President Barack Obama has vowed “appropriate reforms” to guarantee greater oversight of controversial US surveillance programmes.
At a White House news conference, Barack Obama proposed “safeguards against abuse”, including amending legislation on the collection of telephone data.
The president also urged allowing a lawyer to challenge decisions by the nation’s secretive surveillance court.
He has been defending the programmes since they were leaked in June.
Barack Obama said on Friday that the US “can and must be more transparent” about its snooping on phone and internet data.
“Given the history of abuse by governments, it’s right to ask questions about surveillance, particularly as technology is reshaping every aspect of our lives,” he told reporters.
“It’s not enough for me as president to have confidence in these programmes,” Barack Obama added.
“The American people need to have confidence as well.”
Barack Obama has vowed appropriate reforms to guarantee greater oversight of controversial US surveillance programmes
Barack Obama unveiled four steps aimed at reassuring Americans about the surveillance:
He said he would work with Congress to reform Section 215 of the Bush-era Patriot Act, which governs the programme that collects telephone records
He directed justice officials to make public the legal rationale for the government’s phone-data collection activities, under Section 215
He proposed allowing a lawyer to check the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which is accused of essentially rubber-stamping government requests to scour electronic records
He announced the formation of a group of external experts to review all US government intelligence and communications technologies
In response to a question about Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who revealed details of the secretive surveillance programmes to media, Barack Obama said: “No, I don’t think Mr. Snowden was a patriot.”
The president went on to criticize Russia, two days after he cancelled a planned summit with President Vladimir Putin next month in Moscow.
Barack Obama said there had been more anti-American rhetoric since Vladimir Putin returned to the Russian presidency, which “played into some of the old stereotypes about the Cold War contest”.
“I’ve encouraged Mr. Putin to think forward as opposed to backwards on those issues, with mixed success,” Barack Obama told reporters, who held the news conference just before going on holiday at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
He said that during his photocalls with Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader “has got that kind of slouch, looking like he’s the bored kid in the back of the classroom”. But he said their discussions in private had been constructive.
Barack Obama also said he would not consider it “appropriate” to boycott Russia’s Winter Olympics next year, despite calls by gay rights activists to shun the games because of a recently passed law in that country banning “homosexual propaganda”.
Earlier on Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel held talks with their Russian counterparts in Washington DC.
John Kerry conceded the US-Russia relationship had been complicated by “the occasional collision” and “challenging moments”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also acknowledged problems, but said Moscow preferred to handle their differences like “grown-ups”.
Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe has filed a legal challenge to Robert Mugabe’s victory in last week’s presidential elections.
The electoral petition seeks an order for the result to be declared null and void and a new election to be called within 60 days.
The MDC’s 15 grounds include alleged bribery, abuse of “assisted voting” and manipulation of the electoral roll.
Robert Mugabe, 89, won with 61% of the presidential vote.
His Zanu-PF party gained a parliamentary majority of more than two-thirds, with 160 seats against 49 for the MDC.
The MDC is to file a complaint on the parliamentary results at a later date.
With a two-thirds majority, Zanu-PF is able to amend the constitution, potentially restoring presidential powers which were reduced earlier this year.
Lawyers for the MDC, which filed its petition with the country’s constitutional court, said they had “strong evidence of electoral irregularities”.
They said a shockingly high number of people were unable to vote at the polls, and that food and other bribes were used to persuade voters to back Robert Mugabe.
Morgan Tsvangirai has filed court challenge against Robert Mugabe poll win
“The Movement of Democratic Change has filed its election petition… what we seek is that this election be declared null and void in terms of section 93 of the constitution of Zimbabwe,” said MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora.
The challenge comes a day after Zimbabwe’s electoral commission said nearly 305,000 voters had been turned away from polling stations on election day. The MDC says the true number is about 900,000.
Robert Mugabe’s margin of victory was some 940,000 votes.
A week after the election, Robert Mugabe dismissed criticism of the polls and lashed out at Western countries for their response.
Zimbabwe’s nine-member constitutional court has up to 14 days to respond to the legal challenge.
Correspondents say some of the judges are believed to be Mugabe loyalists.
The MDC says it is “aware” of this, and as a result it will make its appeal public and even produce evidence of “bribed goods”.
If the court upholds the results, Robert Mugabe must be sworn in within 48 hours of the ruling.
“We have done the best that we can under the circumstances, presented the matter before the court, and it is now up to the court to determine how strong the case is,” said MDC lawyer Chris Mhike.
African and regional monitors praised the poll for being peaceful but noted some irregularities. Western observers were not invited to witness the July 31 vote.
But a local observer group, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and its network of 7,000 observers, has said that about one million voters – mainly in urban areas – were “systematically disenfranchised” by being omitted from the voters’ roll or turned away.
The electoral roll has come in for criticism for having duplicate names and the names of dead Zimbabweans.
The MDC says 900,000 people were turned away from polling stations – mostly in the capital where the MDC’s vote is strong – and another 300,000 people were coerced through “assisted voting”.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai rejected the vote as fraudulent and said his party would boycott government institutions.
The Zanu-PF and the MDC have been in a coalition since 2009, after the last election sparked widespread violence.
Trudie Goetz, the owner of Zurich store where Oprah Winfrey says she encountered racism, has called the incident a “misunderstanding”.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, claimed an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop.
She was apparently told one of the bags on display was “too expensive” for her.
Trudie Goetz told the BBC that Oprah Winfrey was “absolutely allowed” to look at the $35,000 bag, which was kept behind a screen.
“My salesperson wanted to give her the handbag in her hand. But she didn’t want to take the bag,” claimed Trudie Goetz.
The shop owner said her assistant had worked in the Trois Pommes store “for a few years and takes care of the most spoilt customers from all over the world”, adding, “she is really a correct sales person”.
Oprah Winfrey visited Zurich last month to attend Tina Turner’s wedding. Her programme The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, claimed an assistant refused to serve her in a Zurich upmarket handbag shop
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Oprah Winfrey said: “I go into a store and I say to the woman, <<Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?>> and she says to me, <<No. It’s too expensive>>. “
When Oprah Winfrey insisted, the shop assistant allegedly replied: “No, no you don’t want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You will not be able to afford that.”
The star said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
“There’s two different ways to handle it,” Oprah Winfrey said.
“I could’ve had the whole blow-up thing… but it still exists, of course it does.”
Trudie Goetz did not call into question Oprah Winfrey’s perception of the events.
“I didn’t take care of [Oprah Winfrey]. I’m sure she felt like this – but my salesgirl promised me she took care of [her] really the best she could. So it must have been a misunderstanding,” she said.
Trudie Goetz said her assistant spoke both Italian and English, “but her English isn’t as good”.
“She tried to show Mrs. Oprah the same style in other qualities, because maybe she didn’t understand what she wanted.”
Oprah Winfrey’s claims come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
Human rights groups have likened the plans – which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries – to apartheid.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
A current Internal Revenue Service employee revealed during a closed-door interview with congressional staffers that the agency is still subjecting Tea Party groups with a level of scrutiny that it doesn’t apply to other applicants for nonprofit tax exempt status.
The news comes three months after the IRS was forced to admit it targeted conservative organizations with special screening based on ideological suggestive words in their names.
The employee, whose job entails evaluating new tax-exempt applications, told House Ways and Means Committee investigators that “secondary screening” is still employed inside the IRS because no one has told rank and file workers how to handle applications from Tea partiers.
Ways and Means chairman Rep. Dave Camp told the Washington Examiner that the continued targeting program is “outrageous”.
A committee aide added that “in plain English, the IRS is still targeting tea party cases”.
In an August 1 transcript released Thursday by Camp’s staff, a Ways and Mean committee staffer asked the newest IRS witness: “How do you analyze advocacy cases. If, for example, Tea Party of Arkansas came in today, how would you handle it?”
The IRS has faced angry opposition from conservatives since it admitted in May that it subjected tea party groups to more intense screening than it applied to other applicants for tax-exempt status
After clarifying that a previous “Be On The Lookout” list no longer targeted groups based on their names alone, the agent said: “If a political advocacy case came in today, I would give it – or talk about it to my manager because right now we really don’t have any direction or we haven’t had any for the last month and a half.”
The interviewer asked what would happen: “If today … a case from a tea party group came in to your desk, you reviewed the file and there was no evidence of political activity, would you potentially approve that case? Is that something you would do?”
“At this point,” the agent replied, “I would send it to secondary screening, political advocacy … based on my current manager’s direction.”
In an August 6 Washington Post op-ed, Camp and House oversight committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa wrote: “The White House and its allies have engaged in a flailing effort to put this scandal behind them.”
But the new revelations will practically guarantee that the IRS scandal will continue to consume committee hearing time when Congress returns from its month-long recess.
“When the scandal was first revealed,” wrote Darrell Issa, “the president promised the American people that the administration would <<hold the responsible parties accountable>>. Yet upon the direction of the president, new IRS acting Commissioner Daniel Werfel ordered a 30-day review, upon which Werfel claimed the agency found no “evidence of intentional wrongdoing by anyone in the IRS.”
The White House, they claimed, “has vacillated between indifference and acknowledgment of inappropriate IRS behavior”.
“Consider this: On the same day President Obama bemoaned the <<phony scandals>> plaguing his administration, his chief spokesman, Jay Carney, allowed that <<we need to get to the bottom of what happened at the IRS>>. Which is it?”
Lauren Silverman, who is said to be expecting a child with Simon Cowell, allegedly spent hours on the phone to him and her husband Andrew heard “the whole thing”.
According to TMZ.com, friends of the couple say that Andrew Silverman knew that Lauren and Simon Cowell were having a s**ual relationship too.
However, the site also reports that other sources claim that Andrew Silverman wasn’t aware of what was going on.
“Andrew is telling them looking back there were plenty of <<warning signs>> but he just didn’t pick up on them.”
Lauren Silverman allegedly spent hours on the phone to Simon Cowell and her husband Andrew heard the whole thing
In January Lauren Silverman, 36, posted a cryptic message about soulmates to her Instagram page.
The socialite uploaded an image with the words: “Throughout life you will meet one person who is unlike any other.”
Lauren Silverman and Simon Cowell have allegedly been having an affair since 2009 and perhaps the message described her feelings for the Syco boss.
Along with the image Lauren Silverman also added her own words to the message and commented: “True friendship and true love are rare like diamonds. To be cherished and treasured and to be hold onto with all you’ve got. Be kind. Love with raw passion and with all your heart. And finally, strive to learn and practice the act of forgiveness. X”
A source close to Lauren Silverman told Us Weekly magazine: “Lauren has loved Simon forever. And they started having an affair four years ago.”
The source added that Lauren Silverman and Simon Cowell were originally only hooking up sporadically but they are more serious now that Lauren is pregnant.
The insider added: “Simon and Lauren are together. They talk 100 times a day.”
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that half of a dozen popular small cars tested for how they would stand up to a crash did not fare well.
Six of the cars tested, most of which were 2013 models, were rated “poor” or “marginal”.
General Motors Co’s Chevrolet Sonic and Cruze each received marginal scores, while Kia Motors Corp’s Soul and 2014 Forte were rated “poor” in the results released Thursday by the IIHS.
Nissan Motor Co’s Sentra also got a poor rating, while Volkswagen AG’s Beetle was ranked “marginal”.
Two redesigned Honda Civic models, the 2-door and the 4-door, were the only small cars to get the top rating in stringent front-end crash tests performed by the insurance industry group.
In the worst cases with the small cars that did not score well, safety cages collapsed, driver airbags moved sideways and the crash dummy’s head hit the instrument panel, and side curtain airbags did not deploy or provide enough protection, IIHS chief research officer David Zuby said.
Of the 12 models tested, the Kia Forte fared the worst, the institute said in a press release. Its seat belt allowed too much slack, and the side curtain airbag deployed but didn’t provide enough protection. The crash dummy’s head hit the windshield pillar and instrument panel.
In the test of the VW Beetle, the steering column moved nearly 5 inches to the right as the test dummy’s upper body moved forward and to the left.
“The rotation meant that the dummy’s head barely contacted the front airbag,” the institute reported.
“At the same time, the safety belt spooled out too much, allowing the dummy to move forward 13 inches and hit its head on the dashboard. The side airbag didn’t deploy.”
By comparison, the Civics sustained only minimal intrusion into the occupant compartment, providing “survival space for the dummy”, which remained well-protected from impact.
The IIHS increased the rigor of its tests last year to include crashes that involve only a front corner of a vehicle. The insurance group said nearly a fourth of U.S. front-of-vehicle crashes that result in serious injury or death involve only a single corner that strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or utility pole.
The IIHS continues to score vehicles on side, rear, rollover and front-end crashes that impact more than just a corner.
“This is a challenging new crash test and it’s not surprising that some vehicles are earning marginal and poor ratings,” IIHS spokesman Russ Radar said of the small overlap front crash test.
“This crash scenario doesn’t lend itself to a Band-Aid fix so for most manufacturers the countermeasure will have to be built in when there’s a full redesign,” he added.
Vehicle manufacturers in the U.S. market often design and engineer their models to score well on IIHS safety tests and use the results in their marketing.
“It matters because in today’s world cars are so competitive that all you need is a small flaw and your competition can exploit it,” Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer said.
Most of the 12 small cars tested were already in production before the IIHS increased the rigor of its front crash test last year. However, Radar said IIHS alerted the companies to the work the group was doing on small overlap research in 2009.
The specifications of the test were not finalized until the last year, which is late in a car’s development process, Karl Brauer said. All automakers will eventually redesign their cars to meet the standards to pass the new crash test, he said.
Six of the 12 small cars tested by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety were rated poor or marginal
In the tests, IIHS crashes a vehicle at 40 mph into a 5-foot-high barrier on the driver’s side that overlaps one-quarter of the vehicle’s width.
Kia pointed out that the IIHS small overlap crash test goes well beyond federal requirements and the group has recognized numerous Kia vehicles as top safety picks. The South Korean automaker said it would evaluate the results carefully, but the company was proud of its safety record.
GM said customer safety remains its highest priority and it is committed to its cars performing well in all types of crashes.
“We are aggressively working to incorporate these into our models, including our small cars like the Chevrolet Sonic and Cruze, where technically feasible,” GM spokeswoman Sharon Basel said in an email.
Nissan and VW said they were proud of their cars’ safety records in federal crash tests and other IIHS crash tests, but they would review the small overlap test results and incorporate what is learned into future designs.
The small car segment was the fourth group of cars rated using this new test, and most of the groups have fared equally badly.
Last summer, 7 of 11 luxury sedans evaluated rated “marginal” or “poor”, and 12 of 15 small SUVs tested also failed to score well in results released in May.
Family sedans scored the best, with only 5 of 18 scoring “marginal” or “poor” in results released last December.
As a group, the small cars fared worse than the mid-sized family sedans, but better than the small SUVs, IIHS said. Results on the new crash test for mini-cars will be released later this year.
The other six small cars tested included two-and four-door versions of Honda Motor Co Ltd’s Civic, which both received “good” ratings. The Civic was tested earlier this year and the results were released in March.
Receiving “acceptable” ratings were Chrysler’s Dodge Dart, Ford Motor Co’s Focus, Hyundai Motor Co’s Elantra and Toyota Motor Corp’s 2014 Scion tC.
All the cars scoring well received “Top Safety Pick +” ratings by the insurance trade group. Vehicles earning the institute’s award have received “good” ratings in the four traditional tests plus “good” or “acceptable” ratings in the small overlap test.
IIHS said it did not test the Toyota Corolla because the automaker plans to release a redesigned 2014 model this month.
The market for small cars is one of fastest-growing in the U.S. Automakers have made the cars quieter and more refined as people who want good gas mileage turn to compacts and subcompacts.
So far this year, Americans have bought more than 1.8 million new small cars, up 12% over a year ago, according to Autodata Corp.
“Manufacturers need to focus on the whole package,” said David Zuby, the Institute’s chief research officer, in a statement.
“That means a strong occupant compartment that resists the kinds of intrusion we see in a frontal crash like this, safety belts that prevent a driver from pitching too far forward and side curtain air bags to cushion a head at risk of hitting the dashboard or window frame.”
Two Turkish pilots have been abducted in Lebanon, near Beirut’s international airport.
The men working for Turkish Airlines were snatched from a bus which was carrying several other crew members and passengers between a hotel and the airport terminal.
A group called Zuwwar al-Imam Rida has said it seized the men, saying they would be freed in exchange for nine Lebanese hostages in Syria.
Turkey has advised its citizens in Lebanon to leave if possible.
Turkey backs Syria’s Sunni rebels, and is seen to have influence over them, while much of Lebanon’s Shia community supports President Bashar al-Assad.
Turkish media named the kidnapped men as pilot Murat Akpinar and his co-pilot Murat Agca.
Zuwwar al-Imam Rida said the kidnapping was in retaliation for the seizure of nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims in Syria in May 2012.
Daniel Sheiab, the brother of one of the pilgrims, said the hostages’ relatives were not responsible for the kidnapping, but said the families “welcome the kidnapping of the two Turks as pressure which could push forward the case”.
The families celebrated in the street after hearing the news of the abduction.
The Turkish foreign ministry issued a statement on Friday urging its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Lebanon. It advised those already there to leave or to take measures to ensure their personal safety.
Turkish Airlines pilot Murat Akpinar and his co-pilot Murat Agca have been abducted in Lebanon by Zuwwar al-Imam Rida group
The brazen kidnapping took place just outside the airport, a few metres away from an army checkpoint.
This indicates a high level of planning – especially given that the attackers knew the Turkish Airlines crew would be on board.
Lebanese officials said that the abduction happened at 03:00 local time, on a bus carrying several members of a Turkish Airlines crew going from the airport to the hotel.
At least four gunmen were reported to be involved in the kidnapping.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the foreign ministry “took action as soon as possible” after the kidnapping and that he would personally speak to his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman about the incident.
“Lebanon is a hard and a risky place. I hope they will be rescued in full health as soon as possible,” Abdullah Gul added.
There is now a heavy police presence near where the kidnapping occurred, and sections of the road have been closed.
The kidnapping is the latest of a string of incidents in which the Syrian conflict has spilled over into neighboring Lebanon.
More than 100,000 people have been killed in the 28-month conflict in Syria, with a further 1.7 million Syrians forced to seek shelter in neighboring countries, according to UN estimates.
The nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims went missing in Aleppo province in northern Syria in May 2012 as they returned from a pilgrimage in Iran.
The Northern Storm brigade, a Syrian opposition group operating near the Turkish border, said it had carried out that abduction.
The group was led at the time by Ammar Dadaykhi – also known as Abu Ibrahim – who was later killed in clashes with Syrian army.
Since the hostage-taking, the relatives’ families have staged frequent protests outside the offices of Turkish Airlines in Beirut.
Several rounds of talks to free the pilgrims have failed, and the relatives strongly believe that Ankara can do more to influence Syria’s anti-Assad rebels to secure the pilgrims’ release.
Laurene Powell Jobs, who was married for 20 years to Apple founder Steve Jobs, is said to have bonded with former Washington DC mayor Adrian Fenty over a shared passion for school reform, after they met at an education conference in 2011.
Their friendship developed into a romance shortly after Adrian Fenty announced he was leaving his wife, sources told the Washington Post.
Laurene Powell Jobs and Adrian Fenty’s relationship is not believed to have been behind the breakup of his 15-year marriage.
Steve Jobs’ widow, who has three children, inherited an estate of about $10 billion when her husband died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56 in October 2011.
Despite being one of the richest women in the U.S, Laurene Powell Jobs, 49, has kept a deliberately low profile as she continues with her charitable work.
In a rare interview in April Laurene Powell Jobs, who was spotted still wearing her diamond wedding ring on holiday in Italy last month, said of her husband: “His private legacy with me and the kids is that of husband and father. And we miss him every day.”
Laurene Powell Jobs is said to have bonded with former Washington DC mayor Adrian Fenty over a shared passion for school reform
As she pushes her charity work, Laurene Powell Jobs has started to increase her public profile.
“She’s been mourning for a year and was grieving for five years before that. Her life was about her family and Steve, but she is now emerging as a potent force on the world stage, and this is only the beginning,” Larry Brilliant, of Skoll Global Threats Fund, told the New York Times earlier this year.
She married Steve Jobs two years after meeting him when he gave a talk to Stanford Business School, where she was a student.
Laurene Powell Jobs’ connection to Adrian Fenty increased after he joined the board of College Track, a non-profit program for students founded by Steve Jobs’ widow, in February last year.
In a statement released at the time she said: “Adrian Fenty is one of our country’s great advocates for education reform. His sense of urgency and record of accomplishment is unparalleled.”
In contrast to the privacy courted by Laurene Powell Jobs, 42-year-old Adrian Fenty has been a public figure since his election as Washington DC mayor in 2006.
Adrian Fenty and his wife Michelle, who have twin sons and a daughter, were often spotted at high profile parties and events in the city.
Since his defeat in 2010 Adrian Fenty has focused on acting as a consultant to education tech companies and his position as special adviser at Andreessen Horowitz, which led to him splitting his time between Washington and Silicon Valley.
Michelle Fenty took a job in Trinidad and Tobago with the Inter-American Development Bank last year, which led to her also splitting her life between two places, according to the Washington Post.
Both Laurene Powell Jobs and Adrian Fenty have declined to comment on speculation about their relationship.
The United States has ordered all non-essential government personnel to leave its consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
A senior State Department official said the move was in response to a “credible threat” to the consulate.
US personnel remaining in Lahore should limit non-essential travel within the country, the official said.
On Thursday, the US reiterated a travel warning advising all US citizens to defer non-essential travel to Pakistan.
US withdraws all non-essential government personnel from Lahore consulate
“We are undertaking this drawdown due to concerns about credible threat information specific to the US Consulate in Lahore,” the official said.
“An updated travel warning has also been issued,” the official said, adding that “US citizens remaining in Lahore… should limit non-essential travel within the country, be aware of their surroundings whether in their residences or moving about, [and] make their own contingency emergency plans.”
The travel warning said: “The presence of several foreign and indigenous terrorist groups poses a potential danger to US citizens throughout Pakistan.”
US officials say it is not clear when the consulate will open again.
The US closed 19 diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa on Sunday in response to what it said was a threat of a terrorist attack.
The evacuation from Lahore was undertaken as a precaution and was not related to the closure of the other diplomatic missions, AP news agency reported, citing two unnamed US officials.
The Pakistani authorities have been holding the capital on a state of high alert, especially key Pakistan government installations.
Duck Dynasty fans’ favorite Uncle Si Robertson, who says God has a sense of humor because he’s turned four disheveled-looking Christian guys into reality television stars, will be releasing his new book next month.
Si Robertson, the youngest brother of family patriarch, Phil Robertson, works at Duck Commander where he’s been making the reeds for duck calls since his retirement from the U.S. Army, and shares anecdotal advice and stories about life in his book, titled Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle.
Phil Robertson’s brother, who’s known for his storytelling and for saying that he carries three items along with him everywhere he goes: tea, the Tupperware cup his parents sent to him during the Vietnam War, and his Bible, told LifeWay that the Robertson family gives God the glory for all of their success.
“Hey, it’s unreal,” Si explained.
“Cause if you asked any of the Robertson men who’s behind all this – [people] ask Willie all the time, <<How did you become so successful?>>”
Uncle Si Robertson’s book will be released on September 3
The answer that Willie Robertson provides, according to Si, is: “Hey, that would be the Almighty. He’s the one that has made this a success.”
Speaking about God, Si Robertson said that although a lot of people don’t believe God has a sense of humor, he quipped that the lives of the Robertson men is proof that He does, and in abundance.
“God has got a great sense of humor, OK. Because, hey, look as Jase. God has taken four guys that look like about five miles of muddy road and made them famous in the TV world.”
He then turns the tables on nonbelievers and asks what it is they depend on for support when they receive bad news, such as receiving a diagnosis of a terminal illness.
“The only thing I’d say is: I wonder, when people run into bad times, they go to the doctor and find out, <<I’m dying with cancer>>, and they don’t believe in God, where do they turn to?”
Si Robertson continues: “We’re all mortal. We’re all going in that grave. And there ain’t but one way that you’re going to beat it that I know of. Like Phil always tells them: <<If you’ve got something to offer me, better than what I just shared with you, I’m all ears; I’m ready to hear it>>. Because that’s the only one I ever heard that beat the grave.”
“And he promised you that since He beat it, if you believe in Him, He’ll make you beat it.”
Si Robertson’s 240-page book that will be available on September 3 will include family photos, and anecdotes and stories about his childhood, duck hunting, his days in college, the Vietnam War, and his wife, Christina, and their two children, Scott and Trasa.
Duck Dynasty Season 4 will broadcast at 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday, August 14.
Duck Dynasty stars Si Robertson and his nephew, Willie Robertson, will leave their Louisiana stomping grounds to make their acting debut on ABC’s Last Man Standing.
Uncle Si and Willie Robertson will help kick off the comedy’s third season premiering Friday, September 20 at 8/7c.
Uncle Si and Willie Robertson will make their acting debut as guest stars on ABC’s Last Man Standing
ABC didn’t reveal the nature of their guest roles.
Starring Tim Allen as Mike, a man’s man surrounded by all women – his wife and three daughters – who challenge him constantly on his ideas of men and women’s roles in society and the home.
Also starring Nancy Travis, Molly Ephraim, Kaitlyn Dever, Amanda Fuller, Christoph Sanders, Flynn Morrison and Hector Elizondo, Last Man Standing was renewed for a third season in May.
Meanwhile, Duck Dynasty has become A&E’s most popular show. Its Season 3 finale in April drew 9.6 million viewers.
A new research suggests that dromedary camels could be responsible for passing to humans the deadly MERS coronavirus that emerged last year.
Tests have shown the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus, or one that is very closely related, has been circulating in the animals, offering a potential route for the spread.
The study is published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.
But the scientists say more research is needed to confirm the findings.
The MERS coronavirus first emerged in the Middle East last year. So far, there have been 94 confirmed cases and 46 deaths.
While there has been evidence of the virus spreading between humans, most cases are thought to have been caused by contact with an animal. But until now, scientists have struggled to work out which one.
To investigate, an international team looked at blood samples taken from livestock animals, including camels, sheep, goats and cows, from a number of different countries.
Dromedary camels could be responsible for passing to humans the deadly MERS coronavirus
They tested them for antibodies – the proteins produced to fight infections – which can remain in the blood long after a virus has gone.
Professor Marion Koopmans, from the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment and Erasmus University in The Netherlands, said: “We did find antibodies that we think are specific for the MERS coronavirus or a virus that looks very similar to the MERS coronavirus in dromedary camels.”
The team found low levels of antibodies in 15 out of 105 camels from the Canary Islands and high levels in each of the 50 camels tested in Oman, suggesting the virus was circulating more recently.
“Antibodies point to exposure at some time in the life of those animals,” Prof. Marion Koopmans explained.
No human cases of the MERS virus have been reported in Oman or the Canary Islands, and the researchers say they now need to test more widely to see if the infection is present elsewhere.
This would include taking samples from camels in Saudi Arabia, the country where the virus is the most prevalent.
Prof. Marion Koopmans said: “It is a smoking gun, but it is not definitive proof.”
Health officials say confirming where the virus comes from is important, but then understanding how humans get infected is a priority.
Gregory Hartl, from the World Health Organization, said: “Only if we know what actions and interactions by humans lead to infection, can we work to prevent these infections.”
Data suggests that it is not yet infectious enough to pose a global threat and is still at a stage where its spread could be halted.
Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland.
The talk show host said an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop in Zurich.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, was apparently told the bags on display were “too expensive” for her.
Her claims, made to a US television programme, come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
Human rights groups have likened the plans – which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries – to apartheid.
Oprah Winfrey was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland
Oprah Winfrey, who stars in Lee Daniels’ new film The Butler, visited Zurich last month to attend singer Tina Turner’s wedding. The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
She said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
“There’s two different ways to handle it,” Oprah Winfrey said.
“I could’ve had the whole blow-up thing… but it still exists, of course it does.”
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
Kim Kardashian is now said to be worried her fans are losing interest in their former idol after she deliberately remained in hiding for two months following the birth of her daughter North West.
Her sister Kourtney Kardashian was on hand to remind followers of Kim’s existence on Wednesday, by tweeting a bikini snap of the two taken on holiday in Mexico in 2011.
With the strange caption: “Squallay. kimkardashian,” the shot shows the siblings walking on the beach with Kim Kardashian showing off her killer curves in a green bikini.
Kourtney Kardashian wanted to remind followers of Kim’s existence by tweeting a bikini snap of the two taken on holiday in Mexico in 2011
The vintage picture comes as the new mother is battling to lose the baby weight, ahead of her “big debut”.
After welcoming her daughter with Kanye West on June 15, Kim Kardashian decided to hide out at her mother’s house until she had shed the excess pounds.
But two months on Kim Kardashian is now afraid that she has waited too long to showcase her slimdown and that her star power is slipping.
“Kim has had this plan to show off how great she looks after giving birth and selling the pictures or videos for a lot of money, but she’s getting worried that it’s been too long and people aren’t as excited about seeing her anymore,” a source told RadarOnline.com.
“Kim is used to having millions of adoring fans begging to see her all the time, but there has been a shift in her fan base and she’s getting nervous that people don’t care as much about her,” the insider revealed.
Kim Kardashian is even worried that she can’t compete with the world’s most famous birth, that of Prince George.
“After all the excitement the whole world had for Kate Middleton’s royal baby, Kim had hoped that people would care about her that much, but now she’s freaking out that they’re not.”
Desperate to keep tongues wagging about her, Kim Kardashian stuck out her own tongue in a silly Keek video that she posted to social media on Tuesday.
This followed Kim Kardashian’s first post-pregnancy appearance in a brief video for Kris Jenner’s daytime chat show earlier this month.
Polina Polonsky, who claims she had a passionate affair with Lamar Odom, has revealed further details about their alleged relationship.
Polina Polonsky, 33, has now given specific details about the alleged six-week fling – including which nights she allegedly spent with Lamar Odom, and where they stayed.
The lawyer even claims that her friendship with Lamar Odom turned physical on the night of Kim Kardashian’s baby shower – which is the last time Lamar and Khloe were photographed in public together.
The new claims came as Khloe Kardashian left Los Angeles. She was pictured jetting out alone on Thursday afternoon, hiding behind a pair of thick rimmed red glasses.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom married after just one month of dating in 2009.
Polina Polonsky has taken a lie detector test and offered up precise details of the alleged affair.
Polina Polonsky claims that her friendship with Lamar Odom turned physical on the night of Kim Kardashian’s baby shower
In new revelations on Thursday night the criminal defense attorney told Starmagazine that although she had known Lamar Odom for some time, the relationship did not turn romantic until the evening of June 2 at Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel.
Earlier that day Lamar Odom had attended Kim Kardashian’s baby shower with Khloe.
“Lamar and I have known each other for a long time, but June 2 was the first time we really hung out,” Polina Polonsky told Star magazine.
“I was under the impression that he had left Khloe, and that’s why he was living at the Roosevelt. He acted completely available, and we definitely had a mutual attraction.”
Polina Polonsky said the two did not sleep together that night, but on June 9 their relationship turned physical with a first kiss.
“On June 17, I stayed at my place alone. And then, the next day, I went back and stayed with Lamar at the hotel until June 21.”
Polina Polonsky has previously claimed that the following week there was a furious confrontation with Khloe Kardashian who discovered the lovers at a cheap motel in downtown LA.
The new allegations come after Jennifer Richardson, 29, said she too had enjoyed a secretive liaison with Lamar Odom.
Lamar Odom furiously denied Jennifer Richardson’s allegations, although he and Khloe Kardashian have yet to comment on Polina Polonsky’s claims.
Karen Black, who featured in cult films such as Easy Rider, Nashville and Five Easy Pieces, has died aged 74.
Hugely prolific, the Illinois-born actress appeared in more than 100 movies over a career spanning 40 years.
Karen Black died at a clinic in Los Angeles, three years after she was diagnosed with ampullary cancer.
Her breakthrough role, in 1969, was as a prostitute who takes drugs with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider.
Karen Black, who was raised in a Chicago suburb, almost always played troubled, neurotic characters.
Karen Black died at a clinic in Los Angeles, three years after she was diagnosed with ampullary cancer
Despite her impressive filmography, Karen Black had to turn to the public to help pay her healthcare costs.
Her online funding appeal raised more than $60,000, according to her husband, Stephen Eckelberry.
Karen Black earned an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award for one of her most memorable roles – opposite Jack Nicholson – as a waitress who dates an upper-class dropout, in Five Easy Pieces.
She won a best supporting actress Golden Globe award for the role of mistress Myrtle Wilson in 1974’s The Great Gatsby.
The star went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award for playing a country singer in the ensemble cast of 1975 musical drama Nashville.
Karen Black also starred as a jewel thief in what turned out to be Alfred Hitchcock’s last movie, Family Plot, released in 1976.
Lavabit, an encrypted email service thought to have been used by Edward Snowden, has abruptly shut down.
Ladar Levison, owner of the Texas-based Lavabit service, said legal reasons prevented him explaining his decision.
He said he would rather suspend his business than become complicit in “crimes against the American people”.
Correspondents say Lavabit appears to have been in a legal battle to stop US officials accessing customer details.
Edward Snowden, a 30-year-old former CIA contractor, has admitted leaking information about US surveillance programmes to the media.
Edward Snowden is believed to have been using the Lavabit service after fleeing the US
He fled the US – where he now faces espionage charges – and has been granted temporary asylum in Russia.
Observers say Lavabit was put in the spotlight following reports that Edward Snowden was using the service while holed-up in Moscow airport.
“I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people, or walk away from nearly 10 years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit,” Ladar Levison wrote in a letter posted on the Lavabit website.
He said he had decided to “suspend operations” but was barred from discussing the events over the past six weeks that led to his decision.
“This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States,” Ladar Levison wrote.
The US Department of Justice has so far not commented.
Edward Snowden spent about a month in a transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport as the US pressured other countries to deny him asylum.
On August 1st, Edward Snowden left the airport after the Russian government said it would grant him asylum there for a year.
Moscow’s decision prompted President Barack Obama to scrap a planned meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The FBI has reopened an investigation into the disappearance of Paul Fronczak, a newborn boy stolen from a Chicago hospital in 1964.
It comes after DNA tests showed that the child returned to the missing baby’s parents is not their son.
Paul Fronczak, now 49, was raised by Chester and Dora Fronczak after detectives found him abandoned in New Jersey in 1965.
But he questioned his identity as he felt he did not look like them, reports say.
Hundreds of police officers and FBI agents searched for the baby after his abduction from Michael Reese Hospital in April 1964 – when he was just one day old.
A woman dressed as a nurse reportedly told Dora Fronczak that the doctor wanted to examine her son. She handed him over and he was never returned.
Over a year later, a boy deemed to resemble the missing child was found abandoned outside a shop in Newark and given to the Fronczaks.
The FBI has reopened an investigation into the disappearance of Paul Fronczak, a newborn boy stolen from a Chicago hospital in 1964
Earlier this year Paul Fronczak asked his parents to do DNA tests, and they revealed the case of the mistaken identity, according to KLAS-TV News.
Joan Hyde, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Chicago office, told the Associated Press that the bureau had decided to reopen the case after reviewing the original case file.
“We decided it merited another look,” she said.
“The main thing is to look at physical evidence and see if technology and tests that weren’t available when the case was originally worked could provide leads.”
Paul Fronczak, who is leading his own efforts to find his missing namesake, told Chicago radio he was optimistic about the renewed probe.
“Honestly, I really feel that we’re going to solve both these mysteries, and I’m very hopeful, and I really feel that it’s time,” he said.
Nearly 305,000 Zimbabwean voters were turned away during last week’s elections, which the opposition has said were rigged.
These are the first such official figures provided by Zimbabwe’s Electoral Commission (ZEC).
The number of rejected voters has been a major complaint.
It also said 207,000 voters were “assisted” to cast their ballot – another alleged source of fraud.
President Robert Mugabe gained 938,085 more votes than his main rival.
Morgan Tsvangirai, who took 34% of the vote, has alleged massive fraud.
His Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party is planning to file court applications against the results of the presidential and parliamentary votes.
Robert Mugabe, 89, won with 61% of the presidential vote and his Zanu-PF gained a two-thirds majority in parliament, with 160 seats compared to 49 for the MDC.
African and regional monitors praised the poll for being peaceful but noted some irregularities. Western observers were not invited to witness the July 31st vote.
But a local observer group, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and its network of 7,000 observers, has said that about one million voters were “systematically disenfranchised” by being omitted from the voters’ roll or turned away.
Nearly 305,000 Zimbabwean voters were turned away during last week’s elections
The electoral roll has come in for criticism for having duplicate names and the names of dead Zimbabweans – the MDC says it has found 838,000 entries with the same name, address and date of birth but different ID number, 350,000 people who are more than 85 years old and 109,000 aged over 100.
The figures of those turned away from polling station represent 8.7% of votes cast.
According to the electoral commission’s statistics, the largest number of turned away voters – 64,483 – was in Harare.
The MDC has stronger support in towns and cities and ZESN says voters had most trouble registering in urban areas.
In its assessment of the election, the African Union observer mission noted that it was concerned by the high number of assisted voters nationwide.
The MDC says that “assisted voters” – supposedly the illiterate or infirm – were made to vote for Zanu-PF.
The ZEC figures show that assisted voting happened more in the rural areas, Zanu-PF’s stronghold, where, according to ZESN, 99.97% of voters were registered.
Such figures are shocking as the UN regards Zimbabwe as the most literate country in Africa and the number of assisted voters represents 5.9% of votes cast.
MDC party, which had been in a coalition with Zanu-PF for four years following disputed elections in 2008, is expected file its appeals within the seven days of the results, which were announced on Saturday 3 August. This could be as late as next Wednesday as the MDC’s legal team say weekends are not counted and next Monday and Tuesday are public holidays.
The court then has 14 days to deliver a judgement. If the court upholds the results, Robert Mugabe must be sworn in within 48 hours of the ruling.
A week after the election, Robert Mugabe dismissed criticism of the polls and lashed out at Western countries for their concerns about the vote.
“We are very happy that we have dealt the enemy a blow, and the enemy is not Tsvangirai,” AFP news agency quoted the president as saying.
“Tsvangirai is a mere part of the enemy. The enemy is he who is behind Tsvangirai. Who is behind the MDC? The British and their allies. Those are the ones who were the real enemies.”
Robert Mugabe has long accused the British of trying to oust him from power in its former colony because of his policy of seizing white-owned land.
Jennifer Aniston has revealed there is one question more than any other that annoys her – the kids question.
Speaking on Good Morning America on Wednesday, Jennifer Aniston, 44, said she recognizes all the tricks used by interviewers trying to bring up the subject of her starting a family.
Jennifer Aniston said she knows it’s coming when she is asked: “Something about family and trying to relate it to the movie with, <<Oh, if I was to have a child how many kids do I want?>>.”
And “do I want a boy or a girl?” the actress said in an interview with ABC News correspondent Amy Robach.
Speaking on Good Morning America on Wednesday, Jennifer Aniston said she recognizes all the tricks used by interviewers trying to bring up the subject of her starting a family
“I didn’t realize you could place orders, I honestly didn’t realize it was like a drive-through, that you could talk to a little electronic voice.”
Jennifer Aniston explained: “My friends and my partner are truly my family.”
The star – who is engaged to actor Justin Theroux – was speaking out during an interview to promote her new movie We’re the Millers in which she plays a club dancer.
Jennifer Aniston said she had her doubts about the role: “I said yes thinking <<wouldn’t that be great>>, thinking, <<well, I’ve never played a stripper, at least not in film>>.
“Then this panic sets in three weeks, two weeks, one week before the actual day of shooting.”
Jennifer Aniston revealed she worked out six days a week in preparation for the role.
“Honestly it was the craziest workout. My diet has always been pretty clean but I think I was super, super strict, especially in terms of, I’ll usually cheat once or twice a week and I just kind of didn’t.”
Jennifer Aniston also revealed she and Justin Theroux are in no hurry to tie the knot. The pair who became engaged last year have been subjected to rumors that their relationship is on the rocks.
“I surround myself with my amazing work, my amazing friends, my amazing partner, my beautiful dogs … and I tune that noise out.
“I mean, I think it’s very sweet that people want everything for me,” Jennifer Aniston said, adding that she’s “so content and happy” where she is.
Cuticle tattoo is the latest lacquer trend to take the beauty world by storm.
The temporary designs are designed to sit below the cuticle area, to highlight or contrast with your manicure. They’re ideal for those who want to subtly experiment with body art without committing to a real tattoo.
Cuticle tattoo is the latest lacquer trend to take the beauty world by storm
Rad Nails, an American e-tailer who ship worldwide, describe the $6 tattoos as “an easy way to accent your nail art”.
They are applied like press-on tattoos and just need a small amount of water to make them stick.
Rad Nails, the nail art brand that has become well known for their limited edition Ryan Gosling nail wraps, offer four different patterns.
Choose between moon-shaped Another Round, triangles dubbed Your Point?, geometric pattern In a Pinch, and Double Drips, a paint splatter effect.
Joe & Seph’s launched Gin & Tonic popcorn, a genius snack that combines the best of the current trend for gourmet popcorn with one of Britain’s favorite liveners.
Joe & Seph’s launched Gin & Tonic popcorn
The product is air popped and it contains 5% real gin and 5% real tonic.
Joe & Seph’s have a second boozy option: caramel macchiato with whisky, which is described in the tasting notes as having notes of ‘smooth cream, followed by Columbian coffee and Scotch whisky to finish.
It is a nice foil to the G&T flavor, which is described as “deliciously fruity and spicy, a fascinating combination”.
Then there’s wine popcorn – a sauvignon blanc version and a pinot noir – created by U.S. company Populence (www.populencenyc.com) – who sell giant kettles of the stuff for $8.
Pope Francis has stepped up the fight against corruption at the Vatican by strengthening supervision of financial transactions at its internal bank.
The Pope issued a decree designed to combat money-laundering and prevent any financing of terrorism.
It is the latest move to stamp out abuses at the Vatican bank, which handles funds for the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis recently set up a commission to investigate the bank and report back to him personally.
Last month the Vatican froze the account of a senior cleric, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, suspected of involvement in money-laundering.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano and two others were arrested by Italian police in June on suspicion of trying to move 20 million euros ($26 million) illegally.
Pope Francis has stepped up the fight against corruption at the Vatican by strengthening supervision of financial transactions at its internal bank
Pope Francis’ number one priority this summer is to sort out the financial mess at the Vatican bank and a parent body which looks after the financial assets of the Holy See.
The new decree is intended to tackle “money-laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”, the Vatican said.
It sets up a financial security committee to coordinate the anti-corruption effort.
Church spokesman Federico Lombardi said the decree would help the Vatican resist “increasingly insidious” forms of international financial crime.
A French-based financial watchdog, Moneyval, has been carrying out a review of the Vatican bank’s operations.
It found that the bank had not always exercised due diligence.
The Vatican bank, which is known officially as the Institute for Religious Works, handles the payroll for some 5,000 Vatican employees.
It also handles the funds for the central administration of the Catholic Church and holds the accounts of cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns and religious orders around the world.
It does not lend money and has assets worth $8.3 billion (6.2 billion euros).
Transport officials have confirmed today that a dead shark has been discovered on the subway in New York City.
The shark, about 4 ft long, was found under a row of seats on a Queens-bound train.
The conductor asked passengers to leave the carriage and the train continued to the end of the line, where a supervisor disposed of the shark.
The shark, about 4 ft long, was found under a row of seats on a Queens-bound train
Pigeons and even an opossum have made their way on to the trains before, but never a shark, transit officials said.
However, where it came from remains a mystery.
Isvett Verde, of Brooklyn, New York, who took a photo of the shark, said she noticed that the empty carriage of the N train “smelled extremely fishy” when she boarded at 8th Street.
“It’s hard to be surprised as there are always crazy things happening in this city, but even that was a bit much,” Isvett Verde said.
Other pictures of the exotic discovery have also gone viral, including one of the shark with a cigarette in its mouth next to a fare card and a can of energy drink.
An attempt to block the release of a biopic of actress Linda Lovelace by the company that owns the rights to her most famous movie Deep Throat has been rejected by a judge in New York.
US District Judge Thomas Griesa dismissed a $10 million claim by Arrow Productions, enabling the film to open on Friday as planned.
One of the film’s producers expressed relief “that common sense prevailed”.
Amanda Seyfried plays Linda Lovelace in the new biopic.
Arrow filed its copyright action in Manhattan on Tuesday, claiming it had not been approached “for a license to use any of [its] intellectual property”.
Amanda Seyfried plays Linda Lovelace in the new biopic
It said that more than five minutes of footage was copyrighted material taken from Deep Throat that had been used “without license or permission”.
Arrow’s legal action revealed it had licensed Deep Throat to Inferno, another film about Linda Lovelace which was to have starred Lindsay Lohan and which was eventually abandoned.
“Arrow Productions’ complaint was transparent about its desire to control discussion about Deep Throat… and to hinder projects that would compete with theirs,” said Millennium Films’ Mark Gill in a statement.
“We believe this case was an insult to the legal safeguards in place maintaining our right to freedom of speech.”
Another of the defendants – Radius TWC, a division of The Weinstein Company – said it “couldn’t be more pleased”.
“The world will finally get a chance to see Linda’s real story unfold on screen in Lovelace,” said its co-presidents, Tom Quinn and Jason Janego.
“Never again will she be silenced by the producers and distributors of Deep Throat.”
Lovelace dramatizes the life of the actress born Linda Boreman in 1949.
It depicts her abusive marriage to her manager Chuck Traynor, her troubled relationship with her mother Dorothy and her role in the making of Deep Throat.
Deep Throat became one of the most successful movie in its category in the 1970s as well as a pop culture phenomenon.
It subsequently gained additional notoriety after its title was assigned to Mark Felt, the pseudonymous informant who assisted the Washington Post‘s investigation into the Watergate scandal.
Linda Lovelace died in a car accident in 2002 at the age of 53.
