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Renting an Apartment? 5 Questions to Ask Before You Do

Nancy Clayson
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Renting an Apartment? 5 Questions to Ask Before You Do

Most people cannot afford to buy an apartment. If you are one of these people, then another alternative is leasing. There are several attributes to consider before deciding to sign a lease on an apartment. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself before you rent an apartment.

Is it in Your Budget?

Piggy Bank

Image via Flickr

Of course renting an apartment can be exciting and the monthly rent fee may not initially seem like a lot, but there are several other things to take into account other than the monthly rent. Make sure you assess all costs upfront before signing any lease.

  • If utilities are not included you will need to estimate the monthly costs of those.
  • If you are required to pay your first and last months rent or a security deposit upfront it may provide an unexpected burden.
  • If the place does not come furnished you will have to purchase all the appliances and furnishings.

Another Tip: A general rule of thumb is that your monthly rent and utilities fee should not exceed one weeks worth of income. If you abide by this rule you are likely to find a reasonable apartment that compliments your current financial situation.

Is it Accommodating to Your Needs?

Crib 08

Image via Flickr

This is a tricky question because many people struggle with needs and wants. Yes, you may want a bay window or walk-in closet but what you need is a functional living arrangement. Make sure to assess measurements of rooms that you will need specific sized furniture in. This is most commonly the living room or bedroom. If the bedroom is 10 x 10 you are not going to want to try fitting your king size bed into it.

Take notes of light placements, ceiling fans, cable hookups, and outlets as these will help you get a better image for how each room will fit your lifestyle. The most important element of accommodation is that the apartment satisfies your general needs. Another Tip: Make a conscious effort to foresee future issues. For instance, if you are anticipating having kids, in the near future, look for a space that you can turn into a nursery.

What About the Location?

clear wimax Chicago map

Image via Flickr

Many people do not take the apartments location as serious as the other attributes, but it is one of the most important aspects. How close is the grocery store? Is it near your work? Is it a safe neighborhood? These are all very important questions that need to be answered when determining if you should choose one apartment over another. Convenience can greatly increase the value inof an apartment, so be sure to assess the location of your potential places. Another Tip: Print out a map and mark frequent places that you visit (gym, restaurants, work, etc.) and then mark your potential rent options so that you can visually assess the difference in distances.

Are There Any Stipulations?

Reading paper work

Image via Flickr

This is the nitty-gritty part of the renting process. It is vital that you read every aspect of your lease before you sign anything.

  • Be sure to understand the length of the agreement
  • Find out if there are any penalties (late rent, damages, contract breach, etc.)
  • Spell out whether you or your landlord is responsible for various repairs, lawn care, or other possible expenditures
  • If you are signing with multiple roommates, make sure that the lease is for each individual so if someone leaves the lease early it is not your responsibility to make up their portion of the rent

Another Tip: If you are a pet owner make sure to disclose this before signing the lease. Many contracts have a pet deposit requirement or will not allow them altogether.

 What About the Little Things?

Memories Apartments Pool Bar, Stalis, Crete, Greece

Image via Flickr

Do not overlook the little attributes of an apartment that you will be interacting with on a day to day basis if you decide to lease the place. Flush all the toilets and check all the faucets for water pressure and any leaks. This may seem small but if you are dealing with this every morning it could become frustrating.

Check cabinets and storage to see if it can hold your belongings. Ask about all the included amenities (laundry, pool, gym, club house, etc.). If you spend the time on the front in then you are likely to enjoy the living arrangement much more than if you neglect the small things.

Choosing an apartment to rent can be one of the more stressful decisions in your life. It is a commitment and can often be one of regret if the time is not invested in weighing out various options. Take heed of these 5 questions before you decide to rent your next place.

Edward Snowden vows to fight any attempt to extradite him from Hong Kong

Diane A. Wade
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Edward Snowden vows to fight any attempt to extradite him from Hong Kong

Whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked secret US surveillance details, has vowed to fight any attempt to extradite him from Hong Kong.

Edward Snowden told the South China Morning Post that he was “neither traitor nor hero. I’m an American”.

It is the first interview he has given since disappearing from his hotel room in Hong Kong on Monday.

His leaks led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data.

Edward Snowden left Hawaii for Hong Kong shortly before the highly sensitive leaks surfaced.

Whistleblower Edward Snowden has vowed to fight any attempt to extradite him from Hong Kong
Whistleblower Edward Snowden has vowed to fight any attempt to extradite him from Hong Kong

“I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality,” Edward Snowden told the Post.

“My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate.”

US officials have confirmed the existence of a secret programme to draw data from the internet, codenamed Prism.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence gave details of the programme last week, after Edward Snowden’s leaks led to a series of articles in the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers.

According to the office’s statement, PRISM is simply an internal computer system, and not a data-mining programme.

However, such data seizures could break the laws of other countries, and could also break US law if they accidentally capture communications of American citizens.

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Pope Francis confirms gay lobby inside Vatican

Diane A. Wade
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Pope Francis confirms gay lobby inside Vatican

Pope Francis has acknowledged the existence of a “gay lobby” inside the Vatican.

The pontiff also said there was a “stream of corruption”, according to reports in Catholic media.

Pope Francis is said to have made the remarks during a private meeting with a group of Latin American Catholic clerics.

The clerics wrote up a report of the conversation that then appeared on the Chilean website Reflection and Liberation.

According to the report, Pope Francis was extremely open as he discussed problems at the Vatican.

He is said to have told the Latin American delegation that there were good, holy men in the administration, but that there was also corruption.

The Vatican would have to “see what we can do” about the “gay lobby” operating in the bureaucracy, he said.

Pope Francis has acknowledged the existence of a "gay lobby" inside the Vatican
Pope Francis has acknowledged the existence of a “gay lobby” inside the Vatican

“It is true, it is there,” the report quotes Pope Francis as saying.

In the days leading up to Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation in February, the Italian media carried many un-sourced reports that gay Vatican clergymen had been working together to advance their personal interests, leaving the Holy See vulnerable to blackmail.

There were even suggestions that the situation had influenced Benedict’s decision to resign.

At the time, the Vatican vigorously denied all the rumors.

It has so far declined to make any comment regarding the Pope’s reported remarks, other than that the audience with the Latin American clerics was private.

An organization representing the clerics, known by its Spanish acronym CLAR, has said it has apologized to the Pope for the publication of the report.

CLAR said in a statement that it “deeply regretted the publication of a text which refers to the conversation with the Holy Father”.

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Nelson Mandela responding to treatment

Diane A. Wade
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Nelson Mandela responding to treatment

South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela is “responding better” to treatment in hospital, President Jacob Zuma has said.

Jacob Zuma told parliament he was happy with the progress being made by Nelson Mandela after a “difficult few days”.

Nelson Mandela, 94, is spending his fifth day in a Pretoria hospital suffering from a recurrent lung infection.

His wife, Graca Machel, his daughter and two granddaughters visited Nelson Mandela on Wednesday.

His family released a statement saying they had “been deeply touched” by the concern shown for Nelson Mandela’s health.

“The family have been heartened by the overwhelming messages of support from the public,” the statement said.

Jacob Zuma noted that Wednesday was the 49th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s being sentenced to life in prison under the apartheid regime.

“Our country is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994 [when Nelson Mandela was elected], even though we still have so much work to do,” he said.

“We fully understand and appreciate the global interest in this world icon. We are so proud to call him our own,” Jacob Zuma added.

Nelson Mandela is responding better to treatment in hospital
Nelson Mandela is responding better to treatment in hospital

“We urge South Africans and the international community to continue to keep President Mandela and the medical team in their thoughts and prayers,” he went on.

On Tuesday Jacob Zuma had described Nelson Mandela’s condition as “very serious but stabilized”.

Jacob Zuma said the doctors were doing a “very good job”, adding that the former president was a “good fighter”.

His ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and other relatives visited the ailing former leader on Tuesday.

Nelson Mandela has been in intensive care since he was taken to hospital on Saturday for the third time this year.

In December, he spent 18 days undergoing treatment for a lung infection and gallstones.

Before being admitted to hospital, Nelson Mandela had been ill for some days at his Johannesburg home, with a recurrence of his long-standing lung problems, said a statement from the president’s office on Tuesday.

He was taken to hospital when his condition worsened at 01:30 on Saturday.

Widely referred to by his clan name Madiba, Nelson Mandela served as president from 1994 to 1999.

He was previously imprisoned for 27 years, and is believed to have suffered damage to his lungs while working in a prison quarry.

He contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while being held in jail on the windswept Robben Island.

Nelson Mandela retired from public life in 2004 and has been rarely seen at official events since.

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Xiang Li sentenced to 12 years in prison in US over $100 million software scam

Nancy Clayson
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Xiang Li sentenced to 12 years in prison in US over $100 million software scam

Chinese national Xiang Li has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in US for selling more than $100 million of pirated US software.

Xiang Li is accused of stealing software from 200 US manufacturers and selling it for a fraction of their prices.

He was arrested in the US Pacific territory of Saipan in June 2011 and pleaded guilty earlier this year.

US officials have said that this is the first time a Chinese national had been prosecuted in the US for such crimes.

The firms that were targeted by Xiang Li include Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and Rockwell Automation.

He operated by searching for hacked software on internet forums. He then put it up them for sale on his websites, which offered more than 2,000 pirated titles, US prosecutors had claimed.

The pirated software was said to be sold for as little as $20 to up to $1,200 – while the retail value of the products were much higher, ranging from several hundred dollars to more than one million dollars apiece, according to US officials.

Chinese national Xiang Li has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in US for selling more than $100 million of pirated US software
Chinese national Xiang Li has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in US for selling more than $100 million of pirated US software

The pirated programmes were transferred to customers via email, and Xiang Li and a second suspect collected payment through money transfer services.

The scam came to light after a US manufacturer discovered his company’s software was being sold on Xiang Li’s website and notified authorities.

US authorities have said that Xiang Li will be deported after he is released from prison.

Last month, a report released in the US called China the world’s largest source of intellectual property (IP) theft.

The study, which was led by Dennis Blair, President Barack Obama’s former director of national intelligence, and Jon Huntsman, former US ambassador to China and Republican presidential candidate, claimed that IP theft was costing the US an estimated $300 billion each year.

It added that China was thought to be behind 50-80% of the theft.

The study recommended US authorities introduce strict measures including import or investment curbs on companies failing to protect IP rights.

Facebook, Google and Microsoft urge US government to allow them to disclose security requests

Diane A. Wade
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0
Facebook, Google and Microsoft urge US government to allow them to disclose security requests

Facebook, Google and Microsoft have asked the US government to allow them to disclose the security requests they receive for handing over user data.

The move comes after recent reports claimed that US authorities had direct access to the servers of nine major US tech firms, including Google and Apple.

Google said the claims were “untrue” but added that nondisclosure rules of such requests “fuel that speculation”.

The US has confirmed the existence of the surveillance programme.

David Drummond, chief legal officer of Google has written to the US Attorney General seeking permission to publish “aggregate numbers of national security requests, including Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) disclosures”.

“Google’s numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made. Google has nothing to hide,” David Drummond said in the letter.

Microsoft said that greater transparency on the requests “would help the community understand and debate these important issues”.

Google, Facebook and Microsoft urge US government to allow them to disclose security requests
Google, Facebook and Microsoft urge US government to allow them to disclose security requests

Ted Ullyot, Facebook’s general counsel, said the social networking leader wants to provide “a complete picture of the government requests we receive, and how we respond”.

The surveillance programme, known as PRISM, came to light last week after a series of leaks by former CIA employee Edward Snowden.

Documents leaked to the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers claimed that the US had a vast surveillance network with much less oversight than previously thought.

Edward Snowden told the Guardian that operatives had the power to tap into anyone’s emails at any time.

“We can plant bugs in machines. Once you go on the network, I can identify your machine. You will never be safe whatever protections you put in place,” he was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

Major US technology firms have denied giving such unfettered access to US authorities.

However, US officials have defended the programme, saying it is authorized under FISA.

One of the Guardian journalists who wrote the PRISM stories, Glenn Greenwald, has promised “more significant revelations”.

Edward Snowden’s leaks have triggered concerns over rights of online users.

The EU has sought assurance that Europeans’ rights are not being infringed by the newly-revealed US surveillance programmes.

Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding tweeted: “This case shows why a clear legal framework for the protection of personal data is not a luxury but a necessity.”

Man of Steel receives largely favorable reviews

Sonia Pantiss
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Man of Steel receives largely favorable reviews

Reviews of the new film Man of Steel, the eagerly anticipated “reboot” of the Superman franchise, have been largely favorable, with some reservations.

The film is directed by 300’s Zack Snyder and starring British actor Henry Cavill as the superhero.

Total Film praised “an intelligent, earnest attempt to modernize and mature the original superhero”.

But The Guardian noted henry Cavill’s “frowning humourlessness”.

In his review, writer Andrew Pulver said the influence of producer Christopher Nolan – British director of Inception and the Dark Knight trilogy – was evident in early scenes where Superman struggles to accept his identity.

“Reminiscent, perhaps, of Batman Begins, this is superheroism as a burden, and a burden transformed into neurosis,” he wrote.

“It’s this early part of the film that is most successful,” Andrew Pulver continues.

Reviews of the new film Man of Steel have been largely favorable, with some reservations
Reviews of the new film Man of Steel have been largely favorable, with some reservations

“Nolan and Snyder, along with scriptwriter David S. Goyer, have created a plausible context for the introspection and self-doubt that dogs the adult version of their costumed warrior.”

Man of Steel sees Superman attempts to save the world while battling General Zod, a rebellious military leader from his home planet of Krypton – played by Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Shannon.

In its four-star review, Total Film said the film’s action set-pieces made up for the lack of action in a previous attempt at a “reboot”, 2006’s Superman Returns.

“There are some truly titanic clashes here between super-beings, going at it like flesh-and-blood Transformers,” wrote Matthew Leyland.

Henry Cavill, he said, “doesn’t make heavy work of one of the biggest, toughest roles in comic-book cinema” but is overall “more solid than spectacular.”

Jersey native Henry Cavill, 30, is the first non-American to play the role of Superman on screen – a “tough gig” according to Empire magazine.

“While there are some interesting touches,” writes Dan Jolin, “his Kal-El is a bit stiff and slow to thaw” – a reference to Superman’s Krypton birth name.

However, he concludes: “It feels the right Superman origin story for our era, and teases what would be a welcome new superfranchise.”

In the US, reviewers have also picked up on the film’s darker tone and lack of humor.

Variety said Man of Steel “is undeniably impressive, in the sense that little if any expense has been spared in bringing Snyder’s vision to the screen”.

According to Scott Foundas, though, “this is a case where less would almost surely have been more”.

“Zack Snyder’s huge, back story-heavy extravaganza is a rehab job that perhaps didn’t cry out to be done,” said The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy.

But the film, he continues, “proves so overwhelmingly insistent in its size and strength that it’s hard not to give in”.

Man of Steel is out in the US and UK on Friday.

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Jiroemon Kimura: World’s oldest man in history dies in Japan aged 116

Nancy Clayson
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Jiroemon Kimura: World’s oldest man in history dies in Japan aged 116

Jiroemon Kimura from Japan, who was recognized as the world’s oldest living person, and the oldest man recorded in history, has died aged 116, local officials say.

Jiroemon Kimura died of natural causes on Wednesday in a hospital in Kyotango, Kyoto, a government statement said.

In December, Guinness World Records recorded Jiroemon Kimura as the oldest man ever verified to have lived.

He reportedly had seven children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and 13 great-great-grandchildren.

Jiroemon Kimura was born on 19 April 1897, the same year as aviator Amelia Earhart.

He worked in his local post office until retiring and was said to have helped his son with his farming until he was around 90 years old.

Jiroemon Kimura became the world’s oldest living person in December, when the previous title-holder died.

In an interview in December, his nephew, Tamotsu Miyake, said Kimura had “an amazingly strong will to live”.

Jiroemon Kimura from Japan was recognized as the world's oldest living person, and the oldest man recorded in history at 116
Jiroemon Kimura from Japan was recognized as the world’s oldest living person, and the oldest man recorded in history at 116

“He is strongly confident that he lives right and well.”

In an interview on his 115th birthday, Jiroemon Kimura said he was not sure why he was able to live so long.

“Maybe it’s all thanks to the sun above me,” he said.

“I am always looking up towards the sky, that is how I am.”

Journalist Kanoko Matsuyama of Bloomberg News met Jiroemon Kimura at his home last year.

“He said his secret to his longevity was eating light to live long,” said Tamotsu Matsuyama.

“At the same time, his main carer and grand-daughter-in-law, Aiko, said his positivity helped him to live so long.”

Japanese woman Misao Okawa from Osaka, who is 115 years old, will most probably inherit the title of world’s oldest living person, reports say.

Misao Okawa is already considered the world’s oldest living woman.

World’s oldest people:

  • Oldest woman recorded in history: Jeanne Calment, France, died 4 August 1997 aged 122
  • Oldest man recorded in history: Jiroemon Kimura, Japan, died 12 June 2013 aged 116
  • Oldest living man: James McCoubrey, USA, 111
  • Oldest living woman: Misao Okawa, Japan, 115

Source: Gerontology Research Group

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Michael Jackson’s bedroom pictures from day of his death revealed during AEG trial

Sonia Pantiss
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Michael Jackson’s bedroom pictures from day of his death revealed during AEG trial

Shocking images which further detail Michael Jackson’s tragic spiral into prescription pill dependency have been revealed as his family pursue a lawsuit against his concert promoters, AEG Live.

The evidence pictures, released by the Los Angeles Police Department this week, show numerous pill bottles, oxygen tanks and medical supplies littered around the superstar’s bedroom at the time of his death on June 25, 2009.

One image, which was not among the dozens of pictures shown as part of the Conrad Murray manslaughter trial, reveals a metal stand with a hanging bag of intravenous fluids attached.

In the background are numerous portraits of unidentified babies along with a small picture of Charlie Chaplin. Several canisters of what appears to be oxygen stand next to a wooden dresser topped with gilded mirror.

Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine is suing AEG Live, claiming it failed to properly investigate her son’s personal doctor Conrad Murray and missed warning signs about his failing health.

Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 after giving Jackson a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol.

In the new photo collection, prescription pill bottles are seen lined up on a nightstand alongside over-the-counter products and a bottle of water while empty containers roll around on the floor.

Along with propofol, the names of drugs Diazepam and Lidocaine are marked on some bottles’ labels.

In one telling image, which appears to have been taken in a car, there is a list of nearby 24-hour pharmacies and the phone numbers.

Conrad Murray’s medical bag is also indicated in one picture, according to RadarOnline, stashed high in a closet in Michael Jackson’s dressing room.

There are also similar images from Conrad Murray’s trial including shots of Michael Jackson’s iconic embroidered jackets hanging in a closet and stacks of movies on a nightstand.

Shocking images which further detail Michael Jackson's tragic spiral into prescription pill dependency have been revealed as his family pursue a lawsuit against his concert promoters
Shocking images which further detail Michael Jackson’s tragic spiral into prescription pill dependency have been revealed as his family pursue a lawsuit against his concert promoters

The shocking new set of images came as jurors in the Jackson case were shown an email on Monday in which the top executive at AEG Live LLC expressed grave concerns about treatments Jackson was receiving from his longtime dermatologist.

The email sent by AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips said the company was “scared to death” of drug injections given to Michael Jackson.

Randy Phillips told jurors that the email was a response to a $48,000 bill that Michael Jackson’s manager received for the treatments by Dr. Arnold Klein.

“He scares us to death because he is shooting him up with something,” Randy Phillips wrote.

The email was sent to Michael Jackson’s business manager Michael Kane after a meeting was held at the singer’s house to address his health and missed rehearsals.

The treatments included numerous shots of cosmetic drugs such as Restalyne and botox, as well as other unidentified intramuscular shots, Randy Phillips said, citing the bill.

Arnold Klein’s attorney has defended the doctor’s treatment of Michael Jackson.

AEG denies any wrongdoing, and Randy Phillips and other executives have testified during the trial that it would have been inappropriate to ask about or intervene in Michael Jackson’s medical care.

Randy Phillips was told by a judge to answer questions posed by a lawyer for Katherine Jackson without arguing and that his demeanor might be hurting his case.

Jurors were sent from the courtroom before Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos addressed Randy Phillips, who has sparred with attorney Brian Panish throughout his testimony. The lawyers have been repeatedly warned by the judge about the behavior.

“Arguing with the lawyers isn’t really going to help,” Yvette Palazuelos told Randy Phillips.

“It’s not going to help your case. It’s not going to help anybody.”

Randy Phillips said Briuan Panish was repeatedly asking him questions about the same subject.

“I’m just trying not to say the wrong thing,” Randy Phillips said.

The admonition by the judge came after Brian Panish asked Randy Phillips about characterizations of Dr. Conrad Murray that Phillips made in an email sent five days before the singer died.

Randy Phillips acknowledged that some of the statements – including that AEG Live had checked out Conrad Murray and that the former cardiologist didn’t need the job – turned out not to be true.

When Brian Panish asked if Randy Phillips had acknowledged that some of his statements to the director of Michael Jackson’s This Is It shows weren’t true, the executive said: “Honestly, only to stop you from badgering me, yes.”

Judge Yvette Palazuelos briefly stopped the testimony and issued the warning.

Jessica Stebbins Bina, a defense attorney for AEG Live, said some of Brian Panish’s questions had been argumentative. The judge disagreed.

Kris Humphries: Life after Kim Kardashian

Lisa.Felice
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Kris Humphries: Life after Kim Kardashian

Kris Humphries says he couldn’t be happier as he’s moved past his 72-day marriage and 536-day divorce from Kim Kardashian.

Kris Humphries, 28, told reporters on Monday night at the Man Of Steel premiere in New York City that he’s glad to have the divorce proceedings done.

“I’m happy. I’ve got a big smile on my face,” he said.

Kris Humphries married Kim Kardashian on August 20, 2011 and they announced their split 72 days later on Halloween.

The basketball player and Keeping Up With The Kardashians star fought an expensive and nasty court battle as he sought an annulment based on fraud.

Kris Humphries says he couldn't be happier as he's moved past his 72-day marriage and 536-day divorce from Kim Kardashian
Kris Humphries says he couldn’t be happier as he’s moved past his 72-day marriage and 536-day divorce from Kim Kardashian

The divorce case lasted more than five times as long as their marriage.

Kris Humphries ultimately relented and a divorce was granted in April during a court hearing that pregnant Kim attended alone in a black shirt dress.

He also told UsMagazine.com on Monday night that “it feels great” to finally be able to put his divorce drama behind him and revealed that he has learned a lot from the experience.

“I think you learn something all the time. I’m just focused on me and having a good time,” Kris Humphries said.

Despite being linked to several beauties since Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries insisted he’s single.

“I don’t have any [girlfriends] right now. You can’t force a love life. I’m just focused on training and basketball,” Kris Humphries said.

Kim Kardashian also has moved on and is set to give birth to her first child with her rapper boyfriend, Kanye West, early next month.

Istanbul clashes following PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threats

Diane A. Wade
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Istanbul clashes following PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threats

Turkish police clashed with protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, despite a warning from PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he would not show “any more tolerance”.

Police firing tear gas cleared the square on Tuesday morning, but protesters returned later in the day.

Istanbul’s governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said operations would go on night and day to clear the square.

Protests began 12 days ago over the redevelopment of nearby Gezi Park.

The protests then widened, with demonstrators accusing Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of becoming increasingly authoritarian and trying to impose conservative Islamic values on a secular state.

On Tuesday evening, protesters in Taksim Square lit bonfires, set off fireworks and threw stones at police.

Officers responded by firing tear gas, but crowds still remain in the square.

Turkish police clashed with protesters in Istanbul's Taksim Square, despite a warning from PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish police clashed with protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, despite a warning from PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan

“We will continue our measures in an unremitting manner, whether day or night, until marginal elements are cleared and the square is open to the people,” Huseyin Avni Mutlu said in televised comments.

But he also said the action would “be conducted with care, in front of our people’s eyes, in front of televisions and under the eyes of social media, with caution and in accordance with the law”.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended the police intervention on Tuesday, saying that an environmental movement had been hijacked by people who wanted to harm Turkey.

In a televised speech to members of parliament belonging to his Justice and Development Party (AKP) that was frequently interrupted by applause, he asked: “They say the prime minister is rough. So what was going to happen? Were we going to kneel down in front of these [people]?

“If you call this roughness, I’m sorry, but this Tayyip Erdogan won’t change.”

“To those who… are at Taksim and elsewhere taking part in the demonstrations with sincere feelings: I call on you to leave those places and to end these incidents and I send you my love.

“But for those who want to continue with the incidents I say: ‘It’s over.’ As of now we have no tolerance for them.”

Early in the day, police made loudspeaker announcements, telling protesters to withdraw from the square, before using water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets to clear them.

Bulldozers were sent in to clear barricades and shelters.

They also removed protesters’ banners from a building overlooking the square, replacing them with the national flag and a portrait of the father of the Turkish state, Kemal Ataturk – who has also been used as a symbol by demonstrators.

The protests began on 31 May.

The Turkish Human Rights Foundation says four people have been killed, including one policeman.

Some 5,000 protesters have been treated for injuries or the effects of tear gas, while officials say 600 police have also been injured.

Protests have also occurred in the capital, Ankara, with smaller demonstrations in many other cities.

Police in Ankara have used water cannon and tear gas to break up demonstrations almost every night.

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EU demands clarification on US data snooping

Diane A. Wade
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EU demands clarification on US data snooping

The European Union is demanding assurances that Europeans are not having their rights infringed by a massive US surveillance programme.

Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding plans to raise the concerns with US Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday.

Last week a series of leaks by a former CIA worker led to claims the US had a vast surveillance network with much less oversight than previously thought.

The US insists its snooping is legal under domestic law.

The Obama administration is investigating whether the disclosures by former CIA worker Edward Snowden were a criminal offence.

Edward Snowden’s employer, defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, said on Tuesday it had fired the 29-year-old infrastructure analyst for violating its ethics code.

US officials say the snooping programme known as PRISM, revealed in last week’s leaks, is authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

It gives the US National Security Agency (NSA) the power to obtain emails and phone records relating to non-US nationals.

But details about the individuals targeted under the act remain secret, and there are concerns the NSA is overstepping its powers.

The EU is demanding assurances that Europeans are not having their rights infringed by US surveillance programme
The EU is demanding assurances that Europeans are not having their rights infringed by US surveillance programme

Documents leaked to the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers claimed the US authorities had direct access to the servers of nine major US technology firms, including Apple, Facebook and Google.

Edward Snowden told the Guardian that individual operatives had the power to tap into anyone’s emails at any time.

Although the firms have denied granting such access, saying they agreed only to legal requests, US officials have admitted PRISM exists.

One of the Guardian journalists who wrote the PRISM stories, Glenn Greenwald, has promised “more significant revelations” to come.

In the US, the controversy has focused on the possibility that conversations of US citizens may inadvertently be captured.

But overseas, governments and activists point out that US law provides foreigners with no protection.

Justice Commissioner Reding tweeted: “This case shows why a clear legal framework for the protection of personal data is not a luxury but a necessity.”

Edward Snowden is believed to be in hiding a day after he reportedly checked out of a Hong Kong hotel.

In the US, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, said the American authorities were “aggressively” pursuing him.

The California Democrat also accused Edward Snowden of “an act of treason”.

The top Republican in the US House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, labeled Edward Snowden a “traitor”.

“The disclosure of this information puts Americans at risk,” he told ABC News on Tuesday morning.

“And it’s a giant violation of the law.”

The government began wireless wiretapping after the 9/11 attacks, but the surveillance policy expanded under President Barack Obama.

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Greece suspends radio and TV services of state broadcaster ERT

Clyde K. Valle
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0
Greece suspends radio and TV services of state broadcaster ERT

The Greek government has decided to shut down the radio and TV services of the state broadcaster ERT.

A government spokesman said transmissions would cease early on Wednesday.

More than 2,000 employees will be suspended until the company reopens “as soon as possible.”

Greece suspends state broadcaster ERT to save money
Greece suspends state broadcaster ERT to save money

It is the latest move in successive rafts of spending cuts and tax rises that the government hope will lead the country out of recession.

“ERT is a case of an exceptional lack of transparency and incredible extravagance. This ends now,” government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said, according to the AFP news agency.

Unions voiced strong opposition to the move.

An engineer at the broadcaster’s multimedia department who gave his name as Yannis said: “The government announced that channels will shut down at midnight – after that the screens will go black.

“According to the government, from tonight I will be unemployed. It is a complete shock. In four hours’ time I will not have a job.”

ERT is funded by a direct payment by of 4.3 euros added monthly to electricity bills.

Erin Brockovich mugshot after drunken boating arrest

Nancy Clayson
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Erin Brockovich mugshot after drunken boating arrest

Erin Brockovich – who was famously portrayed by Julia Roberts in a movie about her life – has apologized for her drunken boating arrest last Friday as it’s revealed that her blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit.

“At no time was the boat away from the dock and there was no public safety risk,” Erin Brockovich said in a statement, denying police claims that she operated the boat in open waters.

“That being said, I take drunk driving very seriously, this was clearly a big mistake. I know better and I am very sorry,” she added.

“After a day in the sun and with nothing to eat it appears that a couple of drinks had a greater impact than I realized.”

Legal clerk and environmental activist Erin Brockovich, 52, was booked into jail around 10 p.m. on Friday after game warden in Lake Mead, Nevada spotted her struggling with her boat at a marina.

Erin Brockovich had been out on the boat with a male companion but was alone when she tried to dock it.

Edwin Lyngar of the Nevada Department of Wildlife said her blood alcohol content was over twice the legal limit of 0.08 when she was arrested.

“She was obviously struggling to put the boat in the slip, and if you’ve had any experience, it’s a simple enough operation,” Edwin Lyngar said.

“This incident is an important reminder that boating under the influence is on par with driving under the influence,” he added.

The mother of three, who has an estimated net worth of $42 million, had slurred speech and was unsteady on her feet as she tried to dock the boat. She failed a sobriety test and was taken to jail, where she was later released on a $1,000 bail.

Under Nevada law, a first-time offense of boating while intoxicated is a misdemeanor that draws fines from $1,000 to $2,000 but no jail time. Authorities were unsure whether it was Erin Brockovich’s first arrest on the charge.

Erin Brockovich was arrested last Friday for drunken boating as it's revealed that her blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit
Erin Brockovich was arrested last Friday for drunken boating as it’s revealed that her blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit

Erin Brockovich, who married her third husband, Eric L. Ellis, in 1999, became a worldwide celebrity after the 2000 Steven Soderbergh film about her life.

As a legal assistant she helped win a record $333 million settlement from a power company after dozens of people were poisoned by chemicals released into the water supply in the California town of Hinkley.

After suffering an injury in an auto accident, Erin Brokovich hired the California law firm Masry and Vititoe to represent her in a civil lawsuit against the other driver. While the firm won her a small settlement, the single mother needed a job to support her family.

The law firm hired Erin Brokovich as a file clerk, which is what ultimately launched the former Miss Pacific Coast’s career in law and public advocacy.

While organizing files for a pro-bono real estate case, Erin Brokovich uncovered medical records that would lead to the largest settlement ever paid out in a direct action lawsuit in U.S. history.

Erin Brokovich’s investigation found that the Pacific Gas and Electric company had been poisoning Hinkley residents for more than 30 years.

Between 1952 and 1966, the company used the chemical hexavalent chromium (often referred to as Cr-6) to fight corrosion in the cooling tower in the Hinkley compressor, which was part of a natural gas pipeline connecting much of northern California to the San Francisco Bay area.

The waste water dissolved the Cr-6 and it ended up in unlined ponds near the cooling tower.

The Cr-6 then found its way into the groundwater, contaminating a two-by-one-mile area around the plant.

Because of Erin Brokovich’s research, more than 600 Hinklley residents shared the giant $333 million settlement.

For her work, Brokovich was given a $2 million bonus.

Julia Roberts won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Erin Brockovich in the self-titled movie about the case.

Erin Brokovich and Masry then became the face of environmental litigation and went on to file several lawsuits against various corporations for pollution issues.

Since the film, Erin Brockovich has become a high profile campaigner and TV star with her own series, Final Justice.

Just last year, Erin Brockovich was back on the big screen in the documentary Last Call at the Oasis, which explores challenges related to the planet’s dwindling and increasingly polluted water supply.

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Katy Perry and Robert Pattinson spotted together at Bjork concert

Lisa.Felice
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0
Katy Perry and Robert Pattinson spotted together at Bjork concert

On Saturday night, Robert Pattinson and Katy Perry spent time together as they attended a Bjork concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

Robert Pattinson and Katy Perry were said to have met up “discreetly” and made their way into the gig together before leaving separately to avoid photographers waiting outside the venue, X17Online.com reports.

Katy Perry, 28, opted for a gothic inspired ensemble for her evening out with her showbiz pal, teaming a punky leather miniskirt with a black and silver crucifix logo T-shirt.

She teamed her outfit with a long black satin coat, black tights and heels, while wearing a black and silver choker around her neck.

Showing off her perfect porcelain skin with natural make-up, Katy Perry wore her raven locks poker straight around her face.

And in spite of her A-list pal, Katy Perry paid no reference to her company as she expressed her delight at the gig over Twitter, writing: “Dear Bjork, how do I join your traveling girl cult? #brilliantshow.”

Katy Perry and Robert Pattinson have been spending a lot of time together in recent weeks, and it’s even been claimed the songstress has even taken her pal to visit her parents in Santa Barbara, California.

Robert Pattinson and Katy Perry spent time together as they attended a Bjork concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles
Robert Pattinson and Katy Perry spent time together as they attended a Bjork concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles

A source told Grazia magazine: “Katy and Robert have been spending a lot of time together recently and it’s safe to say there is serious chemistry. Katy thought the break from LA would do Rob good, and since he was no longer living with Kristen, she didn’t hesitate in inviting him to join her.”

“But she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship by rushing into anything.”

Katy Perry and Robert Pattinson puzzled onlookers earlier this month when they were spotted checking out the wedding rehearsal of two strangers at San Ysidro Ranch, not far from where Katy grew up.

Rehearsal guest Stephanie Sands told People.com: “Katy and Rob were just sitting next to each other watching the wedding rehearsal in the main courtyard area. They were dressed very casually.

“She was wearing a hoodie and big sunglasses. There was no PDA between them and no body language that showed they were dating. They just sat together and watched. They were not affiliated with the wedding party and were not seen mingling with guests.”

Katy Perry was said to have been disapproving of Robert Pattinson’s reconciliation with Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart last year following her fling with married director Rupert Sanders.

A source told Life & Style magazine: “Katy never really supported Rob’s decision to get back with Kristen. She always said they wouldn’t last.

“Katy told Rob she didn’t think their relationship could withstand the cheating scandal. And he deserved better than someone who would destroy a family [like Rupert’s].”

Despite the couple managing to patch things up after a two-month break following Kristen Stewart’s “momentary indiscretion” with Rupert Sanders last year, it is thought their relationship is over for good this time after Robert Pattinson was spotted moving his belongings out of her home in Los Feliz earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Katy Perry split from musician John Mayer in mid-March, but the on-off couple are recently said to have rekindled their turbulent romance.

First double leg-transplant patient loses legs

Lisa.Felice
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0
First double leg-transplant patient loses legs

The world’s first double leg-transplant patient has had his legs amputated, a Spanish hospital has confirmed.

The amputation was carried out after an unrelated illness forced the man to stop taking anti-rejection drugs, according to Valencia’s Hospital La Fe.

The hospital said treatment of the unspecified illness was “more urgent”.

The transplant was carried out in July 2011 by surgeon Pedro Cavadas, who also led a team that carried out the first double hand transplant in 2006.

The first double-leg transplant was carried out in July 2011 by surgeon Pedro Cavadas, who also led a team that carried out the first double hand transplant in 2006
The first double-leg transplant was carried out in July 2011 by surgeon Pedro Cavadas, who also led a team that carried out the first double hand transplant in 2006

The man who received the double leg transplant, who was in his 20s at the time and has not been named, initially lost his legs above the knee in a road accident.

Pedro Cavadas and his team of more than 50 at Hospital La Fe took more than 10 hours to attach the new legs, a procedure that included connecting nerves, blood vessels, muscles, tendons and bone structure.

The patient was expected to take immuno-suppressant drugs for the rest of his life, but had to stop because the medicine was complicating the treatment of an illness he contracted, doctors said.

“In these cases the protocol is that, if the transplanted organ is not a vital organ, it should be removed from the patient so as to allow treatment of the illness that is more serious and urgent,” the hospital said in a statement.

Pedro Cavadas is referred to as a “miracle doctor” by parts of the Spanish media for his pioneering procedures.

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Lindsay Mills: Edward Snowden left his girlfriend in Hawaii and fled to Hong Kong to leak NSA secrets

Nancy Clayson
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Lindsay Mills: Edward Snowden left his girlfriend in Hawaii and fled to Hong Kong to leak NSA secrets

Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who leaked the NSA’s surveillance secrets, thought about marrying his girlfriend Lindsay Mills and had previously taken her on a romantic break to Hong Kong – where he was last seen fearing arrest.

Edward Snowden, 29, and Lindsay mills, 28, were deeply in love and on her blog, she dotingly called him her “man of mystery” who she had followed around the world for the last four years.

On Monday Lindsay Mills took to the blog – where she has posted dozens of photos of herself – to tell of her heartbreak.

She wrote: “My world has opened and closed all at once. Leaving me lost at sea without a compass.

“As I type this on my tear-streaked keyboard I’m reflecting on all the faces that have graced my path.

‘The ones I laughed with. The ones I’ve held. The one I’ve grown to love the most. And the ones I never got to bid adieu.

“But sometimes life doesn’t afford proper goodbyes.”

Edward Snowden fled to Hong Kong after exposing the NSA’s PRISM program which gives officials easy access to data held by nine of the world’s top internet companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Skype.

It was a heartbreaking turn of events for Lindsay Mills who had lived with Edward Snowden since at least 2009 when they were in Japan together.

Last year Edward Snowden whisked her 8,000 miles from their home south of Baltimore, Maryland to Hong Kong where family friends thought they got married because it was a “special place” for them.

Now he is back there, hiding out and terrified he will be arrested and extradited back to the US for leaking details about how the NSA puts millions of Americans under surveillance.

Lindsay Mills’ blog gives an insight into the ups and downs the couple went through – and her own feelings against the snooping state.

Their relationship may have been brought to an unconventional end – but it hardly seems conventional from the start.

Written under the name “L’s Journey”, Lindsay Mills calls Edward Snowden “E” and her “man of mystery”, whilst referring to herself as a “vagabond”.

On the face of it they are totally different people – she is an extrovert who enjoys walking around whenever she can, spends her Sunday evenings in circus classes and surrounds herself with bohemian eccentrics.

The title of her blog reads: “Adventures of a world-traveling, pole-dancing super hero.”

Edward Snowden by contrast is a shy computer geek from a suburban family who likes to spend Sundays at football games and needs to be coaxed out of his shell to even do karaoke.

Lindsay Mills writes that when she finally introduced him to her friends in Hawaii they didn’t believe he actually existed because he was so hard to pin down.

Before they moved to Hawaii they spent their days doing things like camping, pumpkin picking or skeet shooting together near their Maryland homes.

He bought her gifts like a Star Trek style visor and took many of the dozens of pictures of her on her blog.

Some of the posts now have a certain irony, such as her joking that she likes pretending to be a spy.

Their lives also seem to be very much up in the air and she writes of having traveled through 17 countries in her life.

In March last year she writes of how her “inevitable lover Change is knocking and I wish I had an answer for him”.

Lindsay Mills wrote: “We received word that we have to move out of our house by May 1.

“E is transferring jobs. And I am looking to take a mini trip back East. Do I move with E, on my own, to Antarctica? How long do I spend back home and when should I go?

“For now I’ll spin my magic ball and see where I land.”

Edward Snowden thought about marrying his girlfriend Lindsay Mills and had previously taken her on a romantic break to Hong Kong
Edward Snowden thought about marrying his girlfriend Lindsay Mills and had previously taken her on a romantic break to Hong Kong

That month Edward Snowden moved to Hawaii and two months later Lindsay Mills joined him.

She freely admits that it was to save their relationship as they appear to having been going through a rocky patch that continues after her arrival.

She writes how she seriously considers taking a plane home most days and that she can’t settle down – until July comes.

According to the rest of the blog, it was all idyllic until earlier this month, when the darkness returned to their lives.

Writing on June 3, Lindsay Mills said: “While I have been patiently asking the universe for a livelier schedule, I’m not sure I meant for it to dump half a year’s worth of experience in my lap in two weeks time.

“We’re talking biblical stuff – floods, deceit, loss. Somehow I’ve only managed a few tears amongst all of the madness of May.”

Another revealing aspect of her blog is that Lindsay Mills seems to share Edward Snowden’s views on the surveillance society.

Writing on July 4 last year Lindsay Mills said that the America she loves is “ever-changing” and that she is in “fear it’s straying from the freedom it has always represented”.

She wrote: “America is still one of the greatest, but she’s falling in my eyes. I hope her people see where she’s going and ask themselves <<is this really how I want to live?>>.

Another post will be of interest to investigators looking to find out what she knew – a poster in protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which is currently being considered by Congress.

If passed SOPA will make copyright rules more strictly enforced to a level which Mills claims is draconian.

On her blog she writes in terms that sound as if they could have been written by Snowden himself.

She wrote: “Normally I’d be hitting you with a riveting entry about my super hero life, but today I wanted to join others in protest of SOPA.

“A bill that poses to allow the government to control the very thing you’re reading my blog on – the internet. The way users (people like you and me) share information and ideas freely across the internet would most certainly change.”

She then urged readers to sign a petition and email their Congressional representatives.

Edward Snowden left Lindsay Mills behind in Hawaii weeks ago when he leaked classified information about PRISM, a secret government phone surveillance program that harvests data on millions of Americans from telecommunications and online companies.

He never told her where he was going or what he was doing – only that he needed to leave for a few weeks.

Edward Snowden is currently on the run, location unknown, after he fled the Hong Kong hotel where he is holed up

The TV news program Inside Edition claims to have tracked Lindsay Mills down in Hawaii, where she is the member of an acrobatic troupe.

It appears that she was performing with the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe. She also took classes last year from another troupe, Samadhi Hawaii, though never performed with the company.

Lindsay Mills lives in the home that Edward Snowden, a private contractor making $200,000 working with the National Security Agency (NSA), rented in Hawaii.

She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is a former ballet dancer.

When Edward Snowden revealed his identity in the Guardian newspaper on Sunday, he also revealed that his girlfriend knew nothing of his plans to make the biggest leak of classified government information since WikiLeaks.

Edward Snowden told the newspaper that Lindsay Mills was not surprised that he was packing his backs and not telling her where he was going.

“That is not an uncommon occurrence for someone who has spent the last decade working in the intelligence world,” he explained to the Guardian.

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Edward Snowden: FBI agents visit his father’s home after he leaves The Mira hotel in Hong Kong

Diane A. Wade
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Edward Snowden: FBI agents visit his father’s home after he leaves The Mira hotel in Hong Kong

FBI agents visited the Pennsylvania home of Edward Snowden’s father and stepmother, just hours after the 29-year-old NSA whistleblower checked out of his plush Hong Kong hotel and went on the run from U.S. and Chinese authorities.

Two men, identifying themselves as FBI agents, dropped in on Lonnie Snowden, 52, and his wife Karen Snowden, 48, at their property in Upper Macungie Township, as the couple were still “digesting and processing” the news about their son.

Karen Snowden said on Sunday night that they had been “bombarded” by media since Edward Snowden revealed himself to have leaked top-secret documents detailing the government’s extensive surveillance programs.

The woman refused to give any details about her stepson, other than what he’d already offered up in interviews, but she told Lehigh Valley’s The Morning Call the family would be making a public statement in the coming days.

According to mcall.com, shortly after Karen Snowden shut the door, the two men approached the house, telling a photographer they were agents with the Allentown FBI office.

Lonnie Snowden, a former officer in the Coast Guard, told ABC News on Sunday that he had last seen his son “months ago” for dinner and the pair hugged as they said goodbye.

Tammy Reck, a neighbor, told mcall.com that she spoke briefly to the couple on Sunday, when they came out front to warn the residents of the media firestorm that was about to descend.

She said Karen Snowden was upset at the possibility of never seeing her stepson again.

“Not seeing a child anymore, that’s sad, no matter how old that child is,” Tammy Reck said.

The woman described the couple, who were married around five years ago in a backyard wedding, as “great neighbors”. On her Twitter feed, Karen Snowdon describes herself as a certified physical therapist specializing in women’s health, the pelvic area and obstetrics.

She has lived at her current address since at least 1998, records show. Lonnie Snowden lived in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where Edward Snowden was raised, then Crofton, Maryland, with his son’s biological mother Elizabeth Snowden, 52.

The whistleblower told The Guardian his family had no idea what he was planning, and that their safety was his greatest fear.

Two FBI agents dropped in on Lonnie Snowden and his wife Karen Snowden at their property in Upper Macungie Township
Two FBI agents dropped in on Lonnie Snowden and his wife Karen Snowden at their property in Upper Macungie Township

New York Republican Peter King, a member of the House Intelligence Committee and chairman of a House Homeland Security subcommittee, was the first to claim the former CIA worker, who he said “has done extreme damage to the US and to our intelligence operations”, should be brought home to face charges.

In a written statement today, Peter King said: “If Edward Snowden did in fact leak the NSA data as he claims, the United States government must prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law and begin extradition proceedings at the earliest date.

“The United States must make it clear that no country should be granting this individual asylum. This is a matter of extraordinary consequence to American intelligence.”

Republican senator for South Dakota John Thune later echoed Peter King’s views.

“As long as you have laws on the books, and we do, you’ve got to enforce the laws,” he told CNBC.

“This is somebody who – it appears, at least – leaked sensitive classified information, and I think he needs to be prosecuted.”

And Republican senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham tweeted on Monday afternoon: “I hope we follow Mr. Snowden to the ends of the earth to bring him to justice.”

Meanwhile, former UN Ambassador John Bolton told a US radio station he thinks Snowden is guilty of treason.

In a passionate tirade on WLS, John Bolton said: “Number one, this man is a liar. He took an oath to keep the secrets that were shared with him so he could do his job.

“Number two, he lied because he thinks he’s smarter and has a higher morality than the rest of us… that he can see clearer than other 299-million 999-thousand 999 of us, and therefore he can do what he wants. I say that is the worst form of treason.”

Edward Snowden could face decades in jail if he is extradited from Hong Kong, said Mark Zaid, a lawyer who represents whistleblowers.

According to The Daily Beast, Edward Snowden was already being hunted by government officials even before last week’s explosive news stories triggered shockwaves across the globe.

The Daily Beast’s sources, former U.S. intelligence officers, said the agents trailing Edward Snowden work for the Associate Directorate for Security and Counterintelligence, or “the Q Group”. The same group are more urgently searching for the whistleblower now.

The directorate in effect is the National Security Agency’s internal police force. The group monitor the NSA’s staff and contractors for unusual behavior that may pose an intelligence risk, the Beast writes.

The whistleblower, who earned $200,000 a year, exposed chilling details of how the covert agency, based in Maryland, gathers private information from Americans and others around the world using a program called PRISM.

Revealing why he blew the whistle Edward Snowden said on Sunday: “I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under.”

On Monday, Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, hailed Edward Snowden a hero for fighting back against the government’s invasion of privacy.

“I think there has not been a more significant or helpful leak or unauthorized disclosure in American history ever than what Edward Snowden shared with The Guardian about the NSA — and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers,” Daniel Ellsberg told The Daily Beast.

Edward Snowden spoke to The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers from a room in Hong Kong’s five star Mira Hotel, located in the Tsim Sha Tsui neighborhood just across the harbor from the mainland.

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Honey Boo Boo wins medal for dance at National Redneck Olymp-Hicks in Augusta

Lisa.Felice
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0
Honey Boo Boo wins medal for dance at National Redneck Olymp-Hicks in Augusta

Honey Boo Boo attended the fifth annual National Redneck Olymp-Hicks in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday, and won a medal for her dance moves.

The athletic tournament includes competitions for the biggest beer belly, redneck belly-flop, loudest belch, and the by far most daunting “bobbin for pig’s feet”.

Honey Boo Boo, 7, donned a frilly outfit with matching pants and tank top for her day of athletic competition and mud sliding fun.

The former pageant clearly having the time of her life as she skidded down a make shift water slide, constructed out of a plastic tarp and covered in brown mud.

Honey Boo Boo, whose real name is Alana Thompson, even enjoyed a dip in the belly flopping pools, which were simply large holes dug into the ground and filled with muddy water.

Midway through the day of competitive redneck challenges Honey Boo Boo took a break and enjoyed an icy treat, which seemed to be a departure from her normal diet of “sketti” and caffeine-infused “go-go juice”.

Meanwhile, her sister Anna “Chickadee” shined on the winner’s podium as her daughter Kaitlyn won an award for “cutest redneck baby”.

As the day progressed the girls took to the sidelines to watch the tournament’s main event, belly flopping.

After their day of fun, Honey Boo Boo was spotted rinsing off the mud and grime with the aid of a fire truck’s hose.

Honey Boo Boo attended the fifth annual National Redneck Olymp-Hicks in Augusta, Georgia, and won a medal for her dance moves
Honey Boo Boo attended the fifth annual National Redneck Olymp-Hicks in Augusta, Georgia, and won a medal for her dance moves

But this was not the first time the famous girl and her family have attended the Olymp-Hicks games.

The Here Comes Honey Boo Boo stars famously competed in last year’s tournament, and even participated in the “bobbin’ for pig’s feet” event – which consists of fishing for raw uncooked swine limbs swimming in a plastic bucket full of murky water with one’s teeth.

During a taping for an episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Mama June, aka June Shannon, said of last year’s event: “It’s just like the Olympics except for a lot of missing teeth and butt cracks showing.”

She added: “There are some broke down people out there.”

June Shannon, 33, first shot to fame after her daughter  Alana won national attention with her appearance on the reality show Toddlers and Tiaras before landing their own programme.

The redneck tournament, held in a field beside Augusta’s Savannah River Lock and Dam hosted thousands of attendees over the weekend.

In addition to the impressive and muddy feats performed, Olymp-hicks included a fair where youngsters, and anyone less interested in getting dirty, could take a ride down an inflatable slide, among other attractions.

An appropriate addition to the day’s fun was the actual car, the General Lee, from the 1980s television series The Dukes of Hazzard.

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Lady Gaga as bridesmaid at best friend Bo’s wedding

Lisa.Felice
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0
Lady Gaga as bridesmaid at best friend Bo’s wedding

Lady Gaga took a step out of the spotlight as a bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding.

Lady Gaga, 27, blended in with her fellow maids by wearing a pale pink halterneck gown.

The singer had flown out to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico for the wedding of her school friend Bo following her recovery from a hip injury that put her world tour on hold.

As she watched her friend hold hands with her future husband, she was less Lady Gaga and more Stefani Germanotta.

Playing the dutiful Maid of Honour, Lady Gaga held the bride’s white and pink bouquet, as well as her veil throughout the wedding ceremony.

Her fellow bridesmaids looked just as elegant as Lady Gaga, with each dress cut from the same cloth but in a different style to suit the wearer.

Posing together in one special photo, Lady Gaga held hands with one friend who also styled her hair with a beautiful flower.

Lady Gaga took a step out of the spotlight as a bridesmaid at her best friend's wedding
Lady Gaga took a step out of the spotlight as a bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding

Only hints of the real Lady Gaga were evident with her eyelids fluttering with false lashes and a sharp manicure, while she sported bright blonde wig in contrast to the dark brown and ginger looks she had been wearing over the past few days in Mexico.

And though the singer is used to having an entourage to help her with her every need, she was on hand to support her best friend as she got ready to become Mrs. O’Connor.

The bride wore a strapless gown with fishtail shirt and a statement origami detail to the bust, and she styled her hair into an elegant chignon.

Lady Gaga made sure Bo’s veil flowed beautifully over her face before, it seemed, she headed to the wedding ceremony.

Her wedding gift may well have been the use of her good friend and make-up artist Tara Savelo, who made the bridal party glow on the big day.

But Lady Gaga seemed to be attending the day without her Chicago Fire boyfriend Taylor Kinney, allowing her to spend quality time with her old Sacred Heart school friends at the reception.

Taylor Kinney, 31, has been busy filming The Other Woman with Cameron Diaz in her hometown of New York.

Meanwhile Lady Gaga has been using her recovery to write latest album ArtPop, out later this year.

What are differences between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One?

Nancy Clayson
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What are differences between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One?

PlayStation 4:

  • Price: $399
  • Power: 8GB of DDR3 RAM powered by a custom 8-core AMD CPU plus 500GB hard drive
  • No requirement for device to be connected to the Internet in order to function
  • BluRay Capable
  • No fee in order to play used games
  • Bluetooth compatibility
  • Console is all about gaming

    PS4 is $100 cheaper than competing Xbox One
    PS4 is $100 cheaper than competing Xbox One

Xbox One:

  • Price: $499
  • Power: 8-core x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” CPU and 8GB of GDDR5 RAM plus hard drive space
  • Online requirement – XBox must connect to the Internet at least once every 24 hours
  • BluRay Capable
  • Fee for used games
  • Not Bluetooth compatible
  • Aims to become all-in-one media box

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PlayStation 4 will cost $399, $100 cheaper than the Xbox One, and will be available in time for holidays

Nancy Clayson
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PlayStation 4 will cost $399, $100 cheaper than the Xbox One, and will be available in time for holidays

Sony has announced its forthcoming PlayStation 4 will cost $399, which is $100 less than the competing Xbox One.

PlayStation 4 will cost 399 euros in Europe and £349 in UK.

“The gaming landscape is changing with new business models and new ways to play,” said Andrew House, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.

The price announcement wasn’t the only shot fired at Microsoft during Sony’s presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the gambling industry’s annual U.S. trade show.

The loudest applause at the company’s event show came when Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, announced that the company would not try to restrict used game sales.

Jack Tretton also said the PS4 would not require a persistent online connection.

“PlayStation 4 disc-based games don’t need to be connected online to play or any type of authentication,” said Jack Tretton.

“If you enjoy playing single-player games offline, PS4 won’t require to you check in online period and it won’t stop working if you haven’t authenticated in 24 hours.”

Microsoft has been criticized for its vague statements about whether it will allow buyers of its Xbox One to play secondhand software, as well as its requirement that the new console be connected to the Internet at least once every 24 hours.

Beyond those issues, Sony gave potential PS4 buyers plenty of games to look forward to later this year.

Sony has announced its forthcoming PlayStation 4 will cost $399, which is $100 less than the competing Xbox One
Sony has announced its forthcoming PlayStation 4 will cost $399, which is $100 less than the competing Xbox One

The company’s Santa Monica Studios, the developer of the God of War franchise, introduced the steampunk thriller The Order: 1866. Quantic Dream, the French studio behind Heavy Rain and the upcoming Beyond: Two Souls, provided a comical glimpse at the fantasy The Dark Sorcerer.

Shu Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, said the company’s studios have more than 30 PS4 games in development, including 12 brand new intellectual properties.

Sony also showed new footage from previously announced PS4 games like the superhero adventure InFamous: Second Son, the auto racing simulator Drive Club and the sci-fi shooter Killzone: Shadow Fall.

Several third-party developers also debuted next-generation titles at Sony’s event.

Bungie, the creator of the blockbuster Xbox series Halo, showed the first in-game footage of its highly anticipated first-person shooter Destiny. Warner Bros. showed a clip from a new Mad Max game, while Square-Enix announced the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV. Overall, Jack Tretton said, more than 140 PS4 titles are in the pipeline.

That includes an assortment of games from smaller, independent developers, which Sony featured onstage next to giant publishers like Activision and Ubisoft.

The processing chips in the PS4 are similar to those in PCs rather than the complex, idiosyncratic “Cell” architecture used in the PS3. That should make it easier for developers of all sizes to build games for Sony’s new console.

Like Microsoft, Sony is betting big on social networking features. The new version of its DualShock controller includes a ‘share’ button that allows you to post gameplay footage and screenshots.

Friends can watch as you play a game, and you’ll even be able to let a pal take control of your game from afar if you can’t get past a tough battle.

The controller also includes a touchpad and a Move motion sensor that works with a camera placed near the TV set.

The PS4’s main features include:

  • New DualShock 4 controller with built in touchpad
  • Dramatically improved graphics and processing power
  • Based on same X86 chips used in desktop computer to help game developers
  • 3D camera that can track the controller, and the player
  • Games can also be played on Sony’s Vita handheld console

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Edward Snowden disappears from Mira hotel in Hong Kong

Diane A. Wade
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Edward Snowden disappears from Mira hotel in Hong Kong

Former CIA employee Edward Snowden, who leaked details of US top-secret phone and internet surveillance, has disappeared from his hotel in Hong Kong.

Edward Snowden, 29, checked out from his hotel on Monday. His whereabouts are unknown, but he is believed to be still in Hong Kong.

Earlier, he said he had an “obligation to help free people from oppression”.

It emerged last week that US agencies were gathering millions of phone records and monitoring internet data.

A spokesman for the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the case had been referred to the Department of Justice as a criminal matter.

Meanwhile a petition posted on the White House website, calling for Edward Snowden’s immediate pardon, has gathered more than 30,000 signatures.

Edward Snowden, who leaked details of US top-secret phone and internet surveillance, has disappeared from his hotel in Hong Kong
Edward Snowden, who leaked details of US top-secret phone and internet surveillance, has disappeared from his hotel in Hong Kong

However, an opinion poll commissioned by the Washington Post suggests a majority of Americans think government monitoring of phone records is acceptable if the aim is to fight terrorism.

Hong Kong’s broadcaster RTHK said Edward Snowden checked out of the Mira hotel on Monday.

Reuters news agency quoted hotel staff as saying that he had left at noon.

Ewen MacAskill, a Guardian journalist, said he believed Edward Snowden was still in Hong Kong.

The Chinese territory has an extradition treaty with the US, although analysts say any attempts to bring Edward Snowden to America may take months and could be blocked by Beijing.

Edward Snowden was revealed as the source of the leaks at his own request by the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

He is believed to have arrived in Hong Kong on May 20. A standard visa on arrival in the territory for a US citizen lasts for 90 days.

His revelations have caused transatlantic political fallout, amid allegations that the UK’s electronic surveillance agency, GCHQ, used the US system to snoop on British citizens.

Foreign Secretary William Hague cancelled a trip to Washington to address the UK parliament on Monday and deny the claims.

Edward Snowden is described by the Guardian as an ex-CIA technical assistant, currently employed by Booz Allen Hamilton, a defense contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA).

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Turkey protests: Riot police storm Istanbul’s Taksim Square using tear gas and water cannon to disperse activists

Diane A. Wade
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Turkey protests: Riot police storm Istanbul’s Taksim Square using tear gas and water cannon to disperse activists

Riot police have entered Istanbul’s Taksim Square, where Turkish anti-government protesters have been staging demonstrations for close to two weeks.

Hundreds of officers have been using tear gas and water cannon to disperse activists.

The move comes after PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to meet the protest organizers on Wednesday.

The unrest was sparked by a police crackdown on a local protest over an Istanbul park.

Riot police have entered Istanbul's Taksim Square, where Turkish anti-government protesters have been staging demonstrations for close to two weeks
Riot police have entered Istanbul’s Taksim Square, where Turkish anti-government protesters have been staging demonstrations for close to two weeks

The protests then widened, with demonstrators accusing Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of becoming increasingly authoritarian and trying to impose conservative Islamic values on a secular state.

Backed by armored vehicles, police wearing helmets and carrying shields gathered around the square early on Tuesday.

They then began to move past barricades erected by protesters.

According to correspondents, the move is a deliberate show of force.

The demonstrations are now in their 12th day, with activists controlling much of Taksim Square.

The unrest was sparked after police moved to suppress environmental protests over the redevelopment of Gezi Park, which is part of Taksim Square, on May 31.

More than 5,000 people have been injured and three people have died since the protests began.

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No-pain high heels guide

Lisa.Felice
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No-pain high heels guide

It takes one hour, six minutes and 48 seconds for our high heels to start hurting, according to a recent survey by the College of Podiatry in UK.

The survey involved 2,000 women and men and for a more delicate 20% of respondents, the pain starts after just ten minutes, while more than a third said their feet had been so sore on a night out that they danced shoeless and walked home barefoot.

So what can we do to lessen the pain?

1. Never buy online

“First things first, shoes have to fit properly,” says podiatrist Emma Supple.

“If they’re tight or rubbing, even just a tiny bit, don’t buy them. You will not break in the shoes – they will break you. This is why you should never buy them online, as you’ve got to try them on.”

The right fit should be snug but with some room for your toes to wriggle and not be squashed. Too small and you’ll get blisters and deformed toes – a condition called hammer toe.

Too big and your feet will slide down and put more pressure on your toes. Where possible, ask to try a half size up or down to see if that helps.

If the shoe is pointed, the point must come after your toes end so they’re not squished together.

According to Emma Supple, it’s better to avoid them altogether.

“A slightly rounded toe is always going to be more comfortable,” she says.

2. Are your heels in the right position?

Contrary to popular belief, wedges are not necessarily better for your feet than spiked heels.

“I’ve seen a woman doubled over with pain after wearing wedges,” says Emma Supple.

“There’s very little flexibility in them and you have to lift your feet right off the ground to walk, stomping your foot back down afterwards.

“The important thing is not the style or thickness of the heel, it’s the position of it. It needs to be right under the heel bone, not at the back of the foot, as is the case with some shoes. If the stiletto is positioned too far back, you are going to be thrown off balance and everything will hurt.”

It takes one hour, six minutes and 48 seconds for our high heels to start hurting
It takes one hour, six minutes and 48 seconds for our high heels to start hurting

3. Why budget buys may cost you dear

Avoid the temptation to buy cheap heels for a night out. Chances are they will be made of plastic, which will make your feet sweat and swell – making the shoes pinch.

Also, plastic has very little give, meaning you are more likely to get blisters where it rubs. Shoes with a leather lining, on the other hand, are softer and suppler and less likely to rub.

4. How to stop them rubbing

If your shoes are stiff and rubbing at the heel, try a suede heel grip.

Hikers – who have to deal with blisters every day – swear by Moleskin Plus by Dr Scholl’s, which comes in a roll. It’s very soft and you cut as much as you need and stick it to different areas of the foot.

Pedag’s anti-slip slingback stickers are also brilliant. You stick the soft leather strip into your slingback straps and it stops them from falling down and prevents friction.

5. Non-surgical solutions

Die-hard heel lovers are now having fillers injected into the balls of their feet to help with the pain, but there are less drastic alternatives. Soft gel-filled cushions can relieve the pressure put on the balls of your feet, especially if your shoes have thin soles.

Dr Scholl’s “party feet” gel cushions are still the most popular but M&S do a good range, too.

“Be careful of ones that are so thick they squish your feet more than they already are,” says Emma Supple.

6. Put your feet in ice

“Forget soaking your feet in a hot bath after a long day – you need to ease the pain with cold,” says Emma Supple.

“After wearing high heels your feet get swollen, so when you come home put them in a cold bath for 15 minutes to reduce the swelling. Then before you go to bed apply some foot cream. This restores the suppleness of the skin, which will help prevent it from cracking and blistering.”

Try Supple London Mineral Foot cream or Eucerin Dry Skin Intensive Foot Cream. Keep your toenails short so they don’t dig into your skin when your toes are in narrow shoes.

7. Which brands are best?

Not all heels are equal but many high-street brands are now designing heels with comfort in mind.

From autumn, all M&S’s shoes will have padded “Insolia” soles, which promise to re-distribute the weight away from the balls of your feet and are meant to be three times more comfortable than normal heels. They already have a selection in the Autograph range.

Clarks have really upped their game recently and combined comfort and style, even more so with the Mary Portas collections and their “soft wear” styles.

Geox used to be known for their practical styles made of breathable materials and thick shock absorbing soles, but they’ve started to make more glamorous styles, teaming up with designer Patrick Cox.

Spanish shoemaker Chie Mihara studied orthopedics, which means her collection of high heels are the most comfortable around. Most come with thick, adjustable ankle straps to support the foot.

Even Lucy Choi, the niece of Jimmy Choo and the latest darling of the shoe world, has just launched a gorgeous but practical collection of mid-height heels with gel-padded soles.

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