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  • Tony Stewart Hits, Kills Driver Kevin Ward Jr. At Canandaigua Motorsports Park

    Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart struck and killed a sprint car driver who had climbed from his car and was on the darkened dirt track trying to confront Stewart during a race in upstate New York on Saturday night.

    Kevin Ward Jr. had crashed following contact with Stewart one lap earlier and got out of his car as it was stopped along the fence. Video of the incident showed Ward walking from his crashed car onto the racing surface as cars circled by, and, as he gestured at Stewart's passing car, he was struck.

    Authorities questioned Stewart but said no criminal charges were imminent. Stewart traveled to Watkins Glen International following the incident and planned to race in Sunday's NASCAR event.

    Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero said Stewart was "visibly shaken" and had been cooperative in the investigation. Authorities were asking spectators and others to turn over any video they recorded of the crash.

    "This is right now being investigated as an on-track crash and I don't want to infer that there are criminal charges pending," Povero said. "When the investigation is completed, we will sit down with the district attorney and review it. But I want to make it very clear: there are no criminal charges pending at this time."

    NASCAR said it would not prevent Stewart from racing Sunday, and his team appeared to be trying to focus on the track.

    "We're business as usual today," said Greg Zipadelli, competition director for Stewart-Haas Racing, a four-car NASCAR organization that is co-owned by Stewart.

    A witness said it appeared Ward was trying to confront Stewart, the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. The video showed Ward standing to the right of Stewart's familiar No. 14 car, which seemed to kick out from the rear and hit him.

    Moments earlier, Ward and Stewart were racing side-by-side for position as they exited a turn. Ward was on the outside when Stewart, on the bottom, seemed to slide toward Ward's car and crowd him toward the wall. The rear tire of Stewart's car appeared to clip the front tire of Ward's car, and Ward spun into the fence.

    Povero said Ward, who was wearing a black firesuit and black helmet, had walked into the racing area and one car swerved to avoid him before he was struck by Stewart.

    "The next thing I could see, I didn't see (the other driver) anymore," witness Michael Messerly said. "It just seemed like he was suddenly gone."

    A spokesman for Stewart's racing team called Ward's death a "tragic accident."

    "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends," the spokesman said in a statement. "We're still attempting to sort through all the details."

    The dirt track, about 30 miles southeast of Rochester, canceled the remainder of the race and later posted a message on its Facebook page encouraging fans to "pray for the entire racing community of fans, drivers, and families."

    Ward's website said he began racing go-karts in 1998 at age 4, but didn't start driving sprint cars until 2010. The 20-year-old from Port Leyden, New York, was Empire Super Sprint rookie of the year in 2012 and this year was his fifth season racing the Empire Super Sprints.

    Stewart often competes in extracurricular events. The multimillionaire is known to participate in races with purses worth less than $3,000 and drive alongside drivers of varying ages and talent levels.

    The accident Saturday came almost exactly a year after Stewart suffered a compound fracture to his right leg in a sprint car race in Iowa. The injury cost him the second half of the NASCAR season. Stewart only returned to sprint track racing last month, and won in his return, at Tri-City Motor Speedway in Michigan.

    Ferguson, Missouri Community Furious After Teen Shot Dead By Police

    Following the shooting of 18-year-old man by a police officer in the city of Ferguson, Missouri, an outraged community gathered to demand answers. Michael Brown, a black teen and recent high school graduate, was shot dead in the city north of St. Louis on Saturday. The victim's grandmother said she found her grandson's body in the street, shortly after seeing him walking near her home, the Associated Press reports. A spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department confirmed that a Ferguson police officer shot the man, but provided no further details on why the shooting occurred. Witnesses said that Brown was unarmed, KMOV reports.

    A crowd quickly gathered at the scene, as did 100 police cars from 15 departments, according to KSDK. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that protesters came face-to-face with police at the site of the shooting, raising their arms and saying "Please don't shoot me." A dumpster was reportedly lit on fire. As tempers cooled, mourners participated in a prayer circle and vigil.

    A man identified as the victim's stepfather held a sign that said, "Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son!!!" Lesley McSpadden, a woman the Post-Dispatch identifies as the victim's mother said, "I know they killed my son," and, "This was wrong and it was cold-hearted."

    Images of the crime scene and following demonstrations were posted to social media.

    'True Blood' Music Supervisor Gary Calamar On Why The Vampire Soap Is 'A Dream Show'

    As fans prepare to bid farewell to Sookie, Eric, Bill, and Arlene when "True Blood" ends on August 24, one thing watchers will miss most of all about HBO's vampire soap is the music.

    The man behind the series' pitch-perfect blend of spooky, hip and delightfully weird is Gary Calamar, the show's 57-year-old music supervisor. In addition to steering the songs for shows like "House," "Dexter" and "Entourage," he's nabbed a Grammy nomination for "True Blood's" soundtrack.

    "'True Blood' is kind of a dream show to work on," Calamar told The Huffington Post from Los Angeles. "It's also great being able to work with [show creator] Alan Ball again [after "Six Feet Under"]. He's a big music fan and loves to use a lot of music."

    Typically, Calamar said he receives a script for an episode, which the writers have named for a song, setting him off on a music hunt.

    “When I received the script for [season 4 premiere] “She’s Not There,” the plan was to use the original Zombies version, but then I realized that we had some time and thought, 'Maybe we can do something different here,'" Calamar said. "I was going through my music collection and came across Neko Case. Then about one shelf down was Nick Cave and I thought, ‘That would be a good collaboration.’ And then it happened.”

    Other collaborations have included the original track "Boot And Rally" that Calamar penned for Iggy Pop and Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino.

    "Iggy Pop is a fan of the show and actually called about doing music for 'True Blood,'" Calamar said, "To make it happen, he recorded his parts while on tour in Spain. That was also fun for me, allowing me to take songwriting a little more seriously.”

    Even with a music-positive show and "a good music budget that allows us to have fun," not everything plan has hit the perfect note. Calamar recalls being particularly excited for another collaboration with Jenny Lewis to cover The Animals classic, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." It fell victim to a season shortened to accommodate star Anna Paquin's pregnancy.

    5 Reasons You Should Have Sex With Your Husband Every Night

    I was getting a manicure the first time I learned that not all wives want to, ahem, go for a roll in the hay with their husbands. I was 16 and had picked out orange nail polish (oh, sixteen). I had a book with me but it wasn't long before I found another source of entertainment. In-between buffings and polishings, the two women next to me talked about how much their husbands wanted IT and how little they wanted to give IT.

    For a girl that had not even been asked out on a date this was a whole new world. I had a suspicion that their experience was more realistic than the articles I sneaky read in Cosmo while getting my hair done at the salon. (I am supposed to put my hand WHERE? while simultaneously doing WHAT?) So I kept my eyes on my book, let the words blur into lines and listened closely.

    "Doesn't he know how tired I am by the end of the day? As if after the kids are finally asleep I have the energy to do anything but sit down and watch some TV."

    "For me, it isn't even the energy it takes. I am still losing weight from the baby. I don't feel sexy. I can hardly undress in front of a mirror, let alone in front of him. I honestly think it is selfish that he expects me to pretend to feel something that I don't."

    "Selfish? That's a good word. Maybe if he took care of the kids when he got home or made dinner once in a while I would be more interested. Hell, just pick up the milk on the way home from work. I am not asking for much. Now that I think about it, I don't think we have done it in the last three weeks."

    "Yeah. It's been at least two for us."

    Wait. These women were married...they lived with a guy....who slept in their bed. They could have sex all the time! And they didn't want to? It made no sense. It was like turning down a zero calorie but as delicious-as-creme-brulee dessert. (Or at least I assumed. At that point everything I knew about romance was gleaned from Anne of Green Gables and Moulin Rouge.)

    How sad. How wasteful. How stupid. When I got married, I would always want to have sex with my husband! And I would never be too tired. My goodness, it was just ridiculous to want him to bring home a gallon of milk just to prove he cared. Wasn't it just like a woman to make a grocery run a test of love. As the final coat of polish was applied to my nails, I swore to never be like them. My life would be different. I would be better. I would never feel too fat or too tired. Ever.

    And then I grew up.

    Intercourse, carnal knowledge, lovemaking, knocking boots, coitus, SEX! is everything 16 year old me imagined plus a little whipped cream on top. (Whipped cream, see what I did there?) And once Riley and I got married there was lots and lots and lots of it. Then we had a baby and I really was just so tired my bones hurt. And for a while I did feel fat. Even after I lost the pregnancy weight everything just looked different. Like a cut flower that has been left out in the sun, still lovely just a little...wilted. I became a little distant. We started to fall asleep without talking or kissing.

    Then one day while washing dishes, I realized that we had gone eight days without touching each other. Eight days was a quite some time for us. But the thing that bothered me the most was that I hadn't missed it. And I knew that was a problem. So that night after we put the baby to bed, I gave Riley my best come hither glance. Yes, I was tired and felt about as desirable as the "feed the birds" lady in Mary Poppins. But while drying the dishes, it occurred to me that 16 year old Meg must have understood something about sex that 20-something Meg had forgotten. And maybe, just maybe it was worth remembering.
    Without further ado here are five reasons you should have sex with your husband every night:

    1. Being a mother, one of the ultimate expressions of womanhood, can often leave a girl feeling stripped of her femininity. There is something about being covered in spit up and attending to the every need of another human being that makes one feel distinctly gender neutral. Most of my days are spent playing with dolls, wiping baby food off of my clothes, changing diapers, wiping snot off of my clothes, going to the park, and wiping what-the-heavens-is-that off of my clothes. There is something restorative about kissing the boy you love. There are times in Riley's arms when I remember who I am before I even realize I have forgotten. Yes, I am a cook, cleaner, teacher, and wiper of all things disgusting. But I am also something more, something delightful and completely apart from my roles. I am a woman! And there is potential and depth and heck, I am pretty darn good kisser, too. It is a lovely thing, finding yourself through the touch of someone else.

    2. If you want your husband to act like a man, you need to treat him like a man. Hold the eye rolls. I am not pushing for a return to the 1950′s. (Although, heaven knows an era in which low rise jeans did not exist is basically alright by me.) Women need any number of criteria met to feel loved. Men are far simpler. They need to be fed, they need to be appreciated, and they need to have sex. That is it. Really. So make or order dinner once in a while. Say thank you for the long hours spent at work with a hug and smile when he walks through the door each night. (Better yet? Smile as you hand him the kids and walk out the door for a long, much needed break.) And my goodness, let the poor man see you naked. It is astounding what a good man will do for a good woman that has made him feel loved. After a few weeks of meals and make outs, you will sit back and wonder why you didn't insist on having sex every night sooner. Talk about a small investment and big returns.

    3. You need to have a moment in each day that is just about the two of you. Remember that boy? The one that made your heart thump and hands sweat? The one that called when you hoped he would, that made you run hot and high up to the stars until you thought you would never come down? He is still there. Under the years and bills and worries, that smiling boy is still in love with and needs his smiling girl. Every night after the kids go to bed is a chance to find him again. A moment to remind yourself that you are living a picket fenced adventure and my goodness, there is nothing the two of you can't do.

    4. Sex relieves stress. I don't know that this one needs much explanation. As a mother I eat stress for breakfast. So it seems to me I have a choice. I can let off steam by A) driving around at night and bashing in strangers mailboxes or B) I can get down and dirty with that one guy I married that one time. I choose option B. (So far the mailboxes in my neighborhood have escaped unscathed, so Option B must be working.)

    5. It is so much blasted fun. Seriously. Why are we so quick to refuse the good things in life? We will slog through our children's Algebra homework, do Zumba in public and pluck the hair from our body ONE PIECE AT A TIME. But tell a girl to have sex every night and she looks at you like you are crazy, An orgasm? Every night? What do I look like? A Nymphomaniacal Super Woman?

    Where is the logic in that?

    Are we really too busy doing dishes to participate in an activity that is so good it has inspired genius (that saucy Shakespeare) and changed history (Okay, Helen of Troy, we get it. You were super hot)? My goodness, what a crazy way to live. Ladies, did it ever occur to you (to us!) that we should have sex because WE DESERVE IT?

    Yeah, you deserve it.

    So, tonight put the kids to bed. Leave the dishes in the sink and the floors unswept. They will wait. Take a moment to remember that you are the girl you hoped you would be and then go find that boy and remind him that he is the man you knew he could be.

    CDC Activates High-Level Emergency Operation Center For Ebola Outbreak

    The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday he has activated the agency's emergency operation center at the highest response level to help respond to the worst Ebola outbreak in history.

    In testimony at a special congressional hearing on Ebola, CDC Director Dr Thomas Frieden said the CDC has more than 200 staff members in Atlanta working on the outbreak, and will soon have more than 50 disease experts in West Africa to try to contain the outbreak.

    Although Frieden said it is possible that people who have traveled to West Africa might bring the virus back home with them, and even spread it to some healthcare workers and family members, he said, he is "confident there will not be a large Ebola outbreak in the United States."

    Frieden said it is not clear whether experimental treatments that were given to the two infected U.S. aid workers now in the United States who are being cared for at Emory University in Georgia will ultimately be effective, and he emphasized that the best approach to this threat is to contain it.

    "In terms of the promising drugs, I can assure you that the U.S. government is looking into this very carefully," Frieden said. "But I don't want there to be false hope out there. Right now, we don't know if they work," he said.

    Frieden said from what he has heard, there are only a handful of doses of the drugs given to the U.S. patients at the moment. And he said that the experiences of the two patients who got those drugs would not be sufficient to determine whether the treatment worked. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by James Dalgleish)

    "Drop Your Pants and Dance for Underwareness"

    Pier 97 in New York was the setting for a free concert by Capital Cities and “Drop Your Pants and Dance for Underwareness.”The event was created to show support for people experiencing bladder leakage. According to Depend Underwear’s website “For each of our photos or videos shared, and every tweet or Instagram post tagged #Underwareness or #DropYourPants, Depend® will donate $1 to charity — up to $3 million over 3 years.” The charity will do research and education about bladder leakage.
    People arrive at Pier 97 in New York August 6, 2014 for the “Drop Your Pants and Dance for Underwareness” to help support the 65 million Americans who experience bladder leakage by bringing the condition and Depend Underwear out of hiding. For every pants drop, photo and video shared using #Underwareness and #DropYourPants, Depend Underwear will donate $1, up to $3 million over the next three years to charitable organizations that advance the research and education of bladder leakage

    Condemn Modi-Jaya article, will summon SL envoy: Sushma

    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday condemned the "derogatory" article against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Sri Lankan Defence Ministry website.
    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj condemned the Sri Lankan article against Jayalalithaa. PTI

    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj condemned the Sri Lankan article against Jayalalithaa. PTI

    "India condemns the derogatory article published by Sri Lanka," said Swaraj, according to NDTV. Swaraj added that India "will summon Sri Lankan envoy."

    Parliament was in turmoil on Monday over the article, with AIADMK members in both Houses disrupting the proceedings seeking a statement from the government.

    Rajya Sabha witnessed two adjournments during Question Hour, while Lok Sabha saw an adjournment in Zero Hour and another adjournment after that after which the House will reconvene on 2 pm on Monday.
    In Lower House, the issue was raised by AIADMK leader M Thambidurai who attacked the government for "not yet condemning" the article and to "make its stand clear" on the issue at a time when Tamil Nadu people were agitating over it.

    While Jayalalithaa, who is also AIADMK supremo, has written several letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issues of harassment of Tamil fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy and Kachchatheevu island, the same had been referred in the "derogatory" article as "love letters", Thambidurai said.

    As he spoke, AIADMK members trooped into the Well raising slogans like (Sri Lankan President) 'Rajapakse down, down', forcing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House for about 25 minutes.

    In the Rajya Sabha, AIADMK members also came into the Well shouting slogans, which made Chairman Hamid Ansari to observe that their behaviour was unbecoming of Members of Parliament.

    Earlier, they had moved into the aisles displaying copies of the article on the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry website.

    Mysterious Lake Appears In The Middle Of Tunisian Desert

    Tunisian residents have a new beach to visit -- right in the middle of the desert.

    Locals were astounded when a lake appeared recently in a drought-stricken area. They've since named the miraculous sight "Gafsa Beach" for its location within a region of the same name in southern Tunisia.

    The mysterious body of water, which observers estimate covers an area of about 2.6 acres and measures more than 50 feet at its deepest points, seems to have emerged right from the Earth. While officials investigating how the lake formed still do not know the source of the water, the running theory is that a tremor fractured a layer of rock holding an underground reservoir, according to French-language reports. The groundwater would have then flowed through a crack in the rock and filled the canyon over a period of time.

    After the lake was discovered earlier this month, Gafsa's public safety office warned visitors to avoid swimming in the waters, since officials had yet to confirm the safety of the mysterious body of water. Some speculated that the water could be harmful to humans or, possibly, carcinogenic since there is phosphate mining in the region.

    However, that has not stopped locals from enjoying their newfound beach.

    Gaza conflict: New exchanges amid Israeli soldier hunt

    Palestinian officials said 55 people had died in Israeli strikes on Saturday, most in Rafah, where the soldier, Hadar Goldin, went missing.

    A series of rocket attacks into Israel was reported on Saturday morning.

    Later Israel sent messages to Palestinians in northern Gaza saying that they could return home.

    "We have told Beit Lahia residents that they may return to their homes. We advised them to avoid explosives placed by Hamas across the area", the Israel Defence Forces tweeted.

    Some 1,655 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 65 Israelis, all but two soldiers, have died in the conflict.

    A Thai worker was also killed in Israel. Some 8,900 Palestinians have also been injured, the health ministry in Gaza says.

    A 72-hour ceasefire had been agreed, starting from Friday morning, but collapsed hours later.

    Hamas accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had been forced to respond to militant rocket fire.

    On Saturday, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi insisted an Egyptian ceasefire plan offered a "real chance" to end the bloodshed.
    'Time is decisive'

    Palestinian officials said that there had been a series of Israeli air strikes around Rafah since midnight, killing at least 35 people.

    The BBC's Bethany Bell in Israel says there is an "enormous sense of solidarity" with soldiers on the front line as the hunt for Lt Goldin continues
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    Even if the peace talks do finally get going in Cairo, they will be complicated by a host of conflicting sympathies and regional tensions. Egypt, the traditional mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians, is no longer on an equal footing with the warring parties.

    Since the Muslim Brotherhood was overthrown and Mohammed Morsi deposed last year, the government of Abdul Fattah al-Sisi sees Hamas, an offshoot of the Brotherhood, as a terrorist organisation. Turkey and Qatar, the two regional negotiators, now have poor relations with Egypt due to their support for the Brotherhood.

    The Turkish prime minister recently called President Sisi an "illegitimate tyrant" and three journalists from the Qatari-based TV channel Al-Jazeera remain in prison for what Cairo calls "aiding" the Islamists.

    And of course the US and Israel refuse to talk directly to Hamas. Amidst this complex atmosphere full of animosity, it's unsurprising that there's little optimism here about a genuine breakthrough.

    1 Dead, 20 Hospitalized For Apparent Drug Overdoses At Mad Decent Block Party

    A man who attended an all-day music festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, has died from an apparent drug overdose, police said Saturday.

    Howard County Police identified the deceased as 20-year-old Tyler Fox Viscardi of North Carolina. Viscardi and at least 20 others were hospitalized for possible overdoses and other drug-related effects after attending the Mad Decent Block Party Friday, The Baltimore Sun reports.

    A 17-year-old male from Virginia, whose name has not been released, was among the concert-goers who were hospitalized. Officials say he is in critical condition.

    Viscardi was transported to a local hospital around 9 p.m. Friday and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Though a drug overdose is suspected, officials have yet to confirm the cause of death. Authorities are reportedly working to determine what type of drugs were in his system.

    Officials behind the record label -- launched by electronic music DJ and producer Diplo -- took to Twitter Saturday to address the incident.

    Aside from the hospitalizations, police made three arrests at the venue for assault on a police officer, domestic assault and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Officers also issued 50 citations for underage drinking during the festival.

    Unfortunately, substance abuse has become increasingly common at music festivals and concerts. In June, dozens of Avicii fans were hospitalized after a concert in Boston. Officials later revealed that the drug ecstasy played a major role in the hospitalizations.

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