Founders of the Dolce & Gabbana fashion house, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, have been cleared by Italy’s top court of tax evasion.
Two lower Italian courts had found Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana guilty of failing to declare millions of euros the company had earned through a subsidy based in Luxembourg.
In April, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana had been sentenced to a suspended 20-month jail term.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were found guilty of failing to declare millions of euros their fashion house had earned through a subsidy based in Luxembourg
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have always denied the charges.
In June 2013, they were convicted by a lower court for failing to file tax declarations for the Luxembourg company, Gado, which prosecutors alleged was set up to evade paying taxes in Italy.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana denied the charges, and last year they briefly closed their Milan stores in protest.
The ruling by Italy’s top court is the final ruling on the subject.
The mayoral race in a small town high in the Peruvian Andes was decided by a coin toss after two candidates tied at the ballot box.
Wilber Medina, a 40-year-old teacher, was chosen mayor of Pillpinto near the tourist center of Cusco on October 22 after he and his rival, Jose Comejo, each garnered 236 votes in municipal elections this month.
Pillpinto mayoral race was decided by a coin toss after two candidates tied at the ballot box
Peru’s electoral law allows for tied races to be decided by a coin toss.
Wilber Medina said he’ll work to earn voters’ trust. Jose Cornejo accepted the results.
Air New Zealand has launched its latest Hobbit-themed pre-flight safety demonstration.
Air New Zealand has established a long tradition of memorable in-flight safety videos, has done a new take on an old theme.
This time the video features brief cameos from the director, Peter Jackson, as well as Elijah Wood, the main actor in the trilogy.
Describing itself “the official airline of Middle-earth”, Air New Zealand subtitles the new film “the most epic safety video ever made”.
Air New Zealand has launched its latest Hobbit-themed pre-flight safety demonstration (photo Air New Zealand)
Air New Zealand was one of the pioneers of the alternative in-flight safety video, and has garnered particular success with its Hobbit-themed versions.
The original hobbit safety video gathered more than 12 million views on YouTube.
Other videos have included Bear Grylls , as well as the All Blacks New Zealand rugby team and Snoop Dogg.
Many other airlines have followed suit and attempted their own versions of the airline safety video genre, including Virgin Atlantic with an animated safety video earlier this year.
The final installment of The Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies, will be on general release in December 2014.
Queen Elizabeth II sent her first tweet through the @BritishMonarchy account heralding the launch of a major new exhibition at London’s Science Museum.
“It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the @ScienceMuseum and I hope people will enjoy visiting. Elizabeth R.”
Queen Elizabeth II sent her first tweet heralding the launch of a major new exhibition at London’s Science Museum
Three years in the planning, the exhibition is one of the most ambitious projects the museum has undertaken.
Alongside historic objects, visitors can enjoy interactive experiences.
The Information Age gallery, opened by Queen Elizabeth on October 24, takes visitors on a journey through the history of modern communications from the telegraph to the smartphone.
Microsoft has reported a decline in its profits as a result of costs related to job cuts and its purchase of Nokia’s smartphone business earlier this year.
However, the tech giant reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, helped by stronger sales of its phones, Surface tablets and cloud-computing products for companies, while keeping its profit margins largely intact.
Microsoft made $4.5 billion in Q3 2014, 13% lower than the same time last year.
“Integrations and restructuring expenses” cost $1.1 billion, Microsoft said.
However, the new Nokia business also boosted revenues. They climbed 25% to $23.2 billion, beating expectations and sending shares higher in after-hours trading.
In July Microsoft announced plans to cut 18,000 jobs, including 12,500 in the Nokia unit it bought in April.
On October 22 Microsoft said it would no longer use the Nokia name, selling future Lumia smartphone models as Microsoft-branded phones.
Microsoft made $4.5 billion in Q3 2014, 13 percent lower than the same time last year
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company was being “positioned for future growth”.
“Our teams are delivering on our core focus of reinventing productivity and creating platforms that empower every individual and organization,” he said in a statement accompanying earnings.
Microsoft makes most of its money selling software to companies. The results show a strong growth in its business selling cloud computing to companies – an area Satya Nadella has cited as important for the future of Microsoft.
The business has continued to place great importance on its consumer products like the Xbox games console, its Surface range of tablet computers, and smartphones.
Stronger sales of phones and tablets helped boost revenues, with total consumer revenue up 47%.
Microsoft shares, which have climbed 33% over the past year, rose another 3% in after-hours trading to $46.36.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that one million doses of an Ebola vaccine will be produced by the end of 2015.
The WHO said “several hundred thousand” would be produced in the first half of the year.
Vaccines could be offered to health workers on the frontline in West Africa as soon as December 2014.
However, the WHO cautioned that vaccines would not be a “magic bullet” for ending the outbreak.
There is no proven cure or vaccine for Ebola.
In response to the largest epidemic of the disease in history, the WHO is accelerating the process of vaccine development
It normally takes years to produce and test a vaccine, but drug manufacturers are now working on a scale of weeks.
One million doses of an Ebola vaccine will be produced by the end of 2015
Two experimental vaccines, produced by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the Public Health Agency of Canada, are already in safety trials.
The GSK vaccine is being tested in Mali, the UK and the US. Research on the Canadian vaccine is also under way in the US with further trials expected to start in Europe and Africa soon.
The results are expected in December. After that, trials will move to countries affected by Ebola, probably starting with Liberia.
That will allow researchers to assess how effective the vaccine is and what dose is needed to provide protection.
Healthcare workers, who place themselves at risk when treating patients, will take part in the first trials in West Africa.
The WHO says we should have the first hints of how effective these experimental vaccines are by April.
There are no plans for mass vaccination before June 2015 but the WHO has not ruled it out.
The WHO says vaccines are likely to be key to ending the outbreak, even if cases fall in the next few months.
Dr. Marie Paule Kieny, a WHO assistant director-general, said: “While we hope that the massive response, which has been put in place will have an impact on the epidemic, it is still prudent to prepare to have as much vaccine available as possible if they are proven effective.
“If the massive effort in response is not sufficient, then vaccine would be a very important tool.
“And even if the epidemic would be already receding by the time we have vaccine available, the modeling seems to say vaccine may still have an impact on controlling the epidemic.”
As well as the two vaccines already in trials, there are a further five in the pipeline which could yet play a role in the outbreak.
The World Bank and the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres will help finance the vaccine.
There are also suggestions that an “indemnity fund” could be set up in case people have a serious adverse reaction to a vaccine being rushed through.
Matt Lucas will host this year’s International Emmy Awards ceremony in New York.
International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences president Bruce Paisner called Matt Lucas “one of the most talented comedic performers and writers of his generation”.
Bruce Paisner said: “We’re delighted to have him headlining the International Emmys.”
Matt Lucas will host this year’s International Emmy Awards ceremony in New York
The International Emmy Awards take place on November 24 in New York.
The awards celebrate TV production outside the US.
Matt Lucas is best known to global audiences for appearing in films such as Bridesmaids and Alice in Wonderland.
New York doctor Craig Spencer, who recently returned from Ebola-hit Guinea in West Africa, has tested positive for the virus.
Dr. Craig Spencer, who treated Ebola patients while working for the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), came down with a fever on October 23, days after his return, officials say.
He is the first Ebola case diagnosed in New York, and the fourth in the US.
More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola – mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – since March.
Dr. Craig Spencer, 33, left Guinea on October 14, and returned to New York City on October 17 via Europe. On October 21 he began to feel tired and developed a fever and diarrhea on October 23.
He immediately contacted medical services and was taken to the city’s Bellevue Hospital, where he is being kept in isolation.
President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with Craig Spencer.
New York officials said Dr. Craig Spencer had travelled on the subway and gone out jogging before he started feeling unwell.
Dr. Craig Spencer treated Ebola patients while working for the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres in Guinea (photo Facebook)
At a news conference late on Thursday, they sought to ease fears of an outbreak in the densely populated city of 8.4 million people, saying officials had prepared for weeks for an Ebola case.
“There is no reason for New Yorkers to be alarmed,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
“Ebola is an extremely hard disease to contract. New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person’s bodily fluids are not at risk.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo said: “We can’t say that this is an unexpected circumstance.”
President Barack Obama telephoned both the mayor and the governor to discuss the deployment of health officials and to offer “any additional federal support necessary”, the White House said.
Ebola patients are only infectious if they have symptoms, and the disease is only transmittable through bodily fluids, experts say.
Andrew Cuomo said officials had identified four people with whom Dr. Craig Spencer had contact during the period in which he was potentially infectious.
Dr. Craig Spencer is the fourth person to be diagnosed with the disease in the US.
The first patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, caught Ebola in his native Liberia and travelled to Dallas, Texas, before his symptoms set in. He died on October 8.
Two nurses who treated him in Dallas subsequently came down with the disease and are recovering in hospital.
Meanwhile, on Thursday the West African country of Mali confirmed its first Ebola case – a two-year-old girl recently returned from Guinea.
Mali is now the sixth West African country to be affected by the latest Ebola outbreak – however Senegal and Nigeria have since been declared virus-free by the WHO.
Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has already identified at least two experimental vaccines which it believes could be promising.
At a meeting in Geneva, the UN health body said it wanted tests of the vaccines to be completed by the end of December.
The WHO says 443 health workers have contracted Ebola, of whom 244 have died.
Mark Zuckerberg was in Beijing as a newly appointed member of the advisory board for Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management.
As part of that role, Mark Zuckerberg met students for a 30-minute chat, which he conducted in Mandarin.
Facebook founder’s attempt to woo the audience by speaking Mandarin has had mixed reviews from Chinese speakers.
There was plenty of reaction to his attempts to communicate in Chinese.
“It’s hard to describe in English what Zuckerberg’s Mandarin sounded like but I’d put it roughly at the level of someone who studied for two years in college, which means he can communicate like an articulate seven-year-old with a mouth full of marbles,” one blogger wrote.
Others commented: “Oh my god… this is terrible… but apart from the tones, he seems to have learnt the vocabulary and grammar pretty well.”
News outlet Quartz described Mark Zuckerberg’s 30-minute chat as making him sound “like someone was stepping on his face”.
Mark Zuckerberg was in Beijing as a newly appointed member of the advisory board for Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management
One tonal slip-up led Mark Zuckerberg to claim that Facebook had just 11 mobile users instead of one billion.
While most agreed that his pronunciation was far from fluent, most were also impressed that he had attempted it at all.
Mark Zuckerberg, who is married to Chinese-American Priscilla Chan, set himself the goal of learning Mandarin in 2010, in part so that he could communicate with Priscilla’s relatives.
Facebook as a company is also keen to improve relationships with China. There is currently a ban on the use of the social media site, which dates since 2009.
There was no explicit chat about the ban and Mark Zuckerberg described China as a “great country”.
“The Chinese language is difficult, and I speak English, but I like challenges,” he said.
On Facebook’s future in China, Mark Zuckerberg was diplomatic: “We are already in China. We help Chinese companies gain customers abroad. We want to help the rest of the world connect to China.”
Fellow chief executive – Apple’s Tim Cook – was also in China, questioning officials about an alleged hack of its iCloud service.
Tim Cook will attend a meeting at Beijing’s Tsinghua University with Mark Zuckerberg later in the week.
Meanwhile he has had talks with the vice premier of China to discuss protecting user data in the wake of recent alleged hack attacks targeting iCloud users.
The attacks were revealed by Chinese activist group GreatFire.org, which accused the Chinese government of being involved.
iCloud user data was collected by creating a spoof icloud.com website.
Tim Cook also used the trip to China to visit Foxconn’s iPhone factory and said that the company would open 25 retail stores in China in the next two years.
Canadian police have released a video showing how gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stormed into the parliament’s building on October 22.
Minutes before, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, had shot dead a soldier at Ottawa’s war memorial near parliament.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was ultimately shot dead by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
The gunman was not on a list of known high-risk travelers, but had links to extremist elements, police said. He had recently applied for a passport and intended to travel to Syria.
At a news conference on October 23, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Bob Paulson described Michael Zehaf-Bibeau as a Canadian-born petty criminal with possible dual citizenship in Libya, where his father was from.
Bob Paulson said Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was not among the 90 individuals known to Canadian security forces as a “high-risk traveler”, contrary to earlier reports.
Nor was he linked to the Muslim convert who on October 20 killed a Canadian soldier in Quebec in a hit-and-run attack.
Canadian police have released a video showing how gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stormed into the parliament’s building
“[Michael Zehaf-Bibeau] was an individual who may have held extremist beliefs,” said Bob Paulson, who suggested the passport application process may have driven him to violence.
“I think the passport figured prominently in his motives. I’m not inside his head, but I think it was central to what was driving him.”
Killed in the Wednesday morning attack was Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist from Ontario who was standing as an unarmed honor guard, in ceremonial dress, at Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Canadian capital’s Parliament Hill.
According to the RCMP investigation, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau arrived in Ottawa on October 2, intending to deal with an issue related to his application for a passport.
“He was waiting to get it, and there was an investigation going on to determine to see whether he would get a passport,” Bob Paulson said.
On October 21, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau purchased the beige car used in the attack. On October 22 at about 09:50, he approached the war memorial from behind, fired twice at Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who never saw him coming, then fired on the second guard. Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was struck, but the shot missed the second guard.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau yelled something in English, then drove north on Wellington Street toward Parliament Hill. He stopped his car directly in front of the parliament complex’s East Block, and alighted from his vehicle brandishing a rifle as pedestrians fled.
Video shows Michael Zehaf-Bibeau hijacked a minister’s car, then sped off toward Centre Block, by now pursued by police.
At Centre Block, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau left the stolen car and ran into the building, exchanging gunfire with House of Commons security forces and RCMP officers.
He was ultimately shot dead by Sergeant-at-Arms Vickers, a former senior RCMP officer, who received a standing ovation in parliament on Thursday.
Only one minute and 23 seconds elapsed between the time Michael Zehaf-Bibeau parked his own car and when he entered Center Block.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s assault has shaken a nation already reeling from Monday’s attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in which 25-year-old Martin Couture-Rouleau smashed his car into two Canadian soldiers in a car park, killing one.
Martin Couture-Rouleau, who authorities say was “inspired” by Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Iraq and Syria, led police on a brief chase before he wrecked his car, exited the vehicle reportedly brandishing a knife, and was shot dead by the officers.
PM Stephen Harper has vowed to strengthen the nation’s anti-terrorism laws, and has said Canada will not be intimidated by such violence, nor swayed from its role fighting IS in Iraq alongside the US military.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau is now under 24-hour protection, authorities have said.
Mali has confirmed the first case of Ebola in the country.
The Malian government said a two-year-old girl had tested positive for the haemorrhagic virus. She recently returned from the neighboring Guinea.
More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola – mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – since March.
Meanwhile, an international team of scientists has been set up to determine the effectiveness of using the blood of Ebola survivors as a treatment.
It is hoped the antibodies used by the immune system to fight Ebola can be transferred from a survivor to a patient. The study will start in Guinea.
More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola since March 2014
Speaking on state television on October 23, Malian Health Minister Ousmane Kone said the infected girl was being treated in the western town of Kayes.
The girl was brought to a local hospital on October 22 and her blood sample was Ebola-positive, Ousmane Kone said.
The child and those who have come into contact with her have been put in quarantine.
The girl’s mother died in Guinea a few weeks ago and the child was then brought by relatives to Mali, Reuters news agency quotes a health ministry official as saying.
Mali is now the sixth West African country to be affected by the latest Ebola outbreak – however Senegal and Nigeria have since been declared virus-free by the WHO.
Boko Haram militants have reportedly abducted dozens of women and girls from two villages in Nigeria’s north-eastern Adamawa state.
The abductions have not been confirmed by the authorities, but Adamawa residents say they took place a day after the military announced it had agreed a ceasefire with the Boko Haram group.
The government hopes the Islamist group will free more than 200 girls seized in April as part of negotiations.
Boko Haram has not confirmed the truce.
Following the ceasefire announcement, the government said further talks with Boko Haram were due to be held this week in neighboring Chad.
In a separate incident, at least five people were killed in a bomb blast at a bus station in a town in the northern state of Bauchi.
Boko Haram militants have reportedly abducted dozens of women and girls from two villages in Nigeria’s north-eastern Adamawa state (photo AFP)
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
News of the new abductions came as Nigerian lawmakers approved a $1 billion loan – requested by the president in July – to upgrade military equipment and train more units fighting the north-eastern insurgency.
But they asked the finance minister to give the chamber more details about how the external borrowing would be sourced.
Security already costs the country close to $6 billion, roughly a quarter of the federal budget.
The abduction of the schoolgirls from their boarding school in Borno state sparked a global campaign to pressure the government to secure their release.
Borno is the group’s stronghold. It has been under a state of emergency, along with neighboring Adamawa and Yobe states, for more than a year.
The villages that were attacked on Saturday – Waga Mangoro and Garta – are close to Madagali and Michika towns, which have been under the control of the Islamist militant group for several weeks.
According to people in the area, a large group of insurgents attacked the villages, rounding up women and girls.
They forced them to harvest groundnuts on a farm, then abducted those who were teenagers or in their early 20s.
Communication with the affected area is difficult, which is why it takes time for news of attacks to filter out.
Other raids by suspected Boko Haram fighters were reported by residents in Adamawa and Borno over the weekend.
Since the state of emergency was declared in May 2013, Boko Haram has taken many women and children hostage and has agreed to some prisoner swaps.
Frank Sivero has filed a lawsuit against Fox claiming The Simpsons character of Louie, a member of Springfield’s Mafia, was based on his portrayal of Frankie Carbone in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.
Legal documents have been made public on the gossip website Deadline.
It’s 23 years since Louie made his debut opposite the cartoon’s mob boss Fat Tony.
Now Frank Sivero wants $250 million for the alleged infringement.
He claims he was “the originator of the idea and character” of Louie, as he based Goodfellas‘ Frankie Carbone on his own personality.
Frank Sivero has filed a lawsuit against Fox claiming The Simpsons character of Louie was based on his portrayal of Frankie Carbone in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas
In the documents he claims at that time, in 1989, he was living in the same apartment complex as James L. Brooks, when “they saw each other almost every day”.
Frank Sivero also says he was promised a film and a part in the future of The Simpsons and claims he lost money because he was “type-cast” as a result of Louie.
Like Frankie, Louie has black curly hair, but Dan Castellenata, who voiced the character, said he based the voice on Joe Pesci, also in Goodfellas.
It’s not the first time this year Frank Sivero has taken legal action after claiming his rights to the Goodfellas character were infringed.
In July Frank Sivero filed a suit against a Californian sandwich shop Deli Belly because they named an Italian-style sandwich “the Frankie Sivero” after he ate there.
F1 champion Michael Schumacher has made “some progress”, a doctor who treated him for nearly six months after his brain injury in a skiing accident has said.
Jean-Francois Payen, a doctor at the French hospital in Grenoble where Michael Schumacher was treated, warned that any recovery would take time.
The typical convalescence period was one to three years, the doctor suggested.
Michael Schumacher, 45, was skiing in the French Alps last December when he fell and hit his head on a rock.
The seven-time world champion from Germany was placed in a medically induced coma to help reduce swelling in his brain as he underwent treatment in Grenoble and then in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Michael Schumacher was skiing in the French Alps last December when he fell and hit his head on a rock
Michael Schumacher has now been taken out of the coma and is being looked after at his home in Gland, Switzerland, where Prof. Jean-Francois Payen still visits him to track his progress.
On October 23, Dr. Jean-Francois Payen gave interviews to French radio station RTL and Le Parisien newspaper.
“I have noted some progress but I would say we should give him time,” he said.
Asked about the chances of Michael Schumacher making a recovery, Dr. Jean-Francois Payen only referred to a time frame for patients with similar brain injuries.
“It’s like for other patients, we are on a timescale which goes from one year to three years and we need to be patient,” he said.
Alvin Stardust has died at the age 72 after a short illness.
Alvin Stardust had recently been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and died at home with his wife and family around him, his manager said.
Born Bernard Jewry in the East End of London in 1942, his hits included My Coo Ca Choo, Jealous Mind and I Feel Like Buddy Holly.
The former glam rock star had been due to release his first studio album in 30 years this autumn.
Alvin Stardust had recently been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and died at home with his wife and family around him
He recently announced the record, titled Alvin, was finished and would represent “a new and exciting departure” of which he was “immensely proud”.
Once described as “the Godfather of British Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Rolling Stone Keith Richards, he made sporadic acting appearances in Hollyoaks, The Grimley’s and Doctors.
He also appeared on stage in such musicals as Godspell, The Phantom of the Opera and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in which he played the fearsome Child Catcher.
Before reinventing himself as Alvin Stardust in the 1970s, he recorded under the name Shane Fenton with his band the Fentones.
Alvin Stardust was married three times. His second wife was the actress Liza Goddard, who said she had been “bowled over by his charm”.
White House intruder Dominic Adesanya was attacked by dogs before being arrested, in the latest security breach at the president’s official residence.
Dominic Adesanya, 23, was stopped on a lawn near the building. He was unarmed.
Video footage of the incident showed Dominic Adesanya kicking and punching Secret Service dogs who had been set on him.
The latest incident comes a month after a man armed with a knife scaled the fence and made it inside the White House.
Dominic Adesanya was attacked by dogs after jumping the White House fence
That, and other questions about security at the White House, lead to the resignation of the head of the Secret Service, Julia Pierson.
A spokesman for the agency said charges were pending against Dominic Adesanya.
Two dogs have been taken to the vet for treatment for their injuries, the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that in 2011, the Secret Service diverted agents from their duties at the White House to the home of an agency employee caught in a personal dispute with a neighbor.
The inspector general of the Homeland Security Department, John Roth, called the conduct a “serious lapse of judgement”.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has expanded a recall of vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata airbags to 7.8 million.
The NHTSA warned that owners should take “immediate action”.
If deployed with force, the airbags have the potential to eject deadly shrapnel at passengers.
The NHTSA has identified 10 manufacturers who used Takata as a supplier, including General Motors, Honda, and Toyota.
The agency has told those who might own affected vehicles to check the list at www.safercar.gov, and specifically warned those living in more humid climates such as Florida and Hawaii to get their vehicles inspected.
“Responding to these recalls, whether old or new, is essential to personal safety and it will help aid our ongoing investigation into Takata airbags and what appears to be a problem related to extended exposure to consistently high humidity and temperatures,” said NHTSA deputy administrator David Friedman in a statement.
The NHTSA has expanded a recall of vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata airbags to 7.8 million
Initially, the NHTSA said that only 4.7 million cars could be affected, but it has increased the number of vehicles twice in recent days.
Japanese supplier Takata warned recently that older airbags could explode with too much force, which would send plastic and metal parts towards passengers with enough force to injure them.
Takata said it estimated that around 12 million vehicles around the globe may contain the parts.
The recall notices have been ongoing for the past 18 months, but regulators and car manufacturers have warned that only a small percentage of those cars potentially affected have been returned and inspected.
The majority of the affected vehicles – more than five million – are Honda cars manufactured between 2001 and 2011, including the Accord, Civic, and Pilot models.
Americans who rely on federal benefits will get a 1.7% increase in their monthly payments in 2015, the US government announced on October 22.
It’s the third year in a row the increase will be less than 2%.
The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) affects payments to more than 70 million Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees. That’s more than a fifth of the country.
The increase amounts to about $20 a month for the typical Social Security recipient.
The government announced the benefit increase on October 22, when it released the latest measure of consumer prices. By law, the increase is based on inflation, which is well below historical averages so far this year.
For example, gasoline prices have dropped over the past year while the cost of clothing is up by less than 1 percent, according to the September inflation report released today.
The cost of meat, fish and eggs is up by nearly 10%, but the overall cost of food is up just 3.1%.
Medical costs, which disproportionately affect older Americans, are up 1.9% over the past year.
Americans who rely on federal benefits will get a 1.7 percent increase in their monthly payments in 2015
Congress enacted automatic increases for Social Security beneficiaries in 1975, when inflation was high and there was a lot of pressure to regularly raise benefits.
For the first 35 years, the COLA was less than 2% only three times. Next year, the COLA will be less than 2% for the fifth time in six years. This year’s increase was 1.5%, the year before it was 1.7 percent.
Social Security is financed by a 12.4% payroll tax on the first $117,000 of a worker’s wages – half is paid by the worker and half is paid by the employer. Next year, the wage cap will increase to $118,500, the Social Security Administration said.
About 59 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. The average monthly payment is $1,192.
The COLA also affects benefits for about 4 million disabled veterans, 2.5 million federal retirees and their survivors, and more than 8 million people who get Supplemental Security Income, the disability program for the poor.
By law, the COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, a broad measure of consumer prices generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation and education.
The COLA is calculated by comparing consumer prices in July, August and September each year with prices in the same three months from the previous year. If prices go up over the course of the year, benefits go up, starting with payments delivered in January.
Warren Buffett has lost $2.5 billion only this week after a sharp decline in IBM and Coca-Cola shares.
IBM and Coke represent two of Berkshire Hathaway’s three biggest investments, but their operational missteps have already cost Warren Buffet $2.52 billion this week.
On October 20, Warren Buffett lost nearly $1 billion on his third-largest investment, IBM, after the company posted disappointing earnings.
Warren Buffett has lost $2.5 billion only this week after a sharp decline in IBM and Coca-Cola shares
On October 21, Coca-Cola did the same thing, posting Q3 2014 revenue that fell short of expectations and warning of currency headwinds.
The losses in IBM and Coke add to a recent rough patch for Warren Buffett, who slashed Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in British grocer Tesco earlier this month.
Warren Buffet has described buying into the stock as a “huge mistake”.
However, Warren Buffett’s favorite bank, Wells Fargo, is up more than $816 million since Monday morning.
Renee Zellweger looked different as she attended Elle‘s Women in Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills on October 20.
On the next day, the 45-year-old actress explained: “I’m glad folks think I look different! I’m living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I’m thrilled that perhaps it shows.”
Renee Zellweger last appeared in 2010’s My Own Love Song.
Though she thinks discussions about her appearance are “silly,” Renee Zellweger told People magazine: “It seems the folks who come digging around for some nefarious truth which doesn’t exist won’t get off my porch until I answer the door.”
Renee Zellweger, who next stars in The Whole Truth, doesn’t understand the hubbub.
“My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy,” she said.
Renee Zellweger looked different as she attended Elle’s Women in Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills
“For a long time I wasn’t doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn’t allow for taking care of myself. Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion. I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things.”
“I did work that allows for being still, making a home, loving someone, learning new things, growing as a creative person and finally growing into myself,” said Renee Zellweger, who’s still dating Doyle Bramhall II, 45.
“People don’t know me in my 40s,” added Renee Zellweger, who famously gained weight for her roles in 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and 2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
“People don’t know me [as] healthy for a while. Perhaps I look different. Who doesn’t as they get older?! Ha. But I am different. I’m happy.”
Renee Zellweger tends to avoid the limelight, though she agreed to attend the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards to honor her friend and co-star Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Lady Gaga is the new owner of a $24 million estate in Malibu, California, TMZ reported.
The pad sits on six acres of prime real estate near Zuma Beach and comes complete with a bowling alley, horse farm, wine cellar and plenty of walk-in closets to hold all those wigs and liquid liner pens.
Lady Gaga is the new owner of a $24 million estate in Malibu
Lady Gaga is likely to move into the property with her main squeeze Taylor Kinney, an actor and model who has starred in movies such as Zero Dark Thirty. The couple’s relationship appears to be stronger than ever, with Lady Gaga recently telling Ellen DeGeneres that Taylor Kinney is her soul mate.
Several shots have been fired inside and outside the Canadian parliament in Ottawa, leaving one soldier wounded.
A gunman fired at the National War Memorial and then ran into parliament nearby, continuing the attack.
Canadian broadcaster CBC and several lawmakers report that one gunman has been killed but that is unconfirmed.
The incident came hours after Canada raised its terror threat level following a fatal hit-and-run attack on two soldiers earlier in the week.
“Shots fired at War Memorial at 9:52am today; one person injured,” Ottawa Police tweeted on Wednesday as a witness reported seeing authorities search from room to room for the suspect.
Police have told those in the vicinity to stay away from windows and roofs as they search for additional suspects.
One gunman – said to be carrying a rifle – fired on soldiers guarding Canada’s main war memorial and then ran into the parliament.
There are no reports yet of anyone inside the building being hurt.
Meanwhile, PM Stephen Harper “is safe and has left Parliament Hill”, his director of communications wrote on Twitter.
Several shots have been fired inside and outside the Canadian parliament in Ottawa, leaving one soldier wounded
Senior government member Tony Clement said on Twitter shots were fired near an in-progress cabinet meeting in parliament.
A government official earlier said the raised threat level was in response to an increase in online “general chatter” from radical groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
Ministry spokesman Jean-Christophe de Le Rue said on October 22 that the increased level “means that intelligence has indicated that an individual or group within Canada or abroad has the intent and capability to commit an act of terrorism”.
On October 22 a Muslim convert was killed by Quebec police after deliberately hitting two soldiers in his car, killing one and injuring another.
A minister said it was a “terrible act of violence against our country”.
Earlier this month, Canada announced plans to join the US-led campaign of air strikes against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Iraq.
Romanian Simona Halep beat Serena Williams for the first time as the world No 1 was swept aside in the WTA Finals in Singapore on October 22.
Simona Halep, 23, took advantage of an error-strewn display from the defending champion to make it two wins out of two in the Red Group, coasting to a 6-0 6-2 victory in just 65 minutes.
An out-of-sorts Serena Williams, 33, was made to pay for 36 unforced errors and seven double faults as Simona Halep beat a player ranked in the top three in the world for the first time at the ninth attempt.
Eighteen-time grand-slam winner Serena Williams allowed her frustration to get the better of her as the ruthless Simona Halep took a giant stride towards the semi-finals in her first appearance in the season-ending event.
Simona Halep wrapped up the first set in just 20 minutes, with Serena Williams suffering the embarrassment of losing 6-0 in a set for the first time this year and only the eighth time in her remarkable career.
Simona Halep beat Serena Williams for the first time as the world No 1 was swept aside in the WTA Finals in Singapore
Serena Williams struggled on serve throughout and French Open finalist Simona Halep made her pay, taking three of the four break points that she fashioned and not giving her opponent an opportunity to break back.
Six of Serena Williams’ double faults came in the opening set and that set the tone for a one-sided match, as she was unable to turn the tide.
Simona Halep broke yet again in the first game of the second set and fended off two break points to go 2-0 up.
It took the favorite 37 minutes to get on the board by making it 2-1, but even that proved to be a false dawn as Simona Halep had a spring in her step and broke again to lead 4-1.
Serena Williams was unable to take a break point that might have given her a glimmer of hope in the following game and Simona Halep sealed a memorable victory by converting her third match point to leave the defending champion stunned.
Jodi Arias is back in court for her sentencing retrial in Travis Alexander murder case.
As he delivered his opening statement, prosecutor Juan Martinez displayed a crime-scene photo of Travis Alexander saying: “She loved him so much that this is what she did to him.”
Prosecutor Juan Martinez urged jurors to sentence Jodi Arias to death.
The opening statements came as a jury was seated and testimony began in a retrial to determine whether Jodi Arias lives or dies for her crimes.
It was less of a spectacle than the initial case in early 2013, when onlookers from around the country traveled to Phoenix and lined up outside court for the trial that became a tabloid TV sensation. Still, some of the people who regularly attended the first trial were back in court on October 21.
Jodi Arias has acknowledged killing Travis Alexander but claimed it was self-defense after he attacked her. Prosecutors said it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage after the victim wanted to end their affair and planned a trip to Mexico with another woman.
Jodi Arias is back in court for her sentencing retrial in Travis Alexander murder case
Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said that Jodi Arias was the victim of profound humiliation by Travis Alexander, and that she is mentally ill and a victim of child abuse.
Kirk Nurmi urged jurors to sentence Jodi Arias to life in prison, saying she is remorseful about killing the man who never acknowledged to others that she was his girlfriend.
“Jodi Arias was always the girl behind the closed door in the bedroom,” Kirk Nurmi told jurors.
He suggested his client would testify during the proceedings expected to last until December.
“She will tell you how horrified she is that she killed the man she loved,” Kirk Nurmi said.
Jodi Arias, a 34-year-old former waitress, was convicted of murder last year in the killing of Alexander at his suburban Phoenix home.
Jurors couldn’t agree on a sentence then. Prosecutors have one more chance with a new jury to secure the death penalty. If the jury fails to reach a unanimous decision, the judge will then sentence Jodi Arias to spend the rest of her life behind bars or to be eligible for release after 25 years.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens told the new jury that they had to accept the guilty verdict on the murder charge.
The first trial was broadcast live, but Judge Sherry Stephens imposed restrictions on the sentencing retrial. Cameras are allowed at the retrial, but no footage can be broadcast until it’s finished.
Paul Cantlie, the father of British hostage John Cantlie who is being held by militant group Islamic State (ISIS), has died, his family have said.
Paul Cantlie, 80, recorded a video message from his hospital bed earlier this month, urging those holding John Cantlie to release him.
A family statement said Paul Cantlie had died from “complications following pneumonia” on October 16.
Journalist John Cantlie, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, has appeared in a series of ISIS videos.
In a statement, Paul Cantlie’s family said: “Paul died not knowing whether John’s captors had received any of the messages he had sent to them.
Paul Cantlie recorded a video message from his hospital bed earlier urging ISIS militants to release John Cantlie
“The failure of communication to date has inevitably led to a terrible sense of abandonment, particularly for John’s father, with the family feeling ignored.”
The statement also said the family had been urgently trying to contact John Cantlie in the last few days to let him know of his father’s death ahead of the news being made public.
“Many in the country will recall the recent broadcast from his [Paul’s] hospital bed, when so demonstrably ill, but determined that his journalist son John should hear from his father <<how very proud I am of him>>,” the family said.
Since August, ISIS has killed four Western hostages – US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.
The group, also known as ISIL, has taken control of large areas of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate.
