Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga Is 'Terrifyingly Genius' on 'American Horror Story: Hotel,' Ryan Murphy Teases.

Lady Gaga is playing the character of hotel owner Elizabeth on American Horror Story: Hotel, the upcoming fifth season of the series -- and in her first week of filming, the cast and crew are already strongly praising her work. Show creatorRyan Murphy, as well as co-stars Kathy Bates and Matt Bomer, shared their thoughts about her role with some teasers on Twitter.

Lady Gaga's 'American Horror Story: Hotel' Character Details Revealed

Calling her “lovely, a total pro, and TERRIFYINGLY GENIUS in her role,” Murphy revealed that he’s been thrilled with Gaga’s performance thus far.

Bates, who plays Iris -- the character who runs the hotel -- also recently tweeted about Gaga, saying that “she rocked it” on her first day on set and that “the Countess scared the crap out of Iris!”

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http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6663954/lady-gaga-terrifyingly-genius-american-horror-story-hotel-ryan-murphy

air strikes

Syria conflict: Marketplace air strikes 'kill 80'

Syrian activists say at least 80 people have died in government air strikes on a marketplace in the rebel-held town of Douma, near Damascus.

Around 200 people were reportedly injured in the attack.

Government forces have been regularly attacking Douma and its surrounding areas in recent months with air strikes and helicopter barrel bombs.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed alongside opposition fighters.

Images of the aftermath of Sunday's strikes show dead bodies lined up on the floor, including some of children.

Unverified footage uploaded by activists showed a marketplace destroyed, with surrounding buildings in ruins and vehicles on fire.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, a network of anti-government activists, said that rescue workers were digging through the rubble in search of survivors.

A Douma-based activist told the Associated Press news agency that the situation was "catastrophic", adding that clinics in the area were full and many of the wounded were being rushed in civilian cars to other medical facilities since ambulances were overwhelmed.

origina post found herhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-33952777

plane wreckage

Indonesia passenger plane wreckage found in remote Papua

The wreckage of an Indonesian plane carrying 54 people has been found in the remote western Papua region, officials say.

The Trigana Air flight lost contact with ground control at 14:55 local time (05:55 GMT) as it flew from the capital Jayapura to the town of Oksibil.

A transport official said the aircraft had been found in the Bintang highlands region, not far from its intended landing site at Oksibil airport.

It is not yet known if anyone survived.

The wreckage was discovered by villagers, who then alerted officials.

"Residents provided information that the aircraft crashed into Tangok mountain," said the Indonesia's director-general of air transportation, Suprasetyo.

The ATR42-300 twin turboprop plane was carrying 44 adult passengers, five children and infants, and five crew.

origina post found herhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-33951854

El Niño

Will El Niño 2015 rival the strongest year on record?

The waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean are heating up, scientists say, building towards a strong El Niño event that could rival the intensity of the record 1997 event that wreaked weather-related havoc across the globe, from mudslides in California to fires in Australia.

According to the latest forecast released Thursday by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, this year's El Niño is "significant and strengthening."

"There is a greater than 90% chance that El Niño will continue through Northern Hemisphere winter 2015-16, and around an 85% chance it will last into early spring 2016," the NOAA said in a statement.

The weather phenomenon largely became a part of the public vernacular during the 1997 El Niño. It caused devastating flooding in the western U.S. and drought in Indonesia. It was blamed for deadly virus outbreaks in Africa and rising coffee prices around the world.

What is El Niño and what causes one?

El Niño is a warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean, mainly along the Equator -- see the thick red belt in the satellite photo, which indicates waters that are warmer than normal.

These warmer waters are normally confined to the western Pacific by winds that blow from east to west, pushing the warmer water toward Indonesia and Australia.

But during an El Niño, the winds slow down and can even reverse direction, allowing the warmer water to spread eastward all the way to South America.

El Niños occur every two to seven years in varying intensity, and the waters of the eastern Pacific can be up to 4 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than usual.

origina post found herhttp://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/13/weather/el-nino-2015/index.html

Clinton defends

Clinton defends, Trump attacks Saturday at the high-profile Iowa State Fair

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump -- the presidential candidates dominating polls and news headlines -- took their turns Saturday at the Iowa State Fair, with the flamboyant Trump staying on the attack and Clinton suggesting her email controversy is “usual” partisan politics.

Clinton reiterated that she did not send or receive emails marked classified from her homemade email server while secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, an issue that continues to overshadow her campaign.

She told reporters that she would let the inquiry into her email use continue, while she blamed her Republican challengers and House GOP members for turning the issue into a partisan affair.

"The facts are the same as they have been from the very beginning," Clinton said.

origina post found herhttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/16/clinton-defends-trump-attacks-saturday-at-high-profile-iowa-state-fair/?intcmp=hpbt1

video.foxnews.com

Tianjin blasts

China Tianjin blasts: Evacuations as sodium cyanide found

Chinese authorities have ordered the evacuation of residents within a 3km radius of the Tianjin blast site over fears of chemical contamination.

The evacuations came after an apparent change in wind direction, and as police confirmed the highly toxic chemical sodium cyanide was found near the site.

Troops equipped with chemical warfare protection have now entered the site of the blasts.

The People's Daily newspaper tweeted that the specialist troops had been sent to handle the highly toxic sodium cyanide found at the site.

Police said the discovery occurred "roughly east of the blast site" in an industrial zone, according to state-run Beijing News.

What is sodium cyanide?

The chemical sodium cyanide is white crystalline or granular powder which can be rapidly fatal if inhaled or ingested, as it interferes with the body's ability to use oxygen.

It is mostly used in chemical manufacturing, for fumigation and in the mining industry to extract gold and silver.

It is soluble in water, and absorbs water from air, and its dust is also easy to inhale. When dissolved or burned, it releases the highly poisonous gas hydrogen cyanide.

Potent chemical mix behind blasts

What we know about explosions

The questions being asked by Chinese citizens

'Hero' firefighters hailed:

'Like the end of the world': Residents' stories

Some fires have continued to smoulder and at least one reignited on Saturday. Xinhua said several cars at the site had "exploded again".

Of the 721 people injured, 25 are in critical condition and 33 are serious.

At least 21 firefighters are among the dead and an unknown number remain missing.

origina post found herhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-33945293