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A Muslim student has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department claiming she was tackled by officers who tore her hijab from her face and head because they thought she was a terrorist. (Published Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016)
A Muslim student has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department, claiming she was accosted by officers who tore her hijab from her face and head.
Itemid Al-Matar was on her way home to celebrate the end of Ramadan but was taken to the ground by police while trying to board a Chicago Transit Authority train in an incident that was caught on camera. The student believes police officers thought she was a terrorist.
“Her hijab was torn from her face and head, exposing her face to the public contrary to her religious beliefs,” according to a release from her attorney Gregory Kulis.
Kulis said Al-Matar was charged with several counts of disorderly conduct but was later found not guilty during a court trial.
Al-Matar also alleged that while in custody at the police station she was forced to remove her clothing and strip down to her undergarments as photos were taken of her.
Chicago police declined to comment, saying it “cannot comment on pending lawsuits.” ||||| Muslim woman claims she was ‘attacked’ by police, sues
This still frame, taken from a CTA surveillance video posted on YouTube, shows Itemid Al Matar just before she is grabbed and handcuffed by Chicago police at the State/Lake stop on the Loop L.
A young Muslim woman is suing a group of Chicago Police officers for religious discrimination over her arrest in a CTA stairwell during which the officers allegedly ripped off her hijab.
Itemid “Angel” Al Matar filed her federal lawsuit Thursday against six officers and the city, claiming she also became a victim of CPD’s code of silence when she was falsely arrested at the State and Lake station on the Fourth of July 2015.
Her lawyer, Gregory Kulis, told reporters that police wrongly suspected her of being a “lone-wolf suicide bomber.”
A YouTube video shows several officers tackling Al Matar as she climbed the CTA stairs that day. The arrest blocked the path of other would-be CTA riders, who stood and watched a portion of the arrest.
Al Matar’s lawsuit alleges she saw the group of officers point at her, but she walked past them. She said they grabbed her on the stair landing, “pulling at her and ripping off her hijab.”
A news release from CAIR-Chicago indicates the arrest happened during Ramadan, when Al Matar was “trying to catch the train to go home to break her fast by sunset.” She says she committed no crime, and the press release states she was later found not guilty of resisting arrest and reckless conduct.
A CPD spokesman released a statement Thursday afternoon, saying, “While CPD does not comment on pending or proposed litigation our officers work hard each day to investigate suspicious activity and fight crime. We strive to treat all individuals with the highest levels of dignity and respect.” | – A Muslim woman is suing the city of Chicago and six police officers claiming they assaulted her at a train station. Itemid "Angel" Al-Matar's lawsuit, filed Thursday, claims officers grabbed her as she climbed the stairs of the downtown CTA State/Lake stop on July 4, 2015, then slammed her to the ground. A surveillance video shows five officers approach Al-Matar from behind; one grabs her left shoulder and takes her down, reports the Chicago Tribune. The officers then appear to search the 32-year-old, who was in religious garb. Her suit claims police removed her hijab and niqab, exposed her stomach, and later took photos of her in her undergarments, per NBC Chicago. The police report references a tip that she was a "lone wolf suicide bomber." Al-Matar, who moved from Saudi Arabia in 2014, was arrested and charged with reckless conduct—a judge later dismissed that charge—and multiple counts of obstructing justice, of which she was found not guilty. A rep for Chicago's Council on American-Islamic Relations says police "should not be in the business of attempting to protect us against people who look different." Al-Matar says simply, "I don't want that nightmare to happen again." A police rep would not comment directly on the case but tells the Chicago Sun-Times that officers "work hard each day to investigate suspicious activity and fight crime" and "strive to treat all individuals with the highest levels of dignity and respect." | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.A Muslim student has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department claiming she was tackled by officers who tore her hijab from her face and head because they thought she was a terrorist. (Published Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016)
A Muslim student has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department, claiming she was accosted by officers who tore her hijab from her face and head.
Itemid Al-Matar was on her way home to celebrate the end of Ramadan but was taken to the ground by police while trying to board a Chicago Transit Authority train in an incident that was caught on camera. The student believes police officers thought she was a terrorist.
“Her hijab was torn from her face and head, exposing her face to the public contrary to her religious beliefs,” according to a release from her attorney Gregory Kulis.
Kulis said Al-Matar was charged with several counts of disorderly conduct but was later found not guilty during a court trial.
Al-Matar also alleged that while in custody at the police station she was forced to remove her clothing and strip down to her undergarments as photos were taken of her.
Chicago police declined to comment, saying it “cannot comment on pending lawsuits.” ||||| Muslim woman claims she was ‘attacked’ by police, sues
This still frame, taken from a CTA surveillance video posted on YouTube, shows Itemid Al Matar just before she is grabbed and handcuffed by Chicago police at the State/Lake stop on the Loop L.
A young Muslim woman is suing a group of Chicago Police officers for religious discrimination over her arrest in a CTA stairwell during which the officers allegedly ripped off her hijab.
Itemid “Angel” Al Matar filed her federal lawsuit Thursday against six officers and the city, claiming she also became a victim of CPD’s code of silence when she was falsely arrested at the State and Lake station on the Fourth of July 2015.
Her lawyer, Gregory Kulis, told reporters that police wrongly suspected her of being a “lone-wolf suicide bomber.”
A YouTube video shows several officers tackling Al Matar as she climbed the CTA stairs that day. The arrest blocked the path of other would-be CTA riders, who stood and watched a portion of the arrest.
Al Matar’s lawsuit alleges she saw the group of officers point at her, but she walked past them. She said they grabbed her on the stair landing, “pulling at her and ripping off her hijab.”
A news release from CAIR-Chicago indicates the arrest happened during Ramadan, when Al Matar was “trying to catch the train to go home to break her fast by sunset.” She says she committed no crime, and the press release states she was later found not guilty of resisting arrest and reckless conduct.
A CPD spokesman released a statement Thursday afternoon, saying, “While CPD does not comment on pending or proposed litigation our officers work hard each day to investigate suspicious activity and fight crime. We strive to treat all individuals with the highest levels of dignity and respect.” | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 23,457 |
JetBlue has announced it will begin offering roundtrip flights to Cuba out of New York's Kennedy Airport each week.
The Queens-based airline becomes the first major carrier to announce a new flight to Cuba from New York since travel restrictions were recently eased. The flights will begin July 3.
The flight to Havana will leave JFK at noon each Friday, with a scheduled landing time of 3:30 p.m. at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. A return flight each Friday departs Havana at 4:30 p.m. and lands in New York at 8 p.m.
While operated by JetBlue, the flight is being offered by Cuba Travel Services, and travelers should make arrangements directly with the carrier service provider at cubatravelservices.com.
Cuomo, NY Companies Look to Expand Business Relationships in Cuba
Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrapped up his whirlwind trade mission to Cuba on Tuesday, laying the groundwork for trade between New York businesses and the communist island nation. Government Affairs Reporter Melissa Russo reports from Mariel, Cuba. (Published Tuesday, April 21, 2015)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his recent trade mission to Cuba was aimed to developing new economic opportunities, and "JetBlue's exciting announcement today is proof that our approach is delivering results for New York businesses."
Thet JetBlue charter flight to Cuba will be on an Airbus 150-seat A320. ||||| For the first time in five decades, the U.S. is allowing ferry service between Florida and Cuba.
At least four companies said they were notified Tuesday of approvals by the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments, the first since Washington imposed a trade embargo on Cuba.
Licensed were Havana Ferry Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Baja Ferries of Miami, United Caribbean Lines Florida of Greater Orlando and Airline Brokers Co. of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
A Treasury spokeswoman confirmed approval of ferry licenses but would not say how many were approved. Cuba also must approve the operations.
"I'm very excited, because this is a historical event in U.S.-Cuba relations," said Havana Ferry's managing partner, Leonard Moecklin Sr.
The ferry companies plan to offer trips that would be less expensive than charter flights, while allowing more luggage free. Many Cuban-Americans haul down hefty supplies for family homes and new private businesses.
Doreen Hemlock / Sun Sentinel Cuban stilt dancers entertain tourists and residents on a street in Old Havana. Cuban stilt dancers entertain tourists and residents on a street in Old Havana. (Doreen Hemlock / Sun Sentinel) (Doreen Hemlock / Sun Sentinel)
President Obama since Dec. 17 has moved to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba and has eased travel and trade. The passenger ferries will be able to carry only authorized U.S. travelers to Cuba, including people in 12 categories who no longer need a license in advance to visit. Those categories include family visits as well as religious and educational activities, among others.
Americans still are not allowed to travel to Cuba for general tourism under the terms of the U.S. embargo, which remains in place. Only Congress can lift the embargo.
Here's what companies are planning:
• Havana Ferry Partners hopes to launch its ferry service between Key West and Havana within weeks, possibly with a 200-passenger vessel, Moecklin said.
It also plans to add overnight ferry service later from Fort Lauderdale and Miami to Havana using a larger vessel that could carry 300 to 500 passengers, Moecklin said. Plus, it's eyeing Port Manatee on Tampa Bay as a gateway with Cuba.
Prices are not set, but Moecklin said Havana Ferry aims to charge passengers roughly $300 to $350 roundtrip, less than the roughly $400 to $500 price for charter flights to Cuba. Passengers could be allowed up to 200 pounds of luggage free.
"We don't know the costs yet, because we don't know the costs on the Cuban side," Moecklin said. "I'm booking my flight to Cuba now" for talks with Cuban officials, he said.
• Baja Ferries USA, an affiliate of United Americas of Miami, is looking to launch overnight service to Cuba possibly three times a week. It has held meetings with Port Everglades, Port Manatee and other Florida seaports to offer service.
"We've been waiting for this," Baja Ferries executive Joe Hinson said of the license. The company already has ferry services in Mexico and between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
•United Caribbean Lines Florida, an Orlando area business, plans to "provide a comprehensive service from several ports," said president Bruce Nierenberg, a long-time cruise ship executive. He sees opportunities for passenger service to Cuba from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, the Tampa area and even from Port Canaveral in Central Florida.
• Airline Brokers Co., a veteran company licensed to provide travel services to Cuba since 1982, is now developing its ferry plans, president Vivian Mannerud said. She is looking at Port Everglades as a potential departure site to Havana, among other alternatives.
To date, at least five companies have applied for licenses to operate passenger ferry service between Florida and Cuba.
CubaKat, based in the Jacksonville area, expects to receive its license in the next month or so, president Brian Hall said Tuesday. The business applied for its license later than others.
CubaKat plans to start service from the Florida Keys this fall using a 200-passenger catamaran that can carry lots of baggage below deck. It has looked at serving Marathon Key but found problems with too few customs officials available there. It may operate instead from Key West, Hall said.
The catamaran ferries aim to offer passenger service for $169 each way, Hall said.
"We applaud everyone getting their ferry license, because we know ours is coming," Hall said. He said there's plenty of business for all of the companies applying for licenses and even more.
"One ferry company can't pull this off by itself, he said. "There's so many people who want to go to Cuba."
[email protected], 305-810-5009, @dhemlock on Twitter | – The US embargo on Cuba is still in place, but two developments today further suggest that its days are numbered: Ferry service: Two companies have gotten approval from the US to begin running ferries from Florida to Cuba for the first time in 50 years, reports the Sun Sentinel. The ferries can carry authorized travelers but still not regular tourists, at least while the embargo is still in place. A few other restrictions: No vehicles, and the boats must not make any stops in between. Weekly flight: JetBlue today announced it was adding a weekly flight from New York City to Havana, reports NBC New York. The flight will leave JFK at noon on Fridays starting in July, with a return flight getting home at 8pm. It's the first new flight by a major carrier since restrictions between the two countries were eased. Last month, President Obama shook hands with Cuba's Raul Castro. | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.JetBlue has announced it will begin offering roundtrip flights to Cuba out of New York's Kennedy Airport each week.
The Queens-based airline becomes the first major carrier to announce a new flight to Cuba from New York since travel restrictions were recently eased. The flights will begin July 3.
The flight to Havana will leave JFK at noon each Friday, with a scheduled landing time of 3:30 p.m. at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. A return flight each Friday departs Havana at 4:30 p.m. and lands in New York at 8 p.m.
While operated by JetBlue, the flight is being offered by Cuba Travel Services, and travelers should make arrangements directly with the carrier service provider at cubatravelservices.com.
Cuomo, NY Companies Look to Expand Business Relationships in Cuba
Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrapped up his whirlwind trade mission to Cuba on Tuesday, laying the groundwork for trade between New York businesses and the communist island nation. Government Affairs Reporter Melissa Russo reports from Mariel, Cuba. (Published Tuesday, April 21, 2015)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his recent trade mission to Cuba was aimed to developing new economic opportunities, and "JetBlue's exciting announcement today is proof that our approach is delivering results for New York businesses."
Thet JetBlue charter flight to Cuba will be on an Airbus 150-seat A320. ||||| For the first time in five decades, the U.S. is allowing ferry service between Florida and Cuba.
At least four companies said they were notified Tuesday of approvals by the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments, the first since Washington imposed a trade embargo on Cuba.
Licensed were Havana Ferry Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Baja Ferries of Miami, United Caribbean Lines Florida of Greater Orlando and Airline Brokers Co. of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
A Treasury spokeswoman confirmed approval of ferry licenses but would not say how many were approved. Cuba also must approve the operations.
"I'm very excited, because this is a historical event in U.S.-Cuba relations," said Havana Ferry's managing partner, Leonard Moecklin Sr.
The ferry companies plan to offer trips that would be less expensive than charter flights, while allowing more luggage free. Many Cuban-Americans haul down hefty supplies for family homes and new private businesses.
Doreen Hemlock / Sun Sentinel Cuban stilt dancers entertain tourists and residents on a street in Old Havana. Cuban stilt dancers entertain tourists and residents on a street in Old Havana. (Doreen Hemlock / Sun Sentinel) (Doreen Hemlock / Sun Sentinel)
President Obama since Dec. 17 has moved to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba and has eased travel and trade. The passenger ferries will be able to carry only authorized U.S. travelers to Cuba, including people in 12 categories who no longer need a license in advance to visit. Those categories include family visits as well as religious and educational activities, among others.
Americans still are not allowed to travel to Cuba for general tourism under the terms of the U.S. embargo, which remains in place. Only Congress can lift the embargo.
Here's what companies are planning:
• Havana Ferry Partners hopes to launch its ferry service between Key West and Havana within weeks, possibly with a 200-passenger vessel, Moecklin said.
It also plans to add overnight ferry service later from Fort Lauderdale and Miami to Havana using a larger vessel that could carry 300 to 500 passengers, Moecklin said. Plus, it's eyeing Port Manatee on Tampa Bay as a gateway with Cuba.
Prices are not set, but Moecklin said Havana Ferry aims to charge passengers roughly $300 to $350 roundtrip, less than the roughly $400 to $500 price for charter flights to Cuba. Passengers could be allowed up to 200 pounds of luggage free.
"We don't know the costs yet, because we don't know the costs on the Cuban side," Moecklin said. "I'm booking my flight to Cuba now" for talks with Cuban officials, he said.
• Baja Ferries USA, an affiliate of United Americas of Miami, is looking to launch overnight service to Cuba possibly three times a week. It has held meetings with Port Everglades, Port Manatee and other Florida seaports to offer service.
"We've been waiting for this," Baja Ferries executive Joe Hinson said of the license. The company already has ferry services in Mexico and between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
•United Caribbean Lines Florida, an Orlando area business, plans to "provide a comprehensive service from several ports," said president Bruce Nierenberg, a long-time cruise ship executive. He sees opportunities for passenger service to Cuba from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, the Tampa area and even from Port Canaveral in Central Florida.
• Airline Brokers Co., a veteran company licensed to provide travel services to Cuba since 1982, is now developing its ferry plans, president Vivian Mannerud said. She is looking at Port Everglades as a potential departure site to Havana, among other alternatives.
To date, at least five companies have applied for licenses to operate passenger ferry service between Florida and Cuba.
CubaKat, based in the Jacksonville area, expects to receive its license in the next month or so, president Brian Hall said Tuesday. The business applied for its license later than others.
CubaKat plans to start service from the Florida Keys this fall using a 200-passenger catamaran that can carry lots of baggage below deck. It has looked at serving Marathon Key but found problems with too few customs officials available there. It may operate instead from Key West, Hall said.
The catamaran ferries aim to offer passenger service for $169 each way, Hall said.
"We applaud everyone getting their ferry license, because we know ours is coming," Hall said. He said there's plenty of business for all of the companies applying for licenses and even more.
"One ferry company can't pull this off by itself, he said. "There's so many people who want to go to Cuba."
[email protected], 305-810-5009, @dhemlock on Twitter | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 18,952 |
By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
The owners of the Harrisville farm house whose haunted history is depicted in the 2013 film “The Conjuring” are being plagued by unwanted visitors – and not the supernatural kind.
Norma Sutcliffe says she and her husband are kept awake at night by trespassers who peer into their windows and sneak onto their property, trying to get a glimpse inside their home. Now they’re suing Warner Brothers.
“The movie industry just didn’t care,” Sutcliffe told WPRO in an interview last week. She said no one from Warner Brothers approached her or her husband prior to making the so-called “true life” movie about their home. She said because the movie creators used the real names of the previous owners and the actual location of her home in the film, people were easily able to find where she lived.
Since then, the people haven’t stopped coming.
RELATED:
“It really, really has taken away our entire sense of peace [and] privacy,” said Sutcliffe, who said some people have become confrontational with her when she asks them to leave her land. She has signs posted to try and keep people at bay, but even that doesn’t work.
“I live my life at the window, my entire time I’m in this house, I don’t even lay down anymore,” she said.
Now she wants Warner Brothers to help her and her husband regain their sense of security. She said she and her husband want to stay at their beloved home of 27 years and would like to get a full security system to try and protect it. She said she knows life won’t ever be the way it was before the movie, but she wants to see if they can restore their sense of peace.
Sutcliffe also has another gripe with Warner Brothers: she says the whole film is a fabrication and her home isn’t in the least bit haunted.
“We’ve been victimized by a huge industry that just doesn’t care,” she said. “That’s the problem – this stigma will be on this house forever.” ||||| The couple who live in the house that inspired the horror movie "The Conjuring" are suing Warner Brothers, claiming the movie has done nothing but cause problems for them.
Norma Sutcliffe said dozens of overzealous fans trespass on her property each month.
"They somehow feel that they have a right to be on this property by any means that they choose," said Sutcliffe. "It's the worry of that one or two that could be more serious. And that's what we live with every day."
Sutcliffe said she has put up "No Trespassing" signs on her property and uses motion detection alarms, but nothing has stopped fans from coming on her property. She also claimed that never knew "The Conjuring" was going to be a movie, saying nothing in the film is true.
Sutcliffe and her husband are seeking an unspecified amount of damages and a security plan for them and their home. Other defendants named in the suit include people who went to the house and filmed videos that they posted on YouTube.
(Copyright (c) 2015 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) | – The owners of a Rhode Island farmhouse depicted in the 2013 horror film The Conjuring are suing Warner Bros., saying it's created a real-life nightmare for them. Norma Sutcliffe and her husband are suing the filmmaker and others—including people who've put up videos of her home on YouTube, WHDH reports—who they say have made a "mockery" of their Harrisville home since the movie hit the big screen. They claim they'll never see peace and privacy because of the film, which centers on paranormal investigators helping a family that moves into a secluded farmhouse. "Ever since the movie came out, we've been harassed, trespassed, stalked, and besieged," Sutcliffe tells the Boston Globe. "They come at all times of the day. Last Saturday, I called police at 3:30am because there was a whole group of them outside the house. It's horrendous." Sutcliffe tells WPRO that, without ever talking to her or her husband about making the movie, the filmmakers used the real names of the previous owners, as well as the location of the home, in the film, making it easy for people to find. She says they've posted signs to keep trespassers at bay, but people keep coming onto the property (and they say they've got online videos showing just that). "I live my life at the window, my entire time I'm in this house," she says. "I don't even lay down anymore." A Warner Bros. rep said Monday that the company hadn't seen the lawsuit, in which the couple is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a security system, the Globe notes. "It won't end," Sutcliffe says. "It's like [the Amityville Horror home]. Can you imagine the horror of trying to sell this house?" | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
The owners of the Harrisville farm house whose haunted history is depicted in the 2013 film “The Conjuring” are being plagued by unwanted visitors – and not the supernatural kind.
Norma Sutcliffe says she and her husband are kept awake at night by trespassers who peer into their windows and sneak onto their property, trying to get a glimpse inside their home. Now they’re suing Warner Brothers.
“The movie industry just didn’t care,” Sutcliffe told WPRO in an interview last week. She said no one from Warner Brothers approached her or her husband prior to making the so-called “true life” movie about their home. She said because the movie creators used the real names of the previous owners and the actual location of her home in the film, people were easily able to find where she lived.
Since then, the people haven’t stopped coming.
RELATED:
“It really, really has taken away our entire sense of peace [and] privacy,” said Sutcliffe, who said some people have become confrontational with her when she asks them to leave her land. She has signs posted to try and keep people at bay, but even that doesn’t work.
“I live my life at the window, my entire time I’m in this house, I don’t even lay down anymore,” she said.
Now she wants Warner Brothers to help her and her husband regain their sense of security. She said she and her husband want to stay at their beloved home of 27 years and would like to get a full security system to try and protect it. She said she knows life won’t ever be the way it was before the movie, but she wants to see if they can restore their sense of peace.
Sutcliffe also has another gripe with Warner Brothers: she says the whole film is a fabrication and her home isn’t in the least bit haunted.
“We’ve been victimized by a huge industry that just doesn’t care,” she said. “That’s the problem – this stigma will be on this house forever.” ||||| The couple who live in the house that inspired the horror movie "The Conjuring" are suing Warner Brothers, claiming the movie has done nothing but cause problems for them.
Norma Sutcliffe said dozens of overzealous fans trespass on her property each month.
"They somehow feel that they have a right to be on this property by any means that they choose," said Sutcliffe. "It's the worry of that one or two that could be more serious. And that's what we live with every day."
Sutcliffe said she has put up "No Trespassing" signs on her property and uses motion detection alarms, but nothing has stopped fans from coming on her property. She also claimed that never knew "The Conjuring" was going to be a movie, saying nothing in the film is true.
Sutcliffe and her husband are seeking an unspecified amount of damages and a security plan for them and their home. Other defendants named in the suit include people who went to the house and filmed videos that they posted on YouTube.
(Copyright (c) 2015 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 35,863 |
Between the Lines With columnist Anna Marie Lux.
A mother's gift: Stranger to donate kidney to 8-year-old
Anthony Wahl Kristi Goll's best Mother's Day gift comes from a stranger. Lindsey Bittorf will donate one of her kidneys to Goll's son, Jackson Arneson, this summer.
Anthony Wahl Kristi Goll of Janesville shares a joyful moment with her son, Jackson Arneson. Jackson needs a new kidney, and Lindsey Bittorf, a police officer with the Town of Milton Police Department, plans to donate one of her kidneys. Bittorf did not know Goll or her son until she decided to become a donor.
Anthony Wahl Lindsey Bittorf, left, will donate a kidney to Kristi Goll's son, Jackson Arneson, this summer. Eight-year-old Jackson attends Van Buren Elementary School in Janesville.
Anthony Wahl Lindsey Bittorf, left, smiles as Kristi Goll tries to tickle her son, Jackson Arneson, to elicit a smile for a photo. Bittorf plans to donate a kidney to Jackson this summer.
MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about organ donation or to become a registered organ donor, visit donatelifewisconsin.org/
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JANESVILLE—When police officer Lindsey Bittorf came to the door earlier this month, 8-year-old Jackson Arneson saw her light brown shirt with U.S. flag emblem and mistook her for a Boy Scout.
He did not know the stranger who came to save his life.
“I have an early Mother's Day gift for you,” Lindsey told Kristi Goll, Jackson's mom.
Then Lindsey handed Kristi and Jackson creatively framed messages saying that she would donate a kidney to young Jackson.
Kristi cried in disbelief.
For months, the Janesville mother had worried whether a suitable kidney donor would be found for her third-grade son.
At one point, Kristi was so discouraged she almost gave up hope.
Then Lindsey appeared, and Kristi could do nothing but weep.
“We cried a lot,” Kristi said. “We hugged a lot.”
After all, what do you say to someone who appears out of nowhere to give your child the gift of life?
Lindsey, an officer with the Town of Milton Police Department, came to the door with her husband, Ryan Bittorf, a deputy with the Rock County Sheriff's Office.
They came in uniform because they know Jackson likes law enforcement officers.
And they came only hours after Lindsey received the green light as a donor.
Lindsey, the town's first female police officer, has taken an oath to serve and protect her community.
“My kidney will now be able to serve and protect you,” Lindsey told Jackson.
Lindsey, who also is a mom, learned about Jackson on social media.
She immediately contacted University Hospital in Madison to find out if she qualified as a donor.
“I would hope that someone would save my child's life,” Lindsey explained. “It takes a village to raise a child. We're all in a village here.”
Lindsey sent Kristi a Facebook message saying that she was in the process of being tested.
“I just knew it would be me,” Lindsey said.
A child typically must be at least 24 months old to receive an adult kidney, and there is usually enough space for the new kidney to fit, Kristi said.
Lindsey goes into the surgery with her eyes wide open.
“I have a master's degree in psychology,” Lindsey said. “I understand the positives and negatives of the situation.”
She will take two months of unpaid leave from her job for the surgery in June and recovery.
“I'm excited,” Lindsey said. “It will be summer, and I will get to hang out with my kid.”
Kristi still can't believe Lindsey's unexpected support.
“She is helping to give Jackson a great future,” Kristi said. “With such a big life event, I am so glad we have formed this bond. She is going to always be a part of us. She is completely selfless.”
Both women are 31. Both know many of the same people. But they did not meet each other until earlier this month.
Lindsey insists she would volunteer for the surgery, even if she was not a mom.
“Children are our future,” she explained.
Lindsey went into law enforcement to help people in bad times.
“I want to make their worst times better,” she said.
Young Jackson, when learning about the kidney donation, wondered aloud if Lindsey's kidney will help him run faster.
“He's really excited,” Kristi said, about feeling better.
A student at Van Buren Elementary, Jackson told his class about his upcoming surgery, and one student asked if Jackson could buy a kidney at Target.
Lindsey told Jackson that, after the surgery, a part of her will always be with him.
“I'll be there if you ever get pulled over for speeding,” she said, smiling.
Lindsey dismisses any reference to herself as a hero.
Kristi and Jackson are the real heroes, she said.
Jackson was born prematurely with a congenital condition called posterior urethral valves, which caused severe damage to his kidneys. He spent two month in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Doctors said the child would need a new kidney someday. Last year, they said it was time to search for a donor.
Kristi reached out via social media. After a story about her family's plight on television earlier this month, a number of people came forward.
But Lindsey was the only one with the right blood type and other factors that make her a good match.
Jackson is one of 2,174 people in Wisconsin waiting for transplants, and most are waiting for kidneys, a hospital spokesman said.
Last year in Wisconsin, 389 people donated organs, and 160 were living donors. Most living donors are family and friends.
Kristi and Jackson do not know how to thank Lindsey for being the life-giving stranger at the door.
“It's been a long journey,” Kristi said. “This is the best Mother's Day gift I will ever receive.”
Anna Marie Lux is a Sunday columnist for The Gazette. Call her with ideas or comments at 608-755-8264, or email [email protected]. ||||| 'I took an oath to serve and protect our community and now my kidney is going to serve and protect you," Officer Lindsey Bittorf told boy
Police officer to donate kidney to boy, 8, she just met
A police officer in Rock County is going above and beyond the call of duty to donate a kidney to a little boy she'd just met.
Milton Township police officer Lindsey Bittorf was perusing Facebook in early December when she came across a post from a Janesville mother who'd made a public plea for potential donors.
Kristi Goll turned to social media after years of testing determined that friends and family weren't a match for her boy, 8-year-old Jackson Arneson, who was born with a condition called Posterior Urethral Valves.
Jackson’s father, Gregg, was a promising candidate, but doctors ultimately ruled him out after discovering he had a minor heart condition.
"Virtually, his kidney function has always been below 30 percent," Goll explained of her son's condition.
Bittorf doesn't know the family but was among the thousands to read the mother's plea. She was compelled to get tested.
"I’m pretty set in my ways, so if I set my mind to something, there’s really not talking me out of doing this, I was doing it," she said.
Bittorf passed the initial health test. She and Jackson both had blood type O+. She was within the age range and in general good health. For a kidney transplant, both people involved need to match a certain number of antigens. Bittorf and Jackson matched three, more than enough to proceed with a transplant.
“And they (doctors) were kind of shocked like for a person who is not related, you are a pretty good match," said Bittorf. "This seriously like meant to be. Like it’s going to be me."
Bittorf surprised Jackson and his family with the good news at their home last week.
Gutzman Photography
"We went to the door and this police officer walks in," Goll said, recalling the moment she met officer Bittorf. "I ripped [a gift] open and I saw the word 'kidney' and I didn’t even read the rest of it. I just saw ‘kidney’ and I looked over, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, it’s you!'"
Cell phone video shot by Goll's mom that day captured Bittort telling Jackson why she was giving him her kidney.
“I took an oath to serve and protect our community and now my kidney is going to serve and protect you,” she said.
Jackson now has a new hero. She’s a police officer, a mom, and until last week, a complete stranger. Now they share a bond that will last a lifetime.
Both Jackson and officer Bittorf are scheduled for transplant surgery on June 22.
AlertMe | – When Wisconsin police officer Lindsey Bittorf saw a Facebook post from a nearby mother begging for a kidney donor for her 8-year-old son, she knew she needed to try to help—even though she'd never met the family. The 30-year-old got tested to see if she was a match, and says doctors were "shocked" she was such a good one, considering she's not related to the boy, Jackson Arneson. "This is seriously, like, meant to be," she tells WISN. "It’s going to be me." Last week, Bittorf showed up at Jackson's home to surprise his family with the good news, ABC News reports. She told Jackson's mom, Kristi Goll, it was an "early Mother's Day gift," GazetteXtra reports. "I took an oath to serve and protect our community, and now my kidney’s going to serve and protect you," she told Jackson, who was born with a kidney condition known as Posterior Urethral Valves. Goll went on Facebook after family and friends got tested and none turned out to be a match. "I always knew these days would come, it’s just so hard when they are here," she said in her December post explaining that Jackson's kidney function was decreasing and he was in need of a donor. Bittorf, who is also a mom, says simply, "I would hope that someone would save my child's life" if needed. The transplant surgery is scheduled for June 22. (Other kidney donors have been found via messages on the side of an SUV, Reddit, and even Tinder.) | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.Between the Lines With columnist Anna Marie Lux.
A mother's gift: Stranger to donate kidney to 8-year-old
Anthony Wahl Kristi Goll's best Mother's Day gift comes from a stranger. Lindsey Bittorf will donate one of her kidneys to Goll's son, Jackson Arneson, this summer.
Anthony Wahl Kristi Goll of Janesville shares a joyful moment with her son, Jackson Arneson. Jackson needs a new kidney, and Lindsey Bittorf, a police officer with the Town of Milton Police Department, plans to donate one of her kidneys. Bittorf did not know Goll or her son until she decided to become a donor.
Anthony Wahl Lindsey Bittorf, left, will donate a kidney to Kristi Goll's son, Jackson Arneson, this summer. Eight-year-old Jackson attends Van Buren Elementary School in Janesville.
Anthony Wahl Lindsey Bittorf, left, smiles as Kristi Goll tries to tickle her son, Jackson Arneson, to elicit a smile for a photo. Bittorf plans to donate a kidney to Jackson this summer.
MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about organ donation or to become a registered organ donor, visit donatelifewisconsin.org/
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JANESVILLE—When police officer Lindsey Bittorf came to the door earlier this month, 8-year-old Jackson Arneson saw her light brown shirt with U.S. flag emblem and mistook her for a Boy Scout.
He did not know the stranger who came to save his life.
“I have an early Mother's Day gift for you,” Lindsey told Kristi Goll, Jackson's mom.
Then Lindsey handed Kristi and Jackson creatively framed messages saying that she would donate a kidney to young Jackson.
Kristi cried in disbelief.
For months, the Janesville mother had worried whether a suitable kidney donor would be found for her third-grade son.
At one point, Kristi was so discouraged she almost gave up hope.
Then Lindsey appeared, and Kristi could do nothing but weep.
“We cried a lot,” Kristi said. “We hugged a lot.”
After all, what do you say to someone who appears out of nowhere to give your child the gift of life?
Lindsey, an officer with the Town of Milton Police Department, came to the door with her husband, Ryan Bittorf, a deputy with the Rock County Sheriff's Office.
They came in uniform because they know Jackson likes law enforcement officers.
And they came only hours after Lindsey received the green light as a donor.
Lindsey, the town's first female police officer, has taken an oath to serve and protect her community.
“My kidney will now be able to serve and protect you,” Lindsey told Jackson.
Lindsey, who also is a mom, learned about Jackson on social media.
She immediately contacted University Hospital in Madison to find out if she qualified as a donor.
“I would hope that someone would save my child's life,” Lindsey explained. “It takes a village to raise a child. We're all in a village here.”
Lindsey sent Kristi a Facebook message saying that she was in the process of being tested.
“I just knew it would be me,” Lindsey said.
A child typically must be at least 24 months old to receive an adult kidney, and there is usually enough space for the new kidney to fit, Kristi said.
Lindsey goes into the surgery with her eyes wide open.
“I have a master's degree in psychology,” Lindsey said. “I understand the positives and negatives of the situation.”
She will take two months of unpaid leave from her job for the surgery in June and recovery.
“I'm excited,” Lindsey said. “It will be summer, and I will get to hang out with my kid.”
Kristi still can't believe Lindsey's unexpected support.
“She is helping to give Jackson a great future,” Kristi said. “With such a big life event, I am so glad we have formed this bond. She is going to always be a part of us. She is completely selfless.”
Both women are 31. Both know many of the same people. But they did not meet each other until earlier this month.
Lindsey insists she would volunteer for the surgery, even if she was not a mom.
“Children are our future,” she explained.
Lindsey went into law enforcement to help people in bad times.
“I want to make their worst times better,” she said.
Young Jackson, when learning about the kidney donation, wondered aloud if Lindsey's kidney will help him run faster.
“He's really excited,” Kristi said, about feeling better.
A student at Van Buren Elementary, Jackson told his class about his upcoming surgery, and one student asked if Jackson could buy a kidney at Target.
Lindsey told Jackson that, after the surgery, a part of her will always be with him.
“I'll be there if you ever get pulled over for speeding,” she said, smiling.
Lindsey dismisses any reference to herself as a hero.
Kristi and Jackson are the real heroes, she said.
Jackson was born prematurely with a congenital condition called posterior urethral valves, which caused severe damage to his kidneys. He spent two month in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Doctors said the child would need a new kidney someday. Last year, they said it was time to search for a donor.
Kristi reached out via social media. After a story about her family's plight on television earlier this month, a number of people came forward.
But Lindsey was the only one with the right blood type and other factors that make her a good match.
Jackson is one of 2,174 people in Wisconsin waiting for transplants, and most are waiting for kidneys, a hospital spokesman said.
Last year in Wisconsin, 389 people donated organs, and 160 were living donors. Most living donors are family and friends.
Kristi and Jackson do not know how to thank Lindsey for being the life-giving stranger at the door.
“It's been a long journey,” Kristi said. “This is the best Mother's Day gift I will ever receive.”
Anna Marie Lux is a Sunday columnist for The Gazette. Call her with ideas or comments at 608-755-8264, or email [email protected]. ||||| 'I took an oath to serve and protect our community and now my kidney is going to serve and protect you," Officer Lindsey Bittorf told boy
Police officer to donate kidney to boy, 8, she just met
A police officer in Rock County is going above and beyond the call of duty to donate a kidney to a little boy she'd just met.
Milton Township police officer Lindsey Bittorf was perusing Facebook in early December when she came across a post from a Janesville mother who'd made a public plea for potential donors.
Kristi Goll turned to social media after years of testing determined that friends and family weren't a match for her boy, 8-year-old Jackson Arneson, who was born with a condition called Posterior Urethral Valves.
Jackson’s father, Gregg, was a promising candidate, but doctors ultimately ruled him out after discovering he had a minor heart condition.
"Virtually, his kidney function has always been below 30 percent," Goll explained of her son's condition.
Bittorf doesn't know the family but was among the thousands to read the mother's plea. She was compelled to get tested.
"I’m pretty set in my ways, so if I set my mind to something, there’s really not talking me out of doing this, I was doing it," she said.
Bittorf passed the initial health test. She and Jackson both had blood type O+. She was within the age range and in general good health. For a kidney transplant, both people involved need to match a certain number of antigens. Bittorf and Jackson matched three, more than enough to proceed with a transplant.
“And they (doctors) were kind of shocked like for a person who is not related, you are a pretty good match," said Bittorf. "This seriously like meant to be. Like it’s going to be me."
Bittorf surprised Jackson and his family with the good news at their home last week.
Gutzman Photography
"We went to the door and this police officer walks in," Goll said, recalling the moment she met officer Bittorf. "I ripped [a gift] open and I saw the word 'kidney' and I didn’t even read the rest of it. I just saw ‘kidney’ and I looked over, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, it’s you!'"
Cell phone video shot by Goll's mom that day captured Bittort telling Jackson why she was giving him her kidney.
“I took an oath to serve and protect our community and now my kidney is going to serve and protect you,” she said.
Jackson now has a new hero. She’s a police officer, a mom, and until last week, a complete stranger. Now they share a bond that will last a lifetime.
Both Jackson and officer Bittorf are scheduled for transplant surgery on June 22.
AlertMe | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 25,503 |
A woman in her early 40s sought ophthalmological care after a referral from an optometrist for bilateral eye pain, substantial eye watering, bilateral conjunctival lesions, and decreased vision, which she described as dim once the room was darkened. She had little to no improvement over the last few months with an artificial tear solution. She claimed to be in good health and denied any concurrent medical conditions. She had undergone a weight loss procedure known as a duodenal switch the year prior. ||||| A woman's vision loss and lesions on her eyes turned out to have an unexpected cause: a vitamin deficiency stemming from weight-loss surgery, according to a recent report of her case.
The woman, in her early 40s, visited an ophthalmology clinic in Texas because she was having vision problems and eye pain, and had developed lesions on her eyes, according to the report published March 31 in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
These symptoms are the effects of a severe vitamin A deficiency, said Kyle Kirkland, a medical student at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and the lead author of the case report. [16 Oddest Medical Cases]
Vitamin A plays an important role in eye health, and deficiency can lead to severe dryness of the eye, night blindness and lesions called "Bitot spots" that form on the surface of the eye, Kirkland told Live Science. These raised bumpy lesions form on the white part of a person's eye, called the sclera, he said. While the lesions don't affect a person's vision, the process that causes the lesions to form can also cause severe dryness, which can alter vision, he said.
But it's rare for people in the U.S. to have a vitamin A deficiency that's severe enough to cause eye problems, because it's easy to get enough of the vitamin from our diets, Kirkland said. (In developing countries, however, vitamin A deficiency is much more common — in fact, it’s a leading cause of preventable blindness, he added.)
Indeed, the woman's vitamin A deficiency was actually the result of weight-loss surgery (also called bariatric surgery) that she had had a year before, according to the report.
In the particular type of weight-loss surgery the woman had — known as a "duodenal switch" — the surgeon not only makes the stomach smaller, but also creates a bypass around a section of the small intestine. This is done by taking the beginning of the small intestine (called the duodenum) and connecting it to a lower-down part of the small intestine.
The small intestine is where the nutrients in food are absorbed into the body, so by shortening the length of small intestine that the food travels through, the surgery lowers the amount of calories and nutrients the body can absorb from food, Kirkland said.
Although the surgery has been shown to help with weight loss, it may also significantly lower a person's level of certain vitamins, including vitamin A, according to the report. [The Best Way to Keep Weight Off]
The woman was told at the time of her surgery that vitamin deficiencies were a common side effect of the surgery, and she had been taking a multivitamin in order to prevent this from happening, Kirkland said. But the multivitamin "was not enough to keep her from getting severe vitamin A deficiency," he said.
The woman's case is the second report of this specific type of weight-loss surgery led to eye-related symptoms, to the authors' knowledge, Kirkland said.
Other types of weight-loss surgery have been reported to lead to vision problems, and as weight-loss surgeries become more common, it's possible that eye problems such as these may also become more common, Kirkland said.
To treat the vitamin A deficiency, the woman was given intravenous (IV) vitamin A, according to the report. She did not return for a follow-up visit, but reported that her symptoms and vision problems had gone away. However, the authors noted that in order to prevent the symptoms from returning, she would need to keep receiving infusions of vitamin A until she could have another surgery, to alter her intestines to fix the problem permanently.
In addition, while an IV dose of vitamin A alleviated this woman's symptoms, the damage that can occur from a vitamin A deficiency is not always reversible, "which is why it is critical to receive proper nutrition after such a procedure," Kirkland said.
Follow Sara G. Miller on Twitter @SaraGMiller. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. | – After a Texas woman had gastrointestinal surgery, she lost weight as expected—but she also lost her vision. According to a study published last week in JAMA Ophthalmology, the woman in her 40s started complaining of deteriorating vision, eye pain, and lesions on her eyes. Study author Kyle Kirkland tells Live Science those are all symptoms of a severe vitamin A deficiency. He says people who don't get enough vitamin A can suffer from dangerously dry eyes, leading to symptoms such as the woman was experiencing. The only catch: Vitamin A is plentiful in our food, and severe deficiencies are rare in the US. It turns out the woman's eye problems were caused by the weight-loss surgery she had a year earlier. The bariatric surgery made her stomach smaller but also created a bypass for part of her small intestine, which is responsible for absorbing both calories and nutrients. The surgery effectively reduced the amount of vitamin A her body could absorb. The woman's eye problems cleared up after she received vitamin A intravenously, but Kirkland says that's not a permanent fix and not all eye problems caused by vitamin A deficiencies are reversible. He worries eye problems like those suffered by the woman will become more common in the US as weight-loss surgeries continue their rise in popularity. (This implantable device approved by the FDA could make weight-loss surgeries obsolete.) | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.A woman in her early 40s sought ophthalmological care after a referral from an optometrist for bilateral eye pain, substantial eye watering, bilateral conjunctival lesions, and decreased vision, which she described as dim once the room was darkened. She had little to no improvement over the last few months with an artificial tear solution. She claimed to be in good health and denied any concurrent medical conditions. She had undergone a weight loss procedure known as a duodenal switch the year prior. ||||| A woman's vision loss and lesions on her eyes turned out to have an unexpected cause: a vitamin deficiency stemming from weight-loss surgery, according to a recent report of her case.
The woman, in her early 40s, visited an ophthalmology clinic in Texas because she was having vision problems and eye pain, and had developed lesions on her eyes, according to the report published March 31 in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
These symptoms are the effects of a severe vitamin A deficiency, said Kyle Kirkland, a medical student at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and the lead author of the case report. [16 Oddest Medical Cases]
Vitamin A plays an important role in eye health, and deficiency can lead to severe dryness of the eye, night blindness and lesions called "Bitot spots" that form on the surface of the eye, Kirkland told Live Science. These raised bumpy lesions form on the white part of a person's eye, called the sclera, he said. While the lesions don't affect a person's vision, the process that causes the lesions to form can also cause severe dryness, which can alter vision, he said.
But it's rare for people in the U.S. to have a vitamin A deficiency that's severe enough to cause eye problems, because it's easy to get enough of the vitamin from our diets, Kirkland said. (In developing countries, however, vitamin A deficiency is much more common — in fact, it’s a leading cause of preventable blindness, he added.)
Indeed, the woman's vitamin A deficiency was actually the result of weight-loss surgery (also called bariatric surgery) that she had had a year before, according to the report.
In the particular type of weight-loss surgery the woman had — known as a "duodenal switch" — the surgeon not only makes the stomach smaller, but also creates a bypass around a section of the small intestine. This is done by taking the beginning of the small intestine (called the duodenum) and connecting it to a lower-down part of the small intestine.
The small intestine is where the nutrients in food are absorbed into the body, so by shortening the length of small intestine that the food travels through, the surgery lowers the amount of calories and nutrients the body can absorb from food, Kirkland said.
Although the surgery has been shown to help with weight loss, it may also significantly lower a person's level of certain vitamins, including vitamin A, according to the report. [The Best Way to Keep Weight Off]
The woman was told at the time of her surgery that vitamin deficiencies were a common side effect of the surgery, and she had been taking a multivitamin in order to prevent this from happening, Kirkland said. But the multivitamin "was not enough to keep her from getting severe vitamin A deficiency," he said.
The woman's case is the second report of this specific type of weight-loss surgery led to eye-related symptoms, to the authors' knowledge, Kirkland said.
Other types of weight-loss surgery have been reported to lead to vision problems, and as weight-loss surgeries become more common, it's possible that eye problems such as these may also become more common, Kirkland said.
To treat the vitamin A deficiency, the woman was given intravenous (IV) vitamin A, according to the report. She did not return for a follow-up visit, but reported that her symptoms and vision problems had gone away. However, the authors noted that in order to prevent the symptoms from returning, she would need to keep receiving infusions of vitamin A until she could have another surgery, to alter her intestines to fix the problem permanently.
In addition, while an IV dose of vitamin A alleviated this woman's symptoms, the damage that can occur from a vitamin A deficiency is not always reversible, "which is why it is critical to receive proper nutrition after such a procedure," Kirkland said.
Follow Sara G. Miller on Twitter @SaraGMiller. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 10,556 |
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Coca-Cola Co. is halting production of sugar-sweetened beverages in Venezuela as the company’s namesake soda pop becomes the latest victim of a lack of raw materials in the cash-strapped country.
The iconic drink is the latest to join a group of basic products becoming scarce in a country beset by currency controls, goods shortages and the world’s highest inflation rate. Kraft Heinz Co. and Clorox Co. have also had to interrupt operations in Venezuela, where it’s now common for citizens to wait in long lines for household items such as deodorant, toilet paper and medicine.
“Sugar suppliers in Venezuela have informed us that they will temporarily cease operations,” Kerry Tressler, a Coca-Cola spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. The company is talking with suppliers, government authorities and others to work on a solution.
Venezuela is experiencing the worst recession in decades as the falling price of oil, which accounts for about 95 percent of foreign currency earnings, pushes international reserves to a 13-year low of $12 billion. The economy contracted 5.7 percent in 2015 and is expected to shrink an additional 8 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. The inflation rate is projected to climb to almost 500 percent.
Military Exercise
Rising political and economic tensions are gripping Venezuela, with the country holding the biggest military exercise in its history this weekend as the opposition pushes for a recall referendum on President Nicolas Maduro. The opposition has pledged further demonstrations nationwide to pressure Venezuela’s electoral board to process a petition to activate the referendum. Maduro’s critics accuse the government of stalling to avoid early elections.
Price controls, rising costs and a lack of foreign exchange have resulted in a drop of sugar-cane production in the country, according to a 2015 report from the U.S. Agriculture Department.
State Monopoly
“The state monopolizes decisions to grant fixed dollars to import sugar raw material, since it is a regulated product,” said Luis Marin, president of the Industrial Chamber of Lara state, where four sugar-processing plants are located. “Venezuela has always imported, but there has been a major increase in the last couple of years.”
Coca-Cola said the production of beverages without sugar, including bottled water and Coca-Cola Light, isn’t affected. Coca-Cola Femsa SAB, the distributor of the company’s products in Venezuela, declined to comment.
Last month, Empresas Polar SA, Venezuela’s biggest brewer, said it would be forced to stop making beer because it can’t get the foreign currency it needs to purchase malted barley.
— With assistance by Andrew Rosati, Noris Soto, Fabiola Zerpa, and Nathan Crooks ||||| Published on Aug 27, 2009
This is a restored version of the famous "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" ad from 1971. Called the "Hilltop" ad at the time, it is recognized as one of the most beloved and well-known commercials in history. The commercial was highly popular and was part of our 1971 "It's the Real Thing" campaign. It has been consistently celebrated as one of the most memorable and iconic spots in advertising history. "I'd Like To Teach the World to Sing, In Perfect Harmony," was later recorded by the New Seekers and released as a single. This link goes to the official history of the making of the ad: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stori... ||||| Empty Coca-Cola cases are seen at a food stall on the street in Caracas, Venezuela May 24, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
(Reuters) - The Venezuelan bottler of Coca-Cola has halted production of the sugar-sweetened beverage due to a lack of sugar, a Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) spokeswoman said on Monday.
Venezuela is in the midst of a deep recession, and spontaneous demonstrations and looting have become more common amid worsening food shortages, frequent power cuts and the world’s highest inflation.
Production of sugar-sweetened drinks has stopped, but output of diet drinks such as Coca-Cola light and other zero-sugar beverages continued, spokeswoman Kerry Tressler wrote by email.
“Sugar suppliers in Venezuela have informed us that they will temporarily cease operations due to a lack of raw materials,” Tressler added.
Coca-Cola Femsa SAB (KOFL.MX), Latin America’s biggest coke bottler and operator of four plants in Venezuela, added that it was hoping the nation’s sugar inventories would recover “in the short term.”
The bottler, which gets some 7 percent of its income in Venezuela, is a joint venture between Coca-Cola and Mexico’s Femsa (FMSAUBD.MX).
Over the past several years, the combination of price controls, rising production costs, lack of foreign exchange, restrictive labor laws, and a lack of basic inputs such as fertilizer, have resulted in a drop in Venezuela’s sugar cane production with fewer planted hectares (acres) and lower yields.
Many smaller farmers have turned to other crops that are not price controlled and thus provide greater income.
The country is expected to produce 430,000 tonnes in 2016/17, down from 450,000 tonnes the previous year, and import 850,000 tonnes of raw and refined sugar, according to the USDA. | – Forget about buying the world a Coke—Venezuela can't even buy itself one now. Barely a month after the country's main brewery stopped beer production due to Venezuela's ongoing economic crisis, Coca-Cola has announced that it's also halting production of sugary beverages there because of a lack of the commodity needed to sweeten them, Bloomberg reports. "Sugar suppliers in Venezuela have informed us that they will temporarily cease operations due to a lack of raw materials," a company spokeswoman said in an email, per Reuters. Meanwhile, as Coca-Cola has discussions with government officials and suppliers to see what can be worked out, it will still churn out bottled water and Coca-Cola Light, neither of which require sugar. (Mobs are turning to vigilante justice in Venezuela.) | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email
Coca-Cola Co. is halting production of sugar-sweetened beverages in Venezuela as the company’s namesake soda pop becomes the latest victim of a lack of raw materials in the cash-strapped country.
The iconic drink is the latest to join a group of basic products becoming scarce in a country beset by currency controls, goods shortages and the world’s highest inflation rate. Kraft Heinz Co. and Clorox Co. have also had to interrupt operations in Venezuela, where it’s now common for citizens to wait in long lines for household items such as deodorant, toilet paper and medicine.
“Sugar suppliers in Venezuela have informed us that they will temporarily cease operations,” Kerry Tressler, a Coca-Cola spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. The company is talking with suppliers, government authorities and others to work on a solution.
Venezuela is experiencing the worst recession in decades as the falling price of oil, which accounts for about 95 percent of foreign currency earnings, pushes international reserves to a 13-year low of $12 billion. The economy contracted 5.7 percent in 2015 and is expected to shrink an additional 8 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. The inflation rate is projected to climb to almost 500 percent.
Military Exercise
Rising political and economic tensions are gripping Venezuela, with the country holding the biggest military exercise in its history this weekend as the opposition pushes for a recall referendum on President Nicolas Maduro. The opposition has pledged further demonstrations nationwide to pressure Venezuela’s electoral board to process a petition to activate the referendum. Maduro’s critics accuse the government of stalling to avoid early elections.
Price controls, rising costs and a lack of foreign exchange have resulted in a drop of sugar-cane production in the country, according to a 2015 report from the U.S. Agriculture Department.
State Monopoly
“The state monopolizes decisions to grant fixed dollars to import sugar raw material, since it is a regulated product,” said Luis Marin, president of the Industrial Chamber of Lara state, where four sugar-processing plants are located. “Venezuela has always imported, but there has been a major increase in the last couple of years.”
Coca-Cola said the production of beverages without sugar, including bottled water and Coca-Cola Light, isn’t affected. Coca-Cola Femsa SAB, the distributor of the company’s products in Venezuela, declined to comment.
Last month, Empresas Polar SA, Venezuela’s biggest brewer, said it would be forced to stop making beer because it can’t get the foreign currency it needs to purchase malted barley.
— With assistance by Andrew Rosati, Noris Soto, Fabiola Zerpa, and Nathan Crooks ||||| Published on Aug 27, 2009
This is a restored version of the famous "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" ad from 1971. Called the "Hilltop" ad at the time, it is recognized as one of the most beloved and well-known commercials in history. The commercial was highly popular and was part of our 1971 "It's the Real Thing" campaign. It has been consistently celebrated as one of the most memorable and iconic spots in advertising history. "I'd Like To Teach the World to Sing, In Perfect Harmony," was later recorded by the New Seekers and released as a single. This link goes to the official history of the making of the ad: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stori... ||||| Empty Coca-Cola cases are seen at a food stall on the street in Caracas, Venezuela May 24, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
(Reuters) - The Venezuelan bottler of Coca-Cola has halted production of the sugar-sweetened beverage due to a lack of sugar, a Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) spokeswoman said on Monday.
Venezuela is in the midst of a deep recession, and spontaneous demonstrations and looting have become more common amid worsening food shortages, frequent power cuts and the world’s highest inflation.
Production of sugar-sweetened drinks has stopped, but output of diet drinks such as Coca-Cola light and other zero-sugar beverages continued, spokeswoman Kerry Tressler wrote by email.
“Sugar suppliers in Venezuela have informed us that they will temporarily cease operations due to a lack of raw materials,” Tressler added.
Coca-Cola Femsa SAB (KOFL.MX), Latin America’s biggest coke bottler and operator of four plants in Venezuela, added that it was hoping the nation’s sugar inventories would recover “in the short term.”
The bottler, which gets some 7 percent of its income in Venezuela, is a joint venture between Coca-Cola and Mexico’s Femsa (FMSAUBD.MX).
Over the past several years, the combination of price controls, rising production costs, lack of foreign exchange, restrictive labor laws, and a lack of basic inputs such as fertilizer, have resulted in a drop in Venezuela’s sugar cane production with fewer planted hectares (acres) and lower yields.
Many smaller farmers have turned to other crops that are not price controlled and thus provide greater income.
The country is expected to produce 430,000 tonnes in 2016/17, down from 450,000 tonnes the previous year, and import 850,000 tonnes of raw and refined sugar, according to the USDA. | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 9,127 |
WASHINGTONCongressional committees are holding up a plan to send U.S. weapons to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad because of fears that such deliveries will not be decisive and the arms might end up in the hands of Islamist militants, five U.S. national security sources said.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees have expressed reservations behind closed doors at the effort by President Barack Obama's administration to support the insurgents by sending them military hardware.
None of the military aid that the United States announced weeks ago has arrived in Syria, according to an official from an Arab country and Syrian opposition sources.
Democrats and Republicans on the committees worry that weapons could reach factions like the Nusra Front, which is one of the most effective rebel groups but has also been labeled by the United States as a front for al Qaeda in Iraq.
Committee members also want to hear more about the administration's overall Syria policy, and about how it believes its arms plan will affect the situation on the ground, where Assad's forces have made recent gains.
Funding that the administration advised the congressional committees it wanted to use to pay for arms deliveries to Assad's opponents has been temporarily frozen, the sources said.
"As noted at the time we announced the expansion of our assistance to the Supreme Military Council, we will continue to consult closely with Congress on these matters," Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said on Monday.
Technically, the administration does not need specific congressional approval either through public legislation or some kind of legislative sanction process to move ahead with the weapons plan. The president already has legal authority to order such shipments, several sources said.
However, under tacit rules observed by the executive branch and Congress on intelligence matters, administrations will not move ahead with programs like weapons deliveries to the Syrian opposition if one or both of the congressional intelligence committees express serious objections.
UNCONVINCED BY KERRY, CIA
Late last month, Secretary of State John Kerry and outgoing CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell briefed the intelligence committees in detail secretly about plans to arm the rebels in response to growing evidence that Assad's forces had used chemical weapons, the sources said.
After that briefing, members of both committees expressed dissatisfaction with the plan, the sources said.
Although initially the House committee voiced greater opposition than its Senate counterpart, after further consideration the Senate panel became concerned enough about the plan to write a letter to the administration raising questions about it, two of the sources said.
At the same time, the appropriations committees of both chambers, which also routinely review secret intelligence or military aid programs, raised doubts.
Syrian opposition sources and officials of governments in the region which support anti-Assad forces have begun to express puzzlement as to why new weapons shipments promised by Washington have not yet begun to arrive.
One Arab government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that the United States had only made the decision to provide weapons but had not yet determined exactly where to send them.
The White House announced in June that it would arm vetted groups of Syrian rebels, after two years of avoiding involvement in the civil war which has killed more than 100,000 people.
The only way the administration's plan will move forward, said the sources, is if congressional committees can work out a deal with the administration to resolve their concerns.
Anti-Assad groups have been calling for more advanced weaponry since the government launched a new offensive in central Syria with the help of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Government forces are hammering the central city of Homs and have encircled rebel strongholds near the capital Damascus.
Over the weekend, the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood said it felt "abandoned and disappointed" that the United States and Europe had failed to deliver promised military support to the rebels.
A source in Washington who is close to the Syrian rebels also said he knew of no U.S. military aid that had been delivered to them.
(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell and Steve Holland; Editing by Alistair Bell and Mohammad Zargham) ||||| House and Senate Intelligence panel members have voted to block President Obama from arming Syrian rebels, committee insiders told The Hill. They did so by placing severe restrictions on funding.
Lawmakers made their decision last month for fear that the administration plan would let weapons fall into the hands of terrorist groups, such as the many linked to al Qaeda.
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The exact nature of the restrictions is unknown because the committees voted privately on the basis of classified information. What is known is that the restrictions are sufficient to prevent the administration from delivering arms as planned, according to a source familiar with the actions.
The committee “voted to allow them to make some movement on this, but it’s restricted,” said one Senate panel insider, who declined to elaborate on the total aid or the restrictions added by the Intelligence panels, which both met again on Tuesday. “It was a very restrictive amount.”
Administration officials stopped shy of saying that the efforts had thwarted the effort to arm rebel groups, but said it certainly didn’t make it easier.
“They’re raising a lot of questions without having alternative answers,” said one senior administration official.
“Whatever we do, we have to make sure we do it right,” Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday.
“If we are going to arm, we have to make sure we have control of what arms are out there and how people are trained to use those arms so they don’t fall into the hands of our enemy al Qaeda,” Ruppersberger said.
Ruppersberger would not discuss what actions his committee had taken, but said that they were providing oversight.
“We have funding oversight, and that’s part of the checks and balances,” he said.
The administration has pushed to sell its plan to lawmakers in Congress, and Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Biden both briefed the panels in June on the administration’s plans in Syria.
The White House announced in June that it would begin providing arms to the rebels, after it determined that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime had used chemical weapons. The White House has resisted taking further steps, such as setting up a no-fly zone.
Lawmakers said Tuesday, however, that they needed more evidence that the administration has thought its plan all the way through. Many of them are ardent supporters of arming the rebels.
“It’s not clear to me that the administration has a workable policy,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a member of the Intelligence Committee.
“We don’t have a clear picture of what the decision is by the administration,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and an ex-officio member of the Intelligence panel.
The Associated Press first reported last month that the Intelligence panels had rejected the Obama administration’s initial plans to arm the rebels.
As news of the delay has leaked out in recent days, lawmakers on other committees — including some who want to arm Syria’s rebels — are rankled that they are not being consulted.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, accused the administration of trying to covertly get the Syria military aid approved behind the closed doors of the Intelligence Committee.
“They should come and talk about this openly,” Corker told reporters Tuesday. “It puts the Intelligence Committee in a very awkward place. All of a sudden, they own it.”
House Foreign Affairs ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said that he wanted more extensive briefings on the arms plan for his committee.
“I think that sometimes it’s just assumed that they can talk to the Intelligence Committee and they’ve met all the requirements,” Engel said.
Intelligence Committee members said there’s no sleight of hand occurring.
Ruppersberger said Tuesday that the situation is incredibly complex in Syria, with Hezbollah members fighting alongside Assad’s forces and the Al-Nusra Front, a group affiliated with al Qaeda, fighting among the opposition.
“There’s a lot of difficult decisions to make right now,” Ruppersberger said. “That’s what we’re doing, working very closely with the White House.”
White House press secretary Jay Carney did not discuss the reasons behind the congressional delays over the aid on Tuesday, but said it was coming nonetheless.
“In keeping with the president’s announcement of our stepped-up assistance to the [Syrian opposition’s] Supreme Military Council, we are going to consult with Congress on these matters, and we intend to provide that stepped-up assistance,” Carney said at Tuesday’s White House briefing. “We were not bluffing. The president was very serious, as I think he made clear.”
—Amie Parnes contributed to this story.
—This report was updated at 8:21 p.m. | – Both House and Senate intelligence committees have voted to stop sending military aid to Syrian rebels by freezing the funding intended to ship arms, sources say. According to the Hill, the decision was made last month, amid fears that the weapons would end up in the hands of Islamist militants. The Senate committee "voted to allow them to make some movement on this, but it’s restricted," says one insider. "It was a very restrictive amount." Syrian rebels do not appear to have received any new US arms, Reuters adds, and are confused by the hold-up. "If we are going to arm, we have to make sure we have control of what arms are out there and how people are trained to use those arms so they don’t fall into the hands of our enemy al-Qaeda," says Dutch Ruppersberger, the ranking member of the House committee, per the Hill. He would not confirm the vote, but did say the committee had funding oversight for the Syrian aid. Though as Reuters notes, that "funding oversight" is more of a formality—the administration doesn't typically move ahead with this kind of program if one or both committees objects, but it could if it wanted to. | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.WASHINGTONCongressional committees are holding up a plan to send U.S. weapons to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad because of fears that such deliveries will not be decisive and the arms might end up in the hands of Islamist militants, five U.S. national security sources said.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees have expressed reservations behind closed doors at the effort by President Barack Obama's administration to support the insurgents by sending them military hardware.
None of the military aid that the United States announced weeks ago has arrived in Syria, according to an official from an Arab country and Syrian opposition sources.
Democrats and Republicans on the committees worry that weapons could reach factions like the Nusra Front, which is one of the most effective rebel groups but has also been labeled by the United States as a front for al Qaeda in Iraq.
Committee members also want to hear more about the administration's overall Syria policy, and about how it believes its arms plan will affect the situation on the ground, where Assad's forces have made recent gains.
Funding that the administration advised the congressional committees it wanted to use to pay for arms deliveries to Assad's opponents has been temporarily frozen, the sources said.
"As noted at the time we announced the expansion of our assistance to the Supreme Military Council, we will continue to consult closely with Congress on these matters," Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said on Monday.
Technically, the administration does not need specific congressional approval either through public legislation or some kind of legislative sanction process to move ahead with the weapons plan. The president already has legal authority to order such shipments, several sources said.
However, under tacit rules observed by the executive branch and Congress on intelligence matters, administrations will not move ahead with programs like weapons deliveries to the Syrian opposition if one or both of the congressional intelligence committees express serious objections.
UNCONVINCED BY KERRY, CIA
Late last month, Secretary of State John Kerry and outgoing CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell briefed the intelligence committees in detail secretly about plans to arm the rebels in response to growing evidence that Assad's forces had used chemical weapons, the sources said.
After that briefing, members of both committees expressed dissatisfaction with the plan, the sources said.
Although initially the House committee voiced greater opposition than its Senate counterpart, after further consideration the Senate panel became concerned enough about the plan to write a letter to the administration raising questions about it, two of the sources said.
At the same time, the appropriations committees of both chambers, which also routinely review secret intelligence or military aid programs, raised doubts.
Syrian opposition sources and officials of governments in the region which support anti-Assad forces have begun to express puzzlement as to why new weapons shipments promised by Washington have not yet begun to arrive.
One Arab government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that the United States had only made the decision to provide weapons but had not yet determined exactly where to send them.
The White House announced in June that it would arm vetted groups of Syrian rebels, after two years of avoiding involvement in the civil war which has killed more than 100,000 people.
The only way the administration's plan will move forward, said the sources, is if congressional committees can work out a deal with the administration to resolve their concerns.
Anti-Assad groups have been calling for more advanced weaponry since the government launched a new offensive in central Syria with the help of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Government forces are hammering the central city of Homs and have encircled rebel strongholds near the capital Damascus.
Over the weekend, the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood said it felt "abandoned and disappointed" that the United States and Europe had failed to deliver promised military support to the rebels.
A source in Washington who is close to the Syrian rebels also said he knew of no U.S. military aid that had been delivered to them.
(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell and Steve Holland; Editing by Alistair Bell and Mohammad Zargham) ||||| House and Senate Intelligence panel members have voted to block President Obama from arming Syrian rebels, committee insiders told The Hill. They did so by placing severe restrictions on funding.
Lawmakers made their decision last month for fear that the administration plan would let weapons fall into the hands of terrorist groups, such as the many linked to al Qaeda.
ADVERTISEMENT
The exact nature of the restrictions is unknown because the committees voted privately on the basis of classified information. What is known is that the restrictions are sufficient to prevent the administration from delivering arms as planned, according to a source familiar with the actions.
The committee “voted to allow them to make some movement on this, but it’s restricted,” said one Senate panel insider, who declined to elaborate on the total aid or the restrictions added by the Intelligence panels, which both met again on Tuesday. “It was a very restrictive amount.”
Administration officials stopped shy of saying that the efforts had thwarted the effort to arm rebel groups, but said it certainly didn’t make it easier.
“They’re raising a lot of questions without having alternative answers,” said one senior administration official.
“Whatever we do, we have to make sure we do it right,” Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday.
“If we are going to arm, we have to make sure we have control of what arms are out there and how people are trained to use those arms so they don’t fall into the hands of our enemy al Qaeda,” Ruppersberger said.
Ruppersberger would not discuss what actions his committee had taken, but said that they were providing oversight.
“We have funding oversight, and that’s part of the checks and balances,” he said.
The administration has pushed to sell its plan to lawmakers in Congress, and Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Biden both briefed the panels in June on the administration’s plans in Syria.
The White House announced in June that it would begin providing arms to the rebels, after it determined that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime had used chemical weapons. The White House has resisted taking further steps, such as setting up a no-fly zone.
Lawmakers said Tuesday, however, that they needed more evidence that the administration has thought its plan all the way through. Many of them are ardent supporters of arming the rebels.
“It’s not clear to me that the administration has a workable policy,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a member of the Intelligence Committee.
“We don’t have a clear picture of what the decision is by the administration,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and an ex-officio member of the Intelligence panel.
The Associated Press first reported last month that the Intelligence panels had rejected the Obama administration’s initial plans to arm the rebels.
As news of the delay has leaked out in recent days, lawmakers on other committees — including some who want to arm Syria’s rebels — are rankled that they are not being consulted.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, accused the administration of trying to covertly get the Syria military aid approved behind the closed doors of the Intelligence Committee.
“They should come and talk about this openly,” Corker told reporters Tuesday. “It puts the Intelligence Committee in a very awkward place. All of a sudden, they own it.”
House Foreign Affairs ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said that he wanted more extensive briefings on the arms plan for his committee.
“I think that sometimes it’s just assumed that they can talk to the Intelligence Committee and they’ve met all the requirements,” Engel said.
Intelligence Committee members said there’s no sleight of hand occurring.
Ruppersberger said Tuesday that the situation is incredibly complex in Syria, with Hezbollah members fighting alongside Assad’s forces and the Al-Nusra Front, a group affiliated with al Qaeda, fighting among the opposition.
“There’s a lot of difficult decisions to make right now,” Ruppersberger said. “That’s what we’re doing, working very closely with the White House.”
White House press secretary Jay Carney did not discuss the reasons behind the congressional delays over the aid on Tuesday, but said it was coming nonetheless.
“In keeping with the president’s announcement of our stepped-up assistance to the [Syrian opposition’s] Supreme Military Council, we are going to consult with Congress on these matters, and we intend to provide that stepped-up assistance,” Carney said at Tuesday’s White House briefing. “We were not bluffing. The president was very serious, as I think he made clear.”
—Amie Parnes contributed to this story.
—This report was updated at 8:21 p.m. | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 16,868 |
SAN BERNARDINO: Shooting kills father of kids whose mother died in ice cave collapse Share Pin It 1 of 3 More Galleries The Big Four Ice Caves in Washington are devoid of visitors Tuesday, July 7, 2015. On Tuesday, crews were trying to recover the body of a 34-year-old woman buried when rock and ice fell at the back of the cave. The ice caves area is prone to avalanches, falling rocks and ice, and visitors are urged not to leave the trail or enter the caves. MARK MULLIGAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS Related article » Witnesses sought San Bernardino police investigators said they are looking for witnesses to Cardona's shooting and asked anyone with information to call Detective Billy Flesher at 909-384-5655 or Sgt. Thomas Shank at 909-384-5965. If you'd like to help The family of Adrian Cardona is raising money for his funeral expenses and the care of his children. Donations may be made to a GoFundMe account at gofundme.com/zbfvv4c
Four children from Moreno Valley were grieving this weekend over their mother's death in the July 6 collapse of an ice cave in Washington state and holding vigil for their uncle, who lay unresponsive in a hospital bed there.
Then Monday, July 13, they received unfathomable news: Their father was shot to death late the previous night in San Bernardino.
In the span of a week, the children -- two girls, ages 14, 12, and two sons, 8 and 1 -- had become orphans.
"This is a nightmare," said Rachelle Randle, a family friend.
Randle's 12-year-old son is close friends with one of the girls and is a classmate at Landmark Middle School in Moreno Valley.
"There's so many of (her) friends out here that are hurting," Randle said.
San Bernardino police said the father, Adrian Martinez Cardona, 35, of Redlands, got into an argument about 10 p.m. Sunday at a bar, Lulu's Hideout, at 1958 W. Rialto Ave. Cardona was asked to leave, and he was shot as he stood outside near his vehicle.
No one had been arrested as of Monday afternoon, Lt. Rich Lawhead said, and no other circumstances of the shooting were immediately being released.
A person who answered the phone at Cardona's home Monday declined to talk about him. Friends of Annalisa Santana, the woman whose body was found in the ice cave, are saying little about the family at their request.
Randle said she has known the family for about two years. She didn't know whether Santana and Cardona ever married, but they were estranged at the time of their deaths, Randle said. The children all took their father's last name.
Santana and her children flew to Washington on June 30, where they met up with her boyfriend, Dustin Wilson. On July 6, they visited the Big Four Ice Caves, a popular – and unstable – tourist destination formed by avalanches in the Cascade Range.
Signs warn tourists that the cave can collapse. On the day Santana was killed, higher-than-normal temperatures were causing it to melt.
Besides Santana, five people were injured. Among them were Santana's oldest child, who suffered an ankle injury, and Santana's brother, David, who had a head injury, Randle said.
David Santana was in critical condition Monday, said Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg.
Adrian Cardona Sr. had spoken with his children daily after their mother's death, but he had been unable to go up to Washington, Randle said.
"His loved his kids," Randle said.
Randle bristled at comments on social media that criticized Santana for entering the cave and Cardona for getting in trouble at a bar. Whatever their choices, Randle said, the children need the public’s prayers and support.
They have a large extended family to care for them, Randle said. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video
In less than a week, four children in Moreno Valley have become orphans after losing both of their parents in separate incidents miles apart.
On July 6, mother of four Annalisa Santana was killed when an ice cave collapsed in Washington State where she and her family were visiting relatives. The 34-year-old, her children, fiance and brother were hiking inside the Big Four Ice Caves when large pile of ice and rock came down on top of them.
Santana died instantly. Her son and fiance were injured, while her brother remained hospitalized Monday in critical condition.
Then Sunday night, the children's 35-year-old father Adrian Cardona was shot and killed following an argument outside Lulu's Hideout Bar in San Bernardino.
Surveillance video showed three men outside the bar at the time of the shooting.
Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to call the San Bernardino Police Department at 909-384-5655 or 909-384-5965.
Meantime, a GoFundMe account has been set up by Santana's family for the children who have been staying with relatives.
On Tuesday, a separate GoFundMe account was established by the Cardona family. ||||| Four children were left orphaned after losing their mother and father in separate incidents. Gadi Schwartz reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2015. (Published Tuesday, Jul 14, 2015) (Published Tuesday, July 14, 2015)
Tragedy struck twice in less than one month for four children who lost their mother last week in a hiking accident.
Adrian Cardona, the father of the woman's four children, was killed Monday night after a dispute with a woman at a bar in San Bernardino, police said. Police were investigating the cause of the shooting.
Police said they could not release a description of the shooter and had not made any arrests.
The children's mother, Anna L. Santana, 34, died July 6 when ice and rocks fell inside of ice caves in Washington state.
The accident happened when Santana, from Moreno Valley, went on a hiking excursion on a remote mountainside in Washington. Three people were also injured during that accident.
Investigators said they were following up on leads in the shooting of Cardona. Police found a handgun at the scene of the shooting, but said the caliber does not match bullet that killed Cardona.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family of Anna Santana: http://www.gofundme.com/yzsf4s.
A GoFundMe account has also been set up by the family of Adrian Cardona: http://www.gofundme.com/zbfvv4c. ||||| Annalisa,Adrian&kids; Double Tragedy
Hello my names Christina an im from Colton, Ca. Annalisa is my cousin. This go fund me account I have created is to help pay for funeral services. Annalisa was on a mini vacation visiting her family in Washington. Where she an her family went to see a well known ice cave an it tragically collapsed killing her instantly. She leaves behind 4 kids; 2 girls an 2 boys ages 14, 12, 8 & 1. We need all the help we can get to give her proper services she deserves and also to help her children. The money will be given to her brother Gabriel Santana who is in charge of all financial responsibility. Everything is greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Christina
2.9K TOTAL
SHARES Share Tweet Donate COPY, PASTE & SHARE: http://www.gofundme.com/yzsf4s
What is GoFundMe? | – When Annalisa Santana was killed in the collapse of an ice cave in Washington state on July 6, she left behind four children. On Sunday night, those children became orphans when their father was shot to death outside a bar, reports the NBC Los Angeles. The kids range in age from 1 to 14, reports the Press-Enterprise. Santana's death occurred after she flew from California to Washington for a hiking excursion with her kids in the Big Four Ice Caves. The collapse killed her and left five others injured, including her oldest child with an ankle injury and her brother with a serious head injury. On Monday, the kids learned that their father, Adrian Cardona, 35, had been killed. Details of what happened are skimpy, but police think Cardona got into an argument with a woman at a bar in San Bernardino, which resulted in him getting shot while standing by his car. Surveillance video shows three men at the scene, but no arrests have been made, reports KTLA. Cardona and Santana had been estranged for a while. "This is a nightmare," a family friend tells the Press-Enterprise, adding that she's angered by the number of people on social media criticizing Santana for taking a risky hike and at Cardona for his bar fight. She says Cardona had spoken with his children daily via phone following Santana's death. Supporters have set up a GoFundMe page for the kids. It's not clear who will raise them, but the friend says they have a large extended family. (Meanwhile, a fresh tragedy for parents whose 3-month-old died during his first day at daycare.) | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.SAN BERNARDINO: Shooting kills father of kids whose mother died in ice cave collapse Share Pin It 1 of 3 More Galleries The Big Four Ice Caves in Washington are devoid of visitors Tuesday, July 7, 2015. On Tuesday, crews were trying to recover the body of a 34-year-old woman buried when rock and ice fell at the back of the cave. The ice caves area is prone to avalanches, falling rocks and ice, and visitors are urged not to leave the trail or enter the caves. MARK MULLIGAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS Related article » Witnesses sought San Bernardino police investigators said they are looking for witnesses to Cardona's shooting and asked anyone with information to call Detective Billy Flesher at 909-384-5655 or Sgt. Thomas Shank at 909-384-5965. If you'd like to help The family of Adrian Cardona is raising money for his funeral expenses and the care of his children. Donations may be made to a GoFundMe account at gofundme.com/zbfvv4c
Four children from Moreno Valley were grieving this weekend over their mother's death in the July 6 collapse of an ice cave in Washington state and holding vigil for their uncle, who lay unresponsive in a hospital bed there.
Then Monday, July 13, they received unfathomable news: Their father was shot to death late the previous night in San Bernardino.
In the span of a week, the children -- two girls, ages 14, 12, and two sons, 8 and 1 -- had become orphans.
"This is a nightmare," said Rachelle Randle, a family friend.
Randle's 12-year-old son is close friends with one of the girls and is a classmate at Landmark Middle School in Moreno Valley.
"There's so many of (her) friends out here that are hurting," Randle said.
San Bernardino police said the father, Adrian Martinez Cardona, 35, of Redlands, got into an argument about 10 p.m. Sunday at a bar, Lulu's Hideout, at 1958 W. Rialto Ave. Cardona was asked to leave, and he was shot as he stood outside near his vehicle.
No one had been arrested as of Monday afternoon, Lt. Rich Lawhead said, and no other circumstances of the shooting were immediately being released.
A person who answered the phone at Cardona's home Monday declined to talk about him. Friends of Annalisa Santana, the woman whose body was found in the ice cave, are saying little about the family at their request.
Randle said she has known the family for about two years. She didn't know whether Santana and Cardona ever married, but they were estranged at the time of their deaths, Randle said. The children all took their father's last name.
Santana and her children flew to Washington on June 30, where they met up with her boyfriend, Dustin Wilson. On July 6, they visited the Big Four Ice Caves, a popular – and unstable – tourist destination formed by avalanches in the Cascade Range.
Signs warn tourists that the cave can collapse. On the day Santana was killed, higher-than-normal temperatures were causing it to melt.
Besides Santana, five people were injured. Among them were Santana's oldest child, who suffered an ankle injury, and Santana's brother, David, who had a head injury, Randle said.
David Santana was in critical condition Monday, said Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg.
Adrian Cardona Sr. had spoken with his children daily after their mother's death, but he had been unable to go up to Washington, Randle said.
"His loved his kids," Randle said.
Randle bristled at comments on social media that criticized Santana for entering the cave and Cardona for getting in trouble at a bar. Whatever their choices, Randle said, the children need the public’s prayers and support.
They have a large extended family to care for them, Randle said. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video
In less than a week, four children in Moreno Valley have become orphans after losing both of their parents in separate incidents miles apart.
On July 6, mother of four Annalisa Santana was killed when an ice cave collapsed in Washington State where she and her family were visiting relatives. The 34-year-old, her children, fiance and brother were hiking inside the Big Four Ice Caves when large pile of ice and rock came down on top of them.
Santana died instantly. Her son and fiance were injured, while her brother remained hospitalized Monday in critical condition.
Then Sunday night, the children's 35-year-old father Adrian Cardona was shot and killed following an argument outside Lulu's Hideout Bar in San Bernardino.
Surveillance video showed three men outside the bar at the time of the shooting.
Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to call the San Bernardino Police Department at 909-384-5655 or 909-384-5965.
Meantime, a GoFundMe account has been set up by Santana's family for the children who have been staying with relatives.
On Tuesday, a separate GoFundMe account was established by the Cardona family. ||||| Four children were left orphaned after losing their mother and father in separate incidents. Gadi Schwartz reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2015. (Published Tuesday, Jul 14, 2015) (Published Tuesday, July 14, 2015)
Tragedy struck twice in less than one month for four children who lost their mother last week in a hiking accident.
Adrian Cardona, the father of the woman's four children, was killed Monday night after a dispute with a woman at a bar in San Bernardino, police said. Police were investigating the cause of the shooting.
Police said they could not release a description of the shooter and had not made any arrests.
The children's mother, Anna L. Santana, 34, died July 6 when ice and rocks fell inside of ice caves in Washington state.
The accident happened when Santana, from Moreno Valley, went on a hiking excursion on a remote mountainside in Washington. Three people were also injured during that accident.
Investigators said they were following up on leads in the shooting of Cardona. Police found a handgun at the scene of the shooting, but said the caliber does not match bullet that killed Cardona.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family of Anna Santana: http://www.gofundme.com/yzsf4s.
A GoFundMe account has also been set up by the family of Adrian Cardona: http://www.gofundme.com/zbfvv4c. ||||| Annalisa,Adrian&kids; Double Tragedy
Hello my names Christina an im from Colton, Ca. Annalisa is my cousin. This go fund me account I have created is to help pay for funeral services. Annalisa was on a mini vacation visiting her family in Washington. Where she an her family went to see a well known ice cave an it tragically collapsed killing her instantly. She leaves behind 4 kids; 2 girls an 2 boys ages 14, 12, 8 & 1. We need all the help we can get to give her proper services she deserves and also to help her children. The money will be given to her brother Gabriel Santana who is in charge of all financial responsibility. Everything is greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Christina
2.9K TOTAL
SHARES Share Tweet Donate COPY, PASTE & SHARE: http://www.gofundme.com/yzsf4s
What is GoFundMe? | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 23,313 |
Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Julia Louis-Dreyfus teared up as she honored her father during her Emmys speech on Sunday night. "I'd like to dedicate this to my father, William Louis-Dreyfus, who passed away on Friday," she said at the end of her otherwise light-hearted speech. "I'm so glad he liked Veep because his opinion was the one that really mattered."
The moving tribute by the Veep star brought audience members to tears as well. The cameras flashed to Jerry Seinfeld, her longtime co-star on Seinfeld , who was also visibly moved.
VIEW GALLERY | 54 PHOTOS Priyanka Chopra arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Priyanka Chopra arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
Steve Granitz—Getty Images 1 of 54
Louis-Dreyfus has won the best actress in a comedy accolade five years in a row and eight times total. | – Julia Loius-Dreyfus won lead actress in a comedy series yet again for Veep, and her acceptance speech "made us go through every emoji," one Twitter user noted. Per the Week, Loius-Dreyfus first apologized for today's current political climate, saying her HBO show had "torn down the wall between comedy and politics." Veep "started out as a political satire but it now feels more like a sobering documentary, so I certainly do promise to rebuild that wall and make Mexico pay for it," she joked. Her emotions, and those of the audience, then suddenly did a 180 as she dedicated her win to dad William Louis-Dreyfus, who died at the age of 84 on Friday. "I'm so glad he liked Veep, because his opinion was the one that really mattered," she said tearfully, per Time. | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Julia Louis-Dreyfus teared up as she honored her father during her Emmys speech on Sunday night. "I'd like to dedicate this to my father, William Louis-Dreyfus, who passed away on Friday," she said at the end of her otherwise light-hearted speech. "I'm so glad he liked Veep because his opinion was the one that really mattered."
The moving tribute by the Veep star brought audience members to tears as well. The cameras flashed to Jerry Seinfeld, her longtime co-star on Seinfeld , who was also visibly moved.
VIEW GALLERY | 54 PHOTOS Priyanka Chopra arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Priyanka Chopra arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
Steve Granitz—Getty Images 1 of 54
Louis-Dreyfus has won the best actress in a comedy accolade five years in a row and eight times total. | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 9,902 |
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.
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.
Outpost shows you the world like you’ve never seen it. The series lives at the intersection of investigative journalism and adventure travel, bringing you a local perspective on faraway places and inviting you to explore. The series premieres March 26 @ 8 and 11 PM on Fusion TV.
In the first episode, transgender model Carmen Carrera travels to Brazil, a place where rates of violence against LGBT people are some of the highest in the world, to find out what’s happening, what life is like for young transgendered people in Brazil, and what the future might hold. Gabriel Leigh takes us to El Alto, Bolivia, where some of the craziest architecture on earth is taking shape as part of a surge in indigenous purchasing power. ||||| FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series “Outpost” and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series “Outpost” and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new... (Associated Press)
NEW YORK (AP) — Over his career, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson recorded 50 wins and six losses. But he recently notched another big loss in Latin America — this time as a coach of a bird.
Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series "Outpost " and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird contest, a cherished local tradition.
Cameras captured Iron Mike as he learned about the contest, located a bird to enter — he dubbed the tiny guy "Little Mike" — but then suffered a TKO when a competing champion cheeped and peeped more than his bird did in the same 15-minute period.
"Little Mike let us down, man. I was in his corner, though," said Tyson by phone from Las Vegas. "It was just amazing meeting the people, meeting the culture — I had a great time."
The series, kicking off on Sunday with Tyson's episode, mixes travel adventure, history and journalism to shine a light on global stories. The first season focuses on Latin America and includes as hosts "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" bandleader Jon Batiste, "Brain Games" star Jason Silva, and transgender model Carmen Carrera. Spanish versions air on UniMas.
Tyson was lured onto the show by the chance to visit a country he'd never heard of and his love of birds. The former boxer has loved pigeons and raced them since he was a kid in Brooklyn. (Sunday's show recorded the moment Tyson lovingly released the bird in Suriname he competed with.)
"My wife always says, 'The reason I keep my pigeons is they connect me to my childhood,'" Tyson said. "Once it's in your blood, it never leaves. It's just who you are."
Back home, Tyson is watching his former profession lose out to professional mixed martial arts but thinks he may have the answer to put the "sweet science" back on top: A compelling boxer somehow unifies the heavyweight title.
"We haven't had a really good, exciting heavyweight champion in a long time," he said.
___
Online: http://fusion.net/series/outpost | – Over his career, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson recorded 50 wins and six losses. But he recently notched another big loss in Latin America—this time as a coach of a bird, reports the AP. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series Outpost, and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird contest, a cherished local tradition. Cameras captured Iron Mike as he learned about the contest, located a bird to enter—he dubbed the tiny guy "Little Mike"—but then suffered a TKO when a competing champion cheeped and peeped more than his bird did in the same 15-minute period. "Little Mike let us down, man. I was in his corner, though," said Tyson. "It was just amazing meeting the people, meeting the culture—I had a great time." The series, kicking off on Sunday with Tyson's episode, mixes travel adventure, history, and journalism to shine a light on global stories. The first season focuses on Latin America and includes as hosts The Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste, Brain Games star Jason Silva, and transgender model Carmen Carrera. Spanish versions air on UniMas. Tyson was lured onto the show by the chance to visit a country he'd never heard of and his love of birds. The former boxer has loved pigeons and kept them since he was a kid in Brooklyn. (Sunday's show recorded the moment Tyson lovingly released his bird in Suriname.) "My wife always says the reason I keep my pigeons is they connect me to my childhood," Tyson said. "Once it's in your blood, it never leaves. It's just who you are." | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.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.
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.
Outpost shows you the world like you’ve never seen it. The series lives at the intersection of investigative journalism and adventure travel, bringing you a local perspective on faraway places and inviting you to explore. The series premieres March 26 @ 8 and 11 PM on Fusion TV.
In the first episode, transgender model Carmen Carrera travels to Brazil, a place where rates of violence against LGBT people are some of the highest in the world, to find out what’s happening, what life is like for young transgendered people in Brazil, and what the future might hold. Gabriel Leigh takes us to El Alto, Bolivia, where some of the craziest architecture on earth is taking shape as part of a surge in indigenous purchasing power. ||||| FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series “Outpost” and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series “Outpost” and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new... (Associated Press)
NEW YORK (AP) — Over his career, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson recorded 50 wins and six losses. But he recently notched another big loss in Latin America — this time as a coach of a bird.
Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series "Outpost " and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird contest, a cherished local tradition.
Cameras captured Iron Mike as he learned about the contest, located a bird to enter — he dubbed the tiny guy "Little Mike" — but then suffered a TKO when a competing champion cheeped and peeped more than his bird did in the same 15-minute period.
"Little Mike let us down, man. I was in his corner, though," said Tyson by phone from Las Vegas. "It was just amazing meeting the people, meeting the culture — I had a great time."
The series, kicking off on Sunday with Tyson's episode, mixes travel adventure, history and journalism to shine a light on global stories. The first season focuses on Latin America and includes as hosts "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" bandleader Jon Batiste, "Brain Games" star Jason Silva, and transgender model Carmen Carrera. Spanish versions air on UniMas.
Tyson was lured onto the show by the chance to visit a country he'd never heard of and his love of birds. The former boxer has loved pigeons and raced them since he was a kid in Brooklyn. (Sunday's show recorded the moment Tyson lovingly released the bird in Suriname he competed with.)
"My wife always says, 'The reason I keep my pigeons is they connect me to my childhood,'" Tyson said. "Once it's in your blood, it never leaves. It's just who you are."
Back home, Tyson is watching his former profession lose out to professional mixed martial arts but thinks he may have the answer to put the "sweet science" back on top: A compelling boxer somehow unifies the heavyweight title.
"We haven't had a really good, exciting heavyweight champion in a long time," he said.
___
Online: http://fusion.net/series/outpost | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 1,641 |
Abstract
Modern genetic sequencing studies have confirmed that the sperm of older men contain a greater number of de novo germline mutations than the sperm of younger men. Although most of these mutations are neutral or of minimal phenotypic impact, a minority of them present a risk to the health of future children. If demographic trends towards later fatherhood continue, this will likely lead to a more children suffering from genetic disorders. A trend of later fatherhood will accelerate the accumulation of paternal-origin de novo mutations in the gene pool, gradually reducing human fitness in the long term. These risks suggest that paternal age is of ethical importance. Children affected by de novo mutations arising from delayed fatherhood can be said to be harmed, in the sense of ‘impersonal’ harm or ‘non-comparative’ harm. Various strategies are open at societal and individual levels towards reducing deleterious paternal age effects. Options include health education to promote earlier fatherhood, incentives for young sperm donors and state-supported universal sperm banking. The latter approach would likely be of the greatest benefit and could in principle be implemented immediately. More futuristically, human germline genetic modification offers the potential to repair heritable mutational damage. ||||| Image copyright SPL
The sperm of all 18-year-olds should be frozen for use in later life because of the risks attached with being an older father, a UK bioethicist has argued.
Sperm becomes more prone to errors with age, increasing the risk of autism, schizophrenia and other disorders.
Dr Kevin Smith, from Abertay University in Dundee, says sperm-banking on the NHS should "become the norm".
The British Fertility Society said such a move would "provide a very artificial approach to procreation".
It called for a greater focus in the UK on supporting young couples to have work and have children.
Men are having children later - the average age of fatherhood in England and Wales has increased from 31 in the early 1990s to 33 now.
But while it remains possible to have children well into old age, there are consequences.
Making his case in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Dr Smith said even small increases in the risk of disease could have a big effect when scaled up across a whole nation.
Image caption Dr Kevin Smith says sperm banks should "become the norm"
He told the BBC News website: "I think on a society-wide basis, we do need to worry about it - it is a very real and pronounced effect.
"It's time we took seriously the issue of paternal age and its effect on the next generation of children."
His solution is sperm banking for everyone on the NHS so that in older age men can turn to the sperm from their younger selves.
He said there was no fixed age when someone could become an "older dad" but that people in their 40s might want to return the sperm bank freezer.
He said sperm should be banked ideally around the age of 18.
It costs £150-200 per year to keep sperm privately, although an NHS equivalent should be cheaper to run.
Image copyright SPL
Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: "This is one of the most ridiculous suggestions I have heard in a long time."
He said the risks from fathering children later in life were "really quite small".
"We know that the sperm from the majority of men won't freeze very well, which is one of the reasons why sperm donors are in short supply," he added.
"Therefore, men who froze their sperm at 18, and returned to use it later in life, would essentially be asking their wives to undergo one or more IVF procedures in order to start a family."
'False security'
Professor Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, disagreed with the need for a universal sperm bank.
He said: "Not only does it provide a very artificial approach to procreation, but also a false sense of security as the technology does not guarantee a baby."
He warned that frozen sperm were less fertile than fresh ones and couples would be likely to have to depend on IVF.
Prof Balen argued: "I don't think we should be advising all women and men to freeze eggs and sperm for an uncertain future, but support young couples to have work and have children - that may require a societal shift in philosophy."
He said other countries, particularly in Scandinavia, were better than the UK at providing childcare and maternity and paternity leave.
Sheena Lewis, the chair of the British Andrology Society, said: "Men should think about their families much earlier in their lives.
"We need to get the message across that it's really a much better idea for men as well as women to have their children in their 20s and 30s." | – When men are young and full of ... life, they should freeze some sperm for later use, a British bioethicist argues. Dr. Kevin Smith says the risks associated with older fathers—studies have pointed to higher rates of autism and a range of other mental disorders—are enough of a problem that the government should consider setting up a state-supported sperm bank where men can deposit their swimmers at 18 and come back for them if they decide to father a child in their 40s or later. "It's time we took seriously the issue of paternal age and its effect on the next generation of children," Smith tells the BBC, which notes that private sperm banking costs around $300 a year, but also that the UK's National Health Service could probably bring costs down considerably. Fertility experts, however, tell the BBC that the suggestion is "ridiculous" for several reasons, including the fact that the risks associated with older fathers are "really quite small," and the fact that most men's sperm doesn't freeze all that well. The chairman of the British Fertility Society tells the BBC that a national sperm bank isn't needed because it not only provides "a very artificial approach to procreation, but also a false sense of security as the technology does not guarantee a baby." In a paper published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Smith says "health education to promote earlier fatherhood" and "incentives for young sperm donors" should also be considered. (Another study warns that pesticides could be killing our sperm.) | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.Abstract
Modern genetic sequencing studies have confirmed that the sperm of older men contain a greater number of de novo germline mutations than the sperm of younger men. Although most of these mutations are neutral or of minimal phenotypic impact, a minority of them present a risk to the health of future children. If demographic trends towards later fatherhood continue, this will likely lead to a more children suffering from genetic disorders. A trend of later fatherhood will accelerate the accumulation of paternal-origin de novo mutations in the gene pool, gradually reducing human fitness in the long term. These risks suggest that paternal age is of ethical importance. Children affected by de novo mutations arising from delayed fatherhood can be said to be harmed, in the sense of ‘impersonal’ harm or ‘non-comparative’ harm. Various strategies are open at societal and individual levels towards reducing deleterious paternal age effects. Options include health education to promote earlier fatherhood, incentives for young sperm donors and state-supported universal sperm banking. The latter approach would likely be of the greatest benefit and could in principle be implemented immediately. More futuristically, human germline genetic modification offers the potential to repair heritable mutational damage. ||||| Image copyright SPL
The sperm of all 18-year-olds should be frozen for use in later life because of the risks attached with being an older father, a UK bioethicist has argued.
Sperm becomes more prone to errors with age, increasing the risk of autism, schizophrenia and other disorders.
Dr Kevin Smith, from Abertay University in Dundee, says sperm-banking on the NHS should "become the norm".
The British Fertility Society said such a move would "provide a very artificial approach to procreation".
It called for a greater focus in the UK on supporting young couples to have work and have children.
Men are having children later - the average age of fatherhood in England and Wales has increased from 31 in the early 1990s to 33 now.
But while it remains possible to have children well into old age, there are consequences.
Making his case in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Dr Smith said even small increases in the risk of disease could have a big effect when scaled up across a whole nation.
Image caption Dr Kevin Smith says sperm banks should "become the norm"
He told the BBC News website: "I think on a society-wide basis, we do need to worry about it - it is a very real and pronounced effect.
"It's time we took seriously the issue of paternal age and its effect on the next generation of children."
His solution is sperm banking for everyone on the NHS so that in older age men can turn to the sperm from their younger selves.
He said there was no fixed age when someone could become an "older dad" but that people in their 40s might want to return the sperm bank freezer.
He said sperm should be banked ideally around the age of 18.
It costs £150-200 per year to keep sperm privately, although an NHS equivalent should be cheaper to run.
Image copyright SPL
Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: "This is one of the most ridiculous suggestions I have heard in a long time."
He said the risks from fathering children later in life were "really quite small".
"We know that the sperm from the majority of men won't freeze very well, which is one of the reasons why sperm donors are in short supply," he added.
"Therefore, men who froze their sperm at 18, and returned to use it later in life, would essentially be asking their wives to undergo one or more IVF procedures in order to start a family."
'False security'
Professor Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, disagreed with the need for a universal sperm bank.
He said: "Not only does it provide a very artificial approach to procreation, but also a false sense of security as the technology does not guarantee a baby."
He warned that frozen sperm were less fertile than fresh ones and couples would be likely to have to depend on IVF.
Prof Balen argued: "I don't think we should be advising all women and men to freeze eggs and sperm for an uncertain future, but support young couples to have work and have children - that may require a societal shift in philosophy."
He said other countries, particularly in Scandinavia, were better than the UK at providing childcare and maternity and paternity leave.
Sheena Lewis, the chair of the British Andrology Society, said: "Men should think about their families much earlier in their lives.
"We need to get the message across that it's really a much better idea for men as well as women to have their children in their 20s and 30s." | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 22,368 |
Olympic gold medalist gymnast Aly Raisman delivered a 13-minute victim impact statement today in front of Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina and Larry Nassar himself, in which she excoriated not just Nassar for his sexual abuses against herself and nearly 150 other athletes, but also USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee for what she sees as a systematic enabling of his crimes and an inadequate response to the devastating scandal on their doorstep.
Raisman reached out to prosecutors last week asking to testify, and she did so with such a deliberate and severe tone, shying away from none of the injustices she and her fellow athletes have endured.
Early in her statement, she appeared to look at Nassar himself, and said coldly: “You do realize now the women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time are now a force, and you are nothing.”
She responded to a statement Nassar provided yesterday, telling the judge he was unsure if he had the mental stamina to listen to so many victim impact statements. Raisman did not mince words, telling her abuser that he is “pathetic to think that anyone would have sympathy for you.” She told Nassar that she and the other athletes he abused “will use our voices to make sure you get what you deserve: A life of suffering spent replaying the words delivered by this powerful army of survivors.”
But Raisman’s most focused contempt came for USA Gymnastics and the USOC, and how they allowed the state of the sport to be uniquely influenced by Nassar. Both institutions received complaints about his abuses spanning back decades.
She told Nassar that she “will not rest until every last trace of your influence on this sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is,” and, in addressing new USA Gymastics CEO Kerry Perry, said she had “taken on an organization that I feel is rotting from the inside.”
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“This may not be what you thought you were getting into,” she said, “but you will be judged by how you deal with it.”
Raisman is clearly fed up with the USAG’s toothless statements and responses to the growing crisis within its sport, saying that “continuing to issue statements of empty promises thinking that will pacify us will no longer work.”
She begged USA Gymnastics and the USOC to conduct full and independent investigations into how Nassar’s abuses were allowed to go on for so long, and clean out any and all people who failed to protect her and her fellow gymnasts.
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“I have represented the USA in two Olympics and have done so successfully,” Raisman said. “And both USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee have been very quick to capitalize and celebrate my success, but did they reach out when I came forward?
“No,” and then she paused.
For this sport to go on, we need to demand real change, and we need to be willing to fight for it. It’s clear now that if we leave it up to these organizations, history is likely to repeat itself. Now is the time to acknowledge that the very person who sits before us now—who perpetrated the worst epidemic of sexual abuse in the history of sports, who is going to be locked up for a long, long time—this monster was also the architect of policies and procedures that are supposed to protect athletes from sexual abuse for both USA Gymnastics and the USOC.
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Raisman asked the judge to sentence Nassar to the strongest possible allowed by law to send a message to abusers that their time is up. She added: “Please, your honor, stress the need to investigate how this happened so we can hold accountable those who enabled Larry Nassar.”
At the end of her statement, Aquilina looked at Raisman and said: “I’m an adult, and I’m listening, and I’m sorry it took this long.” ||||| (CNN) Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman delivered a forceful speech in court Friday, praising the "army of survivors" who have spoken out against former team doctor Larry Nassar.
"The tables have turned Larry," she said. "We are here. We have our voices, and we are not going anywhere."
Raisman also accused USA Gymnastics of "rotting from the inside" and called on its new leader, Kerry Perry, to take responsibility and stop issuing statements full of empty promises.
"Where is the honesty? Where is the transparency? Why must the manipulation continue?" she asked.
The gymnast's statement came on the fourth day of a remarkable weeklong sentencing for Nassar , the former doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University. He has pleaded guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct in Ingham County, Michigan, and admitted to sexually assaulting and abusing young girls under the guise of providing medical treatment.
Raisman, who won three gold medals for the US women's gymnastics team in 2012 and 2016, said Friday that she represented USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee at two Olympics, but they had not reciprocated.
"They have been quick to capitalize on my success," she said. "But did they reach out when I came forward? No."
Raisman had said on Twitter last week she did not plan to attend Nassar's sentencing, but she said she decided to do so after watching the proceedings from afar.
Earlier Friday in court, Olympic gymnast Jordyn Wieber said she, too, was sexually abused by Nassar during her time at USA Gymnastics.
"I thought that training for the Olympics would be the hardest thing that I would ever have to do, but in fact, the hardest thing I've ever had to do is process that I'm a victim of Larry Nassar," Wieber said.
JUST WATCHED Ex-Olympian: I will not live life as a victim Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Ex-Olympian: I will not live life as a victim 01:47
Wieber's statement made her the fourth member of the 2012 women's gymnastics team, known as the "Fierce Five," to say Nassar abused them. A written statement from McKayla Maroney was read into court Thursday, and Gabby Douglas has also said publicly the former team doctor abused her.
"But even though I'm a victim, I do not and will not live my life as one," Wieber said. "I'm an Olympian. Despite being abused, I worked so hard and managed to achieve my goal."
As of Friday morning, more than 70 victims have stared down Nassar and spoken out about how he affected their lives in defiant, tear-filled statements. In all, 120 women are expected to speak about Nassar's abuse, according to prosecutors. The statements could last into Tuesday, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said.
Nassar has also pleaded guilty to three charges in Eaton County, Michigan, and he has already been sentenced to 60 years in prison for federal child pornography charges.
Tales of abuse and anxiety
Larry Nassar listens as a victim makes her impact statement during this week's sentencing hearing.
Many of the victims -- or survivors, as they have also been called in court -- have reserved harsh words for Nassar, who they said used his power and professional renown in the sports community for his own sexual gratification.
But they have also targeted institutions that they say enabled Nassar for more than two decades. USA Gymnastics and Michigan State have separately said they reported Nassar's abuse immediately when they learned about it, but a number of victims said they told authorities about the abuse years ago and were ignored.
"Michigan State University, the school I loved and trusted, had the audacity to tell me that I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure," Amanda Thomashow said at sentencing.
"That master manipulator took advantage of his title, he abused me, and when I found the strength to talk about what had happened, I was ignored and my voice was silenced."
That criticism has not gone unheard.
On Thursday, USA Gymnastics cut ties with the Karolyi Ranch , the women's gymnastics training facility where gymnasts said abuse went unchecked.
And on Friday, Michigan State's Board of Trustees asked the Michigan attorney general to review the Nassar case, according to a statement CNN obtained.
"The testimony of Nassar's victims this week made many of us, including me, listen to the survivors and the community in a different way," said university President Lou Anna K. Simon, who attended court Wednesday. "It is clear to the board and me that a review by the attorney general's office can provide the answers people need."
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette agreed to take on a "review, report and recommendation" of what happened at the university, he said in a statement.
John Manly, an attorney representing more than 100 women in civil lawsuits, said the move was "too little, too late."
"The only reason Ms. Simon asked for (an investigation) today is because MSU's culpability has been exposed," he said. ||||| CLOSE Former Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman reads her testimony at the sentencing hearing of former team doctor Larry Nassar. Time
Buy Photo Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman, left, and Jordyn Wieber sit in Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's courtroom Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, during the fourth day of the sentencing hearing for former sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar, who pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault in Ingham County, and three in Eaton County. (Photo: Lansing State Journal file photo/Matthew Dae Smith)Buy Photo
LANSING -- Three-time Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman called for sweeping changes in her sport while addressing serial abuser Larry Nassar during his sentencing hearing Friday.
Raisman told Nassar that she would not rest until his influence was erased from the sport she loves.
"The tables have turned, Larry," Raisman said. "We are here. We have our voices and we are not going anywhere. And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me.”
More: Read Aly Raisman's full statement to Larry Nassar
Raisman said she is no longer the little girl Nassar met and began grooming at a competition in Australia.
"Imagine how it feels to be an innocent teenager in a foreign country, hearing a knock on the door and it’s you," Raisman said. "I didn’t want you to be there but I don't have a choice. Treatments with you were mandatory. You took advantage of that. You even told on us if we didn't want to be treated by you."
Raisman also took the opportunity to target the failings of USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee. She said on the very day USA Gymnastics announced it was parting ways with a training center at the Karolyi Ranch in Texas, there were athletes still training at the facility.
“It’s clear now, if you leave it up to these organizations, history is likely to repeat itself,” Raisman said.
In remarks directed at the new president of USA Gymnastics, who was in the courtroom earlier in the week, Raisman said "You have taken on an organization that I feel is rotting from the inside."
Buy Photo Aly Raisman addressed Larry Nassar in court January 19, 2018 (Photo: Matt Mencarini / Lansing State Journal)
She noted that Nassar served on boards within USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee where he was the "architect" of the very policies meant to protect athletes. Raisman said Nassar was the person gymnastics officials had "take the lead of athlete care" and provide "the foundation for our medical system."
"I will not rest until every last trace of your influence on this sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is,” Raisman said.
Raisman arrived in court at 9 a.m. accompanying her 2012 teammate Jordyn Wieber, who made the first victim statement of the morning. Wieber and Raisman had contacted the Michigan Attorney General's Office earlier this week asking for permission to speak on Friday, officials said.
Nassar pleaded guilty to 10 sexual assault charges prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office. But his plea agreement allowed more than 100 women who have reported that he abused them to make victim impact statements. The Ingham County sentencing began Monday. An Eaton County sentencing is set for Jan. 31.
Nassar was sentenced to 60 years on three child pornography charges by a U.S. District Court judge in December.
Raisman was the first speaker after a late morning break.
After spending time in a small conference room in the courthouse, Raisman took a few moments to mentally prepare herself, pacing in the hallway outside the coutroom.
Buy Photo Former Olympian Aly Raisman confronts Larry Nassar in Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's courtroom Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, during the fourth day of victim impact statements regarding former sports medicine doctor, who pled guilty to seven counts of sexual assault in Ingham County, and three in Eaton County. (Photo: MATTHEW DAE SMITH/Lansing State Journal)
"I'm ready," she said. "I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready."
Kaylee Lorincz, hobbling out of the courtroom on crutches, stopped to chat.
"We're gonna change things so the next generation doesn't have to deal with this," Raisman said. They hugged.
Lorincz, 18, who first spoke out as a victim after Nassar pleaded guilty to his Ingham County charges in November, also spoke last month at a Michigan State University Board of Trustees meeting.
Lorincz has not yet given her victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing, which continues Monday in Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's courtroom.
"I'm gonna watch you on Monday," Raisman told Lorincz. "I'm not gonna be here but I'll watch you. I'm rooting for you."
Shortly after the hearing broke for lunch, Raisman declined to comment further before leaving the courthouse.
Contact Reporter Beth LeBlanc at 517-377-1167 or [email protected].
Read or Share this story: http://on.lsj.com/2Dus9ed | – "The women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time are now a force, and you are nothing," Deadspin quotes Aly Raisman as telling Larry Nassar Friday in court. In a blistering 13-minute speech, the Olympic gold medal-winner ripped into the doctor who allegedly molested her and more than 140 others, as well as the organizations she says enabled him. "The tables have turned, Larry," the Lansing State Journal quotes Raisman as saying. "We are here. We have our voices, and we are not going anywhere. And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me.” She told Nassar he deserves "a life of suffering" and was "pathetic to think that anyone would have sympathy" for him after he complained of having to listen to impact statements from dozens of accusers during sentencing for criminal sexual conduct. "I will not rest until every last trace of your influence on this sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is,” Raisman told him. Raisman called for full independent investigations into USA Gymnastics, which she said "is rotting from the inside," and the US Olympic Committee to find out why Nassar was allowed to thrive. “It’s clear now, if you leave it up to these organizations, history is likely to repeat itself,” Raisman said. Both organizations had received complaints about Nassar's behavior dating back decades. Raisman warned new USAG CEO Kerry Perry that “continuing to issue statements of empty promises thinking that will pacify us will no longer work.” More than 120 women are expected to deliver impact statements to Nassar, who is already serving 60 years for child pornography, CNN reports. Before her statement, Raisman told fellow accuser Kaylee Lorincz, "We're gonna change things so the next generation doesn't have to deal with this." | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.Olympic gold medalist gymnast Aly Raisman delivered a 13-minute victim impact statement today in front of Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina and Larry Nassar himself, in which she excoriated not just Nassar for his sexual abuses against herself and nearly 150 other athletes, but also USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee for what she sees as a systematic enabling of his crimes and an inadequate response to the devastating scandal on their doorstep.
Raisman reached out to prosecutors last week asking to testify, and she did so with such a deliberate and severe tone, shying away from none of the injustices she and her fellow athletes have endured.
Early in her statement, she appeared to look at Nassar himself, and said coldly: “You do realize now the women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time are now a force, and you are nothing.”
She responded to a statement Nassar provided yesterday, telling the judge he was unsure if he had the mental stamina to listen to so many victim impact statements. Raisman did not mince words, telling her abuser that he is “pathetic to think that anyone would have sympathy for you.” She told Nassar that she and the other athletes he abused “will use our voices to make sure you get what you deserve: A life of suffering spent replaying the words delivered by this powerful army of survivors.”
But Raisman’s most focused contempt came for USA Gymnastics and the USOC, and how they allowed the state of the sport to be uniquely influenced by Nassar. Both institutions received complaints about his abuses spanning back decades.
She told Nassar that she “will not rest until every last trace of your influence on this sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is,” and, in addressing new USA Gymastics CEO Kerry Perry, said she had “taken on an organization that I feel is rotting from the inside.”
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“This may not be what you thought you were getting into,” she said, “but you will be judged by how you deal with it.”
Raisman is clearly fed up with the USAG’s toothless statements and responses to the growing crisis within its sport, saying that “continuing to issue statements of empty promises thinking that will pacify us will no longer work.”
She begged USA Gymnastics and the USOC to conduct full and independent investigations into how Nassar’s abuses were allowed to go on for so long, and clean out any and all people who failed to protect her and her fellow gymnasts.
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“I have represented the USA in two Olympics and have done so successfully,” Raisman said. “And both USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee have been very quick to capitalize and celebrate my success, but did they reach out when I came forward?
“No,” and then she paused.
For this sport to go on, we need to demand real change, and we need to be willing to fight for it. It’s clear now that if we leave it up to these organizations, history is likely to repeat itself. Now is the time to acknowledge that the very person who sits before us now—who perpetrated the worst epidemic of sexual abuse in the history of sports, who is going to be locked up for a long, long time—this monster was also the architect of policies and procedures that are supposed to protect athletes from sexual abuse for both USA Gymnastics and the USOC.
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Raisman asked the judge to sentence Nassar to the strongest possible allowed by law to send a message to abusers that their time is up. She added: “Please, your honor, stress the need to investigate how this happened so we can hold accountable those who enabled Larry Nassar.”
At the end of her statement, Aquilina looked at Raisman and said: “I’m an adult, and I’m listening, and I’m sorry it took this long.” ||||| (CNN) Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman delivered a forceful speech in court Friday, praising the "army of survivors" who have spoken out against former team doctor Larry Nassar.
"The tables have turned Larry," she said. "We are here. We have our voices, and we are not going anywhere."
Raisman also accused USA Gymnastics of "rotting from the inside" and called on its new leader, Kerry Perry, to take responsibility and stop issuing statements full of empty promises.
"Where is the honesty? Where is the transparency? Why must the manipulation continue?" she asked.
The gymnast's statement came on the fourth day of a remarkable weeklong sentencing for Nassar , the former doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University. He has pleaded guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct in Ingham County, Michigan, and admitted to sexually assaulting and abusing young girls under the guise of providing medical treatment.
Raisman, who won three gold medals for the US women's gymnastics team in 2012 and 2016, said Friday that she represented USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee at two Olympics, but they had not reciprocated.
"They have been quick to capitalize on my success," she said. "But did they reach out when I came forward? No."
Raisman had said on Twitter last week she did not plan to attend Nassar's sentencing, but she said she decided to do so after watching the proceedings from afar.
Earlier Friday in court, Olympic gymnast Jordyn Wieber said she, too, was sexually abused by Nassar during her time at USA Gymnastics.
"I thought that training for the Olympics would be the hardest thing that I would ever have to do, but in fact, the hardest thing I've ever had to do is process that I'm a victim of Larry Nassar," Wieber said.
JUST WATCHED Ex-Olympian: I will not live life as a victim Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Ex-Olympian: I will not live life as a victim 01:47
Wieber's statement made her the fourth member of the 2012 women's gymnastics team, known as the "Fierce Five," to say Nassar abused them. A written statement from McKayla Maroney was read into court Thursday, and Gabby Douglas has also said publicly the former team doctor abused her.
"But even though I'm a victim, I do not and will not live my life as one," Wieber said. "I'm an Olympian. Despite being abused, I worked so hard and managed to achieve my goal."
As of Friday morning, more than 70 victims have stared down Nassar and spoken out about how he affected their lives in defiant, tear-filled statements. In all, 120 women are expected to speak about Nassar's abuse, according to prosecutors. The statements could last into Tuesday, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said.
Nassar has also pleaded guilty to three charges in Eaton County, Michigan, and he has already been sentenced to 60 years in prison for federal child pornography charges.
Tales of abuse and anxiety
Larry Nassar listens as a victim makes her impact statement during this week's sentencing hearing.
Many of the victims -- or survivors, as they have also been called in court -- have reserved harsh words for Nassar, who they said used his power and professional renown in the sports community for his own sexual gratification.
But they have also targeted institutions that they say enabled Nassar for more than two decades. USA Gymnastics and Michigan State have separately said they reported Nassar's abuse immediately when they learned about it, but a number of victims said they told authorities about the abuse years ago and were ignored.
"Michigan State University, the school I loved and trusted, had the audacity to tell me that I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure," Amanda Thomashow said at sentencing.
"That master manipulator took advantage of his title, he abused me, and when I found the strength to talk about what had happened, I was ignored and my voice was silenced."
That criticism has not gone unheard.
On Thursday, USA Gymnastics cut ties with the Karolyi Ranch , the women's gymnastics training facility where gymnasts said abuse went unchecked.
And on Friday, Michigan State's Board of Trustees asked the Michigan attorney general to review the Nassar case, according to a statement CNN obtained.
"The testimony of Nassar's victims this week made many of us, including me, listen to the survivors and the community in a different way," said university President Lou Anna K. Simon, who attended court Wednesday. "It is clear to the board and me that a review by the attorney general's office can provide the answers people need."
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette agreed to take on a "review, report and recommendation" of what happened at the university, he said in a statement.
John Manly, an attorney representing more than 100 women in civil lawsuits, said the move was "too little, too late."
"The only reason Ms. Simon asked for (an investigation) today is because MSU's culpability has been exposed," he said. ||||| CLOSE Former Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman reads her testimony at the sentencing hearing of former team doctor Larry Nassar. Time
Buy Photo Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman, left, and Jordyn Wieber sit in Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's courtroom Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, during the fourth day of the sentencing hearing for former sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar, who pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault in Ingham County, and three in Eaton County. (Photo: Lansing State Journal file photo/Matthew Dae Smith)Buy Photo
LANSING -- Three-time Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman called for sweeping changes in her sport while addressing serial abuser Larry Nassar during his sentencing hearing Friday.
Raisman told Nassar that she would not rest until his influence was erased from the sport she loves.
"The tables have turned, Larry," Raisman said. "We are here. We have our voices and we are not going anywhere. And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me.”
More: Read Aly Raisman's full statement to Larry Nassar
Raisman said she is no longer the little girl Nassar met and began grooming at a competition in Australia.
"Imagine how it feels to be an innocent teenager in a foreign country, hearing a knock on the door and it’s you," Raisman said. "I didn’t want you to be there but I don't have a choice. Treatments with you were mandatory. You took advantage of that. You even told on us if we didn't want to be treated by you."
Raisman also took the opportunity to target the failings of USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee. She said on the very day USA Gymnastics announced it was parting ways with a training center at the Karolyi Ranch in Texas, there were athletes still training at the facility.
“It’s clear now, if you leave it up to these organizations, history is likely to repeat itself,” Raisman said.
In remarks directed at the new president of USA Gymnastics, who was in the courtroom earlier in the week, Raisman said "You have taken on an organization that I feel is rotting from the inside."
Buy Photo Aly Raisman addressed Larry Nassar in court January 19, 2018 (Photo: Matt Mencarini / Lansing State Journal)
She noted that Nassar served on boards within USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee where he was the "architect" of the very policies meant to protect athletes. Raisman said Nassar was the person gymnastics officials had "take the lead of athlete care" and provide "the foundation for our medical system."
"I will not rest until every last trace of your influence on this sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is,” Raisman said.
Raisman arrived in court at 9 a.m. accompanying her 2012 teammate Jordyn Wieber, who made the first victim statement of the morning. Wieber and Raisman had contacted the Michigan Attorney General's Office earlier this week asking for permission to speak on Friday, officials said.
Nassar pleaded guilty to 10 sexual assault charges prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office. But his plea agreement allowed more than 100 women who have reported that he abused them to make victim impact statements. The Ingham County sentencing began Monday. An Eaton County sentencing is set for Jan. 31.
Nassar was sentenced to 60 years on three child pornography charges by a U.S. District Court judge in December.
Raisman was the first speaker after a late morning break.
After spending time in a small conference room in the courthouse, Raisman took a few moments to mentally prepare herself, pacing in the hallway outside the coutroom.
Buy Photo Former Olympian Aly Raisman confronts Larry Nassar in Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's courtroom Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, during the fourth day of victim impact statements regarding former sports medicine doctor, who pled guilty to seven counts of sexual assault in Ingham County, and three in Eaton County. (Photo: MATTHEW DAE SMITH/Lansing State Journal)
"I'm ready," she said. "I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready."
Kaylee Lorincz, hobbling out of the courtroom on crutches, stopped to chat.
"We're gonna change things so the next generation doesn't have to deal with this," Raisman said. They hugged.
Lorincz, 18, who first spoke out as a victim after Nassar pleaded guilty to his Ingham County charges in November, also spoke last month at a Michigan State University Board of Trustees meeting.
Lorincz has not yet given her victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing, which continues Monday in Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's courtroom.
"I'm gonna watch you on Monday," Raisman told Lorincz. "I'm not gonna be here but I'll watch you. I'm rooting for you."
Shortly after the hearing broke for lunch, Raisman declined to comment further before leaving the courthouse.
Contact Reporter Beth LeBlanc at 517-377-1167 or [email protected].
Read or Share this story: http://on.lsj.com/2Dus9ed | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 7,459 |
To view this content you need Flash and Javascript enabled in your browser.
Please download Flash from the Adobe download website. ||||| Media caption Abu Qatada was freed from the Worcestershire jail under strict bail conditions
Abu Qatada, accused of being one of the UK's most dangerous extremist preachers, has been released from Long Lartin top-security jail in Evesham.
He was seen hiding his face in the back of a van which left the Worcestershire jail at around 21:15 GMT.
The UK government says he is a threat to national security but has been blocked from deporting him to Jordan.
Lib Dem peer Lord Carlile said people's incredulity over the 51-year-old's release was "entirely justified".
Described by a Spanish judge as "spiritual head of the mujahideen in Britain" the UK authorities have previously said he gave advice to those who aimed "to engage in terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings".
The Muslim preacher has also featured in hate sermons found on videos in the flat of one of the 11 September bombers, and was convicted in his absence in Jordan of involvement in a terror plot.
A judge ended his six-year detention last week after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) banned him from being deported to Jordan.
The court blocked his deportation to Jordan, where he faces terror charges, saying evidence obtained by torture might be used against him there.
The UK and Jordan had previously reached agreement that he would not be tortured if he was deported.
Analysis Abu Qatada may have left prison, but by no means will he be a free man. He will live under some of the strictest bail restrictions under English law which he knows well from his previous release back in 2008. The restrictions and inevitable Security Service surveillance that he will face have two aims: to reduce the risk of offending and to minimise the risk of absconding. That means that the preacher, who has never been charged with an offence in the UK, will spend virtually all his waking hours under his roof. He cannot use the internet or a mobile phone, and will be handed a map of his neighbourhood, showing a boundary in thick ink around the streets near his home. If he crosses that line, hops on a bus or meets anyone on a long list of other alleged extremists, he will breach his bail.
Lord Carlile, the government's former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said: "It is extraordinary that this man should remain in the United Kingdom.
"We have to find a way of making him leave. There are legal, law of rule ways, of achieving that. It's just a pity it wasn't done before."
Abu Qatada was freed under strict bail conditions, including a 22-hour curfew that only allows him to leave home for a maximum of an hour twice a day. He has also been electronically tagged.
He is banned from attending a mosque, leading prayers, publishing any statement, or meeting any of 27 named individuals. Use of a mobile phone or the internet is also prohibited.
Under his strict curfew terms, the preacher will not be able to take his children to school as some reports had suggested.
The UK government must show significant progress towards deporting Abu Qatada within three months or his bail conditions could be lifted.
Downing Street said "all the options" for removing Abu Qatada from the UK were being considered.
"We will take all measures necessary to protect the public," said a No 10 spokesman on Monday.
What about the human rights of all our citizens - our men and women and children? Peter Bone, Tory MP
"We are committed to removing him from the country. We want to see him deported."
But Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government had not done all it could to stop Abu Qatada from being released from the high-security prison.
She said that the government should have appealed against the ECHR ruling, while pursuing urgent deportation negotiations with the Jordanian government.
"Instead the government did nothing, leaving a judge to decide there was little progress being made in deporting Qatada and that bail was the only option," she said.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron and King Abdullah of Jordan spoke by phone last Thursday and agreed to work on finding a "solution" to the case.
No 10 said Mr Cameron had explained the "frustration" that the ECHR ruling had caused.
"They agreed on the importance of finding an effective solution to this case, in the interests of both Britain and Jordan," a Downing Street spokesman said.
BBC home affairs editor Mark Easton said a Home Office delegation was heading to Jordan this week in the hope of getting assurances that would satisfy the ECHR.
Human rights
Tory MP Peter Bone said: "It cannot be right that a sovereign nation has someone who they think is an extremely dangerous individual who cannot possibly be allowed to stay in the country just because of the risk of his human rights.
"What about the human rights of all our citizens - our men and women and children?"
Abu Qatada has never been charged with a criminal offence in the UK but ministers have said he is "extremely dangerous".
Human rights campaigners have said that any prosecution should take place in the UK because of concerns over whether he would get a fair trial in Jordan.
Joel Bennathan QC, a leading defence barrister in counter-terrorism cases, said the preacher's case was similar to others where there had been allegations but no prosecution or conviction.
He said: "Any 'jihadi' who says anything that could conceivably be seen as encouraging violence tends to get arrested and charged with incitement to murder, racial or religious hatred.
"It is a fair guess that Abu Qatada has not done or said anything dangerous for years, if ever he did." | – Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric whom British officials say is an al-Qaeda figurehead and a threat to national security, was freed from an English prison into virtual house arrest late today, British media reported. Judicial officials acknowledged earlier in the day that the 51-year-old extremist preacher's release from Long Lartin jail was imminent, but declined to comment on the reports from the BBC and Sky News, citing operational concerns. Both broadcasters aired photographs that appeared to show Abu Qatada in the backseat of a van as it left the high-security prison in central England. The Palestinian-Jordanian cleric has spent more than six years in prison, but a tribunal ruled last week he should be released on bail. British officials say he poses a serious threat to the country's security, but attempts to deport him to Jordan to face terrorism charges was blocked by the European Court of Human Rights. "We are clear we want to remove Abu Qatada at the earliest opportunity," said a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron. | null | You are a helpful assistant named xDAN-Agent,excellent in reading and summary. Heres the context you need to read and summary.To view this content you need Flash and Javascript enabled in your browser.
Please download Flash from the Adobe download website. ||||| Media caption Abu Qatada was freed from the Worcestershire jail under strict bail conditions
Abu Qatada, accused of being one of the UK's most dangerous extremist preachers, has been released from Long Lartin top-security jail in Evesham.
He was seen hiding his face in the back of a van which left the Worcestershire jail at around 21:15 GMT.
The UK government says he is a threat to national security but has been blocked from deporting him to Jordan.
Lib Dem peer Lord Carlile said people's incredulity over the 51-year-old's release was "entirely justified".
Described by a Spanish judge as "spiritual head of the mujahideen in Britain" the UK authorities have previously said he gave advice to those who aimed "to engage in terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings".
The Muslim preacher has also featured in hate sermons found on videos in the flat of one of the 11 September bombers, and was convicted in his absence in Jordan of involvement in a terror plot.
A judge ended his six-year detention last week after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) banned him from being deported to Jordan.
The court blocked his deportation to Jordan, where he faces terror charges, saying evidence obtained by torture might be used against him there.
The UK and Jordan had previously reached agreement that he would not be tortured if he was deported.
Analysis Abu Qatada may have left prison, but by no means will he be a free man. He will live under some of the strictest bail restrictions under English law which he knows well from his previous release back in 2008. The restrictions and inevitable Security Service surveillance that he will face have two aims: to reduce the risk of offending and to minimise the risk of absconding. That means that the preacher, who has never been charged with an offence in the UK, will spend virtually all his waking hours under his roof. He cannot use the internet or a mobile phone, and will be handed a map of his neighbourhood, showing a boundary in thick ink around the streets near his home. If he crosses that line, hops on a bus or meets anyone on a long list of other alleged extremists, he will breach his bail.
Lord Carlile, the government's former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said: "It is extraordinary that this man should remain in the United Kingdom.
"We have to find a way of making him leave. There are legal, law of rule ways, of achieving that. It's just a pity it wasn't done before."
Abu Qatada was freed under strict bail conditions, including a 22-hour curfew that only allows him to leave home for a maximum of an hour twice a day. He has also been electronically tagged.
He is banned from attending a mosque, leading prayers, publishing any statement, or meeting any of 27 named individuals. Use of a mobile phone or the internet is also prohibited.
Under his strict curfew terms, the preacher will not be able to take his children to school as some reports had suggested.
The UK government must show significant progress towards deporting Abu Qatada within three months or his bail conditions could be lifted.
Downing Street said "all the options" for removing Abu Qatada from the UK were being considered.
"We will take all measures necessary to protect the public," said a No 10 spokesman on Monday.
What about the human rights of all our citizens - our men and women and children? Peter Bone, Tory MP
"We are committed to removing him from the country. We want to see him deported."
But Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government had not done all it could to stop Abu Qatada from being released from the high-security prison.
She said that the government should have appealed against the ECHR ruling, while pursuing urgent deportation negotiations with the Jordanian government.
"Instead the government did nothing, leaving a judge to decide there was little progress being made in deporting Qatada and that bail was the only option," she said.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron and King Abdullah of Jordan spoke by phone last Thursday and agreed to work on finding a "solution" to the case.
No 10 said Mr Cameron had explained the "frustration" that the ECHR ruling had caused.
"They agreed on the importance of finding an effective solution to this case, in the interests of both Britain and Jordan," a Downing Street spokesman said.
BBC home affairs editor Mark Easton said a Home Office delegation was heading to Jordan this week in the hope of getting assurances that would satisfy the ECHR.
Human rights
Tory MP Peter Bone said: "It cannot be right that a sovereign nation has someone who they think is an extremely dangerous individual who cannot possibly be allowed to stay in the country just because of the risk of his human rights.
"What about the human rights of all our citizens - our men and women and children?"
Abu Qatada has never been charged with a criminal offence in the UK but ministers have said he is "extremely dangerous".
Human rights campaigners have said that any prosecution should take place in the UK because of concerns over whether he would get a fair trial in Jordan.
Joel Bennathan QC, a leading defence barrister in counter-terrorism cases, said the preacher's case was similar to others where there had been allegations but no prosecution or conviction.
He said: "Any 'jihadi' who says anything that could conceivably be seen as encouraging violence tends to get arrested and charged with incitement to murder, racial or religious hatred.
"It is a fair guess that Abu Qatada has not done or said anything dangerous for years, if ever he did." | According to the context, please answer with the summary and highlights. | 6,214 |
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