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Bahrain elections 2014: Shia-led opposition boycotted vote

Diane A. Wade
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Bahrain elections 2014: Shia-led opposition boycotted vote

Bahrain has voted in the country’s first parliamentary elections since protests erupted in the wake of the Arab Spring in 2011.

The government called on all Bahrainis to cast their ballots.

However, the Shia-led opposition boycotted Saturday’s legislative and municipal elections, calling them an attempt to entrench “absolute rule”.

Despite being ruled by a Sunni monarchy, the majority of the Bahraini population are Shias.

Protesters took to the streets in 2011 to demand greater rights, but the government, backed by Saudi tanks, moved in to crush dissent.

Talks to resolve the situation have since collapsed and unrest has continued.

A coalition of opposition groups has called the poll a “sham” and demanded an elected prime minister who is independent from the al-Khalifa monarchy.

The government was hoping for a strong turnout to back up its contention that the opposition represented a small minority of Bahrainis.

Information Minister Sameera Ebrahim Bin Rajab said the “door to dialogue will never be shut” but added: “Violence is not allowed. It is tantamount to terrorism.”

Bahrain is of strategic importance to Washington and hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Correspondents say the election is also being closely watched by Saudi Arabia, which has a large Shia Muslim population in its Eastern Province.

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Marion Barry dead at the age of 78

Nancy Clayson
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Marion Barry dead at the age of 78

Ex-Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry, who won re-election after a drug arrest, has died at the age of 78.

Democrat Marion Barry served three terms from 1979 to 1991 before his personal life overshadowed his politics.

He was arrested in an FBI sting operation and tried on drug charges in 1990, but was only convicted on a single count of possession.

Marion Barry remained popular with many poorer African American voters, and served a final term as mayor from 1995 to 1999.

He died overnight at a hospital in Washington, DC Council spokeswoman LaToya Foster said,

Marion Barry had kidney problems stemming from diabetes and high blood pressure.

His 1990 arrest – which came during his third term – came after he was videotaped by the FBI smoking crack in a Washington hotel room with a female friend.

During the subsequent trial jurors remained deadlocked on most counts.

Marion Barry’s conviction for drug possession led to a six-month prison sentence.

Albania opens Enver Hoxha secret bunker for first time

Diane A. Wade
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Albania opens Enver Hoxha secret bunker for first time

Albania has opened to the public for the first time a huge secret bunker that the communist regime built in 1970’s to survive a nuclear bomb.

Then dictator Enver Hoxha wanted the bunker near the capital Tirana to guard against Soviet Union or US attacks.

PM Edi Rama showed several Western ambassadors around the 106-room, five-storey complex on November 22.

Enver Hoxha’s regime built up to 700,000 bunkers before he died in 1985. The pro-Chinese regime was toppled in 1990.

“We have opened today a thesaurus of the collective memory that presents thousands of pieces of the sad events and life under communism,” Edi Rama said in a speech in the bunker’s 200-seat hall.

The bunker has been opened to the public ahead of Albania’s World War Two liberation day on November 29.

The government plans to use it as a tourist attraction and an exhibition space for artists.

Timothy Giardina linked to counterfeit poker chips

Diane A. Wade
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Timothy Giardina linked to counterfeit poker chips

Former deputy head of U.S. Strategic Command Rear Admiral Timothy M. Giardina may have made his own counterfeit $500 poker chips with paint and stickers to feed a gambling habit that eventually saw him banned from an entire network of casinos, AP reported.

The admiral was fired last year as deputy commander of U.S. nuclear forces, but evidence of his possible role in manufacturing the counterfeit chips has not previously been revealed

According to a criminal investigative report, his DNA was found on the underside of an adhesive sticker used to alter genuine $1 poker chips to make them look like $500 chips.

The Navy did not disclose how extensively he gambled.

Timothy M. Giardina was a habitual poker player, spending a total of 1,096 hours – or an average of 15 hours per week – at the tables at the Horseshoe casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in the 18 months before being caught using three phony chips in June 2013.

He was such a familiar figure at the casino, across the Missouri River from his office near Omaha, Nebraska, that some there knew him as “Navy Tim”.

A career submarine officer, Timothy Giardina is a 1979 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.

On July 18, Timothy Giardina was banned from both the Horseshoe and Harrah’s for 90 days, but he returned at least twice to play poker at the Horseshoe before the ban expired. The second time, in October, he was given a lifetime ban from all gambling establishments run by the Horseshoe’s owner, Caesar’s Entertainment Corp.

Six days after he received the lifetime Caesar’s ban, Tim Giardina was kicked out of the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, according to the NCIS records that gave no reason for that expulsion. That casino is not a Caesar’s property.

Timothy Giardina, who remains on the Navy payroll as a staff officer in Washington, was never charged with counterfeiting. Instead he was found guilty in May 2014 of two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer – lying to an investigator and passing fake gambling chips. He was given a written reprimand and ordered to forfeit $4,000 in pay.

The Navy chose not to pursue a court martial because they were uncertain they could get a conviction with the evidence they had, officials said.

In September 2013 Timothy Giardina was quietly suspended from his post at Strategic Command, which he had assumed in December 2011. One month later he was fired and reduced in rank from three-star to two-star admiral.

McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade 2014: Date, Time, Location and Lineups

Nancy Clayson
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McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade 2014: Date, Time, Location and Lineups

The 81st McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade will take place on November 27, from 8AM to 11AM in Downtown Chicago (from Congress to Randolph).

Tune into the parade on Chicago’s WGN Channel 9, or across the country on WGN America.

Honored Guests:

Grand Marshal Dee Snider (Dee Snider’s Rock & Roll Tale)

Honorary Grand Marshal Ronald McDonald®

Hollywood Palms Cinema presents Karolyn Grimes (It’s a Wonderful Life)

McDonald’s® Owner / Operators of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana present Jackie Robinson West (LLWS National Champions)

Colin Egglesfield (Something Borrowed)

Doug Sohn (Hot Doug’s)

Miss Illinois 2014 Marisa Buchheit

Yuri Sardarov (Chicago Fire)

The Original Harlem Globetrotters

Santa and Mrs. Claus

Staged Performances:

Goodman Theatre presents A Christmas Carol

The Joffrey Ballet presents America’s #1 Nutcracker

McDonald’s® Owner / Operators of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana present Tsukasa Taiko

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents LEGENDS

Black Ensemble Theater’s Tribute to Etta James

Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus presents We Are Santa’s Elves

Coast2Coast Productions presents March of the Dancing Soldiers

Crystal Lake Strikers Drumline

Emerald City Theatre’s Hansel & Gretel

Hromovytsia Ukranian Dance Ensemble presents Hopak

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess

Million Dollar Quartet

Pro Dance Elite presents Singing Swing

Renacer Boliviano Dance Troupe presents Kullawada

Ursuline Academy Dance Team presents The Grinch

Marching Bands:

115 Bourbon Streeet presents Marist High School (Chicago, IL)

Coffeecake Connection Company presents Thorton Township High School (Harvey, IL)

McDonald’s Owner/Operators of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana present Merrillville High School (Merrillville, IN)

Northeast Illinois Heating & Cooling Corp. presents Waukegan High School (Waukegan, IL)

Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers present Pearl City High School (Pearl City, HI)

Sparkle Glass Cleaner presents Hinsdale South High School (Darien, IL)

TCF Bank presents Bartlett High School (Bartlett, IL)

Arkansas City High School (Arkansas City, KS)

Bay High School Band (Panama City, FL)

Giant Inflatables

Agency 360 presents Fred Flintstone

CNH Industrial presents Arthur

Concierge Preferred presents Curious George

Social Media Beast presents Scooby Doo

Meijer presents Madeline

Strawberry Shortcake

Floats:

Chicago Park District presents Holiday Happenings

Chicago’s Very Own WGN presents the WGN-TV Holiday Float

Chicago Zoological Society presents Brookfield Zoo’s Holiday Magic

Garrett Popcorn Shops presents BrighTin the Holidays

Good Intentions presents Growing with Illinois

Jewel-Osco presents “Red Alert” Candy Train

McDonald’s® Owner / Operators of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana present Ronald McDonald® and his Big Red Shoe

McDonald’s® Owner / Operators of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana presents the Jackie Robinson West Little League Team

Assyrian American Civic Club of Chicago

Durango, Mexico

Mid-USA Falun Dafa Association

Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago

Tatra Mountain Cultural Foundation

Tuskegee Airmen

Un Dia an Antigua Guatemala

Von Heidecke’s Dance Center / Chicago Festival Ballet

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King Bhumibol of Thailand absence sparks concern

Diane A. Wade
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King Bhumibol of Thailand absence sparks concern

Fresh concerns over the health of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand have been raised after he failed to appear for a scheduled event.

On November 21, King Bhumibol, 86, was due to preside over the confirmation of two ministers appointed by PM Prayuth Chan-ocha.

However, the ministers were told that King Bhumibol was unable to meet them.

The monarch has been staying at a hospital in Bangkok following an operation last month.

His health is a sensitive issue in Thailand.

Any discussion about the royal succession is tightly constrained by a stringent lèse-majesté law.

King Bhumibol, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, has been on the throne for 67 years.

Beyonce releases 7/11 video music

Sonia Pantiss
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Beyonce releases 7/11 video music

Beyonce has released the video music for her single 7/11.

7/11 is the sixth single from her self-titled album which came out last year.

The three and a half minute clip shows Beyonce dancing around an apartment building and hotel, accompanied by friends.

Scenes include the construction of a human pyramid and a scene in which Beyoncé bounces on her bed.

Beyonce’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is being seen on her bed during some scenes.

The video appears to have been shot on a mobile phone, lacking the professional production of most videos. At one point Beyonce picks up the camera and points it at herself, mimicking the popular “selfie” style of photography.

Activities depicted in the video appear to be a reference to US “sorority” culture at the American universities.

Beyoncé’s latest album has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.

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News reporter Mike Amor gets hit by flying skateboard on live TV

Nancy Clayson
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News reporter Mike Amor gets hit by flying skateboard on live TV

Australian TV reporter Mike Amor was hit in the head by a skateboard while recording a news item at Venice Beach in California.

Mike Amor, a correspondent for Australia’s Channel Seven, wass reporting to camera on the edge of a skatepark at the beach when a stray board hit him in the back of the head.

Just seconds after Mike Amor says to the camera: “You’d be right to be skeptical, thousands of traditional skateboarders”, a board comes flying out of the bowl and hurtling towards the unwitting reporter’s head.

The reporter was not seriously injured and carried on recording the news item shortly after the incident.

Mike Amor has had a 25-year career that has seen him cover the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the Libyan Rebellion.

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Vatican raffles off gifts given to Pope Francis to raise money for poor

James J. Williams
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Vatican raffles off gifts given to Pope Francis to raise money for poor

The Vatican is raffling off the gifts given to Pope Francis in order to raise money for the poor.

A Homero Ortega hat, a new four-wheel-drive Fiat Panda, bicycles, an espresso coffee machine, watches are among the objects to be raffled off.

A poster recently went up around the Vatican announcing the raffle of 13 objects as well as more than 30 unspecified “consolation prizes”.

In the past, most gifts given to popes have either been quietly given away to missions, church institutions, or have gathered dust in a Vatican warehouse.

Pope Francis has made concern for the poor one of the hallmarks of his papacy. He recently ordered shower stalls to be built around the Vatican so that homeless people in the area could wash up.

Tickets for the raffle cost 10 euros ($12.50) and could be purchased from the Vatican post office.

The raffle winners will be announced on January 8, 2015.

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Bunny Mellon’s blue diamond breaks world record at Sotheby’s auction

Sonia Pantiss
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Bunny Mellon’s blue diamond breaks world record at Sotheby’s auction

Bunny Mellon’s blue diamond has fetched $32.6 million at an auction in New York, breaking the world auction record for any diamond of its color, Sotheby’s says.

The stunning 9.75 carat, pear-shaped diamond was bought by a Hong Kong private collector after 20 minutes of competitive bidding on November 20.

The price also set a new world auction record for price-per-carat for any diamond, the auction house said.

The jewel had been owned by Rachel Lambert otherwise known as Bunny Mellon, the art collector wife of the late philanthropist and racehorse breeder Paul Mellon. She died in March aged 103.

“Mrs. Mellon’s diamond absolutely deserves the place in the record books that it achieved,” said Gary Schuler, head of Sotheby’s jewellery department in New York.

It was the highlight of a collection of Bunny Mellon’s jewels and other prized objects that Sotheby’s sold for more than $42 million in New York on November 20, well above the pre-sale estimate of $19.2 million.

Kenya bus attack: Al-Shabab militants kill 28 people in Mandera

Roy Siemens
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Kenya bus attack: Al-Shabab militants kill 28 people in Mandera

Al-Shabab militants have confirmed that they have attacked a bus in northern Kenya, killing 28 people.

The bus was travelling to Nairobi when it was stopped in Mandera county, not far from the Somali border.

The Somali gunmen separated out non-Muslims by asking passengers to read from the Koran, officials and witnesses said. Those who failed were then shot in the head.

Al-Shabab has carried out a series of attacks in Kenya since 2011.

A statement on a website linked to the Islamist group carried a statement saying the attack was carried out in retaliation for security raids on mosques in the coastal city of Mombasa earlier this week.

Kenyan interior ministry said on its Twitter feed that a camp belonging to the attackers had been destroyed by Kenyan military helicopters and jets, with “many killed”.

More than 60 passengers were on the bus when it was attacked, before dawn on November 22, about 19 miles from Mandera town.

The driver tried to accelerate away, but the vehicle became stuck in mud caused by recent heavy rains.

About 10 heavily armed men talking Somali ordered the passengers off the bus.

Kenya’s Red Cross said emergency workers were trying to retrieve bodies from the scene.

Security agencies were “in pursuit of the criminal gang” that carried out the attack, the interior ministry said. It described the assailants as “bandits”.

A local official quoted by Kenyan media said the government had failed to answer their pleas for extra security.

The attack comes after a week of heightened tension in Mombasa, which has suffered a series of al-Shabab attacks.

Security forces raided mosques in the city, saying they were being used to store weapons. The raids triggered apparent revenge attacks by Muslim youths.

Kenya has experience a series of al-Shabab attacks since it sent troops to Somalia three years ago to help fight the militant group.

Mandera, a remote area in Kenya’s north-east that shares a long and porous border with Somalia, has been one of the regions worst-affected by the violence.

On the Somali side of the border, al-Shabab is said to have a base that was recently bombed by Kenyan warplanes. It was not immediately clear whether this was the same base targeted by Kenya following Saturday’s attack.

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Jose Socrates: Former Portugal prime minister detained over tax fraud

Diane A. Wade
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Jose Socrates: Former Portugal prime minister detained over tax fraud

Portugal’s ex-PM Jose Socrates has been detained by police as part of a corruption investigation.

Jose Socrates, who led Portugal’s centre left government from 2005 to 2011, was arrested on November 21 as he flew into Lisbon airport.

The former leader is one of four people detained as part of a probe into money-laundering and bribery.

The announcement comes in the wake of several other ongoing corruption investigations in Portugal.

Jose Socrates was held overnight and is expected to be questioned on November 22.

A statement from the attorney-general’s office said prosecutors had carried out searches at several locations, aided by 70 tax and police officers.

It said the investigation is into banking operations and transfers “without known justification or legal admissibility”.

It also stressed it was a separate from a long-running investigation into tax fraud in which several public figures have been caught up.

The development also comes just days after Portugal’s Interior Minister Miguel Macedo resigned following another investigation into alleged corruption linked to the allocation of residence permits.

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Ferguson protests: Michael Brown’s father appeals for calm ahead of grand jury decision

Nancy Clayson
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Ferguson protests: Michael Brown’s father appeals for calm ahead of grand jury decision

Michael Brown’s father has appealed for calm ahead of a grand jury decision against Officer Darren Wilson.

Michael Brown, a black teenager, was shot dead by police in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9.

His father said “hurting others or destroying property it not the answer” in a video posted online.

Michael Brown, 18, was killed by white Officer Darren Wilson following an altercation.

There were more protests overnight and two people arrested as demonstrators gathered outside the police station.

President Barack Obama has joined the calls for calm.

He told ABC News: “This is a country that allows everybody to express their views. Allows them to peacefully assemble, to protest actions that they think are unjust.

“But using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are.”

Late on Friday, the FBI arrested two men suspected of purchasing explosives for use in protests, CBS News reported.

US Attorney General Eric Holder earlier urged police in the area to show restraint, providing new guidance on how to maintain public safety while protecting free speech rights.

A St Louis County grand jury is currently weighing criminal charges against the officer involved in the shooting. No word has yet been given on when a decision will be announced.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency in the area and called in 400 National Guard troops in anticipation of protests should charges not be filed in the case.

The case has stoked racial tensions in the US, with many in the African American community calling for Darren Wilson to be charged with murder.

Darren Wilson, meanwhile, has maintained he acted in self-defense.

Initial protests in August turned violent as demonstrators clashed with local police using military-grade riot gear.

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Benghazi report finds no wrongdoing by Obama administration in responding to consulate attack

Roy Siemens
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Benghazi report finds no wrongdoing by Obama administration in responding to consulate attack

The Benghazi report has found no wrongdoing by the Obama administration in responding to the deadly 2012 attack on the US consulate in Libya.

The inquiry by the Republican-run House Intelligence Committee also said there was no intelligence failure and no delay in sending a CIA rescue team.

The Obama administration had been accused of mishandling its response.

Four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, died in the raid carried out by Islamist militants.

In a report released on November 21, the committee dismissed a claim that the CIA had not provided adequate security for its own agents near the Benghazi consulate and that the Obama administration had failed to send support.

It said it reached its conclusion based on “thousands of hours of detailed investigation” and interviews with senior American officials and the agents who had been on the ground during the attack on September 11, 2012.

“The CIA ensured sufficient security for CIA activities in Benghazi and, without a requirement to do so, ably and bravely assisted the state department on the night of the attacks,” the report said.

“Appropriate US personnel made reasonable tactical decisions that night, and the committee found no evidence that there was a stand-down order or a denial of available air support.

“The CIA received all military support that was available.”

However, the Benghazi report concluded that the mission had inadequate security and therefore had required CIA assistance.

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Bahrain holds first legislative elections since Arab Spring

Diane A. Wade
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Bahrain holds first legislative elections since Arab Spring

Bahrain is voting in its first parliamentary elections since Arab Spring protests broke out in 2011.

The government has called on all of the country’s political factions to participate in Saturday’s poll.

However, Shia opposition groups plan to stage a boycott, saying the vote is an attempt to establish “absolute rule”.

Despite being ruled by a Sunni monarchy, the majority of the Bahraini population are Shias.

Disenchanted protesters took to the streets of the capital, Manama, in 2011 to demand greater civil rights.

The protests were stamped out when the government, backed by Saudi tanks, moved in to crush dissent.

Talks to resolve the situation have since collapsed and unrest has continued.

Some 350,000 people are eligible to vote, choosing 40 legislators from among 266 mostly Sunni candidates.

A coalition of opposition groups said it would boycott Saturday’s legislative and municipal elections.

The alliance, which includes al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s most popular opposition group, has called the poll a “sham”.

It has also demanded an elected prime minister who is independent from the ruling al-Khalifa monarchy.

“These elections are destined to fail because the government is incapable of addressing the political crisis,” al-Wefaq member Abdul-Jalil Khalil told the Associated Press news agency.

Bahraini Information Minister Sameera Ebrahim Bin Rajab said that the “door to dialogue will never be shut, including with al-Wefaq” but added: “Violence is not allowed. It is tantamount to terrorism.”

Bahrain is of key strategic importance to Washington and hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The election will also be closely watched by Saudi Arabia, which has a large Shia Muslim population in its Eastern Province.

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WHO: Madagascar bubonic plague outbreak kills 40 people and infects almost 80

Kathryn R. Bown
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WHO: Madagascar bubonic plague outbreak kills 40 people and infects almost 80

According to the World Health Organization, a plague outbreak in Madagascar has killed 40 people and infected almost 80 others.

The WHO warned of the danger of a “rapid spread” of the disease in the capital, Antananarivo.

The situation is worsened by high levels of resistance among fleas to a leading insecticide, the WHO added.

Humans usually develop the bubonic form of the plague after being bitten by an infected flea carried by rodents.

If diagnosed early, bubonic plague can be treated with antibiotics.

However, 2% of the cases in Madagascar are the more dangerous pneumonic form of the disease, which can be spread person-to-person by coughing.

The first known case in the outbreak was a man in Soamahatamana village in the district of Tsiroanomandidy, about 125 miles west of Antananarivo, at the end of August.

There have been two confirmed cases in the capital, including one death.

“There is now a risk of a rapid spread of the disease due to the city’s high population density and the weakness of the healthcare system,” the WHO said.

A task force has been activated to manage the outbreak.

In 2013, health experts warned that the island was facing a plague epidemic unless it slowed the spread of the disease. It said that inmates in Madagascar’s rat-infested jails were particularly at risk.

Venice considering ban on wheeled suitcases

Nancy Clayson
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Venice considering ban on wheeled suitcases

Venice officials are considering a ban on noisy wheeled suitcases amid concerns they are keeping locals awake at night.

Officials want visitors to ditch the bags or switch to “noiseless” alternatives with wheels that are filled with air or liquid.

It is hoped the move will also protect the city’s ancient streets.

Venice is one of Italy’s major visitor attractions, with 27 million people flocking there each year.

A statement on the Venetian council’s website said the plan was drawn up to appease the city’s residents.

“The rule is designed to respond to the numerous citizens who have in recent years complained to the local council about the serious irritation caused by stuff being moved about at times of the day and night,” it said.

If introduced, anyone flouting the proposed rule would be liable to a fine of up to 500 euros ($675), according to AFP news agency.

2014 Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation to take place around American Museum of Natural History

Nancy Clayson
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2014 Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation to take place around American Museum of Natural History

For the 2014, Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation will be on Wednesday, November 26 from 3PM to 10PM around the American Museum of Natural History.

Visitors are herded into a procession that starts at 79th Street and Columbus Avenue, and circles the museum.
There are police barricades and cops in an effort to control the inevitable crowds, and the line increases as the night wears on.
Around 5PM the majority of the balloons will start taking shape and by 9M all of them should be inflated.
The 2014 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the official kick-off of the holiday season and begins on Thursday, November 27, at 9AM.
Every year, the Parade is seen by more than 3.5 million people who line the streets of New York and another 50 million people who tune into NBC to watch the giant balloons.

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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2014: Best hotels along parade route

Nancy Clayson
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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2014: Best hotels along parade route

You can get an up-close view of the 88th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC thanks to the following hotels.

If you want to be among the crowds braving the cold (with a hot beverage, of course) but don’t want to wake up early or navigate holiday-morning transportation, stay at one of these nearby hotels and let the parade come to you. If you’d rather enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the whole action, ask for a room facing the parade – preferably not too high up, unless you pack binoculars.

These hotels are directly along the parade route, each offering different room categories and parade-viewing options. Click the links below to explore which Thanksgiving package is best for you.

The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
Mandarin Oriental, New York
Trump International Hotel and Tower
Courtyard by Marriott New York Manhattan/Herald Square
JW Marriott Essex House New York
New York Hilton Midtown
Residence Inn Times Square

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2014: Where to watch, route and parade information

Nancy Clayson
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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2014: Where to watch, route and parade information

Manhattan is prepared for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the annual pageant of giant balloons, floats, cheerleaders, clowns, marching bands, and celebrities.

On November 27, 2014, the 88th annual parade will start at Central Park West and West 77th Street, head down Central Park West and travel east along Central Park South to Sixth Avenue. From there the procession will move south from West 59th Street to West 34th Street, ending in front of the Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square.

There are three recommended stretches or spots on the route for watching the parade: the first leg along Central Park West, Time Warner Center and, finally, along Sixth Avenue between Central Park South and 38th Street. The section from 38th Street to Herald Square and Macy’s department store is the telecast area and closed to the public. While there is limited space for viewing along the south side of 34th Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, the sight lines are seriously compromised by cameras, lights and scaffolding.

Sixth Avenue: The floats and balloons reach Sixth Avenue at about 9:30AM, so arrive at this 21-block portion as late as 7AM and you should still find a good spot.

Time Warner Center: The Shops at Columbus Circle open at 9AM on Thanksgiving Day. From the second and third floors of the mall, you’ll enjoy an elevated view of the parade streaming down Central Park West. As an added bonus you’ll also get to see the Holiday Under the Stars light display.

Central Park West: Viewing starts at 75th Street (two blocks down from the official start of the parade) and is only open to the public on the west side. Central Park is closed for invite-only grandstand seating. The parade runs along this stretch from 9–10:30AM, so early birds who don’t mind turning up at 6AM to snag a prime spot should flock here.
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Thanksgiving travel 2014: AAA predicts 46.3 million travelers over holiday weekend

Nancy Clayson
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Thanksgiving travel 2014: AAA predicts 46.3 million travelers over holiday weekend

More than 46 million US residents will travel at least 50 miles away from home over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the American Automobile Association (AAA) is predicting.

The figure is a 4.3% increase over 2013 travel in the Thanksgiving period, which is defined as the Wednesday through Sunday surrounding the holiday.

According to AAA, the anticipated travel for 2014 would be the highest number of Thanksgiving travelers since 2007 if the prediction is accurate.

“This year, more Americans will give thanks for the opportunity to travel to friends and family than any year since 2007,” AAA Chief Operating Officer Marshall Doney said in a statement.

“Americans are more optimistic about the future as improvements in several key economic factors, including employment, GDP and disposable income, are boosting consumer confidence and the desire to travel,” he continued. 

Marshall Doney attributed part of the predicted increase in Thanksgiving travel to lower gas prices, the auto club has said are under $3-per-gallon on average across the country for the first time in several years.

“Holiday joy has come early this year with Americans likely to pay the lowest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2009,” he said.

“Lower prices are increasing disposable income and enabling families to carve out more money from household budgets for travel this Thanksgiving.”

AAA predicted that 41.3 million of the anticipated Thanksgiving travelers will be driving to their holiday destinations, up 4.3 percent from last year.  The association said the average gas price that will paid by Thanksgiving drivers this year will be $2.85-per-gallon.

The auto club estimates that another 3.55 million travelers will take trips by airplane for their Thanksgiving respite.

Airfares are predicted to be 1% higher than last year, and hotel prices are estimated to have risen about 8%.

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Adam Lanza case: Yale clinicians offered Sandy Hook shooter treatment since 2007

Nancy Clayson
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Adam Lanza case: Yale clinicians offered Sandy Hook shooter treatment since 2007

According to a report released on November 21 by the Office of the Child Advocate, in February 2007, Yale clinicians identified in Adam Lanza what they believed were profound emotional disabilities and offered him treatment that could give him relief for the first time in his troubled life.

Adam Lanza, then 14-year-old, was angry and anxious, and he didn’t want to go. His mother, Nancy Lanza, constantly placating her son, was inclined to pull away from the treatment, prompting a psychiatric nurse to reach out to his father, Peter Lanza, in an urgent email.

Nancy Lanza rejected the Yale doctors’ plan.

Six years later, Adam Lanza murdered his mother and massacred 20 children and six educators before turning a gun on himself at the elementary school he once attended in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown, Connecticut.

The Office of the Child Advocate report pointed to the Yale episode as one of dozens of red flags, squandered opportunities, blatant family denial and disturbing failures by pediatricians, educators and mental health professionals to see a complete picture of Adam Lanza’s “crippling” social and emotional disabilities.

While the report does not draw a line between the events in Adam Lanza’s young life and the massacre, it points out repeated examples where the profound anxiety and rage simmering inside Lanza was not explored in favor of attempts to manage his symptoms.

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Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed, White Flower No 1 sets auction record for female artist

Sonia Pantiss
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Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed, White Flower No 1 sets auction record for female artist

Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed, White Flower No 1 has sold for $44.4 million at Sotheby’s auction, setting a record for an artwork by a female artist.

The artwork smashes the previous record of $11.9 million for an untitled work by Joan Mitchell, set in May.

Sotheby’s in New York said the $15 million estimate on Georgia O’Keeffe’s work was shattered after an intense bidding war between two rivals.

The art auction record is $142.4 million for Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucien Freud in 2013.

Georgia O’Keeffe, who died in 1986 at the age of 98, was celebrated for her large-format depictions of flowers which she painted as if they had been seen in close-up.

Her Jimson Weed, White Flower No 1 smashed her previous best of $6.2 million set in 2001, and was one of three works which were placed in the sale.

It was offered at auction by the O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which holds a large body of the artist’s works.

The proceeds of the sale will be put towards the museum’s acquisitions funds.

Georgia O’Keeffe worked for much of her earlier life in New York, where she captured the city’s overwhelming architecture, but later moved to New Mexico, where she painted its huge landscapes.

Elizabeth Goldberg, Sotheby’s head of American painting, said the landmark sale “places Georgia O’Keeffe’s work in the top tier of 20th Century artists on the market internationally, where it has always belonged”.

Sotheby’s added that her floral images “stand among the most recognizable images in both art history and popular culture”.

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Ruby Holt: 100-year-old woman sees ocean for first time

Nancy Clayson
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Ruby Holt: 100-year-old woman sees ocean for first time

Ruby Holt of Tennessee has seen the ocean for the first time just weeks before her 101st birthday.

Ruby Holt has spent most of her life on a farm in rural Tennessee picking cotton and said she never had the time or money to go to a beach.

“I’ve heard people talk about it and how wonderful it was and wanted to see it, but I never had the opportunity to do so,” she said.

Now she has been on an all-expenses paid trip to the Gulf of Mexico.

Ruby Holt’s holiday was funded by the assisted living centre where she lives along with a charity which grants wishes to elderly people called Wish of a Lifetime.

She said she had never seen anything as big as the ocean but kept describing the November weather as “cold”.

Mark Davis, executive director of Brookdale’s Sterling House, where Ruby Holt lives said two employees filled out the application for her after finding out that she wanted to see the ocean for the first time.

“They did a water gun fight out in the courtyard during the summer and water got brought up, the beach, and that’s what she told the girls, that she had never been,” he said.

“When we got to the room yesterday she was just pointing out the ocean and, you know, her facial expressions and… she was just speechless.”

Ruby Holt, who has four children, said she was always too busy on the farm or working in a shirt factory to travel and that the family never had enough money.

The holiday to the beach in Alabama was the furthest she had ever been from her home in Giles County. Ruby Holt said she had only left the state of Tennessee once before.

To visit the beach the woman travelled 400 miles.

Ruby Holt had been lent a motorized wheelchair which had been adapted to be used on sand and with the support of care workers was able to stand and dip her toes in the water.

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Lammily: Normal doll with acne, stretch marks and cellulite

Nancy Clayson
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Lammily: Normal doll with acne, stretch marks and cellulite

Designer Nickolay Lamm created Lammily, a new “realistic” doll for children, released as an add-on pack complete with acne, cellulite and stretch marks.

Lammily’s body is based on the average measurements of a 19-year-old woman in the US.

Lammily, who stands at 10.72 inches tall and wears relatively toned-down outfits and makeup compared with her Mattel counterpart, including a range of snug winter coats, denim shorts and an ombre shirt.

Unlike Barbie doll, whose constantly pointed legs would force her to walk on all fours if she were real, Lammily has articulated joints – reading to walk, run and play. Promotional shots of the doll on the official website even show her poised in a tricky plank yoga position.

From January, for $6 children can customize their dolls with marks commonly found on bodies of all shapes and sizes, including freckles, stretch marks, acne, moles, cellulite, and blushing cheeks for when Lammily is “embarrassed, shy, or anxious”.

Children can also adorn Lammily according to the success of her latest adventure, with stitches, scrapes and scratches, bruises, scars, mosquito bites, grass, dirt stains and even a cast featured in the pack. Temporary tattoos and stylish blue, thick-rimmed glasses are also included.

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