Source: USA TODAY

FAIRFIELD, CONN. — Investigators say it’s too soon to know what caused a commuter train to derail Friday, injuring 70 people when it slammed into another train heading in the opposite direction.

But a team from the National Transportation Safety Board, which arrived Saturday, is expected to be on site for seven to 10 days to find out what happened.

After surveying the devastating scene Saturday morning, authorities said in a Saturday briefing that it was fortunate no one was killed.

“The damage is absolutely staggering,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, describing the shattered interior of cars and tons of metal tossed around. “I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy echoed that, saying it was “frankly amazing” people weren’t killed on scene.

Three patients remained in critical condition Saturday morning, with two of those stable, according to officials at two Bridgeport hospitals.

Gov. Dannel Malloy couldn’t say when Metro-North Railroad service would be restored. The crash also caused Amtrak to suspend service between New York and Boston.

Federal investigators will look at the brakes and performance of the trains, the condition of the tracks, crew performance and train signal information, among other things.

NTSB board member Earl Weener says it’s too early to speculate on a cause for the collision.

The NTSB team was surveying the wrecked trains and mangled rails on Saturday morning with Malloy, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and other Connecticut officials, Malloy’s office said.

The damaged trains are likely to remain at the scene for days, until the NTSB finishes its on-site probe.

“When we get approval from NTSB, we’re going to have to have a crane come in and lift the damaged train cars,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan said Saturday.

Service will not return to normal until repairs are made to the tracks and equipment involved.

At a news conference Friday night, Malloy said there was no reason to believe the crash was anything other than an accident. He said he hoped the NTSB investigation would conclude on-site by Monday.

“We’re most concerned about the injured and ultimately reopening the system,” Malloy said from the scene about three hours after the 6:10 p.m. crash.

Passengers described a chaotic, terrifying scene of crunching metal and flying bodies.

“All I know was I was in the air, hitting seats, bouncing around, flying down the aisle and finally I came to a stop on one seat,” Lola Oliver, 49, of Bridgeport, told the Associated Press. “It happened so fast I had no idea what was going on. All I know is we crashed.”

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City’s Grand Central Station to New Haven derailed just outside Bridgeport, MTA and Bridgeport officials said.

Service on the New Haven Line was suspended between South Norwalk and New Haven. According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Twitter feed, service would not return to normal on the line until “a full investigation is complete and repairs are made.”

Malloy said the incident affected rail traffic along the entire Northeast Corridor, including Amtrak trains, which have been suspended indefinitely between New York’s Penn Station and Boston.

Metro-North officials said the 5:30 p.m. out of Grand Central Terminal, due at New Haven at 7:18 p.m., derailed in the area of Bridgeport.

“The eastbound train derailed, which is what caused the trains to collide. It derailed in such a way that it went into the path of the westbound train on an adjacent track,” said Aaron Donovan, a Metro-North spokesman.

A westbound train, the 4:41 p.m. out of New Haven, due in Grand Central at 7:18 p.m., collided with the first train, leaving both trains derailed, officials said. Malloy said most of the injured were traveling in the rail cars affected by the impact — the third car on one train, the lead car on the other.

Police and emergency medical responders treated the wounded, who were taken to Bridgeport Hospital and St. Vincent’s Medical Center, both in Bridgeport.

Passenger Bradley Agar of Westport, Conn., said he was in the first car of the westbound train when he heard screaming and the window smash behind him.

“I saw the first hit, the bump, bump, bump all the way down,” he said.

Agar had returned to work this week for the first time since breaking his shoulder in January. And since he was still healing, he thought it would be safer to take the train than drive.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said the disruption caused by the train accident could cost the region’s economy millions of dollars.

“A lot of people rely on this, and we’ve got to get this reconnected as soon as possible,” Finch said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates the Metro-North Railroad, the second-largest commuter railroad in the nation. The Metro-North main lines — the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven — run northward from New York City’s Grand Central Terminal into suburban New York and Connecticut.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

Veteran turf writer Jennie Rees of The (Louisville) Courier-Journal looks at the nine-horse Preakness field for Saturday’s race, in order of post position:

Orb

Saddlecloth: No. 1. Odds: Even.

Record, earnings: 8: 5-0-1 ($2,335,850)

Last start: Won Kentucky Derby, May 4

Best Beyer speed figure: 104

Sire: Malibu Moon

Dam: Lady Liberty (Unbridled)

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Shug McGaughey

Owners-breeders: Stuart Janney III

LLC & Phipps Stable

Why he can win: As his five-race winning streak indicates, Orb is simply the best horse, bred for these classic distances and continuing to improve. He came very wide to win the Derby and won’t have as many horses to go around this time.

Why he can’t: Since Bally Ache in 1960, only Tabasco Cat in 1994 has won from the rail. His being measurably better than the competition is an illusion. Other Derby horses might have hated the Churchill Downs mud and pull a surprise here.

Goldencents

Saddlecloth: No. 2. Odds: 8-1.

Record, earnings: 7: 4-1-0 ($1,250,000)

Last start: 17th, Kentucky Derby, May 4

Best Beyer: 105

Sire: Into Mischief

Dam: Golden Works (Into Gold)

Jockey: Kevin Krigger

Trainer: Doug O’Neill

Owners: W. C. Racing, Dave Kenney and RAP Racing

Breeders: Rosecrest Farm & Karyn Pirrello

Why he can win: He had never run a poor race until encountering a surface he hated when 17th in the Derby, and he’s never lost two in a row. His 105 Beyer speed figure in the Santa Anita Derby is the fastest of this group. They’ll have to catch him from the No. 2 post. Louis Quatorze won the Preakness after finishing 16th in the 1996 Kentucky Derby — and did it wire-to-wire.

Why he can’t: No horse has come from 17th in the Derby to win the Preakness. (Fairness note: No other 17th-place Derby finishers ran in the Preakness. But there’s a reason for that.)

Notable: Goldencents is partly owned by Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino. He won’t be at Pimlico, but his son, new Minnesota hoops coach Richard Pitino, will represent Dad.

Titletown Five

Saddlecloth: No. 3. Odds: 30-1.

Record, earnings: 7: 1-2-1 ($87,398)

Last start: 4th, Derby Trial, April 27

Best Beyer: 98

Sire: Tiznow

Dam: D’Wildcat Speed (Forest Wildcat)

Jockey: Julien Leparoux

Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

Owner: Group that includes Paul Hornung, Willie Davis and Lukas

Breeder: Stonestreet LLC

Why he can win: If anyone knows about winning championships, it’s five-time Preakness winner Lukas and the owner partnership that includes former Green Bay Packers and Pro Football Hall of Famers Hornung and Davis.

Why he can’t: He’s a very nice horse who doesn’t want to run that far. He’s the only horse in the field with only one win.

Departing

Saddlecloth: No. 4. Odds: 6-1.

Record, earnings: 5: 4-0-1 ($628,000)

Last start: Won Illinois Derby, April 20

Best Beyer: 97

Sire: War Front

Dam: Leave (Pulpit)

Jockey: Brian Hernandez

Trainer: Al Stall

Owner-breeder: Claiborne Farm

Why he can win: The Illinois Derby victor is an improving horse, with four wins and a third (in the Louisiana Derby) in five starts. The Louisiana Derby was the most underrated prep of the season. The racing gods want to jerk Churchill Downs’ chain for leaving the Illinois Derby out of its new points system.

Why he can’t: He hasn’t improved as much as Orb. There’s a reason Churchill Downs left the Illinois Derby out of its points system.

Mylute

Saddlecloth: No. 5. Odds: 5-1.

Record, earnings: 10: 2-3-2 ( $477,695)

Last start: Fifth, Kentucky Derby, May 4

Best Beyer: 93

Sire: Midnight Lute

Dam: Stage Stop (Valid Expectations)

Jockey: Rosie Napravnik

Trainer: Tom Amoss

Owners: GoldMark Farm & Whisper Hills Farm

Breeder: Mike G. Rutherford

Why he can win: He is thriving at the right time and was just a neck out of finishing third in the Derby. He’ll be flying at the end, and the shorter distance will help. The racing gods would love for Napravnik to be the first female jockey to win the Preakness.

Why he can’t: He had basically the same trip as Orb in the Derby and finished fifth.

Notable: Napravnik started her career at Pimlico and got her first win there.

Oxbow

Saddlecloth: No. 6. Odds: 15-1.

Record, earnings:10: 2-1-1 ($383,500)

Last start: 6th, Kentucky Derby, May 4

Best Beyer: 95

Sire: Awesome Again

Dam: Tizamazing (Cee’s Tizzy)

Jockey: Gary Stevens

Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

Owner: Calumet Farm

Breeder: Colts Neck Stables LLC

Why he can win: He was the only horse up close to the pace early who was competitive into the final furlong of the Derby. A different pace scenario and shorter distance let him get the job done.

Why he can’t: He’s not as fast as others in this field.

Will Take Charge

Saddlecloth: No. 7. Odds:12-1.

Record, earnings: 8: 3-1-0 ($545,371)

Last start: 8th, Kentucky Derby, May 4

Best Beyer: 95

Sire: Unbridled’s Song

Dam: Take Charge Lady (Dehere)

Jockey: Mike Smith

Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

Owner: Willis D. Horton

Breeder: Eaton

Why he can win: He was moving with Orb when he was forced to a halt as Verrazano stopped and swerved in front of him in the Derby. With a clean trip, he’ll make things interesting at a price.

Why he can’t: He doesn’t want to run that far.

Govenor Charlie

Saddlecloth: No. 8. Odds: 12-1.

Record, earnings: 3: 2-1-0 ($444,800)

Last start: Won Sunland Derby, March 24

Best Beyer: 95

Sire: Midnight Lute

Dam: Silverbulletway (Storm Cat)

Jockey: Martin Garcia

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owner-breeder: Mike E. Pegram

Why he can win: Like Lukas, Baffert is a five-time Preakness winner who knows how to win this race. His outside post is perfect for his up-close but stalking style. He has raced three times and has improved by leaps and bounds each time, with form similar to another unraced 2-year-old who won the 2006 Preakness in his fourth start: Bernardini.

Why he can’t: There’s a reason few horses win the Preakness without first running in the Kentucky Derby (Bernardini being an exception). That’s because the best 3-year-olds, at least in the spring at classic distances, are in the Derby.

Itsmyluckyday

Saddlecloth: No. 9. Odds:10-1.

Record, earnings: 11: 5-2-1 ($625,600)

Last start: 15th, Kentucky Derby, May 4

Best Beyer: 104

Sire: Lawyer Ron

Dam: Viva La Slew (Doneraile Court)

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Eddie Plesa Jr.

Owners: Trilogy Stable and Laurie Plesa

Breeders: Liberation Farm and Brandywine Farm

Why he can win: He hated the Derby slop. He looked too good and trained too well to run that poorly for a horse who finished second (as the favorite) off a layoff in the Florida Derby to Orb. He picks up Velazquez as rider.

Why he can’t: Same as the Derby: He doesn’t want to run that far.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

CANYON LAKE, Texas — More than a half century after his wife drowned in a Louisiana lake, Mississippi native Felix Vail is now facing a murder charge in her death — making his case the oldest prosecution of a serial killer suspect in U.S. history.

Authorities arrested Vail on Friday in Canyon Lake.

The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger, after an investigation that began in May 2012, detailed the peculiar circumstances surrounding the drowning of Mary Horton Vail and the fate of other women who crossed Vail’s path. The Nov. 11 report prompted authorities to reopen the investigation.

Undercover Comal County, Texas, deputies waited outside Felix Vail’s home in Canyon Lake for authorities from Louisiana, where Mary Vail drowned on Oct. 28, 1962, to arrive and arrest him. However, Vail left in his truck for town and was arrested at the post office.

A Comal County deputy told Vail as he put the handcuffs on him at about 5:15 p.m. Friday that he didn’t know what it was about.

“I know what it’s about,” Vail replied.

Vail, 73, was the last known person to see three women alive — Mary Vail; his longtime girlfriend Sharon Hensley, who disappeared in 1973; and another wife, Annette Craver Vail, who disappeared in 1984.

An investigation by the Calcasieu Parish (La.) Sheriff’s Department and district attorney’s office in Lake Charles, La., led to Vail’s arrest.

“What a birthday present,” said Mary Vail’s brother, Will Horton, when he was contacted about Vail’s arrest. Horton’s birthday is Sunday.

“He’s getting what he deserves,” Horton said. “Over the years, the freak fortune of fate has benefited him.”

At the time of his wife’s drowning, Felix Vail told authorities she had accidentally fallen out of a boat into the Calcasieu River in Lake Charles after he steered to avoid a stump. He told them he was laying trotlines.

Authorities held Vail for questioning, but he was released a few days later.

In January 1963, Calcasieu Parish grand jurors heard evidence against Vail, but then-District Attorney Frank Salter didn’t let them consider a murder indictment.

After analyzing the autopsy of Mary Vail, renowned New York pathologist Dr. Michael Baden told The Clarion-Ledger he believed foul play took place.

That autopsy showed she had large bruises with bleeding into tissues on the left side of the neck, which suggests she suffered forceful neck trauma before entering the water, Baden said.

There are also bruises to the right calf and left leg above the knee, consistent with a struggle before her submersion, he said.

Authorities also found a scarf around her neck that extended 4 inches into her mouth, which suggests traumatic asphyxia before entering the water, he said.

This is the first time Vail has been charged with murder in connection with any of the women’s deaths.

“It’s been a long time coming. That family has suffered for many, many years,” said Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John Derosier. “This process is just beginning, but hopefully this will give the family some closure.”

Allen Horton Jr., Mary Vail’s 80-year-old brother, wept when he heard the news of Vail’s arrest.

“I wish my sister, mother and father were here to see this. However, I’m confident that they are very aware of what’s happening,” he said.

Enzo Yaksic, founder of the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative, said Vail’s arrest marks the oldest of a serial killer suspect in the nation’s history.

He said Dennis Rader — known as the “BTK Killer” and now serving 10 life sentences in Kansas — was arrested 31 years after his crimes.

Starting in spring 2012, The Clarion-Ledger left Vail repeated voice-mail messages asking for comment, but Vail did not respond.

In fall 2012, he sold his property in Montpelier in Clay County and disappeared. The newspaper tracked him down to Canyon Lake.

In January, Calcasieu Parish deputies questioned Vail, who refused to talk about the women.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

Millions of people of varying religious beliefs practice yoga and find that it enhances their spiritual life. Millions of others view it strictly as physical exercise and an aid to mindfulness.

Most of them would be baffled at the notion that yoga has anything to do with religion. “People come to our studios to get into shape and relieve stress,” says Brandon Hartsell, chairman of Yoga Alliance and the owner of Sunstone Yoga, which has 12 locations in the Dallas area. “They are not looking for a religious experience.”

Yet, in Encinitas, Calif., the parents of one child, backed by a Christian defense organization, have sued the Encinitas Union School District claiming a physical education program that includes bi-weekly yoga sessions constitutes religious indoctrination. The plaintiffs allege that the School District’s decision to include yoga in its P.E. classes “unlawfully promotes religious beliefs, while disfavoring and discriminating against other religions,” in violation of the California Constitution’s religious freedom provisions. Because the suit portrays yoga as inherently religious in nature, it could deter yoga programs in schools across the U.S., with a potential impact extending far beyond southern California.

Like many scholars of yoga and religion, Christopher Chapple, professor of Indic and Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University, says that yoga is a non-sectarian practice. The Yoga Sutras, the most commonly cited classical text that forms the basis for both traditional and contemporary yoga philosophy, make no specific theological claims, according to Chapple. It is the non-sectarian nature of this text that has allowed it to resonate for more than 1,500 years, he says.

In fact, those like Chapple — who have taken the time to study the texts of yoga, the context in which it was created and how it evolved into the modern practice it is today — all say the same thing: Yoga is for everyone.

Although it doesn’t always mean the same thing to everyone.

Philip Goldberg, an author and ordained Interfaith Minister who has studied the migration of yoga from India to the U.S., recently noted that diversity of style and meaning is one of the defining characteristics of modern yoga. “‘Yoga’ means different things to different people, has a broad spectrum of applications and can legitimately be presented in a variety of formats, contexts and rubrics,” he wrote. “In fact, its adaptability is among its greatest strengths.”

Mark Singleton, a yoga scholar who teaches at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, notes that many of the influential pioneers of modern hatha yoga insisted on its non-sectarian, democratic and secular nature, and sometimes had an aversion to the association of yoga with religion. This, says Singleton, is in keeping with the anti-sectarian spirit of early Indian hatha yoga.

It is also consistent with the yoga being taught to students in Encinitas. “We’re not teaching religion,” said EUSD Superintendent Timothy Baird. “We teach a very mainstream physical fitness program that happens to incorporate yoga into it. It’s part of our overall wellness program. The vast majority of students and parents support it.”

And why wouldn’t they support it? The physical and mental well-being of our children is just as important as their intellectual development, which is why contemporary education movements seek to shift the focus of education policy from academic achievement to nurturing the overall development of children.

Yoga fits in quite well with this vision. Research demonstrates that it has a positive impact on children’s concentration, demeanor, physical health and attitude. It’s hardly surprising, then, that yoga-in-school programs, like the Washington, D.C.-based YoKid.org, are widely praised by both teachers and parents.

The great majority of scholars of religion and yoga refute the plaintiffs’ claim in the Encinitas case — that yoga is “inherently and pervasively religious.” Yoga can clearly be practiced in harmony with any religion, or with no religion, and is diverse and flexible enough to adapt to any setting. “There are a vast range of reasons why people do yoga,” says Philip Goldberg, “from very secular, practical, body-oriented people, to the most spiritual people on the planet, and everything in between. And it serves all of those purposes because these are universal teachings.”

Richard Karpel is the president and CEO of Yoga Alliance, the Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit organization that represents and credentials yoga teachers, schools and studios.

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

What should you read this weekend? USA TODAY’s picks for book lovers include the latest scorching hot (literally) blockbuster from Dan Brown, plus a touching tale about a journalist and her therapy dog.

Inferno by Dan Brown; Doubleday, 480 pp.; fiction

Dan Brown’s globe-trotting symbologist, known for his tweed jacket, Mickey Mouse watch and penchant for getting into international incidents, is back for a matter of life, death and Dante.

Inferno throws Robert Langdon into the fire for an Italian adventure inspired by Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy.

The new novel is probably the closest Brown will ever get to his version of The Hangover: Langdon wakes up in a Florence hospital with a bad case of retrograde amnesia after a gunshot head wound and a strange object connected to Dante’s Inferno.

The cops, a private security firm and an assassin all are targeting him, so, with the help of a secretive female doctor, Langdon goes on the run to figure out the missing two days of his life.

USA TODAY says *** ½ out of four. “…about as close as a book can come to a summertime cinematic blockbuster.”

A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home: Lessons in the Good Life From an Unlikely Teacher by Sue Halpern; Riverhead, 310 pp.; non-fiction

Journalist Sue Halpern, a little bored and in need of a project, decides to take therapy-dog classes with her Labradoodle, and together they volunteer at a nursing home in her Vermont hometown.

USA TODAY says *** ½. “Halpern does love her dog, of course, but her book is more about humanity and how wonderful, fulfilling and even surprising experiences can be had in the most unlikely of places.”

Dinner With the Smileys: One Military Family, One Year of Heroes, and Lessons for a Lifetime by Sarah Smiley; Hyperion, 356 pp.; non-fiction

With her Navy pilot husband deployed in Africa, mother of three Sarah Smiley commits to 52 weeks of “Dinner with the Smileys” — inviting a special guest each week to take dad Dustin’s seat at the table until his return.

USA TODAY says ***. “Sarah Smiley is all heart.”

The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 by Rick Atkinson; Henry Holt, 877 pp.; non-fiction

In the final volume of his “Liberation Trilogy,” Atkinson offers a history of World War II in Western Europe between D-Day and the fall of the Third Reich

USA TODAY says *** ½. “Great characters, vivid details.”

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey; Putnam, 480 pp.; fiction

The first in a planned young-adult trilogy about teen Cassie Sullivan’s fight for survival after Earth is invaded by aliens intent on the complete annihilation of mankind.

USA TODAY says **** out of four. “A modern sci-fi masterpiece… exceptional.”

Contributing reviewers: Brian Truitt, Craig Wilson, James Endrst and Rick Hampson

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

Q: Will CVTs take over?

James R. Healey: Oh, let’s hope not. Automakers are spending a lot of time and money developing 8- and 9- and even 10-speed automatics that could get the same mpg as CVTs and should be far more pleasant to drive.

Q: Chevy volt of Ford Fusion Energi?

James R. Healey: Energi; roomier and sportier.

Q: Silverado or Ram?

James R. Healey: Silverado. Carries more and the shifter’s in the right place.

Those are merely the appetizers. For the full serving of today’s live(ly) car chat with Test Drive columnist James R. Healey, check below for the transcript.

Live chats are here most Fridays, at 2 p.m. EDT.

Healey has covered autos for USA TODAY since 1988. He’s driven uncounted cars and trucks on normal roads, on race tracks, and where there are no roads.

He’s had the good fortune to do that on three continents, so the government appears to trust him enough to issue a passport.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

If there’s one man who knows what it takes to command a starship, it’s William Shatner. The iconic actor played Captain James T. Kirk for the three seasons of the original “Star Trek” series from 1966 to 1969 and in the first seven of the series’ feature films.

In 2011, Shatner directed and starred in The Captains, a documentary that saw him conversing with the five “Trek” captains (Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula and Chris Pine) who followed him in the franchise’s generations-long run. This week, cable network EPIX premiered the five-episode miniseries The Captains Close Up.

Shatner, 82, will appear at Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, May 30-June 2. He recently spoke with the Asbury Park Press about the downside of a successful acting career and why he hasn’t seen J.J. Abrams’ two Star Trek films yet.

Q: How is the convention-going experience for you nearly 50 years after originating the role of Captain Kirk and still being able to get out, meet the fans and see how much your work and this franchise has impacted their lives?

A: I’m stumbling up the stairs now and staggering across the stage instead of leaping and jumping. I enjoy the convention experience, I enjoy standing in front of an audience and riffing on the questions and hearing what they like and what they don’t like. It’s payback for me. They’ve given me so much of their time and energy and affection, I come there and try and give a little back.

Q: This week, The Captains Close Up, the miniseries version of your documentary The Captains premiered.

A: On EPIX television, yes. We’ve done a loving half-hour tribute to all five captains, which includes myself, which was very difficult because I had to figure out a way to put my own story down on film, so while I was interviewing the others I encouraged them to ask me questions, and so the interviewer, like bad interviewers will, told a great deal of their lives and it’s not what the interviewee is thinking at all.

Q: In meeting with all of the actors who played the captains, did you find a common bond between all of these actors that made them an effective Starfleet captain?

A: Well, it isn’t so much the Starfleet captain as it is the actors. In order to be an actor, you have to give up a great deal of your life because if you get the job, the job occupies so much of your life, so the common factor that I think I found is the sacrifice that the actors have to make from losing their children, getting a divorce, death and destruction, I mean it goes on. And so it is a two-edged sword, the joy of success and then your personal life is liable to go to hell.

Q: I guess that’s the bargain some people have to make for a successful long-term show business career.

A: I think that’s probably the sacrifice any successful person has to make, and that’s a little-addressed fact, that unless you’re obsessive about something it will be very difficult to be successful in it. Only by devoting your whole being, which means all of your time, to whatever it is you’re doing, whether it’s writing for the Asbury Park Press or doing a television show or being a doctor, your life is devoted to your work, and that is to the detriment of the other parts of life, which is family, friends and some other aspect of your life that you might be interested in, fishing or flying or whatever.

Q: And you can see that in the character of Kirk, his dedication to the Enterprise and Starfleet. If you look at the films, it clearly was detrimental to his relationship with his son, David, and other family and friends.

A: Good for you, because that was always a central theme in my consciousness, what you have to give up in order to be successful and is it worth it? Those are questions I’ve asked of myself and other people all the time, and there’s no real answer to it, because you don’t know what your life would have been like had you given up the success. So you’ve got money and celebrity, but what else do you have? And are you lonely, are you bereft of love? Is it possible to combine a loving life and a successful career? Many people ask that question, working mothers for example.

Q: This weekend the new Star Trek film is opening in theaters, “Star Trek Into Darkness.” What are your thoughts on Chris Pine and his interpretation of the character?

A: Well, he’s a lovely young man and he’s a terrific actor and he’s a good-looking guy with the right body and everything like that, personality. I think he’s going to be a big success, he’s got all the equipment and I was very impressed with him, he’s a lovely young man.

Q: How was it for you, seeing the first J.J. Abrams film and seeing another actor referred to as Jim Kirk?

A: You know, I haven’t seen the film. I haven’t seen the new film. I didn’t see the old film. It got away from me. I’ve got to go see it before I start appearing in these things, I guess. You know, I don’t feel proprietorship to Captain Kirk. The character was before me, I invested it with what I could of myself, and then in the movies, I’ve sort of moved away from it, and yet I’m there but I’m not there. … Paramount owns Captain Kirk, but it is the source of all this celebrity and I never forget that. And yet, I’m glad to see Star Trek continue because there’s something about it, and we realize it’s mythological, that appeals to people and has been this phenomenon in show business, it’s been around for 50 years.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

OAKLAND, Calif. — Hundreds of mourners gathered Friday at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California in Oakland for a traditional Islamic funeral service for 28-year-old Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X, eight days after Shabazz was beaten to death in Mexico over a $1,200 bar tab.

“Traditional Islamic prayers will be offered over his remains,” Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem said before the service, which drew more than 200 people

A private burial service, led by Abdur-Rashid, is planned by Tuesday at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, N.Y., where his grandparents are buried. A memorial service is being planned for sometime next week in New York City.

“Malcolm Shabazz was very popular among the young people of his generation,” Abdur-Rashid told The Journal News.

The service, which lasted more than two hours, featured plenty of prayer, songs, spoken word and tears. Many among the procession of speakers said while they initially connected with Shabazz because of his famous grandfather, they learned to appreciate a man they called “Young Malcolm” as a leader in his own right.

“If I could put into one word how I feel about Malcolm, it would be, ‘inspiration,’” Hussein Mekki, 32, told fellow mourners. “Hopefully that will continue, and he can inspire us for the rest of our lives.”

Abdel Malik Ali, 55, a community activist from Oakland, said “Young Malcolm” appeared ready to fuse the history of Malcolm X along with his own experiences he described as “Generation Next.”

“He was looking for his own voice, his own place in this world,” Ali said. “He had his struggles just like everybody else, but he eventually took on a huge responsibility in embracing his family’s legacy that’s harder than anybody could ever imagine.”

While Shabazz, a former New York resident, settled in the Bay Area about four years ago on the advice of friends and local political activist Yuri Kochiyama, who knew his grandfather and wrote to Shabazz while he was incarcerated.

Close friend Hashim Ali Alauddeen said Shabazz planned to attend community college in the area and eventually seek a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

“His heart was sincere. He strived to do what’s right,” Alauddeen said tearfully as he stood over Shabazz’s casket while delivering his friend’s eulogy. “He did his best to purify his soul. His intention and his sincerity was to serve God.”

Mexico City’s top prosecutor said two waiters arrested in the May 9 death had served Shabazz at the Palace bar near Plaza Garibaldi. An autopsy found Shabazz died of blows to the head, face and torso.

Malcolm X, then Malcolm Little, became a follower of the Nation of Islam while in prison during the early 1950s for burglary. After being paroled, he became the well-known national spokesman for the Nation of Islam, which combined Islamic beliefs with a black nationalist ideology.

He had a falling out with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and left in 1964 to form his own Harlem-based group, Muslim Mosque Inc. Malcolm X went on a pilgrimage to Mecca that same year and returned to embrace mainstream Islam.

He was assassinated in 1965 at 39 while speaking in Manhattan. The three gunmen convicted of his murder were members of the Nation of Islam.

(Contributing: The Associated Press)

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

LOUISVILLE — A Chinese-born Canadian citizen is being held on $100,000 bail in the Jefferson County Jail after he was charged with allegedly stalking and harassing the family of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence.

Han Cong Zhao, a 23-year-old former university student from Vancouver, allegedly contacted Lawrence’s brother more than 200 times from Canada before he flew to Louisville April 18 and left a threatening message on his voice mail.

Zhao went to the Indian Hills Police Department the same day and asked Chief Kelly Spratt how he could contact Lawrence’s parents, according to a criminal complaint. He allegedly continued to try to contact Lawrence’s brother, Blaine, when Zhao was involuntarily held for about three weeks at Central State Hospital, according to a criminal complaint.

Prosecutors say Zhao left a voice mail for Blaine, saying: “I find you or you come to me. You got me really upset, when I am upset, wait and see what happens.”

After Zhao was released May 8 and charged with stalking and harassing communications, he gave Spratt two letters for the 22-year-old actress that he addressed to “Mary,” according to court records, which say he has referred to her as “his Mary, referencing Biblical Mary.”

In an April 11 post on his Facebook page in which he urged “Christian conservatives” to “stand up” and “take back” America, Zhao refers to Lawrence and the tumble she took as she accepted her Academy award.

“Well didn’t J-Law fall down and bow before God’s presence and highness this year at the Oscars” he wrote. “I am sure y’all seen the movie Silver Linings Playbook.There’s a silver linings (sic) in every cloud. Trust me.”

Zhao has pleaded not guilty pending a trial scheduled for July 23. Jefferson District Judge Annette Karem ordered him held on $100,000 bond at the request of the county attorney’s office, which said in court papers that “the victims are in serious danger.”‘

She ordered Zhao to have no contact with the Lawrences. “No letters, no emails, no voice messages, no texts, no flowers,” she said.

Lawrence family friend and lawyer Brad Hume said in a statement that the family appreciated the “responsiveness and professionalism” of the Indian Hills Police Department and the county attorney’s office, and would cooperate fully.

“Beyond that the Lawrences asked that their privacy be respected,” he said. “This is not something they invited.”

Lawrence, who grew up in Louisville, was awarded the best actress Oscar this year for Silver Linings Playbook. She previously starred in Winter’s Bone and The Hunger Games.

Spratt said Zhao lives in Vancouver but was unable to say if he is employed.

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Source: USA TODAY

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A 5.1-magnitude earthquake in Ontario, Canada, was felt early Friday from upstate New York to the Vermont border.

Canada’s government agency that monitors earthquakes says the quake occurred at 9:43 a.m. Friday about 13 miles northeast of Shawville, Quebec.

Media outlets in northern New York say people in communities along the St. Lawrence River and as far east as Lake Champlain on New York-Vermont border reported feeling their homes shake.

The United States Geological Survey put the reading lower, at 4.4. That reading was backed up by a different U.S. site, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York City. It is normal for it to take a while to determine a scientific consensus on the magnitude of an earthquake.

No injuries have been reported as a result of the tremor.

The epicenter was not far from the locus of a similarly sized earthquake felt in Rochester in June 2010.

The city’s 911 dispatch center received a small handful of calls in the half hour after the earthquake.

“The State Office of Emergency Management continues to monitor effects of the earthquake that occurred this morning near Ottawa, Canada, and was felt throughout parts of New York State,” read a statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. “At this time, there have been no reports of damage to any of the state’s critical infrastructure.”

Local residents reacted to the trembling on Twitter and other social networks.

“I was sitting having my coffee about five minutes ago and the kitchen table started shaking,” Louis Grande of Penfield, N.Y., said about 9:50 a.m.

Mike Giambrone, 48, was in his office in Perinton when he felt shaking.

“I was shaking and I looked at my desk and it was shaking,” said Giambrone, who had never experienced an earthquake before. “It was weird. There was no hysteria. People were just like ‘I think that was an earthquake.’”

Judy Dickinson of Irondequoit posted on Facebook that “my whole house shook, sounded like my roof was flying off and rolled me in my office chair!”

The area of western Quebec where Friday’s quake was centered is well-known to earthquake experts.

“It’s an area of persistent seismicity,” Cindy Ebinger, professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Rochester. She said there had been foreshocks over the past week — smaller temblors that foreshadowed Friday’s larger event.

Another quake of magnitude 5.0 occurred about 50 east of Shawville on June 23, 2010. That event was felt in western New York as well.

John Ebel, director of the Weston Observatory at Boston College, said the same seismic area was home to a magnitude 6.2 quake in 1935. That one caused the collapse of a railroad embankment and some structural damage.

Ebel said he wouldn’t expect anything of that nature from Friday’s event. “A magnitude 5 is right at the threshold at which damage starts. There could be chimney damage, cracked plaster, things being knocked off shelves. I would not expect anything major like building collapses.”

Earthquakes generally result from movement at the intersection of two masses of rock deep underground.

The scenario most familiar to lay people is movement where two vast continental plates come together, as is the case at the famous San Andreas fault in California.

But according to information posted Friday morning on the website of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Western Quebec seismic zone is different. There are no plate boundaries there. Instead, the “seismic zone is laced with known faults, but numerous smaller or deeply buried faults remain undetected. Even the known faults are poorly located at earthquake depths.

“Accordingly, few, if any, earthquakes in the seismic zone can be linked to named faults. It is difficult to determine if a known fault is still active and could slip and cause an earthquake. As in most other areas east of the Rockies, the best guide to earthquake hazards in the Western Quebec seismic zone is the earthquakes themselves,” the USGS post said.

In Burlington, Vt., the geologic shudder stirred social media from its otherwise routine Friday morning traffic.

On Twitter, Rick Ross (@RickRossVt) initiated posts from the Burlington area (#btv) with a no-nonsense heads-up: “earthquake!”

Contributing: The (Burlington, Vt.) Free Press

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