John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," and his wife, Reve, talk to TODAY's Lester Holt about how they finally got closure and got justice for the 1981 abduction and murder of their 6-year-old son, Adam Walsh.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
John Walsh and "America's Most Wanted" return this week
By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Last week was the busy one in entertainment, as "Dancing With the Stars" came to an end and major movies hit theaters in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. It's much quieter this week.
TV John Walsh is back with "America's Most Wanted." The beloved crime-fighting show was canceled by Fox in May, but later picked up by Lifetime. Said Walsh when the new show was announced, "We are the court of last resort and with the show getting back to our weekly airing, we?ll have the capability of getting more fugitives off the streets and behind bars where they belong." Tune in, and see if that crabby neighbor of yours is really hiding a secret criminal identity. (Dec. 2, 9 p.m., Lifetime.)
Buddy Holly was honored this fall with a concert on what would have been the singer's 75th birthday. PBS is airing the resulting musical tribute, "Buddy Holly: Listen to Me," this week. It features live and video tributes from stars such as Keith Richards, Ringo Star, and Brian Wilson, and the finale brings all the guests together to perform "That'll Be the Day." (Dec. 3, PBS, check local listings for time.)
Movies It's a quiet week for movies after the explosion of big?titles before Thanksgiving, but one new offering that looks?worthwhile is "Kinyarwanda." The Rwandan genocide,?we're reminded by this film's trailer, lasted just 100 days in 1994, but the horror still reverberates today. The film won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at January's Sundance Film Festival, and it looks absolutely?chilling.? "A funny thing about genocide," a character says in the trailer. "You never know who's knocking." (Opens Dec. 2 in select cities.)
DVD Some critics hated the 3-D "Smurfs," but Neil Patrick Harris is charming as the human who befriends them and the little blue guys remain pretty cute. The DVD, out this week, is sure to win a place in many a preschooler's?heart. By September, the film had already earned $500 million worldwide, and a sequel is on the way. Smurfy! (Out on DVD Dec. 2.)
Looking for a holiday gift for a?really Super friend? The entire run of TV's "Smallville," which ended in May after 10 years, is now out on DVD. The massive box set might need Supes himself to lift it. It boasts 62 discs and two picture books, and retails at more than $300 (we've seen it offered online for much less). The collection comes with 28 hours of extras, 5 hours of special features, and the unaired 1961 pilot for "Superboy." If you don't want the whole shebang, or have been buying seasons as they were released, you can also pick up the tenth season by itself on either DVD or Blu-ray.?Up, up, and away! (Out on DVD Dec. 2.)
BAGHDAD, ? A series of blasts struck an area west of Baghdad on Saturday where day laborers gather to find work, as well as a music and clothes market in the capital, killing at least 15 people, officials said.
The second day of major attacks this week in Iraq underscored the challenges still facing the country's security forces as they approach a particularly fragile time. All American troops are scheduled to be out of Iraq in a matter of weeks, leaving Iraqi security forces with sole responsibility for securing the country.
The first two bombs exploded in the early morning in an area where day laborers wait for work in the mostly Sunni village of al-Zaidan, near the town of Abu Ghraib west of Baghdad. They killed seven people and wounded 11 others, the officials said.
Hours later, three bombs exploded near the kiosks of vendors selling CDs and military uniforms in central Baghdad's Bab al-Sharqi market district, killing eight people and wounding 19.
"I went outside my shop and saw people running in all directions trying to leave the market area. I saw several bodies and wounded people on the ground," said Mohammed Youssef, who owns a clothing shop in the area.
Iraqi military commanders ordered all the vendors selling products in the area to close their kiosks and move, in an attempt to clear out the area and make it harder for insurgents to hide bombs.
Health officials at Abu Ghraib's general hospital and at three hospitals in Baghdad confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Violence has ebbed across Iraq, but deadly bombings and shootings still occur almost daily as U.S. troops prepare to leave by the end of the year. Iraqi security officials maintain that they are fully prepared for the withdrawal, which is required under a 2008 security pact between the U.S. and Iraq.
On Thursday, three bombs struck the southern city of Basra, killing 19 people.
Earlier this week, the top U.S. general in Iraq, Lloyd Austin, said that there would likely be some "turbulence" after American troops depart, as insurgents try to strengthen their positions. But he did not think there would be a wholesale disintegration of security.
One key area of concern has been the ability of Iraqi security forces to gather intelligence on insurgent groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq after the American forces leave. The U.S. military has been instrumental in helping Iraqi security forces gather intelligence on various militant targets which Iraqi security forces then use to find and arrest them.
Predominantly Shiite Bab al-Sharqi until recently had been surrounded by blast walls, which were removed as a result of the improved security situation, said Qassim al-Moussawi, the military spokesman for Baghdad.
The bombers "try to prove their presence and hinder our efforts to remove all the concrete walls, but we will continue removing them and keeping control," he said.
Baghdad is crisscrossed with concrete blast walls that both reassure and frustrate residents. The walls helped reduce violence and protect areas such as markets or major buildings. But they also create huge traffic jams and hurt the economy.
The Iraqi security forces have been slowly removing the blast walls, but some people in the market area Saturday said they wanted them back.
"We have been expecting something bad in the market after the security forces removed the blast barriers a few days ago," said Youssef, the clothing shop owner.
___
Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra and photographer Hadi Mizban contributed to this report.
After supporting Occupy Wall Street with City Council proclamations and invitations to stay indefinitely, Los Angeles prepares to evict the 485-tent Occupy LA encampment that has spent seven weeks on the City Hall lawn.
Arguably the most peaceful and orderly large Occupy Wall Street encampment ? a nearly 500-tent occupation on two flanks of Los Angeles City Hall ? is scheduled to be evicted at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
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While police in cities from Oakland to New York City have clashed, sometimes violently, with the grassroots economic justice movement that sprang up near-spontaneously in October, Los Angeles has until now extended an olive branch. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a former community organizer, has proclaimed that the movement has "awakened the country's conscience."
But even after City Council president Eric Garcetti originally told protesters to "stay as long as you need to," the city has now withdrawn that invitation, citing destruction to the City Hall lawn as one reason to evict protesters.
RECOMMENDED:?Top 5 targets of Occupy Wall Street
"The movement is at a crossroads," Mr. Villaraigosa?said on Friday. "It is time for Occupy LA to move from holding a particular patch of park land to spreading the message of economic justice and signing more people up for the push to restore the balance to American society."
Compared to images of a campus cop at the University of California-Davis pepper-spraying a subdued row of protesters, the injuring of an Iraq War vet in Oakland, and other ugly clashes, Los Angeles has taken a "let's be cool" approach where police have largely ignored an encampment which has seen some internal divides, including heated debate over whether pot smoking should be tolerated.
One reason for the hands-off approach is that the stakes are particularly high for the City of Angels. Los Angeles has a long and complicated history of tension between police and citizens, symbolized by the Rodney King beating in 1991, which led to massive riots.
But in more recent years, reforms and improvements have turned the Los Angeles Police Department into a more professional outfit, albeit with occasional missteps. Four years ago, Villaraigosa?had to cut short a trade trip to El Salvador to deal with the aftermath of a May Day immigration rally where police beat demonstrators.
Meanwhile, even the de facto founder of the Occupy movement, Canadian magazine editor Kalle Lasn, has called for the protests to disperse next month and come back together when the weather improves in the spring.
But given the congenial southern California climate and largely sympathetic politicians, Los Angeles' protesters have had few incentives to leave, and have given officials few official reasons ? like crime or sanitation problems ? to act. Indeed, the camp itself has largely steered clear of the kinds of small-time crimes, drug overdoses, and even shootings that have tainted other camps, and which have given other mayors public backing to close down the camps and tear down tents.
It wasn't clear why Villaraigosa?chose this moment to act. At the Friday press conference, the mayor and Police Chief Charlie Beck wouldn't say how far police would go to clear protesters ? or whether tear gas and rubber bullets would be used.
"The goal is to do this as peacefully as possible," Chief Beck said.
But some Occupy protesters have already indicated that they will resist eviction from the City Hall park.
"Elected leaders should be more concerned about enforcing regulations on banks than enforcing park rules," spokesman Jacob Hay tells the Los Angeles Times. "They should be busy creating jobs, not?creating conflict?with peaceful protesters."
LONDON?? British singer George Michael has postponed a series of concerts after falling ill with pneumonia, his website said on Wednesday.
The 48-year-old former Wham! frontman called off a planned gig in Vienna on Monday and another in Strasbourg on Wednesday, and now his Cardiff dates have been put on hold.
"With great regret, George Michael has been forced to postpone his Nov. 26 and 27 shows in Cardiff, Wales, due to his ongoing illness.
"George was recently forced to postpone tour dates in Vienna and Strasbourg under doctor's orders after being diagnosed with pneumonia. He is currently receiving treatment," a statement read.
Michael, whose chart-topping hits as a solo artist include "Faith" and "Careless Whisper," also announced that an earlier cancellation, an Oct. 26 concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, would be rescheduled for May 2, 2012.
Details of other postponed shows will follow.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims rose last week and consumer spending barely increased in October, according to data on Wednesday which could prompt economists to tamp down on expectations for solid growth in the current quarter.
Other reports showed new orders for a range of long-lasting manufactured goods rose, but details of the report were generally weak, with spending plans by businesses the weakest since January.
"We are getting a disappointing start to the fourth quarter. It doesn't have the strong upward thrust we normally see in a regular recovery," said Pierre Ellis, senior global economist at Decision Economics in New York...
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 393,000 last week, the Labor Department said. Economists had forecast claims rising to 390,000.
Separately, the Commerce Department said consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent, slowing sharply from a revised 0.7 percent increase in September as households took advantage of the largest increase in income in seven months to rebuild their savings.
Economists had expected spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, to rise 0.4 percent.
When adjusted for inflation, spending nudged up 0.1 percent last month, pointing to a loss of momentum after a relatively strong third quarter, when it grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent.
Income rose 0.4 percent last month, the largest gain since March. That was a touch above economists' expectations for a 0.3 percent increase and followed a 0.1 percent gain in September.
Taking inflation into account, disposable income rose 0.3 percent, the largest increase since October 2010. It had declined 0.1 percent in September.
MORE SAVING
With incomes failing to keep up with inflation amid a 9 percent unemployment rate, households had been saving less in recent months to fund spending. The saving rate increased to 3.5 percent last month from 3.3 percent in September.
Savings rose to annual rate of $400.2 billion from $376.9 billion in September.
In another report, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders excluding transportation rose 0.7 percent after a downwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in September.
Economists had forecast this category unchanged from the previously reported 1.8 percent rise.
But weak demand for transportation equipment saw overall orders falling 0.7 percent after declining 1.5 percent in September. Economists had forecast overall orders dropping 1.0 percent last month.
Overall orders were dragged down by a 4.8 percent drop in bookings for transportation equipment as orders for civilian aircraft dropped 16.4 percent last month. Boeing received only 7 orders for aircraft, according to the plane maker's website, down from 59 in September.
That overshadowed a 6.2 percent increase in orders for motor vehicles.
Despite the rise in orders excluding transportation, the tenor of the report was weakened by a drop in non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending. The category fell 1.8 percent last month after a downwardly revised 0.9 percent rise in September.
It was the largest decline since January, when it fell 4.8 percent.
Economists had expected a drop of 0.6 percent from the previously reported 2.9 percent jump.
This category normally weakens in the first month of each quarter in part because of an incomplete seasonal adjustment of the power equipment subcomponent.
Shipments of non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, which go into the calculation of gross domestic product, fell 1.1 percent after declining 1.0 percent in September.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani and Jason Lange, Additional reporting by Ellen Freilich in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
CHICAGO ? Whether on the highway or at home, Americans will pay more to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. But higher gas prices and costlier airfare are not stopping millions of people from traveling for the holiday.
About 42.5 million people are expected to drive, fly or ride trains to their Thanksgiving destinations, according to travel tracker AAA. That's the highest number since the start of the recession.
Ninety percent of them will drive. It won't be cheap. Drivers will pay almost 20 percent more for gas, which has reached an average of $3.42 a gallon.
Air travelers have been hit, too. The average round-trip airfare for the top 40 U.S. routes is $212, up 20 percent from last year. Rail tickets on most one-way Amtrak trips have climbed 2 to 5 percent. Hotel and motel rates are also up slightly.
But George Gorham and his fiance, Patricia Horner, weren't deterred. They flew across the country to visit Gorham's son at North Carolina's Fort Bragg. They used frequent-flier miles and planned to visit tourist attractions in the nation's capital along the way.
Horner said they still would have made the trip without the miles, but "it would have been more painful."
Travelers also were at the mercy of the weather. Heavy rains and scattered thunderstorms prompted flood warnings and closed some roads across swaths of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York early Wednesday. Snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain to make for treacherous driving across parts of New England.
The National Weather issued a winter storm warning for central Vermont, where flakes were expected to come down at a rate of an inch an hour through Wednesday morning and total 8 up to inches by day's end.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported few airline disruptions early Wednesday, but fliers braced for possible delays as storms made their way across the busy northeast, where The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it expected more than 1.3 million passengers to travel through its four airports alone during the holiday weekend.
Still, plenty of people were staying home.
Damian Buchwald of Buffalo, N.Y., picked up a second job earlier this year. His new work schedule has helped pay the bills but leaves him without time to travel to Connecticut to spend the holiday with his wife's family.
This year, the couple and their teenage son, Raven, will celebrate Thanksgiving with his mother, neighbors and friends in town.
"When you can't travel and people can't travel to you, you gather your closest friends. And that way nobody has to pay an arm and a leg, and everyone can eat well," Buchwald said.
But having relatives over for dinner is becoming more expensive, too.
A 16-pound turkey and all the trimmings will cost an average of $49.20, a 13 percent jump from last year, or about $5.73 more, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, which says grocers have raised prices to keep pace with higher-priced commodities.
In Pawtucket, R.I., Jackie Galinis was among those looking for help to put a proper meal on the table. She stopped at a community center this week seeking a donated food basket. But by the time she arrived, all 300 turkeys had been claimed.
So Galinis, an unemployed retail worker, will make do with what's in her apartment. "We'll have to eat whatever I've got, so I'm thinking chicken," she said.
Then her eyes lit up. "Actually, I think I've got red meat in the freezer, some corned beef. We could do a boiled dinner."
Carole Goldsmith of Fresno, Calif., decided she didn't need to have a feast, even if she could still afford it.
Goldsmith, an administrator at a community college in Coalinga, Calif., said she typically hosts an "over-the-top meal" for friends and family. This year, she canceled the meal and donated a dozen turkeys to two homeless shelters. She plans to spend Thursday volunteering before holding a small celebration Friday with soup, bread "and lots of gratitude."
"I think everybody is OK with it," she said. "They understand. Everybody is in a different place than they were a year ago."
___
Associated Press writers David Klepper in Pawtucket, R.I.; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, N.Y.; Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C.; and Gosia Wozniacka in Fresno, Calif., contributed to this report.
SALT LAKE CITY ? Microsoft's Windows 95 rollout presented the most challenges in the company's history, leading to several last-minute changes to technical features that would no longer support a rival software maker's word processor, Bill Gates testified Monday in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by the creator of WordPerfect.
"We worked super hard," the Microsoft co-founder said. "It was the most challenging, trying project we had ever done."
Gates was the first witness to testify Monday as Microsoft lawyers presented their case in the trial that's been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month. He is set to resume testimony Tuesday morning.
Utah-based Novell Inc. sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming the Redmond, Wash., company violated U.S. antitrust laws through its arrangements with other software makers when it launched Windows 95. Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss. Novell is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group, the result of a merger that was completed earlier this year.
Gates said Novell just couldn't deliver a Windows 95 compatible WordPerfect program in time for its rollout, and its own Word program was actually better. He said that by 1994, Microsoft's Word writing program was ranked No. 1 in the market above WordPerfect.
Gates called it an "important win."
He testified later that Microsoft had to dump a technical feature that would have supported WordPerfect because he feared it would crash the operating system.
"We were making trade-offs," he said.
Novell argues that Gates ordered Microsoft engineers to reject WordPerfect as a Windows 95 word processing application because he feared it was too good.
WordPerfect once had nearly 50 percent of the market for computer writing programs, but its share quickly plummeted to less than 10 percent as Microsoft's own office programs took hold.
Microsoft lawyers say Novell's loss of market share was its own doing because the company didn't develop a Windows compatible WordPerfect program until months after the operating system's rollout.
Novell attorney Jeff Johnson has conceded that Microsoft was under no legal obligation to provide advance access to Windows 95 so Novell could prepare a compatible version. Microsoft, however, enticed Novell to work on a version, only to withdraw support months before Windows 95 hit the market, he said.
Microsoft lawyer David Tulchin said Gates decided against installing WordPerfect because it couldn't be made compatible in time for the rollout. He argued that Novell's missed opportunity was its own fault, and that Microsoft had no obligation to give a competitor a leg up.
"Novell never complained to Microsoft," Tulchin said during arguments Friday. "There's nothing in the evidence, no documents."
Johnson maintains Novell was tricked in violation of federal antitrust laws so Microsoft could monopolize the market.
"We got stabbed in the back," he said.
Microsoft's arguments for a dismissal of the case resumed Monday afternoon.
Throughout arguments Friday, U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz openly expressed doubts that Novell's claims had merit.
"I don't see why I have to give a product to a competitor so he can beat me," Motz told Novell attorneys.
Gates, a billionaire, began by testifying about Microsoft's history. He was just 19 when he helped found the company. Today, Microsoft is one of the world's largest software makers, with a market value of more than $210 billion.
"We thought everybody would have a personal computer on every desk and in every home," Gates said. "We wanted to be there and be the first."
___
AP writer Jennifer Dobner contributed to this report.
The family of Robert Wagner "fully supports" the investigation into Natalie Wood's accidental drowning, 30 years later. As for the family of Natalie Wood -- specifically her sister Lana -- she told TODAY's Matt Lauer Monday that she has mixed feelings about the investigation into Natalie's death being reopened. "I'm scared, I'm nervous, I'm happy, I think. I'm so ambivalent. It's almost like having to relive her death again," Lana said.
Lana told Lauer that she spent the last 30 years since Natalie's death preferring to believe that her death aboard the boat the Splendour with Wagner was really just an accident, as it was ruled shortly after it happened. "It's been easier that way," Lana said, despite things not adding up. "You want to think the best."
The Splendour's captain Dennis Davern told David Gregory during a Nov. 18 interview on TODAY that the fight between Natalie and Wagner is what led to Natalie's drowning. To that assertion, Lana told Lauer that the captain had called her "many many years ago," suggesting there was more to the story, and that he was very upset "and trying to unburden himself."
Davern went on to assert during that Nov. 18 interview that no effort was made to search for Natalie after she was lost overboard. "Unfortunately, I do believe him," Lana told Lauer.
>>>now to a
child sex abuse
investigation at
penn state
. a day after the
nittany lions
won their first
football game
in 46 years without
joe paterno
, tonight new questions for those in charge and new concerns being raised by students. nbc's jay gray reports from
state college
.
>> reporter: there are more serious questions tonight about the
child sex abuse
scandal at
penn state
. many focused on the university's
board of trustees
. most of the members of that group including new interim
athletic director
david joyner say they knew little.
>>the first i learned of this, any of this, is march of this year that the harrisburg patriot news did a story on -- that there was a leak i guess in the
grand jury
investigation.
>> reporter: the allegations were apparently rarely, if ever discussed in board meetings, even though several high ranking university officials including fired president
graham spanier
and coach
joe paterno
had testified before the
grand jury
.
>>it would be a great surprise to me if the board didn't know anything about this.
>> reporter: former
penn state
professor
ron smith
wrote the book "pay for play" examining the
dark side
of
college athletics
.
>>penn state
, as you probably know, is a very insular institution. it is this
little island
in -- of
happy valley
.
>> reporter: the culture at
penn state
raised questions for the ncaa as their investigation intensifies, focusing on
penn state
's institutional control over its athletic programs, and many on campus are now worried about the national fallout.
>>unfortunately with the scandal and the riot and all the other things that are going on, it sort of gives
penn state
a bad stigma in a sense.
>> reporter: it is a big enough concern for students. the university posted this letter on its website.
>>the integrity of our academic programs has not changed.
>> reporter: integrity that is now at the center of three ongoing investigations on a campus and in a community that seems so much change lately. jay gray, nbc news,
state college
, pennsylvania.
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's 40th Anniversary Gala & Auction, a star-studded celebration hosted by Leslie Jordan at the Westin Bonaventure on November 12, helped raise more than $680,000 for our many services to build the health, advocate for the rights and enrich the lives of LGBT people. Surrounded by more than 1,200 donors and supporters -- and even one of the pioneers who helped found the center -- I was awed by this incredible community and everything we have accomplished together.
Our theme for this year's gala was "40 Years of Family." There are a lot of ways to define family, but one of my favorites is this: people with common goals and values who share a lifelong commitment to one another. That certainly describes the center, just as it does this year's honorees and those who presented the awards to them:
* Proud fathers of adorable twins Harper and Gideon, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka have put a new public face on families with same-sex parents. They have given generously to support our LifeWorks program, to which so many young LGBT people turn for support. We were proud to have Jane Lynch honor the handsome and talented couple with our Rand Schrader Distinguished Achievement Award. I was touched by Neil's observation that the center is helping to create a world where, for same-sex couples, "being married and being a parent doesn't have to be about making a statement, and it can be just about living our lives."
* Chaz Bono has been a dedicated activist in our community since his "first coming out" in the '90s. Since his more recent coming out as a transgender man, he has become an even greater trailblazer. By bravely and publicly sharing the journey of his transition, and his family's journey, he has set a courageous example that is helping transgender youth and their families around the world. David Arquette, who reflected upon the struggles his transgender sister, Alexis, faced in order to feel "comfortable in her own skin," was proud to present Chaz with our Board of Directors Award. (Chaz visited the center for a tour he week before the event; I was proud to share with him how much the center has expanded our services for the transgender community since he last walked through the doors.)
* We're grateful to count Jane and her wife, Dr. Lara Embry, as part of the center family. Jane did the California AIDS Ride (a precursor to our present-day AIDS/LifeCycle) back in the '90s, and Lara rode with us from San Francisco to Los Angeles for the first time this year. Though Jane's star has risen stratospherically (and deservedly!), she hasn't forgotten us; she continues to serve on our board of directors and to be there when we need her.
The evening included many poignant moments: Surprising our longest-tenured woman board member, LuAnn Boylan with an award honoring her astounding 19 years of service to the center; board member Peter Paige's heartfelt remembrances of turning to the center as a youth in need of support; Clinton Leupp recalling the early years of the AIDS epidemic and the anger that led him to create his alter ego, the drag star Miss Coco Peru, followed by a powerful rendition of "Those Were the Days"; and so many others. Plus, Leslie Jordan provided countless laughs as the emcee of the evening -- perhaps most memorably in his Madonna-esque cone breasts.
It was a night that made me exceptionally proud, not only of what the center is today but also that we are part of such an incredible tradition of activism. We've been calling it "40 Years of Family" because the center formally incorporated in 1971 -- but in fact our roots reach all the way back to 1969. Our co-founders took action within months of the Stonewall riots; first was Morris Kight providing information and referrals and then Don Kilhefner creating a "Gay Survival Committee" for those in desperate need.
Another co-founder, Jon Platania, opened several "Liberation Houses" to provide housing and employment services for homeless LGBT youth and adults -- the first such residential programs in the world. And social worker June Herrle became the architect of the center's focus on social services. And always, fighting for our rights as a key part of the center's mission.
Over the decades, we have held true to their vision of building a stronger and healthier LGBT community, taking care of our own and fighting for the equal place in society that we deserve. Now a resident of Berkeley, Jon recently came down to visit; he toured all of our facilities to see first-hand how the founders' vision has been realized and built-upon. How very appropriate that on this special anniversary, Jon could reconnect with the center and even join us to celebrate our family at the gala. We stand proudly on his and all of our founders' shoulders. Thanks to Jon and the other founders, the cnter has mattered to people who count on us. For more than 40 years, the center has been like family to countless members of our community.
We have been there for people at their times of greatest sadness and happiness, in their times of greatest need and generosity -- just like a family is supposed to be. I can't even count the numbers of people who have told me that they found their "family of choice" through their involvement with the center.
Moreover, the center has become a beacon of hope to LGBT people all over the world. We represent what any community of people can do when they set their minds to it. What was begun by a handful of volunteers with $35 in the bank has become a life-changing, life-saving institution that is making a difference to thousands of people every week and inspiring many more around the globe.
I wish, after 40 years, we could say our work is done. But we know that isn't true. We still don't have equality under the law. All too often the rights we do have, and sometimes our very humanity, are under attack.
So, as long as we are treated as second-class citizens, as long as HIV and AIDS continue to be on the rise in our community, as long as LGBT seniors needing outside care feel forced back into the closet, as long as misguided parents kick their LGBT kids out, as long as any LGBT person feels ashamed simply because of their gender identity or who they love, the center will be here. We must be here. And when you think about what we've accomplished in the first 40 years ... just imagine the progress that the next 40 will bring.
(NEWSER) - More than 70 Syrians died in a single day yesterday, many of them soldiers killed at the hands of army defectors in Daraa, activists tell the AP . The bloody wave was also felt in Homs, where the morgue had taken in 19 bullet-riddled corpses. Witnesses on the ground in Daraa reported four hours of heavy gunfire and at least 12 civilian deaths, while a British group said it had counted 34 dead soldiers. "I saw two army armored personnel carriers, totally burnt," says one witness. More?
LONDON - Trying to stem the uproar caused by his comments on racism, FIFA President Sepp Blatter expressed regret Friday for causing offense to anyone but stopped short of a full apology and rejected calls to resign.
Blatter said he was sorry for the furor caused by his claim that racist abuse does not exist on the soccer field and that any racial incidents could be settled by a handshake at the end of a match.
The conciliatory move comes after Blatter was ridiculed in Britain for his comments. British Prime Minister David Cameron joined a wave of condemnation, and David Beckham called the Blatter statements "appalling." A top British soccer official also urged Blatter to resign.
Any comments that appear to diminish racism would hit a nerve in Britain, where authorities are now investigating allegations that Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and Chelsea defender John Terry racially abused black players during Premier League games.
Speaking Friday in a BBC interview in Zurich, Blatter said he "deeply regretted" using "unfortunate words" in a pair of television interviews on Wednesday. Still, he didn't retract his view that racial insults could be forgotten after shaking hands.
"I am sorry and I regret that my statements earlier this week have resulted in an unfortunate situation and has taken this dimension. I am committed to the fight against racism and I have no doubt about that," Blatter said.
"When you have done something which was not totally correct, I can only say I am sorry for all those people affected by my declarations," Blatter added. "It hurts and I am still hurting because I couldn't envisage such a reaction."
Blatter, the 75-year-old Swiss who was re-elected to a four-year term in June, is still trying to restore the world soccer body's image after a major corruption scandal in May. On Friday, he ruled out leaving his post over the racism comments.
"I cannot resign," he told the BBC. "Why should I resign? When you are faced with a problem you have to solve the problem. And to go out and to leave the organization, this would be unfair, this would be totally unfair and is not compatible with my fighting spirit, my character, my energy, my commitment."
Blatter insisted his "fight against racism and discrimination will go on," and said any players found guilty of racism on the field should be thrown out of the game.
"Zero tolerance," he said. "This was a good lesson for me as well."
After Blatter's initial remarks caused a storm Wednesday, FIFA attempted to curb the outrage by trying to clarify the president's comments with a statement on the organization's website. That was accompanied by a photo of Blatter hugging Tokyo Sexwale, a black South African government minister who was an anti-apartheid campaigner and former political prisoner on Robben Island.
Sexwale, speaking in Johannesburg on Friday, said Blatter was wrong to say what he did and that his comments were "problematic" and "damaging," but added he was not willing "to kick a man when he is down."
"You can't wash it (racism) away with a handshake," Sexwale said. "Once you use a racial slur, it doesn't go away. You can't exchange it with a jersey. You can't mitigate it with a handshake."
As for the photo, Sexwale said he wanted to believe that was not just a publicity stunt.
"But I indicated that perceptions, impressions could be created worldwide in certain circles worldwide that this was an attempt to damage control or to clean one's image," said Sexwale, who spoke to Blatter Friday morning.
When the picture was first put up, it drew renewed criticism, including from Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who is black. And that touched off a very public Twitter dispute between Ferdinand and the FIFA leader, with Ferdinand calling Blatter's views "so condescending its almost laughable."
Blatter's latest comments follows previous gaffes such as suggesting that women players should wear tighter shorts, and gay fans should refrain from having sex at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar where homosexual acts are illegal.
But in the rest of Europe and around the world, Blatter's comments have not been met with the same outrage. In addition, anti-Blatter sentiment has been high in Britain since England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup. The FIFA votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups last year were surrounded by claims of ethical misconduct.
Before Friday's apology, many in Britain took their criticisms of Blatter public. While Cameron stopped short of calling for Blatter's resignation, British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said the FIFA leader should go "for the sake of the game."
Beckham, perhaps the most recognizable name and face in the world of soccer, joined in the condemnation of Blatter.
"The comments were appalling. A lot people have said that," Beckham said in Los Angeles, where he and his Galaxy teammates are preparing for the MLS championship game. "I don't think that the comments were very good for this game."
Beckham also dismissed Blatter's idea that a handshake was enough following racist abuse.
"It can't be swept under the carpet. It can't be sorted out with a handshake," Beckham said "That's not the way of the world and that's not how racism should be treated. ... Racism is something we want to keep out of sport but also life in general."
Neil Warnock, manager of Premier League club Queens Park Rangers, suggested that black players around the world should boycott their next international matches in a show of protest against Blatter.
"I don't see that anybody is going to sack him," Warnock said Friday. "I think the only way we could get him out of the situation that he is in if every black player in the country, in every country, refused to play in the next international game.
"That's the only way. Nothing else is going to get him out until he wants to go."
___
AP Sports Writers Gerald Imray in Johannesburg and Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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BRUSSELS -- The European Union is often derided for being run by faceless bureaucrats. Germany's governing party thinks it has a solution: a direct vote to pick the face that runs the union.
The call this week by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party for a continentwide election for the president of the European Commission ? the EU's executive branch ? met with praise and scorn, with some saying it will rally people in a time of crisis and others sneering at the very idea of a more democratic EU.
"We want the European Union to get a face," the Christian Democratic Union said in a resolution. "Therefore the president of the European Commission should in the future be directly elected by all of the Union's citizens."
The CDU is the leading party in Germany's governing coalition, and Germany is one of the EU's most powerful countries. Still, its vocal backing for direct elections doesn't necessarily mean they will happen: That would involve a treaty change and the consent of all 27 EU countries.
But it's an idea that if embraced could help overcome one of the most persistent criticisms of the EU.
Currently, the European Commission president is nominated by the 27 EU heads of government, then questioned by the European Parliament, which must approve the candidacy by a two-thirds majority.
The common perception is that EU citizens feel disconnected from the union's headquarters in Brussels, that few of them can name their members of the European Parliament, and that many feel that EU regulations issue forth from anonymous bureaucrats who've never dwelt among the people they're regulating.
And no one seemed to be rejecting direct elections out of hand.
"We are not a priori against this," said a French official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be named publicly. France is seen as one of the EU's most powerful countries, along with Germany.
The proposal turns out already to have won some support from none other than European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso himself, who declared in a YouTube interview in October that he would be "delighted" if the commission president were to be elected directly one day.
Electing Barroso involved today's cumbersome process that for many symbolizes the EU's bureaucratic red tape and lack of direct democratic participation.
The president is responsible for assigning posts to the various commissioners who have been nominated by national governments. He or she also determines the commission's agenda and supervises the legislative proposals it produces, which must then go to heads of government and to the parliament.
It's a powerful position, but one that's slightly muddled by the fact that in its current unwieldy form, the EU has two other presidents.
There's also Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, the body formed by the 27 heads of the national governments, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose nation holds the EU's rotating presidency.
Not everyone is enamored with the idea of electing the commission president directly.
Nigel Farage, a staunchly anti-EU British member of the European Parliament, was dismissive of the very notion that the EU could be democratic. "If the EU ever had any intention to democratize itself it would have done so in the Constitutional Treaty," Farage said.
"As is perfectly evident, they rejected the idea of making it accountable to voters and so I believe this is just words to try to calm an angry populace who are speaking more and more of rejecting their political project."
But the proposal drew generally positive reviews from experts in European politics.
Brendan Donnelly, director of the London-based Federal Trust think tank, called it "a really excellent idea."
"Two advantages," Donnelly said. "One, it would give something to European elections which make them significant. Now it's difficult to say what changes. Second, it would be an answer to those who say the EU is entirely technocratic."
Other experts said the direct election of a commission president would be a powerful symbol ? but the position would need more authority over budgetary matters and financial policy.
"What we need is more political unification," said Paul De Grauwe, professor of international economics at the University of Leuven in Belgium. "This would be a symbol of that unification. I'm very much in favor of that."
But he added: "If it's empty in terms of power, it will quickly degenerate into something that most people are not interested in voting for."
Professor Roberto D'Alimonte of Rome's LUISS University said the power of the position would be important, but in any event direct elections would have a significant effect.
"I don't want to underestimate this," D'Alimonte said. "It will bring about a transfer of the way in which we think about Europe."
Presenteeism: A new word for working when sickPublic release date: 17-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins s-j.desjardins@concordia.ca 514-848-2424, x5068 Concordia University
Some employees feel pressure to work when ill, according to study from Concordia's John Molson School of Business
This press release is available in French.
Montreal, November 17, 2011 -- Colleagues who work with runny noses, sore throats and clammy skin are as seasonal as the flu. Yet are sick employees workplace troopers or are they insecure about their jobs?
A new study from Concordia University, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, has found that presenteeism, i.e. attending work when ill, isn't always a productive option.
Depending on individuals and their roles within an organization, sick employees can be present in body and not in spirit, while others can be ill and fully functional. "Secure employees don't fear retribution for an occasional absence because of sickness," says study author Gary Johns, a management professor at Concordia's John Molson School of Business.
So why do employees with acute, chronic or episodic illness work rather than stay home? Caregivers and people working in early education, for example, report higher rates of presenteeism compared to people from other fields. "Often, a person might feel socially obligated to attend work despite illness," says Johns, "while other employees feel organizational pressure to attend work despite medical discomfort."
Average of three presenteeism days
As part of his investigation, Johns surveyed 444 people on their job requirements, work experience, absenteeism and presenteeism. Over the previous six months, participants reported an average of three presenteeism days and an average of 1.8 absenteeism days, most of which were attributed to illness.
"Respondents who viewed absenteeism as more legitimate reported more absences, more sick days and fewer presenteeism days," says Johns.
Johns' study found presenteeism was elevated among workers engaged in interdependent projects or teamwork. Those who were insecure about their jobs also engaged in more presenteeism. "Presentees felt a compulsion to attend despite illness," says Johns.
When absence is frowned upon
According to this and previous studies, presenteeism is more frequent when people face job insecurity and impermanent job status. Absenteeism, however, is more elevated in unionized work settings or when unemployment is low.
Organizations, employers and human resources departments have traditionally examined ways to curb absenteeism, but have paid little attention to presenteeism. "Estimating the cost of absenteeism is more tangible than counting the impact of presenteeism," says Johns. "Yet a worker's absence or presence during illness can have both costs and benefits for constituents."
###
Partners in research:
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Presenteeism: A new word for working when sickPublic release date: 17-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins s-j.desjardins@concordia.ca 514-848-2424, x5068 Concordia University
Some employees feel pressure to work when ill, according to study from Concordia's John Molson School of Business
This press release is available in French.
Montreal, November 17, 2011 -- Colleagues who work with runny noses, sore throats and clammy skin are as seasonal as the flu. Yet are sick employees workplace troopers or are they insecure about their jobs?
A new study from Concordia University, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, has found that presenteeism, i.e. attending work when ill, isn't always a productive option.
Depending on individuals and their roles within an organization, sick employees can be present in body and not in spirit, while others can be ill and fully functional. "Secure employees don't fear retribution for an occasional absence because of sickness," says study author Gary Johns, a management professor at Concordia's John Molson School of Business.
So why do employees with acute, chronic or episodic illness work rather than stay home? Caregivers and people working in early education, for example, report higher rates of presenteeism compared to people from other fields. "Often, a person might feel socially obligated to attend work despite illness," says Johns, "while other employees feel organizational pressure to attend work despite medical discomfort."
Average of three presenteeism days
As part of his investigation, Johns surveyed 444 people on their job requirements, work experience, absenteeism and presenteeism. Over the previous six months, participants reported an average of three presenteeism days and an average of 1.8 absenteeism days, most of which were attributed to illness.
"Respondents who viewed absenteeism as more legitimate reported more absences, more sick days and fewer presenteeism days," says Johns.
Johns' study found presenteeism was elevated among workers engaged in interdependent projects or teamwork. Those who were insecure about their jobs also engaged in more presenteeism. "Presentees felt a compulsion to attend despite illness," says Johns.
When absence is frowned upon
According to this and previous studies, presenteeism is more frequent when people face job insecurity and impermanent job status. Absenteeism, however, is more elevated in unionized work settings or when unemployment is low.
Organizations, employers and human resources departments have traditionally examined ways to curb absenteeism, but have paid little attention to presenteeism. "Estimating the cost of absenteeism is more tangible than counting the impact of presenteeism," says Johns. "Yet a worker's absence or presence during illness can have both costs and benefits for constituents."
###
Partners in research:
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The Engadget Show! It's tonight! Live at 6PM ET! If you're not lucky enough to join us in-person at our NYC studio, you can follow along online. Just set your browsers here.
It's almost crazy how much we have planned this month, including an interview with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, an appearance by Qualcomm and a trip to Lockheed Martin in Colorado, to take a look at the Orion spacecraft the company is building for NASA. We'll also be looking at the Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Motorola Razr, HTC Rezound, three Galaxy tabs and will be serenaded by the indie rock stylings of Milagres.
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Don't you sometimes wish you could just rip the display off your MacBook and use it as an iPad? OK, maybe that's a bit violent, but it's still worth dreaming of. The folks over at Apple apparently agree with me, as Cupertino has just been granted an application by the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Association for a "Clutch barrel antenna for wireless electronic devices." Obviously, the title doesn't necessarily imply "transformable iPad/MacBook hybrid," but just hold your horses for a second as we parse through this patent speak.
Nathan Raab, left, and his father Steven Raab, talk about their recently discovered White House communications tapes involving Air Force One in flight from Dallas on November 22, 1963, during an interview at their office, in Philadelphia, on Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)
Nathan Raab, left, and his father Steven Raab, talk about their recently discovered White House communications tapes involving Air Force One in flight from Dallas on November 22, 1963, during an interview at their office, in Philadelphia, on Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)
Shown Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011, in Philadelphia, are recently discovered White House communications tapes made in the immediate aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's assassination involving Air Force One in flight from Dallas on November 22, 1963. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)
Shown Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011, in Philadelphia, are recently discovered White House communications tapes made in the immediate aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's assassination involving Air Force One in flight from Dallas on November 22, 1963. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? A long-lost version of the Air Force One recordings made just after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with more than 30 minutes of material not in the official version in the U.S. government's archives, has been found and is for sale for $500,000.
The two-plus hour recording predates what was thought to be the only surviving version of the tape. That version is housed in the National Archives and the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Texas.
The reel-to-reel tape is inside its original box with a typewritten label showing it was made by the White House Communications Agency for Army Gen. Chester "Ted" Clifton Jr., who was Kennedy's senior military aide and was in the Dallas motorcade when the president was assassinated.
The tape is titled "Radio Traffic involving AF-1 in flight from Dallas, Texas to Andrews AFB on November 22, 1963."
It consists of in-flight radio calls between the aircraft, the White House Situation Room, Andrews Air Force Base, and a plane that was carrying Kennedy press secretary Pierre Salinger and six Cabinet members from Hawaii to Tokyo when the president was assassinated.
"As Americans have looked to the history of the Kennedy assassination in search of answers, somewhere in an attic there existed a tape made years before the only known surviving version, of the conversations on Air Force One on that fateful day," said Nathan Raab, vice president of The Raab Collection, a Philadelphia historic documents dealer that put the tape up for sale Tuesday.
Clifton, who died in 1991, had kept a collection of audio tapes, documents, photographs and video stemming from his years in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. The Raab Collection, which is selling the archive, acquired the items at a public sale from Clifton's heirs after the death of Clifton's wife in 2009.
"At a time when there really wasn't what we consider today a chief of staff, Clifton carried on many of those functions," Raab said. "He retires in 1965, this goes with him."
The Clifton tapes include additional debate about whether Kennedy's body would be brought to Bethesda Naval Hospital or Walter Reed Hospital for autopsy and if first lady Jackie Kennedy would accompany the fallen president, as well as expanded discussions about arranging for ambulances and limousines to meet the plane.
No references to Kennedy nemesis Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay occur in the shorter version, but the Clifton tape contains an urgent attempt by an aide to contact him.
The whereabouts of LeMay, whose enmity for the president makes him a central figure for Kennedy assassination researchers, have long been disputed. The newly discovered recording can finally end the speculation and pinpoint his location immediately after the president's murder, Raab said.
The edited recording in the National Archives and the LBJ Library, available to the public since 1971, begins with an announcer stating it has been "edited and condensed" but not explaining how much was cut or by whom.
A more complete version of the Air Force One tapes were long sought but never found, adding fuel to decades-old suspicions that there is more to Kennedy's assassination than the official account naming Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman.
The Assassination Records Review Board, created by an act of Congress in 1992 after the Oliver Stone film "JFK" caused public uproar to re-examine Kennedy's killing, unsuccessfully sought the unedited Air Force One tapes for its probe.
"That this tape even exists will change the way we view this great event in history," Raab said. "It took decades to analyze the shorter, newer version and it will take years to do the same here."
The Clifton tape has been professionally digitized and a copy is being donated by the Raab Collection to the National Archives and the John F. Kennedy Library so the public will have access to the material.
The wholly unedited "raw" recording of the entirety of the trip, which also would have included periods of silence and static, has never been located. It would have been roughly 4? hours long.
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Online:
Air Force One recordings: http://www.raabcollection.com/kennedy-air-force-one-tape/
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Public release date: 17-Nov-2011
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Don't you sometimes wish you could just rip the display off your MacBook and use it as an iPad? OK, maybe that's a bit violent, but it's still worth dreaming of. The folks over at Apple apparently agree with me, as Cupertino has just been granted an application by the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Association for a