Williams says she's sorry, gears up for Wimbledon

In this photo taken on Sunday, June 23, 2013 and made available by The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Wimbledon, defending women's champion Serena Williams of the United States speaks to the media during a press conference at Wimbledon. The Championships start Monday, with Serena Williams attempting to win the title for the sixth time. (AP Photo/Jon Buckle/AELTC)

In this photo taken on Sunday, June 23, 2013 and made available by The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Wimbledon, defending women's champion Serena Williams of the United States speaks to the media during a press conference at Wimbledon. The Championships start Monday, with Serena Williams attempting to win the title for the sixth time. (AP Photo/Jon Buckle/AELTC)

In this photo taken on Sunday, June 23, 2013 and made available by The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Wimbledon, defending women's champion Serena Williams of the United States speaks to the media during a press conference at Wimbledon. The Championships start Monday, with Serena Williams attempting to win the title for the sixth time. (AP Photo/Jon Buckle/AELTC)

Maria Sharapova of Russia is watched by a coach during a training session at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, June 23, 2013. The Championships start Monday, with Serena Williams attempting to win the title for the sixth time. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

LONDON (AP) ? The next time Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova meet, it will likely be on a tennis court, with a net separating them ? maybe even at Wimbledon, in the final, on the first Saturday in July.

"I think it's great for women's tennis when we play each other," Williams said.

Until then, fans and non-fans alike can keep picking apart the unexpected trade of verbal jousts between two of the sport's biggest stars ? a back-and-forth that has turned the lead-up to Wimbledon into something much more than simple tennis talk.

The latest chapter came on the eve of the tournament, which starts Monday. Trying to set aside a number of awkward outcomes from a Rolling Stone profile of her posted online last week, Williams used her pre-tournament news conference Sunday to express her apologies.

? For comments that put both her and Sharapova's love lives on center stage.

? For remarks she made about the 16-year-old victim in the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case.

? And, it seemed, every bit as much for letting the author of that story into her private world, thus turning the buildup to Wimbledon into a festival of dirty laundry that has the headline writers for the London tabloids drooling. ("This time it's personal" and "I'm sorry, Maria!" were among the lines used.)

"It definitely hasn't been easy," the No. 1-ranked Williams said about the stir created by the magazine's profile. "And I feel like I really wanted to say: I apologize for everything that was said in that article."

Earlier in the week, Williams had issued a statement expressing regret for remarks about the 16-year-old victim in the Steubenville case. On Sunday, she said she and the family "came to a wonderful understanding, and we're constantly in contact."

Also Sunday, Williams explained that she approached the No. 3-ranked Sharapova to try to smooth things over by extending an apology at a pre-tournament players' party Thursday. The exchanges between the two can be traced to a passage where the story's author surmised that something critical Williams said during a telephone conversation with her sister referred to Sharapova.

Williams said Sharapova accepted her apology. If that was the case, however, it sure didn't show Saturday, when Sharapova delivered her own broadside during her news conference: "If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids."

Asked to respond to that dig 24 hours later, Williams declined, saying: "I definitely was told of (Sharapova's) comments. I definitely like to keep my personal life personal. I think it would be inappropriate for me to comment on it."

With play beginning Monday ? Roger Federer begins defense of his seventh title on Centre Court, with Sharapova playing her first-round match afterward ? much of this talk is certain to die down. But it's just as certain to pick back up in about two weeks if the players, on opposite sides of the bracket, advance to the final.

"There's no guarantee that I'll be there," Williams said. "But I'm definitely hoping that I can play and win seven matches."

She's a heavy favorite to do so, going 74-3 and collecting three of four major titles since the start of Wimbledon in 2012. That, perhaps not coincidentally, is when she began working with French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, to whom Williams has been linked romantically.

Neither has confirmed publicly whether they're a couple, but Sharapova's shot on Saturday was taken as a reference to Williams and Mouratoglou. Sharapova was responding to a question about the portion of the Rolling Stone story in which Williams spoke to her sister about what the reporter described as "a top-five player who is now in love."

Williams lamented Sunday that "a private conversation" was reported about, but she also laughingly conceded: "I've been in the business for a little over 200 years, so I should definitely, definitely know better. I should know better to always have my guard up."

She is quoted in the article as saying: "She begins every interview with 'I'm so happy. I'm so lucky' ? it's so boring. She's still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it."

That is followed by these words in parentheses from the writer: "An educated guess is she's talking about Sharapova, who is now dating Grigor Dimitrov, one of Serena's rumored exes."

On Sunday, Williams said: "I made it a point to reach out to Maria. ... I said, 'Look, I want to personally apologize to you if you are offended by being brought into my situation. I want to take this moment to ... be open, say I'm very sorry.'"

Williams repeatedly used some version of the phrase "inadvertently brought into a situation" to describe the way Sharapova got involved.

"It's important what I've learned this week ? mostly that it's so important to know all the facts before you make a comment or before you make an assumption," Williams said. "That's something I'm still learning."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-24-TEN-Wimbledon/id-feb9b5051df94387af742adc20e7696c

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2 Koreas talk in border village after tensions

Chun Hae-sung, center, the head of South Korea's working-level delegation, walks with delegates Kwon Young-yang, left, and Kang Jong-won as they leave for Panmunjom at the Office of the South Korea-North Korea Dialogue in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 9, 2013. North and South Korea will meet in the village straddling their heavily armed border Sunday for the first government-level talks on the peninsula in more than two years as they try to lower tension and restore stalled projects that once symbolized their rapprochement. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Chun Hae-sung, center, the head of South Korea's working-level delegation, walks with delegates Kwon Young-yang, left, and Kang Jong-won as they leave for Panmunjom at the Office of the South Korea-North Korea Dialogue in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 9, 2013. North and South Korea will meet in the village straddling their heavily armed border Sunday for the first government-level talks on the peninsula in more than two years as they try to lower tension and restore stalled projects that once symbolized their rapprochement. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Chun Hae-sung, center, the head of South Korea's working-level delegation, speaks to the media while standing with delegates Kwon Young-yang, left, and Kang Jong-won before leaving for Panmunjom at the Office of the South Korea-North Korea Dialogue in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 9, 2013. North and South Korea will meet in the village straddling their heavily armed border Sunday for the first government-level talks on the peninsula in more than two years as they try to lower tension and restore stalled projects that once symbolized their rapprochement. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Visitors take souvenir photos as military soldiers patrol at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 9, 2013. Government delegates from North and South Korea began preparatory talks Sunday at Panmunjom, a "truce village" on their heavily armed border aimed at setting ground rules for a higher-level discussion on easing animosity and restoring stalled rapprochement projects. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A visitor stands on their toes while taking souvenir photos in front of a wire fence covered with ribbons carrying messages left by visitors wishing for the reunification of the two Koreas, at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 9, 2013. Government delegates from North and South Korea began preparatory talks Sunday at Panmunjom, a "truce village" on their heavily armed border aimed at setting ground rules for a higher-level discussion on easing animosity and restoring stalled rapprochement projects. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Visitors look through a wire fence decorated with ribbons carrying messages visitors left wishing for the reunification of the two Koreas, at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 9, 2013. Government delegates from North and South Korea began preparatory talks Sunday at Panmunjom, a "truce village" on their heavily armed border aimed at setting ground rules for a higher-level discussion on easing animosity and restoring stalled rapprochement projects. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Government delegates from North and South Korea began preparatory talks Sunday at a "truce village" on their heavily armed border aimed at setting ground rules for a higher-level discussion on easing animosity and restoring stalled rapprochement projects.

The meeting at Panmunjom, where the truce ending the 1950-53 Korean War was signed, is the first of its kind on the Korean Peninsula in more than two years. Success will be judged on whether the delegates can pave the way for a summit between the ministers of each country's department for cross-border affairs, which South Korea has proposed for Wednesday in Seoul. Such ministerial talks haven't happened since 2007.

The intense media interest in what's essentially a meeting of bureaucrats to iron out technical details is an indication of how bad ties between the Koreas have been.

Any dialogue is an improvement on the belligerence that has marked the relationship over recent years, which have seen North Korean nuclear tests and long-range rocket launches, attacks in 2010 blamed on the North that killed 50 South Koreans, and a steady stream in recent months of invective and threats from Pyongyang and counter-vows from Seoul.

"Today's working-level talks will be a chance to take care of administrative and technical issues in order to successfully host the ministers' talks," one of the South Korean delegates, Unification Policy Officer Chun Hae-sung, said in Seoul before the group's departure for Panmunjom.

The southern delegation will keep in mind, he said, "that the development of South and North Korean relations starts from little things and gradual trust-building."

During the morning talks, the delegates discussed the agenda for the ministerial meeting, location, date, the number of participants and how long they will stay in Seoul, if the meeting is held there, the Unification Ministry, which is responsible for North Korea issues, said.

Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk told reporters that there were no major disputes and the talks would continue.

Analysts express wariness about North Korea's intentions, with some seeing the interest in dialogue as part of a pattern where Pyongyang follows aggressive rhetoric and provocations with diplomatic efforts to trade an easing of tension for outside concessions.

Recent months saw North Korean threats of nuclear war, Pyongyang's claim that the Korean War armistice was void, the closing of a jointly run factory park and a North Korean vow to ramp up production of nuclear bomb fuel.

If the Koreas can arrive at an agreement for ministerial talks, that meeting will likely focus on reopening the factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong that was the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, and on other scrapped rapprochement projects and reunions of families separated by the Korean War.

Pyongyang pulled its 53,000 workers from the Kaesong factories in April, and Seoul withdrew its last personnel in May.

Success will also mark a victory for South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who took office in February and has maintained through the heightened tensions a policy that combines vows of strong counter-action to any North Korea provocation with efforts to build trust and re-establish dialogue.

It wasn't immediately clear how long Sunday's meetings would last; reporters weren't being allowed access to the venue.

The Koreas have been communicating on a recently restored Red Cross line that Pyongyang shut down during earlier tensions this spring. The site of Sunday's meeting holds added significance because the armistice ending the Korean War was signed there 60 years ago next month. The Panmunjom truce, however, has never been replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula technically at war.

Representatives of the rival Koreas met on the peninsula in February 2011 and their nuclear envoys met in Beijing later that year, but government officials from both sides have not met since.

The meeting follows a summit by U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping in California. White House national security adviser Tom Donilon said Obama and Xi found "quite a bit of alignment" on North Korea and agreed that Pyongyang has to abandon its nuclear weapons aspirations.

China provides a lifeline for a North Korea struggling with energy and other economic needs, and views stability in Pyongyang as crucial for its own economy and border security. But after Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test in February, China tightened its cross-border trade inspections and banned its state banks from dealing with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un late last month sent to China his special envoy, who reportedly told Xi that Pyongyang was willing to return to dialogue. President Park will travel to Beijing to meet Xi later this month.

The talks between the Koreas on Sunday could represent a change in North Korea's approach, analysts said, or could simply be an effort to ease international demands that it end its development of nuclear weapons, a topic crucial to Washington but initially not a part of the envisioned inter-Korean meetings.

Pyongyang, which is estimated to have a handful of crude nuclear devices, has committed a drumbeat of acts that Washington, Seoul and others deem provocative since Kim Jong Un took over in December 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.

__

AP writer Sam Kim contributed to this report from Seoul.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-09-Koreas-Tension/id-f7504bba30eb4795bc2f3b3103e6180b

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Military calls sexual assault 'like a cancer'

Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2013, during the committee's hearing on pending legislation regarding sexual assaults in the military. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2013, during the committee's hearing on pending legislation regarding sexual assaults in the military. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, right, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2013, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to investigate the growing epidemic of sexual assaults within the military. From right are, Dempsey, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, and Judge Advocate General of the Army Lt. Gen. Dana K. Chipman. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

As Congress investigates the growing epidemic of sexual assaults within the military, the Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to demand answers from top uniformed leaders about whether a drastic overhaul of the military justice system is needed. Fro right to left are: Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Brig. Gen. Richard C. Gross, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, Judge Advocate General of the Army Lt. Gen. Dana K. Chipman, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, and Staff Judge Advocate to the Marine Corps Commandant Maj. Gen. Vaughn A. Ary. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

As Congress investigates the growing epidemic of sexual assaults within the military, the Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to demand answers from top uniformed leaders about whether a drastic overhaul of the military justice system is needed. From right to left are, Judge Advocate General of the Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard C. Harding, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Judge Advocate General of the Navy Vice Adm. Nanette M. DeRenzi, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Brig. Gen. Richard C. Gross, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Military leaders said Tuesday that sexual assault in the ranks is "like a cancer" that could destroy the force, but they rejected far-reaching congressional efforts to strip commanders of some authority in meting out justice.

Seated side-by-side at a long witness table, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of each branch of the military and Pentagon lawyers testified on what is widely viewed as an epidemic of sexual assault plaguing the services.

Outraged by recent high-profile cases and overwhelming statistics, lawmakers have moved aggressively on legislation to address the scourge of sexual assault. They summoned the military brass to answer their questions at a jam-packed hearing.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., challenged the military leaders, telling them not all commanders are objective, with some who don't even want women in their ranks and some who fail to understand the serious of some offenses.

"Not every single commander can distinguish between a slap on the ass and a rape," Gillibrand said.

Gillibrand has proposed legislation that would remove commanders from the process of deciding whether serious crimes, including sexual misconduct cases, go to trial. That judgment would rest with seasoned trial counsels who have prosecutorial experience and hold the rank of colonel or above.

Her legislation, which has 18 cosponsors including four Republicans, also would take away a commander's authority to convene a court-martial. That responsibility would be given to new and separate offices outside the victim's chain of command.

She said U.S. allies such as Israel, Britain and Germany have a similar process.

Congress has acted in prior years to ensure the aggressive investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults, said Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., but more needs to be done. The committee is considering seven bills to deal with sexual assault.

The problem of sexual assault "is of such a scope and magnitude that it has become a stain on our military," said Levin, who has not endorsed any of the bills.

The military leaders offered no disagreement about the impact on the services.

"Sexual assault and harassment are like a cancer within the force ? a cancer that left untreated will destroy the fabric of our force," said Army Gen. Ray Odierno. "It's imperative that we take a comprehensive approach to prevent attacks, to protect our people, and where appropriate, to prosecute wrongdoing and hold people accountable."

While acknowledging the problem and accepting that legislation is inevitable, military leaders insisted that commanders keep their authority to handle sexual assault cases.

"Reducing command responsibility could adversely affect the ability of the commander to enforce professional standards and ultimately, to accomplish the mission," Dempsey told the committee.

The four-star chiefs told the committee they support Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's April recommendation to change the Uniform Code of Military Justice and largely strip commanding officers of the power to toss out a verdict. The change is included in several of the Senate proposals and likely will be adopted by the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday in their version of the annual defense policy bill.

But service chiefs expressed concern over making broader changes to the military's legal code that would undercut the ability of commanders to discipline the troops they need.

Voices rising, female members of the committee tangled with military leaders, complaining that the military's reporting process fails to recognize the seriousness of rape, sometimes equating it with incidents of sexual harassment.

"This isn't about sex," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told the panel, but about "crimes of domination and violence."

Odierno, the Army's chief of staff, said a commander's ability to punish quickly, visibly and at the unit level is essential to maintaining discipline within the ranks.

"Without equivocation, I believe maintaining the central role of the commander in our military justice system is absolutely critical," Odierno said.

The Air Force's top officer, Gen. Mark Welsh, said airmen should have no doubt about who will hold them accountable.

"Commanders having the authority to hold airmen criminally accountable for misconduct ... is crucial to building combat-ready, disciplined units," Welsh said.

The Pentagon estimated in a recent report that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, up from an estimated 19,000 assaults in 2012, based on an anonymous survey of military personnel. While the number of sexual assaults that members of the military actually reported rose 6 percent to 3,374 in 2012, thousands of victims were still unwilling to come forward despite new oversight and assistance programs aimed at curbing the crimes, the report said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he cannot overstate his "disgust and disappointment" with continued reports of sexual assaults in the ranks and said they could dissuade prospective recruits from joining the armed forces.

Despite the military's efforts to stop sexual assaults in the ranks, Dempsey said in response to a question from McCain that there are gaps in the way the services screen prospective recruits that could allow an individual with a history of sex-related crimes to join the military.

"There are currently, in my judgment senator, inadequate protections for precluding that from happening," Dempsey said. "So a sex offender could in fact find their way into the armed forces of the United States."

Last week, the Pentagon said the U.S. Naval Academy is investigating allegations that three football team members sexually assaulted a female midshipman at an off-campus house more than a year ago. A lawyer for the woman says she was "ostracized" on campus after she reported it.

In recent weeks, a soldier at the U.S. Military Academy was charged with secretly photographing women, including in a bathroom. The Air Force officer who led the service's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit was arrested on charges of groping a woman. And the manager of the Army's sexual assault response program at Fort Campbell, Ky., was relieved of his post after his arrest in a domestic dispute with his ex-wife.

Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, top Republican on the committee, said he was wary of proposals to restrict the authority of commanders to discipline their troops.

"Fundamentally we cannot abolish sexual assault by legislation alone as you point out. Eliminating sexual assault requires commanders to drive cultural change and achieve accountability," Inhofe said.

The power of a commander under military law to convene courts-martial and uphold or dismiss their verdicts dates back to the Articles of War adopted by the Continental Congress in 1775.

But it wasn't until much later in the nation's history that service members were allowed to appeal a conviction to a higher military court. That access to what Hagel has described as a "robust system of appeal rights" led to his recommendation to take away a commander's power to grant clemency in court-martial cases.

The push by members of Congress to further restrict the authority of commanders stems primarily from a recent case in which Air Force Lt. Gen. James Franklin overturned a guilty verdict against a lieutenant colonel convicted on charges of abusive sexual contact and aggravated sexual assault.

In cautioning against making significant changes to military law without careful consideration, Welsh told the committee that complete reversals of court-martial findings in Air Force sexual assault cases are rare. Franklin's decision is the only one out of 327 cases over the last five years, he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-04-US-Military-Sexual-Assault/id-d2990899aae441c5ada2d5bc9d83b5c5

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This Week's Top Comedy Video: Jon Lajoie's Get Rich Kickstarter

Kickstarter campaigns can be awesome. Or sometimes be invigoratingly useful like Veronica Mars. Or be revealingly sad like Zach Braff's. Or what about ridiculously blatant like comedian Jon Lajoie. Lajoie, who stars on FX's The League, mocks all Kickstarter campaigns by asking people to donate to his cause by making him rich.

Because people with a lot money need your money too!

The rest of this week's top comedy videos, including Mom advice, super secret spy agents who have no friends worth killing and more can all be found over at Splitsider.

• Arrested Development's long-awaited fourth season debuted on Netflix. We reviewed the first two episodes in-depth, reviewed the season as a whole, and created an encyclopedic guide to the new season's best gags, callbacks, and running jokes.
• Nathan for You's Nathan Fielder pulled another Twitter prank, this time devastating romantic relationships.
• A report says that Dan Harmon confirmed he's been asked back to be Community's showrunner.
• Vince Gilligan addressed the possibility of a Saul Goodman spin-off to Breaking Bad.
• We talked to Mike Birbiglia about the impending final performance of My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and to stand-ups Jared Logan and Mike Lawrence about their Comedy Central Half Hour specials.
• Maria Bamford premiered the first two videos of her new web series Ask My Mom.
• We reviewed the new Richard Pryor documentary Omit the Logic and director Jordan Vogt-Roberts's new coming-of-age comedy The Kings of Summer.
• We dissected Andrew Dice Clay's intentionally offensive comedy.
• We recommended the week's best comedy podcasts, featuring Christopher Guest, Paul F. Tompkins, Adam Scott, and more, and the week's best Vine videos, featuring Bo Burnham, James Urbaniak, and Pete Holmes.

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Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-weeks-top-comedy-video-jon-lajoies-get-rich-kic-510783935

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