SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile's president went to a hospital Saturday to meet with a 14-year-old girl who shocked the country by going on YouTube to plead for the leader to let doctors euthanize her because she is tired of her struggle with cystic fibrosis.
The government quickly said no after the video began spreading on social media Thursday. A government statement said President Michelle Bachelet talked with Valentina Maureira and her father for more than an hour at the Catholic University hospital in the capital.
Officials did not release any information on what was said. But the government provided photographs of the visit, including one of Valentina taking a selfie with the president, who is also a pediatrician.
Valentina grabbed attention after posting on YouTube a video that appeared to have been shot from a hospital bed.
"I urgently request to speak to the president because I'm tired of living with this illness," said the teenager, whose older brother died at age 6 from the same disease. "I want her approval so I can get a shot that will make me sleep forever."
Cystic fibrosis damages multiple organs, especially the lungs, by causing recurrent infections that damage tissue. Valentina said she was frustrated by the lack of options and by how the disease had hurt her quality of life.
On Thursday, presidential spokesman Alvaro Elizalde expressed sympathy for Valentina's plight, but stressed that Chilean law does not allow euthanasia.
"It's impossible not to be overcome by emotion with the girl's request; it's impossible to grant her wish," Elizalde said.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, the girl's father, Fredy Maureira, said he supported his daughter's request, though he added that he "cried through the night" after he first heard about her wish to die.
"This is so tough, but I have to respect her decision because she's the one who's suffering this illness," Maureira said.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
WHO: More than 1 billion young people at risk for hearing loss
A woman listens to music as the sun sets as seen between buildings on Boa Viagem beach in Brazil June 30, 2014. More than 1 billion young people around the world are at risk of hearing loss, the WHO said this week. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
More than one billion young people around the world are at risk of hearing loss because of recreational exposure to loud sounds, the World Health Organization said Friday.
The U.N. agency says its analysis of data from middle-and high-income countries showed that nearly half of 12-to 35-year-olds listen to unsafe sound levels on devices like smartphones and MP3 players.
Additionally, nearly 40 percent are exposed to hazardous noise levels at entertainment venues like sporting events, nightclubs and bars.
“As they go about their daily lives doing what they enjoy, more and more young people are placing themselves at risk of hearing loss,” WHO official Dr. Etienne Krug said in the Friday press release.
“They should be aware that once you lose your hearing, it won’t come back,” Krug said.
The WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define the high acceptable workplace noise level as 85 decibels – about the volume of heavy city traffic — over an eight-hour period.
Credit: NewsHour Weekend
As volume increases, safe exposure duration falls. People should not spend more than 15 minutes around noise levels of 100 decibels, the WHO said. According to the agency, 100 decibels is typical for sporting events, nightclubs and bars.
The WHO recommends young people guard against hearing loss by wearing earplugs at noisy events, keeping the volume down on personal audio devices and limiting their use of such gadgets to less than one hour per day.
In time for International Ear Care Day, March 3, the WHO is launching “Make Listening Safe,” an initiative intended to “draw attention to the dangers of unsafe listening and promote safer practices.”
The post WHO: More than 1 billion young people at risk for hearing loss appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Dems call GOP homeland security strategy political blunder
The logo of the Department of Homeland Security is seen at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, DC on Feb. 25, 2015. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.
WASHINGTON — Democrats are losing some skirmishes over the Department of Homeland Security, but many feel they are winning a political war that will haunt Republicans in 2016 and beyond.
Democrats lacked the votes Friday to force Republicans to fund the department for a year with no strings. Still, even some Republicans say party leaders are on a perilous path with a very public ideological struggle only highlighting the GOP’s inability to pass contested legislation and possibly worsening its weak relationship with Hispanic voters.
Worst of all, numerous lawmakers said, Republican leaders have offered no plausible scenario for a successful ending, so they simply are delaying an almost certain and embarrassing defeat.
Conservatives defend their doggedness. They say they courageously are keeping promises to oppose President Barack Obama’s liberalization of deportation policies, which they consider unconstitutional. Several said their constituents support their stand, while others said the issue transcends politics.
As a deadline fast approached Friday night, the House agreed to extend the department’s funding for a week. But some in both parties said the Republicans were losing political ground.
“It’s bad policy and bad politics,” said Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who once oversaw his party’s House campaigns. The short-term fix, he said, “doesn’t help the country, and it just shows that they’re incapable of governing” despite holding House and Senate majorities.
As for an important voting group in presidential elections, Van Hollen said: “Any effort to earn the support of Hispanic voters has been torpedoed by these antics.”
Some Republicans are nearly as pessimistic.
“Bad tactics yield bad outcomes,” GOP Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania told reporters. Republican leaders, he said, have engaged “in tactical malpractice, and at some point we’re going to vote on the negotiated Homeland Security appropriations bill,” a bipartisan plan that most Republicans oppose but cannot kill.
Weeks ago, Republicans embarked on a strategy that targeted Obama’s executive order protecting millions of immigrants from deportation. They voted to cut off the department’s money flow after Feb. 27 unless the order was rescinded.
But they never figured how to overcome Democratic delaying tactics in the Senate that, as many predicted, blocked the GOP plan. Stymied, Senate Republican leaders agreed to fund the department for the rest of the budget year, through September, and to deal separately with immigration.
House Republicans rejected that approach. Shortly before Friday’s midnight deadline, the House extended funding for a week without resolving the larger dispute.
“We all know how this is going to turn out,” said an exasperated Republican, Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho. “Politically, it’s devastating.”
Democrats turned up the heat, saying short-term extensions will damage morale at the agency.
“It’s a staggering failure of leadership that will prolong this manufactured crisis of theirs and endanger the security of the American people,” said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California.
But Republican Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona said he and his fellow conservatives are taking a principled stand against Obama’s “unconstitutional” action. The president, he said, has forced lawmakers to choose between “potential short-term national security threats and almost inevitable long-term damage to the constitutional foundation of the nation.”
He and his allies will “do the right thing, even if it doesn’t make us look good,” Franks said.
Lawmakers from strongly Republican districts tend to closely track the fiercely conservative voters who can dominate GOP primary elections. Rep. Kenny Marchant of Texas said he tried to persuade some of his Dallas-area constituents that a federal judge’s order to freeze Obama’s move lessened the urgency to use Homeland Security funding as political leverage.
“But they don’t have the confidence back home that some of us do” about the likely longevity of the judge’s order, Marchant said.
He said his supporters see reversing Obama’s order as more important than preventing a partial and temporary funding lapse at Homeland Security. He noted that most agency employees are considered “essential” and would stay on the job.
After Obama won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2012, a Republican National Committee-commissioned report said the party must embrace “comprehensive immigration reform” to win future elections, including the 2016 presidential contest.
Democrats say Republicans are heading in the wrong direction.
Pelosi hinted at possible Democratic campaign themes next year when she said of the funding fight: “This crisis exists only because Republicans prioritize anti-immigrant extremism over the safety of the American people.”
Republican Rep. Peter King of New York said his party’s wounds are self-inflicted.
“Politically it’s going to kill us,” he said of conservatives’ demands to link Homeland Security funding with Obama’s immigration policy. “Morally, you’re equating an immigration order with the lives of American citizens.”
“I’ve had it with this self-righteous delusional wing of the party that leads us over the cliff,” King said.
The post Dems call GOP homeland security strategy political blunder appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Consumers frustrated by government error on health care tax forms
The Healthcare.gov website is displayed on laptop computers arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The government sent nearly one million consumers erroneous information on forms that they need to complete their 2014 tax returns. Photo by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
WASHINGTON — It’s not uncommon to feel some trepidation around tax-filing season. But there’s an added hassle this year for nearly a million consumers who got financial help with health insurance premiums under President Barack Obama’s law.
The government sent consumers erroneous information on forms that they need to complete their 2014 tax returns. Now they’re getting robocalls and emails advising them to delay filing until the mistakes get fixed.
Some are taking it in stride. Others wonder what else could go wrong.
“It’s been a comedy of errors from the start,” said K.C. Crafts, a freelance financial writer from South Berwick, Maine.
The mistake the government made affected 800,000 customers receiving subsidized health coverage through the federal insurance market. Some states running their own insurance exchanges also have had tax-form troubles.
In the federal case, 2015 premiums were substituted for what should have been 2014 numbers on new tax forms called 1095-As. Those forms are like W-2s for people who got subsidized health insurance – building blocks for filing an accurate tax return.
Crafts said her form has another error as well, potentially more serious. The coverage dates are wrong, and the result makes it appear as if she and her husband got much more in subsidies than they actually received. Maine is one of the 37 states served by HealthCare.gov, which is run by the Department of Health and Human Services.
“This is not just an aggravation, it’s a financial issue, because I could end up paying for a clerical error,” she said.
The Obama administration says it’s trying to figure out what caused the broader mistake, even as it rushes corrected information to affected taxpayers.
Asked for an explanation at a recent House hearing, HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan put it this way: “It appears there was an unfavorable interaction between two pieces of software code.” Translation: The administration is still technologically challenged by health insurance programs.
“This is an unforced error,” scolded Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa. “It provides fodder for those who want to tear down” the law.
Donna Brown of Austin, Texas, said she thinks it’s about on par for the government.
“I never am too surprised when the federal government makes mistakes like this,” said Brown, a former executive administrative assistant for a tech company. Taking a break from the industry’s pressures, she said she’s relieved that she was able to get health insurance as a result of Obama’s law. Brown usually files her taxes at the last minute, so the error notices haven’t affected her routine.
“Whoever implemented this, there would have been problems,” said Brown. “It’s new. Even though it’s the second year of coverage, it’s the first time these statements are coming out.”
The health care law offers subsidized private insurance to people who do not have access to coverage on the job. Because those subsidies are delivered as tax credits, recipients have to account for them each year on their tax returns. That’s what the 1095-A tax form is supposed to help them do.
For John Stephens of Littleton, Colorado, it’s turned to vexation. An audio recording and editing specialist, Stephens said his 1095-A indicates he was only insured for the last two months of 2014, when in fact he had coverage since February. Such a mistake could expose him to tax penalties that the law levies on people who remain uninsured if they can otherwise afford coverage.
Stephens said he’s spent a lot of time on the phone with his insurer and the Colorado health insurance exchange, which is run by that state. “It’s really easy for them to bounce the ball back to the other.” Last year, insurers said many of the enrollment records they got from the then-new insurance markets had errors.
Spokesman Curtis Hubbard said the Colorado exchange is reviewing its records and working with Stephens’ insurer to resolve the situation.
Stephens said he suspects his situation is an early indicator of more problems. “It’s the pointy end of the spear,” he said. “It’s going to be a big, big problem.”
Hubbard said Colorado sent out about 107,000 of the forms to consumers. So far, the exchange has gotten about 170 calls with questions.
The post Consumers frustrated by government error on health care tax forms appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Russian Investigation Examines Possible Motives For Boris Nemtsov Murder
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's top investigative body said Saturday it is looking into several possible motives for the killing of prominent opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, including an attempt to destabilize the state, Islamic extremism, the Ukraine conflict and his personal life.
A statement from the body, the Investigative Committee, did not address the possibility seen as likely by many of Nemtsov's supporters — that he was killed for being one of President Vladimir Putin's most adamant and visible critics. The 55-year-old Nemtsov was gunned down Friday near midnight as he walked on a bridge near the Kremlin with a female companion. The killing came just a few hours after a radio interview in which he denounced Putin's "mad, aggressive" policies and the day before he was to help lead a rally protesting Russia's actions in the Ukraine crisis and the economic crisis at home.
After his death, organizers canceled the rally and instead called for a demonstration to mourn him on Sunday in central Moscow. The city gave quick approval for that gathering, in contrast to its usual slow and grudging permission for opposition rallies.
The Investigative Committee said it was looking into whether Nemtsov had been killed as a "sacrificial victim for those who do not shun any method for achieving their political goals," a suggestion echoing the comments by Putin's spokesman and other Russian politicians that the attack was a "provocation" against the state.
It also said it was considering whether there was "personal enmity" toward him in his domestic life. State-controlled TV and Kremlin-friendly media outlets on Saturday gave considerable attention to Nemtsov's companion, identifying her as a Ukrainian model 30 years his junior and showing photos of her in alluring poses. The Investigative Committee said the pair were headed for Nemtsov's apartment.
The statement also said it was investigating whether the killing was connected to the Ukraine conflict, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since last April, or whether there was a connection to Islamic extremism.
Nemtsov had been one of Putin's most visible critics and his death hit other members of the opposition hard. The mourning march on Sunday could serve to galvanize the beleaguered and marginalized opposition, or it could prove to be a brief catharsis after which emotions dissipate.
Through the morning, hundreds of people came to the site of Nemtsov's death to lay flowers.
Nemtsov was working on a report presenting evidence that he believed proved Russia's direct involvement in the separatist rebellion that has raged in eastern Ukraine since April. Moscow denies backing the rebels with troops and sophisticated weapons.
Putin ordered Russia's top law enforcement chiefs to personally oversee the investigation of Nemtsov's killing.
"Putin noted that this cruel murder has all the makings of a contract hit and is extremely provocative," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies.
President Barack Obama said the Russian people "lost lost one of the most dedicated and eloquent defenders of their rights."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised Nemtsov's courage in criticizing Kremlin policies, and urged Putin to insure that the killers are brought to justice, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev echoed the suggestion that the killing was a provocation. "It's an attempt to push the situation into complications, maybe even to destabilizing the situation in the country," he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov agreed. "It's a provocation; for big fires, sacrificial figures are necessary," Interfax quoted him as saying.
Nemtsov frequently assailed the government's inefficiency, rampant corruption and Ukraine policy.
In an interview with the Sobesednik newspaper, Nemtsov said earlier this month that his 86-year old mother was afraid that Putin could have him killed. Asked if he had such fears himself, he responded: "If I were afraid I wouldn't have led an opposition party."
Speaking on radio just a few hours before his death, he accused Putin of plunging Russia into crisis by his "mad, aggressive and deadly policy of war against Ukraine."
Kasyanov, the former prime minister, said he was shocked.
"In the 21st century, a leader of the opposition is being demonstratively shot just outside the walls of the Kremlin!".
"This is a monstrous tragedy and a loss for us all," Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition figure, said on his Facebook page. He is currently on a 15-day jail sentence for handing out leaflets without authorization.
"The country is rolling into the abyss," Kasyanov, the former prime minister, told reporters as Nemtsov's body, placed in a plastic bag, was removed on a rainy and cold night, as the Kremlin bells chimed nearby.
Nemtsov served as a regional governor and then a deputy prime minister in the 1990s and once was seen as a possible successor to Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first elected president.
Nemtsov was widely liked for his good humor, larger-than-life character and quick wit, but he and other top opposition figures long have been purged from state television and steadily marginalized by the Kremlin.
___
Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Laura Mills in Moscow and Jake Pearson in New York contributed to this report.
A statement from the body, the Investigative Committee, did not address the possibility seen as likely by many of Nemtsov's supporters — that he was killed for being one of President Vladimir Putin's most adamant and visible critics. The 55-year-old Nemtsov was gunned down Friday near midnight as he walked on a bridge near the Kremlin with a female companion. The killing came just a few hours after a radio interview in which he denounced Putin's "mad, aggressive" policies and the day before he was to help lead a rally protesting Russia's actions in the Ukraine crisis and the economic crisis at home.
After his death, organizers canceled the rally and instead called for a demonstration to mourn him on Sunday in central Moscow. The city gave quick approval for that gathering, in contrast to its usual slow and grudging permission for opposition rallies.
The Investigative Committee said it was looking into whether Nemtsov had been killed as a "sacrificial victim for those who do not shun any method for achieving their political goals," a suggestion echoing the comments by Putin's spokesman and other Russian politicians that the attack was a "provocation" against the state.
It also said it was considering whether there was "personal enmity" toward him in his domestic life. State-controlled TV and Kremlin-friendly media outlets on Saturday gave considerable attention to Nemtsov's companion, identifying her as a Ukrainian model 30 years his junior and showing photos of her in alluring poses. The Investigative Committee said the pair were headed for Nemtsov's apartment.
The statement also said it was investigating whether the killing was connected to the Ukraine conflict, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since last April, or whether there was a connection to Islamic extremism.
Nemtsov had been one of Putin's most visible critics and his death hit other members of the opposition hard. The mourning march on Sunday could serve to galvanize the beleaguered and marginalized opposition, or it could prove to be a brief catharsis after which emotions dissipate.
Through the morning, hundreds of people came to the site of Nemtsov's death to lay flowers.
Nemtsov was working on a report presenting evidence that he believed proved Russia's direct involvement in the separatist rebellion that has raged in eastern Ukraine since April. Moscow denies backing the rebels with troops and sophisticated weapons.
Putin ordered Russia's top law enforcement chiefs to personally oversee the investigation of Nemtsov's killing.
"Putin noted that this cruel murder has all the makings of a contract hit and is extremely provocative," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies.
President Barack Obama said the Russian people "lost lost one of the most dedicated and eloquent defenders of their rights."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised Nemtsov's courage in criticizing Kremlin policies, and urged Putin to insure that the killers are brought to justice, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev echoed the suggestion that the killing was a provocation. "It's an attempt to push the situation into complications, maybe even to destabilizing the situation in the country," he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov agreed. "It's a provocation; for big fires, sacrificial figures are necessary," Interfax quoted him as saying.
Nemtsov frequently assailed the government's inefficiency, rampant corruption and Ukraine policy.
In an interview with the Sobesednik newspaper, Nemtsov said earlier this month that his 86-year old mother was afraid that Putin could have him killed. Asked if he had such fears himself, he responded: "If I were afraid I wouldn't have led an opposition party."
Speaking on radio just a few hours before his death, he accused Putin of plunging Russia into crisis by his "mad, aggressive and deadly policy of war against Ukraine."
Kasyanov, the former prime minister, said he was shocked.
"In the 21st century, a leader of the opposition is being demonstratively shot just outside the walls of the Kremlin!".
"This is a monstrous tragedy and a loss for us all," Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition figure, said on his Facebook page. He is currently on a 15-day jail sentence for handing out leaflets without authorization.
"The country is rolling into the abyss," Kasyanov, the former prime minister, told reporters as Nemtsov's body, placed in a plastic bag, was removed on a rainy and cold night, as the Kremlin bells chimed nearby.
Nemtsov served as a regional governor and then a deputy prime minister in the 1990s and once was seen as a possible successor to Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first elected president.
Nemtsov was widely liked for his good humor, larger-than-life character and quick wit, but he and other top opposition figures long have been purged from state television and steadily marginalized by the Kremlin.
___
Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Laura Mills in Moscow and Jake Pearson in New York contributed to this report.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Facebook Chat: Why read aloud?
There is no lack of research that shows the benefit of reading out loud to children. Photo by Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images
What are the benefits of reading aloud? What is the impact on children’s educational outcomes beyond literacy? Are all books created equally? How important is the quality of reading material?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents begin reading aloud to their children starting in infancy. But what about when children become readers themselves? Is there a benefit to encouraging children to read out loud, as well as silently?
The nonprofit LitWorld believes reading aloud builds confidence, and gives children the tools to tell their own stories, ultimately raising awareness of issues facing marginalized communities. Could reading aloud impact social change?
PBS NewsHour will host a Facebook chat on the benefits of reading aloud, as well as its potential as a tool for social change. Pam Allyn, founding director of LitWorld will answer questions along with Dr. Perri Klass, national medical director of the nonprofit Reach Out and Read, and Maggie McGuire, vice president of Scholastic’s kids and parents websites. To join the conversation, visit PBS NewsHour’s Facebook page on World Read Aloud Day — Wednesday, March 4 — from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. EST. Allyn, Klass and McGuire will be answering questions through their organizations’ Facebook profiles.
The post Facebook Chat: Why read aloud? appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
'I Am Whole Again...' New Pup For Man In Heart-Wrenching Viral Photo
No dog will ever replace Schoep.
The adorable, arthritic dog became an Internet sensation in 2013 when photographer Hannah Stonehouse Hudson snappe...
The adorable, arthritic dog became an Internet sensation in 2013 when photographer Hannah Stonehouse Hudson snappe...
Read more: John and Schoep, Schoep, John Unger, John Unger and Schoep Facebook, John Unger Takes in New Dog, Schoep the Dog, Dogs, Heartwarming-Animals, Good News News
These Middle Schoolers Are Out To Educate The World About Teen Dating Violence
What started out as a school project about teen dating violence quickly turned into something much larger for six Texas students.
The girls, who are in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, chose the topic for the outreach program Destination Imagination, Jezebel reports. Although they haven't started dating yet, the students have heard enough stories -- from boys calling their girlfriends fat to threats of self-harm -- about teen dating violence.
"We started doing more and more research on it and looking around our schools too, and we found that there were multiple cases where the boyfriend was abusing the girlfriend," Ashlyn Ellgass, an eighth-grader at Lindale ISD, told Jezebel. "And it's not always physically -- it's usually mentally. Whenever we saw that, we just knew that we needed to help."
Realizing what a huge problem it was, the girls organized a haunted house to raise money for a PSA called "Channel Your Anger," which they filmed on Dec. 31. They then contacted the Texas Advocacy Project, an organization that provides legal services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Texas, and the group got on board.
“The girls reached out to us a few months ago. After doing research on their own, they felt that our goals and our mission were most in line with what they wanted to do ultimately, which was to affect change at the legislative level," Heather Bellino, executive director of the Texas Advocacy Project, told The Huffington Post. “They wanted to use our URL at the end of their PSA to redirect people, and we said 'absolutely.'"
Last week, the students went down to the Texas Capitol, where they spent a day discussing amendments to a bill, originally passed in 2007, that required students to be educated about dating violence. A new bill has been filed, according to Jezebel, which will "create a workgroup to analyze these policies and find a better way to implement dating violence programs in schools."
“One of our contacts said getting them here to the capitol and giving them a chance to speak to one of their representative would be huge," Bellino explained. "They drummed up all those meetings on their own and they led the conversation.”
The girls have also gotten a strong response from their peers.
“Some of them have asked for help, another friend asked me for a list of things to look for,” Ellgass told KXAN.
Yep, we're officially inspired.
Visit Jezebel for a Q&A with the six students.
The girls, who are in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, chose the topic for the outreach program Destination Imagination, Jezebel reports. Although they haven't started dating yet, the students have heard enough stories -- from boys calling their girlfriends fat to threats of self-harm -- about teen dating violence.
"We started doing more and more research on it and looking around our schools too, and we found that there were multiple cases where the boyfriend was abusing the girlfriend," Ashlyn Ellgass, an eighth-grader at Lindale ISD, told Jezebel. "And it's not always physically -- it's usually mentally. Whenever we saw that, we just knew that we needed to help."
Realizing what a huge problem it was, the girls organized a haunted house to raise money for a PSA called "Channel Your Anger," which they filmed on Dec. 31. They then contacted the Texas Advocacy Project, an organization that provides legal services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Texas, and the group got on board.
“The girls reached out to us a few months ago. After doing research on their own, they felt that our goals and our mission were most in line with what they wanted to do ultimately, which was to affect change at the legislative level," Heather Bellino, executive director of the Texas Advocacy Project, told The Huffington Post. “They wanted to use our URL at the end of their PSA to redirect people, and we said 'absolutely.'"
Last week, the students went down to the Texas Capitol, where they spent a day discussing amendments to a bill, originally passed in 2007, that required students to be educated about dating violence. A new bill has been filed, according to Jezebel, which will "create a workgroup to analyze these policies and find a better way to implement dating violence programs in schools."
“One of our contacts said getting them here to the capitol and giving them a chance to speak to one of their representative would be huge," Bellino explained. "They drummed up all those meetings on their own and they led the conversation.”
The girls have also gotten a strong response from their peers.
“Some of them have asked for help, another friend asked me for a list of things to look for,” Ellgass told KXAN.
Yep, we're officially inspired.
Visit Jezebel for a Q&A with the six students.
Presentando UberXL: Nuestra Opción Económica de SUV
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Moody’s Cuts Chicago to Baa2
On Friday, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the city of Chicago’s credit rating to Baa2 from Baa1, maintaining a negative outlook. The rating is for the city’s $8.3 billion of outstanding general obligation debt, $542 million of outstanding sales tax revenue debt, and $268 million of outstanding or authorized motor fuel tax revenue debt. In addition, [...]
Here's Every Claim Made Against Bill O'Reilly So Far
The list of accusations leveled at Bill O'Reilly grows by the day.
What began as a probe into the veracity of the Fox News host's war reporting experience has now snowballed into a slew of alleged lies, exaggerations and inaccuracies.
If you're having trouble keeping all these shifting stories straight, we've got your back. Here are all the major developments so far in the The People vs. Bill O'Reilly:
Count 1: Bill O'Reilly Exaggerated His 'War Reporting' Chops
The Allegation: O'Reilly first came under attack last Thursday when Mother Jones' David Corn and Daniel Schulman published a piece challenging the host's claim that he had "reported on the ground in active war zones" and "survived a combat situation" while covering the Falklands War for CBS News in 1982. American reporters were not allowed in the Falklands during the conflict. So how could O'Reilly have been in the war zone?
The Defense: O'Reilly arrived in Buenos Aires shortly before Argentina surrendered to Britain. The Fox host contends that the riots he covered after the war -- demonstrators, angry that the military government had given up, took to the streets in protest -- constituted a "combat situation." When CBS released its coverage of the riots, O'Reilly declared victory, saying the tape showed "horrific” violence. While Corn and others agreed the tape showed a "chaotic, violent protest," they maintain that it was not a "combat situation."
The Verdict: While O'Reilly seems to think clashes between civilians and police constitute "combat," the technical definition of the term involves "fighting between armed forces" -- i.e. the British and Argentine militaries. The streets of Buenos Aires after the war were no doubt dangerous for reporters, but no matter how violent things got, you need two armies to have a war. The Huffington Post has covered the O'Reilly controversy from our headquarters in Greenwich Village -- we can't claim we've been "on the scene" in the host's living room.
Count 2: O'Reilly Lied About Witnessing The Suicide of George de Mohrenschildt
The Allegation: O'Reilly has claimed, both in interviews and in his book Killing Kennedy, to have been present at the suicide of George de Mohrenschildt, a Russian immigrant and friend of JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
"As the reporter knocked on the door of de Mohrenschildt's daughter's home, he heard the shotgun blast that marked the suicide of the Russian, assuring that his relationship with Lee Harvey Oswald would never be fully understood," O'Reilly wrote in Killing Kennedy. "By the way, that reporter's name is Bill O'Reilly."
But the host's former colleagues at Dallas radio station WFAA told liberal watchdog Media Matters that O'Reilly was in Texas when de Mohrenschildt killed himself. "Bill O’Reilly’s a phony," one colleague said. "There’s no other way to put it.”
In addition, Gaeton Fonzi -- "one of the most relentless investigators" on the House Select Committee on Assassinations and a journalist who covered the killing of President Kennedy extensively -- wrote in his autobiography that O'Reilly had called him from Dallas after de Mohrenschildt's death to confirm the suicide.
The Defense: While Fox News has not addressed this specific allegation, it released a general statement of support:
O'Reilly's publisher also voiced its support in a statement to The Huffington Post.
"We fully stand behind Bill O’Reilly and his bestseller Killing Kennedy and we’re very proud to count him as one of our most important authors,” a spokesperson said.
The Verdict: The idea that O'Reilly arrived at de Mohrenschildt's daughter's doorstep at the exact moment a gunshot rang out indeed seems apocryphal -- it's almost too cinematic to be true. That said, with no further evidence than the word of two former employees to challenge the account, it remains a "he said, she said" situattion.
Count 3: O'Reilly Lied About Witnessing The Execution Of Four Salvadoran Nuns
The Allegation: Wednesday afternoon, Media Matters accused O'Reilly of lying about having witnessed the execution of four nuns in El Salvador while reporting on the country's bloody civil war for CBS News in 1980.
"I was in El Salvador and I saw nuns get shot in the back of the head," O'Reilly said on his program in 2012.
The Defense: Through a spokesperson, O'Reilly told The Huffington Post Wednesday that he had not seen the execution of the nuns first hand, but was rather referencing unaired footage of nuns being murdered that reporters were shown at the time:
The Verdict: Much like his Falklands War claims, O'Reilly's tales from El Salvador lead viewers to believe the host was at the center of the actual events -- rather than the periphery. For this one, O'Reilly might get off on a technicality.
Count 4: Bill O'Reilly Lied About Being Attacked During The LA Riots
The Allegation: On Thursday, the Guardian published an article in which six of O'Reilly' former colleagues from "Inside Edition" dispute the host's claims of being "attacked by protesters” during the 1992 LA Riots.
“They were throwing bricks and stones at us,” O’Reilly said in a 2006 interview. “Concrete was raining down on us.”
“It didn’t happen,” Rick Kirkham, the lead reporter on the riots, told the Guardian. “If it did, how come none of the rest of us remember it?”
O'Reilly's former colleagues do, however, remember a single man hurling a chunk of rubble at their camera. The man was allegedly angered by O'Reilly's limousine being parked in "the smoking remains" of his neighborhood. According to two former colleagues, the driver had been polishing the vehicle and O'Reilly yelled at the man, "Don’t you know who I am?”
The Defense: A spokesperson for Fox News declined to comment on the new charges, opting to give The Guardian a familiar defense: The allegations are “nothing more than an orchestrated campaign by far left advocates” and "responding to the unproven accusation du jour has become an exercise in futility."
The Verdict: We're beginning to see a pattern here. O'Reilly was on the scene for protests in Buenos Aires, not a war on the Falkland Islands. He called a man to confirm the death of George de Mohrenschildt, but didn't hear the gunshot himself. He saw images of murdered nuns, but wasn't present for the actual executions. And now one man threw a rock at his camera, instead of an avalanche of bricks, stones and concrete raining down on his head. If not an outright liar, O'Reilly seems to have an issue with exaggeration, taking small kernels of truth and spinning them into tall tales of journalistic heroism.
Count 5: O'Reilly Threatened Journalists From Mother Jones and The New York Times
The Allegation: Throughout the saga, O'Reilly has been accused of threatening journalists reporting on the controversy. O'Reilly said that he "expected David Corn to be in the kill zone" and told a New York Times reporter, "I am coming after you with everything I have."
While left-leaning cable news network MSNBC has largely stayed silent on the story (perhaps because of "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams' own credibility crisis), Rachel Maddow blasted O'Reilly Wednesday night for intimidating journalists, saying it is "untenable" for Fox News to continue to stand by its host.
The Defense: O'Reilly brushed off the idea that he had threatened Corn with actual violence, saying the term "kill zone" was "simply a slang expression."
The Verdict: This one is pretty hard to deny, especially since O'Reilly made a point of telling the Times' reporter "you can take it as a threat." Whether O'Reilly lied about his reporting experience, threatening members of the press crosses a serious line and is unbefitting of a prime time news anchor on any network.
"Like everyone in media today, we are concerned about the safety of our staff," Mother Jones Clara Jeffery and Monika Bauerlein wrote in a letter to Fox News. "We'd have hoped that statements with this kind of violent tone would not come from a fellow media professional."
But after all the evidence has been compiled -- from from Buenos Aires to El Salvador to Dallas, Texas, and back again -- is Bill O'Reilly ultimately guilty in the court of public opinion? Did he lie to his audience, threatening journalists along the way? What should the consequence be? That's for the public to decide.
What began as a probe into the veracity of the Fox News host's war reporting experience has now snowballed into a slew of alleged lies, exaggerations and inaccuracies.
If you're having trouble keeping all these shifting stories straight, we've got your back. Here are all the major developments so far in the The People vs. Bill O'Reilly:
Count 1: Bill O'Reilly Exaggerated His 'War Reporting' Chops
The Allegation: O'Reilly first came under attack last Thursday when Mother Jones' David Corn and Daniel Schulman published a piece challenging the host's claim that he had "reported on the ground in active war zones" and "survived a combat situation" while covering the Falklands War for CBS News in 1982. American reporters were not allowed in the Falklands during the conflict. So how could O'Reilly have been in the war zone?
The Defense: O'Reilly arrived in Buenos Aires shortly before Argentina surrendered to Britain. The Fox host contends that the riots he covered after the war -- demonstrators, angry that the military government had given up, took to the streets in protest -- constituted a "combat situation." When CBS released its coverage of the riots, O'Reilly declared victory, saying the tape showed "horrific” violence. While Corn and others agreed the tape showed a "chaotic, violent protest," they maintain that it was not a "combat situation."
The Verdict: While O'Reilly seems to think clashes between civilians and police constitute "combat," the technical definition of the term involves "fighting between armed forces" -- i.e. the British and Argentine militaries. The streets of Buenos Aires after the war were no doubt dangerous for reporters, but no matter how violent things got, you need two armies to have a war. The Huffington Post has covered the O'Reilly controversy from our headquarters in Greenwich Village -- we can't claim we've been "on the scene" in the host's living room.
Count 2: O'Reilly Lied About Witnessing The Suicide of George de Mohrenschildt
The Allegation: O'Reilly has claimed, both in interviews and in his book Killing Kennedy, to have been present at the suicide of George de Mohrenschildt, a Russian immigrant and friend of JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
"As the reporter knocked on the door of de Mohrenschildt's daughter's home, he heard the shotgun blast that marked the suicide of the Russian, assuring that his relationship with Lee Harvey Oswald would never be fully understood," O'Reilly wrote in Killing Kennedy. "By the way, that reporter's name is Bill O'Reilly."
But the host's former colleagues at Dallas radio station WFAA told liberal watchdog Media Matters that O'Reilly was in Texas when de Mohrenschildt killed himself. "Bill O’Reilly’s a phony," one colleague said. "There’s no other way to put it.”
In addition, Gaeton Fonzi -- "one of the most relentless investigators" on the House Select Committee on Assassinations and a journalist who covered the killing of President Kennedy extensively -- wrote in his autobiography that O'Reilly had called him from Dallas after de Mohrenschildt's death to confirm the suicide.
The Defense: While Fox News has not addressed this specific allegation, it released a general statement of support:
Bill O’Reilly has already addressed several claims leveled against him. This is nothing more than an orchestrated campaign by far left advocates Mother Jones and Media Matters. Responding to the unproven accusation du jour has become an exercise in futility. Fox News maintains its staunch support of O’Reilly, who is no stranger to calculated onslaughts.
O'Reilly's publisher also voiced its support in a statement to The Huffington Post.
"We fully stand behind Bill O’Reilly and his bestseller Killing Kennedy and we’re very proud to count him as one of our most important authors,” a spokesperson said.
The Verdict: The idea that O'Reilly arrived at de Mohrenschildt's daughter's doorstep at the exact moment a gunshot rang out indeed seems apocryphal -- it's almost too cinematic to be true. That said, with no further evidence than the word of two former employees to challenge the account, it remains a "he said, she said" situattion.
Count 3: O'Reilly Lied About Witnessing The Execution Of Four Salvadoran Nuns
The Allegation: Wednesday afternoon, Media Matters accused O'Reilly of lying about having witnessed the execution of four nuns in El Salvador while reporting on the country's bloody civil war for CBS News in 1980.
"I was in El Salvador and I saw nuns get shot in the back of the head," O'Reilly said on his program in 2012.
The Defense: Through a spokesperson, O'Reilly told The Huffington Post Wednesday that he had not seen the execution of the nuns first hand, but was rather referencing unaired footage of nuns being murdered that reporters were shown at the time:
While in El Salvador, reporters were shown horrendous images of violence that were never broadcast, including depictions of nuns who were murdered. The mention of the nuns on my program came the day of the Newtown massacre (December 14, 2012). The segment was about evil and how hard it is for folks to comprehend it. I used the murdered nuns as an example of that evil. That's what I am referring to when I say ‘I saw nuns get shot in the back of the head.’ No one could possibly take that segment as reporting on El Salvador.
The Verdict: Much like his Falklands War claims, O'Reilly's tales from El Salvador lead viewers to believe the host was at the center of the actual events -- rather than the periphery. For this one, O'Reilly might get off on a technicality.
Count 4: Bill O'Reilly Lied About Being Attacked During The LA Riots
The Allegation: On Thursday, the Guardian published an article in which six of O'Reilly' former colleagues from "Inside Edition" dispute the host's claims of being "attacked by protesters” during the 1992 LA Riots.
“They were throwing bricks and stones at us,” O’Reilly said in a 2006 interview. “Concrete was raining down on us.”
“It didn’t happen,” Rick Kirkham, the lead reporter on the riots, told the Guardian. “If it did, how come none of the rest of us remember it?”
O'Reilly's former colleagues do, however, remember a single man hurling a chunk of rubble at their camera. The man was allegedly angered by O'Reilly's limousine being parked in "the smoking remains" of his neighborhood. According to two former colleagues, the driver had been polishing the vehicle and O'Reilly yelled at the man, "Don’t you know who I am?”
The Defense: A spokesperson for Fox News declined to comment on the new charges, opting to give The Guardian a familiar defense: The allegations are “nothing more than an orchestrated campaign by far left advocates” and "responding to the unproven accusation du jour has become an exercise in futility."
The Verdict: We're beginning to see a pattern here. O'Reilly was on the scene for protests in Buenos Aires, not a war on the Falkland Islands. He called a man to confirm the death of George de Mohrenschildt, but didn't hear the gunshot himself. He saw images of murdered nuns, but wasn't present for the actual executions. And now one man threw a rock at his camera, instead of an avalanche of bricks, stones and concrete raining down on his head. If not an outright liar, O'Reilly seems to have an issue with exaggeration, taking small kernels of truth and spinning them into tall tales of journalistic heroism.
Count 5: O'Reilly Threatened Journalists From Mother Jones and The New York Times
The Allegation: Throughout the saga, O'Reilly has been accused of threatening journalists reporting on the controversy. O'Reilly said that he "expected David Corn to be in the kill zone" and told a New York Times reporter, "I am coming after you with everything I have."
While left-leaning cable news network MSNBC has largely stayed silent on the story (perhaps because of "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams' own credibility crisis), Rachel Maddow blasted O'Reilly Wednesday night for intimidating journalists, saying it is "untenable" for Fox News to continue to stand by its host.
The Defense: O'Reilly brushed off the idea that he had threatened Corn with actual violence, saying the term "kill zone" was "simply a slang expression."
The Verdict: This one is pretty hard to deny, especially since O'Reilly made a point of telling the Times' reporter "you can take it as a threat." Whether O'Reilly lied about his reporting experience, threatening members of the press crosses a serious line and is unbefitting of a prime time news anchor on any network.
"Like everyone in media today, we are concerned about the safety of our staff," Mother Jones Clara Jeffery and Monika Bauerlein wrote in a letter to Fox News. "We'd have hoped that statements with this kind of violent tone would not come from a fellow media professional."
But after all the evidence has been compiled -- from from Buenos Aires to El Salvador to Dallas, Texas, and back again -- is Bill O'Reilly ultimately guilty in the court of public opinion? Did he lie to his audience, threatening journalists along the way? What should the consequence be? That's for the public to decide.
How Low Oil Affects Governments In Texas, Alaska, North Dakota: U.S. Trust
Speaking of oil’s effect on governments, earlier this week Moody’s parsed state and local governments it sees as winners and losers amid ongoing low energy prices. Not surprisingly, Texas, Alaska and North Dakota were among the losers, given their dependence on energy-related businesses. John Donovan and his fixed income research team at Bank of America’s [...]
Homeless Man Helps Push Cars Up Hill In Snow Storm, Internet Rewards Him For Kind Act
After snow snarled a Colorado commute, a homeless man's kind acts were caught on camera. Now, he's receiving an outpouring of generosity in return.
Local news station KOAA filmed Shelby Hudgens, a homeless man, helping to push strangers' cars up a hill during a snow storm in Colorado last weekend. The deed moved many viewers and one of them, Sarah Webster, set up a GoFundMe page to help Hudgens out. The fundraiser was created on Monday, and, as of Friday morning, people had donated more than $8,000.
Hudgens said he was shocked.
"I'm amazed" he said in a video uploaded to YouTube. "There are no words that can express the gratitude that I really have for all of this."
Hudgens was left homeless after his house burned down in November and has since been living in his car with his dog, Black Jack, according to the fundraising page. After word of his compassion spread, strangers contacted the man with offers to help. According to the KOAA, one viewer paid for a hotel room for the man, and another even offered him a job.
Hudgens says he appreciates all the kindness he's been receiving and hopes that with the fundraising money, he can work toward a new beginning. He plans on finding an apartment he can stay in with his dog and eventually starting school so he can pursue his passion -- a career in the medical field -- the fundraising page indicates.
And while Hudgens remains humble, Webster told KOAA that he deserved it. She said she wishes others were more like him.
"There's a lot of people out there that have more than he has and choose not to help," she said. "I wish that everyone would notice people in need and be able to help them so freely."
To learn more or donate to help Shelby Hudgens, visit his fundraising page here.
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Local news station KOAA filmed Shelby Hudgens, a homeless man, helping to push strangers' cars up a hill during a snow storm in Colorado last weekend. The deed moved many viewers and one of them, Sarah Webster, set up a GoFundMe page to help Hudgens out. The fundraiser was created on Monday, and, as of Friday morning, people had donated more than $8,000.
Hudgens said he was shocked.
"I'm amazed" he said in a video uploaded to YouTube. "There are no words that can express the gratitude that I really have for all of this."
Hudgens was left homeless after his house burned down in November and has since been living in his car with his dog, Black Jack, according to the fundraising page. After word of his compassion spread, strangers contacted the man with offers to help. According to the KOAA, one viewer paid for a hotel room for the man, and another even offered him a job.
Hudgens says he appreciates all the kindness he's been receiving and hopes that with the fundraising money, he can work toward a new beginning. He plans on finding an apartment he can stay in with his dog and eventually starting school so he can pursue his passion -- a career in the medical field -- the fundraising page indicates.
And while Hudgens remains humble, Webster told KOAA that he deserved it. She said she wishes others were more like him.
"There's a lot of people out there that have more than he has and choose not to help," she said. "I wish that everyone would notice people in need and be able to help them so freely."
To learn more or donate to help Shelby Hudgens, visit his fundraising page here.
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Fiery train wrecks put pressure on safety standards for oil transport
A combination photo shows a sequence of an explosion erupting from a CSX Corp train derailment in Mount Carbon, West Virginia pictured across the Kanawha River in Boomer, West Virginia February 16, 2015. Photo by Steve Keenan/Reuters
On Feb. 5, the Transportation Department sent the White House draft rules that would require oil trains to use stronger tank cars and make other safety improvements.
Nine days later a 100-car train hauling crude oil and petroleum distillates derailed and caught fire in a remote part of Ontario, Canada. Less than 48 hours later, a 109-car oil train derailed and caught fire in West Virginia, leaking oil into a Kanawha River tributary and burning a house to its foundation. As the fire spread across 19 of the cars, a nearby resident said the explosions sounded like an “atomic bomb.” Both fires burned for nearly a week.
The government hasn’t yet unveiled its proposed regulations. But among them are a stronger tank car design that includes thicker tank walls and electronically-controlled brakes that stop rail cars at the same time rather than sequentially, said Brigham McCown, a Washington-based consultant who was head of the federal agency responsible for safe transportation of hazardous materials during President George W. Bush’s administration.
Typically, safety regulators propose tough regulations and the Office of Management and Budget, which looks at economic and other implications of the rules, demands they be scaled back. This time, however, there may be less resistance.
“The more incidents we have, the less likely the administration will be willing to listen to industry,” McCown said. “I think the railroad industry starts to lose credibility every time there is an accident.”
Kevin Book, an energy industry analyst, said it has become harder to imagine the administration accommodating the industry.
The oil and rail industries want thinner tank walls — half an inch thick, instead of the 9/16ths-inch that regulators propose. The thicker the shell, the less oil a tank car can hold, and with about a half-million carloads of crude hauled by rail in the U.S. and Canada last year, the cost difference could add up.
The tank cars in the recent accidents were built to a voluntary standard written by industry in 2011 to answer criticism that cars used to transport flammable liquids were prone to rupture in an accident and spill their contents and ignite spectacular fires. But the two most recent accidents show that the newer cars — known as 1232s — also are prone to rupture, even at slow speeds. Both trains were traveling under 40 mph.
“Those folks who were arguing that the 1232s may in fact be puncture-proof really can’t make that argument anymore,” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., told reporters.
A Transportation Department analysis predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damage and possibly killing hundreds of people if an accident happens in a densely populated part of the U.S.
Chris Hart, the acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, urged federal regulators in a blog post this week to act swiftly to set new tank car standards, noting that while the government deliberates over new rules, more 1232 cars are entering service.
Industry officials say they need every car they can get to meet shipping demands, and it will take time for manufacturers to retool for a new design. U.S. and Canadian officials also have not agreed on a phase-out period for the train cars that regularly cross their border.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told The Associated Press that administration officials understand the gravity of the issue and are committed to a “comprehensive approach” that includes better braking and slower train speeds, as well as enhancing the ability of fire departments to respond to accidents.
Railroads complain that electronically-controlled brakes would cost them $12 billion to $21 billion and that lower train speeds would back up other rail traffic through much of the country, slowing freight deliveries and passenger service. Last year they agreed to reduce oil train speeds to 40 mph in high-population areas. Regulators have discussed turning that voluntary limit into a requirement.
But former NTSB Chairman Jim Hall said that until safety is improved, oil trains shouldn’t be allowed to travel any faster than the typical school bus — about 25 mph.
The post Fiery train wrecks put pressure on safety standards for oil transport appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Moschino Pays Homage To The Looney Tunes' Hip Hop Days In Fall 2015 Collection
There's never a dull moment when it comes to Moschino fashion, especially when Jeremy Scott is at the helm.
In the year that Scott has been designing for the Italian fashion house, he has definitely infused the quirky point of view that he's known for in his eponymous line. He's already given us an ode to McDonald's and Sponge Bob -- and now for the fall 2015 collection he's taken on the Looney Tunes. More specifically, the thugged out Looney Tunes.
That's right, on Thursday during Milan Fashion Week Scott filled the runway with models decked out in 90's streetwear emblazoned with images of the iconic Warner Bros' cartoon characters, like Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat in their finest hip hop gear.
As WWD so accurately points out, the collection pays homage to one of the "cheesiest moments in marketing history, when Looney Tunes tried to regain relevance by giving its characters hip-hop makeovers."
We love a good fashion-meets-pop-culture reference and this one is spot on and super fun!
Check out the collection below. What do you think of Moschino's Looney Tunes duds?
In the year that Scott has been designing for the Italian fashion house, he has definitely infused the quirky point of view that he's known for in his eponymous line. He's already given us an ode to McDonald's and Sponge Bob -- and now for the fall 2015 collection he's taken on the Looney Tunes. More specifically, the thugged out Looney Tunes.
That's right, on Thursday during Milan Fashion Week Scott filled the runway with models decked out in 90's streetwear emblazoned with images of the iconic Warner Bros' cartoon characters, like Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat in their finest hip hop gear.
As WWD so accurately points out, the collection pays homage to one of the "cheesiest moments in marketing history, when Looney Tunes tried to regain relevance by giving its characters hip-hop makeovers."
We love a good fashion-meets-pop-culture reference and this one is spot on and super fun!
Check out the collection below. What do you think of Moschino's Looney Tunes duds?
Canada Needs Another Rate Cut To Offset Low Oil: Barclays
While the low price of oil has been a problem for many emerging markets, Barclays notes that it’s also problematic for Canada, and that the nation’s currency requires some stimulus from the Bank of Canada. Analysts Aroop Chatterjee and Yuki Sakasai write that low oil prices reduce investment and weigh on consumption as aggregate income [...]
Pussy Riot Tells Off Fictional Russian President On 'House Of Cards'
We knew Pussy Riot would make an appearance in Season 3 of "House of Cards" when they posted photos from the set last year. Now it's finally happened and it was awesome.
Spoilers to follow for "House of Cards" Season 3, Episode 3.
The third episode of the new season, "Chapter 29" -- which should more accurately be titled "Frat Party" as there's excessive shot taking and a game of beer pong between Claire and Catherine Durant -- was the beginning of Frank's dealings with Russia. In the episode, fictional Russian president Victor Petrov (Lars Mikkelsen) -- who is clearly modeled after Vladmir Putin -- pays a visit to the White House to talk business with President Underwood.
There, during a state dinner, Petrov runs into Nadezhda "Nadya" Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, two of the members of feminist Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot. In real life, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were arrested in 2012 and imprisoned for almost two years by the Russian government for their protesting Putin's anti-gay regime.
When Petrov gives the pair a rather mocking toast, the women stand up to share their own speech. Through their translator (Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband) they say, "To Victor Petrov, who's royalty runs so deep he's given his friends half of the country, who's so open to criticism that most of his critics are in prison, the commander-in-chief who is not afraid of anyone except gays." (The last line but isn't translated in the episode, but Tolokonnikova described it to Russian opposition magazine New Times.) The three are quickly ushered out of the White House, but their mission was accomplished.
In a recent interview with New Times, the band members said they didn't feel like Petrov totally captured the true essence of Putin. "In the [show] Petrov is more of a little tsar," said Alyokhina. "He is too jolly for Putin, of course." Alyokhina said the character is more of a mix of Putin and former Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
But the two do more than just make a speech. At the end of the episode Frank mentions the two Pussy Riot members during a press conference, calling them "true Russian patriots who exhibit the very best their country has to offer." Like them, Underwood declares that he stood up to Petrov in a effort to fight for peace (but we all know Frank could care less about peace and patriotism and just wants what's best for himself). The credits then roll over Pussy Riot performing a song they wrote for the series alongside Le Tigre. While "House of Cards" creator Beau Willimon wanted them to write a song against fictional Petrov, they decided to write "Don't Cry Genocide," which they said is "devoted to the militarization of society and to American drones in particular."
Season 3 of "House of Cards" Season 3 is available on Netflix.
Spoilers to follow for "House of Cards" Season 3, Episode 3.
The third episode of the new season, "Chapter 29" -- which should more accurately be titled "Frat Party" as there's excessive shot taking and a game of beer pong between Claire and Catherine Durant -- was the beginning of Frank's dealings with Russia. In the episode, fictional Russian president Victor Petrov (Lars Mikkelsen) -- who is clearly modeled after Vladmir Putin -- pays a visit to the White House to talk business with President Underwood.
There, during a state dinner, Petrov runs into Nadezhda "Nadya" Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, two of the members of feminist Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot. In real life, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were arrested in 2012 and imprisoned for almost two years by the Russian government for their protesting Putin's anti-gay regime.
When Petrov gives the pair a rather mocking toast, the women stand up to share their own speech. Through their translator (Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband) they say, "To Victor Petrov, who's royalty runs so deep he's given his friends half of the country, who's so open to criticism that most of his critics are in prison, the commander-in-chief who is not afraid of anyone except gays." (The last line but isn't translated in the episode, but Tolokonnikova described it to Russian opposition magazine New Times.) The three are quickly ushered out of the White House, but their mission was accomplished.
In a recent interview with New Times, the band members said they didn't feel like Petrov totally captured the true essence of Putin. "In the [show] Petrov is more of a little tsar," said Alyokhina. "He is too jolly for Putin, of course." Alyokhina said the character is more of a mix of Putin and former Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
But the two do more than just make a speech. At the end of the episode Frank mentions the two Pussy Riot members during a press conference, calling them "true Russian patriots who exhibit the very best their country has to offer." Like them, Underwood declares that he stood up to Petrov in a effort to fight for peace (but we all know Frank could care less about peace and patriotism and just wants what's best for himself). The credits then roll over Pussy Riot performing a song they wrote for the series alongside Le Tigre. While "House of Cards" creator Beau Willimon wanted them to write a song against fictional Petrov, they decided to write "Don't Cry Genocide," which they said is "devoted to the militarization of society and to American drones in particular."
Season 3 of "House of Cards" Season 3 is available on Netflix.
Safety first!
Uber is all about safety first. That is why we would like to share with you why Uber is the safest and most efficient way to get around Brussels.
7 Habits Of Remarkably Successful Startup Entrepreneurs
On the surface, successful entrepreneurs seem to be the same as everyone else.
But look closely and you'll see that in a few ways they are very, very different -- and so is how they start and run their businesses.
1. They always prefer action to thinking.
A detailed plan is great, but stuff happens, and most entrepreneurs don't make it past the first three action items before adapting to reality. (I started a company assuming I'd provide book-design services to publishers; I ended up ghostwriting those books instead.)
Spend some time planning and a lot more time doing. If you're unsure, do something, and then react appropriately. It's easy to ponder and evaluate and analyze yourself out of business.
2. They see money as the root of all failure.
I know, a capital-intensive venture can require significant sums. But most businesses require little funding to get started. And often limited capital is a blessing in disguise; a venture capital friend strongly believes there's an inverse relationship between the level of funding and the long-term success of startups: Bootstrapping teaches lessons flush bank accounts cannot.
Short-term success is easy when you have money to burn. Without tons of cash, you'll work through and benefit from a problem instead of just throwing money at it.
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4 Things to Know About Starting Up in Dubai
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The New Way of Thinking About Time
3. They spend only on what touches the customer.
Leaving a corporate position for a startup with the assumption your amenities should be equal? Sorry.
Before you spend, always ask, "Does this touch the customer?" If it doesn't, don't buy it. If you're a lawyer, your office reinforces your professionalism; if you run a retail business, no customer should know your office even exists.
Spend what money you have where it makes a real difference to your customers. The more you give your customers what they want, the more you'll get what you want. (And ultimately everyone wins.)
Remember, success is never defined by a fancy office and amenities; success is defined solely by profits.
4. They never compromise on location.
Classic example: restaurants. Short on cash, the budding restaurateur (love that word) chooses an inexpensive (meaning terrible) location in the hope that great food and impeccable service will create destination dining. Typically, only creditors view the restaurant as a destination.
If you truly have no competition -- which in reality is almost never the case--and there truly is a market, maybe customers will come to you. Otherwise, they won't.
5. They spend most of their time chasing what they can actually catch.
Almost every startup dreams of finding an enabling customer, but those are tough to land. Focus on prospecting where you have a reasonable chance of success.
Later, you can leverage your customer base--and what you've learned along the way -- to successfully hunt bigger game.
6. They never see making a living as a right.
No matter how hard you work, no one has to buy what you sell. "Fair" applies to how you deal with customers, suppliers, vendors, etc. Fairness in no way applies to whether you deserve success or failure.
If you catch yourself thinking, "It's just not fair. I should be able to make a decent living at this," stop. You earn the right to make a profit.
No one is responsible for making sure you can earn a living -- except you.
7. They don't do anything that doesn't generate revenue.
Everything you do should generate revenue. Stop creating esoteric spreadsheets. Quit printing fancy reports only you will review. Stop spending time on the golf course in hopes that networking will result in customers. Minimize administrative tasks, and focus your efforts on generating revenue.
Sure, you can do what you love and the money will follow, but only if what you love doing is generating revenue. If it doesn't pay, for now at least, put it away.
Rev. Theodore Hesburgh Dead At 97, Former Notre Dame President For 35 Years
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh was always a man of conscience.
He did what he thought was right during his 35 years as president of the University of Notre Dame, even if it meant challenging popes, presidents or legendary football coaches. Hesburgh died late Thursday night on the university campus in South Bend, Indiana. He was 97. His cause of death wasn't immediately known.
"We mourn today a great man and faithful priest who transformed the University of Notre Dame and touched the lives of many," said the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's current president. "With his leadership, charisma and vision, he turned a relatively small Catholic college known for football into one of the nation's great institutions for higher learning."
Hesburgh will also be remembered as a civil rights leader, a champion of immigration rights and a supporter of Third World development.
His work took him far from the university so often that the joke around campus used to be that the difference between God and Hesburgh was that while God is everywhere, Hesburgh was everywhere but Notre Dame. He was around campus enough, though, to build it into an academic power. A decade into his tenure, he was featured on the cover of Time magazine for an article that described him as the most influential figure in the reshaping of Catholic education. He was so respected by others in education that he was awarded 150 honorary degrees.
The charming and personable man found as much ease meeting with heads of state as he did with students. His aim was constant: Better people's lives.
"I go back to an old Latin motto, opus justitiae pax: Peace is the work of justice," Hesburgh said in a 2001 interview. "We've known 20 percent of the people in the world have 80 percent of the goodies, which means the other 80 percent have to scrape by on 20 percent."
During a 2000 ceremony at which Hesburgh received the Congressional Gold Medal, the government's highest honor, President Bill Clinton voiced his admiration for Hesburgh, calling him "a servant and a child of God, a genuine American patriot and a citizen of the world."
Hesburgh's goal after coming out of seminary was to be a Navy chaplain during World War II, but he was instead sent to Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., to pursue a doctorate. He then returned to Notre Dame, where he quickly rose to become head of the theology department, then executive vice president before being named president in 1952 at age 35.
His passion for civil rights earned him a spot as a founding member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in 1957 and found him joining hands with Martin Luther King Jr. at a 1964 civil rights rally in Chicago, singing "We Shall Overcome."
He was a man who wasn't afraid to challenge authority. As Notre Dame's executive vice president in 1949, Hesburgh took on powerful football coach Frank Leahy while reorganizing the athletic department. When the Vatican demanded conformity to church dogma, Hesburgh insisted that Notre Dame remain an intellectual center for theological debate. He also famously challenged the record of President Richard Nixon, who fired him from the Civil Rights Commission in 1972.
"I said, 'I ended this job the way that I began 15 years ago — fired with enthusiasm," Hesburgh recalled in 2007.
Hesburgh wrote several books, including one, "God, Country, Notre Dame," that became a best-seller. Throughout his writings, he shared his vision of the contemporary Catholic university.
"The Catholic university should be a place," he wrote, "where all the great questions are asked, where an exciting conversation is continually in progress, where the mind constantly grows as the values and powers of intelligence and wisdom are cherished and exercised in full freedom."
In keeping with that philosophy, Notre Dame underwent profound changes under Hesburgh. Control of the school shifted in 1967 from the Congregation of the Holy Cross priests who founded the school to a lay board. The school ended a 40-year absence in football post-season bowl games and used the proceeds from the 1970 Cotton Bowl to fund minority scholarships. In 1972, Notre Dame admitted its first undergraduate women. Hesburgh called it one of his proudest accomplishments.
"We can't run the country on men alone, never could," Hesburgh said 25 years after the first women enrolled. "Women ought to have the same opportunities to develop their talents as men do."
The school was rather undistinguished academically when he became president. It had 4,979 students, 389 faculty and an annual operating budget of $9.7 million. When he retired in 1987, Notre Dame had 9,600 students, 950 faculty and an operating budget of $176.6 million. The school's endowment grew from $9 million to $350 million during his presidency. When he retired, the school was rated among the nation's most prestigious.
"I'm sure I get credit for a lot of things that I'm part of but not necessarily the whole of," he said. "We began a great university, and those who followed continued the motion forward."
Despite the accolades, Hesburgh drew his share of criticism. Some said he spent too much time away from campus pursuing other issues. Others objected to the "15-minute rule" he implemented after students protesting the Vietnam War clashed with police on campus. Under the policy, students who disrupted the university's normal operations would be given 15 minutes of meditation to cease and desist or would be expelled from school.
As a young priest, Hesburgh's students included Jose Napoleon Duarte, whose 1984 election as El Salvador's president set that country on a path to democracy after years of civil war. Hesburgh's decision to have Duarte give Notre Dame's 1985 commencement address was met by protests blaming Duarte and the Reagan administration for continued political killings and poverty in the Central American nation. Hesburgh wrote that the presentation of an honorary degree to Duarte didn't mean the university has to agree with all he was doing.
Hesburgh also supported the university's decision in 2009 to invite President Barack Obama to speak at commencement. At least 70 bishops opposed Obama's appearance and Notre Dame's decision to award him an honorary degree because of the president's support of abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research. Hesburgh said universities are supposed to be places where people of differing opinions can talk.
Through it all, he stayed true to what he called his basic principle: "You don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make them because they are cheap; you don't make them because they're popular; you make them because they're right."
Hesburgh remained active at Notre Dame in his retirement, lecturing occasionally and presiding over residence hall Masses and helping develop the school's Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Most of all, though, he was a priest. He said Mass daily throughout his life.
"I've said Mass in airplanes at 50,000 feet. I've said Mass in the South Pole. I've said Mass in jungles all over the world. I've said Mass in African huts. I've said Mass in cathedrals. Wherever I am, I've been able to do it for over 60 years every day and only miss a couple of times in all those years," Hesburgh said
Jenkins, the current president, said Hesburgh's greatest influence may have been on the generations of Notre Dame students he taught, counseled and befriended.
"Although saddened by his loss, I cherish the memory of a mentor, friend and brother in Holy Cross and am consoled that he is now at peace with the God he served so well," Jenkins said.
The university said that a customary Holy Cross funeral Mass will be celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus at a time to be announced. The university also said a tribute to Hesburgh will be held at the Joyce Center.
He did what he thought was right during his 35 years as president of the University of Notre Dame, even if it meant challenging popes, presidents or legendary football coaches. Hesburgh died late Thursday night on the university campus in South Bend, Indiana. He was 97. His cause of death wasn't immediately known.
"We mourn today a great man and faithful priest who transformed the University of Notre Dame and touched the lives of many," said the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's current president. "With his leadership, charisma and vision, he turned a relatively small Catholic college known for football into one of the nation's great institutions for higher learning."
Hesburgh will also be remembered as a civil rights leader, a champion of immigration rights and a supporter of Third World development.
His work took him far from the university so often that the joke around campus used to be that the difference between God and Hesburgh was that while God is everywhere, Hesburgh was everywhere but Notre Dame. He was around campus enough, though, to build it into an academic power. A decade into his tenure, he was featured on the cover of Time magazine for an article that described him as the most influential figure in the reshaping of Catholic education. He was so respected by others in education that he was awarded 150 honorary degrees.
The charming and personable man found as much ease meeting with heads of state as he did with students. His aim was constant: Better people's lives.
"I go back to an old Latin motto, opus justitiae pax: Peace is the work of justice," Hesburgh said in a 2001 interview. "We've known 20 percent of the people in the world have 80 percent of the goodies, which means the other 80 percent have to scrape by on 20 percent."
During a 2000 ceremony at which Hesburgh received the Congressional Gold Medal, the government's highest honor, President Bill Clinton voiced his admiration for Hesburgh, calling him "a servant and a child of God, a genuine American patriot and a citizen of the world."
Hesburgh's goal after coming out of seminary was to be a Navy chaplain during World War II, but he was instead sent to Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., to pursue a doctorate. He then returned to Notre Dame, where he quickly rose to become head of the theology department, then executive vice president before being named president in 1952 at age 35.
His passion for civil rights earned him a spot as a founding member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in 1957 and found him joining hands with Martin Luther King Jr. at a 1964 civil rights rally in Chicago, singing "We Shall Overcome."
He was a man who wasn't afraid to challenge authority. As Notre Dame's executive vice president in 1949, Hesburgh took on powerful football coach Frank Leahy while reorganizing the athletic department. When the Vatican demanded conformity to church dogma, Hesburgh insisted that Notre Dame remain an intellectual center for theological debate. He also famously challenged the record of President Richard Nixon, who fired him from the Civil Rights Commission in 1972.
"I said, 'I ended this job the way that I began 15 years ago — fired with enthusiasm," Hesburgh recalled in 2007.
Hesburgh wrote several books, including one, "God, Country, Notre Dame," that became a best-seller. Throughout his writings, he shared his vision of the contemporary Catholic university.
"The Catholic university should be a place," he wrote, "where all the great questions are asked, where an exciting conversation is continually in progress, where the mind constantly grows as the values and powers of intelligence and wisdom are cherished and exercised in full freedom."
In keeping with that philosophy, Notre Dame underwent profound changes under Hesburgh. Control of the school shifted in 1967 from the Congregation of the Holy Cross priests who founded the school to a lay board. The school ended a 40-year absence in football post-season bowl games and used the proceeds from the 1970 Cotton Bowl to fund minority scholarships. In 1972, Notre Dame admitted its first undergraduate women. Hesburgh called it one of his proudest accomplishments.
"We can't run the country on men alone, never could," Hesburgh said 25 years after the first women enrolled. "Women ought to have the same opportunities to develop their talents as men do."
The school was rather undistinguished academically when he became president. It had 4,979 students, 389 faculty and an annual operating budget of $9.7 million. When he retired in 1987, Notre Dame had 9,600 students, 950 faculty and an operating budget of $176.6 million. The school's endowment grew from $9 million to $350 million during his presidency. When he retired, the school was rated among the nation's most prestigious.
"I'm sure I get credit for a lot of things that I'm part of but not necessarily the whole of," he said. "We began a great university, and those who followed continued the motion forward."
Despite the accolades, Hesburgh drew his share of criticism. Some said he spent too much time away from campus pursuing other issues. Others objected to the "15-minute rule" he implemented after students protesting the Vietnam War clashed with police on campus. Under the policy, students who disrupted the university's normal operations would be given 15 minutes of meditation to cease and desist or would be expelled from school.
As a young priest, Hesburgh's students included Jose Napoleon Duarte, whose 1984 election as El Salvador's president set that country on a path to democracy after years of civil war. Hesburgh's decision to have Duarte give Notre Dame's 1985 commencement address was met by protests blaming Duarte and the Reagan administration for continued political killings and poverty in the Central American nation. Hesburgh wrote that the presentation of an honorary degree to Duarte didn't mean the university has to agree with all he was doing.
Hesburgh also supported the university's decision in 2009 to invite President Barack Obama to speak at commencement. At least 70 bishops opposed Obama's appearance and Notre Dame's decision to award him an honorary degree because of the president's support of abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research. Hesburgh said universities are supposed to be places where people of differing opinions can talk.
Through it all, he stayed true to what he called his basic principle: "You don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make them because they are cheap; you don't make them because they're popular; you make them because they're right."
Hesburgh remained active at Notre Dame in his retirement, lecturing occasionally and presiding over residence hall Masses and helping develop the school's Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Most of all, though, he was a priest. He said Mass daily throughout his life.
"I've said Mass in airplanes at 50,000 feet. I've said Mass in the South Pole. I've said Mass in jungles all over the world. I've said Mass in African huts. I've said Mass in cathedrals. Wherever I am, I've been able to do it for over 60 years every day and only miss a couple of times in all those years," Hesburgh said
Jenkins, the current president, said Hesburgh's greatest influence may have been on the generations of Notre Dame students he taught, counseled and befriended.
"Although saddened by his loss, I cherish the memory of a mentor, friend and brother in Holy Cross and am consoled that he is now at peace with the God he served so well," Jenkins said.
The university said that a customary Holy Cross funeral Mass will be celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus at a time to be announced. The university also said a tribute to Hesburgh will be held at the Joyce Center.
Everything You Need To Know About #TheDress
Unless you were in a bunker on Thursday, you've heard the only story more viral than the llamas on the lam.
A photo of a dress -- now trending on every social media site as #TheDress -- left the world divided. Is it white and gold? Blue and black? Or, dare we say it, blue and brown?
We know the answer. Here's what all the fuss is about:
An image of the dress was originally posted by a 21-year-old singer named Caitlin McNeill.
McNeill shared it with talent manager Sarah Weichel, who begged the question, "Is this dress white and gold, or blue and black? Me and my friends can’t agree and we are freaking the fuck out."
It's freaking blue and black.
Though you may not see it that way. Wired wrote a great piece outlining how our eyes deceive us, and the science behind The Dress.
Wired reports:
You can buy it.
The dress is by Roman Originals, and the company knows its garment is famous. Oh yeah, and the site describes it as "Royal Blue."
Some still probably think it's white and gold. That's OK.
#TeamWhiteGold is still going strong on Twitter and Facebook. #TeamBlueandBlack is winning, though.
Yes, there are memes.
Because of course there are memes.
The Dress' poster has spoken.
McNeill told Business Insider that the whole experience has been odd, but she enjoyed the attention the dress received from celebrities:
"I thought my followers on Tumblr would maybe have a good reaction, but I never would have considered that Taylor Swift and Mindy Kaling would be tweeting about it," McNeill said.
McNeill also says that the dress is blue and black. Debate over!
A photo of a dress -- now trending on every social media site as #TheDress -- left the world divided. Is it white and gold? Blue and black? Or, dare we say it, blue and brown?
We know the answer. Here's what all the fuss is about:
An image of the dress was originally posted by a 21-year-old singer named Caitlin McNeill.
McNeill shared it with talent manager Sarah Weichel, who begged the question, "Is this dress white and gold, or blue and black? Me and my friends can’t agree and we are freaking the fuck out."
It's freaking blue and black.
Though you may not see it that way. Wired wrote a great piece outlining how our eyes deceive us, and the science behind The Dress.
Wired reports:
“What’s happening here is your visual system is looking at this thing, and you’re trying to discount the chromatic bias of the daylight axis,” says Bevil Conway, a neuroscientist who studies color and vision at Wellesley College. “So people either discount the blue side, in which case they end up seeing white and gold, or discount the gold side, in which case they end up with blue and black.” (Conway sees blue and orange, somehow.)
You can buy it.
The dress is by Roman Originals, and the company knows its garment is famous. Oh yeah, and the site describes it as "Royal Blue."
Some still probably think it's white and gold. That's OK.
#TeamWhiteGold is still going strong on Twitter and Facebook. #TeamBlueandBlack is winning, though.
Yes, there are memes.
Because of course there are memes.
The Dress' poster has spoken.
McNeill told Business Insider that the whole experience has been odd, but she enjoyed the attention the dress received from celebrities:
"I thought my followers on Tumblr would maybe have a good reaction, but I never would have considered that Taylor Swift and Mindy Kaling would be tweeting about it," McNeill said.
McNeill also says that the dress is blue and black. Debate over!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Craig Sager Is Finally Healthy And Returning To NBA Sidelines, Crazy Suits And All
Some good news for once: Craig Sager is finally healthy enough to return to work.
The sartorial legend and occasional sideline reporter for TNT and TBS will return to the sidelines on March 5 for the Oklahoma City Thunder-Chicago Bulls Thursday night game, according to a tweet on Wednesday by his son, Craig Sager II:
Sager, 63, was forced to take a leave of absence in April after doctors discovered he had acute leukemia. But according to NBA.com, Sager went into remission late in 2014 after he received bone marrow and stem cell transplants from his son.
Sager hinted at the possibility of a March return during a brief appearance on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” during All-Star Weekend, when he told New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony that he hoped to return “around March 1 if everything goes well in the next two weeks.”
While Turner Sports has yet to announce the return, sources have confirmed the news to Yahoo’s Balls Don’t Lie blog, so it sounds like it's good to go. Apparently, Sager will be on the sidelines for March Madness too.
We look forward to laughing at your suits again, Craig.
The sartorial legend and occasional sideline reporter for TNT and TBS will return to the sidelines on March 5 for the Oklahoma City Thunder-Chicago Bulls Thursday night game, according to a tweet on Wednesday by his son, Craig Sager II:
It's official!! Sr just got cleared to return to work & will be back in action Thursday, March 5 for Thunder-Bulls!!! pic.twitter.com/dnUi2Wy7Ax
— Craig Sager II (@CraigSagerJr) February 25, 2015Sager, 63, was forced to take a leave of absence in April after doctors discovered he had acute leukemia. But according to NBA.com, Sager went into remission late in 2014 after he received bone marrow and stem cell transplants from his son.
Sager hinted at the possibility of a March return during a brief appearance on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” during All-Star Weekend, when he told New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony that he hoped to return “around March 1 if everything goes well in the next two weeks.”
While Turner Sports has yet to announce the return, sources have confirmed the news to Yahoo’s Balls Don’t Lie blog, so it sounds like it's good to go. Apparently, Sager will be on the sidelines for March Madness too.
Cue the bracket ties. Sr will be back for March Madness as well pic.twitter.com/ez0cXm1d4i
— Craig Sager II (@CraigSagerJr) February 25, 2015We look forward to laughing at your suits again, Craig.
Credit Suisse Cuts Oneok To Hold After Guidance Reduction
Earlier this week, Oneok Partners (OKS) lowered its 2015 guidance during its fourth-quarter earnings report. Credit Suisse’s John Edwards and team downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral on the reduced guidance, noting that while the move was likely necessary, they see slowing growth on lower capital expenditures. Highlights from note: OKS’ lowering guidance appears realistic [...]
Why Adding Milk To Your Scrambled Eggs Is A Mistake
Scrambled eggs may be one of the more simple items on the breakfast menu to make at home, but as easy as they are to cook, they're equally easy to screw up.
One common mistake people make when cooking scrambled eggs is adding milk or cream. You may have been whisking your eggs with milk since you were a little kid, but we're telling you now: It's time to stop.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the addition of milk, cream or any other liquid for that matter, will actually make it more likely that your eggs will turn out dry. By thinning out the eggs, it's easier to overcook them. Most importantly, the milk dilutes the taste of the eggs. It also screws with the texture, leaving the eggs slightly rubbery -- and no one wants rubbery eggs. If you're using good, farm fresh eggs, you don't need anything except maybe a little salt and pepper to make them taste delicious . A little butter never hurt anyone, either.
The difference in appearance is negligible, but that slightly lighter color of the eggs with milk is your signal for less flavor.
From cooking on high heat to using the wrong size pan, there are a slew of mistakes people tend to make when cooking the simplest of breakfasts. Among the scrambled egg-lovers we know, adding milk is one of the most common mistakes. It's also one of those techniques to which people are seriously attached -- and oftentimes they don't know why they do it. The only good reason to add milk is to stretch out the eggs if you're running low or want to be economical. If you're going for pure taste, however, ditch the milk, cream or any other type of liquid. You'll end up with richer, creamier eggs.
Old habits are hard to break, so if you're questioning our advice, agree to omit the milk in one scramble. After you taste the improvement, we promise you'll never go back.
Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.
One common mistake people make when cooking scrambled eggs is adding milk or cream. You may have been whisking your eggs with milk since you were a little kid, but we're telling you now: It's time to stop.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the addition of milk, cream or any other liquid for that matter, will actually make it more likely that your eggs will turn out dry. By thinning out the eggs, it's easier to overcook them. Most importantly, the milk dilutes the taste of the eggs. It also screws with the texture, leaving the eggs slightly rubbery -- and no one wants rubbery eggs. If you're using good, farm fresh eggs, you don't need anything except maybe a little salt and pepper to make them taste delicious . A little butter never hurt anyone, either.
The difference in appearance is negligible, but that slightly lighter color of the eggs with milk is your signal for less flavor.
From cooking on high heat to using the wrong size pan, there are a slew of mistakes people tend to make when cooking the simplest of breakfasts. Among the scrambled egg-lovers we know, adding milk is one of the most common mistakes. It's also one of those techniques to which people are seriously attached -- and oftentimes they don't know why they do it. The only good reason to add milk is to stretch out the eggs if you're running low or want to be economical. If you're going for pure taste, however, ditch the milk, cream or any other type of liquid. You'll end up with richer, creamier eggs.
Old habits are hard to break, so if you're questioning our advice, agree to omit the milk in one scramble. After you taste the improvement, we promise you'll never go back.
Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.
Montréal - C'est le temps de bouger!
Dites au Conseil Municipal ainsi qu'au maire Coderre que vous soutenez la modernisation des législations afin d'intégrer des services de transport sécuritaires et fiables que procurent les plateformes telles que Uber.
Manifestez votre soutien pour le progrès, des routes plus sûres, pour Uber à Montréal. Signez la pétition dès aujourd'hui!
The Truth About Exercising When You're Sick Or Hurt
SPECIAL FROM Next AvenueBy Linda Melone
When you're under the weather with a cold or achy muscles or joints, it may be best to skip your regular workout. But it’s not always necessary.
Obviously, a severe injury requires rest, but for less serious ailments, a little activity may actually make you feel better. Here are some of the most common health issues you are likely to encounter and ways to exercise around them as well as when you should avoid working out:
You Feel a Cold Coming On
If you have mostly “head symptoms” like a scratchy throat, mild headache or runny nose, you can likely go ahead with your workout with a few adjustments, says Dr. Kristine Arthur, internal medicine physician with Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, Fountain Valley, Calif.
“Avoid strenuous activities like sprints, a marathon, boot camp or heavy lifting,” she says. “Heavy exercise while sick can strain your heart.”
If you normally run, consider a light jog or brisk walk, preferably indoors during cold weather. “Pilates and yoga are usually fine, but avoid hot yoga, as you may become overheated,” Arthur says.
You Have a Sinus Infection
If you have anything more severe than a runny nose and suspect you may have a sinus infection, see a doctor before doing your regular exercise, Arthur says.
"If you stress yourself with exercise and don’t get proper treatment for sinusitis, it can turn into something more serious, like pneumonia,” she says.
Be particularly careful if you have a history of asthma. Exercise can trigger bronchial spasm. Stop exercising if you hear yourself wheezing or feel you can’t catch your breath, Arthur says.
You Spike a Fever… and More
It’s best to stay home and avoid working out if you have “full body symptoms,” Arthur says. “This includes symptoms like muscle aches, chills, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea and particularly if you have a fever.”
Exercising with a fever of 100 degrees or higher puts you at risk for increasing your temperature even further.
“Never try to ‘sweat out’ a fever with exercise,” Arthur says. “This can put you at risk of dehydration. In general, listen to your body. If you start feeling worse while exercising – stop! You may make things worse and prolong the illness.”
You Develop Elbow Tendonitis
Called tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow, depending on whether it’s on the outside of your elbow (tennis) or inside (golfer's), this syndrome makes it painful to shake hands, hold a racket or turn a wrench.
“Avoid any activity that triggers the pain, such as practicing backhand in tennis, painting or using a tool repetitively,” says Dr. David Geier, orthopedic surgeon in Charleston, S.C. “Upper body exercises that don’t recreate the pain should be alright to do.”
Supportive straps worn just below the elbow can also take stress off the affected area and can help you perform activities with less pain.
Your Wrists Ache
Wrist arthritis makes it painful to bear weight on your wrists and hands, such as while doing push-ups.
“The pushup places the wrist in full extension while the person transfers stress through the wrists,” Geier says. Avoid exercises that cause pain, or modify the move. For example, try push-ups on dumbbells (grasp them to enable your wrists to stay straight). Or wear wrist braces that limit the range of motion, which can help decrease pain during the exercise, Geier says.
It Hurts to Walk
Inflammation of a thick band of tissue, called the plantar fascia, that runs along the bottom of your foot and connects to your heel, is called plantar fasciitis. It’s common in runners, overweight individuals and in people who wear shoes without good support.
“It is unclear if any activity is particularly harmful with plantar fasciitis,” Geier says. “The biggest problem is getting up from a chair and going straight into physical activity or waking up and moving around a lot.”
Plantar fascia- and Achilles stretching exercises first thing in the morning, and possibly several times a day, can help.
You Have General Aches and Pains
Waking up with achy muscles from simply doing more than your usual activities the day before can be eased with stretching or by using a foam roller.
“Use a foam roller to promote flexibility of your mid-back and stretch your pectoral muscles (across the front of your chest),” says Jesse Phillips, sports rehabilitation supervisor at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. “If you have knee pain, using a foam roller followed by stretches can help improve the mobility of the hip, knee and ankle.”
Keep in mind the difference between the discomfort associated with muscles working hard and excessive strain being placed on joints/ligaments/tendons, Phillips says.
“Moving a joint or muscle to the point of mild stretch is typically acceptable, but moving through pain is not,” he said. “If you are concerned about the potential of the latter kind of pain, consult a physician or a physical therapist for an evaluation.”
Next Avenue contributor Linda Melone is a California-based freelance writer specializing in health, fitness and wellness for women over 50.
Read more from Next Avenue:
6 beliefs that sabotage your health
Atrophy prevention
Stretches and exercises for tired, achy legs
PHOTOS: Stars Who Have Rocked Locs
Social media has been up in an uproar this week over the racially insensitive comments Giuliana Rancic made towards actress/singer Zendaya during Mond...
Read more: Zendaya, Guliana Rancic, Giuliana Rancic, Fashion Police, Giuliana Rancic Fashion Police, E! Fashion Police, Bv-Fashion-Beauty, Black Hair, African American Hair, Black Women Hair, Natural Hair, Zendaya Oscar Hair, Zendaya Oscars Hair, Zendaya-Dreads, Zendaya Dreadlocks, Zendaya Locs, Fashion Racism, Guliana Rancic Racism, Guliana Rancic Body, Zendaya-Hair, Beauty Ideas, Bv-Pop-Culture, Black Voices News
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Ride FREE in Annapolis
This week only, celebrate Uber in Maryland! Find out how you can ride FREE in Annapolis.
Elizabeth Warren's Next Target Is The Fed's Top Lawyer
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) grilled Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday over public advocacy of deregulation by the central bank's top lawyer, Scott Alvarez.
"The Fed’s general counsel -- or anyone at the Fed’s staff -- should not be picking and choosing which rules to enforce based on their personal views," Warren said during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. "So I urge you to carefully review this issue and to assess whether the leadership of the Fed’s staff is on the same page as the Federal Reserve Board [of Governors]."
Alvarez, a Wall Street-friendly career Fed lawyer, told a conference of bank attorneys in November that he wanted to overhaul two key provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law -- the Volcker Rule and the "swaps push-out" measure.
At Tuesday's hearing, Warren repeatedly asked Yellen if she or the Fed Board of Governors shared the views of their general counsel. Yellen eventually suggested that they did not.
"Do you think that it is appropriate that Mr. Alvarez took public positions that do not evidently reflect the public position of the Fed’s board, especially before an audience that has a direct financial interest in how the Fed enforces its rules?" Warren asked.
Yellen demurred at the question, prompting Warren to ask if the Fed had deliberately delayed the implementation of its swaps push-out rule in order to give bank lobbyists time to advance its outright repeal in Congress.
"I don’t know," Yellen replied. "We usually have phase-ins for complicated rules that require adjustments by financial firms."
Watch Warren's exchange with Yellen in the video above.
Warren also highlighted a letter that she and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) recently sent to Alvarez, who was reportedly handling an investigation into a leak about the Fed's confidential monetary policy deliberations from October 2012. The two lawmakers are seeking the results of the investigation. The Fed has never published any information from the inquiry and didn't even acknowledge the leak had occurred until ProPublica filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the central bank.
The Fed's general counsel wields enormous power over regulatory issues, is a key figure in both the drafting and timing of financial regulations, and even influences legislation. During the 2010 fight over a Dodd-Frank provision to audit the Fed, for instance, Alvarez personally called members of Congress, urging them to support a weaker, more limited version of the audit.
The swaps push-out provision that Alvarez criticized in November would have eliminated taxpayer subsidies for trading in risky derivatives, the complex financial contracts at the heart of the 2008 meltdown. A repeal of the measure was inserted into a must-pass bill to fund the federal government this past December, reinstating the subsidies and sparking a bitter feud within the Democratic Party. About a week later, the Fed announced that it would delay implementing key sections of the Volcker Rule, which bans banks from speculating in securities markets for their own accounts. The delay was widely seen as an internal institutional victory for Alvarez, particularly in light of his November comments.
"The Fed’s general counsel -- or anyone at the Fed’s staff -- should not be picking and choosing which rules to enforce based on their personal views," Warren said during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. "So I urge you to carefully review this issue and to assess whether the leadership of the Fed’s staff is on the same page as the Federal Reserve Board [of Governors]."
Alvarez, a Wall Street-friendly career Fed lawyer, told a conference of bank attorneys in November that he wanted to overhaul two key provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law -- the Volcker Rule and the "swaps push-out" measure.
At Tuesday's hearing, Warren repeatedly asked Yellen if she or the Fed Board of Governors shared the views of their general counsel. Yellen eventually suggested that they did not.
"Do you think that it is appropriate that Mr. Alvarez took public positions that do not evidently reflect the public position of the Fed’s board, especially before an audience that has a direct financial interest in how the Fed enforces its rules?" Warren asked.
Yellen demurred at the question, prompting Warren to ask if the Fed had deliberately delayed the implementation of its swaps push-out rule in order to give bank lobbyists time to advance its outright repeal in Congress.
"I don’t know," Yellen replied. "We usually have phase-ins for complicated rules that require adjustments by financial firms."
Watch Warren's exchange with Yellen in the video above.
Warren also highlighted a letter that she and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) recently sent to Alvarez, who was reportedly handling an investigation into a leak about the Fed's confidential monetary policy deliberations from October 2012. The two lawmakers are seeking the results of the investigation. The Fed has never published any information from the inquiry and didn't even acknowledge the leak had occurred until ProPublica filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the central bank.
The Fed's general counsel wields enormous power over regulatory issues, is a key figure in both the drafting and timing of financial regulations, and even influences legislation. During the 2010 fight over a Dodd-Frank provision to audit the Fed, for instance, Alvarez personally called members of Congress, urging them to support a weaker, more limited version of the audit.
The swaps push-out provision that Alvarez criticized in November would have eliminated taxpayer subsidies for trading in risky derivatives, the complex financial contracts at the heart of the 2008 meltdown. A repeal of the measure was inserted into a must-pass bill to fund the federal government this past December, reinstating the subsidies and sparking a bitter feud within the Democratic Party. About a week later, the Fed announced that it would delay implementing key sections of the Volcker Rule, which bans banks from speculating in securities markets for their own accounts. The delay was widely seen as an internal institutional victory for Alvarez, particularly in light of his November comments.
Black History Month
This year is the 100th anniversary of Black History Month with “A Century of Black Life, History and Culture”. With only a few more days left, the century celebration is certainly alive! There are many Black History Month events within the DFW area that are acknowledging the history, the culture, and many lives of both past and present African American influencers.
Windstream Falls On In-Line Q4, Citi Sees More Margin Pressure
Windstream Holdings (WIN) is down more than 6% in Tuesday afternoon trading, following a roughly in-line fourth quarter. The telecom operator, known for its rich yield—now over 12%—said it earned 3 cents a share on revenue that fell 3.2% to $1.44 billion. Analysts were expecting the company to earn 3 cents a share on revenue [...]
When The Best Sex Is Extramarital - NYTimes.com
I received a voice mail from a 40-something woman, Cynthia, who requested a late-evening session because she worked long hours at her law firm. She said that I was one of the few therapists she had Googled who seemed to have the expertise to help her. In recent years I have noticed that when potential patients Google me, they discover my university faculty profile, where I list as a research interest the psychology of infidelity. They also find a YouTube clip of an interview with me from a documentary on infidelity. Thanks to Google I am getting more patients looking for someone they think of as an infidelity expert.
Kim Kardashian Goes Five Days Without Washing Her Hair
Every time we see Kim Kardashian head into a restaurant wearing head-to-toe Givenchy, step onto the red carpet with her perfectly contoured makeup or tote around her 1-year-old daughter in a fur coat, we are reminded that celebrities aren't just like us.
But it turns out, Kimmy might be a little more like us muggles than we initially thought.
The reality star spoke to Into The Gloss about her beauty routine and we learned some pretty surprising things. Besides the fact that her dad gave her makeup classes for Christmas when she was a mere teen, the 34-year-old bombshell also divulged that she hates washing her hair just as much as the next girl.
"For my hair, I don't wash it every day," she told ITG. "We start out with a blowout on day one, then we go into a messier vibe the next day, and then we flat iron it and do a really sleek look on day three since that requires a little oil in the hair. Day four could be a slicked-back ponytail, and on the fifth day is when you wash it," she explained. Welp, if Kim isn't going to wash her hair every day, we sure as hell won't be either.
Find out more about Kim's skincare regimen (along with her favorite drugstore beauty buy) over on Into The Gloss.
But it turns out, Kimmy might be a little more like us muggles than we initially thought.
The reality star spoke to Into The Gloss about her beauty routine and we learned some pretty surprising things. Besides the fact that her dad gave her makeup classes for Christmas when she was a mere teen, the 34-year-old bombshell also divulged that she hates washing her hair just as much as the next girl.
"For my hair, I don't wash it every day," she told ITG. "We start out with a blowout on day one, then we go into a messier vibe the next day, and then we flat iron it and do a really sleek look on day three since that requires a little oil in the hair. Day four could be a slicked-back ponytail, and on the fifth day is when you wash it," she explained. Welp, if Kim isn't going to wash her hair every day, we sure as hell won't be either.
Find out more about Kim's skincare regimen (along with her favorite drugstore beauty buy) over on Into The Gloss.
Eurozone extends Greece’s bailout by four months
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives for a ministerial meeting at the parliament in Athens on Feb. 24. Eurozone finance ministers approved a list of reforms proposed by Greece in return for a bailout extension. Photo by Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
Eurozone finance ministers on Tuesday accepted reform proposals offered by Greece to extend its bailout program by four more months.
Greece’s proposed reforms include efforts to combat tax evasion and tackle corruption.
“We call on the Greek authorities to further develop and broaden the list of reform measures, based on the current arrangement, in close coordination with the institutions in order to allow for a speedy and successful conclusion of the review,” read a statement from the Eurogroup of finance ministers from 19 countries that use the euro.
Greece’s current debt is more than 320 billion euros or about $360 billion. The 240 billion euro ($273 billion) bailout will now run until the end of June instead of expiring at the end of February.
The post Eurozone extends Greece’s bailout by four months appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
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