News article:

A federal aviation official says a large UPS cargo plane has crashed near an airport in Birmingham, Ala.

 Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen tells The Associated Press that the A300 plane crashed on approach to the airport before dawn Wednesday.

 Bergen says the plane was en route from Louisville, Ky. to Birmingham.

 Few other details were immediately available.

 Bergen says she had no information on injuries. ||||| Story highlights There was no distress call from the pilots prior to impact, the NTSB says

 NTSB investigators unable to immediately retrieve plane's recorders, official says

 The pilot and co-pilot of the UPS plane die in the crash

 A photograph shows the jet's crumpled front end resting amid debris

 The pilot and co-pilot of a UPS cargo plane did not issue a distress call prior to crashing while on approach Wednesday to Birmingham's airport, a National Transportation Safety Board official said.

 While UPS said the status of its crew remained unconfirmed, Birmingham Airport Authority Chairwoman Gaynell Hendricks and the city's mayor confirmed the pilot and co-pilot died in the crash.

 "It's a grim scene," Hendricks told CNN affiliate WBRC

 The plane, an Airbus A300-600F, broke into pieces, spreading the majority of the debris over an area of about 300 yards, said Robert Sumwalt of the NTSB. A photograph provided by city officials shows the crumpled front portion of the plane resting in a debris-strewn field.

 The plane, which took off from Louisville, Kentucky, went down around 4:45 a.m. on a street that runs parallel to the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, Mayor William Bell said.

 Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash UPS cargo plane crash – The pilot and co-pilot of a UPS cargo flight died Wednesday, August 14, when their Airbus A300 crashed on approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama. Hide Caption 1 of 5 Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash UPS cargo plane crash – The plane, which took off from Louisville, Kentucky, went down about 4:45 a.m., according to airport officials. Hide Caption 2 of 5 Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash UPS cargo plane crash – What caused the jet to crash was unclear. The weather was calm at the time, according to Mayor William Bell. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to the site. Hide Caption 3 of 5 Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash UPS cargo plane crash – Fire crews investigate where a UPS cargo plane lies on a hill about a half-mile from the runway. Hide Caption 4 of 5 Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash UPS cargo plane crash – Debris burns in front of the crash site. Hide Caption 5 of 5

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 The location is about a half-mile north of the runway, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told CNN.

 NTSB investigators have yet to retrieve the cockpit and voice recorders of the plane because the wreckage is still smoldering, Sumwalt said. Once the fire is out, authorities will retrieve the recorders, he said.

 Even so, investigators have begun working to piece together what led to the crash.

 The crew did not issue a distress call, Sumwalt said, confirming what the mayor said earlier.

 The crew did not report any trouble, Bell said, citing conversations with control tower officials. Light showers and a visibility of 10 miles were reported in the area of the airport at the time of the crash, according to CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.

 A spokesman for Bell, the mayor, confirmed late Wednesday morning that no buildings were hit and no one on the ground was injured.

 Alabama Power cut electricity to about 140 buildings near the crash site as a precaution, utility spokesman Michael Sznajderman told CNN.

 Witness Peter Torres, a Civil Air Patrol member who said he is a former airline mechanic, said he thought he heard what sounded like a backfire from the jet's engines as the plane passed overhead. He rushed to his window.

 "I saw the flash," of an apparent explosion, he said, followed by a "boom" that shook his home.

 Airport neighbor Sharon Wilson told WBRC the plane seemed lower than usual for flights into the airport and sounded like it was sputtering as it flew overhead.

 "We heard this loud boom, like, jump up out of your bed," she told the station.

 The plane was one of two flights UPS sends to Birmingham each day, company spokesman Mike Mangeot told CNN affiliate WBRC

 "This incident is very unfortunate, and our thoughts and prayers are with those involved," UPS Airlines President Mitch Nichols said in a statement.

 The plane that crashed Wednesday was built in 2003 and had 11,000 hours in the air spread over 6,800 flights, Airbus said in a news release.

 Only UPS and FedEx fly the A300 in the United States, according to its manufacturer, Airbus. While it was once used for commercial passenger flights in the United States, the plane is now used only for cargo flights. UPS has 53 of the planes, according to Airbus.

 Wednesday's crash is the second involving an A300 in the United States. In 2001, an American Airlines A300 crashed in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, in New York City, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

 All 260 people on board the plane, as well as five people on the ground, were killed.

 The cause was ultimately attributed to pilot error, according to the NTSB, which said the first officer put excessive pressure on the rudder pedal, causing the separation of the vertical stabilizer.

 The Birmingham crash is the second fatal accident involving a large jet in the United States since early July, when an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crashed on landing at San Francisco International Airport. Three people died.

 Wednesday's crash comes nearly three years after UPS's last major incident, the crash of a Boeing 747 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that killed two crew members.

 Investigators traced the crash to a large fire in the cargo hold, which included a number of flammable lithium batteries, according to the country's General Civil Aviation Authority.

 In 2006, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 flown by UPS caught fire after landing at Philadelphia International Airport. Three crew members on the plane evacuated with minor injuries, according to NTSB records. Most of the cargo was destroyed. ||||| View the flight tracking log for the UPS cargo plane that crashed in Birmingham this morning.

 View the flight tracking log for the UPS cargo plane that crashed in Birmingham this morning.

 UPDATE: WSMV has confirmed the identity of one of the pilots killed this morning as Shanda Fanning.

 WSMV was tipped that there was a meeting of employees at the Jack Daniels distillery in Tenn. this morning to inform them of the development. Bret Fanning, the woman's husband, is part of the family that runs the distillery.

 UPDATE: 8:15 a.m.: Alabama Power reports 76 customers are without power after the plane came into contact with the lines.

 Power will be restored as soon as it's safe to do so.

 UPDATE 7:50 a.m.: Bettina Boateng reports that the plane is broken in two pieces, with debris littered across the Airport Highlands or Zion City area.

 The Birmingham-Shuttlesworth airport is still operating as normal. However, the field 900 yards north of the airport is still an active scene. The fire has been suppressed.

 The mayor's office says no structures on the ground were damaged, but some trees and power lines were damaged.

 The NTSB is expected to speak shortly on the crash.

 Anyone with information on the incident is asked to send photos or information to wvtm13@wvtm.com.

 UPDATE: The Birmingham Mayor's Office has confirmed that the pilot and copilot of the plane have died in the crash. We'll continue to update this story as information is confirmed.

 A UPS Cargo Plane is on fire after crashing in east Birmingham early this morning.

 The plane crashed near 19th Avenue North and North East Lake Boulevard in an open field that used to be a neighborhood. That field is now owned by the airport.

 A statement from UPS said they are still working to determine details of the incident.

 According to the Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen the A300 plane crashed on approach to the airport just before dawn. Bergen says the plane was en route from Louisville, KY.

 Alabama's 13 was on the scene and say the plane is still burning. The crew spoke to neighbors and they say the heard a large boom and then several other explosions. The media has been asked to move back due these explosions. There could be debris covering about half a mile.

 Again Alabama's 13 has a crew on the scene and will bring you the latest as we receive more information. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– The pilot and co-pilot of a UPS cargo plane are dead after the plane crashed near the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport this morning, the mayor's office says. The Airbus A300 went down before dawn in calm weather as it approached the airport, report AP and CNN. The pilot and co-pilot were the only people aboard, says a UPS spokesperson. It went down in a field owned by the airport, reports WVTM, about a half-mile away from one of the runways. The plane had taken off from Louisville, Ky.


News article:

GAZA/JERUSALEM Israel's cabinet authorized the mobilization of up to 75,000 reservists late on Friday, preparing the ground for a possible Gaza invasion after Palestinians fired a rocket toward Jerusalem for the first time in decades.

 Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial centre, also came under rocket attack for the second straight day, in defiance of an Israeli air offensive that began on Wednesday with the declared aim of deterring Hamas from launching cross-border attacks that have plagued southern Israel for years.

 Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, claimed responsibility for firing at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Israel said the rocket launched toward Jerusalem landed in the occupied West Bank, and the one fired at Tel Aviv did not hit the city. There were no reports of casualties.

 The siren that sounded in Jerusalem stunned many Israelis. The city, holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, was last struck by a Palestinian rocket in 1970, and it was not a target when Saddam Hussein's Iraq fired missiles at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a four-hour strategy session with a clutch of senior ministers in Tel Aviv on widening the military campaign, while other cabinet members were polled by telephone on raising the mobilization level.

 Political sources said they decided to more than double the current reserve troop quota set for the Gaza offensive to 75,000. The move did not necessarily mean all would be called into service.

 Hours earlier, Egypt's prime minister, denouncing what he described as Israeli aggression, visited Gaza and said Cairo was prepared to mediate a truce.

 Officials in Gaza said 29 Palestinians - 13 militants and 16 civilians, among them eight children and a pregnant woman - had been killed in the enclave since Israel began its air strikes. Three Israeli civilians were killed by a rocket on Thursday.

 The Israeli military said 97 rockets fired from Gaza hit Israel on Friday and 99 more were intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile system. Dozens of Israeli bombing raids rocked the enclave, and one flattened the Gaza Interior Ministry building.

 In a further sign Netanyahu might be clearing the way for a ground operation, Israel's armed forces announced that a highway leading to the territory and two roads bordering the enclave of 1.7 million Palestinians would be off-limits to civilian traffic.

 Tanks and self-propelled guns were seen near the border area on Friday, and the military said it had already called 16,000 reservists to active duty.

 Netanyahu is favorite to win a January national election, but further rocket strikes against Tel Aviv, a free-wheeling city Israelis equate with New York, and Jerusalem, which Israel regards as its capital, could be political poison for the conservative leader.

 "The Israel Defence Forces will continue to hit Hamas hard and are prepared to broaden the action inside Gaza," Netanyahu said before the rocket attacks on the two cities.

 Asked about Israel massing forces for a possible Gaza invasion, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said: "The Israelis should be aware of the grave results of such a raid, and they should bring their body bags."

 SOLIDARITY VISIT

 A solidarity visit to Gaza by Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, whose Islamist government is allied with Hamas but also party to a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, had appeared to open a tiny window to emergency peace diplomacy.

 Kandil said: "Egypt will spare no effort ... to stop the aggression and to achieve a truce."

 But a three-hour truce that Israel declared for the duration of Kandil's visit never took hold.

 Israel Radio's military affairs correspondent said the army's Homefront Command had told municipal officials to make civil defence preparations for the possibility that fighting could drag on for seven weeks. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.

 The Gaza conflagration has stoked the flames of a Middle East already ablaze with two years of Arab revolution and a civil war in Syria that threatens to leap across borders.

 It is the biggest test yet for Egypt's new President Mohamed Mursi, a veteran Islamist politician from the Muslim Brotherhood who was elected this year after last year's protests ousted military autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

 Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood are spiritual mentors of Hamas, yet Mursi has also pledged to respect Cairo's 1979 peace treaty with Israel, seen in the West as the cornerstone of regional security. Egypt and Israel both receive billions of dollars in U.S. military aid to underwrite their treaty.

 Mursi has vocally denounced the Israeli military action while promoting Egypt as a mediator, a mission that his prime minister's visit was intended to further.

 A Palestinian official close to Egypt's mediators told Reuters Kandil's visit "was the beginning of a process to explore the possibility of reaching a truce. It is early to speak of any details or of how things will evolve".

 Hamas fighters are no match for the Israeli military. The last Gaza war, involving a three-week long Israeli air blitz and ground invasion over the New Year period of 2008-2009, killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians. Thirteen Israelis died.

 Tunisia's foreign minister was due to visit Gaza on Saturday "to provide all political support for Gaza" the spokesman for the Tunisian president, Moncef Marzouki, said in a statement.

 The United States asked countries that have contact with Hamas to urge the Islamist movement to stop its rocket attacks.

 Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist. By contrast, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who rules in the nearby West Bank, does recognize Israel, but peace talks between the two sides have been frozen since 2010.

 Abbas's supporters say they will push ahead with a plan to have Palestine declared an "observer state" rather than a mere "entity" at the United Nations later this month.

 (Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell, Jeffrey Heller and Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Giles Elgood and Will Waterman) ||||| Story highlights Hamas' Cabinet headquarters is destroyed, Hamas TV reports

 Israel's Cabinet OKs activating up to 75,000 reservists, a spokesman says

 Israeli strikes have killed 30 in Gaza, a Gaza government website says

 "It seems that it's beyond control," an Israeli Knesset member says

 From Gaza City to Tel Aviv, rockets kept flying, people kept dying and fear and anger on both sides kept growing.

 For all the bloodshed thus far -- including at least 30 killed in Gaza since Wednesday, according to a Palestinian government website, and Israel reporting three deaths in Kiryat Malachi -- there has been little indication the situation will calm any time soon.

 In fact, fears are rising that the opposite will hold true. Israel's Cabinet on Friday approved the activation of up to 75,000 reservists, prime minister's spokesman Mark Regev said. Also, the Israel Defense Forces reported earlier in the day that it is "mobilizing forces" in preparation for a "possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip."

 The violence "seems that it's beyond control," said Daniel Ben Simon, a Knesset member not aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.

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 The violence continued Saturday morning, with several loud explosions from apparent Israeli strikes rattling Gaza City. The Cabinet headquarters for Hamas, the same building where Egypt's prime minister met with Hamas' officials the previous day, was among the sites destroyed, according to Hamas TV.

 From northern Gaza, Mohammed Sulaiman said he could hear bombs intermittently falling from Israeli warplanes as well as, from the other side, rockets periodically whistling toward Israel.

 "The situation is totally dangerous here, and it is not safe to be out in the street," Sulaiman said.

 Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces , which has accused Hamas of turning Gaza into "a frontal base for Iran," said 97 rockets launched from Gaza had hit Israel since midweek, while another 99 were intercepted by a missile defense system.

 The former category included rockets that landed near Israel's two most populous cities Friday. No damage was reported, but Israelis consider the attacks on its major population centers to be an escalation, said Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.

 Two struck an open area south of Jerusalem, with Hamas militants confirming they had fired rockets toward that city.

 Alarms went off, too, in Tel Aviv, prompting people to scurry off beaches and into safe locales, witnesses said.

 From a seaside restaurant, Elian Karen said the rocket went into the ocean about 10 to 15 meters deep, caused water to rise briefly before black smoke began rising from the water. Within 10 minutes, people were back on the beach -- sitting, eating, playing and seemingly determined not to let the conflict disrupt their lives.

 "Everyone is on the beach right now, very normal (and) no stress," Karen said Friday. "We want to have a normal life and enjoy life."

 Rejecting the idea of a temporary cease-fire Israel had requested because of the Egyptian prime minister's Gaza visit, the militant group al-Qassam -- the military arm of Hamas -- reported on its Twitter feed that it had fired a Grad missile Friday on the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva.

 In Ashkelon, about 17 kilometers (10 miles) north of Gaza, local officials said rocket strikes had increased dramatically in recent days. Such attacks are nothing new for residents accustomed to hunkering down in bunker rooms, but the emptiness of the town's marina and streets suggested the uptick had left people on edge.

 "It is really frightening," Shiraz Wieselhof said. "I cannot sleep at night."

 This violent back-and-forth comes after the Israeli military's start Wednesday of an operation it calls Pillar of Defense, which it launched to target those behind the high number of rockets fired at Israel over the past year.

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 Israeli authorities said the military campaign has hit more than 600 targets for what it calls terror activity and stifled rocket launches out of Gaza, a claim denied by al-Qassam.

 Photos from Friday showed fiery rubble of where Hamas' Interior Ministry building once stood.

 Hamas field commander Ahmad Abu Galala was killed Friday, according to Hamas officials, and Israel's military reported that fellow senior Hamas operative Kahlid Shahyer was also targeted.

 But despite what Oren describes as great pains by Israel not to hurt innocents -- including warning Gaza residents in phone calls and leaflets -- scores of civilian casualties have been reported.

 In Gaza City, for example, a neighbor at al-Shifa Hospital held the body Friday of 4-year-old Mahmoud Sadalah, who his father described as "very sweet" and intelligent. The boy is among eight children killed in the recent violence, medical sources in Gaza said.

 At least 101 children and 96 women have been injured in Israeli strikes, a figure that does not include carnage from new attacks late Friday night, said Dr. Mufeed Mkhallalati, the Palestinian health minister.

 "As a doctor, as a human, I am crying," a doctor at al-Shifa Hospital said. "I can't do anything for him, because I know he's died. ... And you can't imagine if it's your baby, how do you feel he's a terrorist? Why?"

 Egypt vows 'not to leave Gaza alone'

 With its attacks, Israel is denying Palestinians their rights and efforts to establish an independent state, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday.

 "This is an aggression against all Palestinian people," he said.

 He cited the deaths of two babies as a result of Israeli airstrikes. One was the 11-month-old son of a BBC journalist in Gaza, BBC Foreign Editor Jon Williams said.

 Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil got a firsthand look Friday at destruction while on a tour with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

 His rhetoric toward Israel was diplomatic, though his voice was halting as he struggled to get his words out after seeing a dead year-old boy.

 "No one can remain still and watch this tragedy unfold in this fashion," Kandil said. "This is impossible. The whole world must intervene, and Israel must abide by the agreements and stop the aggression."

 The armed conflict is likely to further erode Israel's fragile relationship with Egypt, which recalled its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday in protest over the ongoing strikes. It also delivered a formal protest to the Israeli government.

 "Egypt will not leave Gaza alone, and what is happening there is a blatant aggression against humanity," said Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy.

 His Cabinet chief noted, however, that Egypt's peace treaty with Israel is safe.

 "But respecting a peace treaty does not mean to stay idle or indifferent to what is going on along our borders," said Mohamed Refa'a al-Tahtawi, who promised "medical, logistical and humanitarian" support for Palestinians. ||||| The visit is expected to last about three hours, and an official in Mr. Netanyahu’s office said by telephone that Israel had told Egypt that the cease-fire would hold as long as “there would not be hostile fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel.”

 “Prime Minister Netanyahu is committed to the peace treaty with Egypt,” the official said. “That peace serves the strategic interests of both countries.” There was no suggestion that the Israelis were considering a more permanent cease-fire at this stage.

 Photo

 Tel Aviv was not hit on Thursday. One rocket crashed into the sea off its coast and another apparently fell, the ability of militants 40 miles away to fire those weapons at the city of 400,000 underscored, in the Israeli government’s view, the justification for the intensive aerial assaults on hundreds of suspected rocket storage sites and other targets in Gaza.

 Health officials in Gaza said at least 19 people, including five children and a pregnant teenager, had been killed over two days of nearly nonstop aerial attacks by Israel, and dozens had been wounded. Three Israelis were killed on Thursday in Kiryat Malachi, this small southern Israeli town, when a rocket fired from Gaza struck their apartment house.

 In a sign of solidarity with Hamas as well as a diplomatic move to ease the crisis, President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt ordered his prime minister to lead a delegation to Gaza. In another diplomatic signal, Ban Ki-moon , the United Nations secretary general, also planned to visit Jerusalem , Cairo and Ramallah, the West Bank headquarters of the Palestinian Authority , in coming days.

 In Washington, Obama administration officials said they had asked friendly Arab countries with ties to Hamas, which the United States and Israel regard as a terrorist group, to use their influence to seek a way to defuse the hostilities. At the same time, however, a State Department spokesman, Mark C. Toner, reiterated to reporters the American position that Israel had a right to defend itself from the rocket fire and that the “onus was on Hamas” to stop it.

 The Pentagon said late Thursday that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta spoke to Mr. Barak this week about Israeli operations in and around Gaza and condemned the violence carried out by Hamas and other groups against Israel.

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 There was no sign that either side was prepared, at least not yet, to restore the uneasy truce that was forged the last time the Israelis invaded Gaza in the winter of 2008-9, a three-week war that left 1,400 Palestinians dead and drew widespread international condemnation.

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 Denunciations of Israel for what critics called a renewal of its aggressive and disproportionate attacks spread quickly on the second day of the aerial assaults. The biggest criticism came from the 120-nation Nonaligned Movement , the largest bloc at the United Nations. In a statement released by Iran , which holds the group’s rotating presidency and is one of Israel’s most ardent foes, the group said: “Israel, the occupying power, is, once more, escalating its military campaign against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip.” The group made no mention of the Palestinian rocket fire aimed at Israel but condemned “this act of aggression by the Israelis and their resort to force against the defenseless people” and demanded “decisive action by the U.N. Security Council .”

 For his part, Mr. Netanyahu accused Hamas of placing thousands of smuggled rockets into civilian areas, including near schools and hospitals, and firing them randomly into Israel without regard to where they landed. “In the past 24 hours Israel has made it clear that it will not tolerate rocket and missile attacks on its civilians,” he said in a statement. “I hope that Hamas and the other terror organizations in Gaza got the message.”

 Video

 The Israel Defense Forces said that within hours of the Tel Aviv air-raid warning, they had attacked 70 underground rocket-launching sites in Gaza and “direct hits were confirmed.” There were also unconfirmed reports that Israeli rockets had struck near Gaza’s Rafah crossing into Egypt, forcing the Egyptians to close it.

 Military officials said Israel’s aerial assaults had hit more than 450 sites in Gaza by early Friday. The officials also said militants in Gaza had fired more than 300 rockets into southern Israel and at least 130 more had been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile defense system.

 In Gaza, health officials said, those who died Thursday included a 2-year-old boy who had been struck on Wednesday in the southern town of Khan Yunis, a 10-month-old girl wounded on Wednesday in the Zeitoun area and a child in the northern border town of Beit Hanoun. A 50-year-old man in Beit Lahiyeh, near the northern border, was killed Thursday afternoon when he was buried by sand after a bomb exploded nearby. Others killed Thursday included two brothers in Beit Hanoun, two Hamas members of a rocket-launching squad in Beit Lahiyeh, and three other Hamas fighters killed in a single strike in Khan Yunis.

 Southern Israel had been the target of more than 750 rockets fired from Gaza this year that hit homes and caused injuries. Among the dozens fired on Thursday was one that smashed into a four-story apartment building in Kiryat Malachi, which means City of Angels, and resulted in the first Israeli civilian deaths.

 It was just after 8 a.m. when the sirens blared in Kiryat Malachi, a largely working-class town of 20,000 about 15 miles north of Gaza, which had not suffered a direct hit by rockets from Gaza before.

 One of the top-floor apartments was home to the Scharf family, a couple in their 20s with young children. Neighbors said they had recently come from India , where they were emissaries for the Chabad-Lubavitch organization of Hasidic Jews. At the incoming rocket alert they did not rush for the relative safety of the stairwell as many of the neighbors did, perhaps not knowing the drill.

 In the adjacent apartment, Yitzhak Amsalem, also in his 20s, ignored his mother’s pleas to take shelter. Instead he and Aharon Smadja, a rabbi and a friend, stood by the window, eager to photograph “the fireworks,” neighbors said.

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 When the rocket crashed into the top of building, Mr. Amsalem and Mr. Smadja, and Mira Scharf, the mother, were killed. ||||| Associated Press An Israeli soldier rides on top of an armored personal carrier close to the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday.

 Israel began mobilizing tens of thousands of troops Thursday and extended its aerial and artillery attacks on the Gaza Strip to a third day early Friday, while Palestinian militants mounted their deepest-ever missile strikes into the heart of Israel.

 Israel began mobilizing thousands of troops Thursday, extending its aerial and artillery attacks on the Gaza Strip early Friday, while Palestinian militants mounted their deepest-ever missile strikes into the heart of Israel. Photo: REUTERS.

 Israel hit the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and artillery shells for a second straight day Thursday and Hamas ramped up rocket fire at Israel, as both sides widened hostilities in the conflict's bloodiest escalation in four years. Charles Levinson has the latest from Tel Aviv on The News Hub.

 A video released by the Israeli Defense Force on Wednesday shows an air strike on Hamas in Gaza City that it says killed Ahmed Jabari, the commander of the Hamas military wing in Gaza. Israeli and Hamas officials confirmed Mr. Jabari was killed in the attack by the Israel Air Force.

 After Friday prayers at the Azhar mosque in Cairo, worshipers chanted anti-Israel slogans in response to the clashes between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Video by WSj's Sam Dagher via #WorldStream.

 The exchanges, which have killed 19 Palestinians and three Israelis, broadened a conflict that had erupted into the open Wednesday. Israel responded to escalating missile strikes from Gaza militants by launching a blitz of airstrikes that day that killed the top military commander of Hamas, the Islamist militant group and political movement that runs Gaza.

 It was unclear whether Thursday's troop movements were designed to intimidate Israel's foes or to lay the groundwork for an invasion. Israel's leaders have said they are ready to launch a ground assault if rocket fire continues.

 Early Friday, Israeli aircraft pummeled rocket launching operations of Gaza militants, the Associated Press reported.

 "The situation has all the elements and dynamics that could lead us down the road to a place we haven't been before," said Steve Cook, a Mideast specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations. "It's a very dangerous situation, and it's difficult to say what the Israelis should do."

 The conflict's course from here on out rests largely with Israel and its neighbor, Egypt—the two nations that form the cornerstone of U.S. policy in the region, but which have seen ties fray in the months since an Islamist government came to power in Egypt.

 Conflict in Gaza Strip, Israel View Slideshow European Pressphoto Agency Smoke rises from a Hamas site after an Israeli air strike in the center of Gaza city on Friday.

 U.S. efforts to calm the situation depend largely on Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, analysts said. Before becoming president earlier this year, he was a top leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, which has close ideological links to Hamas. With his election, he inherited oversight of billions of dollars in annual U.S. military support and a U.S.-brokered Israeli-Egyptian peace deal that has defined regional security for three decades.

 On Thursday, Mr. Morsi ordered Egypt's prime minister to lead a delegation into Gaza on Friday, Egyptian state television reported. The visit would pose an unprecedented challenge to Israel, perhaps forcing it to scale back its military operations while the delegation is there. Mr. Morsi's activist response to Israeli-Palestinian violence marks a stark reversal from the more hands-off policies of his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

 President Barack Obama and administration officials have been in contact with leaders of Israel and Egypt—staunchly supporting Israel's operation while pressing the Egyptians to rein in Hamas, officials said.

 Enlarge Image Close Associated Press A rocket is launched Thursday by militants in the northern Gaza Strip.

 "I'm not going to speculate on where this might go, beyond saying that we all want to see a de-escalation of the violence and that the onus rests squarely on Hamas," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner. "It needs to stop its rocket attacks."

 On Thursday, a Palestinian rocket narrowly missed Tel Aviv, setting off incoming-missile warning sirens in the city for the first time since Iraqi Scud missiles hit Israel during the 1991 Gulf War.

 Thursday's three Israeli fatalities came when a Palestinian rocket struck an apartment complex in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi, marking the first deaths on the Israeli side in the conflict and the deadliest single rocket strike ever on Israel from Gaza. Three soldiers were wounded in Israel by a rocket strike later Thursday.

 In addition to the 19 Palestinians killed in two days of Israeli attacks, 200 were wounded, Gaza health officials said. Those numbers seemed likely to rise as Israel resumed heavy aerial bombardments late Thursday.

 In much of southern Israel and in Gaza, schools remained closed and most residents hunkered down indoors, sheltering from airstrikes and rockets.

 Shortly after nightfall, Israel's military began mobilizing 30,000 reserves. Convoys of buses packed with infantrymen, and flatbeds hauling tanks and armored vehicles, rumbled down Israel's highways toward the Gaza Strip.

 Enlarge Image Close Jim Hollander/European Pressphoto Agency People huddle for safety in southern Israel after sirens warn of a rocket attack from militants in Gaza.

 "We are in the process of expanding the campaign," Israel's top military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, told Israel's Channel 2 television.

 Earlier Thursday, Gen. Mordechai said military commanders had approved dozens of new targets in Gaza. Leaflets fluttered from the skies over Gaza around midday, warning residents to stay clear of Hamas personnel and installations ahead of continuing Israeli attacks. Army tanks fired shells at targets inside the coastal territory.

 For many Palestinians, a more supportive government in Egypt would be their first sense of change from an Arab Spring that until now has largely passed them by. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the two retain close ties.

 "This time we know that this is a new Egypt—a new Arab world," said Haidar Eid, an associate professor of political science at Al Aqsa University in the Gaza Strip. "We are expecting the Arab World to do something."

 Many Israelis and Palestinians argue that it was the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt that helped emboldened Palestinian factions, including some elements of Hamas, to take a more defiant and confrontational approach to Israel that helped trigger this current flare-up.

 After nearly four years of calm along the Gaza border, Palestinian militants have slowly stepped up their mortar and rocket attacks on Israel in recent months. Hamas, which in recent years had acted to prevent rival militants from firing at Israel, began to join in the firing itself, in what some observers believed was a response to rival factions' mounting criticism of the group for refusing to confront Israel.

 Enlarge Image Close Associated Press In Ashdod, Israel's Iron Dome defense system deploys against an incoming missile.

 The days leading up to the Israeli attack saw a series of tit-for-tat skirmishes between Israel and Palestinian militants.

 Israel has now struck more than 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, the military said. Gaza-based militants have fired around 300 rockets at Israel since the conflict began, Israel's military says. The country's newly deployed Iron Dome missile defense system, which is partially U.S.-funded, has knocked 105 of them out of the sky, the military said.

 In other recent conflicts—Israel's 2006 Lebanon War, and 2009's operation against Hamas in Gaza—Israel intensely shelled suspected militant positions to soften resistance ahead of ground invasions. Israel's latest shelling has been more limited.

 Both previous operations were followed by several years of calm. Both also were far bigger in scope, taking a massive toll on the civilian populations, killing hundreds of civilians and scorching Israel's image internationally.

 The relatively lower casualty numbers in this assault would seem to indicate that Israel, for its hawkish talk, is mounting a significantly more restrained and pinpoint approach so far to operations than it has at times in the past.

 That may help explain why international support for the Israeli offensive has remained strong. The U.K. on Thursday issued a statements of support for Israel. That followed similarly robust backing from Washington a day earlier.

 "Hamas bears principal responsibility for the current crisis," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

 —Joshua Mitnick in Kiryat Malachi, Israel, contributed to this article.

 Write to Charles Levinson at charles.levinson@wsj.com

 A version of this article appeared November 16, 2012, on page A1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: No Headline Available. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– A brief, planned ceasefire failed to materialize in Gaza today, as death continued to rain down on the strip. Israel had offered to hold its offensive to accommodate a visit from Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil, provided Hamas held its fire as well. But Hamas said it would keep firing, and one Israeli defense minister complained that 50 rockets had flown in from Gaza during Kandil's visit, CNN reports. A Hamas-run TV station reported that Israel had kept firing as well, but Israel says it took a break for at least two hours. In Palestine the death toll has risen to 21, including 13 civilians, Reuters reports. Among those civilians were seven children and a pregnant teenager. Israel's death toll held steady at 3, despite the hundreds of rockets fired into Israel. But Hamas did up the ante by firing rockets near Tel Aviv for the first time. Air-raid sirens sounded (the last time they did so was during the Gulf War) and civilians ran for cover, though the missiles exploded harmlessly, with one going into the sea. "There will be a price for that escalation," Ehud Barak vowed, according to the New York Times. Israel has now hit 250 Gaza targets, while taking further steps toward a ground invasion, calling up 16,000 reservists, the Wall Street Journal reports. It's also steadily sending troops and armored vehicles to the border, notes CNN—between 1,500 and 2,000 are already there, one official said. Israel claims the attacks have weakened Hamas' military capabilities and caused its attacks to lighten, but Hamas denied that, saying it had hit multiple Israeli targets today. Kandil emerged from his meeting with Hamas expressing solidarity, saying the new Egyptian regime would be more active in helping the Palestinians. "The time has changed," he said. "No longer the Israeli occupation will be able to carry out their attacks against the Palestinians without being held responsible. That time is far bygone." For its part, the Obama administration says it's seeking help from Arab countries in calling on Hamas to relent. "The onus rests squarely on Hamas ... to stop its rocket attacks," says a State Department spokesman. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is planning diplomatic visits to Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Cairo within days.


Summarize this article:

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — A Mexican man once listed as the world's heaviest human being died Monday at the age of 48.

 FILE - In this June 9, 2008 file photo, Manuel "Meme" Uribe, 42, shows how he exercises from his bed during an interview in Monterrey, Mexico. Uribe, once listed as the world's heaviest human being, has... (Associated Press)

 Manuel Uribe had slimmed down to about 867 pounds (394 kilograms), well below his then-record peak weight of 1,230 pounds (560 kilograms), which was certified in 2006 as a Guinness World Record.

 Uribe's death was confirmed by an official of the health department of Nuevo Leon state, where the city of Monterrey is located.

 Uribe had been confined to his bed in Monterrey for years, unable to walk on his own.

 The official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said Uribe had been taken to the hospital on May 2 because of an abnormal heartbeat.

 He had to be taken to the hospital with a crane by emergency and civil defense workers.

 Doctors have not yet certified the cause of death. In addition to the cardiac condition, Uribe was also believed to have suffered from liver problems.

 Uribe married Claudia Solis in 2008, and the wedding was one of the few times he left his home in recent years.

 Uribe was a chubby kid, weighing more than 250 pounds (115 kilograms) as an adolescent. Starting in 1992, he said, his weight began ballooning further.

 Since the summer of 2002, Uribe had been bedridden, relying on his mother and friends to feed and clean him. ||||| Manuel Uribe shows how he exercises from his bed during an interview on June 9, 2008 in Monterrey, Mexico.

 Manuel Uribe, known as 'Meme,' once certified by the Guinness World Record as the heaviest man alive, has died.

 His record peak weight was 1,230 pounds (560 kilograms) in 2006.

 Uribe, 48, had been admitted to a hospital in his natal Nuevo Leon a few days ago with symptoms of cardiac arrythmia and other health complications, according to El Universal newspaper.

 The man had not been able to get out of bed since at least 12 years and had to be taken to the hospital with a crane by emergency and civil defense workers. He relied on his mother and friends to feed and clean him.

 According to published reports, Uribe got married for the first time in 1987 and illegally immigrated to the United States, where he sold tacos on a street corner in Dallas.

 Back in Mexico, in October of 2008 he married his second wife Claudia — the wedding was one of the few times he left his home in recent years. By then he weighed in at 701 lbs. after managing to lose 593 lbs.

 "I am proof you can find love in any circumstances. It's all a question of faith. I have a wife and will form a new family and live a happy life," he told the Daily Record back in 2008.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino

 Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino |||||

– Slimming down didn't lead to longevity for Manuel Uribe: The Mexican, who topped the scales at 1,230 pounds in 2006 when he was the world's heaviest man, has died at the age of 48, the AP reports. He had slimmed down to around 867 pounds in recent years but remained bedridden at his mother's home in Monterrey. Officials say he was taken to the hospital—by crane—earlier this month because of an abnormal heartbeat. Uribe made the news in 2008, when he got married for the second time. He left the house—but not his bed—for the ceremony, which he was transported to in a flatbed truck. He got married for the first time in 1987, when he was living in Dallas and selling tacos on a street corner, Fox reports. Uribe said he had always been chubby, but his weight began to balloon in 1992 and he had been bedridden since 2002. No cause of death has been confirmed, but he is believed to have suffered from liver problems as well as heart trouble.


Article:

(CNN) A video released by ISIS on Thursday threatens new attacks in France, Italy, the United States and beyond.

 The video features two suspected ISIS fighters threatening to blow up the White House and launch more attacks on Paris. One fighter mentions a "conquest of Rome."

 The Vatican's St. Peter's Square was recently featured on the cover of the terror group's online magazine.

 Italy has responded to the video and magazine by beefing up security in Rome and the Vatican, with 1,000 members of the army being deployed around the country.

 The U.S. Embassy in Rome is urging Americans visiting Italy to remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings amid the latest ISIS threats. It warns that St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, as well as Milan's Duomo and La Scala, could be terrorist targets.

 The Embassy warns that "general" venues such as houses of worship, restaurants, theaters and hotels in Rome and Milan could be targeted.

 Wednesday, the terror group released a video warning of an impending attack on New York City.

 The video mentions Times Square and purports to show an explosive device being put together and a bomber zipping his jacket over a suicide belt.

 The New York City Police Department said it was aware of the video and was deploying additional members of its new anti-terrorism squad out of an abundance of caution.

 "While some of the video footage is not new, the video reaffirms the message that New York City remains a top terrorist target," the statement said. "While there is no current or specific threat to the city at this time, we will remain at a heightened state of vigilance and will continue to work with the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the entire intelligence community to keep the city of New York safe."

 Mayor Bill de Blasio encouraged New Yorkers to go about their normal business.

 "The people of New York City will not be intimidated," he said late Wednesday. "We understand it is the goal of terrorists to intimidate and disrupt our democratic society. We will not submit to their wishes."

 A similar video was released in April, according to John Miller, the NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism.

 "This is an old video that was kind of rehashed," he said. "This is ISIS doing what ISIS and al Qaeda and terrorist groups do, which is propaganda."

 "When we see the video, we make note of it, but it's like a lot of videos we've seen," Miller said.

 CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said authorities can't ignore the video, whether or not it turns out to be a credible threat.

 "I think they have to treat it quite seriously, because ISIS is the richest terrorist group in history. It has an extraordinary number of Western recruits. ... One of its biggest ambitions right now is to a launch a terrorist attack inside the United States," he said.

 ISIS first drew international attention for taking over swaths of Iraq and Syria, leaving a trail of violence and destruction in its wake. Its efforts to bring terror to the global stage seem to be growing.

 Earlier this week, another video released by ISIS threatened to strike Washington. ||||| New York City is open for business, and don’t let the terrorists tell you any different.

 That was the defiant message Wednesday night from Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, just hours after crazed jihadists released a threatening video that put a bullseye on the Big Apple.

 FULL COVERAGE: LATEST NEWS ON THE PARIS TERROR ATTACKS

 “The people of New York City will not be intimidated,” de Blasio said, standing in the middle of Times Square, one of the locations featured in the ISIS propaganda video.

 “We understand it is the goal of terrorists to intimidate and disrupt our democratic society. We will not submit to their wishes.”

 Mayor de Blasio, Police Commissioner Bratton and Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence John Miller address the ISIS threat to New York City. (Sam Costanza for New York Daily News)

 Officials insisted that there had been no specific threat against New York City. Even so, cops remained on high alert.

 BILL BRATTON UPS ANTI-TERROR EFFORTS AFTER PARIS ATTACKS

 “People can feel comfortable coming into the city,” Bratton said. “Do not be afraid. The NYPD will protect you.”

 Gov. Cuomo echoed the city’s stay-strong stance.

 An explosive device is featured in the new ISIS video. (Islamic State) Several jihadis address the camera, promising to continue the violence and to attack Western targets, as shots of homemade explosive devices are shown. (Islamic State) A man is seen pulling the pin of an explosive device in the new ISIS video.

 “I encourage all New Yorkers to remain alert and report any suspicious activity, while at the same time not letting this disrupt their daily lives,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Remember that the terrorists’ goal is to let fear win — New Yorkers never have, and we never will.”

 The terrorist group released a video Wednesday promising more violence in the wake of last Friday’s Paris attacks that killed 129 people and injured hundreds more.

 The ISIS propaganda video appears to threaten New York City and shows areas of Manhattan including Times Square and Herald Square. (Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images)

 Several jihadists address the camera, and shots of homemade explosive devices flash across the screen as images of Times Square, a TGI Friday’s restaurant, Fifth Ave. and Herald Square roll by. ||||| Play Facebook

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 New York City's mayor and police commissioner vowed the Big Apple would not live in fear of threats from the terror group ISIS, which on Wednesday released a video showing New York landmarks and referencing the Paris attacks.

 "The people of New York City will not be intimidated," Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters in Times Square Wednesday night. "We understand it is the goal of terrorists to intimidate and disrupt our democratic society. We will not submit to their wishes."

 The terror group released a propaganda video Wednesday showing Times Square and other landmarks, and referencing the Paris terror attacks.

 The images of New York City were published in April, and officials said the threats are not new. ISIS has claimed responsibility for Friday's terror attacks in Paris that killed 129 people.

 New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said the video appears to be "hastily produced, it is a mishmash of previously released video" that includes parts of other previously released videos that threatened Germany and Israel.

 "There is, as we have repeated frequently, no city in America that is better prepared to defend and protect against a terrorist attack," Bratton said.

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 Embed War of Words Erupt Between Obama, GOP Candidates on Syrian Refugees 2:38 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog

 The NYPD increased security after the Paris attacks out of an abundance of caution, including deploying heavily-armed police teams throughout the city. The FBI said it was aware of the video, but added there is no specific threat to the city.

 In 2010, Faisal Shahzad tried to detonate a car bomb outside a theater in Times Square. The explosive failed to detonate. Shahzad said the Pakistani Taliban provided him with funding and training for attack. He pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. |||||
What is a summary?

– It will take more than an ISIS video to intimidate New York City, a defiant Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday night after the group released a propaganda video mentioning the Paris attacks and threatening that New York City could be next. "The people of New York City will not be intimidated," de Blasio said in a Times Square press conference, per NBC. "We understand it is the goal of terrorists to intimidate and disrupt our democratic society. We will not submit to their wishes." CNN reports that the NYPD is deploying extra officers out of an "abundance of caution" following the release of the video, which shows footage of sites, including Times Square, and depicts a bomber with a suicide belt. De Blasio was joined in Times Square by NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, who said the "hastily produced" video shouldn't scare away visitors, the New York Daily News reports. "People can feel comfortable coming into the city," he said. "Do not be afraid. The NYPD will protect you." NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo also urged New Yorkers not to give terrorists the reaction they're hoping for, the Daily News reports. "I encourage all New Yorkers to remain alert and report any suspicious activity, while at the same time not letting this disrupt their daily lives," he said in a statement. "Remember that the terrorists' goal is to let fear win—New Yorkers never have, and we never will." (ISIS says it brought down a plane with a bomb in a soda can.)


– Even Conal O'Rourke knows his story might sound convoluted. But the California man hopes documentation and an in-person interview provided to Ars Technica will help prove that Comcast had something to do with him losing his job at PriceWaterhouseCoopers after a lengthy battle with the cable company over billing and service issues. O'Rourke has hired a lawyer and has issued an Oct. 14 ultimatum to Comcast—a PWC consulting services client—that requests "a full retraction and apology, his re-employment with his former employer, and $100,312.50." His lengthy timeline begins in 2012, when he says he moved to the Golden State and signed up for Internet and TV with Comcast—and everything started going wrong almost immediately. Among O'Rourke's numerous allegations: late bills; charges for and shipments of equipment he didn't order; not receiving the right promotional items; "unworkable" Internet speed; and not hearing back from Comcast employees when he tried to resolve issues. They never even got his name right on the bill, he adds. But the worst repercussion, according to O'Rourke, was getting fired from his job after he started calling Comcast's controller's office. He says via a letter written by his attorney that he was called in to a PWC partner's office and told that Comcast, a "very valuable" client, "was very angry as a result of Mr. O'Rourke’s complaints, and that Mr. O'Rourke was not to speak with anyone from Comcast." O'Rourke alleges after that meeting that he endured a PWC internal investigation and then was fired on Feb. 18. His attorney's letter says O'Rourke was "shocked, humiliated, and ashamed based on the unjustified loss of his job. He sought counseling and was prescribed medication to address his emotional distress." He now has AT&T service at home, and is threatening to sue Comcast if the company does not comply with his demands. (Follow the entire Ars Technica timeline for further details.)

Expand this summary.

OAKLAND, CA—Speaking over lunch last Friday, a Northern California man named Conal O'Rourke laid out what admittedly sounds like a crazy story: a year-long billing dispute over his home Comcast service that ultimately resulted in Comcast getting O'Rourke fired from his job at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in nearby San Jose earlier this year.

 But O’Rourke arrived to last week’s lunch meeting with Ars with an astonishing amount of documentation: he has pages and pages of Comcast invoices. He has a spreadsheet, photos, notes, business cards, and complaint letters. He and his lawyer, Maureen Pettibone Ryan, happily provided digital copies of these materials to Ars, which we have re-published with his permission here.

 As a result of his firing, O’Rourke has hired a local attorney and is now threatening to file a lawsuit against Comcast if the company does not agree to his demands, which include "a full retraction and apology, his re-employment with his former employer, and $100,312.50" by October 14.

 A rogue $26.25

 O’Rourke first moved to California in early 2012 after 20 years of working for Andersen Consulting (later Accenture) in Connecticut, most recently as part of the corporate controllership division. During his career, O'Rourke developed skills in accounting, financial analysis, and auditing—skills that proved useful in his eventual dispute with Comcast.

 In February 2013, he moved to a new place in San Jose and signed up for TV and Internet service with Comcast, since the only other competitive service, AT&T’s U-Verse, was not available in his building.

 "I was roped into Comcast, and with Comcast, my problems soon began," O'Rourke said.

 His first issues began when, after six weeks of service, he had yet to receive a bill.

 After eventually receiving his first bill in April 2013, O'Rourke noticed a number of problems. For one thing, his name was misspelled (an issue that never got corrected).

 More importantly, O’Rourke noticed that Comcast was charging him for three "additional HD outlets" for an extra fee of $26.25 a month. He also was charged for cable boxes that he says he never activated (he planned on moving two additional TVs later on into his condominium), after allegedly being promised that he wouldn’t be.

 Finally, as part of a promotional deal, O'Rourke says he was promised HBO and other premium channels for nine months, but they disappeared after just three.

 O’Rourke said he called multiple times to try to get these issues resolved. When they weren’t, he finally walked into his nearest Comcast store in San Jose.

 There he met with the assistant store manager, who gave him a business card and provided his personal cellphone number. "He promises me that it will all be addressed and that we're going to look at it," O’Rourke said.

 Then the real problems began.

 $1,820 in equipment he didn't order

 For the next few months, O’Rourke says he was under deadlines at work and could not address issues with Comcast.

 By October 2013, O’Rourke said that his Internet speeds suddenly dropped off, becoming "unworkable."

 "I had contacted them regarding lack of responsiveness and performance issues; sometimes my service wouldn't be usable and I had to hotspot in with AT&T," he said.

 Again he called, and again, Comcast promised to correct his problem—sometimes by sending technicians to his home—but according to O'Rourke, the company never did.

 O’Rourke spent part of November and December 2013 traveling overseas, so he was surprised when he returned home to find several boxes at his doorstep containing "12 pieces of equipment" and a December 2013 monthly bill for over $2,000—including $1,820 in equipment that he insists he did not order.

 According to the December 2013 invoice, O’Rourke was charged for devices including an "AnyRoom Hub" ($420) and a "Pace Host" ($110). On December 30, 2013, carrying these various boxes back, O'Rourke walked into the same San Jose Comcast store to return the gear and get his issues resolved.

 When he took a service ticket at 1:59pm, he discovered that he was Ticket #395 but that the store was only on Ticket #251. Rather than spend his afternoon at the store, O’Rourke came up with a plan.

 "They close at 7:00pm, so I thought, I'm going to go at 6:45pm, then somebody will have a fire underneath them to address the problems," he said. "I had had it up to here."

 A Comcast employee named Matt Doblias ended up helping O’Rourke, took back the equipment, and cleared the charges. But that still didn’t get to the root of the errors that had now persisted for months. (Ars sent an e-mail to Doblias, which bounced.)

 "I provided Matt with the detailed spreadsheet in person, and he asked if I could send it to him, and he would take a look," O’Rourke said. The next day, December 31, he did so, but Doblias "responded that the spreadsheet never came through. I sent it again, then at the end of the day I asked for follow up and never heard back."

 O’Rourke got irritated.

 "On January 11, 2014, I was frustrated because I felt that I had done everything," he said. "I sent [Doblias] an e-mail that I was hopeful would ignite him to do something. What I did was [show Doblias by e-mail that] I sarcastically wrote a letter [to Comcast Senior Vice President Lawrence Salva], recommending Doblias for the Employee of the Month award. I wrote it up but didn't put it in the mail. I wanted to give [Doblias] an opportunity to fix the problem."

 The letter included lines like:

 The reason why I have chosen to nominate the San Jose center is simple. Their blatant disregard for the customer has made resolving my issues next to impossible. This behavior has proven to be quite profitable as I, like most customers, just throw their hands up in exasperation. However, now that I am no longer exasperated I intend on following up on my concerns.

 But O'Rourke heard nothing, and the billing errors persisted—resulting in Comcast allegedly sending a collections agency after him.

 "On February 5, 2014, [Comcast] said my account was two months past due and at that point pushing $300," he said. "I don't order pay-per-view, and I explained [to the collections agency] that that can't be right, and they were insistent, and I walked them through it."

 She said, �?What color is your house?!? Tell me the color of your house!’ She went on a tirade and said, �?Just answer the question!’

 By this point, O’Rourke had yet to receive an errorless bill, he said, despite having been a customer for nearly a year. The following day, he decided to contact Lawrence Salva , Comcast’s Philadelphia-based controller, who oversees the division of the company that deals with accounting. He spoke at length with Salva’s executive assistant, describing his litany of problems. After the call concluded, the assistant said that she would have another Comcast employee contact O’Rourke directly.

 "An hour later I got a second call from an individual who doesn't identify herself [except as Evelyn] but says that she's with Comcast," he said. O’Rourke asked her if she knew why she was calling, to which she responded that it had something to do with missed appointments.

 "I laughed, because they missed so many appointments I don't even know which one she's talking about," he said.

 When he tried to explain the situation, O'Rourke said that Evelyn began to berate him.

 "She said, �?What color is your house?!? Tell me the color of your house!’" O’Rourke remembered. "She went on a tirade and said, �?Just answer the question!’" (O'Rourke lives in a condo complex.)

 "I told her that I was angry and said, �?You need to do your homework before you pick up the phone,’" he told Ars. "I told her I was going to call back to Salva's office. That's what I did. And I expressed my concern and said, 'You have sloppy accounting, you don't take anything seriously, and I should go to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.' That's the regulator that makes sure that accounting is done properly. I think that some of my terminology would have indicated that I wasn't a layman. I worked for 20 years in corporate comptrollership. These errors become material after a while."

 Unbeknownst to O’Rourke, however, his call set off alarm bells within Comcast.

 Listing image by Alyson Hurt ||||| OAKLAND, CA—Speaking over lunch last Friday, a Northern California man named Conal O'Rourke laid out what admittedly sounds like a crazy story: a year-long billing dispute over his home Comcast service that ultimately resulted in Comcast getting O'Rourke fired from his job at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in nearby San Jose earlier this year.

 But O’Rourke arrived to last week’s lunch meeting with Ars with an astonishing amount of documentation: he has pages and pages of Comcast invoices. He has a spreadsheet, photos, notes, business cards, and complaint letters. He and his lawyer, Maureen Pettibone Ryan, happily provided digital copies of these materials to Ars, which we have re-published with his permission here.

 As a result of his firing, O’Rourke has hired a local attorney and is now threatening to file a lawsuit against Comcast if the company does not agree to his demands, which include "a full retraction and apology, his re-employment with his former employer, and $100,312.50" by October 14.

 A rogue $26.25

 O’Rourke first moved to California in early 2012 after 20 years of working for Andersen Consulting (later Accenture) in Connecticut, most recently as part of the corporate controllership division. During his career, O'Rourke developed skills in accounting, financial analysis, and auditing—skills that proved useful in his eventual dispute with Comcast.

 In February 2013, he moved to a new place in San Jose and signed up for TV and Internet service with Comcast, since the only other competitive service, AT&T’s U-Verse, was not available in his building.

 "I was roped into Comcast, and with Comcast, my problems soon began," O'Rourke said.

 His first issues began when, after six weeks of service, he had yet to receive a bill.

 After eventually receiving his first bill in April 2013, O'Rourke noticed a number of problems. For one thing, his name was misspelled (an issue that never got corrected).

 More importantly, O’Rourke noticed that Comcast was charging him for three "additional HD outlets" for an extra fee of $26.25 a month. He also was charged for cable boxes that he says he never activated (he planned on moving two additional TVs later on into his condominium), after allegedly being promised that he wouldn’t be.

 Finally, as part of a promotional deal, O'Rourke says he was promised HBO and other premium channels for nine months, but they disappeared after just three.

 O’Rourke said he called multiple times to try to get these issues resolved. When they weren’t, he finally walked into his nearest Comcast store in San Jose.

 There he met with the assistant store manager, who gave him a business card and provided his personal cellphone number. "He promises me that it will all be addressed and that we're going to look at it," O’Rourke said.

 Then the real problems began.

 $1,820 in equipment he didn't order

 For the next few months, O’Rourke says he was under deadlines at work and could not address issues with Comcast.

 By October 2013, O’Rourke said that his Internet speeds suddenly dropped off, becoming "unworkable."

 "I had contacted them regarding lack of responsiveness and performance issues; sometimes my service wouldn't be usable and I had to hotspot in with AT&T," he said.

 Again he called, and again, Comcast promised to correct his problem—sometimes by sending technicians to his home—but according to O'Rourke, the company never did.

 O’Rourke spent part of November and December 2013 traveling overseas, so he was surprised when he returned home to find several boxes at his doorstep containing "12 pieces of equipment" and a December 2013 monthly bill for over $2,000—including $1,820 in equipment that he insists he did not order.

 According to the December 2013 invoice, O’Rourke was charged for devices including an "AnyRoom Hub" ($420) and a "Pace Host" ($110). On December 30, 2013, carrying these various boxes back, O'Rourke walked into the same San Jose Comcast store to return the gear and get his issues resolved.

 When he took a service ticket at 1:59pm, he discovered that he was Ticket #395 but that the store was only on Ticket #251. Rather than spend his afternoon at the store, O’Rourke came up with a plan.

 "They close at 7:00pm, so I thought, I'm going to go at 6:45pm, then somebody will have a fire underneath them to address the problems," he said. "I had had it up to here."

 A Comcast employee named Matt Doblias ended up helping O’Rourke, took back the equipment, and cleared the charges. But that still didn’t get to the root of the errors that had now persisted for months. (Ars sent an e-mail to Doblias, which bounced.)

 "I provided Matt with the detailed spreadsheet in person, and he asked if I could send it to him, and he would take a look," O’Rourke said. The next day, December 31, he did so, but Doblias "responded that the spreadsheet never came through. I sent it again, then at the end of the day I asked for follow up and never heard back."

 O’Rourke got irritated.

 "On January 11, 2014, I was frustrated because I felt that I had done everything," he said. "I sent [Doblias] an e-mail that I was hopeful would ignite him to do something. What I did was [show Doblias by e-mail that] I sarcastically wrote a letter [to Comcast Senior Vice President Lawrence Salva], recommending Doblias for the Employee of the Month award. I wrote it up but didn't put it in the mail. I wanted to give [Doblias] an opportunity to fix the problem."

 The letter included lines like:

 The reason why I have chosen to nominate the San Jose center is simple. Their blatant disregard for the customer has made resolving my issues next to impossible. This behavior has proven to be quite profitable as I, like most customers, just throw their hands up in exasperation. However, now that I am no longer exasperated I intend on following up on my concerns.

 But O'Rourke heard nothing, and the billing errors persisted—resulting in Comcast allegedly sending a collections agency after him.

 "On February 5, 2014, [Comcast] said my account was two months past due and at that point pushing $300," he said. "I don't order pay-per-view, and I explained [to the collections agency] that that can't be right, and they were insistent, and I walked them through it."

 She said, ‘What color is your house?!? Tell me the color of your house!’ She went on a tirade and said, ‘Just answer the question!’

 By this point, O’Rourke had yet to receive an errorless bill, he said, despite having been a customer for nearly a year. The following day, he decided to contact Lawrence Salva , Comcast’s Philadelphia-based controller, who oversees the division of the company that deals with accounting. He spoke at length with Salva’s executive assistant, describing his litany of problems. After the call concluded, the assistant said that she would have another Comcast employee contact O’Rourke directly.

 "An hour later I got a second call from an individual who doesn't identify herself [except as Evelyn] but says that she's with Comcast," he said. O’Rourke asked her if she knew why she was calling, to which she responded that it had something to do with missed appointments.

 "I laughed, because they missed so many appointments I don't even know which one she's talking about," he said.

 When he tried to explain the situation, O'Rourke said that Evelyn began to berate him.

 "She said, ‘What color is your house?!? Tell me the color of your house!’" O’Rourke remembered. "She went on a tirade and said, ‘Just answer the question!’" (O'Rourke lives in a condo complex.)

 "I told her that I was angry and said, ‘You need to do your homework before you pick up the phone,’" he told Ars. "I told her I was going to call back to Salva's office. That's what I did. And I expressed my concern and said, 'You have sloppy accounting, you don't take anything seriously, and I should go to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.' That's the regulator that makes sure that accounting is done properly. I think that some of my terminology would have indicated that I wasn't a layman. I worked for 20 years in corporate comptrollership. These errors become material after a while."

 Unbeknownst to O’Rourke, however, his call set off alarm bells within Comcast.

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– A new study says America's wealthy live longer than its poor, which is hardly surprising. But it also says low-income people live longer in certain places—like affluent cities including New York and San Francisco, NPR reports. Why isn't clear, but lead study author Raj Chetty of Stanford University was surprised. "I would have thought these very expensive big cities ... for most poor would be stressful and would be places with poor health among the poor, but that's not at all what these data suggest," he tells CBS News. Media reports note that local health policies may have an effect (New York City and San Francisco banned trans fats and restricted tobacco use early on), and Chetty agrees that "thinking about policies that change health behaviors at a local level is likely to be important." The study's other findings highlight the crushing effects of inequality. By analyzing over a billion tax and Social Security records, the Stanford researchers found that the richest 1% of men live roughly 15 years longer than the poorest 1% of men. And in the 21st century, life expectancy has risen 2.3 years for the richest 5% of men and 3 years for the richest 5% of women, while the poorest 5% of Americans saw hardly any improvement. An overall three-year boost in lifespan, the Washington Post notes, is about the difference we'd expect to see from curing cancer. As Chetty puts it, "The poorest men in America have a life expectancy comparable to those living in Sudan and Pakistan." (One study says that eating like the Japanese will make you live longer.)

Expand this summary.

The bigger your paycheck, the greater your life expectancy, new research suggests. While the poor are at a disadvantage, the odds of living a longer life are better for less affluent people in certain parts of the country than others.

 Stanford researchers analyzed more than one billion tax and Social Security records and report that there's an increasing gap in life expectancy between the richest one percent in the United States and the poorest one percent. For men, the difference in life expectancy is 14.6 years. For women, being in the top one percent means living an average of 10.1 years longer.

 But the authors also found that it wasn't only about earnings. Where you live can also impact how long you live, especially if you don't have money, said lead author Raj Chetty, professor of economics at Stanford University.

 The poor have a much higher life expectancy in prosperous urban areas like San Francisco and New York City, said Chetty.

 "I would have thought these very expensive big cities, like New York City and San Francisco, for most poor would be stressful and would be places with poor health among the poor, but that's not at all what these data suggest," Chetty said.

 Part of the reason might be due to local public health programs and policies. Those two cities were among the first to restrict tobacco and ban trans fats, for example.

 In contrast, in more rural areas and some rust belt states such as Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas -- including cities like Detroit -- life expectancy for the poor is especially low.

 "The poorest men in America have a life expectancy comparable to those living in Sudan and Pakistan," Chetty said.

 Meanwhile, the study showed that the richest men in America have a better life expectancy than any men in the world. Over the past 15 years, life expectancy climbed by 2.3 years for the wealthiest 5 percent of American men and increased nearly 3 years for the most well-off women.

 Usually conversations about inequality in America address issues at the national level, Chetty said, but the new findings suggest more discussion needs to be happening at a local level where the disparities have a greater impact on health and lifespan.

 "A lot of variations seem to be driven by health behaviors," he said, even when there is access to health care. For example, life expectancy is on the rise for the poor in Birmingham, Alabama, but in Tampa, Florida, the poor are on the downslide when it comes to life expectancy.

 In an accompanying editorial in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. J. Michael McGinnis of the National Academy of Medicine wrote that "community is powerfully associated with life expectancy."

 McGinnis told CBS News, "The study suggests that, although employment conditions and levels of income inequality did not independently explain differences among communities in life expectancy, factors such as healthier behaviors, higher graduation levels, higher expenditure levels for government assistance -- issues related to supportive community cultures -- helped moderate the impact of the gap."

 While it's been known for some time that higher incomes are linked with longer lives, McGinnis said the findings are helpful because they offer insights on how to help blunt some of the adverse health issues faced by Americans who are not affluent.

 "The study suggests that a relatively few individual leaders committed to working together to strengthen community-wide attention and action on behalf of health of populations, might make a difference," McGinnis said.

 The study results also suggest a revamp of Social Security and Medicare might be in order, said Chetty. As it stands, due to life expectancy differences, men and women in the top one percent are on track to claim Social Security and Medicare for 11.8 and 8.3 more years than men and women in the bottom one percent of the income distribution. ||||| Importance The relationship between income and life expectancy is well established but remains poorly understood.

 Objectives To measure the level, time trend, and geographic variability in the association between income and life expectancy and to identify factors related to small area variation.

 Design and Setting Income data for the US population were obtained from 1.4 billion deidentified tax records between 1999 and 2014. Mortality data were obtained from Social Security Administration death records. These data were used to estimate race- and ethnicity-adjusted life expectancy at 40 years of age by household income percentile, sex, and geographic area, and to evaluate factors associated with differences in life expectancy.

 Exposure Pretax household earnings as a measure of income.

 Main Outcomes and Measures Relationship between income and life expectancy; trends in life expectancy by income group; geographic variation in life expectancy levels and trends by income group; and factors associated with differences in life expectancy across areas.

 Results The sample consisted of 1 408 287 218 person-year observations for individuals aged 40 to 76 years (mean age, 53.0 years; median household earnings among working individuals, $61 175 per year). There were 4 114 380 deaths among men (mortality rate, 596.3 per 100 000) and 2 694 808 deaths among women (mortality rate, 375.1 per 100 000). The analysis yielded 4 results. First, higher income was associated with greater longevity throughout the income distribution. The gap in life expectancy between the richest 1% and poorest 1% of individuals was 14.6 years (95% CI, 14.4 to 14.8 years) for men and 10.1 years (95% CI, 9.9 to 10.3 years) for women. Second, inequality in life expectancy increased over time. Between 2001 and 2014, life expectancy increased by 2.34 years for men and 2.91 years for women in the top 5% of the income distribution, but by only 0.32 years for men and 0.04 years for women in the bottom 5% (P < .001 for the differences for both sexes). Third, life expectancy for low-income individuals varied substantially across local areas. In the bottom income quartile, life expectancy differed by approximately 4.5 years between areas with the highest and lowest longevity. Changes in life expectancy between 2001 and 2014 ranged from gains of more than 4 years to losses of more than 2 years across areas. Fourth, geographic differences in life expectancy for individuals in the lowest income quartile were significantly correlated with health behaviors such as smoking (r = �?�0.69, P < .001), but were not significantly correlated with access to medical care, physical environmental factors, income inequality, or labor market conditions. Life expectancy for low-income individuals was positively correlated with the local area fraction of immigrants (r = 0.72, P < .001), fraction of college graduates (r = 0.42, P < .001), and government expenditures (r = 0.57, P < .001).

 Conclusions and Relevance In the United States between 2001 and 2014, higher income was associated with greater longevity, and differences in life expectancy across income groups increased over time. However, the association between life expectancy and income varied substantially across areas; differences in longevity across income groups decreased in some areas and increased in others. The differences in life expectancy were correlated with health behaviors and local area characteristics. |||||

 SAN FRANCISCO — This city is full of parks that invite exercise and bike lanes that make commuting a workout. It's home to social services that tend the poor, and taxpayers who willingly fund them. Smoking is banned at restaurants and bars — as well as in workplaces, at bus stops, throughout public housing, at charity bingo games and even inside stores that sell tobacco.

 These factors may help explain why the poor live longer in the San Francisco area than they do in much of the rest of the country. According to a large study published today about how income and geography shape life expectancies, a poor person living in the San Francisco area can expect to live about three years longer than someone making the same income in Detroit. That difference is equivalent to how much national life expectancies would rise if we eliminated cancer.

 "If you think about the cancer comparison, having cancer is not just about having a shorter life. It's also about having an unhealthier life, a much lower quality of life," says Stanford economist Raj Chetty, the lead author of the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Seven economists, from MIT, Harvard, the U.S. Treasury and McKinsey and Co., were co-authors.

 Think about their new data as if the poor in Detroit get cancer and the poor in San Francisco don't. "Then," Chetty says, "you can see that this is a big deal."

 The research, based on the tax and Social Security records of everyone in America between 1999 and 2014 with a valid Social Security number and earnings, gives the most precise look yet at a pattern that has long troubled health experts: In America, the richer you are, the longer you live. But what's especially striking is that the poor live even shorter lives in some places than others. They have longer life expectancies in affluent cities with highly educated populations, such as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Among the 100 largest commuting zones ranked by the researchers, six of the top eight for low-income life expectancies are in California, a state with a strong safety net and a history of regulating where you light your cigarette or what comes from your car's tailpipe.

 The poor live shorter lives in Las Vegas, Louisville and industrial Midwest towns, such as Gary, Ind. Geography also matters much more for the poor than the rich. The health behaviors of the wealthy are similar wherever they live. For the poor, their likelihood of risky behaviors such as smoking depends a great deal on geography, on whether they live in a place where smoking is common or where, as in San Francisco, cigarettes have been shunted out of view.

 The findings pair with earlier research led by Chetty, using the same fine-grained tax data, that illustrates how crucial life outcomes — including economic mobility, adult earnings and now health — vary greatly with geography in America.

 "It is as if the top income percentiles belong to one world of elite, wealthy U.S. adults," Nobel Prize-winning economist Angus Deaton writes in a JAMA editorial accompanying the new paper, "whereas the bottom income percentiles each belong to separate worlds of poverty, each unhappy and unhealthy in its own way."

 Overall, the new study offers the most exhaustive account yet of the rich-poor gap in American life expectancy. The data reveal that life expectancies continuously rise with income in America: The modestly poor live longer than the very poor, and the super-rich live longer than the merely rich.

 For men, the gap between the top and bottom 1 percent nationwide is nearly 15 years. For women, it's 10 years. And these disparities have widened since 2000. People in the top 5 percent have gained about three years of life expectancy. People at the bottom have gained almost nothing.

 The economists don't have definitive explanations for the relationships they observe between income and health. It's not that more money alone buys better health. Poor health can lead to lower incomes, just as low incomes can lead to poor health. And it's hard to imagine, for instance, that the richest Americans can buy things that make them healthier that people who are just slightly less rich can't afford, says Harvard economist and co-author David Cutler.

 But among the poor, the differences in what money can buy probably explain an important part of the longevity gap.

 "At some point, it does become causal: You can buy better housing, you can buy better food," Cutler says. "You own a car that actually works, so you can drive to the grocery store more regularly."

 But it's also true that the stress of poverty can have lifelong health consequences.

 "An emerging body of science is showing that adversity itself will shorten your life span," says Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician in San Francisco and a founder of the Center for Youth Wellness, which tries to treat the role of toxic stress in undermining health in the city's poorest neighborhoods. Her patients, who deal with adversity from neighborhood violence to childhood abuse, come in with high rates of asthma and cardiovascular disease, or even repeated cases of uncommon autoimmune diseases.

 Her health center — overwhelmingly funded by local philanthropy — is precisely the kind of resource that's harder to find outside of an affluent city like San Francisco or New York.

 What's driving early death

 Across the country, shorter life expectancies for the poor, measured at age 40, were most closely correlated with places that had lower exercise rates and higher rates of smoking and obesity. For both men and women, stretches of the industrial Midwest promised the lowest life expectancies. Some of the results also align with the findings of a recent Washington Post analysis of mortality rates that found deteriorating health, particularly for whites, outside big cities in rural America where unhealthy behaviors are on the rise.

 Below is a map of where poor women live the longest and shortest across the United States. Poor men's life expectancies are mapped above.

 Across these maps, places with high shares of college graduates, high population density, high home values and high government expenditures per capita were correlated with better life expectancies for the poor. In some ways, this finding is surprising: Health experts suspect that higher inequality may be connected to poor health. But the authors found little correlation between income inequality and life expectancy. And wealthy San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, among the places in America with the widest income inequality, look here like the healthiest.

 Burke Harris offers her own caveat to that finding: "Poor people only have better health status when they’re living in a wealthy environment if the people in that wealthy environment believe in investing in the safety net."

 That is certainly true in San Francisco, a city with both private wealth and major public expenditures. To the extent that fostering health requires money — either to fund a clinic like Burke Harris's or to invest in parks and city services — San Francisco has it.

 Rajiv Bhatia, the former environmental health director in San Francisco's Department of Public Health, points to other policies the city has pursued, such as universal preschool, paid sick leave and paid parental leave. These policies aren't aimed at shaping health behaviors in the same way that a smoking ban is, but they may well ease the stresses associated with poverty that affect health, too.

 Policies like these, and New York's universal pre-K, are notably the result of more than the money needed to fund them. They're also the product of a particular idea about the role of government in supporting the poor and shaping behaviors linked to health.

 "It's no coincidence that New York City banned trans fats," Cutler says. "New York is a very rich city. People there feel like, 'Look, socially it’s not doing anything for us, we know it’s harmful. Why not get rid of it?'"

 New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also famously tried to ban oversize sodas. He pushed for calorie labels on restaurant menus, higher taxes on cigarettes and tighter restrictions on buying them. He even issued an executive order trying to nudge city employees to take the stairs more.

 Critics outside of New York called Bloomberg's public-health policies draconian, and less out-there ideas like expanding Medicaid have been met with public skepticism, too. But in the new research, New York City ranks as the place where the poor have the longest life expectancies, ahead of all the California cities. Life expectancies between the rich and poor there still vary widely. And it's still better to be rich in Detroit than poor in New York. But something about the environment there, as in San Francisco, is counteracting at least some of the massive national disparities by income.

 Perhaps in highly educated cities people are savvier about health, Cutler suggests, more likely to advocate for smoking bans or to push doctors to adopt the latest medical advance. Or perhaps it's that more educated, wealthier cities also tend to be more politically progressive, believing in the power of government to make people healthier and to shape what are fundamentally personal decisions about lifestyle. New York and San Francisco also are more walkable and transit-friendly, factors that have been associated with health as well.

 Burke Harris suggests there is a lot going on in San Francisco that the economists did not directly measure. "It’s the living wage," she says. "It’s the greening of the city, it’s the bike lanes, it’s the universal preschool. It’s all of these things that together add up." |||||