Almost 46 million people trapped in slavery

Almost 46 million people trapped in slavery with North Korea, India key offenders: global index

Actor Russell Crowe launches the 2016 Global Slavery Index at the London office of Gallup, the pollster of the Index, Britain May 31, 2016. THOMSON

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Almost 46 million people are living as slaves globally with the greatest number in India but the highest prevalence in North Korea, according to the third Global Slavery Index launched on Tuesday with Australian actor Russell Crowe.

The index, by Australia-based human rights group Walk Free Foundation, increased its estimate of people born into servitude, trafficked for sex work, or trapped in debt bondage or forced labor to 45.8 million from 35.8 million in 2014.

Andrew Forrest, founder of Walk Free, said the rise of nearly 30 percent was due to better data collection, although he feared the situation was getting worse with global displacement and migration increasing vulnerability to all forms of slavery.

Forrest, an Australian mining billionaire and philanthropist, urged businesses to check their supply chains for worker exploitation, saying he found thousands of people trapped in slavery making goods for his company Fortescue Metals Group.

Experts warn more shark attacks possible in Southern California

Experts warn more shark attacks possible in Southern California

Maria Korcsmaros, 52, was training for a half-Iron Man competition when she was attacked by a shark on Sunday, May 29, 2016 off Corona Del Mar State Beach in Newport Beach, California.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- There was still no swimming allowed Tuesday at the Southern California beach where a shark attacked 52 year old Maria Korcsmaros on Sunday. She was training for a triathlon, swimming about 500 feet off shore when the shark struck.

"She had extensive lacerations to her right arm," said Dr. Humberto Sauri, who treated Korcsmaros.

Sauri said Korcsmaros will survive, but that the shark left a very large bite mark.

"It extends from the upper torso area down to the pelvis," Sauri said.

"A lot of these sharks spend most of their time literally 100 feet off the beach," said marine biologist Chris Lowe, who has been tracking the growing shark population off Southern California for more than a decade.

In 2014, Lowe showed CBS News how his team is using underwater drones to follow and observe sharks.

He said the number of juvenile great white sharks in the area is rising significantly. They're drawn to warm water caused by El Nino and an abundance of fish to feed on. They also have no predators, and great whites are a protected species.

"The questions that we're trying to answer now are, why are they at these beaches, how long do they stay at these beaches, what makes this beach so much more special than that beach?" Lowe said.

According to Lowe, the six- to seven-foot-long juvenile great whites are skittish and usually stay away from swimmers.

But with more sharks and more people in the water, "I think the rate of shark attack is going to continue to go up," Lowe said. "And the reason for that is simple math."

Doctors said the bite mark Korcsmaros suffered was about 18 inches wide, meaning it was likely caused by an adult great white shark at least 10 feet long -- extremely rare in these waters.

source: cbsnews

Memorial Day weekend shootings

Memorial Day weekend shootings leave 4 dead, at least 49 wounded

At least 13 people were wounded Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning on the South and West sides as the toll from gun violence in Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend reached four dead and more than four dozen wounded.

Last year, 12 people were killed and 44 wounded over the holiday weekend.

So far this weekend, three people were killed and 12 people were wounded Friday afternoon through early Saturday; one person was killed and 24 people were wounded Saturday evening through early Sunday; and 13 people were wounded Sunday afternoon through early Monday.

The majority of the shootings have happened on the West Side, in or near the Harrison District. In response, police officials have promised to step up their presence in the district.

Among those killed this weekend was 15-year-old Veronica Lopez, who was shot to death as she rode in a Jeep on Lake Shore Drive near Fullerton Avenue early Saturday. She is the youngest of the holiday slayings.

Garvin Whitmore, 27, a father of two, was shot in the head while sitting in a car with the mother of his children around 5:20 p.m. Saturday in the Fuller Park neighborhood on the South Side. The woman, Ashley Harrison, 26, picked up a gun from the car and fired warning shots into the air, police said.

The first homicide of the weekend happened around 11:20 p.m. Friday, in the 3700 block of West 75th Place, police said. Someone on foot shot Mark Lindsey, 25, who was sitting in a parked car, police said. The car came to rest in front of the house of Lindsey's mother, according to neighbors and police.

The fourth fatal shooting occurred around 5:15 a.m. Saturday inside a BP gas station at the corner of Narragansett and Montrose avenues on the Northwest Side in the Dunning neighborhood, police said. Damien Cionzynski, 25, of Harwood Heights, was arguing with two other men, and one of them shot him in the head. The man died on the scene.

Here are the shootings from Sunday afternoon through early Monday:

• A 19-year-old man was shot in the leg at 6:15 a.m. Monday near 64th Street and King Drive near the Parkway Gardens apartment complex, police said. The man stepped off a bus and started to walk when someone left a building in the Gardens complex and shot at him. The 19-year-old ran west, and paramedics found him at 64th and Eberhart. He was taken to University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center in good condition.

• Two 18-year-old men were wounded in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side. One was hit in the back and the other in the leg, and both were taken to Stroger Hospital, where they were stabilized, police said. The attack happened about 1:30 a.m. Monday.

• A 28-year-old man was shot about 1 a.m. Monday in the Park Manor neighborhood. Two men approached and asked for his things before one shot him in the buttocks, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital and was reported stable.

• A 35-year-old man was shot in the Austin neighborhood about 12:30 a.m. Monday, police said. He was in the 900 block of North Massasoit Avenue when someone inside a silver car fired toward him. The man was taken to Loyola Hospital for treatment, and his condition was stabilized.

• A 21-year-old man suffered a leg wound in a shooting about 11:30 p.m. Sunday in the Englewood neighborhood, police said. The man was in the 5900 block of South Princeton Avenue when someone shot him and he walked into St. Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center seeking treatment for the wound.

• Two men were shot during a robbery in the 2100 block of South Harding Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood about 11 p.m. Sunday. A 58-year-old man was shot in the leg and a 35-year-old was shot in the buttocks. Both are in stable condition, police said.

• A 25-year-old woman was shot in the left hand about 10:45 p.m. Sunday in the 3900 block of South Lakewood Avenue. She was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said.

• A 29-year-old man was shot about 5:55 p.m. Sunday in the 11500 block of South Wentworth Avenue. He was outside when he heard shots and felt pain, police said. He suffered a wound to the shoulder and drove to Metro South Hospital, she said.

• Two attacks happened in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a Chicago police spokeswoman.

The latest Gresham shooting happened about 4 p.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of West 85th Street. A 23-year-old man was shot in the right thigh. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Police believe the shooting was gang-related.

The other shooting happened about noon Sunday in the 8700 block of South Ashland Avenue. According to preliminary reports, a 20-year-old man was outside when he heard shots and felt pain, Tannehill said. He suffered a wound to the arm and went to Little Company of Mary Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, she said.

• About 12:35 p.m. Sunday, a 24-year-old man was shot in the 11500 block of South Peoria Street in the West Pullman neighborhood, Tannehill said. The victim was arguing with someone when he was shot in the right thigh. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized, she said.

source: www.chicagotribune.com

Why You Shouldn't Wish People a 'Happy Memorial Day'

Why You Shouldn't Wish People a 'Happy Memorial Day'

Members of the U.S. Army place American flags at graves at Arlington National Cemetery in 2016

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If you're not off work today, you might be perusing online sales in your half-staffed office. Or you might be planning on attending a BBQ later.

Whatever you're doing, don't wish people a "Happy Memorial Day." Here's why.

Memorial Day descends from the Southern tradition of "Decoration Day," where families would travel to the cemeteries where their ancestors were interred to place flowers on their graves. Often, large groups of extended families would make the trip, religious ceremonies would take place and food would be served. Decoration Day used to reflect the cycles of farm life, taking place in late summer when farm work was lightest or in autumn after the seasonal harvest. (Some areas would also observe it on Sundays, to coincide with church services.)

Memorial Day as we know it was established on May 5, 1868, when Grand Army of the Republic (a Civil War veteran organization) General John A. Logan, the GAR's first commander-in-chief, declared May 30 to be Memorial Day and called on the GAR's membership to make it an annual occurrence. Some hold that the day was chosen because it wasn't the anniversary of a specific battle, while in 2010, President Barack Obama's Memorial Day speech makes reference to the date being chosen because it was when flowers were optimally in bloom for decorating graves

Memorial Day as a national holiday did not pass into common usage until after World War II, and wasn't even designated as the holiday's official name until 1967. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Memorial Day from its fixed date (along with three other holidays) to the last Monday in May. The law went into action on the federal level in 1971, and within a few years, all 50 states adopted the change.

Memorial Day is not – as Veterans Day is – a blanket remembrance of those who have served in the nation's armed forces. It is specifically designated to honor those who have died while serving the country, and because of its gradual erosion into a "start of summer" celebration, a number of organizations and individuals advocate for the return of the holiday to May 30, including both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, introduced a Congressional measure to return Memorial Day to May 30 in 1987, and continued to do so every year until his death in 2012. In 1999, he wrote, "Mr. President, in our effort to accommodate many Americans by making the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our nation. Instead of using Memorial Day as a time to honor and reflect on the sacrifices made by Americans in combat, many Americans use the day as a celebration of the beginning of summer."

Writing on the Listserve in 2013, U.S. Marine Tony Bundschuh elaborated on the idea. "There is a difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Veterans Day is the one where we give thanks to all that have served, but Memorial Day is supposed to be a somber day set aside for remembrance of those that have died serving their country. It is not a happy day."

Former SEAL Kevin Lacz, who served with American Sniper Chris Kyle in the platoon SEAL Team THREE Charlie, echoed those ideas this year on MyStatesman.com. "Memorial Day needs to be a solemn remembrance of the brave Americans who have laid down their lives for the freedom we cherish. Frankly, the mere act of putting on the uniform isn't heroic. As Americans, we have begun to overuse the word 'hero…' I stand by my claim that the real heroes are the men and women who don’t come home. Memorial Day is for them."

And lastly, in 2015, writing in the Washington Post, Marine Corps veteran Jennie Haskamp linked to the Congressional Research Services' list of American War and Military Operations Casualties. There are over 1.3 million names on the list."I hope you enjoy your weekend," she wrote, "but I hope you pause to remember, too."

One small way you can do that: In December 2000, a resolution for a National Moment of Remembrance was passed, which calls for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect" at 3 p.m. local time. Alternately, consider donating money to one of the many organization that supports families of combat-wounded or killed veterans or veterans themselves, like Hope for the Warriors, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society or Homes for Our Troops.

source: www.people.com

Spanish Man in Rush for Plane Causes Cologne Security Scare

Spanish Man in Rush for Plane Causes Cologne Security Scare

BERLIN — A Spanish man in a rush for his plane caused a security scare at Germany's Cologne-Bonn airport Monday when he skirted security screening, causing authorities to shut down and evacuate a terminal and stop all departures from it for more than two hours, police said.

The airport's Terminal 1 was shut down at around 11:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) as police scoured the area for the 62-year-old man and was reopened after he had been apprehended. About 2,500 passengers were delayed because of the incident.

Airport police said the man told them that as he rushed for his flight to Portugal he looked for the most direct route, accidentally going into the secure area through an exit, the dpa news agency reported. Police didn't immediately announce any charges.

A similar incident occurred at the same airport in March, when Terminal 2 was temporarily shut down after a 23-year-old woman went around security controls. Police were able to find her and determined that she had simply been in a rush to catch her plane, but that incident meant delays for about 1,000 travelers.

source: nytimes

Gorilla killed after 4-year-old falls into zoo enclosure

Gorilla killed after 4-year-old falls into zoo enclosure

Gorilla killed

CINCINNATI, Ohio — A holiday weekend outing at Cincinnati's zoo turned doubly tragic Saturday when a 4-year-old boy was hospitalized after falling into a gorilla enclosure - and zoo workers had to kill the rare gorilla to protect the boy.

Cincinnati police and emergency crews responded to a report of a child falling into the exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden at about 4 p.m. Saturday. Police confirmed the child was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center near the zoo, and was treated for serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

Cincinnati Zoo President Thane Maynard said the boy crawled through a barrier and fell an estimated 10 to 12 feet into the moat surrounding the habitat. He said the boy was not seriously injured by the fall.

The Cincinnati Fire Department reported in a press release that first responders "witnessed a gorilla who was violently dragging and throwing the child."

Maynard said the zoo's 17-year-old male western lowland gorilla, Harambe, grabbed the boy and dragged him around. Two female gorillas were also in the enclosure.

The boy was with the 400-pound animal for about 10 minutes before the zoo's Dangerous Animal Response Team deemed the situation "life-threatening," Maynard said.

"The choice was made to put down, or shoot, Harambe, so he's gone," Maynard said. "We've never had a situation like this at the Cincinnati Zoo where a dangerous animal needed to be dispatched in an emergency situation."

With Memorial Day and summer travel coming up, it’s time to get serious about Zika

With Memorial Day and summer travel coming up, it’s time to get serious about Zika.

Ahh, Memorial Day! For generations of Americans the holiday has marked the beginning of the season of sunscreen, barbecues and chlorine. It’s when you start putting sticky notes all over the guidebooks for that exotic trip abroad. And when you start tuning out at work and daydreaming about lying on a hammock with a thick paperback and a smoothie in hand. But this year, the long weekend also signals something a little more ominous. This is when you should start getting serious, if you haven’t already, about Zika.

U.S. health officials warn that mosquitoes carrying the virus could hit the mainland’s southern borders — starting with Florida and the Gulf Coast — in few weeks, and as list of affected countries continues to expand, so does the likelihood that one of those places will be on your itinerary. The latest additions include Argentina, Grenada, St. Barts and Peru.

The World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed the link between Zika and thousands of infants being born with abnormally small heads. A study published this month by researchers at the CDC and Harvard found that pregnant women who are infected with the virus in their first trimesters may face a risk as high as 13 percent that their child will develop the condition which is often accompanied by incomplete brain development. The WHO has also acknowledged that the virus appears to be connected to some cases of the autoimmune nervous disorder Guillain-Barré in adults and is investigating its possible role in a third neurological condition known as ADEM. ADEM, or acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, involves a brief but often very serious attack of inflammation on the brain and spinal cord.

There’s no consensus about what’s going on. Some scientists think that as the virus rapidly spreads to larger populations, we’re just starting to notice the more serious effects of Zika, which until recently was not thought to be particularly dangerous as most people are asymptomatic or only experience mild symptoms such as a rash and fever and fully recover. The other possibility is more frightening. It’s that the virus, which was discovered in 1947, has evolved into a more virulent form — and may even continue to evolve.

So as you race around the house trying to find those flip-flops and wide-brimmed hats, take a moment to look through the latest information about Zika and some advice from experts about precautions you should be taking.

Where can I find the current list of countries where Zika is active?

Obama calls for end of nuclear weapons

In Hiroshima 71 years after first atomic strike, Obama calls for end of nuclear weapons.

HIROSHIMA, Japan — Nearly 71 years after an American bomber passed high above this Japanese city on a clear August morning for a mission that would alter history, President Obama on Friday called for an end to nuclear weapons in a solemn visit to Hiroshima to offer respects to the victims of the world’s first deployed atomic bomb.

Writing in the Hiroshima Peace Park guest book, Obama called for the courage to “spread peace and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.” In later remarks, he said that scientific strides must be matched by moral progress or mankind was doomed.

Obama’s visit, the first to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. president, had stirred great anticipation here and across Japan among those who longed for an American leader to acknowledge the suffering of the estimated 140,000 killed during the bombing on Aug. 6, 1945, and its aftermath. That figure includes 20,000 Koreans who had been forced by the Japanese military to work in the city for the imperial war machine.

Three days later in 1945, a second U.S. atomic bomb in Nagasaki killed a total of 80,000, including another 30,000 Koreans. Most of those killed in both cities were civilians. The Japanese emperor announced his nation’s surrender a week later.

On Friday, people lined streets as Obama’s motorcade entered the city. The presidential limousine pulled up behind the Peace Memorial Museum.

Freddie Gray verdict

Freddie Gray verdict leaves activists frustrated and wondering about the cases against other officers.

Baltimore Police Officer Edward Nero leaves the courthouse after he was acquitted of all charges. (Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun)

It was one of the most closely watched cases in recent years of a black man dying after being in police custody.

With Baltimore reeling from demonstrations that sometimes had become violent, Marilyn J. Mosby, Maryland's attorney for the city, acted within weeks of the death of Freddie Gray to bring murder and manslaughter charges against six police officers.

"I heard your call for 'no justice, no peace.' Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man," Mosby said just over a year ago on national television during a news conference.

Civil rights activists praised the prosecutor for swift and comprehensive action.

But the acquittal of one police officer Monday, just months after a mistrial of another, has left those activists deeply frustrated. Legal experts said the outcomes suggested that the other officers in the case could also go unpunished.

"It's not looking great. These are weak cases," said Steve Levin, a former federal prosecutor in Maryland who has represented police officers in criminal trials. "It's easy to bring charges against officers. But it's much harder to prove them."

Officer Edward Nero, 30, was found not guilty Monday of reckless endangerment, second-degree assault and two counts of misconduct in office -- all charges that grew out of what prosecutors argued was Gray's illegal arrest.

Prosecutors said Nero -- one of three officers on bike patrol who chased and arrested Gray on April 12, 2015 -- assaulted Gray by detaining him without justification. The reckless endangerment charge was from Nero putting Gray in a police van without buckling the seat belt.

It's easy to bring charges against officers. But it's much harder to prove them.
— Steve Levin, former federal prosecutor in Maryland

In his ruling Monday, Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams said there were "no credible facts" to show that Nero was directly involved in Gray's arrest. Testimony suggested that Nero played a minimal role in putting Gray in the van and that his actions were in line with his training, the judge said.

The ruling was a second blow to the prosecution. The trial of another officer, William G. Porter, which ended in a hung jury in December, is scheduled for retrial in September. Porter is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

Legal experts say the cases against many of the officers involved are weak.

"To prove these officers are guilty for many of these charges, like involuntary manslaughter, the prosecution has to convince a jury or judge that they did not only fail to do their duty but that they also put Gray at a high risk for dying," said David Jaros, a law professor at the University of Baltimore.

He said the strongest case is likely to be against Caesar Goodson Jr., who drove the van in which Gray suffered spinal injuries that resulted in his death a week after his arrest.

He could face up to a 30-year sentence if found guilty of second-degree murder, the most serious charge against any the officers. His trial is scheduled to start June 6.

On Monday, national and local activists lamented the Nero case but said they still hoped for convictions in future trials.

"The Nero verdict is a reminder that we must continue to push for policies and laws related to the police department that explicitly call for the preservation of life and that have clear lines of accountability," said DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter activist and former candidate for Baltimore mayor. He called the verdict "disappointing but not unexpected," adding that he was "reminded that this is one of six trials as we seek accountability for the death of Freddie Gray."

A statement from the NAACP echoed similar views. “We await justice for Freddie Gray," it said. "We respect the legal process and pray that the family of Freddie Gray will receive justice for his tragic death."

After several high-profile incidents in which officers were not indicted -- including the deaths of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and 43-year-old Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y. -- activists had cheered the quick action of state officials against the Baltimore police officers.

But now some activists and legal experts are suggesting that Mosby acted too quickly, questioning whether a May 21, 2015, grand jury indictment of officers left enough time for investigation.

Mosby is under a gag order while other cases proceed, and her office did reply to a request for comment.

Indictments in some other high-profile cases took months or longer, not weeks. In June, a state grand jury indicted former North Charleston, S.C., police Officer Michael Slager on murder charges in the death of 50-year-old Walter Scott, whom Slager shot two months earlier as Scott ran away after a traffic stop. This month, Slager was indicted on federal charges.

In another high-profile case, Chicago Officer Jason Van Dyke was indicted in December on first-degree murder charges in the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014.

Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore police officer and associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said the Baltimore cases have become a referendum on how police interact with racial minorities and residents of poor neighborhoods. Gray lived in the Gilmor Homes public housing complex, near where he first encountered Nero and Brian Rice, another officer on bike patrol, who is due for trial on July 5.

"You're rarely going to find moral justice in criminal prosecution" of police officers, he said. "But people will look for it, and they might be let down."

source: www.latimes.com

Bill Cosby to Stand Trial for Criminal Sex Assault, Judge Rules

Bill Cosby to Stand Trial for Criminal Sex Assault, Judge Rules.

Video Link

Bill Cosby will stand trial for the alleged 2004 drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand, a judge ruled on Tuesday at a preliminary hearing.

Cosby appeared in court despite strenuous efforts by his attorneys to get criminal charges against him dismissed.

Cosby smiled and waved as he entered the courthouse. He briefly stumbled while walking to the courtroom. The hearing got underway around 9:40 a.m with testimony by former Montgomery County Detective Katharine Hart, who read from the statement she took from Constand in January 2005 alleging Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her.

Cosby is facing three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each of which carry a prison sentence of up to ten years.

Prosecutors only had to make a so-called prima facie case to send the case to trial. Cosby has denies Constand's allegations as well as similar allegations from more than 50 women.

"It's fairly easy to meet the burden of proof requirements to send the case to trial," former Montgomery County sex crimes prosecutor Rich DeSipio, who is now a Philadelphia criminal defense attorney, tells PEOPLE.

In previous statements to authorities and in depositions he gave for Constand's civil suit against him, which he settled in late 2006, Cosby, 78, insisted the sexual contact between the two was consensual.
Constand, who revealed she was gay in court filings last summer, says it was not and that she as in a relationship with a woman at the time.

Attempts by Cosby to Dismiss Case

In February 2005, then-Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. declined to file criminal charges against Cosby in Constand's case, citing "insufficient credible and admissible evidence."

After Steele charged Cosby in December, Cosby's attorneys filed a motion saying the case should be dismissed because Castor had an agreement with Cosby that he would never be prosecuted in her case if he cooperated with the civil suit Constand was expected to file against Cosby.

On Feb. 3, after a two-day hearing that included seven hours of testimony by Castor, Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill refused to dismiss the case. Cosby's attorneys have been unsuccessfully trying to overturn O'Neill's decision ever since. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected his most recent attempt Monday afternoon.

Cosby Deposition Compels Prosecution to Reopen Case

The case re-emerged in the public eye last summer after Cosby's deposition in Constand's case became public. In that deposition, Cosby admitted to giving women Quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with. Those revelations prompted the Montgomery County district attorney's office, by then led by a new prosecutor, to reopen Constand's case.

Here's what Cosby said in his 2005 and 2006 depositions, according to the Associated Press, which edited some of the exchanges between Cosby and Dolores Troiani, one of Constand's attorneys:

On Constand

Q. When did you first develop a romantic interest in Andrea?

A. Probably the first time I saw her (at Temple's arena).

"On the night in question:

Q: Can you tell me ... what you recall of the night in which you gave the pills to Andrea?

A: Andrea came to the house. I called her. ... We talked about Temple University. We talked about her position. And then I went upstairs and I got three pills. I brought them down. They are the equivalent of one and a half. The reason why I gave them and offered them to Andrea, which she took after examining them, was because she was talking about stress.

Cosby describes a several-minute sexual encounter that followed.

Q: So, you're not telling us that you verbally asked her for permission?

A: I didn't say it verbally, I said. The action is my hand on her midriff, which is skin. I'm not lifting any clothing up. This is, I don't remember fully what it is, but it's there and I can feel. I got her skin and it's just above the hand and it's just above where you can go under the pants.

Q: Then what happens?

A: I don't hear her say anything. And I don't feel her say anything. And so I continue and I go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection. I am not stopped.

Troiani asks Cosby about a phone call a year later between Cosby and Constand's mother, Gianna Constand, who told him something was wrong with her daughter, who was also on the line.

Q: What was the thing that you did not want to talk about?

A: I didn't want to talk about, "What did you give her?"

Q: Why?

A: Because we're over the telephone and I'm not sending anything (the pill bottle) over the mail and I'm not giving away anything.

Q: Why didn't you simply tell her ... that you had given her daughter an over-the-counter drug called Benadryl?

A: I'm not going to argue with somebody's mother who is accusing me of something. And then when I apologize she says to me, "That's all I wanted to know, Bill." ... And I'm apologizing because I'm thinking this is a dirty old man with a young girl. I apologized. I said to the mother it was digital penetration.

Q: When she sat here and cried (Constand, during her deposition), how did you feel?

A: I think Andrea is a liar and I know she's a liar because I was there.

On Quaaludes
Cosby testified that he had gotten quaaludes from his doctor in Los Angeles in the 1970s. He said he was given seven prescriptions for the now-banned sedative, ostensibly for a sore back.

Q: Why didn't you ever take the quaaludes?

A: Because I used them.

Q: For what?

A: The same as a person would say, "Have a drink."

Q: You gave them to other people?

A: Yes.

Q: Did you believe at that time that it was illegal for you to dispense those drugs?

A: Yes.

Q: How did (the doctor) know that you didn't plan to use (them)?

A: What was happening at that time was that, that was, quaaludes happen to be the drug that kids, young people were using to party with and there were times when I wanted to have them just in case.

Q: When you got the quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?

A. Yes.

Cosby acknowledges having a sexual relationship with accuser Therese (Picking) Serignese starting around 1976, when she was 19. Serignese, who has gone public with her accusations, has said the first time she met Cosby at a Las Vegas hotel in 1976, he gave her quaaludes and a glass of water before they had sex.

Q: Did you give her quaaludes?

A: Yes.

Q: What effect did the quaaludes have on her?

A: She became in those days what was called high.

Q: She said that she believes she was not in the position to consent to intercourse after you gave her the drug. Do you believe that is correct?

A: I don't know. ... How many years ago are we talking about? 197(6)? ... I meet Ms. Picking in Las Vegas. She meets me backstage. I give her quaaludes. We then have sex.

Q: Why didn't you ever take them yourself?

A: I get sleepy.

Q: How would you know that if you never took them?

A: Quaaludes happen to be a depressant. I have had surgery and while being given pills that block the nervous system, in particular the areas of muscle, the back, I found that I get sleepy and I want to stay awake.



source: www.people.com

Bill Cosby Admits to Sex with Teenagers

Bill Cosby Admits to Sex with Teenagers, Paying Off Alleged Victims in Explosive Deposition Excerpt.

From Getty Images.

The comedian says an agency used to send him “five or six” models every week.

Associated Press reports that Cosby has been ordered to stand trial in Pennsylvania, where he has been criminally charged with assaulting Andrea Constand. Cosby’s arraignment is scheduled for July 20.

The first criminal case against alleged serial rapist Bill Cosby has begun with a set of major revelations.

On the same day that the Cosby Show star is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in Philadelphia that will determine whether the case goes to trial, the Associated Press has released more damning excerpts from a deposition Cosby gave when his accuser, Andrea Constand, first made a complaint against him in 2005.

Back then—when Constand became Cosby’s first alleged victim to go public—prosecutors declined to charge the once beloved comedian; the case was settled out of court.

But in the fall of 2014, after video of comedian Hannibal Buress calling Cosby a rapist went viral, Cosby’s unsavory past began making headlines again—and woman after woman began to come forward, accusing the Presidential Medal of Freedom winner of assault.

The snowball effect led to court records from Constand’s first complaint being unsealed in the summer of 2015—including a deposition in which Cosby admitted to drugging women he wanted to have sex with. In December, Cosby was formally charged with aggravated indecent assault.

The new excerpts find Cosby, under oath, describing a sexual encounter between him and Constand (in which he admits that he gave his accuser three pills and “didn’t [ask] verbally” for her consent), calling Constand a liar, and explaining why he had seven prescriptions for sedatives he apparently never ingested himself: because he fully intended to give them to other people, “the same as a person would say, ‘Have a drink.’”

The excerpts also delve into other disturbing elements of Cosby’s sexual history, including his sexual relationship with Therese Serignese—now among the nearly 60 women who have accused Cosby of assault. Serignese was 19 when she met Cosby; he was in his late 30s.

Cosby’s relations with teenagers, including another supposed 19-year-old who filed a complaint that did not lead to charges, are a running theme in the deposition. He says that an agency used to send him “five or six” models each week while filming one of his sitcoms, then admits to having a sexual encounter with one of them—who may have been just 17 years old when she met Cosby. (The encounter occurred in 2000, which implies that the sitcom in question was Cosby, which ran for four seasons on CBS.)

The comedian also admits to paying off Constand (who received an “educational trust”) and Serignese in an attempt to prevent his wife, Camille, from discovering the truth.
If found guilty in the criminal case, Cosby “faces up to 10 years in prison and would have to register as a sex offender,” according to NBC.


source: www.vanityfair.com

Obama confirms leader's death

Afghan Taliban meet on succession as Obama confirms leader's death.

Senior Afghan Taliban figures were meeting on Monday to agree on a successor to Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the leader of the militant movement who U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed had been killed in an American air strike at the weekend.

The Taliban have so far made no official statement on the fate of Mansour, who assumed the leadership only last year.

But senior members have confirmed that their main shura, or leadership council, has been meeting to discuss the succession in a bid to prevent factional splits from fragmenting the movement.

Obama, on a three-day visit to Vietnam, reiterated support for the Western-backed government in Kabul and Afghan security forces, and called on the Taliban to join stalled peace talks.

The president authorized the drone strike that killed Mansour in a remote region just on the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan on Saturday, and Afghan authorities have said the mission was successful.

But U.S. officials held back from confirming that the Taliban leader had been killed in the attack until intelligence had been fully assessed.

Pakistani authorities have said the drone strike was a violation of the country's sovereignty, but reaction from Islamabad has otherwise been relatively muted and a number of questions remain over what exactly happened.

A Pakistani passport in the name of Wali Muhammad, which Pakistani authorities said contained a visa for Iran, was recovered near the scene of the attack and is believed to have belonged to Mansour.

But it is unclear what he may have been doing in Iran and why he was apparently traveling in Pakistan without a security detail.

A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry was quoted on state media denying that such an individual had crossed the border from Iran to Pakistan at the time in question.

"MILESTONE"

Calling the death "an important milestone", Obama said Mansour had rejected peace talks and had "continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces".

"The Taliban should seize the opportunity to pursue the only real path for ending this long conflict - joining the Afghan government in a reconciliation process that leads to lasting peace and stability," he said.

source: www.reuters.com

Mount Everest claimed lives

Mount Everest claimed three lives in three days.

 international trekkers pass through a glacier at the Mount Everest base camp, Nepal.

Mount Everest claimed three lives in three days while two other climbers remained missing on the crowded, treacherous mountain Monday.

The tragedies heightened concerns once again about the dangers of climbing the world's tallest mountain.

Indian climber Subhash Paul died Sunday while being helped down the mountain by Sherpa guides one day after reaching the summit. Two other Indian climbers who lost contact with their group and disappeared Saturday on slopes known as the “death zone," and hopes for their survival were fading.

Late Friday, Eric Arnold, 35, a Dutchman from Rotterdam, had reached the summit on his fifth attempt just hours before his death. Early Saturday, Australian climber Maria Strydom, 34, who was trekking with her husband, also died while descending the mountain. All three were victims of altitude sickness.

Scores of climbers have managed to reach the summit in the past few days, among them the first combat amputee to climb the mountain, Marine Corps veteran Thomas Charles "Charlie" Linville, 30, who lost his leg to an IED in Iraq in 2011 and used a prosthesis to reach the top of Everest Thursday. Another combat amputee, former Army reservist Chad Jukes, 32, is attempting to follow Linville to the top in an expedition that includes two Army officers.

When weather permits, Everest draws hundreds of climbers each year seeking its summit. But the climb down can be treacherous as exhausted climbers race the clock and sometimes weather to return to safe altitudes. And good weather draws a rush of climbers, which can clog the icy, treacherous routes.

"Many climbers without any experience crowd Everest every year, and companies often use poor quality equipment... offering cheap packages to clients who are exposed to security risks," Nepal Mountaineering Association Chief Ang Tshering Sherpa told Reuters.

Massive tragedies in recent years have put an economic crunch on the climbing industry. At least 18 people last year when an earthquake sent a massive snow slide roaring through Base Camp, abruptly ending the climbing season. In 2014, an avalanche killed 16 guides, virtually halted climbing on Everest.

Relatively good conditions so far this year have brought large numbers of summit hopefuls to the mountain the Nepalese call Sagarmāthā, which loosely translates to "forehead in the sky."

Belgian climber Jelle Vegt, who reached the peak on May 13, told the Associated Press he reached the peak May 13 without issue. But he said a few days of bad weather then forced others to wait, creating a bottleneck that forced climbers to wait in line high on the mountain.

"The last two disasters on Everest were caused by nature, but not this one," Ang Tshering told AP.

Nepal Mountaineering Department official Gyanendra Shrestha told The Himalayan Times that about 30 climbers have developed frostbite or become sick near the summit in recent days. She said good weather has allowed almost 400 climbers to reach the summit from Nepal since May 11, but added that the altitude, weather and harsh terrain can cause problems at any time.

Mount Everest Map.

source: www.usatoday.com

Suicide Attacks Hit 2 Syrian Cities

Suicide Attacks Hit 2 Syrian Cities in Assad Stronghold, Killing Scores.

The site of a suicide bombing in the coastal town of Tartus, Syria, on Monday. Credit SANA, via Associated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Two teams of suicide attackers launched coordinated assaults on Monday deep inside Syrian government territory, killing scores of people in a relatively secure region where support for President Bashar al-Assad runs high.

Amaq, a news agency that is associated with the Islamic State, said jihadists from the militant group had carried out the attacks to strike “groupings of Alawites,” the religious sect of PresidentAssad.

But the attacks, on bus stations and the emergency department of a public hospital, seemed to target civilians in a religiously diverse area whose population has doubled as Syrians from elsewhere in the country have sought refuge from violence in their own communities.

The attacks also appeared to reflect the changing tactics of the Islamic State as its military fortunes have dimmed. Having lost significant territory from their self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq, they have turned their focus to external expansion while stepping up suicide bombings against civilian targets in places like Baghdad.

The assaults were also a blow to Mr. Assad, who has portrayed his government as a bulwark against terrorism.

Merely pulling off the bombings was a logistical feat that calls into question the effectiveness of Syria’s defenses. To reach the areas attacked, the jihadists would have had to move large quantities of explosives and a group of militants across more than 30 miles of government-controlled territory without being detected, suggesting a major security breach. Another possibility was that the militants had organized the attacks and built their bombs locally — an even scarier prospect for residents of the area.

The attacks shattered the relative calm in two cities, Jableh and Tartus, both on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, a region where support for Mr. Assad remains strong and where militant attacks and rebel activity have been rare. While the concentration of Alawites is high, the area also has large populations of Christians and other Muslims.

Russia, which backs Mr. Assad and has supported his troops with airstrikes and other military aid, has a naval base in Tartus and an air base nearby.

A spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Monday that a recent surge in militant attacks and bombings, “once again demonstrates how fragile the situation in Syria is.”

Asked whether Russia would reconsider its decision to scale back the size of its military contingent in Syria, the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, cited a previous statement by Mr. Putin that Russia’s bases in Syria allowed for “a very flexible approach” to its deployments.

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes the government and tracks the conflict from Britain through contacts on the ground, described the attacks as coordinated and intended to maximize civilian casualties.

In Jableh, two blasts struck the bus station, then suicide attackers blew themselves up near an electricity administration building and at the entrance to the emergency department of a hospital.

In Tartus, a car bomb hit the bus station, then two suicide bombers targeted people who had gathered in the aftermath.
SANA said that at least 78 people had been killed in the two attacks. The Observatory reported at least 121 dead and many more wounded.

source: www.nytimes.com

Egyptian military says its has found debris from EgyptAir flight MS804

EgyptAir MS804 crash still a mystery after body part and seats found.

An image released by the Egyptian defence ministry from an Egyptian plane searching the Mediterranean. Photograph: Uncredited/AP

Greek defence minister says debris also including suitcases discovered, but definitive explanation could be weeks away.

Debris from the missing EgyptAir plane including a “body part”, two seats and suitcases were found floating in the Mediterranean on Friday. But investigators appeared no closer to explaining why flight MS804 suddenly plunged into the sea killing all 66 on board during a routine flight between Paris and Cairo.

Egyptian naval vessels found the wreckage 180 miles (295km) north of the coastal city of Alexandria. A European satellite saw an ominous mile-long oil slick about 25 miles south of the aircraft’s last known position.

“A short while ago we were briefed by the Egyptian authorities ... on the discovery of a body part, a seat and baggage just south of where the aircraft signal was lost,” the Greek defence minister, Panos Kammenos, told reporters in Athens.

The plane had taken a normal course through Greek airspace before abruptly taking sharp turns, he said, adding that the cause of the crash was still a matter of speculation. The plane crashed at around 2.30am local time on Thursday while carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew from Paris to Cairo, including Briton Richard Osman. All those on board died.

According to reports on Friday night, flight data suggested there were smoke alerts aboard MS804 minutes before it crashed.

Smoke was detected in the toilet and the aircraft’s electrics, according to data from the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (Acars). Acars routinely downloads flight data to the airline operating the aircraft. The warnings came at about 2.26am on Thursday local time, just before air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane, the AFP news agency reported.

Despite theories that a bomb may have been smuggled on board, no claim of responsibility has so far been made by Islamic State or other terrorist groups. Typically, Isis claims responsibility for its attacks soon afterwards on Twitter and video.

Egypt’s military said it had found personal belongings and parts of the wreckage floating in the sea. It did not post photographs. The spokesman for the armed forces wrote on Facebook that the search was continuing.

Greek authorities said they had received information that the wreckage was discovered 10 miles “from the last known point” of flight MS804.

Greece’s lead air accident investigator, Athanasios Binis, said the “point of reference” was an area 130 miles south of the Greek island of Karpathos. The location is now the centre of a major international air and sea operation to find the plane’s black boxes.

“The most important thing is that the plane’s two black boxes are found,” Binis said. “If the cockpit flight recorder and flight data recorder are found, along with wreckage, then a real investigation can begin.

“There are three reasons for a plane [to go down],” he said. “Meteorological, technical and human. The first has now been ruled out because the weather was quite good. Whether a technical factor or human factor, either inside or outside the plane, is to blame remains to be seen. All possibilities are open.”

It now seems increasingly likely that it will take weeks, if not months, before a definitive account of MS804’s last moments can be pieced together. Egypt has been leading the search effort, with support from France, Greece, Turkey and the UK. The US navy dispatched a P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft from a base in Sicily.

But Egypt’s previous record suggests a capacity for obfuscation, and even cover-up. It took nearly four weeks before the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, admitted that a Russian passenger jet which crashed last October on the Sinai peninsula had been blown up – a conclusion which Russia, the US and UK reached within a few days.

In 1999 Egypt also refused to accept that one of its pilots had deliberately flown his Boeing 767 into the Atlantic, killing all on board. Instead it insisted the crash was due to mechanical failure.

EgyptAir said on Thursday that it had found part of the wreckage and lifejackets from MS804 near Karpathos, east of Crete. The report turned out to be erroneous and the airline’s vice-president, Ahmed Adel, later retracted the statement.

The plane, built in 2003, made “sudden swerves” before dropping off the radar, Kammenos said on Thursday. It made a 90-degree turn left, and then dropped from 11,000 metres to 5,000 metres before swerving 360 degrees right, he said. Contact was lost at 3,000 metres, he said.

The plane’s captain, Mohamed Said Shoukair had clocked up 6,275 flying hours. He did not send a distress signal. There was no hint from his Facebook page of any Islamist proclivities. His posts included criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, articles supportive of President Sisi, and photographs showing him wearing aviator sunglasses.

Khaled al-Gameel, head of crew at EgyptAir, said Shoukair had 15 years’ experience and was in charge of training and mentoring younger pilots. “He comes from a pilot family; his uncle was a high-ranking pilot at EgyptAir and his cousin is also a pilot,” Gameel said. “He was very popular and was known for taking it upon himself to settle disputes any two colleagues were having.”

Egypt’s aviation minister has said the Airbus A320’s sudden disappearance was more likely to have been caused by a terrorist attack than technical failure. But the French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said on Friday that there was “absolutely no indication” of why the flight came down.

Mike Vivian, former head of operations at the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, told the BBC he thought the plane’s sudden swerves before dropping off radar were more likely to be caused by human interference than by a bomb.

“It looks highly unlikely that this was consistent with some sort of explosive device,” he said. “One’s inclined to go towards the theory that there had been some interference in the aircraft and on the flight deck, with the control of the aircraft.”

Officials from multiple US agencies told Reuters that a preliminary examination of satellite imagery had not shown any signs of an explosion. The anonymous sources said the US had not ruled out any potential causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew.

Source: www.theguardian.com