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– Researchers say they've found another possible way to detect Alzheimer's, this time through a blood test that looks for antibodies. Though still under development, a diagnostic kit could be available within the year, reports Reuters. The catch: While scientists are getting better at detecting Alzheimer's with such discoveries, they still can't cure the disease. "It's unclear whether people would want to know a couple of years ahead of time they are going to get Alzheimer's if they can't do anything about it," says a scientist with the Scripps Research Institute. "But I can say with some certainty that we will never get a good therapy for Alzheimer's without early diagnosis." More details here on the science involved in the blood test, which could theoretically work on other diseases such as cancer.

* Technology spotted antibodies for disease in blood

 * Findings need to be confirmed

 By Julie Steenhuysen

 CHICAGO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have developed a way to harness the immune system to test for Alzheimer's, an approach they say could lead to a blood test for the disease within months.

 A study of the technology showed it accurately spotted Alzheimer's in blood samples from six people with the disease, Thomas Kodadek of the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida, wrote on Thursday in the journal Cell.

 The approach may work in other diseases, like cancer, Kodadek said in a telephone interview.

 The test looks for antibodies, or immune-system proteins, that help the body attack foreign invaders.

 Antibodies fight off infections but Kodadek said researchers are beginning to think that most diseases cause changes in cells that make the body see the cells as foreign invaders.

 He believes the body may produce antibodies in response to a range of diseases and would like to develop blood tests that look for them.

 His team used laboratory-made molecules called peptoids as antigen surrogates to screen for antibodies specific to Alzheimer's disease.

 Three of them reacted strongly to the blood of the six patients with Alzheimer's disease, but not with blood from healthy people.

 Kodadek said he has since tested more samples, including samples from people with mild cognitive impairment, an early sign of Alzheimer's, and the test is holding up.

 Kodadek has licensed the technology to Miami-based OPKO Health Inc (OPK.A), which will develop diagnostic kits, which he thinks could be available in six to seven months.

 "The immediate utility of that is to help pharmaceutical companies stratify patients for clinical trials," he said.

 The team has tried to determine whether the test can distinguish among different neurodegenerative diseases, like lupus and Parkinson's. "We've even looked at a couple of other forms of dementia. These really do appear to be quite specific to Alzheimer's," Kodadek said.

 They also used the test on blood from 200 elderly people not suffering from dementia and found 8 percent had elevated concentrations of the same antibodies found in Alzheimer's patients, which suggests the test may work as an early predictor of disease. ||||| Executive Health

 Early Steps Toward an Alzheimer's Blood Test

 Different immune system proteins exist in the blood of people with the disease, study finds

 THURSDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A blood test that screens for antibodies, a protein produced by the immune system, may one day be used to detect Alzheimer's and other diseases, new research suggests.

 Though the research is still in its infancy, being able to detect Alzheimer's via antibodies would be a simpler and less invasive method of diagnosing the disease, researchers said.

 But the study's lead author stressed that the true benefits of such a test for Alzheimer's patients won't really arise until scientists develop effective treatments against the disease.

 "It's unclear whether people would want to know a couple of years ahead of time they are going to get Alzheimer's if they can't do anything about it," said Thomas Kodadek, a professor of chemistry and cancer biology at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Fla. "But I can say with some certainty that we will never get a good therapy for Alzheimer's without early diagnosis."

 The study, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is published in the Jan. 7 issue of Cell.

 Typically, in developing blood tests for diseases, researchers have searched for antigens -- that is, proteins from a virus, bacteria or other disease process such as cancer or neurological conditions like Alzheimer's -- that set off an immune response.

 Only after identifying the antigen would researchers then search for antibodies to that antigen, or signs that the immune system had picked up on the problem and mounted a response.

 But antigens can be difficult to find, Kodadek explained.

 "In Alzheimer's, or in a disease such as cancer, it's not at all obvious what the initiating event is," he said. "We just don't know what are those first weirdly modified proteins that are unique to the disease process that the immune system 'sees.'"

 The new research went about things differently. Rather than search for the elusive antigen, researchers did "high throughput" screening using thousands of synthetic molecules, called peptoids, that would bind with the antibodies.

 Comparing blood samples from six Alzheimer's patients, six healthy people and six Parkinson's disease patients, the researchers found that two of the thousands of synthetic molecules "captured" at least three-fold more immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies from all six of the Alzheimer's patients than from either the healthy controls or the Parkinson's patients.

 The synthetic molecules, in effect, acted as a lure for the antibodies -- enabling the researchers to spot biomarkers in the blood unique to those with Alzheimer's.

 This process could be repeated to test for antibodies associated with other diseases as well, Kodadek theorized.

 "The big advance from what people have been doing before is that this method completely removes the requirement of knowing the native antigens that triggered the immune response," Kodadek said. "The real excitement is it should allow us to identify biomarkers for any disease for which the immune system reacts."

 The synthetic molecules are easily modifiable and can be produced quickly in large quantities at lower cost, Kodadek said.

 However, while promising, the results are preliminary and need to be replicated in larger numbers of patients, noted Dr. Jeremy Koppel, an Alzheimer's research scientist at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y. He was not involved in the new research.

 "This study represents a novel approach to the development of a noninvasive screening instrument for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, which currently lack definitive diagnostic biomarkers," Koppel said. "Beyond diagnostics, the future identification of the biomarkers detected in this study has the potential to deepen our understanding of the disease process itself."

 Another caveat is that the study was done in people who already had Alzheimer's, not those merely at risk for the disease. Further research needs to be done to determine how soon into the progression of the disease the abnormal antibodies can be detected.

 Right now, there are a few medications that can help with the symptoms of Alzheimer's, but there are no treatments that slow the progression of the disease.

 So for many patients, early diagnosis may not necessarily be something they want, Kodadek said. But from a research perspective, early diagnosis is a key to developing better treatment, he added.

 With neurodegenerative diseases, the hope is that drugs could block further decline, making it crucial to know if a person has the disease before they begin having significant symptoms, he said.

 More information

 The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more on Alzheimer's.

 SOURCES: Thomas Kodadek, Ph.D., professor, chemistry and cancer biology, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, Fla; Jeremy Koppel, M.D., Alzheimer's research scientist, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, N.Y.; Jan. 7, 2011, Cell

 Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved. |||||


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– In a refreshing interview with Elle, Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence talks about body image and living modestly even when you're rich and famous. Our three favorite quotes: "I eat like a caveman, I'll be the only actress who doesn't have anorexia rumors," she says, according to Australia's News Network. "In Hollywood, I'm obese. I’m considered a fat actress, I'm Val Kilmer in that one picture on the beach." She adds, "I'm never going to starve myself for a part … I don't want little girls to be like, 'Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner,'" noting that she wanted her character to appear "fit and strong." "Ten million dollars and I'm still living in my parents' condo ... I've always lived in a tiny rat-infested apartment in New York, or a little condo in LA, or a normal house in Kentucky. I think it would be very bizarre to live in a big mansion by myself." "[My boyfriend, actor Nicholas Hoult] is honestly my best friend, and hopefully I'm his best friend too. He’s my favorite person to be around and makes me laugh harder than anybody … We can eat Cheetos and watch beach volleyball and we turn into two perverted Homer Simpsons, like, 'Oh, she’s got a nice ass.' I never thought we’d have such different opinions on asses." In other refreshing celebrity body image news, Adele recently revealed that she "would only lose weight if it affected my health or my sex life, which it doesn't," the Sun reports.

JENNIFER Lawrence said she's considered "obese" by Hollywood standards but vowed to never starve herself for a role.

 “I eat like a caveman, I’ll be the only actress who doesn’t have anorexia rumors,” she told Elle magazine.

 “In Hollywood, I’m obese. I’m considered a fat actress, I’m Val Kilmer in that one picture on the beach.”

 The Hunger Games star said she worked hard to set a good example for young fans when getting in shape to play Katniss Everdeen.

 Jennifer Lawrence

 "That’s something I was really conscious of during in training, when you’re trying to get your body to look exactly right. I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong, not thin and underfed."

 Lawrence also opened up about boyfriend Nicholas Houltm, who starred in About a Boy and UK show Skins. The pair, who met on the set of X-Men: First Class, have a decidedly unglamourous lifestyle and love nothing better than to kick back and watch TV, she told Elle.

 “He’s my favourite person to be around and makes me laugh harder than anybody. We can eat Cheetos and watch beach volleyball and we turn into two perverted Homer Simpsons, like, ‘Oh she’s got a nice ass’. I never thought we’d have such different opinions on asses," she said.

 The candid star also admitted she struggles with Hollywood’s PR machine, often blurting out the first thing that comes to mind on the red carpet.

 “I never know what’s going to come out of my mouth, and it’s horrible.”

 And despite being crowned Hollywood’s latest 'It Girl', she’s not about to splurge on a mansion just yet.

 "Ten million dollars and I’m still living in my parents’ condo,” the Oscar-nominated Winter's Bone star said.

 “I’ve always lived in a tiny rat-infested apartment in New York, or a little condo in LA or a normal house in Kentucky. I think it would be very bizarre to live in a big mansion by myself.” ||||| From our editors to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter today.

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Her letter, which was read in court defending Brock Turner, sparked national outrage from people who said it perpetuated rape culture and blamed victims

 A woman who blamed a Stanford University sexual assault victim for drinking too much alcohol has issued a defensive apology, marking the latest controversy surrounding an athlete who avoided prison time for attacking an unconscious woman.

 Leslie Rasmussen, a childhood friend of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who was convicted of three felonies, wrote a letter to the judge saying that the assault was “a huge misunderstanding”, Turner is “not a monster”, and that she thought it was unfair “to base the fate of the next ten + years of his life on the decision of a girl who doesn’t remember anything”.

 Stanford sexual assault: dozens of letters to judge urge leniency for Brock Turner Read more

 Her statement continued: “Where do we draw the line and stop worrying about being politically correct every second of the day and see that rape on campuses isn’t always because people are rapists.” The letter – a selection of which the judge read in court, saying it was a useful reference that highlighted Turner’s strong character – went viral this week, sparking national outrage from people who said it perpetuated rape culture and cast blame on victims.

 In the wake of significant backlash, Northside Festival, a New York music showcase, announced Tuesday that it had dropped Rasmussen’s band from its lineup, and her group, Good English, has now released an apology from Rasmussen.

 The 20-year-old’s letter of support for Turner was one of dozens submitted to the judge, Aaron Persky, who is facing a recall campaign for giving the defendant a light sentence. Although a jury determined, based on witness testimony, that Turner had sexually assaulted an unconscious woman outside a fraternity party on campus, Persky ordered a sentence of six months in county jail, instead of the minimum two years in prison prescribed by law.

 In a statement Good English shared with the Guardian, Rasmussen said she wanted the judge to “consider the effect that alcohol played in this tragedy”, adding:

 I understand that this appeal has now provided an opportunity for people to misconstrue my ideas into a distortion that suggests I sympathize with sex offenses and those who commit them or that I blame the victim involved. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and I apologize for anything my statement has done to suggest that I don’t feel enormous sympathy for the victim and her suffering … There is nothing more sad than the unnecessary, destructive and enormous toll that overuse, misuse and abuse of alcohol and drugs play in people’s lives, and I don’t think my effort to point this out in confidence to a judge while commenting on Brock Turner’s character, as the sober person I knew him to be, was an irresponsible or reckless decision. Unfortunately, due to the overzealous nature of social media and the lack of confidence and privacy in which my letter to the judge was held, I am now thrust into the public eye to defend my position on this matter in the court of public opinion.

 Unlike her original letter, Rasmussen acknowledged the “enormous pain” of the victim and said Turner was “tried and rightfully convicted of sexual assault”.

 The band – which posted the apology on Facebook and subsequently deleted the page – declined to comment further.

 After publication of this article, Rasmussen posted a second apology on her personal Facebook page, saying it was wrong for her to make assumptions about what happened that night.

 “Most importantly, I did not acknowledge strongly enough the severity of Brock’s crime and the suffering and pain that his victim endured, and for that lack of acknowledgement, I am deeply sorry.

 I fully understand the outrage over Brock’s sentencing and my statement. I can only say that I am committed to learning from this mistake. I am 20 years old, and it has never been more clear to me that I still have much to learn.”

 Rasmussen’s letter was part of the court record of character references Persky considered before sentencing, and activists and supporters of the victim said they were appalled that the judge, who is a former Stanford athlete, placed so much weight on the references and the impact the trial has had on Turner.

 Michele Dauber, a Stanford law professor and family friend of the victim, said it was important that these letters be exposed considering that the judge used them to justify leniency.

 “She says in the letter that rapists don’t cause rape. That’s ridiculous,” said Dauber, who posted an excerpt of Rasmussen’s letter on Twitter and is leading the recall campaign against the judge. “I’m shocked that the judge found that to be persuasive.”

 Michele Dauber (@mldauber) #brockturner court probation report is fetid pond of victim-blaming rapeyness @thehuntinground @hodgman @brielarson pic.twitter.com/hygboyoV9q

 Citing Rasmussen’s references to “being politically correct”, Dauber added, “If that’s what this judge thinks is a good argument, then I think we need to get that out in front of the voters.”

 Dauber noted that the character witnesses participated in a “public process”, adding, “They wanted to help their friend, and it was very effective. He was not sentenced to prison.”

 Turner’s own testimony blaming the assault on “party culture” and his father’s statement that his son is paying a steep price for “20 minutes of action” have also attracted widespread criticisms.

 The judge has declined to comment while an appeal in the case is pending.

 The case originally received international attention when the 23-year-old victim released a powerful statement about rape culture and the suffering she has endured throughout the process.

 • Two quotes in this article were amended on 8 June at the request of Michele Dauber. ||||| Former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus, exhibited concerning behavior before with other women, according to sentencing documents.

 At a party the night the victim was sexually assaulted, a woman said Turner suddenly grabbed her and kissed her, the court documents show. The woman then turned and pushed him away, describing the interaction as "odd" because they had not talked much and there was no flirtation.

 Later that night, Turner came back and tried to kiss her a second time as she was talking to a friend. He put his hands on her waist, and she "had to move away from him," the sentencing document said.

 On June, 25 2015, detectives received information about two women who encountered Turner the weekend before the sexual assault took place. The woman attended a KA fraternity party on the weekend of Jan. 9, 2015, where one of the women was introduced to Turner.

 The woman said Turner started dancing with her and described him as being “flirtatious” with her, according to sentencing court documents. After she began to feel uncomfortable and “turn her body away so that he would not be directly ‘behind’ her,” he became “touchy” and put his hands on her waist, stomach and upper thighs.

 UIG via Getty Images

 The woman said Turner "creeped" her out because of his persistence, the court document stated.

 It is unclear why it took the women so long to report the incident to the police.

 Turner was previously arrested in 2014, when a police officer saw him and a group of friends walking and drinking beers on campus. When the officer yelled, "Stop! Police!" the group ran away from him and continued running after he yelled it again.

 One of the men who was detained identified Turner as one of his swim teammates whom he was drinking with when the detective first saw him. The detective then called Turner and asked him to return to the scene, and when he did, he was wearing a "bright orange tuxedo" and smelled of alcohol, the document said. He had a backpack with beers inside, as well as a beer in his hand, and admitted to trying to hide the beer because he was under age.

 The prosecutors' sentencing document says it was "abundantly" clear that on the night of the sexual assault, Turner was "on the prowl" and attempted to "hook up" with women who were strangers to him. The sexual assault came one week after he was similarly aggressive with another female, at a different fraternity party, at the same location, the document said.

 The document stated that Turner is still in denial about his criminal culpability and that he violated the victim's body and her right to choose with whom she engages in sexual activity, the document states. In his statement to probation he seems to regret his choice, not because it caused a woman to be sexually assaulted, but because it has greatly affected his life as though he is the "victim" of "peer pressure," the document states.

 In the early morning hours of Jan. 18, after Brock was arrested, police observed a text message sent to Turner in the “Group Me” application that said “Who’s t*** are those?” Police obtained a search warrant for Turner’s phone but were unable to locate that text or any photos relating to that text, according to the documents.

 The search of Turner’s phone “shed some light” into his behavior and character during the time period relating to the sexual assault and in the year prior to when he began attendance at Stanford, according to the sentencing document.

 Prosecutors said there was evidence indicating Turner engaged in “excessive drinking and using drugs,” including a photo of him smoking from a pipe, a close-up photo of a bong, another photo of one of Turner’s swim teammates with a bong in his hand and a December 2014 video showing turner smoking from a bong and drinking out of a bottle of liquor.

 Several text messages indicative of drug use during Turner’s time at Stanford and when he was still in high school in Ohio were also found on his phone, according to the sentencing document, and the texts contained several references to smoking, buying and sharing “weed” from as early as April 2014, as well as references to doing acid or trying to find a “hook up.”

 The document also stated that Turner lied about ever using illicit drugs in his statement to probation and appeared to make it seem as though his first time drinking was at a swim party when he first got to Stanford. Prosecutors also said he also lied about that there was some sort of “flirtation” between the woman he kissed abruptly at the frat party.

 The judge who oversaw Turner’s case has been receiving abusive and threatening phone calls after his six-month sentence caused a media frenzy, said Santa Clara Public Defender Gary Goodman. ||||| “How does the average person who is really upset and troubled about the Brock story, how does somebody participate in that, making right of a wrong?” Mr. Stedman said. “We are really just one tiny, infinitesimal part of that puzzle, but I think it was a no-brainer for us.”

 In her letter, Ms. Rasmussen, 20, says that there was a distinction between rape and Mr. Turner’s case, and suggested that alcohol was to blame for his actions.

 Mr. Turner, 20, a swimmer at Stanford, was found by two passers-by, partially clothed behind a trash bin on campus, on top of the 23-year-old woman, who was incapacitated by alcohol, according to the authorities. The passers-by stopped the assault and held Mr. Turner down as he tried to flee.

 “I don’t think it’s fair to base the fate of the next ten + years of his life on the decision of a girl who doesn’t remember anything but the amount she drank to press charges against him,” Ms. Rasmussen, who plays drums in the band, wrote. “But where do we draw the line and stop worrying about being politically correct every second of the day and see that rape on campus isn’t always because people are rapists.”

 Mr. Turner was convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault for the attack, which took place in January 2015. This week the judge in the case, Aaron Persky of Superior Court in Santa Clara County, Calif., came under withering criticism from the public for the sentence he imposed: six months in jail and probation.

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 Ms. Rasmussen’s letter was part of a package of letters sent to the judge on behalf of Mr. Turner before his sentencing, a standard practice in which people seek to influence a sentencing decision by sharing their experiences of the defendant. His father also sent a letter that had an even more explosive effect when it was made public this week; he said that the episode had affected his son’s appetite and that, in particular, he no longer enjoyed rib-eye steaks.

 Following the firestorm her letter provoked, Ms. Rasmussen said that her words were being twisted and that she was being unfairly stigmatized. “This appeal has now provided an opportunity for people to misconstrue my ideas into a distortion that suggests I sympathize with sex offenses and those who commit them or that I blame the victim involved,” she said in a statement.

 Ms. Rasmussen also believed that the letter to the judge was private. But a spokesman for the court said she was wrong — such letters, like most documents entered into the court, are a matter of public record.

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 Within hours of Ms. Rasmussen’s letter being made public by New York magazine, Good English was removed from a roster of Brooklyn venues where they were scheduled to perform in the coming days, including Rock Shop in Gowanus, Industry City Distillery in Greenwood, Gold Sounds in Bushwick, and Bar Matchless in Greenpoint.

 “We don’t want to be affiliated with anyone that’s going to try to victim-blame or even just downplay rape,” said Larry Hyland, an owner of Bar Matchless.

 Mr. Hyland said he had received over 50 emails and posts on the bar’s Facebook page demanding that the band’s show be canceled. Some of the messages, he said, included threats to confront the band members if they did perform.

 “We didn’t cancel the show because of censorship,” he said, adding that while he disagreed with the content of Ms. Rasmussen’s letter, he understood the impulse to want to help a childhood friend. “I wanted to avoid an unsafe environment.”

 On Tuesday, the Dayton Music Art and Film Festival near the band’s hometown announced that it, too, was removing the band from its September lineup. “Such actions should not be defended, friend or not,” the festival wrote on its Facebook page. On Wednesday, Behind the Curtains Media, the public relations firm that represented Good English, dropped them from its client roster.

 In her statement, Ms. Rasmussen attributed the fallout from her initial letter not to what she wrote, but to “the overzealous nature of social media.” In particular, she lamented the “uproar of judgment and hatred unleashed on me” and the effect it was having on her musical aspirations. ||||| Photo: Courtesy of the Santa Clara County Sheriff

 While Brock Turner, the ex-Stanford student who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster last year, has formally been sentenced on three counts of felony sexual assault, he is not being described as a convicted rapist in the media. Many people have been asking why. Here’s your answer. Warning: It’s pretty unsatisfying.

 In California, rape is defined as someone using “physical force, intimidation, duress, or threats to persuade the victim to engage in sexual intercourse.” In the case of Turner’s rape of an unconscious woman, witnesses and testimony determined that Turner penetrated his victim with a foreign object, not a sexual organ. His victim, who read powerful testimony in court directly addressing Turner, explained what she learned after the attack:

 Never mentioned me voicing consent, never mentioned us even speaking, a back rub. One more time, in public news, I learned that my ass and vagina were completely exposed outside, my breasts had been groped, fingers had been jabbed inside me along with pine needles and debris, my bare skin and head had been rubbing against the ground behind a dumpster, while an erect freshman was humping my half naked, unconscious body. But I don’t remember, so how do I prove I didn’t like it.

 In the eyes of the law, what Turner did to his victim is considered sexual assault and not rape, no matter how horrific it sounds. The three charges Turner was convicted of are “assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.”

 Intent to commit rape, legally, is not the same as sexually penetrating a person, and therefore, Turner is not being described as a convicted rapist. But he is now a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. |||||

– More aftermath following the conviction of Stanford swimmer Brock Turner on sexual assault charges, including new allegations of previous troubling behavior he showed toward women—with prosecutors noting he was "on the prowl" the night of the attack and was still in denial as of his sentencing that his actions were criminal, ABC News reports. Per sentencing documents, a woman at a party the same night Turner attacked his victim alleges he became sexually aggressive toward her, grabbing her and kissing her, without encouragement. And in June 2015, investigators got wind about two other women who ran into Turner at a frat party the weekend before the January assault. One said he was "flirtatious" while dancing, and that when she began to feel "creeped out" and tried to turn away, he became "touchy." Meanwhile, a Turner supporter facing backlash for calling out the victim's drinking issued a "defensive apology" to the Guardian Wednesday. In her statement, Leslie Rasmussen says people "misconstrued" her defense of Turner into meaning she didn't feel for the victim, a "distortion" she blames on the "overzealous nature of social media" and, per the New York Times, the fact that she mistakenly thought her court letter would be kept private. "I apologize for anything my statement has done to suggest that I don't feel enormous sympathy for the victim and her suffering," she said. The Guardian notes that after its own article was posted with her apology, she wrote a follow-up on Facebook. "I was not there that night. I had no right to make any assumptions about the situation," she wrote Wednesday evening. "Most importantly, I did not acknowledge strongly enough the severity of Brock's crime and the suffering and pain that his victim endured, and for that lack of acknowledgement, I am deeply sorry." She adds that, at the age of 20, "it has never been more clear to me that I still have much to learn." (New York explains why Turner isn't "technically" a convicted rapist.)


Here is a news article: CLOSE JetBlue is offering a free trip to 50 travelers and their companions in exchange for volunteer work. Time

 JetBlue is adding 12 seats to each of its A320s. (Photo: JetBlue Airways)

 JetBlue wants to send you on a free flight this November – but there's a catch.

 As part of JetBlue's For Good Month, the airline is flying a plane full of people to "Destination Good" for a volunteer experience on Nov. 27.

 The catch? The actual location won't be revealed until the morning the contest winners leave from New York's JFK International Airport.

 Talk about impromptu travel! JetBlue says the "once-in-a-lifetime volunteer voyage" will include "three memorable and immersive days dedicated to helping causes JetBlue believes in."

 Looking to score yourself a seat on the spontaneous trip? Residents of the United States who are over 18 years old can enter by answering philanthropic-related questions on the website jetbluecheckinforgood.com.

 The contest ends Oct. 26.

 More: No injuries as JetBlue engine catches fire ahead of takeoff from Las Vegas

 More: JetBlue plants potatoes at New York JFK

 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2018/10/18/jetblue-giving-away-free-flights-november-catch/1681212002/ ||||| JetBlue is handing out free flights, but only to their most charitable passengers.

 As part of their “JetBlue for Good Month,” the airline announced its new initiative to promote traveling to do volunteer work (aka “voluntourism”) by flying a plane full of people to a mystery destination—completely free of cost.

 Get push notifications with news, articles, and more!

 On November 27, the brand will charter a flight of 50 people and their guests to the undisclosed location, dubbed “Destination Good,” where they will participate in daily volunteer and service activities for three nights. The volunteer efforts will focus on JetBlue For Good’s three main pillars: youth and education, community, and the environment.

 The airline won’t reveal the surprise destination until those chosen to participate are on board the plane at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Participants will work alongside airline crew members and JetBlue’s non-profit partners.

 RELATED: JetBlue Unveils New Plane to Promote Tourism in Puerto Rico One Year After Hurricane Maria

 A representative for the airline tells PEOPLE that the destination will be in a city the airline already serves and one where some of their customers and crew members “live and work.”

 “We chose a destination that we feel we can have a really big impact on, and a place where our volunteers could see a visible difference at the conclusion of the trip,” a brand spokesperson said. “In addition, we wanted to go to a place where JetBlue flies and give back to a community we serve.”

 WATCH THIS: The Lion King Australia Cast Sings “Circle of Life” on Flight Home from Brisbane

 Those wanting to enter should visit JetBlue’s #CheckInForGood website by Oct. 26. Winners will be chosen based on their responses to a series of philanthropic questions, such as, “If volunteer hours were stored in a karma bank, how big would your account be?” Entrants are also asked to write 150 words about why volunteering and giving back to the community is important to them. Check-in kiosks will also pop up at surprise locations in L.A. and N.Y.C. where passengers can fill out the questionnaire.

 The winners will be notified of their eligibility by November 20, 2018.

 RELATED: The Internet is Falling for this Baggage Handler, Who Goes Above and Beyond in Viral Video |||||
A summary of this is?

– You can fly free in November, if you like surprises. JetBlue plans to fly a plane-load of people to an unknown destination Nov. 27 to volunteer for an unknown cause for three days, USA Today reports. Anyone over 18 can apply here by Oct. 26 if they're willing to answer questions about their philanthropic interests, per People. A sample question: "If volunteer hours were stored in a karma bank, how big would your account be?" JetBlue is saying little else, but participants will leave from JFK Airport in New York and volunteer in three areas championed by JetBlue for Good: the environment, community, and youth and education.


Article:

A fugitive who picked her Fort Myers Beach murder victim based on their similar appearances is now suspected of using that woman's identity to try to avoid arrest.

 Lois Riess, 56, was already wanted for killing her husband, David Reiss, in Blooming Prairie, Minn. in March.

 On Monday, while hiding out in Florida, she shot and killed 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson at Marina Village at Snug Harbor on Old San Carlos Boulevard, deputies said.

 Riess targeted Hutchinson because the two looked alike, according to investigators. After killing her, Riess stole Hutchinson's cash, credit cards, ID, and car and is believed to be using her identity.

 Authorities are now searching for Hutchinson's white 2005 Acura TL with Florida license plate Y37TAA in a nationwide search.

 Riess is possibly hiding out in Texas, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

 A warrant for her arrest has been issued for murder, grand theft auto, and grand theft of personal identification in Lee County.

 RELATED: Homicide investigation underway on Fort Myers Beach

 Minnesota's Dodge County Sheriff's Office also issued a warrant for her arrest for second-degree murder on Thursday.

 Dodge County investigators said David Riess was supposed to go on a fishing trip, and when he didn't show up a friend contacted police. Riess was found shot multiple times in his home in Blooming Prairie.

 Lois Riess is also accused of taking $10,000 from her husband's business account and transferring the money into his personal account. Authorities said Lois Riess then forged her husband's signature on three checks written from his personal account to herself, totaling $11,000.

 © Copyright 2018 WBBH/WZVN (Waterman Broadcasting). All rights reserved. ||||| This undated photo provided by the Dodge County, Minn., Sheriff's Office shows Lois Riess, of Blooming Prairie, Minn., who is being sought in connection with the killing of a Florida woman. Riess is charged... (Associated Press)

 This undated photo provided by the Dodge County, Minn., Sheriff's Office shows Lois Riess, of Blooming Prairie, Minn., who is being sought in connection with the killing of a Florida woman. Riess is charged in the shooting death of Pamela Hutchinson of Bradenton, Fla. Authorities don't believe the women... (Associated Press)

 This undated photo provided by the Dodge County, Minn., Sheriff's Office shows Lois Riess, of Blooming Prairie, Minn., who is being sought in connection with the killing of a Florida woman. Riess is charged in the shooting death of Pamela Hutchinson of Bradenton, Fla. Authorities don't believe the women... (Associated Press) This undated photo provided by the Dodge County, Minn., Sheriff's Office shows Lois Riess, of Blooming Prairie, Minn., who is being sought in connection with the killing of a Florida woman. Riess is charged... (Associated Press)

 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota woman who is wanted in connection with her husband's death is now charged with killing a Florida woman who resembled her and stealing the woman's identity as she eluded authorities, officials said Friday.

 Lois Riess, 56, of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, has been charged in the shooting death of Pamela Hutchinson, 59, of Bradenton, Florida. Authorities were called to an area of Fort Myers Beach on Monday and found Hutchinson dead, with gunshot wounds.

 Authorities aren't aware of any connection between the two women, but they believe Riess shot and killed Hutchinson to assume her identity.

 "Ms. Hutchinson's purse was found to be in disarray and all cash, credit cards and identification appeared to be removed," Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said, adding: "Further investigation revealed that Ms. Hutchinson was targeted by the suspect due to the similarities in their appearance."

 Riess is believed to be driving Hutchinson's car, a white Acura TL with Florida license plate Y37TAA. The car has been seen in Louisiana and Corpus Christi, Texas, since Hutchinson died. Riess' 2005 white Cadillac Escalade was found abandoned in a Florida park.

 Riess is wanted in Florida for murder, grand theft of a motor vehicle and grand theft and criminal use of personal identification. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

 "Riess's mode of operation is to befriend women who resemble her and steal their identity," Marceno said. "U.S. Marshals are actively involved in a national search for this dangerous fugitive. Riess is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached if located."

 Riess is also wanted in the March death of her husband, David Riess. Prosecutors are preparing second-degree murder charges in that case. Minnesota's Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose said Friday that authorities believe the same gun was used in both killings.

 Anyone who sees Reiss is urged to call 911, and anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to call the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension or Florida authorities.

 Riess has been on the run since at least late March, after David Riess's business partner called Dodge County authorities on March 23 to ask them to check on him. The partner said no one at work had seen David Riess in over two weeks.

 Authorities found David Riess's body inside his home with multiple gunshots. They couldn't determine how long he had been dead, and investigators could not find his wife.

 During the investigation, authorities learned that Lois Riess may have been at Diamond Joe's Casino in Iowa. Authorities from Dodge County, the BCA and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation went to the casino, but Riess had already left. Authorities later learned she was in south Florida.

 __

 Follow Amy Forliti on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amyforliti . More of her work at: https://apnews.com/search/amy%20forliti |||||
What is a summary?

– Police in two states are looking for a 56-year-old woman accused of a bizarre double slaying. Authorities say that Lois Riess first shot to death her husband in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, last month, reports WBBH. Riess than allegedly fled to Florida, where she was hiding out in Fort Myers Beach. There, police say she killed 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson on Monday solely because Hutchinson bore a resemblance to her, and Riess wanted to assume her identity. Riess allegedly ransacked the woman's apartment and stole her cash, credit cards, and forms of ID. Riess is believed to be on the run again—in Hutchinson's white Acura with Florida plates—and authorities suspect she's on her way to Texas. "Riess's mode of operation is to befriend women who resemble her and steal their identity," says Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno, per the AP. She's considered armed and dangerous.


Here is a news article: Irish parliamentarians passed a groundbreaking law early on Thursday allowing limited abortion rights in the republic.

 Enda Kenny and his coalition government pushed through the protection of life in pregnancy bill, which will allow for abortions only when a woman's life is under threat if her pregnancy continues or if she is suicidal.

 Despite threats of excommunication from cardinals and bishops, the privately devout Catholic prime minister eventually won the vote after a marathon two-day debate in the Dáil.

 Members voted by 127 to 31 to legalise abortion in cases of medical emergencies as well as the risk of suicide.

 However, pro-choice and anti-abortion groups have already threatened court cases to challenge the new law.

 The legislation which passed through the Dáil after 24 hours of tortuous debate will not stop the annual abortion trail from Ireland to Britain.

 According to Irish department of health figures released on Thursday, about 4,000 Irish women travelled to British hospitals and clinics to terminate their pregnancies last year. They included 124 who were under 18.

 The new law also does not include women who were raped, meaning grim traffic across the Irish Sea for abortions will continue.

 Mara Clarke, director of the London-based Abortion Support Network, a charity that raises money to help women afford the £400-£2,000 it costs to travel and pay privately for an abortion in England, condemned the restriction on an Irish woman's right to choose. She said: "Given that the Irish government has now had more than 22 years to legislate on the X case, I'm not sure what the hold up is but then I'm not an expert on Irish abortion law.

 "I am an expert in what happens to women when access to abortion is restricted. Even if this law is enacted, only a very, very small percentage of women who need abortions will be able to access them in Ireland.

 "Women pregnant as result of rape, women with fatal foetal anomalies, couples who simply can't afford to care for a (or in most cases, another) child, will still be left behind.

 "This week alone, Abortion Support Network has heard from a woman whose abusive husband hid her passport so she couldn't travel for an abortion, a woman who considered crashing her car to induce a miscarriage, and a couple whose very wanted pregnancy had catastrophic foetal anomalies – and these were only three of the 10 women who contacted us last week."

 Sinn Féin TD (MP) Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin predicted that it was only a matter of time before a case emerged through the courts challenging that aspect of the new bill that criminalises abortion.

 Anyone procuring or seeking an abortion could face up to 14 years in prison. He said a case might result from a young woman taking abortion pills who might seek to challenge the penalty.

 Independent leftwing TD Catherine Murphy said the criminalisation of women seeking abortions could open up Ireland to fresh challenges in the European court of human rights.

 Terminations For Medical Reasons – the campaign group for women who seek abortions because their babies will die if their pregnancies continue – accused the government of lacking courage to include their cases in the legislation.

 "We are enormously saddened that their decision means that it could now be years before this is changed in legislation. With each week that passes, more grieving women and couples will have to leave Ireland to receive medical care," a TMFR spokesperson said.

 During the debate, the Europe minister Lucinda Creighton was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party. Creighton voted against the abortion law reform and is now expected to lose her ministerial job as well. On her way out of the Dáil, Creighton shook Kenny's hand saying: "I'm very sad, but I genuinely wish Enda Kenny and all the government the very best."

 After leaving, she reminded Fine Gael that they had made an electoral promise in 2011 not to introduce abortion into Ireland. ||||| Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted Friday to back Ireland's first bill on abortion, legalizing the practice in exceptional cases where doctors deem the woman's life at risk from her pregnancy, as the predominantly Catholic country took its first legislative step away from an outright ban.

 Anti-abortion protesters holding placards walk through Ireland's capital, Dublin, in an anti-abortion protest Saturday, July 6, 2013. More than 35,000 activists marched to the parliament building to oppose... (Associated Press)

 Thousands of anti-abortion protesters fill Dublin's major thoroughfare, as they march against Ireland's abortion bill Saturday, July 6, 2013. More than 35,000 activists marched to the parliament building... (Associated Press)

 Thousands of anti-abortion protesters fill Dublin's major thoroughfare, as they march against Ireland's abortion bill Saturday, July 6, 2013. More than 35,000 activists marched to the parliament building... (Associated Press)

 Anti-abortion campaigners wait outside the Irish Parliament at Leinster House, Dublin ahead of a parliamentary vote on abortion. Wednesday July 10, 2013. Irish politicians will vote Wednesday to pass... (Associated Press)

 Exhausted legislators applauded Friday's 127-31 vote, while outside the parliament gates abortion rights activists cheered as they watched the result on their smartphones. It capped a grueling debate that locked lawmakers in argument from Wednesday morning to 5 a.m. Thursday and, after a pause for sleep, through midnight Friday.

 While the decisive outcome was expected given Prime Minister Enda Kenny's lopsided parliamentary majority, passage of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill did inflict damage on Kenny's 2-year-old coalition government.

 Catholic conservatives vowed to drive his centrist Fine Gael party from power for violating its 2011 campaign pledge not to legislate on abortion. The government drafted the bill in response to last year's case of a miscarrying woman who died in an Irish hospital from blood poisoning nearly a week after being refused a termination. The death highlighted Ireland's failure for two decades to draft abortion legislation in support of a 1992 Supreme Court judgment ruling that life-saving abortions, including to prevent suicides, should be legal in Ireland.

 Kenny, meanwhile, expelled five of his 74 lawmakers from Fine Gael's parliamentary group for voting against the bill and said they couldn't seek re-election as Fine Gael candidates. Strong support for the bill came from left-wing politicians, including Kenny's coalition partners in the Labour Party, who favor much easier access to abortion.

 Many lawmakers in the round-the-clock debate expressed hopes, or fears, that passage of the bill would put Ireland on a slippery slope to granting wider abortion rights, as has already happened in the rest of Europe. The island of Malta is the only other European Union member to outlaw the practice.

 Divisions ran deepest on the bill's provisions permitting an abortion for a suicidal woman if a three-doctor panel agrees she would try to kill herself if denied a termination. Anti-abortion activists warned that suicide-faking women and sympathetic doctors would exploit the rule.

 But abortion rights lobbyists countered that such cases were rare, and even the most distressed abortion seekers would take the easier option of traveling to England, where abortion has been legal since 1967. Figures released Thursday showed that nearly 4,000 Irish women traveled there for abortions last year, while many hundreds more have performed their own at home using miscarriage-inducing pills ordered over the internet.

 The epic debate reflected Kenny's determination to get the bill passed before parliament closes for summer holidays next week. The marathon took its mental toll on lawmakers, one of whom accidentally pressed the wrong button during a 5 a.m. vote to reject opposition amendments.

 Another lawmaker, Tom Barry, grabbed a female colleague, Aine Collins, by the hips during a 3 a.m. amendment vote and pulled her on to his lap right in the middle of the debating chamber. Both are Fine Gael lawmakers from County Cork.

 Barry said he'd just been kidding around after Collins noted how cold the debating chamber had become. Once the scene became a viral video in Ireland, he issued an apology describing his actions as "disrespectful and inappropriate. ... No excuses, I just shouldn't have done it." He later received an official reprimand from Fine Gael superiors.

 Within minutes of debate resuming Thursday afternoon, the speaker was telling both sides to shut up because they were making his sleep-deprived head hurt.

 "There's a lot of tired bodies in this chamber, including myself, and my tolerance level is getting less by the second listening to you lot, shouting and roaring across the chamber," Sean Barrett said in remarks to the entire 166-member parliament.

 Outside the parliament building, rival abortion protesters maintained a round-the-clock vigil. Police kept them separated, except when one anti-abortion activist flicked Catholic holy water into the ranks of abortion rights protesters, Exorcist-style.

 Both sides also shouted occasional insults at each other, though the anti-abortion protesters spent long periods on their knees with rosary beads in hand. At dusk, many lit votive candles. One accidentally set fire to a pro-life poster, but the flames were extinguished with more holy water. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Following the headline-grabbing death of a woman denied an abortion in Ireland, the country has passed a planned measure to allow emergency abortions, the Guardian reports. Women will be allowed to undergo the procedure in cases where the mother's life is at risk, including through potential suicide. Abortions due to rape, however, remain banned. The country's parliament voted 127 to 31 to support the new law, which was pushed by prime minister Enda Kenny amid excommunication threats from Catholic leaders. Kenny kicked 74 lawmakers out of his Fine Gael parliamentary group after they voted against the measure, the AP reports. But with some 4,000 Irish women traveling to Britain last year for abortions, critics say the move isn't nearly enough. "Women pregnant as result of rape, women with fatal fetal anomalies, couples who simply can't afford to care for a (or in most cases, another) child, will still be left behind," says an activist. With the penalty for seeking an abortion 14 years in prison, the tough rules are likely to face court challenge, says a Sinn Fein MP.


– "This is highly unusual," says a rep for Maryland Natural Resources Police, and that might be putting it lightly. The Maryland NRP has confirmed that a 51-year-old who was hunting geese with a larger group was rendered unconscious when a dead goose fell from the sky and hit him. Robert Meilhammer regained consciousness as emergency officials arrived on the scene just before 5pm Thursday, but Demarva Now reports the Crapo, Maryland, man struggled to answer questions beyond his name and so was flown to a Baltimore hospital. The Baltimore Sun reports it's unclear which hunter shot the goose, which the Washington Post reports typically weighs about 12 pounds and has a wing span of up to six feet. The Post reports Meilhammer's head injury was initially described as "severe," and that two of his teeth were knocked out by the hit. The Maryland NRP tweeted Friday morning that he was in stable condition and awaiting further tests. (As this hunter tracked a lion, he was shot dead.)

Expand this summary.

Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| A dead goose fell from the sky Thursday and knocked a waterfowl hunter unconscious.

 Robert Meilhammer, a 51-year-old resident of Crapo in Dorchester County, was hunting as part of a larger party near the Miles River around 5 p.m. when a flock of geese flew overhead. The group fired on birds.

 One goose fell, striking Meilhammer and knocking him out.

 “One of the members of the hunting party shot and killed the goose,” said Maryland Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson. “It is unclear which one it was.”

 Meilhammer suffered head and facial injuries, and was airlifted to Maryland Shock Trauma, Thomson said.

 CAPTION The Saturday morning service recognizes “the first resurrection of our savior and lord Jesus Christ,” Father Constantine Moralis said. It is held before the Orthodox Christians observe Easter Sunday, known as Pascha. The Saturday morning service recognizes “the first resurrection of our savior and lord Jesus Christ,” Father Constantine Moralis said. It is held before the Orthodox Christians observe Easter Sunday, known as Pascha. CAPTION Business and civic leaders attend a breakfast during the release of annual State of Downtown Baltimore report. (Barbara Haddock Taylor, Baltimore Sun video) Business and civic leaders attend a breakfast during the release of annual State of Downtown Baltimore report. (Barbara Haddock Taylor, Baltimore Sun video)

 trichman@baltsun.com

 twitter.com/TaliRichman |||||


Write a summary based on this article:

Not all the Kennedy loyalists I spoke with yesterday were giddy over the news that Joseph P. Kennedy III, also known as “The Kid,” was taking his first steps toward a run for Barney Frank’s congressional seat.

 “I thought the plan was to spend more time working in trenches of the court system,” said one, “then set his sights on maybe becoming DA. That way, The Kid would’ve been able to come at something like this with a more established record.” ||||| article

 Joseph P. Kennedy III has announced he will run for Congress this year, at last raising the prospect of a Kennedy on Capitol Hill—and the rebirth of Massachusetts as a Democratic redoubt.

 Camelot groupies, rejoice! The Kennedys are girding for a comeback.

 While most of the political world was glued this week to the Republican presidential field’s tussle for the hearts of Granite Staters, a fresh Democratic front was opening just down the road in Massachusetts.

 After months of low-level chatter, Joe Kennedy III—son of former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II and grandson of Bobby—announced Thursday that, come January 20, he will leave his job with the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office to pursue the congressional seat being vacated by the crankily transcendent Barney Frank.

 What’s the big deal, you ask? Isn’t a Kennedy running for office in Massachusetts the definition of dog-bites-man—the electoral equivalent of Lindsay Lohan failing a breathalyzer?

 Not lately. After an impressive run, the nation’s most famous political dynasty has fallen on hard times in recent years. In early 2009, Caroline somehow let Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat slip through her fingers. Later that year, liberal lion Teddy was felled by a brain tumor. And in 2010, after years of struggling with prescription drug and alcohol abuse, Teddy’s son, Patrick, opted not to run for reelection to his Rhode Island congressional seat.

 As for the younger generation, most have shunned the political arena. Indeed, since Patrick left office last January, the nation’s capital has been devoid of elected Kennedys for the first time since 1947 (that’s right: 64 consecutive years). At this point, the family standard has been relegated to Maria Shriver’s older brother, Bobby, the mayor of Santa Monica and the only member of the Kennedy clan currently in elective office.

 How the mighty have fallen.

 All things considered, there are worse horses the family could bet on. A hail and hearty 31, JPK3 has got the smile, the jawline, the shoulders. (Although, good Lord, could that hair be any brighter orange?) And if his much-talked-about speech last January commemorating JFK’s “City on a Hill” address is any sign, he’s not too shabby an orator.

 As for his CV, young Joe has the sterling ed cred one would expect—Stanford undergrad, Harvard Law—along with a bleeding-heart stint in the Peace Corps. Post-Corps, he spent a couple of years as a prosecutor on—where else?—Cape Cod. But the electoral winds weren’t as friendly on the Cape as in other parts of the state. (Last year, there were reports that Kennedy had commissioned a poll that showed that Cape Cod and Southshore voters were suffering from “Kennedy fatigue.”) So in September, he moved over to become an assistant DA for the vastly more populous, and more Democratic, Middlesex County—a far more propitious platform from which to launch a political career. (It certainly worked wonders for Great Uncle Teddy.)

 That said, this run is about more than the reboot of a single dynasty. It is also about the Democratic Party’s fierce struggle to repaint Massachusetts deep blue, thus erasing one of its most searing recent embarrassments.

 It’d be tough to overstate the shock to the Dems’ system when they allowed Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat to be captured by Scott Brown in 2010. A Republican! In Teddy’s chair! We’re talking deep psychic scarring here, along with much weeping, gnashing of teeth, and drowning of sorrows in tall green bottles of Jameson.

 This year offers a shot at redemption, if only Dems can fire up their voters. And what better way to do so than with a Kennedy on the ticket? Barack Obama may no longer make Bay State hearts go pitter-pat, but add a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed new Kennedy to budding liberal heartthrob and Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren? |||||

– Capitol Hill has been without a Kennedy a full year now after a six-decade run, but that has a decent chance of changing in September: Joseph P. Kennedy III is formally "exploring" a run for Barney Frank's House seat. "A hail and hearty 31, JPK3 has got the smile, the jawline, the shoulders," writes Michelle Cottle at the Daily Beast. "(Although, good Lord, could that hair be any brighter orange?)" He's also a decent orator, and has a Harvard Law degree and experience as an assistant DA under his belt. This race, though, is about more than recharging the Kennedy dynasty, writes Cottle: It's part of what could be a comeback year for Democrats in Massachusetts. They're still smarting over losing a Senate seat to Scott Brown, but Elizabeth Warren offers a chance to correct that. "This year offers a shot at redemption, if only Dems can fire up their voters. And what better way to do so than with a Kennedy on the ticket?" Maybe, but a skeptical Peter Gelzinis at the Boston Herald warns that plenty of "Kennedy fatigue" still exists in the state.


Article:

“We’re in and out of there every other day. We’re shopping for parties. You pop in when you go to the laundromat,” he said. “On the day when my daughter was born, 24 years ago, after the C-section was successful, I ran over here to get some food and some beer. All the employees had been asking after my wife because she was overdue, and they were so happy to hear everyone was safe.” ||||| In this photo provided by Christian Monterrosa, a Trader Joe's employee is distraught as he recounts his experience just outside the Trader Joe's supermarket where a man held dozens of people hostage... (Associated Press)

 In this photo provided by Christian Monterrosa, a Trader Joe's employee is distraught as he recounts his experience just outside the Trader Joe's supermarket where a man held dozens of people hostage before surrendering to police, Saturday, July 21, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Christian Monterrosa via AP) (Associated Press)

 LOS ANGELES (AP) — A gunman who got into a deadly shootout with police, then took dozens of people hostage at a Los Angeles supermarket has been arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said Sunday.

 Gene Evin Atkins, 28, was being held Sunday morning on $2 million bail, according to Officer Drake Madison, a Los Angeles police spokesman. It wasn't clear if he had an attorney and a message left at a number listed for Atkins in public records wasn't immediately returned.

 A woman was shot and killed when Atkins ran into the Trader Joe's supermarket in Los Angeles' Silver Lake section on Saturday, but no hostages were seriously hurt before the man handcuffed himself and surrendered about three hours later, police said.

 Coroner's officials identified the woman Sunday as 27-year-old Melyda Corado. Her brother, Albert Corado, said on Twitter that she worked at Trader Joe's.

 "I'm sad to say she didn't make it. My baby sister. My world," he tweeted.

 Atkins' grandmother was hospitalized in critical condition after the shooting and police had no update on her condition Sunday.

 Authorities said Atkins shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman, whom he forced into a car, at a South Los Angeles home around 1:30 p.m., police said. Officers tracked the car, gave chase and exchanged gunfire with the man, who crashed into a pole outside the supermarket and then ran inside, they said. The unidentified woman, who suffered a graze wound earlier, was taken out of the car by police.

 Frightened customers and workers dove for cover as police bullets fired at the man shattered the store's glass doors.

 Some people inside the supermarket climbed out windows, and others barricaded themselves in rooms as scores of police officers and firefighters and 18 ambulances converged on the scene and prepared for mass casualties.

 Heavily armed officers in riot gear stood along the side of the store and used mirrors to look inside as hostage negotiators tried to coax the man into freeing his 40 to 50 hostages and surrendering.

 At around 6:30 p.m., Atkins agreed to handcuff himself and walked out the front door, surrounded by four of the hostages. He was immediately taken into custody.

 Mayor Eric Garcetti congratulated police and firefighters for their work and mourned the loss of life at the Trader Joe's, where he and his wife regularly shopped when they lived in the neighborhood.

 "The heroism that was shown today was second to none, and the teams that were able to respond, secure the perimeter and engage in conversation with the suspect no doubt saved lives today," he said.

 Among those who survived the harrowing afternoon was 91-year-old Don Kohles, who lives in the neighborhood and was walking into the supermarket when he saw "two police cars coming like a bat out of hell" and the man crashed into the pole.

 The driver got out, and police started firing at him as he ran toward the supermarket. Kohles hurried inside, and he and others took cover as the man ran in.

 "Those bullets went right over the back of me as he was running right down the main aisle," Kohles said.

 Christian Dunlop, a real estate agent and actor who lives nearby and frequents Trader Joe's, was on a corner near the store when he saw four people run out. One person, an employee, was dragging an injured woman by the hands.

 "She appeared lifeless," Dunlop said.

 He then saw five employees hang out a second-floor window and drop to the ground and around 15 others run to safety from the back of the store. Among them was a police officer carrying a small child, he said.

 Police Chief Michel Moore said the gunman made a "series of demands" during the standoff but crisis negotiators believed they could persuade him to surrender peacefully.

 Officers had tracked the car using a stolen-vehicle tracking system and tried to stop the man in Hollywood, but he refused to pull over, Moore said. During the chase, the man fired at officers, shooting out the back window of his car.

 Outside the store, the man exchanged gunfire with police again and that's when Corado was shot and killed, Moore said. It was unclear if she died from police gunfire or was killed by the gunman.

 Fire officials said six people, ranging in age from 12 to 81, were taken to the hospital. None had been shot, and all were in fair condition.

 ___

 Associated Press writer Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed to this report. |||||
What is a summary?

– A 28-year-old man has been named by authorities in Los Angeles as the gunman in a shootout and kidnapping that ended with an hours-long grocery store stand-off and the death of an employee. Per the LA Times, the LAPD named Gene Atkins as the suspect. Officer Drake Madison told the paper Atkins is being held in lieu of $2 million bail on suspicion of murder. Authorities say Atkins shot his grandmother multiple times and took another woman hostage before driving away in what became a police pursuit and shootout when police located his vehicle hours later. After he's accused of exchanging fire with police, Atkins allegedly drove away before crashing into a pole in front of a Trader Joe's in the Silver Lake neighborhood. Witnesses reportedly said the suspect exchanged fire with police as he ran into the store. Per the AP, a woman was shot and killed when Atkins was entering the store and it remained unclear Sunday evening whether she was hit by police fire or shot by Atkins. The victim has been identified as 27-year-old Melyda Corado. "I'm sad to say she didn't make it. My baby sister. My world," Corado's brother, Albert Corado, has since tweeted. None of the hostages were seriously hurt before cops say Atkins handcuffed himself and surrendered after a 3-hour standoff. A statement from Trader Joe's said the location will be closed for the foreseeable future in order give employees time to personally come to terms with the tragedy.