Australian diver Rick Trippe happened upon the most deadly double hickey ever given. Pucker up!
Australian spearfishing champion Rick Trippe was
exploring a WWII wreck in in Darwin Harbour when he happened upon two
venomous sea creatures engaged in the deadliest makeout session ever
recorded.
In a sign that doesn't point to sanity, Trippe told the BBC that
he grabbed the snake at the back of the head and pulled the poisonous
pair from the water to get this super-dangerous selfie.
Rick Trippe
"I could hear the fish croaking so I let them both go, but the snake made a beeline back to the fish," he explained to the BBC.
So it sounds like the snake was victorious, at least for a little
while. There is a good chance that it died later from the stonefish
bite. The BBC reports that a stonefish's venom can kill a human in two
hours if not treated. And we're pretty certain the snake didn't have
immediate access to harbour healthcare. No pockets to hold its ID card.
Ghanaian sexy and talented actress, Nadia Buhari is in the news
again. This time, it is no longer between herself and the Nollywood bad
boy, Jim Iyke but now, she’s playing hide and seek game with Wizkid. Barely
one week when a picture of the actress pecking the Pakurumo crooner was
posted on the internet, reactions have been coming from all quarters
pointing to the picture. Already, tongues have started wagging
seriously as to the reason for the posture.
Questions that fans have been asking is whether Nadia has dumped Jim
Iyke for Star boy? or better still, whether Jim has seen this picture?
Matinee gathered that, the picture serves as a dream come true for
Wizkid.
Most women regard their legs as part of their sex appeal. But not
Kanya Sesser, the stunning 23-year-old lingerie model. Kanya was born
without legs, abandoned at 1 week old, and brought up in a foster home,
but even all that has not held her back.
Kanya-Sesser
It has not enough to take the edge off her ambition for success
because Kanya now makes an average of N220,000 (US$1000) per day as an
underwear model.
Kanya is breaking down the barriers of the modelling world by showing
that just because she is different, that doesn’t mean she isn’t sexy.
She defies traditional beauty standards by working as a model, and hopes to prove that “different” is sexy.
No medical explanation is given for Kanya’s condition, but she is
believed to suffer from an extremely rare disease condition described as
“Amelia” that presents as complete absence of an arm or leg in as a
result of the limb formation process being either prevented or
interrupted very early during development as a foetus in the womb.
It is believed that the Amelia syndrome appears to have a recessive
pattern of inheritance—that is, the parents of the affected person each
carry one copy of the mutated gene, but do not show signs and symptoms
of the condition.
In a few cases, amelia may be attributed to health complications
during the early stages of pregnancy, including infection, failed
abortion or complications associated with removal of an Intrauterine
Device after pregnancy, or use of Thalidomide.
From a young age, the young California girl was determined to
overcome her disability and started modelling for sports brands at 15.
After shooting for a number of outlets—as well as being featured by
Billabong—the beauty was soon scouted by underwear and bikini brands.
Now she combines her modelling career with motivational speaking and
her love of sports—she’s currently training for the 2018 Winter
Paralympics.
“I was mainly doing athletics shoots then as I got older I got into
lingerie modelling,” said Sesser, who lives in Los Angeles. “It’s
something fun and it shows my story—I’m different and that is sexy, I
don’t need legs to feel sexy.
“I enjoy making money from it and I love showing people what beauty can look like. These images show my strength.”
Sesser didn’t always dream of modelling.
Kanya-Sesser
“It just happened for me and I got used to it,” she said. “I like expressing myself in a different way than people usually see.
“I’m very honest, I’m real—I’m never going to behave different to anyone. This is just who I am.”
Sesser was adopted from an orphanage in Thailand when she was 5 and moved to Portland, Oregon, with her new family.
Instead of a wheelchair, she uses a skateboard to get around and learned to walk on her hands.
Sesser loves extreme sports and hopes to compete in mono-ski in the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.
One of her biggest fans is her new boyfriend Brian, whom she has been dating for the past month.
“Brian is awesome—he is very supportive of everything I do,” she
said. “He recently saw me modeling for first time and told me he thought
it was beautiful and unique.”
Despite her work as a model, Sesser admits she prefers her natural
looks. She is also working on a book about her incredible journey
through life, set to be published in 2016.
18-yr-old Jeffrey Akoh has emerged the 2015 MTN Project Fame winner.
The young talent won 5 other finalists to emerge the winner of the 8th season of MTN Project Fame.
Jeff is a Sound Engineering graduate from the SAE Institute, Cape
Town and has consistently wowed judges and the audience by going all the
way in each of his performances. He joins the likes of Iyanya, iMike,
Ayoola, Chidinma, Monica, Olawale and Geoffrey as a Project Fame
superstar.
Third runner up in the competition was Ada, with second runner up being Anderson and Pearl being the first runner up.
His musical influencers are Chris Brown, Lawrence Flowers, and Kim
Burrell. Jeff receives the grand prize of N5 million, an SUV and a
recording contract.
Pearl Olanma Awa-Agwu secured a 2nd place finish, she receives a car
and N3 million. Anderson Emmanuel Amos finished in 3rd place, he gets a
car and N1 million. In 4th place was Adanoritsewo “Ada” Gold
Tosanwumi and she receives a N1 million prize.
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese
government official said Monday that Hillary Clinton was "biased" on
women's issues in China, while a newspaper compared the presidential
hopeful to Donald Trump for her tweet saying it was "shameless" for
China's president to preside over a U.N. conference on gender equality.
Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a community
forum on healthcare, at Moulton Elementary School in Des Moines, Iowa. A
Chinese government official said Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, that Hillary
Clinton was “biased” on women’s issues in China, while a newspaper
compared the presidential hopeful to Donald Trump for her tweet saying
it was “shameless” for China’s president to preside over a U.N.
conference on gender equality.
Rights activists had criticized Chinese
President Xi Jinping's co-chairing of Sunday's U.N. Women conference
because of China's detentions of women, including five who were detained
for 37 days this year over their plans to advocate against sexual
harassment on public transportation.
Wang Yu, a female lawyer who defended one
of the activists, has since been detained. Clinton tweeted on Sunday:
"Xi hosted a meeting on women's rights at the UN while persecuting
feminists? Shameless."
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong
Lei said Monday that China protects its people's rights in accordance
with the law. "Someone in another country is biased on the relevant
issue," Hong said in response to a question about Clinton's tweet. "We
hope that they will respect China's judicial sovereignty."
The Global Times, which often publishes
nationalist editorials, wrote Monday in its Chinese edition that
Clinton's words — which it did not mention — were "vulgar, extremely
lacking in manners" and called to mind "big mouth" Trump.
The Communist Party-run paper suggested
that Clinton was "alarmed and jealous" at Trump's continuing excellent
showing in polls, so had resorted to using his style of language. The
editorial was carried on major news portals and websites of other state
media, including the China Youth Daily and China National Radio.
Trump has accused China of stealing U.S.
jobs and called for the canceling of a state dinner for Xi after a drop
in China's stock markets and a devaluation of its currency led to a
tumble of U.S. stocks.
Sunday's conference was a follow-up to a
1995 U.N. conference on gender equality in Beijing that Clinton
addressed as first lady. She said then: "Human rights are women's rights
and women's rights are human rights."
Xi echoed her words on Sunday, telling the
conference: "Women's rights and interests are basic human rights. They
must be protected by laws and regulations." He did not mention any of
the women activists, but announced a $10 million donation to U.N. Women,
and said that China would help developing countries produce 100 "health
projects" for women and children, finance 100 programs to send poor
girls to school, train 30,000 women from developing countries in China,
and provide training opportunities for 100,000 women in other developing
countries.
BERLIN (AP) — The latest developments on the Volkswagen emissions scandal. All times local.
A
woman walks by a Volkswagen dealer in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 27,
2015. German media report that Volkswagen received warnings years ago
about the use of illegal tricks to defeat emissions tests. The automaker
admitted last week that it used special software to fool U.S. emissions
tests for its diesel vehicles.
12:55 p.m.
German
prosecutors have opened an investigation against former Volkswagen CEO
Martin Winterkorn in the company's emissions-rigging scandal.
Prosecutors
in Braunschweig said Monday that the investigation would concentrate on
the suspicion of fraud committed through the sale of vehicles with
manipulated emissions data.
It added that the probe aims to
establish who was responsible. Prosecutors have received a number of
criminal complaints in the case, including one from Volkswagen itself
that doesn't name any suspects.
12:15 p.m.
Volkswagen AG's
upmarket Audi brand says 2.1 million of its vehicles are among those
with the engines affected by the emissions-rigging scandal.
Audi
said Monday that the engine in question was built into 1.6-liter and
2-liter turbo diesel models in the A1, A3, A4, A6, TT, Q3 and Q5 ranges,
news agency dpa reported. The cars involved have engines in the "euro
5" emissions category; those with the newer "euro 6" engines aren't
affected by the emissions scandal.
Volkswagen said last week that
11 million vehicles worldwide contain software involved in the
emissions-rigging scandal, and later added that 5 million of those were
cars were produced by its core VW brand. The group hasn't yet given a
full listing of what cars were involved.
11:00 a.m.
A
European environmental organization says it has found some new models of
Mercedes, Volkswagens, BMWs and other new cars consume much more
gasoline than lab tests claim.
The organization, Transport &
Environment, said Monday it had found no proof the cars are equipped
with the same sort of "defeat devices" installed on diesel-powered
Volkswagens to enable them to cheat on emissions tests.
But the
group called on European Union governments to broaden their probes into
the "defeat devices" to cover gasoline cars as well.
Transport
& Environment said according to its research, the gap between lab
test results for fuel economy and real-world performance rose last year
to 40 percent on average, from 8 percent in 2001.
NEW YORK (AP) — Face-to-face
for the first time in nearly a year, President Barack Obama and Russian
President Vladimir Putin on Monday will confront rising tensions over
Moscow's military engagement in Syria, as well as the stubborn crisis in
Ukraine.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas, right, in Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. Face-to-face
for the first time in nearly a year, President Barack Obama and Putin on
Monday, Sept. 28, will confront rising tensions over Moscow’s military
engagement in Syria, as well as the stubborn crisis in Ukraine.
Underscoring their deep differences, the
U.S. and Russia couldn't even agree on the purpose of the meeting, which
will occur on the sidelines of an annual United Nations summit. The
White House said it would focus on Ukraine and getting Moscow to live up
to a fragile peace plan. The Kremlin said Ukraine would be discussed
only if time allowed, with Syria and the fight against the Islamic State
dominating the discussions.
Despite little sign of a breakthrough on
either front, U.S. officials insisted it was still worthwhile for the
leaders to meet — something that has happened rarely since Obama vowed
to isolate Putin in retaliation for Russia's provocations in Ukraine.
"The president believed it would be
irresponsible to let this occasion in which the two leaders would be in
the same city pass without trying to test to see whether progress could
be made on these newly intractable crises," Samantha Power, the U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
Ahead of their early evening meeting,
Obama and Putin will each have a chance to make their case to a broader
audience of world leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations
General Assembly. Obama will address the body Monday morning, with Putin
following shortly after.
Obama is expected to emphasize the need
for a political resolution to Syria's civil war that includes the ouster
of President Bashar Assad, a Russian ally. Putin, meanwhile, is
expected to argue that Assad's military is the most capable force for
fighting the Islamic State — the extremist group with key strongholds in
Syria and Iraq — and therefore needs to be strengthened.
"There is no other solution to the Syrian
crisis than strengthening the effective government structures and
rendering them help in fighting terrorism," Putin said in an interview
with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired on the eve of his meeting with Obama.
Ahead of his U.N. visit, Putin deployed
more weapons and troops to Syria. The Kremlin has also intensified its
diplomatic efforts in recent months, launching a dialogue with Saudi
Arabia, which is firmly bent on unseating Assad, and the Syrian
opposition, in a renewed attempt to try to negotiate a political
compromise.
In another development, Iraq's military
said Sunday it will begin sharing "security and intelligence"
information with Syria, Russia and Iran to help combat the Islamic State
group. The move could further complicate U.S. efforts to battle the
extremists without working with Damascus and its allies.
Russia has shown no indication that it
would dump its support for Assad, whom it has shielded from U.N.
sanctions and continued to provide with weapons throughout the nation's
more than four-year civil war.
Putin's calls for strengthening Assad's
military come amid striking troubles for Obama's plan to train and arm
moderate rebels to fight the Islamic State in Syria. A $500 million
Pentagon training program has resulted in just a handful of fighters to
bolster airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition.
The U.S. has agreed to talk with Russia
about "deconflicting" their military action in Syria. U.S. Defense
Secretary Ash Carter has spoken to his Russian counterpart about Syria
earlier this month, the first military-to-military conversation in more
than a year.
It will be hard for Moscow and Washington
to reach any common ground on Syria beyond the military talks. Putin
clearly has no intention of joining the U.S.-led coalition in Syria,
which would mean accepting U.S. orders, and Washington has voiced
concern that Russia is using its military presence in Syria to shore up
Assad, whom it sees as the cause of the Syrian crisis.
Obama and Putin have long had a strained
relationship and their body language in face-to-face meetings is always
closely scrutinized for signs of tension. Their last formal meeting was
in June 2013, though they've had a number of conversations on the
sidelines of international summits, including in China last November.
The Ukraine crisis drove U.S.-Russian
relations to post-Cold War lows. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in
2014 and a pro-Russian armed insurgency continues in eastern Ukraine,
with Kiev and NATO accusing Moscow of backing and supplying it.
A shaky peace deal for Ukraine was
brokered in February by France and Germany, and Russia doesn't want the
United States to become engaged in those talks. Another four-way meeting
of leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany is set to take place
in Paris this weekend.
U.S. officials say Obama will stress to
Putin the importance of local elections in Ukraine scheduled for late
October going forward without interference.
Republican
presidential candidate Carly Fiorina rejects the conclusions of a
Senate report on waterboarding. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Positioning
herself as a steely advocate of aggressive counterterrorism programs,
Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina offered a vigorous
defense of CIA waterboarding as a tactic that helped “keep our nation
safe” in the aftermath of 9/11.
“I
believe that all of the evidence is very clear — that waterboarding was
used in a very small handful of cases [and] was supervised by medical
personnel in every one of those cases,” Fiorina told Yahoo News. “And I
also believe that waterboarding was used when there was no other way to
get information that was necessary.”
A Senate report
last year portrayed waterboarding as “near drownings” that were
tantamount to torture and concluded that the agency’s often brutal
interrogations produced little actionable intelligence. But Fiorina
rejected those conclusions, calling the report “disingenuous” and “a
shame” that “undermined the morale of a whole lot of people who
dedicated their lives to keeping the country safe.”
Fiorina’s
remarks drew an immediate rebuke from Naureen Shah, director of the
security and human rights program at Amnesty International USA, which
last week filed a complaint
with the Justice Department requesting an investigation into why
prosecutors have not reopened a criminal probe of those responsible for
waterboarding and other abusive practices — such as “rectal feeding” and
rectal searches — based on new details documented in the Senate report.
“It’s
outrageous for anybody to claim that torture was limited or that this
is the way the U.S. should have conducted business after 9/11,” said
Shah about Fiorina’s comments to Yahoo News. “This is completely
rewriting the history of what happened.”
Fiorina’s
comments came during an interview with Yahoo News in which she
discussed a close, if little-known, relationship she maintained with
U.S. intelligence agencies during her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard.
They
also come at a moment when Fiorina is seeking to emphasize her hawkish
national security credentials in the crowded GOP presidential field.
During this month’s CNN debate, Fiorina distinguished herself from rival
Donald Trump after he said he would meet with Russian president
Vladimir Putin to resolve the Syria crisis. “Having met Vladimir Putin, I
wouldn’t talk to him at all,” Fiorina shot back, adding she would
instead “begin rebuilding the Sixth Fleet” and “conduct regular,
aggressive military exercises in the Baltic states,” among other steps,
so he would “get the message.”
Fiorina’s
relationship with the U.S. intelligence community dates back to the
weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when she got an urgent
phone call from then NSA director Michael Hayden asking her to quickly
provide his agency with HP computer servers for expanded surveillance.
While
he did not tell Fiorina the details, Hayden confirmed to Yahoo News
last week that he needed the HP servers so the NSA could implement
“Stellar Wind” — the controversial warrantless wiretapping program,
including the bulk collection of American citizens’ phone records and
emails, that had been secretly ordered by the Bush White House. “Carly, I
need stuff and I need it now,” Hayden recalled telling Fiorina.
Fiorina
acknowledged she complied with Hayden’s request, redirecting trucks of
HP computer servers that were on their way to retail stores from a
warehouse in Tennessee to the Washington Beltway, where they were
escorted by NSA security to the gates of agency headquarters in Fort
Meade, Md.
“I
felt it was my duty to help, and so we did,” Fiorina said. “They were
ramping up a whole set of programs and needed a lot of data crunching
capability to try and monitor a whole set of threats. …What I knew at
the time was our nation had been attacked.”
After
Hayden became CIA director in 2006, he named Fiorina as chair of an
agency external advisory board consisting of former top intelligence
officials, generals and business leaders. In that capacity, she made
regular trips to CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., including overseeing
one specific project requested by Hayden: Provide advice on how the CIA
could maintain its undercover espionage mission in a culture of
increasing government leaks and demands for greater public
accountability and openness.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Latest developments in Pope Francis' visit to the United States. All times local:
Pope
Francis arrives in his popemobile to speak in front of Independence
Hall, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Philadelphia. (Tony Gentile/Pool
Photo via AP)
9:45 p.m. Pope Francis has wrapped up his
first day in Philadelphia after celebrating Mass, giving a speech on
religious freedom and attending an event for Catholic families. Francis
left the stage of the World Meeting of Families on Saturday night after
hearing stories from six families around the world. He called families a
"factory of hope."
Before leaving, Francis asked everyone to
attend Mass Sunday. Organizers estimate more than 1 million people will
attend the Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Francis also painted
the final stroke on a mural that will hang in Philadelphia in honor of
the World Meeting of Families. The event was Francis' original reason
for coming to the U.S.
He will alo speak to a group of clergy Sunday and visit a prison before ending a six-day visit to the U.S.
9:30 p.m.
Pope
Francis says families are a "factory of hope" after he heard stories
from families from around the world at a Philadelphia festival.
Francis
gave an off-the-cuff monologue in Spanish after hearing from six
families from the U.S., Australia, Ukraine, Jordan, Nigeria, and his
homeland of Argentina at the World Meeting of Families on Saturday.
He called for families to be cared for and protected — particularly children and the elderly.
The
families told Francis about their joys and struggles, in between
musical performances from acts including The Fray and Aretha Franklin.
Francis
will celebrate an outdoor Mass on Sunday, speak to a group of clergy
and visit a prison before ending a six-day visit to the U.S.
8:45 p.m.
Church
officials say they don't have an estimate of how many people turned out
to see Pope Francis during the closing festival of the World Meeting of
Families.
The Secret Service had estimated the secured festival
space on Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway could fit about a
quarter-million people. But there were gaps along sidewalks at the
height of attendance Saturday night. Some people, however, remained on
side streets and outside the security area.
Train ridership into
Philadelphia was much lower than expected. The main commuter rail agency
said only a little more than half of the 53,000 who bought passes used
them.
Church officials had estimated up to 750,000 could attend
the festival. They have always predicted the biggest crowd, of a million
or more, would attend the pope's outdoor celebration of Mass on Sunday.
8 p.m.
Seated
on stage, Pope Francis is hearing from families from around the world
and listening to musical performances at a festival hosted by the
worldwide Catholic gathering that brought him to Philadelphia.
The
pope is attending the World Meeting of Families festival Saturday,
where he is meeting with families from the U.S., Australia, Ukraine,
Jordan, Nigeria, and his homeland of Argentina.
An engaged
Australian couple, Camillus O'Kane and Kelly Walsh, told the pope they
are concerned about divorce and the push to change the definition of
legal marriage.
The festival includes musical performances from Andrea Bocelli, Aretha Franklin and others. Actor Mark Wahlberg is the MC.
Francis will celebrate an outdoor Mass on the parkway Sunday in ending his first-ever U.S. trip.
7:10 p.m.
Pope
Francis is riding in his white Jeep Wrangler popemobile in a parade
around Philadelphia's City Hall and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Francis is on his way to a World Meeting of Families festival Saturday.
Thousands lined the parade route with crowds of five- to 10-spectators deep hoping to catch a glimpse of the pontiff.
The
World Meeting of Families festival is being hosted by actor Mark
Wahlberg and includes musical performances from Andrea Bocelli, Aretha
Franklin, the Philadelphia Orchestra and others.
On Sunday,
Francis will celebrate Mass for what organizers estimate will be more
than 1 million people before ending his first-ever trip to the U.S. that
included visits to Washington, D.C., and New York.
6:25 p.m.
Restaurant owners across Philadelphia are complaining that heavy security from Pope Francis' visit scared off their customers.
Stephen
Starr operates more than 20 restaurants in the city. He told the
Philadelphia Inquirer the slowdown has been so bad that "this affected
business worse than Hurricane Sandy."
The website Open Table shows reservations are readily available at prime times Saturday at even the most popular spots.
Organizers
have long said the World Meeting of Families that drew the pope to
Philadelphia would be an economic boon to the city. But as the event
drew closer, city officials were criticized for issuing dire warnings of
travel difficulties and service shutdowns.
Schools and many businesses closed, and many residents left town in the days leading up to Francis' arrival.
Organizers
still expect Saturday night's concert headlined by Aretha Franklin to
attract hundreds of thousands, and they say more than a million will
watch Francis celebrate Mass on Sunday
6:10 p.m.
Crowds
along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway have begun to swell in advance of
Pope Francis' appearance at a Vatican-sponsored "Festival of Families"
Saturday night.
Pilgrims waited up to 45 minutes to clear security
checkpoints late Saturday afternoon, but described the process as
orderly. Crowds up to five deep lined the papal parade route.
At
6:45 p.m., Francis is scheduled to travel the length of the Parkway from
the Philadelphia Museum of Art and City Hall and back in his open-air
popemobile, a 2-mile loop. The festival, featuring Italian tenor Andrea
Bocelli, "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin and other entertainers, is set
to start around 7:30 p.m.
Two boys tossed a small green-and-black
football. Another group of four children swatted a blowup ball, nearly
hitting a nun who tipped it back to them.
Jay Berryman was in a group of 160 from North Little Rock, Arkansas. He noticed a change in mood as the pope's visit neared.
"Everyone's getting nervous," he said.
5:15 p.m.
Pope
Francis says that America's immigrant community should not to be
discouraged by hardships and should be responsible citizens.
Francis delivered a speech on religious freedom and immigration in front of about 40,000 people at Independence Hall Saturday.
He implored the immigrants in the crowd to be proud of their heritage and to never be ashamed of their traditions.
Francis
also said Americans should avoid repeating past mistakes and that
people of all faiths should join together to call for respect and
dignity of others.
As he finished his speech, some among the many immigrant groups in the crowd shouted, "Francisco! Francisco! Francisco!"
After a break, Francis will take part in a World Meeting of Families festival Saturday night.
4:50 p.m.
Pope
Francis says that Americans need to remember history to avoid repeating
past mistakes and that people of all faiths should join together to
call for respect and dignity of others.
Francis spoke in front of
about 40,000 people Saturday in front of Independence Hall. He says
visiting the area where the country was born was one of the highlights
of his visit.
He also says that religious liberty means people don't have to leave their religious beliefs at home to be part of public life.
After a break, Francis will take part in a World Meeting of Families festival Saturday night.
He will celebrate an outdoor Mass on Sunday for what organizers estimate will be more than 1 million people.
4:45 p.m.
After
emerging from Independence Hall to "Fanfare for the Common Man," Pope
Francis is giving a speech on religious freedom and immigration from the
lectern used by President Abraham Lincoln when he delivered the
Gettysburg Address.
About 40,000 people are watching the speech
Saturday on Independence Mall, many of whom have been waiting since
early in the morning.
Shouts of "il papa" erupted from the crowd. Thousands of others are watching the speech from large TV screens around the city.
Francis arrived on the mall in his white Jeep Wrangler popemobile, waving to crowds and kissing babies as he drove.
Following
the speech, he will join a World Meeting of Families concert and on
Sunday will celebrate Mass for what organizers estimate will be more
than 1 million people.
4:35 p.m.
Pope Francis has blessed a
5-foot wooden cross that is especially important to Hispanics as he
prepares to give a speech on religious freedom and immigration in
Philadelphia.
Francis blessed the Cross of the Encuentros Saturday
afternoon after arriving at Independence Mall for the speech. A family
of seven that came to the United States from Mexico presented the cross
to Francis.
Encuentros is the Spanish word for meetings or
encounters. Catholic officials say the cross will be taken to dioceses
across the country as a symbol of an ongoing national pastoral movement
called Encuentro, which has spurred Hispanic ministry in the country.
The
movement includes a three-year process of missionary activity,
consultation, leadership development and pastoral discernment.
4:25 p.m.
The
crowd is erupting as Pope Francis arrives at Independence Mall in his
white popemobile for a speech on religious freedom and immigration.
Francis waved as he was driving along Market Street in Philadelphia in the open, converted Jeep Wrangler.
Bodyguards
passed one baby after another to Francis so he could kiss their
foreheads. A police officer handed the pope a boy in a Batman shirt;
another baby was wearing a tiny peaked hat similar to the pope's iconic
mitre.
Francis will give the speech from the lectern used by President Abraham Lincoln when he delivered the Gettysburg Address.
In a speech to Congress this week, Francis implored lawmakers to show compassion to immigrants.
3:55 p.m.
Pope
Francis and his papal motorcade have left the suburban seminary where
he is staying and is riding through the streets of Philadelphia toward
Independence Hall.
Francis is scheduled to give a speech late
Saturday afternoon about religious freedom and immigration at the site
where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed.
About 40,000 attendees are expected at the ticketed event.
But
first, Francis will return to the downtown cathedral where he celebrated
Mass earlier in the day and transfer to the popemobile for the final 1
1/2 miles to the historic neighborhood.
Following the speech, he
will join the final event of the World Meeting of Families. It will be
hosted by actor Mark Wahlberg and will include performances from Andrea
Bocelli, Aretha Franklin, the Philadelphia Orchestra and others.
3:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey transit agencies say train ridership to see the pope in Philadelphia has been lower than expected.
As a result, some schedules have been adjusted.
The
seven-lane Benjamin Franklin Bridge between New Jersey and Philadelphia
is closed to all but pedestrians and emergency vehicles. But pedestrian
traffic has been light.
College student Christina Carabaho of
Williamstown, New Jersey, and her family walked the nearly 2-mile bridge
to save the expense of parking and taking a ferry. Her only complaint:
She wore boots instead of sneakers.
Heading into the papal weekend, there had been fears some visitors were scared away by all the security and travel restrictions.
2:25 p.m.
Pope
Francis is resting up at the suburban seminary where he is staying
before restarting a packed itinerary on his first day in Philadelphia.
Francis
is scheduled to return to the cathedral where he celebrated Mass
Saturday morning and transfer to the popemobile for a mile-and-a-half
journey through downtown.
He will give a late-afternoon speech
focusing on religious freedom and immigration at Independence Hall,
where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed.
A
festive night follows, with a concert featuring Aretha Franklin, Andrea
Bocelli, the Philadelphia Orchestra and others. The event hosted by
Mark Wahlberg caps the World Meeting of Families, which drew Francis to
the United States for the first time.
On Sunday, an estimated 1 million people are expected to attend a public Mass that Francis will celebrate.
12:55 p.m.
Pope
Francis has been serenaded by a group of about 150 seminarians after
arriving at the suburban seminary where he will stay while visiting
Philadelphia.
The seminarians also sang "Happy Birthday" to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, who turned 71 Saturday.
Francis
will spend some time resting at the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in
Lower Merion before giving a speech on religious freedom and immigration
in front of Independence Hall.
He will then be part of a parade
along the parkway where a festival will be held for the final night of
the World Meeting of Families.
The final event will be hosted by
actor Mark Wahlberg and include performances from Andrea Bocelli, Aretha
Franklin, the Philadelphia Orchestra and others.
On Sunday, Francis will celebrate Mass for what organizers estimate will be more than 1 million people.
12:35 p.m.
Fifty
members of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas were on hand to hear
Pope Francis call for the church to value the contribution of women.
The nuns received tickets to Saturday's Mass at the main cathedral in downtown Philadelphia.
He celebrated Mass in front of about 1,600 people.
Francis
settled a controversy in April over a three-year Vatican investigation
into the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which the sisters are
part of.
The umbrella group for women's religious orders had been accused of straying from church teaching.
Francis'
progressive agenda parallels their views on helping the poor and
immigrants, preserving life and ending the death penalty.
Sister
Catherine Darcy, of Merion, Pennsylvania, says this is a special moment
for the Catholic church and that they have felt strong support from
Francis.
12:15 p.m.
Pope Francis has finished celebrating a
Mass, stopping to bless children in wheelchairs before leaving the
cathedral in downtown Philadelphia.
Francis walked through a
chapel adjacent to the main room in the cathedral on Saturday to greet
ill and disabled parishioners, along with other visitors. He blessed the
children and gave them a kiss on the head.
Francis delivered a
homily in Spanish in front of about 1,600 people. He says the future of
the church depends on an increased role for the laity and valuing the
"immense contribution" of women.
He will spend a few hours at a
seminary just outside of the city before giving a speech Saturday
afternoon on religious freedom and immigration.
Noon
The
former Archbishop of Philadelphia who retired in 2011 amid a scandal
over clergy sex abuse is celebrating Mass with Pope Francis.
Cardinal Justin Rigali joined Francis and other bishops at the Mass Saturday on the pope's first stop in Philadelphia.
Rigali's
successor, Archbishop Charles Chaput, also was on the altar in front of
about 1,600 people at the main cathedral in downtown Philadelphia.
Rigali
retired to the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, months after a grand
jury accused the Philadelphia archdiocese of sheltering more than three
dozen credibly accused priests and lying about it to victims and others.
Later
Saturday, Francis will give a speech on religious freedom and
immigration and then join in the final night of the World Meeting of
Families.
This story has been clarified to show that Rigali is the former archbishop, but remains a cardinal.
11:10 a.m.
Pope
Francis says the future of the church depends on an increased role for
the laity and on valuing the "immense contribution" of women.
Francis
delivered a homily in Spanish Saturday while celebrating Mass in front
of about 1,600 people at the main cathedral in downtown Philadelphia.
Francis
has repeatedly said women should have a greater role in church
leadership, although he has rejected the idea of ordaining women.
By
touching on the issue, Francis seemed intent on healing one of the
major rifts in American Catholicism that has alienated many from the
church.
Later Saturday, he will give a speech on religious freedom
and immigration and then join in the final night of the World Meeting
of Families.
On Sunday, he will celebrate Mass for what organizers estimate will be more than 1 million people.
10:45 a.m.
Pope Francis is celebrating Mass in front of 1,600 people at Philadelphia's main Catholic cathedral.
Francis walked down the aisle of the church holding a large staff with a crucifix on top while a choir sang.
Francis
arrived at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul Saturday
morning in his black Fiat after landing in Philadelphia from New York.
Pope John Paul II spoke at the cathedral in 1979, the only other papal visit to Philadelphia.
Later
Saturday, he will give a speech at Independence Hall and then join in
the final night of the World Meeting of Families. On Sunday, he will
celebrate Mass for an estimated 1 million people.
10:20 a.m.
Pope Francis is set to celebrate Mass in front of 1,600 people at Philadelphia's main Catholic cathedral.
Francis
pulled up in front of the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul
Saturday morning in his black Fiat after landing in Philadelphia from
New York.
He was greeted at the steps by former Pennsylvania Gov.
Tom Corbett and his wife. Corbett originally invited Francis to
Philadelphia.
Before going inside, Francis twice turned around to wave to the hundreds of cheering people standing outside of the cathedral.
Pope John Paul II spoke at the cathedral in 1979, the only other papal visit to Philadelphia.
Later
on Saturday, Francis will give a speech on religious freedom and
immigration and then join in the final night of the World Meeting of
Families.
10 a.m.
Pope Francis has left Philadelphia's
airport and is headed to its main Catholic cathedral to celebrate Mass
for about 1,600 people.
Among those greeting Francis Saturday was a
former Philadelphia police officer wounded in the line of duty seven
years ago and his family. Richard Bowes' daughters presented flowers to
Francis and he hugged the two girls and Bowes' son.
Francis also got out of his black Fiat to bless a 10-year-old boy in a wheelchair on the tarmac, kissing him on the forehead.
A local Catholic high school band played, including the theme song from the Philadelphia-set movie "Rocky."
Later
on Saturday, he will give a speech at Independence Hall and then join
in the final night of the World Meeting of Families. On Sunday, he will
celebrate Mass for hundreds of thousands.
This story has been corrected to show that Francis blessed a boy, not a man, at the airport.
9:40 a.m.
Pope
Francis has arrived in Philadelphia to begin a visit that will include
celebrating Mass for what organizers estimate will be more than 1
million people.
His chartered American Airlines plane touched down
Saturday morning after Francis spent four days in New York City and
Washington.
He is being greeted by a Catholic high school band and local dignitaries.
Francis
is headed first for the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul,
where he will celebrate Mass for about 1,200 people. He will later give a
speech on religious freedom and immigration in front of Independence
Hall and then join in the final night of the World Meeting of Families.
He will also visit a prison while in Philadelphia, before celebrating a Sunday Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
9:05 a.m.
Pope Francis has left New York City for Philadelphia, the last stop in his three-city visit to the United States.
Before
taking off, the pope greeted nuns at Kennedy Airport. With the wind
whipping, he took a small stumble as he ascended the stairs to a waiting
jet. He waved to the crowd as the airplane taxied.
In
Philadelphia, his itinerary includes Masses, prayer vigils and a visit
to a prison. On Sunday, he'll celebrate the closing Mass for the World
Meeting of Families, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of
people.
In New York City, Francis spoke at the United Nations and celebrated Mass at Madison Square Garden.
His
first stop was Washington, where he was met by President Barack Obama
and spoke to Congress. He heads back to Rome on Sunday night.
8:30 a.m.
Pope Francis has begun his trip to Philadelphia, the last stop on his U.S. trip.
The
pope left Manhattan on Saturday morning for Kennedy Airport in a
helicopter. He will fly to Philadelphia after a brief farewell from
worshippers waiting to see him off.
Groups of Roman Catholic parishioners prayed together as they waited at JFK.
"Our Father..." was heard above the rumble of the American Airlines jet engines warming up for the flight to Philadelphia.
In
keeping with Francis' efforts to bring religions closer, New Yorkers
who came to say farewell to Francis included a Sikh in a white turban as
well as representatives of other faiths.
7:30 a.m.
Two
Marine helicopters have taken off from New York's Kennedy airport to
pick up Pope Francis in Manhattan and take him to the airport.
Francis is scheduled to leave New York for Philadelphia on Saturday morning.
Roman Catholic worshippers and church officials have gathered for a brief farewell on the JFK airport tarmac.
They
include seven cloistered nuns from the Precious Blood Seminary in
Brooklyn. Four of them are originally from Francis' native Argentina.
Francis
arrived in New York on Thursday evening from Washington, D.C. His
crowded New York itinerary included a speech to the United Nations
General Assembly, a visit to the World Trade Center Memorial and Museum
and a Mass at Madison Square Garden.
It is the pope's first visit to the United States.
2:30 a.m.
After
speeches to Congress and the United Nations aimed at world leaders,
Pope Francis will embark on the segment of his American journey expected
to be the most centered on ordinary Catholics: a Vatican-organized
rally for the family that will culminate in an outdoor Mass for a
million people.
Francis heads to Philadelphia on Saturday.
He will speak at Independence Hall, where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
As
he has done in New York and Washington, he will give his attention to
both the elite and the disadvantaged, this time visiting inmates in
Philadelphia's largest jail. On Saturday night, he will be serenaded by
Aretha Franklin and others on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at a
festival celebrating families. He will return there Sunday for the Mass,
his last major event before leaving for Rome.
NEW YORK (AP) — Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel tells officials she plans to fly a World Trade
Center memorial flag at the German Chancellery in honor of the 37 police
officers with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who died in
the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel walks past the South Pool of the 9/11 Memorial
with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015,
in New York.
Port Authority police spokesman Joe
Pentangelo says Merkel visited the Sept. 11 memorial site at the World
Trade Center on Saturday. Inspector Ron Shindel, who speaks German,
greeted Merkel and presented her with the World Trade Center memorial
flag and a police challenge coin. Merkel told police officials she plans
to fly the flag at the chancellery, which is home to Germany's federal
government.
A spokesman for the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
PARIS (AP) — Six French jet
fighters targeted and destroyed an Islamic State training camp in
eastern Syria, President Francois Hollande said Sunday, making good on a
promise to go after the group that the president has said is planning
attacks against several countries, including France.
France’s
President Francois Hollande visits a public center for insertion of the
Defense (EPIDE) in Montry, France. France has fired its first
airstrikes in Syria as it expands military operations against Islamic
State extremists, President Francois Hollande's office announced Sunday,
Sept. 27, 2015. The office said that "France has hit Syria" based on
information from French reconnaissance flights sent earlier this month.
The airstrikes were the first in Syria by
France as it expands its mission against IS. "The camp was totally
destroyed," Hollande said Sunday after arriving at the United Nations,
before the start of a major development summit and the U.N. General
Assembly bringing together world leaders.
"We're sure there were no casualties"
among civilians, he added. The French president's office announced the
strikes, without details, in a statement hours earlier. "Our nation will
strike each time our national security is at stake," the statement
said.
Hollande told reporters the strikes on the
training camp, and others to come, were aimed at "protecting our
territory, cutting short terrorist actions, acting in legitimate
defense." Hollande said more strikes "could take place in the coming
weeks if necessary." The targets were identified in earlier French
reconnaissance flights and with information provided by the U.S.-led
coalition.
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The president announced earlier this month
a change in French strategy — expanding its airstrikes over Iraq into
Syria. France has carried out 215 airstrikes against IS extremists in
Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition since last year, the Defense
Ministry said earlier this month. But it previously held back on
engaging in Syria, citing concern over playing into Assad's hand and the
need for such action to be covered by international law.
Officials now evoke "legitimate defense"
as spelled out in the U.N. Charter to support strikes in Syria. France
has already been attacked by extremists claiming ties to IS. Hollande,
who has ruled out sending ground troops into Syria, has cited "proof" of
plans for attacks on France and the growing danger to Syrian civilians,
with a large chunk of the population fleeing in a massive exodus.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said France
was going after IS "sanctuaries where those who want to hit France are
trained." The goal of the strikes is to "slow, break, stop if possible
the penetration of Daesh," Gen. Vincent Desportes said on the iTele TV
station, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
Hollande stressed the importance of
seeking a political solution for Syria. "More than ever the urgency is
putting in place a political transition," including elements of the
moderate opposition and Assad's regime, the statement said.
In New York, the French president said he
would be meeting this week "all the partners" in the Syrian conflict.
"This political solution requires that all stakeholders are involved,"
he said. "We are not excluding anyone." He didn't name countries.
At the same time, he said, "The future of
Syria cannot be with Bashar al Assad." The French government has
insisted that while it is part of the U.S.-led coalition, France is
deciding independently who and what to hit in Syria.
Hollande announced on Sept. 7 France's
intention to start airstrikes, days after the photo of a dead 3-year-old
Syrian boy galvanized public concern about Syrian refugees fleeing to
save their lives. In his statement Sunday, Hollande said: "Civilian
populations must be protected from all forms of violence, that of IS and
other terrorist groups but also the murderous bombardments of Bashar
Assad.
Paul Feig, center, directing ‘Spy’ (Photo: 20th Century Fox)
From Freaks and Geeks to Bridesmaids to Spy and the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot, writer-director Paul Feig keeps upping his profile — and his production budgets — exponentially.
Days before the female-led Ghostbusterswrapped,
Feig called Yahoo Movies to talk about the comedy starring Melissa
McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon — with cameos
from Ghostbustersoriginals Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and, just announced by the director on Friday, Sigourney Weaver.
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in 2012′s Men in Black 3 (AP Photo/Columbia Pictures-Sony, Wilson Webb)
The men in black are returning to theaters — but their star secret agent has stepped down. A Hollywood Reporter interview with Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, who produced Men in Black and its two sequels, has confirmed that a franchise revival is moving forward without Will Smith. (Of course, if they zap the audience with a neuralyzer, they’ll never know he was there in the first place!)
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“We’re in the middle of it. It’s very active,” Parkes said of the new Men in Black movie, which is intended to be the first part of a second trilogy. Asked whether Smith will be involved, Parkes told THR, “Most likely no.”
Based on a 1990 comic book series, the sci-fi comedy Men in Black — about
two employees of a secret government agency (played by Smith and Tommy
Lee Jones) that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth — premiered
in summer 1997 to huge success, grossing more than $250 million during
its theatrical run. (Making it the second biggest hit of that year,
after Titanic.) Smith and Jones returned for the critically maligned Men in Black II in 2002, which had a bigger opening weekend than the first movie but topped out at $190 million. Ten years later, the stars returned for the MiB3,
though Jones played a much smaller role, as the plot mostly dealt with
Smith time-traveling back to work with Jones’s younger self, played by
Josh Brolin. The 2012 threequel made $179 million domestically — but
ended up as the most lucrative installment of the franchise thanks to
international grosses that combined to take it to over $600 million worldwide.
Quantico,
ABC’s new, twist-filled Sunday night drama about a group of FBI
trainees, marks the American TV debut of actress and singer Priyanka
Chopra. And if it also marks the first time you’ve seen the India-born
star in action, prepare to be impressed. Chopra — who makes good on her
goal to make her Alex Parrish a Jason Bourne-level action heroine — is
sharp, intense, infinitely watchable, and the main reason Quantico may also become one of your new faves. Here, 12 things to know about one of fall TV’s most interesting new faces:
1.
The 33-year-old is already a superstar internationally, with more than
four dozen movies on her resume, and is one of the highest paid
Bollywood actresses. Highlights of her film career in India include Fashion,
which won her a 2008 Best Actress win at the National Film Awards, the
equivalent of an Oscar in India, for playing an aspiring model; and
2014’s Mary Kom, in which she played the titular role as the Olympic Indian boxer.
2.
She was born in India, but has lived all over the world. She spent
several teenage years in Boston, Iowa, and New York, for example, and
she now splits her time between New York, Mumbai, Los Angeles, and
Montreal, where Quantico films.
3. In 2000, she won the Miss World crown, during a pageant co-hosted by Jerry Springer. She is also the first Indian Guess Girl.
4. She is also a pop star, who has recorded music with will.i.am and Pitbull. Her first single, “In My City,” was the theme song for Thursday Night Football
on the NFL Network for the 2012-13 season, and the video was directed
by Joseph Kahn, who directed Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” video.
5. Though Quantico is her debut on American television, she voiced the airplane named Ishani in the 2013 Disney animated movie Planes. (Ishani had a fling with a plane named Dusty, voiced by Dane Cook.)
7. The actress thrives on playing a tough, smart, and feminine woman like Quantico’s
Agent Alex Parrish. “Any actress worth her salt would have wanted to do
this part, because she’s an action heroine, but at the same time, she’s
vulnerable and feminine, and she’s a celebration of everything female,”
says Chopra. “The strength of a female, the weaknesses of a female, our
emotions, but at the same time, our ability to be able to overcome
anything. We multitask really well, we have the balls to be able to be
tough and deal with life. Alex does all of that together. I mean, she’s
slowly becoming my hero. She’s someone I would want to grow up and be.
Every time I [film] her, I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s so badass. It’s so
cool. I wish I could do that in real life.’”
Watch the first 8 minutes of ‘Quantico’ here:
8. Being a woman of action isn’t a new thing for her. In 2010, she hosted the third season of Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi, the Indian version of the NBC reality series Fear Factor. And she tried some of the show’s stunts herself.
9. She tweets a lot, and has more than 11 million followers.
10. And she loves to Instagram photos from the Quantico set, as well as proof that she loves fast food and pie.
11. Chopra is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and United Nations Girl Up
Champion. She’s also formed her own charity, The Priyanka Chopra
Foundation, to help promote the rights of children and educational and
entrepreneurial opportunities for girls in India.
12. Her alternate career plan before becoming Miss World and segueing into a career as a performer? Aeronautical engineer.
Rick Trippe
"I could hear the fish croaking so I let them both go, but the snake made a beeline back to the fish," he explained to the BBC.
