| Hurricane Harvey: Widespread Devastation in One Texas Town Posted: 26 Aug 2017 09:02 AM PDT  In the town of Rockport, entire blocks are decimated. Harvey barreled ashore overnight packing 130 mph winds, blinding sheets of rain and a treacherous storm surge.
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| 'Harvey The Hurricane Hawk' Hunkers Down With Cabbie During Storm Posted: 27 Aug 2017 09:32 AM PDT  Houston driver William Bruso said he was stocking up on supplies on Friday ahead of Hurricane Harvey when he returned to find the bird sitting on his passenger seat. "He's been free to go, any time now, but they're going to take him," Bruso said as a woman with TWRC retrieved Harvey.
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| Indian guru faces up to life in prison in rape case Posted: 27 Aug 2017 08:10 AM PDT  Thousands of supporters of an Indian quasi-religious sect leader left his headquarters in northern India on Sunday as authorities relaxed a curfew a day ahead of his sentencing for rape.
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| Black Hawk Down: U.S. Helicopter Crashes Off Yemen Coast Posted: 26 Aug 2017 09:12 AM PDT  One crew member is missing after the helicopter went down during a training missing off the coast of Yemen. The crash is just the latest in a series of deadly US military aviation accidents.
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| Five climbers killed, one injured in Austrian mountain accident Posted: 27 Aug 2017 11:33 AM PDT ![Five climbers killed, one injured in Austrian mountain accident]( "Five climbers killed, one injured in Austrian mountain accident") Five climbers were killed and one seriously injured after a mountain accident on Sunday in the Austrian state of Salzburg, the Austrian Press Agency reported. The tragedy involved a group of climbers in the so-called Mannlkarscharte, a gap in the mountains southwest of Salzburg at about 3,000 meters (10,000 ft) above sea level. The accident was observed by another group of climbers.
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| North Korea fires short-range missiles in latest test Posted: 26 Aug 2017 01:20 AM PDT  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired several rockets into the sea Saturday in the continuation of its rapid nuclear and missile expansion, prompting South Korea to press ahead with military drills involving U.S. troops that have angered Pyongyang.
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| Video Shows Man Shooting At Crowd During Charlottesville Rally, With No Police Response Posted: 26 Aug 2017 08:38 PM PDT  A man attending the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month fired his gun in the direction of a black counterprotester who was holding a torch, and police in their vicinity did not seem to respond.
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| Sebastian Gorka, Bannon protégé, leaves White House post Posted: 25 Aug 2017 07:06 PM PDT  The British-born deputy assistant to the president, who had frequently appeared on television to defend the Trump administration, left his White House position on Friday. The circumstances remain unclear, with one source saying Gorka did not leave of his own accord.
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| Second storm hits Hong Kong and Macau amid typhoon recovery Posted: 27 Aug 2017 02:41 AM PDT  A powerful storm lashed Hong Kong and Macau on Sunday, just days after a punishing typhoon swept through the region and claimed at least 18 lives. Both cities raised a Typhoon 8 signal -- the third-highest warning level -- early Sunday as severe tropical storm "Pakhar" made landfall in the region, where emergency workers were still battling to repair Wednesday's damage. A total of 206 flights were cancelled and another 471 delayed because of the latest storm, while 44 flights had to divert, Hong Kong's Airport Authority said.
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| 'No' Kasich Rules Out Presidential Bid With Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper Posted: 26 Aug 2017 11:19 PM PDT  Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) tells Chuck Todd that he won't be mounting a presidential bid with John Hickenlooper, the Democratic governor of Colorado.
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| Watch: Video Shows Vicious Fight Between Florida Women Posted: 26 Aug 2017 12:35 PM PDT  A Florida La Quinta Inn lobby becomes a wrestling ring.
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| Jesse Jackson: NFL Owners 'Have Colluded' To Stop Colin Kaepernick From Playing Posted: 26 Aug 2017 01:53 AM PDT  Reverend Jesse Jackson hit out at NFL owners on Friday night's "Real Time with Bill Maher."
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| Thousands stranded on cruise ships in the Gulf by Harvey Posted: 25 Aug 2017 06:45 PM PDT ![Thousands stranded on cruise ships in the Gulf by Harvey]( "Thousands stranded on cruise ships in the Gulf by Harvey") Cruise ships carrying thousands of passengers were stranded in the Gulf on Friday as Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, came ashore in the middle of the Texas coast, closing the Port of Galveston. Carnival Corp said that three of its ships were unable to return Galveston as scheduled and that two of them would be forced to divert instead to New Orleans, where they would pick up fresh supplies. "Given the severity and projected path of the storm along with potential challenges guests may encounter attempting to travel back to Galveston independently, we are strongly encouraging them to remain on board as we intend to return the ships to Galveston as soon as feasible," Carnival said .
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| On ships far from the McCain crash, a renewed safety focus Posted: 26 Aug 2017 07:07 PM PDT  ABOARD THE USS NIMITZ (AP) — Half a world away from two deadly U.S. Navy accidents, sailors on America's massive USS Nimitz aircraft carrier reflect on the shipmates they knew who are gone. Their commanders want to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again.
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| Kind Police Officer Pays For Man's Gas Who Didn't Have Money To Fill His Tank Posted: 27 Aug 2017 10:00 AM PDT  The man didn't make it in time to cash his paycheck.
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| Arizona Newspaper Editorial Says Joe Arpaio Pardon Shows Institutional Racism Is Trump's Goal Posted: 26 Aug 2017 08:08 AM PDT  The editorial board of the Arizona Republic blasted President Donald Trump for pardoning Joe Arpaio, the former Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff who was found guilty of contempt after profiling Latinos.
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| Jerusalem the focus of first Palestinian Museum show Posted: 26 Aug 2017 11:33 AM PDT  The Palestinian Museum launched its inaugural exhibition Saturday with a highly political art show focusing on Israel's occupation of east Jerusalem. In one room, a four-wall photographic panorama surrounds visitors with images of the ring of Israeli settlements around Jerusalem. Curator Reem Fadda said the collection was meant to spark discussion of "cultural resistance" to the policies of Israel, which occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.
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| 'I'm Not Afraid.' 500,000 Peace Marchers Flood Barcelona Posted: 26 Aug 2017 11:32 AM PDT  'I'm not afraid'
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| New Details Emerge In Natalee Holloway Case Posted: 26 Aug 2017 11:08 PM PDT  Natalee went missing in 2005 and was officially declared dead in 2012 despite her body not being found.
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| Looking at the heavens: Photographer captures perfectly symmetrical ceilings Posted: 27 Aug 2017 02:00 AM PDT ![Looking at the heavens: Photographer captures perfectly symmetrical ceilings]( "Looking at the heavens: Photographer captures perfectly symmetrical ceilings")
Gazing on these perfectly symmetrical ceilings in religious buildings around the world is almost like looking at the heavens themselves. The beauty of the precise patterns carved high above the camera has been captured in a series of stunning images. Colorful light streaming through the stained-glass windows of some churches and mosques helps to highlight the intricacies of the decorations. (Caters News) See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr.
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| AP PHOTOS: Palm oil kills orangutans in Indonesia peat swamp Posted: 27 Aug 2017 05:21 PM PDT  TRIPA PEAT SWAMP, Indonesia (AP) — The Tripa peat forest has been called the orangutan capital of the world, but its great apes are under threat by palm oil plantations gobbling up thousands of acres of native vegetation to instead grow the trees that produce the most consumed vegetable oil on the planet.
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| Majority of people in France now dissatisfied with Macron: poll Posted: 27 Aug 2017 10:58 AM PDT ![Majority of people in France now dissatisfied with Macron: poll]( "Majority of people in France now dissatisfied with Macron: poll") By Sudip Kar-Gupta PARIS (Reuters) - Most French voters are now dissatisfied with Emmanuel Macron's performance, a poll showed on Sunday, a dramatic decline for a president who basked in a landslide election victory less than four months ago. The poll, conducted by Ifop for newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD), showed Macron's "dissatisfaction rating" rising to 57 percent, from 43 percent in July. French government spokesman Christophe Castaner said the ruling party was going through a tricky time, but added that displeasing some people was a price worth paying if the government wanted to push through reforms.
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| Iranians up in arms as Apple removes top apps Posted: 26 Aug 2017 10:43 AM PDT  Iranians were joined by two ministers Saturday in protesting after Apple removed popular apps from its store, a move the American company says was made to comply with US sanctions. "Today, respecting consumers' rights is a basic principle which Apple has not followed," Information and Communication Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi tweeted, promising to "legally pursue" the case. Jahromi said later Saturday on Instagram that he and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif were working together to address the issue.
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| Social media is helping police make arrests related to the violence in Charlottesville Posted: 27 Aug 2017 11:12 AM PDT  Social media is helping track down the white supremacists responsible for brutally assaulting a counterprotester in Charlottesville. Per a New York Times report, Daniel P. Borden, one of the multiple assailants who attacked 20-year-old Deandre Harris during the infamous "Unite the Right" rally on August 12 has been arrested. Police have also issued a wanted poster for Alex Michael Ramos, another man sought in connection to the crime. Both have face charges of malicious wounding. SEE ALSO: You can honor Heather Heyer and other Charlottesville heroes starting today As Harris' attorney S. Lee Merritt told the New York Times, the men responsible for his client's assault — video of which was disseminated across social media on and after August 12 — have been identified largely thanks to journalist and activist Shaun King of the New York Daily News. Shortly after video of Harris' assault hit social media, King began sharing photos of the assailants in hopes that others on Twitter might have clues as to their identities. These posts helped identify Borden and Ramos, and King is still working to identify the other assailants, even vetting suspects personally before releasing names. These photos could not be any clearer. Share them widely. Together we can find this man and make sure he's arrested for what he did. https://t.co/0ffWMyD34B — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 14, 2017 We must identify every man in this video who assaulted Deandre Harris. We have two:Michael Ramos (Trump Hat)Dan Borden (White Hardhat) https://t.co/ehLyiLvKYK — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 15, 2017 In a tweet posted Sunday, King said police officials have told himself and Merritt that they are relying on the activist's Twitter account to identify the other assailants. In the days after the violence in Charlottesville, local police faced criticism for failing to stop violence at the hands of white supremacists. Strange as it sounds, police have openly told @MeritLaw and I both that they are basically waiting on me to identify the remaining suspects. https://t.co/q3IvyP4dW4 — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 27, 2017 Attorney Merritt heard police literally tell me that everything they knew about these men they got from my timeline. That's a mess. https://t.co/acjS3BKoj7 — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 27, 2017 King isn't the only one whose leveraged his sizable social following to identify white supremacists the wake of the violent rally— Logan Smith of @YesYoureRacist also tweeted photos of rally protesters in hopes of learning their identities. He successfully identified Peter Cvjetanovic, a student; and Cole White, who lost his job at a hot dog joint shortly after. If you recognize any of the Nazis marching in #Charlottesville, send me their names/profiles and I'll make them famous #GoodNightAltRight pic.twitter.com/2tA9xliFVU — Yes, You're Racist (@YesYoureRacist) August 12, 2017 And as the New York Times reports, Richard W. Preston, a reported Ku Klux Klan member, was arrested after the ACLU of Virginia captured video of the man firing a gun in the direction of a counterprotester. WATCH: Missy Elliot's hometown fans want to prop up her statue in place of a Confederate monument
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| Trump's first pardon spares political ally Arpaio Posted: 25 Aug 2017 11:07 PM PDT  PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump spared former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio the prospect of serving jail time in granting the first pardon of his turbulent tenure, wiping away the lawman's recent federal conviction stemming from his immigration patrols that focused on Latinos.
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| The Most Brutal Photos From The Mayweather-McGregor Fight Posted: 26 Aug 2017 10:49 PM PDT  Floyd Mayweather gave UFC champion Conor McGregor a lesson in the ring on Saturday during the most hyped boxing match of the year.
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| Turkey arrests 5 over Qatar news agency 'hack': Doha Posted: 26 Aug 2017 07:13 AM PDT  Qatar said Saturday that Turkey has arrested five people in connection with the alleged hack of Doha's state news agency, an incident which sparked the current Gulf political crisis. The arrests were announced by Qatar's most senior legal figure, Attorney General Ali bin Fetais al-Marri. "Our friends in Turkey answered us a short time ago," he said in comments published by the Qatar News Agency (QNA).
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| Attacker Had 4-Foot Sword Outside of Buckingham Palace Posted: 26 Aug 2017 05:33 AM PDT  The Metropolitan Police force said two London police officers were slightly injured
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| Ceasefire halts Syria-Lebanon border fight against Islamic State Posted: 27 Aug 2017 10:08 AM PDT  By Ellen Francis BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers in Islamic State captivity since 2014 are almost certainly dead, a senior security official said on Sunday, just hours after the army announced a ceasefire to hold talks over their fate. The ceasefire halted the fighting in an Islamic State enclave at the Syria-Lebanon border, where the militants have been battling the Lebanese army on one front and Hezbollah with Syrian troops on the other. Islamic State has held nine Lebanese soldiers captive since 2014, when it briefly overran the border town of Arsal with other militants - one of the worst spillovers of the Syrian conflict.
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| What Ligers, Grolar Bears, and Mules Show Scientists About Evolution Posted: 27 Aug 2017 04:00 AM PDT  Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, have been the secret saviors of many animal species in trouble. Reconciling that truth with conservation policies poses a challenge for science.
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| Why AR powered smart glasses might be Apple’s next big money maker Posted: 26 Aug 2017 09:00 AM PDT 
Google Glass may have been a resounding flop, but some analysts believe that Apple may be able to succeed where Google did not. As a quick refresher, rumor has it that Apple is interested in developing a pair of smart glasses with a strong focus on augmented reality features. While Apple often tends futuristic products and advanced technologies that never see the light of day, a reputable report from the Financial Times not too long ago indicated that Apple wants to transition its smart glasses initiative "from a science project towards a consumer product."
What makes Apple's rumored interest in developing AR powered smart glasses all the more intriguing is that developers have already been churning out jaw-dropping iOS demo apps with ARKit. Originally announced at WWDC this year, ARKit provides developers with a suite tools and frameworks that allows them to create incredibly immersive augmented reality experiences. If the demos we've seen thus far are any indication, augmented reality may very well take over the way we interact with technology in the months and years ahead. With so much underlying potential, analyst Tony Sacconaghi believes that Apple's rumored AR glasses could have a discerinble impact on Apple's bottom line. "If a CEO's comments are reflective of a company's enthusiasm about a new opportunity, then Apple clearly thinks AR might be a big deal," Sacconaghi said in a note obtained by Barron's. Indeed, Cook, who is notoriously tight-lipped, has been uncharacteristically effusive whenever the topic of augmented reality is broached. In fact, Cook not too long ago went so far as to say that the impact of augmented reality may rival that of the smartphone itself. "The smartphone is for everyone," Cook said earlier this year, "we don't have to think the iPhone is about a certain demographic, or country or vertical market: it's for everyone. I think AR is that big, it's huge. I get excited because of the things that could be done that could improve a lot of lives. And be entertaining." As for the potential financial impact, Sacconaghi writes: Smartglasses could potentially generate tens of billions of dollars in annual hardware sales for Apple. Comparing it to Apple's last blockbuster product launch, the iPad, we believe that smartglasses could have just as wide (if not wider) appeal over time. Assuming a $500 ASP23 and an annual adoption rate of 2% in Year 1, ramping up to 5% by Year 3,24 we estimate that Apple smartglasses could generate over ~$25B in annual hardware sales within 3 years of release, with minimal cannibalization of other Apple products.25 26 Apple would subsequently take a majority of profits within the resulting market for smartglasses, just as the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch have done so in their own respective markets.
It's hard to get too excited for an Apple product that doesn't' even officially exist yet, but as the months go by, it's becoming more plausible that smart glasses might be the game-changing product many people assumed the original Apple Watch would be.
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| Facing challenges, McConnell says 'that's the way it is' Posted: 26 Aug 2017 08:33 PM PDT ![Facing challenges, McConnell says 'that's the way it is']( "Facing challenges, McConnell says 'that's the way it is'") LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Facing the digital wrath of a Republican president increasingly unhappy with legislative roadblocks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a GOP gathering in his home state on Saturday that people should not be surprised with the challenges that come with governing.
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| NASA cameras capture Hurricane Harvey from space Posted: 26 Aug 2017 04:44 AM PDT  Cameras aboard the International Space Station captured footage of Hurricane Harvey as the storm rapidly intensified.
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| India detains hundreds, cancels more than 300 trains after deadly 'godman' protests Posted: 26 Aug 2017 12:49 AM PDT  By Cathal McNaughton PANCHKULA, India (Reuters) - Indian authorities have arrested hundreds of people and canceled more than 300 trains passing through two northern states after at least 29 people were killed in violent protests following the conviction of a self-styled 'godman'. Security forces were on "standby" outside the spiritual leader's headquarters where some 10,000 followers remained holed up, the Director General of Police in Haryana state, Baljit Singh Sandhu, told India Today news station. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of a social welfare and spiritual group with a wide following in Punjab and Haryana states, was found guilty on Friday of raping two followers in a case dating back to 2002 at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the northern town of Sirsa.
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| Mom of Baby Found Dead in Car Was Running Late Posted: 26 Aug 2017 01:08 PM PDT  Her 15-month-old daughter was in the car for nine hours
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| Police: Concrete slab may hold remains of long-missing woman Posted: 27 Aug 2017 10:24 AM PDT  MILTON, Pa. (AP) — Investigators hope tests on a three-ton hunk of concrete will soon solve the 1989 disappearance of a young mother, by determining whether her remains were fed through wood chipper and then entombed in the basement of a Pennsylvania duplex.
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| Insanely Easy Weeknight Dinners To Try This Week Posted: 26 Aug 2017 06:18 AM PDT  Every week, we're delivering five easy-to-make, insanely delicious dinners, so you can put that takeout habit on hold.
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| Israelis log out of high-tech jobs for a life offline Posted: 27 Aug 2017 04:45 AM PDT  Former technology executive Dotan Goshen carefully arranges some melons at the bottom of a crate, followed by courgettes, tomatoes and lettuce. Goshen, a graduate of Israel's prestigious Technion technological institute, made a dramatic change of course after his boss called him at home one evening and berated him for not devoting himself sufficiently to his work -- even though he was putting in at least 50 hours a week. The following day, the 37-year-old father of three handed in his resignation and set out to realise his dream of producing organic fruit and vegetables.
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| T-Mobile’s plan is working: Customers actually like the network Posted: 27 Aug 2017 08:38 AM PDT 
T-Mobile has made a big deal these past few years of being the "Un-Carrier." Led by outspoken CEO John Legere, it simplified plans, removed extra taxes and overage fees, and shifted away from the old buy-a-subsidized-device-on-two-year-contract plan. Underlying all of the efforts was the need to change how customers perceive their carriers. Telecoms companies, including wireless, are generally hated by customers, and T-Mobile figured that if it could change that, a lot of other things would fall into place.
Well, it's working. A new survey conducted for Business Insider says that T-Mobile's customers are way more loyal than subscribers on the other networks. 23% of T-Mobile's customers wouldn't switch networks "for anything," compared to about 15% for AT&T and Verizon. Sprint customers are desperate for a change: Only 7% of them wouldn't change. Measuring satisfaction with a mobile network is notoriously difficult, but the simple question about what it would take to get you to switch is telling. It's possibly the thing that wireless companies care about most: postpaid "churn," or the percentage of customers switching every quarter, is a metric that analysts rely on heavily to predict future earnings. T-Mobile posted a record-low churn in Q1 this year, so the numbers add up with BI's survey. The customer loyalty is even more important for T-Mobile in the current marketplace. Thanks largely to T-Mobile's own push to simplify plans and offer unlimited data, the wireless industry right now is more competitive than it's ever been. All four wireless carriers offer relatively cheap unlimited data plans with no contract, which makes it easy to jump ship from one provider to the other. T-Mobile's financial success is good for the network long-term, as well. With enough subscribers onboard, T-Mobile has the money and motivation to bring its network up to scratch compared to Verizon and AT&T. That's exactly what it's doing: it paid $8 billion for valuable new spectrum earlier this year, and is moving crazy fast to build out a 600MHz LTE network that should offer coverage comparable to Verizon. It's also investing in LTE-Advanced technologies and building thousands of small cell sites to help with capacity on the network. It can do all this because of the faith that there's going to be customers at the end who'll want to pay for the network. Sprint, by comparison, has oodles of spectrum sitting around, but no money, which is why its network sucks. It's essentially a circle of poverty: the network is bad, so no-one signs up, which means Sprint can't reinvest anything in making its network better. Now, everything is rosy at the moment, but we can't put up a "job well done" sign and move on to fixing broadband quite yet. The Uncarrier, for all its customer-friendly moves, still pulls old tricks like adding unnecessary fees for new lines, uses questionable sales tactics to sell customers things they don't need, and pushes two-year phone "Equipment Installment Plans" as a replacement for the old two-year contracts. There's also the problem of Sprint. Right now, Sprint plays a vital role in the marketplace of keeping downwards pricing pressure on the other carriers, thanks to its dirt-cheap unlimited plan. But Sprint's owner wants to sell or merge the company, and there's a danger that it could merge with T-Mobile, or be absorbed by an ISP like Charter or Comcast. If that happens, Sprint's price pressure will be gone, and there'll be nothing stopping the remaining three carriers from slowly raising prices to over $100 per line. In short: competition is doing exactly what it should be doing to make T-Mobile better, and customers are rewarding it with some serious loyalty. But don't be fooled into thinking T-Mobile is doing this out of some sense of corporate benevolence. It's just good business practice, and that won't last forever.
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| Jim Mattis tells US troops America has 'problems', urges them to 'hold the line' Posted: 27 Aug 2017 07:01 AM PDT  Secretary of Defense James Mattis has told US troops stationed abroad their duty is to "hold the line" amid partisan division at home. In comments contained in a video posted to a Facebook page called "US Army WTF Moments" that appeared to have been taken shot on a smartphone during a visit to Jordan, Turkey and Ukraine this week, most likely in Jordan, Mattis said: "Our country right now, it's got problems we don't have in the military. Mattis spoke before Trump on Friday followed up on his promise of a ban on transgender troops by directing the Pentagon to stop allowing transgender people to enlist and to stop paying for gender reassignment surgery except in cases that are already in progress to "protect the health of an individual".
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| Deadly clashes in Yemen rebel ranks spark fears of 'strife' Posted: 27 Aug 2017 07:55 AM PDT  A Yemeni colonel loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and two Huthi rebels have been killed in Sanaa, in an unprecedented escalation of violence between the allies with Saleh's party warning it could push the capital into all-out war. An anti-government alliance between Saleh and rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Huthi has crumbled over the past week, with the two accusing each other of treason and back-stabbing. Witnesses in Sanaa, which Saleh and Huthi jointly control, said the ex-president's forces had spread in southern parts of the capital near the presidential offices, which Saleh still holds despite resigning in 2012.
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| 'This is the first time I’ve loved coming to work': Jodie Kidd on opening her country pub Posted: 26 Aug 2017 11:00 PM PDT  Jodie Kidd is pulling a pint of Half Moon Eclipse, the local bitter served exclusively at her pub, The Half Moon, in the green and picturesque village of Kirdford, West Sussex. Trying to get modern kitchen equipment into a 15th-century Grade II-listed house was somewhat of a problemJodie Kidd Better known as a fashion model, racing driver and television personality, if she's been off radar for the past six months it's because she's been here, digging a vegetable garden with her mum, Wendy, renovating the interiors with an equine-inspired flourish (saddle-leather seats and hessian cushions) and sourcing the talented staff for her latest adventure. But this is no vanity project. It's her name over the door and she's taking it all incredibly seriously. "It's a real labour of love but it's the most gratifying thing I've ever done," says the 38 year-old. "I'm out of the door at 8am and not back home till past midnight." All of which has meant her six-year-old son Indio has already grown used to pub life. "Someone asked him, 'what does Mum do when she drops you off at school?' and he said, 'she goes straight to the pub!'" laughs Jodie. More good life than glamorous, perhaps, but that's all to the good for Jodie. She is a diehard country girl who appreciates the important role a country pub plays in a community – but nothing quite prepared her for how much closer becoming a landlady would bring her to her own. Jodie pulls a pint Credit: Rii Schroer "I've been here all my life and never met the people who live two houses away from me. I've discovered what wonderful people there are and how I've really missed out on them. I've never bonded with so many people in my life," she says. Yet The Half Moon could quite easily have gone the way of many struggling pubs in the UK. It was while en route to Goodwood at the beginning of the year that Jodie told two friends, now her partners Chris Lee and Dan Elson, about the cute country pub she went to as a teenager, which was now rumoured to be earmarked for residential conversion. "We ended up taking a detour and drove past on a rainy January day. They said they loved it and we should buy it. I couldn't believe it!" The Half Moon in Kirdford Credit: Rii Schroer Turning that dream into a reality has taken seven months and a full renovation. "Trying to get modern kitchen equipment into a 15th-century Grade II-listed house was somewhat of a problem," says Jodie. Three weeks ago though, The Half Moon reopened offering seasonal, organic and sustainable food at very reasonable prices. Sunday lunches start from £12.50 and at the upper end is a six-course tasting menu that costs £45. Jodie is passionate about supporting local farmers and producers. All the meats are from Goodwood and Cowdray Park, and she says it's even possible to name the boat and the fisherman who landed the exquisite piece of mackerel I'm lucky enough to try. A deconstructed cheese cake Credit: Rii Schroer While there are lots of excellent pubs in the area, The Lickfold Inn and the Leconfield being just two, Jodie believed there was space for an establishment that did incredible food but was still a place where the locals could come for a pint after work and chew over the day. "On one side we've made a restaurant where you can get dressed up and come and have a birthday party. Or you have the same menu sitting under the apple tree outside. "The pub is the heart of the village and I don't want to take that away. Yes, we've got a Michelin-starred chef, but we want everyone to try some of his delicious food. You can get two courses for £20, yet you can get a £200 bottle of Margaux with it. There's something for everyone." The kitchen garden Credit: Rii Schroer While Jodie has been a lifetime country cook – Aga stews and shepherd's pies mostly – assembling a team led by executive chef Paul Welburn, formerly of the Leconfield, has been a learning experience. "I didn't know about creating to this level. It's an art," she says. And Jodie gives full credit to her team, and in particular her general manager, for keeping her feet on the ground. "I've got someone behind me who is making this realistic and viable and not a vanity project. When I chose a butter knife that was about £5 he said, 'people are going to put that in their handbags'. And I was like, 'oh, of course!'" Jodie hopes that as well as locals, The Half Moon will become a destination for Londoners seeking a taste of country life. Roast cod, pea and mint puree, scraps, tartare dressing and baby gem. Credit: Rii Schroer Participants in the Supercar Drive have already stopped off for bacon butties on the way to Goodwood, the sight of £10 million worth of cars outside becoming the talk of the village. And although she's not about to curb her adventures – next week she will be paddling 75 miles down the Gironde estuary, retracing the Second World War's "Cockleshell Heroes" in a klepper (a kind of sea kayak) – it is the pub that she'll be eager to return to. "This is the first time I've loved coming to work. It's so personal. I'm normally being paid to wear a dress, whereas here I can be me and totally natural," says Jodie. Ask where she sees the pub in five years and she says. "I would love it to be just the same. Delicious food. Slightly more mature. "The garden will certainly be a lot more voluptuous. I would love to get two rosettes, maybe get to three. That's a little dream." The kitchen garden currently supplies 20 per cent of the veg and she hopes next year to cultivate a friend's walled garden nearby and start supplying 50 per cent of the vegetables. She adds: "I've lead this life that's not been so real, flying on Concorde and all that goes with the highfalutin modelling industry, but this is the core and the roots. This is the real thing." halfmoonkirdford.co.uk
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| Changes to proposed U.S. anti-Hezbollah sanctions allay Lebanon's fears Posted: 26 Aug 2017 11:43 PM PDT  By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - Proposed tighter U.S. sanctions on Hezbollah have been altered enough to allay fears of major damage to Lebanon's economy, a sign Washington is taking concerns about Lebanese stability seriously, banking and political sources said. When drafts said to be U.S. plans for extended anti-Hezbollah legislation circulated in Lebanon earlier this year, local media warned of dire consequences for Lebanon's fragile economy and fractious sectarian politics.
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| Elusive Amazonian monkey seen alive for first time in 80 years Posted: 26 Aug 2017 09:44 AM PDT  The Vanzolini bald-faced saki has shaggy black hair and distinctive golden legs and was first documented in 1936. A team which undertook an expedition to the rainforest in Brazil in 1956 encountered only dead monkeys, meaning Laura Marsh, director of the Global Conservation Institute, was the first to see one alive in eight decades, during a recent trek. Dr Marsh organised her "Houseboat Amazon" team to document the biodiversity in the region near Brazil's border with Peru—but with a special focus on finding the Vanzolini saki.
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