anywhere on Newser |||||


– Slowly but surely, Donald Trump is bulking up the position statements on his website. His immigration and gun rights platforms have now been joined by his new tax plan, which he announced Monday in a press conference from NYC's Trump Tower, CNBC reports. "Too few Americans are working, too many jobs have been shipped overseas, and too many middle class families cannot make ends meet," notes his site, which boasts four "simple" goals to mitigate these issues: offering tax relief to the middle class, simplifying the tax code, growing the US economy, and ensuring the country doesn't add to its debt and deficit. Highlights of Trump's plan include getting rid of income taxes for individuals making less than $25,000 and married couples making less than $50,000—with those qualifying filers receiving "a new one page form to send the IRS saying, 'I win.'" (Seriously.) Tax brackets would be whittled down from the current seven to four: 0%, 10%, 20%, and 25% (down from a current high of 39.6%, the AP reports; see where you'd fall on the tax chart shown here). The blueprint also would cut business tax rates down to no more than 15%, as well as levy a one-time 10% tax on overseas profits, which Trump's campaign thinks will encourage corporations to bring money back home, the Wall Street Journal notes. Trump says the tax benefits would be funded by reducing or ending "redundant" deductions and loopholes (mostly for the wealthiest, but also in certain cases for middle-class filers), as well as from newly reaped tax revenue from a healthier economy, the AP notes. "My plan will bring sanity, common sense, and simplification to our country's catastrophic tax code," Trump said in an interview with the Journal. "It will create jobs and incentives of all kinds while simultaneously growing the economy." (Read further details about the plan here.)

Expand this summary.

Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again

 The three core principles of Donald J. Trump's immigration plan

 When politicians talk about “immigration reform” they mean: amnesty, cheap labor and open borders. The Schumer-Rubio immigration bill was nothing more than a giveaway to the corporate patrons who run both parties.

 Real immigration reform puts the needs of working people first – not wealthy globetrotting donors. We are the only country in the world whose immigration system puts the needs of other nations ahead of our own. That must change. Here are the three core principles of real immigration reform:

 1. A nation without borders is not a nation. There must be a wall across the southern border.

 2. A nation without laws is not a nation. Laws passed in accordance with our Constitutional system of government must be enforced.

 3. A nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation. Any immigration plan must improve jobs, wages and security for all Americans.

 Make Mexico Pay For The Wall

 For many years, Mexico’s leaders have been taking advantage of the United States by using illegal immigration to export the crime and poverty in their own country (as well as in other Latin American countries). They have even published pamphlets on how to illegally immigrate to the United States. The costs for the United States have been extraordinary: U.S. taxpayers have been asked to pick up hundreds of billions in healthcare costs, housing costs, education costs, welfare costs, etc. Indeed, the annual cost of free tax credits alone paid to illegal immigrants quadrupled to $4.2 billion in 2011. The effects on jobseekers have also been disastrous, and black Americans have been particularly harmed.

 The impact in terms of crime has been tragic. In recent weeks, the headlines have been covered with cases of criminals who crossed our border illegally only to go on to commit horrific crimes against Americans. Most recently, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, with a long arrest record, is charged with breaking into a 64 year-old woman’s home, crushing her skull and eye sockets with a hammer, raping her, and murdering her. The Police Chief in Santa Maria says the “blood trail” leads straight to Washington.

 In 2011, the Government Accountability Office found that there were a shocking 3 million arrests attached to the incarcerated alien population, including tens of thousands of violent beatings, rapes and murders.

 Meanwhile, Mexico continues to make billions on not only our bad trade deals but also relies heavily on the billions of dollars in remittances sent from illegal immigrants in the United States back to Mexico ($22 billion in 2013 alone).

 In short, the Mexican government has taken the United States to the cleaners. They are responsible for this problem, and they must help pay to clean it up.

 The cost of building a permanent border wall pales mightily in comparison to what American taxpayers spend every single year on dealing with the fallout of illegal immigration on their communities, schools and unemployment offices.

 Mexico must pay for the wall and, until they do, the United States will, among other things: impound all remittance payments derived from illegal wages; increase fees on all temporary visas issued to Mexican CEOs and diplomats (and if necessary cancel them); increase fees on all border crossing cards – of which we issue about 1 million to Mexican nationals each year (a major source of visa overstays); increase fees on all NAFTA worker visas from Mexico (another major source of overstays); and increase fees at ports of entry to the United States from Mexico [Tariffs and foreign aid cuts are also options]. We will not be taken advantage of anymore.

 Defend The Laws And Constitution Of The United States

 America will only be great as long as America remains a nation of laws that lives according to the Constitution. No one is above the law. The following steps will return to the American people the safety of their laws, which politicians have stolen from them:

 Triple the number of ICE officers. As the President of the ICE Officers’ Council explained in Congressional testimony: “Only approximately 5,000 officers and agents within ICE perform the lion’s share of ICE’s immigration mission…Compare that to the Los Angeles Police Department at approximately 10,000 officers. Approximately 5,000 officers in ICE cover 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam, and are attempting to enforce immigration law against 11 million illegal aliens already in the interior of the United States. Since 9-11, the U.S. Border Patrol has tripled in size, while ICE’s immigration enforcement arm, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), has remained at relatively the same size.” This will be funded by accepting the recommendation of the Inspector General for Tax Administration and eliminating tax credit payments to illegal immigrants.

 Nationwide e-verify. This simple measure will protect jobs for unemployed Americans.

 Mandatory return of all criminal aliens. The Obama Administration has released 76,000 aliens from its custody with criminal convictions since 2013 alone. All criminal aliens must be returned to their home countries, a process which can be aided by canceling any visas to foreign countries which will not accept their own criminals, and making it a separate and additional crime to commit an offense while here illegally.

 Detention—not catch-and-release. Illegal aliens apprehended crossing the border must be detained until they are sent home, no more catch-and-release.

 Defund sanctuary cities. Cut-off federal grants to any city which refuses to cooperate with federal law enforcement.

 Enhanced penalties for overstaying a visa. Millions of people come to the United States on temporary visas but refuse to leave, without consequence. This is a threat to national security. Individuals who refuse to leave at the time their visa expires should be subject to criminal penalties; this will also help give local jurisdictions the power to hold visa overstays until federal authorities arrive. Completion of a visa tracking system – required by law but blocked by lobbyists – will be necessary as well.

 Cooperate with local gang task forces. ICE officers should accompany local police departments conducting raids of violent street gangs like MS-13 and the 18th street gang, which have terrorized the country. All illegal aliens in gangs should be apprehended and deported. Again, quoting Chris Crane: “ICE Officers and Agents are forced to apply the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Directive, not to children in schools, but to adult inmates in jails. If an illegal-alien inmate simply claims eligibility, ICE is forced to release the alien back into the community. This includes serious criminals who have committed felonies, who have assaulted officers, and who prey on children…ICE officers should be required to place detainers on every illegal alien they encounter in jails and prisons, since these aliens not only violated immigration laws, but then went on to engage in activities that led to their arrest by police; ICE officers should be required to issue Notices to Appear to all illegal aliens with criminal convictions, DUI convictions, or a gang affiliation; ICE should be working with any state or local drug or gang task force that asks for such assistance.”

 End birthright citizenship. This remains the biggest magnet for illegal immigration. By a 2:1 margin, voters say it’s the wrong policy, including Harry Reid who said “no sane country” would give automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants.

 Put American Workers First

 Decades of disastrous trade deals and immigration policies have destroyed our middle class. Today, nearly 40% of black teenagers are unemployed. Nearly 30% of Hispanic teenagers are unemployed. For black Americans without high school diplomas, the bottom has fallen out: more than 70% were employed in 1960, compared to less than 40% in 2000. Across the economy, the percentage of adults in the labor force has collapsed to a level not experienced in generations. As CBS news wrote in a piece entitled “America’s incredible shrinking middle class”: “If the middle-class is the economic backbone of America, then the country is developing osteoporosis.”

 The influx of foreign workers holds down salaries, keeps unemployment high, and makes it difficult for poor and working class Americans – including immigrants themselves and their children – to earn a middle class wage. Nearly half of all immigrants and their US-born children currently live in or near poverty, including more than 60 percent of Hispanic immigrants. Every year, we voluntarily admit another 2 million new immigrants, guest workers, refugees, and dependents, growing our existing all-time historic record population of 42 million immigrants. We need to control the admission of new low-earning workers in order to: help wages grow, get teenagers back to work, aid minorities’ rise into the middle class, help schools and communities falling behind, and to ensure our immigrant members of the national family become part of the American dream.

 Additionally, we need to stop giving legal immigrant visas to people bent on causing us harm. From the 9/11 hijackers, to the Boston Bombers, and many others, our immigration system is being used to attack us. The President of the immigration caseworkers union declared in a statement on ISIS: “We've become the visa clearinghouse for the world.”

 Here are some additional specific policy proposals for long-term reform:

 Increase prevailing wage for H-1Bs. We graduate two times more Americans with STEM degrees each year than find STEM jobs, yet as much as two-thirds of entry-level hiring for IT jobs is accomplished through the H-1B program. More than half of H-1B visas are issued for the program's lowest allowable wage level, and more than eighty percent for its bottom two. Raising the prevailing wage paid to H-1Bs will force companies to give these coveted entry-level jobs to the existing domestic pool of unemployed native and immigrant workers in the U.S., instead of flying in cheaper workers from overseas. This will improve the number of black, Hispanic and female workers in Silicon Valley who have been passed over in favor of the H-1B program. Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities.

 Requirement to hire American workers first. Too many visas, like the H-1B, have no such requirement. In the year 2015, with 92 million Americans outside the workforce and incomes collapsing, we need companies to hire from the domestic pool of unemployed. Petitions for workers should be mailed to the unemployment office, not USCIS.

 End welfare abuse. Applicants for entry to the United States should be required to certify that they can pay for their own housing, healthcare and other needs before coming to the U.S.

 Jobs program for inner city youth. The J-1 visa jobs program for foreign youth will be terminated and replaced with a resume bank for inner city youth provided to all corporate subscribers to the J-1 visa program.

 Refugee program for American children. Increase standards for the admission of refugees and asylum-seekers to crack down on abuses. Use the monies saved on expensive refugee programs to help place American children without parents in safer homes and communities, and to improve community safety in high crime neighborhoods in the United States.

 Immigration moderation. Before any new green cards are issued to foreign workers abroad, there will be a pause where employers will have to hire from the domestic pool of unemployed immigrant and native workers. This will help reverse women's plummeting workplace participation rate, grow wages, and allow record immigration levels to subside to more moderate historical averages. ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Monday proposed eliminating income taxes for millions of Americans, and lower rates for the highest-income earners, as part of a plan he said would grow the U.S. economy at a pace not seen in years.

 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks about his tax plan during a news conference, Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, in New York. The Republican front-runner is calling for an overhaul of the tax... (Associated Press)

 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pauses while speaking about his tax plan during a news conference, Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, in New York. The Republican front-runner is calling for an overhaul... (Associated Press)

 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks about his tax plan during a news conference, Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, in New York. The Republican front-runner is calling for an overhaul of the tax... (Associated Press)

 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks about his tax plan during a news conference, Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, in New York. The Republican front-runner is calling for an overhaul of the tax... (Associated Press)

 Trump's plan for an overhaul of the U.S. tax code would eliminate federal income taxes on individuals earning less than $25,000 and married couples earning less than $50,000. He said those individuals would receive "a new one page form to send the IRS saying, 'I win.'"

 Trump's plan would also disproportionally benefit wealthy earners by lowering the highest income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent, and businesses by cutting their tax rate — from major corporations to mom-and-pop shops — to no more than 15 percent.

 "There will be a major tax reduction," Trump said at a news conference at his Trump Tower skyscraper in Manhattan. "It'll simplify the tax code. It'll grow the American economy at a level that it hasn't seen for decades."

 Trump said he wants to eliminate the so-called "carried interest loophole" that allows managers of hedge funds and private equity firms to pay a lower tax rate than most individuals, and would reduce or eliminating most deductions and loopholes for both individuals and corporations. "In other words, it's going to cost me a fortune," he said.

 The billionaire real estate mogul said those changes would pay for the tax cuts, along with an increase in tax revenue generated by economic growth. Trump estimated that his plan would lead the economy to grow at least 3 percent a year, and as much as 5 or 6 percent — a rate of growth that most economists say is unrealistic.

 Trump said his plan would also bring in new sources of revenue to the Treasury by allowing corporations to bring money held in overseas accounts back to the United States after paying a one-time tax of 10 percent. He would also prevent companies from deferring taxes paid on income earned abroad.

 In sum, he says, the changes he wants to enact would not add to the annual federal budget deficit or the national debt.

 "We have an amazing code," Trump said of his tax system. "It will be simple. It will be easy. It will be fair."

 Trump said the plan had been crafted with the help of leading economists, but refused to say who they are during his news conference. He also said his plan didn't suit any particular political agenda, describing it as a "common sense approach."

 The tax plan is the third major policy proposal from Trump, who has also outlined plans for immigration and guns. He has been criticized for failing to unveil specific policy proposals as he's risen in early preference polling.

 ___

 Follow Jill Colvin on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/colvinj ||||| Tax Reform That Will Make America Great Again

 Tax Law Changes to Make America Great Again

 The Donald Trump plan will revise and update both the individual and corporate tax codes.

 Individual Income Tax

 Tax rates

 The Trump plan will collapse the current seven tax brackets to three brackets. The rates and break points are as shown below. The tax brackets are similar to those in the House GOP tax blueprint.

 Brackets & Rates for Married-Joint filers

 (Brackets for single filers are ½ of these amounts)

 Taxable income: Rate

 Less than $75,000 12%

 More than $75,000 but less than $225,000 25%

 More than $225,000 33%

 The Trump plan will retain the existing capital gains rate structure (maximum rate of 20 percent) with tax brackets shown above. Carried interest will be taxed as ordinary income.

 The 3.8 percent Obamacare tax on investment income will be repealed, as will the alternative minimum tax.

 Deductions

 The Trump plan will increase the standard deduction for joint filers to $30,000, from $12,600, and the standard deduction for single filers will be $15,000. The personal exemptions will be eliminated as will the head-of-household filing status.

 In addition, the Trump plan will cap itemized deductions at $200,000 for Married-Joint filers or $100,000 for Single filers.

 Death Tax

 The Trump plan will repeal the death tax, but capital gains held until death will be subject to tax, with the first $10 million tax-free as under current law to exempt small businesses and family farms. To prevent abuse, contributions of appreciated assets into a private charity established by the decedent or the decedent’s relatives will be disallowed.

 Childcare

 All but the wealthiest Americans will be able to take an above-the-line deduction for children under age 13 that will be capped at state average for age of child, and for eldercare for a dependent. The exclusion will not be available to taxpayers with total income over $500,000 Married-Joint /$250,000 Single.

 The childcare exclusion would be provided to families who use stay-at-home parents or grandparents as well as those who use paid caregivers, and would be limited to 4 children per taxpayer. The eldercare exclusion would be capped at $5,000 per year. The cap would increase each year at the rate of inflation.

 The Trump plan would offer spending rebates for childcare expenses to certain low-income taxpayers through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The rebate would be equal to 7.65 percent of remaining eligible childcare expenses, subject to a cap of half of the payroll taxes paid by the taxpayer (based on the lower-earning parent in a two-earner household).

 This rebate would be available to married joint filers earning $62,400 ($31,200 for single taxpayers) or less. Limitations on costs eligible for exclusion and the number of beneficiaries would be the same as for the basic exclusion. The ceiling would increase with inflation each year.

 All taxpayers would be able to establish Dependent Care Savings Accounts (DCSAs) for the benefit of specific individuals, including unborn children. Total annual contributions to a DCSA are limited to $2,000 per year from all sources, which include the account owner (parent in the case of a minor or the person establishing elder care account), immediate family members of the account owner, and the employer of the account owner. When established for children, the funds remaining in the account when the child reaches 18 can be used for education expenses, but additional contributions could not be made.

 To encourage low-income families to establish DCSAs for their children, the government will provide a 50 percent match on parental contributions of up to $1,000 per year. When parents fill out their taxes they can check a box to directly deposit any portion of their EITC into their Dependent Care Savings Account. All deposits and earnings thereon will be free from taxation, and unused balances can rollover from year to year.

 Business Tax

 The Trump plan will lower the business tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, and eliminate the corporate alternative minimum tax. This rate is available to all businesses, both big and small, that that want to retain the profits within the business.

 It will provide a deemed repatriation of corporate profits held offshore at a one-time tax rate of 10 percent.

 It eliminates most corporate tax expenditures except for the Research and Development credit.

 Firms engaged in manufacturing in the US may elect to expense capital investment and lose the deductibility of corporate interest expense. An election once made can only be revoked within the first 3 years of election; if revoked, returns for prior years would need to be amended to show revised status. After 3 years, election is irrevocable.

 The annual cap for the business tax credit for on-site childcare authorized by Sec. 205 of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 would be increased to $500,000 per year (up from $150,000) and recapture period would be reduced to 5 years (down from 10 years).

 Businesses that pay a portion of an employee’s childcare expenses can exclude those contributions from income. Employees who are recipients of direct employer subsidies would not be able to exclude those costs from the individual income tax and the costs of direct subsidies to employees could not be used as a cost eligible for the credit. ||||| PROTECTING OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

 Donald J. Trump on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

 The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.

 The Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right that belongs to all law-abiding Americans. The Constitution doesn’t create that right – it ensures that the government can’t take it away. Our Founding Fathers knew, and our Supreme Court has upheld, that the Second Amendment’s purpose is to guarantee our right to defend ourselves and our families. This is about self-defense, plain and simple.

 It’s been said that the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom. That’s because the Right to Keep and Bear Arms protects all our other rights. We are the only country in the world that has a Second Amendment. Protecting that freedom is imperative. Here’s how we will do that:

 Enforce The Laws On The Books

 We need to get serious about prosecuting violent criminals. The Obama administration’s record on that is abysmal. Violent crime in cities like Baltimore, Chicago and many others is out of control. Drug dealers and gang members are given a slap on the wrist and turned loose on the street. This needs to stop.

 Several years ago there was a tremendous program in Richmond, Virginia called Project Exile. It said that if a violent felon uses a gun to commit a crime, you will be prosecuted in federal court and go to prison for five years – no parole or early release. Obama’s former Attorney General, Eric Holder, called that a “cookie cutter” program. That’s ridiculous. I call that program a success. Murders committed with guns in Richmond decreased by over 60% when Project Exile was in place – in the first two years of the program alone, 350 armed felons were taken off the street.

 Why does that matter to law-abiding gun owners? Because they’re the ones who anti-gun politicians and the media blame when criminals misuse guns. We need to bring back and expand programs like Project Exile and get gang members and drug dealers off the street. When we do, crime will go down and our cities and communities will be safer places to live.

 Here’s another important way to fight crime – empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves. Law enforcement is great, they do a tremendous job, but they can’t be everywhere all of the time. Our personal protection is ultimately up to us. That’s why I’m a gun owner, that’s why I have a concealed carry permit, and that’s why tens of millions of Americans have concealed carry permits as well. It’s just common sense. To make America great again, we’re going to go after criminals and put the law back on the side of the law-abiding.

 Fix Our Broken Mental Health System

 Let’s be clear about this. Our mental health system is broken. It needs to be fixed. Too many politicians have ignored this problem for too long.

 All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common – there were red flags that were ignored. We can’t allow that to continue. We need to expand treatment programs, because most people with mental health problems aren’t violent, they just need help. But for those who are violent, a danger to themselves or others, we need to get them off the street before they can terrorize our communities. This is just common sense.

 And why does this matter to law-abiding gun owners? Once again, because they get blamed by anti-gun politicians, gun control groups and the media for the acts of deranged madmen. When one of these tragedies occurs, we can count on two things: one, that opponents of gun rights will immediately exploit it to push their political agenda; and two, that none of their so-called “solutions” would have prevented the tragedy in the first place. They’ve even admitted it.

 We need real solutions to address real problems. Not grandstanding or political agendas.

 Defend The Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners

 GUN AND MAGAZINE BANS. Gun and magazine bans are a total failure. That’s been proven every time it’s been tried. Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons”, “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semi-automatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own.

 BACKGROUND CHECKS. There has been a national background check system in place since 1998. Every time a person buys a gun from a federally licensed gun dealer – which is the overwhelming majority of all gun purchases – they go through a federal background check. Study after study has shown that very few criminals are stupid enough to try and pass a background check – they get their guns from friends/family members or by stealing them. So the overwhelming majority of people who go through background checks are law-abiding gun owners. When the system was created, gun owners were promised that it would be instant, accurate and fair. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today. Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system – and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.

 NATIONAL RIGHT TO CARRY. The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state. If we can do that for driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.

 MILITARY BASES AND RECRUITING CENTERS. Banning our military from carrying firearms on bases and at recruiting centers is ridiculous. We train our military how to safely and responsibly use firearms, but our current policies leave them defenseless. To make America great again, we need a strong military. To have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves. |||||


Photo

 It’s not in the stars after all. Instead, it seems, the shape of a person’s social network is a powerful signal that can identify one’s spouse or romantic partner — and even if a relationship is likely to break up.

 So says a new research paper written by Jon Kleinberg, a computer scientist at Cornell University, and Lars Backstrom, a senior engineer at Facebook. The paper, posted online on Sunday, will be presented at a conference on social computing in February.

 The pair used a hefty data set from Facebook as their lab: 1.3 million Facebook users, selected randomly from among all users who are at least 20 years old, with from 50 to 2,000 friends, who list a spouse or relationship partner in their profile. That makes for a lot of social connections to analyze, roughly 379 million nodes and 8.6 billion links. The data was used anonymously.

 Their key finding was that the total number of mutual friends two people share — embeddedness, in social networking terms — is actually a fairly weak indicator of romantic relationships. Far better, they found, was a network measure that they call dispersion.

 This yardstick measures mutual friends, but also friends from the further-flung reaches of a person’s network neighborhood. High dispersion occurs when a couple’s mutual friends are not well connected to one another.

 In the graphic of one person’s network neighborhood (above), the cluster at the top is the individual’s co-workers. The cluster at the right is old college friends. The node (friend) in the lower left quadrant of the graphic, with links to the two dense clusters — but at a distance from those clusters — is the user’s spouse.

 “A spouse or romantic partner is a bridge between a person’s different social worlds,” Mr. Kleinberg explained in an interview on Sunday.

 Their dispersion algorithm was able to correctly identify a user’s spouse 60 percent of the time, or better than a 1-in-2 chance. Since everyone in the sample had at least 50 friends, merely guessing would have at best produced a 1 in 50 chance. The algorithm also did pretty well with people who declare themselves to be “in a relationship,” correctly identifying them a third of the time — a 1 in 3 chance compared with the 1 in 50 for guesswork.

 Particularly intriguing is that when the algorithm fails, it looks as if the relationship is in trouble. A couple in a declared relationship and without a high dispersion on the site are 50 percent more likely to break up over the next two months than a couple with a high dispersion, the researchers found. (Their research tracked the users every two months for two years.)

 For Facebook, the research is part of its automated efforts to look more closely at the relationships among its users to tailor content and ads. Mr. Backstrom is the engineering manager in charge of Facebook’s News Feed, which delivers content from a user’s friends.

 The more Facebook knows about a user’s relationships, the more appropriately tailored the News Feed can be. Do you want to see pictures of a child’s swimming lesson yesterday? Probably yes, if it’s from a family member or close co-worker, but probably not from someone on the fringes of your network of 2,000 “friends.”

 So much of social-network analysis confirms what we already know. Relationships that last are ones in which the other person widens our world? Well, yes. Still, it’s kind of nice to have it confirmed with lots of data and algorithms. “We hadn’t had this view of it before,” Mr. Kleinberg observed. ||||| It might seem reasonable then if "embeddedness" could be used to predict people's plus-ones. But that's not what researchers Lars Backstrom of Facebook and Jon Kleinberg of Cornell University found. In a new paper , they write that embeddedness is an at best mediocre predictor of that special something. Relying on embeddedness, they were able to accurately predict Facebook users' significant others 24.7 percent of the time.

 Here's what that means: The number of mutual friends ("embeddedness") is a reliable indicator of how close two people are. Simply put: You have more friends in common with your closest friends than with your acquaintances.

 Facebook data scientists have developed a novel method for identifying who among a user's friends is that person's partner—and their work puts an empirical stamp on something that is perhaps intuitive: A significant other occupies a unique place in a person's social network, one characterized not by "embeddedness"—the standard way of measuring a tie's proximity—but by what the researchers call "dispersion."

 Another measure fared much better: "dispersion," or how many different networks of theirs a person's friend shares. In other words, your significant other won't just share many friends with you, but friends from all walks of life: your colleagues, your high school buds, your college friends, your family, and so on. Using dispersion, Backstrom and Kleinberg doubled their accuracy: 50 percent of the time, a person was romantic partners with the person who was the most dispersed across his or her social network. For married people, their accuracy rose to 60 percent, a figure which they say is more than 30 times higher than random guessing would produce (everyone in their sample had at least 50 friends).

 The researchers were able to work with their findings to produce a telling observation about the health of a given relationship: The more dispersion a relationship demonstrated, the more likely it was that that relationship would still be around 60 days later (the researchers excluded married couples from this analysis, though that would be quite interesting to see too). This is not necessarily causal (no, you can't get your girlfriend to stick around by bringing her to the company holiday party), but couples who are building a life together, as demonstrated by their multiple and interconnected social circles, seem to have more staying power. (Presumably, though no measurement tools have been developed yet, the breakups of such relationships are also the most painful.)

 For now, researchers relied on looking at Facebook users who identify their partners on the site, but, as this sort of analysis gets refined, it's easy to see how they could use their methodology to detect a relationship which is not quote-unquote "Facebook official." Such information will be useful to Facebook in prioritizing certain people in your newsfeed, showing you those—and especially the one—you care most about. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Facebook data scientists can figure out who you're sleeping with, even if your relationship isn't "Facebook official," and in a new paper researchers explain how they figured out the method, the Atlantic reports. Turns out the key is to look at more than just mutual friends. "Embeddedness," or the number of mutual friends two people have, can show how close those people are (the more mutual friends, the closer they are). But researchers found embeddedness predicted the correct significant others just 24.7% of the time. A more accurate predictor is something called "dispersion." That means researchers looked at how many networks were shared between two people, working on the theory that your romantic partner will have met your family and your current friends and co-workers, as well as old friends from high school or college. By looking at which friend was the most dispersed across all of a Facebook user's networks, researchers upped their accuracy at predicting significant others to 50%. "A spouse or romantic partner is a bridge between a person’s different social worlds," one researcher explains, according to the New York Times. Oh, and dispersion also works to predict the health of your relationship: The more dispersion a user had with his or her partner, the more likely the relationship was to last at least 60 days.


News article:

NASHUA -- All public schools in Nashua are closed Monday because of a threat of violence made to both city high schools, according to police.“We are really working from the perspective of caution,” Superintendent Mark Conrad told the New Hampshire Union Leader Sunday evening. “The Nashua Police Department is doing a great job -- they are working very hard to determine as much as they can.”Since police could not rule out that the threat was credible, Conrad said it was best to err on the side of caution and be able to reassure parents that their children are safe. The FBI is assisting in the investigation, according to a release from the governor.“We have received a detailed threat of violence to harm students and staff at both high schools,” Conrad said in a statement, adding the threat was targeted for Monday. “Because the threat is specific and extends to several schools, we will be cautious and close all of our public schools in Nashua (on Monday).”He explained that a school administrator received the threat, describing the level of detail in the threat as “especially concerning.”Automatic calls were being made to parents of the school district Sunday evening, notifying them of the threat and the cancellation. All after-school events have also been canceled.Nashua police said they received notification from the school district about a specific threat of violence directed towards both Nashua public high schools, police said in a statement issued about 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.According to the release, city police are working with the Nashua School District administration and several state and federal law enforcement agencies to determine the credibility of the threat.“At this time, the investigation remains open and ongoing,” said police.Conrad apologized to parents for the inconvenience, stressing that “safety must remain our first priority.” He expects school to be back in session on Tuesday.Kimberly Kleiner, a member of the Nashua Board of Education, said she has complete faith in the Nashua police force, and is confident they are taking the threat seriously and will solve the matter promptly.“I am a parent -- my daughter is a junior -- and like most parents, this is scary. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in,” Kleiner said on Sunday night. “I think Superintendent Conrad made the correct move in speaking with the chief. I support his decision in putting the safety of our children first.”Noting the school threats recently made in California and New York, Kleiner said it is unfortunate and sad that these incidents continue to disrupt the education of children. There will be 12,000 Nashua students not in the classroom on Monday, she explained.“We don't want mass hysteria, and we don't want parents to feel uncomfortable,” said Kleiner. “I feel for every Nashua parent out there tonight. It is concerning.”Kleiner said she spoke with her daughter about the threat, and said her child understands the situation and believes there is likely nothing behind the threat, but also understands that police and school officials must do their due diligence for the safety of everyone involved."Public safety is any government's most important responsibility -- especially at our schools -- and we are closely monitoring the situation in Nashua. I have been in contact with Mayor (Donnalee) Lozeau and the emergency operations center, and the State Police and state emergency management officials are working closely with the Nashua Police Department, local public safety officials and the FBI," Governor Maggie Hassan said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor the situation and work together at the state, local and federal levels to investigate the threat and keep our communities safe."khoughton@newstote.com ||||| Nashua schools are closed Monday amid a threat of violence.

 Click to watch News 9's coverage

 The Nashua School District contacted Nashua police after receiving a threatening email.

 Superintendent Mark Conrad said the threat stated "that there would be an action taken [Monday] to hurt students."

 Watch: Nashua Police Department holds press conference on school threats

 [The threat] had specific directions toward the two Nashua high schools with specific threats of violence, which is why we are taking it kind of seriously," said Lt. Kerry Baxter.

 Police did not release further details about what the threat said.

 "They haven't been able to determine at this time whether or not the threat is credible, and since they can't rule out that it is a credible threat, we decided to take the cautious course of action and close all our schools for tomorrow," said Conrad.

 At about 6:15 p.m., the school district sent 14,000 automated phone calls to parents to inform them of the closure. More than 11,400 students, teachers and staff at the city's 17 schools will not have class Monday.

 "It's a tough decision to make, you know. These seem to be going around the country. They seem to be happening more frequently and they are very disruptive on many different levels," said Baxter.

 Conrad announced the closure on the Nashua School District website.

 "We have received a detailed threat of violence to harm students and staff at both high schools," Conrad wrote. "The threat is specific to tomorrow (Monday). We have been working closely with the Nashua Police Department, which is still working at this time (Sunday) to determine the credibility of the threat."

 The statement goes on to say, "Because the threat is specific and extends to several schools, we will be cautious and close all of our public schools in Nashua tomorrow, Monday, December 21st. I do expect our schools to reopen on Tuesday. I regret any difficulties this creates for working parents but safety must remain our first priority."

 A state police bomb squad was at Nashua High School North on Sunday night.

 "Any time you have a threat directed towards a school, it doesn't hurt to bring in additional [security] as a precaution," said Baxter.

 Some parents were worried about the threat, as well as sending their kids back to school on Tuesday.

 "As a parent... it scares me because I don't want to send my kids to school and not have them come back home to me," said Barbara Lao. "Whether we should send our kids to school, that is the question, or just keep them home with us?"

 Parents said they don't know what to say to their children.

 "He asked me why there is no school, and I said there was a threat. And he asked me, 'What is the threat about?'" said Angelin Fernandez. "And I don't know what to answer.

 "I said, 'Honey, there is no school tomorrow,'" Fernandez said. "She said, 'Mommy, are we going to get killed?'"

 New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management said it is working with Nashua and federal officials to provide the best information to the public.

 The FBI also said it is is aware of the threat and is assisting the Nashua Police Department in the investigation.

 "Public safety is any government's most important responsibility -- especially at our schools -- and we are closely monitoring the situation in Nashua. I have been in contact with Mayor Lozeau and the emergency operations center, and the State Police and state emergency management officials are working closely with the Nashua Police Department, local public safety officials and the FBI. We will continue to monitor the situation and work together at the state, local and federal levels to investigate the threat and keep our communities safe," said Gov. Maggie Hassan.

 Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Perry Plummer said there have been no credible threats outside of Nashua. Plummer said there's no reason to think that any other schools in the state should be concerned at this time.

 "Certainly all threats have to be taken seriously until proven otherwise but at this point, the good news is that we don’t feel as though this is any threat to any other schools other than the ones that were mentioned by Nashua," said Plummer.

 Administrators told News 9 that St. Christopher School and Nashua Catholic Junior High School will also be closed Monday. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– All public schools in Nashua, NH, will be closed Monday after what Superintendent Mark Conrad describes as a "detailed threat of violence to harm students and staff" at both of the city's high schools. The school district made 14,000 automated phone calls Sunday evening to inform parents of the closure, WMUR reports. "I regret any difficulties this creates for working parents but safety must remain our first priority," Conrad, who expects schools to reopen on Tuesday, said in a statement. Gov. Maggie Hassan says state officials are working closely with Nashua police and the FBI, per WMUR. "We are really working from the perspective of caution," the superintendent tells the New Hampshire Union Leader, adding that police are doing a "great job" in trying to determine where the threat came from and whether it's credible. He says the amount of detail in the threat, which was received by a school administrator, is "especially concerning." It's not clear whether the New Hampshire threat is linked to those that were received by school districts across the country and shut down all Los Angeles-area schools for a day last week. Those threats have been traced to an email service that doesn't keep any information on users.