LOS ANGELES — Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has acknowledged that he fathered a child with a member of his household staff, a revelation that apparently prompted wife Maria Shriver to leave the couple’s home before they announced their separation last week. Schwarzenegger and Shriver jointly announced May 9 that they were splitting up after 25 years of marriage. Yet, Shriver moved out of the family’s Brentwood mansion earlier in the year after Schwarzenegger acknowledged the child is his, The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. “After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,” Schwarzenegger told the Times in a statement that also was sent to The Associated Press early Tuesday. “I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry. “I ask that the media respect my wife and children through this extremely difficult time,” the statement concluded. “While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not.” Schwarzenegger’s representatives did not comment further. A spokesman for the former first lady told the Times she had no comment. The Times did not publish the former staffer’s name nor that of her child but said the woman worked for the family for 20 years and retired in January. In an interview Monday before Schwarzenegger issued his statement, the former staffer said another man – her husband at the time – was the child’s father. When the Times later informed the woman of the governor’s statement, she declined to comment further. The child was born before Schwarzenegger began his seven-year stint in public office. Shriver stood by her husband during his 2003 gubernatorial campaign after the Los Angeles Times reported accusations that he had a history of groping women. Schwarzenegger later said he “behaved badly sometimes.” In his first public comments since the couple announced their breakup, Schwarzenegger said last week that he and Shriver “both love each other very much.” “We are very fortunate that we have four extraordinary children and we’re taking one day at a time,” he said at a Los Angeles event marking Israeli independence. Their children range in age from 13 to 21. Since his term as California governor ended in early January, Schwarzenegger, 63, has hopscotched around the world, his wife nowhere in sight. While the “Terminator” star appeared confident about the future since exiting politics, cutting movie deals and fashioning himself as a global spokesman for green energy, Shriver, known for her confidence, seemed unsettled. Shriver, 55, maintained her own identity when her husband entered politics, though she gave up her job at NBC. Their union was often tested in Sacramento, where the former action star contended with a rough seven years of legislative gridlock, a budget crisis and lingering questions about his fidelity.
Continue reading …Good morning, NBers. After a restful week off, Jodi is back with an all-new episode of NewsBusted! Quite a bit happened over the past week. Check below the break for Tuesday's epsiode, and make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel . Topics in today's show: — Osama's dead — Romney: my first presidential action would be Obamacare removal — Al Qaeda rapper dead? — Eight-year-old gets botox injections — Woman wakes from surger with British accent — Ashton Kutcher replacing Sheen on 'Two and a Half Men' Starring: Jodi Miller Director: Bruce Roundtower Executive Producer: Dialog New Media
Continue reading …Coalition expected to adopt plans to cut UK emissions by 50% on 1990 levels by 2025 following row over carbon budget • Damian Carrington: Victory gained and disaster averted The government is expected to announce today that it has agreed the world’s most ambitious targets for emissions cuts into the 2020s, following a cabinet rift on the issue. The climate and energy secretary, Chris Huhne – currently at the centre of claims he persuaded someone else to take speeding penalty points on his behalf – will announce in parliament at 4.30pm that the UK is to adopt plans to cut emissions by 50% on 1990 levels by 2025. Fears that ministers would reject the Committee on Climate Change’s proposals for pollution limits in the fourth “carbon budget” have prompted an outcry from environmentalist groups . The carbon budget runs from 2023 to 2027, part of efforts to meet legally binding emissions cuts of 80% by 2050, and will put the UK on target for 60% cuts by 2030. A letter leaked last week appeared to expose a row between ministers. Business secretary, Vince Cable, apparently argued for less ambitious reductions in the 2020s because the targets could limit economic growth. After the letter emerged, a coalition of environmental bodies issued a warning to the prime minister David Cameron that he risked seriously undermining his pledge to lead the “greenest government ever” if he did not back the targets. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, had also seized on the evidence of internal disagreement, writing to Cameron to warn that failing to agree the budget would send “a terrible signal” to business and the rest of the world. But over the weekend Cameron was reported to have stepped in to resolve the fraught battle within the cabinet , with a decision to support the targets. Before today’s expected announcement, Keith Allott, WWF-UK’s head of climate change, said: “No other country has set legally binding emission-reduction targets going into the 2020s, and so with this decision the UK is demonstrating genuine leadership on climate change. “The Climate Change Act remains a groundbreaking piece of legislation that, with support, will underpin the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy.” But he said the Committee on Climate Change had made clear that the proposed fourth carbon budget was the “absolute minimum” necessary. He added: “The unwillingness of government to accept this recommendation suggests that some Whitehall departments are more committed to action than others.” Carbon emissions Climate change Liberal-Conservative coalition Green politics Chris Huhne guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …No 10 says Liam Fox’s attack on government plans to enshrine funding for developing countries will not derail its plans Downing Street has insisted the government is committed to enshrining its overseas aid spending targets in law, despite objections by the defence secretary, Liam Fox . No 10 condemned the leak of a private letter from Fox to David Cameron warning that he could not support the plans in their current form. “Clearly we condemn leaks in all forms,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said, adding that it would be for senior officials to decide whether to mount a leak inquiry. The spokesman stressed that Fox’s concerns would not affect the government’s plan to create a statutory requirement for 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) to be spent on overseas aid. “It is coalition policy, it is government policy, it will be made law,” the spokesman said. “There is no question that it is the government’s policy to have the 0.7% of GNI target for international aid. We will introduce a bill in due course to make that law.” In his letter, obtained by the Times, Fox – who made clear he had discussed the issue with the international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, and the foreign secretary, William Hague – argued that establishing a specific statutory target would open up the government to future legal challenges. Instead, he suggested that the target should simply be recognised in legislation, along with a commitment to produce an annual report on whether it was being met. “I have considered the issue carefully, and discussed it with Andrew and William Hague, but I cannot support the proposal in its current form,” he wrote. A source close to Fox insisted that he was not opposed to the government’s plan to increase spending on aid, saying: “The defence secretary fully supports the principle of a 0.7% target on international aid. “The issue is simply how best to reflect this in law.” However, the leak once again highlighted the uneasy relationship between Cameron and Fox, who were rivals for the Tory leadership in 2005. Last year another private letter from Fox to the prime minister – this time warning of the impact of planned defence cuts – was leaked to the press. Fox strongly denied any responsibility and ordered an inquiry by the Ministry of Defence police. The latest leak, however, again chimes with the concerns of many Tory backbenchers who believe that the government is spending too much on overseas aid at a time of economic austerity. In contrast, Cameron is strongly committed to the statutory target, which he regards as emblematic of the way the Conservative party has changed under his leadership. The shadow international development secretary, Harriet Harman, said: “The commitment to increase overseas aid spending to 0.7% of GNI by 2013 was a manifesto commitment by the Tories and the Lib Dems and was repeated in the coalition agreement. It must not be the next broken promise. “Britain’s overseas aid saves lives in the developing world, but it is also in our national interest to tackle the underdevelopment which can cause conflict. “This Tory manifesto promise has been reiterated by the prime minister at international forums. He must show that Britain keeps its word. “The way to show they are not going to break this manifesto commitment is to bring in the promised legislation now. The government must keep the promise.” Aid Liam Fox Liberal-Conservative coalition Conservatives David Cameron guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …If you live in Pittsburgh, you have the option of voting for a real live activist in today’s election. I’m sure you remember Dana Dolney — you just didn’t know her name. Now you do. If you can, write in her name today for Allegheny County Chief Executive: In the Democratic race for Allegheny County Chief Executive, drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale has become a bigger issue than either candidate probably wanted it to be. County Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty and former Allegheny County Council President Rich Fitzgerald have been fighting over which candidate is more in bed with the industry. They’ve sniped about plans to divvy up gas-drilling royalties , and Flaherty has embarrassed Fitzgerald by circulating an e-mail Fitzgerald sent earlier this year, begging the gas industry for campaign contributions. No surprise, then, that as we first reported early this month , anti-drilling environmentalists see little difference bewteen the two Democrats.That’s where Dana Dolney comes in. In recent days, anti-drilling activists have been seeking to conduct a write-in effort to put one of their own on the ballot. And thanks largely to an internet video gone viral, Dolney is their pick . “This has literally all happened in the past week,” Dolney said by phone this morning. “A lot of people didn’t even know my name, but they knew me from this viral video of me telling of an official at a public hearing and said, ‘We want her for county executive.’” [....] Dolney, a 38-year-old waitress “proudly” from Polish Hill, says she spends about 30 hours or more a week as a community organizer, activist and protester in the fight against natural-gas drilling. Nor was her encounter with Sailor the first time she’s squared off with public officials. Dolney, who is working toward forming a “league of activist women,” says she’s spent quite a bit of time confronting political leaders.
Continue reading …Click here to view this media We’re kind of accustomed to seeing Jon Stewart pretty much mop the floor with Bill O’Reilly every time he goes up against him on Fox — even when O’Reilly tries to carefully edit the tapes . And of course, it was no different last night when Stewart took up O’Reilly’s challenge to debate him over the latest fake controversy ginned up by the network’s smear-scandal mills. As Ari Melber observes : In two short segments, O’Reilly walked through his case, responded to factual charges of hypocrisy with some fairly sad parsing and then, when desperate, with rank “pettifogging,” to use a term bandied by both men. Meanwhile, the “Daily Show” anchor’s rebuttals were striking because, even in this casual mode on a minor item, he was more persuasive than the vast majority of people who are called on to represent a progressive view on TV. The highlight came when O’Reilly, the past master of the Wurlitzer propaganda organ, accused Stewart of “pettifogging” the issue — and then found himself promptly busted for pettifogging himself. Stewart basically reiterated the points he’d already raised in The Daily Show’s own rebuttals of the Fox fakery — namely, Fox is hypocritical in its criteria for denouncing White House guests, especially given the network’s own predilection for hosting people with violent backgrounds. STEWART: It sounds like what you’re saying — and correct me if I’m wrong because I don’t want to be wrong when I’m with you, ‘cuz you know I got mad love for you — that’s a rap phrase… O’REILLY: I got it. STEWART: Correct me if I’m wrong. What you’re saying is, if an artist supports someone that has been convicted of killing a cop, they should not be allowed to go to the White House. Is that a reasonable paraphrase? O’REILLY: No, it’s a little bit more than that. STEWART: OK, say it. O’REILLY: I am saying that when a president invites someone, in this case, the First Lady invites someone, the resume has to be put in front of them. And they have to select people who are almost unimpeachable, all right? Because they are getting that honor, to go to the White House. This guy is controversial all day long with this stuff. Not only did he support this cop killer, or celebrate the cop killer, he celebrated another one in Philadelphia! STEWART: Again, he’s celebrating someone he thinks was unjustly — he’s not celebrating — O’REILLY: Is this Perry Mason we’re talking about now? Is this the most brilliant lawyer of all time? STEWART: Who? O’REILLY: This Common. STEWART: Oh. Common. Let me ask you a question. Are you familiar with Leonard Peltier ? O’REILLY: Yes. STEWART: OK. Leonard Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents. O’REILLY: OK, now we’re going out to Wounded Knee. STEWART: It’s similar. O’REILLY: Oh huh. No it’s not. STEWART: Well, why is it not? O’REILLY: Because you’re pettifogging the issue. STEWART: It’s the exact same thing. It’s a guy convicted of killing a law-enforcement official, no? Guess who wrote a song about Leonard Peltier. Bono. O’REILLY: OK. STEWART: Guess where he was! [whispers] The White House! [shouts] Boo-yah! O’REILLY: All right. STEWART: That’s a rap word. O’REILLY: Did Bono — ? STEWART: Yes. O’REILLY: Did he actually come out and say that he was innocent? STEWART: I think that’s the crux of the song. O’REILLY: No. I think he was raising questions about it. And, and, the basic theme — STEWART: Now who’s pettifogging? Now I can’t even see you! Here you pettifog. No — that’s exactly same! O’REILLY: OK. STEWART: Bob Dylan wrote a song about a convicted killer named Hurricane Carter — he’s been to the White House. Why are you drawing a line at Common? There is a collective outrage machine here at Fox that pettifogs only when it suits the narrative that suits them. This guy is in the crosshairs in a way he shouldn’t be. Whether you agree with him or not, or you may think he’s ignorant in believing Assadah Shakur is innocent. You may think he’s ignorant in believing that Mumia is. But then guess what? Bono can’t go to the White House, Springsteen can’t go to the White House, Bob Dylan can’t go to the White House. You got a lot of people that aren’t allowed to sit in the White House because they’ve written songs about people convicted of murder. There were also some delicious exchanges in the second half of the interview, particularly when Stewart brought up G. Gordon Liddy: Click here to view this media O’REILLY: OK. So you say, that because Bono, Springsteen, and Bob Dylan wrote songs defending people who were accused of heinous things, that I have to give Common a pass because he did the same thing. STEWART: No. You have to be consistent with your outrage. … STEWART: G. Gordon Liddy, in the Randy Weaver case, after the ATF stormed that facility, right? When he was talking about the ATF, you know what he said on his radio show? He said, if they break down your doors, don’t shoot them here [indicates torso], because they’re wearing protective gear, shoot for the head. O’REILLY: Was that before or after Liddy made the gold commercial? STEWART: [laughs] O’REILLY: OK, you see, your craziness — you bring this stuff in. O’Reilly obviously had no response to that one, because he obviously deflected the point and changed the subject there. I wonder what would have happened if Stewart had managed to bring up Richard Poplawski — an actual cop killer who was inspired by, among other people, Fox’s own Glenn Beck. Bet that would have wound up on the editing floor for sure.
Continue reading …Human rights groups report 13 bodies unearthed from field in southern city at centre of protest movement Thirteen bodies have been pulled from a mass grave in Deraa, the hub of Syria’s protest movement, according to residents cited by rights organisations. People from the southern city say hundreds are unaccounted for since a crackdown on protests began on 18 March and intensified when the army moved in on 25 April to try to quash unrest against Bashar al-Assad’s 11-year rule. Radwan Ziadeh, the US-based head of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights, said so far seven bodies had been identified by residents. Five of the dead were reportedly from the same family – Abdulrazaq Abdulaziz Abazied and his four children; Samer, Samir, Suleiman and Mohamed. The National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria also reported a grave being found on Monday. “Authorities immediately cordoned off the area to prevent residents from recovering the bodies,” it said. Several videos purporting to show the unearthing of bodies from a field close to the town have been posted. The government said reports of a mass grave were “completely untrue”, state TV reported on Tuesday. The official Syrian news agency, Sana, said Assad met a delegation from Deraa and they discussed the “positive atmosphere there as a result of co-operation between the residents and the army”. Residents report that landlines have been restored, the curfew shortened and tanks have withdrawn to the outskirts, but the town remains under tight control. Accounts of the mass grave could not be independently verified, although the pro-regime newspaper al-Watan acknowledged on Tuesday that five bodies had been found. “Given that Syria’s officials have demonstrated time and time again that they are incapable of launching an independent investigation, it should be the UN-mandated international inquiry that looks into these killings,” Nadim Houry, the Beirut-based senior researcher at Human Right Watch, told the Guardian. Meanwhile, the protests and crackdown have continued as the US condemned Syria’s role in the breaching of the Israeli border by protesters on Nakba Day , and the EU and US this week consider further moves, including sanctions on Assad himself. Referring to the fatal Nakba Day protests on Sunday the White House press secretary Jay Carney said: “It seems apparent to us that is an effort to distract attention from the legitimate expression of protest by the Syrian people.” Thousands of protesters marched through the town of Saqba close to Damascus on Monday night for the funeral of Ahmed Ataya who died from wounds sustained at a protest last month, while at least 15 tanks were deployed around Arida, near the border town of Tel Kelak. Activists said at least seven civilians were killed in Tel Kelak on Sunday when troops shelled the town, and one was killed on Monday, raising the death toll since troops entered on Saturday to 12. Syrian officials say five soldiers were killed by armed gangs in the town. Veteran dissidents who have met with government officials say that officials acknowledge the protests in private. But in public, authorities have blamed most of the violence on armed groups backed by extremists and foreign powers. “Syria’s leaders talk about a war against terrorists, but what we see on the ground is a war against ordinary Syrians,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director of Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Sunday. • Nidaa Hassan is a pseudonym for a journalist in Syria Syria Human rights Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Rihanna & Chris Brown Twitter Talk, Don Lemon Comes Out, Mariah Carey & More CNN anchor Don Lemon: I was born gay CNN’S DON LEMON JOINS THE PLOT OF MAINSTREAM MEDIA TO FORCE HOMOSEXUALITY UPON US!!!! Keith Boykin: Thank You, Don Lemon By standing up for who he is, Don Lemon will help to placate the fears of other black gay men and lesbians who are waiting to do the same. Don Lemon comes out in book 'Transparent' | Ministry of Gossip … CNN anchor Don Lemon says he’s gay in his book ‘Transparent.’ CNN weekend anchor Don Lemon is gay, the journalist announced in his memoir “Transparent.” CL'S 'ROUND THE WAY LINKS: DON LEMON COMES OUT / CASSIDY GETS … Just the other day I turned to CNN and Don Lemon was on and I was like “he looks different”. Something was “off” about him. He didn’t look like the Don Lemon I used to love watching. Now it all makes sense! He looks different because … CNN Anchor Don Lemon Reveals He's Gay – Socialite Life CNN’s Don Lemon , who last year stunned audiences when he said he was molested as a child, has revealed he is gay. Lemon, 45, has a new memoir coming out. Don Lemon Comes Out: CNN Anchor Reveals He's Gay: Links, Pics … Don Lemon Comes Out: CNN Anchor Reveals He’s Gay: CNN anchor Don Lemon has come out in his new book, “Transparent.”.. jeffytee says: Don Lemon Party
Continue reading …Intrusion into North Waziristan on Afghan border prompts exchange of fire and raises tensions with west A Nato helicopter based in Afghanistan intruded into Pakistan’s North Waziristan region on Tuesday, wounding two troops, local intelligence officials said, adding to tensions between Islamabad and the west. “It happened early morning,” a Pakistani intelligence official in the region, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. “The helicopter hit a Pakistani checkpost on the border in the Datta Khel area.” Another intelligence official said several Pakistani helicopters took off from Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, towards the site of the attack. The purpose of the Pakistani mobilisation was unclear. The Pakistani military was unavailable for immediate comment. Lieutenant Commander Colette Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), said in Kabul that the coalition was aware of the reports and was looking into them. North Waziristan is the base of the Haqqani network blamed for the insurgency in eastern Afghanistan. US-led drone aircraft have repeatedly targeted the area over the past year. Many militants, including foreign fighters loyal to al-Qaida, are based in Datta Khel. It is a stronghold of fighters loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur and has been a frequent target of US drone strikes . Pakistan’s Express 24/7 television channel said the checkpost was right on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It quoted officials as saying that the helicopters were just about to intrude into Pakistani territory when aerial gunshots were fired. They subsequently moved back but fired a retaliatory shot which released rubble from the nearby mountains and wounded the security personnel. The reported incursion came a day after unmanned US drone aircraft fired missiles in Datta Khel, killing 12 militants, Pakistani officials said. An intelligence official said that one of the dead militants, an Arab, was the son of an al-Qaida operative identified as Abu Kashif. There was no way to verify the death toll. Militants often dispute official accounts of drone attacks. Relations between the US and Pakistan have been pushed almost to breaking point after the secret 2 May raid on Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden , embarrassing and humiliating the powerful Pakistani army and intelligence service. In late January the undercover CIA contractor Raymond Davis killed two Pakistanis in Lahore, resulting in a six-week standoff over diplomatic immunity. While on 30 September two Pakistani soldiers were killed and four wounded when Nato helicopters crossed the border while pursing insurgents. Pakistan retaliated by shutting down the supply route for Nato troops in Afghanistan. Washington sees the rugged border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan as a critical battleground against al-Qaida and the Taliban. Pakistan Nato Afghanistan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Latest strikes on Tripoli come just hours after international criminal court seeks arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi Nato air strikes have hit two Libyan government buildings in the capital of Tripoli, including the interior ministry, setting them on fire. The attack prompted a government spokesman to suggest the ministry, which is responsible for internal security, was targeted because it contained files on corruption cases against senior members of the Benghazi-based rebel leadership. The latest strikes on Gaddafi’s stronghold came just hours after the international criminal court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor sought arrest warrants for the Libyan leader, his son and the country’s intelligence chief for authorising the killing of civilians in a crackdown on anti-government rebels. Gaddafi’s government has denied the allegations. The move by the Netherlands-based court was its first one linked to the Arab uprisings. It opened another potential front against Gaddafi’s regime even as the autocratic leader stands firm against widening Nato air strikes and rebels with growing international backing. A Libyan government spokesman appealed for a ceasefire and said authorities were likely to release four foreign reporters after they faced trial in an administrative court, expected later on Tuesday. Nato has increased strikes on the capital in an apparent attempt to weaken Gaddafi’s main stronghold and potentially target the leader himself. Government escorts took reporters to the site of the air strikes. Smoke and flames engulfed the top floors of the interior ministry building as dozens of young men, many armed with assault rifles, milled outside the shuttered gate. Some carried a life-sized portrait of Gaddafi, danced before the burning building and chanted: “The revolution will continue!” Nearby, black smoke poured out of a complex that officials said included offices used by authorities overseeing corruption cases. Soldiers collected half-burnt papers strewn amid the glass and metal as firefighters doused the flames. Moussa Ibrahim, the Libyan spokesman, suggested the ministry was targeted because it contained files on rebel leaders in Benghazi, the de-facto capital of the eastern half of the country, which is under opposition control. “If they [Nato] are really interested in protecting civilians … then we call upon them to stop, and start talking to us,” Ibrahim said. After the air strikes, sporadic gunfire could be heard near the Tripoli hotel where foreign reporters are staying. Police closed off a road nearby but the reason for the gunfire wasn’t clear. Libyan TV said Nato air strikes also hit Tajoura, a neighbourhood in Tripoli, and Zawiya, about 30 miles (50km) west of the capital. State TV said a number of people were killed and wounded. It did not elaborate. At least three explosions believed to be caused by Nato strikes shook windows around the Libyan capital late on Monday. It was not immediately clear what was targeted, but Ibrahim said he believed the jets were aiming for Gaddafi’s compound. The international warrants could further isolate Gaddafi and his inner circle and potentially complicate the options for a negotiated settlement. But they could also harden Gaddafi’s resolve to fight, since the legal action has been seen in Libya as giving Nato more justification to target him. Because the UN security council ordered the ICC investigation, UN member states would be obliged to arrest him if he entered their territory. In the Netherlands, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was seeking warrants against Gaddafi, his son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, and intelligence chief Abdullah Sanoussi for ordering, planning and participating in illegal attacks. The younger Gaddafi has become one of the public faces of the regime through frequent interviews with the media. Moreno-Ocampo said he had evidence that Gaddafi’s forces attacked civilians in their homes, shot at demonstrators with live ammunition, shelled funeral processions and deployed snipers to kill people leaving mosques. Judges must now evaluate the evidence before deciding whether to confirm the charges and issue international arrest warrants. In Benghazi, rebel spokesman Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga said that while the rebels welcomed the case they would like to see Gaddafi tried first in Libya, then before the ICC. Under Gaddafi’s more than four decades in power, the regime “has committed many crimes against the Libyan people, and the Libyan people want to see him punished for that”, Ghoga said. Libya Nato Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest International criminal court Africa Middle East guardian.co.uk
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