Republican Chris Christie was easily re-elected governor of New Jersey.
Chris Christie was declared the unofficial winner by the US media just minutes after the polls closed.
“Thank you, New Jersey, for making me the luckiest guy in the world,” he told supporters after his victory.
Chris Christie won 60.5% of the vote, against 38% for Barbara Buono, with 99% of precincts reporting.
Chris Christie was declared the unofficial winner by the US media just minutes after the polls closed
Analysts say Chris Christie’s popularity with voters in Democratic-leaning New Jersey makes him a contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, because it could enable him to claim broad political appeal.
Chris Christie was already a popular figure when Superstorm Sandy devastated the state’s coastline a year ago. His response to the storm attracted national attention.
While many in New Jersey support Barbara Buono’s positions, she has had difficulty raising money, even from Democrats, because of her relatively low profile.
The results of Tuesday’s polls could prove an early measure of the parties’ support ahead of the midterm elections of 2014, which will decide the make-up of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and the governorships in more than half the states.
In Washington, Barack Obama’s Democratic party controls the Senate, while the Republicans hold sway in the House of Representatives.
Democrat Terry McAuliffe beat Republican Ken Cuccinelli in a very close race for Virginia governor’s seat.
Republican Chris Christie was easily re-elected governor of New Jersey.
Tuesday’s races are seen as an early test of both parties’ strengths ahead of next year’s congressional mid-term elections.
In Virginia, Terry McAuliffe won an extremely tight race, defeating Ken Cuccinelli.
With results in from 99.7% of precincts, Terry McAuliffe polled 47% to his opponent’s 45%.
Democrat Terry McAuliffe beat Republican Ken Cuccinelli in a very close race for Virginia governor’s seat
Terry McAuliffe is a businessman and veteran Democratic party fundraiser. He has close ties to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, serving as chairman of her 2008 presidential campaign.
Ken Cuccinelli, the Virginia attorney general, has angled for the support of the hardcore conservative Tea Party movement of Republicans.
Terry McAuliffe, who has raised much more money, has sought to link Ken Cuccinelli to last month’s partial shutdown of the federal government, which was brought about by Republicans in Washington DC.
Virginia, long a Republican stronghold, has seen a demographic shift in recent years. Barack Obama, a Democrat, won the state in the last two presidential elections.
With almost all votes counted, Bill de Blasio will succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg to become the first Democrat leading New York City in two decades.
With 99% of votes counted in New York, Bill de Blasio secured 73% of the vote, convincingly defeating his Republican rival Joe Lhota, who polled 24%.
In his victory speech, Bill de Blasio said the poll showed that America’s largest city had chosen “a progressive path”, and he promised to make fighting income inequality his top priority.
Bill de Blasio is the city’s first Democratic mayor since 1993.
With almost all votes counted, Bill de Blasio will succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg to become the first Democrat leading New York City in two decades
He ran Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, and is seen as one of the most liberal politicians to run for mayor in decades.
Joe Lhota admitted defeat, saying the race had been a good fight and a fight worth having.
He ran the city’s public transport authority under Mayor Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent, and also worked in the administration of Rudolph Giuliani.
Last year, Joe Lhota was lauded for quickly getting the vast subway system running again after a huge storm, Sandy, flooded swathes of the city.
At least one person died following a series of small blasts outside a provincial office of the ruling Communist Party in Shanxi province, northern China, state media report.
The blasts in Taiyuan in Shanxi province appeared to have been caused by home-made bombs, Xinhua reported.
It said eight people had been injured and two cars damaged.
Photos posted on social media showed smoke and several fire engines at the scene of the incident, which happened around 07:40 local time.
No immediate explanation has been given for the incident. There have been occasions in the past where disgruntled citizens have targeted local government institutions.
Tensions are also high in the wake of last week’s incident in Beijing. A car ploughed into a crowd in Tiananmen Square in what the authorities said was a terrorist attack incited by extremists from the western region of Xinjiang.
Later this week, the Communist Party’s top officials will meet in Beijing to start a major economic planning meeting.
At least one person died following a series of small blasts outside a provincial office of the ruling Communist Party in Shanxi province
“Several small explosive devices went off at Taiyuan’s Yingze Street near the provincial party office,” Shanxi police said in a post on their verified microblog.
“Provincial leaders went to the scene immediately, and police are currently investigating the case,” the post added.
“Police officers found steel balls, circuit boards and similar explosive materials at the scene,” state-run news agency Xinhua said.
“The initial judgement is that the explosions were man-made.”
The explosive devices were hidden in roadside flower beds, according to Chinese state television.
However, two witnesses told Xinhua they saw a minivan exploding, sending car debris flying.
Eyewitnesses also told Xinhua they heard “seven loud blasts”, and saw a large amount of smoke at the site.
Photos posted on microblog Sina Weibo appeared to show cars windows and tyres that were damaged as a result of the blasts, as well as metal ball-bearings.
One of those injured was in a serious condition, state media said.
Taiyuan police said in a verified microblog post that two-way traffic was restored on Yingze Street at 10:30 local time.
Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, a province in north central China home to large-scale coal mining, is home to more than four million people.
Michelle Knight revealed that Ariel Castro used the promise of a puppy to lure her into his Cleveland home where he held her hostage for 11 years.
“He tells me, <<Just come in for a little while. The puppies are upstairs. You can take one home to your son>>,” Michelle Knight said in an interview broadcast Tuesday on the syndicated Dr. Phil talk show.
But she soon realizedthere were no puppies inside Ariel Castro’s home. And it wasn’t long, Michelle Knight said, before he trapped her in an upstairs room and tied her up with an extension cord. From there, he took her down into the basement about 24 hours later, she said.
It was the beginning of more than a decade of torture, rape, starvation and beatings for Michelle Knight. The hope of seeing her son again, she said, inspired her fight to survive.
“I want my son to know me as a victor, not a victim,” Michelle Knight told host Dr. PhilMcGraw.
“And I wanted him to know that I survived, loving him. His love got me through.”
Ariel Castro lured Michelle Knight into his vehicle from a Family Dollar store in Cleveland in 2002, promising to give her a ride.
Michelle Knight was the first of three women he would capture and imprison in his home for about a decade. They were freed in May after one of the women, Amanda Berry, called out to neighbors for help.
In August, Ariel Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years after he pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping. He committed suicide in his prison cell on September 3.
Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and the third woman, Gina DeJesus, have since been trying to readjust to life as free women. Knight, whose disappearance generated the least public notice of the three, has been the most outspoken.
“After 11 years, I am finally being heard, and it’s liberating,” she said in a powerful statement at Ariel Castro’s sentencing, describing the abuse she endured.
Her interview with “Dr. Phil,” which began airing Tuesday and is set to continue Wednesday, provides a detailed glimpse into some of the horrors she suffered and her struggle to survive.
Michelle Knight said she remembered the warning, the one Ariel Castro delivered while wrapping a chain around her neck and shackling her to a metal pole in the basement of his Cleveland home.
“Now, if I do it too tight and you don’t make it, that means you wasn’t meant to stay here. That means God wanted to take you,” Ariel Castro said, according to Knight.
Michelle Knight told Phil McGraw she sometimes spent days in the basement, chained to the pole, unable to lie down and with a motorcycle helmet over her head. The helmet made it hard to breathe, she said, “and later on I didn’t remember a thing ’cause I had passed out.”
A photograph of the pole showed white paint had been scraped away.
“That’s where I tried to get out,” Michelle Knight said.
“And I couldn’t pull the pole down because I wasn’t strong enough.”
Michelle Knight revealed that Ariel Castro used the promise of a puppy to lure her into his Cleveland home
Michelle Knight told Phil McGraw that she didn’t always fight back, though, at least not at first.
She said she was in shock after being taken and all she could do was cry and beg him to let her go back to her son.
Several attempts to escape were met with harsh punishment, she said.
“He took a pipe and he held it … over my head, and he said, <<If you scream, I’ll ram this down your throat and I’ll kill you>>,” Michelle Knight recalled, describing what she said was Ariel Castro’s response after she used a pair of pliers and a wire cutter to remove a chain around her neck.
“So I didn’t scream. I didn’t make a noise. I just laid there.”
Michelle Knight, now 32, was 21 years old when she was reported missingin 2002.
Ariel Castro, she said, would tell her of his plans to abduct other women and also implied he’d done it before.
She said he showed her an area in the basement where it said, “Rest in Peace.”
“I begged him not to bring any more there to suffer the hell I went through,” Michelle Knight said.
But it wasn’t long before Michelle Knight learned that she wasn’t the only captive.
In 2003, Amanda Berry joined her inside the house. At first, she said, they rarely saw each other.
“When we did, it was like a quick hug and <<bye>>, because he wouldn’t let us stay in the same room for that long,” she said.
When they were in separate rooms, Michelle Knight said, she would blare her television if she saw Amanda Berry’s mother on air, to make sure Amanda knew to watch. And when she saw Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight said, she tried to comfort her.
“Sometimes she would cry, and I’d tell her everything would be OK, and that one day we’ll get home,” Michelle Knight told Phil McGraw.
“We just have to, you know, wait it out.”
Since their release, accounts have depicted Michelle Knight as someone who cared for the other victims during their captivity while also enduring great suffering herself.
A family friend of one of the victims said this year that Ariel Castro used Michelle Knight as his main “punching bag.”
The friend said Ariel Castro hit Knight with a variety of objects, including hand weights. She has suffered vision loss, joint and muscle damage, and other problems from her time in captivity.
In the interview with Phil McGraw, Michelle Knight said she once watched Ariel Castro kill a beloved dog by breaking its neck. She said she was kept in a frigid room with windows boarded up. And she said Ariel Castro once punched her in the stomach with a barbell when he learned she was pregnant.
“I fell to the floor. … He said, <<Tomorrow it’d better be gone. That’s all he said>>,” Michelle Knight recalled.
“Then when I did miscarry, he blamed me. He said that I hated him, that I killed his kid, and he punched me in the face, saying that it was all my fault.”
During Michelle Knight’s time in captivity, her case got less media attention than the disappearances of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, whose family members posted fliers and held candlelight vigils for them.
Michelle Knight told Phil McGraw that her son was taken away after her mother’s boyfriend abused him.
“And then they tried to say that I never protected him, and I did,” she said.
“I did all I could do.”
She was still trying to do all she could on the day when she was abducted in 2002, Michelle Knight said. She told Phil McGraw she got lost on the way to a meeting with social services to discuss her son’s custody. That’s when she stopped at the dollar store to ask for directions, she said, and when Castro offered her a ride.
In the interview, Michelle Knight also gave a glimpse into what she described as a troubled childhood before her abduction, which she said was why she didn’t want to see her mother after she was released.
“I wished my mother wasn’t my mother. … I wasn’t allowed out. I wasn’t allowed to have friends. She made sure I was dumber than a doorknob,” she said.
In response, her mother, Barbara Knight, issued a statement to the Dr. Phil show.
“Michelle, my daughter, has been the victim of long-term and profound and unspeakable torture. Her point of view has been altered by that monster and what he did to her,” the statement said.
“What I have heard that she said about me breaks my heart. That is because what she now believes, while not true, increases her pain. I love my daughter. I always have and always will. I pray that someday she will heal enough to know that again.”
As the holiday season is coming, Oprah Winfrey reveals her “Most Favorite Things” list for 2013.
This year, Oprah Winfrey shares the amazing O, The Oprah Magazine December cover with one of her most favorite things – comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
Jimmy Kimmel, who is dressed like an elf, dutifully goes to work on the 15 ft. train of Oprah Winfrey’s stunning White by Vera Wang gown exclusively for David’s Bridal. The incredible red, rosette gown took 10 people to make for a total of 100 hours of work, and weighs a whopping 25 pounds.
Oprah Winfrey reveals her “Most Favorite Things” list for 2013
As for the items on this year’s coveted list, Oprah Winfrey’s picks range from a $500 Truffle Risotto gift box curated by Per Se chef Thomas Keller – which she plans to give to Rita Wilson this year – to Modern House Red Wine bottles which retail for only $13 each and are available at Target. Notable tech gadgets on the list include the Kindle Paperwhite ($119), Beats Studio Headphones ($300) and a Qook Touch Kitchen Tablet that already comes pre-loaded with 1,000 recipes searchable by ingredient, with videos that show readers exactly how the food is supposed to look.
Other standout items that women will undoubtedly want their hands on this year include an $85 Butter London nail polish set, a $225 Nest Fragrances Holiday Candle which according to her BFF Gayle, “smells just like Christmas,” and a $136 set of Pickwick & Weller T-shirts co-designed by Ashton Kutcher.
Despite the pricey nature of some of the items on this list, Oprah Winfrey stresses that holiday gift-giving is never about the price.
This year, 12 readers will get to take home all of the items on Oprah’s Most Favorite Things list through her 12-Day Holiday Give-O-Way sweepstakes.
Click here to see all 60 of Oprah’s Most Favorite Things for 2013.
According to an Adobe data analysis, “123456” was the most popular password among its millions of users.
Recently, Adobe users’ details were stolen during an attack on the company.
About 1.9 million people used “123456” sequence, according to analysis of data lost in the leak.
Online copies of the data have let security researchers find out more about users’ password-creating habits.
The analysis suggests that many people are making it easy for attackers by using easy-to-guess passwords.
On October 4, Adobe reported that its systems had been penetrated by attackers who had stolen the online credentials for millions of its users.
Early reports suggested about 2.9 million records had been compromised.
On October 30, this figure was revised; with Adobe saying information about 38 million active users had gone astray.
In total, information about more than 150 million accounts was stolen – but many of the other accounts were disused, abandoned or duplicates.
Adobe has now shut down all the compromised accounts, saying it will only reopen them once passwords have been changed.
Adobe users’ details were stolen during an attack on the company
Copies of the data that was exposed by the breach have begun circulating online and inspired security researcher Jeremi Gosney to go through it working out which password was most popular.
Top of the list, with 1.9 million entries, was the “123456” string of numbers. Second was the slightly longer “123456789” sequence.
Other popular easy-to-guess passwords included “adobe123”, “qwerty” and “password”.
Jeremi Gosney said the results of the analysis should be treated with caution because, so far, no-one had access to the keys that Adobe used to encrypt the data.
However, he added, flaws in the way Adobe had stored and encrypted passwords along with clues in the giant file of data had made it possible to draw up a list that he was “fairly confident” was accurate.
Computer security researchers who study password-creating habits have also seized on the data dump as a way to refine the word lists they use to attack login systems in a bid to make them more secure.
Lists of passwords and email addresses are a boon to attackers not just because they can be used to get access to the systems they were supposed to secure. Many people re-use the same password for different services potentially giving attackers a way into other networks.
The 87th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade returns to kick-off this year’s holidays with its giant balloons, floats of fancy, marching bands, celebrities and, of course, Santa Claus.
Duck Dynasty cast will join Goo Goo Dolls, Kristen Chenoweth, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Sharon Jones, The Dap Kings, and Gavin DeGraw for this year’s parade. Jimmy Fallon will also make an appearance along with NFL Legend Joe Namath. There will also be performances by the Radio City Rockettes and Broadway’s best musicals including “Matilda,” “Motown” and more. The Big Apple Circus, Sesame Street and Cirque du Soleil will also get into the act.
On Thursday, November 28, the newest Snoopy balloon will take flight along with his pal Woodstock marking another record-setting stint in the holiday spectacle. The Charles M. Schulz classic comic character will soar in his 37th Macy’s Parade, cementing Snoopy’s long-standing record for most appearances and most balloon versions, seven in total since the 1960s.
A mythical dragon will also spotted over the skies of New York City. Toothless, the star of Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon will be joining an incredible lineup of giant helium-filled balloons.
Also, this Thanksgiving the beauty and majesty of the sea will come to life on the streets of New York as SeaWorld’s A Sea of Surprises float debuts.
The 87th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade returns to kick-off this year’s holidays
The Minions of Despicable Me 2 are also set to create mayhem aboard their new float this November that will surely delight parade fans from around the country. The 33-foot long bake shop-themed float will feature 3-1/2 foot tall cupcakes.
The parade will also honor the 75th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz with a 47-foot hot air balloon featuring Dorothy and other characters from the classic film.
From new giant characters helium balloons including Paul Frank’s iconic monkey Julius and Sonic the Hedgehog, to out-of–this world floats including Zhu-niverse and Frozen Fall Fun, the magic begins at the sound of Let’s Have A Parade. This iconic phrase has catapulted gaggles of clowns, exciting performance groups, pulse-pounding marching bands, celebrities and the one-and-only Santa Claus down the streets of Manhattan for 87 years of unrivaled wonder.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will step-off at 77th Street and Central Park West. The procession will travel down to Columbus Circle, turn onto Central Park South and march down a new path via 6th Avenue/Avenue of the Americas to 34th Street. At 34th Street, the Parade will make its final turn west and end at 7th Avenue in front of Macy’s Herald Square. This incredible cavalcade will make its way down 6th Avenue, a broader, more accessible path that marks only the seventh time the Parade has changed its route.
The parade will begin at 9 a.m. and end at noon.
A Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere, the motto of the Macy’s parade has stood for 86 years and will continue to usher in the season of joy for years to come.
More information on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is available to the general public at www.macys.com/parade or via the Parade Hotline at (212) 494-4495.
To view the balloons being filled with helium click here.
Macy’s has revealed the lineup for its 87th Annual Thanksgiving Day which includes everything from circus acts to singers, Broadway to Duck Dynasty cast.
The bearded Robertson family from the wildly popular A&E show, which chronicles a business that makes products for duck hunters, will appear at the parade as well as Ariana Grande, Kristin Chenoweth, Jimmy Fallon, Fall Out Boy and numerous other acts.
The bearded Robertson family from Duck Dynasty will appear at the 87th Annual Thanksgiving Day
Hosts Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie of Today show will introduce rock acts including Fall Out Boy, Goo Goo Dolls and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the network said. Both the Big Apple Circus and Cirque du Soleil will be on hand, as well as performers as disparate as the Cherokee National Youth Choir and Richard Simmons. Others include the Muppet family of Sesame Street.
The first hour of the 9 a.m.-to-noon telecast will feature Carrie Underwood and members of the cast of NBC’s The Sound of Music Live!. Following tradition, the Radio City Rockettes will perform, and cast members of Broadway musicals will sing selections from Matilda, Motown: The Musical and other shows.
US voters are heading to the polls in the first major round of elections since President Barack Obama won a second term one year ago.
In New Jersey and Virginia, voters will pick governors.
New York City is choosing a successor to three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent.
Tuesday’s races are seen as an early test of the Republican and Democratic parties’ strengths ahead of next year’s critical congressional elections.
In New York City, Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has taken a commanding lead in opinion polls over Republican Joe Lhota, a former senior official in the mayoral administrations of Michael Bloomberg and his predecessor Rudolph Giuliani.
Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, ran Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign. He is seen as one of the most liberal mayoral candidates in decades.
Under Michael Bloomberg, Joe Lhota ran the city’s public transport authority. He was lauded for quickly getting the vast subway system running again after a huge storm Sandy flooded swathes of the city last year.
In New Jersey, incumbent Republican Governor Chris Christie is expected to win re-election handily.
US voters are heading to the polls in the first major round of elections since President Barack Obama won a second term one year ago
His Democratic challenger, state Senator Barbara Buono, has struggled to gain traction.
Analysts say Chris Christie’s popularity with voters in Democratic-leaning New Jersey makes him a contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, because it could enable him to claim broad political appeal.
Chris Christie, 51, was already a popular figure when Sandy devastated the state’s coastline a year ago. His response to the storm attracted national attention.
He has been campaigning across the state since last week, even as polls suggested he had an advantage of at least 20 points on Barbara Buono.
While many in New Jersey support her positions, she has had difficulty raising money, even from Democrats, because of her relatively low profile.
The Virginia governor race pits Democrat Terry McAuliffe against Republican Ken Cuccinelli.
Terry McAuliffe is a businessman and veteran Democratic party fundraiser. He has close ties to former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, serving as chairman of her 2008 presidential campaign.
Ken Cuccinelli, the Virginia attorney general, has angled for the support of the hardcore conservative Tea Party movement of Republicans.
Terry McAuliffe, who has raised much more money, has sought to link Ken Cuccinelli to last month’s partial shutdown of the federal government, which was brought about by Republicans in Washington DC.
Virginia, long a Republican stronghold, has seen a demographic shift in recent years. Barack Obama, a Democrat, won the state in the last two presidential elections.
The results of Tuesday’s polls could prove an early measure of the parties’ support ahead of the midterm elections of 2014, which will decide the make-up of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and the governorships in more than half the states.
In Washington, Barack Obama’s Democratic party controls the Senate, while the Republicans hold sway in the House of Representatives.
Now in his second term, Barack Obama will vacate the presidency in 2017.
New York City is choosing a successor to three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent.
Tuesday’s races are seen as an early test of the Republican and Democratic parties’ strengths ahead of next year’s critical congressional elections.
In New York City, Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has taken a commanding lead in opinion polls over Republican Joe Lhota
In New York City, Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has taken a commanding lead in opinion polls over Republican Joe Lhota, a former senior official in the mayoral administrations of Michael Bloomberg and his predecessor Rudolph Giuliani.
Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, ran Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign. He is seen as one of the most liberal mayoral candidates in decades.
Under Michael Bloomberg, Joe Lhota ran the city’s public transport authority. He was lauded for quickly getting the vast subway system running again after a huge storm Sandy flooded swathes of the city last year.
Nine skydivers and two pilots escaped as their planes crashed in midair, turning one of the aircraft into a “fireball”.
Four skydivers were preparing to jump when their plane collided with another, carrying five skydivers, at 12,000ft in the state of Wisconsin.
All the skydivers safely jumped. One pilot ejected with a parachute and the other safely landed the second plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating Saturday’s near tragedy.
All of the skydivers were either instructors or coaches who have completed hundreds of previous jumps.
Nine skydivers and two pilots escaped as their planes crashed in midair
Instructor Mike Robinson, 64, said that he and three other skydivers had climbed out on to the step of the Cessna 182 in preparation for their jump.
“We were just a few seconds away from having a normal skydive when the trail plane came over the top of the lead aircraft and came down on top of it,” he said.
“It turned into a big flash fireball, and the wing separated. All of us knew we had a crash. The wing over our head was gone, so we just left.”
Mike Robinson watched as the aircraft fell in pieces from the sky.
The pilot of the plane, who ejected with a parachute that could not be steered, suffered minor injuries.
The second pilot landed the plane safely at Richard I Bong Airport, Douglas County.
A witness on the ground told the Duluth News Tribune he heard a “boom and looked up and there’s a fireball and smoke”.
Braydon Kurtz said one plane “was circling down and one was going down straight”.
Mike Robinson said while everyone responded professionally and quickly, they were lucky to have been in place to jump when the collision happened.
“It might’ve been a lot worse,” he said.
“Everybody, to a person, responded just as they should, including the pilots.”
A new prostate cancer test can predict how aggressive a tumor is and could spare men unnecessary operations, researchers suggest.
Early data, presented at the National Cancer Research Institute conference, suggests a genetic test can tell apart aggressive and slow-growing tumors.
A big challenge in treating the cancer is knowing whether surgery to remove the gland is needed.
Cancer charities said a successful test would be a “game-changer”.
A new prostate cancer test can predict how aggressive a tumor is and could spare men unnecessary operations
The decision to remove the prostate is based on an examination of a tumor sample under the microscope.
However, the procedure has significant side-effects such as infertility, difficulty maintaining and keeping an erection and uncontrolled urinating.
The commercial test, developed by Myriad Genetics, but independently assessed by Queen Mary University of London, looks at the activity level of genes inside a sample of the tumor.
If 31 genes involved in controlling how cells divide are highly active, it indicates the cancer is aggressive.
Michelle Knight, who was held in Ariel Castro’s Cleveland home for about a decade, says an orange extension cord was used to tie her neck, hands and feet and hang her “like a fish”.
The revelation was made in some pre-released clips from a taped interview that will air Tuesday and Wednesday on the Dr. Phil TV talk show.
“I was tied up like a fish, an ornament on the wall,” Michelle Knight told the TV host in a clip released to media.
“That’s the only way I can describe it.”
“I was hanging like this,” she said, using her finger to draw a swooping U-shape curve in the air.
In another interview clip posted on the show’s YouTube channel, Knight said she was told she’d be punished after she tried to pick a lock and escape. She also said her mouth was taped at one point so she wouldn’t yell.
Michelle Knight, who was held in Ariel Castro’s Cleveland home for about a decade, says an orange extension cord was used to tie her neck, hands and feet and hang her “like a fish”
The show has said Michelle Knight discusses physical, mental and s**ual abuse and torture she endured during captivity, including spending weeks in chains, with the celebrity psychologist host, Phil McGraw.
Michelle Knight was kidnapped in August 2002, when she was 20.
Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus escaped from Ariel Castro’s house on May 6 when Berry pushed out a door and called for help. She has been the most public of the kidnap victims since then, including a visit to Ariel Castro’s neighborhood before his home was demolished.
Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus plan to collaborate with a Pulitzer Prize-winning team of Washington Post reporters for a book about their ordeal.
Ariel Castro, 53, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
Michelle Knight was the only victim to appear at Ariel Castro’s sentencing.
A month into his sentence, Ariel Castro was found dead in his cell.
Shoppers who browse the digital aisles at Wal-Mart’s website can get a jump start on their holiday shopping.
Wal-Mart is already making a number of so-called “Black Friday” deals on electronics available through its website. Included in the early digital discounts are sharp savings on seven tablet computers and TVs, as well as holiday pricing for 300 other items, The Associated Press notes.
The early deals come as Wal-Mart looks to get a leg up on rivals in what is expected to be a highly competitive holiday shopping season. At least one big-screen TV will be marked down by 36% in one of the seven top deals. In another deal, a tablet will see a 51% discount.
Wal-Mart is already making a number of so-called “Black Friday” deals on electronics available through its website
This year’s early discounts follow 100 deals offered on the day after Halloween last year, though those offers were confined to home products.
A Wal-Mart executive indicated that the decision to offer the seven electronics deals was made last month. He noted that a challenging economy was pressuring consumers to start looking for deals as soon as possible.
Retailers are feeling uncertain about the upcoming shopping season, with some cutting back on the number of seasonal workers they hire.
Industry experts say that the pressure of a tight economy will force retailers to eventually abandon Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the rush to attract customers earlier in the season.
Actress Irene Kane has died in New York of pancreatic cancer at the age of 74.
Irene Kane was best known for her female lead in Stanley Kubrick’s 1955 film Killer’s Kiss.
The actress, who later co-authored celebrity autobiographies under her married name Chris Chase, played a dancer who falls for a boxer in Stanley Kubrick’s crime drama.
Irene Kane would later say it was “a silly movie” that had been made “with no money [and] no names”.
Irene Kane, who died on October 31, went on to appear on Broadway and on television before moving into journalism.
Irene Kane was best known for her female lead in Stanley Kubrick’s 1955 film Killer’s Kiss
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Irene Kane’s family declined to confirm her age at the time of her death. However, according to Wikipedia website, Irene Kane was born on January 12, 1939.
The former model was married in 1962 to television producer Michael Chase, the son of Pulitzer-winning playwright Mary.
Irene Kane went on to co-author the autobiographies of actress Rosalind Russell, comedian Alan King and one-time First Lady Betty Ford.
Stanley Kubrick, whose later films would include Dr. Strangelove, 2001: a Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, died in 1999.
Lou Reed, who died after complications from a liver transplant on October 27, has left his estate to his wife and other relatives, his will has revealed.
The former Velvet Underground frontman left his Manhattan penthouse, his home in East Hampton, New York, and the bulk of his estate to his wife, musician Laurie Anderson.
Lou Reed’s sister inherited about a quarter of his estate and a $500,000 bequest to care for their mother.
Lou Reed was 71 and had no children.
Lou Reed has left his estate to his wife and other relatives
The rocker married long-time partner Laurie Anderson in 2008.
The Velvet Underground became renowned for their fusion of art and music and for collaborating with Andy Warhol.
Although the band never achieved commercial success during the 1960s, their influence on music in later decades was widely recognized.
The glam, punk and alternative rock movements of the 1970s, 80s and 90s were all indebted to Reed, whose songs were covered by the likes of REM, Bowie, Nirvana, Patti Smith and countless others.
After quitting The Velvet Underground in 1970, Lou Reed released his self-titled debut in 1972, but it wasn’t until the Bowie-produced LP Transformer later that year that he achieved chart success.
Perfect Day enjoyed a revival in 1996 when it was featured in Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting..
As a solo artist, Lou Reed released 20 studio albums. His last, Hudson River Wind Meditations, was released in 2007.
Scientists have unearthed a part of a giant platypus fossil in Queensland, Australia.
They have dubbed the beast “platypus-zilla” and believe it would have measured more than 3ft-long.
Writing in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the researchers say the creature lived between five and 15 million years ago.
The discovery suggests the evolutionary back-story of today’s platypus is more complicated than was thought.
Prof. Mike Archer, from the University of New South Wales, said: “Suddenly up pops <<playtpus-zilla>> – this gigantic monstrosity that you would have been afraid to swim with.
“It indicates there are branches in the platypus family tree that we hadn’t suspected before.”
Today, all that survives of this platypus is a single fossilized tooth, which was unearthed in the Riversleigh fossil beds in northwest Queensland.
Based on its size, the researchers have estimated that the new species (Obdurodon tharalkooschild) would have been at least twice as large as today’s platypus.
Scientists have unearthed a part of a giant platypus fossil in Queensland
Bumps on its teeth and other fossil finds nearby suggest that the creature feasted on crustaceans, turtles, frogs and fish.
Although the area where the molar was found is a desert, millions of years ago it would have been covered in forest. The researchers think the beast would have spent its time in and around freshwater ponds.
Prof. Mike Archer said that with just one tooth, it was difficult to work out exactly what this species would have looked like.
However, other fossils suggest that it could have shared the same bizarre appearance as today’s platypuses, with their duck-like bills, large webbed feet and poisonous spurs. But this would have been on a much large scale.
“I guess it probably would have looked like a platypus on steroids,” he said.
Fossil platypus finds are in short supply, with just a few fragments found throughout the southern hemisphere.
As a result, there are many gaps in our understanding of the creature’s past.
Prof. Mike Archer said: “We have been naively led to suspect that maybe it was just one lineage of strange animals bumbling its way through time and space at least for the last 60 million years.
“The discovery of this new one was a bit of a shock to us. It was a wake-up call that the platypus’s story, the more we know about it, is increasingly more complicated than we thought.”
The researchers are now hoping to find more platypus fossils in the same area to try and shed more light these enigmatic Australian animals.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed victory over M23 rebels in the east of the country.
A government spokesman said the last remaining rebels had either fled across the border or surrendered and their weapons had been destroyed overnight.
The M23 have not publicly commented on the claim. Kinshasa earlier rejected rebel calls for a truce.
At least 800,000 people have fled their homes since the conflict began in 2012.
Last week, the UN special envoy to DR Congo, Martin Kobler, said the group was all but finished as a military threat in DR Congo.
The UN has regularly accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the M23 although both governments deny the allegation.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed victory over M23 rebels in the east of the country
Last week government forces captured Bunagana, the main base of the M23 on the DR Congo-Uganda border.
But clashes continued on Monday and rebels shelled the town, killing four people. The violence prompted thousands of people to flee into Uganda.
The fighting came a day after M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa called for a ceasefire to “allow the continuation of the political process”.
Bertrand Bisimwa urged rebel commanders to “ensure the strict observance of this order”.
But Kinshasa rejected the call.
Government forces backed by the UN captured the strategic hilltop of Mbuzi above Bunagana on Monday, then targeted the remaining hilltops where rebels were holed out.
African leaders meeting on Monday in the South African capital, Pretoria, called on the M23 rebels to declare publicly an end to their insurgency.
A statement released after the summit said if they did so a peace agreement could be signed in five days’ time.
Peace talks broke down last month in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, following two months of negotiations.
M23 rebel group, made up of army deserters who are mainly ethnic Tutsis, was named after a 23 March 2009 peace deal signed by the government and a former militia. The rebels accused the government of failing to live up to the terms of the agreement.
India is preparing to launch its first robotic spacecraft towards Mars.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will lift off at 09:08 GMT atop an Indian-built rocket from Sriharikota.
If launch goes well, the spacecraft is set to travel for 300 days and should reach Mars orbit in September 2014.
India is preparing to launch its first robotic spacecraft towards Mars
If all goes well and the satellite orbits the Red Planet, India’s space agency will become the fourth in the world after those of the US, Russia and Europe to undertake a successful Mars mission.
A 56-hour countdown to the launch began on Sunday.
Some observers are viewing the launch of the MOM, also known by the informal name of Mangalyaan (Mars-craft), as the latest salvo in a burgeoning space race between the Asian powers of India, China, Japan, South Korea and others.
Cleveland kidnapping survivor Michelle Knight performed Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On in honor of her son Joe at Boo-You-Bash event.
Her son was taken away from her before she was kidnapped by Ariel Castro. It’s not known if Michelle Knight has been reunited with her son since her escape from captivity.
Michelle Knight performed Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On in honor of her son Joe at Boo-You-Bash event
Michelle Knight, now 32, performed at Cleveland’s Boo-You-Bash on October 12. The video was recorded by Broco-El-Unico.
Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were held captive by Ariel Castro for over a decade. They escaped from his Seymour Avenue house on May 6.
Ariel Castro had been sentenced to life in prison, plus 1,000 years, but committed suicide in prison on September 3.
Michelle Knight, one of three women who survived more than a decade of captivity in Ariel Castro’s Cleveland house, was so emaciated that the rescuing police officer initially thought she was a little girl.
She was also so scared that during her rescue she had trouble breathing.
Michelle Knight is physically the smallest of the three women held captive by Ariel Castro
She is physically the smallest of the three women held captive by Ariel Castro.
Michelle Knight is said to be about 4 feet and 7 inches tall.
According to their missing persons’ flyers, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus are said to to have a height of between 5 ft 1 in to 5 ft 3 in.
During a Facebook Q&A session with Cher last week, fans asked all about the singer’s past, including her personal life and her marriage to the late Sonny Bono.
Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998 after the couple had divorced.
Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998 after he and Cher had divorced
Cher was asked: “… if Sonny Bono were still alive today, but you only had a minute to talk to him, what would you say.”
The singer quipped: “How hot is it where you just came from?”
Cher has openly discussed Sonny Bono’s alleged affairs, once telling Parade magazine that having “even five” women on the side “was not enough for him,” and that when she announced she was leaving, he told her: “If you leave me, America will hate you and you won’t have a job.”
Two of the Cleveland kidnapping victims – Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus – are collaborating with a Pulitzer Prize-winning team of Washington Post reporters for a planned book about their captivity in the house of horrors.
Amanda Berry was abducted in April 2003. A year before her abduction, on August 23, 2002, Michelle Knight was kidnapped. In 2004, Gina deJesus joined them.
Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus said they will work with Washington Post‘s Mary Jordan, a Cleveland native, and her husband and fellow reporter, Kevin Sullivan.
Up to now, no meetings with publishers have been scheduled, although interest would likely be based on the popularity of another kidnapping survivor’s memoir, Jaycee Dugard’s A Stolen Life.
Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro had been sentenced to life in prison, plus 1,000 years, but was found dead in his jail cell on September 3.
Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus are collaborating with a Pulitzer Prize-winning team of Washington Post reporters for a planned book about their captivity
“Many have told, and continue to tell, this story in ways that are both inaccurate and beyond the control of these young women,” said James Wooley, the attorney for Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus.
“Our clients have a strong desire for privacy, but it is a reality that confronts them every day. Gina, Amanda and their families have decided to take control and are now interested in telling the story of what happened to them.”
James Wooley had known Mary Jordan for years and contacted her about the project.
Mary Jordan said during a recent interview that she was drawn to the “resilience” of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus and was eager to help them tell an “amazing story of overcoming adversity”.
In 2003, Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan won a Pulitzer for their series about the Mexican criminal justice system.
