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In an effort to dismiss the crisis of campus sexual assault, some rape deniers have attacked the findings of our film and some of the victims in it. Whatever the motivation of these critics—and frankly it boggles the mind—the truth is on our side. These are the facts.

 For press inquiries contact thehuntingground@kivvit.com.

 Kamilah Willingham’s Story

 The Assault

 On January 16, 2011, third-year Harvard Law student Kamilah Willingham (KW) reported to the Harvard Office of Sexual Assault and Responses that she and her friend (AB) were sexually assaulted during the early morning hours of January 15, 2011 by fellow Harvard Law student Brandon Winston (BW). On January 18, 2011, Willingham filed a report regarding the assault allegations with Cambridge Police.

 The Harvard Law Investigation and Adjudication

 On April 18, 2011, Willingham filed a complaint with the Administrative Board of Harvard Law School, alleging that Winston violated the Law School’s policy and guidelines related to sexual harassment. The Board appointed an independent Fact Finder, an attorney, to investigate her claim.

 On August 10, 2011, the Fact Finder released a report that found that Winston “was not credible” in regard to his version of the sexual contact with both Willingham and her friend, and that Willingham did not give affirmative consent to Winston to engage in sexual conduct with him. From the Fact Finder’s Report:

 “His [Winston’s] denial was not credible.”

 “BW’s actions in undressing AB, touching her body, rubbing her crotch, and inserting his finger in AB’s vagina, when she was incapacitated by alcohol intoxication, was abusive and unreasonably invasive.”

 “BW’s explanation that he believed AB welcomed the sexual conduct is not reasonable or credible.”

 “The Fact Finder finds the evidence compelling, and finds that BW could not reasonably have believed that his sexual conduct toward AB at KW’s apartment was welcome.”

 “BW changed his account at least two times.”

 “BW did not appear credible when providing the explanations, and they do not offer a reasonable explanation for his statement that he put ‘a finger briefly in the v at most’ or for his later retraction.”

 On September 19, 2011, the Harvard Law Administrative Board conducted a hearing on Willingham’s complaint against Winston. After reviewing all of the evidence, the Board found the following:

 “The student [Winston] had initiated sexual conduct with the complainant while she was asleep or unconscious, and not capable of consenting.”

 “He [Winston] had initiated sexual contact with the friend while she was incapable of consenting.”

 “The student’s [Winston’s] conduct toward the complainant was unwelcome and abusive or invasive, and that it had the effect of unreasonably interfering with her work or academic performance and/or created an intimidating, demeaning, degrading, hostile or otherwise seriously offensive working or educational environment at Harvard Law School.”

 As a result, on September 21, 2011, the Board imposed a sanction of dismissal on Winston.

 The Appeal

 Harvard Law initiated a required appeal of Winston’s dismissal in the Spring of 2012. The flawed appeal process violated a number of Title IX guidelines, and Harvard was later forced to change its policies in a settlement with the Department of Education. As a part of the appeal process, Harvard Law faculty voted to overturn the findings of both the Independent Fact Finder and the Administrative Board and reinstated Willingham’s assailant. The appeal process included the following actions:

 Harvard Law initiated a Review Hearing without informing Willingham or including her in the process, a direct violation of Title IX guidelines.

 The Hearing Officer for the appeal process interviewed the accused (with his lawyer present), but did not interview Willingham, violating Title IX guidelines.

 The Hearing Officer was one of the accused’s professors. When Willingham later asked the Harvard Law dean in an email about the professional and personal relationship of the accused and the Hearing Officer, the dean refused to disclose that relationship.

 The Review Hearing upheld the Administrative Board’s sanction of dismissal.

 Despite the fact that the Review Hearing only included Winston’s testimony, an assembly of Harvard Law faculty full professors proceeded with their review and voted to overturn the findings and decisions of the Independent Fact Finder, the Administrative Board, and the Hearing Officer. This process was in direct violation of Title IX guidelines.

 Willingham was not notified of the appeal decision until months after the accused was notified (another violation of Title IX guidelines) and after the accused had returned to Harvard law where Willingham was still enrolled.

 Harvard Law refused to inform Willingham of who was present at the Harvard Law faculty vote, what the vote count was, or what the specific reason was for overturning the finding.

 The dean of Harvard Law refused to give Willingham a written or digital copy of the decision to overturn the findings.

 The Department of Education Investigates

 In the 2014 settlement agreement of the Title IX complaint between the Department of Education (DOE) and Harvard Law School, Harvard Law was required to change its appeal process. The DOE chose to highlight only one case (without identifying names) in their press release about why Harvard had to change its appeal process. Every indication is that the case was Kamilah Willingham’s.

 The Criminal Process

 In September 2012, prosecutors from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office presented six possible charges to a Middlesex Superior Court grand jury. The grand jury indicted Winston on two felony counts of indecent assault and battery (the equivalent of felony sexual assault) against Willingham’s friend. In March 2015, a jury convicted Winston for non-sexual assault.

 Statistics

 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted while in college

 A multitude of national and individual school studies over the past fifteen years have come to the universal conclusion that approximately 20% of female students will be sexually assaulted during their time at college.

 The large, national The Washington Post-Kaiser Poll (2015) found that 20% of young women who attended college during the past four years were sexually assaulted.

 A study commissioned by the Association of American Universities (2015) surveyed 150,000 students at 27 colleges and universities across the country and found that 27.2% of female college seniors reported they had experienced some kind of unwanted sexual contact since entering college.

 England (2015) : A national survey of more than 20,000 students from 21 four-year colleges found that 25% of college women were sexually assaulted.

 Kilpatrick (2007) A national sample representing women currently attending U.S. colleges and universities found that 11.5% have been raped.

 Fisher (2000): A national sample of 4,446 women found that 20-25% were sexually assaulted.

 Outreach to Universities

 The filmmakers reached out to the presidents of every college and university mentioned in the film. Two university presidents were interviewed for the film, and thirty-five college or university presidents declined to speak or did not respond.

 Erica Kinsman’s Story

 The Assault

 Early in the morning of December 7, 2012, Florida State University student Erica Kinsman reported to the police that she was raped several hours earlier by an unknown man after drinking a Potbelly’s, a popular local bar.

 Investigative Timeline

 A thorough examination of the police investigation of Kinsman’s rape by The New York Times found that “there was virtually no investigation at all, either by the police or the university” into the events that occurred on the night of December 7th, 2012. According to the Times, investigators showed little interest in finding out what happened on the night of Erica Kinsman’s rape. They “delayed talking to witnesses, interviewing Jameis Winston (the accused) and collecting his DNA.” The following timeline details how long it took police to gather key evidence and FSU’s failure to investigate Kinsman’s report of sexual assault.

 12/7/12 – Erica Kinsman, a Florida State University student, reported to the Florida State Police and the Tallahassee Police Department that she was raped several hours earlier by an unknown man after drinking at Potbelly’s, a popular local bar. Police took Kinsman to the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital where a rape kit was administered and bruises were noted in Kinsman’s medical record. The police didn’t act on information provided by Kinsman, and failed to obtain and review the video camera footage at Potbelly’s, locate the cab driver who drove them from the bar, or interview critical witnesses, all of which would have aided investigators in identifying Kinsman’s assailant.

 1/10/13 – The police failed to identify Winston until 34 days after Kinsman’s initial report, learning his identity only after Kinsman recognized him in class and informed the police. Police waited nearly two weeks to contact Winston after Kinsman identified him as her assailant.

 1/22/13 – FSU Head Football Coach Jimbo Fisher and Senior Associate Athletics Director Monk Bonasorte learned that Winston had been accused of rape. Both were obligated by FSU policy and the U.S. Department of Education to report this to FSU’s Title IX Coordinator so that they could begin an investigation, but did not.

 1/23/13 – The Tallahassee police contacted the accused after waiting nearly two weeks. Winston did not show up for the requested interview. Instead, his attorney appeared at the Tallahassee police station on his behalf.

 2/11/13 – The Tallahassee police closed the case 66 days after Kinsman reported her rape, without interviewing Winston and crucial witnesses (one of whom videotaped part of the sexual encounter) or getting DNA or phone records from Winston. The investigative officer, Detective Angulo, had worked for the Seminole Boosters, the fundraising arm for FSU athletics. The officer’s report states that he suspended the investigation because the accuser was uncooperative, which she denies.

 10/25/13 – Kinsman notified her victims advocate that she wanted to participate in FSU code of conduct proceedings for a Title IX investigation of her case.

 11/12/13 – FSU Dean of Students Jeanine Ward-Roof and FSU Police Chief Perry learned that a second FSU student had accused Winston of sexual assault. Ward-Roof emailed FSU Policy Chief Perry that there would be no disciplinary proceedings against Winston for either assault, a direct violation of school policy and U.S. Department of Education guidelines.

 11/13/13 – The State’s Attorney Office of the 2nd Judicial Circuit began an investigation into Kinsman’s assault.

 11/14/13 – Investigators interviewed key witnesses and obtained DNA samples from the accused 342 days after the initial complaint was reported. For the first time, investigators interviewed two teammates of Winston’s who claimed to have witnessed sex between Winston and Kinsman. Investigators also obtained Winston’s DNA, which matched DNA found on Kinsman’s clothing.

 12/5/13 – The State’s Attorney Office announced they were not charging Winston. The Tallahassee police investigation is closed.

 1/23/14 – More than one year after FSU officials were made aware that Winston was accused of rape, FSU finally meets with him regarding the Kinsman case. him. Winston refuses to answer any questions. FSU does not meet with Kinsman.

 2/10/14 – FSU closes the case (even though they still had not interviewed Kinsman) because Winston refused to speak with them.

 12/5/14 – Nearly two years after the report of rape, FSU held a hearing regarding Kinsman’s case, even though the Department of Education strongly recommends that any accusation of sexual assault be investigated and resolved within 60 days.

 During the hearing, Kinsman answered all 156 questions asked of her. Winston refused to answer all of the questions asked of him except three. This was the exchange:

 Justice Harding: And I would like to know in what manner, verbally or physically, that she gave consent. And I ask that with the understanding that you have previously given.

 Winston: Both, your honor, verbally and physically.

 Justice Harding: And what did she say and what did she do?

 Winston: Moaning is mostly physically. Well, moaning is physically. And verbally at that time, Your Honor.

 Justice Harding: Well, that was during the sexual encounter?

 Winston: Yes, Your honor.

 Justice Harding: Okay. All right. Thank you. ||||| On their website, Mr. Dick and Ms. Ziering dismiss critics of the film, saying, “The truth is on our side.” In a statement on Sunday afternoon, they said: “We were not surprised by the lengths Mr. Winston and his lawyer were willing to go to stop the public from seeing this film. When documentaries bring to light uncomfortable truths about powerful people and institutions, it’s not unusual for them to wage aggressive campaigns to silence their critics. We fully stand behind Erica Kinsman and all of the survivors who bravely spoke out in our film.” Ms. Kinsman is Mr. Winston’s accuser.

 Mr. Winston’s threat of legal action came a week after 19 Harvard professors attacked “The Hunting Ground,” saying it distorted the university’s handling of a sexual assault claim. The accusation eventually resulted in a conviction for misdemeanor nonsexual assault against a student, Brandon Winston, who was not named in the film, but was named in the professors’ letter. Late last week, Brandon Winston’s defense team and supporters unveiled an elaborate website that explains their view of his actions and takes “The Hunting Ground” to task for what it calls “critical omissions and distortions.”

 Mr. Dick and Ms. Ziering last week challenged the Harvard professors’ action in a text message to The New York Times. It said, in part: “Everything in ‘The Hunting Ground’ is accurate and we fully stand behind our Harvard Law survivor’s account of her assault, as well as the accounts of all the subjects in our film.”

 Escalating denunciation of “The Hunting Ground” comes as the movie is being considered by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a so-called short list of 15 documentary feature Oscar contenders, which will be released next month. The film’s critics have also had an eye on the large viewership CNN may bring to a film that found only a tiny audience in theaters when released in February by the Weinstein Company’s digitally oriented Radius-TWC unit.

 As of March, for instance, another controversial documentary, “Blackfish,” about the treatment of whales in captivity, had been seen by about 27 million viewers on CNN, though it had just $2 million in ticket sales when Magnolia Pictures released it in 2013. ||||| Jameis Winston says he's prepared to sue if the cable news network goes ahead and airs the documentary accusing him of rape.

 Two days before CNN is set to debut The Hunting Ground, an attorney for former Florida State University and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston is warning the cable news network that its documentary about college campus rapes is defamatory.

 "We are writing to formally caution CNN that the portions of the film 'The Hunting Ground' pertaining to Mr. Winston are false and defamatory to Mr. Winston," states a letter to CNN's Jeff Zucker, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. "We urge CNN to reconsider the reckless decision to proceed with the broadcast of this deeply-flawed documentary in the face of the overwhelming evidence the film's producers consciously and intentionally failed to adhere to any accepted journalistic standards."

 Winston was accused of rape by Erica Kinsman during the football player's Heisman Trophy season. The Tallahasee Police Department and FSU conducted a much-criticized investigation and took no action against Winston, who was selected first overall in the NFL draft this past May and in the midst of his rookie season.

 As Kinsman and Winston duel with each other in court — she's suing him for sexual battery, he's brought counterclaims for tarnishing his image — The Hunting Ground has lurked in the background after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

 Directed by Kirby Dirk and produced by Amy Ziering, Hunting Ground spotlights Kinsman coming forward to speak publicly for the first time about what Winston allegedly did to her, as well as the ensuing investigations. At Sundance, the film was warmly received, but it's since been attacked as unfair in some circles.

 Winston's letter from attorney John Boudet alleges that the film "manipulates, misstates or simply omits facts to present a false narrative," that the filmmakers omitted exculpatory evidence like toxicology tests, medical examinations and eyewitness testimony, and also that Amy Herdy, one of the film's producers, admitted in one email that the film is "in the corner of advocacy for victims" with "no need to get the perpetrator's side."

 FSU has voiced its own complaints and asked CNN not to air the film, but Winston goes much further.

 "CNN may have persuaded itself that Mr. Winston's status as a public figure insulates your company from a libel judgment," states the letter. "If CNN decides to proceed with this broadcast, we will perhaps have the opportunity to test that legal proposition in a court of law."

 On Saturday morning, filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering issued the following statement to THR: "We fully stand behind Erica Kinsman’s account, and the accounts of all the subjects in our film. When documentaries bring to light uncomfortable truths about powerful people and institutions, it's not unusual for them to wage aggressive campaigns to silence their critics. That's what we're seeing now. We invite viewers to watch the documentary and draw their own conclusions."

 The full letter is below.

 We've reached out to CNN for comment.

 Nov. 21, 11:16 a.m.: Updated with statement from filmmakers. ||||| CNN Airs Documentary On Sexual Assault, Despite Legal Threats

 CNN aired The Hunting Ground — a controversial documentary about campus sexual assaults — despite the threat of legal action.

 A lawyer for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston threatened to sue CNN if it aired the film on Sunday night. It ran as scheduled.

 In the film, Erica Kinsman accuses Winston of committing sexual assault during his time on the football team at Florida State University, a claim his lawyer says is defamatory.

 In a letter to CNN first obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, lawyer John Boudet says the film "manipulates, misstates or simply omits facts to present a false narrative":

 "We urge CNN to reconsider the reckless decision to proceed with the broadcast of this deeply-flawed documentary in the face of the overwhelming evidence the film's producers consciously and intentionally failed to adhere to any accepted journalistic standards."

 The documentary, which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, argues women are at serious risk of sexual assault on college campuses and many college administrators have repeatedly tried to sweep the problem under the rug to avoid public relations problems.

 Kinsman has filed a lawsuit against Winston, accusing him of forcible rape in 2012. He was not charged by police in Florida and is now starting for the Buccaneers.

 Kinsman's lawyer, John Clune, issued a statement over the weekend saying Winston had launched a "PR battle":

 "His latest attack is an attempt to revive his lawyers' media themes and, as expected, shows no understanding of rape trauma and misrepresents the actual evidence. More importantly, Mr. Winston should get used to the rape allegations against him because film or no film, they aren't going away."

 CNN made clear it would go ahead with plans to air the documentary.

 "CNN is proud to provide a platform for a film that has undeniably played a significant role in advancing the national conversation about sexual assault on college campuses," a network spokeswoman told The New York Times. "We are confident that both the film and our extensive associated coverage give this important issue the full and fair treatment it deserves."

 The Hunting Ground has also been criticized for its depiction of an incident at Harvard Law School, in which a student was accused of assaulting two women.

 A letter signed by 19 Harvard Law School faculty members said the film "provides a seriously false picture both of the general sexual assault phenomenon at universities and of our student," noting a grand jury declined to indict him on the most serious sexual assault charges brought against him.

 The documentary makers say they stand behind the case as they presented it. |||||
What is a summary?

– CNN aired a documentary about campus rape Sunday night—and this one came with the threat of a lawsuit ahead of time. The network ran The Hunting Ground, a documentary first seen at the Sundance Film Festival, reports NPR. The most controversial part includes an interview with Erica Kinsman, who accuses football star Jameis Winston of sexually assaulting her while at Florida State. Winston, a Heisman winner who is now a quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, never faced criminal rape charges, and the school cleared him of misconduct, notes the New York Times. Kinsman is suing Winston, however, and Winston's lawyers now may do the same to CNN, reports the Hollywood Reporter. "We are writing to formally caution CNN that the portions of the film 'The Hunting Ground' pertaining to Mr. Winston are false and defamatory to Mr. Winston," says a letter to CNN obtained by the site ahead of Sunday's airing. But CNN shot back in a statement that it is "proud to provide a platform for a film that has undeniably played a significant role in advancing the national conversation about sexual assault on college campuses." Winston's legal team says the film “manipulates, misstates or simply omits facts to present a false narrative," but filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering say "the truth is on our side."


Write a summary based on this article:

A 10-year-old girl airlifted Friday afternoon from Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, California, died Saturday, according to the coroner's office.

 Updated Article: Natural Causes in Girl's Death, Coroner Says

 The Ventura County girl had just exited the Revolution ride and returned to the ride station when she collapsed at the park in northern Los Angeles County. She was described as breathing, but unconscious, when she was airlifted from the Valencia theme park and later died at a hospital.

 Details regarding why the girl, identified by the coroner as Jasmine Martinez, collapsed were not immediately available. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.

 2015 Southern California Images in the News

 The ride has been temporarily closed, pending a review, according to Magic Mountain.

 The ride was cleared to reopen shortly after the airlift, and there was no evidence to suggest "this was in any way ride related," according to Magic Mountain. It was not immediately determined whether the girl suffered from a pre-existing condition.

 "We were deeply saddened to learn that Jasmine Martinez, who was transported to the hospital after riding Revolution on June 12 has died, " a Magic Mountain spokeswoman said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Jasmine’s family and friends during this difficult time."

 Revolution is a roller coaster that features a 90-foot tall vertical loop. The ride reaches speeds up to 55 mph.

 More than 45 million visitors have "safely ridden" Revolution since it opened in 1976, according to a spokeswoman for Magic Mountain. ||||| The theme park said Jasmine came into the ride station unconscious. Later that day, state officials determined it wasn't related to the operation of the ride and reopened the attraction. But now that Jasmine has died, the ride has been temporarily closed as they review the incident. |||||

– A 10-year-old California girl died on Saturday, a day after losing consciousness while at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Jasmine Martinez rode the Revolution roller coaster, exited the ride, and then collapsed near the ride station Friday afternoon. She was airlifted out of the park and ultimately brought to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, per the LA Times. A cause of death has not yet been established, and "we do not know if there was a pre-existing condition," the park said in a statement. NBC Los Angeles reports that the steel coaster, which features a vertical loop and hits speeds of 55mph, was temporarily shut down after Jasmine collapsed; it reopened only to be closed again upon her death as the park investigates. "There is no evidence to suggest that this was in any way ride related," Six Flags notes. Further, more than 45 million people have "safely ridden" Revolution since 1976, per the park. How dangerous are amusement park rides? The Times cited its own analysis of more than 2,000 reported injuries at Southern California theme parks between 2007 and 2012. It found that 18% of the injuries involved symptoms of motion sickness: nausea, fainting, and dizziness. Injured patrons were most likely to be female, with roller coasters and water slides being the most common culprits. Older attractions also caused more problems than newer rides.


– Sophie the Giraffe, a squeaky rubber teething toy, has become all the rage the past few years, despite a relatively steep price tag—Quartz noted in June its $24.99 cost compared with simpler teething toys that retail for less than $5. But Sophie's popularity may take a hit after some consumers report finding mold, per GoodHousekeeping.com. Pediatric dentist Dana Chianese, a mom of two young boys, says she promotes teething products (including Sophie the Giraffe) to parents of infants, but she recently noticed a weird smell emanating from her own, and when she sliced Sophie open, she made what the website calls an "absolutely horrifying" discovery. It was a "science experiment living inside," she reveals, adding, "It … hurts my heart" to know she let her own little boys gnaw on the giraffe. Other complaints have filtered in about the giraffe's mold issue on Amazon and various baby forums, with some saying even a baby who drools a lot could spur mold growth inside the giraffe. Meanwhile, Valerie Williams rolls her eyes at the Scary Mommy blog: "If you don't want toys filled with mold, clean them." (Chianese, for her part, says she always meticulously followed directions on how to take care of the toy.) A spokeswoman from the company that makes the giraffe reiterates that tip in a statement to GoodHousekeeping.com, noting that cleaning how-tos should be "carefully respected" and that all efforts must be made to keep water out of the hole. (Parents, stay away from homeopathic teething products.)

Expand this summary.

The giraffe tends to appear in parents’ lives sometime around the birth of a first child. It’s 7.5 inches tall, squeaky, and vaguely vanilla-scented. Its pupil-less eyes have the same blank, dazed expression newborns might recognize in the sleep-deprived parents dangling the toy above their crib.

 If you have birthed a child or given a baby gift at any point in the last five years, you may well have encountered Sophie the Giraffe. Sophie doesn’t make children smarter or improve cognitive development or any other benefit more high-tech toys promise. It’s just a rubber teether, distinguished from the thousands of other animal-shaped rubber teethers on the market primarily by its $24.99 retail price. In contrast, a perfectly serviceable set of Nuby teething keys—another baby favorite—is $4.99 at BabiesRUs.

 Yet in less than a decade Sophie went from being a virtual unknown in the US to the go-to baby gift for the upper-middle class. Roughly 500,000 Sophies are sold in the US each year. Its price point is right in prime baby shower gift territory. The giraffe is the 10th most popular baby item on Amazon, alongside staples like changing pads and breast milk storage bags.

 The giraffe’s rise to fame is a starlet’s tale of obscure rural beginnings, an LA discovery, and a few lucky breaks.

 In France, where the toy manufacturer Vulli produced its first Sophie on May 25, 1961, la girafe is a childhood staple. Sophie sales match or surpass annual birth rates.

 So when French expatriate Hélène Dumoulin-Montgomery gave birth to her daughter in California in 2000, she looked for a toy Sophie for her baby like the one she’d had as a child. Sophie wasn’t sold in the US at the time. Dumoulin-Montgomery, who then worked part-time as a realtor’s assistant, contacted Vulli and asked for permission to import the toy.

 The company was ambivalent, Dumoulin-Montgomery said. (Vulli did not respond to Quartz’s requests for comment.) After middling sales in neighboring western European countries, Vulli was content to focus on the French market. Nonetheless, the company agreed to grant Dumoulin-Montgomery a license to distribute the toy stateside.

 In 2001, Dumoulin-Montgomery received her first shipment of 100 Sophies. Nobody wanted them.

 “She was expensive. Everyone was comparing it to toys [made] in China,” she recalled via Skype while on vacation in France. (Her company, Calisson, Inc., is based in Orange County, California.)

 “I had a face to face with Sophie and said, ‘How am I going to sell you?’”

 Sophie’s fate changed in 2004 after a meeting with Teri Weiss, owner of the Beverly Hills gift boutique Elegant Child. Weiss crafts custom gift baskets destined for the offspring of high rollers in LA’s entertainment and finance scenes. She sells doll strollers more expensive than the strollers most people buy for their actual children. Dumoulin-Montgomery arrived at Weiss’s offices with a duffel bag full of children’s clothing and toys recently imported from France.

 “I remember it like yesterday,” Weiss recalled. “She brought a bag. I didn’t like anything. Nothing. And then at the bottom I saw this little giraffe, with no packaging or anything. I pick it up. It’s the right color and shape. I said, ‘That would look great in my basket.’” Dumoulin-Montgomery had six Sophies in the trunk of her car. Weiss bought them all.

 She put a Sophie that same day in a basket a Hollywood agent was gifting a client, the actress Kate Hudson, who had just given birth to her son Ryder.

 “A week or so later, her assistant calls me and says, ‘Kate Hudson received this basket.’ It’s literally a $500 basket, and her assistant says, ‘Her son loves this giraffe.”

 Demand rose as famous babies like Ryder Robinson were photographed gnawing on the toy. For the next four years, Elegant Child was one of Dumoulin-Montgomery’s biggest clients. Weiss was sending out 100 to 125 rubber giraffes per day at the peak, she said.

 Sales exploded after the toymaker Mattel’s 2007 recall of millions of lead-tainted Chinese-made toys. Sophie is made of natural rubber—each giraffe spends three months curing on a tray in the factory in Rumilly, France—and embellished with food-grade paint.

 Its success has led to unsubstantiated reports of imposter giraffes. Several parents have complained in Amazon reviews of receiving a giraffe they suspect is counterfeit, either because its painted spots faded (a normal occurrence in the genuine toy, Dumoulin-Montgomery said) or it has a funky chemical smell. Neither Dumoulin-Montgomery nor Amazon was able to confirm cases of counterfeit Sophies.

 Sophie’s US success convinced Vulli to invest in international marketing, Dumoulin-Montgomery said. The giraffe is now available in 75 different countries. If Sophie is on the higher end of toys in the US, in other countries she is practically gilded. In Brazil, the toy retails for roughly $50. In Europe Sophie is considerably cheaper—£8.99 ($13) on Amazon UK, €11 ($12.50) in her native France—and thus more democratized. London mom Carol Horne was at a wedding in Amsterdam in 2011 when her then-6-month-old bit down on the toy’s distinctive squeaker. Without turning around a Dutch woman two rows ahead said, “Ah—Sophie!”

 For this story, I informally surveyed roughly 30 parents with kids born after 2007, from Cape Town to London to New York. Nearly all of them had purchased or been gifted at least one Sophie at some point.

 “I’d never heard of Sophie until I got pregnant, and all of the baby registries listed it as a top pick,” said Stephanie Paterik, a New York journalist expecting her first child in August. “I’m still unclear about what she is/does, but registered for her anyway.”

 Sophie isn’t a universal panacea. Several parents surveyed for this story reported that their children never cared for the toy. At least two family dogs tried to commandeer it as their own.

 But for those babies who do take to the giraffe, Sophie holds a near-hypnotic sway. My own daughter gummed hers reverentially. An increasingly worn Sophie appears in almost every photo taken of her in her infancy. That graspable neck, chewable legs, and soothingly empty expression appeals in a way Sophie’s fans are incapable of explaining.

 “It’s her face. There’s something magical about it,” Dumoulin-Montgomery said. “I wish I could go in the head of a baby just to know.” ||||| When parents discovered mold in their "Tommee Tippee Sippee" cups last year, people everywhere were horrified. Well, we have more bad news: Sophie the Giraffe isn't safe either. Recent reports from parents reveal people have found mold growing inside of the popular toddler teething toy.

 As a pediatric dentist, Dana Chianese recommends teething toys to parents every single day, including Sophie the Giraffe (which her two boys under the age of three prefer), but not anymore. A month ago she decided to clean the toy and noticed the air coming out of the hole smelled musty. "I decided to cut into Sophie out of curiosity and discovered a science experiment living inside," Chianese told Goodhousekeeping.com. "Smelly, ugly mold living in my infant's favorite chew toy!"

 Dana Chianese

 Chianese says she always cleaned the toy according to instructions, using hot, soapy water with a damp sponge and never submerging it into water. "It still hurts my heart to know that for months I allowed my babies to chew on moldy toys," she says. "I no longer buy any chew toys with a hole or recommend any to my patients."

 And she's not the only one: On Amazon, one reviewer tried to alert others to what she found when she cut the legs off of her child's teething toy and even shared a picture for proof: "Beware!! If you have a drooly baby, moisture will get in the hole and you'll end up with mold!" says Amazon user Stephanie Opera. "We've had ours for two years and the entire inside is coated with black mold!"

 Stephanie Oprea via Amazon

 Meanwhile, a user on What to Expect shared her own pictures of the moldy toy. She says she only found the mold after she chopped off the legs after hearing reports of them getting caught in the throats of other babies. Let's just say, she had no clue she was about the uncover the real danger inside.

 What to Expect

 Dr. Lyuba Konopasek, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at New York Presbyterian/Weil Cornell Medical Center told Care.com exposure to mold in toys is usually not something to be too alarmed about, unless your child has a immune disorder. However, if your child does have a mold allergy, they may start experiencing symptoms such as coughing or itchy eyes.

 So what can you do? "The only way to prevent mold inside plastic toys is to make sure they are cleaned and thoroughly dried," says Carolyn Forte, the Director of the Cleaning Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. The best way to clean washable plastic toys is in hot sudsy water or in the dishwasher. Then, disinfect them with a solution of 1/2 cup Clorox bleach per gallon of water. Soak them for five minutes, rinse and air dry.

 How often you should clean these toys depends on the frequency of use. If used daily, Forte recommends cleaning them at least once a week. And don't let these items sit in water or leave them with water trapped inside between uses or cleanings. See update below for more information.

 Update, 1/16/2017: When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Sophie the Giraffe, shared the following statement:

 First of all, it's important to know that Sophie la Girafe [Sophie the Giraffe] is composed of 100% natural rubber, so the cleaning instructions have to be carefully respected. As indicated on the packaging and in an explanatory leaflet inside the packaging, we recommend to clean the surface of Sophie la Girafe with a damp cloth. It should not be immersed in the water nor rinsed off, to prevent water from getting inside, as she may become damaged. We thus would like to emphasize on the fact that is it important, while cleaning the product, that no water gets inside the whole. As of now, we have not been contacted by Mrs. Chianese nor Mrs. Opera and were not aware of the situation before reading your article. It is thus difficult for us to comment on the current situation, as we haven't had the chance to examine the products. Please know that each complaint received is taken very seriously and that the return of the product is always asked for further examination. Furthermore, please know that the safety of children and satisfaction of their parents is our main priority. For the past 55 years, we have always strived to exceed security standards and all of our products comply with the most stringent global standards.

 Update, 1/17/2017: After hearing from the manufacturers of Sophie the Giraffe, we checked in again with Carolyn Forte, Director of the Cleaning Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. "You should always follow the advice for cleaning a toy that a manufacturer provides," she says. "Sometimes there is special care required that may be different from other toys your child owns. Always check a toy's packaging for care instructions before discarding it or if the packaging has already been tossed, check the manufacturer's website."

 That said, Forte questioned how practical a teething toy might be that can't be thoroughly washed. ||||| Parents surprised at mold growth inside Sophie the Giraffe toy

 Hi, parents. Welcome to Babies 101. First lesson? Babies drool. A lot. And they like to suck on toys. A lot. Moisture in an enclosed space can cause mold to grow, which should be common sense.

 Apparently, it’s not.

 In the latest edition of Parent’s Freaking Out, we have moms and dads upset that their child’s Sophie the Giraffe teething toy is full of mold. Dana Chianese, a pediatric dentist and mother of two toddler sons, tells Good Housekeeping of her horrifying discovery after noticing a musty smell coming from the hole of her child’s Sophie toy. “I decided to cut into Sophie out of curiosity and discovered a science experiment living inside,” she explains. “Smelly, ugly mold living in my infant’s favorite chew toy!”

 Though Chianese followed the cleaning instructions that came with the toy, wiping it down with hot, soapy water and never submerging it, the mold still grew. Understandably, the mom is shaken, saying, “It still hurts my heart to know that for months I allowed my babies to chew on moldy toys. I no longer buy any chew toys with a hole or recommend any to my patients.”

 OK, ew. Like, all the ew. We won’t deny that this would be a jarring discovery for any parent, and in the haze of our exhausting lives raising small people who hardly let us sleep, we might forget tiny details. Like the fact that mold growing inside a toy a baby constantly sucks on shouldn’t be a huge surprise.

 Yet, Amazon has more than one review, including cautionary photos of gross Sophie toys full of blackish-colored mold, with stories just like Chianese’s. User Stephanie Oprea writes, “Beware!! If you have a drooly baby, moisture will get in the hole and you’ll end up with mold! We’ve had ours for two years and the entire inside is coated with black mold!”

 Behold, the grossness.

 Another reviewer writes, “My 8-month-old grandson had this giraffe. When it started giving off a foul odor, my son cut it open to find the inside covered with mold. It was not used as a bath toy, but was washed in order to clean it.”

 Alright, we get it. It’s shocking and disgusting, but again, shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. And mold is more than just yucky to look at, the CDC says it can cause health issues including respiratory symptoms, itchy eyes and even skin reactions. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way, since there are easy ways to keep plastic toys with holes in them clean.

 Advertisement

 Cleaning website The Maids has several suggestions for keeping bath toys and teething toys clean and free of mold. The most practical and baby-safe among them are:

 Vinegar

 Mix together 1 gallon of water with ½ cup of white vinegar and let the toys soak in this solution for about an hour. Give them a scrub once the mold is loose and then let them dry. If they still smell like vinegar, just do a simple rise and dry before placing them back in the toy bin.

 The Dishwasher

 Running bath toys through the dishwasher also sanitizes and kills any gunk or mold that may be growing on both the inside and out. It seems like an overly simple method, but it gets the job done.

 Boiling Water

 Take the toys and boil them in hot water and squeeze out any of the “yuck” from the insides with some tongs. Let them cool and dry thoroughly.

 So, it’s not Sophie’s fault she gets moldy. She just needs a proper cleaning, like any other plastic or rubber toy with a hole in it that your baby regularly gums on. |||||


– Ricki Lake's ex-husband had a hard time owning his bipolar disorder. In fact, by the time he did, it was too late. Christian Evans, a jewelry designer who married the former talk show host in 2012, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Feb. 11. "Christian didn't want to be labeled as bipolar, but he admitted he was in the note he left. That was him finally owning it," Lake tells People, adding she now feels compelled "to spread the word about recognizing this disorder and getting treatment as soon as possible." Though she describes Evans as "charismatic" and "funny," she says he also had "a lot of self-esteem issues and a lot of demons." It was difficult "for him to get out of bed and be excited for things," says Lake, who initially revealed his death on Instagram, per Us Weekly. But in 2014, he suffered a manic episode. "I didn't know what it looked like, so I didn't see it coming," Lake says. He "thought he could fly. He thought he could cure cancer with his hands. It was horrific." Lake later divorced Evans, who entered a treatment center, but says the couple remained together until a similar episode last September. "I wanted to save him," but "there was nothing I could do," Lake says. "The struggle was just too much for him," she adds of his suicide. "He did the best he could."

Expand this summary.

Ricki Lake’s ex-husband Christian Evans has passed away. In an emotional Instagram post on Tuesday, February 14, Lake revealed that Evans battled bipolar disorder.

 “It is with a heavy heart that I share that my beloved soulmate, Christian Evans, has passed,” the former talk show host, 48, wrote alongside a sweet photo of herself with Evans. “The world didn’t understand this man, but I did. He succumbed to his life long struggle with bipolar disorder. For anyone who has ever lost a family member or friend to mental illness, my heart goes out to you. I am a greater person for having known him and spent the past 6 and a half years of my life with him. He was a man of love and what mends my broken heart today is knowing that he is finally at peace and his spirit is free. Rest in peace, my love.”

 Amanda Edwards/FilmMagic

 Lake was married to Evans for two years. The couple got engaged in August 2011 and surprised fans by eloping in April 2012. The Ricki Lake Show star split from the jewelry designer in October 2014 and filed for divorce a week later citing irreconcilable differences.

 Lake was previously married to Rob Sussman. Together they share sons Milo, 19, and Owen, 15.

 Us Weekly has reached out to Lake's rep for comment.

 Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox! ||||| Ricki Lake didn’t want to say goodbye.

 Married to jewelry designer Christian Evans in April 2012, the actress and former talk show host was devastated to learn that he had taken his life on Feb. 11. Evans’s death at age 45 compelled Lake to reveal that he had been battling bipolar disorder — and that his manic episodes had led to the couple’s divorce in 2015 even though they continued their relationship until as recently as last fall.

 “I have to spread the word about recognizing this disorder and getting treatment as soon as possible,” Lake tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Christian didn’t want to be labeled as bipolar, but he admitted he was in the note he left. That was him finally owning it. That was him giving me permission to tell his story.”

 When Lake, 48, and Evans began dating in September 2010, “I felt like the luckiest girl that he chose me,” she says. “He was the funniest person. He was so charismatic.” Evans was upfront with Lake about his condition and admitted he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder earlier in life. “He had a lot of self-esteem issues and a lot of demons,” she says. “But I understood him, and he was someone that I think a lot of people misunderstood.”

 Married in April 2012, the two settled into their life together. “We never fought, we never had an argument. He showed up for my kids,” recalls Lake, who has two sons, Milo, 19, and Owen, 15, from her first marriage to Rob Sussman. “He was this quiet force that was just all about love and goodness and wanting to help people.”

 Cheyenne Ellis

 Kate Szatmari

 Lake first witnessed one of Evans’ manic episodes in September 2014. “I didn’t know what the hell hit me, because I didn’t know what it looked like, so I didn’t see it coming,” she says. “For me, someone who has lived with him for four years and seen how hard it was for him to get out of bed and be excited for things, I saw him starting to be happy. It presented initially as him being motivated.” At the height of his mania, Evans “thought he could fly. He thought he could cure cancer with his hands,” Lake adds. “It was horrific. He just wasn’t the person I had been with for four years.”

 Watch the full episode of PEOPLE’s Features: Ricki Lake’s Tragic Loss, streaming now on People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the app for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, Xfinity, iOS and Android devices.

 Following the advice of their therapist to cut off contact until Evans stabilized, Lake filed for divorce the next month. Evans was eventually hospitalized under a 5150 hold and then entered a treatment facility. “He didn’t want to be there, and he didn’t want to be medicated,” she says. “But he did it to appease me.”

 After Evans was released, the two continued their relationship, despite their divorce being finalized in 2015, and eventually moved back in together. “He wasn’t stable, and he was so fragile,” Lake says. “But I was still in love with him, so there was something romantic about it. I wanted to save him.”

 For more from Ricki Lake, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

 Courtesy Ricki Lake

 Evans’ mania returned this last September and he moved out again. This time, “I was upset, but I wasn’t surprised,” the actress adds. “I knew he was having an episode, and there was nothing I could do.” Lake was working in London when she received a text on Feb. 11 from Evans’ sister saying he had emailed a suicide note. “I knew right then that he was gone. Everybody thought he was missing, but I knew.”

 He was found two days later in his car with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. “The struggle was just too much for him,” Lake says through tears. “He did the best he could.”

 As for the future, “I am going to try my best to honor him by living a full and happy life,” she says. “I don’t know what’s in store for me, but I’m an optimist.” She plans to scatter some of Evans’ ashes on their favorite beach in Ibiza this summer — and insists she has no regrets. “I never stopped loving that man,” she adds. “I’m so lucky I got these beautiful years with him.”

 If you or someone you know is struggling with bipolar disorder, please call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit the National Institute of Mental Health online at nimh.nih.gov. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is open 24 hours a day. Call 1-800-273-8255. |||||


Article:
The feds could actually soften their stance a little when it comes to weed.

 The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the medical evidence surrounding the safety and effectiveness of marijuana, a process that could lead to the agency downgrading the drug's current status as a Schedule I drug, the most dangerous classification.

 FDA Press Officer Jeff Ventura described the review process, which is being completed at the request of the Drug Enforcement Agency, to The Huffington Post.

 "FDA conducts for Health and Human Services a scientific and medical analysis of the drug under consideration, which is currently ongoing," Ventura said. "HHS then recommends to DEA that the drug be placed in a given schedule. DEA considers HHS’ analysis, conducts its own assessment, and makes a final scheduling proposal in the form of a proposed rule."

 The FDA could not confirm how long the review process would take.

 The U.S. has five "schedules" for drugs or chemicals that can be used to make drugs. Schedule I is reserved for drugs that the DEA considers to have the highest potential for abuse and no "current accepted medical use." Marijuana has been classified as Schedule I for decades, along with other substances like heroin and LSD. Rescheduling marijuana would not make it legal, but a lower schedule could potentially ease restrictions on research into the drug and make banks less wary of offering financial services to state-legal marijuana businesses. It could also allow those businesses to make some traditional tax deductions.

 "While DEA is the lead federal agency responsible for regulating controlled substances and enforcing the Controlled Substances Act, FDA, working with NIDA, provides scientific recommendations about the appropriate controls for those substances," FDA Deputy Director Doug Throckmorton said Friday in testimony delivered during the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing.

 "To make these recommendations, FDA is responsible for preparing what's called an eight-factor analysis, which is a document that is used to assess how likely a drug is to be abused," Throckmorton said.

 Here are the eight factors the FDA will consider about marijuana when deciding which schedule it should go under, according to the CSA:

 Its actual or relative potential for abuse Scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug or other substance Its history and current pattern of abuse The scope, duration, and significance of abuse What, if any, risk there is to the public health Its psychic or physiological dependence liability Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this subchapter

 A DEA spokeswoman told HuffPost that the agency was required to order the FDA to review marijuana's scheduling status because of two public citizens' petitions that asked the agency for a review. A change could put marijuana in the company of cocaine and methamphetamine, two other Schedule II drugs.

 This isn't the first time the DEA has asked the FDA to reconsider marijuana, Throckmorton said Friday. In 2001 and 2006, the DEA requested an analysis of the drug after receiving other public petitions requesting that the agency reschedule it. But both times, federal regulators determined that marijuana should remain a Schedule I substance. At the time, the FDA said there simply wasn't enough research about marijuana's efficacy in treating various ailments.

 Part of the lack of cannabis science in the U.S. has to do with the federal stranglehold on marijuana research. There's only one federally legal marijuana garden in the U.S., at the University of Mississippi. The National Institute on Drug Abuse oversees the operation, and it's the only source of marijuana for federally sanctioned studies on the drug.

 To date, NIDA has conducted about 30 studies on the potential benefits of marijuana. Since 2003, it has approved more than 500 grants for marijuana-related studies, with a marked upswing in recent years, according to McClatchy. In 2003, 22 grants totaling $6 million were approved for cannabis research, McClatchy reported. In 2012, that number had risen to 69 approved grants totaling more than $30 million.

 Federal authorities have long been accused of only funding marijuana research that focuses on the potential negative effects of the substance. The DEA has also been accused of not acting quickly enough when petitioned to reschedule marijuana, and for obstructing science around the drug.

 Meanwhile, a number of recent studies have added to the growing body of research showing the medical potential of cannabis. Purified forms may attack some forms of aggressive cancer. Studies have tied marijuana use to blood sugar control and slowing the spread of HIV. One study found that legalization of the plant for medical purposes may even lead to lower suicide rates.

 Currently, 22 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use, with New York state poised to be the 23rd. About ten other states have also legalized CBD-oil, a non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana frequently used to treat epilepsy, for research or limited medical purposes.

 According to a recent CBS News poll, a vast majority of Americans -- over 80 percent -- approve of medical marijuana legalization.

 While the FDA isn't ready to get on board with legalization, it does seem more interested in the medical benefits of the drug.

 "The FDA has not approved marijuana as a safe and effective drug for any indication," the FDA stated in its latest guidelines regarding marijuana, posted Friday. "The FDA is aware that there is considerable interest in its use to attempt to treat a number of medical conditions, including, for example, glaucoma, AIDS wasting syndrome, neuropathic pain, cancer, multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy-induced nausea, and certain seizure disorders." ||||| One in four cases of psychosis in Britain is associated with powerful strains of cannabis such as "skunk", a study has found.

 Scientists found such potent forms of the drug increased the likelihood that a user would develop the condition.

 Casual users of the stronger variants of the class B substance have been found to be three times more likely to develop psychosis, while heavy users are five times more likely.

 The findings of the six-year study - which have been published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal - suggest strong forms of cannabis can lead to serious mental illness.

 Sarah Graham, a drugs counsellor, has claimed the figure is "just the tip of the iceberg".

 Play video "2014: Inside A UK Cannabis Factory" Video: 2014: Inside A UK Cannabis Factory

 A recovering addict herself, she described "skunk" as the "Incredible Hulk of cannabis", and warned: "It is absolutely decimating young people's lives."

 She told Sky News: "It's not the weed that many parents may have experimented with at university or college. This is a very, very potent drug. It’s like a turbo-charged version of ordinary cannabis - and it's laced with chemicals, too.

 "I see so many young people who are having their mental health decimated by this drug. I see them in hospitals, in psychiatric wards and it is absolutely heart-breaking. I see them being diagnosed with forms of schizophrenia. We need to start taking this seriously."

 Researchers from King's College London say there should be greater public awareness of the effects of using the stronger form of the drug.

 Sir Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at the university, said: "It is now well known that use of cannabis increases the risk of psychosis.

 "However, sceptics still claim that this is not an important cause of schizophrenia-like psychosis.

 "This paper suggests that we could prevent almost one quarter of cases of psychosis if no one smoked high-potency cannabis.

 "This could save young patients a lot of suffering and the NHS a lot of money."

 While skunk was associated with psychotic episodes, the milder form of cannabis known as hash had no such link, the scientists said.

 The study looked at 800 people aged between 18 and 65 in south London, including 410 who had suffered psychosis and 370 healthy patients. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Former skunk user Liaquat Zaman: "It brought me to a very dark place in my life"

 Smoking potent cannabis was linked to 24% of new psychosis cases analysed in a study by King's College London.

 The research suggests the risk of psychosis is three times higher for users of potent "skunk-like" cannabis than for non-users.

 The study of 780 people was carried out by KCL's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.

 A Home Office spokesman said the report underlines the reasons why cannabis is illegal.

 Scientists found the risk of psychosis was five times higher for those who use it every day compared with non-users.

 They also concluded the use of hash, a milder form of the drug, was not associated with increased risk of psychosis.

 Psychosis refers to delusions or hallucinations that can be present in certain psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

 Risk increased 'threefold'

 "Compared with those who had never tried cannabis, users of high potency skunk-like cannabis had a threefold increase in risk of psychosis,' said Dr Marta Di Forti, lead author on the research.

 She added: "The results show that psychosis risk in cannabis users depends on both the frequency of use and cannabis potency."

 Dr Di Forti told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the availability of skunk-like cannabis was becoming more widespread.

 Image copyright AP

 'I was a wreck'

 Cath from Berkshire, who asked to remain anonymous, believes smoking skunk caused her to experience mental health problems.

 "I dabbled with a friends' group in my early 20s, and went from someone who had never experienced any mental health issues whatsoever, to an absolute wreck.

 "I was terrified of leaving the house, and I became petrified of death, of the mysteries of the universe, and of being alone. You name it, I was terrified of it.

 "It took about six years to feel normal again and now, almost 20 years later, I have absolutely no doubt that my issues were triggered by casually and naively smoking this so called 'soft' drug.

 "For years I have shuddered as campaigners have sought to declassify or promote the product as I understand first-hand the hidden yet, until now, unspoken dangers of this awful drug."

 "In London, it's very difficult to find anything else," Dr Di Forti said.

 "There were lots of reports from police across the UK saying we have become a great producer of skunk. And not only do we use it locally but we export, so this is a Made in England product."

 Someone suffering from psychosis would often be "extremely paranoid and become very suspicious" about the people around them, she added.

 She has called for "a clear public message" to cannabis users, comparable to medical advice on alcohol and tobacco.

 GPs should be encouraged to ask how often and what type of cannabis patients use, she added,

 A Home Office spokesman said the findings backed up the government's approach: "Drugs such as cannabis are illegal because scientific and medical evidence demonstrates they are harmful.

 "This report serves to emphasise how they can destroy lives and communities."

 'Without risk'

 Skunk contains more THC - the main psychoactive ingredient - than other types of cannabis.

 Unlike skunk, hashish - cannabis resin - contains substantial quantities of another chemical called cannabidiol or CBD and research suggests this can act as an antidote to the THC, counteracting psychotic side effects.

 Sir Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King's, commented: "This paper suggests that we could prevent almost one quarter of cases of psychosis if no-one smoked high potency cannabis.

 "This could save young patients a lot of suffering and the NHS a lot of money."

 The research was carried out over several years, comparing 410 patients aged 18-65 who reported a first episode of psychosis at a south London psychiatric hospital with 370 healthy participants within the same age range from the same area of London.

 It will be published later this week in the Lancet Psychiatry.

 Rosanna O'Connor, director of alcohol, drugs and tobacco at Public Health England, responded: "No drug use is without risk as this report demonstrates.

 "Anyone having problems with drug use should seek help from their local specialist drug services. It is important to remember that treatment for all types of drug problems, including cannabis, are readily available and very effective".

 Cannabis user Robert, from Hertfordshire experienced a "temporary psychosis" after taking home-grown cannabis in his 20s.

 "It was utterly terrifying, and the worst night of my life," he told the BBC News website.

 "As someone affected by this issue it is hard watching mainstream media, particularly comedy films, portraying cannabis as a harmless life-enhancing substance with limited ill-effects - it's simply not true."

 Another person who contacted the BBC website felt that legalising cannabis would allow varieties to be regulated.

 Phil, from Cambridgeshire, said: "Speaking as a 'toker' for past 25 years, super skunk is the term they should be using.

 "The cause of all this is the illegality. If things were more open and informed, people could buy 'saner' variety seeds." ||||| The study by King's College London found that smoking "skunk-like" cannabis triples the risk of psychosis. The drug was linked to 24 per cent of new psychosis cases, according to the research.

 The researchers say there is an "urgent need" to inform young people about the risks of strong cannabis. But what about alcohol?

 Sir Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King's College London, told Channel 4 News: "Most people who drink alcohol do it moderately and enjoy it. Most people who smoke cannabis do it moderately and enjoy it.

 "But if you drink a bottle of vodka each day it won't be good for your health, the same with a large amount of cannabis."

 Physical damage

 Professor Murray said that in terms of physical damage, alcohol was more dangerous.

 "In absolute terms, far more people die of alcohol than cannabis. It's very difficult to kill yourself from cannabis. It may make you do some crazy things, but you're not going to get kidney or liver disease from cannabis.

 "In terms of the psychological problems it's different. If you drink heavily you'll get dementia eventually. But with cannabis, there's still a dispute."

 Professor Murray said there were relatively few studies on the psychological effects of cannabis, and there was "still an argument" about whether the cognitive impairment of a cannabis user returns to normal after heavy use.

 Psychological damage

 "In terms of hallucinations that is much more common with cannabis. If you're lucky you'll recover. But if you smoke cannabis for many years you may develop schizophrenia."

 Comparing the damage to non-users and society is difficult, said Professor Murray, mainly because one drug is legal and the other is not.

 "At present, alcohol does much more damage than cannabis. But of course a huge proportion of the male population is drinking every day - sometimes heavily. Nothing like the same proportion are smoking cannabis every day."

 In 2010, a study published in the Lancet on behalf of the independent scientific committee on drugs found that heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine (crystal meth) were the most harmful drugs to individuals.

 The most harmful drugs to those in contact with users were alcohol, crack cocaine and heroin. |||||Summary:

– Despite efforts to reclassify marijuana down to a Schedule II (read: less dangerous) drug, there are some people who still insist on its dangers—and new research may back those theories up. Scientists at King's College London have discovered that smoking potent, or "skunklike," cannabis was tied to almost a quarter of all new psychosis cases they studied, the BBC reports. The study published in the Lancet compared 410 patients between the ages of 18 and 65 who had experienced "first-episode psychosis" with 370 healthy patients. The results suggest that the development of psychosis—i.e., delusions and hallucinations—is three times greater for skunk smokers than for nonusers, and up to five times higher if they smoked it every day. Hashish, a milder form of cannabis that contains much less THC than the skunk variety, isn't linked to any increased risk for psychosis. English experts say that skunk cannabis is widespread, with one doctor telling the BBC, "In London, it's very difficult to find anything else." Anecdotal stories that back up the study's warnings are worrisome. One woman tells the BBC that, after smoking skunk pot, she "went from someone who had never experienced any mental health issues whatsoever to an absolute wreck." A recovering addict who's now a drug counselor tells Sky News that skunk is the "Incredible Hulk of cannabis [and is] absolutely decimating young people's lives." Still, despite the warnings, study researchers point out that, according to a 2010 study in the Lancet, the three most harmful drugs are alcohol, crack cocaine, and heroin; cannabis falls at No. 8, notes Channel 4 News. (It's not the first time suspicions have been raised linking skunk cannabis to psychosis.)


Ryan Gosling celebrated Eva Mendes' 42nd birthday in the best way possible -- by continuing to melt our hearts, of course!

 While the couple was on their way to grab take-out from Rick's Desert Grill -- a restaurant in Palm Springs, California -- over the weekend, The Big Short actor and his longtime girlfriend almost ran over a dog that had made its way to the middle of a main highway.

 WATCH: Ryan Gosling Gushes Over Eva Mendes

 AKM-GSI

 Gosling jumped out of the car and to the dog's rescue, saving it from any potential harm by other drivers.

 AKM-GSI

 In one of the photos exclusively obtained by ET, you can see the 35-year-old actor adorably picking up the light-haired furry friend and kindly handing him back over to his owner.

 AKM-GSI

 It doesn't get much cuter than that!

 NEWS: Eva Mendes Reveals Why She and Ryan Gosling Don't Have a Nanny for Esmeralda

 The rest of Gosling's trip was seemingly much more relaxing, as he and Mendes enjoyed a four-day getaway to Palm Springs, where they stayed at Frank Sinatra's ultra-luxurious former estate, a source tells ET.

 Gosling clearly pulled out all the stops for the Lost River actress' birthday, as the home -- which features four bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a recording studio, pool house and Sinatra memorabilia throughout -- rents for $2,600 a night, a total of $10,400 for their entire stay. The source adds that the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Esmeralda, also came along on the trip.

 AKM-GSI

 WATCH: Hilary Duff Adopts Her Late French Bulldog's Sister

 Gosling isn't the only celebrity who saved a pup this month, however. Hilary Duff adopted a French bulldog named Peaches, who is the sister of Beau, her beloved dog of the same breed who went to "doggy heaven" in January.

 To hear more on Peaches' adorable "chunky little butt," watch the video below. ||||| Human angel Ryan Gosling has done yet another good deed, bringing him ever closer to achieving sainthood.

 According to Entertainment Tonight, the actor and Eva Mendes nearly hit a dog with their car while driving on a California highway. The heroic Gosling, long may he protect us, jumped out of the car to save the dog and returned it to its owner.

 .@ryangosling saved a dog in the street while on a luxury getaway with @evamendes. 🐶 https://t.co/PWFWNpSgW2 pic.twitter.com/hfKf9EXBjY — The Insider (@TheInsider) March 10, 2016

 Did Gosling even wait around for a thank you? We can only assume he didn't have time, there are more dogs to save and people to inspire.

 If you are not convinced of Gosling's many good deeds, please try to remember that he's broken up a fight on the streets of New York City and saved a reporter from an oncoming taxi.

 Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Ryan Gosling, a hero? Only if heroes break up fights and save women from oncoming taxis. Oh, and rescue dogs that stray onto California highways. The 35-year-old actor was driving with Eva Mendes to celebrate her 42nd birthday in Palm Springs, Calif., this weekend when they nearly hit a dog—so the "human angel" got out of his car, grabbed the dog, and gave it back to its owner, Mashable reports. Photos in this tweet and this tweet seem to establish all this as fact. Gosling and Mendes spent much of their Palm Springs trip at Frank Sinatra's former estate, which cost them $10,400 for a four-night stay, Entertainment Tonight notes. Their one-year-old daughter Esmeralda also tagged along for the getaway. (On a more activist note, Gosling has shamed Costco over its eggs.)


Article:

The man who said he was served a deep fried piece of rat instead of chicken at a California KFC is being called a liar by the company, following a DNA test of the meat.

 “Recently, a customer questioned the quality of a KFC product, and this received considerable publicity given the sensational nature of his claim,” the KFC Rodrigo Coronel told FoxNews.com.

 On June 12 , KFC customer Devorise Dixon posted a now-viral photo of a piece of meat on his Facebook page that appeared to be rodent shaped with a long string of fried breading, resembling a tail.

 The image immediately drew skepticism from some while shocking others.

 KFC immediately responded to the allegations by sending out pictures that showed how the fried chicken is cooked, saying Dixon's original photo clearly showed white meat and couldn't possibly be a rat.

 Related Image Expand / Contract KFC sent out images showing how the meat could not have been rat. (KFC)

 After initially complaining to the restaurant manager, Dixon reportedly refused to communicate directly to KFC and retained an attorney, who gave the product to the chicken chain on Friday for testing at an independent lab.

 Now the results are in and DNA tests confirmed the product was chicken and not a rat as the customer claimed, according to KFC.

 “We did an internal investigation and talked to all employees. That statement is false,” Coronel said.

 KFC now wants Dixon to “apologize and cease making false claims.” ||||| A California man's claim that he was served a deep-fried "rat" at a KFC restaurant has been debunked with a DNA test of the meat, said the company, which commissioned the independent examination after the photo he posted on social media went viral.

 "Recently, a customer questioned the quality of a KFC product, and this received considerable publicity given the sensational nature of his claim," the company said in a statement to ABC News today.

 "On Friday, the customer's attorney turned over the product in question for testing at an independent lab, and the results officially confirmed what KFC knew all along -- the product was chicken and not a rat as he claimed," the company added.

 In a Facebook post, the customer, who identified himself as Devorise Dixon, 25, wrote: "I went to KFC and [bought] a 3 [piece] chicken tender! As I bit into a piece of it noticed it was very hard/touch and rubbery! Which sent this deep chill throughout my body. I looked down at it and saw it was a cooked rat! Made me feel sick!"

 The images, posted publicly on Dixon's page, show a breaded object with what could have been mistaken for a tail. The post quickly went viral last week, prompting the popular fast food chain to respond.

 KFC told ABC News last week: "Our chicken tenders often vary in size and shape, and we currently have no evidence to support this allegation."

 ABC News has reached out to Dixon for comment last week and today through Facebook, but Dixon did not immediately respond.

 In the post, Dixon wrote that he spoke to the manager at the KFC outlet who, he said, admitted that Dixon was served a rat -- and even apologized.

 The chain noted last week that other photos posted by Dixon "clearly" show "it's a piece of hand-breaded white meat chicken." |||||
What is a summary?

– Just as exciting as a Maury paternity test, but slightly more stomach-churning: The DNA test results are in for a KFC meal a California man claimed was a deep-fried rat. And those results show that it's definitely, absolutely, without a doubt nothing other than a fried chicken tender, just as the restaurant chain has insisted from day one, ABC News reports. The company had commissioned a lab test after 25-year-old Devorise Dixon posted a photo earlier this month to his Facebook page that showed a breaded, fried piece of … something that looked disgustingly like a rat had fallen into the batter vat. The photo soon went viral, and Dixon claimed on Facebook that when he went back to the restaurant, a manager admitted it was a rat and apologized. KFC decided to call Dixon's bluff. "Recently, a customer questioned the quality of a KFC product, and this received considerable publicity given the sensational nature of his claim," the company said in a statement given to ABC. On June 19, "the customer's attorney turned over the product in question for testing at an independent lab, and the results officially confirmed what KFC knew all along—the product was chicken and not a rat as he claimed." ABC couldn't reach Dixon for comment, but KFC has the obviously simple explanation for the oddly-shaped repast: "Our chicken tenders often vary in size and shape." The company also wants Dixon to say he's sorry and "cease making false claims," per Fox News. (We had a feeling fried rat wasn't part of KFC's $185 million plan to win customers back.)


Summarize this article:

It is of no surprise that the Great Recession had an impact on the retirement plans of many Americans. What is a shock though is just by how much. A component in the Federal Reserve’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households quantifies the number: roughly 40% of people 45 and over who were not yet retired have pushed back their retirement plans.

 This is no simple report to ignore, and this can affect the future of many things in America. It can affect Social Security, it can affect the financial markets via contributions and withdrawals of retirement funds, and it can affect the future workforce demographics in that older workers may simply not be removing themselves from the workforce, making it impossible for younger workers to graduate or move up.

 In how much (or any) contribution is being made, some 54% of those with incomes under $25,000 reported having no retirement savings or pension. This compares with only 10% of those earning $100,000 or more.

 Roughly one-third reported that they plan to retire at the same age as they had planned prior to 2008, and 36% now plan to retire at a later age than before the recession. The age breakdown is where the data gets skewed: some 41% of adults aged 45 and over now plan to retire at a later date than they had before 2008, and only 5% who gave at least some thought to retirement now plan to retire sooner than they had prior to 2008.

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 Among those aged 55 to 64 who had not yet retired, only 18% plan to follow the traditional retirement model of working full time until a set date and then stop working altogether. Some 24% expected to keep working as long as possible, and another 18% expected to retire and then work a part-time job. Another 9% said that they expect to retire and then become self-employed.

 Another retirement scare is a tale you have heard, but this quantifies it. The Fed showed that although the long-term shift from defined-benefit to defined-contribution (from pension to 401(K) and IRA) plans places significant responsibilities on individuals to plan for their own retirement, only about one-fourth appear to be actively doing so.

 Here is the true issue affecting many: they are clueless about their retirement! When asked how they and their spouse will pay for expenses in retirement, a whopping one-fourth of all respondents (and even 14% of those aged 45 or more) chose the answer “I don’t know.”

 I don’t know. This is a scarier notion than improper planning — it is not having a plan at all.

 We have outlined the full Fed household survey as well. ||||| One in five people who are near retirement age have zero money saved.

 Yes, you read that correctly.

 The sobering statistic was one of many released by the Federal Reserve on Thursday as part of its report on the economic well-being of U.S. households, which surveyed more than 4,100 people online last year between mid-September and early October.

 The study offered a stark reminder that as more Americans are made responsible for their own retirement, most are not saving nearly enough. Overall, 31 percent of people said they have zero money saved for retirement and do not have a pension. That included 19 percent of people between the ages of 55 and 64, or those closest to retirement age.

 What's going on here? A lot of people said they rarely thought about retirement, at least not until it was too late. About 41 percent of people ages 18 to 29 said they never thought about retirement planning, a number that understandably declined to 20 percent for people above the age of 60.

 But researchers said the dismal saving rates weren't fully explained by lack of caring. They also cited a combination of low resources and poor awareness:

 The lack of preparedness is not signaled by a lack of planning alone. Many respondents, particularly those with limited incomes, indicated that they simply have few or no financial resources available for retirement.

 For many people, particularly those working part time or earning low wages, the biggest obstacle to a steady retirement savings plan is access. About three-fourths of private sector workers with full-time jobs have access to a retirement plan, but that number drops to 37 percent for part-time workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 So, what did workers say about how they expected to cover expenses in retirement? The biggest resource people planned to rely on, whether they had savings or not, was Social Security, which was cited by roughly 45 percent of respondents.

 A lot of people said they would just keep working: About one-third of the people surveyed said they delayed their retirement date after the financial crisis. Among the people closest to retirement, those ages 45 and over, that number increases to 41 percent.

 Only 18 percent of people said they envisioned having a traditional retirement where they would work full time until a particular date and then stop working completely. About a quarter of respondents said they plan to work as long as possible. And another 18 percent said they expect to take on a part-time job.

 Not surprisingly, the most common savings vehicle was a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b), used by 44 percent of the people surveyed. That compares to 18 percent of people who said they were eligible to receive a pension from their employers.

 (Correction: This story has been updated to correct that three-fourths of private sector workers with full-time jobs have access to a retirement plan.)

 Read More:

 A third of consumers with credit files had debts in collections last year

 Americans’ checking accounts are filling with cash, but they’re afraid to spend it

 About 100 million Americans are now using credit unions. Should you join them? ||||| New data from the Federal Reserve highlight how many Americans continue to struggle financially more than five years after the end of the Great Recession.

 As of September 2013, when the central bank conducted the poll, a quarter of families said they were "just getting by," while an additional 13 percent were struggling to make ends meet.

 Asked to compare their current financial situation with how they were faring five years ago, as the housing crash was wreaking havoc on the economy, 34 percent of respondents said they were doing "somewhat or much worse" than in 2008. The same percentage reported essentially treading water, while 30 percent said they were doing better.

 "Given that respondents were being asked to compare their incomes to 2008, when the United States was in the depths of the financial crisis, the fact that over two-thirds of respondents reported being the same or worse off financially highlights the uneven nature of the recovery," the Federal Reserve said in the report.

 The Fed found that more than 60 percent of U.S. families were either "doing OK" or "living comfortably."

 The survey of 4,100 households was conducted between September and October of last year. Since then, economic growth has been inconsistent. The nation's GDP shrank 2.1 percent over the first three months of the year, when harsh winter weather slowed consumer spending and dented the housing sector. But GDP surged to an annualized 4 percent between April and June, while the job market has strengthened in recent months.

 Americans' biggest financial concerns centered on three issues, the Fed found: retirement, education and jobs. And even with the economy seemingly on the mend, other findings from the Fed survey highlight the financial challenges many Americans still face.

 For instance, a third of households who had applied for credit in the previous 12 months reported being turned down or getting less than they asked for. Meanwhile, 10 percent of households said their income fluctuates significantly from month to month, largely because of an irregular work schedule or because respondents are unemployed.

 Wage growth has been soft throughout the recovery, which officially began in June 2009. That has strained household budgets and damped consumer spending, slowing the pace of recovery. Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm employees was essentially flat last month. Wages are now growing at an annualized rate of only 2 percent, barely keeping earners ahead of inflation this year.

 Other key findings from the Fed survey: |||||

– Here's a scary stat for you, spotted by the Washington Post: About 1 in 5 people nearing retirement have no money for retirement. It comes from a newly released survey by the Federal Reserve of about 4,100 Americans. In total, 31% had saved no money for retirement, though the figure improved to 19% for those ages 55 to 64. What's more, 20% of people over 60 said retirement planning hadn't even crossed their minds, which probably explains why 24/7 Wall St. calls this "the next crisis." Another depressing find: Some 40% of non-retirees 45 and over have had to delay their pre-recession retirement plans. The problem doesn't just boil down to poor planning. "Many respondents, particularly those with limited incomes, indicated that they simply have few or no financial resources available for retirement," researchers say. In particular, a quarter of respondents said they were "just getting by," while 13% said they were struggling, CBS News reports. About 45% of people said they planned to rely on Social Security to pay the bills in retirement, while 25% gave the following answer: "I don't know." Just as many said they expected to work as long as they could, and another 18% planned to get a part-time job after retiring.


Russell Brand just can't stop talking about Katy Perry.

 One day after tabloids reported that the comedian had made his first public dig at Perry during a taping of his new show, "Brand X", the funny man had only nice things to say about his ex-wife when he sat down for back-to-back interviews.

 On Tuesday night, the 37-year-old comedian was quizzed about his recently finalized divorce from the popstar in an interview with fellow Brit Piers Morgan.

 "Of course I still feel great feelings of compassion and warmth for Katy," Brand told Morgan, echoing the love and goodwill he extended to the "Fireworks" singer in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres back in May.

 Brand took the high road again on Wednesday morning, when shock-jock Howard Stern drilled him for details on his failed 14-month marriage.

 "When we got married, I just thought, ‘I’ve got to marry her, I just love her so much.' And then we got married and I thought, ‘Okay, this isn’t really working out,'" Brand said in a clip released by Stern's Sirius/XM radio show.

 According to MTV.com, Brand even dished to Stern about tabloid reports that disagreements over starting a family played a role in the split. Brand acknowledged that they had discussed having children, but he refused to say anything more for Perry's sake.

 "I don't want anything to hurt her," he reportedly told Stern. "She's younger than me, she's a young woman and she's beautiful and she's sensitive and I care about her deeply ... I don't want to be too glib... She'll read it and she'll be sad and I don't want that."

 One thing Brand didn't mind confirming to Stern? Recent reports that he's in a relationship with Isabella Brewster, the younger sister of "Dallas" star Jordana Brewster. "Ah, yes, yes, and some things in the newspaper are true," Brand joked.

 Watch the video above for more of Piers Morgan's interview with Brand, then click through the slideshow below for scenes from the comedian's 14-month marriage to Perry.

 Loading Slideshow 'Heaven' Black Tie Gala Singer Katy Perry and comedian Russell Brand attend The Art of Elysium's 3rd Annual Black Tie Charity Gala 'Heaven' on January 16, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images

 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards Comedian Russell Brand and singer Katy Perry arrive at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards - Salute To Icons Honoring Doug Morris held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 30, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS

 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards Singer Katy Perry and comedian Russell Brand in the audience during the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS

 2010 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Singer Katy Perry and actor Russell Brand arrive at the 2010 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower on March 7, 2010 in West Hollywood, California. Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

 'Get Him to the Greek' Afterparty Singer Katy Perry (L) and actor Russell Brand appear at the afterparty for the premiere of Universal Pictures' 'Get Him to the Greek' at the Greek Theater on May, 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

 'Get Him To The Greek' Premiere Actor/comedian Russell Brand and singer Katy Perry arrive at the premiere of Universal Pictures' 'Get Him To The Greek' held at the Greek Theatre on May 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

 MTV Europe Awards 2010 Katy Perry (L) and Russell Brand attend the MTV Europe Awards 2010 at the La Caja Magica on November 7, 2010 in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images

 'The Tempest' Premiere Singer Katy Perry and actor Russell Brand arrive at the premiere of Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films' 'The Tempest' at the El Capitan Theatre on December 6, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards Singer Katy Perry and actor Russell Brand arrive at The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 13, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images

 'Arthur' Premiere Russell Brand and Katy Perry attend the European premiere of Arthur at the Cineworld O2 on April 19, 2011 in London, England. Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images

 2011 MTV Video Music Awards Singer Katy Perry (L) and husband Russell Brand arrive at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on August 28, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images

 'Change Begins Within' Benefit Singer Katy Perry (L) and actor Russell Brand attend the 3rd Annual 'Change Begins Within' Benefit Celebration presented by The David Lynch Foundation held at LACMA on December 3, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images

 Earlier on HuffPost: ||||| Just two days after his divorce from Katy Perry was finalized , comedian Russell Brand went on Howard Stern's Sirius/XM radio show on Wednesday (July 18) morning thinking he was going to promote his new FX show "Brand X."

 Instead, Stern peppered the funnyman with dozens of questions about the details of the divorce as Brand tried to resist the classic Howard charm with self-deprecation and honesty about the split.

 "I loved her so much, it just seemed like the sensible thing to do [when we got married] ... I just loved her so much," Brand said about the "overwhelming" sense of affection he had for the singer when they tied the knot in India two years ago. But once they were husband and wife, Brand admitted that he realized, "this isn't really working out, it's a difficult situation ... I was really, really in love with her, but it was difficult to see each other ... We were together when it was right to be together, and when it wasn't we worked it out ... It was a lovely relationship ... it mostly didn't work for practical reasons ... We did work it out, she's happy, I'm happy." With Brand working on movies and Perry in the studio and on the road, the long distance relationship thing just took a toll on the couple. "She's young, successful and dedicated," he said of his former wife's ambition and drive. "[The reality is] you can't fully understand it until you do it. I was really into the idea of marriage and having children."

 Brand said he's still dedicated to the idea of being a dad and revealed that he and Perry did discuss starting a family, but he declined to give any details about those talks in order to avoid bruising feelings. "I don't want anything to hurt her," he said. "She's younger than me, she's a young woman and she's beautiful and she's sensitive and I care about her deeply ... I don't want to be too glib," he said about fears that Perry would read second-hand tabloid accounts of his Stern interview that will twist his words around. "She'll read it and she'll be sad and I don't want that."

 Stern being Stern, talk eventually turned to whether avowed former sex addict Brand was now sowing his wild oats again, which the "Rock of Ages" star answered by invoking a "Willy Wonka" metaphor. "If you've been on a diet of rice for a while and suddenly Willy Wonka asked you to take over the factory," he said, "you'd be kicking over barrels of candy and swimming in a chocolate river."

 Brand would not, however, give a completely straight answer about reports that he is dating actress Jordana Brewster's younger sister, Isabella, with whom he was spotted hanging out over the weekend. "Some things in the newspaper aren't true ... that's true, actually," he said, adding that he was enjoying the "freedom" of being single again and reaffirming his commitment to hedonism. Though he intimated that there was someone in the bed with him as he called in from the West Coast for the interview, Brand argued that whoever it was is a "real person" and he wasn't into dragging her into the tabloid muck.

 When Stern began listing a roster of alleged reasons for the marriage's dissolution, from Brand's reported fetishes to the purported friction with Perry's religious parents, the "Brand X" star denied the reports. "Her parents were lovely," he said, noting that he had a great relationship with Katy's mom and dad and that they identified with his quest for spirituality through meditation, yoga and Eastern religion. "I don't read newspapers no more," he said. "Because I think it warps your perspective on everything."

 He also explained to Stern why he had no interest in trying to claim half of the $40-plus million Perry earned during their time together in the divorce. "I've got a good job," he said. "All I want to do I want to live a good life ... I'm not into taking money from women."

 Brand, who has had a good on-air relationship with Stern in the past and always provided the satellite star with entertaining interviews, only got uncomfortable when Stern forced him to listen to the lyrics from Perry's single "Wide Awake." While the lyrics have been interpreted as a reaction to the split, Brand said he'd not heard the song, but that he was okay with whatever Perry needed to do to get over the divorce.

 "She's a good person, I've got nothing but love for her," Brand said, countering Stern's suggestions that the song and Perry's pop-oriented music might have been an irritant to the comedian with a more rock-and-roll persona. "I was very proud of everything she did," he said.

 When Stern began dissecting the lyrics, citing the lines "I was in the dark ... I was falling hard ... how did I read the stars so wrong," Brand got audibly uncomfortable. "That could be about anything ... horoscopes, astronomy," Brand joked. Citing the lines, "Now it's clear to me/ that everything you see/ ain't always what it seems," Stern kept at it, suggesting that Perry was revealing her real feelings on the break.

 "Your interpretation sounds somewhat arbitrary," Brand said. "She's a young woman dealing with the breakup of a relationship ... which is understandable. It's a nice song." |||||

Write a summary.

– Russell Brand has been talking about Katy Perry quite a bit this week, the Huffington Post observes: On Tuesday, Brand took his first shot at Perry since they split. While filming his new show, Brand X, the comedian started bantering with an audience member also named Katy. Eventually he said, "Enough of you, I’ve had enough arse-ache from people called Katy in the last year," according to the Sun. Then, Tuesday night, he sat down for an interview with Piers Morgan and went a different way. "Of course I still feel great feelings of compassion and warmth for Katy," he said, "but like, I'm very happy with my life." Finally, yesterday, he was interviewed by Howard Stern—and even Stern couldn't get him to say anything mean. "When we got married, I just thought, 'I’ve got to marry her, I just love her so much.' And then we got married and I thought, 'OK, this isn’t really working out,'" he said. He later refused to dish any more details on why they split, MTV reports: "I don't want anything to hurt her," he told Stern. "She's younger than me, she's a young woman and she's beautiful and she's sensitive and I care about her deeply ... I don't want to be too glib. She'll read it and she'll be sad and I don't want that." Click for more, including Brand confessing to having a new girlfriend.