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Dow Jones servers were infiltrated by a group of Russian hackers looking for stock tips, Bloomberg reported Friday.

 The Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office confirmed to CNBC that it is aware of the hack and is investigating.

 In a statement, Dow Jones said, "to the best of our knowledge, we have received no information from the authorities about any such alleged matter."

 "We are looking into whether there is any truth whatsoever to this report by a competitor news organization," Dow Jones said. ||||| SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email

 A group of Russian hackers infiltrated the servers of Dow Jones & Co., owner of the Wall Street Journal and several other news publications, and stole information to trade on before it became public, according to four people familiar with the matter.

 The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission are leading an investigation of the infiltration, according to the people. The probe began at least a year ago, one of them said.

 Dow Jones, in a statement, said: “Since Bloomberg published its article, we have worked hard to establish whether the allegations it contains are correct. To date, we have been unable to find evidence of any such investigation.”

 The breach is described by the people familiar with it as far more serious than a lower-grade intrusion disclosed a week ago by Dow Jones, a unit of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The company said last week that it is working with a cybersecurity firm and law enforcement after learning that hackers had sought contact and payment information of about 3,500 customers.

 It’s unclear whether the incursions are related. It’s also unclear whether the company’s news-gathering operations were affected in the insider-trading matter. Two of the people familiar with the investigation said the hackers sought information including stories being prepared for publication.

 Kelly Langmesser, a spokeswoman for the FBI New York office, confirmed the office is investigating a breach at Dow Jones but declined to comment further. Jim Margolin, a spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office, declined to comment. Peter Carr, a spokesman for the Justice Department’s criminal division, also declined to comment, as did spokesmen for the Secret Service and the SEC.

 The White House was briefed on the investigation and the FBI and SEC have spent months trying to determine exactly how the hackers could profit from what they took, consulting financial and market experts among other specialists, the people said.

 Information embargoed by companies and the government for release at a later time could be valuable to traders looking to gain an edge over other market participants, as could stories being prepared on topics like mergers and acquisitions that move stock prices.

 Dow Jones publishes the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s and provides information through a number of services including Dow Jones Newswires. Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, competes with News Corp. in providing financial news and services.

 New Front

 The hack investigation shows how quickly law enforcers are shifting to a new front in insider trading: cyberspace. Market-moving, nonpublic information used to trade hands in secret meetings. Hackers are now stealing sensitive information and selling it to traders. This new vulnerability in the financial markets is challenging law-enforcement officials who are trying to keep pace with cyber-criminals’ rapidly evolving moneymaking schemes.

 For would-be inside traders, business journalists and data providers are a rich target. Potentially market-moving scoops often develop in-house for days or weeks, promising intruders a long pre-publication window to mine information and execute trades. Data being held for public release at a specified time can also be a gold mine in markets where the profitably of a trade is determined in a fraction of a second.

 Dow Jones says in its annual report that its Factiva service provides global business content to about 1.1 million active users. “More than 4,000 sources make information available via Factiva on or before the date of publication by the source,” according to the report. Dow Jones Newswires publishes more than 16,000 news items each day to financial professionals and investors.

 Hacking for Tips

 U.S. authorities are ramping up their pursuit of hackers after a series of high-profile attacks on corporations.

 In August, federal authorities made several arrests in what they called a years-long scheme that fused insider trading and hacking. In that matter, Russian-speaking hackers working from Ukraine were indicted along with traders for siphoning more than 150,000 press releases, including corporate earnings containing data that could be used to anticipate stock market moves, prosecutors said.

 Those hackers broke into the servers of PRNewswire Association LLC, Marketwired and Business Wire, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., over a five-year period, according to prosecutors. The group allegedly made more than $100 million in trades using unreleased earnings releases of companies such as Panera Bread Co., Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc. and Oracle Corp., through retail brokerage accounts.

 For more, read this next:

 QuickTake: Cybersecurity

 Information companies are regularly bombarded by hackers. When he disclosed the customer-data breach on Oct. 9, Dow Jones Chief Executive Officer William Lewis said the incursion was part of a “broader campaign involving a number of other victim companies.” Dow Jones learned of the hack from law enforcement officials, Lewis wrote, saying it had determined its system was breached at times between August 2012 and July 2015 by hackers whose goal appeared to be gathering contact information for customers so it could send them fraudulent solicitations. The company said it had no direct evidence that information was stolen.

 — With assistance by Gerry Smith, and Chris Strohm

 (Updates with further Dow Jones statement in third paragraph.) |||||

– Citing interviews with four anonymous sources, Bloomberg reports Russian hackers broke into Dow Jones & Co. servers a year or so ago and stole stock information before it was public. Dow Jones, which is part of News Corp and owns the Wall Street Journal, claims it's unaware of any such hack, despite the FBI confirming the incident to both Bloomberg and CNBC. "We are looking into whether there is any truth whatsoever to this report by a competitor news organization," Dow Jones says in a statement released to CNBC. The FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission have spent months trying to figure out how hackers could profit from what they stole, concluding they were likely looking for stock tips contained in embargoed information and unpublished stories, Bloomberg reports. Dow Jones admitted to another cybersecurity breach last week in which hackers tried to get contact and payment information from around 3,500 customers. According to Bloomberg's sources, this new hack is more serious than the one Dow Jones addressed publicly. It's unclear if the two incidents are related.


– What happens in California should stay in California—especially if what happened was someone meticulously wrapping $330,000 worth of THC pills, hash wax oil, and marijuana (about 71 pounds) like Christmas presents, UPI reports. Instead, per an Ohio State Highway Patrol press release, 31-year-old Daniel Yates apparently decided to cross state lines with these "gifts" in the trunk of a rented 2016 Ford Expedition, and when he was pulled over Monday morning for driving too closely, a drug-sniffing police dog alerted its human colleagues to Yates' cargo. Yates was charged with the felonies of possession and trafficking in drugs, which could net him up to a $30,000 fine and up to 16 years in prison if he's convicted. (A marijuana Christmas tree was seized in Germany a few years back.)

Expand this summary.

MILLBURY, Ohio, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Ohio state troopers arrested a California man with a truck stuffed full of marijuana wrapped to look like Christmas presents.

 Troopers pulled over Daniel Yates, 31, of Eureka, Calif., on Wednesday for following too closely. The trunk and back seat of a rented Ford Expedition was packed with boxes wrapped to look like Christmas presents. A drug-sniffing police dog alerted troopers to the contents.

 Once unwrapped, officers found approximately 71 pounds of marijuana, 360 THC pills and a pound of hash wax oil. The haul's estimated street value was $330,000.

 Yates was charged with drug possession and trafficking, both felonies. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine. ||||| For Immediate Release: November 23, 2016

 Contact: Lieutenant Scott Wyckhouse (419) 423-3435

 Troopers seize 71 pounds of marijuana in Wood County traffic stop

 MILLBURY – A California man is facing felony drug charges after Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers seized 71 pounds of marijuana, worth approximately $330,000, following a traffic stop in Wood County.

 On November 21, 2016, at 10:16 a.m., troopers stopped a rented 2016 Ford Expedition, with Washington State license plate registration, for following too closely on Interstate 80, near milepost 71. Troopers observed criminal indicators and a Patrol drug-sniffing canine alerted to the vehicle. A probable cause search revealed 10 gift wrapped boxes containing approximately 71 pounds of marijuana, 360 THC pills and a pound of hash wax oil.

 The driver, Daniel A. Yates, 31, of Eureka, Calf, was incarcerated in the Wood County Jail and charged with possession and trafficking in drugs, both second-degree felonies.

 If convicted, he could face up to 16 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine.

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 / Updated / Source: & Other Stories By Eun Kyung Kim

 Charlie Sheen revealed he is HIV positive Tuesday in an exclusive TODAY interview with Matt Lauer.

 “It’s a hard three letters to absorb. It’s a turning point in one’s life,” the 50-year-old actor said.

 Sheen said he made the announcement to end a smear campaign and extortion efforts.

 “I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths and very harmful and mercurial stories that are about me, threatening the health of so many others that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.

 READ: Charlie Sheen pens an open letter about his HIV-positive diagnosis

 Sheen said he’s trusted the diagnosis with people he thought he could confide in, but has paid out upwards of $10 million to keep the illness a secret.

 “What people forget is that that's money they're taking from my children,” he said about the “shakedowns” he has experienced. “I trusted them and they were deep in my inner circle, and I thought they could be helpful. My trust turned to their treason.”

 He said appearing on TODAY will help put a stop to those payouts.

 “That’s my goal. That’s not my only goal. I think I release myself from this prison today,” he said.

 Sheen said he was diagnosed roughly four years ago, but doesn’t know how he contracted the virus.

 “It started with what I thought was a series of crushing headaches,” he said. “I thought I had a brain tumor. I thought it was over.”

 He also insisted it was “impossible” that he knowingly transmitted the virus to others. While he admitted to having unprotected sex with two people since the diagnosis, both were informed ahead of time and have been under the care of his doctor. But Sheen dismissed the idea that he engaged in high-risk behaviors.

 "You're talking about needles and that whole mess? No, definitely not," he said.

 HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS, which has no cure. But “Charlie does not have AIDS,” said the actor’s physician, Dr. Robert Huizenga, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

 While an HIV-positive diagnosis used to be considered a death sentence, and there still is no cure, medical advancements have helped turn it into a manageable illness. However, antiviral drugs must be taken for a lifetime.

 Sheen revealed he takes four pills every day, and his doctor said the main battle facing the actor is not related to HIV, but relapsing into substance abuse problems or entering into depression related to his diagnosis.

 “We’re petrified about Charlie. We’re so, so anxious that if he was overly depressed, if he was abusing substance, he would forget these pills and that’s been an incredible worry,” he said. However, he said Sheen has been vigilant about his regimen.

 “Magically, somehow in the midst of incredible personal mayhem, he’s managed to continue to take these medications,” Huizenga said.

 Matt Lauer interviews Charlie Sheen in a TODAY Show exclusive interview. Samantha Okazaki

 Sheen said he hopes by going public with the diagnosis, it will help dispel the stigma of HIV.

 “I have a responsibility now to better myself and to help a lot of other people and hopefully with what we’re doing today others will come forward and say, 'Thanks, Charlie,'” he said.

 READ MORE: What Charlie Sheen's HIV announcement means for his health

 Sheen said he told ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller about the diagnosis when he found out. He also shared the news recently with his oldest daughter.

 “It hit her hard, but she recovered. She’s tough like her dad,” he said.

 “I said, ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but it didn’t seem like you could do anything for me and I didn’t want to burden you with all the stress.’ But she was a rock star about it.”

 Sheen's personal announcement Tuesday renewed a spotlight on Sheen’s troubled history with drug addiction, pornography and prostitutes.

 Charlie Sheen and ex-girlfriend Bree Olson on the red carpet in 2011. Daniel Boczarski / Getty Images Contributor

 Sheen rose to become one of Hollywood’s best-known actors through a series of memorable movie roles including "Wall Street" and "Red Dawn." In more recent years, however, his public persona was shaped by a public meltdown during his 2011 feud with the creator of “Two and a Half Men,” the television series that helped him become the highest-paid television actor at the time. In the end, Sheen was fired from the show.

 He told Lauer that his behavior at the time had little to do with his diagnosis.

 “I wish I could blame it on that,” he said. “That was more of a (ste)roid rage. This was on the heels of that.”

 Sheen admitted that period was not one he looks back fondly on.

 “There’s a lot out there I’m not proud of. You can only hear ‘winning’ in the streets so many times,” he said. “I’ve pissed off a lot of really good opportunities.”

 WATCH: Sheen reveals, 'I'm HIV positive,' paid many who threatened to expose me

 But he said he’s entering a more thoughtful and reflective phase in his life.

 “I’m approaching a time of more of a philanthropic approach in my life,” he said. He admitted that paying off people to keep quiet about his condition, as well as other factors, has hurt his bank account.

 “It’s not great. It will be great again. I’m a survivor. I’ve been up, I’ve been down, I’ve been rich, I’ve been poor,” he said. “It’s another chapter in my life but it’s not commerce driven. It’s socially driven.”

 Charlie Sheen talks about his HIV-positive diagnosis with Matt Lauer. TODAY

 He said he doubts his HIV positive status will have an impact on his future career, pointing out a conversation he is having with the chairman of Sony, who he said is “excited about doing a show again.”

 He also said he has several films lined up.

 “Thus far, there’s been no resistance,” he said.

 Sheen wouldn’t predict how the general media will respond to his interview, but expected his comments at least will dispel some of the myths written about him.

 “I would have faith that it will be a lot more forgiving and a lot more supportive than some of the garbage I was reading in the last couple of days. Frankly, I don’t think it can get worse that that,” he said about tabloid stories that insisted he was intentionally infecting others with HIV. “I just thought, ‘Wow. Damn. That’s just as far from the truth as anything could be.' They’re going to reveal a whole lot of proof because it’s just not there. It does not exist.”

 After hearing some of the encouraging reaction people on social media have had to his announcement, Sheen said he’d gladly “ride this wave of support.”

 “If there was one guy on this planet to contract this that’s going to deliver a cure, it’s me. It’s me. Seriously,” he said.

 “I’m not going to be the poster man for this, but I will not shun away from responsibilities and opportunities that drive me to helping others.” ||||| The global goal to provide HIV treatment to 15 million people by the end of 2015 has been met—and the milestone even came ahead of schedule, UNAIDS announced in a report released this week, highlighting enormous progress made in achieving one of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals.

 “We are on the way to a generation free of AIDS,” declared U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was speaking at a global development summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Tuesday. “Now we must commit to ending the AIDS epidemic.”

 So, Why Should You Care? This is a huge boost in the number of people around the world receiving much-needed antiretroviral drugs for HIV treatment. Comparatively, fewer than 700,000 people in the early aughts had access to treatment. Several factors have led to the success, including legislation allowing countries to produce their own copies of drugs at lower prices and increased global investment. Back in 2000, eight pills per day could cost a patient $10,000 per year, thanks to large drug companies with a monopoly on pricing and distribution; today, those medicines can be purchased for $100 per year, according to the report. Despite this progress, however, nearly 37 million people around the world live with HIV, 70 percent of whom reside in sub-Saharan Africa (66 percent of all new HIV infections occurred in the region in 2014). In addition, new infections in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa have increased by 25 percent since 2000.

 “During the first decade of the epidemic, there was very little to offer someone dying from AIDS,” UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibé wrote in the report’s introduction. “The best you could hope for was that your family wouldn’t throw you out.”

 “If we had stayed complacent, 30 more million people would have been infected with HIV, 7.8 million more would have died, and 8.9 million more children would have been orphaned due to AIDS,” Sidibé wrote.

 Global investment went up from just under $5 billion in 2000 to $20 billion in 2014, according to the report. As a result, AIDS-related deaths have fallen 40 percent since 2004 and HIV infections by 35 percent since 2000.

 The bigger goal now is making sure that 90 percent of those living with HIV are diagnosed and can begin receiving treatment, according to the U.N. The ultimate milestone: End the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

 But progress will also have to address cultural and legal roadblocks.

 “Stigma, discrimination, and punitive laws continue to affect the people most impacted by HIV and to block their access to HIV services in every region of the world,” the report said. “The criminalization of sex work, drug use, and same-sex sexual relationships among consenting adults hinders attempts to reach people at higher risk of HIV infection.”

 Same-sex sexual acts are a crime in 76 countries, and in seven of those countries, the act can be punishable by death. Some 17 countries have laws that allow for the deportation of foreigners with HIV, and five countries in the Middle East do not allow entry to people with HIV. In a statement following the release of the UNAIDS report, Doctors Without Borders applauded the improvements in treatment but warned against complacency, saying the world “cannot afford to lose any momentum.” In some countries, HIV treatment coverage is as low as 17 percent, the organization said.

 “When we see the situation in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, or the Central African Republic, we feel like we are stuck in a time warp,” Eric Goemaere, a Doctors Without Borders AIDS specialist, said at a conference last year. “In our projects, we receive patients at advanced stages of AIDS who remind us of what we saw before 2000 in southern Africa, when antiretroviral treatments were hardly available.”

 Despite unprecedented growth in the past decade, the UNAIDS report also warned that more financial support for countries is desperately needed. To remain on track to end the epidemic by 2030, $8 billion to $12 billion will need to be spent on treatment programs annually through 2020. ||||| Charlie Sheen Exposing Sex Partners to HIV is a Crime

 EXCLUSIVE

 Charlie Sheen could have some big legal problems with the revelation he has HIV, because in California it's a crime for someone to have unprotected sex when that person knows he or she is infected with HIV.

 Charlie has not said if he's had unprotected sex, but as we previously reported we know he's settled several cases with people who were unaware of his HIV status and had sex with him. If he did have unprotected sex, under California law, he could get 6 months in jail.

 The law is clear ... anyone with a communicable disease who "willfully exposes another person" is guilty. There was a case this past March in which a San Diego man was convicted of the crime for willfully exposing his boyfriend to HIV. He was later sentenced to 6 months in jail.

 The stakes are higher if someone knows they have HIV and has sex with another person with the intent to transmit the disease ... then it's a felony punishable by a maximum of 8 years in prison.

 Law enforcement sources say no one has come forward yet complaining Charlie exposed them to HIV. |||||

– It's true: Charlie Sheen revealed to Matt Lauer on the Today show Tuesday morning that he is, in fact, HIV-positive, and has known for four years. "It's a tough three letters to absorb. It's a turning point in one's life," says Sheen. The diagnosis came while he was hospitalized for a series of severe headaches. The 50-year-old actor says he has paid big money to people over the last four years who have threatened to go public with his secret—including a prostitute who once photographed his medication. "I think I release myself from this prison today," he said. Sheen said it's "impossible" that he has transmitted HIV to anyone else. He also told Lauer that he has had unprotected sex with two people since the diagnosis, but both were aware of his status. (TMZ reports that he has settled lawsuits with people who had sex with him but were unaware of his HIV status.) He's not clear on how he contracted HIV, but he spoke of his out-of-control drinking and drug use of a few years ago. "Bad decisions." Sheen's doctor also appeared on the show, and he said Sheen currently has "undetectable" levels of HIV in his body, thanks to medication. (The fight against HIV recently scored a "major win.")


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– Defying fierce opposition from the United States and a few other nations, nearly 85% of the countries at the UN agreed Monday on a sweeping yet non-binding accord to ensure safe, orderly, and humane migration. A total of 164 countries among the 193 UN members approved the first-of-its-kind the Global Compact for Migration by acclamation Monday, reports the AP. At the two-day conference, UN leaders were hoping to lure in holdouts from mostly Western nations who were not signing: Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia along with the United States, which under President Trump did not participate in drafting the accord. The UN's International Organization for Migration estimates there are 1 billion migrants worldwide, or nearly one in every seven humans," and more than 60,000 migrants have died on the move since the year 2000," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a migration conference in Marrakesh, Morocco. "This is a source of collective shame." The conference is the capstone of efforts set in motion two years ago when all 193 UN member states, including the US under President Barack Obama, adopted a declaration saying that no country can manage international migration on its own and agreed to work on a global compact. The Trump administration pulled out of the accord a year ago. It said it could not "support a 'compact' or process" that could "impose" policy and said the agreement failed to "distinguish adequately" between legal and illegal immigrants. Read more on the pact here.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives to attend a UN Migration Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec.10, 2018. Top U.N. officials and government leaders from about 150 countries are uniting... (Associated Press)

 German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives to attend a UN Migration Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec.10, 2018. Top U.N. officials and government leaders from about 150 countries are uniting around an agreement on migration, while finding themselves on the defensive about the non-binding deal... (Associated Press)

 MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — A United Nations accord, the "Global Compact on Migration," adopted Monday by 164 U.N. members, but not the United States, aims to improve the treatment of migrants worldwide.

 Here, at a glance, are key points and details:

 WHAT IS IT? A non-binding, voluntary agreement that aims to ensure "safe, orderly and regular migration."

 WHY? Because migration is such a huge economic, social, political and health issue, affecting nearly every country. The U.N.'s International Organization for Migration estimates there are 1 billion migrants worldwide, or nearly one in every seven humans.

 HOW WILL IT WORK? The pact encourages countries to work together, mentioning the word "cooperation" 62 times, and to fight discrimination against migrants.

 WHO SUPPORTS IT? German Chancellor Angela Merkel was a key backer.

 WHO OPPOSES IT? At least nine countries. In a detailed critique , the Trump administration said it could not "support a 'compact' or process" that could "impose" policy. It also said the agreement failed to "distinguish adequately" between legal and illegal immigrants. Many eastern European countries, and more recently Italy and Belgium, also voiced misgivings.

 WHAT DOES THE U.N. SAY? Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "We are not establishing a new right to migrate. No. There is not a right for anyone to go anywhere at any time according to his or her whim. What we are establishing is the obligation to respect the human rights of migrants."

 The U.N. says more than 80 percent of the world's migrants move between countries "in a safe and orderly fashion." And most migration is "South-South" — between countries in the southern hemisphere — not among people seeking to reach richer northern countries. ||||| German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives to attend a UN Migration Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec.10, 2018. Top U.N. officials and government leaders from about 150 countries are uniting... (Associated Press)

 German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives to attend a UN Migration Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec.10, 2018. Top U.N. officials and government leaders from about 150 countries are uniting around an agreement on migration, while finding themselves on the defensive about the non-binding deal... (Associated Press)

 MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Defying fierce opposition from the United States and a few other nations, nearly 85 percent of the countries at the U.N. agreed Monday on a sweeping yet non-binding accord to ensure safe, orderly and humane migration.

 The debate over the Global Compact for Migration, the first of its kind, has proven to be a pivotal test of the U.N.-led effort to crack down on the often dangerous and illegal movements across borders that have turned people smuggling into a booming worldwide industry.

 "Unregulated migration bears a terrible human cost: a cost in lives lost on perilous journeys across deserts, oceans and rivers; and a cost in lives ruined at the hands of smugglers, unscrupulous employers and other predators," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a migration conference in Marrakech, Morocco.

 "More than 60,000 migrants have died on the move since the year 2000," he said. "This is a source of collective shame."

 Migration affects hundreds of millions of people across the globe — farmers coming off the land or forced by climate change to head to cities, families fleeing war or persecution at home, impoverished workers from the developing world looking for jobs in rich countries. It can also involve high-skilled workers from developed nations looking for opportunities beyond their homelands.

 Defenders say migration greases the wheels of the world economy by diversifying and rejuvenating workforce in aging rich countries and providing a needed source of cash to poorer countries through remittances sent home by migrants.

 Opponents often fear that an influx of migrants can dilute their countries' character, import poverty or crime, reduce wages and take jobs from tax-paying citizens.

 A total of 164 countries among the 193 U.N. members approved the agreement by acclamation Monday.

 At the two-day conference, U.N. leaders were hoping to lure in holdouts from mostly Western nations who were not signing: Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia along with the United States, which under President Donald Trump did not participate in drafting the accord.

 Louise Arbour of Canada, a former U.N. human rights chief, said the issue also has been tied up in parliamentary debates in Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Israel, Slovenia and Switzerland — although some of them did participate in creating the accord, which has since been ensnared by tough political headwinds.

 The conference is the capstone of efforts set in motion two years ago when all 193 U.N. member states, including the U.S. under President Barack Obama, adopted a declaration saying that no country can manage international migration on its own and agreed to work on a global compact.

 The Trump administration — which is demanding a wall on the Mexican border and has sent U.S. military troops to the border to block a migrant caravan moving toward the U.S. through Central America — pulled out of the accord a year ago. It claimed that parts of the compact clashed with "U.S. immigration and refugee policies."

 Some European Union countries, including Italy, Poland and Hungary, now have anti-migrant populist governments that have reacted strongly after over 1 million migrants — mostly refugees fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan — poured into Europe in 2015.

 Since then, right-wing and anti-immigration movements have enjoyed a surge in political support in pockets of Europe. |||||


News article:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday won praise from some representatives of Chicago's immigrant community for going to court to block President Donald Trump's Department of Justice from withholding some police grant funding from so-called sanctuary cities.

 Some of those same activists, though, contend Emanuel should do even more to prevent police from helping federal officials deport Chicago immigrants who entered the country without the required legal documentation. The mayor also caught more flak from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who in stepping up his rhetoric said "no amount of federal taxpayer dollars will help a city that refuses to help its own residents."

 The wide array of views coming from Emanuel's City Hall, the White House and immigrant protection groups is a sign of the complex debate the mayor has entered by filing the lawsuit. It's all further complicated by differing views on whether sanctuary city status fosters or hinders crime — as reflected in Sessions' harsh words and the city's contention that the Trump "administration's rhetoric is divorced from reality."

 Emanuel's lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, asks a judge to block the Trump administration from enforcing three new conditions it included last week in applications for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant money. The city uses the grant to help buy police cars, purchase other equipment and fund an anti-violence program. Those applications are due Sept. 5, and the city wants a court order before the deadline, said Corporation Counsel Ed Siskel, the city's top attorney.

 The new conditions outlined by Sessions' Justice Department: sharing immigration status information with federal officials enforcing deportation laws, providing unlimited police station access to those officials and giving them 48-hours notice of an arrested person's release in cases of potential immigration violations.

 City officials contend in the lawsuit that they do share immigration status information when they have it, but that's rare because the city doesn't keep it in the normal course of business.

 Providing unfettered station access would interfere with police department practices, delay release of people being held and violate the 10th Amendment by "commandeering" local government functions, the lawsuit states. And holding people for 48 hours without a warrant or probable cause that they have committed a crime would violate 4th Amendment search and seizure limitations, it adds.

 The suit also contends that the Justice Department has no authority to set conditions on the Byrne grant funding and is attempting to usurp the Congressional power of the purse. In short, the suit deems the conditions "unlawful and unconstitutional."

 This year, the city was counting on receiving $3.2 million from the grants in question, a relatively miniscule portion of the city's overall $9.8 billion budget.

 "We are at a time when every bit counts and every resource matters in this fight," Siskel said. "In addition, we are bringing this legal challenge because the rhetoric and the threats from this administration, embodied in these new restrictions placed on public safety grant funds, are breeding a culture and a climate of fear within the communities in our city."

 City corporation counsel Ed Siskel talks at Dirksen Federal Building about the Emanuel administration lawsuit against the Donald Trump Justice Department about sanctuary city rules. Aug. 7, 2017 (John Byrne / Chicago Tribune) City corporation counsel Ed Siskel talks at Dirksen Federal Building about the Emanuel administration lawsuit against the Donald Trump Justice Department about sanctuary city rules. Aug. 7, 2017 (John Byrne / Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS

 Plus, the fate of Chicago's grant application also would affect other local Illinois governments that include their funding requests in Chicago's application, according to the lawsuit. They are Cook County, Bellwood, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Cicero, Dolton, Evanston, Harvey, Maywood, Riverdale and Skokie.

 And the outcome of the suit could have ramifications for far-flung local and state governments with sanctuary laws on the books. They include New York, Philadelphia, Miami and the state of California.

 So it was no surprise that groups like Illinois Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights backed the mayor's move. "We are all for defending Chicago's policy with respect to immigration," said Fred Tsao, the group's senior policy counsel. He also said "the law is on the side of the city."

 Yet Tsao's group is part of a broader coalition that for months has been pushing Emanuel to remove four exemptions from the city's Welcoming City Ordinance, which sets its status as a sanctuary city.

 That ordinance bars police from providing federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials access to people in local custody. It also prohibits allowing ICE agents to use police facilities for interviews or investigations, and bars on-duty officers from responding to ICE questions or talking to ICE officials prior to a person's release from custody.

 But it does allow police to provide ICE officials access to immigrants suspected of entering the country illegally who are wanted on a criminal warrant, face criminal charges, have serious criminal convictions or are listed on Chicago gang databases.

 The American Civil Liberties Union maintains those exemptions, which could result in holding in custody someone not guilty of a recent crime, "expose the city to liability for violations of the 4th Amendment," according to a letter the ACLU sent to the mayor and aldermen last month.

 Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, has been pushing to get Chicago to join other cities that have eliminated similar exemptions, but the Emanuel administration so far has rebuffed his efforts, as recently as Friday by canceling a meeting on the issue.

 "It's quite funny and hypocritical that at the same time as (Emanuel is) putting forward this lawsuit saying that we want to defend the Constitution, here the ACLU has said that our own sanctuary city policy is in violation of the supreme law of the land," said Ramirez-Rosa, who also stressed that he supports the lawsuit.

 Ramirez-Rosa's view runs counter to the image Emanuel has tried to portray on the issue in mostly Democratic Chicago, which has a significant Latino population that's become increasingly politically active. ||||| Attorney General Jeff Sessions' combative statement, which accused Chicago officials of adopting "an official policy of protecting criminal aliens," is likely to be well received by President Donald Trump. | Andrew Harnik/AP Sessions blasts Rahm Emanuel over sanctuary suit

 Attorney General Jeff Sessions lashed out at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday, delivering an unusually caustic reaction to a new lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's plans to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities.

 Emanuel announced the filing of the suit earlier in the day, complaining about a new Justice Department policy attempting to cut off grants to police departments that decline to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

 Story Continued Below

 Sessions' barbed reply argued that record numbers of murders in Chicago in recent years were attributable at least in part to Emanuel's decision to stick with a sanctuary policy that encourages police to ignore the immigration status of those they encounter.

 "No amount of federal taxpayer dollars will help a city that refuses to help its own residents," Sessions said. "To a degree perhaps unsurpassed by any other jurisdiction, the political leadership of Chicago has chosen deliberately and intentionally to adopt a policy that obstructs this country’s lawful immigration system."

 The attorney general's combative statement, which accused Chicago officials of adopting "an official policy of protecting criminal aliens," is likely to be well received by President Donald Trump. He has regularly blasted Chicago over crime, accusing it of being too lax in its response to the surge in violence there.

 Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson pushed back against the attorney general's portrayal.

 "Undocumented immigrants are not driving violence in Chicago, and that's why I want our officers focused on community policing and not trying to be the immigration police," he said.

 He also said that "the federal government's plans will hamper community policing and public safety."

 Sessions' statement comes amid what appears to be his concerted effort to curry favor with Trump after the president made a series of comments last month expressing dissatisfaction with Sessions and said he regretted picking him as attorney general.

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 "This is astounding given the unprecedented violent crime surge in Chicago, with the number of murders in 2016 surpassing both New York and Los Angeles combined," Sessions said. "The city’s leaders cannot follow some laws and ignore others and reasonably expect this horrific situation to improve."

 “This administration will not simply give away grant dollars to city governments that proudly violate the rule of law and protect criminal aliens at the expense of public safety," Sessions added. "So it’s this simple: Comply with the law or forgo taxpayer dollars."

 However, the new lawsuit argues it's the Justice Department that isn't complying with the law. No law obliges local governments to actively assist immigration officers or to notify them when illegal immigrants are released from jail.

 The Trump administration is trying to add such requirements to certain law-enforcement grants issued in the future, but Chicago's suit contends that Justice Department officials lack the authority to add anti-sanctuary-city requirements beyond a single provision barring grant recipients from policies that punish officers for contacting federal officials about a suspected undocumented immigrant.

 Other cities are considering similar lawsuits. Indeed, localities in California and Massachusetts have filed legal challenges to an early Trump executive order that many saw as threatening a broad crackdown on sanctuary cities. Emanuel and many law enforcement leaders argue that the policies benefit public safety by encouraging undocumented immigrants to cooperate and communicate with police.

 “Chicago is a welcoming city and always will be, and we will not be blackmailed by President Trump's Justice Department," Emanuel said as he announced the suit. "Forcing us to choose between our values and our police department’s philosophy of community policing is a false choice, and it is a choice that would ultimately undermine our public safety agenda." ||||| After Rahm sues feds, A.G. Jeff Sessions blisters ‘lawless’ Chicago

 Mayor Rahm Emanuel, with Police Supt. Eddie Johnson (left) and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (right) announces a federal lawsuit challenging the Justice Department's threats to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities and states. | Nader Issa/Sun-Times

 Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday blasted the “political leadership of Chicago” and “the culture of lawlessness that has beset the city” just hours after Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration sued Sessions to bar him from cutting federal crimefighting funds to sanctuary cities.

 Rather than take a hands-off approach to the now-pending litigation, Sessions stepped up attacks on Chicago, the city that has been repeatedly bashed by President Donald Trump because of its ongoing problems with controlling crime.

 “To a degree perhaps unsurpassed by any other jurisdiction, the political leadership of Chicago has chosen deliberately and intentionally to adopt a policy that obstructs this country’s lawful immigration system,” Sessions said in a prepared statement. “They have demonstrated an open hostility to enforcing laws designed to protect law enforcement — federal, state, and local — and reduce crime, and instead have adopted an official policy of protecting criminal aliens who prey on their own residents.

 “This is astounding given the unprecedented violent crime surge in Chicago, with the number of murders in 2016 surpassing both New York and Los Angeles combined. The city’s leaders cannot follow some laws and ignore others and reasonably expect this horrific situation to improve.

 “The mayor complains that the federal government’s focus on enforcing the law would require a ‘reordering of law enforcement practice in Chicago.’ But that’s just what Chicago needs: a recommitment to the rule of law and to policies that roll back the culture of lawlessness that has beset the city.”

 Though the Trump administration has attempted to link sanctuary-city status to the city’s crime problem, the Chicago Sun-Times has reported that illegal immigrants have played no role in the overwhelming majority of the murders that have put the city in the national spotlight.

 “I have been a police officer for more than 30 years, and the federal government’s plans will hamper community policing and public safety,” Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said in response to Sessions. “Undocumented immigrants are not driving violence in Chicago, and that’s why I want our officers focused on community policing and not trying to be the immigration police.”

 With the filing of the lawsuit against Sessions, Chicago becomes the fourth city to wage a legal battle against the Trump administration bid to cut the crimefighting grants to sanctuary local governments.

 Other lawsuits to block the Justice Department from punishing cities shielding illegal immigrants from federal immigration agents have been filed in federal courts in Seattle, and in California: Santa Clara and San Francisco.

 And while each has its own unique facts and circumstances, Chicago’s legal team is tapped in to the loose network of lawyers that has formed for many of these sanctuary cities.

 “We are in regular contact with lawyers in cities and counties around the country related to these issues,” city Corporation Counsel Ed Siskel said – including from New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Philadelphia.

 Chicago’s 46-page complaint asks U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber — assigned to the case Monday — to stop the Justice Department from enforcing new conditions it has attached to the grant funds.

 The city appears to be making a solid legal case, according to two experts from the University of Chicago Law School: Professor Aziz Huq and Assistant Professor Daniel Hemel. Both pointed out that, according to the city’s lawsuit, Congress did not give the Justice Department the power to create new conditions when it created the grant program.

 The Justice Department in recent days detailed the new rule and conditions sanctuary jurisdictions must follow. The first condition would require the city to give the feds, when they ask for it, a 48-hour heads up of the scheduled release date and time “of an alien in the jurisdiction’s custody.”

 The second would require the city to give the feds access to “any correctional or detention facility in order to meet with an alien . . . and inquire as to his or her right to be or remain in the United States.” However, the city points out in its lawsuit that Chicago does not have a jail — only 18 temporary police “lockup” facilities.

 The city claims the Justice Department is also asking it to again certify its compliance with a federal law barring local governments from not sharing immigration status information with the feds. It is asking to the city to do so “under the cloud of confusion” created by the new grant conditions, the city is alleging. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– The war of words between Chicago and the federal government over "sanctuary cities" policy is heating up. Attorney General Jeff Sessions slammed the city's leaders Monday over their lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying they "have demonstrated an open hostility to enforcing laws designed to protect law enforcement" and "instead have adopted an official policy of protecting criminal aliens who prey on their own residents," despite a surge in violent crime, Politico reports. Sessions said Mayor Rahm Emanuel has complained that the federal government is demanding a "reordering of law enforcement practice"—but that is what is needed to combat "the culture of lawlessness that has beset the city." "It's this simple: Comply with the law or forgo taxpayer dollars," Sessions said. Chicago is suing over plans to withhold police grant funding from cities that fail to meet federal conditions, including granting immigration officials unlimited access to police stations, the Chicago Tribune reports. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Monday that the federal government's plans will damage public safety and community policing. "Undocumented immigrants are not driving violence in Chicago, and that’s why I want our officers focused on community policing and not trying to be the immigration police," he said, per the Chicago Sun-Times.


News article:

Police in Santa Cruz, Calif., found a body they believe to be missing 8-year-old girl Madyson Middleton. A 15-year-old boy is under arrest. AP

 This undated photo provided by the Santa Cruz Police Department shows Madyson "Maddy" Middleton from Santa Cruz, Calif. (Photo: Courtesy Santa Cruz Police Department via AP)

 An 8-year-old Northern California girl was lured into the apartment of a 15-year-old neighbor before she was killed and her body dumped in a recycling bin at their complex, Santa Cruz police said Tuesday.

 The unidentified teen knew Madyson Middleton and was near the bin when a detective found her body during a second search Monday evening, Police Chief Kevin Vogel said during an emotional news conference. The boy had reportedly helped look for her.

 Her body was found just before 8 p.m. PT Monday at the Tannery Arts Center, a housing development for local artists where both lived. Known as Maddy, she was last seen by a security camera at 5:05 p.m. Sunday riding her scooter in the complex.

 "It's my belief she was killed before we ever got the phone call" an hour later that she was missing, Vogel said at a news conference. He did not indicate how she died or whether she was sexually assaulted. Autopsy results were pending.

 Vogel said the body had been concealed "in a way that was not obvious or readily apparent. If you just opened the top of the bin, you would not have seen the body."

 The boy was arrested early Tuesday. Neighbors reported that his mother screamed in agony when her son was taken into custody.

 The district attorney said the teen could be charged as an adult.

 Vogel said it appears Maddy, who lived in the complex with her mother, 42-year-old Laura Jordan, was "lured to the apartment willingly" and murdered there. He described them as acquaintances.

 "I think she had a reasonable amount of trust in him," he said. "I don’t think she was taken against her will.”

 A Tannery resident described the suspect as "the nicest kid you can imagine," the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.

 “Everyone has got to be in shock over this,” the unidentified artist said.

 Mayor Don Lane called Tuesday "a day to honor Madyson and to offer our support.”

 “Our hearts and our thoughts and our prayers go out to those close to Madyson who have been devastated by the loss of this very precious life,” he said at the news conference outside police headquarters.

 Following Maddy's disappearance, police conducted door-to-door searches of the complex and nearby communities. Authorities searched in nearby woodlands, parks and along the San Lorenzo River. Helicopters, bicycle patrols, dogs and even boats aided the search. Middleton's father, Michael, spent much of Monday searching the streets with friends.

 Jordan told the Sentinel on Monday that her daughter was waiting for a friend to finish a board game so they could play together, and rode her scooter under her friend's window. At 5:07 p.m., surveillance video shows Maddy riding near a cluster of metal mailboxes at the Tannery. It was the last time she was seen alive.

 "I thought she was in the courtyard," Jordan said. "I thought she was in the bathroom, checked the art bar, then I started to going to every friend's house. Maybe she got bored waiting for her play date, maybe she found another friend. But we had no luck."

 Contributing: John Bacon

 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1MT7wne ||||| After leaving flowers at a memorial for Madyson Middleton in the Tannery Arts Center Tuesday morning, a young family shares a moment of reflection for the slain 8-year-old. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

 SANTA CRUZ >> Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said the teenager taken into custody Monday night in the disappearance of 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton lured her to his apartment, killed her and dumped her body in a recycling bin outside.

 Vogel said the 15-year-old suspect was arrested early Tuesday morning on suspicion of Maddy’s homicide. He said the suspect knew Maddy because they both lived at the complex.

 “She knew him. She was 8 years old. I think she had a reasonable amount of trust in him. I don’t think she was taken against her will,” Vogel said.

 Maddy, who was expected to enter the fourth grade in the fall in Santa Cruz, was “lured to the suspect’s apartment willingly and murdered in the suspect’s apartment and transported to the recycling bin,” Vogel said.

 “It’s my belief that she was killed before we got the phone call Sunday night,” he said. The 911 call about Maddy’s disappearance was placed at 6:08 p.m. Sunday, police said.

 “This is heartbreaking,” Vogel said.

 After a massive search that spanned miles, at least three Santa Cruz police detectives dug through a blue, cardboard recycling bin in a parking garage of the arts center about 7:50 p.m. Monday. They found Maddy’s body hidden just steps from where she was last spotted at the base of a red, four-story apartment complex where both she and the teen lived.

 During the find, the teen suspect was standing outside the garage watching, said Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark.

 People near the find screamed, according to witnesses. Police detained the teen, and members of his family including his mother, who had a confrontation with police, Clark said.

 Police found some of Maddy’s belongings. Video evidence and witness statements also tie the teen to the homicide, Clark said.

 Vogel said he didn’t know how close the two lived or how well they knew each other.

 “They were acquaintances. I don’t know to what degree they were friends,” Vogel said.

 The teen had been contacted by Santa Cruz police and the FBI either Sunday night or early Monday. The teen suspect also participated in the search for Maddy, according to a Tannery worker.

 The teen remained in Santa Cruz County Juvenile Hall on Tuesday, police said.

 “Based on what we know at this point, there do appear to be charges that can be filed as an adult,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosell.

 Police have declined to name the teen because he is a minor.

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 “When we started this investigation our hope and our prayers were that we would find Maddy alive. As time passed we realized we needed to shift to recovery and that we may not find Maddy alive,” Vogel said.

 The body was discovered after law enforcement switched from a rescue mission to recovery and performed a more detailed search that included digging through trash and recycling bins.

 Volunteers had opened the recycling bin before, volunteer leaders said, but police said the body was hidden so “if you just opened the bin, you wouldn’t have seen the body,” said Vogel.

 The suspect

 Police have not yet said what motivated the teen to kill an innocent girl who loved to ride her Razor Scooter, dance, swim and sing. Vogel said he didn’t know if the suspect suffered from a mental illness.

 Tuesday morning, the Tannery Arts Center’s lofts, walkways and galleries were mostly quiet as mourners trickled in to offer flowers and candles for Maddy.

 A 43-year-old Santa Cruz resident who asked not to be identified described the teenage suspect as “the nicest kid you can imagine.”

 “Everyone has got to be in shock over this,” he said.

 The teen was a yo-yo expert who was always around the studios helping out, training because he wanted to be a professional. He took a ceramics class at Santa Cruz High School.

 “He was usually alone or with an adult. I never saw him with other kids,” the man said.

 Kira Less, a single mother from Pleasure Point, was one of many people who left flowers, candles, stuffed animals and notes of sympathy at the Tannery at 1030 River St.

 Less said she came to the Tannery because she wanted to “let the family know that the community is there for them.”

 She said, “I knew she (Madyson) was still here, for some reason.”

 Tuesday, Santa Cruz Mayor Don Lane also offered his sympathy at a news conference outside the Santa Cruz police station.

 “Our hearts and our thoughts and our prayers go out to those close to Madyson who have been devastated by the loss of this very precious life,” Lane said. “Today is a day to honor Madyson and to offer our support.”

 According to Maddy’s mother, Maddy was last seen on a surveillance camera at 5:07 p.m. Sunday riding her scooter at the base of her apartment complex at 1040 River St..

 She was reported missing to police about an hour later, and dozens of people joined a search through the night along the San Lorenzo River, which is in a wooded area near the center.

 The search

 Monday, a CHP helicopter crew buzzed over Santa Cruz looking for Maddy, and hundreds of volunteers joined search and rescue teams from the Santa Cruz and San Mateo County sheriff’s offices. Maddy’s picture was posted on fliers and on social media.

 FBI agents knocked on doors and searched rooms at the Tannery on Monday afternoon.

 Maddy was born in November 2006 in Mountain View to Laura Jordan and Michel Middleton, according to a birth announcement. The pair were not married and Middleton has since married another woman.

 Jordan told the Sentinel Monday that her daughter was vocal, artistic and active. Maddy was waiting for a friend to finish a board game with her mother on Sunday afternoon so she and her friend could play, Jordan said.

 When Jordan realized her daughter was missing, she said her first thought was “What the hell happened? This is very out of character for her.” Developmentally, she’s getting more independent. We’re working on her independence and trust,” Jordan said Monday.

 Jordan said her daughter was in third grade last school year but she and her daughter were sick and did not complete all the work for the year. It was unclear whether Maddy would repeat the grade, Jordan said.

 “She likes to skate around. She loves to chase the boys. She loves playing with Littlest Pet Shop (toy animals), painting them, modifying them, making movies of them,” Jordan said Monday.

 “She loves her dog, swimming, and she loves to dance and sing. She’s very artistic.”

 Staff writer Ryan Masters contributed to this report. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– She trusted him. Police say an 8-year-old girl murdered in Santa Cruz, California, willingly went to the apartment of her teenage killer, reports USA Today. The unidentified 15-year-old suspect lives in the same complex and even helped in the search for Maddy Middleton. He was standing nearby when detectives found her body in a recycling bin, reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “She knew him," says police chief Kevin Vogel. "She was 8 years old. I think she had a reasonable amount of trust in him. I don’t think she was taken against her will." Maddy was last seen on surveillance video riding her scooter about 5pm Sunday at the Tannery Arts Center, described as a housing complex for local artists. She lived there with her mom. About an hour later, she was reported missing to police. "It's my belief she was killed before we ever got the phone call," says Vogel, who provided no details on how she was killed. Autopsy results were pending, and the suspect may be charged as an adult.


Here is a news article: Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Finding the Thai cave boys and getting them out

 Rescuers will take no risks in freeing the 12 boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand, an official said.

 They have received their first food and medical treatment in 10 days.

 Seven divers, including a doctor and a nurse, joined the group inside the caves in the north of the country after they were discovered alive on Monday.

 Rescuers are now considering how best to bring the group to safety.

 "We will not rush to take the lads out of the cave," the governor of Chiang Rai, Narongsak Osoththanakorn, told reporters, adding: "Whoever has zero risk first can leave the cave first."

 More heavy rain could see water levels rise and threaten the air pocket where the group has taken refuge.

 The boys were found nine days after they entered the caves in Chiang Rai province following a football training session and became trapped by rising waters from heavy rainfall.

 On Tuesday, Thai officials told reporters that rescuers were providing health checks and treatment, and keeping the boys entertained, adding that none of those trapped were in a serious condition.

 "They have been fed with easy-to-digest, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals, under the supervision of a doctor," Rear Admiral Apagorn Youkonggaew, head of the Thai navy's special forces, told reporters.

 Why can't they swim out?

 It is believed that most of the group cannot swim, complicating what would already be a difficult rescue.

 Earlier, the Thai military said the boys would need to learn to dive - or wait up to four months for flooding to recede before they could get out of the caves, meaning food would need to be supplied for that time.

 Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda later stressed the urgency of the evacuation, adding that rain was forecast "in the next few days", the Bangkok Post reported.

 Attempts are being made to reduce the risk of further flooding of the caves by pumping water from the underground system, Mr Anupong said.

 A phone line is also being installed so the boys can talk to their families.

 The governor said that requests had been made to build "infrastructure" in the cave leading to the pocket where the teenagers and their coach are located.

 The Thai authorities have appealed for donations of full-face scuba diving masks small enough to fit the boys in order to reduce the risk of their breathing apparatus coming loose as they travel through flooded passageways.

 How were they found?

 Two British rescuer divers who had flown over to join the search operation found the boys on Monday night.

 The video of that first contact was posted on Facebook by Thai navy special forces.

 The boys are seen by torchlight sitting on a ledge above water, responding to the divers that all 13 were there and that they were very hungry.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bill Whitehouse of the British Cave Rescue Council has been in touch with the divers

 They ask how long they have been underground and whether they can leave now. The divers tell them they have to wait, but say people will come back for them.

 One boy replies: "Oh. See you tomorrow."

 The search for the group had gripped the nation as it was unclear where they were or whether they were even still alive.

 Families of the missing group were ecstatic at news of their discovery.

 Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said of the boys' discovery that "everybody is a hero".

 "Thank you all Thais, thank you all foreigners," he said.

 How did they get there?

 The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing on 23 June. It is believed they entered the cave when it was dry and sudden heavy rains blocked the exit.

 They were found on a rock shelf about 4km (2.5 miles) from the mouth of the cave.

 It is thought the boys could move through parts of the cave in dry conditions but rushing waters clogged the narrow passages with mud and debris, blocking visibility and access.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Families of the boys have been celebrating after finding out their loved ones are alive

 One of the toughest stretches for the divers came as they neared the so-called Pattaya Beach - an elevated mound in the cave complex - where it was hoped the boys had sought refuge.

 Divers had to navigate a series of sharp, narrow bends in near-darkness. They completed the difficult journey to find Pattaya Beach flooded, so swam on and found the boys about 400m away.

 How can they get out?

 Bringing the trapped boys to safety is an extremely dangerous task given the conditions inside.

 The Tham Luang cave complex is regularly flooded during the rainy season which lasts until September or October.

 Image copyright Facebook/ekatol Image caption A Facebook photo shows the coach with some of the missing children

 Experts have cautioned that taking inexperienced divers through the dangerous corridors of muddy, zero-visibility waters would be very risky.

 Diver Ben Reymenants, who is assisting with the rescue mission, told the BBC that two Thai navy doctors had volunteered to stay with the boys for "up to four months" until the water receded.

 Other teams are still scouring the mountainside in the hope of finding another way into the cave.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Diver Ben Reymenants is assisting with the rescue mission and says none of the boys can swim

 Who are they?

 The 12 boys are all members of a local football team and their coach is known to have taken them on occasional excursions and field trips.

 Tinnakorn Boonpiem, whose 12-year-old son Mongkol is among the 13, told Agence France-Presse she was "so glad" to hear they were safe.

 "I want him to be physically and mentally fit," she said.

 "I'm so happy I can't put it into words," another relative of one of the group told reporters as tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. ||||| Family members of the 12 boys and their soccer coach react after they were found alive, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Tuesday, July 3, 2018. Rescuers found all 12 boys and their... (Associated Press)

 Family members of the 12 boys and their soccer coach react after they were found alive, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Tuesday, July 3, 2018. Rescuers found all 12 boys and their soccer coach alive deep inside a partially flooded cave in northern Thailand late Monday, more than... (Associated Press)

 MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) — The Latest on the search for 12 boys and their soccer coach in a cave in northern Thailand (all times local):

 9:25 a.m.

 Thai authorities say they are committed to "100 percent safety" when they consider how to extract a youth soccer team from the partially flooded cave where they were found on the 10th day of a desperate search.

 Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said Tuesday morning that a navy SEAL team will make the final call on the evacuation method. He said one method being considered is for the group to be coached to swim using special breathing masks.

 He said other efforts will continue, such as draining water from the cave and exploring the mountainside for shafts and other entrances to the caverns below.

 Experts have said the safest option could be to supply the 12 boys and their coach where they are and wait for the water levels to drop.

 ___

 8:30 a.m.

 A Thai provincial governor says the 13 people who had been missing for more than a week have all had an "informal" medical evaluation inside the cave and most are in stable condition and none are in critical condition.

 Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said Tuesday morning that they used a field assessment in which red is critical condition, yellow is serious condition and green is stable condition.

 He said: "We found that most of the boys are in green condition. Maybe some of the boys have injuries or light injuries and would be categorized as yellow condition. But no one is in red condition."

 The 12 boys and their soccer coach were found late Monday still in the cave and it is not known when they will be able to leave due to flooding and other factors.

 ___

 11:50 p.m.

 A leading American cave rescue expert says many challenges are ahead for rescue divers in Thailand who located the 12 boys and their soccer coach who had been missing in a cave for more than a week.

 Anmar Mirza, the U.S. National Cave Rescue Commission coordinator, says the primary decision is now one of whether to try to evacuate them or to supply them in place.

 He says "supplying them on site may face challenges depending on how difficult the dives are. Trying to take non-divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous situations possible, even if the dives are relatively easy."

 He says that "if the dives are difficult then supply will be difficult, but the risk of trying to dive them out is also exponentially greater."

 Rescuers located the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach alive deep inside the partially flooded cave in northern Thailand late Monday. They disappeared when flooding trapped them after entering the cave on June 23.

 ___

 11:40 p.m.

 Thailand's prime minister has thanked international experts and rescuers who helped find the 12 boys and their soccer coach who had been missing in a cave for more than a week.

 The Prime Minister's Office says Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha "wishes to thank the tremendous efforts of all international units that have come to assist the Thai authorities in rescuing the youth football team that was stuck in the caves in Chiang Rai. The Royal Thai Government and the Thai people are grateful for this support and cooperation, and we all wish the team a safe and speedy recovery."

 Rescuers located the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach alive deep inside the partially flooded cave in northern Thailand late Monday. They disappeared when flooding trapped them after entering the cave on June 23.

 ___

 11 p.m.

 A Thai provincial governor says all 12 boys and their coach have been found alive in the cave where they went missing over a week ago in northern Thailand.

 Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said late Monday that the 13 were being rescued.

 He said, "We found them safe. But the operation isn't over."

 The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing when flooding trapped them after entering the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province on June 23. |||||
A summary of this is?

– The discovery of 12 Thai boys and their coach still alive after 10 days trapped in a flooded cave has brought massive relief to their families and an anxious nation—but the military warns that their ordeal could be only just beginning. The group, discovered by two British divers late Monday, are on a dry rock ledge around 2.5 miles from the mouth of the cave, and the Thai military says it could be months before it can get them out, unless the boys learn to dive, the BBC reports. The cave in northern Thailand often remains flooded until the end of the rainy season in September or October, meaning the youth soccer team and their coach may need to have food and other supplies sent in for the next four months. Experts warn that it could be very difficult to get the boys, ages 11 to 16, to safety through miles of dark, narrow, flooded tunnels. "Trying to take non-divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous situations possible, even if the dives are relatively easy," US National Cave Rescue Commission coordinator Anmar Mirza tells the AP. Thai officials say they're committed to "100% safety" and will continue to explore their options, including draining water from the cave system and searching for shafts that could provide an alternative escape route. Officials say the boys are hungry and weak but in stable medical condition with only minor injuries. They have been provided with high-protein liquid food and will be given more supplies and visited by doctors in the days to come.


Article:
Sure, he looks good. But how about his sperm?

 That might not be such a ridiculous-sounding question, now that a new study has identified a link between men's facial attractiveness and the quality of their semen--with handsome, masculine-looking guys having slightly lower-quality semen than other men.

 "To [the] best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the phenomenon," study co-author Dr. Jukka Kekalainen, adjunct lecturer in the Centre for Evolutionary Biology at the University of Australia in Crawley, told The Huffington Post in an email.

 The researchers have no ready explanation for their finding, although previous research has shown that high testosterone levels can harm sperm production, the New York Daily News reported. And the finding seems to be at odds with the so-called phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis, which holds that females prefer handsome males because their offspring may enjoy hereditary benefits, such as better health and higher intelligence.

 For the new study, which was published in the September 2014 issue of the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, a team of researchers from Spain, Australia, and Colombia performed semen analyses on 50 Caucasian students recruited from the University of Valencia. Next, photos of the men's faces were shown to heterosexual men and women in their twenties, including Caucasians and blacks.

 The women evaluators were asked to rate the men as if they were looking for a long-term mate. The men evaluators were asked to rate the men as they thought women would rate them.

 The researchers also performed an "anthropometric analysis" of the facial characteristics of all 50 men, measuring the size of their eyes, the width of their cheekbones and nostrils, and other markers that previous research identified as masculine features. And finally the researchers compared the men's facial features with the motility (movement), morphology (structure), and concentration of the men's sperm cells.

 In addition to looking for the link between masculine-looking faces and sperm quality, the researchers wanted to know if men's sperm quality was related to their handsomeness.

 "And we found that in fact it is," Kekalainen said in the email.

 But does that mean women eager to find a mate capable of fathering children should be wary of handsome men? Maybe not--at least not until more research corroborates the finding. As Kekalainen said in the email, "we would need more studies to demonstrate the causation and mechanism behind this finding...before giving any mating tips to the females."

  ||||| Tall, dark, and handsome is the popular description used to describe the perfect man for most women. From the brooding and sultry looks of Hollywood favorites, like George Clooney and David Beckham, women swoon over these men because of their celebrated physical attractiveness. However, science suggests setting your sights on much shorter, dark and handsome men, like Tom Cruise, because they make better life partners. According to a recent study (not peer reviewed), short men have a higher income and are more likely to stay monogamous, making better boyfriends and husbands, and standing head and shoulders above their much taller peers.

 Short men have been stigmatized in society because of their stature. The cultural vision of taller men as being physically dominant and potential protectors has been embedded into the psyche of many women, creating a “prejudice” against shorter men. It’s unclear whether women prefer this because of society’s pressure for women to be slim or because of an evolutionary perspective. Dr. David Frederick, an assistant professor of Psychology at Chapman University, examines how social remission processes and our evolved psychology interact to influence our close relationships and our views of what is attractive. He has hypothesized women may prefer a taller partner because it can make them feel smaller, or women have developed a preference for taller men because of the advantages height can provide them in male-on-male competitions, The Huffington Post reported.

 To examine the effects of male height on various relationship outcomes in longer-term relationships, researchers Dalton Conley, a sociologist at New York University, and Abigail Weitzman, a Ph.D. candidate, collected data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics — a University of Michigan project that’s been collecting demographic data on 5,000 families for almost 50 years. This data was used to look at how a man’s height impacts different areas of his relationship after the initial dating period. Conley and Weitzman looked at two sets of data, from 1986 and 2009, and identified 3,033 heterosexual couples. The male sample size was restricted between the ages of 23 and 45, and consisted of men who were cohabitating with a woman.

 The male participants ranged in height from 4-foot-6 to 7-feet. In relation to their partners, their height ranged 9 inches shorter to 2 feet taller. The researchers categorized these men into three groups: “Short” men were defined as 5-foot-6 or less in 1986, 5-foot-7 or below in 2009; “tall” men were at least 6-foot-1 in 1986 and 6-foot-2 in 2009.

 The findings revealed short men were less likely to get divorced, more likely to share housework, and be the breadwinners at home. These men were somewhat less likely to get married, with an 18 percent marriage rate lower than men of average height, at every age before 45. Weitzman believes this is because short men may have a harder time getting married, since they’re viewed as less masculine by society. However, when they do find a partner, the divorce rates are 32 percent lower for short men compared to the rates for tall and average men.

 In regard to housework, shorter men perform eight hours and 28 minutes per week of housework — this comprises about 28 percent of the total — compared to seven hours and 38 minutes for average men and seven hours and 30 minutes for tall men, New Republic reported. Weitzman believes tall men may be “aware of the status that is conferred by their tallness,” which may make them prone to do less work at home. While these men fare better with housework, but they also tend to have higher household incomes than their partners. The researchers estimated 79 percent of short men make more money than their significant others, compared to 70 percent of average men, and 71 percent of tall men. This finding conflicts with previous research that has found taller men earn more money.

 Throughout the study, the researchers noticed a consistent pattern with short men and their partners: They were more likely to partner with women who are older, less educated, and younger. Twenty-one percent of these men were with women who had not completed high school, compared to 16 percent of average men, and just 12 percent of tall men. Also, when it comes to age, it is not just a number for them. In the entire sample size, only nine percent of men partnered with a woman who was more than three years older. Age is an area where the short men can exude their masculinity by partnering with a younger woman.

 This study coincides with another recent study published in the Journal of Family Issues, which found women err on the side of caution when it comes to height and online dating. About 50 percent of women restricted their online dating searches to men who were taller than them. This finding was also consistent when the same team of researchers took a survey of college students and found about 30 percent of women would feel “awkward” or “weird” dating a shorter guy.

 Perhaps it’s time to put an end to these men getting the shorter end of the stick. After all, your Mr. Right could be shorter than you.

 Sources: Conley D, Weitzman A. From Assortative to Ashortative Coupling: Men’s Height, Height Heterogamy, and Relationship Dynamics in the United States. NYU Population Center: Working Paper Series. 2014.

 Emerson MO. Yancey G. Does Height Matter? An Examination of Height Preferences in Romantic Coupling. Journal of Family Issues. 2014. ||||| Guys with classically masculine facial features, such as square jawlines and pronounced cheekbones, may produce sperm of a lower quality than men who don’t share the same features, a new study finds.

 The findings rely on an oft-studied phenomenon in the animal kingdom known as the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis. It states the greater presence of male sexual ornaments signals a stronger vitality for reproduction. These ornaments are typically anatomical in nature, such as the set of feathers on one species of bird or the song of another.

 But in humans the hypothesis hasn’t gotten much attention. So researchers recruited a group of 62 college students, from both Colombia and Spain, to rate the physical attractiveness of select pictures of men who had donated their sperm earlier in the experiment. Researchers censored all but the subjects’ faces, including hairstyle, to minimize external influences.

 ketrin1407, CC BY 2.0

 They compared levels of attractiveness, masculinity, and sperm health to determine which features, if any, correlated with one another. The results were decidedly lukewarm. While they did find a significant negative relationship between masculine features and sperm motility, the significance vanished when the team controled for outright unhealthy sperm. It was the outliers, in other words, that were doing the heavy lifting.

 So, the hypothesis didn’t seem to ring as true as they might have expected. But they did find a relationship between how males perceived males versus how females perceived males. The subjects most likely to rate the faces as attractive were other men, and particularly among the Spanish students.

 “This suggests that male facial cues may provide culture- and sex-independent information about male fertility,” they wrote. However, it also indicates humans may be poor judges of attractiveness when it comes to people who are culturally near to them. And males, on average, are worse judges than females.

 What does the study say about the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis as it relates to humans? Unfortunately, not much. A large camp of evolutionary biology likes to believe the animalistic traits we possessed as ancient hominids have changed to accommodate modern-day mating rituals. All women want tall, protective men in good social standing, they are apt to say. Beneath our material, hi-tech infatuations are primal desires that prove even if we’re a population of smart animals, we’re still animals.

 Science is increasingly finding these theories don’t hold much water. Tall men, with their far-reaching gaze, may have the advantage over short men when it comes to scanning the plains for enemies, or dinner, but if a woman’s goal is to keep a tidy house and send her kids to college, short men — the biological underdogs — tend to prevail.

 Prior research has upheld the link between elevated testosterone levels and poor sperm. In their study, masculine men were thought to have low sperm counts in part because they don’t need as much, being the sexual dynamos they are. However, since the researchers were also measuring attractiveness, it’s worth mentioning the attractive men (who weren’t necessarily masculine) had better sperm. Chalk this one up to round jaws and low cheekbones.

 Source: Soler C, Kekäläinen J, Núñez M, et al. Male facial attractiveness and masculinity may provide sex- and culture-independent cues to semen quality. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2014. |||||Summary:

– Macho guys may attract more women, but the quality of their sperm might not be of he-man standards, a new study suggests. Oddly, the sperm of good-looking guys—but not necessarily macho ones with square jaws and distinct cheekbones—is just fine, reports Medical Daily. The link was found when researchers analyzed the semen of 62 Caucasian men, then compared its motility and structure to facial measurements of masculine traits and ratings of their attractiveness, the Huffington Post explains. Scientists theorize that the macho man trades virility for a gravely voice and ripped arms, and high testosterone hinders sperm production. Meanwhile, the study casts doubt on the belief the "phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis" (read: fancy feathers and pretty songs attract more ladies) applies to humans. A study that claimed short guys are preferred by women over tall ones, long believed to have the evolutionary upper hand, has also poked holes in that theory. But don't revamp your mating habits just yet, girls—researchers say their findings need further study. (Short guys are also less likely to divorce you.)


Article:

Michael Cohen, 42, was about 50 yards from the shore when he was attacked at lunchtime today. Witnesses said one of his legs was bitten off and the other was badly mangled.

 Mr Cohen, a part-time accountant who lives in Cape Town, was dragged from the sea by friends who were with him at the city’s Fish Hoek beach. Paramedics stabilised him before he was airlifted to hospital in Constantia, where he underwent surgery. His father was at his bedside.

 It was understood that shark warning flags were flying on the beach. However, a siren that was normally sounded to warn of predators did not go off because there was a power cut at the time.

 Witnesses said three large great whites had been seen in the area 90 minutes before the attack and on previous days.

 Shark spotters employed by the local council said Mr Cohen often swam at the beach and had been warned in the past about the presence of sharks.

 Tracy Sassen, a surfer from Clovelly, said: “I just saw a burst of water, then saw the shark spotters running along the beach. I saw people pulling him out of the water. He was still compos mentis but very white. We asked him his name and he said: 'Michael. Please help me’.”

 Kathy Geldenhuis, 58, from Fish Hoek, said she held the drips as paramedics worked on Mr Cohen, who was wearing a diabetic tag. “You could tell there was a shark out there because the seals were coming as close as they could to the beach and the fish were jumping out of the water,” she said.

 “I ran up the beach when I saw the splashing in the water and the paramedics were just strapping him up. One of his legs was off totally and the other one was hanging and very badly damaged. He couldn’t say the word shark, he just kept saying, 'It took me under, it took me away.’ I was telling him to keep his eyes open, to stay awake and focus on me.”

 Monwabisi Sikweyiya, one of the shark spotters, helped drag Mr Cohen from the water and used his own shorts and belt as tourniquets. “He was well known to all of us because he was a regular swimmer here,” said Mr Sikweyiya. “He was very interested in sharks and respected them, but never took any notice of our warnings. If he wanted to swim, he swam. We warned him often that he was taking a risk, but he always said 'if a shark takes me, then blame me, not the shark’.

 “ We argued with him regularly about it, but he was a cool guy and just wanted to do his own thing.”

 Mr Cohen, who is single, is a British citizen though he was born in Canada. He is also thought to have lived in Chiswick, west London.

 Last month, Ian Redmond, from Lancashire, was killed by a shark while swimming off the Seychelles. ||||| A British man lost parts of both legs when he was attacked by a great white shark Wednesday after he ignored warnings and went swimming at a Cape Town, South Africa, beach, authorities said.

 The 42-year-old man apparently made it back toward shore at Fish Hoek beach and was pulled from the water by a bystander who left before he could be identified, according to the Press Association news agency.

 An amateur video taken shortly after the attack was uploaded to YouTube and shows a shark still lurking in the water after the mauling victim was stabilized on the beach and airlifted to Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic in critical condition.

 National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesman Craig Lambinon told The Telegraph of London that the man was swimming about 50 meters from shore when the shark attacked.

 "It repeatedly bit at both of his legs and caused serious wounds on both the right and left side," he said.

 When medical teams arrived, the found the swimmer with his right leg bit off above the knee and the left leg bit off below the knee," Lambinon said.

 The victim was believed to live in the suburb of Plumstead.

 Lambinon said: "The man was conscious when paramedics attended to him on the beach, but was sedated on-scene by paramedics in their efforts to stabilize the patient."

 Spotters had sighted the shark 90 minutes before the attack and closed the beach. The white shark flag was raised and the siren set off.

 Cape Town officials told the South African Press Association that, when the man entered the water, the beach was still closed. A shark flag, indicating the presence of a great white, was flying.

 A shark spotter stationed on the long beach was warned by a spotter on the mountain that someone had entered the water.

 The spotter then ran to Clovelly Corner to try to get the swimmer out of the water, but the attack took place before he could reach him.

 The victim of the attack was the only person in the water at the time.

 The beach, together with another three nearby, was closed as a precaution until further notice.

 The shark was still in Fish Hoek Bay in the afternoon and being monitored by the spotters. |||||
What is a summary?

– A reminder to those who like to buck authority: You should at least heed warnings related to great white sharks. A 42-year-old British expat had parts of both his legs bitten off in an attack in Cape Town today, after going for a swim though shark warning flags were flying, reports the Telegraph. Michael Cohen was about 150 feet from shore at Fish Hoek beach when the great white struck; he was apparently dragged out of the water by friends and airlifted to a hospital. "It repeatedly bit at both of his legs and caused serious wounds on both the right and left side," said a National Sea Rescue Institute rep. "When medical teams arrived, they found the swimmer with his right leg bit off above the knee and the left leg bit off below the knee." Witnesses say three great whites had been been spotted nearby just 90 minutes before Cohen was attacked, and the beach was then closed. MSNBC reports that Cohen was the only swimmer in the water; a shark spotter reportedly tried to get him out, but didn't get to him in time. A video of a shark was taken in the area just after the attack.


News article:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Sunday blasted Mitt Romney for saying on the campaign trail that majority of jobs lost under the Obama administration are among women, calling the Republican presidential candidate’s argument a “ridiculous way” of looking at the country’s economic challenges.

 “It’s a ridiculous way to look at the problem. It’s a political moment. You’re going to see a a lot of politicians choose to campaign in fiction, but we have to campaign in fact,” Geithner said on ABC’s “This Week.” “This crisis was a very damaging crisis, hurt everybody, and it began in early 2008 and a lot of the early job losses in 2008 affected men because they affected construction and manufacturing.”

 Pressed by host George Stephanopoulos on whether the Romney’s argument that 92.3 percent of jobs lost under President Barack Obama have been among females, Geithner said, “It’s a ridiculous argument. It’s been largely debunked this week by people who have looked at it.”

 Read more about: President Barack Obama, Economy, Mitt Romney, Women, Jobs, Timothy Geithner ||||| Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday dismissed President Barack Obama's proposed Buffett Rule as "one single tiny alteration" of the tax code that won't make a dent in the budget deficit.

 Asked about public approval for the proposed minimum tax rate on millionaires, Priebus said it was nothing more than "a shiny little object" to distract from Obama's economic record.

 "If you add up every dollar of revenue that this little rule will put into place, it would add up to paying for 11 hours of the federal government," Priebus said on CNN's "State of the Union" ahead of a Monday vote on the issue in the Senate.

 Read more about: Barack Obama, Reince Priebus ||||| Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Sunday predicted that the Secret Service scandal that rocked President Barack Obama’s trip to Colombia probably wasn’t the first of its kind.

 “The investigation will not be about the 11 to 20 or more involved, it will be about how has this happened,and how often has this happened before,” Issa said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Things like this don’t happen once.”

 Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Committee, also noted that he believes the number of agents involved in the controversy may be higher than what is currently being reported, while dismissing the claim that Obama was never in danger during his trip abroad.

 “In this particular case, the president may not have been in danger. But that begs the question -- what happens if somebody six months ago six years ago became the victim of their own misconduct and is now being blackmailed?” he said. “The question is, is the whole organization in need of some soul searching, some changes before the president the vice president, members of the Cabinet are in danger?”

 Eleven Secret Service personnel who were in Colombia for Obama’s trip there were relieved of their duties after allegations of misconduct. Soon after, five military members were also reported as having been a part of the scandal involving local prostitutes.

 Read more about: President Barack Obama, Secret Service, Darrell Issa ||||| Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) attacked Hilary Rosen on Sunday for her remarks that Ann Romney has "never worked a day in her life" -- as she defended Mitt Romney from attacks on his record.

 "I thought it was shocking and insulting," Bachmann said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think women are going to be very upset."

 Appearing on the same show, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), noted that the Democratic strategist apologized for her remarks, but said that they were "wrong and they were inappropriate."

 Bachmann and Gillibrand then engaged in a sharp exchange over Romney and President Barack Obama and their party's respective records affecting women, growing particularly tense over the issue of contraception.

 Asked if she were throwing her support behind Romney, Bachmann, a one-time presidential candidate, said: "I'm very seriously looking" at endorsing him. She added that she's seeing a "uniting and a pulling together around our eventual nominee."

 "I want to unite our party," she said.

 Read more about: Hilary Rosen, Michele Bachmann, Ann Romney |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Tim Geithner today summed up Mitt Romney's contention that women had lost the majority of jobs in the recession: "Ridiculous," the Treasury secretary told This Week. "It’s a political moment. You’re going to see a a lot of politicians choose to campaign in fiction, but we have to campaign in fact." Pressed further, Geithner said the statement had "been largely debunked." "The crisis was a very damaging crisis, hurt everybody, and a lot of the early job losses in 2008 affected men because they affected construction and manufacturing." More from your Sunday morning dial, as per Politico: Darrell Issa on the Secret Service prostitution scandal: “The investigation will not be about the 11 to 20 or more involved, it will be about how has this happened, and how often. Things like this don’t happen once.” And furthermore: "What happens if somebody six months ago [or] six years ago became the victim of their own misconduct and is now being blackmailed? Is the whole organization in need of some soul searching, some changes before the president, the vice president, members of the Cabinet are in danger?” John McCain on Syria: “For the United States to sit by and watch this wanton massacre is a betrayal of everything we stand for and we believe in." The US needs to "lead for a change. Not lead from behind, but lead from in front. We need to get a sanctuary for the Free Syrian Army, we need to get them supplies, we need to get them weapons. It’s not a fair fight.” Reince Priebus on the Buffett Rule: It's "one single tiny alteration" that amounts to nothing more than "a shiny little object. If you add up every dollar of revenue that this little rule will put into place, it would add up to paying for 11 hours of the federal government." Michele Bachmann on Hilary Rosen's comments: "I thought it was shocking and insulting. I think women are going to be very upset." Bachmann on Romney: "I'm very seriously looking" at endorsing him. "I want to unite our party."