Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson broke his silence after the controversial interview with GQ magazine and subsequent suspension from the A&E’s reality show.
Phil Robertson, 67, said during a Bible study group in West Monroe, Louisiana, on December 22: “I will not give or back off from my path.”
“We are a bunch of rednecks from Louisiana, but I am not uneducated. I have a degree from Louisiana Tech. But this week I have been called an ignoramus,” Phil Robertson shared with the group, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson broke his silence after the controversial interview with GQ magazine and subsequent suspension from the A&E’s reality show
“This week I have been asked, <<Is this the first time you have brought up sin?>>” the Duck Commander recalled during the religious meeting.
“I said, <<Are you kidding? I have been traveling to and for spreading this message>>. Then he said, <<Well, do you invite yourself to go and get your Bible and tell people what you are now sharing with us?>> I said, <<No, they are inviting me>>.”
The Robertson family patriarch added: “I love all men and women. I am a lover of humanity, not a hater.”
He then led the group in prayer and shared: “I will not give or back off from my path because you conquered death, Father, so we are not worried about all the repercussions.”
Phil Robertson made no direct mention of A&E Networks, which placed him on hiatus from filming “indefinitely”.
Vin Diesel will voice Groot in space adventure Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Studios has confirmed.
The studio posted the news on its website, just hours after Vin Diesel himself appeared to confirm the rumors by posting a photo on Facebook.
The picture showed the actoe hugging a model of the giant tree character, Groot.
Vin Diesel will voice Groot in space adventure Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy is due in August 2014, directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt as Star Lord.
Vin Diesel is joined by Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon and Zoe Saldana as Gamora, along with Benicio del Toro, John C Reilly and Glenn Close.
The actor, who has starred in four of the six Fast & Furious films, will reprise his role in forthcoming movie Fast & Furious 7.
Marvel’s official announcement about Vin Diesel’s role in Guardians of the Galaxy was subtitled: “The action star will lend his booming voice to Marvel’s epic Guardians of the Galaxy film!”
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has topped the North American box office for a second consecutive weekend.
The second installment of Peter Jackson’s three-part Hobbit adaptation took $31.5 million.
It comfortably held off competition from Will Ferrell’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which made $26.8 million from Friday to Saturday.
The comedy has now taken $40 million since opening on Wednesday.
Anchorman 2 – which sees character Ron Burgundy join a 24-hour cable news network – performed better in its first weekend than its predecessor, which took $28.4 million in 2004.
Disney animation Frozen fell one place to three, taking $19.2 million.
Just behind was David O Russell’s crime drama American Hustle, taking $19.1 million in its first weekend of nationwide release after opening in six cinemas last week.
American Hustle, staring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, is loosely based on a real-life 1970s bribery scandal that led to the conviction of seven members of the US Congress and several local and federal officials.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has topped the North American box office for a second consecutive weekend
Saving Mr. Banks finished in fifth place in its first weekend of wide release, taking $9.3 million.
The $35 million production tells the story of how Walt Disney, played by Tom Hanks, brought Mary Poppins to the big screen.
The number nine spot was grabbed by a surprisingly strong start for Dhoom 3, setting a North American box office opening record for a Bollywood film, taking $3.3 million.
Total US box office takings for 2013 have risen 0.8% in the last year to almost $10.37 billion according to box office tracker Rentrak.
It is expected to surpass last year’s record of $10.77 billion thanks to a number of Christmas Day releases.
Leonardo DiCaprio drama The Wolf of Wall Street, Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Keanu Reeves’ 47 Ronin are among the films to open on Wednesday.
North American box office Top 5:
1.Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $31.5 million
2.Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – $26.8 million
Apple has signed a deal to bring its iPhone to China Mobile – the world’s largest carrier.
China Mobile has more than 760 million subscribers and was one of three networks to be awarded China’s first 4G licenses earlier this month.
Apple has been looking to boost its sales in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, but has struggled amid growing competition from rivals.
The latest deal is expected to help it increase its market share.
“China is an extremely important market for Apple,” Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement.
“Our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world’s largest network.”
Earlier this year, Tim Cook said he expected China to replace North America as Apple’s largest source of revenue. The iPhone is the firm’s most important product in terms of earnings power.
China two other major phone carriers, China Unicom and China Telecom, already offer iPhones to their subscribers.
Apple has signed a deal to bring its iPhone to China Mobile
China is the world’s biggest smartphone-using country, with 1.2 billion users.
Chinese sales of previous iPhone models have slumped recently, as consumers have turned to cheaper rival handsets from Samsung, and domestic Chinese developers.
China’s three bestselling smartphone makers are Samsung, Lenovo and Coolpad, according to a recent report by the consultants IDC.
Apple’s sales have also been impacted by the fact that unlike in developed markets, many phone carriers in emerging markets do not subsidies smartphones.
That means that subscribers have to pay the full amount for the phone upfront, making Apple’s products relatively expensive for some buyers.
In an attempt to take on the low-cost rivals Apple unveiled a relatively cheaper version of the iPhone, the 5c, earlier this year.
Analysts said the firm was hoping that a cheaper handset combined with a deal with the biggest mobile carrier in the world may help it take on rivals.
However, Apple is yet to announce how much Chinese customers will have to pay for the iphone 5s and 5c models sold via China Mobile.
Nevertheless, analysts say the deal has huge potential. Cantor Fitzgerald Research estimates that Apple could sell 24 million iPhones next year to China Mobile customers alone.
Apple sold 102.4 million iPhones globally in the nine months to September this year.
The iPhone 5s and 5c will be available to China Mobile subscribers from January 17th.
Thai anti-government protesters have surrounded the stadium where candidates were due to register to stand in February’s elections.
They say political reform is needed before elections take place.
On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets of the capital Bangkok, calling on the government to step down.
PM Yingluck Shinawatra, who called the polls in December try to end the rallies, urged protesters to respect the “democratic system”.
The main opposition Democrat Party has said it would boycott February’s elections.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who was previously a senior Democrat Party politician, said on Sunday: “We disagree with the election. We want the country to be reformed before the election.”
Thai anti-government protesters have surrounded the stadium where candidates were due to register to stand in February’s elections
He urged protesters to gather outside Bangkok’s Din Daeng Thai-Japan Stadium, where candidate registrations were set to take place, on Monday.
“If you want to apply for candidacy, you must walk past our feet first,” Suthep Thaugsuban said.
Political parties began registering their candidates at a local police station instead, while protesters responded by surrounding the police station as well, correspondents say.
Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved parliament and called an election on December 9, after more than 150,000 demonstrators took to the streets calling for her government to step down.
On Sunday, Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters that elections must take place, and urged protesters to express their views at the ballot box.
She said: “If we don’t hold on to the democratic system, what should we hold on to?”
“If you don’t accept this government, please accept the system,” Yingluck Shinawatra added.
Yingluck Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai Party won the last election in 2011, and has a majority in parliament. However protesters say her brother – ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – remains in charge.
The protesters also accuse the Pheu Thai Party of using public funds irresponsibly to secure votes.
A massive ice storm has brought snow and freezing rain to Toronto, and to much of the east of Canada.
The storm has left some 400,000 people in the region without electricity and forced the closure of parts of its public transport system.
Travelers were stranded at airports in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal as dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed.
At least 11 deaths have been blamed on the storm system in the US and Canada.
Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford called the storm “one of the worst storms in Toronto history,” saying that a state of emergency may be called on Monday.
Rob Ford said the city’s top priority is restoring power to two hospitals, Sunnybrook and Toronto East General.
The Toronto Hydro power company said that it may take up to 72 hours to get everybody in the city reconnected.
A massive ice storm has brought snow and freezing rain to Toronto, and to much of the east of Canada
Many flights were also cancelled in the US due to the storm, at one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
More than 400,000 people were also left without power in Michigan, New York state and New England.
The US’s National Weather Service described the storm system as “complex and large”, warning that “another round of snow and ice” was expected for New England on Monday as the storm winds down.
At least four people were killed by flooding caused by the storm in Kentucky, while a tornado was reported to have caused extensive damage in Arkansas.
However, the system has also brought record high temperatures to some parts of the east coast of the US, with the temperature in New York’s Central Park reaching 21C, with records also being set in several other cities.
John S. D. Eisenhower, son of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, died Saturday at the age of 91.
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower lived on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in the community of Trappe. In a statement, his family gave no cause of death.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called John Eisenhower “a true patriot” and praised him as “an accomplished soldier, diplomat and author.”
John Eisenhower was born in Denver on August 3, 1922, the second son of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Doud Eisenhower. Their first child had died of scarlet fever the year before at age 3.
He grew up as his father rose in the ranks of the Army. During World War II, the senior Eisenhower became supreme commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in 1943 and then general of the Army with five-star rank. Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president in a landslide in 1952 and again in 1956.
John Eisenhower was the second son of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Doud Eisenhower
Both father and son graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, the son on June 6, 1944 – the day his father oversaw the Allied invasion of Europe. He spent 35 years in the Army, including 19 years on active duty and several years in the Reserve. He retired with the rank of brigadier general.
John Eisenhower taught English for three years at West Point, then volunteered for service during the Korean War and later became a battalion commander.
He served on his father’s White House staff for the last few years of his administration and later helped his father write his post-presidential memoirs. The younger Eisenhower began writing his own books, then served as US ambassador to Belgium during the first years of the Nixon administration. He soon returned to writing, focusing on the military’s relationship with government and politics.
His marriage to Barbara Eisenhower ended in divorce.
John Eisenhower is survived by his second wife, Joanne, and his four children: daughters Anne, Susan and Mary, and son David, who married President Richard Nixon’s daughter Julie.
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina has been freed early from prison in Russia under an amnesty, her lawyer announces.
Her lawyers said Maria Alyokhina was now on her way to Moscow.
The release of fellow band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is also expected later today.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were jailed in August 2012 for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after performing a protest song in Moscow’s main cathedral.
The conviction of the women was criticized by rights groups, anti-Putin activists and foreign governments.
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina has been freed early from prison in Russia under an amnesty
Their sentences were due to end in March 2014, but they have known since last week that their release was imminent under an amnesty agreed by the Russian parliament.
On Friday Russian former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky – once Russia’s richest man – was also pardoned and freed after more than 10 years in prison for fraud and tax evasion.
The amnesty deal, unanimously approved by the State Duma in Moscow last week, covers at least 20,000 prisoners, including minors, invalids, veterans, pregnant women, and mothers.
Charges against 30 protesters, mostly foreign nationals, who were arrested on a Greenpeace ship may also be dropped later this week.
The move is being widely seen as attempt to avoid controversy overshadowing the Winter Olympics in February, due to be hosted in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Maria Alyokhina was released from the prison camp in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, early on Monday morning. She reportedly told waiting journalists that she felt well, before being driven away.
Dennis Rodman revealed he didn’t meet Kim Jong-un on his latest visit to North Korea, but he said that won’t stop him from coming back on the communist leader’s birthday next month to hold an exhibition game with other former NBA stars.
On the night before he was due to leave Pyongyang, Dennis Rodman told The Associated Press that he had not yet had a meeting with Kim Jong-un. The former NBA star said that he didn’t expect to meet the leader every time he comes to North Korea, and that his current trip was for training North Korean basketball players who will take part in the match he is organizing for Kim Jong-un’s birthday on January 8th.
“I’m not just coming over here to meet the leader,” Dennis Rodman said.
Dennis Rodman revealed he didn’t meet Kim Jong-un on his latest visit to North Korea
“I came over here to meet the basketball team, to prepare a great game for the leader for his birthday. And people need to understand that it’s not important for me to meet him every time I come over because he has another greater job to do for his country, and I respect that, but this trip was basically to come over to train the team, so we can have a great, great, game.”
Dennis Rodman’s visit comes just after the dramatic purge and execution of Kim Jong-un’s once-powerful uncle, which has sparked speculation among some foreign analysts over how stable Kim’s regime is. But officials here say that there is no instability and that Kim Jong-un remains firmly in control.
The former basketball player wants to bring 12 former NBA stars to Pyongyang for the exhibition, but has acknowledged that some of the Americans have been reluctant to come. He has held tryouts for the North Korean team during his visit, which began Thursday. He has said he expects to announce the US roster soon, and that he is planning another game in June.
Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-un have struck up an unlikely friendship since the former NBA star traveled to North Korea for the first time in February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television.
Billionaire Edgar Miles Bronfman Sr., who lobbied the Soviets to allow Jews to emigrate and helped spearhead the search for hidden Nazi loot, died Saturday at the age of 84.
The longtime president of the World Jewish Congress died at his New York home surrounded by family, according to the family charity he led, The Samuel Bronfman Foundation.
Edgar Bronfman made his fortune with his family’s Seagram’s liquor empire, taking over as chairman and CEO in 1971 and continuing the work of his father, Samuel. Under Edgar Bronfman’s leadership, Seagram expanded its offerings and was eventually acquired by French media and telecom group Vivendi Universal in 2000.
Edgar Bronfman made his fortune with his family’s Seagram’s liquor empire
His wealth, combined with his role in the World Jewish Congress – an umbrella group of Jewish organizations in some 80 countries that he led for more than a quarter century – allowed him to be a tireless advocate for his fellow Jews.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded Edgar Bronfman the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In the citation, Edgar Bronfman was heralded for working “to ensure basic rights for Jews around the world”.
Less than two days after Cracker Barrel announced plans to withdraw selected Duck Dynasty items from its shelves in the wake of Phil Robertson’s anti-gay comments, the Southern country store and restaurant chain has reversed its decision.
Cracker Barrel’s reversal of its former position was posted this morning to Facebook, following a flurry of negative responses from customers and fans who showed support to Phil Robertson and Duck Dynasty family.
“When we made the decision to remove and evaluate certain Duck Dynasty items, we offended many of our loyal customers. Our intent was to avoid offending, but that’s just what we’ve done,” Cracker Barrel wrote.
“You flat out told us we were wrong. We listened.”
Cracker Barrel has reversed its decision in Phil Robertson controversy
“People weren’t shy. They wrote, called and took to social media,” Cracker Barrel’s spokesman Jeff Eller told ABC News about the company’s decision to go back on its original pledge to ax “selected products” from its stores.
The restaurant was the first major retailer to announce its stance on the Duck Dynasty scandal since Phil Robertson’s remarks went public.
A statement posted on Cracker Barrel’s Facebook page read: “Cracker Barrel’s mission is pleasing people. We operate within the ideals of fairness, mutual respect and equal treatment of all people. These ideals are the core of our corporate culture.”
The Facebook post indicated the company would continue to sell some Duck Commander products in stores, but would continue to “evaluate the products we offer.”
The announcement on Sunday confirmed the company will be reinstating all Duck Dynasty products back into its stores.
Phil Robertson has been put on hiatus by A&E Network after he made anti-gay comments in an interview with GQ magazine.
Phil Robertson’s comments received mixed reactions from the show’s millions of fans, with politicians and gay rights groups also weighing in on the issue.
Hours after the interview went public and Phil Robertson was suspended, a Facebook page popped up encouraging fans to boycott the network until the family patriarch returned. The page now has over 1.7 million likes.
Phil Robertson’s suspension has also prompted an outcry from conservative Republican politicians, including Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.
Peter O’Toole was laid to rest at a funeral in London on Saturday.
Peter O’Toole’s funeral service, attended by his ex-wife, actress Sian Phillips, took place at Golders Green Crematorium in north London, and was followed by a wake at the actor’s home. Attendees included pop star Sting and Alabama 3.
Peter O’Toole was laid to rest at a funeral in London
During the funeral, Peter O’Toole’s daughter, Kate, addressed the congregation and said of her father: “The world has lost a great actor, but I’m not concerned with that. I simply have lost a great dad and the best friend I ever had. Daddy made me laugh more than anyone else I have ever met in my life.”
Egypt’s leading activists Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel from the 2011 uprising that led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak have been sentenced to three years in jail.
They were found guilty of organizing a recent unauthorized protest.
Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel were arrested after protesting in November over a new controversial law that restricts demonstrations.
The three well-known activists have long called for greater democracy in Egypt.
Ahmed Maher and Mohamed Adel were founding members of the April 6th Youth Movement, which led protests to remove long-time President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The three were among a group of demonstrators outside the upper house of parliament in late November protesting over the new law, which states that public gatherings of more than 10 people must be authorized.
Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel were found guilty of organizing an unauthorized protest
The military-installed government has defended the law, saying it is not intended to limit the right to demonstrate but rather to “protect the rights of protesters”.
But its opponents say the law has in effect replaced a recently expired state of emergency, and is stricter than the measures in place during the rule of Hosni Mubarak.
The men are the first to be jailed under the new law. The court in Cairo found them guilty of holding a demonstration without authorization and attacking police officers.
State-run television said the men had been sentenced to three years’ hard labor. They have also been ordered to pay a $7,000 fine each.
As the verdict was read out, the courtroom erupted with chants of “Down, down with military rule! We are in a state, not in a military camp”, Reuters news agency reports.
Until recently, the main targets for arrests by the authorities had been Islamists, many of whom continue to protest over the ousting by the military of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed government of Mohamed Morsi in the summer after weeks of mass protests.
The Change.org petition calling for a boycott of A&E Networks if it does not bring back Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson and apologize for placing him on indefinite hiatus has attracted more than 100,000 signatures.
Phil Robertson, 67, came under fire this week for anti-gay comments he made in a recent interview with GQ magazine.
Phil Robertson came under fire this week for anti-gay comments he made in a recent interview with GQ magazine
“Duck Dynasty has a huge following and WE THE PEOPLE stand behind Phil Robertson and his family,” reads the petition, which has attracted nearly 108,000 signatures.
“We stand for faith and freedom. We stand for family and values. Those who disagree have the God given right to, that doesn’t mean Phil needs to be punished for exercising his rights.”
Cracker Barrel announced it was pulling select Duck Dynasty products from its shelves and a new report indicates A&E warned Phil Robertson to keep quiet about controversial issues such as gay rights.
Southern restaurant and country store chain Cracker Barrel has taken a public stand in the Duck Dynasty controversy that has swiftly turned into a culture war.
Cracker Barrel has removed “selected products” that “might offend” some diners from shelves days after cast member Phil Robertson’s anti-gay comments in a GQ magazine interview hit the internet, resulting in his suspension from the A&E reality hit.
On Saturday, Cracker Barrel posted the following statement on its Facebook page:”Cracker Barrel’s mission is Pleasing People. We operate within the ideals of fairness, mutual respect and equal treatment of all people. These ideals are the core of our corporate culture.
“We continue to offer Duck Commander products in our stores.
Cracker Barrel announced it was pulling select Duck Dynasty products from its shelves following Phil Robertson’s controversial comments
“We removed selected products which we were concerned might offend some of our guests while we evaluate the situation.
“We continually evaluate the products we offer and will continue to do so.”
There’s been no word from the company as to exactly which products were deemed offensive. On the Cracker Barrel website, almost every Duck Dynasty product is currently being sold at a discount.
The restaurant is the first major retailer to announce any action at all since Phil Robertson’s interview went public. It represents a small slice of a merchandise empire that saw sales of $400 million this year.
The biggest player in Duck Dynasty’s brand bonanza is unsurprisingly Wal-Mart, which accounts for about half that annual $400 million haul. The world’s largest retailer has yet to make any statement on Phil Robertson’s comments or the future of Duck Dynasty products in its stores.
In some Wal-Mart stores, mainly in the south, entire aisles are devoted to the bearded Robertson clan, including camouflage bedding, kids’ pajamas and prayer devotionals. At Wal-Mart’s annual shareholder meeting this past summer, the retailer announced its Duck Dynasty t-shirts, adorned with the faces of Phil Robertson and his family, were its bestselling products across both men’s and women’s apparel.
On Saturday evening, Cracker Barrel’s decision had already resulted in Twitter uproar among Duck Dynasty’s fans, many of whom have also threatened to boycott A&E over Robertson’s suspension.
Charlie Sheen has waded into the controversy surrounding Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson with a long rant on social media site TwitPic in which the actor calls the Duck Commander “Mallard-brained” and a “shower dodger”.
Phil Robertson, 67, was placed on indefinite hiatus from the A&E reality show after anti-gay comments made during GQ magazine interview.
“Your statements were and are abhorrently and mendaciously unforgivable,” said Charlie Sheen in comments published Saturday.
Charlie Sheen has waded into the controversy surrounding Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson with a long rant on social media
“You are now in the crosshairs of a MaSheen style media beat down.”
Charlie Sheen was fired from the hit CBS show Two and a Half Men in 2011 amid ongoing issues with substance abuse and allegations of domestic violence.
The actor is the latest prominent person to weigh in with reaction to Phil Robertson’s comments. In recent days, Phil Robertson has drawn support from Sarah Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, while being attacked by gay rights group GLAAD, and losing connections with Cracker Barrel.
In light of Phil Robertson’s suspension from Duck Dynasty, the fifth season of which begins January 15, the Robertson family is reportedly considering walking away from the series, to which A&E has exclusive rights.
Thailand’s opposition is to hold a mass rally in the capital Bangkok as its campaign to bring down the government of Yingluck Shinawatra continues.
Protest leaders say they expect a turnout of hundreds of thousands of people.
On Saturday the main opposition Democrat Party said it will boycott elections called for February 2nd.
PM Yingluck Shinawatra called the election earlier this month in a bid to end weeks of protests.
Yingluck Shinawatra won the last elections in 2011, but protesters say her brother – the controversial ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – remains in charge.
Thai opposition is holding a mass rally in Bangkok as its campaign to bring down the government of Yingluck Shinawatra continues
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said he hoped Sunday’s rally will raise the pressure on Yingluck Shinawatra and her government, the Bangkok Post reported.
The protesters have set up stages at five main intersections and will be attempting to shut down the traffic in the commercial heart of the capital.
The head of the Thai army has warned the country’s political divisions could “trigger a civil war”.
The opposition-backed protests in Bangkok have caused Thailand’s most serious political turmoil since 2010, with four people killed in clashes in recent weeks.
Cuba’s President Raul Castro has called for “civilized relations” with the US, saying the two countries should respect their differences.
Raul Castro said the US should drop its demand for regime change on the communist-run island.
That would allow both sides to continue work on improving relations, the president said.
Raul Castro’s comments follow a public handshake with President Barack Obama at the memorial ceremony for Nelson Mandela in South Africa earlier this month.
In a rare public speech, Raul Castro said Cuban and American officials had met several times over the last year to discuss practical matters, such as immigration and the re-establishment of a postal service.
That shows that relations can be civilized, Raul Castro explained.
President Raul Castro has called for “civilized relations” with the US
However, he warned: “If we really want to make progress in bilateral relations, we have to learn to respect each other’s differences and get used to living peacefully with them. Otherwise, no. We are ready for another 55 years like the last.”
The US broke off relations with in 1961 after the revolution and maintains an economic embargo against the island.
“We do not ask the United States to change its political and social system, nor do we agree to negotiate over ours,” Raul Castro told legislators at the closing session of the parliament in the capital, Havana.
Raul Castro, 82, took over from his brother, Fidel, in 2006. Fidel Castro had serious health problems and was never able to come back to power. Two years later, he resigned and transferred control permanently to Raul Castro.
He has since carried out a programme of economic reforms, which has helped efforts for relations with the US to be improved.
But critics say the pace of change has been too slow.
“The reform process in Cuba cannot be rushed or it will lead to failure,” Raul Castro warned.
Among the most recent changes announced by Raul Castro is the end of restrictions on private individuals to buy new and second hand cars.
Anyone with enough money will be allowed to order the vehicles from a government dealer.
Until now, only those who were given a previous government authorization were allowed to buy cars in Cuba.
President Barack Obama and his family opened their annual Hawaii vacation on Saturday.
Every year, Barack Obama and his family prepare to return to his birth state on the sun-scorched shores of Oahu. And every year congressional squabbling has forced the Obamas to delay their trip.
This year, Barack Obama was cleared for an on-time departure by Congress, which defied pessimistic expectations last week by passing a bipartisan budget deal, all but ensuring the government won’t shut down over the next two years. It was a far cry from presaging a new era of cooperation, to be sure, but a silver lining for Barack Obama a day earlier as he acknowledged a year of frustrating “ups and downs” in an end-of-year news conference.
President Barack Obama and his family opened their annual Hawaii vacation
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia, and first dogs Sunny and Bo hopped an overnight flight Friday aboard Air Force One to Honolulu, where they were whisked by motorcade to a beachside home in Kailua, a sleepy suburb with a five-mile stretch of beach popular among windsurfers and tourists.
On Saturday afternoon, Barack Obama headed to the golf course at a nearby Marine Corps base. Joining the president for the round of golf were Sam Kass, the White House chef; Marvin Nicholson, Obama’s trip director; and presidential friend Bobby Titcomb, the White House said.
President Barack Obama has no public events scheduled during his vacation, which is expected to last through January 5.
JPMorgan Chase customers will be limited to $100 in cash withdrawals and $300 in total purchases per day if they used Chase debit cards at Target during a recent security breach, the bank has announced.
Kristin Lemkau, a Chase spokeswoman, told NBC News the limit applies to about 2 million customer accounts, representing less than 10% of bank’s customers. The limit does not apply to Chase credit cards.
Earlier this week, as many as 40 million debit and credit cards were compromised during a Target data breach, which the store said began just before Thanksgiving and ended December 15.
As many as 40 million debit and credit cards were compromised during a Target data breach
The security breach exposed customer names, card numbers, expiration dates and the short security codes known as CVVs. The industry blog Krebs on Security, which first reported the breach, has reported that card accounts are already being sold on the black market.
Target, eager to repair the public-relations damage and restore customer trust, has apologized and offered a 10% discount at its stores this week.
Chase did not immediately give a time limit for the restrictions. The normal daily limit for transactions on Chase debit cards is $500, and the normal daily limit for cash withdrawals is generally $200 to $500, Kristin Lemkau said.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has decided to declassify more information on the National Security Agency (NSA) spying, showing it started in October 2001
On Saturday, James Clapper declassified more documents that outline how the NSA was first authorized to start collecting bulk phone and Internet records in the hunt for al-Qaeda terrorists and how a court eventually gained oversight of the program.
The declassification came after the Justice Department complied with a federal court order to release its previous legal arguments for keeping the programs secret.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper showed the NSA spying started in October 2001
James Clapper explained in a statement Saturday that President George W. Bush first authorized the spying in October 2001, as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program, just after the September 11 attacks. President Bush disclosed the program in 2005. The Terrorist Surveillance Program – which had to be extended every 30-60 days by presidential order – eventually was replaced by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a law that requires a secret court to approve the bulk collection.
He also released federal court documents from successive intelligence directors arguing to keep the programs secret, after a California judge this fall ordered the administration to declassify whatever details already had been revealed as part of the White House’s campaign to justify the NSA surveillance.
Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden first made the surveillance programs public in leaks to the media.
Pope Francis told Vatican officials he wants them to display professionalism and competence as well as holiness in their lives.
The pontiff warned Vatican administrators Saturday that their work can take a downward spiral into mediocrity, gossip and bureaucratic squabbling if they forget that theirs is a professional vocation of service to the church.
Pope Francis made the comments in his Christmas address to the Vatican Curia, the bureaucracy that forms the central government of the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church. The speech was eagerly anticipated given that Pope Francis was elected in March on a mandate to overhaul the antiquated and oftentimes dysfunctional Vatican administration.
Already, heads have started to roll. Just last week, Pope Francis reshuffled the advisory body of the powerful Congregation for Bishops, the office that vets all the world’s bishop nominations. He removed the archconservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke, a key figure in the US culture wars over abortion and gay marriage, and also nixed the head of Italy’s bishops’ conference and another hard-line Italian, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, earlier axed as head of the Vatican office responsible for priests.
Other changes are on the horizon. In the coming weeks Pope Francis will name his first batch of cardinals and in February will preside over the third summit of his “Group of Eight” cardinal advisers, who are expected to put forward a first round of proposals for revamping the Holy See bureaucracy.
Pope Francis told Vatican officials he wants them to display professionalism and competence as well as holiness in their lives
Pope Francis has said he wants a Vatican Curia that is more responsive to the needs of local bishops, who have long complained of Rome’s slow or unhelpful interventions in their work caring for souls. The Pope has said he wants the church as a whole to be less consumed with moralizing than showing mercy to the needy, wherever they are.
The pontiff thanked the cardinals, bishops and priests gathered in the Clementine Hall for the Christmas address for their work, diligence and creativity. Deviating from his prepared text, he said: “There are saints in the Curia!”
He also reminded them that Vatican officials must display professionalism and competence as well as holiness in their lives.
“When professionalism is lacking, there is a slow drift downwards toward mediocrity. Dossiers become full of trite and lifeless information, and incapable of opening up lofty perspectives,” he said.
“Then too, when the attitude is no longer one of service to the particular churches and their bishops, the structure of the Curia turns into a ponderous, bureaucratic customs house, constantly inspecting and questioning, hindering the working of the Holy Spirit and the growth of God’s people.”
Pope Francis also repeated a warning he has issued on several occasions in his morning homilies at the Vatican hotel where he lives: an admonition against gossiping. The secretive, closed world of the Vatican is a den of gossip, as revealed publicly last year by the leaks of papal documents from then-Pope Benedict XVI’s butler.
Using terminology familiar to those present, Pope Francis called for Vatican officials to exercise “conscientious objection to gossip”.
“Let us all be conscientious objectors, and mind you I’m not simply moralizing! Gossip is harmful to people, our work and our surroundings.”
Claire Esther Davis, who was in a coma after being shot point-blank at Arapahoe High School in Colorado last week, has died Saturday with her family at her side, hospital officials said.
Claire Davis, 17, a senior at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, was critically injured when student Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, entered the school building on December 13 armed with a shotgun and Molotov cocktail bombs.
In a statement posted on the Littleton Adventists Hospital’s Facebook page, officials said Claire Davis’ injuries “were too severe and the most advanced medical treatments could not prevent this tragic loss of life”.
The teen passed away at 4:29 p.m. local time.
“Claire’s death is immensely heartbreaking for our entire community, our staff and our families,” the statement added.
Claire Esther Davis was in a coma after being shot point-blank at Arapahoe High School in Colorado
Claire’s family thanked the community for its support and asked for privacy as they grieve the death of their daughter.
“Last week was truly a paradox in that we lost our daughter, yet we witnessed the wonderful love that exists in the world through the tremendous outpouring of support we received,” read a statement posted by the Davis family on the hospital’s Facebook page.
The family said they felt “truly blessed” to have been Claire’s parents.
“The grace, laughter and light she brought to this world will not be extinguished by her death; to the contrary, it will only get stronger,” the statement read.
Authorities said Karl Halverson Pierson’s attack lasted just 80 seconds. Officials believe the teen was angry after losing his coveted spot on the debate team.
Upon entering the school, Robinson said, Karl Halverson Pierson fired one round down the hallway. He then shot Claire David, who just happened to be sitting nearby with a friend as he headed toward the library. Claire Davis suffered severe head trauma, which put her in a coma.
