News article:

A man has decided to turn a minor annoyance, getting a newspaper at your hotel room door and getting charged for it, into a class action lawsuit.

 The basis of the complaint was when a 55-year old man stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn and saw a copy of USA Today outside his door the next morning. "He did not request a newspaper and assumed it had been placed there by hotel staff," said the suit. He later got a 75-cent charge for the paper on his bill. In suing Hilton, he accused the hotel chain of hiding the fee in an "extremely small font which is difficult to notice or read" on the envelope the hotel room key goes into.

 According to the suit, "The alleged consumer injury is substantial, causing millions of guests at defendant's hotels to unwittingly part with money for a newspaper they did not request and reasonably believed was provided to them without charge."

 It's over a piddly sum, but the case could have big implications if it becomes the impetus to sue other hotel chains, since many hotels do just the same thing.

 Hilton guest makes federal case of 75-cent paper [SF Gate] (Thanks to Paul!)

 From ConsumerReports.org: ||||| A California man is suing the Hilton Hotels Corporation for charging him 75 cents for a copy of the USA Today newspaper that he did not request, according to a complaint filed last week in federal court in San Francisco.

 The man, Rodney Harmon of Sacramento County, spent the night of March 28 in the Hilton Garden Inn Sonoma County Airport. When he left his room the next morning, he saw a copy of USA Today on the floor in front of his door, the familiar, bright blue logo peering up at him. But Mr. Harmon, 55, was not interested. He stepped over the paper and walked away.

 Several days later, according to his lawyer, Kirk J. Wolden, Mr. Harmon glanced at the Hilton Garden Inn pouch that held his key card and found that it said, in small print, that he would be charged for the paper unless he specifically un-requested it.

 So he sued.

 “Mr. Harmon and this law firm believe there is more at stake than 75 cents,” Mr. Wolden said Monday. “It exemplifies the types of advantages that, unfortunately, we see companies taking of you and I and everyone else every day.”

 He added, “We as individuals are expected to make an honest dollar.”

 A spokesman for Hilton did not immediately respond for a request for comment Monday night.

 The complaint asserts that the practice is not only deceitful, but also wasteful and damaging to the environment.

 Would another publication have elicited a more positive response from Mr. Harmon? A San Francisco Chronicle, or perhaps a copy of Consumer Reports?

 Mr. Wolden said he did not believe so. ||||| A guest at a Hilton hotel in Santa Rosa who was upset that he was billed 75 cents for a newspaper he assumed was free has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the hotel chain, saying he was deceived by a scheme that also hurts the environment.

 Rodney Harmon, 55, of Sacramento said he visited the Hilton Garden Inn Sonoma County Airport on March 28 and saw a copy of USA Today outside his door.

 "He did not request a newspaper and assumed it had been placed there by hotel staff," said the suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Harmon didn't realize until later that a 75-cent charge for the paper had been added to his bill.

 Harmon accused Hilton of deliberately hiding the newspaper charge by describing the fee in an "extremely small font which is difficult to notice or read" on the sleeve of the room card.

 The suit noted that newspaper readership and circulation has drastically declined over the past several decades and that most hotel guests probably aren't reading the paper anyway. The wasted papers are an "offensive waste of precious resources and energy," said the suit, which also said that "deforestation caused by paper production is a matter of concern and worry in this state, country and worldwide."

 "Certainly if people who don't want newspapers are getting newspapers and then not using them, that is waste that we don't need," Kirk Wolden, an attorney representing Harmon, said Friday,

 "The alleged consumer injury is substantial, causing millions of guests at defendant's hotels to unwittingly part with money for a newspaper they did not request and reasonably believed was provided to them without charge," the suit says.

 Hilton officials declined comment, citing the pending litigation.

 This article appeared on page C - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– You know those copies of USA Today that sometimes get left outside your hotel room door? Apparently they're not free, at least not at the Hilton Garden Inn Sonoma County Airport, which one guest learned to his dismay. Now Rodney Harmon has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Hilton chain over the 75-cent charge, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Harmon says he stepped over the paper as he left the room. But a few days later, he noticed a small warning on his key card pouch informing him of the charge, according to the New York Times. "He did not request a newspaper and assumed it had been placed there by hotel staff," reads Harmon's suit, which adds that the hotel allegedly tried to hide the charge by listing it in an "extremely small font which is difficult to notice or read" on the key sleeve. Further, the suit accuses the hotel of an "offensive waste of precious resources and energy," since newspaper readership is down and most of the papers left for guests probably don't get read. Though the 75 cents is "a piddly sum," writes Ben Popken at the Consumerist, "the case could have big implications if it becomes the impetus to sue other hotel chains, since many hotels do just the same thing."


The second ex-wife of Peter Cook has issued a written apology to his first wife — supermodel Christie Brinkley — for ignoring her warning about the architect’s philandering.

 “Christie and I have talked recently and I have privately apologized to her, but, given the public nature of their divorce and custody battle, I feel a public apology is also appropriate and deserved,” Suzanne Shaw wrote in a letter obtained by The Post Thursday.

 Shaw said she was sorry for bad-mouthing the model by saying in 2012 that “it was the black cloud of Christie Brinkley’s hate” that had tainted Shaw’s marriage to Cook — when he had actually been continuing his skirt-chasing ways.

 “Christie was wrongly vilified as being an embittered ex-wife,” Shaw wrote. “I now believe she had every right to do what she did by taking a public stand; she was only trying to protect her children and have the truth be told. Given the nature of Peter’s behavior, and battles for sole custody of their children, it was necessary for her to confront him publicly.”

 Christie’s six-year marriage to Cook imploded in 2007 after she learned of his affair with 18-year-old office clerk Diana Bianchi. Cook rebounded by getting hitched to Shaw, who stood by his side during his ongoing court battles with Brinkley. During a 2012 hearing, Brinkley tried to warn Shaw about Cook’s infidelity.

 “When you find out he’s been cheating on you, I’ll be here for you,” Brinkley said in a courthouse hallway.

 “Come up with a new line!” Shaw barked back. It turned out Brinkley was right, and Shaw split with Cook this year, accusing him of cheating.

 “What I say here is by my own volition. I truly feel it’s simply the right thing to do. I’m deeply sorry for my part in causing Christie any unnecessary pain,” Shaw writes.

 “Unfortunately, I fell under Peter’s spell, but now that the reality of who he is has been revealed, I regret my involvement. Christie is a wonderful mother and community member who involves herself in charitable causes and has truly made a contribution to society.”

 “Last week, Christie said, ‘I wish you the courage to do the right thing for yourself, your daughter and countless women suffering at the hand of an extreme narcissist.’ I believe I have done this now. I thank Christie for forgiving me and I wish her only the best.

 “I would like to move on with my life now, quietly and privately. Peter and I have filed for divorce. I am putting this behind me.” ||||| Once a cheater, always a cheater!

 Eight years after his severely bitter split from Christie Brinkley and their subsequent financial and custody battle, the model’s

 unfaithful ex husband, Peter Cook, has legally separated from his wife, Suzanne Shaw— and sources tell the New York Post’s Page Six that his infidelities are to blame.

 PHOTOS: Cheaters Gallery

 “Suzanne stood by Peter for years, through all his battles with Christie, but he lied to her and completely misrepresented himself. She repeatedly caught him cheating,” an insider told the paper.

 Shaw, who was wed to Cook, 55, for more than six years, left their Hamptons home in February with her teenage daughter after filing for separation.

 PHOTOS: Celebs Who Have Been Divorced Twice Before 40

 Cook’s lawyer, John J. Fellin, denies his client cheated.

 “The separation agreement does not mention, in any way, infidelity by Mr. Cook, and any such allegations to that end are without merit,” he told The Post.

 PHOTOS: Don’t Get Mad, Get Everything! Inside The 16 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces Of All Time

 Brinkley, 60, and Cook are still at each other’s throats years after they split amid allegations he cheated with his 18-year-old assistant, Diana Bianchi. The National ENQUIRER recently reported that the pair has been battling over custody issues with their 16-year-old daughter, Sailor.

 “The sad reality is, almost eight years later, Christie is still mired in our divorce and hatred of me which has been irreparably damaging to our children,” Cook recently told RadarOnline.com. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Christie Brinkley's marriage to Peter Cook ended in 2008 after he had an affair with an 18-year-old; he went on to wed Suzanne Shaw. Shaw stood by Cook's side during the 2012 Cook-Brinkley court battle over child support, and things got ugly: At one point Brinkley told Shaw in a court hallway, "When you find out he's been cheating on you, I'll be here for you." Shaw responded, "Come up with a new line"; Shaw also said that her own marriage to Cook had been marred by Brinkley's "black cloud of hate." Only, um, Shaw and Cook filed for divorce this year ... after Cook allegedly cheated on Shaw. Now Shaw has apologized to Brinkley for bad-mouthing her years ago, Page Six reports. "Christie and I have talked recently and I have privately apologized to her, but, given the public nature of their divorce and custody battle, I feel a public apology is also appropriate and deserved," reads a letter from Shaw obtained by the New York Post. "Christie was wrongly vilified as being an embittered ex-wife. I now believe she had every right to do what she did by taking a public stand," Shaw writes. "Unfortunately, I fell under Peter's spell, but now that the reality of who he is has been revealed, I regret my involvement." Click for more on the latest cheating allegations against Cook.


– Electronic Arts is launching a brave new world of gay relationships in online role-playing games, and that's sparking an Internet armageddon. EA has been lambasted by religious right-wingers who fear the dangerous influences of an imagined transgendered "Darth VaPaula" in a Star Wars game, and have begun a boycott against the company. They're being slammed in turn by gay rights activists. Now AllOut.org has yanked its anti-boycott petition off the Web because the petition itself had become a target of an army of spambots apparently launched by anti-gay forces. Complicating matters are suspected PR stunts by EA itself to apparently inflate the war. But that's not the case now, an AllOut spokesman tells Forbes. “We are not arguing that Electronic Arts is a perfect company,” he explained. "But we know that today, on this issue, they are taking an important stand that should be supported. Anti-gay groups are the dark-side here. The Family Research Council is telling this company, and many others, that gay people have no place in our games, in our media and in our lives. That is unacceptable." Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3 will allow role-playing participants to not only choose what kind of character they'll play, but for the first time they'll also have an option to engage in a same sex romance.

Expand this summary.

[updated below]

 Yesterday AllOut.org took down a petition aimed at shooting back against anti-gay boycott groups placing pressure on EA due to gay characters included in the game publisher's titles. The petition had been hit with what looked like spambots, as well as by obvious spammers who took their disdain of EA to the comments section of the AllOut petition.

 In other words, alongside obvious individual spammers, something was adding duplicate comments to the petition (see, for example) - most of which voiced some sort of support for EA. The names of these spambot comments included such gems as "Fred from Pakistan." In some instances, duplicate comments were repeated three or four times from as many different countries.

 AllOut.org Community Manager, Tile Wolfe, told me yesterday that the site has had no contact with EA whatsoever during the course of the petition.

 "We are not arguing that Electronic Arts is a perfect company," Wolfe added, "but we know that today, on this issue, they are taking an important stand that should be celebrated and supported. Anti-gay groups are the dark-side here, and we’re glad to see so many consumers and citizens joining forces to pressure companies like EA and beyond to promote fair and balanced portrayals of gay, lesbian, bi and trans characters wherever they pop up."

 I also spoke briefly with AllOut.org co-founder and director Andre Banks about the petition and the spam attacks.

 Forbes: Could you speak to the goals of this campaign, its origins and how the idea came up, and maybe similar campaigns you've worked on?

 Also, when did you notice spam attacks on the Yoda petition? I was receiving emails yesterday evening showing images of exact duplicate comments, with absolutely no difference from one to the next save for the name and location of the commenters. These names included ones like "Fred from Pakistan" and so forth. When did red flags start going up?

 Banks: AllOut.org is about one year old, and we are an independent organization that has a fairly straightforward goal - to ensure that everyone, everywhere can live freely and love who they choose without sacrificing their safety or dignity. One way that we do that is by working to change policy. Our most recent campaign has been pushing against an anti-gay "propaganda" law in Russia that would make it illegal to talk about anything gay in the city of St. Petersburg - even creating a gay fictional character in a book or movie would be subject to a crime. The other part of our work is about changing culture and a big piece of that is pushing back against groups like the Family Research Council who bully companies and organizations that take a positive stance on gay rights or present positive, affirming images of LGBT people. We wanted to counter the anti-gay boycott of Star Wars by giving our nearly 900,000 members a chance to show that a lot of people support the decision of BioWare and EA to include LGBT options in the game.

 We have had no contact with EA. Our small team of campaigners developed and launched this idea late last week because we believed - and continue to believe - that we should support EA's decision to distribute the games with gay relationships in the face of opposition. Our focus is purely on LGBT issues and our campaign is only meant to show EA, and other corporations, that there is a large constituency of people all over the world who care about and support LGBT equality.

 We've received many comments, tweets, and emails from gamers all over the world who support the campaign and stand against homophobia.

 Unfortunately, our campaign page was hit with obvious spam bot attacks. Our campaigner in Paris identified the spam and when our tech team came online in New York this morning we took the necessary steps to disable the page. We've been communicating through our twitter (@allout) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/alloutorg) accounts during the process and answering comments about the issue.

 The attacks came from anonymous IP addresses so we are unable to determine the source. We are continuing to investigate but right now it looks like only a few thousand of the signatures came from these spam bots, and the majority were from legitimate All Out members. We're now working to remove the spam signatures and will be updating the campaign page soon with the correct signature count.

 I hope this helps clarify things a bit. We certainly launched this effort as a good natured attempt to stand up for what's right. Thanks for your coverage of this story and please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly for more information.

 Were you aware of the other controversies surrounding EA prior to launching the petition? A lot of people saw this as something of a smokescreen or PR move on the part of EA, and were certainly not aware that no communication between AllOut.org and EA had taken place. What sort of feedback have you gotten so far about this?

 As we researched the campaign, we understood that some people in the gaming community were critical of EA. We believe that whether or not a gamer or All Out member supports EA, they can agree that the company should not be bullied into making gay people invisible. After the launch, we learned about the allegations of EA faking other support campaigns and obviously reject that sort of cynical, self-serving deception. With that said, a lot of people are missing the real story here - the Family Research Council, a notorious anti-gay group, is telling this company, and many others, that gay people have no place in our games, in our media and in our lives. For All Out, and many thousands who have supported the campaign, that is just unacceptable.

 Have you gotten any response from the boycott groups themselves?

 No response from the boycott groups just yet. I'll let you know if we hear anything...

 Regarding the 3000 - 5000 spam comments, do these include earlier duplicate comments (such as identical comments left by two or three separate people from two or three different countries) or are you counting only the flood of obvious spam comments received toward the end of the fund-raising drive?

 Based on the IP addresses, we believe the 5,000 figure includes all spam received in the course of the campaign.

 AllOut has since launched another campaign to fight for gay rights in Russia. You can read about that here.

 At this point, no word from EA on any of this, but it does appear that AllOut.org worked independently of the game publisher and that no coordination took place. There's also no evidence suggesting that any of the spam was orchestrated by anybody, as I noted in my piece yesterday. If anything new comes to light, I will be sure to update.

 One final note. I think people all across this debate are rushing too quickly to judgment. As I noted yesterday, there's no evidence that EA is behind the spambots, or that anyone else is for that matter. In that sense, I think gamers rightfully irked with the company are letting their emotions get the better of them.

 On the other hand, certain members of the gaming press are awfully quick to rush to judgments of their own.

 P.S. I want to qualify two things here.

 One, I'm as quick to rushing to judgment as anyone. When I first heard about this whole petition, and saw the flood of articles about the hatemail, I thought immediately that this was just EA PR - and I bet some of it undoubtedly is EA PR. Furthermore, my entire foray into BioWare-blogging was sparked by my own stupid rush to judgment over homophobia and Mass Effect 3. So my hands are anything but clean in this department.

 Second thing is, no matter who was behind the spambots here, there's no reason people shouldn't suspect EA. They've pulled plenty of tricks in the past that have all been well-documented. The point is, suspicion needs to be grounded in fact before we can definitively say anything.

 Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| I've seen the images floating around the internet right now, showing how spambots have been used to inflate the signatures on the Allout.org anti-boycott petition we discussed yesterday, which defends EA against right-wing boycott artists.

 (Examples of the screenshots can be seen here and here, though the comments themselves are no longer visible at the petition website.)

 AllOut.org has shut down the campaign page temporarily, stating:

 "AllOut.org has temporarily disabled the campaign page of its website due to a cyber attack by hackers. In the attack, hackers added roughly 3000-5000 comments and signatures onto the petition. AllOut.org is currently in the process of removing those signatures, but can verify that over 60,000 members have sign onto the petition and continue to urge Electronic Arts to stay away from the dark side."

 The Sith are getting a bum wrap here, as always. But I digress.

 More to the point, basically everyone I've seen comment on this has immediately rushed to the conclusion that EA has set up a spambot campaign to inflate signatures and create the veneer of support. EA has been caught with their hands in this cookie jar before, after all, when the game publisher staged a fake protest at E3 over the game Dante's Inferno:

 "Electronic Arts has admitted that the Dante's Inferno protest during E3 was staged by a guerrilla marketing agency," Joystiq reported at the time. "The publisher confirmed to the AP that the firm hired 20 people to hold signs like "Just say Infer-NO" and "Trade in your PlayStation for a PrayStation." There's got to be a better way to promote the game."

 The only problem is, right now everyone is leaping to conclusions and there's absolutely no way to confirm any of it. I tend to hew to the whole "trust but verify" policy when it comes to, well, just about anybody (whether that's other bloggers, industry reps, commenters, or friends and family members.)

 It's possible that EA is behind the spambots, or has hired someone to use spam to inflate the signatures (if this is the case, they should fire whoever it is for such a clumsy job). It's also possible that somebody else is hitting the petition with spam precisely because it could be used against EA. Never underestimate anyone's ability or capacity for deceit. When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.

 The internet is full of tech-savvy people, fully capable of a game or two of three-dimensional chess - something that business and political leaders of all stripes forget at their peril.

 Indeed, it would be a very clever move on the part of anti-EA players to organize something like this - far more clever than EA doing it themselves (though after the Dante's Inferno debacle, one can't set the bar too high.) Again, there is no way to confirm anything at this point. We have our imagination and a bunch of screen caps and that's about it.

 I did reach out to AllOut.org and spoke with their Community Manager, Tile Wolfe, about the matter.

 "Over 60,000 (All Out members) have indeed signed the petition," Wolfe told me, "but you're right -- seeing those spam comments is a bummer. We've temporarily disabled the campaign page after our mini-cyber-attack this morning, but the hackers only left 3000 to 5000 rogue comments in the first place. We want to assure you that we've never worked or been in contact with EA.

 "This campaign was launched in the face of right-wing attacks by the Family Research Council. They targeted EA for the visibility and inclusion that comes with LGBT characters and romances in games like Mass Effect 3 and The Old Republic.

 "We are not arguing that Electronic Arts is a perfect company, but we know that today, on this issue, they are taking an important stand that should be celebrated and supported. Anti-gay groups are the dark-side here, and we're glad to see so many consumers and citizens joining forces to pressure companies like EA and beyond to promote fair and balanced portrayals of gay, lesbian, bi and trans characters wherever they pop up. (More info here.)"

 I will be discussing this matter in more depth with the campaign organizers at AllOut, so expect a follow-up post later today. As it stands, we'll have to content ourselves with idle speculation until more info comes out. Fortunately, idle speculation is one of the major food groups on the internet, so we should all be plenty content.

 Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here. |||||

 The Florida Family Association, best known for badgering companies into pulling advertising from TLC reality show All-American Muslim last year, is hard at work ranting about a new target: BioWare/EA game Star Wars: The Old Republic. This isn't the first temper tantrum that supposedly pro-family groups have thrown over The Old Republic, just the most recent.

 The headline of the alarmist new missive asks: "Will the makers of Star Wars video games create Darth VaPaula, a (mock) transgender version of Darth Vader - RuPaul, for kids to choose as their action player?" The mock-up image at the top of this post comes from their website.

 Everything is wrong the FFA's claims. Their insistence that BioWare is going to start gender-bending Darth Vader and warping vulnerable minds indicates a bigoted point of view and a complete misunderstanding of how video games work. Their complaint appears to have nothing to do with reality, either in the physical world or in the game they're panicking over. They insist that, "[I]f BioWare ... adds LGBT characters for kids to select as their action figure it could be something like Darth RuPaula, a combination of Darth Vader, one of the most popular Star Wars characters, and RuPaul, the renown transgender cross dresser." That has no relation to the game or to future changes proposed for it.

 For those unfamiliar with the title, Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online game, where players log into a virtual Star Wars-themed world and play characters they customize heavily from a number of species, appearance, class, and alignment options. All players must choose a gender — either male or female, no third options, nothing non-binary — for each character at the moment of its creation.

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 Romances in SW:TOR, as in other BioWare games, are initiated by the player at his or her choosing, from a limited selection of companion characters. At the moment, only heterosexual relationships are available, but BioWare has promised since before the game's December launch to add same-sex options in the future, which is the source of the uproar.

 The FFA's argument rests on the back of the old workhorse, "Won't somebody think of the children?!" Their alert claims, in among all of the language begging readers to send e-mail to EA:

 An overwhelming percentage of the 1.7 million games sold are being used by children who do not need to be introduced to this propaganda.

 LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) activists are demanding that the makers of Star Wars video games add LGBT characters for kids to select as their action figure when playing the games.

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 Studies observing MMORPGs throughout the past decade have found that overall, the player's average age is in the mid-20s, and that roughly 75% are 18 or older. The game is not designed for or marketed to children, though undoubtedly a number do play; it's designed for people with credit cards, who can pay the monthly fee.

 Children and teens, who never thought anyway but heterosexual, are now given a choice to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in their game player.

 Children and teens, who choose non-social agenda characters, would be forced to deal with lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender characters chosen by other players.

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 I am shocked to find that when I step out of the front door of my apartment into the world, or when I take my avatar and step into a shared virtual world, that I can't control the people I meet. Other people are going to have the audacity to live the lives and take on the identities that they choose, rather than the ones that I choose for them? And here I thought that by sheer force of will, I could make the rest of the world conform to my tastes and expectations alone.

 It's also quite impressive that the Florida Family Association knows that only 100% heterosexual minors have ever picked up this video game! That's statistically amazing. You would think that in 1.7 million active subscribers the odds are somewhere between 50,000 and 170,000 (3-10%) are likely to identify as gay or bisexual, or even mildly curious, but no! This box apparently comes with a built-in filter meaning only straight players touch it. It's the game — not burgeoning hormones, brain chemistry, inherent identity, curiosity, attraction, or even choice, but this one game — that's going to make all the kids suddenly gay!

 Just trying to reach the reality of the game-that-is, instead of the game-that-is-argued-against, is challenging enough. Under that mask, Darth Vader could have spent three films wearing the pinkest, most sparkly lipstick Imperial credits can buy, and no one would ever have known — nor would it have mattered. In the world the FFA lives in, the existence of a same-sex partnership option for the small percentage of players who choose to pursue it magically invalidates all other available choices or paths, and somehow even starts overwriting gender identities.

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 Whether or not any particular group accepts it, queer folk and their allies are gamers too. Sometimes, people choose romances in games just to see what happens, what with games being an essentially consequence-free virtual world. And I refuse to believe that a significant portion of players who choose f/f pairings in games aren't straight men.

 In short, the FFA's values certainly are drawn from a long time ago, but the reality they inhabit doesn't seem to be in this galaxy, or even in one far, far away. Realistically speaking, the Florida Family Association is one very determined man, David Caton, who has an opinion he's determined to bully the world into hearing. And that opinion is about a very strange game in his head alone, not one that actually exists.

 Will the makers of Star Wars video games create Darth VaPaula, a (mock) transgender version of Darth Vader - RuPaul, for kids to choose as their action player? [Florida Family Association, via Kill Screen] ||||| Crawl of outlinks from wikipedia.org started March, 2016. These files are currently not publicly accessible. Properties of this collection. It has been several years since the last time we did this. For this collection, several things were done: 1. Turned off duplicate detection. This collection will be complete, as there is a good chance we will share the data, and sharing data with pointers to random other collections, is a complex problem. 2. For the first time, did all the different wikis. The original runs were just against the enwiki. This one, the seed list was built from all 865 collections. |||||


Article:
The Alabama GOP Senate primary on Tuesday will go a long way in answering the overriding question of the race: How much do Mitch McConnell’s cash and Donald Trump’s endorsement matter?

 The brutal fight on the Republican side is all but assured to go to a September runoff, with no one expected to reach the 50 percent threshold to win the nomination outright. Sen. Luther Strange has the backing of Trump — who remains immensely popular in Alabama and cut a robocall for the senator on Monday — and millions in ads from a McConnell-blessed super PAC.

 Story Continued Below

 Even with that help, Strange isn't a lock to secure a spot in the runoff. Polls show ex-state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore consistently leading, while Strange and Rep. Mo Brooks are battling for the runner-up position.

 The polls close at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local time). Here are POLITICO’s five things to watch as Moore, Strange and Brooks vie for the top two slots to advance to the Sept. 26 runoff:

 Where does Strange land — and what does it mean?

 With a massive cash advantage, powerhouse endorsements and the advantages of incumbency, Strange should be the front-runner. But swirling questions about how he was appointed to the seat by the disgraced ex-Gov. Robert Bentley have dogged Strange throughout his campaign.

 “Luther Strange is the first opportunity voters have to put a head on a spike for all the corruption that’s been going on in Republican politics in the last three years," one former Alabama GOP official said.

 Strange denies any impropriety and instead touts his record of taking on corruption as the twice-elected state attorney general.

 But should Strange somehow not make the runoff — he's consistently placed second in polls, though the margin between him and Brooks is narrow — it would be a huge embarrassment for McConnell and establishment Republicans who have invested millions to help Strange secure the nomination.

 Will Trump’s endorsement amount to anything?

 In a race in which the candidates have tripped over each other trying to align themselves with the president, Strange can proudly claim he is Trump's man.

 Trump announced the endorsement in a surprise tweet last week, tweeted again on Monday to boost the senator and recorded a robocall to help get out the vote on Election Day.

 How much Trump’s imprimatur matters is unclear, but Strange isn’t hesitating to remind voters of it at every turn.

 Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

 To a crowd of Republicans in Homewood, Alabama last week, Strange recounted the phone call with Trump when he informed the senator of the endorsement, when the president told him: “I’ve never done this in a contested primary before, I’m sure I’m going to be criticized, but it’s important to get my agenda passed and I appreciate what you’re going through to get it done.”

 “So, I can’t say anything more than what the president himself has said,” Strange told local party activists in the Birmingham suburb. “I hope you will bear that in mind.”

 How high does Moore go?

 Virtually every poll has shown Moore making the runoff by a comfortable margin. A trio of recent surveys had the judge leading the field with support in the 31 to 35 percent range.

 Rep. Mo Brooks (left) is battling for the runner-up position in the Alabama GOP primary; polls show ex-state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore (right) consistently leading. | AP Photos

 Republican officials expect turnout to be low, which would likely hurt the rest of the field but potentially boost Moore, given his enthusiastic base. At the same time, Moore’s campaign is floating the idea that he could exceed expectations and win somewhere above 35 percent but probably below the 50 percent needed to clinch the nomination outright.

 Moore’s campaign is also banking on Trump’s endorsement making only a marginal difference in the primary.

 “I’m sure it’s got some effect on some people but I don’t sense the folks I’m talking to are being moved by it,” said Moore campaign chairman Bill Armistead. "I think the die is pretty well cast.”

 What does the outcome signal for the runoff?

 Strange is struggling even with the support of the president and the GOP establishment. Assuming he makes it to the runoff, though, the strength of his second-place finish will set expectations for how winnable the election is — or not.

 If Strange barely makes it into the runoff — or comes in third — it will call into question the influence of Trump’s support in a reliably Republican state. If Strange exceeds the low 20-percent support he's gotten in recent polls, he'll still face a tough battle against Moore but won’t have to field a wave of questions about his ultimate viability or the power of Trump's endorsement.

 What about the Democratic primary?

 A Democrat hasn’t held a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama since 1997 but the party feels it might have an outside shot if the chips all fall its way.

 Seven candidates are running for the Democratic nomination, but two are really in play: former U.S. attorney Doug Jones and Robert Kennedy Jr., a Navy veteran and business executive who’s unrelated to the Kennedy family.

 Jones is the favorite of the Democratic establishment and has been endorsed by former Vice President Joe Biden as well as a handful of members of Congress. Democrats hope Jones’ civil rights records, including being the federal prosecutor who convicted two Klansmen involved in the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, and a chaotic Republican primary will create an opening for the seat.

 A Raycom News Network and Strategy Research poll released in late July found Kennedy leading the Democratic field with 49 percent support and Jones in second place with 28 percent. This was before the endorsement by Biden, who has strong ties to Southern Democrats, but Jones’ campaign is still bracing for a tight election night and a likely runoff battle ahead. ||||| In a primary race largely dominated by the popularity of President Donald Trump among Alabama Republicans, three GOP candidates will square off Tuesday in a special election primary to fill the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

 After weeks of vowing to remain on the sidelines, Trump inserted himself front-and-center in the race earlier this month when he endorsed Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill Sessions' seat temporarily earlier this year. On Monday, news emerged that the president had begun recording robocalls for him, urging Alabama GOP voters to support him.

 But the other two candidates have sought to suggest no daylight between them and the president, either.

 Twice-elected, twice-deposed Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore, Tea Party favorite Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala, and Strange have duked it out for months, competing for the attention of voters who still hold the president in extremely high regard.

 Moore has a steady lead in most polls, but has fallen short of the 50-percent mark, pitting Strange and Brooks in a battle for second place.

 If no candidate hits 50 percent on Tuesday, only the top two candidate will move on to a runoff on Sept. 26, before the general election in December.

 Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., responds to questions during a television interview on Capitol Hill on July 11. J. Scott Applewhite / AP

 A senior Alabama GOP official told NBC News last week following Trump’s endorsement that the president’s move was “monumental,” and said that if Strange does better than the polls suggest, it would indicate Trump still holds substantial sway in the Yellowhammer State.

 "If [Strange] is No. 1 one in the runoff, there’s the story," the official said.

 But if Strange doesn’t make the runoff, it could erode the narrative of Trump’s influence in the state, the official said.

 Adding even more uncertainty around Tuesday’s outcome is the fact that both Strange and Brooks, whose congressional district runs along the state’s northern border, head into the race carrying baggage.

 Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks announces his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Huntsville, Alabama on May 15, 2017. Bob Gathany / AL.com via AP file

 Strange has been dogged by questions about his appointment to Sessions' seat by former Gov. Robert Bentley, who was shortly thereafter driven out of office by a sex scandal, while Brooks attracted negative attention himself for running a campaign ad using audio from the June shooting that injured House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.). Brooks attended the practice.

 Strange has also received support from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. and a McConnell-affiliated super PAC said in July it would spend up to $10 million on the race. Brooks — who trailed Strange in a poll released last week 18 percent to 23 percent — has tried to use that against his competitor, ripping him repeatedly as the “establishment” candidate.

 Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore poses in 2015. Brynn Anderson / AP file

 Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, a man named Robert Kennedy Jr. (no, not that Robert Kennedy, Jr.) is crushing his next closest competitor in the polls, seemingly enjoying an advantage of his famous-sounding name.

 Kennedy, who shares no relation to the Kennedy political dynasty, remains at the top of the seven-candidate Democratic field, according to a poll released in late July commissioned by Birmingham TV station WBRC, one of the only surveys of the race.

 Among those trailing Kennedy's 49-percent support in that poll — which would put him just short of avoiding a runoff — is Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney appointed by Bill Clinton who has been involved in Alabama politics since he was president of the Young Democrats chapter in law school.

 Robert Kennedy Jr. speaks during a Democratic Senate candidate forum at the Princess Theatre on August 3, 2017 in Decatur, Alabama. file Jeronimo Nisa / The Decatur Daily via AP file

 Kennedy has been dubbed by local papers as a “mystery candidate" and campaign finance reports show that, by the end of June, he hadn’t hired any staff or spent any money on anything other than online fundraising processing fees.

 He told NBC News earlier this month that he’s a gun-owning fiscal conservative who emphasizes "faith," "family," and "freedom,” who nevertheless is pushing for an activist federal government.

 But even if Kennedy cruises, he faces a near-impossible path to victory in a general election against the eventual Republican candidate. Alabama voters haven’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1992 and haven’t elected a Democratic governor since 1998. ||||| HOMEWOOD, Ala. — Senator Luther Strange of Alabama wields an endorsement from the president of the United States, is the beneficiary of a multimillion-dollar campaign from allies of Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, and has the backing of influential conservative interest groups like the National Rifle Association.

 But Mr. Strange is wheezing into Tuesday’s Republican Senate primary here. He is grasping to secure a second-place finish and a slot in a September runoff with Roy S. Moore, the twice-deposed former State Supreme Court justice and evangelical-voter favorite who is expected to be the top vote-getter but may fall short of the majority needed to win outright.

 Mr. Strange is in a political vise, pinched by his links to a pair of Republicans, one local and one national, held in low esteem by many in the party here: the disgraced former Gov. Robert Bentley, who appointed Mr. Strange, and Mr. McConnell.

 The senator’s difficulties owe chiefly to how he found his way to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a story rooted in the sex scandal of Mr. Bentley. Yet Mr. Strange, who is 6-foot-9 and known to many as “Big Luther,” is also bumping into the enduring contempt grass-roots conservatives harbor toward the party establishment, an animus now principally directed toward Mr. McConnell. ||||| With Strange now picking out office furniture in Washington, D.C., Bentley has the privilege of selecting a new attorney general, a development that has Alabama reporters and political junkies whipped up into a fury. Columnist Kyle Whitmire wrote that the move set “a new benchmark for Alabama corruption,” adding: “It’s so nakedly political that someone should charge them with indecent exposure.” Cartoonist J.D. Crowe drew a caricature of Strange and Bentley in the nude, with the governor reaching around to cup the new senator’s chest, a reference to an infamous clandestine recording of Bentley cooing about how much he loves to squeeze the breasts of his mistress Rebekah Mason.

 Even some Republicans are saying the optics are bad. After all, Strange, a former D.C. lobbyist, has made a name for himself as a force against corruption. He came into office in 2010 as part of the GOP’s historic takeover of all branches of state government, which had been dominated by Democrats since Reconstruction. Central to the campaign was a vow to fight corruption, and once in office Strange reconstituted the state’s special prosecution unit. One of its earliest targets was Mike Hubbard, speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and mastermind of the Republican takeover. Strange recused himself from the case, citing his use of Hubbard’s printing company during his campaign. But after it ended with 12 felony convictions, Strange announced, “This is a good day for the rule of law in our state.” He added, “This should send a clear message that in Alabama we hold public officials accountable for their actions.”

 Even some Republicans are saying the optics are bad.

 During his two terms in office, Strange has presented himself as a tough enforcer of laws and constitutional rights, especially those that interest conservatives. As a leader in the Republican Attorney General Association (at the time of his Senate appointment he was chairman-elect) he helped spearhead legal opposition to the Obama administration’s policies on immigration, environmental protection, health care, and LGBT rights. And he’s made a big show of cracking down on violations of Alabama’s gun laws, ordering libraries and community centers across the state to remove signs prohibiting fire arms.

 But he has also been accused of politicizing the justice system, using the state’s anti-gambling laws to target casinos in predominantly black counties for alleged violations that his office has allowed at Indian-owned casinos. In 2013, the state seized electronic bingo machines and cash from VictoryLand Casino in Macon County, claiming that they were actually slot machines, which are illegal in the state. A circuit court later ordered Strange’s office to return the machines, accusing him of “cherry picking” his enforcement of the law, because casinos owned by the Poarch Creek Indians are allowed to operate identical machines.

 Strange has also brought suit against the tribe, but critics question the sincerity of these efforts. “His case was absolutely based on the wrong question,” says Bobby Singleton, a Democratic state senator from Greensboro. “He knew he had no standing on it.” ||||| Florida is on high alert and has ordered evacuations, with mandatory evacuations for the Florida Keys and parts of Miami-Dade and Broward counties. FEMA Director Brock Long said Friday: "I can guarantee you that I don't know anybody in Florida who's ever experienced what's about to hit South Florida."

 A bad week for North America: Two other hurricanes are building momentum in the Atlantic. Hurricane Jose is expected to make landfall on some Caribbean islands Saturday, while Katia, now a Category 2 storm, is threatening to close in on the coast of Mexico Friday evening. And late Thursday night, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 hit Mexico just off the Pacific coast, killing at least 32 people. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said it was the biggest earthquake to hit the country in a century.

 Trump on Twitter Friday morning: "Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. Be safe and get out of its way,if possible. Federal G is ready! Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard saved more than 15,000 lives last week with Harvey. Irma could be even tougher. We love our Coast Guard!"

 More updates:

 Gov. Rick Scott said Friday morning, "All Floridians should be prepared to evacuate soon. Evacuations aren't meant to be convenient, but to keep you safe... Possession can be replaced, families cannot." Irma's storm surge is forecasted to be 3 to 10 feet in Florida. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people have already headed to shelters in Miami-Dade county alone.

 "The dramatic mass exodus from South Florida could turn into one of the largest evacuations in US history," CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

 Fuel in Florida is running low, creating another issue for the state. Gov. Scott has urged gas stations to remain open for as long as possible.

 The Carolinas and Georgia have declared emergencies. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal issued mandatory evacuations for Savannah and other coastal areas, starting Saturday.

 Delta Air Lines has added flights out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West to Atlanta, and is letting passengers affected by Irma to rebook flights for free.

 White House Homeland Security Advisor, Tom Bossert, said Friday that the U.S. will evacuate people in the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Martin in preparation for Hurricane Jose.

 While walking to board Marine One en route to Camp David, President Trump told reporters "we are prepared at the highest level" for Hurricane Irma.

 8pm forecast map: ||||| (Reuters) - A Republican candidate backed by President Donald Trump for a U.S. Senate seat from Alabama is expected to finish a distant second in a primary election on Tuesday, but will still have enough votes to advance to a run-off, local news projected.

 In the election for the seat vacated by Republican Jeff Sessions when he became U.S. attorney general, Luther Strange, who was appointed to the seat and was backed by Trump, will move to the Republican primary along with former Alabama Supreme Court Chief justice Roy Moore, the projections said.

 Neither candidate captured more than 50 percent of the vote required for an outright victory. With 60 of the state’s 67 counties reporting, Moore had 43.8 percent of the vote while Strange had 31.7 percent, official results showed.

 Strange, a former Alabama attorney general, has close ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been feuding with Trump lately over stalled effort to pass health care reform.

 Strange scored the president’s surprise endorsement last week and Trump reiterated his support for Strange in an automated phone call to voters on Monday.

 “He’s helping me in the Senate,” Trump said. “He’s going to get the tax cuts for us. He’s doing a lot of things for the people of Alabama.”

 Moore was effectively ousted as Alabama’s chief justice in 2016 for defying the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing gay marriage. It was the second time that he was suspended from the bench. The first was in 2003 after refusing a federal court order to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the courthouse.

 U.S. Representative Mo Brooks came in third in the Republican primary and will not advance to the Sept. 26 runoff. The top candidates have battled for weeks over which of them is most supportive of Trump’s legislative agenda.

 In the Democratic primary, Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney backed by former Vice President Joe Biden, is projected to be the outright winner and a long shot to win the seat in the Republican-dominated state. |||||Summary:

– The fight for the Alabama Senate seat previously vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions looks poised to go to a Sept. 26 runoff election. But the path there officially kicks off Tuesday with a special election primary in which three candidates will be weeded down to two. President Trump and Mitch McConnell are backing former Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, who was temporarily appointed to the seat after Sessions left it. But it's former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore who's the apparent front-runner, with Strange and US Rep. Mo Brooks trailing behind, reports Politico. More: A candidate needs 50% of the vote to take the seat, which most news outlets agree is unlikely to happen. Moore leads in some polls at around 35% support, with Strange and Brooks in a close race for second. Should Trump's favorite be eliminated, it "will call into question the influence of Trump's support in a reliably Republican state," per Politico. Not that Trump should be too disappointed with Brooks or Moore. Both are "Trumpian candidates," reports Axios. McConnell has a huge interest in the race, though. He and his allies have invested millions in Strange's campaign. Also key: Brooks has said he wants McConnell "fired." Not helping Brooks, however, is a controversial campaign ad he aired that included audio from the shooting of Steve Scalise, reports NBC News. Strange is likewise plagued by his appointment by former Gov. Robert Bentley in what some suspect was "a corrupt bargain to end the state's criminal investigation of Bentley," the New Republic previously reported. Reuters mentions the candidates' stances on issues like gay marriage and illegal immigration. The winner of the runoff election is likely to face one of two Democrats in December: either former US Attorney Doug Jones, backed by Joe Biden, or Robert Kennedy Jr., a Navy veteran with no relation to the famous Kennedy family, per Politico. Either way, the Republican winner will be sitting pretty. Alabama hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992, per the New York Times. Polls close at 8pm EDT.


After receiving piles of Christmas cards, Safyre Terry gets Disney World trip

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 Before Safyre Terry captured the hearts of the world with her wish for Christmas cards, the 8-year-old had the attention of Baking Memories 4 Kids, a non-profit organization that sells cookies and uses profits to send children with life threatening or terminal illnesses on cost-free vacations with their families.

 Frank Squeo, the founder of Baking Memories 4 Kids, surprised Safyre at her Rotterdam, New York, home today, along with law enforcement officials and approximately one hundred guests invited to share in the moment by Safyre's aunt, Liz Dolder.

 "It was absolutely amazing. There are no words to describe how many people were there supporting the family, or how beautiful Safyre was," said Squeo. "She was so appreciative and she gave me the biggest hug."

 Baking Memories 4 Kids Frank Squeo, founder of Baking Memories 4 Kids, surprised Safyre and her cousins with news that they will be going on a cost-free trip to Walt Disney World in February.

 The family will be traveling to Walt Disney World in February 2016, a vacation made possible by Baking Memories 4 Kids and Give Kids the World, an Orlando, Florida, resort designed to house the recipients of such trips during their week-long vacations.

 Safyre was badly burned in an arson house fire three years ago that killed her father and three younger siblings. Her father died cradling Safyre in his arms, which protected her from breathing in hot air and allowed her to survive. Her mother signed over custodial rights to the state, so her father's sister, Liz Dolder, stepped forward to be her guardian.

 Safyre has undergone more than 50 surgeries since the fire, including the amputation of her foot in March 2015. It was during the hospital stay for this procedure that Dolder learned that a classmate of Safyre's, Zachary Cunniff, had nominated her to receive the vacation.

 Dolder says the news was exactly what she needed to hear at such a difficult time. In a post to Safyre Schenectady's Super Survivor, the Facebook community she created, Dolder said she learned of the trip on the hardest day of that hospital stay, a day when Safyre had broken down crying three different times, and Dolder was missing home and feeling overwhelmed.

 Read more: Baking Memories 4 Kids teams up with the Yankees

 "I was so emotional and so happy when Frank told me about the trip," Dolder told TODAY Parents. "To know that, for one week, I will get to forget about all the pain and take a vacation with my family — it's wonderful."

 Baking Memories 4 Kids Squeo, shown with Safyre, says his organization has been planning the trip with Safyre's aunt, Liz Dolder, for six months.

 Christina Metz is the senior vice president of Baking Memories 4 Kids, and says that the organization provided a similar vacation to Safyre's classmate, Zachary's, family last year. Zachary's brother, Caleb, has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and their father, Trooper David Cuniff, was tragically killed in 2013 after being struck by a vehicle while conducting a traffic stop.

 "Zachary's mom, Amy, told us that Zachary wanted to nominate Safyre because all of the Frozen characters there are at Disney World, and he knew how much she loved the movie," said Metz. "We love Safyre's sheer fight and determination — her story is definitely one of hope and inspiration."

 In addition to the trip to Disney, Safyre's post office box has been flooded with cards, gifts and letters since her story went viral last week. Dolder posted to her Facebook community this weekend, sharing photos of a volunteer effort that took place to help Safyre open all of the mail she has received.

 The family's YouCaring fundraiser site, which once had a modest goal of raising $15,000, has raised more than $300,000 to date, as support pours in from around the world.

 Cards for Safyre can be mailed to: P.O. Box 6126, Schenectady, NY, 12306. ||||| In 2013, Sa’fyre Terry lost her father and three younger siblings in an arson fire which also left her with burns over 75 percent of her body and claimed her right hand and left foot.

 The now 8-year-old told told her family the only present she wanted for Christmas was cards and that she “couldn’t wait” to fill up a thrift store Christmas tree stand with them.

 Her aunt, Liz Dolder, didn’t want to get her hopes up, so she simply replied that they might “get a few.”

 Hundreds of thousands of cards, letters and packages later, little Sa’fyre has experienced a true Christmas miracle, fueled by social media and made possible by the kindness and generosity of those affected by her story.

 “’Wow’ is the general reaction in my family,” Dolder told ABC News today, adding that the cards and gifts are arriving from all over the world.

 "[We] never thought something like this was possible," she said.

 Dolder mentioned a 5-year-old boy in Hong Kong who sent Sa’fyre his favorite teddy bear with a note that said “Let’s be friends.” The family will be sending the teddy bear back to him along with a “friend” so the bear doesn’t get “lonely” on the long trip.

 Courtesy of Liz Dolder

 Just today, Sa’fyre received about 195,000 letters and cards and more than 3,000 packages, Schenectady Post Master John Reilly told ABC News. It took two 2-ton mail trucks and a rented cargo truck to deliver the mail to the family, he said.

 “This morning was just an unbelievable day,” he said. “We got the most mail we’ve ever gotten for a single person in Schenectady.”

 In total, Sa’fyre has received more than 300,000 letters, Reilly said, adding that Schnectady’s main post office is now handling the mail, since the P.O. box the family rented is located inside a small branch in the Rotterdam Square Mall.

 “It’s really wonderful, the outpouring of love for this family and this little girl,” Reilly said.

 Volunteers are helping Sa’fyre and the Dolder family open the influx of cards and packages they’ve received, Dolder said, calling the community “amazing.”

 "It’s like everyone’s come together for Sa’fyre," she said.

 Dolder said the only word Sa’fyre can muster when she sees the new pile of cards every day is, “What?”

 “She can’t believe it,” Dolder said. “She’s such a humble little girl, too. She really is.”

 The family plans to lie the cards out on their lawn and will take a photo with an aerial drone as a “thank you” to everyone who sent one.

 “To hear a number is one thing, but you really need to see how many cards there are to understand,” Dolder said.

 Today, the charity Baking Memories 4 Kids will present Sa’fyre, Dolder, her husband, Mike, and their four children with a trip to Walt Disney World, which the family will take in February. Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

 Until then, Sa’fyre will have plenty to keep her busy as she opens the thousands of cards that are sure to arrive in the coming days.

 If you would like to send a Christmas card to Sa'fyre, address your card to:

 Sa'fyre Terry

 P.O. Box 6126

 Schenectady, NY 12306 |||||

Write a summary.

– The story of Safyre Terry, an 8-year-old who lost her entire family in an arson fire more than two years ago, touched the world. After the little girl's request for Christmas cards went viral—more than 300,000 letters have flooded her mailbox since—she got another surprise Monday: a visit from the founder of a nonprofit that will be sending her and her relatives to Disney World in February, Today.com reports. Baking Memories 4 Kids will be sending Safyre and her aunt, uncle, and four cousins to Florida, per ABC News, and founder Frank Squeo tells Today.com that presenting the New York girl with the news was "absolutely amazing." "There are no words to describe how many people were there supporting the family, or how beautiful Safyre was," he says. "She gave me the biggest hug." As for those cards, ABC News notes that 195,000 of them came in a single day, and delivering them required two 2-ton mail trucks and a cargo truck. "We got the most mail we’ve ever gotten for a single person in Schenectady," says the local post master. A YouCaring page set up for the family has also amassed more than $342,000 to date; Safyre suffered burns on 75% of her body and lost her right hand and left foot. Today.com has this detail: "Her father died cradling Safyre in his arms, which protected her from breathing in hot air and allowed her to survive." (Read how a Mississippi firefighter got another man's face after being burned in a horrific house fire.)


Article:
A seriously ill woman denied a medical abortion has had a successful cesarean section to deliver a baby that doctors have given little chance of surviving, El Salvador's Health Ministry announced late Monday.

 The 22-year-old woman, known only as Beatriz for privacy reasons, underwent the operation in the afternoon after 27 weeks of pregnancy, the ministry said. Her baby girl was born without a brain.

 "No one can say how long she will live," Morena Herrera of the Feminist Collective for Local Development told The Associated Press. "It was painful to see the little creature. That's what the grandmother told us, and the doctors confirmed it."

 The country's Supreme Court last week prohibited an abortion for Beatriz, who suffers from lupus and kidney failure and whose lawyers said the pregnancy was threatening her life. Her plight drew international attention and a ruling from the Inter-American Court on Human Rights that El Salvador should protect her life and help her end the pregnancy.

 The Health Ministry stepped in late last week after the ruling and said it would allow the C-section because the pregnancy was already at 26 weeks and the country's strict abortion laws were no longer at play. Ultrasound images had indicated her fetus was developing with only a brain stem.

 The Health Ministry can determine what is most medically sound for a mother versus the unborn baby and was lauded internationally for working to save the woman's life.

 Doctors at the Maternity Hospital had been preparing to perform the C-section at the slightest danger signs to save Beatriz's life, said Maria Isabel Rodriguez of the health ministry.

 The woman was recovering under the close watch of doctors late Monday.

 El Salvador's laws prohibit all abortions, even when a woman's health is at risk. Beatriz and any doctor who terminated her pregnancy would have faced arrest and criminal charges.

 A majority of judges on the high court rejected the appeal by Beatriz's lawyers, saying physical and psychological exams by the government-run Institute of Legal Medicine found that her diseases were under control and that she could continue the pregnancy.

 Just as the Health Ministry was resolving the case, the Inter-American Court issued its ruling, but it no longer applied in the case.

 Abortion opponents said the case was being used to press for legalized abortion in El Salvador, which has some of the toughest abortion laws in Latin America, along with Chile, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Suriname. ||||| SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - The pregnant woman at the centre of an abortion controversy in El Salvador had her malformed foetus delivered on Monday by Caesarean section to save her life and avoid breaking the law, although the baby did not survive.

 El Salvador's Health Ministry said doctors attending the woman, who uses the name "Beatriz" to protect her identity, performed a Caesarean to remove the foetus, thereby avoiding an abortion, which is illegal in the country.

 The Central American country banned all types of abortion in 1999, but Beatriz's foetus had a serious condition known as anencephaly, which results in only partial brain development. Such a foetus has little or no chance of surviving after birth.

 Health Minister Maria Isabel Rodriguez said the operation took place about 2 p.m. (2000 GMT) and that Beatriz, who had been 27 weeks pregnant, was in stable condition.

 "She's in good hands, being looked after well," she told Reuters. "I expect things to go well over the next few hours."

 Shortly afterward, Rodriguez said that Beatriz's baby daughter died about five hours after the operation.

 Beatriz, 22, suffers from lupus and kidney problems, which posed a serious threat to her own health.

 The operation followed a non-binding resolution on Thursday by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that called on El Salvador to take action to save Beatriz's life after the country's courts had denied her an abortion.

 El Salvador's Supreme Court rejected Beatriz's request for an abortion on the grounds it breached the constitution, which it said protects life from the moment of conception.

 The Caesarean delivery provided El Salvador with a way out of the legal wrangle.

 Morena Herrera, a spokeswoman for the abortion rights group Colectivo Feminista, said that although Beatriz could have been spared unnecessary suffering, her life had been saved.

 Claudia Handal, a spokeswoman for the anti-abortion group Red Familia, said the rights of all had been respected.

 "We're very happy because as we said from the beginning, it wasn't necessary to perform an abortion, the point was to respect the baby's life and to give Beatriz the care and the right to health that she deserved," Handal told Reuters.

 The case has drawn attention to abortion in El Salvador and attitudes toward the procedure in predominantly Roman Catholic Latin America. Some countries such as Colombia are relaxing their rules in order to permit abortions in cases of rape.

 (Editing by Dave Graham and Peter Cooney) ||||| A seriously ill woman denied a medical abortion has had a caesarean section to save her life and avoid breaking the law, although the baby did not survive, El Salvador's health ministry announced late on Monday.

 The 22-year-old woman, known only as Beatriz for privacy reasons, underwent the operation in the afternoon after 27 weeks of pregnancy, the ministry said. Her baby girl was born without a brain.

 Health minister María Isabel Rodriguez said the operation took place about 2pm local time and that Beatriz was in a stable condition.

 "She's in good hands, being looked after well," she told Reuters. "I expect things to go well over the next few hours."

 Shortly afterward, Rodriguez said that Beatriz's baby daughter died about five hours after the operation.

 The country's supreme court last week prohibited an abortion for Beatriz, who suffers from lupus and kidney failure and whose lawyers said the pregnancy was threatening her life.

 Her plight drew international attention and a ruling from the Inter-American court on human rights that El Salvador should protect her life and help her end the pregnancy.

 The health ministry stepped in late last week after the ruling and said it would allow the C-section because the pregnancy was already at 26 weeks and the country's strict abortion laws were no longer applicable. Ultrasound images had indicated her foetus was developing with only a brain stem.

 Doctors at the maternity hospital had been preparing to perform the C-section at the slightest sign of danger to save Beatriz's life, said Rodriguez.

 El Salvador's laws prohibit all abortions, even when a woman's health is at risk. Beatriz and any doctor who terminated her pregnancy would have faced arrest and criminal charges.

 A majority of judges at the high court rejected the appeal by Beatriz's lawyers, saying physical and psychological exams by the government-run Institute of Legal Medicine found that her diseases were under control and that she could continue the pregnancy.

 Just as the health ministry was resolving the case, the inter-American court issued its ruling, but it no longer applied in the case.

 Abortion opponents said the case was being used to press for legalised abortion in El Salvador, which has some of the toughest abortion laws in Latin America, along with Chile, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Suriname.

 Claudia Handal, a spokeswoman for the anti-abortion group Red Familia, said the rights of all had been respected.

 "We're very happy because as we said from the beginning, it wasn't necessary to perform an abortion, the point was to respect the baby's life and to give Beatriz the care and the right to health that she deserved," Handal told Reuters. |||||Summary:

– After being denied an abortion despite serious health concerns, a Salvadoran woman known only as Beatriz has undergone a cesarean section to save her life, the AP reports. The baby girl was born without a brain 27 weeks into the pregnancy and died five hours later, the Guardian reports. El Salvador's health ministry was able to circumvent its strict anti-abortion laws and allow the C-section because the pregnancy had passed the 26-week mark. Beatriz, who had suffered from lupus and kidney failure, is now in stable condition, says the health minister. "She's in good hands, being looked after well." A rep for an abortion rights group says she faced unnecessary suffering, reports Reuters. Last week, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights ruled that the abortion should be allowed, but that ruling came as El Salvador settled the issue with the C-section plan.


The 2012 Republican primary is about to enter the elimination round.

 When the GOP presidential candidates meet in Michigan Wednesday for a CNBC debate on the economy, they’ll no longer be looking to make a first impression. With less than two months to go before the Iowa caucuses, there’s a much more urgent objective: survival.

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 reset Allen on GOP debates POLITICO 44

 Herman Cain may not be viable much longer, unless he can manage to move the 2012 conversation away from the allegations of sexual harassment that have plagued his campaign. Flagging conservatives such as Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann can’t afford to muddle aimlessly through another candidate forum. If Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum can’t take advantage of this chaotic moment, they may never get another chance. And Jon Huntsman is running out of time to connect with his attempt at a maverick message.

 With the exception of front-runner Mitt Romney — and perhaps Ron Paul, the libertarian congressman whose devoted base of support never really diminishes or grows — nearly every candidate in the race is almost one misstep away from political death.

 “Voters have formed general impressions of most of the candidates by this point, but a mixed or poor impression hasn’t been fatal,” said Dan Schnur, a former adviser to John McCain’s 2000 campaign. “Going forward, any problems become much more damaging because the clock is ticking.”

 Schnur, who now directs the University of Southern California’s Unruh Institute of Politics, said Cain had helped speed up the winnowing process: “We were probably going to get to this point pretty soon anyway, but the controversy surrounding Cain’s campaign may be serving as a reminder to voters of the stakes involved here.”

 Michigan Republican National Committeeman Saul Anuzis, a Romney supporter, suggested debates were increasingly about “which people make the mistakes and have the most to lose, not the most to gain.”

 “Usually there’s a loser in a debate, not necessarily a winner,” said Anuzis. “I think there will be a desire by all the candidates to stay on [economic] issues and focus on those issues. The question is whether we will get pulled away by the Cain stuff or something else.”

 Cain signaled in a press conference Tuesday that he hopes to move on from battling charges of personal misconduct and get back to talking about policy. With his poll numbers holding up in the low-20 percent range, it’s clear that some of his fans have been giving him the benefit of the doubt so far.

 The CNBC debate – the ninth of the year, and the sixth involving the full GOP presidential field – will test Cain’s ability to hold on to those supporters and turn the page on the worst week of his campaign. ||||| article

 The CNBC debate kicks off tonight in the shadow of the Cain circus. Will the other candidates ignore the elephant in the room, and will Gingrich finally reach the top tier? David A. Graham on what to look for. Plus join Howard Kurtz for a live chat during the debate, starting at 8pm ET.

 After three weeks’ respite, the packed Republican presidential debate season is about to return to full tilt. The GOP field will convene in a Detroit suburb on Wednesday for a debate hosted by CNBC. Using a traditional setup, the debate is supposed to focus on economic issues, including taxation, jobs, and the deficit, but fireworks are likely on a few other topics as well. Here’s what to watch for Wednesday night.

 1. Will the Herman Cain Allegations Take Center Stage?

 Last time around, Herman Cain was a target because his fortunes were rising, along with the popularity of his 9-9-9 plan. Much has happened since, and although his polls numbers have flat-lined, not tanked, repeated allegations of sexual harassment or worse seem to be on their way to derailing the Cain train. How will his rivals handle it? They could attack him directly; even the usually detached Romney edged that way Tuesday, saying the allegations against Cain were serious. But that might be unnecessary and counterproductive. Focusing on Cain’s circus rather than, say, high unemployment is bad for the Republican brand, so they may instead let him bleed slowly as they avert their eyes.

 2. Will the ‘Not-Mitt’ Movement Dent Romney’s Armor?

 Although it’s long been clear that Mitt Romney was the man to beat in the Republican field, the last two weeks have seen the anybody-but-Mitt movement crystallizing like never before. Bookended by scathing attacks by George Will and Erick Erickson—the voices of the Old Republican Establishment and the Upstart Activist Right, respectively—and peaking with the creation of the website Not Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor’s opponents have come together, Transformers-style. But behind whom? With most of the rest of the field fading or too damaged to take up the standard, Jon Huntsman Jr., whose once-promising candidacy hasn’t even gotten as far as spinning its wheels, is making a late play, producing his own anti-Romney ad. Can Huntsman or some other challenger dent Romney’s armor? Or will the unflappable frontrunner parry all blows with the effortless, bland approach he’s used so far?

 3. Will Newt Gingrich Finally Join the First Tier?

 With Cain potentially on the outs, could Newt Gingrich finally be having his moment? The former House speaker could appeal to the same voters as Cain (they agree on plenty, as demonstrated by their lovefest on Saturday), he’s experienced, and his campaign seems to have come back from several prematurely declared deaths. Indeed, he’s rising in some polls. But Gingrich’s previous debate performances have been polarizing. While some of the more cerebral Republican pundits gushed over his oratorical and rhetorical talents, he has a tendency to come across as petulantly contrarian and needlessly pedantic. If he can temper those tendencies, the debate could propel him to the first tier of the race.

 4. Will Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann Show Up?

 Long, long ago—if you can remember that far back—both Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry were first-tier candidates. Their chances at returning to the top tier are slipping away quickly, though Perry’s ample war chest is a crutch. It will be interesting to see how they try to claw back—if at all. Will Perry come across as giddy and drunk, as he did in New Hampshire last month? Will Bachmann figuratively show up? She has been a nonfactor for several debates, but could try to expand on outreach to moms or maybe go big on religion.

 5. Will Serious Economic Plans Finally Make an Appearance? |||||

Write a summary.

– With Iowa just two months away, the stakes are high for tonight’s GOP debate. Politico describes it as an “elimination round,” with everyone except Mitt Romney—and maybe the seemingly immovable Ron Paul—“one misstep away from political death." Here’s what to watch for: Will anyone touch Herman Cain’s scandal? Focusing on that circus might hurt the GOP brand, the Daily Beast points out, “so they may instead let him bleed slowly as they avert their eyes.” Who can be the Not-Mitt? Anti-Romney sentiment coalesced this week, but has no standard bearer. Newt Gingrich is gaining some buzz, especially after his heart-to-heart with Cain, so some speculate that he's next. Who matters? “For Huntsman, Santorum, and Bachmann, the debate is totally about relevance and trying to maintain some respectability,” an ex-Huntsman campaign manager says. “Not much more, I don’t think.” Will Rick Perry be sober? Perry is reeling after his, um, interesting New Hampshire speech. Perry can come off “like a deer caught in headlights,” says one strategist. “He’s got to decide, what are the two or three messages I’m going to drive?” What about Mitt? “Romney can begin to play ball-control politics,” says a former McCain adviser. “He just needs to be reassuring and not say anything really dumb."