News article:

Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| Congressman Dennis Kucinich bought a sandwich from the Longworth House Office Building cafeteria in April 2008, and bit into it only to find an unpitted olive that cracked a tooth. This month, he sued the cafeteria for selling "dangerous" sandwiches.

 The complaint is pretty bare-boned: It claims that in April 2008, Kucinich purchased a "sandwich wrap" from the Longworth Cafeteria with an errant olive pit lurking within, and tragedy ensued.

 Kucinich didn't detail the costs of the dental work, or precisely what "enjoyment" he lost. Or why he's filing a complaint three years after the olive incident. But he's suing Restaurant Associates and three other companies involved in running and supplying the cafeteria for $150,000, claiming negligence and breach of implied warranty. What an odd man.

 Update: Here's some video of Kucinich on the House floor on April 22, 2008—five days after encountering the olive pit that caused "serious and permanent dental and oral injuries requiring multiple oral and dental surgeries." He looks fine and talks normal!

 [There was a video here]

 A spokesman for Kucinich said "he has no comment other than to say this is a private legal matter." Attempts to call Restaurant Associates were met with a repeated busy signal. The entire lawsuit is embedded below.

 Click to view

 [Courthouse News [pdf], photo of Kucinich via Getty Images] |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Rep. Dennis Kucinich cracked his tooth on an errant olive pit in April 2008, and he’s not happy about it. The Ohio Democrat is now, almost three years later, suing the congressional cafeteria where he bought the sandwich that included the unpitted olive, Gawker reports, citing official documents from Courthouse News. In the paperwork, Kucinich claims the “sandwich wrap” he purchased at the Longworth House Office Building was “unwholesome and unfit for human consumption.” The price tag for his “serious and permanent dental and oral injuries:” $150,000.


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Story highlights UPS driver "a huge help," sheriff's spokesman says

 Woman tells police she had been beaten and held captive

 (CNN) A UPS driver who spotted "call 911" scrawled on a package helped police free a woman who had been held captive in her own home and sexually assaulted, authorities said.

 "He was a huge help," Franklin County Sheriff's Department Sgt. T.J. Wild told CNN affiliate KMOV

 The driver called police after making a scheduled stop to pick up the package at a home in Robertsville, Missouri, on Tuesday. A SWAT team sent to the house in response to his call took 33-year-old James Tyler Jordan into custody, police said.

 Jordan's wife told authorities that her husband had refused to let her leave, punched and slapped her, forced her to strip and sexually assaulted her, court documents state. She said he was holding a gun to her head and threatening to kill her, then himself, when the UPS driver arrived.

 Jordan allegedly had her talk with the driver while standing behind her with a gun. Somehow she had managed to write her plea for help on the package, according to the documents.

 Read More ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video

 ROBERTSVILLE, MO (KTVI) - "Contact 911" was the message written on a package being sent from a Franklin County home. A woman gave the package to a delivery truck driver at around 11:20am Tuesday. The driver contacted police and they responded to a home in the 6000 block of Willow Ford Road. The Franklin County Sheriff's office says a 3-year-old also lives in the home.

 Deputies spoke with a woman who lives at there. They say that she was cooperative. They learned that a James Jordan, 33, from Robertsville at the home had previous arrests, including assault. As she was speaking with deputies, a man shut the front door and refused to cooperate.

 The Franklin County Sheriff's office says the man was possibly armed with a .45 caliber handgun and had access to rifles. The SWAT team was activated because the man was not cooperating with law enforcement and there was a toddler in the home.

 The man surrendered to police before the Franklin County SWAT team arrived at the home. He was taken into custody without further incident. The toddler was located inside the home, unharmed.

 Jordan has been charged with domestic assault, sodomy, felonious restraint, unlawful use of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. Bond has been set at $100,000 cash only.

 The endangering charges stem from allegations that he locked a 3-year old child in a room for several hours while allegedly assaulting the woman in the home. |||||

– Authorities say a UPS driver "made a huge difference" in helping rescue a woman who was being abused by her husband this week in Missouri, KMOV reports. On Monday night, 33-year-old James Jordan allegedly locked the couple's 3-year-old son in a bedroom without food or water and started assaulting his wife. The victim says Jordan beat her, put a gun to her head, and threatened to kill her. When she tried to leave the house, she says he dragged her back inside by the hair. She also says Jordan forced her to take off her clothes then sexually assaulted her, according to CNN. A UPS driver made a scheduled stop at the house Tuesday to pick up a package—15 hours after the alleged abuse started. Authorities say the victim handed the package to the driver while Jordan stood behind her with a gun. She managed to write "contact 911" on the package as the driver was leaving. KTVI reports the driver called police, who arrived at the home and arrested Jordan without incident. "We are grateful this UPS driver with more than a decade of service followed protocol when he saw a customer in distress," CNN quotes UPS as saying in a statement. Jordan has been charged with domestic assault, sodomy, felonious restraint, unlawful use of a weapon, and endangering the welfare of a child.


News article:

Study Highlights:

 A commonly used heartburn medication caused blood vessel cells to age faster in laboratory testing.

 These findings could help explain recent reports linking long-term use of heartburn medication to several serious illnesses, including heart disease, kidney disease and dementia.

 Clinical studies still are necessary to determine if the drugs damage blood vessel cells within the body.

 Embargoed until 3 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 10, 2016

 DALLAS, May 10, 2016 — A popular over-the-counter medication for heartburn, caused laboratory blood vessel cells to age quicker, according to new research in Circulation Research, an American Heart Association journal.

 Reflux, often called heartburn, occurs when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus, causing irritation and damage. Mild reflux is fairly common, but frequent, severe occurrences, known as GERD for gastroesophageal reflux disease, can cause significant discomfort and may require treatment. Many people find relief by using over-the-counter medications called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which reduce acid produced by the stomach. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates that 1 in 14 Americans have used PPIs.

 After recent evidence linking long-term PPI use to several serious illnesses, including heart disease, kidney disease and dementia, researcher sought to identify how PPIs increase risk by studying their effects on blood vessel cells.

 Now, researchers at Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI) say they have discovered that long term exposure to PPIs “accelerated biological aging in human endothelial cells which line the inside of blood vessels. When healthy, human endothelial cells create a Teflon-like coating that prevents blood from sticking. When older and diseased, the endothelium becomes more like Velcro, with blood elements sticking to the vessel to form blockages.”

 They also found that long-term PPI exposure impairs acid production by the lysosomes in the cells lining the blood vessel walls. They noted that the lysosome — the part of the cell that typically clears waste products — did not produce enough acid to clear waste. In turn, the buildup of waste caused the cell to age rapidly. Notably, another type of antacid known as an H2 antagonist, did not have this adverse effect.

 “Lysosomes are like the garbage disposal of cells,” said John P. Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., study lead author and professor and chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the HMRI and director of the Houston Methodist Research Institute Center for Cardiovascular Regeneration in Texas. “They need to generate acid to get rid of cellular rubbish, and when cellular rubbish accumulates the cells age faster.”

 Although PPIs can be effective for short-term use, they are not meant for extended treatment, researchers said. PPIs do not require a prescription or doctor’s supervision, which can lead to overuse.

 “With the knowledge that PPIs are being used by millions of people for indications and durations that were never tested or approved, it may be time for the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies to re-visit the specificity and the safety of these agents,” Cooke said. “Unless otherwise indicated, physicians should consider PPIs only for short-term use for relief of symptoms of GERD, since we now have a ‘smoking gun’ that helps explain the consistent observational evidence of increased risk.”

 Cooke added that there are other approaches to long-term treatment that might be considered for GERD including H2 antagonists, lifestyle modifications, and in severe cases, surgical approaches.

 The current one has several limitations. Although two different PPIs were tested, only one of these esomeprazole (brand name Nexium) is commercially available. In addition, it did not show how PPIs actually impair the lysosome’s ability to produce enough acid to clear waste. Finally, since this study was in a laboratory setting, it could not show whether PPIs act in the same way within the human body, and long-term clinical trials are necessary.

 Co-authors are Gautham Yepuri, Ph.D.; Roman Sukhovershin, Ph.D.; Timo Z. Nazari-Shafti, M.D.; Michael Petrascheck, Ph.D. and Yohannes T. Ghebre, Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

 The National Institute of Health and the Swiss National Science Foundation funded the study.

 Additional Resources:

 Researcher photo, medication images, and heart graphic are located in the right column of this release link http://newsroom.heart.org/news/heartburn-drug-damages-blood-vessel-cells-in-lab-finding?preview=9c99da54e21c70a1a941c9610398ecef

 Heartburn or heart attack?

 Follow AHA/ASA news on Twitter @HeartNews.

 ###

 Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association’s policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

 For Media Inquiries and AHA/ASA Spokesperson Perspective: (214) 706-1173

 Akeem Ranmal: (214) 706-1755; akeem.ranmal@heart.org

 Julie Del Barto (national broadcast): (214) 706-1330; julie.delbarto@heart.org

 For Public Inquiries: (800)-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)

 heart.org and strokeassociation.org ||||| Millions of Americans take proton pump inhibitors to treat acid reflux and heartburn. Known as PPIs, they are among the most prescribed drugs in the United States and are widely available over the counter.

 But according to preliminary research presented today at an American Heart Association conference in New Orleans, these medications may also increase the risk of ischemic stroke

 Ischemic strokes are the most common type of stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . They occur when a blood clot cuts off blood flow to the brain.

 "PPIs have been associated with unhealthy vascular function, including heart attacks, kidney disease and dementia," said Dr. Thomas Sehested, the study's lead author and a researcher at the Danish Heart Foundation . "We wanted to see if PPIs also posed a risk for ischemic stroke, especially given their increasing use in the general population."

 Most serious warning yet

 Protonix, The research was conducted in Denmark among a quarter-million patients who suffered from stomach pain and indigestion, and were taking one of four PPIs: Prilosec Prevacid or Nexium

 Overall stroke risk increased 21% among patients who were taking a PPI, according to the study. At the lowest doses, the authors found either no or minimal increased risk of stroke. At the highest doses, they found that stroke risk increased 33% for Prilosec and Prevacid patients, 50% for Nexium patients and 79% for Protonix patients.

 In an email to CNN, P&G, the company that makes Prilosec, said the drug is an "FDA approved, safe and effective remedy to relieve frequent heartburn symptoms. Prilosec OTC has the longest history of safe and effective consumer use of any [over the counter] PPI."

 Takeda, the maker of Prevacid, said it could not comment on the results and conclusions of the study until the full data is published for review. "Patient safety is a top priority ... and we continuously monitor the safety of all our medicines and collaborate with regulatory agencies to ensure this information is reflected in the respective prescribing information," a spokesman said in an email to CNN.

 AstraZeneca, the maker of Nexium, said, "Patient safety is an important priority ... and we believe all of our PPI medicines are generally safe and effective when used in accordance with the label." A spokeswoman said the company was not consulted during the research, so it could not comment on the data.

 Pfizer, the maker of Protonix, did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

 "At one time, PPIs were thought to be safe, without major side effects," Sehested said. "This study further questions the cardiovascular safety of these drugs."

 JUST WATCHED Drug-resistant bacteria found in U.S. Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Drug-resistant bacteria found in U.S. 02:18

 A pair of 2010 studies found that PPIs were associated with an increased risk of a serious bacterial infection . Stomach acid seems to play a role in killing off both good and bad bacteria in our gut. When someone is taking PPIs, their amount of stomach acid is reduced, and it creates an environment in which bacteria can flourish.

 "As a culture, we tend to want a pill to deal with our problems, when a lot of people could reduce their heartburn by eating smaller meals, drinking less alcohol or not smoking," Dr. Michael Katz, who wrote an editorial accompanying the studies, told CNN in 2010

 In April, another study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology found that patients who took PPIs had a 96% increased risk of kidney failure and a 28% increased risk of kidney disease, compared with those who were prescribed alternative medications.

 What are the alternatives?

 Medical professionals estimate that the majority of people who suffer from acid reflux or heartburn could drastically or completely reduce their discomfort by making a few lifestyle changes: quit smoking, lose weight and cut back on spicy and fatty foods.

 If your doctor determines that you do need pills for your problem, pharmacist NaaDede Badger-Plange suggests starting with an antacid , such as Tums, Rolaids or Maalox.

 JUST WATCHED Ways to treat heartburn Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Ways to treat heartburn 02:40

 "Antacids usually would help if you have less than one incident a week," Badger-Plange said . "So, if you have heartburn very rarely -- especially people who have heartburn associated with certain foods -- they could take antacids."

 Antacids provide quick relief, but only for a short amount of time, said Badger-Plange, and consumers should pay close attention to the ingredients on the label. If you're pregnant, you should avoid sodium bicarbonate and magnesium trisilicate. Patients with kidney disease should avoid antacids that contain aluminum.

 For longer-lasting relief, H2 antagonist medications (also called H2 blockers) are also an option, but they can take a few hours to kick in.

 Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.

 "One thing to keep in mind is, certain products that are in the H2 receptor antagonist class have drug interactions," Badger-Plange said. "So, if you have a lot of medications, you probably want to check with your pharmacist at the counter to make sure it's OK to take those medications."

 As always, you should talk to your doctor before starting or stopping any medication -- prescribed or over the counter.

 For years, Katz has been worried that PPIs "reinforce the idea that the solution to behavioral health issues is to take a pill, and that's just not how we're going to get healthier," he said in 2010. "Consumers need to ask their doctors, 'Why am I taking this? Do I still need this? Do I have an alternative?' " |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Heartburn is a big problem in the US. In fact, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are used to treat acid reflux and heartburn, are among the most prescribed drugs in the country, with millions taking them, and they're becoming more widely available over-the-counter, reports CNN. But a preliminary report just released by the American Heart Association is concerned that the drug—already associated with a higher risk of heart attack and other vascular problems, as the AHA reported earlier this year—may also increase one's risk of ischemic stroke, the most common type caused when a clot cuts off blood flow to the brain. "At one time, PPIs were thought to be safe, without major side effects," the study's lead author says. “This study further questions the cardiovascular safety of these drugs." Researchers followed nearly a quarter-million patients in Denmark who were suffering from stomach pain and indigestion and had an endoscopy. Their average age was 57, and six years later those taking one of four PPIs (Prilosec, Protonix, Prevacid, or Nexium) had a 21% higher risk of stroke than those not taking one. Lowest-dose PPIs didn't increase the risk much if at all, while highest-dose increased it, from 30% for Prevacid to 94% for Protonix. Another type of acid-lowering meds called H2 blockers (think Pepcid and Zantac) showed no elevated risk. "As a culture, we tend to want a pill to deal with our problems, when a lot of people could reduce their heartburn by eating smaller meals, drinking less alcohol, or not smoking," one doc told CNN in 2010. (PPIs are also associated with a higher risk of dementia.)


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– Charlie Sheen may have alienated his "truther" fans, but it looks like he'll be able to replace them with birthers. Politics was on the agenda when Sheen's "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour hit Washington, DC, Tuesday night and the actor got plenty of cheers when he raised the birth certificate issue, reports the Washington Post. "For starters, I was f**king born here, how about that? And I got proof!" Sheen said. "Nothing Photoshopped about my birth certificate." Sheen—observing that a poll shows him beating "that lunatic from Alaska" Sarah Palin—discussed the possibility of a presidential bid, with Nicolas Cage as his running mate, Politico reports. President Sheen would legalize pot, "send the IRS to prison," and deal with Moammar Gadhafi by sending ex-wife Denise Richards and soon-to-be-ex-wife Brooke Mueller to Libya. "If I run for president and win, country music is illegal," Sheen told the crowd.

His fans cheered in support of a potential presidential bid by Charlie Sheen. | Photo by Reuters Close

 "I understand this place has some f—king history," he said, referring to the nation's capital as "Awesome-ville" as he sported a Washington Nationals jersey. "I've got some history, too."

 Here’s a sampling of Sheen’s political one-liners:

 On whom he’d pick as a vice presidential running mate: "At this point: Nick Cage."

 On his platform: "If I run for president and f—king win, country music is illegal."

 On a potential presidential run: "Is it the craziest f—king idea ever?" "Is there anybody in here that would actually f—king vote for me?"

 On how he'd trim federal spending: "I would disband the Fed, like, now. … And send the IRS to prison."

 On marijuana laws: "I would legalize pot. Everywhere. Vending machines, all of it. And subsidize everything."

 On presidential leadership: "I would inspire people to start making s— again. ... Cars, washing machines, all of it."

 On how he'd punish Muammar Qadhafi: "I'd make him marry Brooke and Denise.”

 Sheen was referring to Denise Richards, whom he divorced in 2006, and Brooke Mueller, from whom he's estranged. The start time of Sheen's show was delayed an hour thanks to his mandated court appearance at a Los Angeles court Tuesday where Sheen lost custody of his twins with Mueller. "Hope you had a better f—king day than I did," joked Sheen. "Sorry, I'm late."

 Sheen wasn't the only head turner at DAR on Tuesday: Tareq and Michaele Salahi were there to take in the show and enjoyed plenty of posing with fans. POLITICO caught up with them before the show to get their take on Sheen. ||||| Correction: Earlier versions of this article misspelled the name of reality-TV personality Tareq Salahi. This version has been corrected.

 A couple of thousand people were held hostage by Charlie Sheen’s ego Tuesday night in an auditorium named after the female descendants of the American Revolution, half a mile from the World War II Memorial in the capital of the free world. This prompts an icky existential question: If the abusive ex-star of a CBS sitcom can compel a legion of citizens to pay $104.25 apiece to be doused in cultural bile, is the free world a little too free?

 The answer, of course, is no. Mostly no. No, except for the five seconds after Sheen seemed to imply that he believes President Obama wasn’t born in the United States, triggering boisterous applause from the mostly young, near-capacity crowd at the 3,700-seat DAR Constitution Hall. Sheen seemed to toy with the idea of running for president (with Nicolas Cage) and noted that his birth certificate was not “Photoshopped.”

 The man has become so unreadable that it was hard to tell whether he was joking or serious. He was, though, noncommittal about running and occasionally circumspect.

 “Every day is just one day,” Sheen said at the top of the show. “Tomorrow is not here yet.”

 It was the end of a long day for Sheen, who deployed his lawyers to two court hearings in Southern California on Tuesday morning, charioted himself in a black Rolls-Royce to the Van Nuys Airport that afternoon, and blazed across the continent in a private jet to walk onstage 67 minutes late for his show in downtown Washington, the halfway point in his 20-city tour titled “Violent Torpedo of Truth: Defeat Is Not an Option,” a kind of Sherman’s March of the male libido.

 Washington as a whole greeted Sheen with a feisty, inebriated bear hug, but there was some wonky thoughtfulness in the crowd.

 “I came here to see Charlie Sheen on an extended loop and be both horrified and entertained,” said a 34-year-old lobbyist who declined to give her name because she’s a “professional girl” who “cares about my future.”

 “Not often can you see a public figure implode in front of your eyes — usually you can only see that through the media,” said her 40-year-old lobbyist friend, who was also too embarrassed to be identified.

 “We perpetuate this image that is fake and a lie, and we put it on television,” railed a TV reporter into her cellphone — presumably to an editor — as she prepared to do a spot from outside the venue before the show started. “That’s how I feel as a journalist.”

 Me, too, but here’s the straightest scoop deliverable: The show began with a stream-of-consciousness monologue about Sheen’s hatred of ex-wives and his failure to secure sole custody of his children earlier in the day. It lurched onward to a dry sit-down interview — led by much-booed WBIG (100.3 FM) host Tommy Griffiths — about the first time Sheen met Marlon Brando. The crowd quaked with catcalls whenever Sheen wasn’t talking about doing drugs or manhandling women.

 “ENTERTAIN US,” boomed a male voice as Sheen waxed philosophical on the hard living of Dennis Hopper.

 “SHUT THE [EXPLETIVE] UP AND SAY SOMETHING WEIRD,” demanded another.

 It has been less than two months since Sheen outed himself as a warlock who is capable of ingesting “epic” amounts of cocaine, vanquishing addiction with his superhuman mind, shrugging off his nearly $2 million-an-episode job with Warner Bros. and orating on national television about the vague, seemingly mutable bylaws of nature and space-time (Google “winning” and “tiger blood” and “Adonis DNA” and so on).

 In the first week or so of his renaissance (or breakdown, depending on your standards), it seemed as if Sheen was onto something, as if he were imbued with a spiritual clarity reserved for prophets, as if he were pulverizing and remolding the very notion of celebrity.

 That notion of celebrity now seems to belong to his audiences — or at least the one at DAR, whose restlessness guided the rhythms of the show and whose outbursts were often more entertaining than the ramblings of Sheen or his better-received guest, stand-up comic Jeff Ross.

 “Curiosity about exploitation” was why 33-year-old Arlington salesman Johnny Champane came with three friends at the last minute. “Exploitation of himself. Of us. We bought tickets, didn’t we?”

 Since this was Washington, Griffiths asked Sheen how he’d handle Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi (“I’d make him marry [my ex-wives] Brooke and Denise”) and about what he’d defund to balance the budget (disband the Fed and “send the IRS to prison”). The crowd veered between boos and applause so frequently and quickly that one was indistinguishable from another.

 “Geez, you guys hate everything,” Sheen said at one point.

 Recognizable Washingtonians in attendance included Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the infamous White House gate-crashers and erstwhile reality-TV personalities, who signed autographs in the lobby, where they inadvertently created the event-horizon of a cultural black hole. |||||


Donald Trump It's FLEEING Day For a Ton of Celebs

 Fleeing Day for Celebs Who Vowed to Move to Canada

 The Oscars, Grammys and Emmys might wanna think about moving next year -- IF people like Miley Cyrus, Neve Campbell, Ne-Yo and a ton of others stick to their guns.

 Take a look at the celebs who vowed to pack their bags -- for Canada or Europe or Africa or another planet -- if Donald Trump became POTUS.

 Lena Dunham's gonna love waking up to moose in her backyard garden, and ya just know Barbra Streisand can sing the crap out of "O Canada." ||||| Richard Dreyfuss and Son Talk About Backlash to Attending Ted Cruz Rally

 WATCH: Trump Tells Christie 'Go Home,' Social Media Freaks Out

 These celebrities had some, uh, extreme responses to the possibility of Donald Trump winning the White House.

 Rev. Al Sharpton has said he’s “reserving my ticket to get out of here if he wins.”

 The View’s Whoopi Goldberg said, “I don’t think that’s America. I don’t want it to be America.”

 “Maybe it’s time for me to move,” she added.

 Sienna Miller and Bryan Cranston also made it clear that they intend to leave the U.S. due to a Trump presidency.

 And Raven-Symone imparted this gem.

 Hannity.com published a list of celebrities who have made similar declarations.

 Funnily enough, someone on a Nova Scotia island may have the answer to their problems.

 An online campaign called “Cape Breton If Donald Trump Wins” is offering Trump haters a new home.

 Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., responded to the remarks on Fox and Friends this morning.

 “I’ll buy them their airfare,” said Donald Jr. “Those are endorsements for Trump.”

 Update: After Trump's stunning win, many celebrities took to social media to express their dismay and disbelief. Watch the Fox 411 report below.

 'The Highest Level of Integrity': Cruz Hits Back on 'Dirty Tricks' Accusations

 Pavlich: Personal Attacks in the GOP Race Are an 'Embarrassing Display'

 Ben Carson: I've Been Offered Money, Political Support to Drop Out ||||| Rating is available when the video has been rented.

 This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. ||||| Porn pooh-bah Larry Flynt says he might move to Canada if Donald Trump is elected president, claiming the GOP nominee “nauseates” him.

 Flynt, who built an empire of smut starting with Hustler magazine, is a longtime Democratic supporter.

 “The thought of Donald Trump becoming president nauseates me in a big way,” Flynt told Toronto-based HOSS magazine.

 And if Trump wins?

 “I don’t know, maybe move to Canada,” Flynt, 73, said.

 The porn potentate, whose company has produced X-rated video fare like Asian Fever 12, Barely Legal 151 and The Porn Identity, admits he follows politics intensely.

 “I wish I didn’t. I don’t know why I let it obsess me the way it does,” he told the magazine.

 Flynt endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2015 and has ribbed Trump throughout the property developer`s quixotic march to the White House.

 His company also created a parody porn specifically targeting Trump where the billionaire searches for a running mate, The Donald. Evan Stone stars with Britney Amber. ||||| “If me winning means Rosie O'Donnell moves to Canada, I'd be doing a great service to our country!”

 Donald Trump responds to news that if he won the presidential election, Rosie O’Donnell says she would leave America.

 Chelsea Handler says she’ll move to her house in Spain.

 Lena Dunham is eyeing Vancouver.

 His reply: "Well, she's a B-actor. And you know, has no mojo..."

 Jon Stewart says he might just leave the planet entirely.

 Why are all these celebrities on the move?

 They can’t abide Donald Trump.

 Handler, Dunham and Stewart are among many celebrities who have said, jokingly or otherwise, that if Trump is elected, they will leave the United States.

 Many would consider moving to Canada.

 (There’s a website called cbiftrumpwins.com — Cape Breton If Donald Trump Wins — that shows off the beauty of the Canadian island and suggests people come there. The site advertises the island’s good weather, affordable housing, magnificent scenery and friendly people; it’s had over a million visits.)

 Since the beginning of 2016, a surprising number of celebs have gone on record to say that a Trump presidential win will prompt them to move. Cher, for example, said she’d move to Jupiter if Trump got elected.

 At the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Vanity Fair magazine captured a dozen famed folk talking about their plans to flee a Trump-led America; Armie Hammer, star of The Social Network and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. came up with the great idea of moving to the Caribbean and starting a Jet Ski business.

 Some of the others who weighed in include Chloe Sevigny, who says she’ll move to Nova Scotia if Trump becomes president, Elizabeth Moss, who says she’s always had a hankering to live in Italy, and Kathryn Hahn, who opted for Iceland rather than sticking around, should Trump sit in the Oval Office.

 (Anyone who has seen Hahn in the spectacularly funny film Bad Moms, which opens Friday, knows this would be Iceland’s gain.)

 Lily Rose Depp says she would live in France. Gabrielle Union might go to the Bahamas. Zosia Mamet was no doubt kidding when she said she’d move to Siberia.

 Let these 10 high profile types tell you themselves:

 LENA DUNHAM: “I know a lot of people have been threatening to do this, but I really will. I know a lovely place in Vancouver, and I can get my work done from there.”

 JENNY SLATE: “If Donald Trump wins the presidency, a pig will fly out of my butthole, because it will be a nightmare.”

 MILEY CYRUS: “Honestly f— this s— I am moving if this is my president! I don’t say things I don’t mean! ”

 SAMUEL L. JACKSON: “If that motherf— becomes President I’m moving my black a— to South Africa.”

 GEORGE LOPEZ: “If he wins, he won’t have to worry about immigration. We’ll all go back.”

 JON STEWART: "I would consider getting in a rocket and going to another planet, because clearly this planet's gone bonkers.”

 NEVE CAMPBELL: I’m terrified. It’s really scary. My biggest fear is that Trump will triumph. I cannot believe that he is still in the game. I cannot conceive of how that’s possible. I’ll move back to Canada.”

 RAVEN-SYMONE: “I already have my ticket. I literally bought my ticket [to Canada], I swear.”

 WHOOPI GOLDBERG: “When they just use a blanket statement to talk about black people or when they use a blanket statement to talk about white people or women or any other group — I don’t think that’s America. I don’t want it to be America. Maybe it’s time for me to move.”

 EDDIE GRIFFIN: “If Trump wins, I’m moving to Africa. If he wants to build a wall to keep Mexicans out, I know what the f— he feel about a n—.”

 Twitter: @LizBraunSun

 LBraun@postmedia.com ||||| With Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, many celebrities may be forced to make good on their promise to leave the country if the real estate mogul became president.

 Here's a list of celebrities who are making arrangements with their travel agents today:

 1. Jon Stewart - Comedian

 "[I'm] getting in a rocket and going to another planet, because clearly this planet’s gone bonkers."

 2. Chelsea Handler - Comedian

 "All these people that threaten to leave the country and then don’t — I actually will leave that country."

 3. Miley Cyrus - Singer

 Cyrus said she's "Gonna vom/move out da country" if Trump wins.

 4. Neve Campbell - Actress

 Campbell vowed to move back to Canada if Trump wins.

 5. Lena Dunham - Comedian

 "I love Canada. I think that it’s a great place, and there’s an area in Vancouver that I find beautiful and appealing, and I can conduct business from there."

 6. Cher - Singer/Actress

 "If [Trump] were to be elected, I'm moving to Jupiter."

 7. Al Sharpton - Activist

 "I’m also reserving my ticket to get out of here if he wins. Only because he’d probably have me deported anyhow."

 8. Spike Lee - Director

 9. Barbra Streisand - Singer

 Promised to move to Australia or Canada if Trump wins.

 10. Amy Schumer - Comedian

 "My act will change because I will need to learn to speak Spanish. Because I will move to Spain or somewhere. It’s beyond my comprehension if Trump won."

 11. Samuel L. Jackson - Actor

 "If that motherf*cker becomes president, I’m moving my black ass to South Africa."

 12. Natasha Lyonne - Actress

 13. George Lopez - Comedian

 "If he wins, he won’t have to worry about immigration. We’ll all go back."

 14. Raven-Symoné - TV Host

 The talk show host promised to move to Canada "if any Republican gets nominated."

 15. Whoopi Goldberg - Comedian/TV Host

 "Maybe it’s time for me to move, you know. I can afford to go."

 16. Bryan Cranston - Actor

 "I would definitely move. It’s not real to me that that would happen. I hope to God it won’t."

 ______________________________________

 For the latest election coverage, be sure to

 subscribe to Sean's daily newsletter!

 ______________________________________ |||||

Write a summary.

– The moment of truth has come for these 18 celebrities rounded up by TMZ, all of whom said they might move to Canada should Donald Trump win the presidency. A sampling: Larry Flynt: "The thought of Donald Trump becoming president nauseates me in a big way," and if he won? "I don’t know, maybe move to Canada." (Toronto Sun) Neve Campbell: "My biggest fear is that Trump will triumph. I cannot believe that he is still in the game. I cannot conceive of how that’s possible. I’ll move back to Canada." (Toronto Sun) Raven Symone: "If any Republican gets nominated, I'm going to move to Canada with my entire family. I already have my ticket." (Fox News Insider) Barbra Streisand: "I'm either coming to your country [Australia], if you'll let me in, or Canada" if Trump wins. (YouTube) Lena Dunham: "I love Canada. I think that it’s a great place, and there’s an area in Vancouver that I find beautiful and appealing, and I can conduct business from there." (Hannity.com) Whoopi Goldberg: "I don’t think that’s America. I don’t want it to be America. Maybe it’s time for me to move." (Fox News Insider) Bryan Cranston: "I would definitely move. It’s not real to me that that would happen. I hope to God it won’t." (Hannity.com) Chelsea Handler: "All these people that threaten to leave the country and then don't—I actually will leave that country." (Hannity.com) Miley Cyrus: "gonna vom / move out da country #aintapartyindausaanymo" if Trump wins. And: "I am moving if this is my president! I don't say things I don't mean!" (Vanity Fair) Click through for the full list.


– Calvin and Hobbes fans have a little something to celebrate: a rare, new drawing by Bill Watterson, creator of the retired but still beloved cartoon. Watterson agreed to make the poster for a new documentary about the cartoon industry called Stripped, reports the Washington Post. "It sounded like fun," says Watterson, who is among those interviewed in the film, though his appearance is brief and in voice only. As for the resulting image: “Given the movie’s title and the fact that there are few things funnier than human nudity, the idea popped into my head largely intact,” he explains. “The film is a big valentine to comics, so I tried to do something really cartoon-y." Watterson did a painting for charity in 2011, and this new drawing is being breathlessly hailed as his "first cartoon" since the end of Calvin and Hobbes. At Sploid, Jesus Diaz wonders if the adult in the movie poster might be a grown-up Calvin.

Expand this summary.

Strippedfilm.com

 Calvin and Hobbes fans, rejoice!

 Bill Watterson, the creator of the beloved comic strip, which ended in 1995, has debuted his first cartoon in nearly 20 years — in the form of the cover art for the upcoming documentary Stripped.

 Described as a “love-letter to comic strips” and a meditation on the state of the newspaper industry, Stripped is the brainchild of cartoonist Dave Kellett and filmmaker Frederick Schroeder. The pair used Kickstarter to fund the doc, which features interviews with more than 60 cartoonists — including Watterson, who provided a brief voice-over. Perhaps even more exciting than that interview, however, is the fact that Watterson also agreed to create the film’s movie poster.

 “Aside from supplying a few sentences to the documentary, I’m not involved with the film, so Dave’s request to draw the poster came completely out of the blue,” Watterson told the Washington Post. “It sounded like fun, and maybe something people wouldn’t expect, so I decided to give it a try. Dave sent me a rough cut of the film and I dusted the cobwebs off my ink bottle.”

 The result is the first cartoon Watterson has shared with the public since Calvin and Hobbes was retired, and it’s decidedly bawdier than the strip he was known for. “Given the movie’s title and the fact that there are few things funnier than human nudity, the idea popped into my head largely intact,” Watterson explained. “It’s a silly picture that sums up my reaction to the current publishing upheaval, so I had a good time, and I hope it brings the film some attention.”

 Stripped, which was funded through Kickstarter, will be available on iTunes April 1 and on DVD on April 2. ||||| After almost two decades retired, Bill Watterson—the genius who crafted the universally beloved Calvin & Hobbes from 1985 to 1995—has published a new cartoon: A movie poster for Dave Kellett and Fred Schroeder's Stripped. (Wait, is that Calvin 20 years later?)

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 He appears in the movie too, in his first-ever recorded interview. Some of his words:

 In the right hands, a comic strip attains a beauty and an elegance that really I would put against any other art.

 The New York Times reports that the reclusive artist "was so pleased with the documentary that he also supplied the artwork for the poster of the film." In other words, you can't miss this.

 I just realized that, rather than a generic cartoonist this could be Calvin himself, 20 years later. The blonde hair, the haircut, those eyes, the green socks... hmmmm.

 SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook |||||

 Original art by Bill Watterson for Team Cul de Sac (for Richard Thompson of "Cul de Sac"). 6" x 8" oil on board. (Bill Watterson)

 This painting — by “Calvin and Hobbes” creator Bill Watterson — is the first new art from him that his syndicate has seen in the 16 subsequent years, say executives with Universal Uclick and its parent company, Andrews McMeel. The artwork is of the character Petey Otterloop from Richard Thompson’s comic strip “Cul de Sac.”

 “The strip depicts all sorts of moments that ring true with regard to childhood,” the long-reclusive Watterson tells Comic Riffs, “but I’d say Petey is a truly original insight.”

 The artwork — 6”-by-8” oil on board — is Watterson’s contribution to the Team Cul de Sac fundraising project for Parkinson’s research.

 “Let’s just say I got a package from a William Watterson ... ,” says Andrews McMeel editor Caty Neis, who is helping lead the Team Cul de Sac effort. “I have been carrying it around and showing everyone. I didn’t get my hopes up that [Watterson] would contribute. ...

 “Just the fact that this is first art that we have seen from him in 16 years is just so exciting, and what a great cause.”

 Team Cul de Sac — which is working with Team Fox of the Michael J. Fox Foundation — is the brainchild of North Carolina-based web and print designer Chris Sparks. The project hopes to raise $250,000 for Parkinson’s research through such efforts as an Andrews McMeel-published book of “Cul de Sac”-inspired art created by dozens of Thompson’s professional colleagues, including Watterson.

 Thompson — who is a finalist for the National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben Award in May — announced in the summer of 2009 that he had received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s. |||||


– Read it into what you will, 2016 prognosticators: Mike Huckabee appears to be launching a news website called the "Huckabee Post," reports Mashable. The development actually surfaced a few days ago when Mediaite spotted this Craigslist ad seeking reporters for “a new and exciting online news publication covering news on politics, US, international, media, sports and other general news.” What's more, Huckabee has given a slew of interviews to big-name media outlets of late to say he's at least considering a run. “I didn’t want any misinformation that I’ve told people I’m running—that’s not the case,” Huckabee tells Howard Kurtz at Fox News. “I wanted to be honest and say, sure I’m looking at it.” Besides, it may be December 2013, but that hasn't stopped the Des Moines Register from publishing a poll of Iowa voters this week, and Huckabee finished second (66%) in favorability ratings to Paul Ryan (73%). For the record, Hillary Clinton trumped them both with her 89% rating among state Democrats. Joe Biden trailed her at 71%.

Expand this summary.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Mike Huckabee clearly holds Arianna Huffington in high esteem.

 The former — and possibly future — presidential candidate will launch a website called the Huckabee Post, according to multiple reports. Mediaite found a Craigslist post listing openings for reporters at the new venture, touting it as "a new and exciting online news publication covering news on politics, U.S., international, media, sports and other general news."

 Huckabee served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 and briefly led the race for the Republican nomination during the 2008 presidential election before John McCain secured the nomination. His campaign featured one of the more tongue-in-cheek advertisements: an endorsement from Chuck Norris. Huckabee has also recently indicated that he is considering another run for the presidency in 2016.

 Conservative personalities have found success leveraging their personal popularity into media brands, most notably with subscription service. Glenn Beck started TheBlaze in 2011 and Andrew Sullivan launched The Dish earlier this year.

 Representatives for the Huckabee Post did not immediately respond to an email in response to its Craigslist ad.

 Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

 Image: Getty/Brendan Smialowski ||||| Mike Huckabee‘s radio show is ending, but could he be taking a stab at the written word next?

 An ad has popped up on Craigslist seeking reporters for a new venture called Huckabee Post, that already boasts offices in both New York City and Washington D.C. Rumors about a “Huckabee Post” surfaced after his first presidential run in 2008, but perhaps now it’s coming to fruition?

 In the Craigslist ad, the Huckabee Post is described as “a new and exciting online news publication covering news on politics, US, international, media, sports and other general news.”

 In the New York Times Friday morning, Huckabee is quoted as saying he’s keeping the door open to a 2016 presidential run, but no mention of any potential media ventures.

 Mediaite has reached out to Huckabee for comment, but we have not heard back yet. We will update.

 [Photo via screengrab]

 — —

 Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac ||||| Could Fox News be spawning another candidate for president?

 Judging by the noises that Mike Huckabee is suddenly making, that’s a strong possibility.

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 The host of a Saturday night show on FNC, Huckabee made a bid for the White House in 2008 and flirted with the idea in 2012. But nobody had been talking about him for 2016, and he has quite deliberately set out to change that with a string of interviews.

 “I didn’t want any misinformation that I’ve told people I’m running—that’s not the case,” Huckabee told me yesterday. “I wanted to be honest and say, sure I’m looking at it.”

 Once Huckabee started having meetings with potential donors and supporters, including some who haven’t backed him before, talking to the press was “just a matter of trying to shoot straight with people,” he says.

 A major question for the former Arkansas governor is whether to give up his lucrative Fox perch—a decision that loomed large as he agonized about whether to jump into the last campaign—along with his radio commentaries.

 Huckabee would have to leave the Fox payroll if he started taking serious steps toward the Republican primaries, such as forming an exploratory committee and raising money. That’s what happened with Fox contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum in the 2012 cycle.

 He is very mindful of the prospect of having “zero income,” Huckabee told me, “unlike Senate candidates who continue to get a paycheck even if they’re not showing up for work. I emptied out the treasury when I ran in 2008 and cashed in everything I could cash in.”

 The other overriding question hanging over a Huckabee candidacy is the same one he wrestled with last time: could he raise enough money to be competitive? Huckabee ran a shoestring campaign in ’08, when he was initially written off by the press until winning the Iowa caucus, and doesn’t want to be the poverty candidate again.

 In a coordinated effort to raise his potential presidential profile, Huckabee granted three interviews at week’s end to show the media that he should be in the mix.

 With Jonathan Martin in the New York Times:

 “Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas has not been among the Republicans frequently named as a potential 2016 presidential candidate, but he would like that to change. ‘I’m keeping the door open,’ Mr. Huckabee said in an interview here Thursday night about the possibility of seeking his party’s nomination again.”

 With Karen Tumulty in the Washington Post:

 “Add another name to the list of potential GOP presidential contenders for 2016. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — the winner of the 2008 Iowa caucuses, who took a pass on the 2012 presidential race — says he might be willing to give it another try. In an interview Thursday night, Huckabee said he is receiving encouragement to run ‘from places where I never got it before.’”

 With CBN’s David Brody:

 “In an exclusive backstage television interview with The Brody File, former governor Mike Huckabee says, ‘there’s a new openness now’ for a run at the presidency in 2016. Huckabee says he’s been encouraged to run by top evangelical and financial figures that did not back him in 2008.”

 Huckabee’s social conservatism with a smile, his blue-collar appeal and his background as a minister—not to mention running a state for a decade—give him a singular appeal. Indeed, he is brandishing polling that shows him leading in Iowa and South Carolina.

 But Huckabee noticed that all the chatter is about Chris Christie and Rand Paul and Jeb Bush and Scott Walker and others, and wants to keep his name in the mix to preserve his options.

 Does his Fox platform help keep him in the public eye? Of course. The same was true of Gingrich and Santorum, and Sarah Palin when she pondered a run.

 But if he can’t raise many millions of dollars, he will run out of gas after the early contests, as he did against John McCain.

 Huckabee is a guy who doesn’t have to be president, and he was reluctant to give up his Fox salary as he weighed the race in 2011.

 As he told me then, “I’m not a megalomaniac. I don’t think I’m the only person who can save America. I wouldn’t vote for someone who was that full of themselves. It’s a dangerous thing to have someone in a public office who believes he is not a public servant, he is the messiah.”

 For now, Huckabee is candid in saying that yakking in front of a microphone is far easier than actually governing. And that viewers aren’t the same as voters.

 “A lot of people like Jay Leno,” he says. “I don’t see a Leno-for-president campaign going on.”

 An Iowa Poll Now?

 An absurdly early Des Moines Register poll out yesterday backs up Huckabee’s point.

 Paul Ryan (now under fire on the right for the bipartisan budget deal he brokered with Patty Murray) has a 73 percent approval rating among Iowa Republicans, the survey says. Huckabee in second with 66 percent. Chris Christie, less well matched to the state’s conservative GOP electorate, is at 51 percent.

 Oh, and Hillary Clinton? She clocks in among Iowa Democrats at 89 percent.

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 Click for more from Media Buzz.

 Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. |||||


BP on Tuesday accused a Texas lawyer of fraudulently driving up its settlement costs in the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill by claiming to represent tens of thousands of clients who turned out to be “phantoms.”

 In a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in New Orleans, the oil giant, which has been fighting the administration of a settlement with plaintiffs in the courtroom and in the news media, claimed that it relied on the client count supplied by the lawyer, Mikal C. Watts, in 2010 when it put $2.3 billion into a special compensation program for the seafood industry. The company, citing “brazen fraud,” is asking the court to allow it to stop payments and reclaim some of the unspent money.

 The more than 40,000 deckhands claimed as clients by Mr. Watts constituted nearly 80 percent of the people projected to file claims under the program, the company said in court papers.

 In a statement, a lawyer for Mr. Watts, Robert McDuff, called BP’s actions “another of a series of efforts to walk away from the settlement to which it agreed.” He said his client “never committed identity theft and did not defraud BP or anyone else.”

 Mr. Watts, a prominent Democratic fund-raiser who is regarded as a formidable litigator, has said that his clients came through referrals from other lawyers. Mr. McDuff stated that Mr. Watts filed claims “in good faith that legitimate claims were being filed for real people.”

 BP, which has paid nearly $13 billion in claims to businesses, individuals and the government so far, has paid out $1 billion from the seafood fund so far. The company said that 24,520 seafood claims were ultimately filed, and of these, fewer than 5,000 were filed on behalf of individuals. Under the structure of the fund agreed to by BP and plaintiffs’ lawyers and approved by the judge, any money not distributed to seafood workers based on their claims would be given out in a second round. The company does not argue that the workers engaged in wrongful conduct, but said the inflated size of the fund would mean an undeserved “windfall” to members of the class.

 Mr. Watts ultimately filed just 648 individual crew claims through the seafood fund, BP said, and just eight have been found eligible for payment. (Seventeen are pending.) That means, the company said, that “98 percent of the Watts claimants never even filed a claim” with the program, and “96 percent of the claims that he did file have been denied.”

 Mr. Watts has since filed 43,976 claims under a separate compensation program intended to address claims that had been excluded from the settlement agreement. In examining those claims, the company said it found that 40 percent of the claims used Social Security numbers that belonged to someone other than the person supposedly making the claim; 13 percent gave incomplete numbers or obvious fakes such as 000-00-0001. Five percent of the numbers belonged to dead people. “The inference of fraud is overwhelming,” the company stated in its complaint.

 BP has argued for months that the claims process is rife with fraud and has paid out claims from people who had no actual losses related to the spill. The federal judge in the case, Carl J. Barbier, appointed former F.B.I. director Louis J. Freeh to investigate the allegations. Mr. Freeh found that the process itself was not corrupt, but did find incidents of conflict of interest and fraud among individual lawyers and staff members of the fund.

 Since then, the company has asked the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, to order changes in the way that the settlement fund is run. That court has ordered Judge Barbier to “give further consideration” to the company’s complaints; Judge Barbier has temporarily halted payments.

 In July 2012, Mr. Watts hosted a $35,800-a-plate event for President Obama at his home. Judge Barbier named him to the committee of plaintiffs’ lawyers that helps run the litigation; he resigned from the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee on March 13 this year, however, not long after Secret Service Agents executed search warrants at his San Antonio law office, a move that the Department of Justice officials suggested was related to the questions about his clients in the BP case.

 Mr. Watts’s client submissions were initially challenged by Kenneth R. Feinberg, who ran the first version of the settlement office after the disaster. Concerns about the claims were first reported in an April 2011 article in The New York Times.

 Lawyers for plaintiffs in the case argued that BP is using the Watts controversy as an excuse to stop payments on the much larger program that affects deserving claimants. In a statement, the lawyers, Stephen J. Herman and James P. Roy, said “the notion that the number of deckhands was the driving factor during negotiations in determining the overall amount is absurd,” and that just $130 million was allocated to deckhands.

 “BP’s overreaching attempt to hold the entire seafood program hostage is part of its continuing effort to rewrite history and the settlement agreement,” the lawyers said, “and is unfair to the hardworking men and women of the seafood industry whose livelihoods were destroyed by BP’s reckless conduct.” ||||| Courts

 Companies are punching back hard at plaintiffs’ lawyers, and today BP (BP) threw what it described as a haymaker at Mikal Watts, one of the most influential mass-tort attorneys in the country.

 BP filed a civil-fraud lawsuit against Watts and his firm, San Antonio-based Watts Guerra, accusing him of claiming to represent tens of thousands of “phantom” claimants in litigation concerning the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. In the unusual suit filed in federal court in New Orleans, BP said that it relied on Watts’s representations when it agreed to a $2.3 billion portion of its settlement with people and businesses involved with the seafood industry and harmed by the massive contamination.

 “The facts of this case shout fraud,” Geoff Morrell, BP’s chief U.S. spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. “Tens of thousands of Mikal Watts’s clients have proved to be phantoms. Mr. Watts’s false representations improperly inflated the value of potential claims against the Seafood Compensation Program and resulted in an overblown $2.3 billion fund. Under these circumstances, BP is not going to stand idly by and allow payments to proceed without first addressing the fraudulent conduct.”

 Robert McDuff, an attorney representing Watts, described his client in a statement as “an innocent man” and said he “never committed identity theft and did not defraud BP or anyone else.” The statement added: “All actions taken were in good faith that legitimate claims were being filed for real people who had been hurt by PB’s gross negligence. With respect to those who applied for the settlement, he forwarded the documentation they provided to the independent special master in charge of reviewing settlement claims.”

 Beyond the BP litigation, the Watts has helped lead mass suits against various pharmaceutical manufacturers and other companies. A leading Democrat in Texas, he has been a major financial backer of President Barack Obama. Watts is also under federal criminal investigation as a result of questions about how he gathered clients in the BP case. In response to the criminal probe, his defense lawyer has said Watts did nothing wrong.

 BP said that it uncovered the alleged Watts fraud by checking Social Security records for his supposed clients. Watts had claimed to represent more than 40,000 deckhands who suffered economic injuries from the 2010 spill—more than 76 percent of the individual crew members projected to be potential claimants, BP said. The company asserted that more than half of Watts’s claimants simply don’t exist, and Social Security numbers for 40 percent of the claimants allegedly belonged to another living person. For 13 percent, the Social Security number given was “incomplete or a ‘dummy’ number (e.g. a number such as 000-00-001),” BP added. “For 5 percent, the Social Security number belonged to a dead person other than the named claimant.”

 Watts ultimately filed only 648 individual claims under the seafood-industry program, fewer than 2 percent of the more than 40,000 he originally purported to represent, BP said. Of those 648, only eight have been found eligible for payment by the Seafood Compensation Program, according to BP, with 17 claims pending.

 Earlier this year, in the wake of federal agents executing search warrants at Watts Guerra’s offices in San Antonio, Watts resigned from the Plaintiffs Steering Committee overseeing the multifaceted spill litigation against BP. The oil company has been battling with the steering committee over a separate portion of the pollution settlement: a $9 billion pact intended to compensate businesses outside of the seafood industry. BP has complained that claims worth hundreds of millions dollars in the $9 billion settlement are turning out to be exaggerated or “fictitious,” an allegation the steering committee contests. A spokesman for the committee didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

 Under the seafood industry pact, about $1 billion has already been paid out, BP said. By means of its fraud suit against Watts and related actions today, BP said it is seeking to recover the portion of the remaining $1.3 billion that “resulted from fraud.” |||||

Write a summary.

– Three years after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP has launched a suit of its own—against a plaintiffs' lawyer who, the company says, has represented tens of thousands of "phantom" clients in the case. BP says part of its settlement over the spill, worth $2.3 billion, was calculated using figures from lawyer Mikal Watts. "The facts of this case shout fraud," says a BP rep. "Tens of thousands of Mikal Watts’ clients have proved to be phantoms," and the "false representations improperly inflated the value of potential claims" in the seafood industry, Businessweek reports. Watts has said he was fighting for some 40,000 deckhands affected by the disaster, but half of them aren't real, according to BP, which found that 45% of their supposed social security numbers actually belonged to others, living or dead; others had made-up numbers. A lawyer for Watts says he "never committed identity theft and did not defraud BP or anyone else," and claims were reviewed by an independent body. He calls BP's move "another of a series of efforts to walk away from the settlement to which it agreed," the New York Times reports. In other BP news: An exploration well off Brazil turns out not to have commercially-viable amounts of fuel; the company will write off more than $1 billion in related costs, the Wall Street Journal reports. But BP says it has made a major oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, adding to a big year for the company's exploration efforts.


Here is a news article: Basket ball supporters wait to leave after a match at the Rhenus Sport stadium in Strasbourg, eastern France, Tuesday Dec.11, 2018. A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed at least two people... (Associated Press)

 Basket ball supporters wait to leave after a match at the Rhenus Sport stadium in Strasbourg, eastern France, Tuesday Dec.11, 2018. A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed at least two people and wounded more than others, officials said, sparking a broad lockdown and major security operation... (Associated Press)

 PARIS (AP) — A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed four people and wounded 11 others near a world-famous Christmas market Tuesday, sparking a broad lockdown and a search for the suspected gunman, who remained at large.

 French prosecutors said a terrorism investigation was opened, though authorities did not announce a motive for the bloodshed. The city is home to the European Parliament, which was locked down after the shooting.

 It was unclear if the market — which was the nucleus of an al-Qaida-linked plot in 2000 — was targeted. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the suspect was previously flagged as a possible extremist.

 The gunman has been identified and has a criminal record, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.

 The death toll, first reported as one, rose to four by late Tuesday, according to two police union officials. One official, Stephane Morisse of union FGP, told The Associated Press the alleged shooter was wounded by soldiers guarding the market.

 Gendarmes went to the suspect's home to arrest him earlier Tuesday, before the attack, but he wasn't there, Morisse said. They found explosive materials, he said.

 French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said the shooter did not aim for the soldiers patrolling in and around the Christmas market, but targeted civilians instead.

 Several of the people wounded were in critical condition, the interior minister said.

 Witnesses described to the AP hearing gunshots, screams and the shouts of police officers ordering people to stay indoors before the area fell silent and the officers fanned out.

 "I heard two or three shots at around 7:55 p.m. (1855 GMT), then I heard screams. I got close to the window. I saw people running. After that I closed the shutters. Then I heard more shots, closer this time," Yoann Bazard, 27, who lives in central Strasbourg.

 "I thought maybe it's firecrackers," he said, speaking by phone. "And then, as it got close, it was really shocking. There were a lot of screams. ... There were police or soldiers shouting 'Get inside!' and 'Put your hands on your head.'"

 Freelance journalist Camille Belsoeur was at a friend's apartment when they heard the gunfire, at first mistaking it for firecrackers.

 "We opened the window. I saw a soldier firing shots, about 12 to 15 shots," Belsoeur said,

 Other soldiers yelled for people to stay indoors and shouted 'Go home! Go home!'" to those outside, he said. .

 Another witness, Peter Fritz, told the BBC one of the four people killed was a Thai tourist who was shot in the head and didn't respond to lengthy attempts to revive him.

 "We tried our best to resuscitate him. We applied CPR. We dragged him into a restaurant close by," Fritz said.

 He said it took more than 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, during which time an emergency doctor advised by telephone "that any further efforts would be futile."

 The victim "is still here in this restaurant but we have abandoned all hope for him," Fritz said.

 France previously endured several high-profile extremist attacks, including the coordinated attacks at multiple Paris locations that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds in November 2015. A 2016 truck attack in Nice killed dozens.

 President Emmanuel Macron adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night to monitor the emergency, his office said, indicating the gravity of the attack.

 Castaner and the Paris prosecutor, who is in charge of anti-terror probes in France, headed to Strasbourg. The prosecutor's office said the investigation was being conducted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise charges, suggesting officials think the alleged shooter may have links to extremists.

 In multiple neighborhoods of Strasbourg, the French Interior Ministry urged the public to remain indoors. Local authorities tweeted for the public to "avoid the area of the police station," which is close to the city's Christmas market.

 Strasbourg's well-known market is set up around the city's cathedral during the Christmas season and is a popular gathering place.

 French soldiers were on patrol after the shooting. At the scene, police officers, police vehicles and barricades surrounded the sparkling lights of the market.

 "Our security and rescue services are mobilized," Castaner said.

 European Parliament spokesman Jaume Duch said that "the European Parliament has been closed and no one can leave until further notice." It wasn't immediately clear how many people were inside.

 The attack revived memories of a new millennium terror plot targeting Strasbourg's Christmas market. Ten suspected Islamic militants were convicted and sentenced to prison in December 2004 for their role in a plot to blow up the market on the New Year's Eve ushering in 2000..

 The Algerian and French-Algerian suspects — including an alleged associate of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden — went on trial in October on charges they were involved in the foiled plot for the attack.

 They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to nine years.

 ___

 John Leicester and Angela Charlton contributed. ||||| Basket ball supporters wait to leave after a match at the Rhenus Sport stadium in Strasbourg, eastern France, Tuesday Dec.11, 2018. A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed at least two people... (Associated Press)

 Basket ball supporters wait to leave after a match at the Rhenus Sport stadium in Strasbourg, eastern France, Tuesday Dec.11, 2018. A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed at least two people and wounded more than others, officials said, sparking a broad lockdown and major security operation... (Associated Press)

 PARIS (AP) — A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed four people and wounded 11 others near a world-famous Christmas market Tuesday, sparking a broad lockdown and a search for the suspected gunman, who remained at large.

 French prosecutors said a terrorism investigation was opened, though authorities did not announce a motive for the bloodshed. The city is home to the European Parliament, which was locked down after the shooting.

 It was unclear if the market — which was the nucleus of an al-Qaida-linked plot in 2000 — was targeted. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the suspect was previously flagged as a possible extremist.

 The gunman has been identified and has a criminal record, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.

 The death toll, first reported as one, rose to four by late Tuesday, according to two police union officials. One official, Stephane Morisse of union FGP, told The Associated Press the alleged shooter was wounded by soldiers guarding the market.

 Gendarmes went to the suspect's home to arrest him earlier Tuesday, before the attack, but he wasn't there, Morisse said. They found explosive materials, he said.

 French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said the shooter did not aim for the soldiers patrolling in and around the Christmas market, but targeted civilians instead.

 Several of the people wounded were in critical condition, the interior minister said.

 Witnesses described to the AP hearing gunshots, screams and the shouts of police officers ordering people to stay indoors before the area fell silent and the officers fanned out.

 "I heard two or three shots at around 7:55 p.m. (1855 GMT), then I heard screams. I got close to the window. I saw people running. After that I closed the shutters. Then I heard more shots, closer this time," Yoann Bazard, 27, who lives in central Strasbourg.

 "I thought maybe it's firecrackers," he said, speaking by phone. "And then, as it got close, it was really shocking. There were a lot of screams. ... There were police or soldiers shouting 'Get inside!' and 'Put your hands on your head.'"

 Freelance journalist Camille Belsoeur was at a friend's apartment when they heard the gunfire, at first mistaking it for firecrackers.

 "We opened the window. I saw a soldier firing shots, about 12 to 15 shots," Belsoeur said,

 Other soldiers yelled for people to stay indoors and shouted 'Go home! Go home!'" to those outside, he said. .

 Another witness, Peter Fritz, told the BBC one of the four people killed was a Thai tourist who was shot in the head and didn't respond to lengthy attempts to revive him.

 "We tried our best to resuscitate him. We applied CPR. We dragged him into a restaurant close by," Fritz said.

 He said it took more than 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, during which time an emergency doctor advised by telephone "that any further efforts would be futile."

 The victim "is still here in this restaurant but we have abandoned all hope for him," Fritz said.

 France previously endured several high-profile extremist attacks, including the coordinated attacks at multiple Paris locations that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds in November 2015. A 2016 truck attack in Nice killed dozens.

 President Emmanuel Macron adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night to monitor the emergency, his office said, indicating the gravity of the attack.

 Castaner and the Paris prosecutor, who is in charge of anti-terror probes in France, headed to Strasbourg. The prosecutor's office said the investigation was being conducted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise charges, suggesting officials think the alleged shooter may have links to extremists.

 In multiple neighborhoods of Strasbourg, the French Interior Ministry urged the public to remain indoors. Local authorities tweeted for the public to "avoid the area of the police station," which is close to the city's Christmas market.

 Strasbourg's well-known market is set up around the city's cathedral during the Christmas season and is a popular gathering place.

 French soldiers were on patrol after the shooting. At the scene, police officers, police vehicles and barricades surrounded the sparkling lights of the market.

 "Our security and rescue services are mobilized," Castaner said.

 European Parliament spokesman Jaume Duch said that "the European Parliament has been closed and no one can leave until further notice." It wasn't immediately clear how many people were inside.

 The attack revived memories of a new millennium terror plot targeting Strasbourg's Christmas market. Ten suspected Islamic militants were convicted and sentenced to prison in December 2004 for their role in a plot to blow up the market on the New Year's Eve ushering in 2000..

 The Algerian and French-Algerian suspects — including an alleged associate of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden — went on trial in October on charges they were involved in the foiled plot for the attack.

 They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to nine years.

 ___

 John Leicester and Angela Charlton contributed. |||||
A summary of this is?

– A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed at least three people and wounded 11 others near a world-famous Christmas market Tuesday, sparking a broad lockdown and a search for the suspected gunman, who remained at large, the AP reports. French prosecutors said a terrorism investigation was opened, though authorities did not announce a motive for the bloodshed. The city is home to the European Parliament, which was locked down after the shooting. It was unclear if the market—which was the nucleus of an al-Qaeda-linked plot in 2000—was targeted. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the suspect was previously flagged as a possible extremist. The gunman has been identified and has a criminal record, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner; one official says he was wounded by soldiers guarding the market. Gendarmes went to the suspect's home to arrest him earlier Tuesday, before the attack, but he wasn't there, Morisse said. They found explosive materials, he said. French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said the shooter did not aim for the soldiers patrolling in and around the Christmas market, but targeted civilians instead. Several of the people wounded were in critical condition, the interior minister said. President Emmanuel Macron adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night to monitor the emergency, his office said, indicating the gravity of the attack. In multiple neighborhoods of Strasbourg, the French Interior Ministry urged the public to remain indoors. Local authorities tweeted for the public to "avoid the area of the police station," close to the city's well-known Christmas market, which is set up around the city's cathedral during the holiday season and is a popular gathering place. (More on the thwarted 2000 plot here.)


Here is a news article: Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| Police arrest an animal rights activist as they try to protest at the Nathan's Annual Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest won by Joey Chestnut, Tuesday July 4, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto... (Associated Press)

 Police arrest an animal rights activist as they try to protest at the Nathan's Annual Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest won by Joey Chestnut, Tuesday July 4, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (Associated Press)

 NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the Nathan's Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest (all times local):

 1:55 p.m.

 Police say five people have been taken into custody after trying to disrupt the annual Nathan's Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest in New York.

 About midway through the men's competition, some people amid the crowd of spectators at the contest on the Coney Island boardwalk appeared to be trying to unfold a black banner. Police stationed at the event rushed into the crowd, handcuffed the demonstrators and took them away.

 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had members giving away free vegan hot dogs outside the event, but a spokeswoman says the people arrested inside weren't with PETA.

 ___

 1:05 p.m.

 Joey "Jaws" Chestnut continues his reign as the chowing champion at the annual July Fourth hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous in New York.

 The San Jose, California, man beat his own record to log a 10th win. He downed 72 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes Tuesday, besting Carmen Cincotti (sihn-CAH'-tee), who ate 62.

 Chestnut downed 70 franks and buns in 10 minutes last year, topping his record at the time and taking back the title from Matt "The Megatoad" Stonie. Stonie came in third on Tuesday, with 48 franks and buns.

 Chestnut said at Monday's pre-contest weigh-in that he models his training after marathoners, slowly building up to eating more and more franks as the contest approaches.

 ___

 11:45 a.m.

 Miki Sudo (MIHK'-ee SOO'-doh) has notched a fourth-time win in the women's division of the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous in New York.

 The Las Vegas woman ate 41 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes to win her fourth straight title Tuesday. She beat Michelle Lesco, who downed 32 franks and buns. Women's record-holder Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas came in third with 30.

 Thomas holds the women's record for the contest, at 45 dogs and buns.

 Thousands of people — many wearing hot-dog-shaped hats — gathered on Coney Island's famed boardwalk for the contest.

 The men's competition is later Tuesday. Nine-time champion Joey "Jaws" Chestnut will defend his title in a rematch against Matt "The Megatoad" Stonie.

 ___

 12:30 a.m.

 Record-setting eaters are gearing up to gobble at the renowned Nathan's Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest in New York.

 Nine-time champion Joey "Jaws" Chestnut is defending his title Tuesday at the showdown on the Coney Island boardwalk.

 Chestnut's facing Matt "The Megatoad" Stonie in a rematch. Chestnut downed 70 franks and buns in 10 minutes last year, topping his own Coney Island record.

 Meanwhile, Miki Sudo (MIHK'-ee SOO'-doh) is hoping for a fourth title in a row as she confronts Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas in the women's competition. Sudo powered through 38 1/2 hot dogs and buns to beat Thomas last year. But Thomas holds the women's record, at 45 franks.

 The chowdown showdown usually draws thousands of spectators and is televised on ESPN. ||||| Joey Chestnut wanted 80 hot dogs, but 72 was more than enough to win his 10th Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest title. The man know as "Jaws" scarfed two more hot dogs than the 70 he ate last year to beat his own world record.

 Joey Chestnut final tally: 🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭 — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 4, 2017

 And still!

 By eating a world-record 72 hot dogs in 10 minutes, Joey Chestnut wins a 10th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest. Simply the best. pic.twitter.com/rdl4iOqPK1 — ESPN (@espn) July 4, 2017

 This is how Chestnut was delivered to the stage -- an entrance befitting of a hot dog-eating legend.

 THIS is how a champion deserves to be introduced - on a mustard yellow chariot #NathansHotDogEatingContest #JoeyChestnut pic.twitter.com/2FmxcFZW1e — Jeff D (@JDubCLT) July 4, 2017

 Carmen Cincotti finished second with 62 hot dogs and buns, while Matt "Megatoad" Stonie -- who beat Chestnut in 2015 -- trailed far behind in third with 48 hot dogs and buns. For context, the 72 hot dogs that Chestnut ate Tuesday is more than an average American will eat -- in one year.

 The average American eats 70 hot dogs a year, according to the Hot Dog & Sausage Council.

 Joey Chestnut just ate 72 in 10 minutes. — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 4, 2017 Joey Chestnut Wins, Eats 72 Hot Dogs & Buns:

 Calories: 20,160

 Fat: 1,296 g

 Cholesterol: 2,160 mg

 Sodium: 56,160 mg

 Protein: 720 g — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 4, 2017

 Chestnut said at Monday's pre-contest weigh-in that he models his training after marathoners, slowly building up to eating more and more franks as the contest approaches. And with 10 titles, he's now entering some very elite territory among sports legends. That is, if you consider competitive eating a sport.

 In another debate about eating, former six-time Nathan's champion Takeru Kobayashi has offered his take on whether a hot dog is a sandwich. And his answer might surprise you.

 In the women's contest, Miki Sudo (MIHK'-ee SOO'-doh) won her fourth yellow mustard belt. The Las Vegas woman ate 41 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes to win her fourth straight title Tuesday. She beat Michelle Lesco, who downed 32 franks and buns. Women's record-holder Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas came in third with 30.

 Chestnut tweeted earlier that he planned to break his record of 70 from last July 4, and he wasn't shooting for just one more dog.

 On July 4th, I have a goal that begins with an 8. I know @MattStonie & @carmencincotti are making gains. so am I.. https://t.co/bb73u13gfE — Joey Chestnut (@joeyjaws) June 28, 2017

  |||||
A summary of this is?

– Joey Chestnut is only one win away from tying Bill Russell's record 11 championships—granted one played professional basketball and the other just eats a lot of hot dogs. The AP reports Chestnut—who was carried to the stage in a bright-yellow chariot—won the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest Tuesday for the 10th time, downing 72 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes for a new world record. Despite beating his previous record of 70 hot dogs and buns, Chestnut fell short of his goal of 80, according to CBS Sports. The average American is said to eat 70 hot dogs in a year, and ESPN's Darren Rovell tweets Chestnut consumed more than 20,000 calories and nearly 1,300 grams of fat to earn his Fourth of July victory. Second-place finisher Carmen Cincotti ate 62 hot dogs and buns.


Write an article based on this summary:

– A Danish radio DJ chose a controversial way of drawing attention to what he sees as the flawed debate over animal welfare: He hit a 9-week-old rabbit named Allan three times with an iron bicycle pump while on the air Monday, then wrung its neck. Later, Asger Juhl of Radio24syv ate it for dinner. Angry listeners have since called for a boycott of the station, and much worse for Juhl himself, reports the BBC. "I did it to show the hypocrisy in the debate," he says. "Many people are outraged by what I did, at the same time many of these people will eat meat. And when they eat meat, an animal will die." Juhl says he consulted with Aalborg Zoo on a humane way to kill rabbits and was told it used an "iron stick." The zookeeper "hits several baby rabbits every week [to feed] the snakes," Juhl explains, per the Local. His employer is unapologetic. The New York Times quotes station editor-in-chief Jorgen Ramskov as saying the rabbit "was taken good care of, it had a nice life, and it was killed in a decent way." Animals endure "horrific suffering on their way to our dinner tables … without it invoking any strong reactions or calls for boycott," a station rep tells Sky News. Perhaps fueling the outcry on social media, per the Times: The station posted two videos on its Facebook page: a 20-second clip showing Juhl cradling and petting a very-alive Allan, and a 10-second clip showing what the station described as pieces of Allan, cooking in a pan. Those two parts are important, argued the station in a Facebook post yesterday. "We knew that we would be accused of provocation. But it is not an empty provocation; the presenters of the program ate the animal after killing it." (It's not the first controversial animal killing in Denmark.)

UPDATED: Radio24syv wanted to start a debate about the treatment of animals in Denmark's agriculture sector so its hosts killed a baby rabbit with a bicycle pump and ate it.

 In order to demonstrate the “widespread hypocrisy in our relationship to animals”, Danish radio station Radio24syv killed a baby rabbit on air.

 The baby rabbit, Allan, was killed by repeated blows to the head with a bicycle pump and Asger Juhl, one of the radio station's hosts, later skinned it with his children and planned to eat it as rabbit stew with his family and fellow host Kristoffer Eriksen.

 "I hit it hard over the neck twice so that the cervical vertebrae fractured," Juhl told broadcaster TV 2. "I was instructed by a zookeeper from Aalborg Zoo who hits several baby rabbits every week [to feed] the snakes," he added.

 After a strong backlash and calls for a boycott, the radio station defended its rabbit-killing stunt by saying that it achieved its exact purpose, namely exposing the hypocrisy of those who claim to be animal lovers but eat meat.

 “We killed an animal to eat it. Thus what the hosts did [Sunday] morning resembled what most of us do every day when we stand in front of the supermarket's refrigerated counter. We don't kill animals ourselves – but we buy and eat animals that have had a miserable life. And animals that were killed under the exact same controlled settings as the rabbit in the studio. Without it provoking strong reactions and boycotts,” Radio24syv wrote in a long Facebook post

 The station said by killing and eating Allan, they wanted to shine a light on the conditions faced by animals in Denmark's agriculture sector.

 “Danish consumers allow chicken farms to keep 13 chickens per square meter. And they accept lengthy and painful transport of animals to the slaughterhouse. In Danish pig farms, 25.000 piglets die every day, because agriculture has bred pigs that give birth to more piglets than the sow can feed. This is wasted life,” a subsequent English-language version of their Facebook post read.

 The station killed the rabbit over the objections of reality star Linse Kessler , who was brought on the programme as an outspoken advocate for animal rights. Kessler tried to grab the animal and chased radio host Asger Juhl around the studio several times before being asked to leave.

 "They wanted to see if they could kill him during the last show or if they had gotten too attached to him," she said in a video clip on her Facebook page.

 Kessler said she thought she was capable of wresting the animal from Juhl but feared it would die a more painful death if she grabbed it.

 In her video message, she said that she understood the point Radio24syv was trying to make but stressed that Allan should not have been killed on air.

 “I could see that the message is actually for the best of animals but I think it is wrong,” she said.

 R.I.P lille Allan Posted by Linse Kessler on Monday, May 25, 2015

 Story continues below…

 News of the radio stunt quickly made its way to the international media, where several outlets drew parallels with the Copenhagen Zoo's controversial killing of the giraffe Marius last year which led to intense media coverage the world over. ||||| Radio24syv

 ...

 ing people of the plight of factory farm animals, but there is no justificat ion for what you did, and there never will be. By killing an animal in the name of saving animals, it is you who are the hypocrites ; but I suspect the irony is lost on such as you. I pity you that you live such lives devoid of any compassion .

 "If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."

 -- Saint Francis of Assisi

 , you beat a rabbit to death as part of a publicity stunt. You have tried to justify it in the name of inform ||||| He's the Danish radio host who killed a baby rabbit live on air, in a stunt he said was designed to ignite debate about our meat eating habits.

 Asger Juhl, a presenter on 24/7, hit the nine-week-old bunny, called Alan, repeatedly with an iron bike pump after a segment on the hypocrisy of animal rights campaigners who eat supermarket meat.

 He's been widely criticised for the act. Now, Asger has told Newsbeat his side of the story.

 Warning - this story contains themes some readers may find disturbing.

 The host said: "I did it to show the hypocrisy in the debate. Many people are outraged by what I did, at the same time many of these people will eat meat. And when they eat meat, an animal will die.

 "You cannot say: 'It's terrible to kill an animal' and then eat meat. These things are connected.

 "And then we did it because we wanted to eat it. We ate it yesterday night. We had it for dinner. It was nice."

 "Can I ask you a question? Do you see the problem in killing an animal and then eating it?" Asger Juhl

 He continued: "We are animals and we eat meat. That's the way it is, and we have to be confronted with the fact that animals die when we eat meat. This is just a fact of life."

 One side effect of the stunt has been a slew of threats towards the host and his family, most of which are too graphic to be printed.

 When asked whether he expected the backlash, Asger responded: "No, not in this way. I've had death threats from Russia - people from Russia wanting to kill my children, Danish listeners and people threatening to kill me. I was not prepared for that.

 "I knew, however, that we would spark debate. We were provocative, on purpose. Of course there are some misunderstandings we need to deal with. People are saying we didn't do it in a humane way - we did."

 He added that he was taking the death threats seriously.

 One of the key criticisms of the Asger is that he bludgeoned the rabbit with a bicycle pump.

 He responded: "It was made of iron.

 "What I did, I called up a zoo in Denmark - a guy who kills rabbits, to feed them to the predators in the zoo. He uses an iron stick. I didn't have a stick but I did have a bicycle pump made out of iron. It's the exact same thing.

 "We held it in the back of its body, and I hit it very hard. And I hit it two times more, just to be sure. But it broke the neck of the rabbit the first time.

 "This is the most humane way to kill a rabbit."

 On air, the presenter described the death of the rabbit in detail.

 "We were also talking about how I'm feeling. I wasn't ready for a bad experience, but it was actually a bad experience in some ways. I wasn't breathing normally, I was tense," Asger said.

 "It was not a comfortable minute."

 When we asked if he had been expecting a difficult experience, he said: "Well, I've killed animals before. Chickens, ducks, a lot of fish."

 So why was this different?

 "I don't know. It's been a while since I killed a mammal. It has these nice… It had these big black eyes. It was cute. It had long fur. Maybe that's something."

 Another problem many listeners had with the stunt was the lack of sensitivity they saw in killing a rabbit on air, in a light hearted, almost comic segment.

 Did Asger think that cheapened his message? No: "You know, what happened just before I killed the rabbit is that one of the [guests] tried to take the rabbit from me.

 "This was a woman, very well known in Denmark. She chased me around the table in the studio.

 "I'd never tried anything like it. It was a very comic moment as well as a serious one."

 He went on: "Are you not allowed to laugh when you go to the zoo and watch the lions eat meat?

 "Are you not allowed to laugh when you go to the zoo and watch the sea lions eat live fish?

 "We weren't laughing because the rabbit died."

 Asger insists he ate the rabbit after the stunt and fully intended to: "It had plenty of meat. We ate it yesterday. It wasn't a full meal for two people, but almost."

 "It wasn't a baby rabbit. It was a young rabbit."

 He went on to talk about skinning it in the garden in front of his young children. "They felt sorry for the rabbit, especially my daughter. But at the same time she was very interested in the process of that rabbit becoming dinner."

 The host told Newsbeat his bosses have been fully behind him, despite the backlash: "I have the full support of the station. I'm going on air this afternoon and we're going to speak to the angry listeners."

 And what does he think they'll say to him? "That I'm an idiot."

 "I don't think I am. You know what? I killed an animal and I ate it. Did you have meat yesterday? Are you going to eat meat today? In that process an animal will die."

 Having said that, he isn't planning on repeating the stunt: "I have no plans to kill other animals within the next couple of days, I must tell you."

 Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube and you can now follow BBC_Newsbeat on Snapchat ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. |||||