– Bloom Energy's plans to put a zero-emission energy server into mass production is an "exciting development," writes David Coursey, but the company has loads of work to do before the so-called Bloom Box becomes the game-changer the hype suggests. The company is promising miniature $3,000 servers will be on the market in 10 years to power homes, but that's a long way from the big $800,000 device it's currently pitching to companies. The company didn't offer many details on how it will get there, notes AP, and plenty of other companies are at work on the same concept. One fuel cell expert tells National Geographic he's "pretty pissed" at the lack of explanation and dismissed it as "all hype." Coursey is more hopeful at PCWorld. "Who can really say? If I were guessing, I'd imagine Bloom servers might appear to power whole neighborhoods and be operated by traditional power companies before the home server appears. It all depends on how the technology and market place develops over time."

Expand this summary.

The announcement of Bloom Energy's low-emissions energy server drew the world's attention to Silicon Valley yesterday. But, even after the announcement and demonstration, many questions remain. (editor's note: term changed to the more precise "low-emissions," 4:45 p.m. February 25, 2010.)

 Here is some of what we know about the Bloom Energy Server, and what we still need to find out:

 Where did the energy server come from?

 It's from Mars. Or would have been going to Mars if NASA's plans hadn't changed. The fuel cell was developed at the space agency as part of its plan for planetary exploration. It potentially is as important as any other NASA discovery and directly benefits people here on Planet Earth, making it a pretty good investment of tax dollars.

 What makes the Bloom Energy Server special?

 Bloom Energy says its fuel cells have a 2-to-1 efficiency over electric utilities. That fact alone makes the server attractive for many uses, as it allows a unit the size of a parking space to produce 400Kw of electricity using less fuel than a traditional power plant would require.

 So you have to use energy to make energy, what gives?

 Some have focused on the fact that the Bloom server requires a fuel source, such as natural gas, to operate. Many people don't realize that energy is converted from one form or another to make electricity. At the end of the day, solar energy drives almost everything we do.

 Coal and petroleum are created by the decomposition of organisms that lived millions of years ago, and themselves used the sun's energy to grow. The Bloom server converts biofuels or natural gas (along with oxygen) to electricity.

 Who will purchase Bloom's servers?

 Right now, companies that can afford to spend $700,000-$800,000 on a relatively unproven device that supposedly pays for itself, through lower electricity bills, over a 3-5 year period. It helps to have a supply of cheap biogas available, such as from decomposition in a landfill. The units are likely to prove attractive to electric utilities as a replacement for other power generating equipment, which is less environmentally-friendly and may cost more to operate.

 Will there really be a Bloom Energy Server for our homes?

 Who can really say? Bloom is promising a unit that can power a home in 10 years at a cost of $3,000, but that has to be considered speculation given the timeframe and variables. If I were guessing, I'd imagine Bloom servers might appear to power whole neighborhoods and be operated by traditional power companies before the home server appears. It all depends on how the technology and market place develops over time.

 Does Bloom have competitors?

 "There are probably another 100 companies that are working on something very similar," Jack Brouwer, associate director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center told the Los Angeles Times. "But the key thing is that Bloom has an integrated system and package ready for commercial sale that puts them ahead of the pack."

 The potential exists for a competitor to introduce an even more attractive system than Bloom, which was founded in 2001 and spent 9 years developing its server. Wednesday's announcement puts some pressure on competitors to make their announcements, too.

 What don't we know?

 There are several important unknowns about the Bloom Energy Server, including:

 •1. - What is the life span of the server? The individual fuel cells are said to have a long life, but what about the total system?

 •2. - How much downtime will a system have? Google has said its system is operational 98 percent of the time. That's may be OK if you have another power source available, but what if Bloom is the only source? Is the downtime scheduled or a surprise? If you have multiple Bloom servers, are they likely to go down at once? Do whole servers fail or just a single 100Kw module at a time?

 •3. - What do you do with all the heat? While Bloom servers don't emit greenhouse gases, they do produce a lot of heat, potentially limiting their application. Is there some method planned to use this heat? How much additional energy savings might that provide?

 The Bloom Energy Server is certainly an exciting development, but that excitement should be tempered by the challenges it faces, and the likelihood that another company has something at least as exciting in development.

 My takeaway is that energy problems may be more easily solved that previously imagined.

 David Coursey has been writing about technology products and companies for more than 25 years. He tweets as @techinciter and may be contacted via his Web site. ||||| A richly funded clean-energy startup is keeping critical parts of its business plan secret as it launches its first product amid fanfare.

 KR Sridhar, co-founder and CEO of Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy, holds up a fuel cell at a news conference at eBay offices in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. The company's first product... (Associated Press)

 KR Sridhar, co-founder and CEO of Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy, holds up a stack of fuel cells at a news conference at eBay offices in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. The company's... (Associated Press)

 The Silicon Valley company, Bloom Energy, didn't offer many new details Wednesday about how it plans to make its promising fuel-cell technology affordable enough for regular people to buy for their homes.

 That's an important question because the company's product _ a box of fuel cells that looks like a giant filing cabinet _ currently costs $700,000. Corporations are the first customers, but Bloom Energy wants to cut the price to a few thousand dollars and put it in homes.

 All CEO K.R. Sridhar would say was that the price cut could take a decade or more as the technology improves, much as computer chips have steadily gotten more powerful and cheaper over the decades.

 "We're very confident we can make the economics work," Sridhar said.

 With around $400 million in venture funding, Bloom Energy is one of Silicon Valley's most closely watched startups. Since its founding in 2001, it has been remarkably secretive about its technology.

 The lack of details even in the official launch Wednesday of Bloom Energy's first product concerned some experts, who said it's not possible yet to measure the true cost of generating power using a Bloom box and to determine whether Bloom Energy's technology is substantially different from other fuel-cell companies'.

 "I would try to take a healthy dose of skepticism. What they've demonstrated is they have these systems and they've been able to deploy them," said Bryan Pivovar, fuel cell group manager of the Hydrogen Technologies and Systems Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "There's nothing I've seen out of Bloom that makes me believe there's anything special about the way they're putting things together and what their approach is."

 Bloom Energy does claim that its box can produce more energy _ with less environmental damage _ than other fuel cells on the market because it isn't reliant on just hydrogen to trigger the chemical reactions that create power. Rather, it can use wind, solar power and whatever else is available, which could vary from community to community.

 However, Bloom Energy didn't offer more details about how that worked, and Pivovar said that using wind or solar would require an extra step to convert the energy into something that could power the fuel cells, which could result in some energy loss. One of the easiest ways to power the Bloom box would be to hook it up directly to a natural gas line.

 A key detail Bloom Energy disclosed was the price its customers pay for power generated by their Bloom machines, and how much money they save over buying regular power from utilities.

 Bloom Energy said its customers, which include Google Inc. and eBay Inc., pay 9 cents to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. For power they buy directly from the electricity grid in California, where all of Bloom Energy's boxes are currently located, the price is 13 cents to 14 cents per kWh, the company said.

 The savings are big but there's a catch. Bloom Energy said its customers are getting a big federal tax credit that amounts to 30 percent of the price of the Bloom box, along with a rebate from California based on how much energy they buy.

 The figures suggest that Bloom Energy's customers might be saving money solely because of the subsidies, not because the power generated by Bloom Energy machines is cheaper to produce.

 Bloom Energy didn't break out what the costs would be without the subsidies. Sridhar said the investment pays for itself in three to five years but declined to provide further details.

 The use of subsidies could make the Bloom boxes less economical in markets in which subsidies don't exist or aren't as generous. Sridhar said other states and countries abroad have attractive subsidies as well, but added that a key goal is driving the price of the product down enough so that subsidies won't be necessary.

 "We need to get that subsidy in the early days," he said. "But very early we need to get out of those subsidies. Otherwise we're not going to the developing world like we want to."

 He said the potential market for Bloom Energy's technology is so large that the company could thrive even if it stayed in California.

 "We can grow as fast as we want and serve California for the next five years and be a multi-billion-dollar company," he said. "That's how big this market is."

 Scott Samuelsen, director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, said he was concerned that Bloom Energy's boxes haven't been deployed long enough to evaluate their long-term reliability.

 "Most customers are looking for a minimum of five years solid performance with a new technology," he said. "We don't know the minimum. We know almost nothing about the company, almost nothing about the technology, and there are a number of manufacturers around the world doing the same thing. ... It's cause to be cautious and recognize that there's going to be a path that has to be followed that will take some time." ||||| View Images Held by CEO K.R. Sridhar at a Bloom Energy press conference today, a single Bloom Box fuel cell is said to be able to power a light bulb.

 Photograph by Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

 The Bloom Box—an as yet unbuilt in-home "power plant" designed to be about the size of a mini-fridge—could provide cheap, environmentally friendly electricity to U.S. households within ten years, according to Bloom Energy. Or not.

 After days of speculation and hype, the fuel cell company unveiled their plans for Bloom Box mass production—but no prototype—at a press conference today with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former U.S. secretary of state and Bloom Energy board member Colin Powell, among others.

 But fuel cell experts say that, based on the information the company made public today, the Bloom Box technology is not revolutionary, nor is it the cheapest or most efficient fuel cell system available.

 "It's a big hype. I'm actually pretty pissed off about it, to be quite honest," said Nigel Sammes, a ceramic engineer and fuel cell expert at the Colorado School of Mines.

 "It really is nothing new. Go to any [solid oxide fuel cell] Web site and you'll see the same stuff."

 Mike Brown, a vice president at fuel cell maker UTC Power—a competitor to Bloom Energy—also wasn't surprised.

 "I think we had anticipated just about everything that's on their Web site," Brown said. "But it's nice to at least finally see something" after ten years, which is about how long the Bloom Box has been in development.

 In an interview with CBS TV's 60 Minutes Sunday night—which did much to fuel anticipation for today's announcement—K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, said that, for one thing, the Bloom Box fuel cell system is a much better, or at least more reliable, alternative to solar power as a green energy source.

 Video: Bloom Box Segment From 60 Minutes

 "The sun doesn't shine on your rooftop 24 hours a day," Sridhar said. "Our box produces electricity continually and reliably."

 Fuel cells are devices that combine a fuel, such as natural gas, and an oxidant, such as oxygen, and turn their chemical energy directly into electrical energy.

 Big Bloom Box Already in Use

 For months now, Bloom Energy has been testing refrigerator-size Bloom Boxes at campuses of major corporations—including Google, FedEx, Wal-Mart, and eBay.

 One of these jumbo Bloom Boxes, called Bloom Box Servers, could power a hundred homes, and four of them could power a 35,000-square-foot (3,250-square-meter) office building, Sridhar said on CBS.

 Sridhar, a former NASA engineer, said he hopes to begin selling the mini-fridge-size Bloom Boxes within five to ten years. Each of the small Bloom Boxes should be able to power a household, he said.

 How Bloom Box Should Work, Basically

 At the heart of the Bloom Box will be solid oxide fuel cells—in this case, flat, coaster-size ceramic plates with a secret coating—widely considered by experts to be one of the most efficient types of fuel cells.

 Bloom Box plates—already in use in the industrial models—can each power one light bulb, but a stack of 64 of the cells could be "big enough to power a Starbucks," Sridhar said.

 Oxygen and natural gas would be fed into the Bloom Box and undergo a high-temperature chemical reaction in the fuel cells to produce electricity, heat, carbon dioxide, and water.

 The fuel could be piped in from municipal natural gas systems—much as it is for gas stoves and ovens—or created from biogas or, as in the case of eBay, harvested from natural gas-rich landfills.

 No Reason to Doubt Bloom Box Tech?

 Friedrich "Fritz" Prinz, a fuel cell expert at Stanford University, said there's no reason to doubt that the Bloom Box works as Bloom Energy's Sridhar claims.

 "The solid oxide fuel cell technology they're pursuing is one of the most attractive fuel cell technologies there is," said Prinz, who was not involved in the Bloom Box's development.

 Based on the 60 Minutes segment, Prinz said, the design of the Bloom Box appears to be fairly standard and that there was nothing obviously revolutionary about it.

 "They didn't reveal any new physics or any new principles, but I don't think they need to do that," Prinz added.

 "They just need to take understood and recognized principles in material science and thermodynamics and implement them, and it looks like they've done that successfully.

 "Whether they've done it economically, I don't know."

 Bloom Box for the Budget Conscious?

 The industrial-strength Bloom Boxes now in use cost eBay and other companies between U.S. $700,000 and $800,000. At eBay, Bloom Energy is maintaining the machines under a ten-year maintenance contract.

 eBay CEO John Donahoe told 60 Minutes that the five Bloom Boxes installed seven months ago at the company's campus in San Jose, California, now provide almost 15 percent of eBay's electricity needs. Estimated energy savings for the seven months: $100,000.

 At that rate, the Bloom Boxes should pay for themselves within three years, Donahoe told the business-news site Fast Company.

 A residential Bloom Box should cost around U.S. $3,000, Bloom Energy's Sridhar said—much cheaper than most currently available consumer fuel cell systems.

 "Manufacturing these things cheaply is not easy," said Michael Kanellos, editor-in-chief of Greentech Media, a business-news site specializing in green technology coverage and analysis. "ClearEdge initially sold theirs for $50,000, and they had to raise it to $56,000."

 Those high prices are due in part to the fact that home fuel cell systems have been built by hand and because low demand hasn't allowed manufacturers to achieve economies of scale—for example to negotiate cheaper prices for raw materials in the way that large production runs allow—said Brown of UTC Power.

 Previous systems have also used the precious metal platinum, though Bloom Energy says they've found a way around this—though the details are under wraps—according to Prinz, of Stanford University.

 Bloom Box Safe and Solid?

 It's also unclear how safe and durable the Bloom Box will be, said UTC Power's Brown. Solid oxide fuel cells must operate at extremely high temperatures, and as a result, they often crack or leak.

 For the Bloom Box to become widely adopted by homeowners—who would presumably be nervous about replacing old reliable technology with a new, relatively untested one—the system will need an operational lifetime of about 85,000 hours, or about ten years, Brown said.

 There are commercial fuel cells, such as ones made by UTC Power, that can operate continuously for that long, Brown said. Bloom Energy has not disclosed the operational lifetime of its Bloom Box.

 It's also unclear as of yet how energy efficient the Bloom Boxes are, Brown said. Fuel cell systems in which both the generated electricity and heat are used can be 90 percent or more energy efficient.

 Bloom Energy has not released specific details about the Bloom Box's energy efficiency or specified whether the heat produced by its units can be utilized.

 "We didn't see any evidence of thermal recovery, so we assume it's an electricity-only device," Brown said. "If that's the case, it is somewhere between 45 and 55 percent electrically efficient."

 That would make the Bloom Box only about 5 to 10 percent more efficient than conventional combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants, Brown said. Such plants create electricity in two phases: first via gas turbines, then via steam turbines, which take advantage of excess heat generated in the first phase.

 Whitney Colella, a fuel cell researcher at Sandia National Laboratories, said the Bloom Box appears to be very similar to fuel cell systems developed by United Technologies Corp. (of which UTC Power is a unit) and FuelCell Energy, Colella said.

 "All of them can run on natural gas, and all of them can run on biogas," she said. "The main difference is that the electrical efficiency [of the Bloom Box] is slightly higher" than the other two, at least according to figures posted online by Bloom Energy today.

 Bloom Energy's Killer App?

 While most experts seem to agree that the current Bloom Box appears to be a fairly standard solid oxide fuel cell system, Bloom Energy has filed patents in recent years that hint at a possible killer feature that could set its future devices apart from the competition, Greentech Media's Kanellos said.

 The patents describe a process for taking the runoff of the main electricity generation—carbon dioxide and water—and using it to produce oxygen and a "methane-like fuel," he said.

 This would essentially reverse the chemical reaction in the Bloom Box—a possibility Sridhar hinted at on 60 Minutes.

 That new fuel and oxidant could be automatically run through the Bloom Box to generate even more electricity—and less waste.

 The big Bloom Energy Servers already in use don't currently do this, but if such a reverse-reaction is possible—and it's not clear that it is—then "it would be huge," Kanellos said. |||||


Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

 The Hollywood Reporter has a long, stunning investigative article out today called “Animals Were Harmed.” THR journalist Gary Baum presents compelling evidence that the American Humane Association, the nonprofit organization charged with monitoring film and TV productions for animal abuse, has systematically hidden animal deaths in the interest of preserving friendly relations with powerful Hollywood producers.

 The deaths of three horses on the set of HBO’s horse racing series Luck—which was overseen by the AHA—are well known (and probably contributed to Luck’s cancellation), but the stomach-turning incidents go far beyond Luck: There’s the dog that was punched by its trainer on the set of Eight Below, the chipmunk that was dropped and stepped on by its handler during the filming of Failure to Launch, and the dozens of sheep and goats that died during a hiatus in the filming of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The AHA, which receives most of its funding from industry groups, excused these and other incidents by saying that they were unintentional, or that because they happened off-camera, they don’t count. Most of Baum’s sources are anonymous, but there are a few jaw-droppingly wrongheaded quotes, like this one:

 In an interview with THR, Candy Spelling, a national AHA board member, defends the organization’s intent behind the “No Animals Were Harmed” end credit. “I think what people think [it means] is that when a horse dies in the movies, it didn’t really die,” she says. “I think that people think [the AHA’s monitoring] is just when the cameras are rolling.”

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 Right. No one cares if you punch, step on, or starve animals as long as there’s no camera turned on nearby. If that’s the best defense the AHA can come up with, I hope the Department of Agriculture, the governmental agency usually tasked with protecting animals from neglect and abuse, begins sending agents to Hollywood very, very soon. Baum’s article is the kind of public interest journalism that ought to result in policy changes, and the entire thing is worth reading. ||||| These releases reflect the views of the issuing entity and are not reviewed or edited by the Sacramento Bee staff. More information on PR Newswire can be found on their web site . You can contact the service with questions or concerns here

 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Hollywood Reporter recently ran a story that distorts the work and record of a respected nonprofit organization that has kept millions of beloved animal actors safe on film and television sets around the world for more than 70 years.

 (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101108/DC97343LOGO)

 The article paints a picture that is completely unrecognizable to us or anyone who knows American Humane Association's work. Far from allowing abuse or neglect to occur, we have a remarkably high safety record of 99.98 percent on set. Over a span of many years, despite our best efforts, there have occasionally been rare accidents, most of them minor and not intentional. Regrettably, there have even been some deaths, which upset us greatly, but in many of the cases reported, they had nothing to do with the animals' treatment on set, or occurred when the animals were not under our care. For example:

 The article claimed that a dog suffering from cancer died during the production of "Our Idiot Brother." Sadly, a dog did take ill and was indeed diagnosed with cancer, but the illness was not work-related and was not due to any activity related to production.

 Sadly, a dog did take ill and was indeed diagnosed with cancer, but the illness was not work-related and was not due to any activity related to production. The article suggested that a horse died during post-production after being filmed for "War Horse." What it does not say however is that AHA's jurisdiction does not extend to post-production and transit. In fact, the horse mentioned finished its work and was checked out of production. In transit home, according to a veterinarian, it died of natural causes.

 The article seemed to lay blame for 27 animal deaths during "The Hobbit" when in fact the animals were not under AHA's jurisdiction or authority in any way. We only monitor animals when they are on the set. When we heard reports months afterwards that animals might have died on a working farm there, we voluntarily sent representatives out to the farm to inspect it and make safety recommendations, which were instituted by production at considerable cost, ensuring better welfare for all the animals on the farm. We were transparent with all the details and our outrage over the regrettable loss of life. Here is our official public statement we made at the time for the record: http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/news-releases/aha-the-hobbit-animal-deaths.html

 When a Certified Safety Representative is on the set and an incident occurs, the animal stops working, is given veterinary care and not allowed to return to work until it is reported sound by the attending veterinarian. This practice is vital. Recognizing injury is vital to preventing abuse from occurring, thus providing humane protections for animal actors. Although the article criticizes the distinction between accidental injury and intentional harm, that is precisely why the program exists - to reasonably make that distinction. This program is about prevention and as with any good safety program, American Humane Association is continually improving .

 Under the new senior administration of American Humane Association, a comprehensive program review of the No Animals Were Harmed® program was conducted in 2011 and 2012. These actions are bringing about game-changing innovations and enhancements that are being implemented to further increase the rigor of the safety standards while improving the quality of oversight for enhanced protections for animals working in entertainment. This new administration has made broad, sweeping changes for enhanced protections for animals working in film and entertainment. These changes were necessary, mission-driven, and will continue to build a better and safer future for the animals we love. The improvements include:

 1) The creation of a Scientific Advisory Committee, composed of global experts in animal welfare, who are right now reviewing our comprehensive and science-based "Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media" – the bible of the industry – to make sure we are doing everything possible to protect animal actors and include the newest findings and research on animal welfare

 2) We have brought on Dr. Kwane Stewart, a respected veterinarian, to head the program and bring a new level of rigor and science to our mission and passion to protect the animals in our care

 3) As part of our efforts to further improve safety, we recently posted positions to hire licensed veterinarians to serve as our Certified Safety Representatives, and place them in geographic areas across the country where high volumes of filmmaking occurs, including Texas, New Mexico, New York, and Louisiana. We are top-tiering our staff to bring an even higher level of expertise to our important work, and basing our safety reps closer to sets, which will help keep down travel and housing costs for the charity

 4) Earlier this year, we implemented a policy that if any animal is seriously injured or dies on set to commission an independent, third-party investigation to find out what happened so that we may prevent as much as is possible such incidents in the future

 American Humane Association has made tough changes to ensure that the No Animals Were Harmed® program is structured to meet the humane charter with which we have been entrusted. It's all about the animal actors and ensuring their safety . Abuse in film and entertainment is not pervasive, as the salacious headlines imply; rather our experience is that most everyone we work with in production settings want to do right by the animals, as do we.

 We are extremely proud of the work American Humane Association has done for more than 70 years to protect millions of animals on movie and television production sets. We are a mission-driven small nonprofit that has not only worked to protect animals working in film and entertainment across the country and around the globe, we have done so by utilizing millions of dollars of our own funds so that the certified animal safety representatives could be on more than 2,000 sets a year, making sure that some 100,000 of our most beloved animal co-stars are treated humanely and kept safe each and every year.

 For us, the welfare of the animals always comes first, which is reflected by our remarkable safety rate of 99.98 percent. Our overall record for years is one of caring and success.

 SOURCE American Humane Association

  Read more articles by American Humane Association |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– That "no animals were harmed" disclaimer that crops up at the end of movies courtesy of the American Humane Association seems straightforward enough. But an investigation by Gary Baum at the Hollywood Reporter finds that plenty of animals do, in fact, get harmed on sets—even for movies that end up with the label. In one of the more buzzed-about pieces from the story, Baum gets hold of an email from an AHA rep on the set of Life of Pi that describes how the "tiger damn near drowned," instructs the recipient to keep it quiet, and adds, "I have downplayed the f--- out of it." (Salon reprints the full email here.) There's also the chipmunk that got stepped on and killed in Failure to Launch, the dog that got repeatedly punched by its trainer in Eight Below, the nearly 30 goats and sheep that died in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and all manners of injuries and even deaths to horses over the years on a slew of films. The examples go on and on—there's all kinds of wiggle room from the AHA, especially if the accident occurred off-camera instead of during filming or was accidental—and Baum's piece suggests that AHA has gotten too "cozy" with the industry to adequately protect animals. It includes this quote from an AHA board member defending the "no animals were harmed" disclaimer: “I think what people think [it means] is that when a horse dies in the movies, it didn’t really die,” she says. "I think that people think [the AHA's monitoring] is just when the cameras are rolling." At Slate, LV Anderson finds that tough to take: By those standards, "no one cares if you punch, step on, or starve animals as long as there’s no camera turned on nearby," she writes. "If that’s the best defense the AHA can come up with, I hope the Department of Agriculture, the governmental agency usually tasked with protecting animals from neglect and abuse, begins sending agents to Hollywood very, very soon." The AHA, meanwhile, calls the piece an inaccurate hatchet job in a statement picked up by the Sacramento Bee. Click to read the THR story in full.


Write an article based on this summary:

– The headmaster of a Connecticut high school has apologized after its football team named one of its plays "Hitler." The AP reports Chris Winters, of Greenwich High School, issued the apology Friday. He called the designation offensive and said the practice has been stopped. A Trumbull mother tells the Connecticut Post her son's freshman football team was playing Greenwich on Thursday when the players charged onto the field shouting "Hitler." Debbie Levison said the signal for the play was an index finger laid across the upper lip. The football team and coaches met with the Connecticut Anti-Defamation League to make sure they understand why it was offensive. The group's executive director told the newspaper he did not see intent to intimidate or anti-Semitism. He called it a teaching moment.

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) — The headmaster of a Connecticut high school has apologized after its football team named one of its plays "Hitler."

 Chris Winters, of Greenwich High School, issued the apology Friday. He called the designation offensive and said the practice has been stopped.

 A Trumbull mother tells the Connecticut Post (http://bit.ly/2denmBG ) her son's freshman football team was playing Greenwich on Thursday when the players charged onto the field shouting "Hitler." Debbie Levison said the signal for the play was an index finger laid across the upper lip.

 The football team and coaches met with the Connecticut Anti-Defamation League to make sure they understand why it was offensive.

 The group's executive director told the newspaper he did not see intent to intimidate or anti-Semitism. He called it a teaching moment.

 ___

 Information from: Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com ||||| Greenwich football players called out for “Hitler” play

 The Greenwich High School Cardinal logo can be seen in the center of the field at the high school's Cardinal Stadium, Conn The Greenwich High School Cardinal logo can be seen in the center of the field at the high school's Cardinal Stadium, Conn Photo: Bob Luckey Jr. / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Bob Luckey Jr. / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Greenwich football players called out for “Hitler” play 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

 A Trumbull mom couldn’t believe what she heard when her son’s freshman football team played Greenwich Thursday — players charged onto the field shouting “Hitler.”

 The war cry was in reference to a play they were about to execute. The signal for the play is an index finger laid across the upper lip.

 “My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins perished at the hands of Hitler,” Debbie Levison said on Friday. “My father and mother suffered unspeakable atrocities during the Holocaust. So yes, I’m outraged.”

 Levison said her son came off the field visibly angered. When he told her why, she approached some Greenwich players after the game to make sure he had heard correctly. They told her to talk to the coach, which she did.

 “Coach James Briggs looked me in the eye and confirmed that they do indeed use a play called Hitler,” Levison said. “I repeated it back to him twice to verify that we were being utterly accurate.”

 Levinson said he didn’t even look abashed.

 The play apparently is not something that started this year. It has reportedly been used for years, as has a play called “the Stalin,” according to several sources, including officials from the Anti-Defamation League, who met with GHS players and coaches Friday.

 Levison said she can’t understand why other adults who heard it in the past didn’t think to object.

 Selectman Drew Marzullo said Friday it doesn’t matter if the play has been used “for two minutes or two years.”

 “It represents a failure of some to impart the gravity that words such as this one represent evil and should never be spoken in jest on the ball field,” he said.

 A letter of apology from Headmaster Chris Winters was posted Friday afternoon on the district website to both the Greenwich and Trumbull communities “for this admittedly offensive practice.”

 “This practice has been stopped,” Winters said in the message, which reportedly is also being sent home to Greenwich High School parents.

 Greenwich school officials also reached out to the local Jewish community to express their apology.

 Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz of Temple Sholom on Friday referred to the high school’s Athletic Code of Conduct, which sets appropriate behaviors for student athletes to follow. They include: providing a positive image; respecting the rights of opponents and spectators; representing team, school and town with dignity.

 “This incident was an overt failure of the Code of Conduct,” he said.

 But Hurvitz applauded Winters for being “extremely proactive” in responding to the problem, including by reaching out to the Anti-Defamation League.

 “We should accept Chris’ apology on behalf of the Greenwich community,” Hurvitz said. “And, we should follow up our remorse with a renewed collective dedication to assure that we all are leading lives consistent to our own dedication to living up to our potential goodness as human beings.”

 Steve Ginsburg, executive director of the Connecticut ADL, said he views the use of Hitler’s name as a teaching moment.

 “This is a situation where education is needed,” Ginsburg said. “There was a lack of understanding. This is not a situation where there was any intent to intimidate, or anti-Semitism or anything like that.”

 Ginsburg said the ADL works with a lot of schools around the state.

 “Nobody takes the work we do more seriously than Greenwich High School,” he said.

 Greenwich Reform Synagogue Rabbi Andrew Sklarz said it is the responsibility of adults, including coaches, to educate young people about events like the Holocaust that happened so many years before they were born.

 “Anything like this is disheartening,” Sklarz said. “On Yom Kippur I talked about the death of Eli Wiesel and how important it is to remember what happened to six million Jews and countless others. It’s a story that needs to be retold and passed down through the generations because if you don’t people start to forget and don’t feel the full impact.

 “Anything that aims to either glamorize or use something as horrible as Hitler or the Holocaust as an icon is just disheartening,” he said. “That’s something we can’t accept in sports or from students who are supposed to be leaders in the community.”

 Levison said she received calls from the headmaster and athletic director apologizing and said they seemed sincere.

 “I am not out to punish anyone or embarrass anyone, but rather educate,” Levison said. “I think this is symptomatic of the general blurring of lines in our country of what is right and what is wrong.”

 Thursday’s game was played one day after Yom Kippur, the most holy day on the Jewish calendar.

 “This isn’t about me as a Jew speaking out because I happen to have a sensitive context,” she said. “I would hope that every educator and every parent in Greenwich who hears about it is equally appalled. I hope that they say with a clear voice that they will not condone it.” |||||


– In some cities, it's a joy to own a set of wheels to cruise around in; in others, you're better off hawking your car on Craigslist and taking the bus, per CBS News. A SmartAsset analysis examined seven driving-related factors (including non-driving options, hours that commuters spend in traffic, and the number of parking garages and repair shops) in America's 100 largest cities to come up with the country's worst cities in which to own a car—and they're pretty much all huddled along the coasts. Here, the worst five: Newark, NJ San Francisco Washington, DC Oakland, Calif. Arlington, Va. Check out other cities on the list here. (Related: the 10 worst US cities for traffic.)

Expand this summary.

By Derek Miller/SmartAsset

 The number of Americans driving to work alone is on the rise, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. With the increase in drivers comes traffic, which means more time and money spent idling in cars. Some cities are better equipped to deal with the mass of drivers, managing to keep traffic delays and congestion to a minimum. Other cities are equipped with walkable streets and reliable mass transit options, making car ownership less necessary.

 We considered these and other factors to find the worst cities to own a car. Specifically, we looked at hours spent in traffic per year for the average driver, the annual cost of traffic for the average driver, the rate of motor vehicle theft, the number of repair shops and parking garages per driver, the commuter stress index and the non-driving options a resident has for getting around. (See our methodology section for more information on how we created our final ranking.)

 Key Findings

 Cities on the coasts. The nine cities that make the list are all on or close to the coasts. This makes sense, as many of the largest cities in the country are located on the coasts. Plus, on the East Coast in particular, these cities tend to be older, which means they weren't built to handle car traffic.

 Grin and bear it. Traffic can get pretty bad. However, in some cities getting around by car is just about the only option you have if you want to leave your house. As a result, some cities with terrible traffic, such as Los Angeles, didn't make the list.

 Click ahead to see the nine worst U.S. cities for owning a car. ||||| The number of Americans driving to work alone is on the rise, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. With the increase in drivers comes traffic, which means more time and money spent idling in cars. Some cities are better equipped to deal with the mass of drivers, managing to keep traffic delays and congestion to a minimum. Other cities are equipped with walkable streets and reliable mass transit options, making car ownership less necessary.

 Check out mortgage rates in your area.

 We considered these and other factors to find the worst cities to own a car. Specifically, we looked at hours spent in traffic per year for the average driver, the annual cost of traffic for the average driver, the rate of motor vehicle theft, the number of repair shops and parking garages per driver, the commuter stress index and the non-driving options a resident has for getting around. To understand where we got our data and how we put it together to create our final ranking, see the data and methodology section below.

 Key Findings

 Cities on the coasts – The entire top 10 is comprised of cities on or close to the coasts. This makes sense as many of the largest cities in the country are located on the coasts. Plus, on the East Coast in particular, these cities tend to be older which means they were not built to handle car traffic.

 – The entire top 10 is comprised of cities on or close to the coasts. This makes sense as many of the largest cities in the country are located on the coasts. Plus, on the East Coast in particular, these cities tend to be older which means they were not built to handle car traffic. Grin and bear it – Traffic can get pretty bad. However, in some cities getting around by car is just about the only option you have if you want to leave your house. Thus some cities with really bad traffic like Los Angeles or Long Beach didn’t quite crack the top 10.

 1. Newark, New Jersey

 Brick City tops our ranking of the worst cities to own a car. What’s tough about being a car owner in Newark is the traffic. It’s part of the New York City metro area which has 19 million people, 5 million of whom drive to work. Newark is stuck right in the middle of this bumper-to-bumper traffic. Plus, if you’re a car owner in Newark, the risk of having your car stolen is much higher than it is in other cities. Newark ranks eighth in the country for motor vehicle thefts per 1,000 residents.

 Related Article: The States With the Worst Drivers

 2. San Francisco, California

 The City in the Bay grabs the second spot for worst places to own a car. Being stuck in traffic costs the average commuter in San Francisco $1,600 per year. That cost includes both the value of the time spent in traffic and the cost of gas. SF is also one of the 10 worst cities for motor vehicle thefts per resident, another reason to forgo car ownership.

 3. Washington, D.C.

 The District and the surrounding metro area sees some of the worst traffic in the country. The average D.C. commuter spends 82 hours per year in traffic. Depending on how you slice it, that’s either two working weeks or almost three-and-a-half days of doing nothing but shaking your fist at your fellow drivers. That traffic is equal to an annual cost of $1,834 per commuter.

 4. Oakland, California

 One argument against car ownership in Oakland is the crime. There were almost 6,400 motor vehicle thefts in the city of Oakland or 15 auto thefts per 1,000 residents. That’s the highest rate in the country. The average Oakland driver can also expect to spend 78 hours per year in traffic. On the plus side, if something goes wrong with your wheels in Oakland, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get it fixed. There are more than six repair shops per 10,000 drivers in Oakland – the highest rate in the top 10.

 5. Arlington, Virginia

 As previously mentioned, the Washington, D.C. metro area has the worst traffic in the country. Unfortunately for the residents of Arlington, they are a part of that metro area. They face the same brutal 82 hours per year spent in traffic, on average. It costs Arlington residents $1,834 per year, on average, waiting in that traffic. For residents of Arlington, a car is more of a necessity than it is for people living in D.C., which is why it ranks lower in our study.

 6. Portland, Oregon

 Of all the cities in our top 10, Portland is the least onerous for the driving commuter. Commuters driving around the Portland metro area can be thankful that, on average, they spent only 52 hours per year in traffic. That traffic still costs each driver about $1,200. However, drivers in Portland looking for a parking garage may be out of luck. Portland has the second-lowest number of parking garages per driver in our study, and if you are looking to get your car fixed, Portland ranks in the bottom 13 for repair shops per capita.

 7. Anaheim, California

 Anaheim commuters are well-acquainted with traffic. Anaheim (and the rest of the Los Angeles metro area) ranks third in average hours per year spent in traffic, first for commuter stress index and fifth for annual cost of idling in traffic. Anaheim only ranks seventh because Walkability.com gives the city a 46 out of 100 for non-driving options. That’s the lowest score in our top 10 meaning, while owning a car here is a pain, not owning one makes getting around a true struggle.

 8. New York, New York

 New York is the rare American city where public transportation is usually your best bet for getting from point A to point B. All that accessibility makes car ownership unnecessary here. For New Yorkers who do drive, the traffic is not pleasant. New York drivers spend $1,700 per year, on average, waiting in traffic. That’s the third-highest cost in our study.

 Not sure if you’re ready to buy in NYC? Check out our rent vs. buy calculator.

 9. Seattle, Washington

 Seattle has pretty bad traffic. Commuters here probably aren’t surprised to hear the average driver spends 63 hours per year in traffic. And coupled with the traffic is the high number of motor vehicle thefts. Seattle has the fourth-highest rate of motor vehicle thefts per 1,000 residents in the country.

 10. Boston, Massachusetts

 Boston ranked well in our study on the most livable cities in the U.S. partially based on how easy it is to get around without a car. After New York and San Francisco, Boston is the most walkable city in the country, making the cost of having a car one expense which Bostonians can possibly go without. Although occasionally maligned, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority is a great option for commuters who want to avoid the 64 hours per year Boston drivers spend in traffic.

 Data and Methodology

 In order to rank the worst cities to own a car, we looked at data on the 100 largest cities in the country. Specifically we looked at these seven factors:

 Average total hours commuters spend in traffic per year. Data comes from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card.

 Data comes from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card. Cost of time spent in traffic per person. This measures the value of extra travel time and the extra fuel consumed by vehicles in traffic. Travel time is calculated at a value of $17.67 per hour per person. Fuel cost per gallon is the average price for each state. Data comes from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card.

 This measures the value of extra travel time and the extra fuel consumed by vehicles in traffic. Travel time is calculated at a value of $17.67 per hour per person. Fuel cost per gallon is the average price for each state. Data comes from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card. Commuter stress index. This metric is developed by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card. It measures the difference in travel time during peak congestion and during no congestion. A higher ratio equals a larger difference.

 This metric is developed by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card. It measures the difference in travel time during peak congestion and during no congestion. A higher ratio equals a larger difference. Non-driving options. This metric measures the necessity of owning a car in each city by considering the city’s walk score, bike score and transit score. We found the average of those three scores for each city. Higher scores mean residents are less reliant on cars. Data comes from Walkability.com.

 This metric measures the necessity of owning a car in each city by considering the city’s walk score, bike score and transit score. We found the average of those three scores for each city. Higher scores mean residents are less reliant on cars. Data comes from Walkability.com. Motor vehicle thefts per 1,000 residents. Data on population and motor vehicle thefts comes from the FBI’s 2015 Uniform Crime Reporting Program and from local police department and city websites. We used the most up to date data available for cities where 2015 data was not available.

 Data on population and motor vehicle thefts comes from the FBI’s 2015 Uniform Crime Reporting Program and from local police department and city websites. We used the most up to date data available for cities where 2015 data was not available. Number of repair shops per 10,000 drivers. Data on drivers comes from Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card. Data on repair shops comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 Business Patterns Survey.

 Data on drivers comes from Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card. Data on repair shops comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 Business Patterns Survey. Parking garages per 10,000 drivers. Data on drivers comes from Texas A&M Transportation Institute 2014 Mobility Score Card. Data on parking garages comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 Business Patterns Survey.

 We ranked each city across each factor, giving double weight to non-driving options and half weight to motor vehicle thefts per driver, repair shops per driver and parking garages per driver. All other factors received single weight. We then found the average ranking across each city. Finally we gave each city a score based on their average ranking. The city with the highest average received a score of 100 and the city with the lowest average received a score of 0.

 Questions about our study? Contact us at press@smartasset.com.

 Photo credit: ©iStock.com/seb_ra |||||


– Stephen Allwine allegedly had no moral objection to sleeping with women other than his wife, but he was opposed to divorce—or, at least, his church was. It's for that reason that he tried to arrange his wife's murder through the dark web and finally killed her himself when no other killer appeared, prosecutors allege. At the start of Allwine's murder trial in Minnesota this week, prosecutors claimed the United Church of God elder began having affairs through the Ashley Madison website, which he learned about while counseling married couples at church, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Since his church views marriage as a lifelong commitment, per the Washington Post, prosecutors believe the then-43-year-old Allwine decided his wife should be killed and paid $6,000 in bitcoin to dark web site Besa Mafia, which claimed a link to organized crime. Though law enforcement officials now suspect Besa Mafia was a scam, they warned the couple that user "Dogdaygod" was plotting Amy Allwine's death. Stephen Allwine then bought a gun, which was found next to his wife's body in the couple's Cottage Grove home three months later on Nov. 13, 2016. Prosecutors say Allwine drugged Amy, 43, with scopolamine, shot her in the head, and staged the scene to look like a suicide—failing to erase gun residue from his hand and traces of blood leading from the scene. A computer search also linked him to "Dogdaygod," prosecutors say. Allwine's defense attorney, on the other hand, says the prosecution has only theories and alleges police contaminated the scene by moving the gun before photos were taken, per the Pioneer Press. "Just because he had an affair doesn't mean he killed his wife," he says of his client, per the Post.

Expand this summary.

Washington County prosecutors allege a Cottage Grove man spent months plotting his wife’s murder rather than divorce her and jeopardize his esteemed role with a local church, but his defense attorney said the state’s evidence has been fraught with “distractions” and “red herrings.”

 Opening arguments in the jury trial of Stephen Allwine began Tuesday in Stillwater.

 Allwine initially was charged with second-degree murder in January 2017. That charge was raised to first-degree premeditated murder after a grand jury indicted Allwine in March.

 Cottage Grove police arrested Allwine, 43, after a two-month investigation into the death of wife, Amy Allwine.

 Authorities responding to a 911 call from Stephen Allwine found Amy Allwine dead in her Cottage Grove home in November 2016. She was dead, with a gunshot wound to the head.

 A medical examination later revealed excessive doses of scopolamine, a drug used to treat nausea, in Amy Allwine’s body. She did not have a prescription for that drug.

 Prosecutors allege Stephen Allwine accessed the “dark web,” a hidden portion of the internet associated with crime, to hire a hit man to kill his wife. After several plans fell through, prosecutors say, Stephen Allwine poisoned his wife and shot her with the family’s 9mm gun.

 Defense attorney Kevin Devore said the timeline leading up to Amy Allwine’s death would have made it impossible for Stephen Allwine to have killed her.

 The state, Devore said, built a case on “theories with gaps” and used speculation to “bridge those gaps.”

 MARRIAGE COUNSELOR, MARITAL AFFAIRS

 Assistant Washington County Attorney Jamie Kreuser described Amy Allwine as a loving mother, dog lover, business owner and a woman of faith — not the type of person who would die by suicide.

 “Who would want to do this?” Kreuser said of the woman’s alleged murder. “Someone who didn’t want to be married to her anymore.”

 Stephen Allwine wrote sermons and counseled married couples at a Newport Church where he served as a deacon and later a church elder.

 Through those capacities, Kreuser said, Stephen learned about Ashley Madison, a dating website catering to married people seeking affairs.

 Investigators, according to the criminal complaint, identified at least two women Stephen Allwine met through the website.

 Devore acknowledged Stephen Allwine’s relationships with other women, but said having affairs doesn’t mean he killed his wife “or even didn’t love his wife.”

 Kreuser said Stephen Allwine’s role as an elder and longtime congregant at the church could have kept him from divorcing his wife, despite wishes to end the marriage.

 Officials with the FBI had been in contact with the family since, about anonymous emails Amy Allwine received in July 2016 graphically threatening to harm her family if she did not commit suicide.

 Investigators who searched Stephen Allwine’s computer, according to the complaint, found searches for the names of his wife’s family members.

 The emails were sent through a Tor, or an anonymous router used to access the dark web.

 DARK WEB

 FBI officials contacted Cottage Grove police in early 2016 about someone accessing the dark web and soliciting Amy Allwine’s murder under the username “dogdaygod” on “Besa Mafia,” a website associated with hired murders and assaults.

 The user, prosecutors say, provided Besa Mafia with Amy Allwine’s description and whereabouts.

 The user discussed two possible attempts to kill Amy Allwine, neither of which transpired.

 Several months later, the same user inquired on a different dark web site about buying scopolamine, the drug found in Amy Allwines’s body, using a virtual currency called bitcoin.

 In the search of the Allwine home following Amy Allwine’s death, detectives found a document backup on Stephen Allwine’s computer from his phone containing a bitcoin code, a sequence Kreuser said would have been “virtually impossible to replicate.”

 Investigators found the same code posted to the Besa Mafia website by user “dogdaygod.”

 Devore questioned the credibility of the computer analyst who performed forensic examinations on Stephen Allwine’s computers and said the investigation of the home had been “contaminated.”

 Police officers, Devore said, removed the gun found near Amy Allwine’s body to remove bullets and take photos before returning it to its original position.

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 Devore pointed to at least three neighbors who reported seeing Amy Allwine outside her home the night of her death and reported hearing two vehicles “racing” out of the neighborhood around then.

 He also said authorities failed to follow up on an unknown user who remotely accessed Stephen Allwine’s computer the day of Amy Allwine’s death.

 “It sounds like an amazing story,” Devore said, but he said the narrative was more akin to a movie. ||||| Stephen Carl Allwine shot and killed his wife in their Cottage Grove house after would-be hit men he tried to hire on the dark web bilked him out of his money, jurors were told Tuesday as his trial began in Stillwater.

 Washington County prosecutor Jamie Kreuser said Allwine was having extramarital affairs, didn't want to stay married and killed his wife in November 2016 to end their relationship.

 "He was seeing other women but he didn't want to divorce her because of his position in the church," said Kreuser, referring to the defendant's role as an elder in the United Church of God.

 But defense attorney Kevin DeVore refuted those allegations, telling the jury that the affairs were "red herrings and distractions" and that the prosecution had no evidence Allwine committed a crime.

 "Just because he had an affair doesn't mean he killed his wife," DeVore said, adding that evidence at the death scene was "contaminated" because police officers removed a 9-millimeter handgun to unload it before photographs were taken.

 Allwine, who is being held at the county jail, was charged with second-degree murder before a grand jury indicted him with first-degree premeditated murder in March. The penalty for a first-degree murder conviction is mandatory life in prison.

 Allwine

 In November 2016, police were summoned to the family's house on S. 110th Street in Cottage Grove after Stephen Allwine called 911 and told the dispatcher his wife had shot herself. A recording of the call, played in court, included the voice of the couple's 9-year-old son who was heard asking, "Why did she do that?"

 Allwine, an IT specialist who was then 43, replied, "I don't know, bud, I don't know."

 As the courtroom audience listened to the recording, Allwine sat with his head down.

 The dispatcher who took that call, Victoria Herrmann, testified that Allwine's demeanor ranged "from calm to hysterical" before officers arrived at the house.

 "He never asked if responders were en route," she said.

 Two Cottage Grove police officers found Amy Allwine, 43, on her back in the bedroom, a large pool of blood surrounding her head. She was the owner of Active Dog Sports Training, a business that closed after her death.

 'Not a TV show'

 Kreuser, in her opening statement, told jurors that months before the death of his wife, Stephen Allwine was having affairs with women he had met through the Ashley Madison website, which he had learned about while counseling married couples at his church. He began exploring the dark web, the portion of the internet that search engines don't index.

 It was there that Allwine, using the nickname "dogdaygod," looked for someone to kill his wife, Kreuser said. A website known as Besa Mafia, where people solicit murders and assaults for hire, bilked Allwine out of thousands of dollars, she said.

 So, Kreuser said, Allwine figured out an elaborate plot to disguise his wife's murder as a suicide, which included having their son leave the house that afternoon and then bringing him back to discover her body.

 Allwine drugged his wife and then shot her in the right ear, Kreuser said. He dragged her body from the hallway into the bedroom to stage a suicide, Kreuser said; police found the gun resting on her left forearm.

 Investigators, using a special chemical, found a large bloodstain in the hallway that had been wiped away, she said.

 When DeVore took his turn speaking to the jury, he said the prosecution lacked "traditional evidence" of a crime. Prosecutors would instead try to sway the jury through the findings of a forensic computer analyst, he said.

 "It sounds like an amazing story, but it's not a TV show or a movie but real life," DeVore said. The prosecution would try to convict Allwine with theories, he said, but "that's not good enough in this courtroom."

 Amy Allwine had gunshot residue on her hands, he said, and police ruined the shooting scene when an officer removed the weapon to unload it. An officer put it back on her body before crime photos were taken. Two police officers who testified Tuesday said no photos were taken beforehand.

 DeVore also said witnesses saw two cars accelerating rapidly and leaving the neighborhood before Stephen Allwine reported his wife dead. That happened when Allwine had gone to Woodbury to get his son from his father-in-law's house, DeVore said.

 Allwine and the boy entered the house together and the boy saw his mother's body.

 The trial continues this week in District Judge B. William Ekstrum's court in Washington County. |||||


Article:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Police are still looking for a suspect in Friday night's shooting near the White House and Washington Monument and say they haven't found any bullets in buildings, cars or trees to indicate what the shooter might have been aiming at. No one was injured.

 The U.S. Park Police have an arrest warrant out for Oscar Ramiro Ortega on a felony charge of carrying a dangerous weapon, and they would like Ortega to come forward.

 "We want to hear from Mr. Ortega," said Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser." We want to hear his version as to what happened. This will help us fill in the blanks as to what actually occurred on Friday evening and we'd like to resolve this soon."

 Witnesses -- including uniformed Secret Service officers -- heard shots fired Friday night.

 Schlosser said he didn't know if Ortega had a history of anti-government activity or rhetoric and also did not know if he is a U.S. citizen.

 Police found a crashed car near Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and say Ortega had been driving it. Schlosser said investigators found a semi-automatic weapon and shell casings inside the vehicle. That bridge is west of the White House and Washington Monument and is a major route into Virginia.

 "The actions that Mr. Ortega participated on Friday evening -- that being the discharge of a firearm near the White House -- is an inherently dangerous activity, and because of that we do want to find Mr. Ortega as quickly as possible," said Schlosser. "At this point we're not certain what his intentions were."

 On the same day the shooting incident happened, Ortega was stopped by police in Virginia around 11 a.m. for some sort of suspicious activity, said Lt. Joe Kantor with Arlington County Police. Kantor did not provide details on what behavior Ortega allegedly had been engaged in.

 Ortega was not arrested in that stop, but Arlington County police took photos of him including one showing one of his tattoos spelling out the word "Israel" on his neck. U.S. Park Police later used those pictures in their releases asking the public for any information on the shooting incident.

 Ortega is described as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds.

 According to the U.S. Park Police, the 21-year old Ortega has a history of criminal activity in three states that includes drug charges, underage possession of alcohol and assaults on law enforcement officers. Schlosser said the charges occurred in Idaho where Ortega was known to have lived, as well as in Texas and Utah.

 Schlosser said law enforcement officials believe Ortega has been in the Washington area for several weeks. ||||| ABC News has learned authorities are increasingly concerned that a man sought in connection with a bizarre shooting incident on the Washington Mall last week may pose a threat to President Obama.

 The Secret Service now suspects that a bullet fired in this incident may have hit the White House after a bullet round was found in a White House window, though the round had not yet been conclusively linked to the incident. The round was stopped by ballistic glass behind the historic exterior glass, while an additional round has been found on the exterior of the White House.

 Police believe the suspect, 21-year-old Oscar Ramiro Ortega of Idaho, is mentally ill. Ortega has an extensive record, ranging from domestic violence to drug charges. Sources say a police investigation has uncovered evidence suggesting Ortega has a fixation on the White House.

 At 9:30 p.m. Friday, police received reports of shots fired in the bustling area of 16th street and Constitution Ave.

 Authorities would later find a car in the area. The suspect had fled, but what police discovered inside the vehicle left them deeply concerned: an assault style rifle and empty shell casings.

 Police linked the car to Ortega and have been hunting him ever since.

 It’s unclear whether Ortega is capable of launching a sophisticated attack, but police are still fearful of what he might do next.

 Authorities suspect Ortega has been in the area for weeks, coming back and forth to the Washington Mall. Before the shooting, he was detained by local police at an abandoned house. U.S. Park police say Ortega may have spent time blending in with Occupy D.C. protesters.

 President Obama, who is currently on a visit to Australia, was not present at the White House at the time of the incident, and in fact has been out of town for the past week. Secret Service officials are not taking any chances with the security of the President and the White House, though, and want Ortega off the street. |||||Summary:

– A suspect believed to have fired shots at the White House last week is still at large and police believe he may be a threat to President Obama. A semi-automatic weapon was found in a crashed car belonging to Oscar Ramiro Ortega, a 21-year-old Idaho man, CNN reports. Ortega has a fixation with the White House and a criminal record that includes convictions for domestic violence, drug offenses, and assaulting police officers, sources tell ABC. A bullet was found in a White House window after Friday's incident. It had been stopped by ballistic glass behind the historic exterior glass. Authorities believe Ortega has been in the DC area for weeks, repeatedly visiting the Washington Mall, and possibly blending in with Occupy protesters.


Write an article based on this summary:

– Doctors say Yulia Skripal, daughter of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, is "improving rapidly" and is no longer in critical condition after being poisoned with a nerve agent alongside her father, the BBC reports. "I’m pleased to be able to report an improvement in the condition of Yulia Skripal. She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day," said the medical director for Salisbury district hospital Thursday. The 33-year-old is now listed as being in stable condition, the Guardian reports. Her father, 66, is still in critical but stable condition. Just this week, a relative said the father and daughter likely wouldn't survive. Authorities revealed Wednesday that the Skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent at Sergei Skripal's home, where it was found on the front door. It was also found in lower concentrations in other areas around town. Now, Scotland Yard says police have cordoned off a children's play area near the home, but they say it's simply a precautionary measure. "I would like to reiterate Public Health England’s advice that the risk to the public is low," said deputy assistant commissioner Dean Haydon, noting that officers would be searching the play area. The chemical has been identified as part of a group of nerve agents developed by Russia that are known as Novichok.

Daughter of Sergei Skripal said to be improving rapidly while former spy remains critical after nerve agent poisoning

 The condition of Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury along with her father, is improving rapidly, doctors have said.

 Salisbury NHS foundation trust said on Thursday the 33-year-old was no longer in a critical condition, describing her medical state as stable.

 Christine Blanshard, the medical director for Salisbury district hospital, said: “I’m pleased to be able to report an improvement in the condition of Yulia Skripal. She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day.

 “I want to take this opportunity to once again thank the staff of Salisbury district hospital for delivering such high-quality care to these patients over the last few weeks. I am very proud both of our frontline staff and all those who support them.”

 Her father’s condition was described by the hospital as still critical but stable. Sergei Skripal, 66, a former Russian double agent, is believed to have been the main target of the attack.

 The update came as Russia said it was taking tit-for-tat measures against all the nations that have expelled Russian diplomats over the attack.

 In a separate development, Scotland Yard said police had placed a cordon around a children’s play area near Sergei Skripal’s home as a precautionary measure.

 “Officers investigating the attempted murders of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal are continuing to focus their enquiries around the Skripals’ home address,” a police statement revealed.

 “As a precautionary measure, they have this afternoon placed a cordon around a children’s play area at Montgomery Gardens, near the Skripals’ home.”

 Deputy assistant commissioner Dean Haydon said: “I would like to reassure residents that we have placed the cordons around the park, and officers will be searching it, as a precautionary measure. I would like to reiterate Public Health England’s advice that the risk to the public is low.”

 Detectives said they believed the pair were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok, which had been smeared on Sergei Skripal’s front door.

 Novichok: nerve agent produced at only one site in Russia, says expert Read more

 At least 130 people could have been exposed to the chemical weapon in the aftermath of the poisoning, responsibility for which the UK government believes lies with the Russian state.

 Recent interviews with Sergei Skripal’s niece in Russia had suggested there was little chance of either of them recovering.

 Viktoria Skripal told the BBC: “Out of 99% I have maybe 1% of hope. Whatever it was has given them a very small chance of survival. But they’re going to be invalids for the rest of their lives.”

 She also revealed that Skripal’s mother had not been told of the incident, adding: “The first priority was to protect our granny so that she wouldn’t hear or find out anything.”

 About 250 counter-terrorism detectives continue to work around the clock on the investigation, which is expected to continue for months.

 Officers are examining more than 5,000 hours of CCTV footage and 1,350 exhibits that have been seized, while 500 witnesses have been identified.

 The London Road cemetery, where Skripal’s wife and son are buried, the Maltings shopping centre and the Ashley Wood compound have been handed back into the control of Wiltshire police.

 Britain has accused Russia of being behind the poisoning – allegations fiercely denied by Moscow.

 At least 26 countries have expelled Russian diplomats expelling diplomats suspected of being spies. The latest country to join in the coordinated action was Georgia, which said it “condemns the use of chemical weapons on the territory of the United Kingdom”.

 Novichuk works by attacking the nervous system, preventing chemical messages being transmitted around the body. It causes the heart to slow and airways to become constricted.

 Wiltshire police detective Sgt Nick Bailey, who was also exposed to the nerve agent, was discharged from the hospital last week. ||||| Image copyright EPA/ Yulia Skripal/Facebook Image caption Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33 were poisoned by a nerve agent called Novichok

 Yulia Skripal, the daughter of ex-spy Sergei Skripal, is improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition, says the hospital treating her.

 She and her father were admitted nearly four weeks ago after being exposed to a nerve agent in Salisbury.

 The BBC understands from separate sources that Ms Skripal is conscious and talking.

 However Mr Skripal remains in a critical but stable condition, Salisbury District Hospital said.

 Doctors said Ms Skripal, "has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day".

 "I want to take this opportunity to once again thank the staff of Salisbury District Hospital for delivering such high quality care to these patients over the last few weeks," said Dr Christine Blanshard, Medical Director for Salisbury District Hospital.

 "I am very proud both of our front-line staff and all those who support them."

 BBC correspondent Duncan Kennedy says a corner appears to have been turned for Yulia Skripal, who is now in a stable condition.

 However there is no news on what the long-term damage might be, he adds.

 Meanwhile the police have placed cordons round a children's play area at Montgomery Gardens near Mr Skripal's home.

 "Officers will be searching it as a precautionary measure," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon.

 The Skripals were admitted to hospital on 4 March after being found collapsed on a bench at the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury.

 Police have been treating the case as attempted murder.

 On Wednesday, police said the Skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent at the former Russian spy's home in Salisbury.

 Image copyright EPA Image caption Police stand outside the house believed to be the home of Sergei Skripal

 Forensic tests show the highest concentration was found on the front door.

 The nerve agent was found at other locations in the town but in lower concentrations, the Metropolitan Police said.

 A police officer who fell seriously ill after responding to the attack - Det Sgt Nick Bailey - was treated in hospital but was discharged on 22 March.

 DS Bailey, who is believed to have visited Mr Skripal's house after the incident has spoken of his ordeal, saying: "Normal life for me will probably never be the same."

 The British government has accused the Russian state of involvement in the attack - a claim Moscow has denied.

 Prime Minister Theresa May said the chemical used had been identified as being part of a group of nerve agents developed by Russia known as Novichok.

 Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning

 In response to the incident, Mrs May announced a series of sanctions including the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats.

 As a counter-measure the Kremlin said it would expel an equal number of British diplomats from Russia and close down the country's British Council.

 Then - in what is believed to be the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history - more than 20 governments expelled diplomats in their countries, including the US, which removed 60.

 In reply, Russia will expel 60 US diplomats and the US consulate general in St Petersburg is to be closed. |||||


News article:

Enlarge Family photo Chad and Barbie Soper hold their baby Cearra Nicole, who was born Oct. 10, 2010. Unlike many moms, Barbara Soper never gets her kids' birthdays confused. That's because her first was born on Aug, 8, 2008, her second on Sept. 9, 2009 and her most recent on Oct. 10, 2010. Yes, that's 8-8-08, 9-9-09 and 10-10-10. The Rockford, Mich., mom and husband Chad weren't thinking about dates when their children were born. Their doctor had to give drugs to start labor for the couple's first daughter, Chloe Corrin Soper, who was born full term on Aug. 8 at Spectrum Health's Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich. Their son was a surprise all around. "He wasn't a planned baby at all, he was a miracle," says Barbara Soper. He was due on Sept. 20, 2009, but because sister Chloe's birth had caused some hemorrhaging, their doctor, Andrew Van Slooten, suggested he come out a little early so he'd be smaller. Soper was started on drugs to induce labor on Sept. 8, but it took 24 hours before Cameron Dane Soper made his way into the world, arriving on 9-9-09. Soper says she and her husband had thought it would be "neat" if their third child was born on 10-10-10 but because her due date wasn't until Nov. 4, it seemed unlikely. But it ended up being "kind of a mandatory eviction," says Soper. She developed blood clots in her legs and three weeks before her due date doctors told her the baby needed to be delivered. The induction was begun on 10-9-10, but it wasn't until 6:53 on Sunday night, 10-10-10, that Cearra Nicole Soper arrived. Despite being three weeks early, "she's feeding well," says mom. "She's a trooper." While the dates might seem "incredibly rare," they're really not. Such a lineup can only happen in the first 12 years of the century and at least 10 months apart, says Shannon McWeeney, a professor of biostatistics at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. "Given that the first birth occurred in that window, the probability is not as astronomical as you might be compelled to think," she says.In fact, it's not that high a number at all, says Philip Stark, a professor of statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. "The 'chance' you get depends on the assumptions you make," he says. One set of assumptions gives a chance of about 1 in 50 million. More realistic assumptions — including allowing at least 11 months between births — increases it to about 1 in 2,500. Since thousands of women in the United States had kids in 2008, 2009 and 2010, this suddenly seems a little less extraordinary. But humans "like to look for patterns, to make sense of things" he says.For the Sopers, three is simply their lucky number — "we don't have any more planned," says Barbara. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more ||||| Barbara "Barbie" Soper is letting statisticians get their geek on after delivering her third baby on Sunday. That's because it was the third baby for the Soper family born on a numerical anomaly.

 Baby number one came on 8-8-08. Baby number two came on 9-9-09, and, yes, Sunday was 10-10-10.

 It's an almost impossibly cool coincidence -- especially when you consider her third baby wasn't due until November of this year but came early, and she didn't schedule C-sections with any of the kids.

 But let's do a little math of our own here, shall we?

 Barbara Soper has been either pregnant or recovering from giving birth since late 2007. It is now late 2010.

 Can we send her some condolence cards along with those congratulatory bouquets?

 Many women who have had their kids in quick succession tout the advantages to getting their childbearing over in one fell swoop: having little to no break in between the kids means they're closer in age and can play with each other on almost the same level; once you potty train one you can start the next one and escape the diaper stage faster; and of course you don't have the "lost baby weight, now I'm pregnant again" conundrum.

 But there's a reason doctors discourage the practice.

 Pregnancy and childbirth both do a number on the body -- especially the uterus, your baby's house for the next nine months. It takes a minimum of six weeks after delivery to return to its normal size, but it still needs time to recover to again be a hospitable home for a fetus.

 New studies have likewise found women really DO need to lose that baby weight before embarking on a new pregnancy. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, there's less strain on the body (and less risk to the fetus) if your body has gone back down to a healthy weight before the next pregnancy begins.

 Add to that, if you're planning to nurse your kids for longer than nine months, it's possible to do it -- but it's needlessly complicated when babies are born one on top of another.

 Barbara and Chad Soper say she never planned for this to happen. Her son was a surprise pregnancy, and her second and third children were born earlier than their due dates -- she was due on September 20, 2009 with Cameron, who was born September 9, and little Cearra born this month was actually due November 4.

 Congrats to the family on their mathematical surprises!

 Does anyone have tips for them on three kids under 3?

 Image via Spectrum Health

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What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Barbara Soper managed a feat that seems like it should be impossible: She had her three children on 8/8/08, 9/9/09, and 10/10/10. No, she isn’t a mathematician who planned out her pregnancies to happen that way: Her first child was born full-term, but the next two were both born early—and both were actually induced a day prior to being born, USA Today reports. Of course, along come the statisticians to make the story a lot less magical: “The probability is not as astronomical as you might be compelled to think,” says one. Another says the chance of such a series of births is about 1 in 2,500—not all that “extraordinary,” he says, since thousands of women in the US gave birth during those years. What is extraordinary, The Stir notes, is that Soper was pregnant or recovering for three years straight. For more on that, click here.