Article:

DAMMARTIN-EN-GOËLE, France—In the dramatic standoff Friday with gunmen suspected of attacking French magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, police had an unlikely ally: a person hiding inside the building sending text messages.

 His intelligence input gave police a critical edge in timing the assault, according to a police officer.

 The situation unfolded at a printing facility north of Paris, where Said and Chérif Kouachi holed up... ||||| An employee at the printing business besieged by the Charlie Hebdo attackers was able to help police kill the terrorists after texting tactical information to them.

 The 26-year-old graphic designer, who has been named in reports as Lilian Lepere, took refuge "under a sink in the canteen" upstairs at the business in Dammartin-en-Goele, according to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.

 Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi were holed up there after killing 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and going on the run.

 A source told the AFP news agency Mr Lepere was "terrified".

 But despite this, he managed to remain undetected and began communicating with police outside via text message.

 Play video "How Paris Events Unfolded" Video: How Paris Events Unfolded

 Mr Lepere sent them "tactical elements such as his location inside the premises", Mr Molins said.

 The source added that Mr Lepere could hear the suspects talking, which helped reassure him and gave him more information to send to the forces outside.

 A separate source said the man was also able to communicate with his family.

 The brothers had taken the manager of the store hostage, but released him after he helped Said with a neck wound he had sustained in a firefight with police.

 Play video "Jihadist Was 'Kind And Agreeable'" Video: Jihadist Was 'Kind And Agreeable'

 At around 5pm local time on Friday, automatic gunfire and explosions could be heard as police moved in to end the siege.

 Officials said the brothers had emerged from the building and opened fire on police before they were killed.

 An armoured car gave them access to the upper floor to free Mr Lepere, a source said.

 He was taken to police headquarters, where he was quickly reunited with his family, another source close to the case said, adding he was "shocked" but "OK".

 1 / 28 Gallery: From Car Chase To Last Stand Two brothers suspected of killing 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris have been killed. They had earlier taken one person hostage as police cornered the gunmen in the area, northeast of Paris

 Mr Lepere's father said the family was "doing fine", and thanked the police and the "people who helped".

 At the same time, the siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris was also coming to a bloody end.

 It began when Amedy Coulibaly, who is believed to be an ally of the brothers, went into the store and took out a Kalashnikov.

 A father called Ilan and his three-year-old son quickly hid in the supermarket's refrigeration unit after Coulibaly burst in, two relatives told AFP.

 Play video "Special Report - Paris Attack" Video: Special Report - Paris Attack

 Sources close to the investigation said at least three other people were with them.

 Ilan removed his jacket and wrapped his son in it to protect the toddler from the cold.

 The group remained there for almost five hours.

 Ilan's mother quickly realised her son and grandson were hidden and decided not to try and contact them.

 Play video "Paris Supermarket Siege Over" Video: Paris Supermarket Siege Over

 She instead gave her son's number to the police, who were able to use it to track the location of Ilan and other hostages inside the supermarket.

 According to Mr Molins, this knowledge may have played a part in their survival when police finally stormed the store.

 :: Watch Sky News Special Report: Paris Attack at 8.30pm. See it on skynews.com, our mobile apps and on Sky News - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132. ||||| PARIS (AP) — With explosions and gunfire, security forces Friday ended three days of terror around Paris, killing the two al-Qaida-linked brothers who staged a murderous rampage at a satirical newspaper and an accomplice who seized hostages at a kosher supermarket to try to help the brothers escape.

 A security officer directs released hostages after they stormed a kosher market to end a hostage situation, Paris, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Explosions and gunshots were heard as police forces stormed a kosher... (Associated Press)

 Security officers escort released hostages after they stormed a kosher market to end a hostage situation, Paris, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Explosions and gunshots were heard as police forces stormed a kosher... (Associated Press)

 Local residents watch as police officers escort hostages after they stormed a kosher grocery in Paris, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Two sets of attackers seized hostages and locked down hundreds of French security... (Associated Press)

 In this image taken from a video provided by PFMTV, police officers storm a kosher grocery to end a hostage situation in Paris, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Two sets of attackers seized hostages and locked down... (Associated Press)

 Armed security forces fly overhead in a military helicopter in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. French security forces swarmed this small industrial town northeast of Paris... (Associated Press)

 An elite police officer followed by a man takes up position atop a building in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, where the two brothers suspected in a deadly terror attack were cornered, Friday,... (Associated Press)

 Smoke emanates from the entrance to a kosher market as security forces prepare to end a hostage situation, Paris, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Explosions and gunshots were heard as police forces stormed a kosher... (Associated Press)

 Security officers escort released hostages after they stormed a kosher market to end a hostage situation, Paris, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Explosions and gunshots were heard as police forces stormed a kosher... (Associated Press)

 A hooded police officer stands on a roof in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, where the two brothers suspected in a deadly terror attack were cornered, Friday, Jan.9, 2015. Two sets of attackers... (Associated Press)

 Police officers detain youth who riding a scooter outside a hostage-taking situation at a kosher market in Paris, Friday Jan.9, 2015. France's anti-terrorism prosecutor says a shooting and hostage-taking... (Associated Press)

 In this combination photo provided by the Paris Police Prefecture, Amedy Coulibaly, left, and Hayet Boumddiene, two suspects named by police as accomplices in a kosher market attack on the eastern edges... (Associated Press)

 French gendarmes escort children from the Henri Dunand school to a safe location to be picked up by their parents in Dammartin-en-Goele, 30 kilometers (19 miles) northeast of Paris, France, Friday Jan.... (Associated Press)

 A French police officer stands guard outside the Grand Mosque as people arrive for Friday prayers, Paris, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. French security forces struggled with two rapidly developing hostage-taking... (Associated Press)

 Grand Mosque rector Dalil Boubakeur, center, delivers a statement to members of the media following Friday prayers, Paris, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Two brothers suspected in a terror attack took a hostage... (Associated Press)

 Armed securtiy forces fly overhead in a military helicopter in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. French security forces swarmed this small industrial town northeast of Paris... (Associated Press)

 A police helicopter circles over Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast Paris, as part of an operation to seize two heavily armed suspects, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. French security forces swarmed a small industrial... (Associated Press)

 A hooded police officer stands on a roof in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, where the two brothers suspected in a deadly terror attack were cornered, Friday, Jan.9, 2015. Two sets of attackers... (Associated Press)

 Armed security forces fly overhead in a military helicopter in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. French security forces swarmed this small industrial town northeast of Paris... (Associated Press)

 Armed police officers in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. Brothers suspected in a newspaper terror attack were cornered with a hostage inside a printing house on Friday, after... (Associated Press)

 French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve addresses reporters at the end of a crisis meeting with French President Francois Hollande, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. Investigators... (Associated Press)

 Police officers arrive at a hostage-taking situation at a kosher market in Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. France's anti-terrorism prosecutor says a shooting and hostage-taking attack is underway at a kosher... (Associated Press)

 Police officers control the access to Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. French security forces swarmed this small industrial town northeast of Paris Friday in an operation... (Associated Press)

 This photo provided by The Paris Police Prefecture Thursday, Jan.8, 2015 shows the suspects Cherif, left, and Said Kouachi in the newspaper attack along with a plea for witnesses. Police hunted Thursday... (Associated Press)

 Ambulances arrive in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast Paris, as part of an operation to seize two heavily armed suspects, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. French security forces swarmed a small industrial town northeast... (Associated Press)

 The worst terrorist violence France has seen in decades killed at least 20 people, including the three gunmen. A fourth suspect — the common law wife of the market attacker — was still at large and believed to be armed.

 Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen said it directed the attack against the publication Charlie Hebdo to avenge the honor of the Prophet Muhammad, a frequent target of the weekly's satire.

 The brothers were not unknown to authorities: One had a terrorism-related conviction for ties to a network sending fighters to battle American forces in Iraq, and both were on the U.S. no-fly list, according to a U.S. official.

 President Francois Hollande urged his nation to remain united and vigilant, and the city shut down a famed Jewish neighborhood amid fears of more violence.

 "The threats facing France are not finished," Hollande said. "We are a free people who cave to no pressure."

 The drama, which played out on live TV and social media, began with the brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi methodically massacring 12 people Wednesday at the Charlie Hebdo offices, stopping to shoot a wounded police officer in the head before escaping by car.

 On Thursday, a gunman police identified as Amedy Coulibaly shot a policewoman to death south of Paris, although authorities were not sure at first if it was related to the Charlie Hebdo shootings.

 It all ended at dusk Friday with near-simultaneous raids in two locations: a printing plant in the town of Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, where the Kouachis were holed up, and the Paris supermarket where Coulibaly killed four hostages and threatened more violence unless the police let the Kouachis go.

 As scores of black-clad security forces surrounded both sites, booming explosions, heavy gunfire and dense smoke heralded the news that the twin sieges finally had ended.

 The three gunmen were dead — but the authorities also discovered four dead hostages at the market. Sixteen hostages were freed, one from the printing plant and 15 others from the store.

 The attackers had ties both to each other and to terrorist activities that reached back years and extended from Paris to al-Qaida in Yemen. They epitomized Western authorities' greatest fear: Islamic radicals who trained abroad and came home to stage attacks.

 After the killings at the Charlie Hebdo offices, Cherif Kouachi, 32, and his 34-year-old brother Said led police on a chase around northeastern France, robbing a gas station and stealing a car before ending up at the printing plant in Dammartin-en-Goele, near Charles de Gaulle airport. One of the brothers was wounded in the neck at one point during a shootout with police after he commandeered a car, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said.

 Authorities said the brothers temporarily took a man hostage at the plant but let him go, and a second man was later discovered to have been hiding inside the building.

 A member of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula gave a statement in English to The Associated Press saying the group's leadership "directed the operations and they have chosen their target carefully."

 The attack was in line with warnings from the late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to the West about "the consequences of the persistence in the blasphemy against Muslim sanctities," the member said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the group's regulations do not permit him to give his name.

 The brothers were cornered there for much of the day before the explosions and gunfire rang out in the twilight and a police SWAT team clambered onto the roof.

 "They said they want to die as martyrs," Yves Albarello, a local lawmaker inside the command post, told French television station i-Tele.

 At the kosher grocery near the Porte de Vincennes neighborhood of the capital, the gunman burst in shooting just a few hours before the Jewish Sabbath began, declaring "You know who I am," the official recounted.

 The attack came before sundown when the store would have been crowded with shoppers, and Hollande called it "a terrifying anti-Semitic act."

 Coulibaly killed the four people in the market shortly after entering, Molins said.

 Several people wounded in the grocery store were able to flee and get medical care, the official said.

 About 100 students were locked down in nearby schools and the highway ringing Paris was closed.

 The mayor's office also shut down all shops along Rosiers Street in the city's famed Marais neighborhood in the heart of the tourist district. Hours before the Jewish Sabbath, the street is usually crowded with shoppers. The street is also only a kilometer (half-mile) from Charlie Hebdo's offices.

 Charles de Gaulle airport, not far from the standoff in Dammartin-en-Goele, briefly closed two runways to arrivals, and Hollande held a series of crisis meetings with his security team throughout the day.

 Police released a photo of Coulibaly and his wife, Hayat Boumeddiene, described as an accomplice.

 Authorities increasingly grew to see links between the attackers after they discovered that Boumeddiene and the companion of one of the Kouachi brothers had exchanged about 500 phone calls, Molins said.

 He added that several people have been given preliminary charges in the investigation. They include relatives of the three gunmen.

 Minutes before police stormed both sites, Coulibaly had threatened more violence if authorities launched an assault on the two brothers, a police official said. A group of people holed up in the supermarket's freezer — apparently unbeknownst to the gunman.

 BFM also said it spoke with Coulibaly, who said he and the Kouachis were coordinating their actions, and that he was with the militant Islamic State group. The organizations are normally rivals.

 The TV station said Coulibaly didn't hang up properly after the phone call and that this allowed police to hear him saying a final prayer before his death, perhaps suggesting that this prompted the police raid.

 In the final assault, phalanxes of security forces converged on the store entrance behind a flash from a stun grenade — and fired inside. Frenzied civilians — one of them carrying a toddler — scurried out under escort by helmeted police in body armor.

 Police said Coulibaly had been a co-suspect with Cherif Kouachi in a court case involving terrorism that never made it to trial.

 Cherif Kouachi was convicted of terrorism charges in 2008 for ties to a network sending jihadis to fight U.S. forces in Iraq.

 According to a Yemeni security official, Said Kouachi is suspected of having fought for al-Qaida in Yemen. Another senior security official added that Said was in Yemen until 2012.

 Both officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation into Kouachi's stay in Yemen.

 Both brothers were also on the U.S. no-fly list, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss foreign intelligence publicly.

 The attacks in France as well as a hostage siege last month in Sydney and the October killing of a solder near Canada's parliament prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a global travel warning for Americans. It also cites an increased risk of reprisals against U.S. and Western targets for the U.S.-led intervention against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

 Authorities around Europe have warned of the threat posed by the return of Western jihadis trained in warfare. France counts at least 1,200 citizens in the war zone in Syria — headed there, returned or dead. Both the Islamic State group and al-Qaida have threatened France, home to Western Europe's largest Muslim population.

 The publication Charlie Hebdo had long drawn threats for its depictions of Islam, although it also lampooned other religions and political figures. It had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, and a sketch of Islamic State's leader was the last tweet sent by the irreverent newspaper minutes before the attack.

 Eight journalists, two police officers, a maintenance worker and a visitor were killed in the newspaper attack, including the paper's editor. Charlie Hebdo plans a special edition next week, produced in the offices of another paper.

 ___

 Associated Press writers Samuel Petrequin, Sylvie Corbet, Jamey Keaten, John Leicester and Angela Charlton in Paris; Raphael Satter and Trung Latieule in Dammartin-en-Goele, Jill Lawless in London; Eric Tucker in Washington; Ahmed al-Hag in Sanaa, Yemen; Sarah el-Deeb in Cairo contributed to this report. |||||
What is a summary?

– Some intriguing details about the role of cell phones in yesterday's dual raids in France that killed three suspected terrorists: Hidden helper: When Cherif and Said Kouachi holed up in a building outside Paris, they were unaware that a man identified as Lilian Lepere, 26, was hiding inside. He was reportedly under a sink but close enough to hear the brothers talk, and he began texting police information about their whereabouts, his whereabouts, and the building itself, reports Sky News. The dialogue lasted three hours, and a police official says it gave authorities crucial help ahead of the raid, reports the Wall Street Journal. Didn't hang up: The hostage-taker at the kosher market in Paris, Amedy Coulibaly, called a TV station at one point but failed to properly hang up the phone after talking. "This allowed police to hear him saying a final prayer before his death, perhaps suggesting that this prompted the police raid," reports AP. Hostage location: Several people at the market hid in a refrigeration unit, including a father and his toddler-age son. When the man's mother realized they were trapped inside the market, she opted not to call in case they were hidden. Instead, she gave the phone number to police, who were able to track the location of the hostages inside the store, reports AFP. The information may have helped them survive when the raid took place.


– Did you just get caught taking a few minutes to update your fantasy football team or Instagram your lunch? Just tell your boss it's making you a better worker. Two researchers from Baylor University recently published a study after looking at the break habits of 95 workers to identify a better break. "What we found was that a better workday break was not composed of many of the things we believed," researcher Emily Hunter says in a press release. For example, it turns out, midmorning—not afternoon—is the best time for a break. "You should pace yourself, similar to how plants should be watered early in the day before getting distressed from a long day in the sun," Hunter tells the Huffington Post. Second, don't use the time to run errands. Breaks should be composed of an activity you enjoy—even, counterintuitively, if it's work-related. (Like some kind of "passion project," in the words of HuffPo.) Finally, the researchers found frequent, smaller breaks are ideal over a singular, longer break. "Unlike your cellphone, which popular wisdom tells us should be depleted to 0% before you charge it fully to 100%, people instead need to charge more frequently throughout the day," Hunter says. While they didn't identify an ideal break length, the Huffington Post reports previous studies have shown as little as five minutes away from work can improve productivity. By following their advice for better breaks, researchers say employees will experience less mental and physical burnout. (Others say a lunchtime walk will cure your work woes.)

Expand this summary.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 9, 2015) - Most people take breaks during their workdays. Coffee breaks. Lunch breaks. Short chats with coworkers. Maybe late afternoon walks around the building.

 But are they taking the best type of breaks? Breaks that boost energy, concentration and motivation?

 Two Baylor University researchers have published a new empirical study - "Give Me a Better Break: Choosing Workday Break Activities to Maximize Resource Recovery" - in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The research provides a greater understanding of workday breaks and offers suggestions on when, where and how to plan the most beneficial daily escapes from the J-O-B. The research also debunks some common break-time myths.

 Emily Hunter, Ph.D., and Cindy Wu, Ph.D., associate professors of management in Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, surveyed 95 employees (ages 22-67) over a five-day workweek, and each person was asked to document each break they took during that time. Breaks were defined as "any period of time, formal or informal, during the workday in which work-relevant tasks are not required or expected, including but not limited to a break for lunch, coffee, personal email or socializing with coworkers, not including bathroom breaks."

 Hunter and Wu chronicled and analyzed a total of 959 break surveys - an average of two breaks per person per day. They say the results of the study benefit both managers and employees.

 "We took some of our layperson hypotheses about what we believed were helpful in a break and tested those empirically in the best way possible," Hunter said. "This is a strong study design with strong analyses to test those hypotheses. What we found was that a better workday break was not composed of many of the things we believed. "

 Key findings of the study include:

 1. The most beneficial time to take a workday break is mid-morning.

 Hunter and Wu found that rather than the typical culture of working hard all morning only to take a lunch-hour or mid-afternoon break, a respite earlier in the workday replenishes more resources - energy, concentration and motivation.

 "We found that when more hours had elapsed since the beginning of the work shift, fewer resources and more symptoms of poor health were reported after a break," the study says. "Therefore, breaks later in the day seem to be less effective."

 2. "Better breaks" incorporate activities that employees prefer.

 A common belief exists that doing things that are non-work-related are more beneficial, Hunter explained. Based on the study, there was no evidence to prove that non-work-related activities were more beneficial.

 Simply put, preferred break activities are things you choose to do and things you like to do. These could also include work-related tasks.

 "Finding something on your break that you prefer to do - something that's not given to you or assigned to you - are the kinds of activities that are going to make your breaks much more restful, provide better recovery and help you come back to work stronger," Hunter said.

 3. People who take "better breaks" experience better health and increased job satisfaction.

 The employee surveys showed that recovery of resources - energy, concentration and motivation - following a "better break" (earlier in the day, doing things they preferred) led workers to experience less somatic symptoms, including headache, eyestrain and lower back pain after the break.

 These employees also experienced increased job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior as well as a decrease in emotional exhaustion (burnout), the study shows.

 4. Longer breaks are good, but it's beneficial to take frequent short breaks.

 While the study was unable to pinpoint an exact length of time for a better workday break (15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.), the research found that more short breaks were associated with higher resources, suggesting that employees should be encouraged to take more frequent short breaks to facilitate recovery.

 "Unlike your cellphone, which popular wisdom tells us should be depleted to zero percent before you charge it fully to 100 percent, people instead need to charge more frequently throughout the day," Hunter said.

 ###

 ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

 Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.

 ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ||||| g-stockstudio via Getty Images A new study finds that efficient workday breaks can include simply doing something enjoyable.

 ADVERTISEMENT

 Do you count walking to the office bathroom as taking a break? What about keeping one eye on your email while checking the News feed on your cell phone with the other? Or eating a sad-looking salad at your desk for lunch?

 If you answered yes to any of those questions, your workday needs a serious upgrade.

 Many of us don't take any breaks at work -- roughly 80 percent of U.S. employees don't even take a lunch break -- and when we do, we're often going about them the wrong way.

 In a new study, researchers from Baylor University found, our health, productivity and job satisfaction can suffer when we don't make good use of the time we take to step away from work-related activities.

 For the study, researchers asked 95 employees to record all the breaks they took over the course of a workweek, which added up to a total of 959 breaks, or an average of two breaks per person each day.

 These breaks consisted of any period of time during which employees disengaged from work-related tasks, from an hour-long lunch with coworkers to a few minutes spent checking personal email -- they did not, however, include bathroom breaks. Afterwards, the employees were asked questions about their productivity and well-being.

 "We took some of our layperson hypotheses about what we believed were helpful in a break and tested those empirically in the best way possible," Dr. Emily Hunter, one of the study's authors, said in a statement. "What we found was that a better workday break was not composed of many of the things we believed. "

 Contrary to popular belief, you don't necessarily need to go outside or even leave your desk Hunter said.

 Using the responses from the employees the researchers were able to identify which types of breaks tend to leave people feeling the most refreshed -- and it's not necessarily what you might think (or what you're already doing).

 Here are the three best ways to maximize your workday break:

 Take your first one in the morning. While most employees who were part of the study worked through the morning, pausing for breaks at lunch and maybe once again in the afternoon, the researchers found that the later in the day that people took breaks, the more likely they were to report poor focus, fatigue and headaches.

 The best time to take a break is actually mid-morning, before feelings of depletion set in. These early breaks were more effective in replenishing cognitive resources like energy, focus and motivation.

 "You should pace yourself, similar to how plants should be watered early in the day before getting distressed from a long day in the sun," Hunter told The Huffington Post in an email.

 Keep them relatively short, and take them often. Taking more frequent, shorter breaks seemed to be more effective in boosting productivity and warding off fatigue than taking fewer, longer breaks.

 While the researchers weren't able to determine the optimum length of time for a work break, other research has suggested that as little as five minutes can increase energy levels and productivity.

 The idea here is that you're preventing yourself from getting too exhausted, instead of taking time to recover after you've already worn yourself out.

 "Popular wisdom dictates that you should let your cell phone battery deplete to 0% before charging it, but you are not your phone," Hunter said. "Instead, our research finds you should charge yourself more frequently, taking a break from work before your energy depletes to 0%."

 Do something that makes you happy. It doesn't really matter what you do as long as it's something that you truly enjoy doing -- even if it's a work-related passion project. What does that mean? No running errands or paying bills.

 "Preferred activities are more refreshing because they provide a feeling of autonomy and control, they are enjoyable, and they don’t require additional resource expenditure," Hunter said. |||||


Write an article based on this summary:

– Angry streaming customers in Chicago are fighting back against the so-called "Netflix tax," filing a lawsuit against the city last Wednesday that could have national implications, the Daily Dot reports. The plaintiffs—including Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify customers—allege the 9% tax on streaming services (an extension of Chicago's amusement tax) announced in June violates the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which outlaws discrimination against Internet businesses. According to Fortune, the lawsuit claims streaming customers now face a higher tax rate than if they were watching a DVD, going to the theater, or attending a concert. If the suit succeeds, it could hamper local governments' ability to tax Internet services at a time when increased online commerce is shrinking tax revenues around the country. The lawsuit also alleges the streaming tax is essentially a new one, not an extension of the amusement tax as Chicago's city comptroller claimed. New taxes, unlike changes to existing taxes, require a vote of city officials. "If the city wants to tax Internet-based streaming media services, then it should put the measure through the political process and let Chicagoans have their voices heard through the democratic process," an attorney for the plaintiffs says in a press release. The Chicago Tribune reports the city has vowed to fight the lawsuit. The "Netflix tax," part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to make up the city's budget gap through new fees, is set to go into effect in January.

It’s on. Subscribers to popular streaming services, including XBox Live and Spotify, have filed a lawsuit that claims the city of Chicago’s controversial tax policy on digital entertainment is illegal.

 The challenge to the tax policy, filed last week in Cook County state court, is important because it could help define the power of cities and states to tax parts of the internet economy.

 The controversy turns on Chicago’s recent decision to extend its existing 9% “Amusement” levy, which applies to events like shows and baseball games, to a wide range of online services.

 In their court challenge, a group of Chicago residents claim the city comptroller’s decision to apply the Amusement tax to streaming service amounted to a new tax that could only have been imposed by a vote of city officials. They claim they are being harmed since the tax makes them pay more for Amazon Prime (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), Hulu, Xbox Live (MSFT) and Spotify.

 In a claim that may have national significance, the lawsuit also says the Chicago streaming tax violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, which forbids states and cities from imposing discriminatory internet-only taxes. Specifically, the Chicago subscribers claim the tax is illegal because it treats streaming differently from DVD-by-mail services and also imposes a higher rate than various live forms of entertainment.

 The city says it will fight the lawsuit vigorously, according to the Chicago Tribune, which also reports the so-called “Netflix tax” is expected to bring in $12 million annually, and that it is part of a larger attempt by Mayor Rahm Emmanuel to use new fees to close a budget hole.

 The lawsuit, which you can read for yourself below, also comes as more states and cities are looking to tax the cloud to make up for a decline in sales tax revenue. That decline has come about in part because consumers are acquiring a wide variety of goods and services, including media, online rather than in stores.

 While cloud taxes offer the promise of new money for local governments, they are also proving to be a major headache for many businesses, which are unclear of when and how to collect the tax. The confusion could produce additional court challenges, in part because the taxes often affect cloud-based businesses outside of the city or state in question.

 While the Supreme Court requires a “physical nexus” for a local tax to be valid, city and state governments appear to taking a more aggressive approach when it comes to defining that nexus. According to Rebecca Newton-Clarke, a tax expert with Thomson Reuters, the governments are likely to continue pushing the definition of nexus in the absence of further clarification from the Supreme Court.

 In the meantime, consumers in more places are likely to face new fees on their favorite streaming entertainment.

 Chicago Tax Complaint

 If want to learn more about taxes and tech, here is a recent clip of Senator Charles Schumer talking about fixing the tax code:

 Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology. ||||| Streaming-media customers in Chicago filed a lawsuit last week that could have major implications for how cities and states tax Internet services.

 The lawsuit, filed Sept. 9 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, alleges that Chicago's new tax on Internet streaming companies like Netflix and Spotify violated city policy and unfairly punishes them for being customers of those sites. But it also argues that Chicago lacks the authority to tax Internet services at all, a charge that could turn this lawsuit into a national issue.

 Chicago's comptroller on June 9 extended an existing 9-percent tax on "amusement" activities, like sporting events, to streaming services, but postponed implementation of the tax until Jan. 1 to help companies prepare for it.

 The plaintiffs argued in their lawsuit that Chicago's "amusement" tax did not "authorize a tax on video services streamed from the Internet, which may be provided anywhere, to customers with residency or billing address in the City of Chicago who might use those services, partially or entirely, outside of the City."

 There is also the question of whether Chicago's tax comports with the Internet Tax Freedom Act. That law, amended in 2014 to ban "discriminatory" online taxes, could prevent Chicago from taxing Netflix's streaming service but not its original video-by-mail service.

 "The Amusement Tax," according to the lawsuit, "also unlawfully discriminates against electronic commerce because it imposes a higher tax rate on theatrical, musical, and cultural performances that are delivered through an online streaming service than it imposes on those same performances if they are consumed in person."

 If the Illinois state court agrees with the plaintiffs, it could set a major precedent for local taxation of Internet companies.

 The lawsuit's other major charge is that the city illegally implemented the tax through a decision of its Finance Department instead of submitting the policy change to a city council vote. "The Municipal Code," the lawsuit said, "does not ... authorize the Comptroller to impose new taxes that the City Council has not authorized through a city ordinance."

 The lawsuit also suggested that the new streaming tax "injures the Plaintiffs because their costs for these services have increased, or will imminently increase, by 9 percent."

 Among the plaintiffs are subscribers to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, Xbox Live, and Hulu. The lawsuit alleged that most of these customers were harmed simply by having to pay a higher subscription cost. In the case of the Amazon Prime subscribers—whose subscriptions cover not only streaming media but also faster shipping and other perks—the complaint went further:

 [T]hey must pay the tax on Internet-based video and music services portion of the price of their membership, but if Amazon does not separate the price of these services from its non-taxable services, then they must paid the Amusement Tax on the full price of their Amazon Prime membership, either of which will increase the cost of subscribing to Amazon Prime

 The lawsuit also took special note of Xbox Live, which provides access to services related to gaming, communication, cloud storage, and broadcasting, none of which, it said, fit within the language of the "amusement" tax.

 H/T Fortune | Photo via Philip Taylor/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) ||||| Chicago's move to extend its taxing power to Internet streaming services like Netflix and Spotify has been challenged in court by a group that argues the city didn't have the authority to create what amounts to new taxes.

 In a lawsuit filed this week in Cook County Circuit Court, the nonprofit Liberty Justice Center says the city Finance Department's rulings in June extending two taxes were illegal.

 The department posted letters online announcing that the city was extending the 9 percent amusement tax to include paid subscriptions for streamed digital music, rental movies, TV shows and games, and also extending the personal property lease transaction tax to professional services like electronic property databases used by real estate agents.

 The ruling applied the new standards to subscribers with Chicago addresses, and city officials said they expected the changes to bring in about $12 million annually in the latest example of Mayor Rahm Emanuel boosting various smaller fees and fines to try to help close the city's gaping budget hole.

 The lawsuit argues that aldermen should have gotten to vote on the changes.

 "The Comptroller has exceeded his authority under the ordinance by issuing a rule that imposes a new tax that the City Council did not authorize in enacting the Amusement Tax," the suit reads.

 "No aldermen voted on this tax. It never went before the Chicago City Council, which makes the so-called 'Netflix tax' an illegal tax," Jeffrey Schwab, an attorney with the Liberty Justice Center, said in a news release Thursday. "If the city wants to tax Internet-based streaming media services, then it should put the measure through the political process, and let Chicagoans have their voices heard through the democratic process."

 The suit also argues that the levies violate the federal Internet Freedom Tax Act because they tax some Internet-based streaming media at a higher rate than similar services not delivered via the Internet.

 The city's Law Department released a statement saying it intends to vigorously fight the lawsuit.

 "The City has not yet seen the complaint, but we are confident that the ruling is a valid application of the existing Amusement Tax," department spokesman John Holden said in an emailed statement.

 Emanuel has turned repeatedly to increasing smaller taxes and fees to help fill the city's coffers.

 In May he introduced a plan to require off-site parking companies at Chicago's airports to share their revenue with the city in exchange for pickup privileges at O'Hare and Midway airports.

 The mayor also has raised fees for parking at downtown garages and cable TV and telephone line 911 service taxes, among others.

 jebyrne@tribpub.com

 Twitter @_johnbyrne |||||


News article:

CAIRO/ISMAILIA, Egypt Five people were shot dead in the Egyptian city of Suez during nationwide protests against President Mohamed Mursi on Friday, the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

 One of the dead was a member of the security forces, medics said. Another 280 civilians and 55 security personnel were injured, officials said, in demonstrations fuelled by anger at the president and his Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood.

 Thousands of opponents of Mursi massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square - the cradle of the revolt against Mubarak - to rekindle the demands of a revolution they say has been hijacked by Islamists who have betrayed its goals.

 Street battles erupted in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Port Said. Arsonists attacked at least two state-owned buildings as symbols of government were targeted. An office used by the Muslim Brotherhood's political party was also torched.

 The January 25 anniversary laid bare the divide between the Islamists and their secular rivals.

 This schism is hindering the efforts of Mursi, elected in June, to revive an economy in crisis and reverse a plunge in Egypt's currency by enticing back investors and tourists.

 Inspired by the popular uprising in Tunisia, Egypt's revolution spurred further revolts across the Arab world. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians two years ago has given way to internal strife that had already triggered bloody street battles last month.

 "Our revolution is continuing. We reject the domination of any party over this state. We say no to the Brotherhood state," Hamdeen Sabahy, a popular leftist leader, told Reuters.

 The Brotherhood decided against mobilizing for the anniversary, wary of the scope for more conflict after December's violence, stoked by Mursi's decision to fast-track an Islamist-tinged constitution rejected by his opponents.

 The Brotherhood denies accusations that it is seeking to dominate Egypt, labeling them a smear campaign by its rivals.

 DEATH IN SUEZ

 There were conflicting accounts of the lethal shooting in Suez. Some witnesses said security forces had opened fire in response to gunfire from masked men.

 News of the deaths capped a day of violence which started in the early hours. Before dawn in Cairo, police battled protesters who threw petrol bombs and firecrackers as they approached a wall blocking access to government buildings near Tahrir Square.

 Clouds of tear gas filled the air. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by youths, a Reuters witness said.

 Skirmishes between stone-throwing youths and the police continued in streets around the square into the day. Ambulances ferried away a steady stream of casualties.

 Protesters echoed the chants of 2011's historic 18-day uprising. "The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted. "Leave! Leave! Leave!" chanted others as they marched towards the square.

 "We are not here to celebrate but to force those in power to submit to the will of the people. Egypt now must never be like Egypt during Mubarak's rule," said Mohamed Fahmy, an activist.

 There were similar scenes in Suez and Alexandria, where protesters and riot police clashed near local government offices. Black smoke billowed from tires set ablaze by youths.

 In Cairo, police fired tear gas to disperse a few dozen protesters trying to remove barbed-wire barriers protecting the presidential palace, witnesses said. A few masked men got as far as the gates before they were beaten back.

 Tear gas was also fired at protesters who tried to remove metal barriers outside the state television building.

 Outside Cairo, protesters broke into the offices of provincial governors in Ismailia and Kafr el-Sheikh in the Nile Delta. A local government building was torched in the Nile Delta city of al-Mahalla al-Kubra.

 BADIE CALLS FOR "PRACTICAL, SERIOUS COMPETITION"

 With an eye on parliamentary elections likely to begin in April, the Brotherhood marked the anniversary with a charity drive across the nation. It plans to deliver medical aid to one million people and distribute affordable basic foodstuffs.

 Writing in Al-Ahram, Egypt's flagship state-run daily, Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie said the country was in need of "practical, serious competition" to reform the corrupt state left by the Mubarak era.

 "The differences of opinion and vision that Egypt is passing through is a characteristic at the core of transitions from dictatorship to democracy, and clearly expresses the variety of Egyptian culture," he wrote.

 Mursi's opponents say he and his group are seeking to dominate the post-Mubarak order. They accuse him of showing some of the autocratic impulses of the deposed leader by, for example, driving through the new constitution last month.

 "I am taking part in today's marches to reject the warped constitution, the 'Brotherhoodisation' of the state, the attack on the rule of law, and the disregard of the president and his government for the demands for social justice," Amr Hamzawy, a prominent liberal politician, wrote on his Twitter feed.

 The Brotherhood says its rivals are failing to respect the rules of the new democracy that put the Islamists in the driving seat via free elections.

 Six months into office, Mursi is also being held responsible for an economic crisis caused by two years of turmoil. The Egyptian pound has sunk to record lows against the dollar.

 The parties that called for Friday's protests list demands including a complete overhaul of the constitution.

 Critics say the constitution, which was approved in a referendum, offers inadequate protection for human rights, grants the president too many privileges and fails to curb the power of a military establishment supreme in the Mubarak era.

 Mursi's supporters say enacting the constitution quickly was crucial to restoring stability needed for economic recovery.

 (Additional reporting by Ahmed el-Shemi, Ashraf Fahim, Marwa Awad, Shaimaa Fayed and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo and Abdel Rahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Robert Woodward) ||||| FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 file photo, A supporter of President Hosni Mubarak, on camel, fights with anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo, Egypt. More Arabs are politically engaged than ever before,... (Associated Press)

 Egyptian opposition protesters are gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square to mark the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's autocratic regime.

 The protesters, mostly led by liberals and secularists, are using the anniversary to stage a show of strength in a bid to force President Mohammed Morsi to amend a disputed constitution drafted by his Islamist allies. They are also demanding freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary.

 Hundreds of thousands are expected to turn out for the rallies planned in Cairo and several major cities. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups are staying off the streets to avoid clashes.

 Friday's rallies come a day after opposition protesters battled police for hours near Tahrir. The clashes injured scores of opposition protesters. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Two years after protests began in Cairo that would lead to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, protesters are once again gathering in Tahrir Square, reports the AP. Led by liberals and secularists, the protesters are now demonstrating against President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, which they accuse of threatening Egypt's young democracy. Hundreds of thousands are expected to march in protests across Egypt today. Police and protesters clashed yesterday and early this morning in Cairo, with demonstrators throwing Molotov cocktails and firecrackers and police responding with tear gas, reports Reuters. Egyptian officials said 25 people had been hurt since fighting flared yesterday. The Muslim Brotherhood says it will not stage counterprotests in order to avoid increasing the unrest.


Article:

As Hurricane Irene swung north Thursday, putting the Washington region in its sights, Maryland and Virginia declared a state of emergency and Sunday’s dedication of the memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was postponed.

 Organizers said the event will be rescheduled for September or October. The memorial, the first on the Mall honoring an African American, has been a quarter-century in the making, but safety trumped ceremony.

 Hurricane Irene was forecast to sweep over the Outer Banks of North Carolina overnight Friday and advance into the Washington area with a vanguard of showers beginning Saturday afternoon.

 Early Friday morning, the National Weather Service upgraded the Tropical Storm Watch issued for much of the D.C. area to a Tropical Storm Warning. Meanwhile, Irene weakened slightly to a Category 2 storm as it approached the East Coast, where a hurricane warning was also extended to New Jersey.

 If the hurricane stays on track, the worst of Irene will arrive in Virginia, Maryland and the District later Saturday and into Sunday morning. Late-summer vacationers evacuated Atlantic coast beaches, which are expected to be hit hardest before the storm wallops New England.

 The intensity of the storm and the shift in the forecast track farther to the west prompted the decision to delay the memorial dedication, said Harry E. Johnson Sr., chief executive of the memorial project foundation.

 “I’m disappointed and hurt, really,” Johnson said. “But the memorial is going to be there forever.”

 Johnson said the change might allow those who planned to travel to stay home and for those in Washington to leave ahead of the storm.

 Governors along the coast, including those in Virginia and Maryland, declared states of emergency Thursday, and thousands of weekend events were canceled.

 “This is a large, this is a deadly, this is a slow-moving hurricane that is bearing down on the state of Maryland,” Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said in declaring an emergency. “There will no doubt be a lot of flooding. Citizens should anticipate long periods of electrical outages.”

 A significant storm surge is expected to flood coastal areas, and wind-driven flooding may occur along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The worst of the weather is likely to be east of the Interstate 95 corridor, which may get four to six inches of rain, prolonged winds of 50 to 70 mph, and gusts of 90 to 100 mph, according to meteorologists with The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.

 Amtrak canceled train departures from Southeastern states and curtailed some service in the Northeast. Airports said they expected flight delays and cancellations through the weekend, with many airlines allowing fliers to change their plans without penalty.

 An endless stream of vacationers rolled across the bridge out of Ocean City, on Thursday evening, and homeowners rushed in the opposite direction to board up their rental properties. Ocean City was one of many resort areas where evacuation was mandatory.

 Colleges on the verge of opening for the fall semester warned students to delay their arrival, and the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg told its students to go home.

 Three other schools — the University of Maryland, George Washington University and Catholic University — said they would open their dormitories a day early, on Friday, so that students could get settled before the storm hit. George Mason University said it would implement a flexible move-in schedule.

 In New York, the Associated Press reported that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) said officials expect to shut down the city’s transit system Saturday afternoon ahead of the hurricane, which is forecast to strike eastern Queens.

 After passing over the Bahamas on Thursday, the storm first fell on the U.S. coast in Florida, where its outermost bands swept in with bursts of wind and rain and a driving riptide.

 The exodus from the Outer Banks began early Thursday after an evacuation order Wednesday night. Traffic on Route 168 crawled as lines of sport-utility vehicles with surfboards and fishing rods mounted on their roofs headed north from the barrier islands.

 “My aunt and uncle are used to storms, but they got a bit worried about this one,” said Melissa Wallace of St. Louis, who had been vacationing at their Cape Hatteras beach house. “We just thought better safe than sorry.”

 In the Washington region, there were warnings that people should be prepared for power outages as toppling trees take down electrical lines. Road crews were on alert to clear fallen trees and other wind-driven debris from highways.

 More than 2,000 sandbags were being placed at Metro stations where water tends to come up over the curbs and flow down escalators. Metro crews also checked drains in tunnels, and some vehicles assigned to Metro supervisors were being equipped with chain saws to keep the transit system moving. The District and Alexandria offered free sandbags to residents.

 O’Malley said the mandatory evacuation of Ocean City underscored the seriousness of the storm. “This is not a time to get out the camera and sit on the beach and take pictures of the waves,” he said.

 Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) authorized local officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders.

 “I reserve the right to direct and compel evacuation from the same and different areas and determine a different timetable both where local governing bodies have made such a determination and where local governing bodies have not made such a determination,” McDonnell said in a statement.

 Pepco urged customers who need power for critical medical equipment to review emergency plans and be prepared for extended power outages. Dominion Virginia Power and BGE said repair crews were preparing for emergency restoration work over the next several days. Extra crews from other states were headed to the region to assist with recovery.

 “This storm has serious potential to cause widespread damage,” said Rodney Blevins, Dominion’s vice president. “We are geared up to handle any situation as quickly and safely as possible. We are treating Hurricane Irene seriously, and we urge our customers to monitor local weather forecasts for changing conditions in order to remain safe.”

 Staff writers Shyamantha Asokan, Dana Hedgpeth, Jenna Johnson, Anita Kumar, Michael E. Ruane and John Wagner contributed to this report. ||||| NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City residents who live in low-lying areas should start moving out on Friday, before Hurricane Irene is expected to hit, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday.

 Otherwise, they risk getting stuck because the mass transit system that millions of New Yorkers rely on might have to be shut down on Saturday, he told reporters.

 (Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by Jan Paschal) ||||| The exodus from the North Carolina coast has begun and tonight it is a slow motion, bumper to bumper march inland as tens of thousands heed warnings to get out of the way of Hurricane Irene.

 Gas stations are running out, ATM's are out of cash and one woman was out of a very special night.

 Melissa Cook was supposed to get married this weekend.

 "The TV showed the mandatory evacuation and I burst into tears," Cook said. "Everything I had planned and dreamed about."

 Hurricane Irene's wave of disappointment also affected beach goers in South Carolina. Police closed the beaches to swimming after six swimmers were rescued from rip currents caused by the massive storm.

 As Irene -- a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds -- blasted through the Bahamas, the U.S. began bracing for the storm's worst.

 To See Irene's Expected Path Over East Coast, Click Here

 Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, under President Obama's direction, contacted East Coast mayors and governors potentially in Irene's path. Later, she and FEMA director Craig Fugate later held a conference call with state, local, and tribal officials on planning for the storm.

 "Given the unpredictability of these storms, we are currently planning for several scenarios, including potential impacts to major metro areas and critical infrastructure," Napolitano said in a Department of Homeland Security news release.

 Evacuation orders were issued along the coast of North Carolina today in Dare, Currituck and Cateret counties. There are 180,000 people just in Dare County and another 150,000 people were told to get out of Ocean City, Md.

 "This is a very, very serious situation," said Dorothy Toolan, public information officer for Dare County, N.C. "We have not seen anything like this in the lifetimes of most our residents...Once the storm hits it will be very difficult to respond to distress calls."

 Not everyone was heading out of town. The parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Moorehead City in Cateret County was filled with people stocking up on supplies to ride out the storm.

 "I've lived through hurricanes all my life, and I've only run from one," said a man who identified himself simply as George. "Unless it's a (category) 4 or 5 coming straight at me, I'm not leaving."

 "I'm going to sit at home, watch television and play on my computer. I'm not worried about this thing," George said.

 In Florida, at least 8 people were hurt after a wave knocked them over on the jerry they were on off Boynton Beach Inlet, The Associated Press reported.

 Others were taking no chances. A state of emergency was declared in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

 New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg said police are deploying more than 80 boats around the city as well as several helicopters to prepare for emergencies. City hospitals have tested their emergency generators, and the city's airports are stockpiling diapers, cots, blankets, pillow and bottles of water.

 Fearing Irene's wrath, Amtrak announced it is canceling all train service south of Washington D.C. for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 Irene is traveling at 12 mph, making it a slow moving storm which will allow it to hover over an area and area to dump rain and batter it with ferocious winds for an expended period. ||||| After passing over the Bahamas on Thursday, the storm first fell on the U.S. coast in Florida, where its outermost bands swept in with bursts of wind and rain and a driving riptide.

 The exodus from the Outer Banks began early Thursday after an evacuation order Wednesday night. Traffic on Route 168 crawled as lines of sport-utility vehicles with surfboards and fishing rods mounted on their roofs headed north from the barrier islands.

 “My aunt and uncle are used to storms, but they got a bit worried about this one,” said Melissa Wallace of St. Louis, who had been vacationing at their Cape Hatteras beach house. “We just thought better safe than sorry.”

 In the Washington region, there were warnings that people should be prepared for power outages as toppling trees take down electrical lines. Road crews were on alert to clear fallen trees and other wind-driven debris from highways.

 More than 2,000 sandbags were being placed at Metro stations where water tends to come up over the curbs and flow down escalators. Metro crews also checked drains in tunnels, and some vehicles assigned to Metro supervisors were being equipped with chain saws to keep the transit system moving. The District and Alexandria offered free sandbags to residents.

 O’Malley said the mandatory evacuation of Ocean City underscored the seriousness of the storm. “This is not a time to get out the camera and sit on the beach and take pictures of the waves,” he said.

 Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) authorized local officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders.

 “I reserve the right to direct and compel evacuation from the same and different areas and determine a different timetable both where local governing bodies have made such a determination and where local governing bodies have not made such a determination,” McDonnell said in a statement.

 Pepco urged customers who need power for critical medical equipment to review emergency plans and be prepared for extended power outages. Dominion Virginia Power and BGE said repair crews were preparing for emergency restoration work over the next several days. Extra crews from other states were headed to the region to assist with recovery.

 “This storm has serious potential to cause widespread damage,” said Rodney Blevins, Dominion’s vice president. “We are geared up to handle any situation as quickly and safely as possible. We are treating Hurricane Irene seriously, and we urge our customers to monitor local weather forecasts for changing conditions in order to remain safe.”

 Staff writers Shyamantha Asokan, Dana Hedgpeth, Jenna Johnson, Anita Kumar, Michael E. Ruane and John Wagner contributed to this report. ||||| Hurricane Irene is forecast to turn north into the U.S. on a path similar to 1985’s Hurricane Gloria, threatening as much as $13.9 billion in insured losses and possibly forcing the evacuation of parts of New York City, officials and forecasters said.

 Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a decision on evacuations would be made tomorrow for residents in areas including Coney Island, Battery Park City and parts of Staten Island.

 Irene, a Category 3 major hurricane, is expected to grow larger as it moves toward North Carolina’s Outer Banks this weekend before crashing into the Northeast as early as Aug. 28, according to the National Hurricane Center track projection. The storm is 105 miles (169 kilometers) east-northeast of Nassau, the Bahamas.

 “This track is eerily similar to Gloria,” said Chris Hyde, a meteorologist with MDA EarthSat Weather in Gaithersburg, Maryland. “Millions are potentially going to be losing power from North Carolina all the way up to New England.”

 Irene may cause $13.9 billion in insured losses and $20 billion in overall economic losses due to lost hours at work, power outages, interruption of shipping and airline traffic, according to estimates by Kinetic Analysis Corp.

 Gloria killed 11 people, the hurricane center said. It caused $900 million in damage, said Weather Underground Inc.

 Population Threat

 More than 65 million people, or about one in five Americans, from North Carolina to Maine, are in the way of the hurricane, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

 Mayor Bloomberg said at a press conference the city is expecting “winds of 60 mph or more” and the storm may be “possibly as strong as a Category 2 on Long Island.” The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared an emergency there and urged people to leave the shore by midday tomorrow. North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue declared a state of emergency for counties east of Interstate 95.

 A Category 2 storm has winds of at least 96 mph, and poorly constructed homes are at risk for losing their roofs, high-rise windows can be broken and many shallow-rooted trees will be snapped off or pulled from the ground, according to the National Hurricane Center.

 “No matter which way you slice it, there’s probably going to be hurricane-force winds in New York,” said Eric Wilhelm, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.

 Forecast Track

 Small fluctuations in the track, which currently passes directly over Queens, could mean much greater damage to the city from storm surge, Wilhelm said.

 Irene is expected to strengthen later today, the hurricane center said, and could become a Category 4 storm on the five- step Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, bearing winds of at least 131 mph.

 “The hurricane will affect millions and cost billions,” Wilhelm said. “This will be remembered as a Northeast hurricane and not a North Carolina hurricane.”

 A hurricane watch is in force from Surf City, North Carolina, to the Virginia line, according to the center. A tropical storm watch is in effect from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Surf City. A watch means storm conditions are likely to begin in two days.

 Governor’s Warning

 North Carolina’s Perdue told reporters today she was “dismayed that many of the ferries were still empty” at Ocracoke Island, which is evacuating tourists. “We are asking people all over eastern North Carolina to take this storm very seriously,” she said.

 The U.S. Navy moved 64 ships away from Norfolk, Virginia, to keep them from being damaged by the storm, the Associated Press reported.

 The dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall in Washington on Aug. 28, at which President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak, is still on schedule.

 Residents along the coast north of the Carolinas will “experience a raging hurricane,” said Jim Dale, a risk meteorologist with High Wycombe, England-based British Weather Services. “They will see 70-100 miles-per-hour winds and also copious amounts of rain. Flooding and storm damage from wind is inevitable.”

 Bahamas Impact

 Irene is ripping through the Bahamas with winds of 115 miles per hour, damaging homes, felling trees and triggering flooding, according to the Bahamas Emergency Management Agency.

 The U.S. center warned the Bahamas would experience storm surges of as much as 11 feet above sea level and that up to 12 inches of rain may fall. Irene’s hurricane-strength winds of at least 74 mph extend 70 miles from its core, and tropical-storm- strength winds reach out 290 miles.

 The last hurricane to strike the U.S. was Ike in 2008, a Category 2 storm when it went ashore near Galveston, Texas. The most recent major hurricane, one with winds of at least 111 mph, was Wilma in 2005.

 Farther east in the Atlantic, Tropical Depression 10 probably will be upgraded to a tropical storm today, the center said. The next tropical storm will be named Jose.

 The system is about 505 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and moving west-northwest across open waters at 12 mph, the Miami-based center said.

 To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net.

 To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Banker at bbanker@bloomberg.net ||||| As massive Hurricane Irene advanced toward the Eastern Seaboard with 115-mph winds, officials issued a hurricane warning for the entire North Carolina coast to the Virginia border, New York ordered low-lying hospitals and nursing homes to evacuate, and at least seven states declared emergencies.If Irene follows its current projected path, it will make landfall along North Carolina's Outer Banks on Saturday. The Category 3 storm withdrew from the Bahamas late Thursday, traveling north at 14 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.Although North Carolina will take the first blow, "The rest of the Eastern Seaboard is well within the path of this storm," National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said.North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Connecticut declared states of emergency."This could be a 100-year event," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said.runtime:topic id="PLGEO100100804000000">New York City officials said they might have to suspend all mass transit beginning Saturday.In addition to ordering nursing homes and hospitals in low-lying coastal areas to evacuate ahead of possible flooding, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg advised residents to stay out of parks."Because of the high winds that will accompany the storm, we are also urging all New Yorkers, for their own safety, to stay out of parks, where the high winds will increase the danger of downed trees and limbs," Bloomberg said. "And incidentally, it's a good idea to stay out of your own backyard if you have trees there."Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial postponed it indefinitely.The hurricane center warned of tidal surges 5 to 10 feet high in North Carolina, accompanied by "destructive and life-threatening waves." Projections show Irene making landfall between Morehead City, N.C., and Cape Hatteras before pushing north. Irene could inundate the state's coastal areas with 6 to 10 inches of rain, and up to 15 inches in some locations, forecasters said.More than 50 million people live in the projected path of the storm. Some forecasters have said Irene has an outside chance of growing into a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds topping 130 mph. But current forecasts predict it will diminish to Category 2 after pummeling North Carolina, with sustained winds up to 110 mph as it plows into Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue declared an emergency in all counties east of Interstate 95, about a quarter of the state, and officials set up emergency shelters inland. President Obama declared North Carolina an emergency too, expediting federal help.The Federal Emergency Management Agency established a depot for food, water, generators, baby formula and other emergency supplies at Ft. Bragg, N.C., as well as at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts.Cars loaded with coolers and surfboards fled the Outer Banks on Thursday, as people heeded orders to leave the exposed barrier islands. Tourists' vehicles clogged the main highway north to Virginia, and traffic on roads leading inland grew heavier as the day wore on.Up to 200,000 tourists and residents are affected by evacuation orders in North Carolina alone, with states to the north rushing to prepare their own evacuation plans. Forecasters said Irene was so big and powerful that severe road flooding and widespread electrical outages were likely, especially in the Northeast, where the ground is saturated from recent rains."This is a very dangerous storm," said Dorothy Toolan of the Dare County Emergency Management office in Manteo, N.C., across the Roanoke Sound from Nags Head . "People really need to take this seriously."Irene would be the first hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Ike devastated the Texas coast in 2008.Facing a two-hour delay on the highway north to their home in Virginia, sisters Susan Wright and Beth Edwards decided to stick around and enjoy a final day in the sun and sand in Nags Head — complete with mimosa cocktails. They had planned a weeklong vacation with their husbands and other friends and family at a $4,000-a-week beach house, only to be hit with a mandatory evacuation order. |||||
What is a summary?

– Frightened North Carolinians fleeing Irene are jamming highways as the East Coast steels for what could be the biggest hurricane in decades. At least seven states have now declared a state of emergency, and hundreds of flights are being canceled. Gas stations are running out of fuel and ATMs have been emptied of cash as Americans hit the road for a bumper-to-bumper trip out of Irene's angry path. The Category 3 storm is expected to hit the Southeast sometime tomorrow, and hundreds of thousands of residents have been ordered out of their homes in three North Carolina counties. Norfolk, Va., is also ordering residents to evacuate, and Washington, DC, has been forced to postpone Sunday's planned MLK Memorial dedication. "This is a very, very serious situation," a spokeswoman for Dare County told ABC News. "We have not seen anything like this in the lifetimes of most our residents. Once the storm hits, it will be very difficult to respond to distress calls." Irene is some 700 miles wide now and moving at a slow 12mph, which means it can wreak extensive damage in a region over a long period of time; it could cause up to $13.9 billion in damage on the East Coast. The storm is expected to barrel into New York City on Sunday, packing winds of up to 90mph. New Jersey communities are already being evacuated, and hundreds of street fairs have been canceled and elder care facilities and hospitals in low-lying area will be evacuated in New York today. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg says residents in low-lying parts of the city should get out today as the transit system is planned to be shut down tomorrow.


SEATTLE — A plan by Facebook to acquire a broad range of patents through a deal with Microsoft is on its surface yet another twist in the battles over intellectual property engulfing the tech business.

 But the subtext of the deal is a different story, showing how two of technology’s most powerful players are teaming up to create a greater balance of power on the Internet — a market that has been tilted decisively in favor of one company, Google, for years.

 “This is almost certainly a move against Google,” said Rebecca Lieb, an analyst at Altimeter Group, a research firm.

 The agreement between Microsoft and Facebook, announced on Monday, came less than two weeks after Microsoft agreed to pay more than $1 billion for 925 patents held by AOL. In a second deal, Microsoft said it had turned around and sold 70 percent of those same patents — about 650 in all — to Facebook for $550 million in cash, along with rights to 275 AOL patents Microsoft plans to retain.

 While Facebook and Microsoft have not yet determined precisely how they are going to divvy up the patents, it is expected that Facebook will end up with a range of patents involving mobile, Web and instant messaging technologies.

 Microsoft is likely to keep AOL patents involving search, among other things.

 The arrangement will help Facebook bulk up its intellectual property portfolio before its initial public offering, which is expected next month, and it is a further sign of the growing importance of stockpiling patents in the arsenal of any big technology company.

 “This is another significant step in our ongoing process of building an intellectual property portfolio to protect Facebook’s interests over the long term,” Ted Ullyot, general counsel of Facebook, said in a statement.

 The deal could also give Facebook additional ammunition in its escalating patent feud with Yahoo.

 Yahoo sued Facebook earlier this year, claiming violations of Yahoo patents, many related to online advertising. Facebook subsequently countersued Yahoo, in a pattern that is playing out again and again in different parts of the technology business, especially the mobile phone market.

 But in large part the deal is evidence of how Microsoft and Facebook have gravitated ever closer to each other in part because of a common enemy, Google.

 Google has menaced Microsoft’s business on a number of fronts, including with free online Google applications that compete with Microsoft Office and with Android, a mobile operating system that competes with Microsoft’s Windows Phone software.

 As Facebook has evolved into a Web behemoth, with 900 million active monthly users, Google has become increasingly focused on tamping down the challenge to its business from the social network, introducing Google Plus, a rival social service. Google’s big concern is that the bounty of data Facebook has about its users, including their tastes and friend connections, will turn it into a serious rival for online advertising dollars.

 There is also wide speculation that Facebook will start its own Internet search engine to rival Google.

 “Microsoft is simply less concerned about the threat of social to its business than Google is,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner, a research firm, explaining why Microsoft is not concerned about competition with Facebook.

 “This may be a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” he added.

 Jim Prosser, a Google spokesman, declined to comment.

 Microsoft has spent the last several years forging deeper connections with Facebook at every turn. Long stymied in its efforts to create an Internet search engine that effectively competed against Google, Microsoft two years ago struck a deal with Facebook to use data from the social network in Microsoft’s Bing search engine to create more relevant search results. But the arrangement has not helped dislodge Google from its position of supremacy in Internet search.

 Years before that, Microsoft tried to acquire Facebook, but the social network’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, rebuffed the offer. Those conversations subsequently led to Microsoft’s taking a small stake in Facebook, from which it stands to profit handsomely after the company goes public.

 In March, Google accounted for 66.4 percent of Internet searches in the United States, unchanged from the same month a year earlier, while Microsoft was in second place with 15.3 percent of the market, according to comScore.

 Microsoft’s Bing search engine also supplies search results for Yahoo, which accounted for 13.7 percent of the search market during March.

 Microsoft has continued to lose money on Bing, including more than $2.6 billion in operating losses for its online division during its last fiscal year.

 Some executives within Microsoft have advocated selling Bing to another company, with the idea that a company better focused on the Internet market could pose a more credible challenge to Google, according to severalpeople with knowledge of the discussions who didn’t want to be identified talking about internal deliberations.

 Over a year ago, Microsoft executives sent out feelers to Facebook to see if the company would be interested in acquiring Bing, though the overture was not officially sanctioned by Steven A. Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, one of these people said.

 Mr. Zuckerberg declined, saying Facebook had too much else to concentrate on. Dawn Beauparlant, a spokeswoman for Microsoft, declined to comment, as did Ashley Zandy, a spokeswoman for Facebook.

 In its original patent deal with AOL, Microsoft either bought or won the ability to assign about 925 patents and patent applications, along with a license to several hundred other patents AOL did not sell as part of an auction of its intellectual property.

 If the deal announced Monday clears regulatory scrutiny, Microsoft would still own about 275 AOL patents and retain a license to the 650 patents that Facebook will own. In addition, Microsoft is granting Facebook a license to the 275 AOL patents that it is keeping.

 Yahoo’s legal attack on Facebook came at a sensitive time, as the company nears an expected initial public offering.

 In a statement, Yahoo said the deal with Microsoft will not deter its lawsuit against Facebook.

 “Nothing about today’s action changes the fact that Facebook continues to infringe our patents,” Yahoo said in the statement. “Companies who purchase patents are often working from a position of weakness and take these actions to strengthen their portfolio. We see today’s announcement as a validation of our case against Facebook.”

 The deal with Facebook puts Microsoft in an awkward position since it could help strengthen one close partner at the expense of another, Yahoo.

 “We are very sensitive to the importance of our relationship with both Facebook and Yahoo,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel said in an interview. “We have enormous respect for the value of the Yahoo patent portfolio. Yahoo has been an important innovator in the Internet space.” ||||| Summary: Facebook is acquiring the majority of the patents Microsoft just acquired from AOL. Facebook will thus soon own over 1,000 patents. This deal is really all about another company: Yahoo.

 Update - Yahoo: Facebook’s AOL patent deal with Microsoft show it is weak

 As expected, Facebook and Microsoft today announced Menlo Park will pay Redmond $550 million for a portion of the 925 U.S. patents and patent applications it recently acquired from AOL for $1.056 billion. Microsoft will assign to Facebook the right to purchase 650 patents and patent applications of the total, plus a license to the AOL patents and applications that Microsoft will purchase and own. The news was broken by Bloomberg, which was subsequently followed by a press release sent out by both Facebook and Microsoft.

 I say "as expected" because I wrote the following just a few days ago:

 Here's the interesting part. Microsoft reportedly intends to sell most of the newly acquired portfolio because it doesn't consider all of the 800 patents valuable to its patent portfolio. In other words, Facebook could still get some of the patents it was after. After all, the two companies are more friends than enemies.

 While the 800 estimate is no longer valid, everything else is. Microsoft will retain ownership of approximately 275 AOL patents and applications, a license to the approximately 650 AOL patents and applications that will now be owned by Facebook, and a license to approximately 300 patents that AOL did not sell in its auction.

 Facebook will meanwhile get the 650 patents or so that it was after. Facebook will not, however, get a license to the 300 patents AOL still retains and which Microsoft has licensed. To license those 300 patents, Facebook will have to go directly to AOL. If it's interested, Facebook will do just that.

 "Today's agreement with Microsoft represents an important acquisition for Facebook," Ted Ullyot, general counsel at Facebook, said in a statement. "This is another significant step in our ongoing process of building an intellectual property portfolio to protect Facebook's interests over the long term."

 So, what does this mean? Well, first of all I can update the number of patents that Facebook will soon own to over 1,000. Late last month, I counted Facebook owned some 812 patents. With this Microsoft deal, Facebook has almost doubled that number.

 More importantly though, these patents will likely end up being a big part of the social networking giant's current and future patent lawsuits. Facebook has been slowly looking to beef up its patent portfolio, but with public companies like Yahoo and Mitel targeting it for patent infringement, Menlo Park has stepped up its game.

 I don't believe it's a coincidence that AOL and Yahoo are such similar companies. Both are/were online giants, and both have been superseded by Facebook. There is no doubt in my mind that this is exactly why Facebook is so interested in AOL's patents: a lot of them cover technologies that Facebook uses, and the rest likely cover technologies used by companies that want to sue or are already suing Facebook.

 As such, I believe Facebook's lawyers are already going through the patents and deciding which ones will be most useful in helping the social networking giant fight back against patent trolls. This is the main reason Facebook is buying these patents from Microsoft.

 Facebook's most recent patent purchase was some 750 patents from IBM. Soon Facebook will own 650 more AOL patents, and it's all thanks to Microsoft.

 Speaking of which, in a post last month ("Should Microsoft save Facebook from Yahoo?) I said Microsoft would not directly help Facebook:

 Microsoft and Yahoo have a patent sharing deal through their 2009 search agreement, which has been extended till 2013. There may not be anything legally stopping Microsoft from helping Facebook, but the software giant's partnership with Yahoo is no joke. Microsoft cares about growing Bing, and it needs Yahoo to fight Google. Of course it needs Facebook to fight Google as well, but somehow I don't think Microsoft wants to jeopardize either of its partnerships. Maybe Redmond will advise Menlo Park and Sunnyvale on what to do, but I don't think it will take action. Microsoft will probably just sit back and hope they'll work it out.

 I was wrong. Only after Microsoft bought AOL's patents and the rumor about Facebook being interested in some of those patents, did I connect the dots. Microsoft found a very clever way to give Facebook a boost, while still getting what it wants (the remaining patents), without damaging its relationship with Yahoo.

 Maybe I'm just stubborn, but I would still argue Microsoft is not "directly" helping Facebook. On the other hand, I'll be the first to admit that this is probably the best indirect help Facebook can get.

 Since day one, I thought Yahoo suing Facebook was a stupid move and Sunnyvale should reconsider. Then Facebook countersued Yahoo. Now, more than ever, I think Sunnyvale should settle.

 Update - Yahoo: Facebook’s AOL patent deal with Microsoft show it is weak

 See also: |||||

Write a summary.

– Earlier this month, AOL agreed to sell Microsoft 925 patents and patent applications for just north of $1 billion; now another tech giant is getting a piece of the action. Facebook has pledged to buy some 650 of those patents, or $550 million worth. In the deal, Facebook also gets a license to Microsoft's portion of the portfolio. According to Facebook's announcement, Microsoft ends up with 275 AOL patents, plus licenses to Facebook's AOL patents and the 300-ish patents AOL didn't sell. "Today’s agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction," says a Microsoft rep. For Facebook, it's "another significant step in our ongoing process of building an intellectual property portfolio to protect Facebook’s interests over the long term," says a spokesman. What do outsiders say? "The deal is a further sign of the growing importance of stockpiling patents in the arsenal of any big technology company," writes Nick Wingfield for the New York Times. "It also shows how Microsoft and Facebook have gravitated increasingly closer to each other in large part because of a common enemy: Google." Writing for ZDNet, Emil Protalinski says it's actually all about Yahoo, not Google. "With public companies like Yahoo targeting it for patent infringement, the social networking giant has stepped up its game. I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that AOL and Yahoo are such similar companies. This is exactly why Facebook is so interested in AOL’s patents: a lot of them cover technologies that Facebook uses, as well technologies used by companies that want to sue Facebook."


Write an article based on this summary:

– Puppy lovers, rejoice. Officials in eastern China last week canceled the Jinhua Hutou Dog Meat Festival. If that name makes you a little queasy—well, there's good reason for that. The 600-year-old tradition saw at least 5,000 of dogs slaughtered on the spot, and served up as the main dish. As the story goes, the festival stemmed from a tradition begun in the 14th century, when the barking dogs that revealed an army's position were fed to the soldiers on the general's angry orders, reports the New York Times. The ancient custom was scuttled following a Web campaign staged by animal-rights advocates, who posted graphic images from past festivals of cooked dogs and leftover carcasses. The People's Daily shares the observations of one blogger, "I've seen the dogs being stabbed, strangled, and even beaten into comas and thrown into boiling water." Some say it's an encouraging sign that, as pet ownership gains steam in China, so too does the animal-rights movement. But not everyone is on board. Wrote another blogger, "I personally think dog meat is like alcohol. They are both components of our ancient Chinese culture."

BEIJING — In the whirlwind of growth that is modern China, the loss of ancient traditions often provokes dismay and outrage.

 But people across the country cheered recently when officials in eastern China said they were doing away with a 600-year-old local custom: the slaughter of thousands of dogs to be eaten at an autumn festival.

 The Jinhua Hutou Dog Meat Festival, as it is called, was abruptly canceled last week after local officials were shamed by an online campaign begun by animal rights advocates. Gruesome photographs taken at past festivals that show canine carcasses, some bloody and others cooked, circulated on Chinese microblogs, creating popular pressure against the festival, which was set for October.

 Pet ownership has grown rapidly among the Chinese, as has a greater consciousness of animal rights. In the Mao era, the Communist Party condemned pets as a byproduct of bourgeois decadence. But these days, dogs and cats (and all manner of creatures, including rabbits and birds) have become accouterments of Chinese middle-class living. What was once slated for the pantry is now housed in a playpen.

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 “I once had a pet dog, and I’m not a huge fan of dog meat,” said a 36-year-old man in Guangdong Province who is credited by a Chinese journalist with helping start the campaign against the festival on Sina Weibo, a popular microblog platform. The blogger declined to give his name and agreed to chat only over the Internet. “The reason why I posted that message online is very simple — that is, I don’t want to see dog lovers’ feelings get hurt,” he said.

 Other grass-roots animal-rescue efforts have also gotten results. Last April, a man spotted a truck on a Beijing highway that was packed with more than 500 dogs being shipped to slaughterhouses that supply restaurants in northern China. The man put out a call on the Internet to stop the vehicle, and soon it was blocked by more than 200 people; the crowd rescued the dogs after paying $17,000.

 “I believe China is going through a Chinese animal liberation movement, a bottom-up movement, gaining huge momentum in the past year, very much with the help of the Internet and Weibo, together with the younger generation growing up with cats and dogs as family pets,” Deborah Cao, a professor at Griffith University in Australia who studies animal rights law, said in an e-mail interview.

 The dog meat festival, held in the Wucheng district of Jinhua in Zhejiang Province, is part of an annual three-day temple fair. The dog market has been part of the fair for centuries, according to the district government’s Web site. Local folklore says the tradition of feasting on dogs originated when Hu Dahai, a rebel battling Yuan Dynasty rulers in the 14th century, ordered all the dogs in Jinhua to be slaughtered because their barking had warned rebels in the city of his army’s approach. His soldiers were treated to dog meat, the story goes, and eating dog has been a custom at local temple fairs ever since.

 The Zhejiang Jinhua Daily said in an article on Sept. 20 that the market at the annual temple fair was renamed as a “dog meat festival” about a decade ago to increase business. Traditionally, local people brought cooked dog meat to sell, but that changed in recent years because of talk that some of the sellers had poisoned the dogs. Merchants started trucking in live dogs and killing, flaying and cooking them on the spot to prove that the meat was fresh. A local journalist said at least 5,000 dogs are killed.

 Dog is popular in winter across much of China because the meat is believed to have warming properties. Practitioners of Chinese traditional medicine say that dog meat imbues the eater with energy and strength.

 Microblog posts criticizing this year’s Jinhua festival first appeared early this month. The blogger from Guangdong wrote on Sept. 6: “There are thousands of dog eaters gathering there. People slaughter dogs mercilessly, the blood of the dead dogs flows like a river, the horrible screams of dogs pierce the sky.”

 The outcry quickly gathered momentum. Last week, a few Chinese newspapers wrote editorials. The campaign caught on with celebrities who have millions of microblog followers. The Wucheng district authorities said on Weibo on Sept. 19 that they were canceling the fair. The next morning, they explained the decision was “in full respect of the public’s opinion.”

 Some food lovers are disappointed. One blogger, Gong Wangping, wrote: “I personally think dog meat is like alcohol. They are both components of our ancient Chinese culture.” ||||| A traditional dog meat festival with a 600-year history of slaughtering and tasting dogs in Zhejiang Province has been canceled after outrage and protests from tens of thousands of animal-rights activists.

 The annual three-day-long festival was planned for October 18 in Hutou Village of Jinhua City, where 5,000 to 10,000 dogs would be butchered on the streets and served to villagers on dining tables.

 Participants in past festivals described horrific scenes they called "doomsday for dogs," when dogs were kept in cages with their eyes scratched out and their mouths wrapped up by iron wires, waiting for customers to pick them up and get slaughtered in front of hundreds of other dogs.

 "People actually enjoyed killing them in various ways at the festival," wrote Wang Lingyi, an animal-welfare volunteer from Hangzhou. "I've seen the dogs being stabbed, strangled and even beaten into comas and thrown into boiling water. Some dogs woke up in the extremely hot water and they struggled, but the vendors kept pushing them, plucking their fur."

 "On those days, the streets were washed by blood while the air was filled by dogs' desperate howls," said an online participant who posted pictures and videos.

 A campaign to boycott the coming festival was started by animal-rights activists last week on several online platforms. On Weibo.com, a call for residents to put an end to the slaughterers' festival was forwarded 55,000 times in one day.

 "The government called it a traditional festival, but we know they are only attracting vendors into the city to boost economy," Shen Sheng from Jiangsu Province wrote in an open letter to netizens. "Although the laws are still lacking to protect the animals, we will not allow them to carry out such a massacre under our eyes."

 Jinhua city officials told Shanghai Daily yesterday that the festival was canceled due to the online outrage. They acknowledged that such a festival is no longer needed after continuing since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

 According to an official surnamed Zhang, the decision was made on Monday evening after a heated discussion among government officials and village representatives. But it was no easy task persuading everyone that a 600-year-old tradition should be axed, she said.

 "Some villagers argued that they had emotional attachments to the festival, as it had been passed from generation to generation, while some said it should be listed as the city's cultural heritage," said Zhang.

 The habit of dog eating in Jinhua can be traced to a Ming Dynasty legend. A general tried to lead his army to strike the city late at night, but failed several times because whenever they got close to the city, dogs would bark to raise the alarm. The general decided to kill all the dogs in the region and the troops finally conquered the city, and they celebrated by eating the dogs they slaughtered.

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