Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol Palin, entered the Duck Dynasty controversy saying that gay activists are “hypocritical” to take offense at Phil Robertson’s remarks.
“I think it’s so hypocritical how the LGBT community expects every single flippen person to agree with their life style,” Bristol Palin said in a blog post.
“I hate how the LGBT community says it’s all about <<love>> and <<equality>>,” she continued.
Bristol Palin entered the Duck Dynasty controversy saying that gay activists are “hypocritical” to take offense at Phil Robertson’s remarks
“However, if you don’t agree with their lifestyle, they spread the most hate. It is so hypocritical it makes my stomach turn. They need to learn how to respect others’ opinions and not just jump to the conclusion that everyone who doesn’t support homos**uality and gay marriage is homophobic.”
Bristol Palin has denied in the past that she is herself “a homophobic.”
“I like gays,” she said in July 2012.
“I’m not a homophobic and I’m so sick of people saying that. Just because I’m for traditional marriage doesn’t really mean I’m scared or anything of anyone else, and I don’t hate anybody.”
President Barack Obama has signed up for health insurance coverage under ObamaCare.
A White House representative said Monday that the president enrolled in a health plan through the Washington, D.C. insurance marketplace over the weekend.
Barack Obama chose one of the cheapest plan – bronze plan – which covers 60% of medical costs.
Barack Obama chose bronze plan which covers 60 percent of medical costs
“The act of the President signing up for insurance coverage through the DC exchange is symbolic since the President’s health care will continue to be provided by the military,” the aide said.
Barack Obama will pay premiums for the plan, though, the aide said. The insurance would cover only the president, not his wife or children, and the premium will be less than $400 per month.
All presidents and their immediate families get coverage through the military. As Commander-in-Chief, any president has a personal physician and he and his family get full care at the White House Medical Unit and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Target is being sued by at least 11 customers over a credit card security breach that saw details of more than 40 million cards stolen.
The lawsuits, each seeking class-action status, were filed in US courts in recent days.
Meanwhile, major US banks have moved to limit damages by restricting spending on debit cards.
Security researchers said the stolen card numbers had been seen on underground markets.
Senator Chuck Schumer has called for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate the breach.
The thieves managed to grab key details for so many cards by getting malware on to the computer systems at the checkout desks in almost 1,800 Target stores in the US.
It is still not clear how the hackers managed to get their malware on to the systems.
Target is being sued by at least 11 customers over a credit card security breach
The fraudsters had access to card data read at the tills for almost three weeks, said Target in a statement released after the attack.
Complaints against Target, seeking unspecified damages, have now been filed in Massachusetts by Amanda Tirado; in Florida by Maria Cruz and Jade Gray; in Oregon by Lisa Purcell; in Washington by Kathi Syvlester; in California by Samantha Wredberg and Jennifer Kirk; in Illinois by Janice McCarter and Veronica Ponce; and in Minnesota, the state where Target is based, by Sarah Horton and in a joint case by 0 and Bryan Barth.
In the complaints, customers who shopped at the retailer between November 27 and December 15 argue Target failed to notify them of the breach before it was first reported and did not “maintain reasonable security procedures” to prevent the attack.
They argue the “ramifications of [Target’s] failure to keep class members’ data secure are severe”, citing billions of dollars lost each year to identity theft.
If the cases are allowed as a class-action, it is believed the potential number of plaintiffs could be in the millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan Chase said it had lowered daily spending limits to $300 and daily cash withdrawal limits to $100 on potentially vulnerable cards as a “precaution”.
Reuters reported that other US banks are also believed to be putting stringent precautions in place that would help to spot if cards were being used fraudulently. In addition, Target said it would offer free credit monitoring for customers affected by fraud.
Mikhail Kalashnikov – the inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle – has died aged 94, Russian officials say.
The automatic rifle Mikhail Kalashnikov designed became one of the world’s most familiar and widely used weapons.
Its comparative simplicity made it cheap to manufacture, as well as reliable and easy to maintain.
Although honored by the state, Mikhail Kalashnikov made little money from his gun. He once said he would have been better off designing a lawn mower.
Mikhail Kalashnikov was admitted to hospital with internal bleeding in November.
He died on Monday in Izhevsk, the city where he lived 600 miles east of Moscow, an official there said.
Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov was born on November 10, 1919 in western Siberia, one of 18 children.
The automatic rifle Mikhail Kalashnikov designed became one of the world’s most familiar and widely used weapons
In 1938, he was called up by the Red Army and his design skills were used to improve the effectiveness of weapons and equipment used by Soviet tank regiments.
Mikhail Kalashnikov designed the machine gun after being asked by a fellow soldier why the Russians could not come up with a gun that would match the ones used by the Germans.
Work on the AK47 was completed in 1947, and two years later the gun was adopted by the Soviet army.
Mikhail Kalashnikov continued working into his late 80s as chief designer at the Izhevsk firm that first built the AK-47.
He received many state honors, including the Order of Lenin and the Hero of Socialist Labor.
Mikhail Kalashnikov refused to accept responsibility for the many people killed by his weapon, blaming the policies of other countries that acquired it.
More than 300,000 homes and businesses in Michigan, upstate New York and northern New England remained without electricity Monday morning after thick ice felled trees and brought down power lines, according to utilities companies.
Brad Hoving, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan – the state with a bulk of the remaining power outages — said many people may still be using candlelight until Thursday.
The Red Cross set up a shelter at Middleville, Michigan, United Methodist Church, but Pastor Tony Shumaker said the crowd was getting too big and needed additional accommodations like showers, so they would be moving to a local school. Church members planned to cook a Christmas dinner and bring it to the school for people who were still without power on Wednesday.
More than 300,000 homes and businesses in Midwest and northern New England remained without electricity following a major ice storm
Tony Shumaker said regardless of the inconvenient timing of lost power, the people housed at the church “seem to be in pretty decent spirits, they’re glad to have a warm place to go to”.
One of Michigan’s power providers, DTE, said crews were working “around the clock” and 90% of the 83,000 customers without electric would be restored by Christmas Eve. However, Consumers Energy said over 200,000 customers were in the dark, and many areas in the southwest portion of Michigan would not be fully restored until after the holiday.
Michigan was hit with half an inch of ice over the weekend.
The storm also saw some 1,200 US flights canceled over the weekend and delayed another 15,000, according to the aviation-tracking website FlightAware.
At least 14 deaths across the US and Canada were blamed on the storm, the AP reported.
Nine of these fatalities came in the US, including five people killed in Kentucky and a woman in Arkansas following a 130-mph tornado.
AAA predicted that a record-breaking 94.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more between December 21st and January 1st.
Fast & Furious 7 will be released in 2015 after studio executives put production on hiatus following Paul Walker’s death last month, Vin Diesel confirmed.
Paul Walker died in a fiery car crash in California on November 30, a day before he and his castmates were scheduled to resume filming in Atlanta, Georgia.
Executives at Universal Studios closed work on Fast & Furious 7 while the cast and crew were in mourning, and producers came up with a plan on how to resume filming without the franchise’s main star.
Fast & Furious 7 will be released in 2015 after studio executives put production on hiatus following Paul Walker’s death
Vin Diesel has reached out to fans on Facebook to reveal the movie will hit cinemas in April 2015, almost a year after its planned release date of July 2014.
The actor wrote: “There was a unique sense of completion, of pride we shared… in the film we were now completing … the magic captured… and, in just how far we’ve come…Fast and Furious 7 will be released April 10th 2015! P.s. He’d want you to know first.”
Vin Diesel also shared a photo of the last scene he and Paul Walker filmed together.
A British Airways plane with more than 200 people on board has struck an office building while preparing to take off from the South African city of Johannesburg.
The British Airways flight to London was taxiing at OR Tambo International Airport when its right wing hit the building, injuring four people inside.
Images show the wing of the Boeing 747 wedged in the structure.
South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft had travelled down a taxi-way that was too narrow for it.
The British Airways flight to London was taxiing at OR Tambo International Airport when its right wing hit the building
The incident involving the Boeing 747-400 happened late on Sunday.
The control tower “told them to take one taxi-way and they took another one. They took a wrong one,” said aviation authority spokeswoman Phindiwe Gwebu.
None of those on board was injured but four ground staff in the building was hurt.
The passengers were allowed to leave the plane after about an hour but because of the fuel spillage they had still not been able to reclaim their luggage.
The aircraft has since been moved and operations have not been disrupted, Airports Company South Africa says.
Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been released from Russian prison under an amnesty law, hours after her fellow band member Maria Alyokhina was freed.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina dismissed the amnesty as a publicity stunt before the Sochi Winter Olympics in February.
They both promised to continue their vocal opposition to the government.
Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been released from Russian prison under an amnesty law
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were jailed in August 2012 after performing a protest song in Moscow’s main cathedral.
The act was seen as blasphemous by many Russians, and was condemned by the Orthodox Church.
Their conviction for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” was criticized by rights groups, anti-Putin activists and foreign governments.
The amnesty passed last week aimed to free some 20,000 prisoners.
Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne says Duck Dynasty reality show is important to state tourism and he could help connect the Robertson family with new producers if they cannot reach agreement with A&E Networks.
A&E Networks suspended Phil Robertson last week over anti-gay remarks during GQ magazine interview.
“Regardless of one’s views on Phil Robertson’s statements, Duck Dynasty has been an important representation of the state of Louisiana, inspiring prospective visitors and investors since its debut,” Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne said in a statement emailed Saturday.
Duck Dynasty is produced around the Robertson family’s home base in Ouachita Parish. KNOE-TV of Monroe reported in February that the show was bringing people from around the country who wouldn’t otherwise stop in northeast Louisiana. The Duck Commander warehouse has become a tourist attraction, said Alana Cooper, director of the Monroe-West Monroe Visitors and Convention Bureau.
A&E Networks suspended Phil Robertson last week over anti-gay remarks during GQ magazine interview
Jay Dardenne, whose job includes running the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said the audience of tens of millions is eager to visit Louisiana.
“If the Robertson family cannot come to an agreement with A&E and wants to continue the show, Louisiana already has the infrastructure in place to maintain their record-breaking program,” he wrote.
Jay Dardenne, who authored the state’s film and TV tax credit program, said he would use his influence in the state’s industry to help the Robertsons.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said Thursday that everyone is entitled to express their opinions.
More than 1.7 million fans have liked an impromptu Facebook page titled Boycott A&E Until Phil Robertson Is Put Back On Duck Dynasty – one of numerous pages with similar names, though none of the others has even 1 percent as many “Likes”.
Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson broke his silence after the controversial interview with GQ magazine and subsequent suspension from the A&E’s reality show.
Phil Robertson, 67, said during a Bible study group in West Monroe, Louisiana, on December 22: “I will not give or back off from my path.”
“We are a bunch of rednecks from Louisiana, but I am not uneducated. I have a degree from Louisiana Tech. But this week I have been called an ignoramus,” Phil Robertson shared with the group, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson broke his silence after the controversial interview with GQ magazine and subsequent suspension from the A&E’s reality show
“This week I have been asked, <<Is this the first time you have brought up sin?>>” the Duck Commander recalled during the religious meeting.
“I said, <<Are you kidding? I have been traveling to and for spreading this message>>. Then he said, <<Well, do you invite yourself to go and get your Bible and tell people what you are now sharing with us?>> I said, <<No, they are inviting me>>.”
The Robertson family patriarch added: “I love all men and women. I am a lover of humanity, not a hater.”
He then led the group in prayer and shared: “I will not give or back off from my path because you conquered death, Father, so we are not worried about all the repercussions.”
Phil Robertson made no direct mention of A&E Networks, which placed him on hiatus from filming “indefinitely”.
Vin Diesel will voice Groot in space adventure Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Studios has confirmed.
The studio posted the news on its website, just hours after Vin Diesel himself appeared to confirm the rumors by posting a photo on Facebook.
The picture showed the actoe hugging a model of the giant tree character, Groot.
Vin Diesel will voice Groot in space adventure Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy is due in August 2014, directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt as Star Lord.
Vin Diesel is joined by Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon and Zoe Saldana as Gamora, along with Benicio del Toro, John C Reilly and Glenn Close.
The actor, who has starred in four of the six Fast & Furious films, will reprise his role in forthcoming movie Fast & Furious 7.
Marvel’s official announcement about Vin Diesel’s role in Guardians of the Galaxy was subtitled: “The action star will lend his booming voice to Marvel’s epic Guardians of the Galaxy film!”
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has topped the North American box office for a second consecutive weekend.
The second installment of Peter Jackson’s three-part Hobbit adaptation took $31.5 million.
It comfortably held off competition from Will Ferrell’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which made $26.8 million from Friday to Saturday.
The comedy has now taken $40 million since opening on Wednesday.
Anchorman 2 – which sees character Ron Burgundy join a 24-hour cable news network – performed better in its first weekend than its predecessor, which took $28.4 million in 2004.
Disney animation Frozen fell one place to three, taking $19.2 million.
Just behind was David O Russell’s crime drama American Hustle, taking $19.1 million in its first weekend of nationwide release after opening in six cinemas last week.
American Hustle, staring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, is loosely based on a real-life 1970s bribery scandal that led to the conviction of seven members of the US Congress and several local and federal officials.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has topped the North American box office for a second consecutive weekend
Saving Mr. Banks finished in fifth place in its first weekend of wide release, taking $9.3 million.
The $35 million production tells the story of how Walt Disney, played by Tom Hanks, brought Mary Poppins to the big screen.
The number nine spot was grabbed by a surprisingly strong start for Dhoom 3, setting a North American box office opening record for a Bollywood film, taking $3.3 million.
Total US box office takings for 2013 have risen 0.8% in the last year to almost $10.37 billion according to box office tracker Rentrak.
It is expected to surpass last year’s record of $10.77 billion thanks to a number of Christmas Day releases.
Leonardo DiCaprio drama The Wolf of Wall Street, Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Keanu Reeves’ 47 Ronin are among the films to open on Wednesday.
North American box office Top 5:
1.Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $31.5 million
2.Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – $26.8 million
Apple has signed a deal to bring its iPhone to China Mobile – the world’s largest carrier.
China Mobile has more than 760 million subscribers and was one of three networks to be awarded China’s first 4G licenses earlier this month.
Apple has been looking to boost its sales in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, but has struggled amid growing competition from rivals.
The latest deal is expected to help it increase its market share.
“China is an extremely important market for Apple,” Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement.
“Our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world’s largest network.”
Earlier this year, Tim Cook said he expected China to replace North America as Apple’s largest source of revenue. The iPhone is the firm’s most important product in terms of earnings power.
China two other major phone carriers, China Unicom and China Telecom, already offer iPhones to their subscribers.
Apple has signed a deal to bring its iPhone to China Mobile
China is the world’s biggest smartphone-using country, with 1.2 billion users.
Chinese sales of previous iPhone models have slumped recently, as consumers have turned to cheaper rival handsets from Samsung, and domestic Chinese developers.
China’s three bestselling smartphone makers are Samsung, Lenovo and Coolpad, according to a recent report by the consultants IDC.
Apple’s sales have also been impacted by the fact that unlike in developed markets, many phone carriers in emerging markets do not subsidies smartphones.
That means that subscribers have to pay the full amount for the phone upfront, making Apple’s products relatively expensive for some buyers.
In an attempt to take on the low-cost rivals Apple unveiled a relatively cheaper version of the iPhone, the 5c, earlier this year.
Analysts said the firm was hoping that a cheaper handset combined with a deal with the biggest mobile carrier in the world may help it take on rivals.
However, Apple is yet to announce how much Chinese customers will have to pay for the iphone 5s and 5c models sold via China Mobile.
Nevertheless, analysts say the deal has huge potential. Cantor Fitzgerald Research estimates that Apple could sell 24 million iPhones next year to China Mobile customers alone.
Apple sold 102.4 million iPhones globally in the nine months to September this year.
The iPhone 5s and 5c will be available to China Mobile subscribers from January 17th.
Thai anti-government protesters have surrounded the stadium where candidates were due to register to stand in February’s elections.
They say political reform is needed before elections take place.
On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets of the capital Bangkok, calling on the government to step down.
PM Yingluck Shinawatra, who called the polls in December try to end the rallies, urged protesters to respect the “democratic system”.
The main opposition Democrat Party has said it would boycott February’s elections.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who was previously a senior Democrat Party politician, said on Sunday: “We disagree with the election. We want the country to be reformed before the election.”
Thai anti-government protesters have surrounded the stadium where candidates were due to register to stand in February’s elections
He urged protesters to gather outside Bangkok’s Din Daeng Thai-Japan Stadium, where candidate registrations were set to take place, on Monday.
“If you want to apply for candidacy, you must walk past our feet first,” Suthep Thaugsuban said.
Political parties began registering their candidates at a local police station instead, while protesters responded by surrounding the police station as well, correspondents say.
Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved parliament and called an election on December 9, after more than 150,000 demonstrators took to the streets calling for her government to step down.
On Sunday, Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters that elections must take place, and urged protesters to express their views at the ballot box.
She said: “If we don’t hold on to the democratic system, what should we hold on to?”
“If you don’t accept this government, please accept the system,” Yingluck Shinawatra added.
Yingluck Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai Party won the last election in 2011, and has a majority in parliament. However protesters say her brother – ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – remains in charge.
The protesters also accuse the Pheu Thai Party of using public funds irresponsibly to secure votes.
A massive ice storm has brought snow and freezing rain to Toronto, and to much of the east of Canada.
The storm has left some 400,000 people in the region without electricity and forced the closure of parts of its public transport system.
Travelers were stranded at airports in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal as dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed.
At least 11 deaths have been blamed on the storm system in the US and Canada.
Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford called the storm “one of the worst storms in Toronto history,” saying that a state of emergency may be called on Monday.
Rob Ford said the city’s top priority is restoring power to two hospitals, Sunnybrook and Toronto East General.
The Toronto Hydro power company said that it may take up to 72 hours to get everybody in the city reconnected.
A massive ice storm has brought snow and freezing rain to Toronto, and to much of the east of Canada
Many flights were also cancelled in the US due to the storm, at one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
More than 400,000 people were also left without power in Michigan, New York state and New England.
The US’s National Weather Service described the storm system as “complex and large”, warning that “another round of snow and ice” was expected for New England on Monday as the storm winds down.
At least four people were killed by flooding caused by the storm in Kentucky, while a tornado was reported to have caused extensive damage in Arkansas.
However, the system has also brought record high temperatures to some parts of the east coast of the US, with the temperature in New York’s Central Park reaching 21C, with records also being set in several other cities.
John S. D. Eisenhower, son of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, died Saturday at the age of 91.
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower lived on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in the community of Trappe. In a statement, his family gave no cause of death.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called John Eisenhower “a true patriot” and praised him as “an accomplished soldier, diplomat and author.”
John Eisenhower was born in Denver on August 3, 1922, the second son of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Doud Eisenhower. Their first child had died of scarlet fever the year before at age 3.
He grew up as his father rose in the ranks of the Army. During World War II, the senior Eisenhower became supreme commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in 1943 and then general of the Army with five-star rank. Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president in a landslide in 1952 and again in 1956.
John Eisenhower was the second son of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Doud Eisenhower
Both father and son graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, the son on June 6, 1944 – the day his father oversaw the Allied invasion of Europe. He spent 35 years in the Army, including 19 years on active duty and several years in the Reserve. He retired with the rank of brigadier general.
John Eisenhower taught English for three years at West Point, then volunteered for service during the Korean War and later became a battalion commander.
He served on his father’s White House staff for the last few years of his administration and later helped his father write his post-presidential memoirs. The younger Eisenhower began writing his own books, then served as US ambassador to Belgium during the first years of the Nixon administration. He soon returned to writing, focusing on the military’s relationship with government and politics.
His marriage to Barbara Eisenhower ended in divorce.
John Eisenhower is survived by his second wife, Joanne, and his four children: daughters Anne, Susan and Mary, and son David, who married President Richard Nixon’s daughter Julie.
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina has been freed early from prison in Russia under an amnesty, her lawyer announces.
Her lawyers said Maria Alyokhina was now on her way to Moscow.
The release of fellow band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is also expected later today.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were jailed in August 2012 for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after performing a protest song in Moscow’s main cathedral.
The conviction of the women was criticized by rights groups, anti-Putin activists and foreign governments.
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina has been freed early from prison in Russia under an amnesty
Their sentences were due to end in March 2014, but they have known since last week that their release was imminent under an amnesty agreed by the Russian parliament.
On Friday Russian former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky – once Russia’s richest man – was also pardoned and freed after more than 10 years in prison for fraud and tax evasion.
The amnesty deal, unanimously approved by the State Duma in Moscow last week, covers at least 20,000 prisoners, including minors, invalids, veterans, pregnant women, and mothers.
Charges against 30 protesters, mostly foreign nationals, who were arrested on a Greenpeace ship may also be dropped later this week.
The move is being widely seen as attempt to avoid controversy overshadowing the Winter Olympics in February, due to be hosted in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Maria Alyokhina was released from the prison camp in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, early on Monday morning. She reportedly told waiting journalists that she felt well, before being driven away.
Dennis Rodman revealed he didn’t meet Kim Jong-un on his latest visit to North Korea, but he said that won’t stop him from coming back on the communist leader’s birthday next month to hold an exhibition game with other former NBA stars.
On the night before he was due to leave Pyongyang, Dennis Rodman told The Associated Press that he had not yet had a meeting with Kim Jong-un. The former NBA star said that he didn’t expect to meet the leader every time he comes to North Korea, and that his current trip was for training North Korean basketball players who will take part in the match he is organizing for Kim Jong-un’s birthday on January 8th.
“I’m not just coming over here to meet the leader,” Dennis Rodman said.
Dennis Rodman revealed he didn’t meet Kim Jong-un on his latest visit to North Korea
“I came over here to meet the basketball team, to prepare a great game for the leader for his birthday. And people need to understand that it’s not important for me to meet him every time I come over because he has another greater job to do for his country, and I respect that, but this trip was basically to come over to train the team, so we can have a great, great, game.”
Dennis Rodman’s visit comes just after the dramatic purge and execution of Kim Jong-un’s once-powerful uncle, which has sparked speculation among some foreign analysts over how stable Kim’s regime is. But officials here say that there is no instability and that Kim Jong-un remains firmly in control.
The former basketball player wants to bring 12 former NBA stars to Pyongyang for the exhibition, but has acknowledged that some of the Americans have been reluctant to come. He has held tryouts for the North Korean team during his visit, which began Thursday. He has said he expects to announce the US roster soon, and that he is planning another game in June.
Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-un have struck up an unlikely friendship since the former NBA star traveled to North Korea for the first time in February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television.
Billionaire Edgar Miles Bronfman Sr., who lobbied the Soviets to allow Jews to emigrate and helped spearhead the search for hidden Nazi loot, died Saturday at the age of 84.
The longtime president of the World Jewish Congress died at his New York home surrounded by family, according to the family charity he led, The Samuel Bronfman Foundation.
Edgar Bronfman made his fortune with his family’s Seagram’s liquor empire, taking over as chairman and CEO in 1971 and continuing the work of his father, Samuel. Under Edgar Bronfman’s leadership, Seagram expanded its offerings and was eventually acquired by French media and telecom group Vivendi Universal in 2000.
Edgar Bronfman made his fortune with his family’s Seagram’s liquor empire
His wealth, combined with his role in the World Jewish Congress – an umbrella group of Jewish organizations in some 80 countries that he led for more than a quarter century – allowed him to be a tireless advocate for his fellow Jews.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded Edgar Bronfman the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In the citation, Edgar Bronfman was heralded for working “to ensure basic rights for Jews around the world”.
Less than two days after Cracker Barrel announced plans to withdraw selected Duck Dynasty items from its shelves in the wake of Phil Robertson’s anti-gay comments, the Southern country store and restaurant chain has reversed its decision.
Cracker Barrel’s reversal of its former position was posted this morning to Facebook, following a flurry of negative responses from customers and fans who showed support to Phil Robertson and Duck Dynasty family.
“When we made the decision to remove and evaluate certain Duck Dynasty items, we offended many of our loyal customers. Our intent was to avoid offending, but that’s just what we’ve done,” Cracker Barrel wrote.
“You flat out told us we were wrong. We listened.”
Cracker Barrel has reversed its decision in Phil Robertson controversy
“People weren’t shy. They wrote, called and took to social media,” Cracker Barrel’s spokesman Jeff Eller told ABC News about the company’s decision to go back on its original pledge to ax “selected products” from its stores.
The restaurant was the first major retailer to announce its stance on the Duck Dynasty scandal since Phil Robertson’s remarks went public.
A statement posted on Cracker Barrel’s Facebook page read: “Cracker Barrel’s mission is pleasing people. We operate within the ideals of fairness, mutual respect and equal treatment of all people. These ideals are the core of our corporate culture.”
The Facebook post indicated the company would continue to sell some Duck Commander products in stores, but would continue to “evaluate the products we offer.”
The announcement on Sunday confirmed the company will be reinstating all Duck Dynasty products back into its stores.
Phil Robertson has been put on hiatus by A&E Network after he made anti-gay comments in an interview with GQ magazine.
Phil Robertson’s comments received mixed reactions from the show’s millions of fans, with politicians and gay rights groups also weighing in on the issue.
Hours after the interview went public and Phil Robertson was suspended, a Facebook page popped up encouraging fans to boycott the network until the family patriarch returned. The page now has over 1.7 million likes.
Phil Robertson’s suspension has also prompted an outcry from conservative Republican politicians, including Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.
Peter O’Toole was laid to rest at a funeral in London on Saturday.
Peter O’Toole’s funeral service, attended by his ex-wife, actress Sian Phillips, took place at Golders Green Crematorium in north London, and was followed by a wake at the actor’s home. Attendees included pop star Sting and Alabama 3.
Peter O’Toole was laid to rest at a funeral in London
During the funeral, Peter O’Toole’s daughter, Kate, addressed the congregation and said of her father: “The world has lost a great actor, but I’m not concerned with that. I simply have lost a great dad and the best friend I ever had. Daddy made me laugh more than anyone else I have ever met in my life.”
Egypt’s leading activists Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel from the 2011 uprising that led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak have been sentenced to three years in jail.
They were found guilty of organizing a recent unauthorized protest.
Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel were arrested after protesting in November over a new controversial law that restricts demonstrations.
The three well-known activists have long called for greater democracy in Egypt.
Ahmed Maher and Mohamed Adel were founding members of the April 6th Youth Movement, which led protests to remove long-time President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The three were among a group of demonstrators outside the upper house of parliament in late November protesting over the new law, which states that public gatherings of more than 10 people must be authorized.
Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel were found guilty of organizing an unauthorized protest
The military-installed government has defended the law, saying it is not intended to limit the right to demonstrate but rather to “protect the rights of protesters”.
But its opponents say the law has in effect replaced a recently expired state of emergency, and is stricter than the measures in place during the rule of Hosni Mubarak.
The men are the first to be jailed under the new law. The court in Cairo found them guilty of holding a demonstration without authorization and attacking police officers.
State-run television said the men had been sentenced to three years’ hard labor. They have also been ordered to pay a $7,000 fine each.
As the verdict was read out, the courtroom erupted with chants of “Down, down with military rule! We are in a state, not in a military camp”, Reuters news agency reports.
Until recently, the main targets for arrests by the authorities had been Islamists, many of whom continue to protest over the ousting by the military of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed government of Mohamed Morsi in the summer after weeks of mass protests.
The Change.org petition calling for a boycott of A&E Networks if it does not bring back Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson and apologize for placing him on indefinite hiatus has attracted more than 100,000 signatures.
Phil Robertson, 67, came under fire this week for anti-gay comments he made in a recent interview with GQ magazine.
Phil Robertson came under fire this week for anti-gay comments he made in a recent interview with GQ magazine
“Duck Dynasty has a huge following and WE THE PEOPLE stand behind Phil Robertson and his family,” reads the petition, which has attracted nearly 108,000 signatures.
“We stand for faith and freedom. We stand for family and values. Those who disagree have the God given right to, that doesn’t mean Phil needs to be punished for exercising his rights.”
