| 6 Officers Shot in Florida and Pennsylvania, 2 Killed and 4 Wounded Posted: 19 Aug 2017 08:39 AM PDT  Three police departments are reeling from a violent night that has left two officers dead.
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| The storm around America's statues isn't about history. It's about whiteness | Eddie S Glaude, Jr Posted: 19 Aug 2017 03:00 AM PDT  Confederate statues are part of a politics that trades on white fears and cultural wars that scapegoat black and brown people. During his infamous press conference this Tuesday, as he vehemently defended his claim that both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, Donald Trump declared "many of these people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E Lee. "Not all of those people were white supremacists," he said.
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| Rescue efforts launched after US destroyer USS John S McCain collides with merchant vessel near Singapore Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:43 PM PDT  Search and rescue efforts are under way after a US destroyer collided with a merchant vessel in southeast Asia. The USS John S McCain was involved in a collision with the Alnic MC east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca, the US 7th Fleet said in a statement. The accident happened at 5.24am local time as the guided-missile destroyer was heading to Singapore for a routine visit. Local authorities were coordinating with the US Navy to conduct search and rescue efforts after the warship suffered damage the port side aft, the 7th Fleet said. Location of the ship, the Alnic MC, just over an hour after it the collission Credit: MarineTraffic "The extent of damage and personnel injuries is being determined," it said, adding that the incident was being investigated. The destroyer was currently sailing under its own power and heading to port. Senator John McCain tweeted: "Cindy & I are keeping America's sailors aboard the USS John S McCain in our prayers tonight - appreciate the work of search & rescue crews." The vessel was named in honour of the senator's grandfather and father, who were US admirals. The Alnic MC is a 183 metre long oil tanker with a deadweight of more than 50,000 tonnes, according to the Marine Traffic website. The accident comes two months after seven US sailors died when a US destroyer collided with a merchant ship off the Japanese coast. The USS John S. McCain is a guided missile destroyer Credit: AP More to come.
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| Flying dogs caught in action Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:30 AM PDT ![Flying dogs caught in action]( "Flying dogs caught in action") These excited pooches are flying without wings in this series of hilarious images. Taken in July by photographer Peter Mueller, Each photo shows the canines' exuberant facial expressions, as they appear to be leaping through the air.
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| Watts: When Leaders are Silent, They Are Agreeing With KKK Posted: 19 Aug 2017 11:11 PM PDT  Former Congressman J.C. Watts (R-Okla) tells Chuck Todd that now "is not a time for us to be afraid to be tweeted" by the president.
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| Boston free speech protests: Far-right demonstrators 'outnumbered 10 to 1 by anti-fascists' Posted: 19 Aug 2017 09:00 AM PDT  Far-right demonstrators in Boston appeared to be greatly outnumbered by their opponents - perhaps as much as ten to one - as the city braced for two competing rallies. The Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, issued an appeal to the many thousands of people taking part in the two events to be peaceful and show respect. The events were taking place a week after clashes at a white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in more than 20 people being injured and one young woman, Heather Heyer, being killed.
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| Thousands Protest White Supremacy In New Orleans Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:43 PM PDT  Suber told HuffPost the rally was organized for two reasons. "This is our solidarity with the people in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a notice to our local leaders that we want all statues dedicated to white supremacists taken down," he said. Watch Suber speak during Saturday's protest in New Orleans, below.
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| The Latest: Wildfire forces evacuation of 440 Oregon homes Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:25 PM PDT ![The Latest: Wildfire forces evacuation of 440 Oregon homes]( "The Latest: Wildfire forces evacuation of 440 Oregon homes") PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Latest on wildfires in the West (all times local):
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| 'Embarrassed' Voters in Midwest States Rate President's Conduct Posted: 19 Aug 2017 11:56 PM PDT  In Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, a majority of registered voters give President Trump's job approval a negative number and say they are "embarrassed" by his conduct.
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| Former Obama DHS Secretary: 'Confederate monuments are a threat to public safety' Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:00 AM PDT  Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said Confederate monuments are "becoming symbols and rallying points for white nationalism, for neo-Nazis, for the KKK."
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| Man charged with using drone to smuggle drugs into the US Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:35 PM PDT  A man has been charged with using a drone to smuggle more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine into the US from Mexico. Jorge Edwin Rivera, 25, told the US authorities that he was paid to deliver the drugs to an accomplice at a filling station in San Diego. Rivera, who is a US citizen, admitted smuggling the drugs five or six times since March. Border agents spotted the flying drone on August 8 and tracked it back to Rivera who was about 2,000 yards from the border. He was found with the methamphetamine in a lunchbox and a drone was hidden in a nearby bush. Drones have not normally been the mode of choice for smuggling narcotics into the America, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration. This is because they are only capable of carrying small amounts and are regarded as less cost-effective than using boats or hidden vehicle compartments. In 2015 two people admitted using a drone to deliver 28 pounds of heroin to Calexico, a border town in California. Border agents in Arizona spotted a drone being used to drop 30-pound bundles of marijuana in the same year. Rivera has been remanded in custody and his next hearing is scheduled for September 7.
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| Couple Who Engaged In Sexual Act Aboard Southwest Airlines Flight Questioned Posted: 20 Aug 2017 09:24 AM PDT  The airline said the incident occurred on a flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas and apologized to other passengers aboard the flight.
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| Elderly Swiss couple found murdered in Kenya's Mombasa city Posted: 20 Aug 2017 10:46 AM PDT ![Elderly Swiss couple found murdered in Kenya's Mombasa city]( "Elderly Swiss couple found murdered in Kenya's Mombasa city") By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA (Reuters) - The bodies of an elderly Swiss couple were found dumped by a country road in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa with severe injuries on Sunday, police said, and the caretaker of a property where they had been due to stay was being sought for questioning. Regional police chief Larry Kiyeng identified them by name and said they had flown into Kenya on Saturday and had planned to stay at a private residence in Nyali, an upmarket estate in Mombasa. The couple, who appeared to be between 60 and 70 years old, were found wrapped in a blanket near a local nightclub on the outskirts of Mombasa, area police chief Christopher Rotich said. "They have severe injuries.
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| Trump has made Afghanistan decision after 'rigorous' review: Mattis Posted: 20 Aug 2017 07:16 AM PDT  By Idrees Ali AMMAN, Reuters - President Donald Trump has made a decision on the United States' strategy for Afghanistan after a "sufficiently rigorous" review process, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday. Soon after taking office in January, the Trump administration began a review of U.S. policy on Afghanistan, which has expanded into a broader South Asia review. "I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous and did not go in with a pre-set position," Mattis told reporters traveling with him aboard a military aircraft to Jordan.
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| Who's Selling Solar Eclipse Glasses? Here's a Complete List Posted: 19 Aug 2017 01:20 PM PDT  You'd better hurry.
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| The Latest: No bond for suspect in officers' death in Fla. Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:36 AM PDT  KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on police officers fatally shot in Florida (all times local):
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| Expert: Arkansas may have reliable source of execution drug Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:03 PM PDT  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A death penalty expert says Arkansas' recent purchase of a lethal injection drug — in a small amount and at a cheap price — suggests the state has found a reliable supplier to help it move 30 inmates from death row to the execution chamber.
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| Charlottesville: Student who attended neo-Nazi rally forced to leave university after backlash Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:43 AM PDT  A student who took part in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville has said he is leaving Boston University because of the violent threats he has received since the event. "It's becoming very dangerous," Nicholas Fuentes told the Boston Globe. "Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, are among the most left-wing states and cities," he said.
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| Indian woman wins divorce over lack of toilet Posted: 19 Aug 2017 05:54 PM PDT  An Indian court has given a woman permission to divorce her husband because their home did not have a toilet, forcing her to seek relief outdoors. Justice Rajendra Kumar Sharma said women in villages often endured physical pain waiting until darkness to relieve themselves outdoors. The judge labelled open defecation -- a major health problem in India -- disgraceful and deemed it torture to deny women a safe environment for relief, the woman's lawyer Rajesh Sharma told AFP.
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| Anti-Isil offensives: Soldiers fighting terror show solidarity with Barcelona victims as Tal Afar assault begins Posted: 20 Aug 2017 10:27 AM PDT  Jubilant Lebanese forces staged a show of solidarity for the victims of the Barcelona terror attack on Sunday, waving the flags of both Spain and Lebanon over captured Isil positions on the Syrian border. The UK and US-backed forces killed 20 militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), capturing a third of their territory from areas on the border with Syria, according to a Lebanese military spokesman. The fighting, which left three Lebanese soldiers dead, has been coordinated with an offensive on the other side of the border against Isil. Fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries gather as they advance towards the city of Tal Afar Credit: AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE The assault in Syria came as the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi launched a new offensive against Isil in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, one of the extremists' last remaining strongholds. "You either surrender, or die," he warned in a televised eve-of-battle speech. Haider al-Abadi announcing the start of operations in Tal Afar Credit: HANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images The Tal Afar offensive comes just weeks after Isil was ousted from its symbolic stronghold and 'second capital' of Mosul by a brutal campaign from Iraqi forces which left the centre of the city in ruins. Iraqi forces around Tal Afar began attacking Isil positions from three sides at dawn yesterday, while Shia militia fought south of the city and Kurdish Peshmerga troops in the north. Standing in front of the Iraqi flag and wearing military fatigues, Mr al-Abadi announced that "Zero Hour" had arrived for the Islamic State which is rapidly losing its grip over its so-called "caliphate". Iraqi forces pounded the Islamic State group in Tal Afar in a new assault Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images "We have won all our battles, and Daesh have always lost," he said, using an alternative name for the terror group. "The entire world is with you," Mr al-Abadi told the troops. Several hours after the battle began, the federal police said it had retaken the village of Al-Abra Al-Sghira west of Tal Afar. The US-led coalition fighting Isil in Iraq and Syria welcomed the start of the offensive and pledged support to Iraqi forces involved. An Iraqi forces helicopter is seen flying as forces advance towards the city of Tal Afar Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, the head of the anti-Isil coalition, said the operation in Tal Afar is "another important fight that must be won to ensure the country and its citizens are finally free of ISIS." "The coalition is strong, and fully committed to supporting our Iraqi partners until ISIS is defeated and the Iraqi people are free." The launch of another round of fighting in the country's north is causing fresh worries for the safety of civilians caught up in the offensive. The United Nations estimates 30,000 people have already fled the city, and it is preparing to receive thousands more displaced persons. It is believed up to 50,000 civilians remain in Tal Afar.
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| Young Taiwanese choose China jobs over politics Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:55 PM PDT  Taiwan has long seen its international allies switching allegiance to an ascendant Beijing, but now there are also fears of a brain drain of the island's youth as they pursue careers in rival China. Cross-strait tensions have soared since China-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen took power last year, with Beijing cutting all official communication. China still sees the self-ruling island as part of its territory to be reunified, but young people in particular have increasingly developed a sense of pride in their Taiwanese identity.
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| 'Catching' a U-2 fresh back from America's air wars Posted: 20 Aug 2017 01:04 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) - It may not sound possible to "catch" an American spy plane while driving a Dodge Charger. The plane itself was designed in the 1950s to grip the lightest parts of the atmosphere some 70,000 feet above the Earth, so, in the words of one of the U-2 pilots, "it really doesn't want to stop flying." Enter the Dodge Charger, which along with another so-called "chase car" helped guide the spy plane down to the runway, speeding at about 90 miles per hour - an operation perfected over the many years of the famed U-2 Dragon Lady's operations.
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| How Long Will the Total Solar Eclipse Last? Posted: 20 Aug 2017 04:00 AM PDT  Americans in some states will only witness seconds of it
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| Oxford University employee and US academic brought to Chicago to face murder charges Posted: 19 Aug 2017 04:11 PM PDT  Two employees of elite universities charged in the fatal stabbing of a 26-year-old hair stylist were returned to Chicago early Saturday to face charges of first-degree murder in the brutal killing. Chicago police escorted fired Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem, 43, and Oxford University financial officer Andrew Warren, 56, from Northern California, where they surrendered peacefully on Aug. 4 after an eight-day, nationwide manhunt. Detectives were questioning the men Saturday. They could appear in court as early as Sunday. The men are accused of killing Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau, a Michigan native who had been living in Chicago, last month in Lathem's high-rise Chicago condo. Chicago police have said Cornell-Duranleau suffered more than 40 stab wounds, including "mutilations," to his upper body. Authorities say the attack was so violent the blade of the knife they believe was used was broken. They found Cornell-Duranleau's body July 27 after the building's front desk received an anonymous call that a crime had occurred on the 10th floor. He had been dead more than 12 hours. By then, authorities say Lathem and Warren had fled the city. According to autopsy results released Friday by the Cook County medical examiner's office, Cornell-Duranleau had methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death. Wyndham Lathem Credit: Chicago Police Department/PA Police say Lathem and Cornell-Duranleau, who moved to Chicago from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area about a year ago, had a personal relationship, though they have not described the nature of it or a motive for the attack. It's unclear what the relationship was between Lathem, Cornell-Duranleau and Warren, who's British. He arrived in the U.S. three days before the killing, after being reported missing in Great Britain. Lathem, a microbiologist who's been on Northwestern's faculty since 2007 but was not teaching at the time of the attack, was terminated by the university for fleeing from police when there was an arrest warrant out for him. Investigators said the day after the crime was committed Lathem and Warren drove about 80 miles (128 kilometers) northwest of Chicago to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. One of the men made a $1,000 donation to a local library in Cornell-Duranleau's name. Lake Geneva authorities said the man making the donation didn't give his name. Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau Credit: Facebook At another point after the killing, Lathem sent a video to friends and relatives apologizing for his involvement in the crime, which he called the "biggest mistake of my life." The video raised concern among investigators that Lathem might kill himself. Lathem and Warren both appeared in court in California last week, where they agreed to return to Illinois to face charges. An attorney for Lathem, Kenneth H. Wine, called him a "gentle soul" and said "what he is accused of is totally contrary to the way he has lived his entire life." Wine said Lathem intends to plead not guilty to the charges. Warren was represented by a public defender during a brief appearance in a San Francisco court. She said he is "presumed innocent," but declined to comment further.
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| Indiana's Donnelly, a top GOP target, starts re-election bid Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:54 AM PDT  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly is positioning himself as a moderate who will fight for "common sense and compromise" as he launches a re-election bid in a state that President Donald Trump easily won last year.
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| Community Helps Man Arrested After Leaving Kids Home Alone to Go to Work Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:42 AM PDT  His wife reportedly has stage four cancer.
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| Crowds rally in Hong Kong after activists jailed Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:29 AM PDT  Thousands of supporters of three jailed young democracy activists took to the streets in Hong Kong Sunday to protest their sentences. Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies, were sentenced to six to eight months in jail Thursday for their role in a protest that sparked the months-long demonstrations calling for democratic reforms. People took on the scorching summer heat to stream from the district of Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal in the heart of Hong Kong Island, protesting the jail terms.
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| Serena Williams' Fiancé Is A Little Shocked By Her Pregnancy Cravings Posted: 19 Aug 2017 08:38 AM PDT  He knew there would be cravings, but not quite like this.
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| State funeral for Pakistan's 'Mother Teresa' Posted: 19 Aug 2017 12:29 PM PDT  Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy in Pakistan, was buried with full state honours on Saturday, in an unprecedented service for a foreign Christian in the Muslim-majority country. Pfau, who died at the age of 87 on August 10 was known locally as Pakistan's Mother Teresa. Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain attended the state funeral service at St Patrick's Cathedral in the city, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects.
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| 11 Unique Pulled Pork Recipes That Aren’t Sandwiches Posted: 20 Aug 2017 07:00 AM PDT  Since pulled pork is so tasty and versatile, it'd be a shame to waste it on the same old barbecue sandwich recipe you've been using for generations. Since the sky is essentially the limit, make it into a chili or a soup, add some spices for a Mexican-style meal, or throw it into your favorite comfort food. Get our Pulled Pork Nachos recipe.
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| Solar Eclipse Safety Tips Posted: 18 Aug 2017 07:40 PM PDT  Many areas of the United States will experience a total eclipse of the sun on Monday, August 21, 2017, but there are some important safety concerns when it comes to experiencing an eclipse. A total solar eclipse will start in Oregon and stretch across the country all the way to South Carolina -- find out if you are in the eclipse's path of totality HERE -- with most people getting to see a partial eclipse. According to NASA, the only safe way to look at the sun during this event with special-purpose solar filters, commonly called "eclipse glasses" or a hand-held solar viewer.
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| Anger simmers in Philippines over Duterte's drug war Posted: 20 Aug 2017 01:57 AM PDT  By Romeo Ranoco MANILA (Reuters) - Mourners at the funeral of a Philippine man who police shot dead protested his innocence on Sunday, the latest sign of rising anger over President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody campaign to stamp out drugs. More than 12,500 people, many small-time drug users and dealers, have been killed since Duterte took office in June 2016. On Sunday, dozens of mourners wearing with white T-shirts with the slogan "Kill drugs, not people", bore the coffin of Leover Miranda to his grave in a Manila cemetery.
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| How the Republican party quietly does the bidding of white supremacists | Russ Feingold Posted: 19 Aug 2017 03:00 AM PDT  Let us finally rip off the veneer that Trump's affinity for white supremacy is distinct from the Republican agenda. The phony claimed outrage becomes dangerous if it convinces anyone that there is a distinction between Trump's abhorrent comments and the Republican Party agenda. It is the unmasking of the Republican party leadership.
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| Girl, 11, makes incredible recovery after friend poured boiling water over her during sleepover Posted: 19 Aug 2017 04:43 AM PDT  An 11-year-old girl has made an incredible recovery after a friend poured boiling water over her face at a sleepover. Jamoneisha "Jamoni" Merritt was rushed to hospital with horrific burns after Aniya Grant Stuart, 12, splashed scalding water onto her while she slept at a house in the Bronx, New York, on 7 August. Aniya was charged with felony assault after the incident, which was said to be a "prank" gone horribly wrong.
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| Dashcam video shows white cop punching black man during stop Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:00 PM PDT  CLEVELAND (AP) — A dashcam video of a traffic stop that led to a white police officer with a history of disciplinary issues repeatedly punching a black man and hitting his head on pavement appears to show a different sequence of events than police had originally described.
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| Deadly rocket fire hits near Damascus trade fair Posted: 20 Aug 2017 11:03 AM PDT  Six people were reported dead on Sunday when a rocket hit near an international trade fair in Syria's capital Damascus being held for the first time in five years. The Damascus International Fair was once the leading event on Syria's economic calendar but had not been held since shortly after the outbreak of the country's war in March 2011.
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| How Tough Mudder and its 'adult obstacle courses' became a £100m business Posted: 18 Aug 2017 11:00 PM PDT  One Sunday morning, Will Dean informed his girlfriend Katie: "I am going to electrocute thousands of people." Unfazed, she continued reading her newspaper. But the Sheffield-born founder of Tough Mudder – the now-globally successful obstacle course series which comes to Gloucestershire's Badminton Estate this weekend – was devilishly serious. "I started calling engineering companies, saying: 'Hello, we're Tough Mudder, we want to shock people with electricity,'" explains Dean, 36, who launched his first "weekend obstacle course for adults" in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in May 2010, after studying a MBA at Harvard Business School. "You'd get a pause and then the line would go dead. People thought they were being pranked." In the Tough Mudder innovations lab, human guinea pigs spend their mornings running through hay bales and dipping their extremities in buckets of ice The obstacle called Electroshock Therapy, which involves running through wires fizzing with 10,000 volts (triple the sting of your average electric fence), is now the event's signature challenge. "As CEO, I have a unique role in all this because I am also the majority shareholder. People said: "Will, we can't do this." I was saying: "Yes, we can. We can have a board meeting and get it approved in two seconds. Look, it just happened…'" Dean spent five years working as a UK counter-terrorism officer in the Middle East and Afghanistan until, stifled by bureaucracy, he sought entrepreneurial fulfilment. His Harvard tutors called his business plan "optimistic". At the inaugural edition, he prayed for 500 customers and got 4,500. There are now 130 annual Tough Mudder events in 11 countries with 3 million entrants worldwide so far. This weekend's clientele have paid up to £139 to take on a 10- to 12-mile course littered with tunnels, nets, walls, fire, ice and mud. The company's annual revenues now exceed $100m. Mud Run Electroshock Wire Caught on Neck 00:27 Obstacles are conjured up at an "Innovation Lab" in Pennsylvania where human guinea pigs spend their mornings running through hay bales and dipping their extremities in buckets of ice. Cry Baby, an obstacle which requires people to crawl through eye-watering smoke, was tested by spraying staff with homemade tear gas. Spider Box (a pit full of tarantulas) and Acid Rain (a container of floating acid bubbles) didn't make the cut. "The Innovation Lab is as crazy as it sounds," says Dean. "I joke that you will never get a Nobel Prize unless you test it on yourself. We start by saying: let's think of the unthinkable. We finish by saying: now we have to make this work in Dubai, Germany and Mexico and get several thousand people of all shapes and sizes through in one hour. It is a strange remit." Splashdown: a Tough Mudder comptetitor comes to grief Credit: Ben Birchall /PA Obstacle races have become wildly popular, with 5 million people in 40 countries taking part in events each year. Tough Mudder attracts a mix of couples, families, friends, work colleagues, students and executives. "The mud is a leveller," says Dean. But why pay money to endure manufactured suffering? Dean believes the trend may be in part a reaction to our risk-averse society, with desk-bound workers seeking raw experiences to share on social media and in pub chats. But he insists the benefits are real. "I believe in challenging oneself to take on new things and I believe that is the secret to developing confidence. In a funny way, running through electric wires gives people the confidence to take on other challenges and changes in their life." Tough Mudder's latest obstacles 01:05 He says Tough Mudder's fun values have helped them outsmart rivals like Spartan Race, launched by Joe De Sena, a former Wall Street trader, in 2007. Miss an obstacle at Spartan Race and you have to do 30 burpees. At ToughMudder, nobody cares. Spartan Race times and ranks all contestants (accountability is the real secret to better health, insists De Sena), but Dean refuses, haunted by a 2008 triathlon when time-conscious athletes wouldn't stop to help him unjam the zip of his wetsuit. "My belief came from me saying: I would do this. My friends would do this. I genuinely believe there is a market for a race that is not a race." There are now 130 annual Tough Mudder events in 11 countries, with 3 million entrants worldwide so far Credit: Andrew Crowley Dean now lives in New York with his lawyer wife Katie and their one-year-old daughter, Isobel. He still tackles the courses himself and joins in "Breakfast Club" workouts at the company's Brooklyn HQ. His events deliberately inspire this same sense of community – what he calls his "tribe". He hates seeing runners plodding side-by-side on gym treadmills and never speaking. His event forces you to seek help from strangers to scale walls and nets. "Tough Mudder gives you a sense of personal accomplishment, a sense of a team and being a part of something bigger than yourself, and hopefully a sense of fun." He is not surprised it has proven popular in the UK. "More than any other culture, we believe in not taking ourselves too seriously. In our school sports, we have second and third teams. No American would play in that. It would be an embarrassment. You do get differences around the world. Germans ask six times more customer service questions. Australians sign up last-minute. But it's a bit like kids and ice cream – it's universal in its appeal." Tough Mudder - are you tough enough? Next month, Dean is publishing a new business book, It Takes a Tribe, which analyses the social psychology, corporate theory and personal stories behind his success. It also documents the fierce battles that shaped the company. Dean and De Sena used to fly provocative advertising banners over each other's events. De Sena once declared in an interview: "There's not a person on this planet I despise more than Will Dean." They have since bonded over lunch, but the rivalry bubbles away. "I have a lot of respect for Joe De Sena, as much as I tease him. I have said before when asked if we have anything in common: yes, we both wake up every morning and the first thing we think about is Tough Mudder. But I do think the rival philosophy has meant we ended up creating two companies which superficially may seem similar, but are very different." "Tough Mudder gives you a sense of personal accomplishment, a sense of a team and being a part of something bigger than yourself," says founder Will Dean Credit: Andrew Crowley More troubling was the multimillion dollar lawsuit Dean faced in 2010. Billy Wilson, a former soldier who launched Tough Guy, an obstacle course in Wolverhampton in 1987, had granted Dean access to his company information for his Harvard studies and then accused him of stealing his idea. Dean countersued for defamation. After a vitriolic battle, the pair agreed a confidential settlement in 2011, with Dean reportedly paying $725,000. "There is only so much I can say, but one thing I can say is that we had to literally quadruple our pace. We weren't just fighting for the survival of the company. Suddenly everything was on the line: personal bankruptcy, reputation. It was incredibly stressful. But it is part of the narrative now. I don't think we would be as ambitious were it not for that experience." The Four Phases | Chris Hall's Tough Mudder Workout Prep Aware of the perennial need to innovate, Dean has in recent years added events like Mini-Mudder (for kids) and World's Toughest Mudder (a 24-hour elite event). He has signed television deals with CBS and Sky Sports, and he is now launching Tough Mudder boot camps around the UK, offering high-intensity, 45-minute group workouts. "There are a few things in society right now which are worrying," he explains. "Obesity and diabetes rates are up, loneliness is up, people spend more time on social media and less time with friends. It all comes back to our mission to grow a global tribe. The boot camps are the local community hub and the event is the pilgrimage when the tribe comes together. I don't pretend we are curing cancer. But I do think in our own small way we are making the world a better place." For event details, go to toughmudder.co.uk. Jeep has launched a limited edition Tough Mudder Renegade: jeep.co.uk/tough-mudder
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| John McCain Just Finished His First Round Of Chemo And Radiation Treatment Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:46 AM PDT  The Arizona senator marked a major milestone Friday, with the completion of his first round of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
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| Ben & Jerry's Releases The Most Genius Ice Cream Yet Posted: 20 Aug 2017 07:33 AM PDT  Chocolate lovers are going to freak out.
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| White nationalist Richard Spencer, Antifa member Lacy MacAuley confront each other: Part 6 Posted: 18 Aug 2017 08:19 PM PDT  Spencer blames Antifa for most of the violence between the groups, while MacAuley refused to condemn that Spencer was punched in the face.
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| See the Path of the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse As It Moves Across the U.S. Posted: 20 Aug 2017 07:00 AM PDT  On Aug. 21, skygazers will see a total solar eclipse
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| SeaWorld: Former trainer says deaths of three killer whales a 'disgrace to humanity' Posted: 20 Aug 2017 04:46 AM PDT  A former killer whale trainer at SeaWorld has spoken out about conditions at the attraction, after the deaths of three orcas there this year. Last week, Kasatka became the third killer whale at the Californian theme park to die. The orca was 41 years old, making her the oldest killer whale at SeaWorld in San Diego.
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| Neighbor, 24, Arrested After 3 Young Girls Found Murdered in Home Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:19 AM PDT  He turned 25 the day after the alleged murders.
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| Bannon leaves White House -- but vows to fight on for Trump Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:47 PM PDT  Donald Trump parted ways with his controversial chief strategist Steve Bannon on Friday as the White House reeled from the fallout over the president's much-criticized response to a violent white supremacist rally. "If there's any confusion out there, let me clear it up: I'm leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents -- on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America," the hero of the so-called "alt right" told Bloomberg News within hours of leaving the White House. Bannon's departure amounts to a nod to members of Trump's government and Republican Party who grew increasingly frustrated with the anti-establishment firebrand.
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| Border agents track drone from sky to drugs on the ground Posted: 19 Aug 2017 06:38 AM PDT  SAN DIEGO (AP) — A 25-year-old U.S. citizen has been charged with using a drone to smuggle more than 13 pounds (5.9 kilograms) of methamphetamine from Mexico, an unusually large seizure for what is still a novel technique to bring illegal drugs into the United States, authorities said Friday.
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