#UK U of Chicago threat came amid tension over police shooting

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FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2015 file photo, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, right, speaks about first-degree murder charges against police officer Jason Van Dyke in the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, as Mayor Rahm Emanuel looks on at left. Emanuel announced at a news conference Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, that McCarthy has been fired after a public outcry over the handling of the case. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired the city’s police superintendent Tuesday, a week after the release of a dash-cam video that showed a white Chicago officer fatally shooting a black teenager 16 times.

Emanuel called a news conference to announce the dismissal of Garry McCarthy, who only days ago insisted to reporters that the mayor had his “back.”

The mayor praised McCarthy’s leadership of the force but called it an “undeniable fact” that the public’s trust in the police has eroded.

“Now is the time for fresh eyes and leadership,” Emanuel said.

Protesters have been calling for McCarthy’s dismissal in response to the handling of the death of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old who was killed in October 2014.

The city released video of the shooting only after a judge ordered it to be made public. The release set off several days of largely peaceful protests. Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder.

Emanuel introduced McCarthy as his pick to lead the department in May 2011, replacing former FBI agent Jody Weis, who was unpopular with many rank-and-file officers who claimed Weis did not stand behind them.

McCarthy rose through the ranks of New York City’s police department and was police director in Newark, New Jersey, when he was hired in Chicago. At the time he promised he would “have the cops’ backs.”

Emanuel praised him for knowing how to run a large police force and said the city needed “a leader with Garry’s depth of experience and a track record for delivering results.”

In New York, McCarthy rose from patrolman to an executive position and was involved in rescue and recovery efforts after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks before taking the job in New Jersey. But his time in Newark was not without challenges or complaints.

The NAACP in New Jersey said McCarthy was more concerned about improving the safety of downtown Newark than of its neighborhoods. The American Civil Liberties Union complained that Newark police were plagued with problems from lax internal oversight to issues of excessive force during arrests.

In Chicago, the silent video shows McDonald walking down the middle of a four-lane street. He appears to veer away from two officers as they emerge from a vehicle, drawing their guns. Van Dyke opens fire from close range and continues firing after McDonald crumples to the ground.

Police have said McDonald was carrying a knife, and an autopsy revealed that he had PCP, a hallucinogenic drug, in his system. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez has said the 3-inch blade recovered from the scene had been folded into the handle.

Defense attorney Dan Herbert says his client feared for his life, acted lawfully and that the video does not tell the whole story.

Van Dyke was released from jail Monday after paying the $150,000 required of his $1.5 million bail.

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#UK LeBron on Kobe: “I wanted to be just like him”

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Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) shoots toward the basket against Brooklyn Nets’ Brook Lopez (11) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 90-88. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James says Kobe Bryant inspired him to greatness and he was “kind of sad” when he learned the Lakers star is retiring.

James spent much of his interview session Tuesday praising Bryant, who announced on Sunday that his 20th NBA season will be his last. James, who had posters of Bryant on his wall as a kid, said he was always motivated by his former Olympic teammate.

James said he even wore an afro when he was in high school so he could look like Bryant.

James says: “I wanted to be just like him, man.”

James said he regrets not holding “up my end of the bargain” and getting to the NBA Finals in 2009, when fans were clamoring for a matchup between the two All-Stars.

James says he “always thought of Kobe” during offseason workouts and pushed himself harder because he knew Bryant was in a gym somewhere.

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#UK Seinfeld to appear monthly at NYC’s Beacon Theatre in 2016

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NEW YORK (AP) — Beginning in January, fans of Jerry Seinfeld will be able to catch the comedian once a month at a New York City theater.

The Madison Square Garden Company announced Tuesday that Seinfeld will perform at the Beacon Theatre in Upper Manhattan as part of a residency called “Jerry Seinfeld: The Homestand.”

Seinfeld said in a statement that the 2,800-seat Beacon has always been his favorite New York theater. He says it’s a place that feels “alive” for him.

Tickets for Seinfeld’s first six shows go on sale online on Dec. 7 and at the Beacon box office on Dec. 8.

The historic theater was acquired by MSG in 2006.

The New York comedian’s current project is a Web series called “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”

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#UK The stunning way the White House and reporters first reacted to the AIDS crisis

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Larry Speakes

December 1 is World AIDS Day, as proclaimed by President Barack Obama.

“Together, we can forge a future in which no person — here in America or anywhere in our world — knows the pain or stigma caused by HIV/AIDS,” Obama said in his proclamation letter.

In 2013, Obama announced $100 million in re-prioritized funding over the next three years to launch a new HIV Cure Initiative, along with up to $5 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

Along with President George W. Bush, who established the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in 2003, the efforts of the past two US presidents mark a stunningly quick evolution on the disease.

To see how fast US policy has evolved on the issue, just go back to October 1982, which appears to be the first time AIDS was mentioned in a White House press briefing. White House reporters, and Reagan administration press secretary Larry Speakes, laughed off the CDC’s own announcement that there were more than 600 reported cases of AIDS in the US.

Here’s the transcript:

Q: Larry, does the President have any reaction to the announcement — the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, that AIDS is now an epidemic and have over 600 cases?
MR. SPEAKES: What’s AIDS?
Q: Over a third of them have died. It’s known as “gay plague.” (Laughter.) No, it is. I mean it’s a pretty serious thing that one in every three people that get this have died. And I wondered if the President is aware of it?
MR. SPEAKES: I don’t have it. Do you? (Laughter.)
Q: No, I don’t.
MR. SPEAKES: You didn’t answer my question.
Q: Well, I just wondered, does the President—
MR. SPEAKES: How do you know? (Laughter.)
Q: In other words, the White House looks on this as a great joke?
MR. SPEAKES: No, I don’t know anything about it, Lester.
Q: Does the President, does anybody in the White House know about this epidemic, Larry?
MR. SPEAKES: I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s been any—
Q: Nobody knows?
MR. SPEAKES: There has been no personal experience here, Lester.
Q: No, I mean, I thought you were keeping—
MR. SPEAKES: I checked thoroughly with Dr. Ruge this morning and he’s had no—(laughter)—no patients suffering from AIDS or whatever it is.
Q: The President doesn’t have gay plague, is that what you’re saying or what?
MR. SPEAKES: No, I didn’t say that.
Q: Didn’t say that?
MR. SPEAKES: I thought I heard you on the State Department over there. Why didn’t you stay there? (Laughter.)
Q: Because I love you, Larry, that’s why. (Laughter.)
MR. SPEAKES: Oh, I see. Just don’t put it in those terms, Lester. (Laughter.)
Q: Oh, I retract that.
MR. SPEAKES: I hope so.
Q: It’s too late.

About a month earlier, the CDC had used the term “AIDS” for the first time. Less than a year later, in May 1983, Congress passed the first bill that contained funding targeted for AIDS research and treatment — $12 million in funding was allotted to agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services.

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#UK Celebrities have to pay $30k for their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

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Every year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce selects around 24 celebrities to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

But it’s not as simple as that. First, someone has to nominate these celebrities — this could be anyone from a publicist to a wealthy fan. Next, they must obtain that celebrity’s consent, as the nominee must sign a form stating that they want a star, and that they will attend the unveiling of it.

If a person’s application gets accepted, whoever did the nominating needs to pony up: a star costs $30,000. The Chamber of Commerce claims that half the cost goes into building the star, while the other half is used for upkeep. 

Perhaps this is why some of your favorite A-listers — like Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, and Al Pacino — don’t have a star. Either they simply don’t want one, or they don’t want to spend the cash.

 Story by Jacob Shamsian and editing by Kristen Griffin

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#UK Ohio prosecutor calls death sentence rejection frustrating

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio prosecutor is criticizing a decision by the state’s high court to overturn the death sentence of a man who beat a Cincinnati woman to death in 1997 during a robbery that netted $50.

In a 4-3 ruling Tuesday, the court rejected Rayshawn Johnson’s sentence based on his troubled upbringing and his subsequent remorse.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters says the decision affects one’s faith in the criminal justice system.

He says the attack against Shanon Marks was horrific.

Justice Paul Pfeifer (PEYE’-fuhr) said Johnson, of Cincinnati, suffered from mental illness and addiction and had limited intellectual ability.

Johnson faces up to life in prison when he’s resentenced.

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#UK A weird thing happened when Adele fans tried to buy concert tickets online

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Adele HelloAdele fans trying to buy advance tickets for her European tour ran into some security issues on Tuesday.

Pre-sale tickets for Adele’s concerts were made available to members through her website Adele.com.

But some fans are claiming that during the checkout process, they were shown other people’s information, including their payment information as well as the content of their shopping cart.

While customers went to Adele.com to purchase tickets, the booking service is actually provided by a company called Songkick.

Tech Insider reached out to Songkick for comment and was told they did not yet have a statement they wish to share. songkick adele security breach

For now, though, SongKick is trying to avoid calling the incident a security breach.

The company did release a statement to The Telegraph, which explained that users’ information became visible due to an “extreme load” on the site when people were trying to purchase tickets, adding “There’s no evidence that this included credit card numbers or passwords. We take the privacy of our users very seriously, and we’re looking further into the matter to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

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#UK The biggest bank in the US is miffed at the Federal Reserve (WFC)

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Wells Fargo John Stumpf

Wells Fargo, the biggest bank in the US, may have to raise $60 billion in debt to offset potential losses in the event of another financial crisis following a Federal Reserve ruling.

CEO John Stumpf isn’t all that keen on the idea. 

“I don’t think that’s something we really needed,” Stumpf said in an interview with CNBC December 1 with Kayla Tausche. 

“It’s what we’ve been asked to do. I think that we have enough capital the way it is, but if loss absorbing capital is required through debt, we’re going to raise it. We will be able to manage it. But I can’t tell you sitting here that I thought that was necessary.”

The Fed regulation on ‘total loss-absorbing capacity’ means banks must have cash on hand to cover writing off 18% or more of ‘risk-weighted’ assets in the event of a loss. That means Wells Fargo will have to add billions to its balance sheet in cash reserves.

Stumpf isn’t the first Wells Fargo executive to sound off on the Federal Reserve’s latest requirement, which is particularly onerous for the biggest bank in the US by market capitalization. Last month, Wells Fargo CFO John Shrewsberry called the bank “victims” of the Fed’s new rule.

Stumpf was quick to point out that Wells Fargo and other firms have already shored up cash reserves.

“The industry has more than doubled its capital [reserves],” he told Tausche. “We surely have in the last seven years.”

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