lundi 30 septembre 2013

Egypt Protests: Muslim Brotherhood Says 35 Supporters Killed During Cairo Demonstration

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By Tom Perry and Alexander Dziadosz

CAIRO, July 8 (Reuters) - At least 42 people were killed on Monday when Islamist demonstrators enraged by the military overthrow of Egypt's elected President Mohamed Mursi said the army opened fire during morning prayers at the Cairo barracks where he is being held.

But the military said "a terrorist group" tried to storm the Republican Guard compound and one army officer had been killed and 40 wounded. Soldiers returned fire when they were attacked by armed assailants, a military source said.

The emergency services said more than 320 were wounded in a sharp escalation of Egypt's political crisis, and Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood urged people to rise up against the army, which they accuse of a military coup to remove the elected leader.

At a hospital near the Rabaa Adawia mosque where Islamists have camped out since Mursi was toppled on Wednesday, rooms were crammed with people wounded in the violence, sheets were stained with blood and medics rushed to attend to the wounded.

As an immediate consequence, the ultra-conservative Islamist Nour party, which initially backed the military intervention, said it was withdrawing from stalled negotiations to form an interim government for the transition to fresh elections.

The military has said that the overthrow was not a coup, and it was enforcing the will of the people after millions took to the streets on June 30 to call for his resignation.

But pro- and anti-Mursi protests took place in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities, and resulted in clashes on Friday and Saturday that left 35 dead.

It leaves the Arab world's largest nation of 84 million people in a perilous state, with the risk of further enmity between people on either side of the political divide while an economic crisis deepens.

SHOTS DURING PRAYERS

Abdelaziz Abdelshakua, from Sharqia Province northeast of Cairo, was wounded in his right leg with what he says was a live round.

"We were praying the dawn prayer and we heard there was shooting," he said, adding an army officer assured them no one was shooting, then suddenly they came under fire from the direction of the Republican Guard.

"They shot us with teargas, birdshot, rubber bullets -- everything. Then they used live bullets."

A Reuters journalist at the scene saw first aid helpers attempting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a dying man.

Al Jazeera's Egypt channel showed footage from inside a makeshift clinic near the scene of the violence, where Mursi supporters attempted to treat bloodied men.

Seven dead bodies were lined up in a row, covered in blankets and an Egyptian flag. A man placed a portrait of Mursi on one of the corpses.

Footage broadcast by state TV showed Mursi supporters throwing rocks at soldiers in riot gear on one of the main roads leading to Cairo airport.

Young men, some carrying sticks, crouched behind a building, emerging to throw petrol bombs before retreating again.

State-run television showed soldiers carrying a wounded comrade along a rock-strewn road, and news footage zoomed in on a handful of protesters firing crude handguns during clashes.

The rest of the city was for the most part calm, though armoured military vehicles closed bridges over the Nile to traffic following the violence.

The military overthrew Morsi on Wednesday after mass nationwide demonstrations led by youth activists demanding his resignation. The Brotherhood denounced the intervention as a coup and vowed peaceful resistance.

POLITICAL IMPASSE

Talks on forming a new government were already in trouble before Monday's shooting, after the Nour Party rejected two liberal-minded candidates for prime minister proposed by interim head of state Adli Mansour.

Nour, Egypt's second biggest Islamist party, which is vital to give the new authorities a veneer of Islamist backing, said it had withdrawn from the negotiations in protest at what it called the "massacre at the Republican Guard (compound)".

"The party decided the complete withdrawal from political participation in what is known as the road map," it said.

The military can ill afford a lengthy political vacuum at a time of violent upheaval and economic stagnation.

Scenes of running street battles between pro- and anti-Mursi demonstrators in Cairo, Alexandria and cities across the country have alarmed Egypt's allies, including key aid donors the United States and Europe, and Israel, with which Egypt has had a U.S.-backed peace treaty since 1979.

The violence has also shocked Egyptians, growing tired of the turmoil that began two-and-a-half years ago with the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising.

In one of the most shocking scenes of the last week, video footage circulated on social and state media of what appeared to be Mursi supporters throwing two youths from a concrete tower on to a roof in the port city of Alexandria.

The images, stills from which were published on the front page of the state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper on Sunday, could not be independently verified.

On Sunday, huge crowds numbering hundreds of thousands gathered in different parts of Cairo and were peaceful, but nonetheless a reminder of the risks of further instability.

BITTER BLOW

For many Islamists, the overthrow of Egypt's first freely elected president was a bitter reversal that raised fears of a return to the suppression they endured for decades under autocratic rulers like Mubarak.

On the other side of the political divide, millions of Egyptians were happy to see the back of a leader they believed was orchestrating a creeping Islamist takeover of the state - a charge the Brotherhood has vehemently denied.

Washington has not condemned the military takeover or called it a coup, prompting suspicion within the Brotherhood that it tacitly supports the overthrow.

Obama has ordered a review to determine whether annual U.S. assistance of $1.5 billion, most of which goes to the Egyptian military, should be cut off as required by law if a country's military ousts a democratically elected leader.

Egypt can ill afford to lose foreign aid. The country appears headed for a looming funding crunch unless it can quickly access money from overseas. The local currency has lost 11 percent of its value since late last year.

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Karen Fratti: 'True Blood' Recap: The Most Hysterical Season Yet

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Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 6, Episode 4 of HBO's "True Blood," titled :At Last."

I may not be able to catch character names right away, but I'll be darned if I didn't have a feeling about Ben.

That's right. He revives Jason with his blood after the showdown from last week, without Sookie or Niall being the wiser. But we knew. Sookie knows. And Jason feels it. After an erotic shaving dream, Jason is a bit weirded out, much like all of us were judging by Twitter. After his post-workout snooze, he storms into the kitchen for some breakfast like Cosmo Kramer to Niall's Jerry. They put two and two together. Ben is Warlow, and he's half vamp and half fairy.

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That's why Bill was able to talk to Lilith in the sunlight. This is the future.

Or so we're led to think. Instead of spilling, Ben glamours Jason, bidding him to return to his normal, old self. Of course, Jason obliges. Niall's not so lucky. After sinking his teeth in, Ben officially comes out as Warlow to Niall, just before throwing the fairy king back through the portal on the bridge. He manages to make it to Sookie's fried chicken dinner just in time for the silver poison she put into that tasty looking slaw to really sink in. Ben-low wants to make little fairy babies -- and who can blame him with Sook in that little white dress? -- but she's ahead of the game.

Speaking of perfect white dresses, Eric finds Willa in her "Interview With a Vampire" nightgown and turns her. You can't say she didn't ask for it. Every other just-turned fanger wants to go home, but can't. Not Willa. Eric sends her packing to try to convince Daddy Burrell that vamps were people, too. He might have bought it, but Sarah Newlin is there to shoot her down and demand she be taken to the camps. This is interesting only because Nora was taken in by the anti-vamp SWAT team from Sookie's lawn. They got Pam, too. I was counting on her to get me through this season with her one liners, but this should give us hope. All of Eric's ladies will be in one place now. Cue the viking.

Andy's girls are all together as well, albeit in more dire straits. I thought those fairy babies were going to be nothing but comedic relief, but I was wrong (again). They turn into horrid little teenagers and raid Arlene's closet for a night on the town. Like Mama always said, nothing good happens after midnight, especially when you're buying cases of Natty Light. Jess lures them to Bill's place to party, where he proceeds to gank their blood and give it to the good scientist downstairs. While the Tru-Blood guru balks about the impossibility of synthesizing fairy blood because it mutates too quickly, the babysitting gig is getting too much for Jess. They complain that Bill's a creep (preach it!), try to leave, and Jess flips like a rabid dog. She sucks them dry and Bill is not happy about it. But they aren't dead, right? I thought fairies disintegrated.

And, of course, Sam and the VUS girl make out in a dingy motel room after he shifts into a steed and sends Emma with Lafayette, which is a good decision, because LaLa has a first aid kit in his car.

I know we all miss simpler days, hotter vampire sex, and Richard Edgington, but this season is hysterical so far. Jason and Andy are back on the same team, Eric's got his smirk back, and Sookie's on her way to kicking butt. My only complaint? Where's Alcide? And can we see him without having to deal with Sam?

"True Blood" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

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Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse

Carrie Preston as Arlene Fowler and Todd Lowe as Terry Bellefleur

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman

Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte

Michael McMillian as Steve Newlin

Rutger Hauer as Niall Brigant

Kelly Overton as Rikki Naylor

Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica Hamby

Lauren Bowles as Holly Cleary and Chris Bauer as Andy Bellefleur

Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux

Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton

Arliss Howard as Governor Truman Burrell

Amelia Rose Blaire as Willa Burrell

Kristin Bauer van Straten as Pam Swynford de Beaufort

Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Nicole Wright

Rob Kazinsky as Ben Flynn

Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse

Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse and Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse

Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette Reynolds

Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton

Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton, Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse and Lucy Griffiths as Nora Gainsborough

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman and Kristin Bauer van Straten as Pam Swynford de Beaufort

Follow Karen Fratti on Twitter: www.twitter.com/karenfratti

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Alaska Plane Crash Kills All 10 People On Board

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — All 10 people aboard an air taxi were killed as the aircraft crashed and was engulfed in flames at a small Alaska airport.

Before firefighters could get to it, the de Havilland DHC3 Otter began burning just after 11 a.m. Sunday at the airport in Soldotna, about 75 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula.

Firefighters from Central Emergency Services were the first on the scene, Capt. Lesley Quelland told the Anchorage Daily News ( ). http://bit.ly/10IzzQN

"We saw the plume immediately when we left the station," Quelland said Sunday evening.

It was a big, black cloud of smoke visible from the station, about three driving miles from the airport, she said. Firefighters found "the aircraft was crashed off the side of the runway and it was fully involved in flames," Quelland said.

It took crews about 10 minutes to put out the fire. Everyone died inside the plane, she said.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Clint Johnson confirmed to The Associated Press that the dead included nine passengers and the pilot.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Otter was operated by Rediske Air, based out of another Kenai Peninsula community, Nikiski.

Will Satathite, who was working Sunday at Rediske Air's Nikiski office, confirmed to the Peninsula Clarion newspaper that the aircraft was flown by Nikiski pilot and company owner Willy Rediske.

A man who didn't identify himself at the Rediske office declined comment later Sunday to the AP, saying the crash was under investigation.

Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Meagan Peters said a fire that consumed the aircraft initially kept firefighters from reaching the wreckage. The passengers have not been identified.

The Soldotna Police Department said Sunday evening that the remains of all 10 people have been sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Anchorage for autopsies and positive identifications.

Police said in a release through the Alaska State Troopers that weather at the time of the crash was reported to be cloudy with a light wind.

Johnson said initial reports have the plane crashing after departure, but that will have to be confirmed by investigators.

The NTSB is sending an investigative team from Washington that's scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon. Also taking part will be Alaska-based investigator Brice Banning, who was called back from the Asiana crash in San Francisco.

For many Alaskans, flying across the state is common because of the limited road system, exposing residents to a litany of hazards, including treacherous mountain passes and volatile weather. It's possible to drive from Anchorage to Soldotna, but it's about a four-hour trip as the highway hugs Turnagain Arm and then cuts through a mountain passage.

Soldotna was founded in 1947 by World War II veterans who were given 90-day preference for homesteading rights in 1947, according to a state website. The city, now with a population of about 4,300, is on the banks of the Kenai River, and the area is busy this time of the year with people fishing for salmon.

Alaska has already seen a several plane crashes this year, including a June 28 crash that killed a pilot and two passengers on a commercial tour in the Alaska Range.

In another crash Saturday, two men had to swim to shore after their plane went down in the waters off Kodiak Island. The small plane crashed after its engine sputtered out, and the men swam about 50 yards, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported.

The Soldotna crash also came a day after two teenagers were killed when an Asiana flight crashed at San Francisco's airport.

The municipal airport is located about a mile from Soldotna's commercial business area and is adjacent to the Kenai River, according to the city's website.

The runway is 5,000 feet long and paved.

Emotional Infidelity Definition Depends On Who You Ask (SURVEY)

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It seems that betrayal really is in the eye of the beholder.

A recent HuffPost/YouGov survey of 1,000 U.S. adults found that people's definition of emotional infidelity depends on who's doing the cheating.

Sixty percent of respondents said that if their partner developed a deep emotional connection with someone else, it would be considered cheating. Only 18 percent said that it wouldn't be considered cheating.

However, when a separate group of 1,000 adults was asked the reverse -- "Say that you were in a committed relationship and you developed a deep emotional connection with someone other than your partner. Would you consider that to be cheating?" -- the number who said "no" increased to 29 percent of respondents. Fifty percent said "yes," and 21 percent were not sure.

Much of that change came among women, 70 percent of whom said developing a deep emotional connection would be cheating if their partner did it, but only 56 percent of whom thought it would be if they did it themselves. Men were more consistent -- 50 percent said developing a deep emotional connection would be cheating if their partner did it and 44 percent said it would be if they did it themselves.

Want to know what other behaviors people consider cheating? Click through the slideshow to find out, then take the YouGov poll below to see how you stack up against our national sample.

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Fifty-six percent of women polled said that if their partner kissed someone else on the lips, they would consider it cheating, versus 40 percent of men who felt the same.

Younger people were more likely to consider it cheating if their partner kissed someone else on the lips than older people. Seventy-four percent of 18-29 year-olds polled would consider it cheating if their partner kissed someone else on the lips, as compared to 53 percent of those ages 30-44, 38 percent of 45-64 year-olds and 30 percent of those 65+.

Women were more likely than men to perceive it to be cheating if their partner sent a sexy text message or photo to someone else: 85 percent of women polled would consider it cheating, versus 74 percent of men.

There was a big discrepancy among men and women regarding forming a deep emotional connection with someone else: 70 percent of women said they would consider it cheating, compared to 50 percent of men.

Age was also a factor in whether or not respondents said that forming a deep emotional connection with someone other than their partner constituted infidelity. While 69 percent of people ages 65+ would consider that cheating, only 52 percent of people ages 18-29 said the same.

Democrats and Republicans don't see eye to eye on strip clubs. Thirty-five percent of Republicans said that they would consider it cheating if their partner went to a strip club, compared to 19 percent of Democrats. (Sixty-eight percent of Democrats said they wouldn't consider it cheating, compared to 51 percent of Republicans).

If a partner were to reconnect with an ex on Facebook, 26 percent of women would consider it cheating (42 percent would not) compared to 21 percent of males (56 percent would not).

Republicans and Democrats also differed on the implications of reconnecting with an old flame on Facebook; 29 percent of Republicans said that they would consider it cheating (44 percent would not), versus 19 percent of Democrats (51 percent would not).

The HuffPost/YouGov poll was conducted March 8-10 among 2,000 U.S. adults, 1,000 of whom were randomly assigned to answer each of the two sets of questions. The poll used a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. Factors considered include age, race, gender, education, employment, income, marital status, number of children, voter registration, time and location of Internet access, interest in politics, religion and church attendance.

The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov's nationally representative opinion polling.

Keep in touch! Check out HuffPost Divorce on Facebook and Twitter.

Aaron Hernandez Jersey Exchange Popular With Patriots Fans (VIDEO/PHOTOS)

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aaron hernandez jersey Fans line up to exchange their New England Patriots Aaron Hernandez football jerseys at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, July 6, 2013.

New England Patriots fans eager to be rid of their Aaron Hernandez jerseys turned up at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. in droves over the holiday weekend. The disenchanted fans brought their No. 81 jerseys to a shop at the stadium departed with a piece of Patriots apparel emblazoned with a name other than "Hernandez."

Acting quickly to cut ties with Hernandez after his June arrest and murder charge, the Patriots not only released the 23-year-old tight but also told fans that they could exchange a Hernandez jersey for another player's replica in person on July 6-7, provided the original jersey had to have been purchased at the Patriots ProShop or online at PatriotsProShop.com

“We know that children love wearing their Patriots jerseys, but may not understand why parents don’t want them wearing their Hernandez jerseys anymore,” New England Patriots spokesperson Stacey James said in a statement announcing the offer. “We hope this opportunity to exchange those jerseys at the Patriots ProShop for another player’s jersey will be well received by parents.”

The Patriots hope to recycle the jerseys into another product but will destroy them if that isn't possible, according to the Boston.com. Regardless of where they jerseys end up, they'll no longer be in the closets of more than 1,000 fans.

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Adm. William McRaven Shields Files About Raid On Osama bin Laden's Hideout From The Public

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Bin Laden Raid files Adm. William McRaven, the nation's top special operations commander, ordered military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout to be shielded from the public. (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON -- The nation's top special operations commander ordered military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout to be purged from Defense Department computers and sent to the CIA, where they could be more easily shielded from ever being made public.

The secret move, described briefly in a draft report by the Pentagon's inspector general, set off no alarms within the Obama administration even though it appears to have sidestepped federal rules and perhaps also the Freedom of Information Act.

An acknowledgement by Adm. William McRaven of his actions was quietly removed from the final version of an inspector general's report published weeks ago. A spokesman for the admiral declined to comment. The CIA, noting that the bin Laden mission was overseen by then-CIA Director Leon Panetta before he became defense secretary, said that the SEALs were effectively assigned to work temporarily for the CIA, which has presidential authority to conduct covert operations.

"Documents related to the raid were handled in a manner consistent with the fact that the operation was conducted under the direction of the CIA director," agency spokesman Preston Golson said in an emailed statement. "Records of a CIA operation such as the (bin Laden) raid, which were created during the conduct of the operation by persons acting under the authority of the CIA Director, are CIA records."

Golson said it is "absolutely false" that records were moved to the CIA to avoid the legal requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

The records transfer was part of an effort by McRaven to protect the names of the personnel involved in the raid, according to the inspector general's draft report.

But secretly moving the records allowed the Pentagon to tell The Associated Press that it couldn't find any documents inside the Defense Department that AP had requested more than two years ago, and could represent a new strategy for the U.S. government to shield even its most sensitive activities from public scrutiny.

"Welcome to the shell game in place of open government," said Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, a private research institute at George Washington University. "Guess which shell the records are under. If you guess the right shell, we might show them to you. It's ridiculous."

McRaven's directive sent the only copies of the military's records about its daring raid to the CIA, which has special authority to prevent the release of "operational files" in ways that can't effectively be challenged in federal court. The Defense Department can prevent the release of its own military files, too, citing risks to national security. But that can be contested in court, and a judge can compel the Pentagon to turn over non-sensitive portions of records.

Under federal rules, transferring government records from one executive agency to another must be approved in writing by the National Archives and Records Administration. There are limited circumstances when prior approval is not required, such as when the records are moved between two components of the same executive department. The CIA and Special Operations Command are not part of the same department.

The Archives was not aware of any request from the U.S. Special Operations Command to transfer its records to the CIA, spokeswoman Miriam Kleiman said. She said it was the Archives' understanding that the military records belonged to the CIA, so transferring them wouldn't have required permission under U.S. rules.

Special Operations Command also is required to comply with rules established by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that dictate how long records must be retained. Its July 2012 manual requires that records about military operations and planning are to be considered permanent and after 25 years, following a declassification review, transferred to the Archives.

Also, the Federal Records Act would not permit agencies "to purge records just on a whim," said Dan Metcalfe, who oversaw the U.S. government's compliance with the Freedom of Information Act as former director of the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy. "I don't think there's an exception allowing an agency to say, `Well, we didn't destroy it. We just deleted it here after transmitting it over there.' High-level officials ought to know better."

It was not immediately clear exactly which Defense Department records were purged and transferred, when it happened or under what authority, if any, they were sent to the CIA. No government agencies the AP contacted would discuss details of the transfer. The timing may be significant: The Freedom of Information Act generally applies to records under an agency's control when a request for them is received. The AP asked for files about the mission in more than 20 separate requests, mostly submitted in May 2011 – several were sent a day after Obama announced that the world's most wanted terrorist had been killed in a firefight. Obama has pledged to make his administration the most transparent in U.S. history.

The AP asked the Defense Department and CIA separately for files that included copies of the death certificate and autopsy report for bin Laden as well as the results of tests to identify the body. While the Pentagon said it could not locate the files, the CIA, with its special power to prevent the release of records, has never responded. The CIA also has not responded to a separate request for other records, including documents identifying and describing the forces and supplies required to execute the assault on bin Laden's compound.

The CIA did tell the AP it could not locate any emails from or to Panetta and two other top agency officials discussing the bin Laden mission.

McRaven's unusual order would have remained secret had it not been mentioned in a single sentence on the final page in the inspector general's draft report that examined whether the Obama administration gave special access to Hollywood executives planning a film, "Zero Dark Thirty," about the raid. The draft report was obtained and posted online last month by the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group in Washington.

McRaven, who oversaw the bin Laden raid, expressed concerns in the report about possible disclosure of the identities of the SEALs. The Pentagon "provided the operators and their families an inordinate level of security," the report said. McRaven also directed that the names and photographs associated with the raid not be released.

"This effort included purging the combatant command's systems of all records related to the operation and providing these records to another government agency," according to the draft report. The sentence was dropped from the report's final version.

Since the raid, one of the SEALs published a book about the raid under a pseudonym but was subsequently identified by his actual name. And earlier this year the SEAL credited with shooting bin Laden granted a tell-all, anonymous interview with Esquire about the raid and the challenges of his retiring from the military after 16 years without a pension.

Current and former Defense Department officials knowledgeable about McRaven's directive and the inspector general's report told AP the description of the order in the draft report was accurate. The reference to "another government agency" was code for the CIA, they said. These individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter by name.

There is no indication the inspector general's office or anyone else in the U.S. government is investigating the legality of transferring the military records. Bridget Serchak, a spokeswoman for the inspector general, would not explain why the reference was left out of the final report and what, if any, actions the office might be taking.

"Our general statement is that any draft is pre-decisional and that drafts go through many reviews before the final version, including editing or changing language," Serchak wrote in an email.

The unexplained decision to remove the reference to the purge and transfer of the records "smells of bad faith," said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. "How should one understand that? That adds insult to injury. It essentially covers up the action."

McRaven oversaw the raid while serving as commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, the secretive outfit in charge of SEAL Team Six and the military's other specialized counterterrorism units. McRaven was nominated by Obama to lead Special Operations Command, JSOC's parent organization, a month before the raid on bin Laden's compound. He replaced Adm. Eric Olson as the command's top officer in August 2011.

Ken McGraw, a spokesman for Special Operations Command, referred questions to the inspector general's office.

The refusal to make available authoritative or contemporaneous records about the bin Laden mission means that the only official accounts of the mission come from U.S. officials who have described details of the raid in speeches, interviews and television appearances. In the days after bin Laden's death, the White House provided conflicting versions of events, falsely saying bin Laden was armed and even firing at the SEALs, misidentifying which of bin Laden's sons was killed and incorrectly saying bin Laden's wife died in the shootout. Obama's press secretary attributed the errors to the "fog of combat."

A U.S. judge and a federal appeals court previously sided with the CIA in a lawsuit over publishing more than 50 "post-mortem" photos and video recordings of bin Laden's corpse. In the case, brought by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, the CIA did not say the images were operational files to keep them secret. It argued successfully that the photos and videos must be withheld from the public to avoid inciting violence against Americans overseas and compromising secret systems and techniques used by the CIA and the military.

The Defense Department told the AP in March 2012 it could not locate any photographs or video taken during the raid or showing bin Laden's body. It also said it could not find any images of bin Laden's body on the USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier from which he was buried at sea. The Pentagon also said it could not find any death certificate, autopsy report or results of DNA identification tests for bin Laden, or any pre-raid materials discussing how the government planned to dispose of bin Laden's body if he were killed. It said it searched files at the Pentagon, Special Operations Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla., and the Navy command in San Diego that controls the Carl Vinson.

The Pentagon also refused to confirm or deny the existence of helicopter maintenance logs and reports about the performance of military gear used in the raid. One of the stealth helicopters that carried the SEALs in Pakistan crashed during the mission and its wreckage was left behind.

The Defense Department also told the AP in February 2012 that it could not find any emails about the bin Laden mission or his "Geronimo" code name that were sent or received in the year before the raid by McRaven. The department did not say they had been moved to the CIA. It also said it could not find any emails from other senior officers who would have been involved in the mission's planning. It found only three such emails written by or sent to then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and these consisted of 12 pages sent to Gates summarizing news reports after the raid.

The Defense Department in November 2012 released copies of 10 emails totaling 31 pages found in the Carl Vinson's computer systems. The messages were heavily censored and described how bin Laden's body was prepared for burial.

These records were not among those purged and then moved to the CIA. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. James Gregory said the messages from the Carl Vinson "were not relating to the mission itself and were the property of the Navy."

___

AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report.

___

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dimanche 29 septembre 2013

Raymond J. Learsy: The Price of Oil: Speculation, Manipulation Or a Deeply Broken System

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Much of this you may have read here before, but it is worth repeating because the dramatic distortion in oil prices over the past weeks and their potential impact on the economy is becoming acute, and nothing is being done about it.

Some two weeks ago the Federal Trade Commission announced that it will open a probe on suspected oil price-fixing. We wish them God speed. In the past fortnight the price of oil has spiked some 10 percent in spite of the countervailing realities that would ordinarily militate against the precipitous rise in price that has taken place, realities such as:
A vast commodity sell-off in the markets ranging from gold, to industrial metals, iron ore, extending to grains, natural gas and on.
Strengthening of the dollar, forever cited by 'energy experts' to explain FALLING oil prices.
Dimming demand for oil in China. Exactly opposite to the 'oiligopoly' forever citing growth in China's oil demand as an explanation for the spiking of oil prices.
Reduced consumption of oil in the United States. Americans are driving less and less, not more and more, as oil price movements would have you believe.
Record jump in U.S. oil production. Growth in America's oil production has grown by over one million barrels/day over the last year, the most in decades.
Record levels of oil inventories moderated only slightly this past week by a significant decrease in oil imports reflecting good management in reducing carrying costs of unneeded inventory and recognition that domestic oil production significantly enhances the 'national security dividend' inherent in today's inventory management.

Yes, of course there are the geopolitical concerns attendant to Egypt and the Suez Canal, which has been seized upon by the oil traders/gamblers as a pivotal rationalization for the current extraordinary spike in oil prices. Yet a clear reading on the ramifications of a Suez Canal closure is rarely, if ever, laid out.

Some 5 percent of seaborne crude oil passes through the Suez Canal. Not inconsiderable, but its potential cost can be clearly calculated. The closure of Suez would not stop the lifting and shipping of oil cargos. It would however add approximately 16 days steaming time around Cape Horn to an oil cargo's sea voyage otherwise precluded from using the canal.

In the shipping lexicon, the maximum size of an oil tanker that can transit Suez is known in the trade as a "Suezmax" class carrier. Its typical deadweight is some 240,000 tonnes. Calculating a per diem charter rate for a 'Suezmax' carrier at $50,000/day or $800,000 per voyage (actually much less as there is a massive overhang of idle tankers currently steeply depressing charter rates). Thus the additional cost of transporting a cargo of crude oil of 1.7 million barrels (240,000 tonnes x the 7.1 barrels of crude oil per tonne) around the Cape would be an additional 47 cents per barrel (1.7mm/barrels divided into $800,000 per voyage cost), a far cry from the near $9.00/bbl per barrel increase in price for oil chalked up on the commodity exchanges this past fortnight. A brazen example of how the 'oiligopoly' trumpets information, real or otherwise, to delude an unsuspecting public into accepting unquestioningly outrageous, basically unwarranted movements in the price of oil and its products, gasoline, heating oil, diesel and on.

To fully appreciate the excesses of the oil market one needs to understand that some 80 percent of all contracts bought and sold on the commodity exchanges are not executed by actual producers or crude oil consumers engaged in 'legitimate' hedging strategies, but rather by speculators comme gamblers trying to drive the price of oil in the direction in which they have placed their bets.

This open chicanery has cost end consumers (those paying for these excesses at the gas pump in the billions of dollars) to the enormous profit of the gamblers, from individual players, the oil trading desks of the bank holding companies, the trading desks of many of the oil companies themselves, and the physical oil commodity trading houses speculating on their own behalf or possibly on behalf of those who have an interest in ever higher oil prices.

For reasons ranging from lack of understanding or worse, our government has been totally acquiescent to these manipulations by the 'oiligopoly. As prime example The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was given the authority by virtue of a January 2010 rider to the Commodity Exchange Act, to implement speculative position limits for futures and option contracts of certain energy commodities such as crude oil. To date, no action has been taken by the CFTC other than interminable hearings which one can well imagine have become a cover for the total lack of meaningful process.

In April 2011 the president amidst great fanfare, focused on 'speculation' in the oil market, giving Attorney General Eric Holder a mandate to investigate and announcing the formation of 'The Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group.' To date, more than two years later, not a word has been heard from this august commission.

Further the administration has been irresponsible, to the point of being supportive (please see "The Price of Gasoline and Our Patently Absurd Application of Our Sovereign Immunity Law") of sovereign immunity extended to OPEC national oil companies and the massive refining facilities owned by them in the United States, oblivious to their inexorable influence on the pricing of domestic crude oil.

The facilities include the Motiva Refinery at Port Arthur, Texas, the largest refinery in the country owned 50 percent by Saudi Arabia's national oil company and OPEC member SaudiAramco and 50 percent by Aramco's partner in their SASREF refinery in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, Royal Dutch Shell.

In addition there are the important refineries and facilities in Houston and Corpus Christie, Texas; Lamont, Illinois; Lake Charles and Chalmette Louisiana; Savannah Ga.; St.Croix and the Virgin Islands all operated by Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA. PDVSA is a charter member of OPEC, and through Citgo's American facilities, processing more than a million barrels per day in the United States.

All told it would appear that the 'oiligopoly' has us in their grip. Yet there is a halting ray of sunshine in the announcement on June 25th that the "Federal Trade Commmission Said to Open Probe of Oil Price Fixing After EU."

Will it be a serious and searching probe of the malevolent formation of prices in the oil industry, costing American and world consumers billions, or just a cursory headline in the manner of the now discredited 'The Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group.' Time will tell of course, but it would be a powerful incentive if the press and public would hold the FTC and our elected officials to account.

Follow Raymond J. Learsy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/raymondLearsy

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Nearly Half Of Babies Now Have 'Flat Spots' On Their Heads

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Since the mid-1990s, pediatricians have urged moms, dads and caretakers to place sleeping infants on their backs to help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDs.

Cases of unexplained death have since dropped by more than half, but a far less dangerous side effect has also cropped up: A growing number of babies now have "positional plagiocephaly," or flat spots on the sides or backs of their heads.

A new study in Canada, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, found that more than 46 percent of 2- to 3-month-old babies may have some form of the condition, although most cases are mild.

Flat areas on the backs or sides of babies' heads are typically caused by pressure on the bones of the skull and can develop in the first few months of infants' lives. In some cases, the change in head shape is so subtle it is difficult to spot, in others it is quite clear.

"The suggestion is that there has been an increase in the development of 'positional plagiocephaly' since the 'Back to Sleep' campaigns," study author Aliyah Mawji, a researcher and registered nurse with Mount Royal University in Alberta, Canada, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post.

She warned that there is no earlier data with which to compare the new numbers. Therefore, the apparent increase in flatness of babies' heads may be due to the fact that people are generally more aware of the condition now than they were before.

The good news, experts say, is that the flat spots are generally harmless. Mawji said there is some indication that children with positional plagiocephaly have mild developmental delays, but that those typically disappear by 18 months.

"There are no functional problems that I know of, except for a distorted head," said Dr. S. Anthony Wolfe, head of plastic surgery and director of craniofacial surgery at Miami Children's Hospital, who did not work on the new study, but has reviewed it.

The condition can be treated with specialized helmets that babies wear, typically after 6 months of age, but Wolfe stressed that parents would typically only consider that option in more severe cases and for cosmetic reasons. "Some commercial makers of helmets insinuate that if you don't treat it, you may have some [jaw] dysfunction," he said. "But it's really for the head shape and the head shape only."

When it started, the primary focus of the "Back to Sleep" campaign -- now known as the "Safe to Sleep campaign" -- was to ensure babies were placed on their backs during naps and at night in order to reduce risk of SIDs. Although it made a significant dent in the number of SIDs cases, in recent years, the decline has stalled. Newer campaigns focus on a broader range of safe sleeping practices, like using a firm mattress and avoiding soft bedding in a baby's crib. Overall, SIDs is rare, affecting just over 2,200 babies per year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As for flat spots, Mawji said parents can prevent them by switching the side of the head their baby puts pressure on when sleeping. The American Academy of Pediatrics also encourages parents to make sure their babies get lots of tummy time, in order to strengthen their neck and shoulder muscles, and minimize the amount of time there is pressure on their heads.

The new study looked at the rates of 440 infants at four community health clinics in Canada, but Mawji said the findings could be loosely applied to the U.S., which is more diverse in terms of culture and socioeconomics.

"My best guess is that my results -- 46.6 percent of infants aged 7 to 12 weeks -- would actually be an underestimation in some parts of the U.S," she said.

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Sydney Levin: 'Real Housewives Of New Jersey' Recap: The Ultimate Backstabbing Friend

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Sydney Levin
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Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 5, Episode 6 of Bravo's "The Real Housewives Of New Jersey," titled "Drinking With the Enemy."

When there's too much testosterone on the home front for Kathy, she now has a place to hide: her test kitchen. As she stomps around inside, blenders all a twirl, Jacqueline and Caroline come by to check on Chef Boy, They Don't Call 'Em Mom Jeans for Nothing. (For anyone who hasn't watched the episode yet, I'm referring to how Kathy's pants are so high, they're going to be the first ones to want a cannoli.)

Ever-positive Caroline walks in, takes a quick look at how happy Kathy is and says, "What's the negative?" In her interview, she informs us that it's "totally off the beaten path, like scary." The green-eyed monster is especially unbecoming on a redhead.

Speaking of red, in walks Rosie, ready to talk about her heated talk with Teresa. "Look at this!" she says, thrusting her swollen hand in their stunned faces. She brings up the retreat, or, as Jacqueline aptly puts it, the "Gates of Hell." Nobody else wants to be part of it either, and somehow, they all overlook the fact that Rosie is obviously in need of some serious anger management and boxing classes. The next time she throws a punch, perhaps she can be a little more relaxed and have much better form.

Back at Teresa's house, the family suits up in Fabulicious aprons ... well, everyone except Gia. She hates hers because, according to Teresa, she's going through puberty. "That means she's having a BABY?!" Milania, the sage of the family, yells. Rather than use it as a teachable moment, Joe decides to school her his way: by telling her to shut up.

Then, the doorbell rings. Teresa's mom and dad are here, so reproductive issues are set aside for the time being. Her dad looks nice and strong though apparently, he's not out of the woods. During this scene of familial bliss, it's a perfect time for Bravo to roll the Giudice Family Video Reel. It includes their greatest hit: a hysterical Joe Gorga squealing like a goat trying to impersonate Taylor Swift.

Meanwhile, said squealer is out shooting golf balls with Kathy's husband Rich, a.k.a. the Lebanese Jeff Goldblum. "When I'm frustrated with my sister, usually I have sex with my wife," Joe explains, triggering gag reflexes of women across America. Really, there's no way he could say anything more unintentionally perverse could he? "But if you have a set of balls, you could blow it off." Yep. That all happened.

In keeping with the "family that is phallic together stays together" theme of the night, we head back to Teresa's home, where she's getting to third base with some homemade sausage as her father watches. Since his expression never changes, I can't tell if he's horrified or just highly medicated. He actually seems like a very sweet man, and Teresa's devotion to him is evident and very touching. This moment of kindness goes down in a room where sausage hangs from the rafters, and I'm suddenly very nervous for Moo Shu, the pig Caroline's sister brought in a few weeks ago. Has anyone heard from him?

Over at the driving range, Joe's phone rings. It's Teresa, who quickly realizes that since Joe has no clue what a retreat is, she'll have to spell it out for him. It's like the blind leading the overly-sexed blind. She explains there will be "trusting exercises," which technically means activities that really believe in each other, but I'll let that go. "As much as I wanna say no, I'll give it a shot," he says to Rich. Still, he needs to check in with Melissa before saying yes.

Speaking of Melissa, it's time for a window into her world. She's just having a normal, post-hair and makeup lunch with her gal pals Judas -- sorry, I mean Jan -- and Maria. (You'll get that brilliant reference later.) "I just got a really great book deal," she says happily. When she informs them that it's called, "Love, Italian Style: The Secrets of My Hot and Happy Marriage," her pals don't crack a smile. It seems like they've been privy to some secrets ... and judging from their dour expressions, there probably wasn't anything hot or happy about them.

As Melissa takes women's lib back about 60 years ("I don't think women understand that it's very easy to stay home with the kids, but you need to look decent ... you need to keep your husband interested"), her pals shoot each other horrified looks. She's totally unfazed, immediately moving into the part of the convo where she calls her sister-in-law a pathological liar and accuses her of being congratulatory on Twitter and a critic in real life.

Anyway, let's give Susan B. Anthony a quick second to roll over in her grave without mussing up her 'do. What's Jacqueline up to, you ask? Now, I know Jacqueline's been dealing with a lot, but I think we can all agree that "trouble on the home front" is never an excuse for wearing a chunky-knit poncho. She and her over-the-shoulder abomination hit up Robin's Closet for some shopping with Kathy, who isn't much of a fashionista herself. (There's just no room on her fashion plate for anything but cannolis.)

As they search the racks, Teresa calls Kathy. Normally, nobody ever uses speaker phone in a public place -- but since the only "real" part of "reality TV" is those four letters, Teresa's voice is suddenly booming across the store. Teresa brings up the retreat ... and then secret instigator Kathy casually asks if Jacqueline and Caroline are invited. Yes, Teresa must lie in her bed for saying, "I'm kind of in this mess with my brother because of Jacqueline," but Kathy's the one who made it for her. She practically added a crazy-flavored pillow mint and tucked her in.

With that, Jacqueline grabs the phone in a fit of rage. As they bitch each other out, Kathy gets flustered. "I'm going to leave," she says as she gazes at some clothes and doesn't budge. "LA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA LA," Teresa says faintly in the background, finally cracking under the pressure of life with the IQ of a bag of hair. "I'm actually very concerned about you because you are not acting normal," Jacqueline says gleefully from where she's inexplicably squatting on the floor. Finally, someone who makes her feel sane again! Now, the entire store is staring at them -- and not because Jacqueline is still wearing some sort of purple-and-black brocade number that I wouldn't upholster my worst enemy in.

Now, Teresa's cursing at Kathy and calling her a troublemaker, so they're both down crap creek without a fabulicious paddle.

That night, Teresa puts her anger aside, pulls on her fringed moccasin boots and heads out to dinner with her "real" social circle. They consists of Jan (remember her? She was Melissa's friend/bridesmaid/they just had lunch together like, two commercials ago) Penny, Kim D. and Jennifer, a woman who looks like the outcome of an experiment to cross humans with pugs. Jan says she's no longer friends with Melissa because she got too big for her britches ... and because she allegedly "blew" an ex-boyfriend while married. Teresa's stunned that Jan's being such a backstabber, and she makes a feeble attempt to put an end to the shit talking. "If it's the truth, everyone should know," Kim D. says viciously, foreshadowing events to come, I'm sure. Through all this, pug woman says nothing, which is a bummer because I wanted to experience barking with a Jersey accent

... And if you think that sounds sexy, you should see Melissa and Kathy (plus hubbies) at a pole dancing class. Well, technically, it's just Melissa trying to seduce everyone while Kathy looks on horrified, and Rich looks on, delighted.

Finally, Kathy gives in, throws on an oversized men's shirt ... and freaks out. "Sexy's in your head," she says in her interview. "That's why men cheat, 'cause their wives don't want to do the fun stuff," Rich says. Kathy ignores that, while Joe Gorga throws himself on the floor and starts to have some sort of seizure. Through it all, Melissa's actually talking to the pole, telling it, "You and I supposedly know each other. You should be so lucky." In short, they are all completely insane (except Kathy, who just suffers from the painful combo of low self-esteem and loser husband).

Speaking of strange marriages, what's with Caroline and Albert? I don't think I ever realized that things were a bit strained until their meal together this episode. She stresses that they are strong decades later is because they spent so much time apart at the start. Her smile says she believes the adage "absence makes the heart grow fonder," but something in her eyes is sad. When she says they'll be staying in Hoboken that night, Albert isn't amused. "I'm asking you to enjoy this phase of life," she half-begs.

Now that the kids are out of the picture and she has time to hang with her husband, she fears she doesn't recognize the man she married. Then, they engage in awkward banter about who would remarry faster if the other died. The verdict? Albert, and most likely to a 22-year-old. All together, it's a strange dinner ... and it makes me realize we might not really know the "Housewife" we've been watching all these years, either.

Melissa, desperate as ever to convince us that hers is a perfect marriage, is praising Joe for being a "big black stallion" the night before. Before she can get any more graphic, the rest of the cast (minus Teresa and Joe, plus Rosie) comes over for brunch ... and hopefully doesn't touch any surfaces.

When the retreat comes up, Rosie encourages everyone to go. "It's a big ass castle in Lake George," Rosie explains, up in the "Adirondyke" mountains. Since nobody corrects her (it's Adirondack), I assume it's just a pretty awesome Freudian slip. Actually, that would be a pretty amazing name for a back woods lesbian bar.

Everyone seems to be on board (with the trip, not my brilliant idea for a watering hole) minus Jacquline. "I don't want to resolve things with Teresa," she explains. "She's not my blood."

Apparently not full from brunch, Melissa heads over to meet the human pug (Jennifer) for lunch. Now I realize why she looked so familiar! No, I didn't see her at the dog park last week -- she was that realtor brat who came to Melissa's house and basically told her it was total crap a few weeks ago.

Either way, she's got more on her agenda than just enjoying a nice lunch: She's here to out that awful Jan. "She's not a friend," she says before spilling the entire story. Melissa's horrified that she's got her very own Brutus playing both sides of the field in broad daylight, and she doesn't want to believe it at first. This is like friggin' Julius Caeser all over again, except with even worse hair. Melissa does believe, however, that Teresa somehow had something to do with it, since she's always the common denominator in all these vicious talks. "It was Kim D.," Jennifer says knowingly. "She's got it out for you, girl."

Later, Melissa and her adoring husband head out to meet the Lauritas and Wakiles for a drink. Melissa tells them the whole sordid story (though now, she's upgraded Jan to her "best friend" to make things a bit more dramatic), reminding them that Kim D. and Teresa are always around when shit talking hits the fan. "You guys need to get her help, like she's really going crazy now," Jacqueline says, while a vodka helps loosen a few of her screws.

With that, Kim D. and her posse of hags walk in. Rich calls her over and motions for her to sit right down in the lion's den. "I heard about your little outing," Melissa says calmly to Kim D. "[Jan] doesn't like you anymore, and I have not done anything wrong," Kim D. quickly says in defense of herself. Jacqueline throws her napkin at Kim D's head and rambles on like a maniac while everyone else has it out. If Teresa gets committed (like everyone wants), she should really ask to bring Jacqueline along as her +1.

When talking doesn't seem to convince Kim D. that the cheating rumor is bogus, Melissa and Joe resort to swapping spit. "UNBREAKABLE," Melissa says while wiping her face off triumphantly. Their little display of affection may not quash the rumor, but it does get Kim D. to leave, which is a miracle in and of itself. At her age, moving quickly is getting increasingly difficult. She must have on her orthopedic shoes on, 'cause girlfriend hauled ass outta there.

Just when it seemed like there was no more crazy left in the carton, Jennifer manages to squeeze a few more drops out in the last scene of the episode. She must really be gunning for her own Bravo! spin-off, because this is more face time than most guests ever get. She's coming full circle now, having lunch with Teresa.

Clad in white to Teresa's red, it's pretty easy to tell who's about to be in the hot seat. Teresa obviously thinks she's there for wine and whine, but Jennifer quickly cuts to the chase. She admits that she told Melissa everything, and Teresa's face drops. "I want to show some kind of loyalty so she'll trust me and give me her listing," Jennifer says openly. Teresa's worried about saving her own tanned skin, and Jennifer encourages her to get a tighter grip on Kim D's leash. "It's getting turned around on you," she says. Finally, Teresa realizes that the very henchwoman she once used to do her bidding may actually have her own agenda.

We've really learned a lot tonight, dear readers, but there's one thing I feel very compelled to remind you about. Remember: True friends don't let friends wear ponchos and enter into public spaces. If you feel like a close pal has let you down synthetically, please tweet me at @sydneyraylevin. I'm hear to listen.

"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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Jack Nicholson has said his pro-life stance stems from being born out of wedlock himself. His mother, a showgirl, became pregnant with him as a teenager and was encouraged to have an abortion but did not.

It would be no surprise to see any number of country stars on this list, but Kenny Chesney may have taken his pro-life stance an extra step. His 2003 single "There Goes My Life," about a teenager preparing to become a father, has been lauded as an anti-abortion, pro-fatherhood anthem.

Mel Gibson told Barbara Walters in 1990 that he is opposed to birth control and abortion, saying, "God is the only one who knows how many children we should have, and we should be ready to accept them. One can't decide for oneself who comes into this world and who doesn't. That decision doesn't belong to us."

The Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond" actress has long been known as an outspoken Republican. In 1998 she became the honorary co-chair of Feminists for Life, a pro-life organization that aims to steer women away from choosing abortion.

Martin Sheen, who portrayed Democratic president Jed Bartlet on "The West Wing," discussed his devout Catholic upbringing and conservative viewpoints on an Irish talk show in 2011. He specifically mentioned being pro-life, but that didn't stop him from telling HuffPo that Mitt Romney is "stupid" and "arrogant."

Before becoming an actor, Ben Stein was a speechwriter for presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He's remained a well-known political and economic commentator and in 2003 was honored at the Tenth Annual Proudly Pro-Life Awards Dinner, hosted by the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund.

Kathy Ireland rose to fame in the 1980s as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, but, like her political beliefs, much of her work has since been comparatively conservative. In 2011, Ireland was the keynote speaker at the Council for Life's annual luncheon, where she professed her religious beliefs and detailed her journey to becoming a pro-life supporter.

A former atheist, Kirk Cameron famously became a born-again Christian at 17 while starring on "Growing Pains," which he then insisted had plots that were too inappropriate. He's since been an incredibly outspoken Republican, receiving intense backlash from the the Hollywood community in 2012 when he told Piers Morgan that homosexuality is "unnatural ... and ultimately destructive to foundations of civilization." He is currently a member of the evangelical Christian movement and has espoused anti-abortion ideology.

"I really don't believe in abortion," Justin Bieber told Rolling Stone in 2011. "It's like killing a baby." When asked about cases of rape, the pop star said, "Um. Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that."

Having portrayed Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," it seems only appropriate that Jim Caviezel has proclaimed himself to be a devout Catholic. The actor told Catholic Digest in 2009 that being pro-life is more important to him than his career.

Andrea Bocelli first made his pro-life stance public in 2010 when he recorded a video discussing his mother's decision not to have an abortion even though she was encouraged to after coming down with appendicitis while pregnant. “Of course, personally I do not share the idea of being able to interrupt life arbitrarily,” he told The Telegraph in 2011. “But I cannot be the judge of those who decide in a different way. As much as I can, I show them an example and act as a role model, because I believe this is the only way.”

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Meet The Chief Justice Of America's Secret Supreme Court

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Judge Reggie Walton believes while “we have an obligation to vigorously prosecute people, we don’t do it at all costs.” But the “fair but harsh” judge has overseen a breathtaking expansion of domestic surveillance in the United States.

Read the whole story at BuzzFeed

India Hotel Collapse Kills At Least 10, Injures 12 Others (PHOTOS)

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HYDERABAD, India -- A two-story hotel collapsed in southern India early Monday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 18 others, police said.

More people were feared trapped in the debris of the City Light hotel in a suburb of the city of Hyderabad, police officer Anurag Sharma said.

Sharma said rescue operations were continuing at the hotel, which was about 80 years old.

The hotel was located in the Secunderabad suburb of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state.

Few other details about the incident were available.

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Anderson Silva Knockout: Chris Weidman Wins Middleweight Title Fight At UFC 162 (VIDEO)

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LAS VEGAS — Chris Weidman sent a shock wave through mixed martial arts, stopping Anderson Silva in the second round of the main event at UFC 162 to become the new middleweight champion on Saturday night.

Silva talked, taunted and dared Weidman to engage him. When the champion lowered his hands early in the second round, Weidman caught him with a short left that sent the MMA star to the mat. Weidman pounced and landed a few more shots that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight at 1:18.

"I felt destined for this," Weidman said. "It was far-fetched, but I imagined it so many times before in my head."

The win put an end to Silva's nearly seven-year reign atop the UFC middleweight division and his 17-fight win streak.

"I worked for this fight, Chris Weidman is the best now. He is the champion," Silva said. "I've had the belt for a long time. I'm tired."

The former champion fell to 33-5 with the loss.

"(Silva) was an idol of mine. I didn't want to mention it in the camp," said Weidman (10-0), who earned knockout of the night award. "I looked up to him for many years."

In the co-main event in front of a capacity crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar outwrestled and outstruck Charles Oliveira to get the win by unanimous decision.

Fighting in his first non-title fight in more than 3 1/2 years, Edgar looked sharp and utilized excellent footwork to avoid Oliveira. The first two rounds were close, but the third saw Edgar land a number of clean power punches and pull away for the win.

"I thought I had him hurt in the third, but he showed some toughness," said Edgar, who improved to 15-4-1 and placed himself in title contention with the win. Oliveira fell to 16-4.

On the main card, Mark Munoz and Tim Kennedy each earned unanimous decision victories and Cub Swanson bested Dennis Siver in a battle of highly ranked featherweights with a third round TKO.

samedi 28 septembre 2013

In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of N.S.A.

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In more than a dozen classified rulings, the nation's surveillance court has created a secret body of law giving the National Security Agency the power to amass vast collections of data on Americans while pursuing not only terrorism suspects, but also people possibly involved in nuclear proliferation, espionage and cyberattacks, officials say.

Read the whole story at The New York Times

Mario Andretti Eyes Comeback For 1 More Race With Son, Grandson

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Mario Andretti Mario Andretti watches the action from pit lane during Indianapolis 500 practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 12, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

LONG POND, Pa. -- Mario Andretti wants one more race, family style.

At 73, Andretti has been long retired from racing, and one of open wheels all-time greats hasn't turned a competitive lap since a spectacular crash during practice for the 2003 Indianapolis 500.

Andretti, though, hasn't completely put the idea of one final race out of his mind. He's serious when he says he wants to team up with son, Michael, and grandson, Marco, for an endurance race like the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona or 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"I'd do it," Mario Andretti said. "There's no point in me coming back unless there's a compelling a reason."

And there's no more compelling reason than family ties on the track.

Don't start dreaming of the greatest comeback in motor sports just yet. There's one big hitch.

"Marco would do it. Michael doesn't want to do it," Mario said. "He's much younger than I am and he says he's too old. You figure that out. But if I can convince Michael to do it, I'll do it. I would. I still have the competitive spirit, which is good."

His grandfather's dream of an Andretti reunion seemed like fun for 26-year-old Marco, who posted fast practice times this week at Pocono Raceway. The third-generation driver said Mario would be "up to the task," of becoming a tag-team partner in the annual races.

"He would start and finish and dad and I would do all the brunt work," Marco Andretti said.

Told Michael had balked, Marco hardly seemed surprised.

"I think dad doesn't love it like me and my grandfather," he said. "He was just very good and he knew he was good. But I think he's really happy and content where he's at and he's doing a heck of a job there, too, as an owner."

Mario Andretti won the Indianapolis 500 in 1969 and went on to a long, brilliant career before he retired from IndyCar in 1994. He last got behind the wheel for a lap in 2003 when he tested a car for Michael at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Andretti's car hit debris left when Kenny Brack's car hit the wall, sending his car flying through the air and flipping end over end. He walked away unhurt.

"I figured, I'm going to meet my creator. I didn't know which way I was going to go," he said. "But I was OK. It wasn't my fault. I was in my element. I was lucky as hell. I landed on the wheels and only got a scratch."

But that was it for Andretti. Even though he won Indy and Michael has celebrated two 500 victories as an owner, the accident is just another part of the "Andretti Curse," that reigns at IMS.

"They always have to talk about something," Mario said. "But we've had great times there, just tough times really finishing when we were dominating. Not only myself, Michael as well. Were we capable of winning multiple times? Damn right."

Pocono, back on the IndyCar slate for the first time since 1989, is a hometown track for the Andrettis, who hail from nearby Nazareth. But Mario's been commuting this week from his house near Lake Wallenpaupack, about an hour north of the track.

He's also keeping busy. Andretti voices a character in the upcoming movie "Turbo," the animated story of a snail with amazing speed who takes on the Indianapolis 500.

While he no longer attends each race, he feels IndyCar can rival or top any series in the world when it comes to quality competition. Even if TV ratings and attendance can use a boost, the on-track product is as strong as ever.

"Look at the quality of racing, just in the last two years," he said. "It's there. It's something you can't predict. When it happens, you just try to enjoy it. It's riveting."

_____

Follow Dan Gelston at http://www.Twitter.com/APGelston

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Brian Stokes Mitchell To Open 'Starry Summer Nights' Series At NYC's Town Hall

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Few people are as enthusiastic about the future of musical theater as Brian Stokes Mitchell. The Tony Award-winning actor, who was last seen on the Great White Way in the musical adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar’s “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” in 2010, says today’s Broadway is part of a natural and “wonderful” evolution of a uniquely American art form.

“Everything evolves, and theater is the same way,” Mitchell told The Huffington Post in an interview. “It’s about new inspirations, new talent and new ways of looking at things. Musical theater is not what it was 50 years ago or 100 years ago, it’s turned into something new, so let’s stay on that horse, keep riding it and see what comes next.”

Still, Mitchell -- who belongs to that unique group of Broadway performers who inspire excitement simply by having their name attached to a marquee -- will turn back the clock a bit for his July 8 performance at New York’s Town Hall. The 55-year-old baritone is the inaugural performer of Town Hall’s 2013 “Starry Summer Nights” series, which will also include “The Hit Men” featuring the former stars of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (July 18) and Linda Eder (July 22). The basis for Mitchell’s forthcoming show is his 2012 album, “Simply Broadway,” which includes songs from “Porgy and Bess,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Les Miserables” among other smash shows, and features accompaniment from longtime pianist and arranger Ted Firth.

The actor calls his new show a whirlwind tour of “50 years of classic Broadway baritone” as told in a stripped-down, piano-and-vocal style. The album (and, consequently, the forthcoming show) also features vestiges of Mitchell’s well-known stage roles in “Man of La Mancha” and “South Pacific,” though the actor says he made a point to emphasize material he’d never previously recorded.

“I call it haiku-style music, because it really is about the most essential elements,” Mitchell, who said he was inspired by the 1975 “Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album,” noted. “I treat every song as an acting moment, so these were songs that had really great acting moments in them.”

As for his own future on Broadway, Mitchell is mostly tight-lipped, but noted that he’s “getting itchy to do another show,” though recent years have seen him tackle high-profile turns on television series like “Glee,” where he’s still contracted for one additional episode as one of Rachel Berry’s gay dads (“It’s difficult to plan anything when it comes to TV and film…they’ll call us as they need to,” he said).

Citing leads in “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Sweeney Todd” as among his dream roles, he nonetheless hopes his next project will entail “something we haven’t seen yet that we don’t know…something by a new young writer. A different voice, different subject matter.”

Until then, however, he’s relishing his successful concert career: “What’s most fun about it is that it’s so spontaneous. I’m not stuck to a script and every show can be very, very different and have its own unique fingerprint.”

Brian Stokes Mitchell plays New York's Town Hall on July 8. For more information, click here.

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Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray Bring Building Slam Rivalry To Wimbledon Final

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djokovic murray Novak Djokovic, right, is congratulated Andy Murray after winning the men's final at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.

LONDON — Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are building their own Grand Slam rivalry, one that perhaps someday will merit mention alongside Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal, or Djokovic vs. Nadal.

When the No. 1-ranked Djokovic faces No. 2 Murray to determine Wimbledon's champion Sunday, it will be their fourth meeting in a major final – and third in less than a year.

Djokovic beat Murray at the Australian Open in 2011. Murray beat Djokovic at the U.S. Open last September. Djokovic beat Murray at the Australian Open this January.

That's not yet quite up to the lofty standard set by Federer and Nadal, who played each other in eight Grand Slam title matches from 2006-11. Djokovic and Nadal have contested five major finals since 2010, including a stretch of four in a row.

While part of the appeal of the Federer-Nadal matchup lies in their vastly contrasting games – all the way down to the most basic level, righty vs. lefty – Djokovic-Murray features two guys who employ rather similar styles.

They are improving servers and fantastic returners who managed to silence big hitters in the semifinals Friday: Tough to decide whether it was more surprising that Djokovic had a 22-4 edge in aces during his 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory over No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro, or that Murray had a 20-9 edge in aces during his 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz.

They also are cover-every-inch hustlers who can switch from defense to offense, quick as can be.

"There is some similarities there, in terms of if you look at stats and stuff. I mean, both of us return well. That's probably the strongest part of our games. Both play predominantly from the baseline," said Murray, who is aiming to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

"We both move well, but a different sort of movement," Murray continued. "He's extremely flexible and he slides into shots, even on the courts here. He slides more. He's quite a bit lighter than me. So I'd say I probably move with more power, and he's much more flexible than me."

In the women's final Saturday, 15th-seeded Marion Bartoli of France won her first Grand Slam title, beating 23rd-seeded Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-1, 6-4.

Djokovic, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, is seeking his seventh Grand Slam title overall and will be playing in his 11th major final. Murray is 1-5 in major finals. He has reached the championship matches at each of the last four Grand Slam tournament's he entered; he skipped this year's French Open because of a bad back.

Murray didn't need to expend too much energy to get past Janowicz, but Djokovic's win against del Potro was physically and emotionally sapping. It lasted 4 hours, 43 minutes, a record for a Wimbledon semifinal, and was filled with intense points.

"I did play a very long match, but I had situations before where I had to recover even just in 24 hours for the match the next day," Djokovic said Saturday. "I kind of got used to it and I know my body. I have a great team of people around me that make sure that we respect everything that we usually do. I'm confident I'll be ready for tomorrow."

Del Potro's take about how much Djokovic will have left for Sunday: "He will be OK."

Djokovic and Murray have put up remarkably close numbers over this fortnight.

Djokovic has lost two sets, Murray three. Djokovic has dropped 80 games through six matches, Murray 82. Djokovic has won 95 of 101 service games, Murray 95 of 103. Djokovic has 76 aces and only seven double-faults; Murray has 80 aces and 11 double-faults.

Born a week apart in May 1987, Djokovic and Murray first met as junior players.

"We know each other since we were 11 years old. On and off the court, we have lots of respect for each other. Always very fair, very honest relationship," Djokovic said. "Now we are big rivals and it's difficult. ... So we don't get together and have dinners and parties, but we definitely always chat and remember the fun days we had as juniors."

The two men get along well enough that when both were at the semifinal stage of last year's U.S. Open, they sat in front of a computer together and watched online while Murray's Scotland and Djokovic's Serbia played to a 0-0 draw in a qualifying match for soccer's World Cup.

"We have a professional friendship, I think, now. When we were younger, it was more friendly," Murray said.

"We've spent a lot of time discussing various issues within tennis and doing what I think sometimes what was best for the sport. But I don't think it goes more than that right now. I would hope when we finish playing, it will be different," Murray added. "But it's just hard, because playing in big, big matches with a lot on the line, you can't be best of friends when that's happening."

Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 11-7, including winning their most recent three matches. While this is their first Wimbledon encounter, they did play on the All England Club's grass in the semifinals of last year's London Olympics, and Murray won 7-5, 7-5 on his way to a gold medal.

That's part of year-plus stretch in which Murray has won 17 consecutive matches on grass, and 23 of 24.

His victory over Federer in the Olympic final, four weeks after losing to the 17-time major title winner on the same court in the Wimbledon final, gave Murray a real boost of confidence.

There's a tremendous amount of pressure and expectations heaped on Murray every year at this time, because of the considerable wait for a British champion.

He knows that, of course.

So does Djokovic, who is aware there will not be many people pulling for him in the stands Sunday.

"It's normal to expect, in a way, that most of the crowd will be on his side. He's a local hero," Djokovic said.

Murray says he thrives with the backing of 15,000 or so flag-waving, top-of-their-lungs-yelling spectators every time he plays on Centre Court.

"There's that extra bit of pressure that probably Novak doesn't have," said Murray's older brother, Jamie, who won the 2007 mixed doubles title at the All England Club. "If (Andy) deals with that well, then I'm sure he can perform in the final. Whether he wins or not I don't know, but they're two evenly matched guys, and they've had a lot of great matches in the past. Hopefully Sunday will be another one."

Instead of another Federer vs. Nadal, No. 1 vs. No. 2, match on the last Sunday, this time it'll be Djokovic and Murray. In as unpredictable a Wimbledon as anyone can recall, Nadal lost in the first round, and Federer exited in the second, both against men ranked outside the top 100.

Murray was asked how his mindset might be different in his second Wimbledon final than it was in his first, 12 months ago.

"I'll be probably in a better place mentally. I would hope so, just because I've been there before. I won a Grand Slam. I would hope I would be a little bit calmer going into Sunday," Murray said. "But you don't know. You don't decide that. I might wake up on Sunday and be unbelievably nervous, more nervous than I ever have been before. But I wouldn't expect to be."

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

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Ye Mengyuan, Wang Linjia, identified as SFO plane crash victims

BEIJING--the two people who died in a plane crash of Asiana Airlines at San Francisco International Airport were Chinese schoolgirls, Chinese State media said Sunday.

Mengyuan ye and Wang Linjia, the middle school students of Jiangshan in East China, died in the accident, State broadcaster China Central Television said, quoting a fax of the airline to the Government of the city of Jiangshan.

The South Korean airline said in a statement that ye and Wang were both 16.

A group of 29 students and five teachers had set off from the highly competitive school in an affluent coastal province of Zhejiang. A woman from the Department of education of Zhejiang had said earlier that they had lost contact with two students. The woman gave only her surname, Tang.

Of the 291 passengers aboard, 141 were Chinese. At least 70 students Chinese and teachers were on the plane heading to summer camps, according to the authorities of education in China.

The flight crashed into the runway upon landing at the airport on Saturday and caught fire, forcing many to escape by sliding down inflatable slides of emergencies when flames tore through the plane. Officials said that 182 people were taken to area hospitals.

Stray dog, Girlie, finds new home after being on the floor (photos)

By Liz Acosta, Dogster

This is the story of Girlie. She is only one year old and her life has been a loss... so far. But we will get to in a second.

Girlie first showed up in the power plant of Exelon last summer, and is where the worker of the plant Kara note you. While the dog was far from docile, Girlie and Kara formed a Union that lasted throughout the year. With patience and compassion, Kara has slowly gained confidence of Girlie. It was clear to Kara, who has two dogs agility, Girlie possessed an innate desire to be around humans, despite their nature wild made distrust.

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Girlie began to reach maturity, Kara worried the dog get imbued with some of the dogs intact males he saw running. She doubled her efforts to find a home, Girlie but experienced difficulties to find an adopter. With two dogs of her own, as well as a cat and lack the right accommodation to introduce a wild dog from home life, Kara, she could not take the dog. This also reduced the pool of viable potential adopters for Girlie as well.

Story continues after the story.
stray dog girlie

Kara became despair, and while Girlie was in no immediate danger, was capable of hunting by itself and it was attended by other workers at the plant, would not be sufficient for that dog the best life possible. Finally, with another summer on the horizon, Kara found a home for Girlie. While Kara fail to see the dog at work, she can still visit Girlie at his new home forever and knows that she will live the possible maximum life.

Most street dogs not so fortunate as Girlie, but wild dog was correct only the human right compassionate, who saw the potential of becoming someone best friend dog in it. Thanks to the efforts of Kara, Girlie is home against wind and tide, and that is why she is our miracle of Monday.

Photos via Girlie Facebook page

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vendredi 27 septembre 2013

Plane Crash Bodies Found On Runway At San Francisco Airport

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SAN FRANCISCO — After nearly 11 hours in the air, the passengers and crew aboard a jumbo jetliner traveling from Seoul to San Francisco were looking forward to a quick and uneventful landing as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 approached the airport from over San Francisco Bay. What they got instead, without a word of warning, was terror, panic and confusion.

The Boeing 777 slammed into the runway on Saturday morning, breaking off its tail and catching fire before slumping to a stop that allowed the lucky ones to flee down emergency slides into thick smoke and a trail of debris. Firefighters doused the flames that burned through the fuselage with foam and water, and police officers on the ground threw utility knives up to crew members so they could cut the seat belts of those who remained trapped as rescue crews removed the injured.

By the time the 307 people on the flight all were accounted for several hours later, two Chinese teenage girls found outside wreckage had been confirmed dead and 182 transported to area hospitals. But as harrowing as the crash was, survivors and witnesses were just as stunned to learn that the toll of deaths and serious injuries wasn't much higher.

"When you heard that explosion, that loud boom and you saw the black smoke...you just thought, my god, everybody in there is gone," said Ki Siadatan, who lives a few miles away from San Francisco International Airport and watched the plane's "wobbly" and "a little bit out of control" approach from his balcony. "My initial reaction was I don't see how anyone could have made it."

Vedpal Singh, who was sitting in the middle of the aircraft and survived the crash with his family, said there was no forewarning from the pilot or any crew members before the plane touched down hard and he heard a loud sound.

"We knew something was horrible wrong," said Singh, who suffered a fractured collarbone and had his arm was in a sling.

"It's miraculous we survived," he said.

A visibly shaken Singh said the plane went silent before people tried to get out anyway they could. His 15-year-old son said luggage tumbled from the overhead bins. The entire incident lasted about 10 seconds.

Another passenger, Benjamin Levy, 39, said it looked to him that the plane was flying too low and too close to the bay as it approached the runway. Levy, who was sitting in an emergency exit row, said he felt the pilot try to lift the jet up before it crashed, and thinks the maneuver might have saved some lives.

"Everybody was screaming. I was trying to usher them out," he recalled of the first seconds after the landing. "I said, `Stay calm, stop screaming, help each other out, don't push.'"

San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White said the two who died were found on "the exterior" of the plane. "Having surveyed that area, we're lucky that there hasn't been a greater loss," she said.

Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said 49 people were critically injured and 132 had less significant injuries.

The flight originated in Shanghai, China, and stopped over in Seoul, South Korea, before coming to San Francisco, airport officials said. The airline said there were 16 crew members aboard and 291 passengers. South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that the plane's passengers included 141 Chinese, 77 South Koreans, 61 Americans, three Canadians, three from India, one Japanese, one Vietnamese and one from France, while the nationalities of the remaining three haven't been confirmed. Thirty of the passengers were children.

Chinese state media identified the dead as two 16-year-old girls who were middle school students in China's eastern Zhejiang province. China Central Television cited a fax from Asiana Airlines to the Jiangshan city government. They were identified as Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia.

At least 70 Chinese students and teachers were on the plane heading to summer camps, according to education authorities in China.

Asiana President Yoon Young-doo said at a televised news conference that it will take time to determine the cause of the crash. But when asked about the possibility of engine or mechanical problems, he said he doesn't believe they could have been the cause. He said the plane was bought in 2006 but didn't provide further details or elaborate. Asiana officials later said the plane was also built that year.

Yoon also bowed and offered an apology, "I am bowing my head and extending my deep apology" to the passengers, their families and the South Korean people over the crash, he said.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye offered her condolences to the families of passengers and said her government would make all necessary efforts to help handle the aftermath, according to her spokeswoman Kim Haing.

"I offer my deep condolences to the families of the passengers who suffered from the unexpected Asiana plane crash," South Korean President Park Geun-hye said, according to her spokeswoman Kim Haing. Park said that the South Korean government will make all necessary efforts to help handle the aftermath, according to Kim.

Based on witness accounts in the news and video of the wreckage, Mike Barr, a former military pilot and accident investigator who teaches aviation safety at the University of Southern California, said it appeared the plane approached the runway too low and something may have caught the runway lip – the seawall at the end of the runway.

San Francisco is one of several airports around the country that border bodies of water that have walls at the end of their runways to prevent planes that overrun a runway from ending up in the water.

Since the plane was about to land, its landing gear would have already been down, Barr said. It's possible the landing gear or the tail of the plane hit the seawall, he said. If that happened, it would effectively slam the plane into the runway, he said.

Noting that some witnesses reported hearing the plane's engines rev up just before the crash, Barr said that would be consistent with a pilot who realized at the last minute that the plane was too low and was increasing power to the engines to try to increase altitude. Barr said he could think of no reason why a plane would come in to land that low.

Kate Belding was out jogging just before 11:30 a.m. on a path across the water from the airport when she noticed the plane approaching the runway in a way that "just didn't look like it was coming in quite right."

"Then all of a sudden I saw what looked like a cloud of dirt puffing up and then there was a big bang and it kind of looked like the plane maybe bounced (as it neared the ground)," she said. "I couldn't really tell what happened, but you saw the wings going up and (in) a weird angle."

Four pilots were aboard the plane and they rotated on a two-person shift during the flight, according to The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in South Korea. The two who piloted the plane at the time of crash were Lee Jeong-min and Lee Gang-guk.

Yoon, the Asiana president, described the pilots as "skilled," saying three had logged more than 10,000 hours each of flight time. He said the fourth had put in almost that much time, but officials later corrected that to say the fourth had logged nearly 5,000 hours. All four are South Koreans.

Asiana is a South Korean airline, second in size to national carrier Korean Air. It has recently tried to expand its presence in the United States, and joined the Star Alliance, which is anchored in the U.S. by United Airlines.

The 777-200 is a long-range plane from Boeing. The twin-engine aircraft is often used for flights from one continent to another because it can travel 12 hours or more without refueling.

The most notable accident involving a 777 occurred on Jan. 17, 2008 at Heathrow Airport in London. British Airways Flight 28 landed hard about 1,000 feet short of the runway and slid onto the start of the runway. The impact broke the 777-200's landing gear. There were 47 injuries, but no fatalities.

___

Lowy reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press writers Jason Dearen and Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco, Scott Mayerowitz in New York, Pauline Arrillaga in Phoenix, Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Louise Watt in Beijing contributed to this report.

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Beauty best & worst of the week: Rihanna, Adriana Lima, Kristen Stewart & more (photos)

Adriana Lima always looks very good, but we have never set him as a dark lipstick gal. That is why it was so shocking see her rocking red lips intense this week. As you might expect, the color looked amazing in it. Rihanna wore a lot of pearls for Chanel show during Paris fashion week Haute Couture and Uma Thurman showed us that she simply not age... at all.

In the 2013 BET Awards, stars shone and stumbled. Janelle Monae wore the best pompadour that we have seen in a long time, but someone should probably tell Mya to trim their hair extensions.

Click to see all the beauty better and worse this week. Is be treated any of them?

Presentation of the load...

We almost never see Lima use dark lipstick and believe you should do more often. It seems stunning in it.

While the time flowing locks are usually great, Mya is too long. There is a point where extensions go from beautiful messy appearance. However, we have decided to also have Mya face because her makeup and earrings are wonderful.

Hands down, Monae looks the best pompadour that we have seen in decades. Apply to the male hairstyle with accessories diamond ultra feminine and a glossy lip. Fabulous!

We are not sure if Ashanti was trying to go for a backsplash or a bun, but either way, the ' is not working. It seems that it is a nest of birds on the head.

We'd like to learn anti-aging secrets of Thurman. She looks young and radiant with this red lip color and fun hairstyle.

Although we are a big fan of Ciara's shorter ' do, he liked us better when more was domesticated it. She took volume to new levels here and it should be taken by a notch.

Thanks to Rihanna Dios. Without it, you wouldn't start trends. Here she is bringing back... pearls pearls with a pronounced cleavage. It is stunning in it, but we dare to try this on our own?

Add a massive fixture to an eye-catching dress never really works. Large jeweled necklace from le Segretain is colliding with flower print on her dress and her ombre hair color faded.

We love this look how easy that is, however, it is also very intricate. Blue shadow ice in the corners of the eyes of Stewart give a beautiful touch. Now if we could only get her to smile.

Gel overload! Generally we like a good shading, but Campbell seems exaggerated.

What great smoky eye! Palermo shows how to make a dramatic statement without going over. Her tousled hairstyle pulls everything together.

Adriana Lima stole the show this year Victoria Secret Fashion Show. The Brazilian beauty hit the catwalk just eight weeks after childbirth and now she has been able to throw even more weight in the month since the highly anticipated show was filmed in November.

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Arianna Huffington: Sunday Roundup

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From watching cable, you'd think the only news this week was the George Zimmerman trial. But as CNN spent Wednesday breathlessly team-covering every angle of some badly-Skyped-in testimony, a hint of other news appeared in a small box on-screen, captioned "coup under way." That was, of course, referring to the fact that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was being toppled. Is this monomaniacal coverage really the best way to honor Trayvon Martin's memory? It was enough to send me clicking over to the Golf Channel -- and I don't even play, though I did learn what a mulligan is. If the media took one, maybe next time, in addition to Egypt, they'd also cover yet another middling jobs report released on Friday, which showed the economy adding mostly low-wage jobs and still on pace to reach full-employment only by decade's end. But don't tell anybody.

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Walter Logan, arrested in the murder of Alex Shipp, faces charges over

KOKOMO, Ind.--a man of central Indiana that prosecutors say he killed his friend and stuffed the body inside a freezer unplugged faces additional charges.

Deputy of the Howard County Prosecutor Jeremy Peelle presented additional murder charges when they tried to wrongdoing, reckless homicide and confinement last week against Walter Logan, 52, of Kokomo.

Logan was held without bond Saturday at the county jail in Kokomo, about 50 miles north of Indianapolis. A jail official told The Associated Press she didn't know the name of the Attorney of Logan.

Logan's trial had been scheduled to begin Wednesday, but the Kokomo Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/15myYG3) the defense attorney of new charges prompted Logan to request a continuity. A judge resets trial on October 7.

Prosecutors have not said if they will seek the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Police looking for 29 years Alex Shipp at the beginning of December when his mother said he had not heard from her son in almost a month. Officers who went to the home of Logan found that Shipp decomposed badly but intact body in a freezer that was not plugged in.

Court documents say Logan told investigators that he and Shipp had known two years ago and had a sexual relationship. He said that one night about four weeks before, men got drunk, drugs and had sex. Later, Logan said Shipp made belligerent and wanted to fight, but Logan had bound feet and hands of Shipp and placed adhesive tape over his nose and mouth.

Logan said the researchers tried to commit suicide with pills and wrote a suicide note, but he fell asleep until he could finish writing it. When he woke up Logan, Shipp appears to be dead. Logan removed Shipp-sided tape before returning to sleep, court documents say.

Then he woke up again, Logan supposedly waited about six hours then Shipp and body to the basement, where he stuffed it inside the freezer, the documents say. When police arrived at Logan's House, they say documents, he led them through the House that stinks in the freezer.

The researchers said that although Logan does not intend to kill Shipp, he must have had made closing the mouth and nose so that he could not breathe that it would lead to his death.

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Information: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com