tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48807646712163786262024-02-07T18:01:52.174+07:00Makanan EnakAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.comBlogger7450125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-15984181627606667182015-04-16T20:49:00.007+07:002015-04-16T20:51:30.969+07:00Detroit sues wrong church over $170K electric bill<p>DETROIT — The leader of a small church on Detroit's east side says the city mistakenly sued seeking $170,000 for an electric bill that's owed by a church with a similar name.</p> <p>The Detroit Free Press reports the city mistakenly went after Total Life Christian Ministries, but later apologized and told Bishop Daryl Harris' lawyer the lawsuit would be dismissed. The newspaper says the church that actually owes the money hasn't been sued yet.</p> <p>Harris says his reaction to learning about the lawsuit was "sheer disbelief."</p> <p>The suit was brought as part of an effort to collect on unpaid Detroit Public Lighting Department bills by suing churches, schools and other organizations.</p> <p>Detroit emerged from Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in December and the city has phased out its money-losing lighting department.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-17768015537794237682015-04-16T20:49:00.006+07:002015-04-16T20:51:10.040+07:00Why transgender actress Laverne Cox posed naked<blockquote data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" readability="-1.82394366197"> </blockquote> <p>Laverne Cox is taking it all off.</p> <p>Cox, who rose to fame in the hit Netflix show "Orange Is the New Black" as Sophia, poses nude in a sexy black and white photo for Allure magazine's "The Naked Truth" spread.</p> <p>The 30-year-old actress, who became the first transgender actress to grace the cover of Time magazine as well as many others, says she wasn't keen on posing nude until she thought deeply about the message she would send.</p> <p>"I said no initially, thought about it, and said no again," Cox, who admitted to having mac n' cheese the night before her big shoot, told the magazine.</p> <p>"But I'm a black transgender woman. I felt this could be really powerful for communities that I represent. Black women are not often told that we're beautiful unless we align with certain standards. Trans women certainly are not told we're beautiful. Seeing a black transgender woman embracing and loving everything about her body might be inspiring for some folks. There's a beauty in the things we think are imperfect. It sounds very cliché, but it's true."</p> <p>Allure's latest issue also features nude photo and stories about inner strength from Jordana Brewster, Nicole Beharie, Katheryn Winnick and Sandrine Holt.<br/></p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-62167010559007474192015-04-16T20:49:00.005+07:002015-04-16T20:49:45.778+07:00Giacometti sculpture expected to sell for auction-record $130M<p>A rare life-size sculpture by Alberto Giacometti could set a record at auction next month where it's expected to bring around $130 million.</p> <p>Christie's is offering "Pointing Man" in New York on May 11.</p> <p>The record for a sculpture at auction is $104.3 million for Giacometti's "Walking Man I."</p> <p>The 5-foot-high bronze sculpture of a spindly figure with his arms extended has been in the same private collection for 45 years.</p> <p>Giacometti made six casts of the work. Four are in museum collections, including in London's Tate Gallery and New York's Museum of Modern Art.</p> <p>The Swiss artist died in 1966.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-5847544093585554832015-04-16T20:49:00.003+07:002015-04-16T20:49:45.533+07:00Flatiron School looks to teens to ease computer coder shortage<p>There's a dire shortage of computer programmers in the US — and a New York-based firm is heading directly to the nation's high schools to change that.</p> <p>The Flatiron School, a for-profit group that has been offering intensive courses in web and mobile development since 2012, has raised $9 million as it looks to aggressively expand its computer-coding education programs at high schools.</p> <p>"There's no infrastructure for this," co-founder Adam Enbar said of high-school coding classes. "No teachers, no curriculum, no software, no after-school support. There's this huge demand in the market but nobody knows how to do this."</p> <p>Flatiron School, which raised $5.5 million last year, will roll out intensive courses for high schoolers in eight cities this summer — a move that it expects will shift the majority of its business to the high-school level.</p> <p>Participants this summer will include the Dalton School on the Upper East Side.</p> <p>To date, Flatiron School has built its reputation with an adult-training program that boasts a 99-percent job-placement rate for its grads, who have started off with salaries averaging $74,000.</p> <p>The course costs $15,000 and the acceptance rate is 6 percent, but scholarships are available for NYC students who lack four-year college degrees.</p> <p>Backers in the latest funding round included Thrive Capital, the venture-capital firm headed by Joshua Kushner. Flatiron School also recently partnered with Kushner's supermodel girlfriend, Karlie Kloss, and DoSomething.org to offer scholarships for teens interested in coding.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-12155524513081278532015-04-16T20:49:00.001+07:002015-04-16T20:49:45.317+07:00Robinson Cano made the bonehead play of season<p>To be fair, the Mariners aren't paying Robinson Cano for his baserunning prowess.</p> <p>Still, the second baseman's brain lapse Wednesday against the Dodgers, jogging and then running himself into an out, must have given Brian Cashman a passing smile.</p> <p>The ex-Yankee and $240 million man was on third base, Nelson Cruz on second and, notably, no one was on first before Los Angeles pitcher Paco Rodriguez walked Kyle Seager to load the bases, in a game the Mariners trailed 5-2.</p> <p>Which is when Cano trotted home, believing the bases to have already been juiced and Seager's walk to have driven him in.</p> <p>As Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal prepared to toss back to the pitcher, a suddenly animated Rodriguez signaled Cano's blunder, and Grandal started running up the line. Cano's epiphany came too late, and he was tagged out diving back to third base.</p> <p>It was the second out of the inning, and the Mariners wouldn't be able to push across a run in that frame or any that followed, falling 5-2.</p> <p>After the loss, Cano was honest about the brain freeze:</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-31495932890015306052015-04-16T18:18:00.008+07:002015-04-16T18:20:10.812+07:00Time is now for Phil Jackson to engineer Knicksâ turnaround<p>Mercifully, the gut-emptying disaster known as the 2014-15 Knicks season came to a close Wednesday at the Garden, as a basic replay of so many other games — the Knicks trailed by double-digits most of the night. And lost. For the 65th time.</p> <p>Hey, as a stunningly successful coach turned impossibly calamitous team president noted recently, "S–t happens." And the 17-65 Knicks and their fans endured more dung than anyone in 2014-15.</p> <p>"It was obviously a difficult season for us as a team," coach Derek Fisher said after the 112-90 defeat to the Pistons, "and we were forced to deal with some realities."</p> <p>(Insert your own reality one-liner here)</p> <p>So now comes the real start of Phil Jackson's regime. By his admission, his grand experiment fell flat on its face. Many of the moves he made appear ridiculously shortsighted. Start with trading Tyson Chandler, who became Dallas' defensive force, for basically a bag of gumballs. Advance to helping Cleveland rise to Eastern prominence by dealing J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert for a suspect return.</p> <p>One out-of-division executive was asked to sum up the Knicks' season. He stressed he spoke only as an observer.</p> <p>"To me their biggest mistake was they overrated players. They'll probably point to [Andrea] Bargnani getting hurt but he's not good enough. [Jose] Calderon did not have the year they anticipated," the exec said. "They're continuing to try to put the triangle in. How many of those guys are going to be back?"</p> <p>Put it this way, if everybody is back, "s–t" will happen again. Fisher stressed a core of the current chain gang, although "completely outmanned and outnumbered" many nights, will return to ease the triangular approach. Fisher, speaking with pride and emotion, noted "unfortunately, they can't all be back."</p> <p>So the Knicks will teach their system to a new class of pupils, along with Carmelo Anthony, presumably healthy, back for the second season of an extension that will pay $28 million when he is 34 in 2018-19.</p> <p>But forget the past. Any adage works: You have to crawl before you walk; housecleaning was needed to change the culture; whatever. Now is when Jackson must start earning his five-year, $60 million contract — plus added perks likes $15,000 monthly for living ($10K) and travel ($5K) expenses.</p> <p>There's the NBA draft lottery. Folks rage in a Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns debate. Even the team with the worst record, Minnesota (16-66), has just a 25 percent chance at No. 1 — or a 75 percent chance of picking lower. The Knicks now have a 19.9 shot. The debate over the top pick is idiocy until they have it. The Nets won 12 games in 2009-10, by far the worst in the NBA. They picked third.</p> <p>Patrick Ewing fell into the Knicks' laps in the first lottery ever in 1985. Since, the Knicks hardly have found improvement through the lottery. In 1986, they wanted Chuck Person; they got Kenny Walker. In 1987, through a trade that got them Gerald Henderson, they also picked Mark Jackson out of the lottery. But the pick they originally owned was used on Scottie Pippen. In 2002, they drafted Nene, and traded him for a package that included Antonio McDyess.</p> <p>In 2003, the Knicks didn't waste their pick on David West, not when Mike Sweetney was available. In 2005, they picked Channing Frye, who lasted two seasons. Because of one of the most disastrous trades ever — the 2005 Eddy Curry deal — they traded two future picks. They became LaMarcus Aldridge in 2006 and Joakim Noah in 2007.</p> <p>Teams can't go consecutive years without a first-rounder, so in 2007 the Knicks picked Wilson Chandler 23rd. And they eventually traded him — along with 2008 lottery pick Danilo Gallinari — in the deal for Anthony. In 2009, they wanted Stephen Curry; they got Jordan Hill. Their 2010 lottery pick became Gordon Hayward for Utah. And their 2014 pick, also moved for Anthony, became Dario Saric for Orlando — and the Magic traded him for Elfrid Payton.</p> <p>So if history is a guide, don't bank on the lottery to solve the Knicks issues.</p> <p>There will be roughly $26 million with which to lure free agents. If a player, restricted or unrestricted, breathing or completely unresponsive to external stimuli, can become a free agent this summer, he has been linked to the Knicks.</p> <p>One ex-Knick, recently assessing the roster, suggested his old team not pursue the top-shelf, Grade-A type but rather several second-tier types.</p> <p>"You need some tough kids that will fit well in New York," he said, specifically naming restricted guys Draymond Green and Reggie Jackson. "Tough kids. Because to play in this environment, you've got to be tough. You can't be weak at all. It'll eat you up."</p> <p>Like this season's Knicks.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-41642012315050353842015-04-16T18:18:00.007+07:002015-04-16T18:18:24.320+07:00New hitting approach paying big dividends for Lucas Duda<p>In the absence of David Wright, the Mets may have to adopt an all-hands-on-deck mantra to replace the offense provided by their injured captain.</p> <p>Just don't tell Lucas Duda that. He has designs on carrying the Mets all by himself.</p> <p>On Wednesday night, the Mets' first baseman continued his torrid start to 2015 with a solo homer, a double and two RBIs, helping the team to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies. It was the Mets' fourth straight win, tying their longest winning streak of last season.</p> <p>"I'm seeing the ball pretty well, trying to get a pitch up I can handle," said Duda, who raised his batting average to .353 and now has seven RBIs, one behind Travis d'Arnaud for the team lead.</p> <p>In the Mets' first game since learning Wright will miss at least two weeks with a mild hamstring strain, the team banged out 12 hits — four for extra bases. Duda was one of four Mets with at least two hits, along with d'Arnaud, Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer.</p> <p>"He's doing an excellent job," Jon Niese said. "He's seeing the ball well. He's a special hitter."</p> <p>The season is just nine games old, but for Duda it's already a far cry from 2014 when he hit .200 in the first 10 games.</p> <p>With a new, confident, hit-to-all-fields approach, Duda is looking further and further removed from 2012 and 2013 — when he hit .239 and .223, respectively — and more like the hitter who hit 30 homers last season.</p> <p>"I do believe Lucas' makeup has changed in the last couple of years," manager Terry Collins said. "He knows that he belongs here and he can hit [for] big numbers here. What we've got to get him to do is stay confident, stay upbeat and get some guys on ahead of him."</p> <p>Duda also has made strides against left-handed pitching, as after hitting .180 in 111 at-bats against southpaws last season, he's 3-for-7 against southpaws in 2015.</p> <p>"With Lucas, it's mainly just getting his direction," hitting coach Kevin Long told to The Post before the game. "I'm throwing a lot of [batting practice] to him, creating a lot of different angles, and I think at the end of the day he's more comfortable."</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-56561340461837553702015-04-16T18:18:00.005+07:002015-04-16T18:18:24.135+07:00Lundqvistâs most memorable Rangers save is one he has forgotten<p>When you have spent enough time around Henrik Lundqvist for 10 years, you think you know him pretty, pretty, pretty well.</p> <p>So as I moseyed up to the goaltender's stall at the Rangers' practice rink following Wednesday's final prep for Game 1, Round 1 at the Garden on Thursday, I was pretty, pretty — all right, enough of that — sure that asking him about the all but miraculous save he made against Evgeni Malkin in the final minutes of last year's Game 7 in Pittsburgh would elicit the animated response I was seeking.</p> <p>"The save on Malkin your favorite?" is how the leading question was phrased.</p> <p>"Malkin? Which one was that?" Lundqvist said, a quizzical expression crossing his Don Draper-esque visage.</p> <p>"You know … the scramble in front, you not having your stick…"</p> <p>("You know," I wanted to say, "the one that I had been planning on writing this column about … that one, Hank!")</p> <p>Ah, a flicker of recognition from the King.</p> <p>"The favorite one of my career?" he said. "Uh, not really … I don't really think about that one."</p> <p>Without that one, without the flurry of saves on that scramble in front with 5:15 to go and the Penguins pressing desperately to get the tying goal, there may not have been a Game 7 victory in Pittsburgh, there might not have been the conference finals victory over Montreal and there might not have been that ride to, and that defeat in, the Cup final that has informed so much of this season.</p> <p>Lundqvist may not think about it, but suffice to say there isn't a Rangers fan extant who hasn't thought about it and cherished the memory. There was a stop on James Neal, a stop on Kris Letang, then Jussi Jokinen, Paul Martin was lurking, and there was Malkin.</p> <p>"It was just a big scramble. It was chaos and react," Lundqvist recalled. "There was nothing really technical about it.</p> <p>"When it comes to my best saves, I rather think about the ones that are technically [sound] combined with the importance," said the goaltender, who will make his 92nd straight playoff start for the Blueshirts on Thursday. "That one is not in my top three."</p> <p>I hesitated for a moment before asking the obvious follow-up, girding myself for the same response that Willie Mays offered one time (or so legend has it) when asked whether a certain phenomenal catch in center field was his greatest.</p> <p>"I don't rate 'em, I just catch 'em," Mays either said or is said to have said.</p> <p>But no.</p> <p>For Lundqvist was able to tick off his three favorite saves, or at least, "three, I remember," with only one of them coming while wearing a Rangers uniform.</p> <p>"There was one in Sweden in the semifinals of the playoffs, I don't remember the player, but it was a scorpion save on a breakaway," Lundqvist said. "It was late in the third period of a 0-0 game, we won 1-0 to win the series and go to the final, and then we won the championship."</p> <p>That was in 2005, Lundqvist's final year playing for Frolunda before coming to New York.</p> <p>"The second one, I made a save in the gold-medal game of the Olympics with about 30 seconds to go, when we were winning 1-0 against Finland," Lundqvist said. "It was against Olli Jokinen, he had it alone in front and I just dived across with my blocker."</p> <p>That was in 2006, in the Turin Games, when Sweden and Lundqvist took gold.</p> <p>"And the third was the one against Montreal last year in Game 6," Lundqvist said. "The one on [Thomas] Vanek."</p> <p>The game at that time was scoreless with about 4:45 remaining in the second period when Vanek's shot from the left deflected high off Dan Girardi's stick and appeared headed for the top shelf before Lundqvist somehow spun acrobatically to bat the puck away with his blocker.</p> <p>Dominic Moore scored less than three minutes later and the Rangers would win 1-0 to advance to the final. All three cited saves came in 1-0 games.</p> <p>"That one just because how big that game was," Lundqvist said. "You know, that wasn't so technical. Now that I think of it, the other two weren't either.</p> <p>"A lot of my saves, I don't really remember them as well," he said.</p> <p>In other words, Lundqvist will make 'em and everyone else can just remember 'em.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-89272479944349255742015-04-16T18:18:00.003+07:002015-04-16T18:18:23.434+07:00Look out Refsnyder: Yankees interested in Bravesâ 2B prospect<p>BALTIMORE — The Yankees have let the Braves know they have an interest in Atlanta's second-base prospect Jose Peraza who is currently playing at Triple-A.</p> <p>According to a person with knowledge of the situation the Yankees made contact with the Braves and sent scout Dennis Twombley to Gwinnett, Ga. recently to watch Peraza, who turns 22 on April 30.</p> <p>Baseball America ranked the 6-foot, 165-pound native of Venezuela as the 54th best prospect in the minor leagues and MLB had him 39th.</p> <p>In 349 minor league games Peraza started Wednesday night's action batting .303 with an on-base percentage of .349. He had 178 steals and was caught 42 times.</p> <p>The Yankees' interest in Peraza could be a strong sign they don't believe Rob Refsnyder or Jose Pirela are long-term solutions at second base. Refsnyder's defensive struggles in spring training have carried over to the Triple-A season where he has made three errors in six games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Pirela is still on the road back from a spring-training concussion.</p> <p>While the Yankees aren't likely to surrender top pitching prospect Luis Severino, they could put together a two-player package that might include catcher Gary Sanchez who has been passed in the organization's pecking order by John Ryan Murphy.</p> <hr/><p>There is a chance Brett Gardner will spend part of Thursday's off undergoing an MRI exam in Tampa to make sure there is no structural damage in his right wrist.</p> <p>"If it didn't progress in the two days like we thought it should we would do an MRI [exam] but I am hoping we won't have to,'' manager Joe Girardi said before Wednesday night's game. "He feels a lot better today than [Tuesday] so it would be more precautionary than anything.''</p> <p>Gardner hasn't played since getting hit Monday night.</p> <p>"I don't know if a MRI [exam] is still in the works,'' said Gardner, who said he will be at the Tampa complex to receive treatment Thursday. "The MRI would get a different look at it. I am not sure I will get one or not. It's much better today than [Tuesday] so I am encouraged by that.''</p> <p>Following the loss Gardner said, "I am pleased how it feels and I expect to play Friday.''</p> <hr/><p>Yankees minor league pitcher Wilking Rodriguez has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for Furosemide, a performance-enhancing substance.</p> <p>Rodriguez, who was in spring training with the Yankees, hadn't pitched this year for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while appealing the suspension.</p> <p>"He threw well in spring training, it's not what you want to see,'' Girardi said. "We tell our players to make sure [what they put in the body]. If there are any questions don't do it.''</p> <hr/><p>Didi Gregorius , who went 1-for-3, is hitting .172 (5- for-29). He also had made two glaring baserunning mistakes in nine games, and committed an error Tuesday night.</p> <p>"Let's not forget he is 25 and this is the first time he has been on an Opening Day roster,'' Girardi said of Derek Jeter's replacement. "It's been a week, that's why I don't make too much of it.''</p> <p>Gregorius downplayed the slow start.</p> <p>"I am a human being and everybody makes mistakes,'' he said.</p> <p>Asked about Yankees fans chanting Jeter's name, Gregorius brushed it aside.</p> <p>"I just laughed. What can I do? I can't control what comes out of their mouths,'' Gregorius said.</p> <hr/><p>Right-hander Branden Pinder was promoted from SWB on Wednesday when right-handed reliever Joel De La Cruz was sent to Double-A Trenton.</p> <p>Pinder is on the 40-man roster and Wednesday was the first day a player optioned before the big league season opened was eligible to join the big leagues.</p> <p>He pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his major league debut.</p> <p>With Esmil Rogers available out of the pen after throwing 4 ²/₃ innings last Friday, the Yankees had a full complement of relief arms.</p> <p>Pinder appeared in two games for SWB and tossed three scoreless innings.</p> <hr/><p>Chris Capuano (quadriceps) will throw batting practice Thursday at the Yankees' minor league complex. Ivan Nova (elbow) will play catch to prepare for his second batting practice session Friday. Andrew Bailey (coming back from shoulder surgery) pitched for Single-A Tampa Tuesday and threw batting practice Wednesday in the first step in getting the Wagner College product to throw in back-to-back games for the first time this year.</p> <p><em>— Additional reporting by Joel Sherman</em></p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-25006423432522936212015-04-16T18:18:00.001+07:002015-04-16T18:18:23.076+07:00Pacquiao to Mayweather: Iâm not a ârecklessâ fighter, itâs called boxing<p>LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao intends to put on a show when he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2¹/₂ weeks.</p> <p>He really hopes Mayweather is also coming to fight, for the fans' sake — and maybe for his own strategic purposes as well.</p> <p>Pacquiao radiated confidence and excitement Wednesday at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood before his latest workout in preparation for their bout May 2 in Las Vegas.</p> <p>With the most anticipated fight in recent years looming ever closer, both boxers kept their public comments civil and mostly respectful this week. But Pacquiao laughed when told that the defense-minded Mayweather had called him "a very reckless fighter" on Tuesday.</p> <p>"Reckless fighter? That's how people like me and love me, because they like an exciting fight," Pacquiao said. "We call this boxing, [and] boxing is more punching. We talk about punching."</p> <p>Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) rarely has skimped on excitement during his remarkable career as an eight-division champion, but the Filipino congressman realizes he is facing the greatest defensive fighter of their era. Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) has been nearly unhittable for most of his opponents during his perfect career.</p> <p>But Pacquiao said he hopes Money realizes the best way to get paid is to put on a fight worth seeing. After all, they're counting on fans to pay a record $99.95 for the pay-per-view, a figure described by no less than Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum as "ostentatious consumerism" if a fan bought it to watch all by himself.</p> <p>If Pacquiao is trying a bit of psychological trickery, it isn't very subtle: He didn't even try to hide the fact that a brawl would be his best chance to win.</p> <p>"If he [does] that, that's good for me," Pacquiao said. "I like that. We'll see. That's what I want, and that's definitely what the fans want — action."</p> <p>Unlike Mayweather, Pacquiao knows what it's like to be knocked out and to get back up. Pacquiao lost both of his bouts in 2012 and ended his fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez face-down on the canvas in the sixth round.</p> <p>Pacquiao took time off after that bout, but returned to the ring and won three more fights before Mayweather finally agreed to get in the ring with him, five years after fans first called for the matchup.</p> <p>Yet the former knockout machine hasn't stopped an opponent since November 2009, when he finished Miguel Cotto in arguably the greatest performance of his career.</p> <p>This fight has captured the full attention of Pacquiao, who has found time to actually study film of Mayweather during his chaotic life among his entourage, his large family and his congressional duties.</p> <p>Trainer Freddie Roach hasn't seen Pacquiao watching film of his opponents in years, yet Pacquiao came to him with ideas and plans for the fight. Pacquiao is clearly a student of Mayweather's techniques, even doing a serviceable impersonation of Mayweather's famed shoulder roll to entertain Roach.</p> <p>"I haven't really seen him have this much speed and power in a long time," Roach said. "My chest hurts really bad right now. You can see how much it means to him. He lives for these huge moments, and he knows what this fight means. Floyd is in trouble."</p> <p>Pacquiao confirmed his eagerness to make the fight happen, pointing out that he agreed to every term proposed by Mayweather over the past several years of intermittent negotiations. Pacquiao also agreed to a 60-40 split of the proceeds.</p> <p>"If my concern is myself alone, I don't [think of] the fans," Pacquiao said. "Then the fight, it's hard to make happen. Because of course, I don't want to take 60-40, a disadvantage and everything. I agreed with that for the sake of the fans. I agreed to make the fight happen."</p> <p>Pacquiao also said he felt a virtual duty to make a possible nine-figure payday resulting from this bout to further his charitable work in the Philippines, where he plans to give away a significant portion of his cut.</p> <p>"I cannot see them being hungry and not helping them," Pacquiao said. "I'm not materialistic. … I have to use it for the glory of the Lord, and also for my family and for helping people."</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-57360765547565899412015-04-15T20:50:00.007+07:002015-04-15T20:52:07.125+07:00Twins dead after mom stops to swat bee, stroller goes into canal<p><span class="embed-youtube c2"/><br/>YUMA, Ariz. — Police say 18-month-old twin boys drowned in a southwestern Arizona canal after their stroller rolled into the flowing water when their mother stopped to bat away a bee.</p> <p>Yuma police said 26-year-old Alexis Keslar jumped into the steep-sloped canal Friday but couldn't rescue the boys because the deep water was moving too fast.</p> <p>Police on Tuesday issued a statement detailing how the twins ended up in the canal and said the Yuma County medical examiner determined that the deaths were accidental drownings.</p> <p>"We're not seeing any criminal actions or activity," police Lt. Don Willits said.</p> <p>He said Keslar managed to get out of the canal, but she'd lost her cellphone in the water. She yelled for help, and a Yuma city public works employee who was nearby heard her and called 911, Willits said.</p> <p>It took authorities more than an hour, however, to find and retrieve the boys.</p> <p>The canal's water level was lowered to help the rescue effort, but Silas and Eli Keslar were pronounced dead at a hospital.</p> <p>"When I found out who the little boys were, all I could feel was a knot in my stomach," Marlene Gleim, a friend of the twins' grandmother, told KYMA-TV.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-91245231125448871532015-04-15T20:50:00.006+07:002015-04-15T20:51:31.523+07:002-year-old dead after heâs starved to get rid of âdemonâ<p>DALLAS — A woman who operated a church at her suburban Dallas home has been arrested for allegedly helping starve a 2-year-old boy to rid him of a "demon," then holding a resurrection ceremony shortly after he died to try to revive him, investigators said Tuesday.</p> <p>Police believe the boy was dead during the ceremony but that his parents took his body to their native Mexico for burial without reporting the death, said Balch Springs police Lt. Mark Maret. He said an anonymous tip about the ceremony at Araceli Meza's home, where several other church members also lived, led to the investigation. He noted that more arrests are likely.</p> <div><img class="size-nypost-small-post wp-image-9638921" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/starved_toddler_texas.jpg?w=300&h=200" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> <p>Araceli Meza<span>Photo: AP</span></p> </div> <p>Meza was charged Monday with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission. The 49-year-old was being held on $100,000 bond at the local jail, where records didn't list an attorney. No one answered the door Tuesday at her home in Balch Springs, about 15 miles east of Dallas, and phone calls to the home went unanswered.</p> <p>Witnesses told police that Meza and the boy's parents believed he had a "demon" inside him, and that fasting was the way to save him.</p> <p>"They didn't give the child any food for about 25 days," Maret said. "They just gave him some water, which ultimately caused the child to die."</p> <p>Church member Nazareth Zurita said she saw the child "looking frail and weak" the day before the resurrection ceremony, according to a police affidavit. She said the toddler fell and hit his head several times, but she hesitated to help him "due to his demon possession."</p> <p>Zurita said the next time she saw the child was the next day being held by church leader Daniel Meza, who was trying to revive the boy through a miracle during the ritual. Zurita said "it took her a while to figure out" the child was dead, according to the affidavit.</p> <p>Investigators believe the boy died on March 21 or early the next day, and that the ceremony was held March 22 at Meza's home.</p> <p>"Apparently… they had a ceremony called `the rising,' trying to resurrect the child back to life," Maret said.</p> <p>Police went to the home to check on the boy, whose name was not released, and discovered his parents had returned to Mexico.</p> <p>Another church member, Delia Guadalupe Oyervides Herrera, told police she tried several times to feed the child during the 25-day fast, "but was scolded by the pastors of the church," according to the affidavit. She asked the child's mother why she would allow her child to be starved and was "advised that it was God's will."</p> <p>Meza wasn't affiliated with any traditional religion but held regular services at her home with her husband, Maret said.</p> <p>Zurita said Meza "was considered a prophet" who "would advise to the other members of the church what God has spoken to her." Zurita identified herself as the secretary and third-ranking officer of the Iglesia Internacional Jesus es el Rey, and said Meza's husband was the church's leader and Meza was its second-ranking officer.</p> <p>Julia Contreras lives three doors down from the residential church. She said the street was full of cars every Sunday.</p> <p>"It would be packed with cars every Wednesday, sometimes Saturday and mainly on Sunday," she said. Cars would be parked in the front yard of the vacant house next to the Mezas' house and on a grassy slope on an adjoining street, she said.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-10948862685491540392015-04-15T20:50:00.005+07:002015-04-15T20:50:08.423+07:00Man burned after setting rental car afire trying to kill bedbugs<p>EASTPORT, N.Y. — Police say a Long Island man set his rental car ablaze while trying to kill bedbugs inside the vehicle.</p> <p>Scott Kemery suffered first- and second-degree burns in the incident Tuesday outside an Eastport supermarket.</p> <p>Police say the Bridgehampton resident poured alcohol over the insects, then sat in the car and lit a cigarette, setting off the blaze.</p> <p>He fled the vehicle on his own.</p> <p>Detective Sgt. Edward Fitzgerald told Newsday that someone told Kemery that if he saturated the bedbugs with alcohol it would kill them.</p> <p>Police say two other cars were heavily damaged from the intense heat of the fire.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-34704073423457811252015-04-15T20:50:00.003+07:002015-04-15T20:50:08.108+07:00Doctor tied to Menendez indicted in scheme to bilk Medicare out of up to $190M<p>MIAMI — The Florida doctor charged in a political corruption case along with New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez was indicted Tuesday in a 76-count Medicare fraud scheme that prosecutors said attempted to bilk the health care program out of as much as $190 million.</p> <p>Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said Dr. Salomon Melgen, 60, was charged with 46 counts of health care fraud as well as additional charges of filing false claims and making false statements. Melgen is an ophthalmologist with offices in Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties.</p> <p>The indictment charges that he operated the fraud scheme between 2004 and 2013, a time frame during which Melgen billed Medicare for more than $190 million and was paid more than $105 million. In 2012 alone, health official say he billed Medicare more than any other doctor in the nation at $21 million.</p> <p>"Medical professionals who violate their oath by failing to attend to the health of their patients and who submit falsified billing statements for their own personal gain jeopardize the viability of government benefit programs," Ferrer said in a statement.</p> <p>"People who defraud Medicare indirectly increase the cost of health care for everyone," added George L. Piro, FBI special agent in charge of the Miami field office.</p> <p>Melgen has already pleaded not guilty in the New Jersey corruption case, in which he is accused of funneling nearly $1 million in gifts and campaign donations to Menendez in exchange for political favors. Menendez, a Democrat, has also pleaded not guilty, and he is not implicated in the Medicare fraud case.</p> <p>Melgen attorney Annie Lyons declined comment Tuesday on the Medicare fraud charges, but has previously said the charges are "highly defensible." Melgen is scheduled to make his first appearance in the case Wednesday in West Palm Beach federal court.</p> <p>The total maximum prison time for all 76 counts – if Melgen is convicted in the health fraud case and the sentences are imposed consecutively – comes to a staggering 610 years.</p> <p>According to the indictment, Melgen falsely diagnosed many patients with serious eye conditions, such as macular degeneration and retinal disorders, which allowed him to then perform unnecessary and costly procedures such as laser surgery and eye injections for which he would bill Medicare.</p> <p>In addition, the indictment claims that Melgen made exorbitant profits from a costly macular degeneration drug, Lucentis, by splitting vials intended for single use into multiple-use vials and then billing Medicare as if each were for a single use. Melgen is also accused of falsifying patient and billing files and filing claims for unperformed diagnostic tests.</p> <p>Melgen graduated from medical school in his native Dominican Republic and has lived in the U.S. since at least 1980, holding posts across the country while building a reputation as a top eye surgeon, records show. He was licensed in Florida in 1987 and treated "presidents, governors, politicians, celebrities and actors," the website for his four-office practice boasted before being taken down when the initial charges against him were announced earlier this month.</p> <p>Melgen and Menendez have been friends for decades. The senator has said they celebrated holidays and weddings together, mourned together at funerals and exchanged gifts on birthdays.</p> <p>The corruption indictment unsealed earlier this month against the men claimed Menendez intervened on his friend's behalf to gain visas for Melgen's foreign girlfriends, press Dominican officials to honor a lucrative port contract for one of the doctor's businesses and influence CMS officials on the billing dispute. In exchange, authorities say, Melgen showered the senator with flights, vacations and contributions.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-24324005814786648552015-04-15T20:50:00.001+07:002015-04-15T20:50:07.772+07:00âIâm going to rape youâ: Womanâs bar-bathroom nightmare<p>It was every woman's worst nightmare.</p> <p>A 23-year-old bar patron raped in a Flatiron watering hole was just an "innocent woman who went to the bathroom and was attacked" by a stranger, sources said.</p> <div readability="7"><img class=" wp-image-9636970" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/img_1774.jpg?w=168&h=253" alt="" width="168" height="253" /> <p>Bathroom stall at the Turnmill Bar</p> </div> <p>The victim, a Long Island student, was having drinks with her boyfriend and another pal to celebrate their birthdays before she was raped at the Turnmill pub on East 27th Street at 7:50 p.m. Saturday, cops say. The woman had two beers before she went to use the bathroom in the basement, the sources said.</p> <p>Her sick assailant was lurking in the restroom's middle stall while she used the toilet. When the woman opened her stall door to leave, her attacker grabbed her by the neck.</p> <p>"I'm going to rape you," he hissed, according to the sources, adding that the sicko warned the woman to "be quiet."</p> <p>A Lower East Side resident who went to the bar last week said it gets so loud that the victim "could have screamed bloody murder and no one would have known.''</p> <p>Cops are honing in on a suspect who was named in two separate tips, the sources said.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-63707747053391378882015-04-15T18:18:00.008+07:002015-04-15T18:19:52.012+07:00Google facing antitrust showdown in Europe<p>European regulators are poised to file a complaint alleging Google has been abusing its dominance in Internet search to thwart competition and innovation, according to memo that the company sent to its employees Tuesday.</p> <p>Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, wrote that a "statement of objections" to Google's business practices will be released Wednesday by Europe's top antitrust regulator, Margrethe Vestager.</p> <p>Besides outlining their belief that Google has been illegally rigging its search results to favor its own services, European regulators also may announce they are opening an inquiry into whether Google is also using its popular Android software for mobile devices to gain an unfair advantage over other digital services, Walker said.</p> <p>A copy of the memo was posted online by the technology websites Re/Code and TechCrunch after The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported Vestager's plans to take action against Google, the Internet's most powerful company. Google confirmed Walker wrote the memo late Tuesday, but the company declined further comment.</p> <p>The case sets up a legal battle that could culminate in Google being fined about $6 billion, or 10 percent of its annual revenue, and force the Mountain View, California, company to overhaul its system for recommending websites in Europe. But the process could take several more years resolve, especially if Google appeals any adverse decision issued by European regulators.</p> <p>In the meantime, the allegations are likely to paint an unflattering picture of Google, which embraced "don't be evil" as its creed a few years after CEO Larry Page and his Stanford University classmate Sergey Brin founded the company in a rented Silicon Valley garage in 1998.</p> <p>"Expect some of the criticism to be tough," Walker wrote Tuesday.</p> <p>A complaint challenging Google's conduct "would represent a significant step towards ending Google's anti-competitive practices, which have harmed innovation and consumer choice," said Thomas Vinje, legal counsel for FairSearch Europe, a group that has been urging regulators to rein in Google.</p> <p>Europe's looming showdown with Google also could intensify scrutiny of a similar U.S. antitrust investigation that the Federal Trade Commission settled in 2013 without finding any significant misbehavior. A confidential report mistakenly released to The Wall Street Journal last month revealed the FTC's legal staff had recommended suing Google for breaking antitrust laws only to be overruled by the agency's governing commissioners.</p> <p>Google has offered to make concessions on three previous occasions in an attempt to settle Europe's nearly 5-year-old antitrust probe, only to have the negotiations unravel. The efforts to forge a truce occurred under Vestager's predecessor, Joaquin Almunia, who stepped down late last year.</p> <p>European regulators, like their U.S. peers, have been looking into complaints that Google improperly highlights its own services in its search results at the expense of its rivals. The alleged favoritism corrals Google's services, a strategy that Google's critics contend enables the Internet's most powerful company to sell more of the ads that generate most of its revenue, while diverting traffic from other websites trying to compete with their own products.</p> <p>Much of the complaint may focus on how Google displays its results in response to requests made by people who appear to be shopping online, Walker wrote.</p> <p>Google repeatedly has denied any wrongdoing, arguing there is nothing preventing people from using other search engines to find information, entertainment and shopping recommendations. Critics, though, deride Google as a ruthless monopoly that wields its dominant position to stymie its rivals. By some estimates, Google processes about nine out of 10 search requests in parts of Europe — even more than in the U.S., where it commands about two-thirds of the market.</p> <p>The push to crack down on Google is being led by a group of publishers and technology companies that includes Microsoft Corp., which once tangled with Europe's antitrust regulators over the way it bundled products with its Windows operating system.</p> <p>An antitrust case against Google would be Europe's biggest since regulators wrangled with Microsoft.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-37509640246756881682015-04-15T18:18:00.007+07:002015-04-15T18:18:21.596+07:00Rape victim flies 3,000 miles to testify against ex-Goldman exec<p>A tearful Irish woman flew 3,000 to testify against a former Goldman Sachs banker who she says raped her in the Hamptons.</p> <p>The woman said former managing director Jason Lee attacked her in the bathroom of his East Hampton rental during a night of partying in 2013.</p> <p>Identified only as Dana, the alleged victim said Lee, 38, barged into a restroom where she was changing and attacked her.</p> <p>"With every ounce of strength I had in me I pulled my leg up and I kneed him in the groin," she said as Lee looked on stoically. "He fell off. I just sat there in disbelief. I couldn't believe it."</p> <p>The woman, a student who lives in Ireland, was visiting her brother as he wrapped up a seasonal job on the East End.</p> <p>Prosecutors argue that the married banker — who left Goldman in the wake of his arrest — met the victim, now 22, while celebrating his birthday with a pal at the Georgica eatery in Wainscott.</p> <p>The continued carousing at Lee's $33,000 per month East Hampton rental pad, while his banker wife was back in Manhattan.</p> <p>Lee's attorney, Andrew Lankler, tried to poke holes in Dana's story by presenting pictures taken prior to the attack of Lee and the woman together.</p> <p>She told the court that she was never attracted to him and thought he resembled the Mr. Chow character form the Hangover movies.</p> <p>Lee faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of the first-degree rape charge.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-76828192932203316442015-04-15T18:18:00.005+07:002015-04-15T18:18:21.303+07:00Bipartisan agreement leads to change in doctorsâ Medicare fees<p>Legislation permanently overhauling how Medicare pays physicians won approval Tuesday from an atypically united Congress as lawmakers banded together to erase an irritant that has dogged them for years.</p> <p>Adding urgency to legislators' work, the measure headed off a 21 percent cut in doctors' Medicare fees that would have hit home Wednesday, when the government planned to begin processing physicians' claims reflecting that reduction. The bill also provides billions of extra dollars for health care programs for children and low-income families, including additional money for community health centers.</p> <p>Working into the evening, the Senate approved the measure 92-8 less than three weeks after the House passed it by a lopsided 392-37.</p> <p>"It's a milestone for physicians, and for the seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health care needs," President Barack Obama said in a written statement after the vote. He added, "I will be proud to sign it into law."</p> <p>Conservatives were unhappy that two-thirds of the bill's $214 billion, 10-year costs were financed by simply making federal deficits even bigger, while liberals wanted added money for children and women's programs. Eager to demonstrate his party's ability to efficiently run the Senate they've controlled since January, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., defended the measure.</p> <p>"It's another reminder of a new Republican Congress that's back to work," he said. "And while no bill will ever be perfect, this legislation is a sensible compromise with wide bipartisan support."</p> <p>Top Democrats also expressed support for the legislation.</p> <p>"This is a significant and hard won achievement that will ensure better quality health care and certainty for millions of seniors and children," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.</p> <p>The bill marks a tandem effort by Democrats and Republicans at a time when the two parties are far likelier to block each other's initiatives.</p> <p>All eight "no" votes came from Republicans, including some of their most conservative members. Among prcongreesidential hopefuls, Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voted against the bill, while Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted for it.</p> <p>The bill's chief feature was its annulling of a 1997 law aimed at slowing the growth of Medicare that has repeatedly threatened deep cuts in reimbursements to physicians and led to threats by doctors to stop treating the program's beneficiaries. Congress has blocked 17 reductions since 2003, an exercise that invites intense lobbying and difficult choices about finding budget savings that both parties detested.</p> <p>Instead, the measure would create a new payment system with financial incentives for physicians to bill Medicare patients for their overall care, not individual office visits.</p> <p>While Democrats touted the legislation's added funds for children and the poor, Republicans were claiming victory in changes the bill makes in Medicare that would have a long-term though modest impact on the huge program's finances.</p> <p>While $141 billion of the measure's costs over the decade would come from added federal red ink, about $35 billion would come from Medicare beneficiaries, mostly by raising the medical and prescription drug premiums paid by some upper-income recipients starting in 2018. Though the affected beneficiaries already pay higher premiums than lower-earning people, Congress seldom increases costs on seniors, fearing retribution come the next Election Day from older voters.</p> <p>The bill would raise another $37 billion by cutting Medicare reimbursements to hospitals and other providers.</p> <p>Before passage, senators rejected six amendments, three from each party, that were all but sure to lose but let lawmakers demonstrate their disapproval of provisions they opposed.</p> <p>A Democratic proposal to extend the two years of extra money the measure provided for the popular Children's Health Insurance Program to four years lost on a 50-50 vote — short of the 60 votes needed to prevail. By 58-42, the chamber rejected an effort by conservatives to force Congress to find enough savings to pay for the entire measure without increasing federal red ink.</p> <p>"Honestly it's my hope that the amendments are not approved, because we need to get this bill down to the president for signature before midnight," McConnell told reporters.</p> <p>Senators faced conflicting pressures from lobbying groups.</p> <p>The American Medical Association and other providers' organizations were urging lawmakers to pass the bill. AARP, the senior citizens' lobby, wanted legislators to back an amendment ending Medicare's annual coverage limits for therapy but stopped short of urging the bill's defeat without that change.</p> <p>Conservative groups including the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America pressed lawmakers to support the GOP amendment — which lost — to require Congress to pay for the entire bill.</p> <p>House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who crafted the compromise with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., warned senators of the impending doctors' cuts and underscored the futility of trying to amend the bill.</p> <p>"The House legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, and we do not plan to act again, so we urge the Senate to approve the House-passed bill without delay," Boehner said in a written statement.</p> <p>The 21 percent cut in doctors' fees technically took effect April 1. Citing federal law, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stopped processing those claims two weeks ago — in effect giving lawmakers time to complete the legislation. The agency processes around 4 million Medicare payments for doctors daily.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-9326538865621493612015-04-15T18:18:00.003+07:002015-04-15T18:18:21.089+07:00Nokia confirms acquisition failing French telecom company<p>Nokia confirmed Wednesday it is acquiring the ailing French telecom company Alcatel-Lucent through a public exchange offer in France and the United States, in a bid to become a leading global networks operator.</p> <p>The Finnish company said the all-share transaction will be on the basis of 0.55 of a new Nokia share for every share of Alcatel-Lucent. The share offer values the French concern at 15.6 billion euros.</p> <p>Alcatel-Lucent shareholders would own 33.5 percent of the fully diluted share capital of the combined company, with Nokia shareholders owning 66.5 percent.</p> <p>The deal has been approved by each company's board of directors and is expected to close in 2016 subject to regulatory and other approvals, Nokia said.</p> <p>The announcement follows confirmation a day earlier that Nokia was in advanced talks to buy Alcatel-Lucent, which has been racking up billions of euros of losses since its creation in 2006.</p> <p>Both companies' chief executives, Nokia's Rajeev Suri and Alcatel-Lucent's Michel Combes, met with French President Francois Hollande briefly on Tuesday afternoon, and the French government said it would support the deal.</p> <p>Nokia has recently made a turnaround since its 5.4 billion-euro sale of the lossmaking handset business to Microsoft a year ago, with three remaining sectors: networks, HERE mapping services and technologies and patents.</p> <p>Nokia also said Wednesday it has "initiated a review of strategic options, including a potential divestment, for its HERE business." It gave no details.</p> <p>Alcatel-Lucent, which has undergone repeated rounds of restructuring since the 2006 merger of France's Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent Technologies, is laying off more than 10,000 workers and last year made a net loss of 118 million euros.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-9798579982179944062015-04-15T18:18:00.001+07:002015-04-15T18:18:20.749+07:00Somber remembrance will mark 2 years since marathon bombing<p>Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream</p> <p>BOSTON (AP) — Boston will mark the second anniversary of the 2013 marathon bombings Wednesday with a subdued remembrance that includes a moment of silence, the pealing of church bells and a call for kindness.</p> <p>Mayor Marty Walsh and other officials will raise commemorative banners on Boylston Street early Wednesday. A moment of silence follows at 2:49 p.m., marking the time the first of two bombs exploded near the finish line April 15, 2013. Church bells will then ring throughout the city.</p> <p>Mayor Walsh has also declared April 15 "One Boston Day," a new tradition meant to honor the city's resilience and spread goodwill.</p> <p>"April 15 is a date that has come to stand for our city's deepest values," Walsh has said. "One Boston Day will inspire all of us to come together as the community we are and share the spirit of Boston by giving back."</p> <p>The relatively modest remembrance comes in contrast to 2014's commemoration of the attacks, which killed three people and injured more than 260 others.</p> <p>Survivors, first responders and thousands of others gathered at the marathon finish line, and Vice President Joe Biden, at an earlier event, declared: "We are Boston. We are America. We respond. We endure. We overcome. And we own the finish line."</p> <p>The new One Boston Day is partly inspired by survivors of the attacks, many of whom are now doing charitable works.</p> <p>Liz Norden, a Stoneham resident whose two adult sons — J.P. and Paul — each lost a leg in the attack, has set up a nonprofit called A Leg Forever to help other amputees pay for costs that insurance won't cover. She says the work has been therapeutic.</p> <p>"My boys had so much help from the generosity of people from everywhere," Norden said this week. "If you lose your leg to a horrific accident, you don't have the media coverage or the resources that my family was so blessed to have. So it's important that we try to help other amputees that don't have that."</p> <p>People are encouraged to share their random acts of kindness using the Twitter hashtag OneBostonDay. The city has also launched a website.</p> <p>An elementary school in Reading says students will be writing thank-you letters to local police and fire departments. The Hyatt Regency Boston will be accepting donations of new or gently worn men's sneakers for St. Francis House, a Boston homeless shelter.</p> <p>Jurors in the trial of marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, meanwhile, have been warned to avoid anniversary events and this year's race. The Boston Marathon — one of the world's premier running events — takes place April 20; the penalty phase in Tsarnaev's trial begins the next day.</p> <p>The jury has already convicted Tsarnaev of all 30 charges against him. In the next phase, they weigh sentencing the 21-year-old ethnic Chechen to death or life in prison.</p> <p>Norden says nothing short of execution is warranted.</p> <p>"He destroyed so many families that day," she said. "I want the ultimate justice."</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-86836173462833647682015-04-14T20:49:00.008+07:002015-04-14T20:51:21.919+07:0032-year-old with amnesia wakes up thinking sheâs 15<p>One morning in 2008, 32-year-old Naomi Jacobs woke up in a home she didn't recognize, to a son she didn't know, thinking she was 15 years old. Jacobs, who is British, wasn't admitted to a hospital the night prior for any head trauma. Rather, her personal memories disappeared due to a rare form of amnesia called dissociative amnesia, which is induced by stress, BBC reported.</p> <p>"Initially I don't recognize the room, the bedroom that I've woken up in, the bed that I've woken up in. I jumped out of the bed in shock," Jacobs told the BBC.</p> <p>According to the Mayo Clinic, dissociative, or psychogenic, amnesia results from emotional shock or trauma. The condition causes a loss of personal memories and autobiographical information but typically only for a brief time.</p> <p>Jacobs, who details her experience in her new book, "Forgotten Girl," said she thought she was dreaming until she saw her face in the bathroom mirror. Upon waking up, her last memory was of falling asleep the night before in her bunk beds that she shared with her sister as a teen.</p> <p>While Jacobs recalled tasks pertaining to her automatic memory, like driving a car and dialing certain phone numbers, she didn't remember memories relating to her personal life, such as weddings, death and even giving birth to her 10-year-old son, Leo.</p> <p>"I was in shock— total shock," Jacobs told the news website of seeing her son after she woke. "Everything from fear to joy from seeing this child that I didn't have any memory of giving birth to, but knew undoubtedly that he was mine because he looked so much like me, to terror of having the responsibility of this small child."</p> <p>"I was convinced that I was going to fall asleep again that night and wake up in 1992. It wasn't real to me what was happening," she added.</p> <p>Jacobs said the most commonplace items, from smartphones to digital TV, perplexed her, but she said she is happy to have been given the opportunity to see the world through her younger self's eyes.</p> <p>"I do feel quite fortunate in that sense because at the age of 15, you imagine where you're going to be at the age of 32, and then to almost wake up 17 years later and see that your life and the world hasn't quite turned out the way you expected it to, but seeing it again all through my new 15-year-old eyes gave me a fresh and new perspective," she told the BBC.</p> <p>This article originally appeared on Fox News.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-16675811800114484012015-04-14T20:49:00.007+07:002015-04-14T20:49:55.540+07:008 quirky cafes from around the world<p>For those who can't bear another foam, jus or seven-course dégustation menu, there are a plethora of alternative venues popping up worldwide that have more curious lures — ones that are much more about quirk than cuisine.</p> <p>We scoured the globe for the most unusual eateries — and suggests a visit to these eight weird and wacky spots.</p> <h3>Cereal Killer Cafe, London</h3> <div><img class=" size-nypost-large-desktop wp-image-9636123" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/2_-3.jpg?w=680&h=450&crop=1" alt="" width="680" height="450" /> <p><span>Photo: Josh Puleston</span></p> </div> This UK "first" fills a gap in the market that nobody even saw — nobody apart from two identical twins from Belfast. <p>The Cereal Killer Cafe, opened last December, serves 120 different cereals from all over the world (try the Oreo Os, otherwise only available to buy in South Korea), with 30 different types of milk.</p> <p>Located on hipster-packed Brick Lane in Shoreditch, the space is an ode to decades past, with 80s Formica and a vintage vibe.</p> <h3>The Laundromat Cafe, Copenhagen</h3> <div><img class=" size-nypost-large-desktop wp-image-9636112" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/img_81391.jpg?w=680&h=450&crop=1" alt="" width="680" height="450" /> <p><span>Photo: Kenneth Nguyen</span></p> </div> Copenhagen residents have an unusual solution for getting on top of their domestic chores: At the Laundromat Cafe, customers bring their laundry, pop it in a machine and then grab a drink — there's over 40 types of beer — or a meal (dirty brunch is a favorite, with eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes and chocolate butter, homemade muesli and juice) at long wood tables or red couches surrounded by eccentric posters. <p>There's now two more Laundromat Cafes in the Danish capital and a fourth in Reykjavik, and this fall, Osaka, Japan, will get a taste of the laundry-dining hybrid.</p> <h3>Fukurou Sabou Owl Cafe, Tokyo</h3> <div><img class=" size-nypost-large-desktop wp-image-9636149" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/shutterstock_142972327.jpg?w=680&h=450&crop=1" alt="" width="680" height="450" /> <p><span>Photo: Shutterstock</span></p> </div> Eating dinner and petting an animal don't make for obvious bedfellows. But in Tokyo — a city of 13 million and one of the most crowded in the world — having space for a pet is a luxury for few. <p>Following on from the success of cat cafes (New York's first opened last December), Tokyo is moving into new territory again with the next big thing: owl cafes.</p> <p>At Fukurou Sabou, the cheesecake may come well recommended, but for most city dwellers and tourists, it's the chance to hold an owl — or have one sit on your shoulder.</p> <h3>Cabbages and Condoms, Bangkok</h3> <div readability="7"><img class=" size-nypost-large-desktop wp-image-9636104" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/p7270122.jpg?w=680&h=450&crop=1" alt="" width="680" height="450" /> <p><span>Photo: Courtesy of Cabbages & Condoms</span></p> </div> Cabbages and Condoms is the brainchild of Mechai Viravaidya (aka Mr Condom), co-founder of the Population and Community Development Association. He wanted people to consider condoms as casually as they'd consider cabbages. <p>Dripping with tongue-in-cheek humor, this two-story restaurant seats 400 and features walls dotted with condoms. Illuminated "condom pom-poms" provide light; a full-size action hero made of the contraceptives greets you on arrival.</p> <p>Don't expect after-dinner mints; the bill comes with condoms instead. Following its success, two restaurants with the same name have now opened in England.</p> <h3>Lentil as Anything, Melbourne</h3> <div><img class=" size-nypost-large-desktop wp-image-9636110" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/lentil_6.jpg?w=680&h=450&crop=1" alt="" width="680" height="450" /> <p><span>Photo: Handout</span></p> </div> At Lentil as Anything, you don't just pay what you want for your meal; you pay what you can. This not-for-profit vegetarian joint, which opened its first outpost in Melbourne's St Kilda suburb, is part of a community-focused organization, staffed by volunteers and dedicated to promoting an equal, generous and free world. <p>With menus both buffet-style and à la carte, the food is simple and delicious — the Sri Lankan curry is memorable, even in this food-obsessed metropolis. It's grown to four branches in Melbourne and Sydney now has one, too.</p> <h3>Modern Toilet, Taiwan</h3> <div><img class=" size-nypost-large-desktop wp-image-9636119" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/12.jpg?w=680&h=450&crop=1" alt="" width="680" height="450" /> <p><span>Photo: Handout</span></p> </div> Modern Toilet might sound like a no-go area in the catering industry, but there's still food to enjoy at this most peculiar of establishments. <p>Inspired by the toilet humor of Japanese cartoon Dr. Slump, there's no escaping the theme at this Taiwan-based chain (which also has a number of outlets in China). Diners eat at tables made from converted sinks.</p> <p>Acrylic toilets embellished with brash designs make for seats. Asian food is served in mini bathtubs and toilets, while drinks come in urinal-shaped glasses.</p> <p>It's not a place that should be taken too seriously. The signature offering, a menu staple since it opened, is the chocolate ice-cream — swirled euphemistically in a squat toilet dish.</p> <h3>Baobab Tree Bar, Modjadjiskloof, South Africa</h3> <div><img class=" size-nypost-large-desktop wp-image-9636130" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/photo_1_-6.jpg?w=680&h=450&crop=1" alt="" width="680" height="450" /> <p><span>Photo: Handout</span></p> </div> Sunland Farm is located in Modjadjiskloof, a small town in South Africa's northern Limpopo province. It is home to an enormous baobab tree at least 1,500 years old, 150 feet in circumference and 72 feet tall. As they age, the trees grow hollow inside. <p>And in this one, a husband and wife turned it into the hidden Baobab Tree Bar. Now a thirst-quenching stop for tourists, the bar serves light food if you pre-book beforehand.</p> <p>But with seating for only 10 punters, you're best off sticking your head in for a look before enjoying a drink outside, with most people preferring a picnic or BBQ in the shade.</p> <h3>Blindeku, Zurich, Switzerland</h3> <div><img class=" size-nypost-large-desktop wp-image-9636133" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/dsc1175a.jpg?w=680&h=450&crop=1" alt="" width="680" height="450" /> <p><span>Photo: Handout</span></p> </div> Jorge Spielmann — a blind clergyman from Switzerland — gave his dinner guests a new culinary experience: eating while blindfolded. <p>It was an epiphany for Spielmann, who in 1999 opened Blindekuh in Zurich, the world's first "dark dining" restaurant.</p> <p>Customers feast in darkness, served by blind or partially-sighted staff. Despite the unusual premise, the notion has spread into other major cities, with a London 'blind dining' spot providing the 'meet-cute' for the lead characters in the 2013 film About Time.</p> <p>The Zurich original is still the one to visit, though they now have another restaurant in Basel. Menus change weekly, with a simple three-way choice of meat, fish or vegetarian.</p> <p>As to what you're actually eating, you will have to guess that part while you're sat in the dark.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-85129284988569214732015-04-14T20:49:00.005+07:002015-04-14T20:49:55.157+07:00Obama will finally visit South Dakota, his 50th state<p>WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will complete a rare presidential run though all 50 states when he delivers the commencement address at a South Dakota community college next month.</p> <p>Amid much speculation over when he'd finally make it to South Dakota, Obama used an interview Monday with KSFY, the ABC-affiliated TV station in Sioux Falls, to break the news himself.</p> <p>South Dakota is the only state still waiting for Obama to visit – but only for a few more weeks.</p> <p>"I can't let my South Dakota friends feel neglected," he told station anchor Nancy Naeve.</p> <p>Obama will travel to Watertown, in the state's northeastern corner, to deliver the commencement address at Lake Area Technical Institute on May 8.</p> <p>The White House says Lake Area Tech is one of the nation's top community colleges, recognized for rigorously preparing its students and for having a two-year graduation rate that's more than twice the national average.</p> <p>Obama has advocated for community colleges during his presidency. Earlier this year he announced a multibillion-dollar proposal to pay community college tuition for eligible students, but the plan has not picked up any traction in the Republican-controlled Congress.</p> <p>Obama had made it to just 46 states when Jan. 1 rolled in, leaving just Idaho, South Carolina, Utah and South Dakota yearning for a presidential sighting.</p> <p>Aides quickly scheduled appearances in Idaho the day after his State of the Union speech in January, followed by a stop in South Carolina in March.</p> <p>He slept in Utah on April 2 before a public appearance at Hill Air Force Base, near Salt Lake City, the next morning.</p> <p>That left South Dakota with the distinction of being the only state awaiting an Obama visit.</p> <p>The wait ends in four weeks, and Obama will have completed a rare presidential run through all 50 of the United States.</p> <p>He will be just the fourth president to do so, according to the White House Historical Association.</p> <p>Richard Nixon was first, followed by George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.</p> <p>Ronald Reagan fell four states short of the goal.</p> <p>George W. Bush never made it to Vermont.</p> <p>Obama's most recent South Dakota visit was in 2008 while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. He spoke last year in North Dakota on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which straddles that state's border with South Dakota.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-22908720826704350472015-04-14T20:49:00.003+07:002015-04-14T20:49:54.753+07:00Elderly woman dies after tourist knocks her into Great Wall of China<p>Here's a reminder why running at a crowded tourist site could be dangerous, even deadly.</p> <p>A Chinese woman died after suffering a major head injury after being pushed into the Great Wall of China by a Canadian tourist.</p> <p>Cui Hongfang, a 73-year-old woman visiting from northeastern China, was visiting the historic site with family members last Wednesday when she collided with a Canadian woman. The impact forced Hongfang's head into a corner of the stone wall, according to the South China Morning Post.</p> <p>Though the incident has been ruled an accident by local police, authorities are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the elderly woman's death. Hongfang's husband told The Beijing News that his late wife was knocked over because the Canadian tourist was running down a particularly step section of the Great Wall.</p> <p>"The foreigner was moving really fast. She was chasing [someone] and laughing and wanted to go between me and my wife," he said.</p> <p>According to the family, Hongfang immediately lost consciousness after colliding the Canadian tourist and began bleeding from her mouth, nose and ears. But it still took a medical team nearly an hour to arrive at the site due to the remote location of the incident.</p> <div readability="7"><img class="size-medium wp-image-9637138" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/great-wall1.jpg?w=300&h=209" alt="" width="300" height="209" /> <p>The Great Wall is often thronged by tourists.<span>Photo: AP</span></p> </div> <p>The collision occurred just outside the range of CCTV cameras so is there no footage of the accident.</p> <p>"It happened right in one of the security camera system's blind spots," an official of the Mutianyu Great Wall Tourism Services Company told news website China.org.cn.</p> <p>"We have rules and warnings for tourists, asking them not to chase each other, run fast or play around on the steep sections of the Great Wall."</p> <p>After interviewing the Canadian tourist, whose last name has been identified as Fortin, and several witness, Chinese police decided not to press charges.</p> <p>However, Hongfang's family has been advised to file a civil suit to seek compensation from the tourist, who has since returned to North America.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880764671216378626.post-22023723627117831162015-04-14T20:49:00.001+07:002015-04-14T20:49:54.326+07:00200 get diarrhea, vomiting aboard San Diego-bound cruise ships<p>SAN DIEGO — Federal health officials say about 200 people have come down with vomiting and diarrhea aboard two San Diego-bound cruise ships.</p> <p>The Centers for Disease Control says 112 passengers and crew were sickened by norovirus aboard the Celebrity Infinity, which carried some 2,000 passengers from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego on a trip that passed through the Panama Canal.</p> <p>Celebrity Cruises, however, put the total at 100 and has said those who fell ill responded to shipboard medication.</p> <p>The ship arrived in San Diego Monday and will depart for the canal after sanitizing.</p> <p>Norovirus can be transmitted from contaminated food or water or an infected person.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the Royal Caribbean ship Legend of the Seas arrives Tuesday. The CDC says 116 passengers and crew became sick from unknown causes.</p><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918684043915798073noreply@blogger.com0