Dennis Rodman has sung Happy Birthday to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in front of a crowd of thousands in Pyongyang.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman said Kim Jong-un, who was in the audience with his wife and other senior officials, was his “best friend”.
Dennis Rodman is on his fourth North Korean visit to mark Kim Jon-un’s birthday with a basketball match.
Dennis Rodman has sung Happy Birthday to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in front of a crowd of thousands in Pyongyang
He has angrily defended his visit after criticism from rights groups. The US said Dennis Rodman does not represent the country.
The crowd of about 14,000 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium clapped and waved as Dennis Rodman sang Happy Birthday on Wednesday, the Associated Press news agency says.
Dennis Rodman is with a team of former National Basketball Association (NBA) players who played an exhibition match. He said the match was to celebrate Kim Jong-un’s birthday, although the leader’s official birthday and age have not been confirmed.
Dennis Rodman has said that he was on a “basketball diplomacy” mission in North Korea. He remains the highest-profile American to have met Kim Jong-un.
Former Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi might not appear in court in Cairo because bad weather has prevented his departure from prison, officials say.
Other defendants have arrived at the police compound by helicopter but Mohamed Morsi is still in Alexandria.
Mohamed Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood figures are accused of inciting the killing of protesters outside a presidential palace in 2012.
He was removed by the army last July after demonstrations against his rule.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters have since held regular protests calling for his reinstatement.
Last Friday at least 11 people died in clashes between police and pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators across Egypt.
A helicopter carrying some of the defendants arrived at the National Police Academy complex in Cairo for the hearing early on Wednesday, reporters said.
However state media said Mohamed Morsi’s arrival had been delayed by bad weather. He is being held at the city’s Burj al-Arab prison.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters have held regular protests calling for his reinstatement
Egyptian media said thousands of police were on alert and TV pictures showed some pro-Morsi protesters being arrested as they waved the four-finger salute adopted by supporters of the ousted president.
Mohamed Morsi is due to be asked to appoint a lawyer, which he refused to do during his initial appearance.
He also faces several other charges ranging from fraud to colluding with foreign militants in a terrorist plot.
Mohamed Morsi faces another court hearing at the end of January, accused with some 130 others of murdering policemen during a mass breakout from a Cairo prison in January 2011 shortly before the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.
Human rights groups have dismissed some of the allegations against him as preposterous.
Egyptian officials insist Mohamed Morsi will be given a fair trial but lawyers trying to defend him say they have been denied access to him.
He first appeared in court in early November amid chaotic scenes.
Speaking from behind bars, he insisted he was still the president and was being held against his will.
Mohamed Morsi refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the court and would not wear a prison uniform.
A video of a meteorologist tossing a pot of boiling water into the air in Wisconsin, to demonstrate how it immediately turns to snow, quickly went viral on the internet and was widely imitated.
Meteorologist Eric Holthaus demonstrates what happens when you toss a pot of boiling water into the sky when it is -21°F with a wind chill of -51°F.
Meteorologist Eric Holthaus demonstrates what happens when you toss a pot of boiling water into the sky when it is -21°F with a wind chill of -51°F
The video was shot on January 6, 2014 in Viroqua, Wisconsin.
All 50 US states saw freezing temperatures as weather records have tumbled across North America.
The most extreme arctic blasts, blamed on a weather pattern known as the polar vortex, were said to have affected nearly 190 million people.
In Kentucky, an escaped prisoner turned himself in to get out of the cold.
Some parts of the Midwest hit -26C (-14F), as low as the Antarctic coast in winter, and much colder than the inside of a domestic freezer.
Temperature records were shattered in states across the US, including Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
It was -17C (1F) in the small town of Hell, Michigan, prompting online jokes that the weather was so bad even hell had frozen over.
But it was Embarrass, Minnesota, that experienced the lowest temperature in the nation on Tuesday: -37C (-35F).
That was colder than readings recently recorded on the Red Planet by the Mars Rover.
All 50 US states saw freezing temperatures as weather records have tumbled across North America
A video of a meteorologist tossing a pot of boiling water into the air in Wisconsin, to demonstrate how it immediately turns to snow, quickly went viral on the internet and was widely imitated.
The extreme weather resulted in the usual travel chaos – nearly 2,700 US flights were cancelled on Tuesday.
More than 500 rail passengers on their way to Chicago were marooned overnight into Tuesday morning in northern Illinois on three Amtrak passenger trains after drifting snow and ice covered the tracks.
The big freeze was even testing the resolve of Canadians, no strangers to cold weather.
Temperatures in parts of Ontario fell to -30C (-22F), causing flights in and out of Pearson International Airport to be halted for several hours on Tuesday morning.
Roads in the cities of Toronto and Ottawa were coated in dangerous black ice.
Freezing temperatures were recorded in all 50 US states, including the usually balmy California and Florida.
Even tropical Hawaii experienced -7C (18F), reports the Associated Press news agency, although that was at the peak of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano.
Atlanta, Georgia, was 25 degrees below average for this time of year.
People in the Midwest are still digging out from two massive snow storms recently which dumped more than 2ft of snow.
A reprieve is expected soon, however, with forecasters predicting temperatures above freezing for much of the US in the coming days.
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has strongly criticized President Barack Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan in his new book Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary of War.
In the book, Robert Gates says that the president was skeptical that his administration’s Afghan strategy would succeed.
“I never doubted [his] support for the troops, only his support for their mission,” Robert Gates writes.
Robert Gates was Pentagon chief under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
He was the first Pentagon head to serve presidents of different parties before leaving political office in 2011.
Although Robert Gates describes Barack Obama as “a man of personal integrity” who was right in his decisions regarding Afghanistan, he says that the president was uncomfortable with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which he inherited from the Bush administration.
Robert Gates also says Barack Obama was distrustful of the military that was providing him options.
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has strongly criticized President Barack Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan in his new book
He writes in the memoir that in March 2011 Barack Obama did not trust General David Petraeus – the US military commander in Afghanistan in 2010-11 – and “could not stand” Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Barack Obama “doesn’t consider the war to be his”, Robert Gates writes of a March 2011 meeting in the White House.
“For him, it’s all about getting out.”
According to The Washington Post, the memoir is “in contrast to his subdued, even-keeled public demeanor as Pentagon chief”, and Robert Gates “strikes an often bitter tone in his memoir”.
In the book, Robert Gates voices frustration at the “controlling nature” of Barack Obama’s White House, which he says constantly interfered in Pentagon affairs, even though civilian aides lacked knowledge of military operations.
The White House national security staff “took micromanagement and operational meddling to a new level,” Robert Gates writes, comparing their approach to that of the Nixon era of the 1970s.
“All too early in the administration,” Robert Gates writes, “suspicion and distrust of senior military officers by senior White House officials – including the president and vice president – became a big problem for me as I tried to manage the relationship between the commander-in-chief and his military leaders.”
However, Robert Gates does give credit to the president for approving the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan – which he himself initially opposed – describing it as “one of the most courageous decisions I had ever witnessed in the White House.”
Robert Gates is also effusive in his praise of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has angrily defended his visit to North Korea, ahead of a basketball game to mark Kim Jong-un’s birthday.
In an interview with CNN, Dennis Rodman was asked if he would raise the issue of a US citizen jailed in North Korea.
Dennis Rodman responded with a rant that at one point appeared to point blame at the man, Kenneth Bae.
His visit has been criticized by rights groups, with Washington making it clear he does not represent the US.
His team of former NBA players will take on a North Korean team in an exhibition match later on Wednesday in Pyongyang.
Dennis Rodman says the match is to celebrate Kim Jong-un’s birthday, although his official birthday and age have not been confirmed.
It comes weeks after the execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle, Jang Sung-taek, once seen as a major power in North Korea. His rapid and brutal purge has sparked concern over stability inside the country.
Dennis Rodman has angrily defended his visit to North Korea, ahead of a basketball game to mark Kim Jong-un’s birthday
Meanwhile, state news agency KCNA has announced that elections for North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament will be held on March 9 – something which could provide a hint of who the key players are in the wake of Jang Sung-taek’s execution.
This visit is Dennis Rodman’s fourth to North Korea. He has in the past described Kim Jong-un as a friend and says he is on a “basketball diplomacy” mission. He remains the highest-profile American to have met the young leader.
Dennis Rodman had been asked several times in the past whether he could use his relationship with Kim Jong-un to discuss Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor in May 2013.
North Korea said that Kenneth Bae – described as both a tour operator and Christian missionary – had used his tourism business to plot sedition.
Asked again in the CNN interview, Dennis Rodman appeared to lose his cool, saying: “If you understand what Kenneth Bae did … Do you understand what he did in this country? … I would love to speak on this.”
Dennis Rodman’s visit was about opening “the door a little bit”, he said, even though the team would have “to go back to America and take the abuse”.
A White House spokesman declined to comment on Dennis Rodman’s remarks, but reiterated a call for North Korea to release Kenneth Bae – who is suffering from ill health – on humanitarian grounds.
Former NBA star Charles D. Smith, meanwhile, told the Associated Press news agency that he felt “remorse” for participating in the trip amid the backlash in the US.
“I feel a lot of remorse for the guys because we are doing something positive, but it’s a lot bigger than us. We are not naive, we understand why things are being portrayed the way they are.”
Ex- NFL and Florida State player Todd Williams has been found dead in a Tampa Bay area hotel. He was 35.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office reports that deputies responded to the Sarasota Suites late Monday morning, just hours before the Seminoles won a national championship.
Todd Williams, a Bradenton native, had reportedly complained to his mother of feeling sick on Friday. She found his body Monday.
He could not taste anything and had stomach pain for about a month, his mother, Ozepher Fluker, said, so she advised him to go to the hospital to get checked out Friday.
After not hearing from him over the weekend, Ozepher Fluker went to the hotel. She said she knew her son was gone when she heard crying coming from his room. Ozepher Fluker said Todd Williams lived at the hotel for about six years.
Todd Williams was one of Florida’s top prospects after his senior season at Southeast High in Bradenton
Todd Williams, a 6-foot-5, 330-pound offensive lineman, was a member of the 1999 FSU Seminoles, who won the national championship. The team was led by another Southeast star, Peter Warrick.
Sheriff’s spokesman Dave Bristow says they haven’t found anything suspicious, but an autopsy will be performed.
Todd Williams was one of the state’s top prospects after his senior season at Southeast High in Bradenton.
He was a redshirt freshman on the Seminoles’ 1999 national champion team.
Todd Williams was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the 2003 NFL Draft and went on to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers.
Vietnam veteran Robert Anderson has taken aim at Duck Dynasty products on sale at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center store in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It looks like all the items in Robert Anderson’s cross hairs will be removed from the canteen’s shelves.
Robert Anderson is one of many people upset over GQ magazine interview in which Phil Robertson made comments they found racist and homophobic.
On December 27, Robert Anderson – who served in the Air Force in Vietnam in the 1960s – wrote to the canteen that he was “greatly offend[ed] that the Veterans Administration Patriot Store would sell items promoting an entertainment group that clearly stands for racism and bigotry”.
“The reactionary views incorporated into the Duck Dynasty group are contrary to the policies and mission of the VA medical system to not discriminate among veterans based on race or gender,” he continued.
“Please remove these ugly divisive items immediately.”
Duck Dynasty products on sale at Veterans Affairs Medical Center store came under fire in Albuquerque
A few days later, in an email to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Robert Anderson urged quick action “to remove the racist and bigoted products” from Veterans Affairs canteens. On Monday, the Central New Mexico Community College instructor said he was still waiting to hear back from the national office.
Last week, Debra Abeyta, assistant chief of Canteen 501 in Albuquerque, advised Robert Anderson that she, too, was “very upset by the racist remarks made” by Phil Robertson, adding: “We here at the canteen service in no way promote such ideas and have taken steps to remove the product from the store.”
Debra Abeyta said Monday that the canteen ordered the items before the controversy erupted over Phil Robertson’s comments.
“[We] are doing all we can to get [the product] out of our stores,” she said.
Already, Debra Abeyta said, the canteen had persuaded the distributor of Duck Dynasty DVDs to take them all back and give the store credit. The canteen drastically slashed prices on other items to get rid of them but was trying to “cut our losses as much as possible.”
Phil Robertson, 67, also has come under fire for advising men to wed Bible-carrying teenage girls who can cook.
Mia Robertson, the daughter of Duck Dynasty stars Jase and Missy Robertson, has been released from hospital after cleft surgery.
According to her mother, Missy Robertson, Mia is recovering at home and already has an appetite.
Mia Robertson has been released from hospital after cleft surgery
“Mia is home and resting well. Already had 2 helpings of homemade spaghetti sauce, diluted and blended, but still tasty. #MissKaysRecipe #Mmm,” tweeted Missy Robertson from her official Twitter account.
Mia Robertson’s surgery was a success according to her father, Jase Robertson. The child was surrounded by family before the operation and she is still being treasured even after coming home.
Duck Dynasty’s Missy Robertson has launched her first clothing line in collaboration with Southern Fashion House.
“I felt there was a void in the market for busy, working moms who want to look put together without having to put a lot of effort into it while staying modest and age-appropriate. These styles are reflective of the fun new fashions that can always be found in the junior section of department stores. However, the silhouettes in the collection are intended to flatter women of all ages, shapes, and sizes,” Missy Robertson said.
Missy Robertson has launched her first clothing line in collaboration with Southern Fashion House
The new clothing line is called Missy Robertson by Southern Fashion House, a collaboration with Stephanie Carter’s Southern Fashion House, which produces Judith March, Jacque and Janis clothing lines and DejaVu boutiques.
The 2014 Missy Robertson Spring Collection –debuting this month at Market in Atlanta, Dallas and Las Vegas– consists of approximately 55 pieces including dresses, sportswear, light cover-ups, and mix-and-match tops that are both versatile and affordable.
Prince William has started full-time studies on an agriculture course at the University of Cambridge.
The Duke of Cambridge arrived at the university by public transport on the 09:44 service from London King’s Cross.
Prince William will take a 10-week course in agricultural management, organized by the university’s Programme for Sustainability Leadership.
The course is designed to help him for the time when Prince William inherits the Duchy of Cornwall estate from his father.
He is expected to make the 46-minute train journey several days a week but also has the option of overnight accommodation in Cambridge.
Prince William was greeted at St John’s College, where some of his tutorials will take place, by vice-chancellor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, along with Master of St John’s, Prof Christopher Dobson, and Polly Courtice, director of the Programme for Sustainability Leadership.
The royal toured the college’s grounds, where he stopped to look at a plaque marking the Queen’s visit there in April 2011.
Prince William arrived at the University of Cambridge by public transport
The course, which ends in March, has been designed specifically for Prince William but he will study alongside PhD students in some classes.
He will have 20 hours of teaching time each week, including work in small groups as well as one-to-one tuition and his own additional reading. He will also go on a series of field trips.
Prince William will be taught by academics specializing in geography, land economy and plant sciences.
He is expected to study subjects including rural and planning policy, farming and supply chains, site management, agricultural policy and conservation governance.
The cost of the course is being met privately.
Kensington Palace said the duke was considering a number of options for public service following the end of his service as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot in Anglesey.
The Duchy of Cornwall is the portfolio of land, property and investments that the duke will take over when the Prince of Wales becomes king.
Prince William graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2005 with a class 2:1 degree in geography, and it was as an undergraduate that he met his future wife Kate Middleton.
The first Syrian chemical weapons are leaving the country on a Danish ship.
The vessel left the northern Syrian port of Latakia on Tuesday, escorted by Russian and Chinese warships.
Removing the most dangerous chemicals is the first step of an UN-backed deal to eliminate Syria’s chemical arsenal.
A previous bid to collect the materials was aborted after Syrian officials failed to deliver the toxic chemicals to the collection point in Latakia.
The hazardous cargo is due to be taken to Italy, where it will be loaded onto a US Navy ship and shipped to international waters for destruction in a specially created titanium tank on board.
The mission is being run jointly by the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The agreement was brokered by the US and Russia after rockets filled with the nerve agent sarin was fired at three towns in the Ghouta agricultural belt around the Syrian capital Damascus on 21 August.
Hundreds of people were killed in the attacks.
The first Syrian chemical weapons are leaving the country on a Danish ship
Western powers said only Syrian government forces could have carried out the assault, but President Bashar al-Assad blamed rebel fighters.
In a statement on Tuesday, the UN confirmed that a small number of containers with “priority one chemical materials” were on board the Ark Futura cargo ship, one of two vessels in charge of collecting the materials.
They will wait in international waters for additional chemicals to be delivered to Latakia for collection.
A spokeswoman said the loading took only “a couple of hours”, but this delicate phase of the operation had been “months in the planning”.
The OPCW did not disclose what percentage of Syria’s toxic arsenal – around 1,300 tonnes of weapons and precursors – had been removed.
The toxic materials were supposed to have been removed by December 31st, but the deadline was missed because of heavy fighting and the presence of opposition groups along the main road between Damascus and Latakia.
The complete elimination of all chemical weapons material and equipment must be completed by June.
The “most critical” chemicals include about 20 tonnes of the blister agent sulphur mustard.
How the plan will unfold:
The Syrian authorities are responsible for packing and safely transporting the chemical weapons from 12 sites across the country to the port of Latakia. Russia has supplied large-capacity and armored lorries, while the US has sent container drums and GPS locators.
Russia will provide security for loading operations at Latakia, for which the US has supplied loading, transportation and decontamination equipment. China has sent 10 ambulances and surveillance cameras, and Finland an emergency response team in case of accidents.
Denmark and Norway are providing cargo ships and military escorts to take the chemicals to an as yet unnamed port in Italy. Russian and China will also provide naval escorts.
In Italy, the “most critical” chemical agents will be loaded onto the US Maritime Administration cargo ship, MV Cape Ray, to be destroyed by hydrolysis in international waters. Less-toxic chemicals will be shipped by Norwegian and Danish vessels for disposal at commercial facilities.
According to new figures, the US trade deficit narrowed to its lowest level in four years in November 2013, as rising sales of oil pushed exports to a record high.
The trade gap dropped by 12.9% to $34.3 billion in November, the smallest monthly deficit since October 2009, the US Commerce Department said.
Imports fell 1.4% from October as a fall in demand for foreign oil offset a record level of imported cars.
Exports rose 0.9%, boosted by a 5.6% rise in petroleum exports.
The US trade deficit narrowed to its lowest level in four years in November 2013, as rising sales of oil pushed exports to a record high
US exports were also boosted by stronger sales of American-made planes and machinery.
The drop in oil imports was helped by lower global prices.
After peaking at $102 per barrel in September, the average price of a barrel of imported crude oil has been falling. It averaged $94.69 a barrel in November.
Ralph Lauren’s niece, Jennifer Lauren, has appeared in court charged with being drunk and abusive on a plane over an alleged air rage incident.
Jennifer Lauren is accused of breaching the peace on the Delta Air Lines flight, which had to be diverted to Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland.
The New York-based jewellery designer wept before the hearing as she appeared before Killaloe District Court.
The sitting was held in the Brian Boru pub as there is no courthouse nearby.
A downstairs function room of the premises was used as a temporary courtroom.
Jennifer Lauren, 41, was arrested at Shannon Airport on Monday and held in custody overnight.
A police officer told the court that when the jewellery designer was being detained at the airport she said: “Can you say that in English please?”
Jennifer Lauren spent Monday night in a cell in Shannon Garda Station.
She made no reply when charged under the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1973.
Ralph Lauren’s niece, Jennifer Lauren, has appeared in court charged with being drunk and abusive on a plane over an alleged air rage incident
The judge heard that Jennifer Lauren was ready to enter a plea to three separate charges, but he refused to rule on the case in full and said the plea to the charges would be dealt with at a second hearing on Wednesday at Ennis District Court in County Clare.
Jennifer Lauren was charged with being intoxicated to such an extent as would give rise to a reasonable apprehension that she might endanger herself or other persons on board the aircraft.
She was accused of engaging in behavior likely to cause serious offence or annoyance to any person on board the aircraft, after being asked by a crew member to stop.
Jennifer Lauren also faced a count of breaching the peace by engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behavior.
More than 200 passengers and crew were on board the flight from Barcelona to New York when the alleged air rage incident took place.
Before the hearing in the public house, Jennifer Lauren became emotional and wiped away tears as she spoke with friends.
She was granted bail on condition she stays at a hotel in Shannon with her travelling companions and lodges 2,500 euro of her own money to the court.
Jennifer Lauren has been ordered to sign on at Shannon Garda Station on Tuesday evening and surrender her passport.
The judge warned that he would have to take account of the nature and extent of the inconvenience to other people, as well as the costs incurred by Delta Air Lines, airport and other passengers.
“These are the issues that will have to be addressed and the court will have to be satisfied before they can be discharged,” he said.
He asked for an assessment on how much the disruption has cost the airline, airport and passengers before dealing with Lauren’s plea at the hearing on Wednesday.
The pub was packed for the day’s court sittings, with the bar area cordoned off with wire mesh.
A representative from the US Embassy in Ireland also met Jennifer Lauren at the police station on Monday and appeared in the temporary court to support her.
Jennifer Lauren left the premises in a black 4×4 and covered her face as she ducked past photographers into the vehicle.
The case is due to be heard again on Wednesday at Ennis District Court where sentencing will be decided on a guilty plea from Jennifer Lauren.
Following a settlement with US prosecutors, JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $1.7 billion to victims of the Bernard Madoff fraud.
The settlement comes after Federal prosecutors accused the bank of ignoring red flags about Bernard Madoff’s crimes.
“We recognize we could have done a better job,” said JPMorgan spokesperson Jennifer Zuccarelli.
The bank has agreed to improve its controls as part of the settlement.
While JPMorgan acknowledged failures in its protections against money laundering, the settlement includes a so-called deferred prosecution agreement that allows it to avoid criminal charges.
No individual executives were accused of wrongdoing.
JPMorgan was Bernard Madoff’s primary bank in the later years of a fraud that lasted for decades.
JP Morgan had a relationship with Bernard Madoff dating back to 1986
The bank had a relationship with Bernard Madoff dating back to 1986, according to documents released by the US Attorney’s office.
It ended in 2008 when Bernard Madoff revealed to the FBI that his investment advisory business was a Ponzi scheme.
According to the complaint, Bernard Madoff’s account – account 703 – received deposits and transfers totaling $150 billion over the period from 1986 until the fraud was discovered in 2008, almost exclusively from Madoff Securities.
JPMorgan employees began raising red flags about the account from the late 1990s up until 2008, but no action was taken to alert US regulators.
Bernard Madoff, 75, pleaded guilty to the fraud and is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence in the US.
Over the past year, JPMorgan has paid close to $20 billion in settlements with regulators for various violations relating to the US financial crisis, the so-called “London whale” trading loss, and manipulating the London inter-bank offered rate, or LIBOR.
JPMorgan boss Jaime Dimon has taken a proactive stance in ridding the bank of various investigations into its practices over the past year.
In his annual letter to shareholders from April 2013, Jaime Dimon wrote: “I feel terrible that we let our regulators down.”
The bank is still facing scrutiny from US regulators over its hiring policies in China.
Shares in JPMorgan fell slightly on news of the settlement.
Samsung has unveiled the Bendable TV, an 85 in (216 cm) prototype that allows the curvature of its screen to be adjusted by remote control.
The LED (light-emitting diode) set was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
LG has also announced a smaller 77 in (196 cm) flexible TV of its own that is based on OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology.
The firms suggest that a curved screen can enhance the viewing experience.
The tech would allow the sets’ owners to determine how bent the screens should be taking into account how many people were watching them and how far away they were sitting. The screens would have the added benefit of being able to be left flat against the wall when not in use.
LG’s model will go on view when its show floor booth opens to attendees on Tuesday.
However, industry watchers are unconvinced there is a market for such innovation.
Samsung has unveiled the Bendable TV at CES 2014
“The challenge for the firms is to demonstrate that the world really needs this,” said Martin Garner, a TV tech consultant from CCS Insight who is attending CES.
“They are, however, a nice attempt at differentiation.”
Neither of the two South Korean manufacturers have given a projected price or release date for the user-bendable TVs.
They both, however, offer versions with a fixed curvature.
The two companies are showing off new giant-sized 105 in (267 cm) concave-screened versions in the extra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio.
Samsung said such a design delivered the “most immersive viewing experience” possible.
However, a demonstration of the equipment went awry when it invited Michael Bay, director of the Transformers movies, on stage at its press conference.
Joe Stinziano, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics, told the crowd: “Welcome to Vegas, it’s a live show folks.”
Michael Bay later wrote a blog giving his take on the mishap.
“Wow! I just embarrassed myself at CES,” he wrote.
“I got so excited to talk, that I skipped over the Exec VP’s intro line and then the teleprompter got lost.
“Then the prompter went up and down – then I walked off. I guess live shows aren’t my thing.”
The Akademik Shokalskiy and Chinese icebreaker Xue Long have broken free from Antarctic ice where they had been stranded for several days.
The Russian scientific mission ship’s captain said a crack had appeared in the ice after a change in wind direction.
The Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck on December 25. It has a Russian crew of 22.
On Thursday, the Xue Long’s helicopter ferried 52 passengers from the stranded Russian ship to an Australian vessel.
The Xue Long then became stuck itself on Friday.
The Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck in the Antarctic on December 25
“We’re going slowly and zig-zagging, we’ve already moved more than 20 [nautical] miles,” Captain Igor Kiselyov of the Russian ship told ITAR-TASS news agency.
“It’s tough going so far, a lot of mist, visibility is no more than 500 metres,” he said.
Captain Igor Kiselyov confirmed that the Chinese ship was also moving and that Akademik Shokalskiy was just north of it.
“It may catch up with us – in that case, we’ll follow in its wake. But if not, we’ll get out together, independently,” he said.
US Coastguard icebreaker Polar Star is heading towards the two ships, responding to an earlier request for help. It left Sydney, Australia, on Sunday and will take a week to get there.
The Akademik Shokalskiy got trapped by thick floes of ice driven by strong winds about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart in Tasmania.
Michael Schumacher’s wife, Corinna Schumacher, has appealed for privacy and for reporters to leave the clinic where he is being treated.
The former F1 champion has been in a medically induced coma for the past eight days following a skiing accident in the French Alps.
Corinna Schumacher called on the media to “let the doctors work in peace”.
Local media in France report that footage from a camera attached to Michael Schumacher’s helmet is to be used by French investigators.
According to the Dauphine Libere newspaper, the images may help investigators piece together details about the accident, such as the speed he was skiing at and whether signs on or near the piste were visible.
Corinna Schumacher has appealed for privacy and for reporters to leave the clinic where Michael Schumacher is being treated
Asking for support in “our joint fight alongside Michael”, Corinna Schumacher said: “It is important to me that the doctors and the hospital be left in peace to work – please trust their statements and leave the clinic.”
Corinna Schumacher also called on reporters to “please leave our family in peace”.
There has been considerable media speculation over Michael Schumacher’s condition in recent days.
The hospital treating Michael Schumacher for head injuries in the French city of Grenoble says his condition remains stable but critical.
Prosecutors investigating the accident plan to give details of their probe on Wednesday.
Michael Schumacher won seven world championships and secured 91 race victories during his 19-year career.
Infanta Cristina, the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, has been summoned to appear in court over accusations of fraud and money-laundering.
The 48-year-old Spanish princess has been linked to the business affairs of her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, who is being investigated for alleged embezzlement.
Infanta Cristina, the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, has been summoned to appear in court over accusations of fraud and money-laundering
Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, is now a formal suspect and should appear in court on March 8.
It is believed to be the first time a direct relative of the king will appear in court accused of wrongdoing.
About 350 police officers have been sacked in Turkey’s capital Ankara, following a corruption probe targeting people close to the government, reports say.
Officials, mostly from outside the city, have been named to replace them.
Hundreds of police have been dismissed or reassigned across Turkey since last month’s corruption investigation. Three cabinet ministers resigned after their sons were detained in the raids.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the police and judiciary of a “dirty plot”.
The arrests were carried out as part of an inquiry into alleged bribery involving public tenders, which included controversial building projects in Istanbul.
Hundreds of police have been dismissed or reassigned across Turkey since last month’s corruption investigation
Those detained in the December 17 raids included more than 50 public officials and businessmen – all allies of the prime minister.
The latest round of police sackings and reassignments were carried out under a government decree published at midnight.
Those removed from their posts include chiefs of the financial crimes, anti-smuggling and organized crime units, the private Dogan News Agency reported.
The move comes as the government is trying to contain the fall-out from the corruption inquiry.
Many believe the arrests and firings reflect a feud within Turkey’s ruling AK Party between those who back Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, an influential Islamic scholar living in self-imposed exile in the US.
Members of Fethullah Gulen’s Hizmet movement are said to hold influential positions in institutions such as the police, the judiciary and the AK Party itself.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he would not allow “political plotting”.
A polar vortex hitting North America is now heading toward East, ushering in dangerous temperatures not seen in two decades, warn forecasters.
From Montana to Maryland, about half of the population has been placed under a wind chill warning or advisory.
In Canada, the province of Ontario is facing temperatures of -40C (-40F) with wind chill.
Thousands of flights have been grounded, and residents told their skin could freeze if they go outside.
People on the North East coast were warned to prepare themselves for the cold front sweeping in on Tuesday from the Midwest.
Temperatures were set to plummet overnight in New York and Washington DC by as much as 45 degrees, from unseasonably clement highs a day earlier.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that parts of major highways would be closed in preparation for the extreme weather, which could see the mercury plummet to -26C (-15F) overnight with wind chill.
The polar blast was threatening crops and livestock across the American farm belt, even in the usually temperate Deep South.
The sub-zero snap was expected to reach as far south as Texas and central Florida, the National Weather Service said.
Tennessee and Kentucky were forecast to receive several inches of snow.
From Montana to Maryland, about half of the population has been placed under a wind chill warning or advisory
The weather has been blamed for at least 16 deaths in recent days.
Meteorologists said some 187 million people in all would be able to feel the effects of the cold snap by Tuesday.
It has been widely blamed on a shift in the weather pattern known as the “polar vortex”.
In Comertown, Montana, on Monday the temperature sank to -53C (-63F) with wind chill.
The state of Minnesota saw the mercury plummet to -48C (-56F) by the same measure.
The South Pole, and Irkutsk, Siberia, by comparison, jointly basked in a relatively balmy -33C.
More than 4,500 flights were cancelled just on Monday in the US because of the extreme weather.
JetBlue Airways suspended nearly all operations at airports in Boston and around New York City until midday on Tuesday.
The state of Minnesota and the city of Chicago, Illinois, have ordered all schools closed.
It was so cold that even the polar bear at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo was kept indoors, CNN reports.
Public parks were also shut as officials warned that exposed flesh could become frostbitten.
In Illinois, the National Guard used 10-tonne military vehicles to clear up after several lorries jackknifed, stranding nearly 400 vehicles. There were no fatalities or injuries reported in those incidents.
Freezing rain also caused hundreds of flight cancellations at airports in Toronto and Ottawa.
Nearly 1,000 homes in Newfoundland, Canada, were still without electricity on Monday after a power outage.
According to a new research, fruits, vegetables and whole-grains might be an unlikely treatment for asthma.
The animal study results, published in Nature Medicine, showed that a high-fiber diet could reduce inflammation in the lungs.
The extra fiber changed the nutrients being absorbed from the gut, which in turn altered the immune system.
The researchers argue the shift to processed foods may explain why more people are developing asthma.
The airways are more sensitive to irritation and more likely to become inflamed in people with asthma.
It leads to a narrowing of the airways that make it harder to breathe.
However, a possible solution may lie in another organ, the gut, and the bacteria which live there.
The cells of the human body are vastly outnumbered by the trillions of microbes that live in and on it.
There is growing evidence that these bacteria have a significant impact on health.
Fruits, vegetables and whole-grains might be an unlikely treatment for asthma
A team at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland showed that the high and low fiber diets altered the types of bacteria living in the guts of the mice.
Bacteria which can munch on soluble fiber, the type found in fruit and vegetables, flourished on the high-fiber diet and they in turn produced more short-chain fatty acids – a type of fat, which is absorbed into the blood.
The scientists said these fatty acids acted as signals to the immune system and resulted in the lungs being more resistant to irritation.
The opposite happened in low-fiber diets and the mice became more vulnerable to asthma.
Their report argued that a dietary shift away from fiber in favor of processed foods may be involved in rising levels of asthma.
It said: “In recent decades, there has been a well-documented increase in the incidence of allergic asthma in developed countries and coincident with this increase have been changes in diet, including reduced consumption of fiber.”
One of the researchers, Dr. Benjamin Marsland said some of the differences caused by high-fiber diets have already been observed in people by comparing diets in Europe and Burkina Faso.
The team in Lausanne is also investigating the role of diet in long-term lung inflammation such as COPD, which is set to become the world’s third biggest killer.
An alternative to tweaking diets is giving the purified fatty acids themselves as a dietary supplement.
This worked in mice, but Dr. Benjamin Marsland warns there “certainly needs to be more work” before this is suggested in people.
Janet Yellen has been confirmed by US Senate as the next head of the Federal Reserve.
Fifty-six senators voted in favor of Janet Yellen with 26 opposed – many members of the chamber were unable to attend the vote because of bad weather.
It was the last procedural hurdle for Janet Yellen, 67, before taking over from outgoing chair Ben Bernanke on February 1st.
Janet Yellen is the first woman to lead the central bank in its 100-year history.
President Barack Obama welcomed the vote, saying in a statement: “The American people will have a fierce champion who understands that the ultimate goal of economic and financial policymaking is to improve the lives, jobs and standard of living of American workers and their families.”
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Janet Yellen served as chair of former President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers and was an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Janet Yellen has been confirmed by US Senate as the next head of the Federal Reserve
During the Senate session to confirm her as the head of the central bank, many senators praised her long-term focus on unemployment.
Janet Yellen is the first Fed chair nominated by a Democratic president since Paul Volcker left the top spot in 1987.
She will face a difficult road ahead once Ben Bernanke steps down after eight years in office.
Although most analysts expect Janet Yellen to continue Ben Bernanke’s efforts to boost the US economy by keeping short term interest rates low, she will eventually face unchartered territory once the central bank begins to ease back on its extraordinary measures.
Janet Yellen was a strong supporter of the Fed’s current stimulus efforts – a $75 billion a month bond buying program known as quantitative easing. By buying bonds, particularly mortgage bonds, the Fed has tried to keep long term interest rates low to spur housing activity and encourage investors to spend, rather than save, their money.
In doing so, the Fed has amassed close to $4 trillion in assets since it first initiated its stimulus efforts in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial collapse – a fact that some senators criticized during Monday’s confirmation hearings.
Although the central bank announced plans to cut its purchases from $85 billion a month to $75 billion a month in December, Janet Yellen faces the difficult task of assessing when and how to ease stimulus efforts.
Mia Robertson underwent surgery last week for a cleft issue on her face – and her parents, Duck Dynasty’s Missy and Jase Robertson, have been keeping friends, family and fans posted on her progress via Facebook.
Mia Robertson underwent surgery for a cleft issue on her face
Missy Robertson wrote yesterday on her Facebook page: “Snowflakes snowflakes everywhere! Thank you 4th and 5th graders at WFR for the thoughtful surprise for Mia. And to some sweet friends for bringing them to Dallas. They, along with Mia’s cousins, hung them up while she was in recovery. Accor…ding to every doctor and nurse, it was the most decorated room that hospital has ever seen.”
