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The outbreak of listeriosis, an illness caused by the food-borne pathogen Listeria, has killed 5 people and sickened many others across at least six states in US following the consumption of cantaloupe.
Three of the five deaths that have been attributed to Listeria contamination were in New Mexico, and people in Colorado, Texas and Nebraska were also infected following the consumption of cantaloupe.
Rocky Ford cantaloupe is the likely culprit of Listeria infection
Listeria infection is generally contracted from deli meats and hot dogs, and can result from consumption of dairy as well.
The higher risk of Listeria infection is among the elderly, small children, people with compromised immune systems and particularly pregnant women, who risk a miscarriage or stillbirth from exposure to the pathogen.
A person who comes down with Listeria infection usually experiences fever, muscle aches, diarrhea and confusion. The infection almost always spreads to the gastrointestinal tract, but can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women.
Two of the five deaths, which have been related to Listeria infection, occurred in Colorado, and public health officials believe they may have traced the outbreak to “cantaloupe from the famed Rocky Ford area” as the “likely culprit” of the severe illnesses and deaths.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a cantaloupe warning after 16 cases of a strain of Listeria were reported in five states, including 11 from Colorado, two from Texas, and one each from Indiana, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
The agency said it was the first Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe in the United States. The US Food & Drug Administration said it had not recalled the cantaloupes while it worked to locate the source.
Most FDA recalls are voluntary, but since January 2011, the FDA now has the authority to require a recall through the Food Safety Modernization Act.
For a recall to be ordered or requested, FDA must identify products involved and have at least some evidence that there is a “reasonable probability that an article of food … will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.”
“Both FDA and state public health officials have collected product and environmental samples,” the FDA said in the statement. “Laboratory testing is under way.”
Rocky Ford cantaloupes, named for a region along the old Santa Fe Trail about 130 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Denver, are prized for their above-average sugar content.
Dr. Chris Urbina, director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, commented on the investigation into the Listeria outbreak:
“People at high risk for listeria infection should not eat cantaloupe from the Rocky Ford growing region… The department expects additional test results later this week that may help identify the specific source of the cantaloupe linked to the multistate outbreak.”
According to officials, general recommendations for avoiding Listeria infection include heating deli meats and hot dogs to steaming hot, and avoiding soft cheeses. In the particular case of the Listeria outbreak affected states, they are cautioning residents to refrigerate cut melon as well as to discard any melon that has remained at room temperature for more than 4 hours.
Voted the best major UK festival in the UK festival awards last year, Bestival 2011 has colored Robin Hill Country Park on Isle Of Wight last weekend.
Pendulum at Bestival 2011Primal Screen at Bestival 2011
The four day music festival, organized by Rob da Bank, features all kind of music and its best point is the atmosphere.
Bestival 2011 started on Thursday with music everywhere, coming from Bestival FM and Freesports Park.
Santigold at Bestival 2011
On the Big Top arena Back to the Phuture and Santigold (singing Lights Out, L.E.S Artistes) kick off a weekend full of rhythm.
Brian Wilson performed his retro-set of Beach Boys classics (I Get Around, Surfin’ USA) on Friday afternoon. Beardyman, The Correspondence (live), Crystal Fighters, Public Enemy, Chromeo (audio sex and liquid funk) energized the festival goers and Pendulum provided light and bass on the main stage.
Mr Motivator, Katy B, Paloma Faith, The Village People, Crystal Castles performed on the main stage on Saturday, while Metronomy took The Psychedelic Worm tent, Yuck took Sailor Jerry’s stage and Jaguar Skills Bollywood tent. Primal Scream was another big hitter of the evening.
PJ Harvey attracted the concert goers with songs from her Mercury-winning new album, Let England Shake. She presented an imposing gothic vision dressed in black, with a headdress of black feathers.
The Cure (with Robert Smith), Bestival 2011 headliner, sang for two and a half hours in front of a large and eager audience.
The Cure at Bestival 2011
The legendary Crawley’s finest played all the hits from an 30-year career (Boys Don’t Cry, Friday, I’m in Love, Just Like Heaven,A Forestand, Lovecats).
English Nation Ballet performed on the main stage Sunday morning followed by the musical comedians The Cuban Brothers. Johnny Flynn, English anti-folk singer, charmed a young-looking audience on Sunday afternoon. Kelis said “I’m not here to entertain you…I’m here to pleasure myself” and played an energetic show while Swedish pop-star, Robyn, had the public singing along to melodies like Dancing on My Own, Call Your Girlfriend. Brooklyn indie outfit, The Drums, played an uninspired and dull afternoon set to a largely bored public. In White Campsite Andy C played Drum ‘n’ Bass at Arcadia’s steampunk-inspired, flame-shooting stage The Afterburner giving people a dancing in the rain experience. Swamp Shack, in the back of the Wishing Tree Field, hosted everything from gospel to jive to jungle. DJ Shadow, Tweak Bird (Sailor Jerry), Fatboy Slim (Big Top), Health (the Psychedelic Worm) performed during the night.
Icelandic goddess Bjork, Bestival 2011 exclusive, accompanied by a haunting choir of young girls closed the main stage with her spectacular Biophilia show.
Bjork at Bestival 2011
She said she wasn’t offering the beats you might expect at a festival, but the festivals goers seem to think different. Hallucinogenic visuals that soar from the outer cosmos down to cellular microcosms, a cerebral video backdrop of erupting volcanoes, spasmodic DNA and the rotating moon completed the ethereal sound of her album. The avant-garde artist performed new music and hits including Hyperballad and Declare Independence from Volta. Biophilia is offered in the form of an interactive iPad app.
Wishing Tree at Bestival 2011
Bestival 2011 fancy dress theme was “Rock Stars, Pop Stars and Divas”.
Night Forest at Bestival 2011
The revelers were dressed like Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, The Village People, Madonna (Vogue-era), Jedward, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury (vacuuming housewives from the I Want to Break Free and boys with moustache, yellow jacket and white trousers).
A new study has found that inhaling a concentrated cloud of insulin through the nose two times per day appears to slow — and in some cases reverse — symptoms of memory loss in people with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study was run by researchers from the Veterans Administration’s Puget Sound Health Care System in Washington on 104 subjects and is considered very preliminary. However, the study findings suggests that a safe, simple and cheap measure that boosts flagging metabolism in key areas of the brain could hold off or possibly derail the progression of the devastating neurological disorder in its early stages.
The preliminary results were published online this week by the Archives of Neurology.
Inhaling a cloud of insulin two times per day appears to slow symptoms of memory loss in people with early signs of Alzheimer's disease
As a metabolic hormone, insulin is best known for its role in treating diabetes, a condition in which the hormone is either insufficiently produced or poorly used by the body’s organs.
But in recent years, several studies have found that people with diabetes and pre-diabetes are at high risk of developing Alzheimer‘s. The autopsies have shown that diabetics whose condition was tightly managed had fewer of the brain tangles and plaques that are the hallmark of disease.
Studies involving animals have suggested that insulin deficiency in the brain may be a key factor in the progression of Alzheimer‘s.
Researchers decided to test insulin on people without diabetes who had been diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s or amnestic mild cognitive impairment, a disorder characterized by increased forgetfulness that often progresses to dementia.
Subjects were divided into three groups: 36 of them inhaled 20 mg of insulin twice a day for four months, 38 got 40 mg twice a day, and 30 were given a saline solution.
After two months of treatment, 20 mg of insulin group had improved performance on a memory test. The gains persisted after four months of treatment and were still evident two months after the insulin treatment stopped.
Participants who got 40 mg of insulin had no change in their memory abilities, while those who got the placebo saw a decline. The differences between those on insulin and those on the placebo were “small in absolute terms,” the authors wrote. But they were robust enough that by generally accepted research standards, they are unlikely to have been the result of chance.
Patients taking either dose of insulin were rated by their caregivers as holding steady in their overall social, mental and everyday functioning, while those on the sham medication were rated as having declined. And on physician-administered tests of cognitive function, patients taking insulin showed less decline than those on the placebo.
In a subset of subjects who underwent additional measurements, researchers found that there were fewer amyloid plaque deposits, protein tangles and other physiological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s in those whose memory improved most on the insulin treatment compared with those who had weak responses or were on the placebo.
But the persistence of insulin’s effect was a mixed picture. Two months after the insulin treatments stopped, caregivers of people in all three groups noted similar declines in their overall daily function.
About 5.4 million Americans are believed to have Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Scientists acknowledge that while they can diagnose the disease earlier and offer medications to temporarily slow the progression of symptoms, they have been stymied in their search for ways to prevent, halt or reverse it.
“It will take a larger study involving more patients over a longer time to figure out whether nasally administered insulin merely slows the march of Alzheimer’s or thwarts it,” said Laurie Ryan, a neuropsychologist who directs clinical trials involving dementia at the National Institute on Aging, which funded the pilot study.
“In the meantime, intranasal insulin has two things going for it: Insulin is already in wide use at relatively low cost, and the nasal inhaler allows it to be delivered directly and safely to the brain. That minimizes the risk of the hormone affecting blood sugar levels elsewhere in the body, which could be dangerous to kidneys, eyes and blood vessels.
“A safe, easy delivery system — those are things we’d love to see for any kind of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease,” Laurie Ryan said.
A crowd of bystanders lifted a burning car off a motorcyclist trapped underneath in a dramatic rescue near Utah State University on Monday. The good Samaritans action was captured on video.
Chris Garff , who captured the event on video, said he was doing what any good videographer would do when he grabbed his camera and went to investigate the black smoke billowing outside the Logan, Utah, business building where he was preparing to videotape a lecture for a business professor.
Motorcyclist saved by the crowd of good Samaritans
Then he realized he was capturing something extraordinary.
“I knew there was some pretty remarkable footage,” he told The Times.
“Then it really starts to set in, that this is going to be a big deal.”
Moments earlier, a motorcycle and a BMW had collided, leaving the motorcyclist trapped underneath the car; the motorcycle quickly went up in flames that spread to the front of the BMW.
By the time Chris Garff started shooting from his perch on the ninth floor, a few bystanders had rushed over and frantically tried to lift the vehicle – but it wouldn’t budge. Then they tried again, including some nearby construction workers still wearing their hard hats.
The crowd hoisted up the side of the car so that it was resting on just two wheels. That created just enough space for one of the construction workers to dart underneath and pull the man’s seemingly lifeless body to safety.
Chris Garff said he continued to roll and tried to figure out what to do next and then he realized the man was moving.
“I was just freaking out, you can hear my voice on the video, I thought that guy was a goner,” Chris Garff, 31, said.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw him move.”
The man, later identified as Brandon Wright, 21, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and treated for broken bones and other injuries. He faces a long recovery, and his family released a statement thanking the strangers who saved him.
“Brandon and our entire family would like to express our deep gratitude to all of the people who stopped at the crash scene on Monday to help rescue Brandon,” the statement said.
“The fact that so many people would risk their own lives to save Brandon is a testament to the spirit of the community, and we will forever be thankful for these angels saving our son.”
Chris Garff said he had to get back to work after the rescue – the media production specialist still had a lecture to shoot. But when class was over, he prepped the video and contacted local media to see if they might be interested.
In less than 24 hours, the video has had more than 42,000 views on YouTube, and Chris Garff’s phone is ringing off the hook with interview requests from CNN and other media outlets.
Chris Garff said he’s pleased with the attention, but he’s more pleased to know he lives in a world where strangers will put their lives in danger to help others.
“The guy survived, thankfully he did. Those people didn’t stop to think… they acted. Strangers stopped and lifted a car and saved a man’s life. It tells you that there’s hope.”
The long-anticipated Missoni for Target collection was launched yesterday and almost immediately the Target.com website crashed.
“You may not be able to access our site momentarily due to unusually high traffic. Please stay here and we’ll try to get you in as soon as we can! Please know that there is no need to refresh your browser. Your request will automatically retry in 30 seconds,” the Target.com website displayed in a message. But the website still doesn’t work.
The zig-zag Missoni collection crashed Target.com website
People had begun forming the lines at Target stores around Los Angeles for the new Missoni collection at 5:30 a.m., with the line at the West Hollywood store wrapping twice around the block, according to KTLA.
Hundreds of shoppers lined up at many of Target stores early in the morning on Tuesday for a sale of limited offerings of its Missoni for Target collection of bikes, luggage, clothes and housewares.
And the Glendale store was reportedly sold out by 9 a.m. in Los Angeles.
The 400-piece Missoni collection includes apparel, accessories and housewares in the upscale Italian design house’s famous zigzag patterns. Prices range from $2.99 to $599.99, with most items $40 or less.
A preview showing in a New York pop-up shop sold out in less than two days last week. Ahead of the launch, Target also opened a temporary store in Manhattan at the start of New York Fashion Week last Thursday. But the colorful shop, which spanned six city blocks, was supposed to stay open for three days, but winded up closing after six hours because items sold out.
The Missoni collection was supposed to be available to the public from September 13 until October 22.
Target had planned to continue selling the line into October at all 1,700 stores around the country. But shoppers will be lucky if they can find something they want. In fact, based on a spot check by Target of stores in Minneapolis area, everything had sold out by Tuesday morning. Target is replenishing some merchandise over the next few days, but it will trickle in.
Some shoppers already are trying to capitalize on the fleeting nature of the Target’s Missoni collection. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 1,591 listings for Missoni for Target on eBay.com that were selling for more than double the price found at the discounter. Travel totes were going for $169, while shoes were selling for $129.99.
Reese Witherspoon was hit by a car last week and taken to hospital with minor injuries.
For the first time after the accident, Reese Witherspoon showed the extent of her injuries – a black eye and bandage on her forehead – as she arrived for a friend’s birthday party in Los Angeles.
Reese Witherspoon also appeared to have a bruise on one of her knees from the fall which happened last Wednesday when an elderly woman knocked her down as she jogged over a pedestrian crossing.
Reese Witherspoon has a black eye after she was hit by a car last week
Her injuries didn’t appear to be troubling the famous actress too much. Wearing a smart blue dress, Reese Witherspoon shared a joke with her friend before going into the party.
It is the first time Reese Witherspoon, 36, has appeared with her injuries visible in public.
The star was spotted wearing sunglasses with husband Jim Toth, just two days after the accident.
However, Reese was quickly discharged and spent some time “resting at home”, according to her representative.
“The whole incident really frightened her,” a source close to the actress said.
“Now she’s just resting up.
“The odd thing about all of this is that Reese has always been very afraid of being hit by a car.
“It’s been an ongoing fear of hers. She is always the first person to pull people away from the edge of the curb.”
It has emerged that Reese Witherspoon will not be pressing charges against the woman who hit her after failing to yield to the actress on the crossing on the 20th street and Georgina Avenue Area in Santa Monica.
The car was travelling at around 20 mph (30 km/h) when it hit Reese Witherspoon and the 84-year-old driver was cited for failure to stop for a pedestrian.
Reese Witherspoon also appeared to have a bruise on one of her knees
According to TMZ, the elderly woman feels “awful” about the accident.
However, TMZ reports she is of the impression that the Santa Monica corner where the incident happened is dangerous, due to a large tree blocking a sight line for drivers.
The old woman was very “shaken up” by the accident and had no idea she had hit a famous Oscar winner.
Having received a citation to retake her driving test after the incident, the woman is planning to do so as early as today, having stayed off the road since the accident.
Jacqueline Kennedy’s voice on the tapes released yesterday is breathy and girlish, often using childishly simple vocabulary, but the sentiments expressed are withering.
Recorded in 1964 and released yesterday by her daughter Caroline, Jacqueline Kennedy’s intimate recollections were confided to historian and former White House aide Arthur M. Schlesinger. ABC News airs the eight-hour tapes in series starting with September 13.
The transcripts of the released tapes are published in a book form – “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life With John. F. Kennedy”, which is launched today, September 14.
Jacqueline Kennedy talked about her disgust towards Martin Luther King
Jacqueline Kennedy was speaking just months after her husband President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas in November 1963. The former First Lady aim was to provide insider material for historians on the condition that the tapes would not be released for half a century. Her daughter, Caroline Kennedy has brought that release forward to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her father’s election as president.
The former First Lady talked about her disgust towards Martin Luther King after claimed he tried to arrange a sex party while in Washington for a march.
Jacqueline Kennedy’s relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King became strained as a result of wire taps arranged by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
This information had been passed to her by brother-in-law Bobby Kennedy, who as attorney-general authorized the bugging.
“He told me of a tape the FBI had of Martin Luther King when he was here for the freedom march. And he said this with no bitterness or anything, how he was calling up all these girls and arranging for a party of men and women, I mean, sort of an orgy in the hotel, and everything.”
Jacqueline Kennedy says Bobby also told her that Martin Luther King made derogatory comments about Kennedy’s funeral, apparently at the expense of the Archbishop of Boston, who gave the eulogy.
“He made fun of Cardinal Cushing and said that he was drunk at it,” Jacqueline Kennedy says.
“And things about they almost dropped the coffin and – well, I mean Martin Luther King is really a tricky person.”
This is not the first time that Martin Luther King, a Baptist minister and father-of-four with his wife Cor¬etta, has been accused of leading a rampant extra-marital sex life.
It has long been known that J Edgar Hoover, the FBI chief who ran the bureau as his personal fiefdom, detested him. An FBI memo called King “the most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country”, and Hoover kept him under constant surveillance to try to prove he was a crypto-communist.
Hoover failed to do so but the wire tapping did provide salacious details of Martin Luther King’s sex life which former FBI chief set about using to discredit him. The tapes and transcripts were passed to JFK’s successor as president Lyndon B. Johnson who told one assistant:
“God dammit, if only you could hear what that hypocritical preacher does sexually.”
According to another assistant, the transcripts were as graphic as “an erotic book” and the tapes captured the noise of bedsprings.
There is an obvious irony about Jacqueline Kennedy’s remarks given what is well known about JFK’s infidelities.
But her daughter Caroline is anxious to put the tapes in the context of her mourning and Hoover’s determination to discredit Martin Luther King.
“Obviously J Edgar Hoover had passed on something that Martin Luther King said about my father’s funeral to uncle Bobby and to mummy. And obviously she was upset about that,” Caroline Kennedy told ABC News this weekend.
“It shows you the poisonous activities of J Edgar Hoover and the idea that this is going on at the highest levels of government is really twisted. If you asked her what she thought of Martin Luther King overall – I mean she admired him tremendously.”
Jacqueline Kennedy also shares her thoughts on the tapes about Charles de Gaulle whom the Kennedys met during a state visit to France in 1961. The occasion led John F. Kennedy to joke that he was “the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris”.
Jacqueline Kennedy and JFK during the official visit in France
Charles de Gaulle claimed after JFK’s death that Jackie Kennedy was “bound to end up on the yacht of an arms dealer”. For that, she brands the French president “spiteful” as well as an “egomaniac”.
Jacqueline Kennedy also tells she met Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when the latter visited Washington in 1961 and a year later in New Delhi. The former First Lady des¬cribes Indira Ghandi as “a real prune – bitter, kind of pushy, horrible woman”.
Jackie Kennedy freely shares her husband’s derogatory attitude to Lyndon B. Johnson, his vice-president, whom he had only selected as a running mate to remove him from his powerful post in the Senate where his “enormous ego” would have led him to block Kennedy’s law-making agenda.
“Everyone was even amazed that he accepted,” she says.
JFK’s fear was that Lyndon Johnson would succeed him as president after his second term ended in 1968.
“Bobby told me this later and I know Jack said it to me sometimes. He said, <<Oh God, can you ever imagine what would happen to the country if Lyndon was president?>>. He didn’t like that idea that Lyndon would go on and be president because he was worried for the country.”
Jackie also refers to Johnson’s wife Lady Bird as a “trained hunting dog” because she followed her husband around, making notes of his conversations.
“She had every name and phone number – it was a funny kind of way of operating.”
Again Caroline Kennedy insists these were not her mother’s true feelings.
“It’s funny because she was really fond of Lyndon Johnson and really loved Lady Bird and always stayed in touch with her and they would visit.
“The description of Lyndon Johnson here is more of his capabilities as a president, more negative than she certainly felt about him as a person. I think she really appreciated the efforts that he made for her, when she was leaving the White House, and towards me and [my brother] John and she found him really amusing and warm hearted. And I think that it’s interesting because she’s able to separate those human qualities from some of his shortcomings as president.
“I also think that there’s stuff going on – again, this is a moment in time – between him and uncle Bobby. That is probably colouring her opinion here.”
Despite the former First Lady reported extra- marital relationships with married Bobby Kennedy and the unhappiness of her later marriage to tycoon Aristotle Onassis, the public image of Jacqueline Kennedy has always been that of the grieving widow who watched the handsome husband who became America’s youngest president gunned down alongside her.
The American Red Cross has time-tested tips to help people affected by the wildfires across Bastrop, Travis, and Williamson counties speed their recovery after this disaster.
Regional CEO Marty McKellips says, “returning to your home after the devastation of a wildfire is a stressful time fraught with real dangers. There are important steps each family should take to assure their continued safety and the Red Cross wants to get this information to our community.”
Firefighters from the Lassen National Forest in Calif are cleaning hot spots in Bastrop Texas (Photo: Eric Schlegel - POOL / AP)
Returning to Your Neighborhood
Don’t return home until fire officials say it is safe – Wildfires can be unpredictable so it’s best to listen to the experts.
Use caution and exercise good judgment when entering burned areas – Hazards may still exist, including hot spots, which can flare up without warning.
Avoid damaged or fallen power poles or wires – Immediately report electrical damage to authorities. Electric wires can deliver shocks or ignite new fires. If possible, remain on the scene to warn others of the hazard until repair crews arrive.
Be careful around burned trees and power poles – Theymay have become unstable because of fire damage or loss of support from surrounding trees.
Watch for ash pits and mark them for safety – Ash pits are holes full of hot ashes, created where intense fire has burned trees or stumps deep into the ground. People or animals can be seriously burned by falling into ash pits. Warn family and neighbors to keep clear of the pits. Erect a barrier with nonflammable materials such as wire mesh fencing or otherwise clearly mark such areas.
Returning to Your Home
Inspect roofs immediately and extinguish any sparks or embers – Windsmay have deposited burning embers that could reignite.
If there is no power, check to make sure the main breaker is on – Firesmay cause breakers to trip. If the breakers are on and power is still not present, contact your utility company.
For several hours afterward, recheck for smoke and sparks outside and inside the home, including the attic – Thewinds of wildfires can blow burning embers anywhere. Keep checking your home for embers that could cause new fires.
Take precautions while cleaning your property as you can be exposed to potential health risks from new hazards.
Wet down debris to minimize health impacts from breathing dust particles
Use a two-strap dust particulate mask with nose clip and coveralls for the best minimal protection
Wear leather gloves to protect hands from sharp objects while removing debris
Wear rubber gloves when working with outhouse remnants, plumbing fixtures and sewer piping as they can contain high levels of bacteria
Hazardous materials such as kitchen and bathroom cleaning products, paint, batteries, contaminated fuel and damaged fuel containers need to be handled properly to avoid risk; local authorities can provide hazardous disposal assistance
If you have a propane tank system, turn off valves and leave them closed until a propane supplier inspects the system – Heatcan damage tanks, brass and copper fittings, and lines, leaving them unsafe. If fire heated the tank, the pressure relief valve probably opened and released the contents.
If you have a fuel oil tank system, contact your supplier for an inspection of the system before use – Thetank may have shifted or fallen from its stand and fuel lines may have kinked or weakened. Heat from the fire may have caused the tank to warp or bulge. Non-vented tanks are more likely to bulge or show signs of stress. The fire may have loosened or damaged fittings and filters.
Check your trees for stability – Any tree that has been weakened by fire may be a hazard. Winds topple weakened trees and the loss of trees can change wind patterns in your area.
Look for burns on the tree trunk. If the bark of a trunk has been burned off or scorched completely around the circumference, that tree is unlikely to survive. Where fire has burned deep into the trunk, the tree should be considered unstable.
Check for burned roots by probing the ground around the base of the tree and several feet away from the base with a rod. Roots are generally six to eight inches below the surface. If the roots have been burned, you should consider this tree very unstable and subject to being toppled by the wind.
A scorched tree is one that has lost part or all of its leaves or needles. Healthy deciduous (broadleaf) trees are resilient and may produce new branches and leaves as well as sprouts at the base of the trunk. Evergreen (needled) trees may survive when partially scorched. An evergreen tree that has been damaged by fire is subject to bark beetle attack. Seek assistance from the forestry service or a professional for ways to protect evergreens from insect attack.
Central Texans who wish to make a financial contribution to the American Red Cross of Central Texas can call 800 or 512-928-4271, send a financial contribution to 2218 Pershing Drive, Austin, 78723 or make a secure online donation at www.centex.redcross.org. For information on Red Cross services or volunteer opportunities please call 800 or 512-928-4271 or visit www.centex.redcross.org.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.
Lady Gaga always proves she is a fanatic fashionista and will choose style over comfort any day, but the unpractical block heels that pop star insists on wearing have finally proved too much.
After a day of modelling for famous photographer Annie Leibowitz in New York, Lady Gaga had to be carried by her bodyguard to the last set for the rest of the shoot.
Lady Gaga carried by the bodyguard as she couldn't walk in her block heels.
The bodyguard was seen holding Lady Gaga up throughout the day as she walked around the sets in the block heels.
Lady Gaga, 25, who was carried from a car in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, was wearing a spectacular feather hat, twice the size of her head.
Her hat was paired with a sheer gold, full-length gown with a fur boa and a thin gold belt.
Lady Gaga's photographs will feature in Vanity Fair magazine
The photographs will feature in Vanity Fair magazine and are likely to be stunning, judging by Annie Leibowitz’s previous work.
Annie Leibowitz, 61, shot the 1991 Vanity Fair cover featuring pregnant Demi Moore naked, and the classic 1994 image of Kate Moss and her then boyfriend Johnny Depp on a bed at the Royalton Hotel, again in New York.
Lady Gaga today’s photo shooting took place on the streets of New York City.
Residents evacuated because of Bastrop Texas wildfire hopefully will be allowed to return to their properties by Thursday, public safety officials said.
Firefighter from the Lassen National Forest cleans up hot spots in Bastrop Texas (AP Photo/Eric Schlegel - Pool)
Depending on conditions, the re-entry plan might change. People in Tahitian Village will be allowed back in Wednesday. The Bastrop Convention Center continues to serve as a communications center for evacuees.
Circle D, Pine Valley, KC Estates and Pine Hill Estates opened on Monday and the road blocks were removed on Highway 21. All communities are scheduled to open until Thursday.
Texas Task Force 1 has completed an entire grid search of the burn zone on Monday. Two people are missing, Arlene Page and Steve Ingram. Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering do not think they have perished in the fire. “We don’t know if they’re actual residents. It may just be a summer home or something like that,” he said.
Aqua Water Supply are disinfecting water system on Monday and water should be drinkable without boiling by Tuesday afternoon. Bluebonnet Electric restored power to some homes, but those in the heavily damaged areas may not receive power until September 21.
1,350 firefighters struggles to contain the wildfire, while power and water are cut off to some areas. There are still some hot spots, fallen power lines and trees need to be cleared out while crews are trying to restore power. The fire was more than 70 percent contained, said Texas Forest Service.
A DC-10 airplane drops retardant near Magnolia, Montgomery, Texas, to help fight a large wildfire almost like ones in Bastrop Texas (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool)
The recovery program begins in Bastrop Texas.
Home destroyed in Bastrop Texas, the management of debris is very important (Doug Shupe/KXAN)
Barack Obama signed the federal disaster declaration late Friday night, then federal funds, resources and Federal Emergency Management Agency support for the victims were available for Texas.
On Sunday night the FEMA started a temporary shelter and assistance program and made wildfire victims eligible for money to pay for nights in a hotel. Rick Perry has launched a similar program this weekend. The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low interest disaster loans both to businesses and individuals affected by fire.
The debris management is very important, fallen trees have to be removed and destroyed properties will require removing large amounts of burned building materials.
On Monday children returned to school in Bastrop Texas. Schools re-opened in the Bastrop and Smithville school districts.
Bastrop Independent School District headquarters received donations of backpacks, pencils, notebooks and binders and distributed to the children.
Buses picked kids up outside their homes or made detours to shelter hotels. The school district provided breakfast and lunch for all students.
Only 6 percent of pupils were absent because were left homeless, moved in with relatives in other communities, or fell ill with smoke inhalation or other fire-related problems.
“Today has really been a smooth day. A lot of smiles from the kids. It looked from afar mostly like a normal day, except for a few more hugs and a little extra loving and attention,” said Martha Werner, principal of Mina Elementary School.
Massive damages in Bastrop Texas (Eric Gay/AP)
Over 5,000 people were evacuated by the most destructive blaze that has covered drought-stricken Texas since Labor Day weekend. Hundreds of families are homeless and lots of people remained just with little more than the clothes which they were wearing.
Fed by winds whipped up by Tropical Storm Lee, over 190 wildfires statewide have burned thousands homes and killed four people. In Bastrop Texas two small fires has formed a dreadful blaze, Bastrop County Complex fire, that has destroyed more than an estimated 1,554 homes and blackened over 34,000 acres, heavily damaging Lost Pines and Bastrop State Park.
ABC News’ Diane Sawyer will host a prime-time, two-hour special based on the tapes Tuesday, September 13, featuring exclusive, never-before-heard extended audio of Jacqueline Kennedy’s oral history, rare photographs, plus an exclusive interview with Caroline Kennedy.
The audio and transcripts of the interviews, conducted by friend and longtime JFK aide, historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., are being released in book form this month in “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy.”
ABC News airs "Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words" in a two-hour special reported by Diane Sawyer
JFK’s brief presidency, ended with an assassin’s bullet in November 1963, still has an enormous influence on many today, not just for its actual policies and actions but also for the notion of “Camelot,” a mythologized, golden moment in American politics full of hope, promise and high style.
And no one knew “Camelot” better than First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (later Onassis).
Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific time, ABC News airs “Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words” in a two-hour special reported by Diane Sawyer.
By Jackie Kennedy’s request, the never-heard recordings were kept under seal until after her death in 1994, but the Kennedy Library in Boston has held them back until this month.
According to some reports the tapes were not to be released until 50 years after the former first lady’s death. But daughter Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the last surviving child of John F. Kennedy and the de facto protector of the family legacy who had her own brief unsuccessful flirtation with politics, decided to release them early.
ABC News disputed reports of sexual content in the recordings, but they do reveal candid insights into Jacqueline Kennedy’s feelings and thoughts about Lyndon Johnson, the Vietnam War and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
Among other stories, it is reported that Jackie Kennedy believed JFK was skeptical of success in Vietnam.
On his appointing Republican Henry Cabot Lodge as US ambassador to Vietnam, Jacqueline Kennedy says:
“I think he probably did it … rather thinking it might be such a brilliant thing to do because Vietnam was rather hopeless anyway, and put a Republican there.”
Believing FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s report that his agency’s wiretaps revealed Martin Luther King Jr. tried to arrange a sex party while in the nation’s capital for the historic March on Washington in August 1963, Jackie Kennedy says:
“I just can’t see a picture of Martin Luther King without thinking, you know, that man’s terrible.”
Those original surveillance tapes of Martin Luther King Jr. remain sealed by court order until 2027.
According to ABC News, Jacqueline Kennedy also recalls a scene in which historian David Donald in 1962 spoke to JFK and some of his friends and aides about Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.
Jacqueline Kennedy reports her husband’s reaction, saying,
“<<Do you think>> – it’s the one thing that was on his mind – <<would Lincoln have been as great a president if he’d lived?>>. And Donald, really by going round and round, had agreed with him that Lincoln, you know, it was better – was better for Lincoln that he died when he did.”
The 60th annual Miss Universe Pageant crowned its winner Miss Angola on September 12 in São Paulo, Brazil. Miss Ukraine (Olesia Stefanko) was First Runner Up, followed by Miss Brazil (Priscila Machado), Miss Philippines (Shamcey Supsup) and Miss China (Luo Zilin).
Ximena Navarette (Mexico), Miss Universe 2010, crowns Leila Lopes (Miss Angola) as Miss Universe 2011
Miss Angola, Leila Luiliana da Costa Viera Lopes, 25, is a business student from Benguela and thinks her smile was her best card since her friends have always told her that she has a smile which can “motivate people” and indeed her appearances on the stage of Credicard Hall theater were very well received by the public.
Ximena Navarrete (Mexico), the last year’s winner, crowned Leila Lopes, the first from Angola who won Miss Universe.
Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011, says she focuses on fight against AIDS and poverty
When Lea Salonga, member of Miss Universe jury, asked Miss Angola: “If you could change one of your physical characteristics, which one will it be and why?”, Leila said she was very happy with her look and she would not change a thing.
Leila Lopes said she wished to “become an important businesswoman” in her country and to continue the battle against AIDS and poverty.
Olesia Stefanko, Miss Ukraine, was First Runner Up at Miss Universe 2011
With seven titles won in the last ten years, the contestants from Latin America were considered the biggest favorites of Miss Universe 2011.
Shamcey Supsup (Miss Philippines) was an early fan favorite of the first online fan vote of Miss Universe 2011
Vanessa Gonçalves, Miss Venezuela, the biggest favourite, did not enter the Top 10 round.
Shamcey Supsup placed Third Runner-Up after she answered a question asked by Vivica A. Fox. When she was asked if she would marry someone of a different religion, Shamcey, wearing a silver and transluscent white long gown, said she would not marry a man that will ask her to change her religious beliefs. “The first person that I love is God, ” she said. Miss Philippines, 25, is a magna cum laude architecture graduate and she was an early fan favourite, receiving the most of online votes (first ever worldwide fan vote debuted for the 60th annual Miss Universe Pageant) before the Miss Universe telecast from Credicard Hall.
The two-hour Miss Universe 2011 ceremony was watched by over 190 millions people from over 190 countries.
Natalie Morales (NBC) and Andy Cohen ( Bravo) hosted the show that featured live musical performances by Brazilian artists Claudia Leitte and Bebel Gilberto.
Nikolina Loncar (Montenegro) won Miss Congeniality, Ronnia Fornstedt (Sweden) won Miss Photogenic award and Sheldry Saez (Panama) was awarded for Best National Costume.
The competitors from Kosovo, Colombia, Puerto Rico, The Netherlands, USA, and Venezuela entered Top 16 round for the swimsuit competition, while the contestants from Australia, Costa Rica, France, Portugal, and Panama made it to the Top 10 round for the evening gown competition.
The contestants have to be between 18 and 27 years old and unmarried women, who have not been pregnant and have not posed naked.
The jury members were: Lea Salonga (Filipina actress), Vivica A. Fox (American actress and television producer), Isabeli Fontana (Brazilian model), Adrienne Maloof-Nassif (American businesswoman ), Amelia Vega (Miss Universe 2003), Connie Chung (American news anchor), Helio Castroneves (Brazilian auto racing driver).
The Miss Universe Organization, a Donald J. Trump and NBC Universal joint venture, is a global community empowering role models of beauty, health and leadership for young women of today.
Novak Djokovic won the US Open title after a more than four hours match against Rafael Nadal.
After it appeared the Serbian player Novak Djokovic, 24, was down and out, when he had lost the third set and was groaning on the sidelines while a trainer stretched and pulled and pounded on his aching back, he came out for more.
Novak Djokovic won the US Open title after a more than four hours match against Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic played the final games as if pain didn’t matter and, after making a sign of the cross, he bounced the ball 10 times, hit a serve and then a forehand winner, a massive thing that left Rafael Nadal almost immobile.
For the sixth time in a row Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1, in 4 hours 10 minutes.
The win made Novak Djokovic 64-2 this year, gave him his first U.S. Open title and also placed him among the all-time greats.
Novak Djokovic became the sixth man to win three of the four major titles in the same year since tennis’ open era began in 1968.
Djokovic also won the Australian Open over Andy Murray in the final and beat Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final.
Overall, this was Novak Djokovic’s fourth major title. He won his first major title at the Australian Open in 2008.
Novak Djokovic kissing the court after his victory
“It’s been an incredible year,” said Novak Djokovic after the match, while he was wearing a blue baseball cap with FD/NY on it in honor of New York City firefighters, a day after the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, said:
“Obviously I am disappointed now. This guy is doing unbelievable things.”
Then Nadal looked toward Novak Djokovic and said:
“What you did this year is probably impossible to repeat, so well done.”
Serena Williams has been fined $2,000 for verbal outburst against chair umpire Eva Asderaki during Sunday’s U.S. Open women’s final.
In a statement of U.S. Open organizers, Brian Earley said the fine was for the code violation of verbal abuse.
“This fine is consistent with similar offenses at Grand Slam events,” the statement said.
“After independently reviewing the incident which served as the basis for the code violation, and taking into account the level of fine imposed by the U.S. Open referee, the Grand Slam Committee Director has determined that Ms. Williams’ conduct, while verbally abusive, does not rise to the level of a major offense under the Grand Slam Code of Conduct.”
Serena Williams was fined $2,000 for verbal outburst against chair umpire Eva Asderaki
The incident happened in the first game of the second set, when Serena Williams appeared to have hit a winning forehand against eventual champion Australian Samantha Stosur.
Serena Williams yelled “come on” in celebration before the ball landed. Samantha Stosur barely was able to touch the ball, but the winner was taken away because of the hindrance rule that allows for a point penalty if the “hindrance” is considered to be on purpose.
After the point penalty, which ended up giving the game to Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams launched into a verbal attack against Greek chair umpire, Eva Asderaki.
During the next changeover and the break, Serena Williams was heard to say:
“What a loser,” “You’re a hater,” “A code violation because I expressed who I am? Really. Don’t even look at me. I promise you, don’t look at me. … Don’t look my way.” And, in a comment that could be interpreted as threatening, she said, “If you ever see me walking down the hall, walk the other way.”
Serena Williams was technically still under two-year probation in major tournaments as a result of her obscene outburst during her 2009 U.S. Open semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters
The $2,000 fine Serena Williams received wasn’t even the largest issued so far at the Open. Men’s doubles players Mike Bryan was fined $10,000 for an “off court” incident after he and brother Bob Bryan lost in the first round. Because Mike Bryan can still appeal the fine, a U.S. Open official said, the nature of the offense would not be disclosed.
Serena Williams was technically still under two-year probation in major tournaments as a result of her obscene outburst during her 2009 U.S. Open semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters.
If Sunday’s incident had been deemed “major,” Serena Williams could have been suspended from the 2012 U.S. Open.
Britain is facing the second day of storms as the remnants of Hurricane Katia continue to batter vast swathes of the country today.
Severe weather warnings have been issued for Scotland and northern England, with winds expected to reach 60 mph (100 km/h) later in the day.
Power outages, falling masonry, downed trees and transport chaos struck as gales reached 82 mph (130 km/h) in Wales and north of England, reviving memories of the Great Storm of 1987.
Severe weather warnings have been issued for Scotland and northern England, with winds expected to reach 60 mph (100 kmh) later in the day
A yellow alert – the second-highest of four warning levels – had been issued by the Met Office for much of the country as roads were closed and ferry services cancelled.
Ten flood warnings were issued as waves and high tides threatened to overwhelm coastal defences in the North East and southern Scotland.
Thousands of homes, shops and businesses across central England were blacked out for hours as wind speeds of more than 50 mph (80 km/h) damaged an overhead power line. Central Networks said 2,000 homes in Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire and Gloucestershire were left without electricity.
Tour of Britain cycle race was cancelled over safety fears.
The remnants of Hurricane Katia hit Britain yesterday morning, bringing the worst storms since the remnants of Hurricane Lili wreaked havoc in 1996.
Met Office forecaster Sarah Holland said today:
“Winds will reach 60mph in exposed areas of northern England and southern Scotland with 50mph inland, and about 30-40mph in the Midlands.
“High tides and the full moon mean there is a higher risk of tidal flooding.”
The Environment Agency issued nine flood alerts on Monday for the north-west coast from Morecambe Bay in Cumbria down to Blackpool, North Wales and Anglesey, and one for the north-east coast at Bridlington in Yorkshire.
The blustery conditions will tail off in the Midlands and south of England by Wednesday and across the whole country by Thursday.
The storm caused havoc for passenger aircraft attempting to land at England’s highest airport, Leeds Bradford International Airport in Yorkshire.
A Ryanair jet was forced to abort its landing after being blown sideways across the runway, while a Flybe jet managed to touchdown safely despite heavy winds interfering with its flight path.
Ports around Britain have been battered by huge waves leading to the cancellation of ferries while trees have been uprooted, causing damage to cars and houses.
Increasing wind speeds as the hurricane approached forced the cancellation of high speed ferries to France from Portsmouth.
The transportation company, Brittany Ferries said it was scrapping its high speed ferries on two crossings scheduled from Portsmouth to Cherbourg yesterday.
Safety regulations state that when waves reach a height of 10 feet (3 meters) or more the high speed crossings must not go ahead
Although the Hurricane Katia has been downgraded, it still appears to create the worst storms since 1996, when Hurricane Lili brought 90 mph (about 150 km/h) winds to these shores.
British Special Forces will join the hunt for Judith Tebbutt, who is abducted in Kenya, amid fears she has been taken by a group linked to Al Qaeda.
An air, sea and land search yesterday failed to turn up any trace of Judith Tebbutt, 56, who was kidnapped by pirates after watching them execute her husband David with a single gunshot to his chest.
UK Special Forces involved in tracking down Al Qaeda-linked groups and Somali pirates operating in the Indian Ocean are now said to be “gathering intelligence” on possible kidnappers.
The Special Forces could be supported by UK troops currently on routine training operations in Kenya.
Yesterday the bungalow, where David and Judith Tebbutt were staying, was cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape as armed police patrolled the three-mile arc of white sand outside their door
It appears that Judith Tebbutt had still been in her night clothes when the pirates escaped with her by motor boat minutes after finding the couple in the beach cottage of Kiwayu Safari Village.
There are fears that Judith Tebbutt, who is a social worker helping people with drug and alcohol problems, will struggle to communicate with her kidnappers because she relies on battery-operated hearing aids.
According to a friend of the couple, Judith Tebbutt is deaf, having around 30-40% hearing, and wears double hearing aid.
Monday night a local man was reportedly being held by police in Lamu, 30 miles from the murder scene, in connection with the kidnapping.
It is presumed that the pirates group is linked to the Al Qaeda aligned al-Shabaab group which is waging an insurgency against Somalia’s fragile, Western-backed government and that Judith Tebbutt is already across the border of the lawless country.
Staff at the Kiwayu Safari Hotel told yesterday how they found David Tebbutt lying in a pool of blood minutes after a gunshot shattered the calm night.
The British tourists were the only guests at the 18-bungalow resort, where a host of celebrities including Sir Mick Jagger and artist Tracey Emin have stayed.
Head of security Hussein Girimo, 51, said: “We heard a gunshot, but there was no scream.
“We raised the alarm and rushed out with a police officer accompanying us. We first thought the sound was coming from our boss’s house. We knocked on the door and told him what happened. He joined us to go to check on the couple.
“When we called, there was no reply and then we stumbled on a body lying on the floor with blood on his head and chest. I’m not sure exactly where they had shot him. We sealed off the room.”
Another guard said: “We saw the footprints of the attackers and followed to the beaches. Then we went back to the beach hut and saw our guest lying on the floor on his belly, and only dressed in pyjama bottoms with green and red dots. He seems to have wrestled with the attackers and that could be the reason why they killed him.”
Although Kiwayu Safari Village has 21 security staff, it was unclear whether any of them were guarding the beach when the attackers struck.
Yesterday the bungalow, where David and Judith Tebbutt were staying, was cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape as armed police patrolled the three-mile arc of white sand outside their door.
Regional police commander Aggrey Adoli, who is leading the search, said:
“We are using all the tactics and resources available but we have not had any success so far – we hope to find her safe.”
Piracy in Somalia in a multi-million pound industry but all previous hostages – including British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler – have been taken during raids on ships and yachts in the Indian Ocean.
Police were last night trying to check whether the gang had been tipped off about the British couple after their arrival by private plane at the resort’s grass airstrip.
David Tebbutt, who was described as an “Africa hand” after many visits there, is said to have worked in Zambia in the 1970s.
Judith and David Tebbutt were married for 26 years and they have a 25 year-old son, Oliver.
A new drug derived from autumn crocus extracts could wipe out tumors in a single treatment with minimal side effects, according to University of Bradford researchers in UK.
The British researchers from University of Bradford have turned a chemical found in crocuses into a “smart bomb” that targets cancerous tumors.
The most important fact is that healthy tissue is unharmed, reducing the odds of debilitating side effects.
Unlike other side effect-free products, the new drug is able to kill off more than one type of the disease, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung and bowel cancer.
The miraculous drug is based on colchicine, an extract from the autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), known also as meadow saffran
Potentially, all solid tumors could be vulnerable to drugs developed this way, meaning it could be used against all but blood cancers.
In some tests of the drug, half of tumors vanished completely after a single injection and the results will be presented at the British Science Festival this week.
The miraculous drug is based on colchicine, an extract from the autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), known also as meadow saffran, and is at an early stage of development, being so far tested only on mice.
But the University of Bradford researchers are optimistic about drug’s potential in humans.
Professor Laurence Patterson said:
“What we have designed is effectively a <<smart bomb>> that can be triggered directly at any solid tumour without appearing to harm healthy tissue.
“If all goes well, we would hope to see these drugs used as part of a combination of therapies to treat and manage cancer.”
Colchicine has long been known to have anti-cancer properties but has been considered too toxic for use in the human body.
To solve this issue, the specialists attached a chemical “tail” to the substance, deactivating it until it reaches the cancer.
Once colchicine reaches the target, the tail is cut off by an enzyme called MMP (Matrix metalloproteinase involved in cell proliferation), which is found in tumors.
Once the tail is removed, the drug is activated, which then attacks and breaks down the blood vessels supplying the tumors with oxygen and nutrients.
Cancerous tumors use the blood supply to spread around the body and it is hoped that the treatment, called ICT2588, will also combat this.
The first tests on humans could start in as little as 18 months.
If the treatment will be successful, the drug could be on the market in 6 to 7 years.
DSK spent more than three hours in a police interview as a “witness” just over a week after charges of sexually assaulting a hotel chambermaid in New York were dropped.
Journalist Tristane Banon, 32, filed a complaint this summer alleging that Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her in a Paris apartment in 2003 where he had invited her to interview him for a book she was writing.
Tristane Banon said the fomer IMF chief lunged at her like a “rutting chimpanzee” and she had to fend him off with kicks and punches as he ignored her cries of “rape”.
DSK is suing Tristane Banon for defamation, alleging she made up the "imaginary" assault as a publicity stunt
DSK is suing Tristane Banon for defamation, alleging she made up the “imaginary” assault as a publicity stunt.
Police are now conducting a preliminary investigation into Tristane Banon’s allegations to see if there is enough evidence to press charges.
Police has already interviewed friends, family members and other politicians in the investigation, including Tristane Banon’s mother – once DSK‘s lover – and François Hollande, polled as most likely to be the Socialists’ presidential candidate.
Tristane Banon, 32, filed a complaint this summer alleging that Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her in a Paris apartment in 2003
DSK‘s lawyers Frédérique Baulieu and Henri Leclerc said on Monday:
“At the request of Mr Strauss-Kahn, this interview is taking place as early as possible in the timetable of the investigation.”
Meanwhile, Tristane Banon said over the weekend she was “sickened” by the “hero’s welcome” he received on DSK return to France from the US.
“What has been happening over the past six days makes me feel sick,” she wrote.
“I cannot believe that my country gives a hero’s welcome to a man who has not been cleared.
“I hear people telling me of their disgust, I feed off their support to remain upright, yet I am the one who bows my head and hugs the walls while others laugh at the cameras.”
She has called for a demonstration on September 24 in front of Paris’s criminal court to demand a trial.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s return has embarrassed the opposition French Socialist party, about to launch presidential primaries. Party’s former leader Martine Aubry, a presidential hopeful, said DSK “must explain himself” to party colleagues.
Before DSK arrest in New York in May, he had been the Socialist party’s favourite to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy next April, with polls predicting he would win comfortably.
Attempted rape charges were dropped in New York after prosecutors ruled that chambermaid Nafissatou Diallo had later lied to police and was “unreliable”. DSK had always insisted sex was consensual.
DSK still faces a civil lawsuit filed by Nafissatou Diallo in the US.
Serena Williams got very angry and launched a verbal attack on an umpire during the U.S. Open final on Sunday, calling her “loser” and “unattractive inside”.
Serena Williams had received a code violation for yelling “come on” after battling to hang on to her serve during the start of the second set against Australian Samantha Stosur.
The ball had not yet reached Samantha Stosur and, under grand slam rules, a deliberate hindrance, such as an intentional shout during a point, sees the perpetrator lose the point.
Serena Williams' outburst on umpire, calling her "loser" and "unattractive inside"
Serena Williams, who lost the US Open final with 6-2 6-3, will find out today whether the run-in with officialdom will lead to a sanction after she refused to apologize for the outburst.
Sunday incident follows Serena Williams’ infamous verbal attack on a lineswoman which cost her a point penalty at US Open semi-final against Kim Clijsters in 2009.
Serena Williams was given a hefty fine and was still playing under a two-year suspended ban.
On Sunday, Serena Williams was being outplayed by Samantha Stosur at Arthur Ashe Stadium and had already lost the first set when she let out a huge cry.
Eva Asderaki, the Greek chair umpire then told Williams the point would go to Stosur because she had committed an intentional hindrance.
Serena Williams asked for a replay but when the umpire refused, she accused Eva Asderaki of being involved in the 2009 incident.
Serena Williams asked for a replay but when the umpire refused, she accused Eva Asderaki of being involved in the 2009 incident
Pointing her finger, Serena Williams yelled:
“Aren’t you the one that screwed me over last time here? Yeah you are.
“Seriously, you have it out for me?
“I promise you, that’s not cool. That’s totally not cool.
“I truly despise you.”
Serena Williams continued her tirade during the break, sitting in a chair while drinking water, she warned the umpire:
“If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way because you’re out of control.
“You’re a hater and you’re just unattractive inside.
“Who would do such a thing? And I never complain. Wow. What a loser.
“You get a code violation because I express who I am. We’re in America last I checked.
“Can I get a water? Or am I going to get violated for a water?
“Really, don’t even look at me. I promise you don’t look at me… Don’t look my way.”
Chair umpire, Eva Asderaki didn’t respond as she listened to the rant.
Serena Williams hugged Samantha Stosur after the match but then immediately walked off, ignoring Eva Asderaki as Stosur reached up to the umpire’s chair to shake her hand.
Serena Williams also refused to apologize and was unwilling to discuss the incident during the press conference.
She told reporters laughing:
“I don’t even remember what I said, I’m sorry.
“It was just so intense out there. It’s the final for me. I guess I’ll see it on YouTube. I don’t know. I was just in the zone. I think everyone when they play kind of zones out.”
Instead, Serena Williams spoke highly of her opponent, saying:
“She was cracking ’em today. She definitely hit hard and just went for broke.
“And I think sometimes, a lot of people were putting me as the favorite and I definitely was trying not to put myself as the favorite. I was like <<It’s anyone’s game>> as you can see after the result today.”
The United States Tennis Association will decide today whether to fine Serena Williams.
The US Open organizers said in a statement yesterday: “Any impact this code violation might have on Serena Williams’ Grand Slam probation would require the incident being ruled a major event. That determination will be made by the Grand Slam Committee Director.”
Samantha Stosur won US Open final
The match was Samantha Stosur’s first at Arthur Ashe Stadium where she secured a maiden grand slam title.
Samantha stosur, 27, became the first Australian woman to win a grand slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.
Samantha Stosur said it was intimidating playing against Serena Williams.
“She’s probably the best player of at least my generation of playing. Not only is she big in stature and all that, she’s got a huge game.
“But it kind of becomes more irrelevant and becomes about the task on that day, playing the match.”
Stosur added of her win: “I’m still kind of speechless. I can’t actually believe I won this tournament.
“I’ve played matches where I feel like I can’t miss a ball, and it’s fantastic, but to do it under these circumstances in this kind of final against a player like Serena, for sure I’m going to think it’s one of the best days of my career.”
Happy Feet, the world’s most famous penguin, who was rescued in a costly mission that restored him to his ocean home, may have ended up as a predator’s lunch.
Happy Feet, the wandering emperor penguin had been nursed back to health after being found on Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand – 3,000 miles north of its native Antarctica – in a very serious condition, after eating sand he thought was snow.
A human surgeon helped the vets in removing sticks and stones from Happy Feet‘ stomach.
Happy Feet on Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand
The emperor penguin then had a GPS transmitter attached to him so his progress back into Antarctic waters could be tracked when he was released back into the ocean two weeks ago.
It appears the GPS transmitter attached to Happy Feet stopped working last Friday – about half way to his destination in the Southern Ocean.
Specialists said there are two possibilities: one, the device fell off and is sitting at the bottom of the ocean while Happy Feet continues safely on his journey or, the worst, they fear he could also be eaten in the jaws of a predator.
Emperor penguins have a number of predators including sharks, seals and killer whales.
In an early statement, Sirtrack, the company that attached the transmitter, told the New Zealand Herald that the lack of signal “leads to the conclusion that either the satellite transmitter has detached or an unknown event has prevented Happy Feet from resurfacing”.
A Sirtrack spokesman, Kevin Lay said there was “a chance” Happy Feet had been eaten, adding: “That’s what makes the world go round.”
Lay also said that the transmitter appeared to be in good working order up to the time it stopped sending data and the most likely explanation for the silence is that it had fallen off.
“The transmitter had been only glued on so that it would fall off in time.
“We hoped it would stay on for five or six months, but it appears in this case it’s only stayed on for two weeks.”
Lay added that it was possible that Happy Feet had been eaten, but he was doubtful.
“There are some species that will forage on emperor penguins but it’s not likely that it has happened to Happy Feet because of the area he was in,” he told New Zealand’s ONE News.
“We firmly believe that the transmitter has become detached.”
The spokesman said another possibility was that Happy Feet was underwater when the satellites that picked up the GPS signals were overhead.
“Maybe he’s just spending a lot of time under water because he’s found a good source of food,” said Kevin Lay.
Happy Feet underwent four surgeries at Wellington Zoo to remove sticks and stones from his stomach
Vets at the Wellington Zoo and experts who have been tracking the penguin’s progress all agreed that the next few days were critical.
Happy Feet was named after the 2006 animated feature about a tap-dancing emperor chick.
The penguin underwent four surgeries at Wellington Zoo to remove sticks and stones from his stomach and then spent two months in rehabilitation before being released into the ocean, well short of his habitat.
Happy Feet was placed on a tarpaulin slide running from the boat's ramp to be released in the sea
An international treaty prevents authorities from returning the penguin directly to Antarctica, so Happy Feet was released in an area where other juvenile emperor penguins like himself are at play at this time of the year.
When Happy Feet had finally been given a clean bill of health, he was placed in a specially-designed crate filled with ice and loaded onto the research vessel Tangaroa.
Sea conditions were too rough for Happy Feet to be released by hand, so he was placed on a tarpaulin slide running from the boat’s ramp.
A British tourist was murdered and his wife was kidnapped by pirates during their stay at an exclusive Kenyan beach resort.
The British couple, David and Judith Tebbutt, was attacked on Saturday late in the night by a gang carrying guns within hours of arriving in a beach cottage close to the border with lawless Somalia.
The attackers arrived at the private resort by speedboat and stormed into the couple’s secluded hut, which had just a piece of cloth as the door, and demanded all their money.
One of the Kiwayu Safari Village's exclusive bungalows, where David Tebbutt was killed and Judith Tebbutt kidnapped
David Tebbutt, 56, finance director of publishers Faber and Faber, was presumed to try to stop the gang but he died eventually from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
The assailants then forced Judith Tebbutt, 56, into the motorboat and locals reported that they sped off north in the direction of Somalia.
David Tebbutt, 56, finance director of publishers Faber and Faber, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest
Helicopters, speed boats and a spotter plane deployed in the search of the British woman, but no sightings of her have been reported.
On Sunday, there were suggestions Judith Tebbutt had been taken by an Islamist group Harakat al-Shabab al Mujahideen, an extremist group based in Somalia, according to The Guardian.
If Somali pirates are to blame, it would be the first time they had moved on to land to capture western hostages in what, at sea, has become a lucrative multi-million pound business in ransom demands.
All the other hostages – including British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler – have been taken during raids on ships and yachts in the Indian Ocean.
The FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) confirmed yesterday it has sent a team from Nairobi to work with Kenyan authorities to secure Judith Tebbutt’s release.
According to Kenyan police commissioner Matthew Iteere, who revealed the identity of the couple:
“So far we are treating it as a bandit attack. We’ve not received any hint pointing at a terror group.
“The gunmen gained entry very easily because only a piece of cloth was used in the place of the door at their cottage. They may contact us demanding a ransom. Maybe they are from Somalia but we cannot be certain.”
The British couple is believed to have travelled to the Kenyan coast for the second part of a two-leg trip which had earlier seen them enjoy a safari in the Masai Mara game reserve.
David and Judith Tebbutt are from Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire and have a 25-year-old son.
The couple had only checked into the Kiwayu Safari Village resort, near the island of Lamu, in the same day at 4:00 p.m.
They were the only tourists at the resort that boasts around-the-clock security with 21 guards who patrol alongside six police officers.
Kiwayu Safari Village resort has a total of 18 bungalows are spread out over a mile of beach. The price for a bungalow is £600 a night in September – the off-season, but the cost is nearer to £900 a night during the December peak season.
Mick Jagger, actress Imelda Staunton and artist Tracey Emin have stayed in the bungalows and it had been also considered by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their honeymoon.
Despite its setting near a national reserve, the resort is barely outside the safety zone from the Somali border recommended by the Foreign Office.
A statement posted on the FCO travel advice website said:
“We continue to advise against all but essential travel to within 30 kilometres of Kenya’s border with Somalia. There have been previous attacks by Somali militia into Kenya. Three aid workers were kidnapped in July 2009, and two western nuns in November 2008.”
Britain was hit today by the worst storm since 1996, as the swirling remnants of Hurricane Katia have crossed the Atlantic and reached the land in the morning, sweeping across large swathes of the country.
Weather forecasters warned that gusts of up to 80 mph (c 135 km/h) would batter buildings, uproot trees and cause travel chaos.
They also issued urgent weather alerts for Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North East, North West and parts of the Midlands and Wales as the storm prepares to make its way eastwards.
Hurricane Katia's remnants hit Britain this morning
High speeds winds will be accompanied by heavy rain and the Environment Agency has issued several flood alerts for inland and coastal areas.
Wind speeds were increasing as the hurricane Katia remnants approached, forcing the cancellation of high speed ferries to France from Portsmouth.
According to Brittany Ferries, the company was scrapping its high speed ferries on two crossings scheduled from Portsmouth to Cherbourg today.
Safety regulations state that when waves reach a height of 10 feet (about 3 meters) or more the high speed crossings must not go ahead.
A Brittany Ferries spokesman said it hopes to have all services operating as usual by tomorrow.
Another alert – which warns that flooding is possible – has been issued along the North Sea coast in Yorkshire between Bridlington and Barmston with people being told to be aware of overtopping spray and waves at high tide.
The western coast of Anglesey has also been issued with an alert with waves of up to two metres high expected to lash certain areas, while water levels at Derwent Water, Cumbria, remain high.
According to the Met Office, the South East and South West will largely escape its wrath, but wind speeds are still expected to reach up to 50 mph in places.
Weather forecasters issued a yellow alert, warning people to be on their guard, for more than half of the country and placed several areas on amber alert – the second-highest of four levels.
British weather forecasters warned that gusts of up to 80 mph (c 135 kmh) would batter buildings, uproot trees and cause travel chaos
Other warnings said the storm could disrupt road and rail networks and damage buildings, and trees could be uprooted.
The worst conditions will be in northern and western parts of England and central and southern Scotland. The Environment Agency issued flood alerts for the North East, North West and Wales.
All coastal areas are said to be at greatest risk of flooding with strong winds to gales, large waves and a surge coinciding with high tides.
The storm will continue into tomorrow before petering out on Wednesday. Homeowners were warned to check for loose tiles and bring garden furniture indoors to help prevent flying debris.
Billy Payne, forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said:
“The brunt of the the wind will go through central and southern Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England and North Wales.
“Gusts are from 60-70mph in some places, possibly higher, especially in exposed places in parts of western Scotland like the islands and hilly areas.
“It will be quite windy in the south (of England) too with gusts of 40-50mph.
“There will be quite a lot of rain, perhaps heavy outbreaks over the next couple of days.
“The heavy rain will be mostly confined to the north and west of Scotland today and tomorrow. There is a risk of some flooding in north-west Scotland with the high rainfall totals.”
Ferry services and transport routes were already reporting disruption this morning.
Although the hurricane Katia has been downgraded, it still seems to create the worst storms since 1996 when Hurricane Lili brought 90 mph winds to these shores.
Met Office forecaster Tom Morgan said:
“In areas with amber warnings there will be 60-70mph gusts in many places and a chance of 80mph in a few exposed locations.”
The high speeds winds will be accompanied by scattered rain and some hail storms on the east and south coasts.
Despite the harsh conditions, parts of the South East are expected reach 21C (69F) this afternoon, but wind speeds could reach 50 mph.
The 9/11 commemoration ceremony began exactly as it did on that fateful date 10 years ago.
Where the Twin Towers of World Trade Centre stood until 9:59 a.m. and 10:28 a.m. respectively on 11 September 2001, two giant waterfall pools features now cascaded following their official opening.
World Trade Centre memorial ceremony, September 11, 2011
The sound of water falling 30 ft to the reflective pools below echoed around the glass cladding of the replacement towers rising around Ground Zero, creating the illusion of hundreds of people chattering.
Each one coming there brought with them the memory of a father, wife, son – some in physical form like the woman who carried aloft a series of photographs of a man cut into shapes that spelled: “I love daddy”. Others wore T-shirts with printed photos of their loved ones, or held up placards showing a husband at his college graduation, a daughter smiling broadly, with the words: “Never forgotten”.
2,977 is the number of those who died in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania (not including the 19 hijackers). Almost half of those who died had children under 18.
It took 4 1/2 hours to read out in alphabetical order the names of the victims. Those with a surname starting with “A” alone took almost 10 minutes – all 108 of them.
9 /11 commemoration 2011: many relatives struggled to keep their composure, voices cracking, as they read out the name of their own loved-one
Many relatives struggled to keep their composure, voices cracking, as they read out the name of their own loved-one. Strangely, one of the calmest speakers was also one of the youngest: a 10-year-old boy took the stage and said, without a glitch: ” I wish I’d known you better, but I was nine months old when you died. Everybody says you were a great guy. I love you Dad.”
Gordon Aamoth was the first of the 2,977 to be proclaimed. His friends called him “Gordy”. He was a keen athlete and captain of his high-school football team, and on the day before he died, aged 32, he clinched the largest deal of his career as an investment banker. He came to the World Trade Centre that morning to announce his success.
9/11 commemoration ceremony 2011: a minute of silence was held at 8:46 a.m. to mark the instant the first plane went into the North Tower
The very last name was Igor Zukelman. He arrived in New York in 1992 from his native Ukraine and built a new life for himself in a financial company. Igor used to boast to friends that from his 97th floor office in the Twin Towers you could see the whole of New York City, and he became an US citizen just months before he died, aged 29. He left behind a son, then aged three.
For the first time, Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush were united at Ground Zero – Bush having declined an earlier invitation to appear here after the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
Barack Obama read from Psalm 46 – “God is our refuge and strength” – after a minute’s silence was held at 8:46 a.m. to mark the instant the first plane went into the North Tower. The president was standing just in front of the spot where the tower used to stretch far up into the sky.
9/11 commemoration ceremony 2011: President Barack Obama read from Psalm 46 - God is our refuge and strength
In his oration, George W. Bush turned to Abraham Lincoln for inspiration, reading a letter his predecessor sent to a mother of five sons who died in the Civil War. “I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming,” Lincoln wrote.
Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama spoke from behind bullet-proof glass screens. That was a sharp reminder that the wound to America’s sense of security that was inflicted 10 years ago has yet to heal.
Away from Ground Zero, smaller gatherings marked aspects of the 9/11 tragedy in their own personal ways. Further uptown, at a fire station on 48th Street, firefighters and bereaved families remembered the firefighters of Engine 54, Ladder 4. Every member who reported for duty that day died, 15 in all.
Among those at the ceremony yesterday was retired fire chief Joe Nardone, commander on 9/11. He said it was a day for remembering “broken hearts and unspeakable horrors”.
In a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where president Barack Obama travelled from Ground Zero to lay a wreath, thousands of people marked a moment of silence at 10:03 a.m., the moment United flight 93 flew into the ground after 40 passengers and crew lost their battle to seize control of the plane from the hijackers.
Sorrow filled the speeches in Shanksville but also celebration, at times marked with jingoism, for the “extraordinary heroism” of the 40 passengers and crew who prevented the hijackers going on to attack the Capitol in Washington.
Jason Cassidy, a metalworker, came from Baltimore because he felt it was important to honour the dead. But he was frustrated at the tone of some of the speeches, which he felt cast the resistance of the passengers and crew to the hijackers as a justification for a wider war.
“We don’t forget that day because we’re still living it. It’s not just history, it’s now. Out of that day, a lot of people have died. Thousands more Americans. Thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.
“There are not enough people asking the question whether our response to what happened here has made it more not less likely we’ll be attacked again.”
Andy Whitfield, who played Spartacus in “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” Starz television series, died on September 11 in Sydney, Australia.
Andy Whitfield, Spartacus: Blood and Sand star, dies of non-Hodgkin lymphoma
“On a beautiful sunny Sydney … morning, surrounded by his family, in the arms of his loving wife, our beautiful young warrior Andy Whitfield lost his 18-month battle with lymphoma cancer.” Declared Vashti, his widow.
The Welsh artist was diagnosed with early stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma in March 2010 and was treated in New Zealand. He had begun to act in “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” in January 2010 and had to took a supposedly temporary leave.
Waiting for Andy Whitfield‘s return Starz Entertainment filmed a prequel, “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena”, with a brief voice over from him.
The actor was declared cancer-free in June 2010, but a recurrence of the lymphoma appeared in September 2010.
Andy Whitfield, born in Amlwch, Wales, lived in Australia and became famous when he started to play a film series that uses sex and violence to describe the life of Spartacus, the Thracian gladiator who led a slave rebellion against the Roman ruling class from 73 to 71 B.C.
The Spartacus part for the second season was given to Liam McIntyre, an actor from Australia, who said: “Andy’s such a wonderful actor. I don’t want to follow that guy, and everybody hurts that he’s had to give up the role, myself included.”
Andy Whitfield died only 18 months after his blood cancer diagnosis and is survived by his wife, his two children and his sister, Laura.
Andy Whitfield in Spartacus: Blood and Sand
“The man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life” and fought cancer with “courage, strength and grace,” said Chris Albrecht, Starz president.
“No words to express the depth of such a loss. You will be deeply missed, my brother.” Said Steven DeKnight, the creator of Spartacus, about Andy Whitfield.
Andy was “a gentle man who never said a bad word about anyone, a gifted photographer, engineer (no really!) and a brilliant actor. Andy’s incandescent film presence made men want to be him and women want to marry him. Andy’s two babies will always know that their Daddy cherished them and their mother, Vashti, above all things. How lucky we were to have him grace all our lives. Godspeed, Andy!” said Lucy Lawless (known for Xena: Warrior Princess), who played Lucretia as Andy Whitfield’s co-star in “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”.
