Summarize this article:

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 After 123 years in business, Henri Bendel will be closing its doors in Jan. 2019.

 Bendel’s parent company L Brands, which acquired the department store in 1985, announced the news Thursday due to the retailer’s declining sales.

 In addition to shutting down its e-commerce business, L Brands plans to shut down all 23 of Bendel’s brick-and-mortar stores, including the iconic N.Y.C. Fifth Avenue flagship down the street from Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany & Co.

 “We are committed to improving performance in the business and increasing shareholder value. As part of that effort, we have decided to stop operating Bendel to improve company profitability and focus on our larger brands that have greater growth potential,” Leslie Wexner, chairman and chief executive officer of L Brands, said in a statement to PEOPLE.

 “This decision is right for the future growth of our company, but not easy because of the impact to our L Brands family. I want to thank our Bendel associates for their dedication to this iconic brand and to our loyal Bendel customers.”

 A representative for the brand “does not know what will happen” with the Fifth Avenue store space, but noted the location will continue to operate through mid-January 2019 and receive new merchandise for the holidays.

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 Bendel was an early pioneer in the American fashion industry as the first luxury retailer to open an “upper Fifth Avenue address” and the first to stage a fashion show, according to its website.

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 In 1913, Bendel introduced Coco Chanel’s designs to the U.S. and even employed Andy Warhol as its in-house illustrator in the 1960s.

 The store was founded by French-speaking American designer Henri Willis Bendel in 1895 as a millinery shop in Greenwich Village before relocating to the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street in 1912. ||||| Henri Bendel is going out of business.

 Parent company L Brands announced Thursday it's closing Bendel's website and all of its 23 stores, including the store's iconic Fifth Avenue location in New York, in January 2019 because of sluggish sales.

 L Brands (LB) said in a statement that it's closing Bendel "to improve company profitability and focus on our larger brands that have greater growth potential," which includes Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works.

 Bendel makes up a small portion of L Brands' sales. Last year, the company reported revenue of $12.6 billion. The company said Bendel's 2018 sales were approximately $85 million, adding that it's in the process of estimating closing costs.

 The upscale brand, best known for its designer purses and shoes, was founded in 1895 by Henri Bendel. In 1913, the brand became one of the first luxury retailers to open a flagship store with an "upper FIfth Avenue address," according to its website. L Brands acquired Bendel in 1985 and led its expansion into 11 states.

 L Brands is having a difficult 2018 because of increased retail competition.

 The stock is down 55% for the year, making it one of worst performing companies in the S&P 500 for the year. |||||

– Shop on Fifth Avenue? Neither do we, but still: The iconic Henri Bendel department store will soon be gone along with its e-commerce business and 22 other brick-and-mortar locations, People reports. Parent company L Brands is making the move amid increasing retail competition and plummeting company stocks, which fell 55% this year, per CNN Money. A pioneer in US fashion and luxury retail, Bendel has been in business for 123 years and held the country's first fashion show, its website says. The store plans to close in January.


Here is a news article: “We’re looking at the possibility,“ President Donald Trump said when asked whether he’s planning to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month. | Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images Trump 'looking at' Putin meeting as Bolton plans Moscow trip The president may meet with the ostracized Russian leader amid July visits with European allies wary of Putin.

 President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday his interest in a July meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reigniting alarm over Trump’s desire to befriend a Russian leader widely considered a menace to the U.S. and Europe.

 “We’re looking at the possibility,” Trump told reporters when asked whether he’s planning to meet with Putin next month.

 Story Continued Below

 In a sign of the seriousness of the planning, however, a White House spokesman also said Thursday that national security adviser John Bolton will visit Moscow next week to prepare for a meeting with Putin. A source familiar with the discussions said Trump will likely sit down with Putin just before or after an annual NATO summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12, and that Bolton would discuss possible meeting sites with Russian officials.

 A summer summit with Putin would again bring the U.S. president face-to-face with the man intelligence officials blame for meddling in the 2016 election. The Russian also stands accused of approving the attempted murder with nerve agent of a former Russian spy in Great Britain earlier this year, and backs Syrian leader Bashar Assad, whose forces Trump has twice struck as punishment for their use of chemical weapons.

 Russia experts say that Putin would see a meeting with Trump as a chance to shed western sanctions imposed over his aggression in Ukraine and U.S. election interference.

 "This is really what Putin sees as the benefit of the 2016 presidential election. He is out of isolation. He is an equal," said Heather Conley, senior vice president for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

 "Russia and the United States will be seen as equals at the summit and that is exactly what President Putin desires.”

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 But while Trump has imposed economic sanctions on Moscow and expelled dozens of Russian diplomats from the U.S., he continues to seek friendlier ties with Putin, an authoritarian ruler who has undermined western democracies. Earlier this month, Trump called for Russia’s readmission to the G7 group of major economic powers, which expelled Russia after its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

 Senior administration officials have been quietly preparing for the potential meeting for weeks at the urging of the president, who is eager to have a formal sit-down with his Russian counterpart, according to a second person familiar with the planning. Trump has told aides he’s unconcerned with the optics of the meeting, the person added, despite Washington’s fixation with the federal investigations into alleged collusion between his presidential campaign and the Kremlin.

 The timing could be particularly awkward given its proximity to the annual NATO gathering, where maintaining a stiff resolve against Russian aggression will undoubtedly be a key theme. As part of the trip, Trump is also scheduled to pay a July 13 state visit to Britain, where officials remain furious over the attempted murder of the former Russian intelligence agent Sergey Skripal in March. Skripal, once imprisoned by Russia as a British spy, fell into a coma along with his daughter after they came into contact with nerve agent in March at his home in Salisbury, England. U.S. and British officials have concluded that Russia was behind the operation.

 Trump has long believed that the U.S. and Russia must establish a more cooperative relationship, however. Trump allies say the president believes the two countries can cooperate on issues like fighting terrorism in the Middle East, although many experts doubt that Moscow can be trusted as a strategic U.S. partner.

 “On June 25-27, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton will meet with U.S. allies in London and Rome to discuss national security issues, andtravel to Moscow to discuss a potential meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin,” National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said in a tweet following reports in Russian media that Bolton would make the trip to Moscow.

 Bolton will be accompanied to Moscow by several White House staffers, including the national security council's director for Russia, Fiona Hill, and the NSC's director for southern Europe, Julia Friedlander.

 Speculation about the location of a possible Trump-Putin summit has focused on Vienna, although some Russia-watchers have noted that the final match of the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament will be held on July 15 at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium — just two days after Trump is scheduled to stop in Britain.

 Trump has pursued a meeting with Putin at least since an April phone call in which the president invited Putin to visit the White House; there are no signs that Trump will host Putin anytime soon.

 The two leaders have met before, holding a pair of meetings last summer at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. Trump said at the time that he had pressed Putin on Russia’s 2016 election meddling. “I believe that he feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election,” Trump said at the time.

 Trump startled G7 leaders earlier this month with his call for Russia’s readmission to the group. Among the group’s members, only Italy’s new populist prime minister echoed that call.

 After his meeting in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week, Trump explained his thinking on the subject.

 “I think it’s better to have Russia in than out. Just like North Korea and everybody else, it’s much better to get along with them than if we don’t,” Trump told reporters.

 Conley and other Russia experts say it’s far more complicated. They pointed to Trump’s fraying relationships with steadfast U.S. allies, which further deteriorated when the president reversed course and un-endorsed a joint statement backed by the other members of the G7 following a summit in Canada earlier this month.

 “At a time when we are really challenging our allies very forcefully, we are meeting adversaries and potentially offering them concessions,” Conley said. “It’s as if he’s following President Putin’s playbook.”

 Annie Karni contributed to this report. ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Austrian capital, Vienna, is under consideration as the site of a potential summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, two sources familiar with the discussions said on Monday.

 FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos showing Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, January 15, 2016 and U.S. President Donald Trump posing for a photo in New York City, U.S., May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Ivan Sekretarev/Pool/Lucas Jackson/File Photos

 The meeting could take place in advance of a July 11-12 NATO summit in Brussels that Trump is expected to attend, the sources said. Trump is also expected to visit London for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the trip.

 Trump told reporters on Friday that it was possible that he would meet Putin this summer. During a Group of Seven summit in Quebec earlier this month, Trump suggested that Russia be readmitted to the group. The idea met with opposition from some other leaders at the meeting.

 Russia was suspended from the group in 2014 for its annexation of Crimea.

 “I think it’s better to have Russia in than to have Russia out, because just like North Korea, just like somebody else, it’s much better if we get along with them than if we don’t,” Trump said on Friday.

 Trump, who has said he wants better relations with Russia, last met Putin in November in Vietnam on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit.

 Trump’s defense secretary, Jim Mattis, was critical of Russia in a speech last week, saying: “Putin seeks to shatter NATO, he aims to diminish the appeal of the Western democratic model and attempts to undermine America’s moral authority.”

 NATO was created after World War Two as a bulwark against the former Soviet Union.

 A probe of Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. election has hung over Trump’s presidency. U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia.

 Moscow denies meddling in the U.S. election and Trump denies any collusion took place. ||||| WASHINGTON — President Trump hopes to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in the next few weeks even as the American leader increasingly clashes with European allies over how to counter Moscow’s assertive actions in Europe and the Middle East.

 Mr. Trump is sending his national security adviser, John R. Bolton, to Moscow next week to discuss a possible meeting. Mr. Trump is already scheduled to attend a NATO summit meeting in Brussels next month, followed by a long-delayed visit to Britain. He could presumably add a stop in another country like Austria to see Mr. Putin.

 Mr. Trump has been eager to get together with Mr. Putin for months despite increasing tension in the relationship between Russia and the West. Just two weeks ago, Mr. Trump urged the rest of the Group of 7 major industrial powers to readmit Russia, which was expelled in 2014 after its armed seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. But the other members rejected the idea, deeming it inappropriate.

 By meeting with Mr. Putin on his own anyway, Mr. Trump would send a signal to European leaders that he does not intend to be held hostage to their approach to Moscow, adding another rupture to his fights with the United States’ traditional allies over tariffs, security and migration. In recent public comments, he has emphasized the importance of building a friendly relationship with Mr. Putin and minimized the continuing dispute over Ukraine, blaming Russia’s actions on former President Barack Obama. |||||
A summary of this is?

– President Trump may have another high-profile summit to attend in the near future. National security adviser John Bolton will travel to Moscow next week to discuss a possible meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin, reports Politico. A National Security Council spokesperson tweeted that Bolton will first meet with US allies in London and Rome to talk about national security issues, then head to Russia "to discuss a potential meeting" between the two world leaders. Bolton's trip is June 25-27. A Kremlin spokesman confirmed Bolton's visit, but he wouldn't confirm Russian media reports that Putin and Trump would get together in Vienna in July, reports the New York Times. "When and if we are ready, we will make the announcement," he said. Trump has publicly floated the idea of a meeting this summer, and Putin has said he willing to accommodate "as soon as the American side is ready." Trump will travel to Brussels for a NATO summit July 11-12, and the meeting with Putin could take place before that, perhaps in Vienna, reports Reuters. If the summit does take place, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is fine with that, reports the Times of London. "To meet President Putin is not in any way contradicting NATO policy," he told reporters.


Article:

Little Fockers COMEDY: United States, 2010 U.S. Release Date: 2010-12-22 Running Length: 1:35 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity, Sexual Content) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Cast: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Laura Dern Director: Paul Weitz Screenplay: John Hamburg and Larry Stuckey Cinematography: Remi Adefarasin Music: Stephen Trask U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures Subtitles: none

 Watching Little Fockers is a depressing experience. Rarely does a comedy bring such an overpowering sense of sadness. Admittedly, I laughed a few times and am willing to admit that the experience as a whole was more bearable than the trial of sitting through Meet the Fockers, but that doesn't alleviate my fundamental reaction: this is perhaps the most dispiriting motion picture of the holiday season. It's all about Robert De Niro. Once, in what seems to have been another lifetime, De Niro was considered by many to be the greatest living actor. That was before he started dabbling in comedy. It didn't take long for the novelty value to wear off. Now, like Leslie Nielsen, he has become impossible to take seriously. With this year's Stone, it appeared there might yet be hope for De Niro to return to acting. Little Fockers has shattered that hope. In many ways, it represents a new low for De Niro, a level of embarrassment to which I never thought I would see him sink. Watching his third outing as lunatic father Jack Byrnes, I embraced the reality that the De Niro of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas is dead. All we have left is this bloated self-parody. Talk about a harsh dose of reality. (De Niro, it should be noted, is complicit in the immolation of his image - he's listed as a producer, as he was for Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers.)

 Little Fockers continues the saga of Greg Focker (Ben Stiller); his wife, Pam (Teri Polo, reduced to a glorified cameo); and his father-in-law from hell, Jack (De Niro). Also returning for this installment are Pam's old flame, Kevin (Owen Wilson, less funny here than in James L. Brooks' How Do You Know); Jack's wife, Dina (Blythe Danner); and Greg's parents, Bernie (Dustin Hoffman, appearing in only a few scenes) and Roz (Barbra Streisand, with less screen time than Hoffman). New to the Focker universe is drug company representative Andi Garcia (Jessica Alba), who is hawking an erectile dysfunction drug called "Sustengo." The (thin) storyline focuses on Jack's decision that Greg will become the "Godfocker" - the patriarch of the next generation of Byrnes and Fockers. In order for Greg to hold that title, however, Jack has to deem him worthy, and that requires spying and background checks. Some of the things Jack uncovers, like Greg's apparent dalliance with Andi, stoke his anger, and the simmering hostility between Jack and Greg explodes into all-out war.

 Director Paul Weitz, replacing Jay Roach, culls the most humor he can from the situations, but anyone expecting start-to-finish laughter will be disappointed. No matter what your taste in humor, whether it's low-brow bodily fluid material or somewhat more sophisticated jokes, there's something here to touch the funny bone - but don't expect too much of it. The person who chortles at De Niro's 5 1/2-hour erection probably isn't going to be as amused by the Jaws parody. The hit-and-miss comedy comes in service of an inane plot with zero character development. The real problem with Little Fockers is that most of the humor found in these circumstances was explored in the first movie, Meet the Parents, including the closeness of the name "Focker" to a profane word. Meet the Fockers re-hashed these things, and Little Fockers is going for the hat trick. The only new element is Jessica Alba but, aside from providing some eye candy (she has an underwear scene), she doesn't add more beyond a vacuous smile and a chirpy demeanor.

 There's not a lot to say about Little Fockers. It is what it is. It's comfort food for the masses - an unthreatening comedy with familiar faces doing pretty much the same things they have done in two previous excursions. Despite numerous sexual references and double entendres, it's not too graphic to be deemed unsuitable for older children and is at least occasionally amusing. There's no reason for this movie to exist except that its predecessors made a lot of money. By churning out this third installment, Universal is guaranteed at least a modest return on their investment (and perhaps better than that) and everyone involved stands to collect a nice check. It's a winning proposition for all except those increasingly rare movie-goers who crave a daring or original comedy that doesn't feel like a recycled sit-com.

 Discuss this topic in the ReelViews Forums. ||||| As I suffered through "Little Fockers," wishing that I could have periodontal surgery instead and wondering exactly how I wound up a member of the bizarre cadre of human beings who watch movies like this because it's our job, I managed to identify a silver lining of sorts. I'm fairly sure that Robert De Niro views his role in this lamentable comic series, playing a Midwestern Irish-American ex-CIA agent named Jack Byrnes, as something of an acting exercise. Can this consummate New Yorker shed his accent, his inflections and expressions and body language and everything else that's encoded into his Italian-American DNA? He kind of can, and it's intermittently fun to watch De Niro, whose every impulse is to go outward and upward, as a guy who drives all emotion downward and inward.

 Yeah. OK. And maybe it's also a study in actorly technique when Jack has his son-in-law and long-running adversary, male nurse Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller), give him an injection in his fully erect whangdoodle? Or when Jack and Greg's dad, Bernie Focker (Dustin Hoffman), exchange fart and booger jokes around the extended-family Christmas-Chanukah table? Those things are of course the entire point of the Focker franchise, which weds its aging, high-prestige cast to a set of creaky, homophobic gross-out gags that would make many eighth-graders roll their eyes in embarrassment. Can we talk about something extraneous again now? Since female stars like Nicole Kidman get so much grief for what looks like botched cosmetic surgery, what's the deal with Ben Stiller's eyes? Greg and/or Gay (Gay Focker! Gay Focker! Just try to keep the Sierra Mist from coming up your nose!) looks mysteriously, er, youthful these days -- in a cadaverous, guyliner-y kind of way.

 Six years after Hoffman and Barbra Streisand joined the party in "Meet the Fockers" and a full decade after the original "Meet the Parents" (a mostly harmless exercise in paranoid family comedy, taken by itself) it seemed reasonable to believe there was no more Fockery goodness at the bottom of that well. Original director Jay Roach has had the good taste -- well, let's say the common decency -- to move on, but Universal Pictures has reassembled the entire gang under director Paul Weitz, which can only mean there's more mixed-audience holiday coin to be made here. So we get Streisand as Greg's mom, TV sex-chat host Roz Focker, making out with Owen Wilson, as the puppyish rich boy who hangs around waiting for a second chance with Greg's wife, Pam (Teri Polo). And Hoffman sweatily dancing flamenco. And Greg and Jack being mistaken for lovers by a New Agey school principal (Laura Dern) and then punching it out in a birthday-party ball pit after a misunderstanding that involves a hot Latina chick in sexy lingerie and Greg's miserable efforts to become the family's "Godfocker." They kill me, these guys. No, seriously. If they make any more of these movies, they might as well kill me. Once more with feeling: Gay Focker! ||||| Is there a statute of limitations for how many good actors can be wasted in a bad movie? Antic and only fitfully amusing, “Little Fockers’’ is the multiplex equivalent of a cash grab — it’s a three-quel, what did you expect? — but that only makes the quality of talent involved more than routinely depressing.

 Yes, there’s Robert De Niro once more playing ex-CIA agent Jack Byrnes, paranoid ramrod father-in-law to male nurse Greg Focker (Ben Stiller). The ever-underutilized Blythe Danner is his wife again, and, as Greg’s parents, Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman dash through at the beginning and end, spritzing happily because they’re not on the hook for the entire film. Hoffman, who spends his first scene learning to flamenco in Seville, looks fit, tan, rested, and ready. Unfortunately, he’s ready for a different movie.

 Teri Polo returns as Greg’s wife, Pam, and Owen Wilson as her ex-boyfriend Kevin, the latter mellow and perfect and weirdly neurotic. New players include Jessica Alba, as a pharmaceutical rep with the hots for Greg, and Laura Dern, as the mealy-mouthed principal of a private kindergarten. Sadly, director Paul Weitz (“American Pie,’’ “About a Boy’’) and writers John Hamburg and Larry Stuckey have no idea what to do with either actress. Alba overacts frenetically — it’s like she has to pee really badly in every one of her scenes — and Dern’s plotline just disappears midway through. Too bad; her character’s administrative K-12 doubletalk (“No two early humans are alike’’) is the funniest part of the movie.

 Otherwise, the humor goes below the belt early and often. “Little Fockers’’ features an extended enema gag and a box of musical condoms — and that’s just the first five minutes. Much is made of an erectile dysfunction medicine called “Sustengo,’’ and the movie’s comic high/low point comes when Greg has to inject his father-in-law in the privates with an Epi-Pen. Try explaining that to the kids.

 That’s one of the few scenes that goes so far into bad taste as to be genuinely uproarious; otherwise, the jokes get halfway there and wimp out with a crude little splat. The original “Meet the Parents’’ was a comedy of emasculation that didn’t match its obvious model, “There’s Something About Mary,’’ but that came close enough for the studio bean-counters. True to its title, “Little Fockers’’ feels like the movie’s hyperactive grandkid, picking up and putting down various plotlines until you want to send it off for a long nap.

 For moviegoers who were around in the 1970s, here’s the saddest part: Harvey Keitel shows up in the small role of Greg’s house contractor and gets a one-scene face-off with De Niro’s Jack. The two men circle each other for a few seconds, like pitbulls descended from Brando, and then it’s over before it begins. “Little Fockers’’ is the sixth movie the actors have appeared in together and it’s easily the laziest and least; what started with “Mean Streets’’ and “Taxi Driver’’ has come down to . . . this. They should have just brought in Pacino and called it “Mother Fockers.’’ Note to the producers: I’m kidding.

 Ty Burr can be reached at tburr@globe.com. To follow him, go to www.twitter.com/tyburr.

 © Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company. |||||
What is a summary?

– Little Fockers, the third and, critics promise, worst movie of the Meet the Parents franchise, opens with an extended enema joke, and pretty much goes downhill from there. Here’s a healthy dose of the critical scorn being heaped on it: “I suffered through Little Fockers wishing that I could have periodontal surgery instead,” writes Andrew O'Hehir of Salon. It’s a collection of “creaky, homophobic gross-out gags that would make many eighth-graders roll their eyes in embarrassment.” The only picture of the year more vulgar, pathetic and unfunny was the one Brett Favre allegedly sent over his cellphone, quips Kyle Smith of the New York Post. It’s a movie “of such boundless ineptitude that I’d rather watch student films, or even Glee.” Yet ironically, it’s not tasteless enough. “The jokes get halfway there and wimp out with a crude little splat,” complains Ty Burr of the Boston Globe. It also suffers from egregious overacting from Jessica Alba. “It’s like she has to pee really badly in every one of her scenes.” “Rarely does a comedy bring such an overpowering sense of sadness,” writes James Berardinelli of ReelViews. Once, Robert De Niro was a truly great actor. But this movie “represents a new low … a level of embarrassment to which I never thought I would see him sink.”


News article:

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - A New Lebanon man running for the U.S. Senate seat responded to allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

 2 News spoke to Eric Deaton inside the offices of Rion and Rion, with his attorney, Jon Paul Rion by his side.

 Deaton maintained that he did nothing wrong, despite charges filed by a Montgomery County grand jury.

 Despite the nature of the charges, Deaton said he planned to stay in the race for the senate seat, being vacated by Senator George Voinovich.

 Deaton was indicted on one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, on Monday.

 Perry Township police said Deaton had an inappropriate relationship with a 15 year old girl between March 2006 and 2007.

 Police believed he met the victim while serving as an elder at his church. Police said he would tutored her at times, and invited the teen to his home and paid her to do odd jobs.

 Police said they had hotel receipts and video to prove their case.

 But Deaton's attorney, Jon Paul Rion questioned the timing of indictment. It comes close to election time. Rion also said the hotel surveillance video and receipts would help prove that Deaton was innocent.

 Rion said Deaton had passed a 4-hour long polygraph test.

 Deaton was a member of the Constitution party. In a press conference on Tuesday morning, he said the accusations against him were lies. Deaton said he looked forward to defending himself in court. He also said he held the constitution dear to his heart, and was glad he had the rights to a due process.

 If found guilty Deaton could face five years in prison, and a fine of $10,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on September 14th.

  ||||| By Lynn Hulsey , Staff Writer

 DAYTON — Eric W. Deaton, a Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate, was indicted Tuesday, Aug. 31, for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to Greg Flannagan, spokesman for Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr.

 Deaton, 42, of New Lebanon is to be arraigned Sept. 14 in county common pleas court on the third-degree felony count. The indictment alleges that between March 20, 2006, and March 25, 2007, Deaton engaged in sexual conduct with a girl who was between the ages of 13 and 15, Flannagan said. Deaton faces five years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

 “I think this is politically motivated,” said Deaton, blaming the indictment on his decision to run for political office.

 “The powers that be don’t like that,” said Deaton, who said he intends to stay in the race.

 Deaton is married with three children and is a Cub Scout leader, according to his website. That could not be confirmed with the Boy Scouts of America.

 Deaton is running against Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Lee Fisher for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio. Also running for the seat are Socialist Party candidate Daniel H. LaBotz, independent Michael Pryce and write-in candidate Arthur T. Sullivan.

 Deaton said he has Tea Party backing. His website lists endorsements from Liberty Candidates, Mansfield Tea Party and Akron Tea Party, along with a national group called Vote Family Values.

 A poster pictured on his deatonforsenate.com website says he supports fiscal responsibility, balanced and centered government, honoring founding principles. The poster also says, “Return moral citizens to office.”

 Deaton said he would have no further comment until a news conference this morning in the Dayton offices of his attorneys, Rion & Rion. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Another day, another political sex scandal—but this one involves a minor. Ohio's Eric W. Deaton, Senate candidate for the conservative Constitution Party, was indicted Tuesday for having alleged sexual contact with a young girl, the Dayton Daily News reports. Deaton, 42, is accused of having unlawful sexual conduct with the girl, who he reportedly met at his church, while she was between the ages of 13 and 15 ... and he's calling the whole mess "politically motivated." He adds that “the powers that be don’t like” his decision to run for office, and says he'll stay in the race despite his Sept. 14 arraignment and the fact that he faces the possibility of five years in prison. According to WDTN Dayton, police say they have hotel surveillance video and receipts that prove their case ... and Deaton's lawyer says those very items (somehow) help prove that his client is innocent. Deaton, a married Cub Scout leader with three kids, says he has Tea Party endorsements.


A wounded nephew killed his uncle in a shootout — apparently over a prized pet fighting rooster — early Wednesday morning at a Moore Cemetary Road mobile home near Decatur, Tenn., in Meigs County, authorities said.

 Killed in a 2 a.m. hail of gunfire was Timothy Dewayne Johnson, 52, whose body was found in the driveway. His seriously wounded nephew, Larry Eugene Johnson Jr., 28, was inside the trailer when authorities arrived.

 The rooster, reportedly named “Bubba,” is of a variety that’s bred to engage in combat, but had been Timothy Johnson’s “pet” for several years, Meigs County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Alex Clary said. The bird was found tied to a chair outside the trailer.

 “I guess that’s the way these people keep their chickens,” Clary said. “I’m having a hard time believing it was over a chicken.”

 The bird was unharmed and left with food and water within reach.

 Timothy Johnson had arrived at Larry Johnson’s mobile home and confronted his nephew to accuse him of stealing the gamecock, according to a news release from 9th Judicial District Attorney General Russell Johnson.

 Larry Johnson told a bystander his uncle had drawn a gun and that he was trying to grab the gun when he was shot in his chest under his left arm, according to the release. Larry Johnson “retreated and returned fire multiple times with a pistol he was carrying,” according to the release.

 Larry Johnson was armed with a semi-automatic handgun that held 17 shots, the prosecutor said, and authorities estimated at least 11 gunshots were fired. Timothy Johnson, who apparently was standing when shot, was struck four times, authorities said.

 Timothy Johnson fired a single-action .38-caliber revolver. A loaded .22-caliber pistol was found in one of his pockets.

 Larry Johnson was flown by medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where he was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon.

 Timothy Johnson’s body was taken to the Regional Forensics Center in Knoxville for an autopsy.

 The district attorney general on Thursday said details remained “kind of fuzzy” over the exact nature of the dust-up between uncle and nephew.

 Meigs County Sheriff Jackie Melton asked for the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the district attorney general said he gave that go-ahead. Meigs County Sheriff’s Office investigators Clary and Scotty Wiggins are also working the case.

 The prosecutor said his office will await the conclusion of the autopsy and toxicology results and completion of an investigative file before presenting the case to the Meigs County grand jury. That panel next meets in November. ||||| DECATUR (WATE) – A shootout in Meigs County over the alleged theft of a gamecock ended with the rooster’s owner killed and his nephew in the hospital.

 District Attorney Russell Johnson’s office says officials were called to a home on Moore Cemetery Road in Decatur just after 2 a.m. Wednesday morning for a shooting call. Larry Eugene Johnson, Jr. was inside one of two mobile homes on the property with a gunshot wound to the chest. His uncle Timothy Dewayne Johnson was dead from apparent gunshot wounds in the driveway.

 April Johnson, Larry’s wife, was inside the home when this happened.

 “I heard yelling and then I heard gun shots. I heard one gun shot. I heard two gun shots and then I heard multiple gun shots and then I didn’t hear nothing else,” said Johnson.

 Investigators say Timothy Johnson had come to the home and confronted Larry Johnson about the alleged theft of his prized fighting rooster. April says her husband had no part in that.

 “My husband didn’t steal no chicken. We hadn’t seen him in forever,” said April Johnson.

 Then things started to get heated. Apparently, Larry Johnson told someone with him that Timothy Johnson drew a gun. Larry Johnson tried to grab his uncle’s gun when he was shot in the chest.

 That’s when Larry fired back several times with his own gun. His uncle ended up dying in the driveway while he scrambled to get inside the home.

 “He yelled, ‘April, come here. He shot me. Call 911,'” said April Johnson.

 Larry Johnson was flown to UT Medical Center and is still in the intensive care unit, according to family members. His wife said he has two broken ribs along with a punctured lung and a bullet still inside him.

 Timothy Johnson’s family is convinced the rooster was taken by Larry. Johnson While that’s debatable, both sides do agree this shouldn’t have happened.

 “Regardless of grudges or whatever the case may be, this ain’t the way to solve anything because nobody wins in the end,” said April Johnson.

 April Johnson says her husband shot his uncle out of self defense. Both families say the two men had a good relationship and they didn’t expect this to happen.

 Timothy Johnson’s body has been taken for autopsy. The district attorney’s office says once all autopsy and toxicology tests are in, as well as a complete investigative file, the case will be presented to the next Meigs County Grand Jury which meets in late November. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– It has all the trappings of a Tennessee noir: an uncle allegedly dead by his nephew's hand, a gunfight, a mobile home, and a kidnapped fighting rooster tied to a chair. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports police were called to the scene of a deadly shooting early yesterday shortly after 52-year-old Timothy Johnson showed up at his 28-year-old nephew Larry Johnson's mobile home to accuse him of stealing his prized rooster. Larry reportedly claims his uncle pulled a gun on him, so he tried to grab it and was shot in the chest. Police say Larry pulled his own gun in retaliation and launched—in the words of the News Sentinel—a "hail of gunfire" at his uncle. WATE6 reports Timothy was found dead in the driveway, and Larry was airlifted to the hospital for treatment. Officers located the fighting rooster tied to a chair in Larry's mobile home, surprisingly unharmed.


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– Kellyanne Conway says she was just trying to capture a big moment, not create one. In an interview on Lou Dobbs Tonight on Tuesday, the White House adviser says the viral photo of her kneeling on an Oval Office couch simply caught her doing what she was asked: "What happened is we had the largest gathering of men and women to date in the Oval Office for a picture ... I was being asked to take a picture in a crowded room with the press behind us, and I was asked to take a certain angle and was doing exactly that," she told Dobbs. "I certainly meant no disrespect. I didn't mean to have my feet on the couch." Then she flipped the criticism on its head: "If we started a trend here, where people are outwardly talking about greater respect for the office of the president and its current occupant, then perhaps that’s something positive to come out" of this. And in emails to the Washington Post, Conway tried to shift the attention back where she felt it should be: "on the actual visit and the incredible, important work of these men and women at [historically black colleges and universities]." Trump aide Omarosa Manigault, who was present, also framed the moment to the Post, calling it "very sweet ... to be honest. She looked down at the picture after she got it, and I looked at her and said, 'Kellyanne, did you get a good shot?' ... She tried again; she positioned herself to get a better picture. It really was at my encouragement for her to try to capture such an important, historic moment." (Check out more reaction to the photo here and here.)

On Feb. 27, President Donald Trump met with several leaders of historically black universities and colleges at the Oval Office. In one peculiar moment, Kellyanne Conway knelt on the couch to take a candid picture, her heels touching the cushions. Given the internet's voracious appetite for memes related to Conway and the Trump administration at large, the cringe-worthy moment was instantly spotlighted.

 Let's break this one down a little bit. It's really weird that Conway would choose to so casually sit like this during such a seemingly ceremonious meeting. It is, however, detrimental to obsess over the moment since the existing administration needs to be held accountable for offenses larger than this one. As someone on Twitter astutely pointed out, "Shoes on the Oval Office couch are least of our concerns."

 Now that we've gotten that off our chest, we think it's fair to highlight some of the jokes and memes that made light of the truly ridiculous moment because, if anything, we could all use some laughter. ||||| 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. |||||


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Ohioans will vote Nov. 3 on whether to legalize marijuana under an oligopoly in which cultivation of the commercial crop will be limited to 10 farms. (Photo: File) Story Highlights Ohio could become sixth jurisdiction in nation to legalize marijuana

 Ballot clash with legislative initiative could end up in the courts

 Ohio voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to legalize marijuana with a constitutional amendment to institute a revolutionary proposal that backers say will create a billion-dollar industry in the next four years.

 Secretary of State Jon Husted said Wednesday the private investor group ResponsibleOhio had collected 320,267 signatures of registered Ohio voters, 14,676 more than necessary to qualify for the general-election ballot. ResponsibleOhio spent more than $2 million since March on the petition drive to put its proposed Marijuana Legalization Amendment before voters.

 ResponsibleOhio has been tracking the count through daily reports to Husted's office. Earlier Wedneday, before Husted's certification, Ian James, the group's executive director, sent out an email crowing that the group had made the ballot.

 After Husted certified the petition result, James issued a statement: "It's time for marijuana legalization in Ohio, and voters will have the opportunity to make it happen this November -- we couldn't be more excited,. Drug dealers don't care about doing what's best for our state and its citizens. By reforming marijuana laws in November, we'll provide compassionate care to sick Ohioans, bring money back to our local communities and establish a new industry with limitless economic development opportunities."

 The next step is before the Ohio Ballot Board, which meets Aug. 18 to determine ResponsibleOhio's ballot language and issue number.

 The ambitious campaign by ResponsibleOhio is the best-financed effort in the nation's history to push back against the 1937 federal ban on marijuana. If voters say yes, the Buckeye State will be the sixth and, with nearly 11.6 million residents, the most populous jurisdiction to legalize marijuana, joining Colorado, Washington State, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia.

 Millions of dollars ready for campaign in favor

 ResponsibleOhio's investors have pledged to spend $20 million in the 83 days until Nov. 3 on a sophisticated election effort, including a bus tour, Internet advertising, television and radio advertising, voter registration drives and door-to-door canvassing. ResponsibleOhio has erected a professional political machine including the state's leading Democratic election lawyer and the data-analysis team that worked on President Obama's two races for the White House.

 The group's televised pitches began Aug. 6 during a nationally broadcast debate of Republican primary candidates in Cleveland, before all the petition signatures had been counted.

 But what could be the biggest hurdle to legalization also is on the Nov. 3 ballot. In June, the Ohio Legislature quickly wrote and placed on the ballot a measure now called Issue 2 that would prohibit "a monopoly, oligopoly or cartel" in Ohio, especially involving any federally controlled substance, such as marijuana.

 Husted has said that if voters pass both measure, the legislative initiative would take precedence, although ResponsibleOhio disputes that evaluation. If both measures pass, the dispute will go to court.

 James and proponents of the Marijuana Legalization Amendment say a legal industry would produce economic and social benefits and save the millions of dollars now spent policing the black market and imprisoning people for low-level offenses.

 A ResponsibleOhio task force, led by Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, has forecast that a legal industry in Ohio could generate more than $2 billion a year by 2020.

 Moving from prohibition to legalization

 James and the ResponsibleOhio backers have said they felt moved to launch the initiative drive not simply because of the financial prospects but because the Ohio Legislature has refused for nearly 20 years to consider legalization bills, even if only for medical marijuana. Today, 28 states have medical-marijuana programs.

 The five jurisdictions that have legalized marijuana first permitted doctors to prescribe marijuana as medicine. Passage of the ResponsibleOhio plan would make Ohio the first state to go from prohibition to full legalization for anyone over 21.

 The most controversial aspect of ResponsibleOhio's proposal is a limit on the cultivation of the commercial crop to 10 farms, which are named in the Marijuana Legalization Amendment. Opponents have called this structure a monopoly, meaning owned by one, although the correct economic term is oligopoly, meaning owned by a few.

 The farms have been purchased or put under purchase option by at least 20 wealthy investors, including reality-TV star and Cincinnati restaurateur Nick Lachey, retired star athlete Oscar Robertson, NFL player Frostee Rucker, local philanthropist Barbara Gould, fashion designer and Youngstown native Nanette Lapore, Covington beer and wine distributor Jennifer Doering and two descendants of President William Howard Taft, Woody and Dudley Taft Jr.

 Under the proposal, southwest Ohio could become the state's marijuana capital: Three farms are in Hamilton, Butler and Clermont counties. All 10 farm owners have pledged to allow workers to unionize – winning the support of the largest Ohio locals of United Food and Commercial Workers.

 The proposal also offers 1,150 licenses to get into other aspects of the business, from production and processing to retail stores. Local jurisdictions could hold elections to decide where to allow stores.

 Every transaction from farm to the retail store will carry a 15 percent tax before expenses, in addition to the customary state business taxes. The sales tax will be 5 percent. The Deters report estimated the annual tax revenue in 2020 to be more than $500 million. Fifteen percent would pay for a state regulatory body, and the rest would be divided per capita among the counties, cities and towns.

 The ResponsibleOhio plan would allow individual growers to buy a $50 annual license to raise up to four flowering plants and to have eight ounces of marijuana. But home growers may not sell.

 Who's for and against legalization plan

 A diverse coalition has spoken out against the proposed constitutional amendment, including the elected Republican political establishment. Gov. John Kasich has said he opposes legalization, and Attorney General Mike DeWine calls it "a stupid idea." Auditor David Yost has called the ResponsibleOhio plan "un-American." The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation also opposes the ResponsibleOhio plan.

 Activists in the Ohio marijuana movement in general dislike the ResponsibleOhio plan as rich people creating an unfair edge for themselves and cutting out the little guy as Ohio joins the national Green Rush. The board of directors for the Ohio branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ousted the state president in part because of his support for ResponsibleOhio. But the national body has said it will back ResponsibleOhio as a flawed first step to legalization.

 Ohio voters are in favor of legalization. In July, the most recent poll from Quinnipiac University found that Ohioans supported legalization 52 percent to 44 percent, a modest rise from the 51 percent majority found a year ago. The margin, however, remains thin enough to make a race of it for ResponsibleOhio backers; in other states, majorities in favor of legalization tend to melt by Election Day.

 ResponsibleOhio's announcement that the initiative has enough signatures to make the ballot also is the latest development in a fractious paperwork battle between the organization and the Secretary of State's office. To make the ballot, ResponsibleOhio needs 305,591 signatures of registered Ohio voters. ResponsibleOhio hired 200 people at between $11 and $12 an hour to gather signatures and to register voters. So far, the group has spent more than $2 million just on the petition drive.

 In mid-June, Husted warned that nearly all of the state's 88 county boards of elections reported problems with new-voter registrations coming from ResponsibleOhio. Husted said the problems verged on fraud.

 On June 30, ResponsibleOhio turned in 695,273 signatures. After two weeks of review, Husted reported that 276,082 signatures were valid, and ResponsibleOhio got 10 more days to collect the balance of 29,509 signatures. On July 30, ResponsibleOhio turned in 95,572 signatures. The group also has turned in more than 100,000 voter registrations.

 But Husted said he found continuing problems with the voter registrations so severe that he hired a special investigator, former Allen County Prosecutor David Bowers, of Lima, to look into the discrepancies. Husted also issued subpoenas to Ian James and for ResponsibleOhio documents.

 Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Andy Douglas, a Republican who is representing ResponsibleOhio, said Husted's effort was done to chill the petition effort.

 On the next step of its legalization strategy, ResponsibleOhio is already collecting signatures for the Fresh Start Act. If approved by voters in 2016, the initiative would provide a path to expungement of marijuana convictions that would not be crimes under legalization.

 Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1NrbkfP ||||| The Buckeye state will put pot legalization to the ballot on Nov. 3, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted confirmed .

 Putting marijuana legalization on the ballot took a couple tries: Ohio's first attempt failed, but pro-pot advocate group ResponsibleOhio , a driving force behind the initiative, pulled through with the minimum 305,591 signatures. The group's investors pledged to spend at least $20 million to convince Ohioans to vote for legalization.

 If the measure passes, however, legalization might take a while: in June, the Ohio Legislature hurriedly placed a measure, Issue 2, that prohibited "a monopoly, oligopoly or cartel" in Ohio of federally-controlled substances like marijuana. The ResponsibleOhio initiative calls for a limit to pot production by ten farms, which state legislators argue might constitute an oligopoly.

 Ohio follows ballot initiatives from across the country. Thus far, recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Washington, D.C.; 28 states make exceptions for medical marijuana. |||||

– Ohio could become the fifth state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana after it was announced today that backers collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the Nov. 3 general election, Time reports. ResponsibleOhio, the organization behind the proposed constitutional amendment, collected 320,267 signatures, nearly 15,000 more than needed, notes the Cincinnati Enquirer. ResponsibleOhio plans to spend at least $20 million to sway voters in what appears to be the best-financed marijuana legalization effort in US history. Yet many are speaking out against the push, including Republicans like Gov. John Kasich and Attorney General Mike DeWine, who says it's "a stupid idea." Marijuana is already legal in Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, DC.


News article:

This past Saturday night, a kid from Harvard named Jeremy Lin came off the bench and propelled the New York Knicks to a thrilling 99-92 victory over the Nets at Madison Square Garden. Two nights later, Lin made his first start in the National Basketball Association lighting up the court with 28 points and 8 assists in a win over the Utah Jazz. Wednesday night, Lin continued his monster week with an incredible performance against the Washington Wizards leading the Knicks with 23 points and 10 assists.

 Lin is the NBA's first American-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent and only the fourth Asian-American in league history. Lin's parents, Shirley and Gie-Ming, who are engineers, emigrated from Taiwan to the United States in the 1970s. Lin's Asian roots are rare, and that is significant, considering that the NBA has been pushing its entry into both the Chinese and Taiwanese markets for years. A United States-born star with Asian ties could be a tremendous fit for NBA International and its corporate partners in Taiwan, Japan and China.

 Lin's play for the Knicks so far has been nothing short of remarkable. In fact, it might be time to safely say that Jeremy Lin mania is out in full force on the streets of Manhattan. What Lin is about to realize, if he hasn't already, is that his success is much bigger the just his play on the court. From a marketing and endorsement standpoint Lin has a tremendous amount of potential.

 Peter Robert Casey, Director of Digital Marketing at Five-Star Basketball, was quick to point out that Lin's story resonates with fans. "A look at his Twitter account and level of engagement of his Facebook posts shows fans love him," said Casey. Lin's popularity in the social media space has been quite remarkable. On January 9th, Lin had fewer than 30,000 twitter followers. In a few short weeks Lin has seen that number grow to over 66,000. How this incredible growth translates is yet to be seen, but Lin's comfort in the social media space will make many potential corporate sponsors light up.

 The New York Knicks and their marketing department could not be more elated right about now. The team is surging with Lin at the point guard position, salvaging what was becoming an increasingly dire situation. Even more impressive than Lin's play on the court has been his ability to move the needle on ticket sales. According to SeatGeek.com Director of Communications, Will Flaherty, transaction volume on the secondary market for Friday's Knicks-Lakers game shot up to four times higher than the average volume over the previous three days immediately following Lin's big game this past Monday night. Regarding secondary market volume for Friday's Knicks-Lakers game, Flaherty noted, "we've certainly seen some spikes that are atypical with what we normally see in terms of volume in the run up to a big-regular season NBA game." Within the last 24 hours, the average price for a Lakers-Knicks ticket has been $282, a high mark, even for Madison Square Garden.

 Consider also that roughly 14 percent of the Asian Population in the United States resides in the New York metropolitan area and the state of New York is home to the second largest community of Asian Americans behind only California. If Lin's play continues, let's just say fans could be looking forward to some well thought out "Asian-American" nights at The World's Most Famous Arena for years to come.

 As Vicki Wong, President & CEO of DAE Advertising, a leading Asian American agency whose clients include Southwest and Well Fargo noted, "the Asian American community in the United States possesses certain values which are: Religion, Education, and being a solid citizen, not only does Jeremy possess all of those but he appears to come from the "Asian Dream" — Harvard educated, a rare combination of brains and brawn. He's a wonderful role model for Asian Americans, especially among the young."

 Lin's agent, Roger Montgomery, of Montgomery Sports Group was quick to state that the Knicks point guard is "Definitely looking to align with an Asian American brand or sponsor that represents the same kind of things [he] represents: relentlessness, hard work, tenacity, and the underdog mentality." A nugget for Lin and his potential sponsors to look at: The Asian American community is a large, affluent, educated market more effectively reached in their own language. Seventy-seven percent of Asian American's speak a language other than English in the home, compared to 22 percent of the rest of the United States' population. Furthermore, the average Asian American household earns around 18,000 dollars more in income per year, and spends around 7,000 more dollars than the average American household.

 Currently, Lin's only top level endorsement deal is a shoe contract with Nike. This is great news for Montgomery, considering that his phone is ringing off the hook with potential endorsement and marketing opportunities for his client. Montgomery does not have to worry about any type of previous exclusivity sponsor provisions that another athlete in Lin's position might be faced with. One company that is sure to be keeping a close watch on Lin and any potential future endorsements: Li-Ning. The major Chinese athletic company which makes athletic shoes and sporting goods has been proactive in making an imprint in the United States.

 One can bet that if Lin keeps this level of play up, he will be heavily featured on Knicks marketing collateral and a welcomed guest on the New York talk show circuit once the season ends. Watching interviews during Lin's short time with the Knicks it is apparent that he is extremely well spoken. Any corporate sponsor will be enthralled with Lin's ability to present its brand to consumers in a fantastic light, and do it in a genuine, meaningful way.

 Don't be surprised if Lin lands a significant endorsement deal soon. Although, you can bet that Montgomery and Lin will be very careful in crafting a marketing portfolio that aligns well with Lin's values and educational background. A Fortune 500 company that has significant ties, or is looking to establish ties, in the Asian American market would be an ideal fit. Categories that could be first on Lin's list: Financial, Food, Auto and Education.

 A corporate sponsor that aligns with Lin now could see tremendous return on investment, especially when one considers that buying power of the Asian American community is expected to reach $775 billion by 2015, and the Asian American market already out shines the economies of all but 21 countries.

 Thirty-five days ago Lin jokingly tweeted "Every time I try to get into Madison Square Garden, the security guards ask me if I'm a trainer." That surely won't be happening anymore.

 Related Links:

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 The NBA's Most Valuable Teams ||||| Jeremy Lin outplayed Kobe Bryant, ended the mighty Lakers' dominance of the Knicks and then tried to pretend it was just another game.

 New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin (17) reacts after a making a 3-point basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in New York. Lin scored 38... (Associated Press)

 New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin (17) drives past Los Angeles Lakers' Matt Barnes (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) (Associated Press)

 New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin (17) drives past Los Angeles Lakers' Derek Fisher during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) (Associated Press)

 New York Knicks' Tyson Chandler (6) dunks past Los Angeles Lakers' Pau Gasol during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) (Associated Press)

 New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin reacts after scoring during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) (Associated Press)

 Wrong.

 This was the night that proved he's no one-week wonder, that he's got a real NBA career ahead of him.

 After all, Kobe's waiting for revenge next season.

 Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Bryant as New York held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.

 Buried deep on the bench a little more than a week ago, Lin led the Knicks to their fourth straight win, tying their longest streak of the season. His two free throws with 52 seconds left amid booming "MVP! MVP!" chants stopped the Lakers' final rally and allowed the undrafted Harvard product to pass Carmelo Anthony for the highest-scoring game by a Knicks player this season.

 "I didn't try to see this game as any different," Lin said. "I just try to make sure that when I get there on the floor, I play as hard as I can and try to do everything I can to help the team win.

 "The only thing we established tonight is four in a row. Now we try to go for five tomorrow. I'm not too worried about proving anything to anybody. As a team we're growing and trying to build on the momentum."

 Iman Shumpert added 12 points for the Knicks, who are still without Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. But they have Lin, the point guard that two other teams gave up on in December and didn't get his chance in New York until three other players couldn't do the job.

 Bryant finished with 34 points, but he got off to a horrendous start and finished only 11 of 29 from the field. Pau Gasol had 16 points and 10 rebounds, but All-Star Andrew Bynum was only 1 of 8 for three points with 13 rebounds as the Lakers' nine-game winning streak against the Knicks was snapped.

 Four of those wins had come at Madison Square Garden, where fans used to roar for Bryant.

 They've got a new favorite now, and who could have ever predicted it'd be Lin?

 "I think it's a great story," Bryant said. "I think it's a testament to perseverance and hard work. Good example for kids everywhere."

 A night earlier, Bryant said he wasn't familiar with Lin's game. Now, he'll awake to headlines everywhere that Lin beat him at the "world's most famous arena."

 "Enjoy it," Bryant said. "They'll receive judgment next season."

 The most surprising story in the NBA came back into the game with 9:25 left after the Knicks' lead had been trimmed to three. Shumpert hit a jumper and blew by Bryant for a dunk before Lin knocked down a jumper to push the lead to 76-69 with about 8 minutes left.

 The lead was still eight before Lin nailed a long jumper, then was wide open after an offensive rebound for a 3-pointer from the wing, making it 84-71 as fans stood and screamed throughout the Lakers' timeout.

 "What he's doing is amazing," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He answered a lot of questions tonight. Can he make an outside shot? Can he pull the trigger in a big moment? He hit two 3s that just broke the game open. There's so much stuff that he's doing."

 Lin followed his 28-point, eight-assist outing Monday in his first career start by scoring 23 points and handing out 10 assists Wednesday against Washington, becoming the first player since LeBron James in 2003 and just the sixth since 1970 to have at least 20 points and eight assists in his first two starts, according to research from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Knicks.

 He became an instant star in New York just as fans were ready to check out basketball after the Giants' Super Bowl run was over, and just when it appeared the Knicks might fall too far behind in the standings to salvage the season.

 Some Lin shirts sold out of one souvenir stand on the concourse level before the game even started were scattered throughout Madison Square Garden _ though Spike Lee was still wearing Landry Fields' No. 2 in his courtside seat. Ratings on MSG network are up since Lin joined the lineup, and the NBA said some of its Asian TV partners have added Knicks games to their broadcast schedules so fans can see the league's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

 Already drawing comparisons to Tim Tebow for his impact on teammates and the way he speaks of his faith afterward, the hype around him will only grow now after beating one of the league's marquee franchises in his first nationally televised game.

 A night after needing overtime to win at Boston, the Lakers had nothing to start the game, and Lin quickly jumped on them. He started 4 of 5 as the Knicks raced to a 13-4 lead, and it grew to 19-8 as Los Angeles missed 12 of its first 13 shots.

 Lin's four field goals in the first quarter matched the Lakers' total in 18 attempts (22 percent).

 "I think that you can stop a player from not getting 38 points on you any night. I don't care how good he is, but I guess we didn't step up to the challenge as a team," Gasol said. "(We) overlooked him I guess. Obviously, he made big plays. Made big shots. You've got to give him credit."

 The Lakers cut a 14-point deficit to five late in the half before Lin put the Knicks back in control. He had a turnaround jumper then spun around to leave Derek Fisher behind on his way to a layup, pushing it to 47-38 with 2:44 remaining. It was 49-41 at halftime.

 Bryant started 1 of 11 before hitting five of his next six shots. The record holder at the current arena with 61 points, he also grabbed 10 rebounds but got going far too late.

 Notes: The Knicks had two points taken off the board in the third quarter when the referees ruled a foul earlier in the period on Metta World Peace shouldn't have counted against the Lakers' team foul total, so the Knicks shouldn't have been in the bonus and shot free throws yet on a later foul. ... D'Antoni said Anthony told him he was feeling better and walking without pain. The All-Star forward is expected to be re-evaluated Sunday, but D'Antoni said he doubted Anthony would play Tuesday at Toronto. The Knicks said Anthony was expected to miss a week or two after he was hurt Monday. ... Stoudemire, whose brother died in Florida on Monday, is expected to rejoin the team at practice Monday. ... Fisher made his 400th consecutive start. He has played in 522 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. ... Celebrities on hand included actor Ben Stiller, wrestler and actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Giants Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs, Hakeem Nicks and Antrel Rolle.

 ___

 Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– If the NBA didn't have a certified sensation on its hands before last night, it does now. Harvard wunderkind Jeremy Lin scored 38 points to lead the New York Knicks past Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers, reports AP. Unfamiliar with Lin? He is only the fourth Asian-American to play in the NBA and the first US-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent to do so, notes ABC News in a profile. And up until last week, he'd been a bench-warmer who got overlooked in the draft. Then came a monster week for the point guard, who seems to have single-handedly revived the Knicks' fortunes en route to become the city's new sports darling. (Chants of "MVP" were going up last night.) His marketing potential is off the charts, notes ABC. Even Bryant is impressed: "I think it's a great story. I think it's a testament to perseverance and hard work. Good example for kids everywhere."


Here is a news article: Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria seen before his jump at the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico on March 15, 2012.

 Weather concerns have pushed back an Austrian daredevil's attempt to break the world record for highest-ever skydive by one day, to Tuesday (Oct. 9).

 Felix Baumgartner was slated to leap from a balloon nearly 23 miles (37 kilometers) above southeastern New Mexico on Monday (Oct. 8), breaking the sound barrier as he plummeted to Earth in a harrowing freefall.

 But an incoming cold front is expected to bring cooler temperatures, strong winds and a bit of rain to the launch site on Monday, said officials with Baumgartner's mission, which is known as Red Bull Stratos.

 The team expects conditions to clear up considerably by Tuesday. If so, around dawn on that day a huge helium-filled balloon will lift off from Roswell, N.M., carrying Baumgartner and his custom-built 2,900-pound (1,315 kilograms) capsule to an altitude of 120,000 feet (36,576 meters).

 The 43-year-old daredevil will then step into the void, shattering a skydiving record that has stood for more than 50 years. The current mark of 102,800 feet (31,333 m) was set in 1960 by Air Force Capt. Joe Kittinger, who now serves as a Red Bull Stratos adviser.

 If all goes according to plan, Baumgartner will also become the first skydiver ever to break the sound barrier. And he should also set records for the longest-duration freefall and highest manned balloon flight, Red Bull Stratos mission officials say.

 Baumgartner's leap requires calm conditions, because his 55-story-tall balloon is fragile — the material is 10 times thinner than a plastic sandwich bag — and could be damaged by high winds. The daredevil's team has said they won't lift off if winds at the launch site exceed 2 mph (3.2 kph).

 Red Bull Stratos officials have described Baumgartner's record-breaking attempt as a jump from the edge of space. However, space is generally considered to begin at an altitude of 62 miles (100 km), or 327,000 feet.

 Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. ||||| The man who's going to jump 23 miles to Earth this week: Dubbed Fearless Felix, this extreme skydiver will try to break the sound barrier free-falling from space

 One tiny error could result in his blood boiling and his brain exploding

 Austrian Felix Baumgartner has spent five years planning the daredevil feat

 He will be attempting to break the sound barrier on Tuesday leaping from an aircraft on the edge of space in a pressurised suit with a parachute

 Should anyone else be planning the feat Felix Baumgartner will undertake on Tuesday morning, this weekend would be a time of sleepless nights and dread-filled days.

 For 23 miles up on the edge of space, and wearing only a pressurised suit and a parachute, he will pause at the hatch of his tiny capsule as it ascends into the heavens beneath one of the biggest balloons ever made.

 Red Bull Stratos announced Friday that the jump by extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner have been moved from Monday to Tuesday thanks to a cold front with gusty winds. The jump can only be made if winds on the ground are under 2 mph for the initial launch a balloon carrying Baumgartner.

 Fearless: Felix, pictured here on a previous dive in July, plans to jump from the edge of the earth's atmosphere on Tuesday

 No more than 20 minutes later, the world will know whether this audacious Austrian has become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier in the highest, fastest freefall descent in history.

 If anything goes wrong — and despite five years of planning and training, there is plenty that could — it might get very, very messy.

 The nightmare scenario that Felix’s project director likens to a ‘horror film’ would involve his blood boiling, brain bursting and eyeballs popping out — all of it watched live via the internet around the globe.

 This may sound like the sort of lunatic feat that no one but a man who has spent 20 years at the more extreme end of extreme sports would want anything to do with. But a team of engineers, doctors and pilots have spent five years working alongside Baumgartner, 43, to ensure he gets down alive and in one piece.

 For one of them, Dr Jonathan Clark, the operation’s medical director, there is an intensely personal reason for being involved.

 Since his astronaut wife Laurel was killed in 2003 when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas, the former Nasa flight surgeon has devoted his career to working to improve astronauts’ chances of surviving a similar high-altitude disaster.

 Austrian Felix Baumgartner, pictured at a news conference in New York, will leap from an aircraft 23 miles above New Mexico, in an attempt to jump higher and faster in a free fall than anyone ever before

 ‘I have every expectation he’ll come through this successfully,’ says Dr Clark. ‘But, you know, it is still an unknown.’

 As for Baumgartner, quite the Hollywood action man with his rugged good looks and Born To Fly tattooed on his arm, he and his backers are sufficiently confident that they are filming the descent and streaming it on YouTube.

 Banishing talk of nerves, he says he would never jump if the odds were against him. And he insists he hasn’t got a death wish.

 Of the sceptics who will be holding their hands in front of their eyes as he hurtles towards Earth at nearly 700mph, he says simply: ‘I think they underestimate the skills of a skydiver.’

 Fearless Felix has been flinging himself out of planes and off skyscrapers for years. He has clocked up 2,500 skydiving jumps, including one in which he became the first person to ‘fly’ across the English Channel, with carbon-fibre wings strapped to his back. He has performed various horrifying ‘base jumps’, freefalling off the Christ statue in Rio and leaping head-first into a pitch black, 620ft-deep cave in Croatia.

 Baumgartner says his supersonic plunge will be the end of his ‘journey’ as a daredevil. He intends to retire with his girlfriend and settle down to a quiet life — which in his case means becoming a rescue helicopter pilot.

 Ahead of his grand finale, he has completed a couple of high-altitude dress rehearsals. In July, he leapt from 96,640ft — just 6,000ft shy of a world record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger, a U.S. air force test pilot.

 The grandfather of stratosphere skydiving, 84-year-old Colonel Kittinger has become Baumgartner’s mentor and will be the voice he hears in his headset as he communicates with mission control before and during the jump.

 Fearless Felix, pictured saluting as he prepared in March to board a capsule carried by a balloon during the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico

 But a disembodied voice will not protect him against some of the most extreme forces in nature.

 ‘You can feel in your stomach and every part of your body that it does not want to be there,’ says the Austrian, a former military parachutist, laconically.

 The body in question will be encased in a specially designed £125,000 spacesuit. It has an insulating exterior that can withstand extreme temperatures, and an airtight inner layer filled with pressurised oxygen.

 It also has one crucial difference to the spacesuits worn by astronauts, which is that it remains highly flexible when it is fully pressurised.

 Baumgartner’s visor is fitted with an intensely powerful heat regulator that should keep his view free of fog and frost.

 The suit’s 12lb chest pack contains monitoring and tracking equipment together with a voice transmitter so he can talk to mission control on the way down. The pack is connected to a device on his wrist that allows him to monitor his speed and altitude.

 The capsule in which he’ll make his ascent is 11ft high and 8ft in diameter, made from fibreglass strengthened by an internal metal frame, and weighs as much as a Volkswagen Beetle.

 The Red Bull Stratos science team has confirmed that the capsule delivering Austrian sportsman Felix Baumgartner to the edge of space for his record-breaking free-fall attempt is mission ready

 It was designed by some of the scientists who created the U.S. stealth bomber and is based on the famous Nasa Apollo rocket, but with a few key design differences.

 The exit hatch is bigger for a start, designed to prevent the sort of catastrophe that befell Soviet high-altitude sky diver Pyotr Dolgov in 1962. Struggling to leave his capsule in his cumbersome spacesuit, Dolgov cracked his visor slightly on the door.

 He was dead by the time he landed, a victim of ebullism, the terrifying condition in which the drastically lower air pressure above 62,000ft makes liquids in the body start to bubble and vaporise, inflating the body and bringing unconsciousness within 15 seconds.

 Unfortunately for Baumgartner’s sponsor, Red Bull, he won’t be able to consume any of the fizzy energy drink on the way up.

 The air pressure inside the capsule will still be significantly lower than at sea level, and any kind of gas inside his body could prove extremely uncomfortable. The Austrian company won’t say how much it has sunk into the project, but it must surely run into millions.

 Pilot Felix Baumgartner did his first test jump from the Red Bull Stratos capsule in March, in which he reached an altitude 21,800 meters (71500 ft) and landed safely near Roswell, New Mexico

 Weather permitting (the balloon material is so flimsy the ground level wind cannot be stronger than 2mph), the launch is scheduled for dawn on Tuesday, on a runway in the New Mexico desert.

 A ten-strong team wearing cotton gloves and protective suits to prevent them ripping the fabric will pump helium from two large lorries into a £150,000 balloon that has been hailed as the biggest ever to lift a passenger.

 When inflated, it is as high as a 55-storey building with a volume of 30 million cubic feet.

 Made from strengthened plastic, it is a tenth of the thickness of a sandwich bag. Baumgartner has limited space to move around in the capsule and the balloon will be largely steered remotely from mission control down on the ground.

 If all goes well, the journey will take just under three hours. The biggest danger he faces on the way up is the risk of the balloon rupturing soon after take-off. If that happens, Fearless Felix won’t have time to open the hatch and get out, and will come crashing down inside the capsule.

 When it reaches the jumping height of 120,000ft — three times the altitude at which airliners fly — he will look out on a black rather than blue daytime sky while he waits for the final ‘clear to jump’ message from mission control.

 Pictured in the capsule that he will launch himself from on Monday, Felix looks more like an astronaut than a sky-diver, fully equipped with a space suit and high-tech equipment

 At that point, he will depressurise the capsule, pressurise his suit and open the exit door (the capsule will later automatically detach from the balloon and parachute back to Earth).

 It’s a virtually oxygen-free vacuum up there, with just one per cent of the air pressure on Earth, so the consequences of an accident now — a ripped suit (the biggest fear) or hairline helmet crack — would be disastrous, bringing on the dreaded ebullism in seconds.

 If that isn’t bad enough, a spacesuit failure could also bring on the bends (gas seeping into body tissues due to sudden low pressure), barotrauma (trapped gas in body cavities that can collapse the lungs), and severe oxygen deprivation, known as anoxia.

 And let’s not forget the discomfort of falling through air with a temperature as low as minus 70f.

 Even leaving the capsule is fraught with danger. Baumgartner, who will basically fall forwards off the capsule platform, needs to start plunging straight down and head first as quickly as possible to reach maximum speed.

 But there is always a risk that, with virtually no wind at those altitudes, he could end up in an uncontrolled flat spin.

 At such high altitude, Fearless Felix will be able to see the curvature of the Earth and will free-fall for 20 minutes before landing

 In his test jump in March, Felix plunged 25,000 feet. Tomorrow he hopes to jump higher and faster in a free fall than anyone ever before

 And if he spins too fast, the force will make him lose consciousness, cause brain damage, turn his eyeballs into reddish-purple orbs and — very possibly — kill him.

 As a safety precaution of sorts, his clever spacesuit will release a drogue parachute — a miniaturised version of the type used to slow fast-landing jets — to reduce his speed if its monitoring system senses he has lost consciousness.

 It will take him just 40 seconds to go from zero to 700mph and break the sound barrier at an altitude of around 100,000ft.

 No one can be sure what happens when a body breaks the sound barrier at that height, and the possibility of his suit being damaged by supersonic shock waves is another unpleasant ‘what if’ that Baumgartner’s scientific experts have had to consider.

 Felix, left, will be guided by U.S. Air Force Col. (Ret.) Joe Kittinger, right, who holds the current stratospheric jump record, from 1960 of 102,800 feet

 But once he has gone supersonic, travelling at the speed of a bullet, the air resistance will start to pick up as the atmosphere becomes more dense and he can move himself into the more stable ‘delta’ position — arms and legs spread out, body parallel to the ground — that you normally see being used by skydivers.

 Assuming he makes it through intact, Baumgartner, his spacesuit fitted with cameras recording his stomach-churning descent, will freefall for some five-and-a-half minutes before pulling his main parachute at 5,000ft. Some ten to 15 minutes later, with luck he will touch down battered but unbowed near Roswell.

 The remote New Mexican town is, of course, famous for a rumoured UFO crash landing in 1947.

 How wonderfully apt. Where else can claim to have had stranger things drop out of the sky than Fearless Felix? |||||
A summary of this is?

– Felix Baumgartner has already sky-dived from 13 miles up and 18 miles up—so what's a leap of 23 miles that shatters the sound barrier? Well, it at least requires good weather, so the record-breaking dive has been bumped from Monday to Tuesday to avoid strong winds and rain, Space.com reports. Then the 43-year-old Austrian will ride a specially designed capsule into the stratosphere and take a leap over southeastern New Mexico. The key for Baumgartner is to jump head-first and reach maximum speed so as to avoid an uncontrolled flat spin—which could cause brain damage and possibly kill him, the Daily Mail reports. Within 40 seconds he hopes to reach 700mph, and hit the speed of sound at around 100,000 feet. Ultimately he intends to land near Roswell. His plan after completing the feat: retire and enjoy a quiet life, which for him means working as a rescue helicopter pilot.


– In a move that is definitely, absolutely, totally not a publicity stunt, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is knitting a kangaroo for the next heir to the British throne, Sky News reports. Gillard discussed the "cute project" for the progeny of Prince William and Kate Middleton in the new issue of Australian Women's Weekly, which came complete with photos showing Gillard surrounded by yarn. "In terms of knitting for Kate's baby—I knit for babies, in part, because they are smaller projects," she explained. Despite the fact that Gillard's press office actually pitched the story to the magazine, the office insists it's not a PR move, but that hasn't stopped people from mocking the PM. "I'm keen to discuss options for an interview/photoshoot with the PM, ideally for the July edition," reads the email from Gillard's director of communications to the magazine. "As I mentioned the PM is putting together a care package for Kate Middleton, who is due in mid-July. ... I'm picturing a story that includes the patterns for the items the PM will knit so your readers can knit their own royal blanket or something." Critics are calling the article "contrived," among other less-than-nice things, the Guardian reports; the Independent calls it "a public relations disaster." The article conveniently arrives just months before September's general election, which the controversial PM is predicted to lose. Gillard has previously stirred the pot with Sandwichgate and her epic takedown of a sexist rival.

Expand this summary.

The Australian Prime Minister is knitting a kangaroo for the royal baby which is due next month.

 Julia Gillard surprised readers of Australian Women's Weekly when she revealed her unusual idea for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first-born, suggesting it was a "cute project to work on".

 She explained: "In terms of knitting for Kate's baby - I knit for babies, in part, because they are smaller projects.

 "I've got not that much time in my life. You can get them done and there's a sense of satisfaction in having completed it."

 The PM's press office insisted it was not just a PR opportunity even though it was they who suggested it in the first place.

 "I'm keen to discuss options for an interview/photoshoot with the PM, ideally for the July edition," said an email sent in April from director of communications John McTernan to the magazine.

 "As I mentioned the PM is putting together a care package for Kate Middleton, who is due in mid-July, and I was thinking this would make a great story for the magazine.

 "I'm picturing a story that includes the patterns for the items the PM will knit so your readers can knit their own royal blanket or something."

 The controversial PM, who ousted her predecessor Kevin Rudd in 2010, agreed to the magazine photo shoot to coincide with her third anniversary in office.

 She heads the centre-left Labor Party and is predicted to lose September's general election - polls indicate the party would do better under Mr Rudd's leadership.

 However, Ms Gillard insists she is not going anywhere.

 She has had a hard time of it recently, having had the sexuality of her partner questioned by an Australian radio host and been the butt of a menu "joke" from an opposition party fundraiser, with friends saying she is the victim of male chauvinism. ||||| The Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, has whipped up a storm

 after appearing in the Australian Women's Weekly knitting a toy

 kangaroo for the royal baby.

 The photoshoot depicts the prime minister in an armchair, surrounded

 by balls of wool, with her dog Reuben at her feet.

 The pictures have sparked controversy in parts of the Australian

 media, who have called it "contrived" and "remarkable". Commentators

 have pointed out that Gillard has traditionally rejected feminine

 presentations.

 News Limited columnist Andrew Bolt said Gillard was "giving

 encouragement to young female politicians by plying a hobby now

 synonymous with mad old aunts." Nationals Senator Fiona Nash told

 Fairfax it looked like "a bit of a stunt" that showed "a lack of

 connection" with the Australian public. While senior Liberal

 Christopher Pyne said to reporters in Canberra: "We know the prime

 minister is good at spinning a yarn, now we have a picture to prove

 it."

 Gillard has previously been criticised for her perceived lack of

 homemaking instincts. In 2005 much was made of a photograph in her

 sparse-looking kitchen with an empty fruit bowl on the table.

 Defenders have pointed out that the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, is

 routinely photographed taking part in his hobbies such as cycling and

 working with his local surf club.

 In an accompanying interview feature published online Gillard spoke on

 a range of issues, including her career legacy, family, September's

 federal election and her republican views.

 She said she would look back on her time as Australia's first female

 prime minister with "a sense of pride and achievement," particularly

 for her work in health and education.

 During the knitting photoshoot, Gillard remarked "this feels slightly absurd".

 She said she decided to knit the kangaroo for the baby of Prince

 Williamand the Duchess of Cambridge as a gift, saying it would be "a

 cute project to work on". She said she usually knitted for babies as

 the smaller projects meant she had time to finish them in her busy

 schedule.

 "I guess my life is full of the engagements that politics brings and

 some are them are quite combative engagements," she said.

 "I don't shy away from that. If there is something I hope I have done

 for the image of women in public life it is that we can go into an

 adversarial environment like parliament and we can dominate it and

 conquer it.

 "But that's not all of me. [Knitting the kangaroo] is an opportunity

 to show a side of me. I can't imagine [political commentator] Laurie

 Oakes saying: 'Hmmm, knitting patterns. What are you working on at the

 moment?'"

 Gillard also spoke candidly about her family.

 Of her father John, who died in September, Gillard said: "Dad was

 incredibly proud of me becoming prime minister, and incredibly proud,

 I think, that it was him that sparked the interest in values,

 politics, current affairs, and particularly education."

 Not long after her father's death, the radio broadcaster Alan Jones

 told a lunch attended by Liberal Party members John Gillard must have

 died "of shame".

 In the intervew Gillard also responded to last year's jibe from

 Germaine Greer referring to her "big arse" on ABC TV's Q&A program,

 saying the statement "demeaned her more than it demeaned me".

 "I do take a lot of pride in being someone who not only fought for

 equal opportunities for women," Gillard said. "But for her, given

 everything she stands for, everything she would have inspired, I just

 thought it was stupid."

 Knitting the kangaroo for the royal baby did not clash with her views

 that Australia should become a republic, she said.

 "I campaigned for a yes case. We will get there again," she said.

 "There is a real sense of respect for the Queen, so I do think a

 natural moment to look again will be when her reign comes to an end.

 "Prince William and Kate, and their child will still be personalities

 in Australia; people will still follow their lives with interest."

 Like much in Australian politics, the origins of the idea for the

 knitting photo shoot have been hotly disputed.

 The Australian Women's Weekly article said that "having Ms Gillard

 pose with needles was not The Weekly's idea. Her office came up with

 it," quoting media director John McTernan [a former adviser to Tony Blair]

 as saying "it was a no-brainer".

 The prime minister's press office responded on their blog, saying that

 they had suggested to the magazine that her gift for the royal baby

 might be of interest, but that it was the magazine which requested

 Gillard knit and bring Reuben along for the shoot.

 More than 400 photos were taken and Women's Weekly had complete

 creative control over the shoot, it continued.

 In response to that blog post, Australian Women's Weekly acknowledged

 the prime minister's office's denial of the suggestion but said, "in

 an email to the Weekly a staffer clearly outlines the idea of a

 knitting pattern". ||||| The photograph, posed for an interview spread in the country's biggest-selling magazine, Australian Women's Weekly, and reproduced in multiple newspapers, was deemed a public relations disaster. It was also ominously reminiscent of the Dickens character Madame Defarge and the "tricoteuses" who knitted by the guillotine during the French Revolution.

 The notoriously abrasive Mr McTernan, who was hired by Ms Gillard in 2011, dreamed up the idea, which he called a "no-brainer" - presumably calculating it would appeal to female voters. But like the Prime Minister's recent speech warning that abortion rights would be scaled back and women's voices silenced if the conservative opposition won power this September, it has been condemned as a cynical stunt.

 In the picture, Ms Gillard - whose poll ratings, along with those of her Labor Party, are rock bottom - is knitting a kangaroo for the royal baby: an odd pose, perhaps, for a staunch republican and female leader who electrified women worldwide last year with a parliamentary speech accusing the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, of misogyny and sexism.

 Mr McTernan, who helped to re-elect Mr Blair in 2005, has become a much talked about figure in Australian political circles, with some comparing his bully-boy tactics and robust language to those of Malcolm Tucker, the spin-doctor in the BBC satire The Thick of It.

 After a Sydney radio host, Ross Greenwood, claimed last year that government plans to raise tax on the pension contributions of high earners would not apply to politicians, Mr McTernan phoned him and delivered a 12-minute tirade during which he allegedly "dropped the f-bomb" at least 30 times.

 Questioned, more recently, about the fact he holds a "457" temporary work visa - a visa the government claims is being widely abused and is trying to crack down on - Ms Gillard's communications director called it "hardly fucking relevant". He was furious earlier this month when a radio journalist, Ben Fordham, revealed that he had "offered to do a regular spot on your show next year if we lose the election".

 The Prime Minister - pictured next to a bucket of knitting needles, with balls of wool fetchingly strewn around - does enjoy knitting, which she describes, along with watching the US TV drama series Game of Thrones, as her favourite hobby.

 The photo, though, simply gave her opponents new ammunition, producing headlines such as "PM's last-stich bid to woo voters". An opposition frontbencher, Christopher Pyne, declared: "We know the Prime Minister is good at spinning a yarn and now we have the photographic proof of it."

 As for the guillotine assocation: come September, it is Ms Gillard herself who is facing the chop. |||||