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(CNN) Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale, the inspiration behind the show "The Wire," has died in a federal prison. He was 54.

 Barksdale passed away from natural causes after being sick for a period of time, a spokesperson for the Baltimore City Health Department, Sean Naron, told CNN.

 Former U.S. Rep. Mike Oxley -- co-author of a landmark anti-corporate-fraud law that bears his name -- died on January 1. He was 71.

 Producer Robert Stigwood , the creative force behind "Saturday Night Fever," "Grease" and other cultural blockbusters of the 1970s, died on January 4. He was 81.

 French fashion designer Andre Courreges, famous for his "space age" designs of the 1960s and 1970s, died on January 7, his family told CNN affiliate France 3. He was 92.

 French fashion designer Andre Courreges, famous for his "space age" designs of the 1960s and 1970s, died on January 7, his family told CNN affiliate France 3. He was 92.

 Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Monte Irvin died January 11 at the age of 96. Irvin was regarded as one of the best hitters and all-around players in the Negro League, making five All-Star teams. He became one of the first African-Americans to play in the majors, and he played a vital role in the New York Giants' World Series runs in 1951 and 1954.

 At left is Bob Elliott , half of the TV and radio comedy duo Bob and Ray. He died February 2 at the age of 92. For several decades, Elliott and Ray Goulding's program parodies and deadpan routines were staples of radio and television. Elliott was the father of comedian and actor Chris Elliott and the grandfather of "Saturday Night Live" cast member Abby Elliott.

 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia , the leading conservative voice on the high court, died at the age of 79, a government source and a family friend told CNN on February 13.

 Singer Sonny James , who ruled the country music charts for nearly 20 years, died February 22 at the age of 87.

 Former first lady Nancy Reagan , who joined her husband on a storybook journey from Hollywood to the White House, died of heart failure on March 6. She was known as a fierce protector of her husband, President Ronald Reagan, as well as a spokeswoman of the "just say no" anti-drug campaign. She was 94.

 Actor Larry Drake , best known for his role as Benny on "L.A. Law," died at his home in Los Angeles on March 17, according to his manager Steven Siebert. Drake was 66.

 Malik Taylor, better known to fans as Phife Dawg of the rap group A Tribe Called Quest, died March 23 at the age of 45. He's seen here at center during a performance in 1996. Taylor had long suffered from health issues associated with having Type 1 diabetes. In 2008, he underwent a kidney transplant.

 Author and poet Jim Harrison died March 26 at his winter home in Arizona. He was 78. His many books include "Legends of the Fall," which was made into a 1994 movie starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins.

 Actor James Noble , who played Gov. Eugene X. Gatling in the television series "Benson," died from a stroke on March 28. He was 94.

 Actress Patty Duke , star of "The Patty Duke Show," died March 29, at the age of 69. Duke won an Academy Award at age 16 for playing Helen Keller in 1962's "The Miracle Worker."

 Architect Zaha Hadid , whose designs include the London Olympic Aquatic Centre, died March 31, a spokesperson from Zaha Hadid Design told CNN. She was 65. Hadid died of a heart attack in a Miami hospital where she was being treated for bronchitis, according to her firm's press office.

 Country music legend Merle Haggard died on April 6 -- his 79th birthday -- of complications from pneumonia, his agent Lance Roberts told CNN.

 Actress Doris Roberts , best known for her role as Marie Barone on the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," died April 17. She was 90.

 The musician Prince died at his home in Minnesota on April 21 at age 57. The medical examiner later determined he died of an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl.

 Grammy-winning songwriter Guy Clark died May 17 at the age of 74. The Texas native died after a long illness, according to a statement from his publicist.

 CBS News legend Morley Safer , whose work on "60 Minutes" embodied the show's 50 years on air, died at the age of 84, according to CBS on May 19.

 Actor Alan Young , known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television show "Mr. Ed," died on May 19. He was 96.

 Drummer Nick Menza , who played on many of Megadeth's most successful albums, died after collapsing on stage during a show with his current band, Ohm, on May 21. He was 51.

 Mixed martial arts fighter Kimbo Slice died June 6 at the age of 42. Slice, whose real name was Kevin Ferguson, initially gained fame from online videos that showed him engaging in backyard bare-knuckle fights. He then became a professional fighter with a natural charisma that endeared him to fans.

 Hockey legend Gordie Howe , left, scored 801 goals in his NHL career and won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings. Howe, also known as "Mr. Hockey," died June 10 at the age of 88, his son Marty said.

 Singer Christina Grimmie died June 11 from gunshot wounds. The 22-year-old singer, who finished third on season 6 of "The Voice" on NBC, was shot while signing autographs after a concert in Orlando.

 Singer Attrell Cordes , known as Prince Be of the music duo P.M. Dawn, died June 17 after suffering from diabetes and renal kidney disease, according to a statement from the group. He was 46.

 Actor Ron Lester , who portrayed Billy Bob in the 1999 football movie "Varsity Blues," died June 17 at the age of 45, according to his representative Dave Bradley. Bradley said Lester died of organ failure -- specifically his liver and his kidneys. Lester had openly talked about his struggle with his illness on Twitter.

 Bluegrass music pioneer Ralph Stanley died June 23 at the age of 89, publicist Kirt Webster announced on Stanley's official website. Stanley was already famous in bluegrass and roots music circles when the 2000 hit movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" thrust him into the mainstream. He provided a haunting a cappella version of the dirge "O Death" and ended up winning a Grammy.

 Scotty Moore, a legendary guitarist credited with helping to launch Elvis Presley's career, died at the age of 84 on June 28. Moore is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he was ranked No. 29 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

 Scotty Moore, a legendary guitarist credited with helping to launch Elvis Presley's career, died at the age of 84 on June 28. Moore is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he was ranked No. 29 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel died at the age of 87 on July 2. Wiesel's book "La Nuit" is the story of the Wiesel family being sent to Nazi concentration camps.

 Director Michael Cimino , whose searing 1978 Vietnam War drama "The Deer Hunter" won five Oscars, including best picture, died July 2. He was 77.

 Actress Noel Neill , who played Lois Lane in the 1950s TV version of "Superman," died July 3 at the age of 95.

 Actor David Huddleston , perhaps best known for his role in the 1998 film "The Big Lebowski," died August 2 at the age of 85.

 Famous New Orleans jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain died August 6 of heart failure. He was 86.

 British actor Kenny Bake r, best known for playing R2-D2 in the "Star Wars" films, died on August 13, Baker's niece, Abigail Shield, told CNN. He was 81.

 Actor Steven Hill , best known for playing District Attorney Adam Schiff on NBC's "Law & Order," died August 23, his son confirmed to CNN. He was 94.

 Mexican music icon Juan Gabriel, who wooed audiences with soulful pop ballads that made him a Latin American music legend, died August 28 at the age of 66.

 Actor Gene Wilder , who brought a wild-eyed desperation to a series of memorable and iconic comedy roles in the 1970s and 1980s, died August 29 at the age of 83. Some of his most famous films include "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles" and "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory."

 Character actor Jon Polito, who appeared in films such as "American Gangster" and "The Big Lebowski," died September 2, his manager confirmed. He was 65.

 Character actor Jon Polito, who appeared in films such as "American Gangster" and "The Big Lebowski," died September 2, his manager confirmed. He was 65.

 Actor Hugh O'Brian , best known for his portrayal of the title role in the 1950's TV Western "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp," died on September 5. He was 91.

 Legendary playwright Edward Albee -- whose works included "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" -- died at the age of 88 after a short illness, according to his personal assistant Jakob Holder. Albee died September 16 at his home in Montauk, New York.

 "L.A. Confidential" director and writer Curtis Hanson , 71, died of natural causes on September 20, Los Angeles police said. He won an Oscar with Brian Helgeland for the screenplay on "L.A. Confidential," and he also directed "8 Mile" and "Wonder Boys."

 Grammy and Emmy Award winner Stanley Dural Jr., also known as Buckwheat Zydeco, died September 24 in Lafayette, Louisiana. He was 68.

 Veteran actor Bill Nunn, best known for playing Radio Raheem in "Do the Right Thing" and Robbie Robertson in the "Spider-Man" trilogy, died September 24 at age 63.

 Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez , one of baseball's brightest stars, was killed in a boating accident September 25, Florida authorities said. He was 24.

 Golfing legend Arnold Palmer , who helped turn the sport from a country club pursuit to one that became accessible to the masses, died September 25 at the age of 87, according to the U.S. Golf Association.

 Award-winning author Gloria Naylor , whose explorations of the lives of black women in the 1980s and 1990s earned her wide acclaim, died on September 28. She was 66.

 Actor Tommy Ford , best known for his role as Tommy in the 1990s hit sitcom "Martin," died in Atlanta, a spokeswoman for his family announced on October 12. Ford was 52.

 Actor and comedian Kevin Meaney , who had been a regular on late-night TV and was famous for delivering the line, "That's not right," died, his agent said October 21. Meaney's age and the cause of death weren't immediately known.

 Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen died at the age of 82, according to a post on his official Facebook page on November 10. A highly respected artist known for his poetic and lyrical music, Cohen wrote a number of popular songs, including the often-covered "Hallelujah."

 Actor Ron Glass , known for his role on the police sitcom "Barney Miller," died November 25, his agent said. Glass also starred in "Firefly" and its film sequel "Serenity."

 Actor Alan Thicke , known for his role as the father in the sitcom "Growing Pains," died on December 13, according to his agent, Tracy Mapes. He was 69. Thicke's career spanned five decades -- one in which he played various roles on and off screen, from actor to writer to composer to author.

 English novelist Richard Adams , author of the famous children's book "Watership Down," died at the age of 96 on December 24.

 Singer George Michael , who shot to fame with the '80s band Wham!, died on Christmas Day, according to Britain's Press Association. He was 53 years old.

 Actor and comedian Ricky Harris , who was a regular on the TV sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris" and first gained attention on HBO's "Def Comedy Jam," died December 26, according to his publicist. He was 54.

 Actress Carrie Fisher , best known for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" franchises, died December 27, according to her daughter's publicist. Fisher had suffered a cardiac event on December 23. She was 60 years old.

 Barksdale was a notorious criminal in Baltimore in the 1980s. According to the Baltimore Sun , he ran a violent heroin-dealing operation in the Murphy Homes public housing complex.

 Barksdale is also said to be the inspiration for a number of key characters in "The Wire," the critically acclaimed HBO series that chronicled life in the Baltimore projects. He's specifically thought to be the true story behind the ruthless drug king pin character "Avon Barksdale."

 'This is real'

 In 2010, Barksdale released a DVD that dramatized his own life, entitled " The Avon Barksdale Story: Legends of the Unwired ."

 Actor Wood Harris, who portrayed "Avon Barksdale" in "The Wire".

 In the low budget documentary he is interviewed by Wood Harris, who played Avon in the hit series.

 "In real life," the narrator claims, "he was one of the most notorious gangster drug kingpins Baltimore has ever seen. He was a magnet for violence."

 In a series of on-camera interviews, Barksdale talks about his early days as a pickpocket in the projects and his progression into more violent crime. He was reportedly shot over 20 times and had to have his right leg amputated below the knee.

 "I've been paralyzed, I was temporarily blind," he tells Harris. "It's horrible being shot."

 But series creator David Simon told The Baltimore Sun that the two men were not one and the same.

 Characters from the HBO series, "The Wire".

 "There are some anecdotal connections between his story and a multitude of characters," Simon said to the paper in 2013

 "We mangled street and given names throughout 'The Wire' so that it was a general shout-out to the west-side players. But there is nothing that corresponds to a specific character." The series did also feature a low-level dealer in the fictional Barksdale organization called "Bodie."

 While never matching the audiences of other big HBO series, the authenticity of "The Wire" inspired a passionate following. It's portrayal of a morally gray universe, set against an equally gray Baltimore backdrop, regularly has it being cited by critics as one of the most accomplished television series ever made.

 "I said to the man, just don't make me a snitch," Barksdale said of being fictionalized by Simon in the show. "Ain't nothing I can do to stop it, just don't do that, and I won't kill your ass." ||||| Nathan Barksdale, the former Baltimore gangster who inspired characters in "The Wire," died in a federal medical prison in North Carolina on Saturday. He was 54.

 Barksdale, who went by the nickname "Bodie," was a notorious Baltimore criminal in the 1980s, running a violent heroin-dealing operation in the Murphy Homes public housing complex. He was shot more than 20 times and had to have his right leg amputated below the knee.

 He later worked with the anti-violence Safe Streets program. But he was arrested in 2014 and pleaded guilty to taking part in a heroin conspiracy with members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang.

 Key characters on "The Wire," the gritty HBO drama set in Baltimore, included the drug kingpin Avon Barksdale and a dealer named "Bodie" Broadus.

 Nathan Barksdale embraced the connection. He released a DVD that chronicled his life, in which he was interviewed by the actor Wood Harris, who played the Avon Barksdale character.

 "In real life he was one of the most notorious and resilient gangster drug kingpins Baltimore has ever seen," the narrator says. "He was a magnet for violence."

 Have you ever found yourself wondering, "Where's Wallace?" Turns out, he was starring in a little movie called "Black Panther." In honor of the 10th anniversary of the finale of "The Wire," see what the series' stars have been up to for the past decade.

 A spokesman for the city Health Department, for which Barksdale worked in the Safe Streets program, and an official at the Butner, N.C., medical prison where he died confirmed his death from an undisclosed illness. Attempts to reach his family were unsuccessful.

 Barksdale said he left a life of crime. But he was ensnared in a Drug Enforcement Administration wiretap investigation in 2014, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison.

 "I got busted," Barksdale said at his plea hearing.

 Still, he said, he thought he had more work to do in the community.

 Akio Evans, a local video director, this week recalled watching Barksdale counsel young people on how to avoid his mistakes.

 "I did some good," Barksdale said at sentencing. "I'd like to think I saved some lives."

 U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III responded: "You paid back, but you took a lot. So you still owe."

 Barksdale said he had lapsed back into heroin addiction and had been running a scam to feed his habit. He said he would try to get samples of heroin, promising to pass them on to big-time dealers, but would use the drugs himself.

 Barksdale presided over a lucrative heroin ring in the mid-1980s that authorities said controlled much of the drug traffic in now-demolished public housing such as the Lexington Terrace apartments and the George B. Murphy Homes.

 Barksdale was acquitted in August 1982 in the killing of Frank Harper, a drug trafficker who had been Barksdale's mentor in the trade.

 He was convicted in early 1985 of torturing three people in an 11th-floor apartment in Murphy Homes. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

 David Simon, who created "The Wire," said in 2014 that Barksdale did inspire aspects of certain characters, but was not specifically the basis for the Avon Barksdale character.

 "There are some anecdotal connections between his story and a multitude of characters," Simon said. "We mangled street and given names throughout 'The Wire' so that it was a general shout-out to the Westside players. But there is nothing that corresponds to a specific character."

 justin.fenton@baltsun.com |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale, the former Baltimore gangster who inspired characters in the HBO series The Wire, has died in a federal medical prison in North Carolina. He was 54. He was shot more than 20 times in his life and had to have his right leg amputated below the knee while running a heroin-dealing operation in Baltimore in the 1980s, but he died of natural causes on Saturday after a period of illness, a rep for the Baltimore City Health Department tells CNN. In a 2010 documentary on Barksdale's life, a narrator calls the ex-gangster "a magnet for violence" and "one of the most notorious and resilient gangster drug kingpins Baltimore has ever seen," per the Baltimore Sun. In 1985, he was convicted of torturing three people and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He later assisted an anti-violence program in Baltimore but was arrested again in 2014. He told a judge he was addicted to heroin and running a scam to get access to the drug. He was sentenced to four more years behind bars. "There are some anecdotal connections between his story and a multitude of characters," The Wire creator David Simon said in 2014. "We mangled street and given names throughout The Wire so that it was a general shoutout to the Westside players. But there is nothing that corresponds to a specific character." Characters on the show included drug kingpin Avon Barksdale and dealer "Bodie" Broadus.


Summarize this article:

These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| James Shaw speaks after a news conference Sunday, April 22, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. Shaw wrestled the gun from a man who opened fire in a Waffle House restaurant earlier in the day, killing at least... (Associated Press)

 James Shaw speaks after a news conference Sunday, April 22, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. Shaw wrestled the gun from a man who opened fire in a Waffle House restaurant earlier in the day, killing at least four people. (AP Photo/Sheila Burke) (Associated Press)

 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As an intensive manhunt continues for the suspect in a Waffle House restaurant shooting that killed four people, police are warning residents of a Nashville neighborhood to beware of the alleged killer.

 More than 80 Nashville police officers continued to search for Travis Reinking early Monday, authorities said. Agents with the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol were also assisting in the manhunt as disturbing reports about the wanted man's past behavior came to light.

 He was also added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Top 10 Most Wanted list.

 Reinking was nearly naked, wearing only a green jacket and brandishing an assault-style rifle when he opened fire in the parking lot and then stormed the restaurant, police say. In addition to the four people killed, four others were injured. Police credit a quick-thinking customer who wrestled the gun away from the suspect for preventing more loss of life.

 Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said at a news conference that Reinking, 29, was last seen Sunday around a wooded area near an apartment complex where he lived. Authorities said Reinking could be armed and weren't ruling out that he had left the area. He was believed to be wearing only pants and no shirt or shoes.

 Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said there was no clear motive, though Reinking may have "mental issues." He may still be armed, Anderson told a mid-afternoon news conference, because he was known to have owned a handgun that authorities have not recovered.

 "He's on foot," Anderson said. "Unless he's been picked up by a car, he would be fairly close. We don't want to alarm people, but certainly, everybody should take precautions. It could be he's in an unoccupied house. We want everybody to be concerned. Neighbors should check on each other."

 Officials with the Nashville public school system say schools will go into "lock-out" mode if Reinking isn't found in time for class Monday. During the lock-out students will be free to move about the building but no guests or visitors will be allowed to enter the building.

 The search continued as police reports from Illinois came in that portrayed Reinking as a disturbed man with paranoid delusions, and one who liked firearms.

 The reports were among multiple past red flags about the suspect, who had just recently moved to Nashville from Morton, Illinois.

 Reinking was arrested by agents with the U.S. Secret Service back in July after he crossed a restricted area near the White House, officials said. He was detained after refusing to leave, saying he wanted to meet President Donald Trump.

 In May 2016, deputies from Tazewell County, Illinois, were called to a CVS parking lot. Reinking told officers that Taylor Swift was stalking him and hacking his phone, and that his family was also involved, according to a report released Sunday.

 It is not clear why Reinking moved to Nashville and if it had anything to do with being near the pop/country superstar. Police say he was employed in construction for a while and there would have been enough work in the booming city for him.

 In August, after the White House incident, Reinking told police in Tazewell County, Illinois, that he wanted to file a report about 20 to 30 people tapping into his computer and phone. He also complained that people were "barking like dogs" outside his residence, according to a report.

 Reinking agreed to go to a local hospital for an evaluation after repeatedly resisting the request, the report said.

 Another report from the sheriff's office said Reinking barged into a community pool in Tremont, Illinois, last June and jumped into the water wearing a pink woman's coat over his underwear. Investigators believed he had an AR-15 rifle in his car trunk, but it was never displayed. No charges were filed.

 Reinking was not armed when he was detained near the White House. However, state police in Illinois, revoked his state firearms card at the request of the FBI and four guns were taken from him, authorities said. The AR-15 used in the shootings was among the firearms seized after U.S. Secret Service agents arrested him last July.

 Sheriff Robert Huston in Tazewell County, Illinois, said deputies allowed Reinking's father to take possession of the guns on the promise that he would "keep the weapons secure and out of the possession of Travis." Huston added that, based on deputies' encounters with Reinking, "there's certainly evidence that there's some sort of mental health issues involved."

 While Huston said it was unclear how Reinking reclaimed the guns, Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said that his father "has now acknowledged giving them back."

 Phone calls to a number listed for the father, Jeffrey Reinking, went unanswered.

 Police recovered three of the four guns that were originally taken from Reinking, officials said. They believe he is armed with at least one handgun.

 Reinking, police said, drove into the Waffle House parking lot in his gold Chevy Silverado pickup and sat there for about four minutes before opening fire outside the restaurant.

 The victims fatally shot in the parking have been identified as Taurean Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville, and Joe Perez, 20, of Nashville.

 Sanderlin was an employee at the restaurant.

 Perez's mother posted a picture of her son on Facebook and asked for prayers, saying it was the hardest day of her life. "Me, my husband and sons are broken right now with this loss," Trisha Perez said in the post. "Our lives are shattered."

 Reinking then went inside the restaurant and opened fire, police said.

 One of the fatally wounded inside was DeEbony Groves, a 21-year student at Nashville's Belmont University.

 Groves was remembered as an exceptional student who made the Dean's list and a tenacious basketball player.

 "She was a brilliant young lady, very, very intelligent and a very hard worker," Gallatin High School basketball coach Kim Kendrick told The Tennessean.

 Akilah Dasilva was also killed inside the restaurant. The 23-year-old from Antioch was a rap artist and music video producer who had such skills behind the camera that he was a favorite among many of Music City's independent musicians and recording labels, The Tennessean reported.

 "Music is my life and I will never stop until I achieve my dreams," Dasilva said on his Twitter account.

 Dasilva's mother told CBS News that her son was a student at Middle Tennessee State University and aspired to be a music engineer.

 He was at the restaurant with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Tia Waggoner, the paper reported. Waggoner was wounded and is being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

 Dasilva's family said she underwent surgery and doctors were trying to save her leg.

 Police say Sharita Henderson, 24, of Antioch, was wounded and is being treated at VUMC.

 Also wounded was James Shaw Jr., a 29-year-old restaurant patron, whom police said suffered minor wounds from wrestling the gun away Reinking.

 Shaw, who is a Nashville native who works as a wireless technician for AT&T, said he was no hero — despite being hailed as one by Nashville Mayor David Briley.

 Shaw said he pounced on the suspect after making up his mind that "he was going to have to work to kill me."

 ___

 Associated Press writers John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Ed White in Detroit; and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles contributed to this report. |||||

– Alleged Waffle House mass shooter Travis Reinking was still at large early Monday, and Nashville officials say schools will be in "lock-out" mode if he isn't found by the time classes begin, with guests and visitors not allowed into buildings, the AP reports. The 29-year-old, accused of killing four people in a rampage early Sunday, was last seen later in the day in a wooded area near his apartment complex, wearing only pants, say police, who have gone door-to-door in the area and warned residents to be on alert. According to police reports, relatives in Reinking's Illinois hometown say that since 2014, he has been having delusions that Taylor Swift is stalking him and dozens of unknown culprits are hacking into his phone and computer, the New York Daily News reports. According to a July 2016 police report from Peoria, Reinking told officers he had confronted the singer in a Dairy Queen parking lot. In his version of events, "Taylor climbed up the side of a building and Travis followed. However, when he reached the rooftop, Taylor was gone." In other incidents the next year, after he moved to Nashville, Reinking allegedly threatened a man with a semi-automatic rifle and barged into a community pool and jumped in wearing a pink housecoat. Police say Reinking's weapons, including the AR-15 used to kill four people at the Waffle House, were seized after he was arrested outside the White House last year, the Tennessean reports. The weapons were given to Reinking's father after he promised to keep them away from his son. Police believe the father later gave the four firearms back to his son. (A Waffle House customer managed to wrest the gun away from Reinking.)


(CNN) For decades, mystery has swirled around what happened to the founding population of the remote Easter Island, known for its towering stone statues depicting large carved heads. A long-held theory suggests that after the islanders set up camp and carved the giant statues, they destroyed their own society through infighting and a depletion of natural resources.

 But a new study suggests a different scenario entirely, and the islanders could have a more complex history than previously believed.

 Many aspects of the island, the statues and the Polynesian seafarers who arrived there 900 years ago have been studied over the years. But a study published Monday in the Journal of Pacific Archaeology uses multiple data sets from recent excavations to provide a better understanding of the society that created the statues and how they were carved.

 So the researchers used an unlikely method to study the society and discern what might have happened: a chemical analysis of stone tools used on the statues.

 What they learned from excavating four of the statues and the volcanic stone basalt tools used to carve them painted a different picture: a sophisticated and collaborative society.

 "The idea of competition and collapse on Easter Island might be overstated," said lead study author Dale Simpson Jr., an archaeologist at the University of Queensland, in a statement. "To me, the stone carving industry is solid evidence that there was cooperation among families and craft groups."

 Moai are spread across the landscape of Easter Island.

 A complex society

 Easter Island is 2,300 miles off the coast of Chile. About 900 years ago, the founding population landed on the island, called Rapa Nui in the local language. These Polynesian seafarers came on two canoes and were led by Hotu Matu'a, who would become the island's first chief, according to oral tradition.

 The population soared to include thousands of people, and they carved full-body figures, called moai, to represent important Rapa Nui ancestors. There are nearly a thousand statues, many buried up to their heads due to the passage of time. The largest statue is over 70 feet tall.

 Their sheer size and number is indicative of a complex, sophisticated society, according to the researchers.

 "Ancient Rapa Nui had chiefs, priests, and guilds of workers who fished, farmed, and made the moai. There was a certain level of sociopolitical organization that was needed to carve almost a thousand statues," Simpson said.

 During the statue excavations, Jo Anne Van Tilburg, director of the Easter Island Statue Project, and her Rapa Nui excavation team recovered about 1,600 stone tools. They did a close chemical and mass spectrometer analysis of fragments from 17 of the tools, called toki.

 "We wanted to figure out where the raw materials used to manufacture the artifacts came from," said Laure Dussubieux, a study co-author and Field Museum scientist, in a statement. "We wanted to know if people were taking material from close to where they lived."

 The location is key because there are three sources, or quarries, where the islanders could have gathered material for tools. The basalt quarries cover the size of two football fields. Basalt samples reveal their sources through their chemical elements, which link back to the geology of the site.

 "The majority of the toki came from one quarry complex -- once the people found the quarry they liked, they stayed with it," Simpson said. "For everyone to be using one type of stone, I believe they had to collaborate. That's why they were so successful -- they were working together."

 Looking ahead

 This contrasts with the idea that the residents ran out of resources and fought amongst themselves, the researchers said. But later on, it is believed that the arrival of colonists and the institution of slavery decimated the population.

 "There's so much mystery around Easter Island, because it's so isolated, but on the island, people were, and still are, interacting in huge amounts," Simpson said. "There are thousands of Rapa Nui people alive today -- the society isn't gone."

 But the researchers also urge caution and believe that this study is just the beginning, laying the groundwork for more research.

 "The near exclusive use of one quarry to produce these seventeen tools supports a view of craft specialization based on information exchange, but we can't know at this stage if the interaction was collaborative," Van Tilburg said. "It may also have been coercive in some way. Human behavior is complex. This study encourages further mapping and stone sourcing, and our excavations continue to shed new light on moai carving." ||||| You probably know Easter Island as "the place with the giant stone heads." This remote island 2,300 miles off the coast of Chile has long been seen as mysterious--a place where Polynesian seafarers set up camp, built giant statues, and then destroyed their own society through in-fighting and over-exploitation of natural resources. However, a new article in the Journal of Pacific Archaeology hints at a more complex story--by analyzing the chemical makeup of the tools used to create the big stone sculptures, archaeologists found evidence of a sophisticated society where the people shared information and collaborated.

 "For a long time, people wondered about the culture behind these very important statues," says Field Museum scientist Laure Dussubieux, one of the study's authors. "This study shows how people were interacting, it's helping to revise the theory."

 "The idea of competition and collapse on Easter Island might be overstated," says lead author Dale Simpson, Jr., an archaeologist from the University of Queensland. "To me, the stone carving industry is solid evidence that there was cooperation among families and craft groups."

 The first people arrived on Easter Island (or, in the local language, Rapa Nui) about 900 years ago. "The founding population, according to oral tradition, was two canoes led by the island's first chief, Hotu Matu?a," says Simpson, who is currently on the faculty of the College of DuPage. Over the years, the population rose to the thousands, forming the complex society that carved the statues Easter Island is known for today. These statues, or moai, often referred to as "Easter Island heads," are actually full-body figures that became partially buried over time. The moai, which represent important Rapa Nui ancestors, number nearly a thousand, and the largest one is over seventy feet tall.

 According to Simpson, the size and number of the moai hint at a complex society. "Ancient Rapa Nui had chiefs, priests, and guilds of workers who fished, farmed, and made the moai. There was a certain level of sociopolitical organization that was needed to carve almost a thousand statues," says Simpson.

 Recent excavations of four statues in the inner region of Rano Raraku, the statue quarry, were conducted by Jo Anne Van Tilburg of Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA and director of the Easter Island Statue Project, along with her Rapa Nui excavation team. To better understand the society that fabricated two of the statues, Simpson, Dussubieux, and Van Tilburg took a detailed look at twenty one of about 1,600 stone tools made of volcanic stone called basalt that had been recovered in Van Tilburg's excavations. About half of the tools, called toki, recovered were fragments that suggested how they were used.

 For Van Tilburg, the goal of the project was to gain a better understanding of how tool makers and statue carvers may have interacted, thus gaining insight into how the statue production industry functioned. "We wanted to figure out where the raw materials used to manufacture the artifacts came from," explained Dussubieux. "We wanted to know if people were taking material from close to where they lived."

 There are at least three different sources on Easter Island that the Rapa Nui used for material to make their stone tools. The basalt quarries cover twelve thousand square meters, an area the size of two football fields. And those different quarries, the tools that came from them, and the movement between geological locations and archaeological sites shed light on prehistoric Rapa Nui society.

 "Basalt is a grayish rock that doesn't look like anything special, but when you look at the chemical composition of the basalt samples from different sources, you can see very subtle differences in concentrations of different elements," explains Dussubieux. "Rock from each source is different because of the geology of each site."

 Dussubieux led the chemical analysis of the stone tools. The archaeologists used a laser to cut off tiny pieces of stone from the toki and then used an instrument called a mass spectrometer to analyze the amounts of different chemical elements present in the samples. The results pointed to a society that Simpson believes involved a fair amount of collaboration.

 "The majority of the toki came from one quarry complex--once the people found the quarry they liked, they stayed with it," says Simpson. "For everyone to be using one type of stone, I believe they had to collaborate. That's why they were so successful--they were working together."

 To Simpson, this level of large-scale cooperation contradicts the popular narrative that Easter Island's inhabitants ran out of resources and warred themselves into extinction. "There's so much mystery around Easter Island, because it's so isolated, but on the island, people were, and still are, interacting in huge amounts," says Simpson. While the society was later decimated by colonists and slavery, Rapa Nui culture has persisted. "There are thousands of Rapa Nui people alive today--the society isn't gone," Simpson explains.

 Van Tilburg urges caution in interpreting the study's results. "The near exclusive use of one quarry to produce these seventeen tools supports a view of craft specialization based on information exchange, but we can't know at this stage if the interaction was collaborative. It may also have been coercive in some way. Human behavior is complex. This study encourages further mapping and stone sourcing, and our excavations continue to shed new light on moai carving." In addition to potentially paving the way for a more nuanced view of the Rapa Nui people, Dussubieux notes that the study is important because of its wider-reaching insights into how societies work. "What happens in this world is a cycle, what happened in the past will happen again," says Dussubieux. "Most people don't live on a small island, but what we learn about people's interactions in the past is very important for us now because what shapes our world is how we interact."

 ### |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– The tale of the demise of Easter Island's people may have to be rewritten. The story has long held that infighting as resources ran out was one of the main drivers of the collapse, but a new study published in the Journal of Pacific Archaeology suggests a different scenario. CNN reports on the "unlikely method" of examining the society via of some of the stone tools used to carve the island's famous stone figures: Researchers performed a chemical analysis on four of the statues and fragments from 17 of the roughly 1,600 basalt tools, called toki, that had been excavated. The goal was to determine where the basalt had come from. There were three quarries on the island that were potential sources of the volcanic rock; the key discovery is that there was "near exclusive" use of a single quarry to make the toki. Here's the jump researchers are making from there, per a press release: Lead study author Dale Simpson Jr. sees that as "solid evidence that there was cooperation among families and craft groups. ... The idea of competition and collapse on Easter Island might be overstated." But Jo Anne Van Tilburg, who led the excavations, cautions against coming to an overstated conclusion in this case. She says the findings bolster the view "of craft specialization based on information exchange, but we can't know at this stage if the interaction was collaborative. It may also have been coercive in some way. Human behavior is complex." (This separate study pushes the same theory but based on different evidence: obsidian.)


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 The nation is on edge in the wake of brutal beheadings of journalists by Islamic extremists — with more Americans saying the United States is less safe now than at any point since 9/11, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll shows.

 The exclusive poll reveals that 47% of Americans believe the country is less safe now than before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That’s a significant increase from even a year after the twin towers fell when in September 2002 just 20% of the country said the nation was less safe. The level of fear across America also is up substantially from last year when 28% felt the same way.

 In fact, just 26% of Americans now feel the nation is safer than before 9/11.

 The numbers are a backdrop for the primetime speech President Obama will deliver on Wednesday night outlining his plan to combat the terrorist group ISIS, which has taken over parts of Iraq and Syria, beheaded two American journalists, distributed images of the killings in via gruesome videos, and has launched a social media campaign to extend its reach.

 Read the full poll here.

 “A very war-weary country … seems to have woken up to the real threat that ISIS may present,” says Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter Hart and his colleagues at Hart Research.

 “The beheadings are so chilling to the American public,” added Hart. “The only things I think of equal impact are the self-immolations back in Vietnam.”

 The new poll also found that more than six in 10 respondents believe that taking military action against the Islamic militant group ISIS is in the nation’s interest.

 And a whopping 94 percent of Americans say they have heard about the news of the beheaded journalists – higher than any other news event the NBC/WSJ poll has measured over the past five years.

 That includes the 2011 debt-ceiling debate (77 percent), the 2012 health-care decision by the U.S. Supreme Court (78 percent), Syria’s reported use of chemical weapons in 2013 (79 percent) and this year’s botched execution in Oklahoma (68 percent). ||||| Thirteen years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, this was supposed to be a season of relief, with Iraq managing on its own and most U.S. troops finally ending their combat duty in Afghanistan. Instead, Americans are bracing for another upsurge of military engagement in a region where one war blurs into another. Across the world, a generation has now grown up amid this continuous conflict, and there's no end in sight.

 FILE - In this undated photo made by the U.S. Department of Defense and obtained in April 2004, flag-draped coffins of U.S. war casualties are lined up inside a plane in Dover, Del. For over a decade... (Associated Press)

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 FILE - In this Wednesday, April 23, 2008 file photo, U.S. Army soldiers from B Company, 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment lead a blindfolded man suspected of planting a roadside bomb near their... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Oct. 24, 1983 file photo, U.S. Marines and an Italian soldier, right, search through the rubble of the battalion headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon after a Sunday morning, Oct. 23 suicide... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, people run from a collapsing World Trade Center tower in New York. For over a decade after the autumn of 2001, America, with its allies, has been at war against... (Associated Press)

 FILE - This Feb. 26, 1993 file photo shows the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City after an explosion earlier in the day which killed six. Some analysts say the U.S.'s conflict with... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Dec. 17, 1979 file photo, protesters burn a U.S. flag at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran. Military historian Max Boot suggests the starting point of the U.S.'s conflict with factions of... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington about ongoing situation in Iraq before his departure on Marine One for... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006 file photo, U.S. President George W. Bush speaks during a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Amman, Jordan. Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010 file photo, Cheryll Dearborn, center, cries as she stands in Westwood, N.J., with daughter Lydia Anderson-Dearborn, 10, and husband Mark Anderson as a hearse carries... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 16, 2009 file photo, Maj. Xavier Miller of the New Mexico National Guard, second from right, leads family members and workers in burying Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth W. Westbrook... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Nov. 18, 1949 file photo, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, right, wearing a military dress uniform, talks with President Harry S. Truman during a dinner in Washington which the Shah gave for the... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 11, 2014 file photo, F/A-18 fighter jets take off for mission in Iraq from the flight deck of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, in the Persian Gulf. U.S.... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001 file photo, Lala Bidal holds his 4-year-old son Hazrat as he takes him to the x-ray room at the hospital in the city of Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Both were wounded during... (Associated Press)

 "The Cold War took 45 years," said Elliott Abrams, a longtime diplomat who was top Middle East adviser to President George W. Bush. "It's certainly plausible that this could be the same. ... It's harder to see how this ends."

 For now, President Barack Obama seems to have bipartisan support as he prepares to outline his plans Wednesday for expanded operations against militants of the so-called Islamic State who have overrun large swaths of Iraq. His administration has cautioned that the effort could take several years.

 Short-term, Obama has public opinion with him; a new Washington Post-ABC News poll found 71 percent of Americans supporting airstrikes against the Islamic State fighters, compared to 45 percent in June. Longer-term, a Pew Research Center-USA Today poll last month suggested that most Americans view the world as becoming more dangerous and expect militant forms of Islam to grow in influence rather than subside.

 Since the autumn of 2001, America, with its allies, has been at war against factions of Islamic militants and terrorists, including the Taliban and al-Qaida, as well as offshoots in Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere.

 Indeed, some analysts say the conflict dates back further, citing such incidents as the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York and the 1983 bombing that killed 241 U.S. servicemen at a barracks in Lebanon. Military historian Max Boot suggests the starting point was the Iranian revolution of 1979, when the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was seized and its staff held hostage for 444 days.

 "For the first time, we understood the threat by armed Islamist extremism," said Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former adviser to Republican presidential campaigns. "We didn't face up to it — we tried to ignore it as long as possible. But after 9/11, we couldn't ignore it anymore."

 The Sept. 11 attacks triggered the invasion of Afghanistan by the U.S. and its allies, starting in October 2001, with the aim of dismantling al-Qaida's base of operations and toppling the Taliban regime. The Taliban, though quickly ousted from power, has been waging an insurgency ever since.

 In 2003, the U.S. spearheaded an invasion of Iraq, citing various justifications but nonetheless categorizing the conflict as part of "the Global War on Terrorism." Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was captured, tried and executed, yet an insurgency arose against the U.S.-led coalition waged by various factions, including al-Qaida affiliates and Sunni militants who were precursors of the Islamic State group.

 Obama's plans for an expanded mission against Islamic State fighters are expected to include intensified airstrikes but no major deployment of ground troops, along with a heavy reliance on allies. The role of Middle East nations could be pivotal, said Wathiq al-Hashimi, director of the al-Nahrein Center for Strategic Studies in Baghdad.

 "The United States failed in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but this time round may be different since the Islamic State is posing a serious danger to close U.S. allies in the region who cannot defend themselves on their own," al-Hashimi said. "The United States will be going in this time with the blessing of regional powers."

 Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, contends that much of the Middle East's conflicts could have been avoided or eased if the U.S. government had been less willing to tolerate authoritarian regimes and more willing to criticize Israel's policies toward the Palestinians.

 Hooper said the Islamic State group's ascension in Iraq could have been prevented if the U.S. had insisted on a nonsectarian Iraqi government, rather than the one led by recently replaced Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that favored Shiite Muslims over the Sunnis. Similarly, Hooper said the U.S. could have deprived Islamic State of its strongholds in Syria by intervening early in Syria's civil war on behalf of moderate rebels opposing President Bashar Assad.

 "Our counterproductive policies have created a political vacuum in which ISIS can flourish," said Hooper, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. "Without massive injustices in the region, they would not exist."

 James Jay Carafano, a national security expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation, offered a contrasting analysis, blaming Obama for "taking his foot off the pedal" by withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011 and thereby emboldening Islamic State fighters.

 Back in 2003, Carafano published a commentary titled, "The Long War Against Terrorism" in which he urged Americans to brace for a sustained struggle.

 "Such a war requires our leaders to understand that our staying power, our will to win, is as important as any weapon in our arsenal," he wrote.

 However weary of war, the American public is willing to back aggressive, long-term engagements overseas, Carafano argued in a telephone interview this week.

 "All our conflicts start out popular, but only World War II stayed that way," Carafano said. "People gradually get less excited over time.

 "But Americans are relatively practical people," he added. "If you're doing the right thing and it's working, they'll be with you."

 Looking ahead, experts familiar with the Middle East say it's hard to foresee a total victory for the U.S. and its allies any time soon. Elliott Abrams, for example, noted that many hundreds of young people from the West were eager to join the Islamic State group, enabling it to replenish its ranks and gird for a long struggle.

 "It's clear that the Americans have made up their minds to get involved in what is likely to be an open-ended war," said Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut. "The Americans know how to start a war, but not to end one."

 "The Americans' intervention is selective: They invaded Iraq but left Iran alone, they are leaving Israel to do as it pleases in Gaza, they are leaving the Syrian regime to kill its people," Khashan added. "And whenever they intervene, they just make things worse. They may destroy the Islamic State, but what happens to the problems in Iraq and Syria?"

 Daniel Byman, research director at the Brookings Institution's Center for Middle East Policy, said he prefers the term "manageable" over "winnable" as a goal in trying to counter threats from the region's extremists and terrorists.

 "There's no clear victory point when the enemy gives up," Byman said. "There's likely to be some level of terrorism, but it can't be to the point where it disrupts our lives in some fundamental way."

 Max Boot suggested the overall conflict was winnable — but only through a long-term struggle comparable to the Cold War.

 "This radical, armed Islamism will burn itself out," he said. "The problem is an awful lot of people who will die between now and then."

 ___

 Associated Press reporter Hamza Hendawi contributed to this report from Gaza City in the Gaza Strip.

 ___

 Follow David Crary on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CraryAP |||||

– Some six in 10 Americans say they would support a strike against ISIS, as President Obama appears to be moving toward such a hit. The figure comes from an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that also finds Americans feeling unsafe: Some 47% of the country now feels the US is less secure than it was before the 9/11 attacks. Just a year after those attacks, NBC notes, only 20% shared that feeling; last year, it was 28%. One news item fueling the fear: US journalists' beheadings, which 94% of Americans are aware of. That's the highest level of awareness of any story in the past five years, according to the poll. A day before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Obama is preparing for a tough speech. Tonight in prime time, he'll discuss the US plan against the group, an initiative that will start small and expand; eventual airstrikes in Syria are possible, Politico reports, while the AP notes that major troop action on the ground is unlikely. Meanwhile, a generation has come of age as the post-9/11 conflict has continued, the AP notes. In an earlier vision of the future, Iraq was supposed to be fending for itself by this point, with US troops largely leaving Afghanistan combat behind; instead, we're preparing for further action in the region. "The Cold War took 45 years," says a former George W. Bush adviser. "It's harder to see how this ends."


Kate Gosselin Got a Real Job!

 It’s true: Kate Gosselin finally buckled down and got a (non-TV) job! Woo hoo!

 -Lucia Peters

 Big news, Bettys: KATE GOSSELIN GOT A JOB. And it’s not in TV. Gasp! A “real” job? Surely not!

 But yes: According to E!, Access Hollywood, the Daily Mail, and pretty much every other entertainment news source out there, the former Kate Plus 8 star has gotten a job, and guess what? She’s a blogger now! Kate has signed on to write for the website CouponCabin.com. In her weekly features, she’ll be offering money-saving advice on such topics as stretching budgets for large family, holiday shopping, gift ideas, and more. Said Kate in CouponCabin’s official release, “No matter what your financial situation is, there’s no reason not to use coupons. It’s like free money in your pocket!”

 Kate’s first post will appear on November 22, two days before Thanksgiving. The topic? How to handle Black Friday, of course. As fellow bloggers, we here at BettyConfidential welcome you to the ranks, Kate. Do us proud.

 Read ‘Twilight’ Stars to Be Immortalized at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre TODAY!

 You know, it’s nice to see that Kate has finally moved on from that whole “NO! I MUST STAY IN TV NO MATTER WHAT!” state of mind. Finding a job in this economy isn’t easy, and odds are, you’re going to end up doing something you hadn’t thought you’d be doing, simply because it’s what will pay the bills. Believe me. I’ve been there. Unemployment is a bitch, and it’s not necessarily your “fault” that it’s where you’re at. But flexibility of thinking is a good skill to have no matter what, and it’s good to know that she’s starting to exercise it. And hey, she can still capitalize off of her reality fame in her new line of work, right?

 She might even be able to use her new gig to springboard back into television. I hear Extreme Couponing is pretty hot these days. Maybe they could use her couponing expertise?

 Lucia Peters is BettyConfidential’s associate editor. |||||

 Kate Gosselin: coupon expert. (Andy Kropa - GETTY IMAGES)

 When Kate Gosselin’s reality show “Kate Plus 8” got canceled in August, many of you were concerned about her potential employment options.

 All right, fine. You weren’t really that concerned. You were actually overjoyed.

 Still, Gosselin is a mom, like many of us, and she needs to support her kids. Which is why I am happy to find out that she has a new job: She is now a coupon blogger for the Web site CouponCabin.com.

 CouponCabin.com announced the news in a press release that conveyed the Web site’s excitement over its new hire, who is “a longtime advocate of couponing.”

 “Kate has embraced coupons her entire life,” said Jackie Warrick, president at CouponCabin.com, according to the press release. “We look forward to sharing the unique insight she has gained over the years.”

 Added Gosselin: “No matter what your financial situation is, there’s no reason not to use coupons. It’s like free money in your pocket!”

 The former reality star will begin her new job officially on Nov. 22, at which time she will blog about how to navigate Black Friday. Future topics, according to the press release, include how to stretch a budget for a large family and holiday shopping tips.

 Chuckle heartily over this tidbit all you like, but I genuinely think this is great news for three reasons.

 1. It keeps Gosselin’s kids off of television . . . at least for now.

 As previously noted, a mom’s got to eat and she needs to make sure her children do, too. If she can do that by writing about the best way to save cash on detergent or action figures, what’s the harm? Of course, the CouponCabin.com blogging gig may not be enough to pay the bills. I mean, we can’t all engage in the mindblowingly lucrative work of blogging about celebrities and pop culture. (I just typed that sentence while gazing at my diamond-encrusted fingernails as they tappa-tapped on my keyboard, which is made out of genuine leather and features function keys ensconced in imported silk.) But even if this keeps her busy and semi-compensated for a while — and less focused on the new TV deal she said she wants earlier this week on “The View” — this is a good thing.

 2. Her blog entries may provide fodder for Celebritology blog entries that compare Gosselin’s shopping tips to Gwyneth Paltrow’s shopping tips from Goop.

 And the comments on those Celebritology posts will be so rich with gleeful sarcasm that they may incite a phenomenon scientists have long predicted: the Big Snark Bang. Sure, both the blogosphere and the universe may immediately combust as a result. But it will be worth it.

 3. As a result of Gosselin’s new job, CouponCabin.com just got a lot more publicity.

 And that’s super-exciting because, as Gosselin noted in the aforementioned press release, CouponCabin.com is the place where you can easily find the best deals on practically everything.

 And there are two things we all need more of in these challenging times: great deals on practically everything and Kate Gosselin. ||||| Kate Gosselin can ease up on the "freaking out": The out-of-work reality star has a job now -- a part-time gig, at least.

 Gosselin, whose "Kate Plus 8" reality show took its last breath in September, will be a contributing blogger for click-and-save website Coupon Cabin.

 "I've never quit a job in my life without having something else lined up," she told People at the time. "I don't know what's next." She had been considering going back to nursing, but didn't see how that was going to allow her to provide for her eight kidlets.

 (Note: Kate confirmed Monday on "The View" that a return to nursing was a no-go, as she'd found her calling on TV. She was, at the time, dressed as a zombie.)

 Turns out her path from no money to mo' money will be paved in part with what she calls "free money."

 "No matter what your financial situation is, there's no reason not to use coupons," she said in a statement this week. "It's like free money in your pocket! I'm thrilled to lend my expertise."

 Her first day on the job is Nov. 22, when she'll discuss how to navigate Black Friday shopping. Using, we assume, coupons -- which she might want to get used to, if she's going to live off a blogger's paycheck.

 RELATED:

 The hedgehog is dead: Meet Kate Gosselin's special new hair

 Kate Gosselin 'freaking out' with 8 kids, no reality-TV show [Poll]

 Kate Gosselin gets a tip from ex-husband Jon: Reality TV is not a career

 -- Christie D'Zurilla

 Twitter.com/dzurillaville

 Photo: Kate Gosselin visits a radio show at SiriusXM Studio in New York on Oct. 27, 2011 in New York City. Credit: Andy Kropa / Getty Images

  |||||

Write a summary.

– What a relief: Kate Gosselin and her eight children will not go hungry, because the former reality TV star has found a new job as … a part-time blogger for a coupon website, the Los Angeles Times reports. Gosselin is “a longtime advocate of couponing,” according to the CouponCabin.com press release obtained by the Washington Post. Gosselin adds, “No matter what your financial situation is, there’s no reason not to use coupons. It’s like free money in your pocket!” Her first day on the job is Nov. 22, and her first topic will be Black Friday. Click for more on her new gig.


All charges—against Crystal Mason—to be dropped and that there are proper steps taken to ensure all incarcerated people and formerly incarcerated people on probation or parole are aware of their inability to vote while they are on supervision.

 Mass incarceration is being used as a way to enforce the "Three Fifths Compromise," since in the United States of America people of color are incarcerated at a disproportionate rate and are then prohibited from voting. An estimated 6.1 million Americans are disenfranchised by felony convictions.

 Crystal Mason, is one of those people!

 Crystal was never told that having a felony conviction and being on supervision meant that she couldn’t vote under Texas law—so on November 8, 2016 she attempted to vote. But her name wasn’t on the list of registered voters, so she filled out a provisional ballot, which was eventually flagged. Crystal was later informed that her vote didn’t count, but they didn’t give her more details. She didn't find out the reasons why until she went to her scheduled meeting with her probation officer—she was arrested for voter fraud.

 On March 28th 2018, State District Judge Ruben Gonzalez—a conservative republican judge—sentenced Crystal—a black woman—to five years in prison for attempting to be a good citizen by exercising her voting rights, while a white woman in Iowa was sentenced to probation and a $750 dollar fine for attempting to vote twice for Donald Trump.

 Let's demand that DA Wilson—who on her website claims that her staff approaches each case with a commitment to compassion, yet she has shown no compassion towards Crystal or her children—drop all charges against Crystal Mason!! ||||| When Mason voted in 2016, her name was not on the list of registered voters. The election judge offered her the option to vote provisionally after signing an affidavit. The document lists several requirements to vote, including that the voter is not a felon or has served the full sentence.

 “The affidavit was a stop sign in front of her face,” Smid said.

 Smid said sentencing in such a case depends primarily on what the judge feels is deserved because there are very few cases to use as precedent. The judge had the option to sentence Mason to anywhere between two to 20 years in prison or probation.

 Mason told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that she was never told she was not eligible to vote, and she would not intentionally risk her freedom to vote.

 "I inflated returns," Mason told the Star-Telegram. "I was trying to get more money back for my clients. I admitted that. I owned up to that. I took accountability for that. I would never do that again. I was happy enough to come home and see my daughter graduate. My son is about to graduate. Why would I jeopardize that? Not to vote. ... I didn't even want to go vote."

 Mason’s defense attorney J. Warren St. John told the Star-Telegram an appeal has been filed in Mason’s case in order to allow her to be released on bond. ||||| In other states, like Kentucky and Iowa, felons who serve their full sentences, including parole, must apply to state officials in order to regain their right to vote. It is not automatic. Florida is similar, only there, convicted felons must wait at least five years after serving their full sentences before they can apply. (Felons’ voting rights in Florida have been the subject of a high-profile court battle in recent months, and residents there will vote on the issue this year.)

 Other states where felons may have to apply to regain voting rights, often depending on the severity of the crime, are Wyoming, Nevada and Delaware.

 Prison, parole or probation?

 In most states, felons cannot vote while they are in prison but can regain their voting rights after they are released (as in Massachusetts and Hawaii), after they complete their parole (as in Colorado and Connecticut), or when they are no longer on parole or probation (as in New Jersey and Texas).

 California relaxed its rules a little in 2016. Convicted felons sentenced to county jails there can now vote while in custody, but the shift did not apply to those who were sentenced to a state or federal prison.

 And there are two states that do not revoke criminals’ right to cast a ballot: Vermont and Maine. There, felons can vote even when they are behind bars.

 “The state disparities are really astounding,” said Christopher Uggen, a professor of sociology and law at the University of Minnesota who also worked on the 2016 Sentencing Project study. “It is definitely confusing at election time, and many former felons are risk-averse — they may not vote if they are afraid of getting a felony conviction for illegal voting.” ||||| [Where do states stand on voting rights for felons? Here’s a breakdown.]

 Ms. Mason, who was sentenced to 60 months in jail for tax fraud and was released in early 2016, has said that she didn’t know that she wasn’t allowed to vote in that year’s presidential election. She cast a provisional ballot at her local church after being told that her name could not be found on the rolls. The ballot was never counted.

 “Crystal’s name was purged from the rolls when she went to prison, but Crystal did not know that,” Ms. Grinter said in an interview on Tuesday.

 Whether felons can vote varies state by state, and has become a contentious issue. More than six million Americans have been stripped of their voting rights because of felony disenfranchisement laws, according to the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit organization that works on criminal justice reform.

 Two months ago, a petition was started online to have all charges against Ms. Mason, who is black, thrown out. In the petition her photo is placed next to a photo of Terri Lynn Rote, a white woman who was convicted of voter fraud in Iowa for trying to vote for President Trump twice. Ms. Rote was sentenced to two years’ probation and a $750 fine. The petition has over 38,000 signatures.

 As she prepared to appeal the rejection of her motion for a new trial, Ms. Mason said she had high hopes.

 “I showed my kids that no matter what you can get out and get your life in order,” said Ms. Mason. “But sometimes, regardless of whatever your past is, you are still going to be beat up for it.” ||||| The same judge who originally sentenced her to five years prison for casting an illegal ballot while being a felon under supervision has denied Crystal Mason's motion for a new trial.

 Mason, of Rendon south of Fort Worth, was convicted on March 28 and sentenced to a five-year prison stint by State District Judge Ruben Gonzalez.

 Gonzalez denied her petition late Monday in a 16-page ruling.

 Since her conviction, Mason has been at the center of controversial arguments about the existence of white privilege and voter suppression efforts, with more than 38,000 signatures on a petition to have all charges against her dropped, numerous news stories and editorials and a deluge of social media posts in support of and against the sentence imposed in her case.

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 Crystal Mason, center, convicted for illegal voting and sentenced to 5 years in prison, during a break in Ruben Gonzalez's court, State District Court 432 at Tim Curry Justice Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, May 25, 2018. Max Faulkner mfaulkner@star-telegram.com

 Mason's attorney, Alison Grinter, said that she and other groups who thought the prison sentence was harsh were disappointed. Obviously, it was an uphill struggle to get the judge who made the initial ruling to change his mind.

 But no one is more disappointed than Mason, Grinter said.

 Prosecutor Matt Smid, Assistant Criminal District Attorney -- Chief of White Collar Crime/Public Integrity Unit, gives his closing arguments during a hearing in Ruben Gonzalez's court, State District Court 432 at Tim Curry Justice Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, May 25, 2018. The hearing was for Crystal Mason, who was convicted for illegal voting and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Max Faulkner mfaulkner@star-telegram.com

 "She's one step closer to going to prison for a vote that didn't even count," Grinter said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get this case before fresh eyes in the appellate court and have a better outcome."

 The Tarrant County district attorney's office vigorously opposed the new trial motion during a March 25 hearing and in a brief in support of the state's position.

 Matt Smid, the prosecutor trying Mason's case, argued in his court filing that the judge does not have the authority to consider a friend of the court brief from the Texas Civil Rights Project and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas.

 The civil rights groups' brief states that the law that convicted Mason is trumped by a 2002 federal statute that gives an individual who believes that he or she has voting privileges the right to cast a provisional ballot in a federal election, shifting the burden of proof to the state.

 Smid never argued that the two non-profits' attorneys were incorrect, only that the assertions in the brief cannot be considered because they were not submitted by the deadline and because they were not raised by Mason's attorneys.

 Grinter argued that the judge could consider points stated by the attorneys with the Texas Civil Rights Project and ACLU. The argument that the federal government has provided a pathway for voters unsure about their eligibility to vote provides a new perspective the judge can use to evaluate Grinter's arguments, according to her brief.

 Defense attorney Alison Grinter is seen during a hearing in Ruben Gonzalez's court, State District Court 432 at Tim Curry Justice Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, May 25, 2018. The hearing was for Crystal Mason, who was convicted for illegal voting and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Max Faulkner mfaulkner@star-telegram.com

 Rebecca Stevens, one of the Texas Civil Rights Project attorneys who worked on the brief, said the federal law worked in Mason's case. Mason tried to vote and the state did not count that vote after determining that she was ineligible. But the sentence handed down was unfair, Stevens said.

 "Of the prosecutions we've seen engaging in election misconduct, the sentence that Mason received is far more aggressive," Stevens said. "The problem with that, at least anecdotally, is that people of color are being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, versus an election official actually forging signatures who got probation."

 In the end, the judge agreed with the state. Grinter said she will file an appeal with the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth. Grinter also said the ruling dovetails with a U. S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Ohio's purging of its voter rolls.

 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that states could kick people off voter rolls if they have not recently voted and did not answer a notice from election officials, according to a New York Times story.

 "Those who are working to suppress voting need to prove that in-person voting fraud is a real thing," Grinter said. "And they use cases like this to do that. It's sad those kinds of efforts have to stand on the backs of people like Crystal." |||||

Write a summary.

– Civil rights advocates see this as a tale of two voters. Crystal Mason, who is black, was sentenced to five years in prison for casting a ballot in Tarrant County, Texas, in 2016 while being a felon under supervision. Terri Lynn Rote, who is white, was sentenced to two years’ probation and a $750 fine for trying to vote for President Trump twice in Iowa. On Monday, the judge who sentenced Mason turned down her request for a new trial. “Prison is a lot closer for her today,” Mason’s lawyer told the New York Times. Mason, 43, had been sentenced to 60 months for tax fraud. She served part of her sentence and was released in 2016. She says she didn’t know that being a felon meant she was ineligible to vote. Her name had been purged from the voter rolls, and she was given a provisional ballot, which should have alerted her to her ineligibility, the prosecutor said. The judge had the option of sentencing Mason to anything from probation to 20 years, reported the Dallas Morning News in March. Whether a felon can vote varies by state. For example, as the New York Times notes, in Vermont, a person convicted of murder retains the right to vote, even while in prison. But in Mississippi, a conviction for perjury is enough to void the right to vote. Mason told the Star-Telegram that she was originally sent to jail for inflating returns and took responsibility for her actions. “I would never do that again. I was happy enough to come home and see my daughter graduate. My son is about to graduate. Why would I jeopardize that? Not to vote. ... I didn't even want to go vote.” Mason's attorney is appealing the decision. Mason's case is juxtaposed with Rote's in an online petition calling for charges against Mason to be dropped.


This July 24, 2016 photo provided by Niels Alpert, Betsy Davis, third from left, has a laugh with her friends during a going away party in Ojai, Calif. In early July, Davis emailed her closest friends... (Associated Press)

 SAN DIEGO (AP) — In early July, Betsy Davis emailed her closest friends and relatives to invite them to a two-day party, telling them: "These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness and openness."

 And just one rule: No crying in front of her.

 The 41-year-old artist with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, held the gathering to say goodbye before becoming one of the first Californians to take a lethal dose of drugs under the state's new doctor-assisted suicide law for the terminally ill.

 "For me and everyone who was invited, it was very challenging to consider, but there was no question that we would be there for her," said Niels Alpert, a cinematographer from New York City.

 "The idea to go and spend a beautiful weekend that culminates in their suicide — that is not a normal thing, not a normal, everyday occurrence. In the background of the lovely fun, smiles and laughter that we had that weekend was the knowledge of what was coming."

 Davis worked out a detailed schedule for the gathering on the weekend of July 23-24, including the precise hour she planned to slip into a coma, and shared her plans with her guests in the invitation.

 More than 30 people came to the party at a home with a wraparound porch in the picturesque Southern California mountain town of Ojai, flying in from New York, Chicago and across California.

 One woman brought a cello. A man played a harmonica. There were cocktails, pizza from her favorite local joint, and a screening in her room of one of her favorite movies, "The Dance of Reality," based on the life of a Chilean film director.

 As the weekend drew to a close, her friends kissed her goodbye, gathered for a photo and left, and Davis was wheeled out to a canopy bed on a hillside, where she took a combination of morphine, pentobarbital and chloral hydrate prescribed by her doctor.

 Kelly Davis said she loved her sister's idea for the gathering, which Betsy Davis referred to as a "rebirth."

 "Obviously it was hard for me. It's still hard for me," said Davis, who wrote about it for the online news outlet Voice of San Diego. "The worst was needing to leave the room every now and then, because I would get choked up. But people got it. They understood how much she was suffering and that she was fine with her decision. They respected that. They knew she wanted it to be a joyous occasion."

 Davis ended her life a little over a month after a California law giving the option to the terminally ill went into effect. Four other states allow doctor-assisted suicide, with Oregon the first in 1997.

 Opponents of the law in lobbying against it before state legislators argued that hastening death was morally wrong, that it puts terminally ill patients at risk for coerced death by loved ones and could become a way out for people who are uninsured or fearful of high medical bills.

 Marilyn Golden of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, said her heart goes out to anyone dealing with a terminal illness, but "there are still millions of people in California threatened by the danger of this law."

 Davis spent months planning her exit, feeling empowered after spending the last three years losing control of her body bit by bit. The painter and performance artist could no longer stand, brush her teeth or scratch an itch. Her caretakers had to translate her slurred speech for others.

 "Dear rebirth participants you're all very brave for sending me off on my journey," she wrote in her invitation. "There are no rules. Wear what you want, speak your mind, dance, hop, chant, sing, pray, but do not cry in front of me. OK, one rule."

 During the party, old friends reconnected and Davis rolled in and out of the rooms in her electric wheelchair and onto the porch, talking with her guests.

 At one point, she invited friends to her room to try on the clothes she had picked out for them. They modeled the outfits to laughter. Guests were also invited to take a "Betsy souvenir" — a painting, beauty product or other memento. Her sister had placed sticky notes on the items, explaining each one's significance.

 Wearing a Japanese kimono she bought on a bucket-list trip she took after being diagnosed in 2013, she looked out at her last sunset and took the drugs at 6:45 p.m. with her caretaker, her doctor, her massage therapist and her sister by her side. Four hours later, she died.

 Friends said it was the final performance for the artist, who once drew pictures on a stage with whipped cream.

 "What Betsy did gave her the most beautiful death that any person could ever wish for," Alpert said. "By taking charge, she turned her departure into a work of art."

 Her guests agreed to meet again on her birthday in June to scatter her ashes. ||||| Terminally Ill California Woman with ALS Throws One Last Party Before Ending Her Life

 Niels Alpert via AP

 Niels Alpert via AP

 In early July, Betsy Davis sent out invitations to a party she referred to as a "rebirth.""These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness and openness," her e-mail invitations read, according to AP Davis, a 41-year-old artist from California, spent the last three years losing control of her body due to the debilitating illness of ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, and had been planning one final gathering that concluded with ending her life with medication prescribed to her by her doctor, something that is perfectly legal under the state's new End-of-Life Option Act.A little over one month before Davis' party, a law was passed in California giving terminally ill patients the option to hasten death. It is only granted to individuals by state law in Oregon, Vermont and Washington, and by court decision in Montana."Dear rebirth participants you're all very brave for sending me off on my journey," she wrote in her invitation. "There are no rules. Wear what you want, speak your mind, dance, hop, chant, sing, pray, but do not cry in front of me. OK, one rule."Davis invited over 30 friends and family to join her at a beautiful home in Ojai on July 23-24. She had put together a fun-filled weekend with every hour detailed with activities for her loved ones who arrived from New York, Chicago and across California.Throughout the evening, Davis, seated in her electric wheelchair, interacted with each companion and was looking forward to a fashion show for which she had picked out clothes for each guest to model.Love and laughter filled the house as guests enjoyed cocktails, pizza from her favorite eatery as well as a screening in her room of one of her favorite movies, The Dance of Reality.As the final hours counted down, friends and family kissed her goodbye and gathered for a group photo. "The worst was needing to leave the room every now and then, because I would get choked up. But people got it," said Davis' sister Kelly, who wrote about her sister for local news outlet Voice of San Diego. "They understood how much she was suffering and that she was fine with her decision. They respected that. They knew she wanted it to be a joyous occasion."Davis was wheeled out to a canopy bed on a hillside, where she looked out at her last sunset. Dressed in a Japanese kimono she bought on a bucket-list trip she took after being diagnosed in 2013, she swallowed a combination of morphine, pentobarbital and chloral hydrate prescribed by her doctor at 6:45 p.m.Betsy died four hours later surrounded by Kelly, her caretaker, her doctor and her massage therapist.Guests called the gathering Betsy's final performance as friend and cinematographer Niels Alpert explained that "what Betsy did gave her the most beautiful death that any person could ever wish for.""By taking charge, she turned her departure into a work of art," he concluded.All those invited have promised to gather again next year for Betsy's birthday in June to scatter her ashes. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Betsy Davis spent the last years of her life losing control of her body as her illness worsened—but she could still control how she died, and she "turned her departure into a work of art," friend and cinematographer Niels Alpert says of the California artist's death. The 41-year-old, who in 2013 was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, threw a party for more than 30 friends and family that lasted through the weekend before her doctor-assisted suicide late last month, People reports. Davis, a painter and performance artist who invited guests from across the country to what she called a "rebirth," died under the state's physician-assisted suicide law, which took effect on June 9. "You're all very brave for sending me off on my journey," she wrote in her invitation, which warned guests that "emotional stamina" would be required, the AP reports. "There are no rules," she wrote. "Wear what you want, speak your mind, dance, hop, chant, sing, pray, but do not cry in front of me. OK, one rule." After a weekend that included music, pizza, cocktails, individual chats with every guest, and a screening of favorite movie The Dance of Reality, most guests departed and Davis' bed was wheeled out to a hillside at sunset. Accompanied by her sister, her doctor, her massage therapist, and her caretaker, she took a lethal combination of drugs and died around four hours later. (Assisted suicide is legal in four other states and Canada, where the law won't cover American visitors.)