Article:

In an ESPN exclusive, Alyssa Roenigk reveals that Dave Mirra's brain was found to have CTE. The finding is the first for an action sports athlete. Today, Roenigk and Kevin Robinson join Outside The Lines to discuss Dave Mirra's life and legacy. (6:54)

 BMX icon Dave Mirra, who died in February, suffered from the type of chronic brain damage that has shown up in the brains of dozens of football players, a University of Toronto neuropathologist has concluded. Multiple neuropathologists confirmed the diagnosis.

 Mirra is the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease that can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression. He died on Feb. 4 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

 The tau protein deposits found in Mirra's brain were indistinguishable from the kind that have been found in the brains of former football and hockey players with CTE, Dr. Lili-Naz Hazrati, the Toronto neuropathologist, told ESPN The Magazine.

 Editor's Picks Wife of Dave Mirra, first action sports athlete with CTE, discusses his last weeks and legacy BMX pioneer Dave Mirra is the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with CTE. In an exclusive interview, his wife, Lauren Mirra, speaks about his diagnosis, his last weeks and his legacy.

 "I couldn't tell the difference," she said. "The trauma itself defines the disease, not how you got the trauma."

 The trademark tau protein deposits were found in the frontal and temporal lobes of Mirra's brain.

 "It's assumed it is related to multiple concussions that happened years before," she said.

 Mirra, who was 41, suffered a fractured skull when a car hit him at age 19, and he dabbled in boxing after his retirement from BMX. But he also endured countless concussions during his BMX career, beginning at a young age.

 A legend in freestyle BMX, Mirra was the face of his sport to the mainstream. Until 2013, he owned the record for the most X Games medals in history with 24. He also had a successful video game series and hosted a show on MTV. After retiring from competitive BMX in 2011, Mirra competed in the sports of rallycross and triathlon.

 After his death, Mirra's family decided to have his brain studied for CTE. At the request of the Mirra family, Hazrati sent images of her prepared slides, without background information or Mirra's name attached, to additional U.S. and Canadian neuropathologists for their opinions. Each confirmed Hazrati's diagnosis of CTE.

 "It validates what we have been thinking about brain injuries in boxers and football players," Hazrati said. "The key is brain injury. Regardless of how you get it, through BMX or hockey, you are at risk for this."

 CTE is a progressive disease associated with repeated head trauma. Although long known to occur in boxers, it was not discovered in football players and other athletes until 2002.

 Mirra's widow, Lauren, received the diagnosis about her late husband in March. In an exclusive interview with ESPN The Magazine for its June 6 issue, she spoke about Mirra's diagnosis and legacy, and she detailed personality changes in his final year.

 "I started to notice changes in his mood. And then it quickly started to get worse," Lauren said. "He wasn't able to be present in any situation or conversation, so it was hard to be in a relationship with him to any degree. He was lost. I looked straight through him on a few occasions. And I was like, 'Where are you? Where are you? What is wrong?'

 "This is the beginning of bringing awareness. It would be amazing if this is something we can detect in life one day. If we can detect it, prevent it, stop it, let's do all of the above."

 CTE can be diagnosed only after death, though many researchers are working on tests to diagnose it in the living.

 Mirra will be inducted into the National BMX Hall of Fame in Chula Vista, California, on June 11. He will also be honored June 4 during this year's X Games in Austin, Texas, with a new event named for him, the Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick competition. The winner will be awarded the Mirra Golden Pedal and prize money.

 ESPN owns and produces the X Games, which had no comment on Mirra's diagnosis. ||||| Skip Ad Ad Loading... x Embed x Share BMX legend Dave Mirra suffered from CTE before his death in February, multiple neuropathologists have confirmed, according to ESPN. Time_Sports

 Former BMX rider Dave Mirra in June of 2015. (Photo: Ed Reinke, AP)

 The brain of BMX star Dave Mirra showed signs of the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a Toronto-based neuropathologist confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday.

 Mirra died at age 41 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in February

 and the family sought out the University of Toronto and the Canadian Concussion Centre. University of Toronto neuropathologist Lili-Naz Hazrati oversaw the examination of Mirra’s brain.

 Mirra is believed to be the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with CTE, a progressive disease linked to repeated head impacts that can lead to depression and the lack of impulse control. Earlier Tuesday, another group of researchers announced former All-Pro defensive end Bubba Smith was the 90th former NFL player diagnosed with CTE.

 Hazrati said Mirra’s brain had the telltale signs of CTE and research remains underway on what stage the disease was in at the time of his suicide.

 “We still need to do more work to understand the staging,” Hazrati told USA TODAY Sports.

 ESPN was the first to report Mirra’s CTE diagnosis. The family said in a statement “leading neuropathologists from the U.S. and abroad unanimously confirmed the diagnosis of CTE.”

 “We would like to thank our family, friends and the overwhelming number of Dave’s fans who have supported us during this difficult time,” Mirra’s wife, Lauren, said in a statement. “We ask for your continued support in honoring Dave’s legacy and for your patience as we plan to create a platform for CTE awareness and research.”

 Greenville, N.C., mayor Allen Thomas, who was also a friend of Mirra's, mentioned at a news conference in February that Mirra — like many action sports stars — absorbed several big hits in his career. He suggested that that Mirra could have suffered from CTE.

 “This is young man that had a pretty had a pretty rugged sports career and took a lot of injuries in his career," Thomas said. "You have to give pause, think and wonder as we hear about brain trauma in football and other sports, whether that played a factor." ||||| BMX rider Dave Mirra made a name for himself with his high-flying tricks and multiple recoveries after big crashes. He was found dead at the age of 41 on Feb. 4. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

 In a decade-old video, BMX star Dave Mirra spoke of riding a bike in terms usually reserved for the priesthood. BMX wasn’t just a trend, he said, but a vocation — and a life sentence.

 “I was born in 1974 in a small town in upstate New York — a time when bicycle motocross was just about to blow up the scene,” he said. “By the mid-’80s, freestyle BMX was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. It was a movement, and I was part of it. Just about every kid across America was riding BMX. There was at a time in high school when most kids traded their bikes for a car. I had to make a choice: Follow them or follow my heart. … I just kept on riding. As far as I was concerned, I was sentenced to life.”

 Now that Mirra — found dead Thursday of a gunshot wound in his truck at his home in Greenville, N.C. — has apparently killed himself, it’s easy to forget the great dangers he faced everyday in pursuit of his calling. BMX bikers are in peril every time they compete or practice, defying gravity as casually as the rest of us change toner in the copier.

 [BMX icon Dave Mirra dead at 41 of apparent suicide]

 Or, sometimes, not:

 And, in his career, Mirra endured — and triumphed over — at least two terrible accidents that devastated his body and left him wondering whether he would ever compete again.

 In the first, he was just a pedestrian. In 1993, at age 19, Mirra — who had just gotten out of high school and gone pro — was leaving a club in Syracuse when a drunk driver plowed into him, fracturing his skull and dislocating his shoulder.

 “A car going 45 hurts a lot more than you falling from 15 feet and hitting the ground,” he later said. “But it all hurts.”

 The accident left him with a blood clot in his brain.

 “They said that if I was a football player, they’d never let me play again,” he said, “but I wasn’t going to let that control my destiny.” Besides, giving up riding wasn’t really an option — and there was no one to stop him.

 “They couldn’t control what I did because it was an independent sport,” he said. “Maybe at first I was a little nervous, but I missed it so much.”

 Mirra was riding again within a year.

 “The blood clot went away real soon, and I was fine,” he said. “Basically, I just figured I’d been riding my whole life and I’m not going to stop now.”

 Getting hit by a car wasn’t really that different than getting hassled by squares, he said.

 “It was a setback, but something I overcame. It doesn’t even mess with me at all,” he said. “It’s no different than that teacher in sixth grade telling me I wasn’t going to go anywhere — a roadblock. In life there are obstacles you have to go through. Whatever it is, you overcome eventually. I’m fortunate not to be hurt physically so that I can move on. Back then it was a big deal, but it’s behind me.” He also once noted: There was “no brain damage that I know of.”

 Although Mirra wasn’t really the type to preach, the crash that almost ended his career certainly made him a fan of designated drivers.

 “I haven’t been involved in any public service announcements, but it is my stand that drunk driving is not safe, and I would urge people not to drink and drive,” he said. “It’s not worth it.”

 Mirra in 2005. (Nick Laham/Getty Images)

 In 2006, Mirra had another close call he later called his “worst crash ever.”

 “It was the first day of BMX park practice before the Summer X Games,” he told Men’s Fitness — a publication impressed by “what extreme athletes put their bodies through” — in 2007. “I did a few practice runs and started to push it a little bit each time. The final hit was a mess. I missed the landing and came down flat. As I leaned back to suck it up, my ass hit the back tire, my bike instantly stopped, and I went straight over the bars to the ground. I basically fell 16 feet straight to my head. Just after I hit the ground, I thought for sure I broke all the ribs on the right side and my sternum was smashed. I couldn’t breathe, so a collapsed lung crossed my mind. I knew something was wrong.”

 It turned out Mirra had almost destroyed his liver.

 “I ended up with a Grade 4 laceration on my liver — Grade 5 is the worst you can get,” he said. “I spent two days in ICU and had to stay off my bike for close to four months. The biggest challenge is getting back to 100 percent mentally. But after four months off my bike, I was ready to take some chances again. I spent so much time preparing myself in my mind to ride that I was ready to go when the time came.”

 For a guy used to pushing his body to the limits, recovery demanded patience.

 “I realized there’s nothing you can do about an injury or having a bad day,” he said of the healing process. “My mind-set right now is all about having fun when I’m out riding and not putting too much pressure on myself. I’ve won enough; I’ve proved myself. Winning feels good — I’m still out there riding my best and keeping up the standard for riding, and I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. I’m just focusing more on enjoying myself: staying positive and doing what I do best.”

 If Mirra did take his own life, something tragic led him off of this positive path. But, when remembering the obstacles he did overcome, perhaps it’s also best to remember his nickname: “Miracle Man.” |||||
What is a summary?

– Dave Mirra, the legendary BMX star who killed himself in February, had chronic traumatic encephalopathy—a disease more commonly seen in football players and boxers, ESPN reports. He's believed to be the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with it. "The key is brain injury," says the neuropathologist who diagnosed Mirra. "Regardless of how you get it, through BMX or hockey, you are at risk for this." Mirra suffered numerous concussions throughout his BMX career. He once described a 2006 crash to the Washington Post by saying, “I basically fell 16 feet straight to my head.” “This is a young man that had a pretty rugged sports career and took a lot of injuries," USA Today quotes a friend as saying. Mirra's diagnosis of CTE was confirmed by multiple neuropathologists, though it's unclear what stage the disease was in. Scans of Mirra's brain showed the same tau protein deposits as those in the brains of former football players. CTE, which is only able to be diagnosed after death, can cause depression, dementia, and memory loss. Mirra's wife Lauren says Mirra underwent major mood and personality changes in the year before he killed himself at 41. “We ask for your continued support in honoring Dave’s legacy and for your patience as we plan to create a platform for CTE awareness and research," reads a statement from Lauren, per USA Today. Mirra, who "was the face of his sport," will be inducted into the National BMX Hall of Fame next month. (Also on Tuesday, Bubba Smith was announced as the 90th former NFL player to be diagnosed with CTE.)


News article:

 EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio (WKBN) – An East Liverpool police officer, while responding to a drug-involved call Friday night, accidentally touched fentanyl and overdosed.

 Around 8:50 p.m., East Liverpool Patrolman Chris Green responded to a traffic stop at the bottom of Lisbon Street at W. 8th Street.

 According to a police report, officers had blocked in a blue Monte Carlo after watching the driver — 25-year-old Justin Buckle — perform what they believed was a drug transaction.

 “We think they were trying to flee, but they were blocked in,” said East Liverpool Captain Patrick Wright. “Once they got blocked in, they tried to dispose of the evidence in the vehicle…There was white powder on the seat, on the floor, on the guys’ shoes, and on his clothing.”

 After Buckle and passenger 24-year-old Cortez Collins were arrested, Green followed station protocol for handling drugs by putting on gloves and a mask when he searched the car.

 East Liverpool officer recovers from drug poisoning, has warning for dealers

 But when he got back to the station, another officer noticed Green had some of the white powder on his shirt.

 “Just out of instinct, he tried to brush it off — not thinking,” Wright said.

 An hour later, Green passed out at the station from overdosing on the white powder that police think was fentanyl. The drug can get into the body just through contact with the skin.

 E. Liverpool police: Deadly drugs coming from Cleveland street gang

 “They called an ambulance for him and the ambulance responded for him,” Wright said. “They gave him one dose of Narcan here and then transported him to East Liverpool City Hospital, where they gave him three additional doses of Narcan.”

 Captain Wright said Green is fine as of Sunday.

 He added it’s a scary example of how the drug epidemic has forced police officers to change aspects of their job.

 “We changed our procedures to where we used to field test drugs,” Wright said. “We don’t do that any longer because of accidental exposures.”

 Buckle, of East Liverpool, and Collins, of Cleveland, are both charged with tampering with evidence. They each waived their rights at a preliminary hearing on Monday. Bond was set at $100,000 each.

 Collins had an active arrest warrant out of Euclid.

 East Liverpool cop overdose View as list View as gallery Open Gallery In May, an East Liverpool Police Officer overdosed after coming into contact with fentanyl during a traffic stop. ||||| An East Liverpool police officer is on the mend after accidentally overdosing during a traffic stop.

 According to police, a suspicious vehicle was seen conducting what appeared to be a drug transaction on Spring Grove Street Friday night.

 When officers tried to pull over the car the driver, 25-year-old Justin Buckle of East Liverpool, reportedly tried to leave, almost backing into an unmarked cruiser.

 Police were able to stop the vehicle at West 8th Street and Lisbon Street, where they say they could see Buckle and the passenger moving around suspiciously inside.

 The passenger, identified as 24-year-old Cortez Collins of Cleveland, was pulled from the car and found to have warrants out for his arrest possession of carfentanil, a dangerous opioid that is sometimes used as an elephant tranquilizer and has become a popular ingredient in potentially dangerous drug mixtures.

 According to a report, while an officer had Buckle at gunpoint still inside the car, he began using his foot to rub a white powder into the carpet.

 Patrolman Chris Green reportedly entered the car and stopped Buckle from destroying the evidence.

 Officials say there were several piles of white powder throughout the front of the car, on Buckle's shoes, on the mouth of an open can of Mountain Dew. There were also small knotted baggies that appeared to have been torn open.

 Police say that Collins and Buckle told them that the white powder was cocaine, but when they field tested the substance it came back negative.

 The suspects then told officers that the drug was in fact fentanyl.

 Just moments later, Patrolman Green reportedly started feeling sick and dizzy. It was determined that during the attempt to get Buckle out of the car, the fentanyl had gotten onto his skin.

 Police tell 21 News that once back at the police station, the officer was given a dose of Narcan, the life-saving overdose reversal drug.

 He was given three more Narcan treatments after he was taken to the hospital.

 Fentanyl is known to be 50 times more potent than heroin, so much so that just a few granules can be known to cause an overdose.

 According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, fentanyl poses a grave threat to law enforcement officials and first responders, as a lethal dose of fentanyl can be accidentally inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

 Officers with the East Liverpool Police Department say they are shaken by the event, and how quickly things can go badly during stops of these kinds.

 But they are relieved that Officer Green is ok. Officers say things could have been much worse.

 Both Buckle and Collins have been charged with tampering with evidence. Police say they expect more charges will be filed. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– A police officer in Ohio got a lesson the hard way on just how potent the opioid fentanyl can be. The East Liverpool department says officer Chris Green got some of the powder on his skin after a drug bust and suffered an accidental overdose, reports WFMJ. He ended up in the hospital but is OK after multiple doses of the overdose-reversal drug Narcan. Green had participated in the arrest of two men Friday night who were suspected of conducting a drug deal inside a car. When cops blocked their vehicle, police say the men began trying to dispose of the evidence, and white powder ended up all over the inside of their car. Officers donned protective gear in collecting evidence from the scene, and accounts differ on how Green got some of the powder on his skin. The best guess is that some ended up on his shirt and he wiped it off with his bare hand, reports WKBN. "Just out of instinct, he tried to brush it off—not thinking," says a police captain. Fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin, and Green quickly began suffering the effects. Meanwhile, Justin Buckle, 25, and Cortez Collins, 24, face drug charges after their Friday night arrests.


Article:
Things Are Dire In South Sudan But Aid Workers See Signs Of Hope

 Enlarge this image toggle caption Eric Kanalstein/AP Eric Kanalstein/AP

 On Sunday, aid worker Jeremiah Young couldn't tell if he was hearing thunderclaps or bombs.

 That's the scene in Juba, capital of South Sudan. Rainy season has begun. And intense fighting broke out on Thursday — a new round of fighting between supporters of the vice president and troops backing the president. Heavy gunfire was exchanged, along with mortar and grenade explosions.

 As the conflict erupted, an estimated 30,000 people fled their homes, seeking safer ground. Another 30,000 had previously sought shelter in what's called a "Protection of Civilian" site in the city that's run by the U.N. There were reportedly more than 150 deaths.

 Amid this burst of conflict and chaos, aid groups struggle to function. Goats and Soda spoke to Young, who works for World Vision, and Leslie McTyre, a program coordinator for the International Medical Corps, about the challenges of providing humanitarian aid.

 One of World Vision's goals is to make sure people have food and clean water and a safe place to stay. Even before this round of fighting, an estimated 3.9 million individuals in South Sudan didn't have enough food to meet their nutritional needs, says Young. The situation in Juba will only make the number go up, he predicts. In such emergency situations, "high-energy biscuits" are a go-to food to distribute. They're fortified to provide calories and nutrition, says Young.

 With the emphasis on such lifesaving activities, says Young, other kinds of help that World Vision offers — education for the children of displaced families, for example — may lapse. The International Medical Corps, based in Los Angeles, runs a hospital in the Protection of Civilian site; its maternity wing was shelled on Monday and two employees were injured. When the international airport reopened, the group sent home its 19 international employees because of safety concerns. McTyre, who is from Fairfax, Va., is one of the few who stayed to assist the South Sudanese staff.

 There's an overwhelming amount of work to do. The hospital is seeing an influx of patients."People with severe trauma, a number of raped women, people that have gotten hurt running from the fighting," McTyre says. Plus, the usual arrival of people who have fallen ill.

 "I'm trying to figure out how to get our staff some rest," says the 67-year-old McTyre. "They're working around the clock. They ran out of water two days ago. I don't know what they're doing about that. I finally got a water truck going over there — that should help a bit."

 Asked what he needs, McTyre rattled off a list: dressings, fluids to hydrate patients, trauma kits with antibiotics, rape kits "with pills that would take care of infections and pills that would take care of unwanted pregnancies and a number of items that help to soothe and calm the patients down."

 Under ordinary circumstances, one rape kit serves one person. "In conditions like this we have to split them up between four different women," McTyre says.

 Despite the difficult times, neither he nor Young has lost hope.

 Young is 28 and from San Diego. This is his first overseas assignment for World Vision. He has been in South Sudan for 10 months now, working on peace-building programs. He says: "I see hope in the eyes of the children, and that's the motivation for us to continue doing what we're doing. We see hope in the eyes of mothers and fathers for their children, whom they want to live a better life than they have lived."

 But he also worries about the future: "If we do not provide the necessary support for these children to develop as a child should, then it truly will be a lost opportunity."

 McTyre suspects that "we've seen the worst — there may be other flare-ups to come but not as bad as what we just weathered through." The South Sudanese people he knows "are fed up with the fighting," he says. He sees enthusiasm for reconciliation efforts. But healing will not happen overnight, he cautions: "Donors and donor countries need to open up their pockets because this is going to take some time to repair the wounds."

 Asked if he is homesick, he replies, "Always." But the 40-year veteran of emergency response work is committed to staying: "I've never seen a place that needs as much [help] as South Sudan. I've also not seen a place that openly appreciates it as much as South Sudan." ||||| Shares

 , NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 12 – Few hours after South Sudan Ambassador accused Vice President Dr Riek Machar’s Spokesman James Gatdet of inciting the violence that claimed 272 lives in Juba, the spokesman defended himself against the allegations.

 He told Capital FM News that he posted a message on Facebook warning that there was an intention to arrest or harm Machar but after the violence had already started.

 “What the ambassador said was a lie. I do agree that I posted a message on Facebook but this message was posted after the fighting erupted at the palace,” he explained.

 “I did not post it before the fighting erupted as the ambassador said. I posted it on the same day the violence erupted after I spoke to my people on the ground and told me that fighting took place that they had been attacked by the bodyguards of the president, that’s when I posted it.”

 He explained that his Facebook post was inspired by concerns that the violence was targeting Machar.

 “I suspected that the fighting erupted because there was an intention to harm the first Vice President. It was a pre-plan.”

 Earlier Tuesday, South Sudan Ambassador Chol Ajongo alleged that Gatdet informed the army that Machar had been detained at the President’s palace, a message that spurred violence between Machar’s and President Salva Kiir’s army.

 According to Ajongo, the information sent by Gatdet was false yet it led to the violence that has been condemned in and out of Africa.

 READ: False Facebook post blamed for 272 deaths in S. Sudan ||||| (Juba, 12 July 2016): Following days of clashes in Juba that have left tens of thousands of people displaced, and hundreds killed or injured, the Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan has called for swift, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need.

 “It is tragic that civilians, including those forced to flee their homes during this latest round of fighting, continue to suffer immensely at a time when there were high hopes of a return to stability in South Sudan,” said Mr. Eugene Owusu, Humanitarian Coordinator. “I call on all parties to restore and maintain calm throughout the country, protect civilians, and ensure civilian freedom of movement.”

 Estimates indicate that more than 36,000 people were displaced at the height of the fighting and sought shelter in various locations throughout Juba, including the UNMISS base in Tongping, UN House in Jebel, WFP compound, ADRA compound, and several churches across the city. Most of the displaced were women and children. While some have begun to return home, others remain concerned for their safety.

 “Humanitarian partners have activated our contingency plan for Juba and are mobilising assistance for people affected by these tragic events,” said Mr. Owusu, “We urgently call on all concerned to guarantee safe and unhindered access for humanitarian organisations to ensure that we are able to reach all people in need, including in locations hardest-hit by the fighting.”

 During the clashes, some humanitarian facilities, compounds and warehouses - including a maternity ward in a Protection of Civilians site - were hit by shelling and gunfire. “I have stressed this before, and I must stress it again: destruction and damage to humanitarian facilities and violence against aid workers are unacceptable and must stop” said Mr. Owusu.

 Prior to the eruption of fighting in Juba, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan was already dire, with unprecedented levels of food insecurity and one in five people displaced. The 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan is currently just 40 per cent funded - $508 million received out of $1.3 billion required – and additional resources are urgently required to respond to the growing needs.

 “I urge major donors to step up and support humanitarian action and the large numbers of people in South Sudan who are in dire need of assistance,” said Mr. Owusu.

 For further information, please contact:

 Guiomar Pau Sole, Public Information Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in South Sudan (pausole@un.org / +211920100411) OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org/south-sudan or www.reliefweb.int. ||||| Heavy fighting in the South Sudanese capital of Juba over the past few days has led to hundreds of deaths and the suggestion that the country is “back to war”. The question on everyone’s lips has been: who is behind the violence?

 This question is all the more curious given that President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar have both seemed incapable of explaining what’s happening. In fact, the leaders of the main rival factions in the recent civil war were together for a meeting when one of the episodes of gunfire occurred.

 Missing from the meeting, however, was the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) chief of general staff. The former governor of Northern Bahr El Ghazal state, Paul Malong, is a figure who many see as the true power behind the Salva Kiir’s presidential throne.

 The power behind the throne

 I have written about Malong and Kiir’s relationship before. And I have come to the unsurprising conclusion, as have many South Sudanese, that Malong is the one who holds the real power.

 Malong established his authority over Northern Bahr El Ghazal and the SPLA during the civil war that spanned from 1983 to 2005. In this period, Malong dominated the local war economy and used its proceeds to cement strategic allegiances. He did this through the practice of large-scale polygamy and by godfathering his supporters’ marriages, a practice shared by other Nuer commanders in Unity state, for example.

 One of Malong’s supporters was Salva Kiir. Malong provided financial support after Kiir fell out with then SPLA leader John Garang in 2004. One illustration of Malong’s influence is that he recently offered to pay for the bride wealth for Kiir’s new wife. That role is traditionally taken up by a groom’s father and his close and extended kin. In 2005, after Garang’s death, Kiir took over as vice-president of Sudan. And in 2008, Malong was appointed state governor of his home area of Northern Bahr El Ghazal.

 In the following few years, as episodes of fighting with Sudanese forces continued, Malong managed to convince Kiir of the need to create a militia that would be loyal to them both. He began recruiting and training men from Kiir’s home state of Warrap, but the majority were from Northern Bahr El Ghazal.

 Malong was trying to position himself as the first leader from Northern Bahr El Ghazal with national stature. The militia he led came to be known as Mathiang Anyoor, meaning “brown caterpillar” in Dinka. But it was also known as Dot ku Beny or Gel-Beny or “rescue the president”.

 Lethal power and lame ducks

 In December 2013, war broke out in now-independent South Sudan. It began as a political battle between President Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and Vice-President Machar, an ethnic Nuer. Much of the violence soon became codified along these ethnic lines despite the fact that military alliances did not always follow strict lines.

 As the fighting progressed, Malong – with the help of the Mathiang Anyoor – organised the massacre of thousands of ethnic Nuer in Juba. Soon after, he was promoted to chief of general staff of the SPLA and he came to dominate the entire SPLA system of corruption. The proceeds were invested strategically to sustain military allegiances, both within and outside the SPLA.

 Since then, Malong has continued to recruit young men in what has become known as the “new” Mathiang Anyoor. And both “new” and “old” Mathiang Anyoor have been used to reinforce the SPLA in Upper Nile, Unity and Jonglei states. But Malong’s influence goes even further. The Dinka commando units that have wrought havoc on Western and Central Equatoria states since October 2015 – despite the signing of a peace agreement between Kiir and Machar in August 2015 – also reportedly answer to Malong.

 It is understood that the power he commands has led to rifts with Minister of Defence Kuol Manyang. In contrast to Malong, the influence of South Sudan’s official main leaders appears to be weak. The recent fighting in Juba and Kiir’s apparent ignorance of what was happening reveals his lack of control over the SPLA. And it is increasingly clear that the president has lost a great deal of credibility and power amidst rumours of alcoholism and health issues.

 If Kiir is a lame duck, the same might be said – albeit to a lesser extent – of Riek Machar. The first vice-president never seemed to control his troops and never had as much military gravitas as his peers in the so-called SPLM-In-Opposition (IO). Furthermore, he has made the grave mistake of dismissing IO’s most experienced generals in the past year.

 International powers to blame, too

 With fighting returning to South Sudan despite an internationally brokered peace agreement less than a year ago, the international community must also take some responsibility:

 Juba’s demilitarisation took the form of a 25km radius around the city. Why was the SPLA allowed to encircle the capital while blocking possible escape routes for IO?

 And why was a stronger stance not taken regarding the fact that SPLA soldiers had clearly removed their uniforms but remained inside Juba?

 Why was the national security body allowed to expand exponentially over the past few months without action?

 If anything, the recent violence in Juba has shown how easy it is for the SPLA to breach security arrangements. The heavy fighting on July 10 and 11 suggest that the situation might become even worse than when civil war began in December 2013. Fighting engulfed different parts of the city. Rocket-propelled grenades were fired. Civilian houses were shelled. Government helicopter gunships circled Juba’s skies. And United Nations (UN) premises were hit.

 The Juba bridge was also closed off and Machar’s troops were unlikely to back down since they knew there was no way out, especially with Malong’s commando units able to attack them easily from their bases in Central Equatoria. Machar’s troops and SPLA forces were fighting right outside UN premises and reports emerged that Nuer generals, who had remained allied to the SPLA but were now being targeted by SPLA soldiers, were asking for shelter inside the UN compound.

 Real threat for unarmed civilians

 Reports also emerged that both sides had started inflicting reprisals on civilians. On the evening of July 11, Kiir and Machar declared a ceasefire. The question throughout the fighting – still valid should the war in Juba resume – has been: who will protect the civilians?

 Many believe that Malong is the one behind the recent events and point to the fact that on July 8, SPLA troops around J1, the presidential palace, were reinforced from both the area surrounding Juba and from Luri, a cattle camp where Mathiang Anyoor recruits stayed before the 2013 Juba massacre.

 Malong did make a statement on July 9 saying the situation in Juba was under control. But this was done through an intermediary and it was not clear where the man himself was. At any rate, it is difficult to imagine the SPLA could have decimated Machar’s bodyguards on July 8 without the top orders coming from its chief of general staff.

 There are rumours that Malong intended to wreak havoc and maybe even take control of Juba. He may also split from Kiir, but either way he would retain control over his Dinka militias, who are spread all over the Equatorias, as well as over some of the Bul Nuer fighters, who are based in Unity state and have close ties with Khartoum.

 Malong will also continue cultivating his popularity with Dinka communities who do not want to relinquish their desire for their own state, especially after Kiir opened a Pandora’s box with his unilateral decree in October 2015 to replace South Sudan’s ten states with 28.

 Depending on whether or not the ceasefire holds, and on who is officially blamed for the recent fighting, Malong may open up a new front, most likely from Northern Bahr El Ghazal. If such a war were to begin, Kiir might break with Malong to save himself and be forced to mend fences with Machar’s IO as well as other victimised ethnic groups.

 Much remains uncertain. But the future of South Sudan looks grim – and not just in Juba. Other state capitals have seen troop movements and even some fighting.

 Just five years after independence, and less than one year after a peace agreement was signed, a new phase of South Sudan’s civil war seems to have begun.

 This article first appeared in African Arguments and has been slightly modified since. ||||| A "false" Facebook post on South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar account caused the death of 272 people following renewed fighting among rival forces.

 The country's embassy in Nairobi claimed James Gatdet, an official in the joint administration allegedly told Machar's army - through an update on the account - that he had been detained by President Salva Kiir forces at the palace.

 Ambassador Chol Ajongo said it is this information that led the army to respond, causing the fighting in the capital Juba which entered its fifth day on Tuesday.

 "On July 8, 2016, the SPLA-IO forces Spokesman James Gatdet, Press Secretary of Dr Riek Machar created and spread rumours that their leader Dr Riek Machar Teny was under arrest," Ajongo said at a press briefing.

 "This was false, because Machar was attending a security briefing meeting with President Kiir, Vice President James Wani and other senior government officials at the J1 (presidential palace)," he said.

 "Sudan's People Liberation Army In Opposition forces proceeded to attack the government forces at J1 at 4.15 and killed many innocent soldiers," he said.

 Ajongo said that after the post was published on Friday, a member of Machar’s troops forced his way into the palace.

 But he was denied access leading to a confrontation between the officer and security at the gate, the tiff causing injury of a security officer.

 "One of the officers came into the palace and wanted to force his way through the doors to where the meeting was taking place. He was denied access to the building. He then shot the officer and the fighting broke out," the envoy claimed.

 The Ambassador said the “falsehood” was spread when Machar was attending a security meeting with Kiir and other top government officials.

 Ajongo, who was posted to Kenya in June, said: "President Kiir protected Dr Machar’s life until 11.40pm when he personally arranged for armed security escort to take him back safely to his residence in Jebel Kujor area."

 He accused Machar-allied forces of pursuing conflict despite the agreement signed in August 2015 that drafted a power sharing agreement.

 "Anti-peace elements within the SPLA-IO have totally disregarded peace and decided a return to war," he said.

 He said the SPLA-IO were roaming the streets at night while heavily armed and without clear purpose, and refused to stop at check-points. He also said they shot at vehicles including one of the United States of America Embassy in Juba.

 The Ambassador said Juba International Airport reopened on Tuesday and further dismissed calls by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) to send peacekeeping forces to the nation.

 "They (Igad) should tell whether the troops will be imposed on us or an invasion on our sovereign country," he said.

 On Monday, ministers from the regional bloc held a special summit in Nairobi after which senior official Tedros Adhanom urged all parties to engage in dialogue instead of violence.

 He also fronted the possibility of sending Africa Union peacekeeping teams to the clash-torn country, which did not get the chance to celebrate its fifth independence on Saturday.

 The renewed fighting started on Friday near State House when former rebel leader Machar Kiir were having a meeting.

 The fighting has since led to deaths of 272 people, including civilians and displaced thousands of others.

 Read: 15 Kenyan truck drivers killed in South Sudan violence - union

 The Kakuma refugee camp is expected to receive more refugees as Kenya opens its border with South Sudan.

 "There are no new arrivals so far. But we are closely monitoring the situation with the Kenya Directorate of Refugee Affairs," said UNHCR-Kenya spokesman Duke Mwancha.

 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an arms embargo against South Sudan and appealed to the UN Security Council to target sanctions against those involved in the fighting.

 Thousands have been displaced by the standoff in Juba and are sheltering at two UN bases, a World Food Programme compound and other areas. ||||| Rival factions took up arms again in South Sudan's capital of Juba on Monday in the fifth day of fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and soldiers backing Vice-President Riek Machar. Current confrontations started on Thursday night, raising fears of another full-blown conflict after a two-year civil war. Peter Schumann, former director of the United Nations mission to Sudan, told DW: "My understanding, from what I see and what I hear from Juba is that the probability of it [the situation] escalating into a full-scale war is much higher than it stabilizing." Schumann is worried that the situation is very similar to the one that led to a civil war in December 2013.

 There are conflicting reports on the number of dead, but they are estimated to be in the hundreds. The United Nations have called for an immediate end of the battles and the fulfilling of the peace agreement signed by the two leaders in August of last year. This came about after intense pressure from the international community and ended the two-year civil war. The UN has also warned that attacks on civilians, U.N. personnel and U.N. premises, all of which happened in the last couple of days, might amount to war crimes that would need to be investigated.

 Ahmed Soliman, research associate at the British think tank Chatham House, says the one positive thing in the middle of this renewed violence "was its very rapid condemnation not only by the leaders themselves, but also by the UN Security Council, the regional body IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) and the African Union, as well as the pleading for peace by the South Sudan Council of Churches." Soliman hopes that this swift reaction may prevent the violence from spreading.

 South Sudan President Salva Kiir (right) and Vice President Riek Machar

 A historic rivalry

 Both Kiir and Machar maintain that they do not know how and why the clashes started. This has raised concerns that they may not be in full control of their forces, namely the Sudan People's Liberation Army in the Government (SPLA-IG) led by the president, and his opponent's Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO). The SPLA used to be the united armed wing of the rebel movement SPLM (Sudan People's Liberation Movement), formed in 1983 to fight for independence. Largely Christian South Sudan won its independence from Sudan, a majority Muslim country, in 2011 after two decades of fighting. Then the SPLA fell into factions along ethnic lines.

 Kiir and Machar have long been rivals for power. The former vice-president accused Kiir of rigging the country's first elections, and still stands by this accusation. According to DW correspondent James Shimanyula, author of several books on South Sudan, the two leaders' relationship was distorted by deep mistrust from the start: "Salva Kiir is an ethnic Dinka, the largest ethnic group in South Sudan. And Machar comes from the Nuer tribe. Both sides have their own soldiers inside the army."

 A devastating civil war

 It was in the army that trouble began. Riek Machar pushed for the promotion of Nuer soldiers to higher ranks. This led Kiir to believe that his rival was planning a coup. In July of 2013 he fired his vice-president and six months later he ordered the President's Guard to be disarmed. An alleged new order to re-arm only the Dinka guards led to clashes among the soldiers. Kiir immediately accused Machar of staging a coup. Fearing for his life, Machar fled the capital.

 The ensuing civil war cost tens of thousands of lives and an estimated two million people had to flee their homes. It also paralyzed oil production and kept investors away, further exacerbating the county's economic problems. Because of these problems, Independence Day celebrations were cancelled this year."Oil accounts for 98% of South Sudan's economy. Almost three quarters of the government's expenditure comes from oil", says expert Shimanyula. To complicate matters, oil reserves are located mainly in the states of Unity and Upper Nile, north of Juba. Riek Machar is from Upper Nile, Shimanyula says. If he takes up arms again "and then seals up Unity State and the Upper Nile", he might split the country into two.

 Renewed clashes have forced thousands to flee their homes

 A costly failure to implement the peace agreement

 Riek Machar returned to Juba in April. A new transitional government of national unity was established. But the two leaders failed to work out a way to get the peace process going. Experts say the failure to implement swiftly key elements of the August agreement, such as the re-integration and demobilization of combatants, have allowed tension to fester. On Monday, claims that presidential troops had attacked Riek Machar added to the tensions. South Sudan's ambassador to Germany Sitona Abdalla Osman told DW that this did not happen: "The first vice-president was with the president when this incident erupted. After that he was given a guard to protect him."

 Ambassador Osman is adamant that both leaders are trying to keep the peace process going and points out that Kiir called for calm and formed a commission to investigate the violence. That raises the specter of a head of State who is not in charge anymore and the question who is. As is usually the case in Juba, says expert James Shimanyula, the capital is rife with rumors about a coup attempt that would aim at sidelining both Kiir and Machar.

 Fresh leadership needed?

 But Chatham House's Ahmed Soliman points out that the presence of lots of soldiers in Juba who have only recently been fighting each other and have yet to go through a planned process of reconciliation was conducive to a flaring up of violence: "It would have only taken a match to ignite something and that seems to have been what's happened here. Hopefully the fighting can be curtailed and leadership can exercise some kind of command and control."

 Former UN coordinator Peter Schumann is less hopeful. He believes that neither Kiir nor Machar have demonstrated any ability to bring stability back to the country: "Both of them have to leave the arena. We need a fresh leadership; we need a completely new setup in South Sudan." ||||| Image copyright German Foreign Office Image caption Foreigners airlifted from South Sudan

 Several countries are evacuating their citizens from South Sudan following days of fighting that saw hundreds of people killed.

 Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, India and Uganda have already started taking their citizens out of the country.

 A ceasefire between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar is holding for a second day in the capital, Juba.

 Mr Machar and his troops have also left Juba "to avoid further confrontation".

 Africa Live: More on this and other African stories

 'We want peace - and ice cream'

 Five obstacles to peace

 The evacuations are being carried out by military and chartered planes, as commercial flights have not yet resumed.

 However, Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohammed has told the BBC that Kenyan nationals would not be evacuated, as the ceasefire in South Sudan was holding.

 The US embassy in Juba said it was organising flights to evacuate non-essential staff and all US citizens wishing to leave.

 President Barack Obama later announced 47 troops were being sent to protect the US embassy and its staff.

 He added that 130 more personnel were being sent to Djibouti to stand ready for deployment if necessary.

 Germany's foreign ministry said its air force was evacuating other European nationals, as well as its own citizens.

 During the fighting, Mr Machar's base in Juba was overrun.

 Mr Machar's spokesman James Gatdet Dak told the BBC that the vice-president was now near the capital but refused to be more specific.

 He called for an international buffer force to be deployed to avoid "further confrontation" and ensure that the ceasefire holds.

 How did we get here?

 Image copyright AFP Image caption Gunfire erupted shortly after Mr Machar (L) and Mr Kiir (R) met on Friday

 July 2011 - South Sudan becomes an independent country after more than 20 years of guerrilla warfare, which claimed the lives of at least 1.5 million people and displaced more than four million.

 December 2013 - Civil war breaks out after President Salva Kiir sacks the cabinet and accuses Vice-President Riek Machar of planning a coup. The war is fought broadly between the country's biggest ethnic groups - the Dinka, led by Mr Kiir, and the Nuer, under Mr Machar.

 More than 2.2 million people are displaced by the fighting. Famine puts the lives of thousands at risk. Tens of thousands of people are reported killed, and Mr Machar flees the country.

 August 2015 - President Kiir signs a peace deal with rebels after a threat of sanctions from the UN.

 April 2016 - Mr Machar returns to South Sudan to take up his job as first vice-president in a new unity government led by President Kiir. |||||Summary:

– It's a mere five years old, but South Sudan is on the brink of civil war. What's more, the situation is so dire that the US just brought in 40 additional troops to protect the US Embassy in Juba. Some coverage to explain what's happening: The fight is between forces backing President Salva Kiir and those backing Vice President Riek Machar, and the DW has a primer on their long rivalry for power, one that got violent soon after the country's independence from Sudan in 2011. Read this and understand why it's SPLA-IG vs. SPLA-IO. Adding to this web: A post at the Conversation suggests that a third man, Paul Malong, might hold the real power in the country. Kenya's ambassador says the latest fighting was set off by a bogus Facebook post by Machar's spokesman saying Machar had been arrested, even though the VP actually was in a security meeting with the president. The Star of Kenya explains. The spokesman, however, says he made the post after violence had started, fearing that a plot to detain or harm Machar was underway. The US has ordered non-essential employees to evacuate, and several other countries were doing the same. The BBC has details. Few details were released on the new US troops, but they're from the US Africa Command's Crisis Response Force, reports the Marine Corps Times. They'll protect employees staying and help those leaving do so safely. In addition to reports of more than 200 people killed, the renewed fighting has displaced about 36,000 people, says the UN. Worse, even before this, "the humanitarian situation in South Sudan was already dire." Read the plea for help from a UN humanitarian official here. Aid workers in the nation face huge problems, but a 28-year-old from San Diego hasn't lost hope. See NPR.


Write a summary based on this article:

1 of 4. North Korean soldiers attend military drills in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang March 20, 2013. KCNA said this picture was taken on March 20, 2013.

 SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea issued an air raid warning on Thursday, South Korea's Unification Ministry said quoting a radio broadcast monitored in Seoul. A news report said the warning appeared to be part of a defense drill.

 The warning was issued at 0032 GMT and carried a message to military units to stand ready, but the action appeared to be a drill under an air raid scenario, Yonhap news agency said.

 An official at the Unification Ministry, which handles ties with the North and monitors North Korea's news broadcasts, confirmed air raid warning on Thursday morning.

 The official could not confirm whether the warning was part of a drill. The two Koreas remain technically at war under a truce that ended their 1950-53 conflict. Tensions have been high with the rivals exchanging verbal barbs.

 North Korea has been conducting large-scale military drills coinciding with annual exercises by the South Korean and U.S. forces running to the end of April. The allies have stressed the drills are strictly defensive in nature.

 (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by David Chance) ||||| Story highlights North Korea is verbally "firing back" at recent moves by the U.S., an analyst says

 Pyongyang has expressed anger that the U.S. is flying B-52s over South Korea

 The flights are part of annual military exercises

 Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have flared since the North's latest nuclear test

 The North Korean military issued a fresh burst of ominous rhetoric Thursday, warning that U.S. bases in Guam and Japan are within its "striking range."

 The statement from the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army, carried by the North's state-run news agency, follows the announcement by the United States this week that its B-52 bombers were making flights over South Korea as part of annual military exercises.

 "The U.S. should not forget that the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam where the B-52s take off and naval bases in Japan proper and Okinawa where nuclear-powered submarines are launched are within the striking range of the DPRK's precision strike means," the North Korean military said Thursday.

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 Despite Pyongyang's rhetoric, no U.S. Navy submarines are based in Okinawa or anywhere else in Japan, although they may make calls at U.S. bases there. DPRK is short for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

 Citing what it called the United States' "nuclear blackmail and threat," the North said it that it, too, would "take corresponding military actions."

 Pyongyang had already reacted angrily to the B-52 flights, warning Wednesday of "strong military counteraction" if the planes made more sorties over the Korean Peninsula.

 Angry words after new sanctions

 Tensions have spiked in the region since North Korea carried out its latest underground nuclear test last month, the first under its new young leader Kim Jong Un, prompting the United Nations Security Council to respond by toughening sanctions on the secretive regime.

 The sanctions enraged the North further, and during the week when the Security Council was voting on them, it ratcheted up its threats, suggesting it could carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the United States and South Korea.

 Although analysts and American officials say Pyongyang is still a long way from being able to carry out such an attack on the U.S. mainland, the United States' bases in Japan and Guam appear to be within range of the North's conventional weapons.

 In its comments Thursday, "the Kim Jong Un regime is just firing back" at its enemies in response to the B-52 flights and the military exercises of which they're a part, said Lee Jung-hoon, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul.

 He said that the U.N. sanctions were also likely to be fueling the North's ire, but that the regime's threats were largely driven by domestic concerns.

 "They're doing all this to prop up the regime," Lee said.

 The military first strategy

 Since Kim took over from his father as the head of the North Korean government in late 2011, he appears to have maintained the pursuit of a stronger military deterrent rather than adopting a more conciliatory approach to relations with South Korea and the United States.

 The result has been a major foreign policy headache for U.S. President Barack Obama, with Kim showing more interest in dialogue with the basketball star Dennis Rodman than U.S. diplomats.

 As well as the nuclear test, his government has conducted two long-range rocket launches -- one that failed and one that succeeded -- both of which were widely viewed as tests of ballistic missile technology.

 Kim has also revamped the military's leadership, ousting some generals and promoting others.

 The nuclear test and rocket launches have shattered hopes of any new talks on the North's nuclear program in the near future.

 Indeed, Pyongyang has said recently that the program is not up for negotiation and announced that previous nonaggression treaties with Seoul no longer apply.

 A new North Korea

 The regime's unabashed declarations about its nuclear weapons, which it had been much cagier about in the past, show that "it's not the same North Korea as 10 years ago," Lee said.

 The United States and other global powers need to "formulate a whole new strategy" to address the changed situation, according to Lee.

 "The way we've been dealing with it for the past two decades has failed," he said of the regime. "It has become close to being able to deploy nuclear weapons."

 Although U.S. officials say they don't believe North Korea is in a position to strike the United States at the moment, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week announced plans to deploy additional ground-based missile interceptors on the West Coast as part of efforts to enhance the nation's ability to defend itself from attack.

 "The reason that we are doing what we are doing, and the reason we are advancing our program here for homeland security, is to not take any chances, is to stay ahead of the threat and to assure any contingency," Hagel said at the time. |||||

– After the US announced it's flying B-52 bombers over South Korea, the North is issuing its latest warning: US military bases in Guam and Japan are in its "striking range." Said the country's military: "The US should not forget that the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam where the B-52s take off and naval bases in Japan ... where nuclear-powered submarines are launched are within the striking range of (North Korea's) precision strike means." Pyongyang said it would "take corresponding military actions" over US "nuclear blackmail and threat." The bases do seem to be within the North's conventional-weapons range, CNN notes. Meanwhile, the North announced an air raid warning today, calling on military units to be ready, according to South Korea—but the warning was apparently linked to a defense drill, Reuters reports.


– Warren Buffett says he's looking to pull off another major deal on the scale of last year's big railroad purchase. "We're prepared," he writes in his closely watched annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. "Our elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy." (Read the letter in full here.) After a big gain in earnings, Berkshire is sitting on about $38 billion in cash, the highest amount since 2007, reports the Wall Street Journal. Despite his optimism for the US recovery—the report may as well be titled "God Bless the USA," notes the New York Times' Dealbook blog—it wasn't all rosy news: Even though the company's book value increased by 13%, it failed to beat the growth of the S&P (15%) for the second year in a row—a rarity for Buffett. "The bountiful years, we want to emphasize, will never return," he writes. "The huge sums of capital we currently manage eliminate any chance of exceptional performance." Click for one analyst's skepticism that another "megadeal" is in the offing.

Expand this summary.

Warren Buffett is facing a familiar dilemma.

 Barely a year after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. spent more than $26 billion on its biggest-ever deal, the billionaire investor once again is hunting for ways to deploy the loads of cash his company is generating as the challenge mounts to expand the sprawling conglomerate faster than the market.

 In Mr. Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire shareholders on Saturday, the Omaha, Neb., company's chairman and chief executive said he needs more large deals to supplement the improving earnings of Berkshire's many businesses, which sell everything from insurance to candy, operate utilities, and manufacture homes and ... ||||| Lucas Jackson/Reuters

 Warren E. Buffett does not put a title on his annual letter. But if he did, this year’s dispatch might be headlined “God Bless the U.S.A.”

 In the face of persistent worries about the American economy, the country’s most famous — and closely followed — investor struck a patriotic tone in his annual report to shareholders of his company, Berkshire Hathaway, writing that “money will always flow toward opportunity, and there is an abundance of that in America.”

 Mr. Buffett said Berkshire spent more than $5 billion last year on property and equipment in the United States – more than 90 percent of the company’s total expenditure – and that the overwhelming part of the company’s future investment would be at home.

 “The prophets of doom have overlooked the all-important factor that is certain: Human potential is far from exhausted, and the American system for unleashing that potential – a system that has worked wonders for over two centuries despite frequent interruptions for recessions and even a Civil War – remains alive and effective,” he wrote.

 “Now, as in 1776, 1861, 1932 and 1941, America’s best days lie ahead.”

 Dispensing financial observations in a folksy manner, the yearly dispatch from the 80-year-old Mr. Buffett has become something of a state of the union address for Wall Street and, more broadly, for the global economy.

 But the letter also serves as an update for Mr. Buffett’s most important constituency – the shareholders in Berkshire, an investment holding company.

 Mr. Buffett wrote that Berkshire had net income of $13 billion last year, about 61 percent higher than in 2009. The company also reported a 13 percent rise in book value.

 Shares of Berkshire Hathaway, which peaked in late 2007 at more than $148,000 apiece, closed Friday at $127,550. They rose about 29 percent in 2010, more than double the performance of the broader stock market.

 Mr. Buffett also highlighted smaller numbers in trumpeting the thrifty culture at Berkshire, which operates from modest offices in Omaha, Neb. He and his business partner, Charlie Munger, “treat your money as if it were our own,” he wrote to his shareholders.

 “At Berkshire’s ‘World Headquarters’ our annual rent is $270,212,” he wrote. “Moreover, the home-office investment in furniture, art, Coke dispenser, lunch room, high-tech equipment – you name it – totals $301,363.”

 Beyond the flag-waving, the letter provides fodder for investors and business executives who look to Mr. Buffett for sage advice. In a two-page discussion of “intrinsic value” – a favorite security analysis concept of Mr. Buffett’s and his investment hero, Benjamin Graham – he emphasized the importance of having the right chief executive in place.

 “The difference in outcome can be huge,” Mr. Buffett said. “A dollar of then-value in the hands of Sears Roebuck’s or Montgomery Ward’s C.E.O.’s in the late 1960s had a far different destiny than did a dollar entrusted to Sam Walton.”

 Those looking for clear insights into Mr. Buffett’s succession plans, one of Wall Street’s favorite parlor games, will be disappointed. He praised the head of his large insurance business, Ajit Jain (“even kryptonite bounces off Ajit”); lamented the retirement of one potential successor, Lou Simpson (“one of the investment greats”); and praised a new hire, the unheralded hedge fund manager Todd Combs (hopefully “a two-year-old Secretariat”). But there was no specific mention of a succession plan.

 Mr. Buffett has said that when he dies his job will be split into three positions: a chairman, a chief executive and a chief investment officer.

 Though his letter was largely free of negativity, Mr. Buffett used the hiring of Mr. Combs – and his relatively modest compensation arrangement – to take a swipe at the hedge fund industry.

 “The hedge-fund world has witnessed some terrible behavior by general partners who have received huge payouts on the upside and who then, when bad results occurred, have walked away rich, with their limited partners losing back their earlier gains,” he wrote. Mr. Buffett also mocked fund consultants who “like to require style boxes” — or investment categories — “such as ‘long-short,’ ‘macro,’ ‘international equities.’ At Berkshire our only style box is ‘smart.’”

 Mr. Buffett addressed one of Berkshire’s most closely watched holdings on Wall Street, the $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs made during the depths of the financial crisis. He explained that Goldman has the right to repurchase his preferred shares, which have sharply increased in value, on 30 days notice. Goldman, he wrote, “has been held back by the Federal Reserve (bless it!), which unfortunately will give Goldman the green light before too long.”

 Mr. Buffett attributed much of the year’s success to his acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, calling it the highlight of 2010. The $26 billion deal, he said, has increased his company’s earnings power by more than 30 percent. But Mr. Buffett also trumpeted the benefits of rail travel beyond profits.

 “Railroads have major cost and environmental advantages over trucking, their main competitor,” Mr. Buffett said. “Our country gains because of reduced greenhouse emissions and a much smaller need for imported oil. When traffic travels by rail, society benefits.”

 He said that the railroad would need to invest in its infrastructure in order to expand its business, and that Berkshire was ready to spend on that.

 “However slow the economy, or chaotic the markets, our checks will clear,” he said.

 Mr. Buffett also teased his shareholders – and Buffett-watchers – in writing that he was on the hunt for “more major acquisitions.”

 “We’re prepared,” he wrote. “Our elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy.” ||||| A year after Berkshire Hathaway completed its biggest acquisition, CEO Warren Buffett is on the hunt again.

 Buffett told Berkshire (BRKA) shareholders in his annual letter to them Saturday that they should brace for more megadeals along the lines of last February's $26 billion buy of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

 "Our elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy," Buffett said.

 Buffett may not strike you as much of a hunter. In the public's mind, Buffett is a gatherer of blue-chip stocks such as Coca-Cola (KO) that he buys on the cheap and holds forever. His success in that endeavor has been immeasurably aided by his access to cheap funding via the insurance companies that Berkshire runs.

 But while the insurance-funded investment business still accounts for much of Berkshire's value, the future lies elsewhere. More and more of Berkshire's gains come from a growing stable of 68 non-insurance companies, ranging from giant Burlington Northern to niche operators like Business Wire and See's Candies.

 "For the past 10 years we have seen a clear strategic shift toward buying wholly owned businesses over publicly traded stocks," said Whitney Tilson, a Berkshire shareholder and value investor who runs the $23 million Tilson Focus fund.

 Why? Size is one factor. As Buffett has often lamented, the bigger Berkshire gets the more difficult it becomes to move the needle with a winning investment. The scale of the firm's $158 billion investing portfolio "is absolutely an anchor on performance," says Tilson.

 For now, the value of that portfolio dwarfs the flows coming from the operating businesses. The investments were worth $94,730 a share at the end of 2010, Saturday's letter says. Per-share pretax earnings at Berkshire's noninsurance companies were worth $5,903 per share.

 But the operating-company earnings stream is plenty valuable in its own right – a point Tilson makes in a slide show on his web site.

 Even at a conservative multiple of, say, 7 times earnings, Berkshire's operating businesses alone are worth $42 billion before taxes. That exceeds the market value of warehouse retailer (and Berkshire holding) Costco (COST), for instance, though the numbers aren't strictly comparable because of the tax treatments.

 Moreover, the earnings stream expanded at a 20% annual clip over the past decade – compared with a just 6.6% yearly increase in the value of the investment portfolio.

 The earnings expansion stands to pick up in coming years if Berkshire succeeds in finding more big deals. The motivation is clear.

 Consider the Burlington Northern purchase, which was half again as big as the previous biggest Berkshire acquisition, the 1999 purchase of insurer General Re. Buffett said in last year's letter that the decision to make the cash-and-stock deal was "a close one," because he doesn't like issuing Berkshire stock.

 But he said in Saturday's letter that the railroad is "working out even better than I expected," boosting Berkshire's after-tax earnings capacity by more than 30%. Thanks in part to the strong flow of Burlington Northern earnings, Berkshire now can expect to generate around $12 billion in profits in a typical year, Buffett says.

 That number may take a hit this year and next as some of the sweet deals Berkshire negotiated during the financial crisis – including a $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs (GS) and a $3 billion purchase of General Electric (GE) preferred stock -- run off.

 But losing a few hundred million in dividends here and there hardly slows the torrent of cash that comes pouring into Berkshire every day. Buffett said in last year's letter that he liked Burlington Northern in part because it gave Berkshire a way to put $22 billion to work in one shot.

 Now, just a year after it swallowed the railroad, Berkshire is back to $38 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

 With Buffett having sworn off dividends and stock repurchases, that money has to go somewhere. So which elephants might Buffett be after?

 Tilson, for one, puts long odds on another megadeal. He notes that Berkshire already owned nearly a third of Burlington Northern before saying in late 2009 it would acquire the rest.

 He views serial purchases of somewhat smaller, closely held businesses – along the lines of Berkshire's 2006 purchase of the Israeli metalworking company Iscar or the ongoing acquisition of the Pritzker family's Marmon Group – as a better bet.

 "I think Buffett would love to buy 10 more Iscars," said Tilson. "I'm sure he would love to buy Mars at the right price," he adds -- though there's no sign that sweet deal is likely to present itself any time soon.

 So 2011 will find Buffett in his familiar posture of looking for an opening – whatever that takes the form of an elephant or something less grand.

 As Tilson says, "I don't think he spends a lot of time thinking about how he has to have any particular deal. It's much more opportunistic than that."

 Also on Fortune.com:

 (A member of FORTUNE's staff, senior editor at large Carol Loomis, edits the chairman's letter in Berkshire's annual report.) |||||


YouTube

 The commencement speech arms race is no joke this year. It takes something pretty special to grab attention during a season when one valedictorian got a nationally televised do-over after his school banned him from coming out in his address, and everyone from President Obama to Matthew McConaughey, Bill Nye, Ed Helms and Stephen Colbert have been lighting up stages.

 So, Colin Yost knew he needed to up his game. The valedictorian at Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, pulled off one for the ages on Friday, when he ended his inspirational speech by saying, "all you have to do it shake it off."

 He then stepped back and began shaking it as Taylor Swift's hit came on over the gym's loudspeakers.

 "I've always wanted to do a flash mob and I thought graduation would be the perfect place because our class is very cohesive and doesn't really have a lot of cliques," Yost told MTV News on Monday morning, while taking a break from his job as an assistant in a cardiovascular operating room at a Portsmouth hospital.

 "I was listening to 'Shake It Off' in the car and I thought that would be great for a flash mob so I talked to a few of my friends about making it happen." One friend, a stage manager, handled the music, while two others with dance experience helped choreograph the whole thing.

 They put together an instructional video for the class that they shared privately on YouTube and then got the administration on board, who said they were fine with the plan as long as Yost and his 230+ classmates could actually pull it off. They even let the seniors use five scheduled graduation rehearsals to get the routine right.

 "As we practiced, the energy was just building and everyone was feeling how great it was to work together and send this positive message," Yost said.

 Following his funny, touching speech about embracing your inner nerd and striving for perfection in anything you're passionate about, Yost started the dance alone, which was (purposely) awkward. "My parents and a lot of other parents didn't know, so at the end of my speech half were laughing and some where like, 'oh gosh, what is he doing?'"

 But then, little by little, the front row joined in, then another row and the looks of confusion and fear turned into laughter and tears from the families as pretty soon the routine turned the class of '15 into an undulating sea of maroon and white caps and gowns.

 Yost, who wants to be a heart surgeon, is headed to Princeton in the fall, where he plans to major in chemical and biological engineering.

 And, in case you were wondering. "No, I've never taken dance lessons." ||||| Published on Jun 14, 2015

 First line got cut off: "One of the many unspoken social rules of middle school was to never, ever associate..."

 Portsmouth High School (NH) Class of 2015 Graduation ||||| PORTSMOUTH — Graduation ceremonies, no matter how important, are often drawn-out affairs with little to break the ceremonial monotony.

 A few friends at Portsmouth High School decided to change that.

 Spearheaded by valedictorian Colin Yost, the class of roughly 235 students successfully performed a flash mob to Taylor Swift’s pop tune “Shake It Off,” shocking the audience and eventually going viral once MTV came calling.

 The video had been viewed on YouTube more than 270,000 times by Tuesday afternoon. Yost and others couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out — and the national attention it is receiving.

 “I never thought it would have gone that well,” said Brooke Matthews, who helped organize the flash mob with Yost and fellow seniors Georgina Head and Lauren Gagne. “We’re so proud at how well everyone came together.”

 Yost cited the cohesiveness of the class and approval of the administration to rehearse the dance routine for its success. Five marching practices were used to get the timing and movements correct.

 “About three weeks before graduation, I woke up at 3 a.m. to a text from Colin asking me to help with choreography for a graduation flash mob,” Head said, adding she started watching the Swift music video and mapping out a dance routine.

 There was difficulty crafting a suitable routine, as all the graduates were sitting. The students decided that having different sections jump in would help with the display.

 “We played around with some moves,” Head said. “We knew the front row was the class council, so we could get up and move around.”

 The other important detail was hitting the music cue, which was where the administration finally came into play.

 “We hadn’t planned on telling administration,” Yost said.

 But as each senior would be on the auditorium floor, someone was needed to start the song.

 “At first they were against it,” said Gagne. “But we told them to listen to us and we showed them our plan.”

 The students presented detailed outlines of the entire performance to the administration, complete with white board diagrams and a sneak peek at the dance by Yost himself.

 As Yost finished his speech — the ending words were “All you have to do, is shake it off” — he broke out into dance as looks of shock and surprise come over faces in the audience. “It was such a great moment ending the speech, hearing the music play and then dancing awkwardly,” Yost said.

 While the moment was meant to be light-hearted and fun, Yost said the song and dance routine summed up exactly what he was talking about in his valedictory address: To embrace your inner nerd.

 “The goal was to basically try to go viral and send a positive message, not about Portsmouth High School and the Class of 2015, but life in general,” said Yost, who will attend Princeton University this fall. “My speech leading up to the flash mob is about embracing your inner nerd and being proud of who you are. The song aligns with that.”

 Yost and the other students didn’t expect much hoopla in the aftermath, but they did start to notice when Facebook videos of the event from a teacher and parent started to creep into the tens of thousands of views.

 “After just a couple nights, two Facebook videos had more than 10,000 views separately, so that was shocking.”

 Yost said the videos spread around a little bit more before he received an email from a writer for MTV.com asking to talk to him about the flash mob.

 “I was thrilled and shocked,” Yost said. “I called them, talked for a few minutes and once that article was posted, it exploded.”

 article became the top-trending story on Thebecame the top-trending story on MTV.com later Monday evening, and has been shared across Facebook more than 50,000 times.

 Yost, who works as an assistant support personnel in the cardiovascular operating room at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, said it’s a memory that will stay with him forever. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Parents who thought they were going to have to sit through a boring graduation in a stuffy gym got anything but at Portsmouth High School on Friday. Colin Yost, the valedictorian for the New Hampshire school's senior class, decided he wanted to shake things up—and off—during his commencement speech, so after his words of inspiration, he stepped out from behind the podium and started dancing, by himself, to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off," eliciting laughter and some "oh gosh, what is he doing?" reactions, MTV reports. Soon, however, his intentions were made clear as the rest of his graduating class (more than 230 in all) stood up and joined Colin in a choreographed celebration of the end of their high school career. While Colin's flash mob surprised the audience, it was far from spontaneous. The senior posted a video tutorial on YouTube for his classmates to study and cajoled the school's administration beforehand into letting him use five graduation rehearsals to get the moves down just right, MTV notes. "As we practiced, the energy was just building and everyone was feeling how great it was to work together and send this positive message," he tells the station. He adds that the song-and-dance show played perfectly into what he had talked about in his speech on embracing your inner nerd, the Portsmouth Herald notes. But despite the Taylor-made two-stepping's success, we probably won't be seeing Colin—who admits he's never taken a dance lesson—on So You Think You Can Dance: He's headed to Princeton to study chemical and biological engineering, per MTV. (Hopefully no one got arrested for cheering.)


New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday that President Barack Obama is a "credible, formidable candidate" for reelection and praised Rick Perry and Mitt Romney for the very things that have hindered them in the Republican presidential campaign.

 "He would be a credible, formidable candidate," Bloomberg, an independent who has registered as both a Republican and a Democrat, said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "The president is a very viable candidate, and you're going to have a real horse race no matter who the Republican nominee is."

 Bloomberg, who said he'll "probably not endorse a candidate in the 2012 election, also weighed in on the GOP presidential nominating contest, saying that he's troubled by some anti-science positions in the Republican field. But Bloomberg did praise Perry for his 2007 executive order requiring sixth-grade girls to receive the HPV vaccine and said Romney's health care plan for Massachusetts worked.

 "To accuse Perry of doing something wrong with the vaccine when he probably did what's right, to accuse Romney of doing something wrong with health care in Massachusetts, which in all fairness turned out to be the only health care change that has really worked" is not right, Bloomberg said.

 Bloomberg also offered praise to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is again said to be considering entering the GOP presidential race, calling him "a good governor."

 "If he wants to run, he certainly should just get in there and do it," Bloomberg said.

 Bloomberg also rapped Obama for using billionaire investor Warren Buffett as an example for why taxes should be increased on the wealthy.

 "The Buffett thing is just theatrics," Bloomberg said. "If Warren Buffett made his money from ordinary income rather than capital gains, his tax rate would be much higher than his secretary's." ||||| Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who considered a White House run himself, says fellow Republicans should forgive Texas Gov. Rick Perry's uneven debate performances as the GOP presidential campaign goes forward.

 "It's way too early to know, or to issue, to pronounce last rites over one performance," Daniels said on CNN's "State of the Union." "There's still many of these [debates], too many maybe. ... I'd cut him some slack and give him a little time."

 Daniels, who is making a round of interviews to push his new book, "Keeping the Republic," also offered some unsolicited praise for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) for his work earlier this year with the Gang of Six senators who were working to cut spending from the federal budget.

 "It's very encouraging, by the way, to hear a guy like Sen. Warner speak to it as clearly as he just did," Daniels said. "I wish he were president." ||||| Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus mocked President Barack Obama's 2008 election slogan Sunday, arguing it won't pass the smell test with voters in 2012.

 "It sounds like the new slogan is no longer 'hope and change'," Priebus said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "It's, 'Hey, it could've been worse'. Great bumper sticker, Debbie. I hope it works for you."

 Priebus was speaking to his counterpart at the Democratic National Committee, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was with him in the joint interview.

 An aggressive Priebus also said Wasserman Schultz's talking points had already been proved false, referring to the recent GOP victory in New York's special House election.

 "This has already been tested in a Democratic district. These talking points have been tested, and they're losing. They're imploding," he said during their animated exchange. ||||| Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Sunday called the specter of a government shutdown because Congress can't agree to another short-term spending bill "embarrassing" and blamed tea party-affiliated Republicans for the stalemate.

 "Yes, it is embarrassing," Warner said on CNN's "State of the Union." "The Senate is saying, 'Why should we build schools in Iraq on the credit card but expect that rebuilding schools in Joplin, Mo., at this moment in time have to be paid for in a way that's never been in any of the previous disaster assistance that we've done before.'"

 Asked in more explicit terms if the tea party is to blame for the crisis, Warner said: "There is a group, and I do believe it is more centered in the House, in terms of some of these tea party Republicans, who say on every issue, 'We're going to make this a make-or-break.'"

 Appearing on the same program, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) blamed Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for holding up the bill.

 Reid, Alexander said, "manufactured a crisis all week about disaster aid when there is no crisis."

 "Everybody knows we're going to favor every single penny of disaster relief that the president declared and FEMA certifies," Alexander said. "The House settled for a bill that does that, and the Senate should have approved it." ||||| Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says the United States needs to leave "all options on the table" in dealing with Pakistan after U.S. military officials accused the country's intelligence officials of assisting terrorist operations.

 "We need to put Pakistan on notice," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

 "We're going to have to put all options on the table, including defending our troops," said Graham, a member of the Armed Services Committee.

 Pressed by host Chris Wallace whether that meant military action, Graham dodged a direct answer but emphasized that Pakistan was engaged in "hostile acts against the U.S."

 "It's now a time of choosing, so I hope they choose wisely," Graham said. ||||| President Barack Obama's senior adviser, David Plouffe, says he doesn't expect significant changes in top White House staff or the Cabinet ahead of the 2012 reelection campaign.

 Pushing for Congress to pass Obama's American Jobs Act, Plouffe said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that Obama is "confident in his team, in the direction we've laid out here. ... I think he's got a good plan; he's got a good team to execute that."

 Asked directly by Candy Crowley if there will be changes to the White House staff or Cabinet, Plouffe said: "I don't expect that."

 Plouffe also said the U.S. may continue reducing aid to Pakistan if it can't do more to impede anti-American terrorism being conducted by the Haqqani terror network.

 "We cannot abide the situation where the Haqqani network is being provided safe havens," Plouffe said. "Any links there need to be decoupled, and that's going to be a very important aim for us in the coming period of time." |||||

Write a summary.

– Mitch Daniels has some advice for those who are writing Rick Perry's political eulogy: Hold your horses. "It's way too early to know, or to issue, to pronounce last rites over one performance," Daniels said today. "There's still many of these (debates), too many maybe. ... I'd cut him some slack and give him a little time." Politico notes that Daniels also had kind words for Democrat Sen. Mark Warner's work on the Gang of Six, saying, "It's very encouraging, by the way, to hear a guy like Sen. Warner speak to it as clearly as he just did. I wish he were president." More fun on your Sunday dial, as per Politico: Michael Bloomberg on President Obama's 2012 chances: "He would be a credible, formidable candidate. You're going to have a real horse race no matter who the Republican nominee is." Reince Priebus to Debbie Wasserman Schultz on 2012: "It sounds like the new slogan is no longer 'hope and change.' It's, 'Hey, it could've been worse.' Great bumper sticker Debbie, I hope it works for you." David Plouffe on a White House shakeup: "I don't expect that." Obama is "confident in his team, in the direction we've laid out here." Warner on Congress' standoff over a short-term spending bill: "It is embarrassing. The Senate is saying, 'Why should we build schools in Iraq on the credit card but expect that rebuilding schools in Joplin, Mo.,'" will be paid for. Warner blames "a group, more centered in the House, in terms of some of these Tea Party Republicans, who say on every issue, 'We're going to make this a make-or-break.'" Lindsey Graham on Pakistan: "We need to put Pakistan on notice. We're going to have to put all options on the table. including defending our troops. It's now a time of choosing, so I hope they choose wisely."