Hugh Jackman Reveals His Favorite Father's Day Gift - People
Hugh Jackman and daughter Ava
Bauer-Griffin
Hugh Jackman, the X-Men superstar, admits he gets "pretty spoiled" on Father's Day by his wife Deborra-Lee and his kids – son Oscar and daughter Ava.
"I get a lot of home cooking, which is great," PEOPLE's 2008 Sexiest Man Alive, 43, tells Parade. "My wife is an amazing cook. And my son is actually an amazing cook, too. So I always get a fair bit of cooking on Father's Day."
Jackman, who will star in the upcoming screen musical adaptation of Les Miserables, also reveals his favorite Father's Day gift – and it beats anything he's ever won for his work in film, theater and television.
"The best is a handwritten card," he says. "I don't know where some of my awards are, but I can tell you exactly where those cards are. I treasure them most."
Jackman also treasures simple family time at home – "everyday moments, like sitting around cooking pancakes together on Sunday morning," he says. But as his kids get older, they're starting to deal with their dad's fame more and more.
"My daughter is 6 and she is really starting to get it now," Jackman says. "My son is 12 and he just wants me to be dad. He doesn't want me to be famous. He doesn't like when people come up to me on the street. He would much prefer if nobody knew who I was."
However, there is a silver lining. "I've seen him in social situations when he didn't think I was listening, and he once said to a girl, 'Well, my dad is Wolverine,' " Jackman says. "So when it came to try to talk to this girl, apparently it came in handy!"
Days of pain for accusers in Penn State sex abuse trial - Reuters
BELLEFONTE, Pennsylvania |
BELLEFONTE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Some spoke so softly they were barely audible. Others were stoic, while some were almost defiant. One wept.
But no matter their demeanors, each of the eight young men summoned to the witness stand in a Pennsylvania courthouse this week revealed a similar narrative of sexual abuse as young boys. And one man stood at the center of each account: former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
Over four days of graphic and often wrenching testimony, a consistent pattern emerged: The burly, outgoing coach would put his hand on a knee in a car. That progressed to more intrusive touching, tickling and hugging. In some cases, the pattern ended with forced oral and anal sex.
For years, shame kept them from talking about it. Fear also had a role.
"He was an important guy, he was a football coach. Who would believe kids?" said the last accuser to take the stand, identified in a grand jury report as Victim 9.
Hanging his head, the 18-year-old man said Sandusky had anally raped him and forced him to perform oral sex.
Before his arrest in November, Sandusky was a respected former assistant coach with the vaunted Pennsylvania State University football program and the founder of Second Mile, a charity for at-risk youth.
The alleged victims, ranging from 18 to 28 years old, told a rapt Centre County courtroom that he would befriend boys at events held by the Second Mile.
Some met Sandusky at a swimming pool, where Sandusky would play with boys, picking them up and tossing them around.
BROKEN HOMES
Many of those who testified were from broken homes, did not know their fathers, or were having trouble in school. They craved attention from a male figure, and they got it from Sandusky.
He took them to games, putting a hand on boys' knees as he drove there, they testified, and lavished some with gifts that included computers and golf clubs.
Victim 7, who was 11 when he first met Sandusky, testified that he had been groped on overnight visits to the coach's home and got a bear hug from him in a Penn State shower.
He said he never told anybody, partly because he was ashamed. But he also feared losing the perks of being with Sandusky.
"I didn't want my parents to keep me from going to games," said the man, now 23. "I wanted to block that stuff out and keep focusing on the positives."
Sandusky took the boys on outings and to restaurants. He got them access to Penn State football facilities and took them into his own home for overnight stays that sometimes led to alleged groping and sexual encounters, according to the testimony.
"He was like a father to me," said a 25-year-old man who spoke haltingly on the witness stand.
"I didn't want to get him in trouble, because I still wanted to hang out with him and go to the games," said the man, who alleged that Sandusky lathered him with soap and bearhugged him in a Penn State football shower.
The white-haired coach, 68, sat hunched over the defense table and stared at his accusers as they testified. He has pleaded not guilty to 52 counts of sexual abuse against 10 boys, and faces more than 500 years in prison if convicted.
The trial was set to resume Monday with defense witnesses.
One accuser did tell police about alleged abuse in 1998, but an investigation ended with no charges being filed. An investigator told Sandusky not to shower with boys again.
"ALL SO TYPICAL"
Curtis St. John, a spokesman for MaleSurvivor, a non-profit group that helps male victims of sexual assault, called Sandusky's alleged behavior a classic example of a predator winning over the trust of young boys.
"This is all so typical," he said. He added that discrepancies in victims' testimony stressed by defense attorney Joe Amendola, such as differing dates and the number of sexual encounters, were to be expected given the pressures the men were facing on the stand.
Some of the men said they were undergoing psychological counseling, and St. John said that with a good therapist, victims had excellent chances of healing.
Although five of the victims asked that they be allowed to testify under pseudonyms, Judge John Cleland ruled that they had to take the stand under their own names.
Despite the names being given, the men's identities seem to have been kept off the Internet. A Google search of five names turned up nothing in connection with the trial.
Like many news outlets, Reuters policy is not to identify victims of sexual crimes.
The charges against Sandusky rocked the Penn State community and prompted the firing of university President Graham Spanier and revered head football coach Joe Paterno.
Two former university officials also face charges of perjury and failure to report suspected abuse.
Czech Republic V Poland : UEFA Euro 2012 Match Preview - Football
Published: 16 Jun 2012 - 15:00:32
Co-hosts Poland face must-win game
It is win or bust for co-hosts Poland as they take on the Czech Republic on Saturday knowing that any other result would see them exit the European Championship.
Poland may have played well in their opening two Group A matches but they failed to win either and currently sit third with just two points.
The Czech Republic have three points and failure to win would mean that the Poles could overtake neither the Czechs nor group leaders Russia, who have four points.
A goal and a man to the good and playing vibrant attacking football, Franciszek Smuda's team looked to be fulfilling the pre-tournament promise that a 2-2 friendly draw with Germany in September had started to foment.
It has been a bumpy ride so far for the hosts but Smuda is confident his side can get the result they need and continue in the competition.
"I'd like for the best to be yet to come, and I'd have nothing against it being in the match with the Czech Republic," he said.
Poland have some injury worries, though, with defender Damien Perquis and midfielders Eugen Polanski and Dariusz Dudka all doubts having suffered injuries against Russia on Tuesday.
An abdominal strain has made Dudka the most doubtful of the three while Perquis is recovering from a gashed shin and Polanski is suffering from a bruised knee.
"Our match with the Czechs is crucial, perhaps our most important in recent years," said midfielder Rafal Murawski.
"We have to win it, and we mean to win it. The Czechs are within our range."
While Poland have injury concerns and need to win, the Czechs are in almost exactly the same boat.
They could qualify with a draw but only if Greece don't beat Russia, otherwise they will be out.
It means they too need to win to be sure of progressing but they have concerns over two crucial players, captain Tomas Rosicky and goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Arsenal midfielder Rosicky is the bigger doubt after what he believes is a recurrence of a calf injury he suffered in the final Premier League game of the season forced him to miss the second half of their 2-1 win over Greece.
Chelsea goalkeeper Cech has a sore shoulder and is desperate to play to make up for his gaffe that allowed the Greeks a route back into a match in which the Czechs had established an early two-goal lead.
"The blunder looks comic, but such things happen in football," said Cech after dropping a cross that allowed Fanis Gekas to score.
"I believe this was enough. I won't make a silly mistake like this again."
Since the Czech Republic split from Slovakia to form an independent country, they have lost every time they have played away to Poland.
However, the last meeting between the sides was a Czech victory in Prague in a World Cup qualifier three years ago.
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Czech Republic V Poland - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.
Related Czech Republic News
Giant sailing yachts return to Falmouth (From Falmouth Packet) - falmouthpacket.co.uk
Giant sailing yachts return to Falmouth
2:50pm Saturday 16th June 2012 in News 
For the first time since the world was last at war, Falmouth will see the return of a class of vast sailing yachts this month.
The “J Class” was established in 1929 and serves as a rating for large sailing yachts designed between 1930 and 1937.
Measuring as much as 140 feet in length and weighing up to 200 tons, there were only ever ten of these elegant giants built during the design’s heyday – mostly because of the immense expense involved in their construction and maintenance.
Now, after years of the original yachts laying largely forgotten - rotting away in mud berths or being broken up for scrap - four of the J Class will make a triumphant return at a specially designed five day regatta in Falmouth from June 26-30.
Commodore Peter Collet from the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club (RCYC), which is hosting the event, said: “We feel particularly privileged and we are very excited about it.
“The history of the J-Class is all around us here and there will be, in this club, an exhibition of memorabilia that will explain it all to the public during the event.”
David Pitman is secretary of the J Class Association, which was formed in 2000 to oversee the revival of the class and organise races.
He said: “The ‘J’ is probably one of the biggest sailing boats that you will see in the world. They need 30 crew and have more than 10,000 feet of sail.
“The last race we had they sailed for four hours and finished within 15 seconds of each other, so it’s very, very close racing and this is a wonderful opportunity to see them in UK waters.
“Once you see the boats close up, you will realise just how special they are,” he added.
The four yachts to feature in the Falmouth regatta will be “Velsheda”, which was originally built in 1933, “Ranger”, which is a replica of the last J Class to successfully defend the America’s Cup, “Lionheart”, based on an original design from 1937 and the recently launched “Rainbow”, which is a replica of a 1934 yacht of the same name.
Races are billed to start at 11am and will last for approximately three to four hours. Although the starting point is dependent upon wind direction, the finish line is envisaged as taking the four sailing yachts between Pendennis Point and the Black Rock marker at the mouth of the Carrick Roads.
John Pickup, principal race officer for the RCYC, said: “That means if you are stood on Castle Drive around about four o’clock in the afternoon you will see these boats coming in at speed and quite close together. It will be quite a sight.”
Spectators are encouraged to go out on the water and see the “J’s” up close, but must not manoeuvre in front of the boats and should try to avoid the starting “box,” that will be marked out by boats flying “J” flags at each corner.
Mr Pickup said: “People who go out there have to understand that this is a great sport to watch, but these are massive lumps of material that can’t turn easily and certainly can’t stop.
“We are really desperately keen that spectators should get out there and see what’s going on, but while all four boats are managed be professional skippers, who are very experienced and know the rules, they will find it completely impossible to deal with two boats converging on their bow.”
Race commentary will be available on Channel 69 UHF. For more information, contact the RCYC on 312126.
Four Japanese climbers believed dead in Alaska avalanche - Reuters
ANCHORAGE, Alaska |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Four Japanese climbers are presumed dead after they were swept up by a powerful avalanche on Alaska's Mount McKinley, North America's tallest peak, the National Park Service said on Saturday.
Authorities said one man in the group survived and hiked down to get help. The avalanche struck early on Thursday, but searchers working that day and on Friday found no bodies or climbing gear, the Park Service said.
"We say ‘presumed dead' because we haven't found their bodies," said Maureen McLaughlin, spokeswoman for Denali National Park, where the mountain is located. "We are still up there looking today."
If all four are dead, it would be the worst climbing accident on McKinley since 1992, when four Canadian climbers were killed in a fall, McLaughlin said.
The missing climbers were identified as Yoshiaki Kato, 64; Masako Suda, 50; Michiko Suzuki, 56; and Tamao Suzuki, 63. All are from Miyagi Prefecture in Japan, the Park Service said. They were part of a five-member Miyagi Workers Alpine Federation expedition, and were descending at the time of the accident.
The sole survivor in the group was Hitoshi Ogi, 69, also from Miyagi Prefecture, the Park Service said.
The avalanche struck on McKinley's West Buttress route, the most commonly used path to climb up and down the mountain. The site was about 11,800 feet up the 20,320-foot (6,200-meter) mountain, at a point called "Motorcycle Hill."
The area is fairly steep, with a slope of about 35 degrees, and prone to avalanches. But there had not been any avalanche fatalities there until now, McLaughlin said.
Ogi was likely saved by falling into a crevasse, where the avalanche debris swept over him but did not bury him, McLaughlin said. Ogi, who suffered minor injuries, looked unsuccessfully for his climbing partners, then descended to the mountain's 7,200-foot (2,200-meter) elevation base camp to ask for help, she said.
All five were roped together, but the rope broke in the avalanche, McLaughlin said.
"His partners may have fallen into the same crevasse he was in, or they may have continued further down and fallen into another crevasse," she said.
The avalanche was about 200 feet wide, and it slid about 800 feet down the mountain, she said.
Park rangers and volunteers, now equipped with a search dog, will continue to probe the avalanche site on Saturday, McLaughlin said.
McKinley's climbing season runs from late April to early July. In a typical year, 1,200 to 1,300 climbers attempt to scale the peak.
Last month, in separate falling accidents, a German climber and a Finnish skier were killed on McKinley.
(Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Xavier Briand)
Prince Philip Steps Out After Illness – With the Queen, William & Kate - People
Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Anne, Prince Phillip, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Lady Louise Windsor, and the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge
Dan Kitwood/Getty
The 91-year-old joined the Queen, Prince William and his wife Kate, and other members of the royal family for the traditional balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace.
Earlier, Philip donned the red tunic and heavy bearskin hat of his rank of Colonel in the Grenadier Guards at the annual birthday parade for the Queen – also known as Trooping the Colour.
Philip has been recovering at home since leaving the hospital, where he was treated for a bladder infection. But on Saturday, he was seen standing ramrod straight as 1,600 soldiers paraded in front of the Queen, 86. He and the Queen (in a bright yellow coat and dress outfit by her in-house designer Angela Kelly) were transported from the palace to the parade grounds in a glass coach for the military spectacle.
Kate, in a dove gray dress by Erdem with a hat by Jane Corbett, delighted the crowds along the Mall by riding in an open-topped carriage with Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cornwall to the official birthday parade.
William arrived for the ceremony on horseback in his role – and full uniform of Colonel of the Irish Guards.
Elsewhere, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie rode in a carriage with their father, Prince Andrew.
Kate's wedding dress designer, Sarah Burton, received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's birthday honors. Also honored: Kate Winslet and Kenneth Branagh, who was knighted. Gary Barlow, who organized the jubilee concert, was given an OBE as well.
Toronto police step up patrols against gangs - CBC
Two Toronto neighbourhoods that have been linked with gang activity can expect to see stepped-up police patrols over the next few months.
Toronto police say they will boost the number of officers in Regent Park and Alexandra Park.
It's being called Project Post and will focus on the downtown neighbourhoods, which residents say are involved in an ongoing street gang battle.
Police have said the man accused in the Eaton Centre shooting spree, as well the two men who died as a result, were believed to belong to the Sic Thugz gang operating out of Regent Park.
Chief Bill Blair said Friday that police are committed to policing all neighbourhoods where there is gang activity.
"We have a responsibility to all the decent people that live there," he said. "They have a right to live in peace and not feel threatened or victimized."
Blair said that, despite what happened at the Eaton Centre, Toronto police have seen a steady decline in major crime since 2006.
There's been a 33-per-cent decline in gun calls since that year, he said.
This year, 13 murders have been committed with guns, the same number that had been killed at this time last year. However, the number of injured is up.
Blair also said he's concerned about the number of shootings this year in Toronto where there is no victim. He said shootings where bullets are fired into a building or a car have almost doubled.
"Those are clearly intended to intimidate," he said. "But every one of those discharges is potentially dangerous. People live in those neighbourhoods, and if a gun is fired there anywhere it's going to create an unsafe situation, even a gun fired recklessly into the air."
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