According to police records, Bobbi Kristina Brown was involved in a car crash that injured two people days before she was hospitalized, the AP reported.
Police in Roswell, Georgia, say Bobbi Kristina Brown, 21, was driving a Jeep Liberty on January 27 when she lost control, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle. A passenger in the Jeep and the other car’s driver were taken to the hospital.
Four days later, on January 31, Bobbi Kristina Brown was found unresponsive in her bathtub, and her family said she’s been “fighting for her life”.
Records also show that Nick Gordon called police in July 2013 saying Bobbi Kristina Brown had fallen and was unresponsive. The officer wrote that Whitney Houston’s daughter was disoriented and went to the hospital.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande have reached an agreement aimed at ending the fighting in Ukraine following marathon talks in Minsk, Belarus.
The leaders announced that a ceasefire would begin on February 15.
The deal also includes weapon withdrawals and prisoner exchanges, but key issues remain to be settled.
The pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have signed the agreement. Thousands of people have died in almost a year of fighting in the region.
The deal is very similar to a ceasefire agreed in September 2014, which unraveled very quickly.
Key unresolved issues include the status of Debaltseve, a government-held town surrounded by rebels, where fighting is still going on.
Further talks will also be held on self-rule in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk separatist regions.
President Francois Hollande said he and Chancellor Angela Merkel would ask their European Union partners to support the deal at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
Angela Merkel said there was now a “glimmer of hope” but big hurdles remained, while Francois Hollande said “the coming hours will be decisive”.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said European leaders in Brussels would be discussing ways to “help and sustain the agreement”, but she ruled out the threat of fresh sanctions on Russia.
“I think today the issue is not going to be discussion of further sanctions… but rather positive ways the EU can contribute to make this first step just one of many others,” she told reporters in Brussels.
Photo RT
The US said the deal was a “significant step” but expressed concern over reports of continued fighting in eastern Ukraine, saying it was “inconsistent with the spirit of the accord”.
Last week, the US refused to rule out supplying “lethal defensive weapons” to Ukraine if diplomacy failed, but Russia says that would worsen the crisis.
Speaking after the talks ended, Vladimir Putin told Russian television: “It wasn’t the best night for me, but it’s a good morning.”
Petro Poroshenko – who had accused Russia of making “unacceptable” demands – said that “despite tension and pressure” Ukraine had not succumbed to “ultimatums”.
Russia rejects accusations by Ukraine and Western powers that it is supplying weapons and personnel to the rebels – who are seeking independence for the areas they control.
The separatists gave the agreement a cautious welcome.
In Luhansk, rebel leader Igor Plotnitskiy said: “We hope that thanks to our efforts today, Ukraine will change and stop firing at civilians, hospitals and socially important facilities.”
Donetsk separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko said Kiev would be to blame if the ceasefire collapsed and warned that there would “be no meetings and no new agreements”.
More than 5,400 people have been killed since the conflict began. There has been a dramatic rise in casualties in recent days, with 263 civilians killed in populated areas between January 31 and February 5.
Minsk agreement includes:
Ceasefire to begin at 00:01 local time on February 15
Heavy weapons to be withdrawn, beginning on February 16 and completed in two weeks
All prisoners to be released; amnesty for those involved in fighting
Withdrawal of all foreign troops and weapons from Ukrainian territory. Disarmament of all illegal groups
Ukraine to allow resumption of normal life in rebel areas, by lifting restrictions
Constitutional reform to enable decentralization for rebel regions by the end of 2015
Ukraine to control border with Russia if conditions met by the end of 2015 [youtube wfjiPYru3T0 650]
The North Korean propaganda has released 310 slogans to mark the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding.
The new slogans covered a wide range of subjects. Workers were urged to “make fruits cascade down” and create a “socialist fairyland”.
Wives were told to be dependable, while “sports games [are] to be played in an offensive way”, the slogans said.
North Korea widely uses propaganda to maintain the power of its leader Kim Jong-un.
Several slogans made threats against what North Korea called its enemies. Slogans described the US as “warmongers” and said North Korea would “annihilate them to the last man” if they invaded.
Food production also featured extensively in the slogans. Workers were encouraged to fill the country “with the fragrant smell of fish” and told that “fertilizer means rice and socialism”.
Another slogan read: “Grow vegetables extensively in greenhouses! Let us turn ours into a country of mushrooms by making mushroom cultivation scientific, intensive and industrialized!”
North Korea, which is still under nominally communist rule, has suffered from severe famines in the past. Over three million people are believed to have died in the 1996 famine.
Despite being one of the most isolated nations in the world, some “management speak” appeared to creep into the slogans.
North Koreans were told to adopt the philosophy of “Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism” – a reference to former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, who are revered in state propaganda.
The slogans also shed light on Kim Jong-un’s leadership style, with the military urged to establish his “monolithic command system more firmly throughout the army”.
Music seems to be a component of the authoritarian system with workers encouraged to sing the song We are the Happiest People in the World.
Two members of the Ukrainian parliament, Yegor Sobolev of the “Samopomochi” party and Vadim Ivchenko from the “Fatherland” party, were involved in a brawl in the halls of the parliament on February 12.
According to Yegor Sobolev, the fight occurred because an anti-corruption bill and harassment of the press.
Photo radiosvoboda.org
Yegor Sobolev was accusing Vadim Ivchenko of opposing the anti-corruption bill.
Both men are members of the Committee for Combating Corruption and will be disciplined for their actions.
Yegor Sobolev and Vadim Ivchenko will not have the right to participate in meetings for 5 days.
Taya Kyle, the widow of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle depicted in the Oscar-nominated film American Sniper, gave an emotional testimony during Eddie Routh murder trial in Stephenville, Texas.
Chris Kyle’s wife told jurors about her final moments with her husband, just hours before he and a friend were killed at a Texas gun range.
She was the first prosecution witness called on February 11 in the murder trial of the ex-Marine accused of fatally shooting Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield in 2023.
The trial in the small town of Stephenville, located about 30 miles from the rural luxury resort where the men were killed, has attracted national attention with the recent release of the blockbuster movie based on the memoir of the sniper who served four tours in Iraq.
Defense attorneys are seeking an insanity defense for Eddie Ray Routh, 27, who faces life in prison without parole if convicted of capital murder.
Chris Kyle had taken Eddie Routh to the shooting range after Routh’s mother asked Kyle if he could help him.
Taya Kyle paused and then her voice broke when a prosecutor asked her to give jurors the name of the man she’d married.
Her testimony was conversational and compelling and she often looked straight at jurors as she talked about Chris Kyle, smiling when she said he had attended Tarleton State University in Stephenville before leaving to ride broncos in the rodeo and later joining the Navy.
Taya Kyle told jurors that as her husband left to go to the shooting range on February 2, 2013, “we just said we loved each other and gave each other a hug and kiss, like we always did.”
The day started like any typical Saturday for the Kyles. As parents of an 8-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl, they had spent their morning cheering at youth sporting events and chatting with friends. Taya Kyle had plans that afternoon to take their daughter to a Build-A-Bear Workshop.
Taya Kyle said she’d called Chris midafternoon – around the time he arrived at Rough Creek Lodge and Resort – and noticed he was unusually terse. Instead of his usual “Hello babe,” he gave a quick “Hello”. Chris Kyle said it would be fine to have dinner with friends. Then she asked if he was OK. He just said “Yep”.
During opening statements, a defense attorney revealed a text message exchange between Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield as they drove to the lodge with Eddie Routh, whom Kyle had picked up at his house.
Chris Kyle texted Chad Littlefield: “This dude is straight-up nuts.”
“He’s (sitting) right behind me, watch my six,” Chad Littlefield texted back, using a military term for watching one’s back.
As dinnertime approached, Taya Kyle became concerned. Chad Littlefield’s wife called her, also worried.
Taya Kyle’s alarm grew when she texted her husband: “Are you OK? I’m getting worried.”
There was no reply.
The bodies of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were found at the shooting range at about 5 p.m. Both were shot multiple times.
Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash described Eddie Routh as “a troubled young man” who on the morning of the killings numbed himself with marijuana and whiskey. He said a history of mental illness should not absolve Eddie Routh in the deaths.
Tim Moore, an attorney for Eddie Routh, said Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield’s text exchange shows how Routh was spiraling out of control. He told jurors that Eddie Routh was suffering from severe mental strain that day and thought he needed to kill the two or they would turn on him.
Eddie Routh was a small arms technician who served in Iraq and was deployed to earthquake-ravaged Haiti before leaving the Marines in 2010.
Kanye West and Taylor Swift looked like they had made up at the Grammy awards last week.
In 2009, Kanye West stormed the VMAs stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for the Best Female Video award saying that “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time” and deserved the prize.
As the 2009 incident is behind them, now Kanye West has said he and Taylor Swift are “definitely” going to go into the studio together.
Kanye West was asked on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show if he would collaborate with Taylor Swift.
Photo Getty Images
“Yeah, she wants to get in the studio and we’re definitely going to go in.
“Any artist with an amazing point of view, perspective, fan base – I’m down to get in the studio and work.
“I don’t discriminate, I don’t have an elitism of music because of like how many Grammys or you know, the amount of ratings you get on an album.
“I that think everyone loves music whether they love hip-hop, alternative, country, and if I could be involved in giving people any type of energy, advice in the studio, whether you’re Beyonce, whether you’re Taylor Swift, whether you’re Jay-Z, whether you’re Beck, whoever.”
Kanye West was asked about the interview he gave to E! at the Grammys, where he said Beck should “respect artistry” and give his best album award to Beyonce.
The rapper was also asked about his new project, Five Four Seconds, with Rihanna and Paul McCartney.
“Hey everyone, America, I’m not comparing myself to John Lennon, I’m just saying I’m angst a bit like John Lennon. And the [tension creates] a new magic.
“The pressure creates the diamond from the coal. And he came in with the best vibes ever, and I said, <<Four, five, seconds from wildin>>,’ and he said, <<It’s great everyone!>> and we just had that.”
House of Cards Season 3 has been leaked on Netflix two weeks ahead of its scheduled release.
For 30 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, February 11, America got a glimpse of life under the iron fist of Francis Underwood.
However, as news spread the series was pulled almost as quickly as the show’s Machiavellian lead can destroy a political career.
Netflix denies that the leak was a marketing ploy, saying it was down to a “technical glitch”.
On Wednesday night, Netflix viewers in could watch the series online for just under half an hour.
The entire season was listed, along with episode titles and descriptions.
Although the mistake was sorted out quickly, some fans on Twitter said they were able to keep streaming episodes they had begun watching before they were removed.
The series stars Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood, a ruthless politician on a power trip to get to the top of American politics.
The Powerball jackpot estimated at $500 million has been won by three tickets in North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas.
Lottery officials announced the jackpot winners on February 12 on the Powerball website. Officials didn’t immediately confirm the final amount of the prize or which cities produced the winners.
If the jackpot stands at the $500 million estimated on February 11, it would be the fifth-largest lottery prize in US history.
No one had won the Powerball jackpot for more than two months, so the prize grew gradually from its $40 million starting point. That figure is now listed on the website as the current jackpot for the next drawing.
The winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing were: 11, 13, 25, 39, 54 and the Powerball 19.
Fifty Shades of Grey screen adaptation has premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival in Germany.
British novelist E.L. James attended the event with director Sam Taylor-Johnson and stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.
“It’s an extremely romantic movie and at the heart of it, it is a love story,” Taylor-Johnson told reporters.
“I think we’ve got that balance right.”
The movie has its UK premiere in London later, ahead of a worldwide release on February 13.
Accompanied by her husband, actor Aaron Johnson, Sam Taylor-Johnson – formerly Taylor-Wood – said she was “very nervous and excited” at the thought of screening the film to an international audience.
The visual artist turned film-maker said she was “proud of what we’ve achieved” and “proud of [her] cast”, which also includes singer Rita Ora and Oscar-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden.
Photo Reuters
E.L. James’s Fifty Shades trilogy details the affair between a young student, Anastasia Steele, and a billionaire businessman, Christian Grey.
Fans waited all day on February 11 outside Berlin’s Zoo Palast theatre, some armed with flowers and copies of the books.
James Dornan said he was prepared for the additional attention playing Christian Grey would bring.
“I accepted that this role would change my life when I took the part,” said the Northern Irish actor.
“Although when you see the way fans are reacting, it hits you afresh.
“However, I’m still the same person I was before I was Christian Grey. I have a wife and a child and my circle of friends are the same. I’m not going anywhere.”
Speaking on the red carpet, the actor acknowledged “the book and the film aren’t to everyone’s taste”.
“But that’s fine,” he continued.
“I think we’ve done something classy.”
“It’s very important that everyone who might wish to judge remembers that Anastasia acts of her own free will in the movie,” said co-star Dakota Johnson.
“It’s a story where everything that happens between these two people is consensual.”
The 25-year-old said her parents, actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, had yet to see the movie but were “very proud” of her.
An estimated 4.5 million tickets have already been sold in the 39 countries where Fifty Shades of Grey will be released this weekend.
Sam Taylor-Johnson confirmed she is in talks to direct the next two films of the trilogy but said nothing had been decided “as yet”.
E.L. James said she was “excited” but “hated” being the centre of attention.
“To be honest, I’m looking forward to going home later and reading all about it with a gin and tonic,” she revealed.
The best-selling novelist, whose real name is Erika Mitchell, said she had had “input as a producer from the first to last frame”.
“What you see up there, I had a say in all of it,” she declared.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Sam Taylor-Johnson admitted she and E.L. James had clashed during shooting and that making the film had been “an incredibly painful process”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have announced a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine starting with February 15.
“We have managed to agree on the main issues,” Vladimir Putin said after marathon talks with Petro Poroshenko, as well German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Minsk, Belarus.
President Francois Hollande said it was a “serious deal” but not everything had been agreed.
Thousands of people have been killed in the fighting in the east of Ukraine.
The meeting in Belarus – which began on February 11 – was focused on securing a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons and creating a demilitarized zone in Eastern Ukraine.
Greece has failed to reach an agreement with eurozone officials over the country’s debt crisis, though both sides said there was still hope for a deal.
Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said seven hours of talks in Brussels had been “constructive”.
They ended without a joint statement to outline procedural steps ahead of further talks on February 16.
Greece says its bailout deal with the EU is punitive and must end. The EU has warned Greece to abide by the deal.
Greek left-wing government says the conditions of the €240 billion ($272 billion) bailout have impoverished Greece.
It was elected on a promise to end the bailout and ease the austerity measures that have accompanied it.
The government has proposed to overhaul 30% of its bailout obligations, replacing them with a 10-point plan of reforms.
However, Greece’s creditors in the EU, led by Germany, have insisted that the terms of the bailout cannot be altered.
Officials from the two sides have been locked in negotiations aimed at reaching a deal on Greece’s debt repayments that would stave off the prospect of its exit from the eurozone – a prospect viewed with fear by the markets.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup eurozone finance ministers, said after the meeting on Wednesday that there had been no discussion of detailed proposals.
“We didn’t enter into negotiations on content of the program or a program, we simply tried to work next steps over the next couple days,” he said.
“We were unable to do that.”
“We had an intense discussion, constructive, covering a lot of ground, also making progress, but not enough progress yet to come to joint conclusions,” he said.
Greece’s finance minister Yanis Varoufakis struck an upbeat note, saying hours of emergency talks in Brussels had produced “very good discussions”.
Greek officials had rejected a draft agreement from the eurozone finance ministers that proposed “extending” the current bailout deal, Reuters reported.
The current EU-IMF bailout for Greece is due to expire on February 28.
The Greek government rejects the “troika” team – the EU, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) – overseeing the bailout’s implementation.
It is asking for a “bridge agreement” that will enable it to stay afloat until it can agree a new four-year reform plan with its EU creditors.
Greece’s debt currently stands at more than €320 billion – about 174% of its economic output (GDP).
On February 11, thousands of left-wing demonstrators rallied in Athens in support of their government’s proposition.
The stakes of the talks over Greece’s debt are high because of fears that a Greek default could push it out of the euro, triggering turmoil in the EU.
The Greek Defense Minister, Panos Kammenos, previously said Greece might seek funding from Russia, China or the US if it failed to reach a new debt agreement with the eurozone.
Former Korean Air executive Heather Cho has been found guilty of breaking aviation law over the “nut rage” case.
Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah, was jailed for one year, avoiding a possible maximum sentence of 10 years.
She had forced her Seoul-bound plane to turn back to the gate and offload a steward because she did not like the way she had been served nuts.
The case garnered global interest and caused an uproar in South Korea.
Heather Cho, who was a vice-president with the South Korean airline, was found guilty of obstructing aviation safety.
Her plane was taxiing at New York’s JFK Airport on December 5 when witnesses say she became angry after being served macadamia nuts she did not ask for and which were still in a bag and not in a bowl.
Cho Hyun-ah ordered the plane to return to the gate and offload the chief steward.
“This is a case where human dignity was trampled upon,” Judge Oh Sung-woo said on February 12.
Heather Cho had treated the flight “as if it was her own private plane”, Judge Oh Sung-woo added.
“It is doubtful that the way the nuts were served was so wrong.”
The judge said Heather Cho has failed to show enough remorse even after she submitted letters to the court apologizing for the incident.
Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of three years in prison on charges of breaking aviation law, assault and interfering in an investigation.
Witnesses testified during the trial that Heather Cho struck a crewmember with the service manual.
Her defense team argued that aviation safety had not been violated as the plane was still being pushed by a truck away from the gate.
However, the judge rejected that argument saying the plane was classed as “in flight” and she interfered, correspondents say.
Heather Cho, who is the daughter of the chairman of Korean Air, publicly apologized for the incident and resigned from all her posts at the airline in December.
The trial has opened a national debate about the Korean business system, which is dominated by family firms known as chaebols.
Some of the families running these businesses have been accused of high-handedness and acting with impunity.
Longtime CBS News correspondent Bob Simon has been killed in a car accident in New York, the broadcaster announced.
In a career spanning five decades, Bob Simon, 73, covered many war zones from Vietnam to the former Yugoslavia.
At the end of his stint in Saigon in the 1970s Bob Simon was on one of the last helicopters out of the city, CBS said.
Bob Simon won multiple awards, including 27 Emmys, for his reporting and regularly appeared on the network’s flagship program 60 Minutes.
His last piece, a report about the Oscar-nominated civil rights drama Selma went out on 60 Minutes at the weekend.
“It is a tragedy made worse because we lost him in a car accident, a man who escaped more difficult situations than almost any journalist in modern times,” CBS News Chairman and 60 Minutes executive producer Jeffrey Fagan said.
Bob Simon was a passenger in a hired sedan that hit another car stopped at a traffic light and then slammed into metal barriers separating traffic lanes, police said February 11.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who worked with Bob Simon on 60 Minutes said: “Bob was for the last five decades simply one of the best, in my opinion, at getting a story, telling a story, writing a story and making it simply unforgettable.”
Karen Hicks, the wife of the man accused of killing three Muslim students in North Carolina, said the attack was motivated by parking, not religion.
She said she was “shocked” by the attack but said her husband Craig Hicks, 46, had parking disputes with many neighbors, of all religions.
Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were found dead, shot in the head at home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Their family has said the attack was motivated by hate.
Mohammed Abu-Salha, father of the two sisters who were killed, said Craig Hicks had killed them “execution style”.
“This man had picked on my daughter and her husband a couple of times before, and he talked with them with his gun in his belt,” he told the News-Observer newspaper.
“And they were uncomfortable with him, but they did not know he would go this far.”
On February 11, Karen Hicks stood alongside a lawyer as she told reporters her husband believed “everyone is equal, it doesn’t matter what you look like, who you are or what you believe”.
Her lawyer said the shooting had “nothing to do with the victims’ religious beliefs but had everything to do with a mundane parking spot dispute”.
The lack of access to mental health care was the real issue, he said, not terror.
Chapel Hill Police said in a statement there had been an ongoing parking dispute but they are still investigating whether the attack was hate-motivated.
Craig Hicks’ Facebook profile included a photo that read “Atheists for Equality”. He frequently posted quotes critical of religion.
He had also posted a photo on January 20 of a gun he said was loaded and belonged to him.
The preliminary investigation indicates the crime was motivated by an “ongoing neighbor dispute over parking,” Chapel Hill police said in a statement.
There are still questions over what could have motivated Craig Hicks to commit such a senseless and tragic act, Chief Chris Blue said.
“We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case.”
Police were called to the scene after reports on February 10 of gunshots being fired in the area.
The bodies were found in an apartment block in the town of Chapel Hill near the University of Carolina.
Deah Barakat raised money for dental care for Syrian refugees through the Miswak Foundation and had volunteered locally, according to the Washington Post.
The suspect, who is reported to have turned himself in, is being held at Durham County Jail while the investigation continues.
Craig Hicks appeared in court on February 11 and remains in custody.
Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino has been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Francesco Schettino was at the helm when the ship hit rocks and sank in 2012, killing 32 people.
He was accused of taking the liner too close to the shore and then abandoning ship with passengers and crew still on board.
Francesco Schettino denied the charges and said he was being made a scapegoat.
His lawyers had argued that it was a collective failure of the ship’s crew and others should share the blame for the disaster.
Francesco Schettino, 54, was not present when Judge Giovanni Puliatti read out the verdict at the court in the city of Grosseto.
The captain is expected to appeal against the verdict.
Earlier, Francesco Schettino had made an emotional final appeal to the judge on the last day of the 19-month trial.
He sobbed as he told the court he had spent the last three years “in a media meat grinder”.
“All the responsibility has been loaded on to me with no respect for the truth or for the memory of the victims,” he said.
Prosecutors had sought a 26-year jail term but the court sentenced Francesco Schettino to 10 years for multiple manslaughter, five years for causing the shipwreck and one year for abandoning his passengers.
Investigators had severely criticized his handling of the disaster, accusing him of bringing the 290m-long vessel too close to shore when it struck rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio.
The ship was ripped open when it hit the shore and more than 4,000 passengers and crew were forced into a chaotic evacuation.
Francesco Schettino said he had taken the ship so close to land for “commercial reasons” in a bid to please his passengers and those ashore.
He had also rejected rumors that he had wanted to impress his lover, Domnica Cemortan, who was with him at the helm.
Costa Crociere, the company that owned the ship, sidestepped potential criminal charges in 2013 by agreeing to pay a $1.3m (€1.1 million) fine.
It is being sued by survivors, the Tuscany region and Giglio island for further damages.
Five other employees, including the helmsman, were handed prison sentences ranging from 18 months to two years and 10 months in plea bargains concluded early in the investigation.
Francesco Schettino’s request for a plea bargain was turned down.
Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush has edited 275,000 emails he released after it emerged they contained correspondents’ personal information.
Social security numbers, email addresses and phone numbers were all included in plain text in the files.
Jeb Bush released 275,000 emails from his eight years as Florida’s governor, in the interests of transparency.
Earlier this week, his technology chief, Ethan Czahor, resigned over “inappropriate comments” he had made.
In one email, sent in 2004, the name, social security number and other details belonging to the mother of a sick child appeared. The information had been in a note written by a healthcare representative, the Verge reported.
Other emails also contained social security numbers and other personal information.
The cache, which had been posted on February 10, included hundreds of thousands of emails from 1999 to 2007.
Jeb Bush’s campaign team moved to redact as much of the information as possible after the leaks came to light.
As of February 11, a message posted on the website hosting the emails said: “This page previously included raw PST data files provided by the Florida Department of State. We were informed that some personal information was available in the raw data so we removed these files.
“Please contact the Florida Department of State with any questions or public records request. You may still read these emails on the email calendar link, where we have redacted personal information we have been able to locate.”
The news came after Ethan Czahor resigned over comments made by him on Twitter and attributed to him on another website.
Ethan Czahor, who was hired to Jeb Bush’s Right to Rise political action committee in January 2015, had posted messages on his personal Twitter account in which he referred to women as “sluts” and made remarks about gay men.
He also made racially offensive comments on the other website.
Jeb Bush’s spokeswoman Kristy Campbell noted that Ethan Czahor had apologized for “regrettable and insensitive comments” that did not reflect the views of Jeb Bush or his organization. But she added that it was “appropriate for him to step aside”.
Ethan Czahor apologized after the Twitter comments emerged, but did not resign until the publication of those found on his website by the Huffington Post.
He tweeted that he hoped his “recent news won’t dissuade future techies from entering politics, regardless of political affiliations/backgrounds”.
Bobby Brown’s sister, Leolah Brown, has said she believes Bobbi Kristina’s boyfriend Nick Gordon will be charged with crime for her niece’s condition.
Bobbi Kristina Brown’s aunt told Fox 5 Atlanta that she thinks Nick Gordon will “110 percent” be charged for a crime when the investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Bobbi Kristina’s condition is completed.
Photo FOX 5
“I’m not going to make a comment about that, but I believe Nick Gordon will be charged with this,” Leolah Brown said during a 16-minute interview.
“I hope that he will be charged with this, as well. Soon. I really do.”
Nick Gordon and a friend found Bobbi Kristina Brown face down in a bathtub filled with water in her Atlanta-area home on January 31 and rushed her to the hospital, where she has been on life support ever since.
Authorities are investigating Nick Gordon’s possible involvement, as well as injuries found around Bobbi Kristina Brown’s face and mouth.
Joan Rivers’ daughter, Melissa, will publish The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation to honor her late mother.
In the book, Melissa Rivers “relates funny, poignant and irreverent observations, thoughts, and tales about the woman who raised her”.
Melissa Rivers’ publisher, Crown Archetype, made the announcement February 11, People magazine reported.
The book will share a close look at Joan Rivers and her restriction-less relationship.
It will include anecdotes like when Melissa Rivers was nine months old and her parents delivered her to Johnny Carson as a birthday gift, and lessons from her childhood.
The book will also be filled with memorable lines from her mother.
“In our family, we always believed that laughter was the best medicine,” Melissa Rivers says of the upcoming release.
“I wanted to write a book that would make my mother laugh. I hope it makes you laugh, too.”
The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation hits shelves in May 2015.
Jon Stewart is leaving Comedy Central’s The Daily Show after 16 years.
The show host made the announcement on last night’s edition.
“This show doesn’t deserve an even slightly restless host, and neither do you,” said Jon Stewart, announcing his decision to step down from The Daily Show.
Jon Stewart joined the nightly news satire in 1999 as a stand-up, but leaves as one of America’s most listened-to political commentators, and a bête-noire of the conservative establishment.
His departure leaves a big hole in the show, and Comedy Central will be relieved that Jon Stewart has yet to set an end date.
Speaking on the show last night, Jon Stewart said his contract runs out in September, but his final show “might be in December, might be July. We’re still working out details”.
The most likely candidates to replace Jon Stewart on the show – Steven Colbert and Larry Wilmore – have recently taken new jobs, effectively ruling them out of the running.
Here are some of the other possible runners:
The Daily Show‘s youngest reporter, Jessica Williams is a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, the comedy “improv” troupe set up by Amy Poehler.
The Daily Show‘s “senior British correspondent” John Oliver
The show correspondent, Canadian comedian Jason Jones
Comedy Central star Amy Schumer
Chris Rock
SNL’s Michael Che
Other names could be considered: Aasif Mandvi, Ricky Gervais, Rob Riggle, Rob Cordry or Olivia Munn [youtube RvC7b_d5Hn4 650]
The Congress has received a draft authorization to formally use military force against the Islamic State group (ISIS) from President Barack Obama.
The resolution would not restrict where US forces could pursue ISIS but bans “enduring offensive combat operations”.
The US has already pursued air strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since 2014.
Congress has not formally voted for military force since 2002, for the Iraq war.
Barack Obama has called for ending that resolution, about the Iraq war, but the new draft does not make any changes to the Afghanistan war resolution in 2001.
Photo Reuters
The draft the president has sent Congress in regards to ISIS is limited to three years.
It will force Congress to vote on war for the first time in 13 years and it’s expected to set up a debate about America’s role in the Middle East and how to best counter the militant group.
In a letter sent to Congress along with his draft, President Barack Obama said while “existing statutes” allow the air strikes, he has “repeatedly expressed my commitment to working with the Congress to pass a bipartisan authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL”.
Barack Obama said it “would not authorize long-term, large-scale ground combat operations like those our nation conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan” but would provide flexibility to pursue rescue operations and special operations attacks.
The Costa Concordia’s captain, Francesco Schettino, broke into sobs as he made a final appeal to judges ahead of a verdict in his trial.
Francesco Schettino said he had been made a scapegoat for the accident.
Thirty-two people died in January 2012 when the cruise ship was steered too close to the island of Giglio and hit rocks.
The prosecution wants Francesco Schettino jailed for 26 years for multiple manslaughter, but the captain denies all the charges against him.
Speaking on the last day of his trial, Francesco Schettino said his head had been “offered for sacrifice” in order to safeguard economic interests.
“I have spent the last three years in a media meat grinder,” he said.
“It is difficult to call what I have been living through a <<life>>.”
The wrecked ship captain added: “All the responsibility has been loaded on to me with no respect for the truth or for the memory of the victims.”
Capt. Francesco Schettino was unable to finish his statement, saying “enough” before slumping back into his seat.
The judges in the 19-month trial are due to retire on February 11 to consider a verdict.
Investigators have severely criticized Capt Francesco Schettino’s handling of the disaster, accusing him of bringing the 290m-long vessel too close to shore when it struck rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio.
The trial, in the city of Grosseto, has heard how Costa Concordia was ripped open on the rocks and more than 4,000 passengers and crew were forced into a chaotic evacuation.
Francesco Schettino has also been accused of compounding his crime by abandoning his vessel and saving himself while passengers were in danger – earning him the title “Captain Coward” in the Italian media.
Prosecutors have asked for Francesco Schettino to be jailed on charges of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship with passengers and crew still on board.
Throughout the trial, the captain’s lawyers have argued that it was a collective failure and others should share the blame for the disaster.
Francesco Schettino has spoken of “commercial reasons” for taking the liner so close to the coast in an attempt to please his passengers and those ashore.
He has rejected rumors that he had wanted to impress his lover, Domnica Cemortan, who was with him at the helm.
In the aftermath of the wreck the ship’s operator, Costa Crociere, was allowed to make a plea bargain and was fined €1 million ($1.13 million).
Some of the survivors argue that Costa Crociere still has questions to answer on issues such as the caliber of the ship’s crew and its operating procedures.
Five senior crew members were convicted of manslaughter in July 2013.
Two officers, the helmsman, the head of cabin service and the head of the crisis team were given up to two years and 10 months in plea bargains.
Francesco Schettino’s request for a plea bargain was turned down.
The Greek government is to present its first concrete proposals for an alternative debt plan at an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels.
Greece’s left-wing government wants to overhaul 30% of its bailout obligations, replacing them with a 10-point plan of reforms.
However, EU ministers have warned that Greece must abide by existing terms.
The EU-IMF bailout for the debt-laden country expires on February 28 and Greece does not want it extended.
Instead the new Athens government is asking for a “bridge agreement” that will enable it to stay afloat until it can agree a new four-year reform plan with its EU creditors.
PM Alexis Tsipras’s government won a confidence vote on Tuesday, with the support of 162 deputies in the 300-seat parliament.
The Athens stock exchange then fell by more than 3% ahead of the emergency Eurogroup meeting, during which Greece’s new leaders will unveil their controversial debt proposals.
Greece’s Syriza-led government says the conditions of the €240 billion bailout – sweeping spending cuts and public sector job losses – have impoverished Greece.
It rejects the “troika” team – the EU, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) – overseeing the bailout’s implementation.
The government’s proposal for overhauling its bailout comes in four parts, according to a finance ministry source widely quoted in Greek media.
Under the first part, Greece would co-operate on 70% of its bailout conditions but wants to scrap 30% – replacing it with 10 new reforms to be agreed with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is unclear what these would be.
The plan also includes bond swaps to reduce Greece’s debt mountain and a proposal to reduce the primary budget surplus target for this year to 1.49% of GDP, rather than the 3% demanded by its creditors.
A swift deal with the EU is unlikely. Most finance ministers, including Germany’s Wolfgang Schaeuble, are insisting that Greece must not renege on its bailout conditions.
The Eurogroup ministers will report to Thursday’s EU leaders’ summit but a deal is not expected before the finance ministers meet again on February 16.
Greece’s left-wing leaders struck a defiant tone on the eve of the key talks with the EU.
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis did not rule out clashing with his eurozone counterparts, saying: “If you are not willing to even contemplate a rift, then you are not negotiating.”
The stakes of the talks are high because of fears that a Greek debt default could push it out of the euro, triggering turmoil in the EU.
Greece’s debt currently stands at more than €320 billion – about 174% of its economic output (GDP).
At least two hundreds migrants are dead after the motorboats they were travelling on sank in the Mediterranean Sea, the UN’s refugee agency says.
“Nine were saved after four days at sea. The other 203 were swallowed by the waves,” UNHCR’s spokeswoman in Italy, Carlotta Sami, said on Twitter.
She called the situation a “horrible and enormous tragedy”.
On February 9, at least 29 migrants died after the inflatable boat carrying them overturned in high seas.
Photo UNHCR
Seven were already dead when they were picked up near the Italian island of Lampedusa, and a further 22 succumbed to hypothermia after spending more than 18 hours on the open deck of the vessel which picked them up.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the two boats involved in the latest tragedy to befall migrants bound for Europe crossing the Mediterranean Sea had departed from the Libyan coast on February 7.
The IOM says that each boat was carrying more than 100 people when they capsized, probably on February 9.
The nine survivors all speak French, and are believed to be from West Africa.
The Italian government launched a search and rescue mission called Mare Nostrum to patrol the waters off the Libyan coast for ships carrying migrants that may have run into trouble in response to a previous tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa.
The mission was launched after a fishing boat capsized off the island in October 2013, killing 366 people, but was disbanded a year later.
Australia will compete at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria.
Organizers issued a one-off invitation as part of the contest’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
“It’s a daring and at the same time incredibly exciting move. It is our way of saying let’s celebrate this party together!” contest supervisor Jon Ola Sand said.
Australia will be fast-tracked to the final, which will take place in Vienna on May 23.
A total of 40 countries will now compete in the contest.
The European Broadcasting Union said Australia had been given a wildcard for the final “to not reduce the chances” of the semi-final participants and because of the “one-off nature” of its participation.
Australia will be allowed to vote in both semi-finals, as well as the grand final. The possibility of allowing the public to have a 50% stake in the Australian vote through televoting is also being explored.
The other participating countries will be allowed to vote for the Australian entry – who has yet to be selected – however should their act win the contest, next year’s show will be held in a European city and Australia will be allowed to defend its title.
Eurovision has a long tradition of being broadcast in Australia by broadcaster SBS.
“SBS has been broadcasting Eurovision for over 30 years and we have seen how Australians’ love of the song contest has grown during those years,” managing director Michael Ebeid said.
“We are very excited to have secured this historic opportunity for Australia to be represented on the world’s biggest stage and are honored that the European Broadcasting Union has supported us to achieve this ambition.”
Host broadcaster ORF added: “With the participation of Australia, together with our partners at the EBU and SBS, we have succeeded to lift [Eurovision] to a new global level and to build another bridge for the 60th anniversary.”
It is not the first time Australians have participated at the song contest.
Singer Jessica Mauboy – who appeared in the 2012 film The Sapphires – provided the interval entertainment in 2014.
Australians have also competed representing the UK – including the New Seekers, Gina G and Olivia Newton John – who lost to Swedish pop group Abba in 1974.
