WASHINGTON   The State Department ordered a partial evacuation of the United States Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, responding to what the Trump administration said was a threat linked to Iran, one that has led to an accelerated movement of American ships and bombers into the Persian Gulf. The department ordered "nonemergency U.S. government employees," at both the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil, to leave the country. The order applies primarily to full-time diplomats posted to Iraq by State Department headquarters in Washington, and an embassy statement said that visa services in Iraq would be suspended as a result. Contractors who provide security, food and other such services will remain in place for now. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that the administration had received intelligence related to "Iranian activity" that put American facilities and service personnel at "substantial risk." Other American officials have said the same piece of intelligence points to potential attacks by Shiite Arab militias tied to Iran against American troops in Iraq or Syria. Sign Up For the Morning Briefing Newsletter The State Department already had been discussing big cuts to the ranks of employees in the Baghdad and Kabul embassies as part of trying to wind down American involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American officials said. Iraqi officials have voiced skepticism about the about the threat described by the Americans, and on Tuesday, so did the British deputy commander of the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, or ISIS. "No, there's been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria," Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, speaking from Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon by video link . There are threats in the region to United States and coalition forces, he said, referring to "noncompliant actors" among the militias, but "there always have been." [The Trump administration is laying the groundwork for major military action against Iran, but it may have a hard time rallying domestic and international support .] The Pentagon's Central Command released a statement saying that General Ghika's comments "run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from U.S. and allies regarding Iranian backed forces in the region," and that as a result, United States forces in Iraq were "now at a high level of alert." On Wednesday afternoon, Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts and a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, introduced legislation to require the Trump administration to have congressional approval before "engaging in hostilities" with Iran. In April, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, pressed Mr. Pompeo during a hearing for the same commitment, but the secretary of state deflected the request. Mr. Pompeo made a surprise visit to Baghdad on May 7 to brief Iraqi leaders about the threat. On May 5, John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, issued a statement warning against any attack by the Iranian military or a "proxy" against American interests or allies. Mr. Bolton said the United States was sending the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and bombers to the Persian Gulf. Other officials later said that the strike group's movement to that area had been previously scheduled and was merely being sped up. On Friday, the Pentagon said it was sending another ship and a Patriot antimissile battery to the Middle East. The order for a partial evacuation of the Baghdad embassy, which at the height of the Iraq War was the largest in the American diplomatic system, adds to the rising tensions between the United States and Iran. It is unclear when the employees being evacuated will be told they can return. In September, Mr. Pompeo ordered a full withdrawal from the American Consulate in Basra, in southern Iraq, after a few rockets landed around the grounds of the city's airport, where the consulate is. The rockets did not cause any injuries. For more than a year beforehand, State Department officials had debated whether to shut down the consulate to save money, and some diplomats said the evacuation of the consulate was related to that. The Trump administration blamed Shiite militias tied to Iran for the rocket attacks in Basra. It also said that those types of militias were responsible for rocket attacks around the same time in the area of the Baghdad embassy. As in Basra, the attacks in Baghdad did not injure anyone. Tensions with Iran have been rising since May 2018, when President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal that world powers reached with Tehran. The United States then reinstated major sanctions last November, and those have weakened the Iranian economy. In April, the Trump administration designated an arm of Iran's military as a foreign terrorist organization and ended waivers it had granted to eight governments to exempt them from sanctions for buying Iranian oil. European nations are still in the nuclear deal and have urged Iran to stay committed to it, despite Mr. Trump's provocations. Iran said last week that it would begin walking away from some of the deal's restrictions on its nuclear activity. Critics of the Trump administration, and of Mr. Bolton in particular, have suggested that American officials are presenting faulty intelligence to make a case for war against Iran, as the administration of President George W. Bush did in 2002 to justify the invasion of Iraq . Mr. Bolton was the under secretary of state for arms control and international security then, and he asserted that Saddam Hussein, the longtime ruler of Iraq, was trying to develop weapons of mass destruction. Helene Cooper contributed reporting.


BERKELEY, Calif.   The school bus ride was less than three miles from one side of Berkeley to the other, but from 1969 to 1973 it transported Carole Porter to an entirely different world. Like her neighbor and friend Kamala Harris, Porter was one of thousands of black children bused into predominantly white neighborhoods to learn. It was part of Berkeley's bold experiment in desegregation. But even in a city that had become a worldwide symbol of 1960s counterculture revolt, systemic racial prejudice in education and housing remained deeply entrenched. "That's a really hard thing to reconcile," said Porter, 55. "Berkeley was an oxymoron. It was a contradiction in many ways." Harris' three years of busing from her family's mainly black working-class neighborhood to a prosperous white enclave in the hills overlooking San Francisco Bay was at once universal and uniquely Berkeley. As in many American cities, the discriminatory housing policy known as redlining kept blacks from moving into white neighborhoods in Berkeley and busing fueled some white flight to the suburbs. But unlike other sizable cities, Berkeley undertook its busing program voluntarily and required both white and black families to travel into unfamiliar neighborhoods. Rapid demographic and political changes shielded the community from the most extreme pushback, including violence, that hobbled busing efforts nationwide. More than 50 years after Berkeley launched its busing program, Harris, one of its most famous participants, thrust it back into the spotlight in last week's Democratic presidential debate. As California's first black senator chastised her rival Joe Biden for his fight against forced busing in the '70s, she leaned on her personal history in Berkeley, portraying herself as a beneficiary of the charged battle for educational equality. "There was a little girl in California who was a part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day," Harris said. "And that little girl was me." Contrary to its enduring reputation as a progressive mecca, the Berkeley of Harris' childhood was more politically muddled. The conservative John Birch Society operated two bookstores in the area. It wasn't until the early 1960s that Democrats cracked a Republican stronghold on the City Council. Black residents were restricted to living to the southern and western flats, while whites resided in the northern hills. Thelette A. Bennett, 71, a retired vice principal of Berkeley High School, grew up in the same neighborhood as Harris. Bennett's father, a black World War II Navy veteran, was an airplane mechanic at a local naval air station in 1945, when redlining blocked him and his wife from buying a house in a white neighborhood. Even in the black neighborhood where they settled, she said, they needed to get a white real estate agent to buy a home and transfer it to them. "There were only certain areas where they could buy a home," Bennett said. "We lived where they allowed us to live." But a large influx of African Americans during and after World War II and whites affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley were pulling the local politics to the left, paving the way for desegregation. Black leaders raised concerns about segregation in the city starting in the late 1950s. In response, the school board studied the matter, concluding that all but three of the district's 17 elementary schools and two of the three junior high schools were segregated. (Berkeley High, the city's only high school, was integrated by default.) In 1964, the school board voted to desegregate its junior high schools. Residents' reactions were not as extreme as the segregation battles elsewhere in the country, such as the South, but "it wasn't as far from that as you might assume," said Natalie Orenstein, a reporter for local news site Berkeleyside. "There were definitely really angry parents and hourslong school meetings." Desegregation opponents launched recall campaigns of multiple school board members over the junior high busing program, but lost by a wide margin. "When the recall failed, that vote was interpreted by the school board and liberals as a vote to go ahead," said Charles Wollenberg, author of "Berkeley: A City in History." "So in 1968, they also began integration of the elementary schools." Harris began attending a white school in 1970 as a first-grader. Her mother would kiss her goodbye and then she would walk to the corner and get on the bus to Thousand Oaks Elementary School, Harris wrote in her 2019 memoir. "I only learned later that we were part of a national experiment in desegregation … . At the time, all I knew was that the big yellow bus was the way I got to school." Leading the charge was Neil Sullivan, the Berkeley schools superindendent previously tasked with integrating Prince Edward County, Va., which had closed its public schools to defy desegregation orders. "School integration can change attitudes   that is the key factor," Sullivan wrote in a 1969 book about his Berkeley tenure. "It is our hope that in the integrated school we shall not raise another generation of bigots." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in a foreword to Sullivan's book, said that he had felt discouraged about the progress of school integration nationwide. But upon hearing the Berkeley superintendent's desegregation plan, "hope returned to my soul and spirit." Berkeley was distinct for choosing to integrate on its own, not under duress from the court, and made the busing requirements apply equally to black and white children. "They weren't just requiring black children to go to school in white neighborhoods," said Erica Frankenberg, an education and demography professor at Penn State University who researched the Berkeley programs. "They were also saying we need to be equitable in sharing the burden of going further away … . That was extremely rare." Some white families embraced the experiment. Sophie Hahn, currently a Berkeley City Council member, said her family moved from neighboring Kensington into the hills of northern Berkeley so she could participate in busing. From fourth to sixth grade, she rode the bus to Columbus Elementary School (later renamed after civil rights icon Rosa Parks), where most of the students and teachers were black. Hahn learned African history and some Swahili, and the kids sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," a civil rights ballad often called the Black National Anthem. "People were giddy," said Hahn, 57. "I was brought up thinking that what we were doing in Berkeley was going to change the world." But others fled to avoid busing. The district saw a decline in enrollment 15 years after integration, from 16,000 students to 9,000, partly fueled by white flight, according to Berkeleyside. Harris has fondly recounted her early school days. "Because the students came from all over the area, we were a varied bunch; some grew up in public housing and others were the children of professors," she wrote in her memoir. "I remember celebrating varied cultural holidays at school and learning to count to 10 in several languages." Carole Porter similarly spoke warmly of the experience, recalling Swedish, Jewish and Latina friends she made at Thousand Oaks Elementary School   which is now emblazoned with a mural featuring its famous alumna, Harris. "I think it made me who I am today," she said. Her younger sister, Lois Porter, however, said being bused to Thousand Oaks in 1970 for kindergarten was difficult. "We were treated horribly," by the white teachers, and the white students "wouldn't play with us," she said. "I just remember it being very tense," she said. "I didn't trust white people for a long time." The tumult in Berkeley over busing paled in comparison to other American cities. In 1974, court-ordered busing led to violent clashes in Boston. Five years later, Los Angeles voters recalled the school board president who pledged to follow court orders for mandatory busing. Nearly 90% of the American public opposed busing, according to a Gallup poll in the early 1970s. In Berkeley, just over half of parents opposed busing before it went into effect, and only 30% opposed it once the program was put in place. Today, Berkeley operates under a newer desegregation plan that is based on socioeconomic and demographic data instead of a student's race. The original desegregation policy remains a source of civic pride. "The legacy is that every single kid in Berkeley from grades K-5 has baseline the same resources at their schools, the same quality of teachers school to school," said Orenstein, the Berkeleyside reporter. "But I think it's a complicated and unfinished legacy given the persistent achievement gap and equity issues that public school districts everywhere are faced with." For the black students of those first integrated classes, the socializing and networking with white children was just as crucial as the classroom learning, said Carole Porter. She believes it formed a springboard for Harris' presidential ambitions. "She would not be where she is today if she had not had that opportunity," she said.     (Times staff writers Michael Finnegan reported from Berkeley, Seema Mehta and Melanie Mason from Los Angeles.)     ©2019 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


Formula 1 will descend on the French Riviera on the 21-23 June for the eighth round of the world championship. After a break of ten years, the French Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 2018 with the action taking place at the famous Circuit Paul Ricard. The track was built in 1970 and regularly hosted F1 races for two decades. But after a period of decline, Paul Ricard was rebuilt as a high-speed test track and in 2009 was re-opened to the public. The new circuit featured modified corners and innovative alternatives to gravel traps, with large runoff areas featuring abrasive blue lines which helped to slow cars down, setting new standards in safety. The Formula 1 layout measures 3.6 miles, making it one of the longest of the year. The characteristic of long straights and tight corners, ensures a technical challenge for drivers, while providing fans with ample overtaking opportunities. "Every time we go to a track that has had a good history of racing, it's great for the fans and I think they'll be a fantastic crowd too," says David Tsurusaki, Global Motorsport Technology Manager, ExxonMobil. The first sector of the lap is characterised by a series of technical corners, before the drivers blast through the left-hander at Turn 7 and on to the long Mistral straight where speeds build in excess of 211mph. It's on this part of the track where the demands are highest from the power unit, which can be enhanced with a powerful blend of race fuel, while also considering the importance of protection and reliability for the engine over a long season. "Reliability is almost everything for us," says Tsurusaki. "It's a combination of the Mobil 1 lubricants and the Esso Synergy race fuel. We need the performance but we need to protect all those internal components because they need to last seven races." Turn 10, or the famous Signes corner, is located at the end of the Mistral straight and is one of the quickest turns of the year. With an entry speed taken in eighth gear at 198mph, drivers will be thankful for the plentiful run-off if they make a mistake. The final sector of the lap features the tricky double apex right-hander at Beausset before the last few corners which return the drivers to the pits and start/finish straight. The fans will be supporting many of the local drivers at this year's French Grand Prix, including Red Bull's Pierre Gasly. He will be looking for a better result in front of his home crowd this year after retiring in 2018 after a collision on the opening lap. "Hopefully this should give a chance for the Red Bull to shine. We had a podium finish last year with Max taking second place," says David Tsurusaki, Global Motorsport Technology Manager, ExxonMobil. "This is Pierre Gasly's home race, so hopefully we'll be looking at a double podium this year. I think when Pierre gets to the track and sees his fans wearing Red Bull colours and his number, it will be exciting for him and he'll be one of the stars of the race weekend."


Curious just how far your dollar goes in Anaheim? We've rounded up the latest places for rent via rental sites Zumper and Apartment Guide to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down apartment rentals in Anaheim if you're on a budget of $2,700/month. Take a peek at what rentals the city has to offer, below. (Note: Prices and availability are subject to change.) Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. 1818 S. State College Blvd. (Platinum Triangle) Here's a 1,328-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom abode at 1818 S. State College Blvd. that's going for $2,689/month. The residence has hardwood flooring, in-unit laundry, a dishwasher and a walk-in closet. Attention, pet owners: Cats and dogs are allowed here. Walk Score indicates that this location isn't very walkable, is bikeable and has good transit options. (Take a look at the full listing here .) 1556 W. Katella Ave. (Southwest Anaheim) Next, check out this 1,648-square-foot three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom townhouse that's located at 1556 W. Katella Ave. It's listed for $2,700/month. The building boasts garage parking, secured entry and outdoor space. The home also includes granite countertops, a walk-in closet and air conditioning. Animals are not allowed. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. Per Walk Score ratings, this location is somewhat walkable, is fairly bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options. (Check out the complete listing here .) 203 S. Primrose St. (Southwest Anaheim) Finally, located at 203 S. Primrose St., here's a 1,378-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bathroom abode that's also listed for $2,700/month. When it comes to amenities, expect garage parking and outdoor space. Animals are not welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. According to Walk Score, the surrounding area is moderately walkable, is bikeable and has some transit options. (See the complete listing here .) Working with a tight budget? Here are the cheapest rentals recently listed in Anaheim . This story was created automatically using local real estate data from Zumper and Apartment Guide , then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Every year in training camp, players make a surprising impact in practice and in the preseason for the Arizona Cardinals. There are players who get noticed by coaches, the media and the fans. They seem to come out of nowhere. Based on the uncertainty at certain positions and what they did in offseason work, three players might be worth paying attention to once practices begin. WR Kevin White Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports White is a former top-10 pick who has done nothing in the league, mainly because of injuries. However, there is no receiver on the roster more talented in terms of size, speed, athleticism and playmaking ability. No one knows exactly what to expect from White but he could flash the greatness many expected him to have in the league, especially playing in an offense he did while in college. View embedded content WR Damiere Byrd Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports Byrd enters his fourth NFL season and is intriguing because he is fast. He ran the 40 before the draft in 4.28 seconds. He caught some eyes in offseason work. He might find himself in the mix for the final roster and for some playing time. He also could be in the mix as a kick or punt returner as well. View embedded content OL Rees Odhiambo Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports Odhiambo was a late addition to the roster in 2018. He started seven games for the Seattle Seahawks in 2017. The starting offensive line is set. However, there is little experience in the depth of the line. Odhiambo is versatile and is a guy to watch as the team's backup swing tackle. Listen to the latest from Cards Wire's Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio . View embedded content MORE: Mike Trout's perfect 98.6 MPH throw to home plate had everyone in awe New York Mets' New 'Foul Poles' Are an Abomination NBA trade rumor rankings: What's up with CP3? The 21 dumbest ideas in NFL history Lane Johnson has a 'Bro Barn' that he uses to sculpt himself into best RT in NFL


Brittany Lang, newly selected for the US Solheim Cup team, validated captain Juli Inkster's confidence on Thursday by grabbing the first-round lead in the LPGA Classic. Lang got off to a sizzling start on the par-72 Senator course with five birdies in the first seven holes. She was seven-under through 12 and looked set for a possible course record until she was slowed by bogeys at 13 and 14. Lang then birdied 16 and 17 to finish with a seven-under 65 for a two-stroke lead over fellow-Americans Tiffany Joh, Sydnee Michaels and Ryann O'Toole. One stroke further back were South Korea's Kim Hyo-Joo, Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, Denmark's Therese Koelbaek, Paraguay's Julieta Granada and Feng Simin of China. AFP


Of the over 200 active cruise ships the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has examined , only 20 earned a perfect 100-point score during their most recent inspection. Royal Caribbean Internationa l and Princess Cruises each have three ships that currently have perfect scores, more than any other cruise line. Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Seabourn Cruise Line, and Disney Cruise Lines are tied for second with two ships with 100-point inspection scores. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The vast majority of cruise ships get passing scores from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which performs sanitation inspections on ships that operate in the US. But a small handful of ships get a perfect score of 100 points during their inspections. Of the over 200 active cruise ships the CDC has examined, only 20 earned a 100 during their most recent inspection. Royal Caribbean International and Princess Cruises each have three ships that currently have perfect scores, more than any other cruise lines. For Royal Caribbean, those ships are Brilliance of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, and Rhapsody of the Seas. They represent 12.5% of Royal Caribbean's ships that have been examined by the CDC, which have scored an average of 95.5 during their most recent inspections. No Royal Caribbean ships currently have failing scores. Regal Princess, Sea Princess, and Star Princess are the Princess Cruises ships that have received perfect scores from the CDC during their most recent inspections. They represent 18.8% of Princess' active ships that have been examined by the CDC, which have scored an average of 96.3 during their most recent inspections. No Princess ships currently have failing scores. Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Seabourn Cruise Line, and Disney Cruise Lines are tied for second with two ships with 100-point inspection scores. Viking Ocean Cruises, P&O Cruises, Holland American Line, Aida Cruises, Costa Crociere SpA, and MSC Cruise Management (UK) Limited each have one. Have you worked on a cruise ship? Do you have a story to share? Email this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com .


With training camp on the horizon, there are still ten unsigned NFL draft picks left, as shown in PFR's tracker : So far, 244 of this year's 254 selections have inked their deals. Here's the complete breakdown, sorted by round: First Round (5) 49ers, 1-2: Nick Bosa , DE (Ohio State) Jets, 1-3: Quinnen Williams , DT (Alabama) Buccaneers, 1-5: Devin White , LB (LSU) Giants, 1-6: Daniel Jones , QB (Duke) Panthers, 1-16: Brian Burns , DE (Florida State) Second Round (2) 49ers, 2-36: Deebo Samuel , WR (South Carolina) Broncos, 2-42: Drew Lock , QB (Missouri) Third Round (2) Ravens, 3-93: Miles Boykin , WR (Notre Dame) Giants, 3-95: Oshane Ximines , LB (Old Dominion) Seventh Round (1) Vikings, 7-250: Austin Cutting , LS (Air Force) As expected, the first round (five) leads the way in stragglers. It's also worth noting that four of the five remaining unsigned first-round picks are repped by CAA: Bosa, White, Jones and Burns. Last July, CAA had five of the seven unsigned players in the top 10, so it's clear that the power agency is driving a hard bargain over key issues such as offset language. The Broncos seemed to have a logjam earlier this week when Drew Lock (No. 42) overall pushed for a quarterback premium while guard Dalton Risner (No. 41 overall) refused to take less money than the player drafted behind him. They solved half of the issue when Risner agreed to terms this week, but they're still looking for a compromise with Lock as camp draws near. Cutting, meanwhile, is now allowed to defer his military service while he plays professional football, so a deal should be signed any day now.


Universal Orlando is building a new theme park: Universal's Epic Universe. At a Thursday morning news conference, the company announced the new park will be the largest investment in one of its theme parks. Universal said the new theme park will be on a large swath of land near the Orange County Convention Center. According to property records, Universal Creative Partners own more than 500 acres near the convention center. Thursday's news conference included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts. No further details were released about what rides or themed lands will come to Universal's Epic Universe. Universal Orlando did release concept art for how the park will be layed out and includes hints to new hotels, shops, restaurants and an entertainment center. Tom Williams, CEO of Universal Parks and Resorts, said "It's going to be a one of a kind park. It's going to blow your mind." In a blog post, Universal said visitors will "venture beyond their wildest imagination, traveling into beloved stories and through vibrant lands." Universal's Islands of Adventure park just expanded its Wizarding World of Harry Potter with Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure roller coaster. It opened its third park, Volcano Bay, in 2017. That same year, Terminator 2: 3D closed at Universal Studios Florida. No further information has been released about a new attraction, but Universal said it would be replaced by "an all-new live action experience based on a high-energy Universal franchise," according to the Miami Herald. Back in 2015, Universal and Nintendo announced they would bring video game-themed lands to Universal parks beginning with Japan first then Orlando and California. The company said Japan's Nintendo World will open in 2020. Islands of Adventure just expanded its Wizarding World of Harry Potter with Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure roller coaster. Previous: New theme park? Universal Orlando teases major announcement for Aug. 1 What other people are reading right now: 'I want more answers' | Man finds frozen baby in mom's freezer in south St. Louis There's even more evidence Florida's wind codes aren't good enough to withstand powerful hurricanes Convicted child molester killed in Florida jail, convicted murderer charged in fatal beating 9-year-old boy dies after being pulled from Florida creek At least 1 dead after massive explosion rocks Kentucky ► Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now . Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed .


Following a short trip to Northeast Oklahoma, Jo Rogers, 40, and her family returned home to have their worlds turned upside down. After trips to three different hospitals, doctors were finally able to identify what had caused her heath to deteriorate in a matter of days: the worst case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever they had ever encountered. Doctors were forced to amputate all four of Rogers's limbs in order to save her life, and they fear she's not out of the woods just yet. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a tickborne illness caused by a rare and aggressive bacterium known as Rickettsia rickettsii . This potentially fatal human illness found primarily in North and South America can be transmitted to humans via the bite of several infected tick species, including American dog tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick, and brown dog tick. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is usually treatable within five days of infection. Unfortunately, Rogers missed that window, which led to the severity of her case. Shortly after going into septic shock at the first of three different hospitals, doctors decided to place her in a medically induced coma. Tests for viral and bacterial infections, such as West Nile and meningitis, all came back negative and doctors started to scramble for an answer. Her medical team made the decision to amputate all four of her limbs to ensure that the infection did not spread to any of her vital organs. Both of her arms were amputated mid-forearm, her left leg was removed below the knee, and her right left was removed mid-thigh. If that wasn't enough, her doctors fear that more surgeries will be needed to prevent the infection from spreading further. On Aug. 3, Rogers and her husband Keith were supposed to celebrate their 14th wedding anniversary. Instead, Keith spent the day in Jo's hospital room, where she remains on a ventilator and heavily sedated while doctors fend off the possibility of pneumonia. Her insurance will only be able to cover her stay for a couple of more months. After that, she and her family will have a mountain of medical bills to deal with, including rehab, prosthetics, and renovations to her home and car to fit her needs. Rogers's cousin, Lisa James Morgan, launched a GoFundMe account to help quell some of the financial burden.


Read! Sign up for the Seaside Joe newsletter! In addition to the great content you'll see on Field Gulls every day, sign up for a daily newsletter to come to your email every morning that will be a short and sweet post, thought, stat, quote, musing by Kenneth or one of his guests that requires little thought or commitment. Just a good way to bring a Seahawks companion to your morning of sippin' joe by the seaside. 30 most important Seahawks in 2019: No. 11, linebacker K.J. Wright After suffering through an injury-riddled 2018 season, K.J. Wright will once again be a huge part of the Seattle Seahawks defense in 2019. What does Pete Carroll think his legacy with the Seahawks will look like? | Q13 FOX News SEATTLE -- Q13 Sports Director Aaron Levine chatted with Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll about the upcoming season and more. This is a transcription of their interview: Levine: Being part of a football organization is being part of a family, but how important is having your two sons out on th… 2019 Seattle Seahawks preseason schedule: Times, dates and opponents A look at the complete 2019 Seattle Seahawks preseason schedule, including kick off times, dates and opponents. Seahawks news: Pete Carroll pleased to see C.J. Prosise healthy this offseason Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is clearly excited about the improvement that CJ Prosise is making this offseason. NFL: NFL Win Totals: Seattle Seahawks - Video - CBSSports.com Watch CBSSports.com Video Online 4 Players Have Received A 99 Overall Rating In Madden NFL 20 Madden NFL 20 is only a few weeks away from release but the game has been teasing player ratings for a while now. Former Titans LB Derrick Morgan says he's retiring - NFL.com Linebacker Derrick Morgan is retiring at the age of 30. Morgan played nine seasons with the Tennessee Titans, recording 305 tackles and 44.5 sacks. Franchise tag deadline: Clowney, Gould yet to sign - NFL.com The deadline to sign franchise-tagged players to long-term deals is approaching on Monday, July 15. Will Jadeveon Clowney and Robbie Gould strike gold by then? Larry Fitzgerald on Cardinals offense: Simpler language, but have to process faster   ProFootballTalk There's been a lot of speculation about what the Cardinals offense will look like in head coach Kliff Kingsbury's first season in Arizona and a full answer to that question won't come until the team is on the field in September. FMIA: Peyton Manning (Remember Him?) Quarterbacks New TV Series, Mulls Long-Term Life After Football   ProFootballTalk Peter King returns from vacation to visit with Peyton Manning as his new ESPN series on the NFL's 100-year history is set to debut. Report: "Baby steps" toward new CBA after three meetings   ProFootballTalk NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that it is "certainly our intent" to have a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place before the start of the 2019 season and there have been three meetings with the NFLPA toward making that a reality. Today's the deadline for tagged players to get long-term deals   ProFootballTalk Falcons owner Arthur Blank bragged this offseason that defensive tackle Grady Jarrett would be a "Falcon for life." He's down to the final hours of being able to deliver on that promise. Glover Quin saved his money, so he can retire in comfort   ProFootballTalk Veteran safety Glover Quin announced his retirement last week, but he doesn't need to find another job if he doesn't want to. Quin told Peter King for this week's Football Morning in America that he has saved 70 percent of his after-tax income. Peyton Manning passed on TV because he doesn't want to analyze Eli, former teammates   ProFootballTalk It's widely been believed that Peyton Manning has resisted taking a TV analyst job because he doesn't want to have to analyze his brother, Eli. What has widely been believed is now being officially reported. Tony Romo wins second straight American Century Championship   ProFootballTalk Tony Romo has found something he's better at than predicting play calls from the broadcast booth. The former Cowboys quarterback won his second straight American Century Championship, taking the celebrity golf tournament title again this year.


Tiger Woods was infuriated by his finish in the second round of the U.S. Open, the former world No. 1 venting his frustration after closing the day with back-to-back bogeys. Woods carded a one-over 72 to move to even par at Pebble Beach, where the 15-time major champion was seven strokes off the pace. The 2019 Masters champion made just one birdie throughout another tough day, which was made worse by consecutive bogeys at the eighth and ninth holes. Asked if he was steaming after dropping back-to-back holes on Friday, Woods told reporters: "Yeah, I am. Not a very good finish." Tiger Woods made his first bogey in 30 holes. He is even today and -1 overall. pic.twitter.com/tnf2sXTO20   PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 14, 2019 Woods added: "I'm a little hot right now. I just signed my card about a minute ago. So need a little time to cool down a little bit. "[The greens were a] little bit quicker. Still a little slow and bumpy. It's so important to be below the hole, because above the holes, they're a little tough to make. "I had a couple opportunities there. I missed a couple. But overall I kept leaving myself above the hole. And unlike yesterday, when I missed it I missed the correct spots below the hole, today I never had that many looks from below the hole. And the one I did have, I made at 11." While his round did not go according to plan, Woods remains in the hunt at the halfway stage of the U.S. Open   a tournament he has won three times but not since 2008. "Right now I'm still in the ball game," the 43-year-old Woods said. "There's so many guys with a chance to win. We've got a long way to go, and, you know, we'll see how it shapes up for tomorrow. "The golf course can be a little bit faster, a little bit more springy than it was today, and scores will continue to back up a little bit."


The roster of newly-minted CEOs at America's largest companies for 2018 contains more executives named Jeffrey and Michael than it does women. (Yes, you read that right: two men named Michael were named CEO in 2018, two named Jeffrey, and just one lone woman.) Contrary to the myth of rising churn at the top, mega-cap CEOs are keeping their jobs for almost a decade, at least as long as in the past. The premier training ground for today's chieftains? It's not an Apple or Microsoft but that ever-inventive thirst-quencher, PepsiCo , Inc. Those are just a few of the insights from the "New CEO Report" for 2018, a survey of the newly-named leaders at the 250 largest S&P 500 companies, measured by last year's revenues, conducted by Feigen Advisors, LLC. (TheNewCEOReport.com) The firm's founder, Marc Feigen  whom I nicknamed "the CEO whisperer"  is America's leading adviser to CEOs in waiting. Feigen's speciality is CEO succession. He smoothes the process by counseling the executives who've been anointed to succeed the current chief in the period before they take charge, helping them to shape a strategic vision and introducing them to a braintrust of retired Fortune 500 chiefs who proffer advice. The list of current CEOs whom Feigen's guided (and in some cases, continues to advise) include Bob Iger of Walt Disney , Fabrizio Freda of Estee Lauder , and Chris Swift of The Hartford. The report on the class of 2018 could be subtitled, "a study in stability," or even "here we go again." Feigen has been producing the report since 2014, and this year's results underscore the relentless, year-to-year consistency in the way corporate America transitions to new leaders  for good and for bad. Once again, the new class is dominated by veteran insiders who are replacing leaders who served their full, surprisingly lengthy terms, in carefully planned successions. Most don't arise from a sudden upheaval. At the corporate giants, the proportion of departing CEOs forced out by dissatisfied boards, and surprise appointments from outside the company, are remarkably low. But corporate America's adherence to long-established practices has glaring weaknesses, including the boards' failure to groom women for the top job. That's led to a paucity of female CEOs that despite employers' claims of championing their careers, isn't improving. Feigen's "New CEO Report" for 2018 explores a number of key, mostly enduring, trends. Here are five notable examples. New CEOs are mostly long-serving insiders Feigen has been producing the report since 2014, so it's instructive to compare last year's results with the trends over the full five-year period. Once again, the consistency is remarkable. The report found that last year, the S&P 250 replaced 23 CEOs. That turnover rate of 9.2% is below the 5 year figure of 11%, so although tenure at the top is shrinking in small and mid-sized companies, the giants are showing at least as much stability as in the past. Big Cap CEOs aren't getting younger: The average age for the class of '18 was 56 compared with the 5-year norm of 54.6. Boards promoted 20 of the 23 new CEOs (87%) from within the companies's ranks. Sixteen of those twenty insiders were long-tenured veterans who'd spent, on average, well over two decades with their employer. That's right in line with recent history. Since 2014, 112 of the 134 new CEOs (84%) have been insiders. For example, Mike Wirth joined Chevron out of college in 1982, and Steve Squeri started at American Express in the Travelers Cheque Group in 1985. But the other four insiders followed a different path. They were hired into senior positions, mainly from rivals, over the past several years, and "fast tracked" through through a range of roles where they displayed the mettle that won them top job. Tom Bene joined catering giant Sysco as chief merchandising officer from PepsiCo in 2013, and Lockheed Martin veteran Chris Kubasik went to defense contractor L3 Technologies as COO in 2015 as heir apparent. Outsiders are usually hired to repair a struggling enterprise CEOs in big-cap America serve a long time. Last year, the average tenure of the departing bosses was 9.3 years, slightly higher than the half-decade average of 9 years. Retirements overwhelmingly occur as planned, not because of a crisis. Last year, 18 of the 23 new CEOs took the torch from predecessors who'd served their full terms and left following a long-orchestrated process of succession. That's nothing new; since 2014, around three-quarters of all CEO transitions were planned, not improvised. Outsiders are the most frequent choice when boards force CEOs to resign. Only three of the two-dozen new CEOs came from the outside, and all were recruited to fix ailing companies. Two were installed by boards dissatisfied with the performance of their predecessors. Larry Culp, who'd been serving on GE's board, left the top job at industrial conglomerate Danaher to became the first outsider to run the flailing power and aerospace giant in its 126 year history, after the board ejected predecessor John Flannery after fourteen months on the job. Marvin Ellison traded his CEO position at J.C. Penney to run Lowe's , whose stock was underperforming shares of rival Home Depot . The third outsider, John Visintin, ascended via a shareholder revolt. He took over at Xerox , which has suffered years of shrinking copier sales, following a ferocious proxy fight led by activist Carl Icahn, who hand-picked Visintin to lead a rescue operation. Boards covet candidates who've led big operating units Over the past five years, no fewer than 107 or 80% of the 134 newly-named CEOs had a crucial attraction on their resumes: experience running key business units at their companies. More than half of the all new leaders  almost all of whom had operated business units at one point -served as COO, president or both just prior to their ascension, so their last position wasn't a top staff job, but responsibility for the entire company's operations and financial results. Clearly directors want CEOs who've proven successful as hands-on managers running their own P&Ls at a core franchise. Boards also like former CEOs. As noted, the outsiders brought in to revive the sagging fortunes at Lowe's, GE , and Xerox are all former chief executives  Visintin had previously run process automation provider Novitex. The CFO slot is the second leading stepping stone, though former finance chiefs lag far behind the business unit leaders. Last year was a good year for ex-CFOs, five of whom rose to CEO including Hans Vestberg of Verizon and Howard Willard of Altria. Other staff jobs seldom lead to the CEO suite: Only 9% of CEOs named in the last five years came from marketing, and even fewer, 5% rose from back-office operations. The top boot camp for CEOs is a chips and cola giant Most CEOs are extremely well-educated. Of the classes from 2014 to 2018, over 60% had a graduate degrees, and almost half boasted MBAs. Harvard Business School dispensed 11 out of those 62 diplomas. The top training ground for CEOs? It's PepsiCo by a wide margin. Nine CEOs named since 2014 worked at Pepsi, among them Brian Cornell of Target , who ran the Americas Foods division at Pepsi, Ed Bastian of Delta who was controller of Frito-Lay, Greg Creed, who established Taco Bell and KFC in Australia and New Zealand, and Thomas Bene of Sysco, who ran Pepsi's food service franchise. Seven are still in the CEO chair; only former Kraft chief John Cahill, now vice chairman of Kraft Heinz , and former Express Scripts CEO Timothy Wentworth, who runs the Express business following its acquisition by Cigna , have new roles. Why is Pepsi such a great place to learn? Though you might think it's primarily a marketing machine, Pepsi clearly prided itself on cycling promising managers through a wide variety of roles, so that careers often bridge job in finance, manufacturing, and building and running big brands franchises across the globe. And historically the company has operated one of the top rated, talent-building HR programs in America. Female CEOs are shockingly rare Last year, just one of the 23 newly-appointed CEOs was a woman  Michelle Gass of Kohl's , who'd joined the retailer in 2013 from Starbucks , and was fast-tracked to the top. That sorry record is a downshift from 2017, when two women were named, Gail Boudreaux at Anthem and Geisha Williams at PG&E. Williams resigned in January just before the utility, devastated by California wildfires, filed for bankruptcy. Since 2014, only nine of the 134 new CEOs have been women. And amazingly, big cap America's efforts at inclusion are failing at what should be the ultimate measure of success, swelling the number of female CEOs. In 2018, for example, three women left the list via retirement, Indra Nooyi of Pepsi, Meg Whitman at Hewlett Packard, and Debra Reed at Sempra Energy so the female CEO ranks slipped by two. Women account for over one-fourth of all the America's executive talent. Yet at last count, only 17 of the S&P 250 have female CEOs. So why do big companies struggle to elevate women to the CEO suite? Feigen notes that many big companies too often fail to identify women in their 30s with strong potential, then move them through a series of varied assignments to mold well-rounded leaders. "Companies think about CEO succession three to five years out," he says, "yet they fail to develop a deep pool of female candidates who'd be ready for the top job in that short time-frame." He also cites the grueling travel schedules and 24-7 availability that can discourage some women with families for taking top operating jobs. "You also can't underestimate hidden bias by male bosses, who wrongly convince themselves that women won't have the drive necessary to succeed in key jobs running a P&L," he says. Big companies stick doggedly to the little-changing "best practices" that have guided the CEO succession dynamic for decades. But boards are failing to identify women with the ability and drive to become superstars, then nurture careers that should be creating many of America's greatest CEOs. The tradition-bound succession process needs an upheaval, an all-out campaign to bring female talent to the top.


DENVER (AP) Phillip Ervin's big night at the plate started slowly. Ervin beat out an infield hit on the way to a 6-for-6 performance that tied a franchise record, and the Cincinnati Reds put together five-run outbursts in the sixth and seventh innings, rallying past the Colorado Rockies 17-9 on Saturday in a game delayed more than three hours at the start because of lightning and rain. Derek Dietrich, Yasiel Puig, and Curt Casale homered for Cincinnati. ''It all started with that broken-bat cheapie,'' said Ervin, who also had triple, double and three more singles along with three RBIs. ''That's how crazy baseball can work, you get blown up the first AB and then I made my adjustments and I put everything else on the barrel hard.'' It was the fourth time a Reds player had six hits in a game and the first since Walker Cooper accomplished the feat on July 6, 1949. ''Just a great night offensively for a lot of guys,'' Reds manager David Bell said. ''You have to start with Phillip's night, obviously incredible but so many guys.'' The teams combined for 39 hits, 24 by the Reds and 15 for the Rockies in a game that lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes and concluded at 1:11 a.m. Sunday. Nick Senzel also had a career high four hits for the Reds. Puig finished with four hits and four RBIs. Colorado got home runs from Nolan Arenado, Daniel Murphy and Trevor Story, but fell short. Murphy homered for the second time in as many games and finished with four hits. Overshadowed by the offensive display was the return of Colorado pitcher Kyle Freeland. Recalled prior to the game from Triple-A Albuquerque, where he spent five weeks working on regaining his pitching form, Freeland went four innings and allowed five runs on nine hits in his first start since May 30. Freeland said he had never experienced a rain delay of that duration and found himself having to shut down and then restart his warmup routine. ''I've never had a three-hour delay before,'' he said. ''I had to go through my whole routine again.'' Rockies manager Bud Black said he could take the good and the bad from the outing and build on it. ''There were some encouraging signs,'' Black said. ''Overall, I liked his stuff. I liked his delivery. I think he got a little tired at the end. It was a long day for him.'' Freeland's Cincinnati counterpart had a difficult outing, too. Tanner Roark went 4 2/3 innings and allowed seven runs on 13 hits. With the game tied at 5-5 heading into the Colorado fifth, the Rockies got home runs from Story and Murphy and led 7-5. The Reds moved ahead in the sixth. Dietrich, who entered the game as part of a double switch in the bottom of the fifth, drove a 2-1 pitch from Chad Bettis (1-5) into the bleachers in left for a three run homer. Eugenio Suarez tripled, and Bettis was replaced by Jairo Diaz. Diaz gave up a two-run homer to Puig, the first batter he faced. Colorado scored twice in its half of the sixth inning, but Casale led off the Reds' seventh with a home run off Jake McGee, starting another five-run inning by Cincinnati. Jared Hughes (3-2) picked up the win in relief. TRAINER'S ROOM Reds: LHP Alex Wood, who has been sidelined this season with a back injury, had a no-decision Friday night in his second rehab start for Triple-A Louisville. He allowed three runs on four hits in two innings. ''The reports were that he felt good and actually he pitched better than the results,'' manager David Bell said. ''The next step is another start in Triple-A.'' ROCKIES MOVE To make roster room for the recall of Freeland, the Rockies optioned utility man Pat Valaika to Triple-A Albuquerque. Valaika was batting .128 in 26 games with one homer and 2 RBIs in 26 games. UP NEXT Reds: RHP Tyler Mahle (2-9, 4.47 ERA) has lost four straight decisions since his last win on May 31. Rockies: RHP Antonio Senzatela (7-6, 5.32 ERA) has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his last four starts at Coors Field. --- More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports


The Dallas Cowboys front office has a lot of decisions to make this offseason   many of which could result in keeping their young core together for years to come. Both quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott are entering the final years of their rookie deals, though the Cowboys have already exercised an option to keep Elliott through the 2020 season. The Cowboys are expected to land a deal with Prescott in the near future, too, and don't seem concerned regarding Elliott either   even after his i ncident with a Las Vegas security guard earlier this month. Cooper is also entering the final year of his contract after landing in Dallas midway through the season last year, and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2020. [Join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Football league for free today] Despite any expectations, all three players have yet to officially reach a deal with the front office   meaning their futures in Dallas are still uncertain. Yet tight end Jason Witten   who is in his second stint and 16th season with Dallas   believes that those deals will get done. The Cowboys, he said, protect their own. "Look, this organization is extremely loyal to signing their own players," Witten said Wednesday, via the Dallas Morning News. "They believe in that. I think when it all kind of clears out that will be the same thing. I think these players know that   Amari, Zeke, Dak   that those things get resolved because both sides want to be there." While uncertainty surrounding contracts can be a huge distraction for players, Witten said he doesn't see that happening with Cooper, Prescott and Elliott. So far this offseason, he said, the trio has been focused on football. "I love how they're handling it," Witten said, via the Dallas Morning News. "They're here working and they're not getting caught up in that. I don't see that being any issue because as long as I've been in this organization that's never been an issue, and I think those players know that." More from Yahoo Sports: Thamel: Why top hoops prospects are skipping college Bronny James has eventful first day on Instagram Watch: Is this the worst first pitch ever? Rob Pelinka tells questionable Kobe-Heath Ledger story Related slideshow: The Best of the 2019 NFL OTAs (provided by imagn)


It's one of the best times of the year for sports fans, and that means it's time to make your plans around the NBA Finals, which begin on May 30. As patrons head into Orlando bars to watch the NBA Playoffs, average daily revenue at local pubs is $1,589 on days when games are played, a 3.45% increase compared to an average day, according to an analysis of transactions at 3,500 local bars by Womply , a provider of CRM and online review management software for small businesses . That sales increase is driven by a 5.5% increase in transaction volume and a 1.91% decrease in purchase price. At local restaurants in Orlando, average daily revenue is $1,647 during the NBA Playoffs on days when games are played, a 0.57% decrease over a typical day, according to an analysis of transactions at 42,000 local eateries by Womply. That sales decrease is driven by a 0.57% decrease in transaction volume and a 0.05% decrease in purchase price. To help you snag the best stool in town, Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top options for sports bars, using both Yelp data and our own methodology. 1. NBC Sports Grill & Brew Topping the list is NBC Sports Grill & Brew . Located at 6000 Universal Blvd., it's the highest rated sports bar in Orlando, boasting four stars out of 734 reviews on Yelp. The traditional American restaurant and sports bar has a huge selection of domestic and imported beers and it serves sliders, nachos, flatbreads and more. 2. La Fiesta Mexican Grill and Catering Next up is La Fiesta Mexican Grill and Catering , situated at 3000 Curry Ford Road. With 4.5 stars out of 367 reviews on Yelp, the Mexican spot and sports bar has proven to be a local favorite. The menu features tacos, nachos, quesadillas and fajitas. 3. Cheers Sports Bar & Liquor Store Florida Center's Cheers Sports Bar & Liquor Store , located at 6923 Municipal Drive, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the sports bar four stars out of 36 reviews. The spot serves wings, burgers, salads, steaks, dinner platters and more and be sure to check the daily specials. 4. Rock & Brews - Orlando Over in Airport North, check out Rock & Brews - Orlando , which has earned four stars out of 402 reviews on Yelp. The restaurant offers classic new American fare such as burgers, brunch, tacos, salads and more. You can find the sports bar at 6897 S. Semoran Blvd. in the Lee Vista Promenade shopping center. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


CONNECTICUT   UFO sightings never really left the news, but they've arguably never been more prevalent. Navy pilots recently spoke of seeing mysterious objects   with no discernible engine or exhaust fumes   flying at hypersonic speeds. President Donald Trump recently said he was briefed on UFOs. A group of Senate lawmakers received a classified briefing recently about such objects. And let's not get started on that strange Facebook video that seems to show a creepy-looking alien doing some sort of jig down someone's driveway. Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner wants answers on UFOs, whether it's "weather balloons, little green men , or something else entirely," Rachel Cohen, his spokeswoman, told CNN. And the Navy has drafted guidelines to allow pilots to report UFOs, and so that the military can track them , though the military branch prefers not to use the term "UFO." "So, we don't actually use that term," Joseph Gradisher, a spokesman for the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, told Patch this week. "We use 'Unmanned Aerial System.'" The term, shortened to UAS, refers to things like recreational flying drones people can buy at a store. For the "other" things, the Navy uses the term UAP, meaning "Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon." "We constitute anything unknown or unidentified in the airspace as an 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon,' no matter what it is," he said. In that spirit, Patch took a peek at the most recent UFO sightings in Connecticut using a database compiled by the National UFO Reporting Center. Spoiler alert: So far, no little green men have been seen running around. Connecticut sightings by the numbers: 41 in 2019 thus far. These are the towns with sightings in 2019: Newington, Norwalk, Kent, Enfield, New Haven, Middletown, Westbrook, Naugatuck, Meriden, Plainville, Sandy Hook, Windsor, Hamden, Rocky Hill, Killingworth, North Branford, East Hartford, Madison, Torrington, Waterbury, Stamford, Brookfield, Stratford, Storrs, Southington, and Greenwich. For some reason there are nearly a dozen sightings in Newington alone, and several in Norwalk too. Here are some of the most descriptive sightings in CT thus far in 2019: "Steady flashing object with three lights hovered in skySaw three bright lights in a row - the actual shape looked like a disk Several helicopters monitored it- one was still, others did circle around it, The lights seemed to change formation, but remained steady on - Husband is into planes and helicopters and confirmed it was not either, nor was it a drone What got our attention was the behavior of the helicopters that seemed to monitor it," a Hamden resident reported. "I saw a bright light hovering outside my window and it moved in a way I've never seen before. It would move up, down, side to side, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, then stop and then keep moving," someone reported in Meriden. "Noticed jet contrail over mountains snapped photo with an iPhone Saw disk/ saucer in photo." "Several blinking red, white, blue, and green objects in sky moving to one spot," someone reported in Hamden. "2 bright greenish flashes illuminated the entire area greenish light. Second flash was very alarming and unnatural giving all three of us in vehicle a panicked bracing for impact feeling. No sounds at all heard. Silent," as reported in Killingworth. Sightings Across the U.S. According to data compiled by the Center, there were nearly 500 sightings across the country in May and more than 300 in January, March and April. One of the most recent sightings logged by the trackers was June 6 in Roseville, Minnesota, just east of Minneapolis and north of St. Paul. In that sighting   which lasted all of four seconds   a resident was looking at the stars on a deck around 3:10 a.m. when they asked the sky for answers. "I talked really quiet out-loud saying, 'If there are any aliens up there please show me your space ship ; do something,'" the person said, according to the incident report. Sure enough, an object lit up for two seconds to the east and zoomed north, according to the account. "I said, 'Thank you; please do it again,'" the person reported. And roughly one minute later, the witness saw the same thing, this time to the northeast, and moving in the same direction. The person described it as "what people who see UFOs call a power-up," but noted it was for a very brief amount of time, almost as if "they only wanted me to see them." The light was described as being in an oval shape and located about a mile away. And if that sounds strange, get this   a day earlier, two people reported seeing a stationary disc shape with pulsing green, red, yellow and white lights moving back and forth over San Jose, California. The object was high in the sky and moved with the horizon, according to the incident report. The lights were in a straight horizontal line. "Looked like five of these lights, which were square-shaped, tilted slightly up so it gave the appearance of a saucer ," the report said. The Navy seems convinced of the existence of UFOs, telling POLITICO in a statement there were reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft "entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years." "For safety and security concerns, the Navy and the [U.S. Air Force] takes these reports very seriously and investigates each and every report," the statement said. And Ryan Graves, an F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot who reported his sightings to the Pentagon and Congress, told The New York Times last month he was one of multiple pilots who saw UFOs. The pilots began seeing the objects in 2014 and 2015 after receiving upgraded equipment. Initially they believed they were getting bad readings. But the sightings kept happening, showing up at 30,000 feet, 20,000 feet and even at sea level. The objects could speed up, slow down and then reach hypersonic speeds. " These things would be out there all day ," he said. "Keeping an aircraft in the air requires a significant amount of energy. With the speeds we observed, 12 hours in the air is 11 hours longer than we'd expect." Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.


Editor's note: The opinions in this article are the author's, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft. Many Democrats are arguing harshly that the House is wasting an opportunity to open an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. Their point of support: Watergate-era House Democrats. In their telling, House Democrats were always united in support of impeaching President Richard Nixon. But that isn't true. I was there, and in fact initially they were as divided in their approach to addressing President Nixon's conduct as House Democrats are today about starting an impeachment inquiry. Sign up for the Morning Briefing Newsletter. Liberal Democrat House members in 1973-74 pressed for an impeachment inquiry of President Nixon, but they met resistance from Democrat leadership. In April 1974, a New York Times article identified "perhaps seven impeachment zealots" on the House Judiciary Committee   all Democrats   who would "like very much to indict the president for high crimes and misdemeanors." But, as the report added, the "surprising thing" about that committee was that it did not "contain more pro-impeachment zealots"   18 of the 21 committee Democrats had liberal voting records. There were actually two impeachment resolutions before the committee's investigation that ultimately led to President Nixon's resignation. First, Representative John Conyers of Michigan, one of the seven "zealots," had co-sponsored a quixotic resolution to impeach President Nixon even before the Watergate break-in of June 1972. Mr. Conyers's resolution was referred to the Judiciary Committee and died there. After the Watergate cover-up began unraveling in mid-1973, a cadre of Democrats on the Judiciary Committee started pressing for President Nixon's impeachment. Representative Robert Drinan of Massachusetts, another Judiciary Committee member, filed an impeachment resolution on July 31, 1973, as televised hearings before a Senate committee exposed the Watergate cover-up. It focused on President Nixon's decision to launch a secret bombing campaign in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Tip O'Neill, a House Democratic leader who became speaker, made sure that the chamber would not act on Mr. Drinan's resolution at that time. "Morally, Drinan had a good case," Mr. O'Neill wrote in his memoir, "Man of the House." "But politically, he damn near blew it. For if Drinan's resolution had come up for a vote at the time he filed it, it would have been overwhelmingly defeated   by something like 400 to 20." Mr. O'Neill's leadership team feared that the Republicans would call Mr. Drinan's resolution for a vote to resoundingly defeat it and, thereby, discredit any impeachment effort. They never did. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi does today, Mr. O'Neill rebuffed the early impeachment demands of his members. In his memoir, Mr. O'Neill quotes Representative Thaddeus Dulski of New York in the summer of 1973: "I'm a loyal Democrat, but I couldn't vote to impeach any president … It would be a sacrilege." But circumstances changed with the late-October "Saturday Night Massacre": When President Nixon fired the special prosecutor Archibald Cox, the action all but forced House leadership to give a green light to an impeachment inquiry. Within days, Representative Jerome Waldie of California, another Judiciary Committee member, filed articles of impeachment . Yet even then, the congressional vote to formally authorize the Judiciary Committee to investigate was delayed until February. House Democrats were keenly aware that President Nixon had won re-election in a 49-state landslide in 1972. So for several months after the resolutions were signed, moderate and conservative Democrats were still noncommittal, if not downright reluctant, to put impeachment to a vote. That reluctance was also displayed in May after President Nixon defied the Judiciary Committee's subpoena for White House tapes. The committee voted 32-5 to reject a motion by Representative Jack Brooks of Texas for the House to hold the president in contempt. By early summer, reluctance had faded. Representative James Mann of South Carolina represented a congressional district where President Nixon had recently won 80 percent. When Mr. Mann became convinced that the president warranted impeachment, he became an important link to conservative Democrats and even some Republicans. Representative Donald Edwards of California said Mr. Mann had a relationship with those members that Mr. Drinan and Mr. Conyers never could. "He can go to them and say: 'I have the same problem as you in my district. I can support this. So can you'," Mr. Edwards said at the time. Today these tensions and ambiguities sound familiar. So far, over 80 House members   including one Republican, now turned independent   have publicly supported an impeachment inquiry. But as Mr. O'Neill initially did, Ms. Pelosi is treating impeachment as a "third rail," too dangerous to touch. She has been adamant in rejecting an impeachment inquiry both publicly and in her caucus. If the detailed evidence in the Mueller report about obstruction of justice did not sway Ms. Pelosi, what will? Without new blockbuster events like a Saturday Night Massacre or the revelation of President Nixon's incriminating White House tapes, Ms. Pelosi is unlikely to budge with 2020 Election Day approaching. But Democrats favoring an impeachment inquiry can hold to the fact that House Democrats in 1974 ultimately united. Every Democrat on the Judiciary Committee voted for two articles of impeachment citing obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Six Republicans supported the first charge, and seven found abuse of power. Nineteen of 21 Democrats approved Article III, along with two Republicans, based upon President Nixon's defiance of the committee's subpoenas. Representative Mann was one of two Democrats opposing it. Party unity coalesced only after House leadership authorized Peter Rodino of New Jersey, the Judiciary Committee chairman, to conduct a thorough, deliberate, six-month impeachment investigation. Still, Democratic unity today remains unlikely   by all appearances, Ms. Pelosi has no intention of letting that process begin. It will take unforeseen events, or a pro-impeachment surge in public opinion, to change the current dynamic. Michael Conway served as counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during its impeachment inquiry of President Richard Nixon. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We'd like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here's our email: letters@nytimes.com . Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram .


MLB All-Star week is officially underway in Cleveland, with baseball fans and celebrities all hitting the town. The Celebrity Softball Game on Sunday used the theme "Cleveland vs The World", and the celebs on the Cleveland side, no matter the connection, were proud of their city. "What I'm most happy about, I'm glad it's not the thing. It's just a string of things that Cleveland does well and Cleveland can host, and it's another way for Cleveland to show off," said Cleveland native Drew Carey. While the city is once again in the spotlight, Carey says it's a light that just keeps shining. He continued, "I think it's great. Stuff like this, I just take for granted now in Cleveland, that we're always going to have good things like this happening and have events like this, and have the city have a place to shine." RELATED: J.R. Smith removes shirt just like old times during MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game He's far from alone. Whether it's old athletes or current athletes, they're all talking about the coolness of Cleveland. "The whole city just looks fantastic, so it's cool to come back and see," said former Cleveland Indians slugger Travis Hafner. Former Cleveland Browns lineman Joe Thomas added, "Nobody does a big sporting event better than Cleveland. When they get an opportunity to showcase their city and their love for sports, they don't miss that opportunity." UFC fighter Stipe Miocic said, "It's so amazing to see and people are appreciating us more and the city just keeps getting bigger and bigger, I love it." Even an actress who married into the Cleveland family said it's someplace special. "I really like Cleveland. One of the things that I think is so admirable about the city is they've retained their sense of history that I think a lot of cities have done away with. You can wander around downtown and get a sense of what this place was like long ago, and there are lots of cities in the U.S. that you can't do that anymore," said Brooklyn Nine-Nine actress Stephanie Beatriz. With all the interesting things to see and do downtown now, you can leave it to The Price is Right host to marvel at the availability of groceries. Carey said, "I never thought I'd see a Heinen's downtown, are you kidding me? This is like the greatest thing ever. I'm more excited about that than I am about anything else." RELATED: Drew Carey marvels at Cleveland's growth during MLB Celebrity Softball Game Despite how good of an impression the city is making, it wasn't enough to beat The World on the softball field, as The World team took the win, 21 to 16.


This Independence Day, AAA expects a record-breaking 48.9 million people to hit the road, 4.1% more than last year. That means your chances for running into some epic traffic are better than they've been before. That traffic is expected to happen not only on the roadways, but on planes, trains, and buses as well. Plane traffic is expected to be up 5.3% this year over last, and other modes of transportation are expected to rise .6%. If you're traveling by plane, the best advice is to try to arrive two hours before your flight, even if you don't normally, in anticipation of extra long lines at check-in and at security. If you're traveling by car, AAA has a rundown of some of the worst times to get behind the wheel. Its recommendations are unfortunately just for major cities; however, even if you don't live in one of the cities listed you can get a decent feel for what the worst times might be in your area by looking at the stats for the city closest to you. In general, the late afternoon on the 3rd and the 5th tend to be the worst. Bottom line: No matter how you plan to travel this July 4th, make sure to leave yourself a bit more time than usual, you'll definitely need it. And if you can travel on an "off" travel day such as the 2nd or 6th, you'll stand a much better chance of avoiding those massive slow downs.


Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed the scheduled return date for star forward Sadio Mane, with the Senegalese international set to come back from holiday on August 5th. Mane has been in Egypt with the rest of his Senegal teammates at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, leading the Lions of Teranga to the final, where they were undone by Riyad Mahrez's Algeria side. Sadio Mane will return to the Reds after our Community Shield fixture against @ManCity .   Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 22, 2019 He has since been granted the holiday he deserves following a demanding season, though he will not be absent for long, missing the community shield clash with Manchester City on Sunday 4th before returning to training on August 5th. Speaking to the club's official website, Klopp revealed: "He is in good shape. Obviously they had a celebration in Senegal and I'm happy about that because it showed that they respect the competition and saw the second place as a success, which is nice. "He is now on holiday, not the longest one   he will be back on August 5, after the Manchester City game. That means he had two weeks. There is four or five days to prepare for Norwich, 10 days for Chelsea [in the UEFA Super Cup]." Mane was last seen in Liverpool red during the Champions League final win over Tottenham, and the 27-year-old was so close to adding AFCON to his list of accolades this summer, losing out 1-0 in a controversial final. After opening the scoring inside the first two minutes - just as the Reds had in Madrid - the Algerians were able to hold onto that narrow advantage through the 90 minutes, thanks to some timely VAR interventions, a solid defence and Senegal's profligacy.


Anthony Davis ' agent Rich Paul made it very clear: If Boston trades for Davis it will be as a rental , as a free agent in 2020 he will leave. Celtics' president Danny Ainge's master plan had been to trade for Davis to pair with Kyrie Irving , but now it is almost a lock Irving leaves. Boston has the players   specifically Jayson Tatum   and picks it would take to swing a Davis trade, but considering what's in the two paragraphs above this, Ainge is holding back his best potential offer, reports Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe . It is widely known that the Celtics have the shiniest collection of assets for a potential Davis deal, but there are questions about how far they would open their treasure chest. One league source said the uncertainty surrounding Davis's long-term future in Boston has thus far limited the Celtics' willingness to overwhelm New Orleans with an offer. This is bad for the Pelicans on two fronts. First, they don't get the players from Boston that they most covet. Beyond that, it hurts the Pelicans' leverage in trade talks with the Lakers, the current frontrunners to land Davis. New Orleans reportedly would like Kyle Kuzma in a deal, but the Lakers have not yet made him available. That's why the sides are trying to find a third team to get in on the trade, to get the Pelicans players they would prefer. There are still a lot of moving parts for this trade and into this summer (and the injury to Kevin Durant could have an impact on Irving and Davis). It could end a lot of ways. However, the idea of pairing Davis and Irving in Boston seems a longshot now. Related slideshow: The 2019 NBA Finals (Provided by imagn)


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Only time can give us a full appreciation of how the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur ultimately impacts the women's game. But a mere five weeks later we know this: the NCAA Championship has already benefitted from it. College golf fans knew about Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi prior to Augusta. But now their names are familiar to those who don't follow the women's game, much less college golf. They will be the face of this week's championship at the Blessings Golf Club. The fiery Fassi, of course, leading the charge for the home team, Arkansas, and Kupcho, the ANWA champ, trying to win a second NCAA individual title. MORE: Golfweek's college golf coverage The women's NCAA Championship has been nothing short of exhilarating since the format changed to match play in 2015. Most of the time viewers got to know the college players in real-time. But should Kupcho and Fassi find themselves in the mix for the individual title come Monday in prime time, it will be like watching two old friends. That's how much these two drew us in at Augusta. "I feel like what was really special about Augusta is we showed the world what we really stand for and our values and our sportsmanship," said Fassi. "We showed our friendship and love for the game, and I think that means a lot more than a 65." At the NCAAs, Fassi and Kupcho will showcase something else - loyalty. LIVE SCORES: NCAA Div. I women's golf It's a quality that's hard to come by these days. There's no one-size-fits-all approach for players making the transition from college golf to the pros, but for everyone associated with Wake Forest and Arkansas, it means the world that these two players deferred LPGA status and came back for their last semester of school. It's important for youngsters to see that example. It's important for them to hear what going to college did not only for their golf games, but for their development as people. "My whole personality has changed since I've been in school," said Kupcho. "I was very introverted and quiet and didn't want to talk to people. Now I'll go up to anyone, or if anyone comes up to me, I'll carry on a conversation no problem." NCAA WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS: Favorites, numbers, more Kupcho's advice to youngsters: Play other sports while you can in high school. Make friends not only on the golf team but beyond when you get to college. Pro golf can be a lonely place. "I think that's going to be probably the biggest struggle we'll face," she said. Fassi, voted the ANNIKA Award winner last season as the Player of the Year in college golf, graduated last weekend with a degree in sport management. She came to Arkansas from Pachuca, Mexico, at the age of 17 and calls it the best three and half years of her life. "We're never coming back to this time in our lives," she said. Congrats to @MariaFassi0 on her exemption to the Evian Championship! Thank you @ANNIKA59 for extending the invite as part of winning the @TheAnnikaAward ! pic.twitter.com/4XwsrcBDlj - Razorback Women's Golf (@RazorbackWGolf) May 15, 2019 Both Fassi and Kupcho will make their professional debuts later this month at the U.S. Women's Open in Charleston, S.C. Fassi also received an invite to play in this year's Evian Championship as last year's ANNIKA winner. Both players chose to defer their LPGA rookie status six months so that they could play here at the Blessings this week. Fassi believes the Razorbacks' team chemistry has never been stronger. She refers to her teammates as "sisters" and calls their bond the best part about college. Not everyone has that kind of experience. Kupcho endured her fair share of drama at Wake Forest, saying she often felt like the "middle man" as top recruits left the program. Not long ago the goal at Wake was to field a team so that Kupcho could just get to nationals as an individual. "I just tried to get everyone under control so we could at least have a good time on the road," said Kupcho, who played team sports throughout high school. Thankfully, the tide has turned considerably since then. Kupcho stayed the course and continues to put team first. Adversity has shaped her as much as winning. Augusta National put Kupcho on the map in ways the NCAAs never could. But now more fans, particularly kids, will hopefully tune in to watch these players play for something bigger than themselves. "I wouldn't change college for anything," said Fassi. It's a message that can't be delivered enough. MORE: Why rookie Devin Bush is the cure for what ails the Steelers defense Roundup: RIP Grumpy Cat; Ruby Rose as Batwoman; Mets to Have Seinfeld Night What Steph Curry and his brother Seth said in their free-throw trash talking moment Five potential Jimmy Butler landing spots in free agency Austin Droogsma could be a rare find for Giants


When Greenville High star athlete Lamarckus "Boz" Boswell was shot and killed in 2018, Kendrick Cobb, a longtime friend, stood beside the family. Kendrick Cobb at the Greenville County Detention Center Friday, May 24, 2019. Scotty Jerrell Parks talks to Kendrick Cobb at the Greenville County Detention Center Friday, May 24, 2019. Scotty Jerrell Parks hugs Dorothy Boyd, Lamarckus Boswell's mother, after speaking during Kendrick Cobb's appearance at the Greenville County Detention Center Friday, May 24, 2019. Dorothy Boyd, Lamarckus Boswell's mother, talks to media at the Greenville County Detention Center Friday, May 24, 2019. Dorothy Boyd, Lamarckus Boswell's mother, talks to media at the Greenville County Detention Center Friday, May 24, 2019. Scotty Jerrell Parks talks to Kendrick Cobb at the Greenville County Detention Center Friday, May 24, 2019. Leslie Chillious, Lamarckus Boswell's sister, talks to media at the Greenville County Detention Center Friday, May 24, 2019. Traci Fant hugs Scotty Jerrell Parks after Parks spoke to Kendrick Cobb at the Greenville County Detention Center Friday, May 24, 2019.


A popular Target store was robbed in the middle of the day. It happened around 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Target on Metropolitan Avenue. It's the latest in a string of robberies at that same store. Police say the suspect was stealing several items and then pulled a knife out. It's not the first time NBC Charlotte has reported at a robbery at that Target store. The swarms of people around the busy shopping area make some shoppers feel more comfortable. "I've always felt very safe," said shopper, Elizabeth Harris. "This is a great shopping area, it's always busy and populated." However, Harris says populated areas also have a downside. She believes the armed robbery at the Target store is a sign of the growing pains in the Queen City. "It's definitely unnerving," Harris said. "I think we're starting to see that as Charlotte gets bigger." Police say the suspect was stealing several items, including a cell phone and camera equipment, when he pulled out a knife. "It literally can happen anywhere," Harris said. NBC Charlotte has reported on other recent robberies at the same Target store in recent months. Earlier this year, Unique Glover was charged for robbing the store on Metropolitan Avenue. His jail records show he's been arrested at least 18 times, including on multiple robbery charges. Police say he was stealing electronics, and when confronted by security, he implied he had a gun. That crime also happened around 2 p.m. At the time, NBC Charlotte spoke to a Petco employee who works nearby. "We all park in the parking deck and it's dark and we leave generally at 9:30 at night so it can be a little scary," the employee previously said. Before that, the Target store was robbed in November. Police say Kevin Osborne robbed the store by pulling a knife on employees. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt in the latest case. Harris says it's a teachable moment for her and her children. "I'm telling my kids you can't take your safety for granted, whether it's walking in a parking lot or in a store," Harris said. No arrests have been made in the latest case. Police say it's an active and ongoing investigation. ALSO ON WCNC: VERIFY: No, a wedding photographer didn't fake photos for attention How much is suspended Charlotte schools superintendent being paid? | The Defenders investigate Make-A-Wish kid ready for tropical vacation after getting buzz cut Man accused of drunk driving in crash that killed 1, hurt 2


Video by Fox Business Hold up on buying gasoline for a week, and the price could drop by an average 16 cents a gallon nationwide. If you fill up a Ford Expedition, that's a nifty $5.36 in savings. Gasoline prices have been sliding steadily for several weeks, and they're promising to get even cheaper as crude prices fall and the U.S. moves into the summer driving season. Near Houston, in areas surrounded by refineries, the price is about $2 a gallon, according to data from GasBuddy.com . Last year at this time, the average price nationally for regular gas at the pump was $2.92 a gallon, according to AAA. Now, following an 18% drop in crude oil prices in New York, the average sits at $2.75 at a time of year -- spring time -- when the price usually peaks in anticipation of more drivers on the road. "We did see a 7-cent decline in the national gas price last week, and I think you can look for another decline this week, so motorists would not be advised to be so fast to fill their tanks," said Patrick DeHaan, a GasBuddy.com analyst, by telephone. "I could see the national average down around $2.60 a gallon or even $2.59 gallon this week." That low a price would be an 11.3% drop from a year earlier, getting close to the size of the decline in crude prices over the same period. Still, some are paying much more than the average. While drivers in parts of Texas get to pay about $2 a gallon, motorists in parts of Northern California are forking over more than double that. Price Gap The gap between Houston and San Francisco prices was more than $1.50 a gallon on Sunday, according to AAA data. California prices are normally higher than in Texas, but this year fires and other breakdowns at oil refineries in the Golden State sent prices rocketing higher. One key determiner to watch for looking forward, according to the Auto Club: Crude prices account for nearly 60% of the pump price. If the price of oil jumps globally as a result of output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, and U.S. drillers export more to take advantage of that, the price of gasoline in the U.S. could rise as well, according to the AAA report.


WASHINGTON (AP)   The abrupt resignation of Britain's ambassador to the United States over leaked cables critical of the Trump administration may have jolted official Washington, but it's unlikely to have a lasting impact on the U.S.-British relationship or diplomatic practice. Current and former diplomats say the leak of Ambassador Kim Darroch's sensitive reports is unfortunate and alarming, particularly given the apparent political motive behind it. Yet, they believe any complications will be temporary even as they create short-term turbulence in relations. "It's a problem, but I don't know that it has a chilling affect over time because in the end people have jobs to do and they do their jobs," said Ronald Neumann, a retired three-time U.S. ambassador who is the president of the American Academy of Diplomacy. "It's wrong and it's too bad. Still, you move on because there's work to be done." Darroch, a well-known figure in Washington, resigned on Wednesday amid an uproar over the candid cables, saying "the current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like." The resignation followed President Donald Trump's furious caustic response to the leaked cables in which Darroch offered candid negative views of his administration. In the cables, Darroch called the administration's policy toward Iran "incoherent," said the president might be indebted to "dodgy Russians" and raised doubts about whether the White House "will ever look competent." Trump's lambasting of Darroch on Twitter   he called the ambassador "a pompous fool" and "a very stupid guy" and criticized outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May   drew condemnation from both sides of the Atlantic. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is in the running to replace May, replied: "Allies need to treat each other with respect." Others suggested that Trump's reaction proved Darroch's point. "Trump's petty and vindictive overreaction not only reinforces the accuracy of Darroch's portrait of him in his leaked cables, but further erodes an already complicated bilateral relationship," said William Burns, a highly respected retired career diplomat who served as deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration and is president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The State Department downplayed the fracas, saying: "The United States and the United Kingdom share a bond that is bigger than any individual, and we look forward to continuing that partnership. We remain committed to the U.S.-UK Special Relationship and our shared global agenda." But Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who chairs the House intelligence committee, said Trump's comments make the work of American diplomats abroad harder than they already are. "Diplomats the world over, including ours, are expected to provide candid assessments and advice to their home governments," he said. "If a foreign leader treated an American ambassador as President Trump treated the British ambassador, we would be up in arms, and justifiably so. " In fact, U.S. diplomats have already felt the consequences of leaked cables that laid out unvarnished and often unflattering impressions of foreign leaders and governments. The 2010 publication by WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified and sensitive documents had a direct impact on at least three U.S. ambassadors, including one, Carlos Pascual, who resigned as envoy to Mexico over fallout from cables critical of then-Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Pascual was traveling Wednesday and not immediately available to comment on any similarities between his resignation and Darroch's. Carnegie's Burns, who was serving as the third-ranking U.S. diplomat at the time, recalled that the leaks had "negative practical implications" for the day-to-day conduct of embassies. "The immediate impact was to make U.S. diplomatic missions more careful, so there is, at least initially, a dampening effect," he said. "But, we got over it in time." In the long run, though, few believe damage to the "special relationship" caused this week will be severe or lingering. "The state-to-state relationship is much more than one person, particularly with Britain," Neumann said. "This is probably one of the least ambassador-dependent relationships we have, which is why we are able to send whoever we want to London, including some who are not so able."


Oakland It's Mother's Day this weekend, and if your mom lives locally, we've got four great ideas for a potential celebration. Whether she loves classic musicals, browsing avant-garde art or enjoying brunch aboard a boat on the Bay, there's something fun in store. 'West Side Story' in Concert If your mom loves Broadway musicals, she'll enjoy this special concert performance of Leonard Bernstein's classic, which transposes the star-crossed lovers of "Romeo and Juliet" to the street gangs of '50s New York. Accompanied by the Oakland Symphony and featuring the vocal stylings of the Oakland Symphony Chorus, the Chabot College Choir and the Pacific Boychoir Academy, the concert will star opera singer Julie Adams as Maria and Broadway veteran Bobby Conte Thornton as Tony. When: Friday, May 10, 8 p.m. Where: Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway Price: $25 - 100 Click here for more details Art Route Oakland On a tight budget for Mother's Day? You can still take your mom gallery-hopping at this free event, which highlights special exhibitions at more than 30 galleries and cultural centers around the city. Participants include Rockridge's Thelma Harris Art Gallery, the Dimond District's Art Vale Gallery, Laurel's RBA Creative, Jingletown's Gray Loft and Faultline, the West Oakland Hangar Artist Collective and Chinatown's Oakland Asian Cultural Center. When: Friday - Saturday, May 10 - May 11, times vary Where: Various locations Price: Free Click here for more details Ziggurat Late Night Party at OMCA OMCA's annual "night party" benefit will keep the museum open extra-late to raise funds and celebrate its latest exhibit, 'Queer California: Untold Stories.' The event will feature "chillwave" tunes from L.A.-based DJ Poolside, snacks from guest chef Reem Assil (of Reem's California and Dyafa), an open bar with St. George Spirits cocktails and Lagunitas beer, and a photo booth. $55 of the $75 admission is tax-deductible, too. When: Saturday, May 11, 9 p.m. - 12 a.m. Where: Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. Price: $75 Click here for more details USS Potomac Champagne Brunch Cruise Celebrate Mother's Day in style on the USS Potomac, the "floating White House" and former personal yacht of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In honor of the big day, the Potomac will set sail for a three-hour Mother's Day brunch on the Bay, featuring a catered brunch, mimosas and plenty of sunshine and fresh air. When: Sunday, May 12, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Where: Jack London Square, 540 Water St. Price: $100 for adults, $60 for children 2 - 12 Click here for more details


The speed limit on the western part of the Massachusetts Turnpike has been reduced to 30 miles per hour due to snow, sleet and ice on the road. State police said snow and ice led to multiple crashes on Interstate 90. All I-90 westbound lanes were closed for approximately 30 minutes Sunday afternoon due to a crash, according to Jacquelyn Godard, communications director for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement for Berkshire and Litchfield counties Sunday afternoon. Sleet and snow has been mixing with rain over the higher terrain of the central and southern Berkshires and northern Litchfield Hills. Slick spots have been reported along the Mass Pike due to snow and sleet from Otis to Russell. At 12:13, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation tweeted that all westbound lanes on I-90 were closed at mile marker 27.4 and traffic was detoured at Exit 3. The left lane was opened at approximately 12:48 p.m. and all lanes were reopened at around 3:06 p.m. The speed restrictions are in place from mile marker 44.0 on I-90 to the New York border. READ MORE: Snow, ice causes multiple crashes on Mass Pike, forces lower speed limit CHECK OUT WCVB: Get the latest Boston news, weather and sports online, anytime. Stay in the know with Boston's news leader   WCVB.


Tiemoue Bakayoko looks set to return to Chelsea due to loan club Milan's unwillingness to pay £35m to sign the central midfielder on a permanent deal. Chelsea signed the highly rated Frenchman for around £40m from Monaco in 2017, but his failure to adapt to the Premier League saw him shipped off to San Siro for the 2018/19 campaign. Since then, after a bright start, he has struggled for consistent form with disciplinary problems marring his time in Italy. According to Calciomercato , the 24-year-old's breakdown in relationship with manager Gennaro Gattuso and failure to hit top form has left Milan thinking twice about making his loan a permanent move. It now looks almost certain that Milan will not be keeping hold of him any longer than they have to, but given how Chelsea are willing to make a £5m loss on the player, it doesn't appear that they are desperate to keep him either. This leaves the London club in the precarious position of having to find a suitable buyer for Bakayoko, who is willing to pay £35m for the player. Newcastle have previously been linked but seem unlikely to fork out the money required. With an impending transfer ban, Maurizio Sarri may yet decide to reintegrate the player into teh Blues' first-team squad next season. However, it seems more likely that Chelsea will instead try to find a buyer for the midfielder and receive an extra bit of cash in preparation for next season.