Christie fires aide in NJ bridge scandal; prosecutor launches probe

(Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Thursday fired a top aide who apparently helped orchestrate massive traffic jams at a busy commuter bridge to settle a score, saying he had been blindsided in the scandal that threatened to tarnish his political image.
As Christie apologized publicly for the abrupt lane closings seemingly ordered by some of his staff, and which he said he did not know about beforehand, the office of the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey said it was launching an investigation.
Revelations that his staff may have had a hand in plotting the four-day lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in September, causing hours-long jams that stalled commuters, school buses and ambulances, come as Christie has emerged as a powerful figure in the Republican Party and a possible presidential contender.
The controversy erupted with the release on Wednesday of emails showing Christie's aide and allies appearing to plan lane closings in what critics said was a bid to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, at the New Jersey end of the bridge, because he had declined to endorse Christie's re-election effort.
"I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team," Christie said. "I am who I am, but I am not a bully."
As the head of the party's governors association and a possible 2016 White House contender, the tough-talking governor has sought to present himself as a leader who can work with opponents and forge bipartisan alliances.
Christie said at his news conference that he dismissed his deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, who in the most damning of the emails, wrote to a Port Authority executive in August, saying: "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."
The executive, David Wildstein, replied: "Got it."
Wildstein later admitted ordering the lane closures and resigned his post. He supplied the emails to the media in response to a subpoena issued by a panel of state lawmakers.
Appearing before the panel on Thursday, Wildstein declined to answer questions, repeatedly invoking the constitutional protection not to say anything that might incriminate him.
The state Assembly's transportation, public works and independent authorities committee, which is probing the closures, voted to hold him in contempt.
The charge will be referred to a county prosecutor for determination of what it could mean for Wildstein, an Assembly spokesman said.
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, whose job Christie held before being elected governor, has opened a probe into the decision to close the bridge lanes, his spokeswoman said.
"Our office is reviewing it to determine whether a federal law was implicated," Rebekah Carmichael said in a statement.
A local newspaper reported emergency responders were delayed in attending to four medical situations - one involving an unconscious 91-year-old woman who later died of cardiac arrest and another, a car accident, in which four people were injured.
At the news conference, Christie referred to the lane closings as a "rogue political operation."
"I am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here," Christie said. "This was handled in a callous and indifferent way, and this is not the way this administration has conducted itself over the last four years."
'HEARTBROKEN' AND APOLOGETIC
Christie took reporters' questions at the packed news conference in his office that lasted nearly two hours.
He appeared contrite, describing himself repeatedly as "heartbroken" and apologizing several times to the public, and even to the media.
Toward the end of his lengthy appearance, he visibly relaxed, leaning against the podium, and resorted to more typical form, calling one reporter's question "crazy."
He later visited Fort Lee and apologized to Mayor Mark Sokolich, who told reporters he accepted the apology.
"It was a terrible thing and we are going to work to fix it," Christie said as he left the town hall.
Christie has enjoyed immense popularity at home since his election in 2009, particularly for his handling of recovery and rebuilding efforts after Superstorm Sandy devastated his state in late 2012. He was re-elected in a landslide in November.
But he is known as well for engaging in shouting matches, hurling insults and belittling challengers.
Christie told the news conference he was "nowhere near" beginning to consider a possible 2016 presidential bid but some saw the traffic scandal as taking a major toll on his political career.
A New York Daily News editorial pronounced his presidential aspirations as "all but kaput," saying he will be "lambasted and lampooned as a man of low character and horrible judgment."
Taking a poke at Christie's heft as well, the Daily News front page headline on Thursday read: "Fat chance now, Chris."
But David Axelrod, a former political adviser to President Barack Obama, said on Twitter that Christie handled the issue at the news conference "about as well as he could."
"Unless smoking gun turns up tying him to scheme, or others arise, he lives to fight another day," Axelrod tweeted.

Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/09/us-usa-newjersey-bridge-christie-idUSBREA080MB20140109http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/09/us-usa-newjersey-bridge-christie-idUSBREA080MB20140109

McDonald's UK growth strong despite horsemeat scandal and hot summer

McDonald's in Paris. The company says European sales have held up well. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

McDonald's shrugged off last year's horsemeat scandal as it reported a strong performance from its UK business for 2013.
But the world's biggest burger chain admitted it was a challenging year for the wider business after it posted falling global sales and said fewer customers were visiting its restaurants.
The company reported a 0.2% rise in comparable worldwide sales after a 0.1% fall in the final three months.
A robust performance from the UK, Russia and France helped sales in Europe rise 1% in the fourth quarter, although earnings across the region remained flat when foreign exchange movements are stripped out.
Jill McDonald, chief executive of McDonald's UK, said the British chain had had another strong year of growth despite an "economic environment has remained challenging for customers, the horsemeat scandal [which] cast a cloud over the food industry and an uncharacteristically hot summer".
The group, which celebrates 40 years in the UK in November, said its supply chain remained unaffected by the horsemeat crisis, which hit a raft of food retailers and restaurant chains across the UK.
Europe was McDonald's best performing region at the end of 2013. Sales dropped 1.4% across the US and were down 2.4% across Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
McDonald's has come under pressure amid a healthy eating push, while it has also faced heightened competition from rivals such as Burger King.
The company plans to open up to 1,600 new restaurants in 2014 and revamp 1,000 existing locations. It currently has more than 34,000 locations worldwide.
It opened 24 new restaurants in the UK in 2013.
Jill McDonald said: "We are mindful that whilst the emerging shoots of economic recovery are encouraging, it's still tough out there for our customers."

Read more at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/23/mcdonalds-uk-growth-horsemeat-scandal-hot-summer

Amber Heard, photographed in New York City.

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Amber Heard, 27, is not just beautiful; she’s well read, consuming on average a book a week. “Reading keeps me sane,” she says. “Growing up, it was my escape, my alternative; it provided both rebellion and peace.” The older of two girls, she knew early on that if she was going to pursue a career as an actress she had to get out of Texas. “When I was 16, it became clear that I wasn’t going to fit in the machinery that was being provided for me.” Heard moved first to New York but quickly continued on to Los Angeles, where she was immediately cast on television and in film, with parts in Pineapple Express, Zombieland, and The Rum Diary (with Johnny Depp, her fiancé). This month she stars in director McG’s latest action thriller, 3 Days to Kill, scripted by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak and co-starring Kevin Costner. She plays an international spy/assassin, and so had the opportunity to show her skill as a marksman. “Anytime I can shoot the gun instead of throw the bouquet, it is exciting for me,” she says, adding, “My dad is your typical old-school Texan. He loves to hunt. Six days out of the week, we ate what he killed. He took me to the shooting range from the time I could hold a gun, and I did target practice almost my whole life.” Later this year she will be seen in a screen adaptation of Martin Amis’s novel London Fields. “I play Nicola, the central character, our protagonist, and she’s also the antagonist—the hero and the villain. I like the dichotomy and the humanity of her. She doesn’t fit in a standardized, archetypal mold.” Neither do you, Amber.

Read more at : http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/03/amber-heard-3-days-to-kill-actresshttp://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/03/amber-heard-3-days-to-kill-actress

The Sochi scandal no one’s talking about How Russia is silencing its environmentalists

As athletes and fans from around the world descend upon Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics, they are (according to some) sitting atop a site of immeasurable loss and irreversible damage to what was once a unique and pristine ecosystem. They’re unlikely, however, to be aware of it, and authorities will be on their guard to prevent anyone with a megaphone or a picket sign from bringing it to their attention. Those would-be protesters are yet another group being silenced in Russia – where, along with everything else, it’s also a crime to defend the environment.

In the rush to complete what ended up being $51 billion in construction in just five years, Russian’s Olympic Committee has played fast and loose with the environmental standards it once promised to uphold. To take just one example of many, Olympic organizers make much of the fact that Russia’s first green construction standards were implemented for the Games. But at the same time, authorities have also reversed legislation protecting national parks in order to allow for those green buildings to go up. As a result, construction of the Olympic village ended up affecting over 8,000 acres of Sochi National Park, a strictly protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As the global news agency AFP recently reported, the area’s sensitive wetlands, home to 65 species of birds, were buried under six and a half feet of crushed rock, while reptiles and brown bears have reportedly gone missing from surrounding mountain areas. Water pollution in the Mzymta River, once a major spawning site, threatens a fifth of Russia’s Black Sea salmon. And while Olympic organizers boast that they’ve planted 1.5 million new trees — three for every one that was cut down — Suren Gazaryan, a zoologist and environmental activist who was forced to flee the country, said that the scattered planting can in no way make up for what was lost.

Read more at http://www.salon.com/2014/02/09/the_sochi_scandal_no_ones_talking_about_how_russia_is_silencing_its_environmentalists/