Dallas Cowboys defensive back CJ Spillman is being investigated over an alleged assault, police say.
CJ Spillman, 28, has not been arrested or charged.
The attack allegedly took place at a Texas hotel in the early hours of September 20, according to Grapevine police spokesman, Sgt. Robert Eberling.
The case adds to a recent spate of high-profile incidents involving NFL players.
Earlier this month Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely after a video emerged of him punching his then-fiancée.
After Ray Rice was suspended, Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson was indicted on child-abuse charges.
CJ Spillman is being investigated over an alleged assault (photo AP)
And Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer has been charged over accusations he broke his wife’s nose during a domestic dispute in July.
The latest incident allegedly took place at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, where the Dallas Cowboys stay.
CJ Spillman, a defensive back, played against the St Louis Rams the next day.
Sgt. Robert Eberling said no other details were being released because the investigation was ongoing.
There has been no immediate response from the Cowboys. CJ Spillman’s agent and lawyer declined to comment, the Associated Press said.
On September 30, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told staff that the club would not allow players accused of domestic violence to play.
Critics have been calling on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to step down after Ray Rice initially received just a two-game ban for his assault.
In a public statement earlier this month, Roger Goodell said he “got it wrong” in his handling of the Rice case and pledged to implement new personal conduct policies.
The NFL has announced it is hiring four women as advisers on domestic violence.
Liv Tyler, who already has son Milo, 9, with ex-husband Royston Langdon, will welcome her first child with British boyfriend Dave Gardner next year.
Dave Gardner already has son Grey, 7, with ex-wife Davinia Taylor.
A spokesperson for Liv Tyler, 37, confirmed the news to UsMagazine.com.
Liv Tyler is expecting baby No 2
Liv Tyler recently admitted she was “100 per cent planning” on having more children.
The actress said: “I hope I will have more children. I’m 100 per cent planning on it. If the stork could just drop it off on my roof, I’d be so happy – I’d have, like, 20.”
Liv Tyler confessed she is less certain about marrying for the second time. She said: “That’s something interesting that happens in your thirties. You’re not in the stage anymore of princes and happily ever after. It’s a different stage of acceptance and realisation about the realities of love and relationships. Forever is a long time.”
Amal Alamuddin reportedly quit smoking after she started dating George Clooney.
Amal Alamuddin’s decision to adopt a healthier lifestyle comes as no surprise, as George previously admitted he is “a big non-smoker”.
Amal Alamuddin reportedly quit smoking after she started dating George Clooney (photo AFP)
While promoting Good Night, and Good Luck in 2005, George Clooney told Interview magazine: “My grandparents back in Kentucky owned a tobacco farm. So to make money in the summer we could cut and chop and top and house and strip the tobacco. It sure made you not want to smoke.”
The actor added: “You know I had 10 great aunts and uncles on my father’s side, and six of them died of lung cancer. Rosemary [George Clooney’s aunt] died of lung cancer, too, and she had emphysema. Both of my grandparents died of lung cancer. So I got quite a lesson in the payback later in life of smoking, and if you keep it up how bad it can be. “
Hong Kong’s leader CY Leung says he will not step down, amid calls from pro-democracy protesters for him to resign.
CY Leung said his government was willing to hold talks with the protesters.
The protesters are angry at China’s plan to vet candidates for elections in 2017, and say they want full democracy.
They have surrounded two key government buildings in the territory, but CY Leung warned them that they were breaking the law.
At a news conference shortly before the protesters’ midnight deadline for his resignation, CY Leung warned that attempts to move on or occupy government buildings would have “very serious consequences”.
Hong Kong’s leader CY Leung says he will not step down, amid calls from pro-democracy protesters for him to resign
He said the territory’s top civil servant, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, would open a dialogue with student leaders as soon as possible.
“Tonight, the Hong Kong Federation of Students issued an open letter asking for a meeting with the chief secretary, representing the Hong Kong government, to discuss one item – and this is the constitutional development of Hong Kong,” CY Leung told reporters.
“We have studied the letter in detail, and I’m now appointing the chief secretary to represent the Hong Kong government to meet with the representatives of the Hong Kong Federation of Students to discuss constitutional development matters.”
Hong Kong’s chief executive added: “I will not resign because I have to continue with the work for elections.”
The protesters have massed outside the Office of the Chief Executive and the Central Government Complex.
Police had earlier warned protesters not to try to breach the police cordon protecting the buildings.
Police spokesman Steve Hui told reporters: “The police will not stand by and watch. We will decisively uphold the law.”
British singer Lynsey de Paul has died at the age of 64, following a suspected brain hemorrhage.
Lynsey de Paul represented the UK in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Rock Bottom.
She became the first woman to win an Ivor Novello award for songwriting.
Lynsey de Paul, who broke into the music scene in 1971, followed up her Sugar Me hit with Getting a Drag, reaching number 18 in the UK charts.
Her 1973 hit Won’t Somebody Dance With Me won her first Ivor Novello award.
A second Ivor Novello Award followed a year later for No Honestly, which was also the theme tune to the ITV comedy of the same name, starring Pauline Collins and John Alderton.
Lynsey de Paul became the first woman to win an Ivor Novello award for songwriting (photo Wikipedia)
Lynsey de Paul never married but was romantically linked to a string of well-known men including Sean Connery, Dudley Moore and Ringo Starr.
An interview with the Mail in 2007 revealed she had five offers of marriage, including one from James Coburn and another from Chas Chandler, bassist with The Animals.
She reached the height of her popularity in the mid-1970s, with number one hits in Switzerland, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands – although never the UK.
However, Lynsey de Paul popularity waned in the late 1970s although she continued to compose and perform, famously singing her own song at the Conservative Party conference in 1983.
She also starred in celebrity quiz shows such as Blankety Blank and more recently, reality shows including Cash in the Attic and Come Dine With Me.
In 1992, Lynsey de Paul presented a documentary about women’s self-defense, called Eve Fights Back, which won a Royal Television Society award.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s lawyers have asked a photographer to “cease harassing” Prince George and his nanny.
A Kensington Palace statement said they were prompted to take action after the man was spotted near 14-month-old Prince George in a central London park.
The statement said: “No parent would tolerate the suspicion of someone pursuing and harassing their child and carer.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton are not taking legal action at this stage.
The man had been warned off last week by royal protection officers and that he had also been spoken to “over a number of years” about his behavior.
Since his birth in July 2013, Prince William and Kate Middleton have posed for a number of official photographs with Prince George (photo Jason Bell)
The Kensington Palace statement added: “There is reason to suspect that the individual may have been placing Prince George under surveillance and monitoring his daily routines for a period of time.
“The duke and duchess understand the particular public role that Prince George will one day inherit but while he is young, he must be permitted to lead as ordinary a life as possible.”
Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo was named as the prince’s nanny in March when the palace appealed for her privacy to be respected.
Since his birth in July 2013, Prince William and Kate Middleton have posed for a number of official photographs with Prince George.
Prince George has also been pictured accompanying his parents on state visits and with the palace’s consent at other events.
The Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO) editors’ code of practice states that young children “must not be interviewed or photographed on issues involving their own or another child’s welfare unless a custodial parent or similarly responsible adult consents”.
IPSO replaced the defunct Press Complaints Commission last month.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin’s four-day wedding celebrations in Venice cost an estimated 10 million euros ($13 million).
The wedding celebrations involved pool-side cocktail parties, dinners in five-star hotels and a lavish wedding reception on the Grand Canal.
More than 100 guests, including Matt Damon, Sandra Bullock and Cindy Crawford, converged on Venice for the extravaganza, which began on September 26 and culminated on September 29 with a civil ceremony in which George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were formally married.
The final bill for the extravaganza included the cost of Amal Alamuddin’s wedding dress, the first pictures of which emerged on September 29 on the covers of People and Hello magazines.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin’s four-day wedding celebrations in Venice cost an estimated 10 million euros (photo Hello! magazine)
Amal Alamuddin’s white lace gown, designed by Oscar de la Renta, was hand-stitched with hundreds of pearls and crystals. The off-the-shoulder, ivory-colored dress featured a floor-length veil.
The cost of the wedding also included the hire of water taxis to take guests to and from the various venues, the rooms in which they stayed at the five-star Hotel Cipriani, and the reception at the Aman Hotel on Saturday night, in which George Clooney and his British fiancée informally exchanged vows.
George Clooney flew in cases of his own brand of tequila and the couple gave iPods loaded with a special collection of their favourite songs to their guests as presents.
It was not clear who picked up the tab for the four-day marriage marathon.
The Italian media reported that the whole event was paid for by Amal Alamuddin’s father Ramzi, a retired professor at the American University of Beirut.
However, it seemed likely that George Clooney, one of the highest-paid actors in the world, would have chipped in too.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has become so fat while in office that his ankles have fractured under his own weight, it was reported.
Kim Jong-un, 31, who has looked increasingly portly since taking power, had to undergo a hospital operation after putting too much strain on his ankles during a gruelling round of official engagements.
The treatment has also been linked to Kim Jong-un’s unexpected failure to attend a recent session of the Supreme People’s Assembly, according to a Pyongyang source who spoke to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper in neighbouring South Korea.
Unlike other members of North Korea’s political elite, for whom a sudden absence from public life often means they have been killed or imprisoned, in Kim Jong-un’s case it is said to be down to weight gain as a result of his unhealthy diet.
Kim Jong-un has become so fat while in office that his ankles have fractured under his own weight
Kim Jong-un is now believed to weigh at least 20 stone as a result of his fondness for heavy drinking and imported Swiss cheese, which he gained a taste for while at school in Switzerland.
His ankle injuries are said to have resulted from a long tour of military bases and factories while wearing shoes decked out with Cuban heels, which boosted his 5ft 9ins height but proved difficult to walk in. He is said to have suffered sprains on both feet first and then compounded the injuries by walking more, leading to the fractures.
Bodyguards have been posted around the ward of a Pyongyang hospital where he is now being treated.
There was also speculation that a team of private European doctors had flown in to treat him.
Kim Jong-un’s absence from the assembly was followed by a rare admission by state television which not only showed footage of him limping but also stated that he was ill.
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher welcomed a baby girl on Tuesday, September 30, TMZ reported.
Mila Kunis delivered at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
A source close to the couple claims the couple arrived Tuesday morning at about 6 a.m.
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher welcomed a baby girl (photo Instagram)
The source also told TMZ Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher went directly into the delivery room. That seems in line with Mila Kunis’ birthing plan, which she shared in the July issue of Marie Claire.
“Two people are allowed in my delivery room. My doctor and my significant other,” Mila Kunis told the magazine.
At least 15 people are feared dead after an explosion devastated Gorni Lom gunpowder plant north of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.
Civil defense force head Nikolay Nikolov said: “There are no signs of life at the site of the explosion.”
“After the examination we made, the hopes to find survivors have completely vanished,” said Nikolay Nikolov, Director of the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection, Nova TV reported.
“We will still continue surveying and examining the perimeter with the hope to find survivors but I think that 13 men and 2 women have died in the blast. We have informed their relatives,” he said.
Three women employees who had been near the factory at Gorni Lom at the time were hurt and treated in hospital.
At least 15 people are feared dead after an explosion devastated Gorni Lom gunpowder plant north of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia
Rescue workers say they are unable to enter the site until Thursday evening because of the risk of further blasts.
However, interior ministry officials visited the factory overnight, defying orders, and said they found no survivors.
The explosion took place at around 17:00 on Wednesday, October 1, and a big secondary blast was reported at 21:45.
The factory, some 75 miles north of Sofia, destroys stockpiles of obsolete munitions for the Bulgarian army and Dnes daily newspaper quoted an expert saying it had been handling explosives from Greece.
The cause of the blast is unclear but reports say 10 tonnes of highly explosive chemicals were being stored at the plant.
Drones are due to fly over the area and the government has decided to send a team equipped with armored cars on to the site, local media report, although there is no indication when that will take place.
“The factory has been reduced to ashes,” an interior ministry spokesman said.
There were explosions at the factory in 2007 and 2010, in which several people were hurt. Two units of the plant were flattened in the 2010 blast.
If you find yourself counting down the minutes to bedtime as soon as you wake, yawning your way through the working day and struggling to stay awake on the journey home, you are not alone. As many as one in five of us feel unusually tired at any one time.
If you feel constantly fatigued, you will know that carrying out even the simplest of tasks can be difficult. Your quality of life is diminished as you struggle to enjoy your usual activities, such as playing sports, reading a good book or spending time with loved ones. To resolve your problem, you first need to determine its cause. To help you, here are five energy-sappers that may be to blame:
1. Lack of sleep
It may seem obvious but lack of sleep can have a disastrous effect on your energy levels. The amount of sleep you require varies depending on age, lifestyle and health. Just because six hours of sleep has sufficed for you in the past doesn’t mean it will be all you need forever. If you suspect you are not getting enough sleep, try to change your routine by winding down and going to bed earlier or setting your morning alarm later. It may be useful to stop watching television, using computers, phones and tablet devices and finish any work you’ve taken home well in advance of bedtime to improve the quality of your sleep.
Five reasons you’re tired all the time
2. Poor diet
Not eating a balanced diet can lead to many problems, including tiredness. It is important to get the right quantities of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals if you are to feel at your best. Try to get at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and eat starches, such as potatoes, pasta and bread, for slow-release energy. Avoid quick fixes like caffeine and sugar as once the temporary energy boost has subsided, you will end up feeling even more tired. If you think you are not getting enough of a particular vitamin or mineral, you may want to visit your GP to arrange a blood test to find out if you are suffering from any deficiencies.
3. Exercising too much or too little
Excessive exercise can cause you to feel drained but so too can getting too little exercise. Assessing your activity levels relative to your diet can help you to determine if you are overdoing it or need to move about more. If you are just starting to exercise after a long period of time, build up your activity levels gradually to avoid exhaustion. It is recommended that healthy adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week.
4. Drinking too much
Too much alcohol can leave you feeling sluggish and struggling to focus the following day. If you regularly binge drink and often exceed 2-3 units per day if you’re a woman or 3-4 units a day if you’re a man, consider reducing your alcohol intake. Not only will this help you to boost your energy levels, but it will also improve your overall health. If you are concerned about how much you are drinking or are finding it difficult to cut down, you should seek the advice of your GP.
5. Health conditions
There are a number of health conditions that can leave you feeling worn out. If you find yourself tired, gaining weight, being sensitive to the cold, and depressed for no apparent reason, you may have an underactive thyroid. If you are lethargic, short of breath, pale and experiencing heart palpitations, you may be suffering from iron-deficiency anemia. The symptoms of type 2 diabetes also includes extreme tiredness, as well as needing to pass urine more frequently and losing weight unexpectedly. These conditions need to be diagnosed and treated by a GP, so if you are experiencing any of these symptoms you should book an appointment.
If you are experiencing pain from an illness or long-term condition, such as sciatica, joint pain or arthritis, you may find that your sleep is interrupted more regularly. To make life easier, you might want to consider investing in a orthopedic bed. Adjustable Beds provide a range of adjustable beds which utilize cutting-edge cyclo-therapy systems which can help to relieve a range of health conditions that can spoil your sleep and interfere with your energy levels.
Having effective IT backup systems in place is a must for businesses these days. Without such security measures, companies stand to lose potentially valuable data, and this could have disastrous consequences.
Highlighting just how much data is being generated around the world, a 2013 report produced by a team at Stanford University in the US suggested that humanity now creates a staggering 1,200 exabytes per year. To put this in context, one exabyte equates to 1,000 petabytes, which, in turn, is equivalent to 1,000 terabytes. One terabyte, meanwhile, is equal to 1,000 gigabytes, which is 1,000 megabytes. Typically, around one minute of MP3 audio takes up a single megabyte.
Hardware failures, viruses, the accidental or intentional deletion of information, theft, power cuts and natural disasters all pose a risk to data. Rather than opting for traditional onsite data storage solutions, such as computer hard drives, external hard drives, CDs, memory sticks and NAS drives, a rising number of organisations are turning to hosted backup solutions. Here are just some of the reasons why.
Save cold, hard cash
Firms do have to spend a little money in order to take advantage of hosted backup solutions, but this can be far less than the sums they would have to shell out if they relied on onsite systems. After all, online backup does not require the upgrading of in-house hardware and software. Also, cloud solutions are efficient because they enable companies to scale their plans to fit their precise needs. They can add or reduce storage space as and when they need to.
Benefit from greater ease of use
Online backup occurs automatically, meaning once they have set up these solutions, companies rarely have to think about them. This can free up valuable time for IT teams to get on with other important tasks. In sharp contrast, manual backup processes must be consciously adhered to on an ongoing basis.
Avoid disaster
In the event of disasters such as fires and floods, backup devices kept within offices can turn out to be useless. The very same things that destroy original data can wipe out these backup systems simultaneously, meaning businesses’ efforts to protect their data fail. This is why it is considered unwise for organisations to rely solely on onsite backups to safeguard their information.
Hosted solutions, on the other hand, avoid this problem entirely. By storing data on secure offsite servers, companies can ensure it is not tied to the fate of their premises.
Boost security
Online backup systems can also help to enhance security. Many enterprises now keep sensitive information like tax documents and financial records. If they back this data up onsite, they leave themselves vulnerable to the risk of theft. Criminals can easily make off with CDs, external hard drives and other devices. The same danger does not apply to online backup solutions.
Prevent reputation damage
By bolstering their security in this way, firms can minimize risks to their reputations. In the business world, it can take many long years of hard work and skill to build up a positive image as a trustworthy and reliable provider of goods or services. In contrast, it takes hardly any time at all to destroy such a reputation. If firms prove themselves to be unable to protect sensitive data, their public profiles can quickly plummet. Individuals and organisations do not want to deal with companies that display inadequate data protection procedures.
Enjoy peace of mind
By taking advantage of hosted backup systems, bosses can enjoy much greater peace of mind. As long as they choose a quality platform, such as London Cloud, they can rest assured that they have got this potentially complex issue under full control.
Ukraine’s rebel forces are conducting an offensive to capture the government-held airport in Donetsk, officials say.
Pro-Russian rebels have tried several times in recent weeks to take the airport, which lies to the north-west of the city.
The insurgents continued an offensive – begun on Wednesday, October 1 – on “a broad front”, the Ukrainian military says.
An official truce in place in eastern Ukraine has often been violated.
Ukraine’s rebel forces are conducting an offensive to capture the government-held airport in Donetsk (photo Reuters)
The cease-fire was called on September 5, but, on October 1, four people were killed by a shell which landed on a school in Donetsk, and six died when a minibus was hit.
A spokesman for what the Ukrainian government calls its anti-terrorist operation said Ukrainian forces repelled four attacks on the airport on Wednesday evening.
A T-64 tank was destroyed and seven rebels were killed, Vladyslav Seleznyov told Kanal 5 TV.
The rebels used tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems, artillery and mortars, Vladyslav Seleznyov said, resuming their attacks on Thursday morning with small-arms fire.
Zimbabwean writer Chenjerai Hove has called on First Lady Grace Mugabe to hand back her PhD.
The wife of President Robert Mugabe was awarded a doctorate from the University of Zimbabwe last month.
There has been confusion over when Grace Mugabe enrolled, with some sources saying it was only two months ago – and students want the issue investigated.
The university authorities have not yet commented on the controversy.
A graduate and faculty member of the University of Zimbabwe, award-winning novelist and poet Chenjerai Hove, who is living in Norway, said he had written to the vice-chancellor to demand an explanation.
Grace Mugabe, the wife of President Robert Mugabe, was awarded a doctorate from the University of Zimbabwe in September 2014
“I have lost the pride and prestige of being a former student of the university which you head since our academic degrees have now become a laughing stock,” Chenjerai Hove says in the letter.
Chenjerai Hove’s remarks come as the Zimbabwe National Students Union prepares to file a court application on October 2 demanding that the University of Zimbabwe provide details about how the first lady came to be awarded the degree.
Amongst the concerns expressed by students is the fact that the first lady’s thesis is not available in the university’s library, as would be usual.
Grace Mugabe was awarded the doctorate in sociology by her husband – who is the chancellor of the university – at a ceremony on September 12 not long after she was endorsed to lead the governing Zanu-PF women’s wing.
Chenjerai Hove, an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe’s government, said the university needed to be more transparent about the apparent fast-tracking of the first lady’s degree.
Leading charity Save the Children has warned that a rate of five new Ebola cases an hour in Sierra Leone means healthcare demands are far outstripping supply.
Save the Children said there were 765 new cases of Ebola reported in Sierra Leone last week, while there are only 327 beds in the country.
Experts and politicians are set to meet in London to debate a global response to the Ebola outbreak crisis.
It is the world’s worst outbreak of the virus, killing 3,338 people so far.
There have been 7,178 confirmed cases, with Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea suffering the most.
Save the Children says Ebola is spreading across Sierra Leone at a “terrifying rate”, with the number of new cases being recorded doubling every few weeks.
It said that even as health authorities got on top of the outbreak in one area, it spread to another.
Ebola is spreading across Sierra Leone at a terrifying rate, with the number of new cases being recorded doubling every few weeks
The scale of the disease is also “massively unreported” according to the charity, because “untold numbers of children are dying anonymously at home or in the streets”.
Earlier this month, Britain said it would build facilities for 700 new beds in Sierra Leone but the first of these will not be ready for weeks, and the rest may take months.
Save the Children said that unless the international community radically stepped up its response, people would continue to die at home and risk infecting their family and the local community.
“We are facing the frightening prospect of an epidemic which is spreading like wildfire across Sierra Leone, with the number of new cases doubling every three weeks,” said Rob MacGillivray, Save the Children’s country director in Sierra Leone.
Safety trials for two experimental vaccines are under way in the UK and US, the WHO said on Wednesday, and will be expanded to 10 sites in Africa, Europe and North America in the coming weeks.
It said it expected to begin small-scale use of the experimental vaccines in West Africa early next year.
The Ebola Donors Conference in London on October 2 is being hosted by the UK and Sierra Leone governments. Its main agenda is to discuss what the global community can do to provide an effective international response to the epidemic.
It will be chaired by UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who said he hoped it would “raise even greater awareness of the disease and what is needed to contain it, encourage ambitious pledges and show our solidarity with Sierra Leone and the region.”
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has resigned following several high-profile security lapses.
Julia Pierson offered her resignation to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on October 1.
On September 30, Julia Pierson faced angry questions in Congress about a major breach of White House security.
News of another incident involving an armed man allowed in an elevator with President Barack Obama compounded calls for her to go.
“Today Julia Pierson, the Director of the United States Secret Service, offered her resignation, and I accepted it,” Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson wrote in a statement.
“I salute her 30 years of distinguished service to the Secret Service and the Nation.”
President Barack Obama also expressed his appreciation to Julia Pierson for her long history of public service, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on October 1.
Julia Pierson offered her resignation because “she believed it was in the best interests of the agency to which she has dedicated her career”, Josh Earnest added.
Julia Pierson faced angry questions in Congress about a major breach of White House security
In an interview with Bloomberg News after her resignation was announced, Julia Pierson said she knew Congress had “lost confidence in my ability to run the agency”.
Joseph Clancy, in charge of the presidential protective division of the Secret Service, will take over as acting interim director.
High-ranking members of the Congress had been calling for Julia Pierson’s resignation in the wake of her testimony before a House oversight committee on September 30.
There Julia Pierson acknowledged the Secret Service security plan was “not executed properly” during a recent breach of the White House.
On September 19, suspect Omar Gonzalez, 42, allegedly scaled a fence and gained entry to the White House while carrying a knife.
On October 1, Omar Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to charges against him, including entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Prosecutors say Omar Gonzalez jumped the main fence around the White House and gained entry inside through an unlocked door, then barreled past a guard and ran into the East Room before being tackled.
The incident is the latest in a string of security lapses overseen by the Secret Service, tasked with guarding the Obama family.
On September 16, President Barack Obama is said to have been in an Atlanta elevator with an armed security contractor who had assault convictions.
This contravened a protocol that only members of the Secret Service are allowed to carry weapons in the presence of the president.
Texas school children have come into contact with the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola on US soil, Governor Rick Perry has said.
At a news conference at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Gov. Rick Perry said the children were being monitored “at home” for symptoms.
The patient is thought to have contracted the virus in Liberia before coming to the US nearly two weeks ago.
He is in a serious condition, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.
“Today we learned that some school-age children had been identified as having had contact with the patient and are now being monitored at home for any signs of the disease,” Rick Perry said.
“Parents are extremely concerned about that development. These children have been identified and they are being monitored.”
Rick Perry emphasized the disease could not be transmitted before a patient showed signs of the disease, and he said Texas had the medical infrastructure to prevent an outbreak.
“The public should have every confidence that the highly trained professional will succeed in this very important mission,” he said.
Texas school children have come into contact with the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola on US soil
Meanwhile, in Liberia a government spokesman said the country had put in place “stringent screening” at the airport, where the man showed no symptoms or fever as he departed the country.
“What this incident demonstrates is the clear international dimension of this Ebola crisis,” Lewis Brown, Liberia’s information minister, said in a statement.
“For months, the Liberian government has been stressing that this disease is not simply a Liberian or West African problem.”
More than 3,000 people have already died of Ebola in West Africa and small number of US aid workers have recovered after being flown to the US.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the Ebola virus seems to have been contained in Senegal and Nigeria, with no new cases reported there for almost a month.
CDC Director Thomas Frieden confirmed the Ebola case on September 30, saying the unnamed patient left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in the US the next day to visit relatives, without displaying any symptoms of the virus.
Symptoms became apparent in the patient on September 24, and on September 28 he was admitted to a Texas hospital and put in isolation.
The unnamed patient was described as critically ill on September 30, suggesting the hospital has upgraded his condition.
Health officials are working to identify all people who came into contact with the unnamed patient while he was infectious, including relatives and a “couple” community members.
Those people will then be monitored for 21 days to see if an Ebola-related fever develops.
However, they will not be monitoring passengers on the man’s flight, where Dr. Thomas Frieden said there was “zero risk of transmission” as the man had been checked for fever before boarding.
According to Thomas Frieden, it is possible a family member who came in direct contact with the patient may develop Ebola in the coming weeks.
On October 1, Zachary Thompson, the director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, told local broadcaster WFAA “there may be another case that is a close associate with this particular patient”.
In an interview with CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, suggested the hospital which initially saw the patient should have asked about international travel.
“If the ER physician had asked for a travel history, [and said], <<Do you have any recent travel outside of the country?>> And if the person said, <<Well, I just came back from Liberia>>, that would have been an enormous red flag for anybody, given the publicity that we have,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told the broadcaster.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered airlines to replace or modify the cockpit display units fitted to hundreds of Boeing jets.
The US air safety regulator said that tests had indicated that mobile phone and computer signals could cause the screens to go blank.
The affected planes are typically fitted with several screens, each of which costs thousands of pounds.
Honeywell – the displays’ manufacturer – has stressed that the problem has not been experienced in-flight.
“The only known occurrence was during a developmental test conducted on the ground,” said spokesman Steve Brecken.
“We worked with Boeing and addressed any concerns in 2012 with new display hardware.”
Boeing had previously issued an alert in November 2012 after an aero plane operator and Wi-Fi vendor noticed interference caused by the installation of an in-flight internet system.
The “phase 3” display units were found to be susceptible to the same radio frequencies used to transmit data via Wi-Fi.
The FAA has ordered airlines to replace or modify the cockpit display units fitted to hundreds of Boeing jets
In addition, the FAA said it was concerned that the screens could be disrupted by mobile satellite communications, cellular signals from phones, and air surveillance and weather radar.
The watchdog noted that the displays were required to provide pilots with information about airspeed, altitude, heading and pitch and roll, and added that the fault could cause a crash.
“We are issuing this AD [airworthiness directive] to prevent loss of flight-critical information displayed to the flight crew during a critical phase of flight, such as an approach or take-off, which could result in loss of airplane control at an altitude insufficient for recovery, or controlled flight into terrain,” it said.
Planemaker Boeing said that it had recommended that carriers implement the changes back in 2012.
However, the FAA said that it had estimated that a total of 1,326 Boeing 737 and 777 jets still needed to make the change.
It estimated that the replacement program would cost about $13.8m (£8.5m) to implement.
The agency noted that Virgin Australia, Air France, Ryanair and Honeywell were among those that had opposed the new rules on the grounds that they did not believe either current in-flight Wi-Fi systems or passengers’ electronic devices emitted signals at a strong enough level to affect equipment on the flight deck.
The FAA said Ryanair had complained that the demands imposed “a high, and unnecessary, financial burden on operators”.
Honeywell had suggested that airlines should be forced to install new screens only if Wi-Fi enabled tablets or other such equipment were used in the cockpit.
However, the FAA rejected these complaints saying it wanted to “eliminate” any risk of interference.
“We do not agree that no problems have occurred on in-service airplanes, since the Wi-Fi… testing that disclosed this susceptibility was conducted on an in-service airplane fitted with phase 3 display units,” it added.
The FAA has given the companies involved five years to swap or modify the components.
Malcolm Young, who recently left AC/DC due to ill-health, is reportedly suffering from dementia.
61-year-old Malcolm Young, AC/DC guitarist and founder member, has been replaced in the band by his nephew, Stevie Young.
A family statement to People magazine said: “Malcolm is suffering from dementia and the family thanks you for respecting their privacy.”
AC/DC announced Malcolm Young’s departure last month but said they would go on without him and that their new album Rock Or Bust.
Rock or Bust will be released in December.
Malcolm Young formed AC/DC in 1973 with his younger brother Angus (photo PA)
Malcolm Young, who emigrated from Scotland to Australia at the age of 10 with his family, formed AC/DC in 1973 with his younger brother Angus, who has famously dressed as a schoolboy onstage for many years.
The band has previously survived the death of their singer when Bon Scott died in 1980 after a night of heavy drinking in London. He was replaced by Brian Johnson, who has remained as vocalist ever since.
They have been a huge draw on the rock circuit for decades, creating anthems such as Highway To Hell and Back In Black, although they have tended to have album rather than single success.
AC/DC’s songs were used as the soundtrack for the movie Iron Man2.
Their most recent release, 2008 chart-topper Black Ice, was only their third since 1990.
Generations fans have been cut off from South Africa’s most popular show following the August sacking of its cast for demanding better pay.
The last available episode of Generations was broadcast on September 30.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) said it would be at least two months before a “revamped” version of the show returns – with a completely new group of 16 actors.
Generations is South Africa’s longest-running soap, having launched in 1994.
Watched daily by some seven million viewers, it follows predominantly black middle-class characters working in Johannesburg’s advertising industry.
The cast first went on strike in August after a long-running dispute over pay and contracts.
They claimed they were underpaid and received no repeat fees for their work, which is also screened in other African countries.
Generations is South Africa’s longest-running soap
The actors were asked to continue filming while negotiations were taking place, but were sacked after they did not return to work. The SABC has now run out of new editions to broadcast.
“We don’t have enough episodes of Generations, so we will only go until today,” SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago told the AFP news agency on Tuesday.
“We are hoping that Generations will have episodes ready for the first week of December.”
At the time of the cast’s sacking, executive producer Mfundi Vundla told a South African radio station that the actors were not irreplaceable and the soap would continue without them.
“There were other actors before, there will be other actors in the future,” he told Talk Radio 702.
“Generations will go on, it doesn’t mean the demise of the series.”
The cast have since approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration in an effort to get their jobs back.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions has urged other actors not to be persuaded to join the soap as replacements.
“Don’t be used by the arrogant producing companies in order to maintain and continue the exploitation of your fellow actors,” said secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi.
Classic Tom and Jerry cartoons on TV will be accompanied by a warning that they may depict scenes of “racial prejudice”.
The cartoons, some made more than 70 years ago, carry a warning for subscribers to Amazon Prime Instant Video.
There have been claims of racist stereotyping in the depiction of a black maid in the cartoon series.
Amazon’s warning says such prejudice was once “commonplace” in US society.
Tom and Jerry is being presented with a cautionary note about “ethnic and racial prejudices”.
Amazon’s streaming subscription service, formerly branded as LoveFilm, includes the cartoons in its comedy collection.
Tom and Jerry: The Complete Second Volume is accompanied by the caution: “Tom and Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today.”
The wording is similar to disclaimers accompanying some collections of the cartoons on DVD.
Tom and Jerry cartoons on TV will be accompanied by a warning that they may depict scenes of racial prejudice
The warning was attacked as “empty-headed” by cultural commentator and professor of sociology, Frank Furedi, who said it was a form of a “false piousness” and a type of censorship which “seems to be sweeping cultural life”.
“We’re reading history backwards, judging people in the past by our values,” said Prof. Frank Furedi from the University of Kent.
Tom and Jerry was first produced by the MGM film studio in 1940. The cartoons, directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby, ran until 1957, with carefully choreographed chase scenes set in the homes and gardens of suburban America.
There were more than a hundred short films made in this original series, winning seven academy awards. These included the Cat Concerto in 1946, the Two Mouseketeers in 1951 and Johann Mouse in 1952.
In the subsequent decades there have been numerous re-launched television versions of the series, with varying styles and varying degrees of critical approval.
The claims of racism are longstanding. When the original versions were shown on US television in the 1960s some scenes were edited.
There have also been complaints about the characters smoking cigarettes, with changes made to recent screenings.
The idea of running warnings ahead of potentially upsetting moments in films or books has become a controversial topic in US universities.
There have been calls for the use of “trigger warnings” which could flag up to students that they are about to come across descriptions of physical brutality, aggressive language or s**ual violence.
The suggestion that these should be inserted into lessons about classic texts has angered some academics.
Prof. Frank Furedi said calls for such trigger warnings were a form of “narcissism”, with the concerns not really being about the content of a book or work of art but about individual students asserting their own importance.
Hong Kong protesters are preparing for huge pro-democracy rallies on the National Day as leader CY Leung has urged them to back electoral reforms set out by Beijing.
Speaking early on the National Day holiday, CY Leung said Hong Kong should work with Beijing to achieve progress.
The protesters want Beijing to withdraw plans to vet candidates for the next Hong Kong leadership election in 2017.
Activists say they expect the biggest demonstrations yet on the streets to coincide with the holiday.
By midday, protesters were starting to fill up the main protests site in the Central business district, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. A fourth protest site has also spread to Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, several roads south of Mong Kok.
CY Leung, Hong Kong’s chief executive, has rejected campaigners’ calls for him to stand down. Chinese President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed Beijing’s control over the territory.
A rumbling protest campaign ballooned into mass street demonstrations at the weekend.
Police responded initially with tear gas and pepper spray, but riot police later withdrew and since early on Monday the situation has remained calm.
The protesters want Beijing to withdraw plans to vet candidates for the next Hong Kong leadership election in 2017 (photo Reuters)
Crowds swelled again on Tuesday night and the demonstrators – who include student groups, supporters of the Occupy Central movement and others angered by the police response – say they are confident of greater numbers on Wednesday, October 1.
So far there are no signs of concessions from Beijing.
On September 30, President Xi Jinping told Communist Party leaders that his government would “steadfastly safeguard the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macau”.
The protests are seen as a direct challenge to Beijing’s grip on the territory’s politics. Analysts say leaders are worried that calls for democracy could spread to mainland cities.
News of the protests is being heavily censored in mainland China. Media have blamed “radical opposition forces” for stirring up trouble.
Meanwhile the US restated its position on the protests, saying that a genuine choice of candidates in the election would enhance the legitimacy of the chief executive.
On September 30, state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Secretary of State John Kerry would discuss the protests with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when the pair meet on October 1.
On 14 December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) designated October 1st as the International Day of Older Persons.
This was preceded by initiatives such as the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing – which was adopted by the 1982 World Assembly on Ageing – and endorsed later that year by the UN General Assembly.
The International Day of Older Persons is celebrated each year on October 1st
In 1991, the UNGA adopted the United Nations Principles for Older Persons.
In 2002, the Second World Assembly on Ageing adopted the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, to respond to the opportunities and challenges of population ageing in the 21st century and to promote the development of a society for all ages.
The theme of the 2014 commemoration is Leaving No One Behind: Promoting a Society for All.
The population over 60 is expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030.
According to an index of the quality of later life in 96 countries, Norway is the best place to grow old.
HelpAge International’s Global AgeWatch Index measures the social and economic welfare of those over 60.
Published on the UN International Day of Older Persons, it ranks Australia, Western Europe and North America highly, and Afghanistan last.
The report predicts that by 2050, 21% of the global population will be over 60.
The index measures four areas – income security, health, personal capability and whether the person lives in an “enabling environment”.
After Norway comes Sweden, closely followed by Switzerland, Canada and Germany.
HelpAge International’s Global AgeWatch Index measures the social and economic welfare of those over 60
The report says that by 2050 some 40 countries in the index will have populations where 30% are aged 60 or over.
The UN has said that the number of those aged 60 or over is expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030.
Several Latin American countries – particularly Mexico and Peru – have leapt up the index for their commitment in ensuring “social pensions” for the poorest older people.
These are tax-financed, non-contributory pensions that ensure a basic income for the most vulnerable.
In Mexico, nearly nine out of every 10 people aged 65 and over receive a social pension.
Because of this, Mexico ranks at 30 on the index, outstripping the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Peru has implemented the Pension 65 program, which provides older people with 250 nuevo soles ($85) every two months.
