– Hurricane Harvey has devastated Texas, and it's also bringing bad news for drivers across the nation. Harvey's impact on the Gulf Coast caused several major refineries and a key gasoline pipeline to shut down, the AP reports. What that means: Prices are on the rise: Per GasBuddy, the average price of a gallon of gas in the US was $2.469 Thursday afternoon. That's up 2.3 cents from Wednesday, 11.7 cents from last week, 15.1 cents from last month, and 24.3 cents from last year. They're even higher in some areas: Reuters, citing AAA data, says fuel prices in Georgia and North Carolina are up 17 cents a gallon from a week ago; in South Carolina, almost 20 cents. And they're likely to go higher: Per Business Insider, gas futures for both September and October are up. In fact, Thursday was their eighth straight day of gains, their longest rising streak in four years. There's also the problem of gas availability: The AP reports that QuikTrip, one of the biggest convenience store chains in the country, is going to stop selling gas entirely at about half of its stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in anticipation of shortages. Even locations that have gas may run out: The Star-Telegram reports that convenience store operators and gasoline retailers are warning there's a major chance some Texas locations will run out of gas this weekend due to supply chain disruptions. Specifics on those disruptions: Colonial, the largest pipeline operator in the country, has shut down key fuel lines (AL.com) and Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur, Texas refinery, the biggest in the country, may be closed for as long as two weeks (CNBC). Some of the other refineries and pipelines affected are starting back up, CNBC reports. A dire quote: "Hurricane Harvey has potentially cut US fuel-making capacity to the lowest level since 2008," per Bloomberg. And another: "This is going to be the worst thing the US has seen in decades from an energy standpoint," a market analyst tells Reuters. What's being done to help: Per Bloomberg, the EPA is exempting many southeastern states from requirements that they use fuel meeting clean-air standards. And CNNMoney reports the Trump administration is tapping the emergency US oil reserve; the Energy Department will send 500,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Phillips 66 refinery in Louisiana. That could help with gas prices.

Expand this summary.

Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur, Texas refinery, the nation's largest, may be shut as long as two weeks for assessment of the plant and repair of any damage, sources familiar with plant operations said on Thursday.

 The 603,000 barrel per day (bpd) Port Arthur Refinery was shut on Wednesday due to flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.

 In a statement to CNBC, Motiva said it "cannot provide a timeline for restart at this time." The oil company says it will begin assessing the refinery "as soon as the local area flooding has receded," although Motive is uncertain about how long it will take for floodwaters to diminish. ||||| Update:

 Colonial Pipeline said it expects to be able to return to full service Sunday, restoring a critical fuel pipeline that serves much of the Southeast.

 Colonial's Lines 1 and 2 continue to operate from Lake Charles, Louisiana to the east, the company said, but deliveries will be intermittent and dependent on terminal and refinery supplies. Lines remain down from Houston - one of the areas hardest hit by the storm to Herbert, Texas.

 "We currently estimate that we will be able to return to service from Houston Sunday, following an evaluation of our infrastructure and successful execution of our start up plan," Colonial said.

 Colonial Pipeline 1 carries as much as 40 percent of the South's gasoline. Line 2 primarily transports diesel and aviation fuels.

 Earlier:

 Colonial Pipeline has shut down key fuel lines running from Houston through Mississippi, Georgia Alabama and up the East Coast after Hurricane Harvey forced the closure of refineries and other facilities.

 Colonial said its facilities west of Lake Charles, Louisiana are out of service due to the storms. That closure, along with hurricane-related shutdowns of refineries in the Gulf Coast, led to the decision to cease operations on Colonial's Line 2, which transports primarily diesel and aviation fuels. Line 1, which carries gasoline, will suspend service today. Line 1 had been operating at a reduced capacity since Harvey hit.

 Line 1 provides nearly 40 percent of the South's gasoline.

 "Once Colonial is able to ensure that its facilities are safe to operate and refiners in Lake Charles and points east have the ability to move product to Colonial, our system will resume operations," the company said in a statement.

 By volume, Colonial is the largest pipeline operator in the country, delivering more than 100 million gallons of refined products each day to markets between Houston and New York City, serving more than 50 million people. Of the 26 refineries connected to the Colonial system, 13 are located between Houston and Lake Charles, the company said.

 The shutdowns are adding to growing concerns about fuel availability as drivers around the Southeast find themselves paying more at the pump. On Thursday morning, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. was $2.462, up almost 2 cents from yesterday and 11 cents from last week, according to fuel tracking site GasBuddy.

 Experts said prices could increase as much as 35 cents a gallon as refineries remain offline during storm cleanup.

 In its statement, Colonial addressed those concerns.

 "Colonial is one part of the fuel delivery system, and there are multiple means of supplying the market to mitigate concerns with supply, including other pipelines, trucks, and barges," it said.

 Georgia-based Colonial was twice forced to shut down parts of its pipeline last year due to a leak and a fire in Alabama. The shutdowns led to higher gas prices and isolated shortages across the Southeast.

 Hurricane Harvey made its first landfall in Texas last Friday, dumping more than 50 inches of rain on Houston and surrounding counties. The storm made a second landfall Wednesday in Louisiana and is now tracking to the northeast through Mississippi and northern Alabama. ||||| The Trump administration has tapped an emergency stockpile of crude oil in response to the major refinery outages in the U.S. Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Harvey.

 The Energy Department said it will send 500,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Phillips 66 (PSX) refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

 The oil reserve is made up of a complex of tanks and deeper underground storage caverns. It can hold more than 700 million barrels of oil, making it the largest emergency oil reserve in the world.

 The move is aimed at shielding Americans from higher gasoline prices, which have begun to rise sharply due to a shortage of gasoline caused by refinery shutdowns, port closures and oil production outages.

 Officials said the refinery, which hasn't been shutdown by the historic flooding, requested the release of emergency oil. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) is the largest shareholder in Phillips 66

 The Energy Department said it will "continue to provide assistance as deemed necessary," including more potential drawdowns from the emergency reserve.

 The decision to tap the oil reserve follows the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, which normally carries a huge amount of gasoline between Houston and the East Coast. The key pipeline was knocked offline because there isn't enough gasoline flowing for it to operate.

 Related: Harvey shuts down major fuel pipeline

 Energy Secretary Rick Perry noted the Colonial Pipeline outage is driven by limited gasoline supplies, not damage to the pipeline itself.

 "I don't know how long it's going to take to get those (refineries) back on," Perry told reporters on Thursday aboard Air Force Two with Vice President Mike Pence.

 Matt Smith, director of commodities research at ClipperData, said the emergency stockpile release is likely aimed at helping to fill up the Colonial Pipeline.

 "There's a huge logistical challenge going on at the moment because those refineries up and running don't have access to the oil they need," said Smith.

 The Energy Department is also trying to ease fears about a severe gasoline shortage.

 "This release sends a message to the market that the U.S. government is willing to address any kind of supply shortages. There's definitely a psychological impact," said Joe McMonigle, a former Energy Department official who now serves as senior energy analyst at the Hedgeye Potomac Research Group.

 The widespread disruption in the U.S. Gulf Coast has lifted the average price of a gallon of gasoline by 10 cents to $2.449 on Thursday, according to AAA.

 Related: Harvey to be one of the most expensive natural disasters ever

 McMonigle predicted the Energy Department will take more steps because refinery recoveries are likely to be slow.

 Historic flooding caused by Harvey knocked one-fifth of the nation's refining capacity offline, according to S&P Global Platts. Thirteen oil refineries in Texas have shut down or are in the process of closing, while others are operating at reduced rates.

 "The situation on the ground is even worse than what is being reported. This may not be a quick turnaround. it could take some time for the industry to get back on its feet," McMonigle said.

 The U.S. dipped into the strategic oil reserve during other disruptions, such as the 2011 turmoil in Libya and during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

 Earlier this year, President Trump proposed selling off half of the oil sitting in the reserve to raise revenue. Some analysts at the time criticized the proposal as risky. ||||| FILE PHOTO: Clouds from Hurricane Harvey are seen in the background as smoke rises from a burn off at an oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo

 HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Harvey’s impact on the energy industry spread worldwide as flooded U.S. refiners and closed fuel pipelines threatened to squeeze national supply, roiling global fuel markets and rerouting millions of barrels of fuel to the Americas to avert shortages.

 The storm, which lashed Louisiana with rain on Thursday, has pummeled the U.S. Gulf Coast, immersing Houston, Texas, and the surrounding area in several feet of water and forcing the closure of about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity.

 Benchmark U.S. gasoline prices RBc1 and margins RBc1-Clc1 surged anew on Thursday. The jump came after the Colonial Pipeline, the biggest U.S. fuel system, said it would shut its main lines to the Northeast by Thursday amid outages at pumping points and lack of supply from refiners.

 That artery can carry 3 million barrels of gasoline and other products daily.

 At least two East Coast refineries have run out of gasoline for immediate delivery as they scrambled to fill barges for markets normally supplied by the Gulf Coast, two refinery sources said.

 Others were seen running at higher rates to boost profitability by filling shortages.

 “This is going to be the worst thing the U.S. has seen in decades from an energy standpoint,” said an East Coast market source, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the press.

 On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Department said it would release 500,000 barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to supply the refineries that are still running in an effort to stem fuel shortages.

 The first emergency release from the reserve since 2012 will be delivered to the Phillips 66 (PSX.N) refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to a department statement.

 Concerns over fuel shortages ahead of the U.S. Labor Day extended weekend were mounting, said analysts at JBC Energy.

 U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 topped $2 per gallon for the first time since 2015, up more than 20 percent since just before the storm began, while U.S. crude oil prices were on track for their steepest monthly losses in more than a year. [O/R]

 Average U.S. retail fuel prices have surged by more than a dime per gallon from a week ago, the AAA said early on Thursday.

 The Gulf makes up nearly half of total refining capacity in the United States, the world's largest net exporter of refined petroleum products, and the storm is set to impact global flows. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2xzsKWz)

 About 4.4 million barrels of U.S. refining capacity have been shut by Harvey, including the nation’s largest refiner, Motiva Port Arthur, which can process more than 600,000 barrels a day. The total shut-in is about 24 percent of U.S. refining capacity, almost equal to Japan’s daily consumption.

 The closures rattled global fuel markets, and European and Asian traders diverted millions of barrels of gasoline and diesel to the Americas to help fill that gap. But the supplies from those distant markets may not arrive fast enough to avert a crunch.

 “Sourcing additional barrels from Europe is a potential solution, but an increased level of uncertainty is introduced surrounding the timeliness of delivery, given the logistics of travel time and securing tankers,” said Michael Tran, director of global energy strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

 The Asian refining margin on Thursday hit $10.41 a barrel, the highest since January 2016 DUB-SIN-REF. Gasoline prices in the region GL92-SIN-CRK were $16.34 a barrel, also the highest since January 2016. In Europe, benchmark gasoline margins jumped to a two-year high of nearly $21 per barrel.

 The U.S. disruptions have hit wholesalers. The premium for Chicago-area gasoline above benchmark futures is at its highest since June 2016, while the Gulf Coast price is at its widest above futures since August 2012. [PRO/U]

 Suppliers in Chicago were trying to secure supplies after the Explorer Pipeline, which typically carries about 350,000 barrels a day (bpd) to the region, shut down.

 “It’s not a significant problem at the present time, but it could turn into one,” said William Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association, which represents 400 fuel distributors. Fleischli said much depended on how long the shutdowns last.

 Average retail gasoline prices have risen to $2.449 per gallon nationwide, up 4.5 cents a gallon from a day earlier and 10.1 cents from a week ago, AAA data showed.

 In Georgia and North Carolina, fuel prices are up about 17 cents and average prices in South Carolina have risen nearly 20 cents per gallon from a week ago.

 Though flood waters have yet to recede, energy analysts said they anticipated potential long-term effects from the historic storm. Goldman Sachs analysts wrote Wednesday they expected about a tenth of what is now offline to stay shut for several months. ||||| Gasoline prices were surging again Thursday amid refinery closings in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey.

 Gas futures for September delivery were up 12% to $2.11 a gallon at 10:40 a.m. ET. In their eighth straight day of gains, futures are on their longest rising streak in four years, according to Bloomberg. Futures for October delivery also rallied.

 Prices at the pump are also higher. The AAA average national gas price at 3:43 a.m. ET on Thursday was $2.449 a gallon, up from an average price of $2.348 a gallon last week.

 Motiva's refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, which is the largest refinery in the US, shut down Wednesday as floodwater rose. And on Thursday, Colonial Pipeline, which owns the largest pipeline for gas distribution in the US, had planned to shut down its gasoline line because Gulf Coast refiners were unable to process crude oil, Bloomberg reported. "Deliveries will be intermittent and dependent on terminal and refinery supply," the company said in an update.

 To help with the gasoline shortage, the Energy Department on Thursday said it was releasing 500,000 barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve that holds supplies for emergencies. The agency said it loaned the barrels of both sweet and sour crude to a Phillips 66 refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which has not been affected by Hurricane Harvey.

 The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that some gas stations in the area may run out of supplies during the Labor Day weekend. Gas stations on the East Coast could also experience shortages, Bloomberg reported, and this could send gas prices even higher.

 Crude-oil prices rose in a "knee jerk reaction" tracking gasoline following news that Exxon Mobil was shutting down its Beaumont, Texas, refinery for up to two weeks, according to Jesse Cohen of Investing.com. The closing of the Motiva refinery and news that the storm Irma had strengthened to a hurricane and could hit Gulf production provided another boost, Cohen said.

 The front-month West Texas Intermediate crude-oil contract gained 2.5% to $47.09 a barrel but remained on track for its fifth straight weekly decline. |||||


Write a summary based on this article:

Cell phones in Broadway theaters: What are people thinking?

 Now we know, sort of, thanks to a publicity-stunt press conference during which one cell phone offender — the guy who tried to charge his phone by plugging it in to an onstage outlet at play “Hand to God” — spoke out.

 “I downed a few drinks, and I think that clearly impaired my judgment,” said Nick Silvestri, a 19-year-old from Long Island. “I guess I wasn’t really thinking.”

 Producers of “Hand to God” held the press conference July 10 to capitalize on the flurry of attention recently given to what has been a source of long-simmering tension among theatergoers. For years, stage folks have decried the regular mid-show disruptions wrought by the advent of the mobile phone.

 The issue has reached something of a tipping point recently, with Patti LuPone making headlines earlier this week for snatching away the phone of a texting audience member at the Off Broadway show in which she stars, “Shows for Days” — and doing it without ever breaking character. (The phone was returned to its owner after the show.)

 Just a few days before that, Silvestri earned the ire of the theater community when, minutes before a performance of “Hand to God,” he leapt onto the stage and plugged his phone into what turned out to be a fake electrical outlet. Cast members chronicled it on Twitter.

 A guy jumped on the stage and plugged his phone into the fake outlet on our set just before we started. @HandtoGodBway #fullmoon or #idiot ? — Sarah Stiles (@Lulubellestiles) July 3, 2015

 Earlier this spring, Madonna attracted disapproval for reportedly texting during hot-ticket musical “Hamilton.”

 The dust-ups highlight the complaints that arise with increasing frequency as texting, ringtones and phone calls intrude on what’s long been the traditional theater etiquette of a dark, quiet auditorium. It’s a regular occurrence at Broadway shows these days, thanks to the omnipresence of mobile devices, not to mention the increasing presence of tourists and young audiences — some of whom have never been to a Broadway show.

 “I don’t go to plays very much, and I didn’t realize that the stage is considered off limits,” Silvestri said.

 There’s something of a generational divide, too, between the traditionally older-skewing theatergoing demographic and the younger audiences who have grown up in the digital, mobile era — for whom mobile device usage is akin to a basic civil right.

 The press conference with Silvestri, held in front of the Booth Theater, took advantage of the cell-phone incident (which was not a stunt, Silvestri assured people) to lend a little publicity to “Hand to God,” the Broadway comedy that earned strong reviews (and five Tony nominations) but has largely struggled to gain momentum at the box office. The event also gave Silvestri the chance to apologize.

 “I’ve learned a lot about the theater in the past few days — theater people are really passionate and have been very willing to educate me,” he said. “I would like to sincerely apologize to the Broadway community.”

 That might not be enough for LuPone, who’s famously tough on folks who use cell phones during her shows. During the 2008 run of “Gypsy,” she stopped the show when someone was taking pictures.

 “We work hard on stage to create a world that is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorbed and inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their phones,” LuPone said after the July 8 incident at “Shows for Days.” “I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore. Now I’m putting battle gear on over my costume to marshal the audience as well as perform.” |||||

 IN PERSON (Jen Chung/Gothamist)

 The Long Island lacrosse-playing college student who burst into Broadway history as the first, social media-documented idiot to barge onto a stage to charge his precious cellphone faced the press today. Nick Silvestri, 19, read a statement before a group of reporters admitting, "I don’t go to plays very much, and I didn’t realize that the stage is considered off limits. I’ve learned a lot about the theater in the past few days—theater people are really passionate and have been very willing to educate me. I can assure you that I won’t be setting foot on a stage ever again, unless I decide to become an actor."

 Publicists for Hand to God, the "hilarious and disturbing" play that transferred from off-Broadway and earned numerous Tony nominations, had initially said the press conference would start at 2 p.m., but Silvestri, who attends Nassau Community College, didn't surface until 2:30. He then gamely read a statement (see text below) but he stumbled over the word "theatergoer" and was immediately bombarded with questions from the skeptical press.

 For instance, were he and Hand to God producers in cahoots to draw attention for the play? Especially considering that it's struggling at the box office? Silvestri seemed confused, and insisted that he wasn't part of a viral marketing stunt, telling reporters, "Take it as it is. It's fun. It's a joke."

 And even though he said in his statement that he had been drinking, reporters pointed out that he's underage. He then became vague about the drinking, denying drinking in NYC, and a publicist for the show kept Silvestri from answering our probing questions, such as "Do you have the phone?"

 It seems possible that a drunken Silvestri was dared to go charge his phone onstage by a friend who then filmed him. When reports of the "Juice Jackal" surfaced the next day, his friend proceeded to post the video on YouTube. Virality was instantly achieved, and Silvestri is clearly relishing the attention:

 Just wanna give a huge shoutout to all my fans and followers. This wouldn't be possible it it wasn't for u guys xoxoxox #muchlove — nick silvestri (@NickSilvestri2) July 10, 2015

 If you watch the video, you'll see Silvestri's friend snickering in the background throughout the press conference. Here is the statement. ||||| Exclusive! Meet the Guy Who Tried to Charge His Phone on Stage at Hand to God

 "I was the one." Meet Nick Silvestri of Seaford, Long Island. On July 2 he entered Broadway legend by doing something nearly all of us do every day: he plugged in his cell phone charger.

 What made Silvestri different is that he plugged it into a prop outlet on the stage set of the Broadway comedy Hand to God. Witnesses turned to social media. Twitter lit up. When a video appeared on YouTube, it lit up further and got more than 140,000 hits.

 The 19-year-old lacrosse-playing Nassau Community College student said he is not seeking publicity. He did not volunteer himself to Playbill.com. Our staff tracked him down through Twitter and he was hesitant at first about allowing his name to be used.

 So, to answer your questions, he said the incident was not a dare. It was not intended as a joke. His iPhone 6 was just low on juice.

 Why did he do it? What was the emergency? "Girls were calling all day. What would you do?"

 Silvestri had had a busy day. He was in town with his family, his neighbors and his cousins from California. "We go to see shows maybe once a year and we heard this play was supposed to be funny." They ate beforehand at a restaurant about a half block from the Booth Theatre where Hand to God is playing. They had a few drinks, and he admits "we were a little banged up."

 When he noticed his phone was down to two bars of power, he tried to plug it into the USB port on the big-screen TV in the lounge at the back of the restaurant, but "I got yelled at by the manager."

 By time the meal was over he had about 5 percent left on his battery, he said.

 Silvestri's group headed to the Booth Theatre, and they were seated in the orchestra section.

 That's when he saw the outlet on Beowulf Boritt's church basement set.

 "I saw the outlet and ran for it," he said. "That was the only outlet I saw, so I thought, 'Why not?' I was thinking that they were probably going to plug something in there on the set, and I figured it wouldn't be a big deal if my phone was up there too."

 Hand to God Set Designer Tells How He Made an Electrical Outlet So Realistic, Someone Tried to Charge a Cell Phone On It

 The reaction was immediate. Members of the audience shouted, and "about five security guards came running down. So I hopped off the stage. They were pretty mad. They said, 'What were you thinking?' I said, 'Hey, buddy, what's the problem?'"

 Silvestri then asked the guards if he could jump back on the stage and retrieve his phone.

 "They said, 'Are you crazy?,'" and one of them went up and got the phone.

 Silvestri returned to his seat with his smart phone, but the drama wasn't over yet. "The head guy came down and started yelling at me in front of my family and the whole place. My mother kept saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' and they finally let us us stay and watch the play."

 And what did he think of Hand to God? "We enjoyed the show. I'm not much of a play guy, but it wasn't bad."

 Did he ever get to charge his phone?

 "No."

 Silvestri said he became aware of his growing online celebrity within a few days. "The next day my friend sent me a link to Facebook. Somebody was saying 'some kid jumped on stage.' 'Moron jumps on stage.'"

 What did he think of that?

 "Oh, hilarious."

 In retrospect, what would he say to the cast? "Hey, I'm sorry if I delayed your show five minutes. But you got a lot of attention from this, so maybe I made your show a little better [better known]."

 We've Got the Footage! Audience Member Tries to Use Stage Outlet to Charge Phone at Hand to God ||||| Art met reality this week when Patti LuPone, without breaking character, walked offstage at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater with the phone of a texting audience member in her hand.

 Consider this a standing ovation.

 LuPone, who plays a small-town theater diva in the comedy “Shows for Days,” was already teed up after ringtones disrupted that day’s matinee — creating, she told The New York Times, “a cacophony of noise.”

 So when a woman seated at the end of the second row took to texting throughout the evening show, LuPone took matters into her own hands — literally.

 The Tony-winner usually shakes hands with an audience member as the second act’s first scene ends. This time, she made off with the phone — while staying in character.

 The actress told Playbill: “We work hard onstage to create a world that is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorbed and inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their phones. . . When a phone goes off or when a LED screen can be seen in the dark, it ruins the experience for everyone else.”

 Sadly, the message still hasn’t gotten through: Despite LuPone’s personal request before Thursday’s performance, another phone rang near the musical’s climax.

 Have some respect, folks. If you can’t put your (muted) phone away for the length of a show, don’t go. ||||| At a performance of her new play, Shows for Days, on Wednesday night, theater legend Patti LuPone found herself vexed by an audience member texting. According to a report from Playbill, LuPone snatched the device right out of the audience member's hands.

 “I saw Patti LuPone deliver her scene exit line tonight at Lincoln Center & SNATCH A CELL PHONE OUT OF AN AUDIENCE MEMBER'S HAND,” another audience member wrote on Twitter. As news of the incident began to make the rounds on Thursday, Lupone redoubled her feelings in a statement.

 "We work hard on stage to create a world that is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorbed and inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their phones," LuPone said. She went on to despair, "I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore. Now I’m putting battle gear on over my costume to marshal the audience as well as perform."

 This is why we can't have nice things, theater audiences.

 This isn't the first time that LuPone has struck a blow for performers in their ongoing war against audience rudeness and technology. In 2009, during the run of her Tony-winning performance in Gypsy, LuPone stopped the show cold to upbraid an audience member for taking pictures. The righteous tirade—ironically captured on audio by a different outlaw audience member—quickly became the stuff of viral legend.

 This week‘s adventure in cell-phone rudeness came mere days after reports of a mind-boggling incident at Hand to God, where an audience member took the stage to try and plug his phone into an on-set (fake) outlet.

 This kind of audience behavior isn't new. In 2011, Frances McDormand stopped a performance of Good People in its tracks when an audience member answered their ringing phone at a crucial moment of the second act, an incident chronicled for posterity by the Village Voice's Michael Musto, thank goodness. (Coincidentally, this VF.com correspondent was also in attendance that night.)

 Incidents like these, beyond being delicious anecdotes for show goers and ornamental to the legends of the performers who fight back, offer proof that, even if our movie theaters are slowly succumbing to the inevitability of omnipresent cell phones, the theater community may well choose to die on this hill. And that they've got one thing going for them their two- and even three-dimensional show business cousins don't: the ability to fight back. |||||

– Cell phones in theaters: After two high-profile incidents on Broadway, things seem to have reached a "tipping point," observes Variety. The first occurred when 19-year-old Nick Silvestri hopped up on the stage just before the start of Hand to God and plugged his phone into an outlet, not realizing it was a prop. He tells Playbill that it wasn't a joke and that he wasn't acting on a dare. He just needed to charge his iPhone. "I saw the outlet and ran for it," he recalls. "That was the only outlet I saw, so I thought, 'Why not?' I was thinking that they were probably going to plug something in there on the set, and I figured it wouldn't be a big deal if my phone was up there too." Security guards quickly moved in. After talking to Playbill, Silvestri even participated in a press conference and read a statement in which he apologized. "I don't go to plays very much, and I didn't realize that the stage is considered off limits," he said, per Gothamist. (Variety notes that Hand to God, which has been struggling to sell tickets, was happy to capitalize by organizing that press conference.) The second incident occurred when Patti LuPone took the phone from an audience member who was texting during Show for Days. Given that she remained in character the whole time, the New York Post grants her a "standing ovation." Vanity Fair rounds up previous incidents, saying they "offer proof that, even if our movie theaters are slowly succumbing to the inevitability of omnipresent cell phones, the theater community may well choose to die on this hill." Plus, Broadway actors have a big advantage over movie actors: "the ability to fight back."


News article:

Off Message 5 takeaways from the first presidential debate She hits him where it hurts, and his defensiveness makes him seem wimpy.

 There were a couple of not-so-very-subtle signals here inside of Hofstra University that Donald Trump lost Monday night’s highly-anticipated debate against Hillary Clinton, and badly.

 The first was the audible sound of groaning by some of his supporters (picked up by my attentive colleague Steve Shepard) inside the debate hall as Trump meandered self-defensively through a succession of answers against a very focused, very energized and very well-rehearsed Hillary Clinton.

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 Another tell: After the 90-minute sparring match finished, Clinton’s team practically bounded into the spin room – more in glassy-eyed disbelief than visible elation that things had gone so much better than expected. The GOP nominee’s people, by contrast, dribbled into the media pen like surly seventh-graders headed for homeroom the day before summer vacation. “F—k, let’s do this,” a prominent Trump surrogate said before diving into a scrum.

 Trump and his new-ish messaging team have labored mightily to turn the avatar of populist rage into a reasonable facsimile of someone who you could see sitting in the Oval Office. But this best-laid plan unraveled on Monday – amid Clinton’s steely assault and the dignified interrogation of NBC’s Lester Holt, who struck a deft balance between facilitator, BS detector and lion tamer.

 Within minutes of the opening bell, Clinton’s attacks forced domesticated Donald to go feral – he bellowed, interrupted her repeatedly, grunted, and toward the bedraggled end, became muted and pouty.

 “It was bizarre,” said Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe, who, like many Clinton allies, seemed visibly relieved. “He was clearly rattled, and clearly focused on defending himself, which I’m told narcissists are prone to do, and he clearly faded at the end. It’s not like she’s going to jump out to a 10-point lead, but this was good.”

 Whether or not this reverses Trump’s momentum, or reestablishes Clinton's control of the race is an open question. Who won is not. Here are five takeaways.

 Trump was wimpy when defensive. He is supposed to be the big meanie but it was Clinton who hit him where it hurt most. It doesn’t take a Jung (or even Dr. Phil after a couple of Bud Lights) to figure out that the GOP nominee – who boasts like a barfly – just might be over-compensating. Hence, Clinton, who started the debate a little tentatively, quickly launched into a carefully planned program of Freudian mind-games, contrasting her own middle-class businessman dad (who had his own issues) with Trump’s imperious, larger-than-life father Fred who launched his son’s business career but also was said to be extremely tough on him.

 First she started in with a paean to her father’s running a small printing business in Chicago (This might be the first time a candidate has described, in detail, the silk-screen squeegee process on a debate stage) – then she pivoted to mocking supposedly self-made Trump’s start in the real estate business. “You know, Donald was very fortunate in his life and that's all to his benefit. He started his business with $14 million, borrowed from his father,” she said icily.

 “My father gave me a very small loan in 1975 and I built it into a company that's worth many, many billions of dollars,” he responded weakly – and so it went on a range of topics.

 Whether it was because Clinton was so well prepped, and Trump was so breezily unprepared – or had a simple case of opening night jitters – the bully-boy nominee abandoned his most effective mode of debate combat, answering an attack with a harsher one. She went right for Trump’s ego – questioning his questionable $11 billion net worth, his boastful record on job creation and picking apart his tough talk on fighting ISIS.

 View The 10 most memorable moments of the presidential debate Here are the most memorable and important moments of the night from the first presidential debate at Hofstra University on Monday.

 In 2007, preparing for a primary race she’d eventually lose, Clinton told me that the key to presidential political campaigns was understanding that the most effective attacks weren’t about exploiting someone’s weaknesses but challenging an opponent’s perceived strengths. When confronted with that assault, Trump wilted and offered a series of meandering answers that had his Republicans wincing. “It was a draw,” former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown said. “But he was on the defensive far too much. That’s a direct result of his inexperience.”

 What about the Clinton Foundation? The former secretary’s debate team (including longtime aide Phillippe Reines, who snapped a pre-debate photo in a Trump circled-finger pose) expected him to savage her on the various questions raised about her family’s foundation. They were worried about it. While he hammered her ever-so-briefly on emails, he was so engaged in self-justification, he flat-out forgot to pursue an attack that could have made the night a lot less lousy.

 His “30 years” attack worked – and he’ll use it again. Trump may have lost the first debate, but he’s proven to be a fast learner, and is likely to come back stronger in early October for the second debate, a town hall style affair, in St. Louis. And there were a few gold nuggets strewn in the wreckage of Hofstra – the most valuable an assault (demonstrable and fact-checker-friendly) on Clinton’s effectiveness in 25-plus years of public life.

 The been-there-not-done-that argument was particularly useful when coupled with his usual slams on Bill Clinton’s passage of the increasingly unpopular NAFTA agreement from the 1990s and Hillary Clinton’s election-year flip-flop from TPP booster to opponent.

 “When she started talking about this, it was really very recently,” Trump said of her opposition to the trade deal. “She's been doing this for 30 years. And why hasn't she made the agreements better? The NAFTA agreement is defective. Just because of the tax and many other reasons, but just because of the fact.”

 When Clinton claimed that she planned to “really work to get new jobs and to get exports that helped to create more new jobs.” He scoffed, and shot back, “But you haven't done it in 30 years or 26 years.”

 Clinton effectively attacked his business career. Trump’s attempt to head off debate-night questions about his five-year campaign promoting the birther slander against Barack Obama was a humbling face-plant. His attempt to pin the origin of the charge against Clinton associate Sid Blumenthal was semi-effective with the political press, but it withered under the insistent interrogation of an African-American moderator determined to extract an apology or reasonable explanation. Trump offered neither – and suggested Obama should actually be grateful he pursued the canard because it’s now been resoundingly put to rest.

 Politically, his tortured explanation helps energize black voters – who already oppose him in historic numbers. But later in the debate, Clinton plucked the strains of what could be a genuine crossover hit this fall among ever-elusive white working-class voters and independents: Trump’s failure to turn over his tax returns. Clinton went there with a vengeance – engaging in a little Trump-esque fact-free speculation about the motives of the billionaire developer-turned-reality TV star.

 “So you've got to ask yourself, why won't he release his tax returns?” Clinton mused, with relish. “And I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, maybe he's not as rich as he says he is. Second, maybe he's not as charitable as he claims to be. Third, we don't know all of his business dealings... Or maybe he doesn't want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he's paid nothing in federal taxes, because the only years that anybody's ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax.”

 Trump’s answer did more harm than good:

 “That makes me smart,” he said – referring to his business, not his political, acumen.

 Her most effective attack – and his worst answer. If the GOP nominee needed any more proof that preparation trumps bombast in a general election debate, he got it when Clinton launched a merciless attack on his habit of stiffing contractors who have labored on his construction projects over the years. Again, Clinton brought it back to her father, describing how bad he would have felt if one of his clients had accepted his work without paying his bill.

 "I’ve met dishwashers, painters, architects, marble installers, drapery installers, who you refused to pay when they finished the work you asked them to do,” Clinton said, delivering a carefully scripted attack. “We have an architect in the audience who designed one of your clubhouses at one of your golf courses. It's a beautiful facility. It immediately was put to use. And you wouldn't pay what the man needed to be paid, what he was charging you to do.”

 This is a particular dangerous issue for a candidate whose entire campaign is rooted in fighting for the working class -- and his flippant response, yet again, gave comfort to his enemies.

 “Maybe he didn't do a good job and I was unsatisfied with his work,” Trump quipped. ||||| Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump succeeded in differentiating themselves in the first presidential debate of the 2016 election on Monday, but they also both missed some opportunities. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib explains. Photo: AP

 It took but a few minutes into Monday night’s presidential debate for the two contenders to distill the essence of the case they are making for taking over the White House. And they did so in no uncertain terms.

 Democrat Hillary Clinton portrayed herself as the woman with a plan, who has been around the block in Washington, who is ready to hit the rich and battle “trickle-down economics”—and who, by the way, wasn’t going to be afraid to go after her opponent, who, she said, “has called women pigs, slobs and dogs.”

 ... ||||| 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. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– The Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump showdown on Monday night was billed as the most anticipated in many years, and it did not disappoint, according to the Hill, which describes the clash as one between "the more incisive and prepared Clinton and Trump, who leaned heavily on instinct and combativeness." Five other takes on the debate, which many analysts are calling a win for Clinton: Glenn Thrush at Politico calls it a clear loss for Trump, who "became muted and pouty" toward the end. Clinton "went right for Trump's ego," and he "wilted and offered a series of meandering answers" when challenged on things like his wealth and his record of job creation, writes Thrush, who believes Trump "flat-out forgot to pursue" a line of attack on the Clinton Foundation. FiveThirtyEight kept track of the number of interruptions, and Trump comes out way ahead on that score: He had three full-fledged interruptions, where he seized the floor, compared to zero for Clinton, and 24 "fleeting interjections" while his rival kept talking, compared to five for Clinton. The biggest contrast may have been between styles, not policy positions, according to Alexander Burns at the New York Times. "He shouted, interrupted, and sniffed. She kept a level tone and wielded prefab one-liners," writes Burns, who thinks Clinton prevailed on issues of race, gender, and national security, while Trump was strongest when portraying himself as a political outsider. Paul Farhi at the Washington Post takes a look at the moderation and finds that NBC News anchor Lester Holt played a "largely passive role," declining to intervene as "Trump interrupted Clinton and made a series of questionable assertions," though he did seem "to push harder on the Republican businessman" than on Clinton. Farhi notes that Holt's questions didn't cover issues such as "Supreme Court nominations, Social Security, gun control, abortion, student loans, military affairs and health care, especially the Affordable Care Act." It was a debate that highlighted the stark choice voters face, and one where the "two contenders did, in fact, play to their strengths," decides Gerald F. Seib at the Wall Street Journal. "He to his ability to connect with voters on visceral terms, she on her ability to move smoothly from subject to subject with an air of authority." Trump, however, sometimes "seemed a bit too eager to interrupt and play the part of the bully," he writes, while Clinton "occasionally seemed on the verge of appearing smug." (Click for 12 of the debate's standout back-and-forths.)


Article:
Just when it was becoming possible to watch the “Late Show with David Letterman” without thinking about the host’s extortion scandal, the case is back in the news.

 Robert “Joe” Halderman, the CBS news producer accused of attempting to extort $2 million from Letterman, is due to appear in a Manhattan court Tuesday for the first hearing in the criminal case against him.

 Before even entering the courtroom, Halderman (who will likely appear, although Letterman probably won’t) was making news.

 The New York Observer reported that since his Oct. 2 indictment, he’s raised $100,000 for his defense fund, which would seem to indicate that he won’t be taking any plea deal from the prosecution. If Halderman is found guilty of attempted grand larceny, he could face up to 15 years in state prison.

 Tuesday's hearing will likely tackle the mundane issues involved with scheduling future proceedings, but don’t rule out some headline-making from Halderman’s attorney, according to NBC legal analyst Dan Abrams.

 “The judge will address any legal issues in front of him, like what sort of evidence the defense is entitled to and when,” said Abrams. “In large part, however, they will assess what the broader legal questions are that need to be resolved and likely set dates for future proceedings. Watch for defense attorney Gerry Shargel, however, to continue his public assault on Letterman's character. He may also try to make it seem as if he wants to move forward with a trial whether that is true or not. So don't expect any grand revelations but based on the way Shargel has behaved already, I would not be surprised to hear some theatrics from the defense.”

 What a week for Levi Johnston

 Think that Levi Johnston’s Playgirl photo shoot is the most interesting thing happening to him this week? Think again.

 On Wednesday, the father of Sarah Palin's grandson will receive Fleshbot’s “Crossover Star Award,” for being the biggest pop-culture star turned sex star. (Since you didn’t ask: Yes, the award itself is in the shape of a sex toy.)

 Slideshow: Celebrity sightings

 Fleshbot’s editor Lux Alptraum broke it down: “Levi's receiving a Crossover Award to honor the bravery and self confidence he’s displayed in making the leap from future son-in-law of the Republican VP candidate to Playgirl pinup — but yes, his abject sexiness was certainly a factor in our decision making process. It makes more sense to honor someone who we want to see naked, after all.”

 And, it seems a “Saturday Night Live” appearance could be in the cards, too. In a tweet on Monday, Johnston wrote (spelling and grammar all his): “BREAKING NEWS !!!! SNL APPEARANCE THIS SAT . .. were you hear it first !!!” ||||| Joe Halderman, the CBS News producer accused of attempting to extort $2 million from CBS Late Show star David Letterman, will be headed to a Manhattan court on Tuesday morning for the first hearing in the criminal case against him.

 Will Mr. Halderman, as it is widely assumed, try and reach a hasty plea agreement with prosecutors, beginning with Tuesday's motions hearing?

 That's unlikely, according to a source close to Mr. Halderman.

 Over the weekend, Dr. Bob Arnot, a friend and former colleague of Mr. Halderman, told The Observer that Mr. Halderman is currently planning to try and take the case all the way to trial. In a recent interview with Newsday's Verne Gay, Mr. Halderman's attorney Gerald Shargel likewise suggested that no plea agreement is in the works.

 That's something of a surprise to those who have closely followed the case.

 >>READ FELIX GILLETTE'S BACKSTORY ON THE LETTERMAN LOVE TRIANGLE

 Ever since Mr. Halderman's initial October 1 arrest on charges of attempted grand larceny, it's been widely assumed that the troubled 48 Hours Mystery producer would quickly try to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors.

 Those assumptions were based in part on widespread reports of Mr. Halderman's financial problems. Mr. Halderman was making roughly $214,000-a-year from CBS at the time of his arrest and owed roughly $6,000 a month in child-support payments to his ex-wife, while also holding a series of hefty mortgages.

 How would Mr. Halderman pay for a lengthy defense? Would he want to?

 Under such circumstances, a quick plea bargain would seem to be an attractive possibility. Similarly, the victim of the alleged extortion, David Letterman, would presumably love to avoid the massive amounts of attention that would come with a criminal trial.

 But he may be out of luck.

 Over the weekend, Mr. Arnot told The Observer that Mr. Halderman has already raised $100,000 for his defense, and is planning to meet with friends and advisers in the coming weeks to discuss other fund-raising possibilities.

 "This lawyer is a real litigator," Mr. Arnot wrote via email, "and Joe is paying the full boat to go to trial."

 More from Felix Gillette:

 Letterman's Bizarre Late Night Love Triangle

 Halderman Is a Guy's Guy, Sort of Like Vince Vaughn |||||Summary:

– The man accused of trying to blackmail David Letterman has raised $100,000 for his defense fund ahead of tomorrow’s first hearing in the case, and some experts think Robert “Joe” Halderman won’t accept a plea bargain despite his reported money woes. “This lawyer is a real litigator,” a Halderman friend tells the New York Observer of Gerald Shargel, “and Joe is paying the full boat to go to trial.” Adds an NBC analyst: “Don’t expect any grand revelations, but based on the way Shargel has behaved already, I would not be surprised to hear some theatrics from the defense.”


News article:

(CNN) It was an oddly familiar O.J. Simpson that for a little while filled TV screens across America on Thursday.

 A Nevada parole board decided Simpson should be freed after the former NFL star apologized for his role in a 2007 armed robbery, said he'd been a model prisoner, and promised that he'd have no conflicts if released.

 Simpson's appearance before the board garnered wall-to-wall coverage from cable news shows, coverage that recalled the "trial of the century," and the many months more than 20 years ago when it transfixed a nation.

 "I've done my time," Simpson said. "I've done it as well and as respectfully as I think anyone can."

 Now 70, Simpson's energy seemed little affected by his time behind bars. He was alert, engaged, and quick to smile, even letting out a hearty laugh when parole board Chairman Connie Bisbee accidentally said he was aged 90. "I feel like it," he said.

 Simpson has served nine years of a nine-to-33-year sentence for an armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. He is expected to be released as early as October -- and said he plans to move to his home in Florida.

 An entire generation of Americans has come of age since Simpson seemed an almost inescapable public figure. But for one afternoon, it felt like 1995 again.

 That was the year he was acquitted of murder charges in the grisly slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

 Thursday's parole hearing followed renewed interest in his story, which was explored last year in the award-winning documentary "O.J.: Made in America" and the FX true-crime drama "The People v. O.J. Simpson."

 Though it's been 22 years since the not guilty verdict, the murder trial's themes of criminal justice and race, trust in police, celebrity and domestic violence remain remarkably resonant in modern culture. "We talk about O.J. as though the story is O.J.," journalist Celia Farber says toward the end of the "Made in America" documentary. "The story is O.J. and us."

 Parole board vote unanimous

 For his part, Simpson seemed remarkably unaltered. He repeatedly avoided taking full responsibility for the Vegas crime.

 At one point, he said he had lived a "conflict-free life," a statement that perhaps bemused anyone whose memory stretches back more than two decades.

 "Juice," as he was known in his heyday, said associates misled him during the Vegas robbery and then turned on him in court.

 One of those associates is Tom Riccio. Simpson testified that Riccio is the one who called him, persuading him to take part in the robbery. Simpson said Thursday he regretted ever taking Riccio's call.

 But, according to Riccio, Simpson did a lot more than that.

 "He should wish he didn't make all those calls after my call," Riccio told CNN. "After he took my call he did a lot of things he shouldn't have done."

 Riccio added that Simpson was the one who orchestrated the robbery.

 "He plotted it all and gathered up men with guns."

 Simpson said Riccio avoided punishment by throwing him under the bus.

 "Unfortunately, they got a get-out-of-jail-free card when they said 'O.J. told me (to do it),'" Simpson said. "Nothing I can do about that."

 Sufficient remorse is not a relevant factor for parole, and Simpson ticked off several mitigating factors that made him a good candidate for release. He was discipline-free in prison, he has stable release plans, he has family and community support -- and, of course, he has no prior criminal convictions.

 The four parole board members voted unanimously to grant him parole, and board member Tony Corda said he was graded a "low risk to reoffend."

 Simpson smiled, said "thank you," and then put his head down for a few moments silently.

 O.J. Simpson wins parole after serving nine years for armed robbery and kidnapping https://t.co/di9NLhRSI6 https://t.co/G3ECaWR0u2 — CNN (@CNN) July 20, 2017

 'My best friend'

 Simpson said in closing remarks that he had been a peacemaker in the prison and had been a model prisoner.

 "I've spent nine years making no excuses about anything. I am sorry that things turned out the way they did. I had no intent to commit a crime."

 The parole hearing featured testimony from Arnelle Simpson, the former football great's oldest daughter, who said her father was "my best friend and my rock."

 Simpson also said he has taken two "Alternative to Violence" classes, which he said was "the most important course any person in this prison can take."

 In addition, robbery victim Bruce Fromong testified that he had forgiven Simpson for the crime at that Las Vegas hotel room, and advocated for his release.

 Simpson had also been described by authorities as a model prisoner at Lovelock Correctional Center, a medium-security prison in the Nevada desert.

 The robbery

 Simpson and an associate were convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon for attempting to steal pieces of Simpson sports memorabilia at gunpoint.

 At his 2008 sentencing, the Hall of Fame running back said he went to the room in the Palace Station Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to reclaim family heirlooms and other personal items that had been taken from him. He also claimed he didn't know his associates were armed.

 "I wasn't there to hurt anybody," Simpson said. "I just wanted my personal things, and I realize now that was stupid of me. I am sorry."

 The case, which featured a colorful cast of seedy characters, secret recordings and a Las Vegas heist, read like a low-budget parody of "Ocean's Eleven," CNN wrote at the time

 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson O.J. Simpson reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center on Thursday, July 20, in Lovelock, Nevada. Simpson is serving a nine-to-33-year prison term for a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping conviction. Click through the gallery to see moments from the notable life of the former football and media star. Hide Caption 1 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson As a University of Southern California running back, Simpson accepts the Heisman Trophy in December 1968. Hide Caption 2 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson, pictured in 1974, was a running back for the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977. Hide Caption 3 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson with his wife, Marguerite Whitley, his daughter Arnelle and son Jason, circa 1974. The couple were married from 1967 to 1979. They had another daughter, Aaren, who died as a toddler in a drowning accident. Hide Caption 4 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson in action during a Buffalo Bills game against the New York Jets. Hide Caption 5 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson married Nicole Brown Simpson in 1985. Here the couple appears at a Los Angeles nightclub around 1976. Hide Caption 6 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Coach Lou Sabin and O.J. Simpson Hide Caption 7 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson branched out into acting. He appears with Bill Murray, left, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris in a "Saturday Night Live" skit in 1978. Hide Caption 8 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson As a running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Simpson carries the ball against the Oakland Raiders during a preseason game circa 1978. Hide Caption 9 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson becomes a commentator on ABC's "Monday Night Football" in the mid-'80s. He appears with Joe Namath, left, and Frank Gifford. Hide Caption 10 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson and his children attend Nicole Brown Simpson's funeral in June 1994. Hide Caption 11 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Ronald Goldman was slain with Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson on June 12, 1994. Hide Caption 12 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson In footage seen on TV screens around the world, police chase a white Ford Bronco with a fugitive Simpson inside on the Los Angeles freeways on June 17, 1994. The Bronco eventually returned to Simpson's home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, and he surrendered to police on murder charges in the deaths of his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman. Hide Caption 13 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson's mug shot after his arrest on murder charges. Hide Caption 14 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Fans leave signs of support outside Simpson's house in June 1994. Hide Caption 15 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Lead defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. and prosecutor Marcia Clark face off during a hearing in the murder trial that riveted a nation. Hide Caption 16 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit" was defense attorney Cochran's mantra during the trial. Here, Simpson tries on a leather glove tied to the crime scene at his murder trial on June 15, 1995. Hide Caption 17 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson cheers with his attorneys F. Lee Bailey, left, and Johnnie Cochan Jr. on October 3, 1995, after being found not guilty of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Though cleared of criminal charges, a civil jury later slapped the former football star with a $33 million wrongful death judgment, and attorneys for the Goldman family have doggedly pursued his assets. Hide Caption 18 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson continued to encounter legal problems, including a "road rage" trial in the Miami area in October 2001. He was found not guilty on charges stemming from a traffic altercation with another motorist. Hide Caption 19 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson appears in court with attorneys Gabriel Grasso, left, and Yale Galanter before sentencing in the sports memorabilia case in December 2008 in Las Vegas. Simpson contended he was retrieving personal items that had been stolen from him and were being sold as memorabilia. He later accused Galanter of having a conflict of interest and failing to mount an effective defense. Hide Caption 20 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson The Palace Station hotel room, the scene of Simpson's reported confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers, is displayed on a monitor during Simpson's trial in September 2008. Hide Caption 21 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson embraces his sister, Carmelita Durio, while his friend Tom Scotto looks on in court after a guilty verdict was reached in October 2008. Simpson was convicted of leading a group of associates into a room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and using threats, guns and force to take back items from two dealers. Hide Caption 22 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Disgraced football star O.J. Simpson appears in court on May 13, 2013, seeking to get his robbery, assault and kidnapping convictions thrown out after spending more than four years in prison. He argued that bad legal advice led to his arrest and conviction in a confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers. His 2008 conviction came 13 years after his acquittal on murder charges in the deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Hide Caption 23 of 23

 Simpson's legal team argued that the nine-to-33-year sentence did not match the crime and that it was, in fact, a form of payback for his controversial acquittal in the deaths of Brown and Goldman. Even Bruce Fromong, a victim in the robbery, agreed.

 "It wasn't about justice," Fromong said in "O.J.: Made in America." "They wanted the guy that got away with murder in 1994."

 Simpson has always denied he killed Brown and Goldman. Their families won a wrongful death civil judgment against him in 1997.

 At a parole hearing in 2013, Simpson said he regretted the Las Vegas kidnapping and robbery.

 "I just wish I had never gone to that room. I wish I had just said, 'Keep it,' and not worry about it," he said. ||||| 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. ||||| Tweet with a location

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What is a shorter version of the above article?

– OJ Simpson's big moment has arrived. A hearing is underway at which he is trying to convince members of the Nevada Board of Parole that he should go free. "I haven't made any excuses in the nine years that I've been here and I'm not trying to make an excuse now," said the 70-year-old Simpson early in the proceedings, per the AP. Later, he added, "I am sorry that things turned out the way they did. I had no intent to commit a crime." He also appeared to stifle a sob in his appeal to the board. Simpson has been imprisoned since 2008 over an armed robbery and kidnapping case, but he and many legal analysts think that the board will vote to release him. If so, he's expected to be out on Oct. 1. The televised hearing is being livestreamed at various sites, including CNN. Per CNN, one of the first questions posed to Simpson by a board member in regard to the robbery, in which he and other men entered a Vegas hotel room to reclaim sports memorabilia, was, "What were you thinking?" Simpson called it a "big mistake" and emphasized that he wasn't armed. "I would never pull a gun on anybody." He insisted that he learned only afterward that one of the men with him, who was "behind me," brandished a gun. Another board member noted that he hadn't taken an alcohol-abuse program as he promised he would at his last hearing. Other Simpson quotes: "I'm at a point in my life where all I want to do is spend as much time with my children." "I've basically spent a conflict-free life." Daughter Arnelle Simpson said her father is "remorseful," and she wants him to come home so they can "move forward," adding, "It's been hard."


Write an article based on this summary:

– A Connecticut-sized swath of oxygen-deprived waters off the Gulf Coast is a "poster child for how we are using and abusing our natural resources," says one researcher in Louisiana. In its 30th annual survey, the Louisiana Marine Consortium shows the dead zone has shrunk to about 5,000 square miles and may have stabilized, reports Reuters. (It previously measured as many as 8,200 square miles.) Still, the Gulf Coast dead zone remains second in size only to one off Finland; it extends along the Louisiana coastline from the Mississippi River Delta to the border with Texas. Since the 1960s, nitrogen fertilizer, mostly from Midwest cornfields, has been drawn into streams and rivers by rainwater and poured straight into the Gulf via the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers, the Times-Picayune explains. There it feeds algae blooms that turn oxygen into carbon dioxide when it decays—poor conditions for fish and shrimp. Nitrates and nitrogen levels continue to increase, the scientists say. The EPA has tried to shrink the dead zone to 1,991 square miles since 2001 and isn’t making progress. Environmental groups have sued the agency to force its hand in adopting needed regulations to reduce harmful runoff. "We keep being told by both regulators and industry that a hands-off approach … is working just fine, but the Dead Zone is clearly not going away," one attorney tells the Times-Picayune. Louisiana legislators claim the dead zone is natural and want to remove its Gulf waters from the "impaired waters list," reports Nature World News. Activists say similarly harmful algae blooms in both Ohio and Florida prove current efforts aren’t working. (In other bad news about algae blooms, toxic blooms are so common in Ohio that summertime swimming bans are "routine.")

This year's low-oxygen "dead zone" along Louisiana coast covers 5,052 square miles, an area the size of the state of Connecticut but about 800 square miles less than the 2013 dead zone, according to a week-long survey released Monday.

 The finding, by a team of scientists led by Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium Director Nancy Rabalais, is within the range estimated in late June by scientists who based their prediction on measurements of the amount of nutrients carried in May by the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. The dead zone is mostly caused by excessive nitrogen, mainly from Midwest agricultural runoff.

 Based on the 2014 results, the five-year average size of the low-oxygen area is 5,543 square miles, which is almost three times larger than the target set by a federal/state Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force in 2001 as part of a national effort to reduce the size of the dead zone. The task force goal of reducing the low oxygen zone to 1,991 square miles, or 5,000 square kilometers, was reconfirmed in 2008, but has never been met.

 "The Mississippi River discharge levels and associated nutrient data, supplied in May by the USGS, pointed to an average size hypoxia area based on the inputs which fuel mid-summer's dead zone algal growth," Rabalais said in a separate news release issued Monday by NOAA.

 "If the heavy rains in the Upper Midwest in June and the record high nitrate concentration in the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge on July 18 had coincided with a later survey, chances are that the area would have been larger," she said. "The high phytoplankton biomass and large area of fresher water would have eventually led to more bottom-water hypoxia."

 This is the 30th year that Rabalais' LUMCON team has measured the size of the Louisiana dead zone. Louisiana State University and Florida State University scientists participated in this year's cruise.

 The research was paid for by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency's Gulf of Mexico Program and the National Science Foundation.

 The size of the low-oxygen area drew an immediate response from several environmental groups that have sued the Environmental Protection Agency in an attempt to get the agency to adopt regulations that would reduce nutrients flowing into the Mississippi by adopting numeric standards for the amount of nitrogen flowing in the river.

 "We keep being told by both regulators and industry that a hands-off approach to dealing with the algae pollution fueling the Dead Zone is working just fine, but the Dead Zone is clearly not going away," said Ann Alexander, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "As we've seen this week with the drinking water problems in Toledo, we need to take the algae pollution problem more seriously and get tough about regulating it."

 Alexander was referring to a ban on the use of tap water that the city of Toledo instituted on Sunday after toxic algae was found in the city's water supply. The algae was tracked to blooms in Lake Erie that scientists believe have been fueled by similar nutrient runoff from agriculture operations and from sewage treatment plants.

 "Unfortunately, states and EPA have generally been ignoring or opposing efforts to get more stringent measures in place to deal with the nutrient problem in the Mississippi River basin and nationwide, most recently in their opposition to our lawsuit filed in Louisiana aimed at getting water quality standards in place as a first step to getting this mess cleaned up," Alexander said.

 Matt Rota, senior policy director with the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, which is one of the plaintiffs in the nutrient lawsuit against the EPA, criticized Louisiana officials, including Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, for actions they've taken to block some EPA nutrient regulation proposals.

 "While it is known that Louisiana is not one of the top contributors of Dead Zone-causing pollution, that is where the biggest impacts are felt," Rota said. "Despite this impact, Louisiana is simply not doing enough to make upriver polluters stop polluting the Gulf.

 "Louisiana and other Mississippi River states are years behind in developing numeric criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus pollution," he said. "We see most of the Mississippi River states dragging their feet, claiming that voluntary actions alone can clean up the Dead Zone. If the past decade of 'Action Plans' and 'reduction strategies' is any indication, this simply isn't working.

 "It is obvious that if the states don't want to address this issue, EPA must act, and regretfully we aren't seeing significant action from EPA either." Rota said.

 State Department of Environmental Quality officials overseeing nutrient pollution regulations were unavailable for comment on Monday.

 In a Monday news release, the scientists said this year's low-oxygen zone is located in two separate areas, with the largest one stretching across central and southeastern Louisiana between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers. The smaller area is located off southwestern Louisiana.

 The low oxygen area contains less than 2 parts per million of oxygen in water at the Gulf's bottom, a condition scientists call hypoxia. The lack of oxygen kills organisms that live on or in the bottom sediment and can cause shrimp, fish and other organisms that live in the water column to avoid the low-oxygen areas.

 "The number of dead zones throughout the world has been increasing in the last several decades and currently totals over 550," Rabalais said in the LUMCON release. "The dead zone off the Louisiana coast is the second largest human-caused coastal hypoxic area in the global ocean."

 A combination of physical and chemical processes cause the low-oxygen conditions.

 Rainwater in the Midwest captures nitrogen fertilizer as it flows across farmland into small streams and rivers and eventually into the Mississippi and Atchafalaya.

 As it exits both rivers into the Gulf of Mexico, the fresh water tends to stay on top of the saltier Gulf water until mixed by storms or hurricanes.

 The nutrients act as food for huge blooms of algae along the shoreline. When the algae dies, it sinks to the bottom and decomposes, with the decomposition process turning oxygen into carbon dioxide, dropping the oxygen levels to near zero.

 "The amount of nutrient loading from the river increased considerably in the 1960s as a result of more intense agricultural activity in the watershed," the scientists' release said. While the amount of nitrogen in the river has stabilized in recent years, it's still increasing, and the amount of nitrate among the nutrients in the water also is increasing.

 The higher nitrate levels are consistent with higher levels of phytoplankton algae being measured in the Gulf waters where hypoxia is occurring, the news release said.

 "Reducing the size of the hypoxic area requires, therefore, changes in land use," the news release said. "Pilot projects and recent development have demonstrated that this can be done for crops with benefits for farm communities, soil health, erosion reduction, and without compromising yields or profit."

 Researchers warned that the continuous flow of nutrients, year after year, also results in some of the nitrogen being stored in sediments, where it can be released in later years, adding to the nutrients causing algae blooms.

 Rabalais' team found that the discharge of water from the Mississippi this year was near the long-term average since 1935, and that there was a slightly lower nitrate concentration measured this year at Baton Rouge. However, the amount of water flowing out of the river just before the three-week measurement period was slightly above average and the nitrate concentration had reached a near-record high.

 "The late burst of nutrient loading and freshwater discharge generated lush conditions for phytoplankton growth off the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers," the researchers said. They added that the effects of that growth were exacerbated by recent wind and current directions that pushed Atchafalaya River water to the east, where it joined with Mississippi River water between the two river mouths. ||||| ORLANDO, Fla. Aug 5 (Reuters) - Scientists say a man-made "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is as big as the state of Connecticut.

 The zone, which at about 5,000 square miles (13,000 sq km) is the second largest in the world but still smaller than in previous years, is so named because it contains no oxygen, or too little, at the Gulf floor to support bottom-dwelling fish and shrimp.

 The primary cause of the annual phenomenon is excess nutrient runoff from farms along the Mississippi River, which empties into the Gulf, said Gene Turner, a researcher at Louisiana State University's Coastal Ecology Institute.

 The nutrients feed algae growth, which consumes oxygen when it works its way to the Gulf bottom, he said.

 "It's a poster child for how we are using and abusing our natural resources," Turner said.

 Turner said the zone has at least twice in recent years reached the size of Massachusetts, about 8,200 square miles (21,000 sq km).

 The Gulf dead zone, which fluctuates in size but measured 5,052 square miles this summer, is exceeded only by a similar zone in the Baltic Sea around Finland, Turner said.

 The number of dead zones worldwide currently totals more than 550 and has been increasing for decades, according to a report by Turner and Nancy Rabalais from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.

 The elongated Gulf zone typically hugs the Louisiana coastline from the Mississippi River Delta to the state's border with Texas, and some years extending offshore of Texas and Mississippi, Rabalais said.

 The scientists said a growth in farmed land along the Mississippi River in the 1960s began increasing pollution. In the 1970s, levels of oxygen in parts of the Gulf fell below the needs of bottom-dwelling fish. The zone has been generally growing ever since.

 Floods, droughts, storms and other factors affect the volume of nutrients flowing into the Gulf and account for year-over-year fluctuations, Turner said.

 "It seems to have leveled out in size, but it could get worse" depending on changes in pollution levels, Rabalais said.

 The report said federal farm policy impacts the amount of pollution in the river. Turner said corn fields, which lay bare most of the year and leach nutrients, are one of the biggest contributors to the problem.

 A federal task force organized with river states in 2001 to reduce nutrient runoff has had no substantial success, he said. (Editing by Karen Brooks and Sandra Maler) ||||| Researchers who annually measure the oxygen deprived "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico have recently found that this year it is nearly as large as the state of Connecticut. That's three times larger than an anticipated 2015 target size. (Photo : Pixabay)

 Researchers who annually measure the oxygen deprived "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico have recently found that this year it is nearly as large as the state of Connecticut. That's three times larger than an anticipated 2015 target size.

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 The Gulf Dead Zone is a huge swath of the Gulf of Mexico just west of the Mississippi River Delta that is nearly devoid of oxygen and proportionally saturated with nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.

 Containing barely any oxygen, these regions become absent of "commercial quantities" of shrimp and fish, according to the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMC). A LUMC assessment of the Dead Zone this year showed that it has grown to an average 5,500 square miles over the last five years. And while this growth falls into recent models based on current nitrogen measurements, it is still three times larger than the environmental target set by a federal task force in 2001, dedicated to keeping the zone controlled.

 So what exactly makes a dead zone? According to the LUMC and the NOAA, dead zones are created by hypoxia (oxygenic depletion) and occur naturally all over the world - including in the fjords, deep basins and near intense upwelling systems. However, research has found that their occurrence in shallow coastal regions has increased in the last few decades as the result of human activities. In fact, it is thought that the Gulf Dead Zone is the second largest unnatural (or unnaturally augmented) dead zone in the world, with pollution coming from the Mississippi Delta bullying oxygen out of this environment.

 "While it is known that Louisiana is not one of the top contributors of dead zone-causing pollution, that is where the biggest impacts are felt," Matt Rota, Senior Policy Director for the Gulf Restoration Network, said in a recent statement.

 "Currently we are seeing the impacts of nitrogen and phosphorous pollution, not only off the Louisiana coast, but throughout the country," he added. "From undrinkable water in Toledo to a 4,000 square mile toxic Red Tide looming off the coast of Florida, it is obvious that current efforts to reduce harmful nitrogen and phosphorous pollution are not adequate."

 Rota associates unnatural dead zones with the oxygen deprivation caused by some harmful algae blooms.

 However, despite initiatives launched by conservation groups and the Environmental Protection Agency, it is important to note that Louisiana legislation has recently tried to remove the state's Gulf Waters from their "impaired waters list," citing contradictory scientific work that claims that, at least in part, the Gulf Dead Zone may be a natural occurrence. |||||


Article:

New York's highest court will consider legal arguments by a strip club on whether nude dancing is an art and deserves a state tax exemption as such.

 The case set for oral arguments Wednesday involves Nite Moves, an adult entertainment club in suburban Albany that contested a tax bill of more than $124,000 following a 2005 audit.

 Tax officials say sales taxes were paid on the club's non-alcoholic drinks, but are also owed on admission and so-called "couch sales," where patrons pay for private or lap dances.

 Nite Moves claims the dances are exempt under state tax law as "live dramatic or musical arts performances." The exemption also applies to theater or ballet. The club is relying on testimony from a cultural anthropologist who has studied exotic dance and visited Nite Moves.

 W. Andrew McCullough, an attorney for Nite Moves, said the impact of the eventual court ruling probably won't be widespread because most establishments featuring exotic dancers sell alcohol where other tax rules apply.

 An administrative law judge previously agreed with Nite Moves, saying that "the fact that the dancers remove all or part of their costume ... simply does not render such dance routines as something less than choreographed performances."

 But the state Tax Appeals Tribunal said the club didn't present sufficient proof that it qualifies for the exemption, and a mid-level court upheld the tribunal ruling last year.

 "In our view, there can be no serious question that _ at a bare minimum _ petitioner failed to meet its burden of establishing that the private dances offered at its club were choreographed performances," the Appellate Division court ruled. The four justices also found "no merit" to the club's constitutional claims.

 The appellate court also noted that the club dancers are not required to have any formal dance training and that the anthropologist didn't see any of the dances done in private rooms.

 Cary Zeitner, a spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance, said the agency is not aware of any other cases in state court similar to the Nite Moves case.

 The court typically takes about a month to issue a decision. ||||| The answer may seem obvious, but it has attorneys in Albany arguing: How is a ballerina different from a pole dancer?

 New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, will hear arguments on Wednesday in a case pitting the state's Department of Taxation and Finance against a strip club called Nite Moves that is situated about 15 minutes from the state Capitol.

 The issue: whether the club's $11 cover charge and $20, three-minute lap dances are subject to an 8% sales tax.

 The seven-judge panel is being asked to interpret an obscure part of the state tax code that exempts sales-tax charges for "dramatic or musical art performances." The state wants the court to prevent strip clubs from using the same sales-tax exemption as the New York City Ballet.

 New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office is representing the tax department. While noting that some "pole tricks" are "difficult to perform," state attorneys wrote in a court brief that some Nite Moves dancers "have no prior dance experience at all and simply learn moves from other dancers during slow shifts over time."

 Such a dancer isn't "engaged in a genuine choreographic dance performance when she removes her clothing," the brief said. "In fact," it added, "some patrons paid the admission fee simply to come in and enjoy a conversation with the dancers."

 Representing Nite Moves is Andrew McCullough, an Albany native who is one of the nation's premier attorneys for adult-themed businesses. The tax man, he said, is behaving too much like a dance critic.

 "If they've spent hours and hours practicing and learning this stuff, and if they can flip around and do amazing moves, why aren't they choreographed dance performers?" Mr. McCullough said.

 "Under their code," said the club's CFO Stephen Dick, "Eric Clapton, who didn't go to school to learn guitar, his performances would be taxable."

 The attorney general's office declined to comment.

 Nite Moves opened in 1997 in Latham, N.Y., and features cushy barrel chairs, dark wood, brass sconces and framed erotic artwork. The establishment serves nonalcoholic drinks, allowing dancers to perform nude.

 The legal fight started in 2005 when the state audited the club's taxes and found that it owed about $400,000 for not charging sales tax on the cover and dances. The club challenged the audit in administrative tax court, and an administrative law judge sided with the club in 2008. On appeal, a tax tribunal struck down that decision; an appeals court upheld the tribunal's ruling. Last year, the Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case.

 Wednesday's oral arguments will pit the attorney general's office against Mr. McCullough, who describes himself as a "teetotaling Mormon."

 "I know I'm not supposed to be watching naked dancers," he said, though he goes to clubs often anyway.

 Mr. McCullough, 64 years old, spends most of his time in Utah, where he operates a law practice—right above a lingerie and novelty boutique—and represents other adult-entertainment clients. In his spare time, he is making a second bid for Utah attorney general as a Libertarian Party candidate. He received 4% of the vote in 2008.

 Mr. McCullough said Nite Moves isn't a garden variety gentlemen's club.

 "Nite Moves girls…work at it, and when you see the finished product, you can't help but say, 'These girls are good,'" he said.

 Don't take his word for it. He recruited expert witness Judith Hanna, a University of Maryland anthropologist and dance theorist who has observed dancers at hundreds of clubs in her research. After watching a DVD of Nite Moves dancers, she testified before a lower court that the routines displayed "choreographic patterns of exotic dance," according to court papers. One dancer, she said, executed 61 moves in the course of three songs.

 The New York case represents a trend for strip clubs, as cash-strapped statehouses crack down on a target with few friends in government.

 In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn just signed a bill forcing strip clubs to pay a $3-per-customer fee to help fund rape crisis centers. Texas and Utah have imposed a similar "pole tax." At least five other states, including California, are weighing similar measures.

 Nite Moves is getting a helping hand from another tax department target, the proprietors of "Larry Flynt's Hustler Club," whose lawyers filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Mr. McCullough's petition.

 "Whatever happens here is going to frame the debate going forward," said Michigan-based Bradley Shafer, an attorney for the Hustler club in Manhattan.

 But other allies haven't stepped forward. "No one is going to stand up for the rights of a strip club," Mr. Dick said. "We're always an easy target."

 Write to Jacob Gershman at jacob.gershman@wsj.com |||||
What is a summary?

– Nude dancing is an art and should be tax-free, just like ballet performances, according to a strip club in upstate New York. Lawyers for Albany's Nite Moves will appear before the state's highest court today to argue that it doesn't need to pay sales tax on admission fees or lap dances, reports the AP. The club claims the dances are exempt under part of the tax code covering "live dramatic or musical arts performances"—and it has a cultural anthropologist as an expert witness. Before a lower court, the anthropologist testified that she had observed "choreographic patterns of exotic dance" at the club, noting that one dancer executed 61 moves in the course of three songs, the Wall Street Journal reports. The tax department, however, argued that a nude dancer is not "engaged in a genuine choreographic dance performance when she removes her clothing." Whatever the court decides may not have much impact on other establishments, since Nite Moves only serves non-alcoholic drinks, putting it under a different part of the tax code than most other strip clubs.


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Shocking amount of sugar found in many hot flavoured drinks

 Up to 25 teaspoons of sugar per serving: equivalent to ≈ 3 cans of Coca Cola

 Embargoed until 00.01 on 17/02/2016

 9 8% of hot flavoured drinks would receive a ‘red’ (high) label for excessive levels of sugars per serving – with 35% containing the same amount or more sugar than a can of Coca Cola

 8% of hot flavoured drinks would receive a ‘red’ (high) label for excessive levels of sugars per serving – with 35% containing the same amount or more sugar than a can of Coca Cola Starbuck’s Hot Mulled Fruit - Grape with Chai, Orange and Cinnamon Venti is the worst offender, containing a whopping 25 teaspoons of sugar - more than THREE times the maximum ADULT daily intake of free sugars (7tsp/d)

 of sugar - more than times the maximum ADULT daily intake of free sugars (7tsp/d) With the imminent release of the government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy – Action on Sugar is calling for stricter product reformulation of sugar and fat with mandated targets, a ban on promotions and marketing of unhealthy products and a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened drinks

 For the data, click here

 For media coverage, click here

 With an estimated 1.7 billion cups of coffee sold each year in the UK from over 18,000 outlets and one in five of the population (including teenagers) visiting a coffee shop daily[1], campaign group Action on Sugar is today warning of the dangerously high sugar content of certain hot beverages found in many high street coffee shop chains.

 This new research by Action on Sugar shows that 98% of the 131 hot flavoured drinks analysed would receive a ‘red’ (high) label for excessive levels of sugars[2] per serving as sold.[3]

 What’s more, 35% of the hot flavoured drinks contain the same amount or more sugars than Coca Cola, which contains a massive 9 teaspoons of sugar per can[4] – equivalent to 7 chocolate biscuits.[5]

 The worst offender is the Starbuck’s Hot Mulled Fruit - Grape with Chai, Orange and Cinnamon Venti (extra-large) – a mix of chai and fruit concentrate, topped with a cinnamon stick and a slice of orange – which contains 25 teaspoons of sugar (that’s the equivalent of sugar in 5 muffins)[6], followed by Costa Coffee’s Chai Latte (large) with a massive 20 teaspoons of sugar. Interestingly, a Starbuck’s Hot Mulled Fruit - Grape with Chai, Orange and Cinnamon Tall (medium) has almost half the amount of sugar than the larger sized cup (13 vs 25 tsp).

 Worst offenders for each type of flavoured hot drink per serving:

 Café Drink Category Sugars per serving (g) Teaspoons of sugar per serving** Starbucks Hot Mulled Fruit - Grape with Chai, Orange and Cinnamon - Venti Hot Mulled Fruit 99.0 25 Costa Chai Latte - Massimo - Eat In Chai Latte 79.7* 20 Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha with Whipped Cream - Venti White Mocha 73.8* 18 Starbucks Signature Hot Chocolate - Venti Hot Chocolate 60.0* 15 KFC Mocha Mocha 58.8* 15 Caffe Nero Caramelatte – Drink In Caramel Latte 50.6* 13

 * Contains some sugars (lactose) naturally occurring in the milk.

 ** 4 grams of sugar is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar.

 Worryingly, from the entire out-of-home hot drinks surveyed, 55% contain the equivalent, or more than, the maximum daily recommended amount of sugars for an adult and teenager (30g – 7tsp/d).

 When it comes to hot drinks that are perceived to be ‘healthy’, a Starbuck’s Chai Tea Latte Venti (extra-large) contains 13 teaspoons of sugar per serving alongside Eat’s Chai Latte Big and Matcha Latte Big at 11 teaspoons.

 Starbucks sells two sizes larger than a typical medium serving size of 340ml, at 454ml & 568ml – adding to the excessive sugar intake in many of its hot flavoured drinks. These serving sizes are much larger than those offered by its competitors. It is time coffee chains stopped serving extra-large cups of sugar-laden hot drinks.

 Despite the negative attention that the likes of Starbucks, Costa and Caffe Nero attracted last year after reports that some of their Christmas drinks were full of fat and sugar, it’s clear that little has been done to rectify the situation and reduce sugar ladened drinks from their menus.[7]

 Professor Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, Chair of Action on Sugar says, “This is yet again another example of scandalous amount of sugar added to our food and drink. No wonder we have the highest rates of obesity in Europe. “Cameron now has all the evidence to make the UK the first country in the world to stop the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemic. To do this Cameron has to be radical and follow every single action that we have set out in our comprehensive plan (see below). Otherwise it will be the final nail in an already bankrupt NHS.”

 Kawther Hashem, Registered Nutritionist and Researcher for Action on Sugar says, “Coffee shop chains must immediately reduce the amount of sugar in these hot drinks, improve their labelling and stop selling the extra-large serving sizes.

 “These hot flavoured drinks should be an occasional treat, not an ‘everyday’ drink. They are laden with an unbelievable amount sugar and calories and are often accompanied by a high sugar and fat snack. It is not surprising that we have the highest rate of obesity in Europe. Our advice to consumers is to have a plain hot drink or ask for your drink to contain a minimal amount of syrup, preferably sugar free, in the smallest serving size available.”

 Nicola Close, Chief Executive of the Association of Directors of Public Health says, “These results highlight the need for more transparency on sugar content and compulsory labelling of sugar content. Drinkers deserve to know how much sugar they are consuming.”

 Starbucks spokesperson says, “Earlier this year we committed to reduce added sugar in our indulgent drinks by 25% by the end of 2020. We also offer a wide variety of lighter options, sugar-free syrups and sugar-free natural sweetener and we display all nutritional information in-store and online."

 Pret’s Orange Spiced Hot Chocolate and Orange Spiced Latte were delisted at the beginning of January as they were seasonal specials.

 Ends

 “Cameron’s” comprehensive plan

 Cameron has promised a robust and evidence-based plan for the UK to prevent childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.

 To do this:

 He must set up an independent agency for nutrition not controlled by the food industry (i.e. the opposite of the failed ‘Responsibility Deal’).

 This agency would be responsible for reformulating with a 50% reduction in sugar and a 20% reduction in fat in all unhealthy drinks and foods within 5 years.

 The agency would be responsible for banning of all forms of advertising/marketing/promotion of unhealthy foods and drinks to children and adolescents.

 The agency with the Treasury would be responsible for a hypothecated 20% duty on all sugar-sweetened drinks.

 The agency would also be responsible for uniform colour-coded labelling on all foods and drinks, both bought in supermarkets and out-of-home.

 For more information contact:

 National PR – David Clarke @ Rock PR

 E: david@rock-pr.com M: 07773 225516

 Website http://www.actiononsugar.org/

 Tweet https://twitter.com/actiononsugar #LessSugar

 Notes to Editors: ||||| Some of the hot drinks contained more than 20 teaspoons of sugars., it said.

 It's "yet again another example of scandalous amounts of sugar added to our food and drink," said Graham MacGregor, Action on Sugar chairman.

 The top offender was Starbucks, which had seven of the 10 worst offenders. Its Venti Grape with Chai, Orange and Cinnamon Hot Mulled Fruit, contains a whopping 99 grams of sugar – the equivalent of 25 teaspoons — per serving, the group said.

 Starbucks' Chai Latte Venti had 13 teaspoons, according to the group.

 Action on Sugar says Starbucks promotes that drink as a healthy option. |||||

– Have some hot beverage with your sugar. That's the roundabout finding of a UK health advocacy organization that discovered hot flavored drinks served by chains like Starbucks, McDonald's, and Dunkin' Donuts can contain a "shocking" amount of sugar—sometimes up to 25 teaspoons per serving, or more than three times the recommended daily amount for adults, per CNNMoney. The Action on Sugar report analyzed 131 hot flavored drinks from UK chains—CNN points out nutritional info on company websites would make results similar in the US—and found that 98% of the tested beverages would get slapped with a "red" label for excessive amounts of sugar, with 35% of them boasting at least the same amount of sugar as a can of Coke (9 teaspoons). "These hot flavored drinks should be an occasional treat, not an everyday drink," an Action for Sugar researcher warns. Starbucks claimed the worst of the bunch with its hot mulled fruit grape drink with orange, chai, and cinnamon—the 25-teaspoon suspect mentioned earlier. A Starbucks rep says it is committed to cutting down by a quarter the amount of added sugar in its "indulgent" beverages by 2020 and notes that it "also [offers] a wide variety of lighter options, sugar-free syrups, and sugar-free natural sweetener" and makes all of its nutritional data public. That doesn't sweeten the results for the Action on Sugar chairman, who says it's "yet again another example of scandalous amounts of sugar added to our food and drink," per CNBC. (No one can figure out what Starbucks' newest drink even is.)