According to a 2011 biography, Van Gogh: The Life, Vincent van Gogh did not kill himself.
Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith claim that, contrary to popular belief, it was more likely Vincent van Gogh was shot accidentally by two boys he knew who had “a malfunctioning gun”.
The authors came to their conclusion after 10 years of study with more than 20 translators and researchers.
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam called the claim “dramatic” and “intriguing”.
In a statement, however, curator Leo Jansen said “plenty of questions remain unanswered” and that it would be “premature to rule out suicide”.
He added that the new claims would “generate a great deal of discussion”.
Vincent van Gogh died in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, in 1890 aged 37
Vincent van Gogh died in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, in 1890 aged 37.
The Dutch master had been staying at the Auberge Ravoux inn from where he would walk to local wheat fields to paint.
It has long been thought that he shot himself in a wheat field before returning to the inn where he later died.
Steven Naifeh said it was “very clear to us that he did not go into the wheat fields with the intention of shooting himself”.
“The accepted understanding of what happened in Auvers among the people who knew him was that he was killed accidentally by a couple of boys and he decided to protect them by accepting the blame.”
He said that renowned art historian John Rewald had recorded that version of events when he visited Auvers in the 1930s and other details were found that corroborated the theory.
They include the assertion that the bullet entered Van Gogh’s upper abdomen from an oblique angle – not straight on as might be expected from a suicide.
“These two boys, one of whom was wearing a cowboy outfit and had a malfunctioning gun that he played cowboy with, were known to go drinking at that hour of day with Vincent.
“So you have a couple of teenagers who have a malfunctioning gun, you have a boy who likes to play cowboy, you have three people probably all of whom had too much to drink.”
He said “accidental homicide” was “far more likely”.
“It’s really hard to imagine that if either of these two boys was the one holding the gun – which is probably more likely than not – it’s very hard to imagine that they really intended to kill this painter.”
Gregory White Smith, meanwhile, said Vincent van Gogh did not “actively seek death but that when it came to him, or when it presented itself as a possibility, he embraced it”.
He said Van Gogh’s acceptance of death was “really done as an act of love to his brother, to whom he was a burden”.
Van Gogh’s brother, Theo, was funding the artist who, at that time, “wasn’t selling”.
Other revelations claimed by the authors include that:
Van Gogh’s family tried to commit him to a mental asylum long before his voluntary confinement later
Van Gogh fought so furiously with his parson father that some of his family accused the artist of killing him
Van Gogh’s affliction, viewed as a mix of mania and depression, was a result of a form of epilepsy
Gregory White Smith said the biography, published on November 10, helped to give a greater understanding of a “frail and flawed figure” and that his art would be seen “as even more of an achievement”.
Thousands of previously untranslated letters written by the artist were among documents studied by the authors to create a research database containing 28,000 notes.
Yahoo has announced it will buy digital video advertising service BrightRoll for $640 million.
The move would allow Yahoo to grow its video advertising platform, “making it the largest in the US”, the giant tech said.
BrightRoll does automated online video advertising for some of the world’s biggest brands and its net revenue is expected to exceed $100 million this year.
A jump in video advertising would also help offset Yahoo’s slowing growth and boost declining display ad revenues.
Yahoo has announced it will buy digital video advertising service BrightRoll for $640 million (photo Reuters)
“Here at Yahoo, video is one of the largest growth opportunities, and BrightRoll is a terrific, strategic and financially compelling fit for our video advertising business,” said Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer in a statement on November 11.
Last month, Yahoo had reported that its Q3 revenue from ads fell by 5% from a year earlier. It has struggled to keep up with rivals like Google that have seen ad revenue grow by 17% in third quarter from a year ago.
The acquisition is also Yahoo’s first major purchase since receiving $9.4 billion in September from selling part of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
News of the takeover comes after reports in October that said Yahoo was close to investing millions of dollars in mobile messaging startup Snapchat.
Mexico’s governing PRI party’s offices in south-western Guerrero state have been set on fire by protesters to vent their anger at the official handling of the case of 43 missing students.
Their disappearance more than six weeks ago from the town of Iguala has sparked a series of sometimes violent protests.
Officials say local gang members have confessed to killing the students and burning their bodies.
However, remains found nearby have not yet been matched to the missing.
About 1,000 people marched in the Guerrero state capital, Chilpancingo, before unrest broke out.
A group of protesters fought running battles with police, throwing stones and petrol bombs.
The disappearance of 43 students six weeks ago from the town of Iguala has sparked a series of violent protests
Officials said three police officers and two journalists were injured in the clashes.
The disappearance of the 43 trainee teachers and the links it has revealed between the local authorities and a gang calling itself Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors) have triggered mass protests.
Investigators said that municipal police officers confessed to seizing the students, who had been protesting in Iguala on September 26, and later handing them over to the gang.
Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca is under arrest on suspicion of ordering police to intercept the students. Iguala’s police chief is still on the run.
Residents say they suspect links between the gang and officials reach higher levels than that of the local town council.
Relatives of the missing are also angry about the way the search for the students has been conducted.
The search uncovered a series of mass graves in the hills surrounding Iguala.
Tests carried out by the Guerrero state authorities suggested the bodies they contained were not those of the students.
Mexico’s Attorney-General Jesus Murillo Karam later said the initial tests may have been flawed.
A group of international forensic scientists acting for the families has also been examining the remains. On November 11 they released their first statement.
They said that they had so far been able to determine that 24 of the 30 bodies found in the six mass graves in Pueblo Viejo near Iguala were not those of the students.
It is not clear who they may belong to or how long ago they may have been buried there.
Test on the remaining six bodies found in Pueblo Viejo continue and results on those are expected soon, they said.
The team, made up of scientists from Argentina, Colombia, France, Mexico, Uruguay and the US, said it was also testing nine bodies found in burial pits in La Parota, also near Iguala.
Furthermore, charred remains found at a landfill site near the town of Cocula will be sent to a specialized laboratory in Austria for testing.
The landfill site is where, according to testimony by gang members given to prosecutors, the Guerreros Unidos killed and burned the students.
European Space Agency’s Rosetta satellite will release the Philae lander on a seven-hour descent to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 12 at 08:35 GMT.
The flight team, based in Darmstadt, Germany, has confirmed that Rosetta is lined up correctly.
If Philae gets down successfully, it will be the first time that a robot has landed on the surface of a comet.
Confirmation is expected at Earth around 16:00 GMT.
If all goes to plan, the little robot, called Philae, will deploy screws and harpoons to secure its position on the comet after a seven-hour flight.
The first thing Philae will do on landing is send back a picture of its surroundings – a strange landscape containing deep pits and tall ice spires.
This is, though, an event with a highly uncertain outcome.
Early on November 12, the third “go” signal was delayed due to concerns over the health of the Philae lander.
“We almost didn’t get the third <<go>>,” said Paolo Ferri, head of operations at ESA.
The thruster system used to push the robot into the surface of the comet when it touches down could not be primed. This means Philae will now have nothing to push it into the surface of the comet.
Rosetta satellite will release the Philae lander on a seven-hour descent to the surface of Comet 67P (photo AP)
“We will just have to rely now on the harpoons, the screws in the feet, or the softness of the surface. It doesn’t make it any easier, that’s for sure,” said lander chief Stephan Ulamec, from the German Space Agency. But the landing attempt goes ahead.
The terrain that has been chosen for the landing on the rubber-duck-shaped object is far from flat.
Philae could bash into cliffs, topple down a steep slope, or even disappear into a fissure.
ESA’s Rosetta mission manager Fred Jansen said that despite these challenges, he was very hopeful of a positive outcome.
“We’ve analyzed the comet, we’ve analyzed the terrain, and we’re confident that the risks we have are still in the area of the 75% success ratio that we always felt,” he told reporters here at ESA’s mission control in Darmstadt, Germany.
The prize that awaits a successful landing is immense – the opportunity to sample directly a cosmic wonder.
Comets almost certainly hold vital clues about the original materials that went into building the Solar System more than 4.5 billion years ago.
Mission control will closely monitor the mothership and lander as they move towards separation.
The vast distance between the comet and the Earth – 510 million km – means radio commands take almost half-an-hour to reach the spacecraft.
Nonetheless, the flight team must put Rosetta on a very precise path, to make sure Philae has the best opportunity of arriving squarely in the chosen landing zone.
These navigation instructions were due to be sent up late on Tuesday.
Once the 100kg robot is let go at 08:35, it has no means of adjusting its descent; Philae will go where the comet’s gravity pulls it.
Controllers in Darmstadt will want to hear not only that Philae landed in one piece but that it is securely fastened to the comet.
The nature and strength of the surface materials are unknown, however.
Philae could alight upon terrain whose constitution is anything between rock hard and puff-powder soft.
If it can, the robot will endeavor to lock itself in place with screws in its feet and harpoons that fire from its underside.
ESA has cautioned that success may require a large slice of luck in addition to the skill of all the teams involved.
Rosetta was dispatched from Earth to catch 67P in 2004. That means it and Philae were designed and built in the 1990s.
Midwest and parts of Canada have been hit by an Arctic blast with temperatures plummeting by as much as 40F in days.
The sharply cooler temperatures are a result of frigid air pushed in by a powerful storm that hit Alaska with hurricane-force winds.
Parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan saw over a foot of snow overnight on November 10.
More than 150 flights were cancelled at the Minneapolis airport.
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was expecting as much as another two feet of snow after accumulating more than a foot on November 10.
Midwest and parts of Canada have been hit by an Arctic blast with temperatures plummeting by as much as 40F in days
In Minnesota, state police said at least two people were killed in accidents on icy roads.
Snowy roads were blamed for a Wisconsin school bus crash that sent two adults to hospital, according to a local broadcaster.
Terri Sommerfeld, a clerk at Ace Hardware in Webster, Wisconsin, said the store had sold six or seven snow-blowers in two days, the same amount they sell in a typical winter.
The unseasonably cold temperatures are expected to move further east on November 12.
What made this chill more of a shock was the way it struck so quickly after warm autumn weather.
David Phillips, a climatologist for Environment Canada, says Calgary experienced its warmest October for 50 years. The average temperature was 8.3C and it’s usually 5.2C.
At an APEC event to watch the fireworks in Beijing on Monday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin created a few of his own by slipping a shawl over the shoulders of China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan.
A smiling Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, accepted the offer, but removed the shawl only seconds later, replacing it with her own black jacket.
It was a fleeting moment but captured on live television and China’s internet users went wild for the gesture, posting the GIF image on their Weibo accounts.
Vladimir Putin carefully placed a shawl over the shoulders of China’s stylish first lady Peng Liyuan (photo Getty Images)
Perhaps after seeing how the forums pounced on the moment, state TV stopped running that scene and there is no mention of it official state media.
But on Weibo and WeChat it is clearly what is making people talk and there has been little censorship so far.
This served as a reminder to China’s Weibo users that Russia’s “gallant” president had form. He once covered German Chancellor Merkel with a shawl at a previous G20 summit.
Polish police clashed with hundreds of masked men during march marking National Independence Day in Warsaw.
The clashes began as some of the marchers – said to be members of far-right groups – broke away from the main rally and started to throw stones and flares at the police.
Several people were arrested, and there were reports of injuries.
It is the fourth year in a row that violence has erupted during the march.
In 2013, a group of protesters tried to attack the Russian embassy.
Polish police have used water cannon to disperse hundreds of masked men during march marking National Independence Day in Warsaw
On November 11, thousands of people took part in the annual march in Warsaw, which was initially noisy but peaceful.
The violence broke out when a group of people – many of them wearing masks – broke away from the main rally.
They hurled rocks, flares and paving slabs at police, who responded with water cannon.
One man was seen with blood coming from a wound to his head, according to Reuters news agency.
Earlier in the day, President Bronislaw Komorowski led official celebrations in the capital.
The march commemorates the day Poland regained its independence at the end of World War One in 1918.
Before that, Poland had been carved up between Russia, Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian empire.
UK’s pub chain Hungry Horse has been criticized for creating the Double Donut burger containing nearly 100% of a woman’s recommended daily calorie intake at 1,996 calories.
The Double Donut burger consists of two beef burgers topped with cheese, four bacon rashers and BBQ sauce, sandwiched between two glazed ring-doughnuts.
Critics called it irresponsible, dubbing it “a heart attack on a plate”.
Hungry Horse said it was catering for a variety of tastes.
The Double Donut burger contains nearly 100 percent of a woman’s recommended daily calorie intake at 1,996 calories
Advertised with the tag line “So Wrong It’s Right”, the Double Donut burger contains 53g of saturated fat, well above the 20g daily allowance for women and 30g allowance for men.
The amount of salt in it – 8.2g – is also more than the recommended daily amount for adults (6g).
Hungry Horse said it displayed all the nutritional information and guideline daily amounts for men, women and children on its website. On searching, you can find a BBQ Pulled Pork (Wo)Man Vs Burrito that contains nearly 3,500 calories, 65g of fat and 13g of salt.
Steve Jebson for Hungry Horse, said: “Our popular menu caters for a variety of tastes and appetites and includes everything from lower calorie options such as our hot chicken and bacon salad at 393 calories, through to the indulgent occasional treat such as our new Double Donut Burger. All the nutritional information for our menu is available on our website and in our pubs, so that our customers are able to make informed decisions about what they choose to eat.”
Riding a motorcycle is an altogether different experience to driving a car. For one thing, you only have two wheels instead of four. But when you’re riding a lightweight machine, two wheels makes you agile and in more control on the road.
When you’re riding a motorcycle, you get to experience the world around you from a different perspective. You get to see more of your surroundings, and you become more aware of what’s going on in the world.
More and more people each year are getting rid of their cars and buying motorcycles instead. If you are one of those people, you will doubtless have a few questions about the process. Today’s blog post will help you answer those questions and more! Here is what you need to know:
Before you buy a bike, you need to determine whether you have a valid motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license. In a lot of states in the USA, this often involves sitting a short written test and taking a basic practical exam.
Unless you plan to ride your motorcycle only on private land, you’ll need a motorcycle endorsement on your license. There is no way around this! It’s usually easier if you passed your driving tests in a car first. That way, you have entitlement to drive cars and ride motorcycles.
I always tell people to get as much training as possible before taking driver’s license exams. Once you do this, you will have enough skill and experience for riding solo on the road.
How good a rider are you?
Following on from the previous section, you should only look at motorcycles that you know you are capable of handling. If you are a beginner, one thing you should not do is set your sights on a high-powered superbike! Unmodified 500cc motorcycles are a good place to start.
In some ways, shopping for a motorcycle isn’t that much different to shopping for a car. There are plenty of models on offer, and you need to try out the ones you like before making a decision on one specific model.
It’s a bad idea buying a motorcycle on impulse, or because you think it looks nice. The only way you will know whether a motorcycle is the perfect fit for you or not is by taking it out for a test ride.
Only consider motorcycles that are suitable to your current skill level. You can always upgrade to better-performing models once you gain more skill and experience on (and off) the road.
Should you buy a new or used motorcycle?
It’s no secret that motorcycles are so much cheaper than cars! Even a brand new motorcycle is cheaper than a premium used car! But there still remains the question of whether you should buy a brand new or used model.
The answer to that question depends on two things. The first point of consideration is how much money you’ve got to spend on a motorcycle. As with cars, you can usually pay by cash, card or finance.
If you opt for the “buy now pay in instalments” approach, make sure that you can afford the repayments. Otherwise, a repo truck will soon appear to take away your pride and joy!
The second point is how important depreciation is to you. Again, as with cars, the value of motorcycles goes down or “depreciates” over time. A six-month-old demonstrator motorcycle that’s been sitting in a dealer showroom is more attractive than a new one.
If you’re working to a tight budget, your only option may be to buy a used motorcycle. But just because a motorcycle is a used model doesn’t mean it will be unreliable! In general, motorcycle owners tend to look after their machines better than motorists that own cars.
And on the subject of maintenance, motorcycles are so much easier to maintain and repair than cars. That’s because there are fewer parts that get used, and the engine is quite accessible.
How important is insurance?
For a start, motorcycle insurance is a legal requirement in the United States and most countries around the world. The sad truth is that there are more auto accidents involving motorcycles than there are cars.
Motorcycle insurance is often cheaper than car insurance because bikes are lower value items and cost less to fix. Even bike insurance in the UK is cheap. And anyone that has been to or lived in Britain will tell you how expensive most things are in general!
Thanks to the power of the World Wide Web, it is now easier than ever to get motorcycle insurance quotes. In fact, there are even some comparison websites that make the process quicker and easier for you.
There is no excuse not to get a good deal on your motorcycle insurance, regardless of your age or what bike you ride. Just make sure that the policy you buy offers good value for money, and doesn’t have a long list of exclusions on what you can and cannot do.
How do I know if a specific model is any good?
One of the questions I get asked a lot is whether it’s possible to determine how good (or bad) a specific bike is. It’s pretty easy to make a judgement on a motorcycle. For instance, the Web is a great resource for independent reviews of bikes from an owner’s perspective.
When you read motorcycle reviews in magazines, they tend to be from a journalist’s perspective. They only get to spend a day or so with them, so there’s no way they can tell you about all of the pros and cons of owning a specific bike.
Motorcycle forums are usually a good place to start when seeking out online reviews. That’s because they are communities of owners and enthusiasts just like you! And you can also check out some motorcycle blogs as the smaller ones are often run by owners rather than publishing firms or other organizations.
Veterans Day 2014 is coming with deals and freebies for everything from wings to drinks and desserts.
Before you try to redeem these deals, it’s a good idea to call ahead and note limitations and restrictions. Some of these deals are reserved for those who have served in the American military and their families, while other promotions are open to everyone.
Applebee’s
Service members get a free “Thank You” meal when you dine in at Applebee’s. Guests will need to provide proof of their service.
Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins’ flavor of the month in honor of Veterans Day is First Class Camouflage Ice Cream: chocolate, salty caramel and cake flavored ice creams. The ice cream chain will donate 10 cents from ice cream scoops sold at all U.S. locations to the United Service Organizations (USO).
California Pizza Kitchen
California Pizza Kitchen is offering a complimentary entrée from a special Veterans Day Menu at all participating restaurants in the U.S. to active and retired members of the United States Military on Tuesday.
Hooters
Active-duty and retired military are invited to Hooters to dine for free on November 11: get a free entree by presenting a military ID or proof of service.
World of Coca-Cola
The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta offers free admission to members of the Armed Forces (active duty, reserves and retirees) year-round. In honor of Veterans Day, from November 8 through Sunday, November 16, members of the Armed Forces may also purchase up to four half-price general admission tickets for their friends and family. Military members and retirees can present their valid Armed Forces ID cards at the World of Coca-Cola ticket windows.
Friendly’s
Friendly’s will serve free breakfast, lunch or dinner to veterans and active military on Veterans Day.
Veterans Day 2014 is coming with deals and freebies for everything from wings to drinks and desserts
Outback Steakhouse
On November 11, Outback is honoring all active and retired military personnel with a free Bloomin’ Onion and a beverage. You must show a valid military ID at participating restaurants.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
On November 11, veterans get a free Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake dessert. If you’re not a vet and you buy the dessert or other retail items, 10 percent of all proceeds will be donated to the USO.
Denny’s
On Tuesday, active, inactive and retired military personnel can build your own free Grand Slam breakfast from 5 a.m. until noon at participating Denny’s.
DoubleTree by Hilton Cookies
All-day on November 11, all veterans can get a free chocolate chip cookie in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio from DoubleTree by Hilton, with or without a reservation.
Golden Corral
Grill buffet franchise Golden Corral is offering veterans a free beverage and buffet meal on Nove,ber 17 from 5 to 9 p.m. (Golden Corral always hosts their Military Appreciation Day on a Monday.)
Great Clips
The salon chain is offering veterans a free hair cut from Tuesday through December 31, 2014. Customers who come in for a service on Veterans Day get a free haircut card to give to veterans, redeemable through December 31.
Marie Callender’s
Marie Callender’s is donating to send more comforts from home to the U.S. military for Veterans Day. The company teamed up with USO2GO for the Comforts From Home program, an initiative that delivers care kits with electronics, games, sports gear and more to troops in remote global locations. With the code entry found on specially-marked packages of Marie’s comfort foods like chicken pot pies and apple pies, a donation is made.
Red Robin
On Tuesday, veterans and active-duty service members can get a free Red’s Tavern Double Burger and Bottomless Fries, dine-in only, by providing a military I.D., proof of service, or wearing your uniform
Red Lobster
From Monday, Nov. 10 through Thursday, Nov. 13, Red Lobster will be thanking veterans, active duty, active serving military and reservists with a free select appetizer, including the new crispy shrimp lettuce wraps or several other options.
Sleep Number
Through Nov. 16, Sleep Number is offering current and past military personnel $700 off on a Sleep Number m7 bed plus 24-month financing and free standard shipping, plus other Sleep Number military offers.
Slim Jim
Slim Jim launched a “Salute the Troops” campaign, allowing friends, family and supporters to personalize Slim Jim wrappers with messages to troops. Slim Jim will donate one million sticks. To date, more than 60,000 of these sticks will be delivered with personal messages.
Veterans Day 2014 is coming with deals and freebies for everything from wings to drinks and desserts.
Before you try to redeem these deals, it’s a good idea to call ahead and note limitations and restrictions. Some of these deals are reserved for those who have served in the American military and their families, while other promotions are open to everyone.
Applebee’s
Service members get a free “Thank You” meal when you dine in at Applebee’s. Guests will need to provide proof of their service.
Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins’ flavor of the month in honor of Veterans Day is First Class Camouflage Ice Cream: chocolate, salty caramel and cake flavored ice creams. The ice cream chain will donate 10 cents from ice cream scoops sold at all U.S. locations to the United Service Organizations (USO).
California Pizza Kitchen
California Pizza Kitchen is offering a complimentary entrée from a special Veterans Day Menu at all participating restaurants in the U.S. to active and retired members of the United States Military on Tuesday.
Hooters
Active-duty and retired military are invited to Hooters to dine for free on Tuesday: get a free entree by presenting a military ID or proof of service.
World of Coca-Cola
The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta offers free admission to members of the Armed Forces (active duty, reserves and retirees) year-round. In honor of Veterans Day, from November 8 through Sunday, November 16, members of the Armed Forces may also purchase up to four half-price general admission tickets for their friends and family. Military members and retirees can present their valid Armed Forces ID cards at the World of Coca-Cola ticket windows.
Friendly’s
Friendly’s will serve free breakfast, lunch or dinner to veterans and active military on Veterans Day.
Outback Steakhouse
On November 11, Outback is honoring all active and retired military personnel with a free Bloomin’ Onion and a beverage. You must show a valid military ID at participating restaurants.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
On November 11, veterans get a free Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake dessert. If you’re not a vet and you buy the dessert or other retail items, 10 percent of all proceeds will be donated to the USO.
Denny’s
On Tuesday, active, inactive and retired military personnel can build your own free Grand Slam breakfast from 5 a.m. until noon at participating Denny’s.
DoubleTree by Hilton Cookies
All-day on November 11, all veterans can get a free chocolate chip cookie in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio from DoubleTree by Hilton, with or without a reservation.
Golden Corral
Grill buffet franchise Golden Corral is offering veterans a free beverage and buffet meal on Nove,ber 17 from 5 to 9 p.m. (Golden Corral always hosts their Military Appreciation Day on a Monday.)
Great Clips
The salon chain is offering veterans a free hair cut from Tuesday through December 31, 2014. Customers who come in for a service on Veterans Day get a free haircut card to give to veterans, redeemable through December 31.
Marie Callender’s
Marie Callender’s is donating to send more comforts from home to the U.S. military for Veterans Day. The company teamed up with USO2GO for the Comforts From Home program, an initiative that delivers care kits with electronics, games, sports gear and more to troops in remote global locations. With the code entry found on specially-marked packages of Marie’s comfort foods like chicken pot pies and apple pies, a donation is made.
Red Robin
On Tuesday, veterans and active-duty service members can get a free Red’s Tavern Double Burger and Bottomless Fries, dine-in only, by providing a military I.D., proof of service, or wearing your uniform
Red Lobster
From Monday, Nov. 10 through Thursday, Nov. 13, Red Lobster will be thanking veterans, active duty, active serving military and reservists with a free select appetizer, including the new crispy shrimp lettuce wraps or several other options.
Sleep Number
Through Nov. 16, Sleep Number is offering current and past military personnel $700 off on a Sleep Number m7 bed plus 24-month financing and free standard shipping, plus other Sleep Number military offers.
Slim Jim
Slim Jim launched a “Salute the Troops” campaign, allowing friends, family and supporters to personalize Slim Jim wrappers with messages to troops. Slim Jim will donate one million sticks. To date, more than 60,000 of these sticks will be delivered with personal messages.
Quentin Tarantino has announced he will retire after completing his 10th film, saying he likes the idea of leaving audiences “wanting a bit more”.
The director told an American Film Market (AFM) audience in Santa Monica: “I don’t believe you should stay onstage until people are begging you to get off.”
Quentin Tarantino, 51, was speaking at an event to promote his current project, western The Hateful Eight.
Quentin Tarantino has announced he will retire after completing his 10th film (photo Wikipedia)
“I’ve got two more to go after this,” he said.
“I like that I will leave a 10-film filmography.
“It’s not etched in stone, but that is the plan.”
Quentin Tarantino said directing was “a young man’s game” and that he intended to spend the remainder of his career “writing plays and books”.
The Oscar-winning writer and director announced in January he was putting The Hateful Eight on hold after its script was leaked online.
Quentin Tarantino reversed his decision later in the year, saying the film – about a group of outlaws left stranded by a blizzard – would be made after all.
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals will not take place in Morocco because of the country’s fears over the Ebola outbreak elsewhere on the continent, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed.
The CAF expelled Morocco, which would have qualified as hosts, from the finals.
The confederation did not announce a new venue for the tournament, due to take place from January 17 to February 8.
New reports claim that three nations have expressed an interest and the new host will be confirmed on November 12.
Morocco had been given until November 8 to make a final decision on whether or not it would host the tournament.
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals will not take place in Morocco because of the country’s fears over the Ebola outbreak
The country had asked to postpone the competition until 2016.
Egypt has stated it will not host the tournament for “economic and political reasons”.
Qualification matches for the tournament will continue as planned on November 14 and 15 to decide which 15 teams will join the new host country for the finals.
Up to November 4, at least 4,960 people had been reported as having died from Ebola, mainly in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
Morocco had expressed fears an influx of foreign fans could help spread the epidemic.
Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith had as many as 40 wives, some already married, the church leaders admitted for the first time.
Joseph Smith was portrayed in Mormon Church materials as a loyal partner to his loving spouse Emma Hale.
The church’s disclosures, in a series of essays online, are part of an effort to be transparent about its history at a time when church members are increasingly encountering disturbing claims about the faith on the internet.
Many Mormons, especially those with polygamous ancestors, say they were well aware that Joseph Smith’s successor, Brigham Young, practiced polygamy when he led the flock in Salt Lake City. But they did not know the full truth about Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith probably did not have relations with all of his wives, because some were “sealed” to him only for the next life, according to the essays posted by the church. But for his first wife, Emma, polygamy was “an excruciating ordeal”.
Joseph Smith was portrayed in Mormon Church materials as a loyal partner to his loving spouse Emma Hale
The four treatises on polygamy reflect a new resolve by a church long accused of secrecy to respond with openness to the kind of thorny historical and theological issues that are causing some to become disillusioned or even to abandon the faith.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is formally known, has quietly posted 12 essays on its website over the last year on contentious topics such as the ban on blacks in the priesthood, which was lifted in 1978, and accounts of how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, the church’s sacred scripture.
Elder Steven E. Snow, the church historian and a member of its senior leadership, said in an interview: “There is so much out there on the Internet that we felt we owed our members a safe place where they could go to get reliable, faith-promoting information that was true about some of these more difficult aspects of our history.
“We need to be truthful, and we need to understand our history.
“I believe our history is full of stories of faith and devotion and sacrifice, but these people weren’t perfect.”
The essay on “plural marriage” in the early days of the Mormon movement in Ohio and Illinois says polygamy was commanded by God, revealed to JosephSmith and accepted by him and his followers only very reluctantly. Abraham and other Old Testament patriarchs had multiple wives, and Joseph Smith preached that his church was the “restoration” of the early, true Christian church.
Most of Joseph Smith’s wives were between the ages of 20 and 40, the essay says, but he married Helen Mar Kimball, a daughter of two close friends, “several months before her 15th birthday”. A footnote says that according to “careful estimates,” Joseph Smith had 30 to 40 wives.
In 1890, under pressure by the American government, the church issued a manifesto formally ending polygamy. The church’s essay on this phase admits that some members and even leaders did not abandon the practice for years.
However, the church did renounce polygamy, and Mormons who refused to do the same eventually broke away and formed splinter churches, some that still exist. Warren Jeffs, the leader of one such group, was convicted in Texas in 2011 of child assault.
There remains one way in which polygamy is still a part of Mormon belief: The church teaches that a man who was “sealed” in marriage to his wife in a temple ritual, then loses his wife to death or divorce, can be sealed to a second wife and would be married to both wives in the afterlife. However, women who have been divorced or widowed cannot be sealed to more than one man.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) has banned violinist Vanessa-Mae from skiing for four years after results were manipulated to help her qualify for the Sochi Winter Olympics.
An FIS hearing panel found “violations” in the Thailand skier’s results at an event in Slovenia.
Vanessa-Mae, a 36-year-old British citizen, qualified days before the deadline after competing in the hastily-staged races in January.
Five officials involved in the event have also been banned by the FIS.
Vanessa-Mae was born in Singapore to Thai and Chinese parents and moved to England at the age of 4
The competitions in Slovenia were organized at the request of the management of the skier, through the Thai Olympic Committee.
Competing as Vanessa Vanakorn, she went on to finish last of 67 competitors in the giant slalom at the Sochi Games, 50 seconds adrift of winner Tina Maze.
The FIS said in a statement: “The hearing panel found to its comfortable satisfaction that the results of the four ladies’ giant slalom races that took place on 18 and 19 January at Krvavec were manipulated.”
Vanessa-Mae was born in Singapore to Thai and Chinese parents and moved to England at the age of 4 after her mother married a British lawyer.
She earned fame as a violinist during her childhood with a series of performances on British television before going on to launch a successful solo career with album sales running into millions.
The International Olympic Committee said it would not be taking any follow-up action until the outcome of any appeal was known.
Unemployed EU citizens who go to another member state to claim benefits may be barred from some benefits, the European Court of Justice has ruled.
The ruling on so-called “benefit tourism”, relating to a case in Germany, could set an important legal precedent for the rest of the EU.
Tuesday’s ruling relates to a case involving a Romanian woman and her son living in Germany who had been denied access to a non-contributory subsistence allowance from the German social security system.
The court decided the German authorities were right to refuse her request, and there was no discrimination involved in denying her access to a non-contributory benefit which is available to German citizens.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that unemployed EU citizens who go to another member state to claim benefits may be barred from some benefits
It said the defendant did not have sufficient financial resources to claim residency in Germany after the initial three months and therefore could not claim that the rules excluding her from certain benefits was discriminatory.
More broadly, it said the right of EU citizens to live and work in other member states – the principle of freedom of movement – did not stop states passing legislation of their own excluding migrants from some non-contributory benefits available to their own citizens.
National Parliaments have the “competence to define the extent of the social cover” offered in the way of certain non-contributory benefits, it stated.
“The directive thus seeks to prevent economically inactive European Union citizens from using the host member state’s welfare system to fund their means of subsistence,” the European Court of Justice said in a statement.
“A member state must therefore have the possibility of refusing to grant social benefits to economically inactive European Union citizens who exercise their right to freedom of movement solely in order to obtain another member state’s social assistance.”
The ruling only applies to non-contributory benefits, benefits where the claimant does not make a contribution through the tax system.
The European Commission has said it supports action by member states to tackle abuse of the benefits system by migrants but that it will not countenance restrictions on the principle of freedom of movement and labor across Europe.
Alibaba has sold $2 billion of goods in the first hour of China’s annual Singles’ Day (Guanggun Jie).
That compares with $3.1 billion in sales seen in the first half of last year’s event.
Singles’ Day is celebrated each year on November 11 (11/11). The date is chosen for the connection between singles and the number “1”. In recognition of the day, young singles organize parties and Karaoke to meet new friends or try their fortunes.
Singles’ Day is considered the world’s biggest online retail sales day. It compares with Cyber Monday in the US – the day after Thanksgiving also marketed as a big online shopping day.
Alibaba said it expected to break sales records during the annual event, offering big discounts to boost sales.
Singles’ Day is considered the world’s biggest online retail sales day
“I bet the number [of goods bought] is going to be scary,” said Alibaba’s executive chairman Jack Ma last week. He estimated that 200 million packages would be shipped from orders made during the day.
Last year, Alibaba shipped more than 150 million packages worth about $5.75 billion in gross merchandise volume.
Before midday on November 11, sales had already hit $4.9 billion, Jack Ma told official state broadcaster CCTV.
Singles’ Day in China was adopted by Alibaba in 2009 to boost sales, but dates back to at least 1993, when students at Nanjing University are believed to have chosen the date as an anti-Valentine’s Day where single people could buy things for themselves.
Since then, it has gone on to become a massive day of sales for China’s fast growing e-commerce market.
The market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 25% over the next few years, from $390 billion in 2014 to $718 billion in 2017, according to a recent study released by management consulting firm AT Kearney.
A federal investigation has found that the Manhattan clinic treating Joan Rivers in August did not notice that her vital signs were deteriorating for about 15 minutes before she went into cardiac arrest, leading to her death several days later.
Released on November 10, the investigation said that Joan Rivers’ blood pressure and pulse decreased precipitously while she was on the operating table on August 28 between 9:12 and 9:26 AM, yet cardiopulmonary resuscitation began at 9:28 AM at the earliest.
“The physician in charge of the care of the patient failed to identify deteriorating vital signs and provide timely intervention during the procedure,” said the report made by investigators for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Joan Rivers died on September 4 of brain damage brought on by lack of oxygen
The investigation found that the anesthesiologist at the clinic, Yorkville Endoscopy, later changed the medical record to reduce the amount of Propofol, a strong anesthetic whose misuse can be fatal, that Joan Rivers received. The stated dose was reduced to 120 milligrams from 300 milligrams.
Investigators also reported that Dr. Lawrence Cohen, then medical director of the clinic, took cellphone pictures of Joan Rivers and her ear, nose and throat doctor, Gwen Korovin, while she was lying on the operating table unconscious from anesthesia.
Dr. Lawrence Cohen told the others in the room that Joan Rivers might want to see the pictures in the recovery room.
The 81-year-old comedian never recovered from what was supposed to be a routine procedure to examine her throat. Instead, she went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where she was put on life support.
Joan Rivers died on September 4 of brain damage brought on by lack of oxygen, according to the medical examiner.
Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm has been ordered to pay $995.5 million to his ex-wife Sue Ann Hamm in one of the largest-ever US divorce judgments, according to a court filing on November 10.
In an 80-page ruling following a more than 9-week divorce trial that ended last month, Oklahoma Special Judge Howard Haralson ruled that oil magnate Harold Hamm should pay his ex-wife a total of $995.5 million.
Although the award could make Sue Ann Hamm, 58, one of the 100 wealthiest women in the United States, according to Forbes‘ rankings, it is far smaller than the amount her lawyers sought and does not require Harold Hamm to sell shares of Continental.
Harold and Sue Ann Hamm wed in 1988 and had no prenuptial agreement
Harold Hamm, 68, holds 68% of Continental, a stake worth nearly $14 billion.
The ruling is subject to appeal, but if accepted by both parties it would allow Continental’s CEO to put a contentious and time-consuming divorce behind him, without eroding his control of one of America’s most successful oil companies.
Following news of the judgment, Continental shares fell 1.6% to $54.22 per share. The shares have lost around 30% since July 1, in step with tumbling world oil prices.
Oklahoma-based Continental is a leading driller in the key Bakken Shale play of North Dakota and Montana, the largest US oil discovery in decades. Through his stake in Continental, Harold Hamm is believed to own more oil underground than any other American.
Harold and Sue Ann Hamm wed in 1988 and had no prenuptial agreement. For years, Sue Ann Hamm was also an executive at Continental.
Lee Joon-seok, the captain of the Sewol ferry which sank in April, has been found guilty of gross negligence and sentenced to 36 years in prison.
The Sewol ferry was carrying 476 people when it went down. More than 300 died, most of them school students.
Lee Joon-seok was among 15 crew members on trial over the sinking, one of South Korea’s worst maritime disasters.
Prosecutors charged him with homicide and called for the death penalty, but judges acquitted him on that charge.
Lee is in his late 60s, and he accepted in court that he would spend the rest of his days in jail.
Sewol ferry Captain Lee Joon-seok has been found guilty of gross negligence and sentenced to 36 years in prison (photo Yonhap)
The judges said that he was not clearly not the only person responsible for the tragedy and they accepted that his negligence did not amount to an intent to kill.
Crew members did not secure cargo which moved when the vessel took a tight corner, toppling the ferry, and Lee was filmed leaving the sinking ship while many passengers remained inside.
During the trial Lee Joon-seok apologized for abandoning them.
The chief engineer of the ferry, identified by his surname Park, was found guilty of murder and jailed for 30 years.
Thirteen other crew members were given jail sentences of up to 20 years on charges including abandonment and violating maritime law.
Relatives of victims were distraught at the verdict, with some weeping, according to AFP news agency.
Four cinematic veterans – actor and singer Harry Belafonte, actress Maureen O’Hara, director Hayao Miyazaki and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere – have been honored at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles.
Among those paying tribute were Ron Howard, Sidney Poitier, Warren Beatty and Reese Witherspoon.
Harry Belafonte, 87, was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his activism.
The musician was a prominent civil rights campaigner and friend of Martin Luther King Jr., who he helped financially support during his fight against segregation.
Among his humanitarian work Harry Belafonte has been a UNICEF ambassador and a campaigner on HIV in Africa, as well as supporting prostate cancer charities since he was successfully treated for the disease in 1996.
“Artists are the radical voice of civilization,” Harry Belafonte said in his speech at the Governors Awards event.
Harry Belafonte, Hayao Miyazaki, Jean-Claude Carriere and Maureen O’Hara have been honored at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles
“I really wish I could be around for the rest of this century, to see what Hollywood does with the rest of the century. Maybe, just maybe, it could be civilization’s game changer.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) also handed lifetime awards to Hayao Miyazaki, Maureen O’Hara and Jean-Calude Carriere.
Hayao Miyazaki, 73, has been Oscar nominated three times for his dark animations, winning the animated feature award in 2002 for Spirited Away.
Introducing the Japanese director to the stage, John Lasseter said: “Miyazaki is the most original artist ever to work in our medium.”
Although Maureen O’Hara, 94, never received an Oscar nomination during her career she appeared in many much-loved films including Our Man in Havana, The Parent Trap and The Quiet Man, which won director John Ford an Academy Award and also starred John Wayne.
Maureen O’Hara was introduced by Liam Neeson and Clint Eastwood, who recalled being cast alongside the actress in a film in which she rode on a horse.
“My fantasies were going really wild,” he said, before revealing he was ordered off set before the scene was shot.
Jean-Claude Carriere is a prolific screenwriter who has worked on films in many languages including French, German and English, including Cyrano de Bergerac, Hotel Paradiso, Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum), The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Goya’s Ghost.
Orlando Thomas, ex-Minnesota Vikings safety, died on November 10 after a long battle with ALS at the age of 42.
Orlando Thomas was living in his native Crowley, Louisiana, just a half hour west of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette campus where he starred for four seasons before being selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 1995 NFL draft.
He spent all seven of his NFL seasons with the Vikings before retiring after the 2001 campaign at age 29.
Orlando Thomas was a key starter on the Minnesota teams of the late 1990s, including the 1998 group that went 15-1 in the regular season before losing to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.
Orlando Thomas spent all seven of his NFL seasons with Minnesota Vikings before retiring after the 2001 campaign at age 29 (photo Jonathan Daniel/Allsport)
He led the league with nine interceptions as a rookie.
“The Vikings are deeply saddened by the loss of Orlando Thomas,” the team said in a statement on November 10.
“Orlando was an outstanding player for the Vikings for seven years, but more importantly, he represented the franchise and the state of Minnesota with the utmost dignity and class. While his outgoing personality made him a favorite among his teammates, Orlando’s involvement in the community made him a favorite outside of Winter Park.”
Orlando Thomas is one of several former NFL players affected by ALS, including ex-New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason, ex-Baltimore Ravens linebacker and current front office executive O.J. Brigance, ex-Oakland Raiders fullback Steve Smith and retired journeyman Tim Shaw.
CBS News’s correspondent Lara Logan is being quarantined in a South Africa hotel for 21 days as a precaution after visiting an American-run hospital treating Ebola patients in Liberia for a 60 Minutes report that aired on November 9.
Lara Logan’s 21-day self-quarantine will end on November 14, CBS said.
Neither Lara Logan nor the four other CBS employees in South Africa have shown any sign that they are infected with the virus.
Lara Logan is being quarantined in a South Africa hotel for 21 days as a precaution after visiting Ebola patients in Liberia (photo CBS News)
Lara Logan, speaking in a 60 Minutes Overtime web interview from the room where the CBS crew put its report together, admitted to some cabin fever as she waits out her stay. She said the South African government had given the crew permission to work at the hotel.
“We wanted to try, as much as possible, to minimize our exposure to anybody while we still had to get our piece done,” she said.
“We were very mindful of the fact that this 21-day period after you’ve been in an Ebola-affected country is very important to everyone.”
The interview showed Lara Logan and one of her colleagues in a room stuffed with equipment.
“We haven’t traveled far from the room that you can see,” she said.
The 60 Minutes report detailed Lara’s precautions while in Liberia, including being hosed down with a chlorine solution, having her temperature taken frequently and making sure not to touch people. A CBS security worker traveled with the crew with the responsibility of watching everyone’s interactions to minimize any chance they could be infected.
A cameraman who was working for NBC News in Liberia contracted the virus but recovered last month. Nancy Snyderman, the NBC News medical correspondent who worked there, was asked to go into voluntary quarantine when she arrived home but that was made mandatory after she was spotted leaving her home. ABC’s Richard Besser was not quarantined upon his return from Liberia because the ABC team was judged not to have had exposure to the virus.
Christina Aguilera has showed off her post-baby body, less than three months after giving birth to daughter Summer Rain.
The 33-year-old mother of two showed off her incredible post-baby body in a plunging red dress.
Christina Aguilera has showed off her post-baby body, less than three months after giving birth to daughter Summer Rain (photo Getty Images)
Christina Aguilera attended the Breakthrough Prize Awards on November 9 in Mountain View, California, with fiancé Matt Rutler by her side.
A source told E! News that the singer “loves the way it makes her look and feel, inside and out. It’s so calming and keeps her centered. She is obsessed!”
For the most part, though, Christina Aguilera is “eating clean and watching her portions,” says a source. She’s also breastfeeding baby Summer.
Christina Aguilera also has 6-year-old son, Max Bratman, with ex-husband Jordan Bratman.
A new study has found that US poison control centers received more than 17,000 calls – or about one per hour – about children who had been exposed to chemicals in laundry detergent pods in 2012 and 2013.
Over 700 of the children were hospitalized, and one child died, researchers said.
Study’s lead author from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Gary Smith said: “This caught us by surprise.”
“I’ve seen these cases come through the hospital’s emergency department,” he said.
“I was aware of the case reports, but I haven’t seen anyone pull together the numbers.”
Laundry detergent pods were introduced to the US market in 2012. The all-in-one packets contain detergent that is released in the wash, so users don’t have to measure detergent in a cup.
Dr. Gary Smith and his colleagues write in the journal Pediatrics that doctors have previously reported on kids who have eaten or burst the pods with serious consequences, such as being hospitalized and put on a ventilator for several days.
To get a better understanding of how many children are being exposed and possibly harmed by the pods, the researchers analyzed data from 2012 and 2013 from the National Poison Data System, which catalogs calls made to US poison control centers.
Overall, the centers received 17,230 calls about children younger than six who were somehow exposed to the liquid in laundry detergent pods. That is roughly four calls per 10,000 children in that age group, according to the researchers.
Hundreds of children had been exposed to chemicals in laundry detergent pods in 2012 and 2013
About a third of the calls involved children between the ages of one and two years.
“This is an age group that has newfound mobility,” Dr. Gary Smith said.
“They’re curious and they don’t sense danger.”
Children may think the colorful pods are candy or filled with juice, he said.
About 80% of all calls involved children swallowing the pods or their liquids.
“The good news is that half of these exposures were trivial,” Gary Smith said, meaning the children did not get seriously sick or need additional care.
“If they swallow it and they swallow enough of it, that’s when we get these serious symptoms,” he said.
The most common side effects of exposure to the pods or their liquids include vomiting, coughing and choking, eye irritation or pain and tiredness. Serious side effects included comas, seizures and stomach burns.
While the researchers can’t say for sure that the detergents in the pods are more powerful than traditional laundry detergent, the symptoms after exposure to the pods seem more serious, Gary Smith said.
“These are severe symptoms that we haven’t seen in the past with traditional laundry detergent that we’re now seeing with these new pods,” he said.
“The symptoms are a very broad spectrum,” Dr. Gary Smith said.
“It’s not only the amount, but the route of exposure too.”
Dr. Gary Smith said parents need to recognize the toxicity of these laundry detergent pods. They also need to close the packages and put them away in a locked cabinet.
“We’re actually recommending if parents have young children in the home, they should use traditional laundry detergent,” he said.
He said the pods need to be treated like any other chemical.
“They need to be kept out of reach and they need to be locked up,” he said.
Dr. Gary Smith said industry is moving in the right direction by crafting new and more child-resistant packaging.
