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
Gary Johnson At CPAC: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND -- Typically, when a politician meets a reporter for an interview, decorum dictates that said politician offer up a bland pleasantry to break the ice. "Thanks for spending time with us!" or "Try to keep up!" are standard.
When I meet former New Mexico governor and 2012 Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), he takes a different tack.
"So you drew the short straw? Some reporter always does."
Johnson is a friendly, kinetic presence, but he isn't exactly the brightest star in the political universe right now, a fact he'll readily concede and even point out. Like much of the Libertarian Party, he finds himself in a precarious position heading into 2016. On the one hand, his laissez-faire platform has never been more popular, with the public increasingly skeptical about developments like the war on drugs, the militarization of America's police departments and an increasingly intrusive regime of government surveillance.
On the other hand, his policy agenda is being partially appropriated by both of America's dominant political parties, and the popularity and likely presidential campaign of libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) has only served to further diminish the Libertarians' standing.
I encounter Johnson as he's manning the booth of his advocacy organization, Our America Initiative, talking with supporters and catching knowing glances from passers-by. Where most prominent politicians would never deign to be seen very long in the deepest, most zoo-like bowels of CPAC, Johnson is happily holding court. Indeed, it feels at times that Johnson is no more a sideshow than The Weekly Standard's photo booth or the gentleman nearby dressed as Captain America.
When an aide tries to interject some optimism by pointing out that Johnson finished third place in CPAC's 2011 straw poll of presidential candidates, Johnson, who governed New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 and turned 61 this year, offers a characteristic retort.
"Yeah, you can see where that got me."
Despite his less-than-hopeful outlook on his own political standing, Johnson remains cautiously optimistic about the effects of Paul's success.
"If Rand Paul wins the nomination, that'd be terrific," he tells me. "If he were to prevail he'd be the best Republican nominee in a long time." His enthusiasm for the GOP field, however, ends at Paul. "Based on the current crop, I'd vote for the Libertarian candidate," he says.
But Johnson still sees a lot of daylight between him and Paul on issues like marriage equality, reproductive rights, drug reform, foreign policy and immigration reform, and makes no attempt to hide it.
"He's a social conservative and I'm not," Johnson says. "I think he's towing a fine line on the whole military intervention thing" -- a reference to Paul's efforts to soften his image as an isolationist.
"I call it punting. His dad [former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-Texas)] punted, too. They punt on drug policy, they punt on marriage equality."
That said, Johnson, who says he is still hasn't decided whether to seek the Libertarian Party's nomination in 2016, is somewhat agnostic about the daunting prospect of another nationwide campaign. He hates it. I mean, he really hates it.
"When I ran in 2012, 90 percent of what I did ended up being wasted time. I must have spent three months on Internet radio talking to people who I envision were guys in their mid-40s and the only people listening were their parents in the room upstairs."
He adds that not all Internet radio hosts live in their parents' basement, before continuing, "I'm a horrible fundraiser and I must have spent months on the phone talking to people. I like talking to people but I never get around to raising any money. I just can't ask for money. It's not in my marrow."
"You can't meet everybody," he says. "You can't stand somewhere for hours on end because it's just draining."
But it's not all that bad. Events like CPAC offer Johnson the opportunity to mingle with a largely receptive audience. Even supporters of other candidates come and pay Johnson respect -- seeking a sort of absolution from the current high priest of libertarianism. A woman wearing a Ted Cruz sticker asks Johnson about his views on disability policy. She tells him about her condition, which causes her to experience seizures regularly.
"Are you doing CBD?" he asks. "It's marijuana based."
One man wearing a Rand Paul sticker approaches and urges Johnson to get in the race to keep things competitive. A group of college-aged men profess their admiration. "You were such an inspiration to me!" says one. Another man, in a cowboy hat and a shirt that reads "COPS SAY LEGALIZE POT ASK ME WHY" is an old acquaintance who briefly catches up with Johnson.
"For me right now, this does not suck," Johnson says. "So this go around, if I end up doing it, it's not going to suck!"
"Although I might discover new kinds of suck," he adds with a laugh. "But I won't relive the old kinds of suck."
One of the biggest obstacles Johnson sees is being admitted to the presidential debates -- he was excluded from most of the GOP primary debates in 2012 before he switched to run as a Libertarian, and even then was excluded from the general election debates. In his view, a feedback loop emerges when pollsters and debate organizers exclude third-party candidates, thereby diminishing their stature with the electorate.
Although being in the debates would have its pitfalls, too.
"Even if I were to appear in the presidential debates, holy shit! Can you imagine the anxiety of appearing in a presidential debate?"
But far from being bummed about his semi-obscure place in the political zeitgeist -- or his .9 percent showing in the 2012 presidential election -- Johnson couldn't be enjoying life more. That's not surprising, as his life is almost certainly better than yours or mine.
He engages himself in a number of different passion projects. In addition to the Our America Initiative, he's the CEO of Cannabis Sativa, a $100 million market cap marijuana company (ticker symbol HI -- get it?), which he insists on numerous occasions will "survive 100 years from now." The Coca-Cola of weed, if you will.
But easily the most envy-inducing parts of Johnson's existence are his outdoor hobbies, which he pursues with great relish from his home in Taos, New Mexico. He recently ascended the "Seven Summits" -- the highest points on each continent -- when he climbed Mount Vinson in Antarctica. More recently, he competed in a race on Al's Run, a notoriously treacherous slope in Taos Ski Valley, finishing third behind a 31- and 21-year-old.
But mostly, as the governor puts it, he just "skis and hangs out."
And while most serious politicians would spend the rest of their lives chasing after more favorable election results, Johnson's joie de vivre helps him have the perspective to be content with the fact that 1 million people wanted him to be the most powerful person in the world.
"There's no itch," Johnson says flat-out when asked if he ever misses elected office. "I don't feel an itch."
"It's the right thing to do [running for president]. If anyone else were doing this, I'd be back home. I love my life."
Later, during a debate over drug legalization between Johnson and former Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle, Johnson fakes a heart attack and falls over on the stage to illustrate his opinion of Buerkle's anti-drug arguments.
“You know, I think the governor has had great fun with his humor," Buerkle, now a commissioner on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, says. “It’s not funny. It is something that we as Americans have to pay attention to.”
Johnson is having great fun, which begs the question: Why on earth would he want to be president?
When I meet former New Mexico governor and 2012 Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), he takes a different tack.
"So you drew the short straw? Some reporter always does."
Johnson is a friendly, kinetic presence, but he isn't exactly the brightest star in the political universe right now, a fact he'll readily concede and even point out. Like much of the Libertarian Party, he finds himself in a precarious position heading into 2016. On the one hand, his laissez-faire platform has never been more popular, with the public increasingly skeptical about developments like the war on drugs, the militarization of America's police departments and an increasingly intrusive regime of government surveillance.
On the other hand, his policy agenda is being partially appropriated by both of America's dominant political parties, and the popularity and likely presidential campaign of libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) has only served to further diminish the Libertarians' standing.
I encounter Johnson as he's manning the booth of his advocacy organization, Our America Initiative, talking with supporters and catching knowing glances from passers-by. Where most prominent politicians would never deign to be seen very long in the deepest, most zoo-like bowels of CPAC, Johnson is happily holding court. Indeed, it feels at times that Johnson is no more a sideshow than The Weekly Standard's photo booth or the gentleman nearby dressed as Captain America.
When an aide tries to interject some optimism by pointing out that Johnson finished third place in CPAC's 2011 straw poll of presidential candidates, Johnson, who governed New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 and turned 61 this year, offers a characteristic retort.
"Yeah, you can see where that got me."
Despite his less-than-hopeful outlook on his own political standing, Johnson remains cautiously optimistic about the effects of Paul's success.
"If Rand Paul wins the nomination, that'd be terrific," he tells me. "If he were to prevail he'd be the best Republican nominee in a long time." His enthusiasm for the GOP field, however, ends at Paul. "Based on the current crop, I'd vote for the Libertarian candidate," he says.
But Johnson still sees a lot of daylight between him and Paul on issues like marriage equality, reproductive rights, drug reform, foreign policy and immigration reform, and makes no attempt to hide it.
"He's a social conservative and I'm not," Johnson says. "I think he's towing a fine line on the whole military intervention thing" -- a reference to Paul's efforts to soften his image as an isolationist.
"I call it punting. His dad [former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-Texas)] punted, too. They punt on drug policy, they punt on marriage equality."
That said, Johnson, who says he is still hasn't decided whether to seek the Libertarian Party's nomination in 2016, is somewhat agnostic about the daunting prospect of another nationwide campaign. He hates it. I mean, he really hates it.
"When I ran in 2012, 90 percent of what I did ended up being wasted time. I must have spent three months on Internet radio talking to people who I envision were guys in their mid-40s and the only people listening were their parents in the room upstairs."
He adds that not all Internet radio hosts live in their parents' basement, before continuing, "I'm a horrible fundraiser and I must have spent months on the phone talking to people. I like talking to people but I never get around to raising any money. I just can't ask for money. It's not in my marrow."
"You can't meet everybody," he says. "You can't stand somewhere for hours on end because it's just draining."
But it's not all that bad. Events like CPAC offer Johnson the opportunity to mingle with a largely receptive audience. Even supporters of other candidates come and pay Johnson respect -- seeking a sort of absolution from the current high priest of libertarianism. A woman wearing a Ted Cruz sticker asks Johnson about his views on disability policy. She tells him about her condition, which causes her to experience seizures regularly.
"Are you doing CBD?" he asks. "It's marijuana based."
One man wearing a Rand Paul sticker approaches and urges Johnson to get in the race to keep things competitive. A group of college-aged men profess their admiration. "You were such an inspiration to me!" says one. Another man, in a cowboy hat and a shirt that reads "COPS SAY LEGALIZE POT ASK ME WHY" is an old acquaintance who briefly catches up with Johnson.
"For me right now, this does not suck," Johnson says. "So this go around, if I end up doing it, it's not going to suck!"
"Although I might discover new kinds of suck," he adds with a laugh. "But I won't relive the old kinds of suck."
One of the biggest obstacles Johnson sees is being admitted to the presidential debates -- he was excluded from most of the GOP primary debates in 2012 before he switched to run as a Libertarian, and even then was excluded from the general election debates. In his view, a feedback loop emerges when pollsters and debate organizers exclude third-party candidates, thereby diminishing their stature with the electorate.
Although being in the debates would have its pitfalls, too.
"Even if I were to appear in the presidential debates, holy shit! Can you imagine the anxiety of appearing in a presidential debate?"
But far from being bummed about his semi-obscure place in the political zeitgeist -- or his .9 percent showing in the 2012 presidential election -- Johnson couldn't be enjoying life more. That's not surprising, as his life is almost certainly better than yours or mine.
He engages himself in a number of different passion projects. In addition to the Our America Initiative, he's the CEO of Cannabis Sativa, a $100 million market cap marijuana company (ticker symbol HI -- get it?), which he insists on numerous occasions will "survive 100 years from now." The Coca-Cola of weed, if you will.
But easily the most envy-inducing parts of Johnson's existence are his outdoor hobbies, which he pursues with great relish from his home in Taos, New Mexico. He recently ascended the "Seven Summits" -- the highest points on each continent -- when he climbed Mount Vinson in Antarctica. More recently, he competed in a race on Al's Run, a notoriously treacherous slope in Taos Ski Valley, finishing third behind a 31- and 21-year-old.
But mostly, as the governor puts it, he just "skis and hangs out."
And while most serious politicians would spend the rest of their lives chasing after more favorable election results, Johnson's joie de vivre helps him have the perspective to be content with the fact that 1 million people wanted him to be the most powerful person in the world.
"There's no itch," Johnson says flat-out when asked if he ever misses elected office. "I don't feel an itch."
"It's the right thing to do [running for president]. If anyone else were doing this, I'd be back home. I love my life."
Later, during a debate over drug legalization between Johnson and former Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle, Johnson fakes a heart attack and falls over on the stage to illustrate his opinion of Buerkle's anti-drug arguments.
“You know, I think the governor has had great fun with his humor," Buerkle, now a commissioner on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, says. “It’s not funny. It is something that we as Americans have to pay attention to.”
Johnson is having great fun, which begs the question: Why on earth would he want to be president?
Who Gets Food Stamps? White People, Mostly
WASHINGTON -- Gene Alday, a Republican member of the Mississippi state legislature, apologized last week for telling a reporter that all the African-A...
Read more: Food Stamps, Snap, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Snap Cuts, Welfare, Gene Alday, Politics News
Stolen Picasso painting recovered by New Jersey officials
A stolen painting by the artist Pablo Picasso was recovered in New Jersey and authorities are now taking steps to return the work to its rightful owner, the French government.
There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.
In a Brooklyn court on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil action to forfeit Picasso’s “La Coiffeuse” (The Hairdresser) that had been smuggled into the U.S. from Belgium on Dec. 17 of last year.
“A lost treasure has been found,” U.S. Attorney Lynch said in a press release. “Because of the blatant smuggling in this case, this painting is now subject to forfeiture to the United States. Forfeiture of the painting will extract it from the grasp of the black market in stolen art so that it can be returned to its rightful owner.”
The 104-year-old oil painting done in the cubist style was reported stolen from a museum storeroom in Paris in 2001, according to a Justice Department press release. At the time, it was worth about $2.5 million, Reuters reported.
Authorities alleged the person who sent the package falsely completed the customs declaration, labeling the item a holiday “art craft” worth 30 euros ($37) and including a cheeky message: “Joyeux Noel” (Merry Christmas).
Upon its arrival in the United States, the shipment was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the painting was subsequently seized by Homeland Security Investigations.
The filing of the civil complaint is the first step in an effort to return the work to the French government.
In the south of France on Feb. 10, Picasso’s former electrician and his wife went on trial to face charges of possessing 271 stolen drawings and paintings by the late Spanish artist.
The post Stolen Picasso painting recovered by New Jersey officials appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Touching Photo Series Captures Dying Pit Bull's First And Last Time Seeing The Ocean
When a photographer's beloved pit bull got sick, she decided to take him on one last special trip so he could make a few more beautiful memories.
Zhenia Bulawka spent almost a decade with her cherished rescue dog, Mr. Dukes. But after falling ill, her pit bull found himself in the last stages of Grade III mast cell cancer last August, according to a blog post she wrote for The Dodo. While Mr. Dukes' favorite activity was swimming in pools, the canine had never been to the ocean. So for his final adventure, the photographer and her boyfriend decided to bring Mr. Dukes, along with the couple's other two dogs, Ruby and Violet, to see the ocean for the first time in Assateague, Maryland.
The trip was captured in a moving photo series.
Bulawka and Ruby in the ocean.
"[Mr. Dukes'] initial reaction seemed to be intimidation -- as if he was confused by this endless 'swimming pool' which made so much noise," Bulawka told The Huffington Post of her pooch's first response to the ocean, but noted he became fascinated by what he saw. "He was transfixed. Perhaps he was mesmerized by the waves."
Bulawka's boyfriend, Christian Valiente, sharing a dog-safe sandwich with Mr. Dukes.
Sadly, Mr. Dukes died a month after the trip. The photographer recently decided to share her photos series in a memorial blog post.
"Every moment spent with him was the best -- he was that cool ... Cherish every moment spent with loved ones -- be they two-legged or four," she told HuffPost in an email. "The memories created will be with you, always."
Bulawka holding Violet, one of her dogs.
While losing her best friend was hard for the photographer, she says that photo project was a necessary undertaking. She wanted to both commemorate Mr. Dukes, while smashing the negative stereotypes regarding pit bulls.
"With so much stigma surrounding pit bull-type dogs, I just wanted to convey something that portrayed them in a positive light," she said. "They don't deserve mistreatment and are worthy of human love and kindness."
Mr. Dukes and Ruby, who had their ears cropped before Bulawka rescued them, with Violet.
Bulawka taking her dogs for a walk on the beach.
It's been a few months since Mr. Dukes' death, but Bulawka says that the memories of his big personality will never fade.
"Dukes loved life! He was the most eager to get the day started -- always on a mission," she said. "Dukes had so much purpose. He never let a second go to waste."
(Photo series continues below.)
The view along the beach.
Valiente relaxing with Ruby.
Ruby, sleeping.
Violet at the door.
Bulawka's bracelet, featuring two dogs modeled off Mr. Dukes and Ruby.
Bulawka on the beach with her three dogs.
Valiente and Mr. Dukes on the beach.
To see Zhenia Bulawka's photo series in its original form, click here.
Like Us On Facebook
Follow Us On Twitter
Zhenia Bulawka spent almost a decade with her cherished rescue dog, Mr. Dukes. But after falling ill, her pit bull found himself in the last stages of Grade III mast cell cancer last August, according to a blog post she wrote for The Dodo. While Mr. Dukes' favorite activity was swimming in pools, the canine had never been to the ocean. So for his final adventure, the photographer and her boyfriend decided to bring Mr. Dukes, along with the couple's other two dogs, Ruby and Violet, to see the ocean for the first time in Assateague, Maryland.
The trip was captured in a moving photo series.
Bulawka and Ruby in the ocean.
"[Mr. Dukes'] initial reaction seemed to be intimidation -- as if he was confused by this endless 'swimming pool' which made so much noise," Bulawka told The Huffington Post of her pooch's first response to the ocean, but noted he became fascinated by what he saw. "He was transfixed. Perhaps he was mesmerized by the waves."
Bulawka's boyfriend, Christian Valiente, sharing a dog-safe sandwich with Mr. Dukes.
Sadly, Mr. Dukes died a month after the trip. The photographer recently decided to share her photos series in a memorial blog post.
"Every moment spent with him was the best -- he was that cool ... Cherish every moment spent with loved ones -- be they two-legged or four," she told HuffPost in an email. "The memories created will be with you, always."
Bulawka holding Violet, one of her dogs.
While losing her best friend was hard for the photographer, she says that photo project was a necessary undertaking. She wanted to both commemorate Mr. Dukes, while smashing the negative stereotypes regarding pit bulls.
"With so much stigma surrounding pit bull-type dogs, I just wanted to convey something that portrayed them in a positive light," she said. "They don't deserve mistreatment and are worthy of human love and kindness."
Mr. Dukes and Ruby, who had their ears cropped before Bulawka rescued them, with Violet.
Bulawka taking her dogs for a walk on the beach.
It's been a few months since Mr. Dukes' death, but Bulawka says that the memories of his big personality will never fade.
"Dukes loved life! He was the most eager to get the day started -- always on a mission," she said. "Dukes had so much purpose. He never let a second go to waste."
(Photo series continues below.)
The view along the beach.
Valiente relaxing with Ruby.
Ruby, sleeping.
Violet at the door.
Bulawka's bracelet, featuring two dogs modeled off Mr. Dukes and Ruby.
Bulawka on the beach with her three dogs.
Valiente and Mr. Dukes on the beach.
To see Zhenia Bulawka's photo series in its original form, click here.
Like Us On Facebook Follow Us On Twitter
Celebrating Black History Month
In honor of Black History Month, we have been celebrating not only those who have so greatly influenced the past, but also those who are shaping the future. We visited with some of our driver partners and listened as they told us their histories. Join us as we celebrate their stories.
Dirty Pig Pulls Over Man, Takes Bribe (VIDEO)
Let's hope no one squeals.
A Bradford, Maine, man was cruising along last Sunday when an officer of the hog stopped his vehicle.
"What's up, big guy?" the man in the vehicle says during the 51 second confrontation.
It's clear the swine isn't taking any beef, snorting and sniffing at the man until finally, the terrified driver feels he has no other choice but to offer a bribe.
"You want a cookie?" the man asks.
The pig accepts and the man is allowed to continue on his way.
After reaching out to his superiors, owners Stacey and Brian -- who identified the rogue pig as Buster -- came to the animal's defense.
“We made him our buddy,” Brian told WAIBI. “In the summertime, he gets daiquiris and deserts for breakfasts and then he gets some grain and what not, whatever we can come up with and he’s just part of the bunch. He hangs out. Does campfires with us in the summer and in the winter time, he runs amok and startles the neighbors.”
Running amok? Startling neighbors? It's time we got these crooked hogs off our streets.
Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact The Author
A Bradford, Maine, man was cruising along last Sunday when an officer of the hog stopped his vehicle.
"What's up, big guy?" the man in the vehicle says during the 51 second confrontation.
It's clear the swine isn't taking any beef, snorting and sniffing at the man until finally, the terrified driver feels he has no other choice but to offer a bribe.
"You want a cookie?" the man asks.
The pig accepts and the man is allowed to continue on his way.
After reaching out to his superiors, owners Stacey and Brian -- who identified the rogue pig as Buster -- came to the animal's defense.
“We made him our buddy,” Brian told WAIBI. “In the summertime, he gets daiquiris and deserts for breakfasts and then he gets some grain and what not, whatever we can come up with and he’s just part of the bunch. He hangs out. Does campfires with us in the summer and in the winter time, he runs amok and startles the neighbors.”
Running amok? Startling neighbors? It's time we got these crooked hogs off our streets.
Like Us On Facebook | Follow Us On Twitter | Contact The AuthorThe Street Style At Milan Fashion Week Is Pretty Bellissima
New Yorkers know hats, the British know shoes, but the Italians, they know bags.
Over the last couple of days at Milan Fashion Week, we have spotted some pretty amazing purses on the streets. After seeing the photos below, we really want to go shopping -- either for a novelty clutch or a Chanel Boy Bag.
Herewith our favorite shots from Milan:
Over the last couple of days at Milan Fashion Week, we have spotted some pretty amazing purses on the streets. After seeing the photos below, we really want to go shopping -- either for a novelty clutch or a Chanel Boy Bag.
Herewith our favorite shots from Milan:
Friday, February 27, 2015
'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
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.
University Of Oregon Decides Not To Sue Rape Survivor
The University of Oregon dropped a countersuit Thursday against a student who had reported being gang-raped by three of the school's basketball players and who subsequently sued UO for the way it handled her case.
UO sparked outrage among students and faculty this month when it filed a counterclaim against a lawsuit from a current student known only as Jane Doe, demanding that she or her attorneys pay for the university's legal fees and any other damages the court is willing to issue. Last month, Doe filed a lawsuit against the university and against men's basketball coach Dana Altman, alleging that they'd recruited a student athlete despite knowing about his previous sexual assault allegation, and that they'd later created special arrangements for the accused assailants based on their athlete status.
In its updated response to Doe's suit, the school maintains that it did not know about the athlete's previous sexual assault case during recruitment, and says it did not violate any laws in how it responded to Doe's sexual assault report. However, UO retracted the line that her "claims are frivolous, unreasonable, and without foundation," and is no longer suing Doe.
"Today I decided that it is in the best interest of the university community to file an amended answer to the lawsuit that withdraws the counterclaims," Scott Coltrane, UO's interim president, said in a statement Thursday. "The university never intended to seek costs, fees, or damages against our student. With this action, we make that clear."
More than 2,100 people had signed a petition asking the university to drop the suit against Doe.
Thursday's filing from the university keeps the language that "plaintiff's counsel's false allegations threaten to harm not only Oregon and Altman, but all sexual assault survivors in Oregon's campus community." In an email to the UO administration, three faculty members -- law professor John Bonine, media studies professor Carol Stabile and psychology professor Jennifer Freyd -- expressed disappointment that the school kept some of the "most victim-blaming language."
"Someone has confused a legal filing with a press release," the professors wrote to the administration Thursday night, according to a copy of the email shared with The Huffington Post. "A response to the court is no place for public relations talk about the University’s supposed devotion to women and Title IX. It is a place to admit or deny factual allegations."
UO is also claiming that while it did access Doe's therapy records in the weeks prior to her suit against the school, it did not violate any laws in doing so.
Last week, 12 faculty members, including five law professors, sent a letter to the UO administration objecting to the university's having accessed Doe's therapy records, which it did in December 2014. The school has insisted it acted legally in handling her records, but the professors said even if that was true, "that would not make this action right," according to a copy of the letter obtained by HuffPost.
The university said that after the 12 faculty members sent their letter, school officials met with them to discuss their concerns. It also said that it only collected Doe's records and has not viewed them. UO is also planning a campus event Monday to discuss sexual violence.
Doe says the three athletes sexually assaulted her in March 2014. In June, all three athletes were found responsible for sexual misconduct and were suspended from campus for a minimum of four years.
UO sparked outrage among students and faculty this month when it filed a counterclaim against a lawsuit from a current student known only as Jane Doe, demanding that she or her attorneys pay for the university's legal fees and any other damages the court is willing to issue. Last month, Doe filed a lawsuit against the university and against men's basketball coach Dana Altman, alleging that they'd recruited a student athlete despite knowing about his previous sexual assault allegation, and that they'd later created special arrangements for the accused assailants based on their athlete status.
In its updated response to Doe's suit, the school maintains that it did not know about the athlete's previous sexual assault case during recruitment, and says it did not violate any laws in how it responded to Doe's sexual assault report. However, UO retracted the line that her "claims are frivolous, unreasonable, and without foundation," and is no longer suing Doe.
"Today I decided that it is in the best interest of the university community to file an amended answer to the lawsuit that withdraws the counterclaims," Scott Coltrane, UO's interim president, said in a statement Thursday. "The university never intended to seek costs, fees, or damages against our student. With this action, we make that clear."
More than 2,100 people had signed a petition asking the university to drop the suit against Doe.
Thursday's filing from the university keeps the language that "plaintiff's counsel's false allegations threaten to harm not only Oregon and Altman, but all sexual assault survivors in Oregon's campus community." In an email to the UO administration, three faculty members -- law professor John Bonine, media studies professor Carol Stabile and psychology professor Jennifer Freyd -- expressed disappointment that the school kept some of the "most victim-blaming language."
"Someone has confused a legal filing with a press release," the professors wrote to the administration Thursday night, according to a copy of the email shared with The Huffington Post. "A response to the court is no place for public relations talk about the University’s supposed devotion to women and Title IX. It is a place to admit or deny factual allegations."
UO is also claiming that while it did access Doe's therapy records in the weeks prior to her suit against the school, it did not violate any laws in doing so.
Last week, 12 faculty members, including five law professors, sent a letter to the UO administration objecting to the university's having accessed Doe's therapy records, which it did in December 2014. The school has insisted it acted legally in handling her records, but the professors said even if that was true, "that would not make this action right," according to a copy of the letter obtained by HuffPost.
The university said that after the 12 faculty members sent their letter, school officials met with them to discuss their concerns. It also said that it only collected Doe's records and has not viewed them. UO is also planning a campus event Monday to discuss sexual violence.
Doe says the three athletes sexually assaulted her in March 2014. In June, all three athletes were found responsible for sexual misconduct and were suspended from campus for a minimum of four years.
With Office Slides and Play Areas, Beware Injury Risks
We all want to have workspaces that our employees enjoy, but sometimes we can take it a bit too far. And a couple of recent stories illustrate the injury risk of office play areas. So read on before you...
Leonard Nimoy, best remembered as Mr. Spock on ‘Star Trek’, dies at 83
Leonard Nimoy, who played the iconic role of Spock in the “Star Trek” television series and movie, died at his home on Friday. He was 83.
Best remembered by “Star Trek” fans as the iconic Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy died Friday. He was 83.
His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed reports of Nimoy’s death at his Los Angeles home, saying that he succumbed to end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the New York Times reported. Last year, he attributed his declining health to his smoking habit, which he had successfully quit more than 30 years earlier.
For decades on both the “Star Trek” television series and movie franchise, Nimoy played the character of Mr. Spock, a Vulcan, or half-alien who operated under a rigid adherence to logic that guided the crew of Starship Enterprise through the galaxy. It was a role that Trekkies, or devout “Star Trek” fans, came to adore. Nimoy won three Emmys for his work on Star Trek and established a life-long role as a science fiction icon.
Beyond “Star Trek,” Nimoy was a consummate artist who directed film, composed poetry and photography and taught acting.
There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.
The post Leonard Nimoy, best remembered as Mr. Spock on ‘Star Trek’, dies at 83 appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Presentando UberXL: Nuestra Opción Económica de SUV
¡Hoy puedes pedir tu uberXL en la Ciudad de México! Estamos felices de presentar este nuevo servicio cómodo y económico para hasta 6 pasajeros.
Fertile Ground: An Interactive Journey Through An Unintended Pregnancy
Imagine you’ve traded lives with a young woman in South Dakota, on the cusp of an important decision. Her fate is in your hands. Change her life at the end of each chapter.
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, [...]
The Enormous Promise of a Carbon Tax-and-Dividend
Absent any foreseeable action from Washington, some states and localities are stepping up with policies that put a price on carbon. And that has a number of exciting implications for cities and sustainable transportation. California is using revenue from its cap-and-trade program, for instance, to subsidize housing near transit. In Oregon, advocates are now pushing a […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
Two-alarm house fire in Mt. Vernon, NY injures 6 firefighters – raw video
Fire Thursday night on West Second Street
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.
More from Inc.:
4 Things to Know About Starting Up in Dubai
Why the New Cleveland Browns Logo Is So Bad it's Good
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
Acelerando as vantagens dos nossos usuários com a Starwood Hotels
Queremos que nossos usuários se sintam recompensados sempre. Por isso, temos o prazer de anunciar uma parceria inédita entre a Uber e Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
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
Firefighter Claims He Killed Neighbors' Dogs In Horrifying Facebook Photo
Police are investigating a Texas firefighter who claimed on Facebook that he killed two of his neighbors' dogs.
On Tuesday afternoon, a graphic photo showing two dead dogs was posted on the Facebook page of volunteer firefighter Tim Conatser, according to the Dallas Morning News. The photo, which quickly went viral and drew international outrage, came with the caption, "Somebody didn’t put any truth my warning. Keep your damn dogs on your property."
The Facebook post has since been taken down.
Police say the dogs' bullet-riddled bodies were discovered in southwest Hunt County, though they wouldn't specify where due to the ongoing investigation, CBS-DFW reports.
A family friend told the station that Conatser was angry because the dogs were attacking his livestock.
"So he went over to his neighbor’s and told him that his dogs was getting in his barn and attacking his animals, to please ya know keep ‘em at home, put ‘em on a leash, build a fence, do something," said Kevin Forester.
Conatser was suspended from his position at the Union Valley Volunteer Fire Department after the photo started going viral on Wednesday. Chief Edward Ragsdale said he "can't be responsible for [a volunteer's] actions when he's off duty," but noted that the station has been bombarded with angry messages -- and even death threats -- from all over the world.
Hunt County Constable Terry Jones launched a criminal probe into the Facebook post, NBC-DFW reports. Jones said he didn't know who owned the dogs and added that nobody has filed a complaint.
There's a Texas statute that allows property owners to kill dogs or coyotes that attack livestock or domestic animals, according to CBS-DFW.
The Huffington Post has reached out to Conatser, but has not received a response. It's unclear whether he'll be charged.
On Tuesday afternoon, a graphic photo showing two dead dogs was posted on the Facebook page of volunteer firefighter Tim Conatser, according to the Dallas Morning News. The photo, which quickly went viral and drew international outrage, came with the caption, "Somebody didn’t put any truth my warning. Keep your damn dogs on your property."
The Facebook post has since been taken down.
Police say the dogs' bullet-riddled bodies were discovered in southwest Hunt County, though they wouldn't specify where due to the ongoing investigation, CBS-DFW reports.
A family friend told the station that Conatser was angry because the dogs were attacking his livestock.
"So he went over to his neighbor’s and told him that his dogs was getting in his barn and attacking his animals, to please ya know keep ‘em at home, put ‘em on a leash, build a fence, do something," said Kevin Forester.
Conatser was suspended from his position at the Union Valley Volunteer Fire Department after the photo started going viral on Wednesday. Chief Edward Ragsdale said he "can't be responsible for [a volunteer's] actions when he's off duty," but noted that the station has been bombarded with angry messages -- and even death threats -- from all over the world.
Hunt County Constable Terry Jones launched a criminal probe into the Facebook post, NBC-DFW reports. Jones said he didn't know who owned the dogs and added that nobody has filed a complaint.
There's a Texas statute that allows property owners to kill dogs or coyotes that attack livestock or domestic animals, according to CBS-DFW.
The Huffington Post has reached out to Conatser, but has not received a response. It's unclear whether he'll be charged.
UberGIVING - Helping Dubliners Give Back
This Saturday, February 28th 2015, we're giving Dubliners the chance to give back while getting into full spring cleaning mode! We've partnered with Dublin Simon Community to pickup your donations - on demand!
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
7 Ways to Get (Most of) Your Security Deposit Returned
The minute we fork over that lump sum at the beginning of our lease, we're worried (or we should be) about how to get a security deposit returned from a landlord. Landlords are already keeping track of the kinds of...
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Watch a stunning blue sunset — on Mars
Are you a fan of watching sunsets? Well, NASA has an out-of-this-world one to show you.
On Monday, NASA uploaded to Vine a six-second simulated sunset from the surface of Mars. In a stark mirror from an earthly sunset, where blue skies fade into fiery red, the Martian sunset sees iron red skies shift to blue.
The vine condenses a 30-second movie that the agency originally uploaded to YouTube in 2012. The simulation was created using images captured by the Mars rover Opportunity’s panoramic camera in Nov. 2010, filled in with enhanced images and simulated frames.
The post Watch a stunning blue sunset — on Mars appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
2 Employment Forms You May Want to Provide in Spanish
Our workplaces are becoming more diverse, a reflection of changing national demographics and federal and state anti-discrimination statutes. And employers can help facilitate diversity in the workplace by providing certain employment forms in Spanish. Two of the most important forms...
Weed Is Now Officially Legal In Alaska
Marijuana is now legal for adults in Alaska.
Alaska on Tuesday becomes the third U.S. state to end prohibition of marijuana, officially putting int...
Alaska on Tuesday becomes the third U.S. state to end prohibition of marijuana, officially putting int...
Read more: Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization, Legal Weed, Alaska Marijuana Legalization, 420, Marijuana Prohibition, Drug War, US Drug Policy, Alaska Marijuana Law, Politics News
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.
Obama vetoes Keystone bill
WASHINGTON — Defying the Republican-run Congress, President Barack Obama rejected a bill Tuesday to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, wielding his veto power for only the third time in his presidency.
Obama offered no indication of whether he’ll eventually issue a permit for the pipeline, whose construction has become a flashpoint in the U.S. debate about environmental policy and climate change. Instead, Obama sought to reassert his authority to make the decision himself, rebuffing GOP lawmakers who will control both the House and Senate for the remainder of the president’s term.
“The presidential power to veto legislation is one I take seriously,” Obama said in a brief notice delivered to the Senate. “But I also take seriously my responsibility to the American people.”
Obama vetoed the bill in private with no fanfare, in contrast to the televised ceremony Republican leaders staged earlier this month when they signed the bill and sent it to the president. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Republicans were “not even close” to giving up the fight and derided the veto as a “national embarrassment.”
The move sends the politically charged issue back to Congress, where Republicans haven’t shown they can muster the two-thirds majority in both chambers needed to override Obama’s veto. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven, the bill’s chief GOP sponsor, said Republicans are about four votes short in the Senate and need about 11 more in the House.
Although the veto is Obama’s first since Republicans took control on Capitol Hill, it was not likely to be the last. GOP lawmakers are lining up legislation rolling back Obama’s actions on health care, immigration and financial regulation that Obama has promised to similarly reject.
“He’s looking at this as showing he still can be king of the hill, because we don’t have the votes to override,” Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, a vocal opponent of Obama’s climate change agenda, said in an interview. “If he vetoed this, he’s going to veto many others that are out there.”
First proposed more than six years ago, the Keystone XL pipeline project has sat in limbo ever since, awaiting a permit required by the federal government because it would cross an international boundary. The pipeline would connect Canada’s tar sands with refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast that specialize in processing heavy crude oil.
Republicans and the energy industry say the $8 billion project would create jobs, spur growth and increase America’s independence from Mideast energy sources. Democrats and environmental groups have sought to make the pipeline a poster child for the type of dirty energy sources they say are exacerbating global warming.
For his part, Obama says his administration is still weighing the pipeline’s merits, and he has repeatedly threatened to veto any attempts by lawmakers to make the decision for him.
The GOP-controlled House passed the bill earlier in February on a 270-152 vote, following weeks of debate and tweaks in the Senate to insert language stating that climate change is real and not a hoax. Republican leaders in Congress delayed sending the bill to the White House until they returned from a weeklong recess, ensuring they would be on hand to denounce the president when he vetoed the bill.
The veto forced Republicans, still reveling in their dramatic gains in the midterm elections, to confront the limitations of being unable to turn their ideas into law without the president’s consent — despite the fact they now control both chambers of Congress.
Republican leaders were mulling a number of potential next steps. In addition to trying to peel off enough Democrats to override Obama’s veto — an unlikely proposition — Republicans were considering inserting Keystone into other critical legislation dealing with energy, spending or infrastructure in hopes that Obama would be less likely to veto those priorities, said Hoeven, R-N.D.
“We’ll look to see if we can get some more bipartisan support,” said Hoeven.
Obama last wielded his veto power in October 2010, nixing a relatively mundane bill dealing with recognition of documents notarized out of state. With the Keystone bill, Obama’s veto count stands at just three — far fewer than most of his predecessors. Yet his veto threats have been piling up rapidly since Republicans took full control of Congress, numbering more than a dozen so far this year.
The president has said he won’t approve Keystone if it’s found to significantly increase U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. A State Department analysis found that the tar sands would be developed one way or another, meaning construction of the pipeline wouldn’t necessarily affect emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month called for that analysis to be revisited, arguing that a drop in oil prices may have altered the equation.
The post Obama vetoes Keystone bill appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
$7 uberPOOL Rides
We've seen how popular our $5 flat rate uberPOOL promotion has been, which is why we've decided to extend it!
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.
JPMorgan Still Cautious On E&P MLPs, But Bullish On Memorial Production
JPMorgan’s Gabriel Daoud Jr. and his team have an update on exploration and production master limited partnerships today, writing that investors will be closely watching these firms’ 2015 capex plans, acquisitions and divestitures activity, and new sources of capital amid liquidity concerns. So far this year, Daoud writes, MLP performance looks encouraging, but with ongoing [...]
In Major Shift, Central Cities Edging Out Sprawl in Competition for Jobs
Job sprawl — picture suburban office parks with lots of parking — might be past its peak. The last few years have been good ones for central cities, as far as job growth is concerned, and not so hot for mid-height, reflective glass office campuses. That’s according to an analysis by researcher Joe Cortright at City Observatory. […]
Must see: A video critique of the driving skills of your citizens
Showing the public right from wrong when an emergency vehicle approches
'House Of Cards' Spoofed By 'Sesame Street' In 'House Of Bricks'
If you can't wait until Friday to binge-watch the third season of "House of Cards" on Netflix, "Sesame Street" has just the thing to tide you over.
Trở lại làm việc hay cùng Uber #UberMe2Phuket?
Hôm nay chắc hẳn là ngày đi làm đầu tiên trong năm mới của bạn sau một kỳ nghĩ lễ dài. Bạn có hào hứng với những dự án, hợp đồng, cơ hội gặp gỡ đối tác mới mà Năm mới mang đến không? Hay là, đâu đó trong bạn đang mong chờ đến kỳ nghĩ lễ tiếp theo?
Monday, February 23, 2015
Granting Wishes With Wheels
The spirit of competition lives on well beyond football season at University of Oregon with Sigma Chi’s annual Derby Day philanthropy events going on throughout the week. Last year, with the help of University of Oregon students, Sigma Chi raised $64,000 for the Make-A-Wish Oregon Foundation. This year, we are thrilled to be part of the Eugene community and help expand the reach of this effort and support this year’s goal of raising $100,000 for Make-A-Wish Oregon.
New online training tool for school staffers on reporting suspected child abuse, neglect
SACRAMENTO — A new online tool will give school employees easier access to the training they need to identify and report suspected cases of child abuse and/or neglect, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced Monday. The online Child Abuse Mandated Reporting Training lessons teach school employees how to identify suspected cases, the obligation they have to [...]
Foreign runners banned from North Korea marathon due to Ebola worries
A colorized, magnified electron microscope image of the Ebola virus grows out of an infected VERO 46 cell. Image by NIAID
Last year was the first time North Korea allowed foreign runners to participate in the country’s Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon. But this year, due to Ebola concerns, the country has banned outsiders from participating in the race.
According to CNN, North Korea has imposed border controls for other diseases, including SARS in 2003. In October, nonessential travel visas were halted because of Ebola fears, and those allowed in the country were subject to a 21-day quarantine under medical observation. Bans were expected to lift in time for the April race, but Beijing-based travel agency Koryo Group announced today that neither professional nor amateur foreign runners would not be allowed to partake in the race.
Last year, about 30 foreigners ran in the full marathon in the capital city of Pyongyang, although more competed in the half marathon and 10-kilometer races. Nick Bonner, the founder of Koryo Group, told the AP that more than 400 foreign runners were planning on competing in the race through his agency alone. Now, travel agencies are tasked with cancelling and rearranging travel plans. It is possible the travel ban will be lifted by March, but Bonner said the short time span would likely prevent runners from being able to compete.
While the Ebola virus has not been reported in North Korea, according to the AP, “North Korean media have suggested Ebola was created by the U.S. military as a biological weapon.”
The Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon is one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions, and is one of a number of events that take place every year in April to celebrate the birthday of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il Sung.
The post Foreign runners banned from North Korea marathon due to Ebola worries appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)