Billionaire heir to Cargill fortune dies in Calif.

The Associated Press

Updated 5:36 PM Tuesday, November 15, 2011

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Cargill MacMillan Jr., the multibillionaire heir to the Cargill, Inc. agribusiness fortune, has died in Southern California. He was 84.

MacMillan died of natural causes shortly after 1 p.m. Monday at his home in Indian Wells, where he was under hospice care, Riverside County sheriff's spokesman Angel Ramos said.

MacMillan was worth an estimated $2.6 billion based on his share in the family company, according to Forbes magazine, which placed him and other relatives on its list of the 400 richest Americans.

The family, which has a reputation for secrecy, holds 88 percent of Cargill. The Minnesota-based conglomerate, founded in 1865, has international interests that range from cocoa plantations to livestock and steel mills to commodities trading.

It is the largest private company in the world, with nearly $119.5 billion in revenue and 138,000 employees in 63 countries.

Cargill made headlines earlier this year when it recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey following back-to-back salmonella incidents that were linked to one death and 129 illnesses across the country. The company also reported its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 66 percent amid a volatile global grain market.

While MacMillan was a longtime board member, he had no day-to-day role in the company.

The Yale graduate and his wife, Donna, moved from Minnesota to Indian Wells in 1990 and were philanthropists, donating a $20 million art collection to the Palm Springs Art Museum, the Desert Sun newspaper (http://mydesert.co/v3eInx) reported.

He is survived by his wife and four children.

Walt Disney World Speedway Adds Exotic Driving Experience

Whether you’re a kid or not, the name "Walt Disney" should instantly ignite a certain amount of joy. We’ve all been flipping through the television channels and stopped at a Disney cartoon just for a few minutes. Disney has been around for years bringing that kind of long-lasting joy for people, and now they are bringing it once again with the new additions to the Walt Disney World Speedway.

The Walt Disney World Speedway is a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World resort near Orlando, Florida, but don’t expect to see Lightning McQueen racing around the track. The speedway has recently added a new Exotic Driving Experience that includes some of the most amazing supercars in the world – the Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4, Audi R8, and Porsche 911 GT3 RS 997.

If you are interested, the experience will officially begin on January 16, 2012.

For more information visit:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com

Australia seizes huge haul of cocaine, arrests 4

The Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia — Police arrested four Spaniards in one of Australia's largest cocaine seizures, authorites said Monday.

About 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of the illegal drug were seized from a yacht on Friday at the northeastern coastal town of Bundaberg, Australian Federal Police said in a statement. The yacht was crewed by a 35-year-old man and 37-year-old woman, and both were arrested.

Another two Spanish nationals — a 38-year-old man who lives in Sydney and 39-year-old man living in Gold Coast city — were also arrested in Bundaberg, where they were alleged to be collecting the cocaine.

Police have also seized more than 3 million Australian dollars ($3.1 million) in cash using search warrants in Bundaberg, Gold Coast and Sydney.

The four Spanish nationals cannot be named for legal reasons. They will appear in a Bundaberg court Monday charged with importing cocaine and they each face a potential life prison sentence if convicted.

Police said the haul was the fifth-largest cocaine seizure in Australian history. The drug was valued at up to $80 million.

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November 14, 2011 01:10 AM EST

Copyright 2011, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Brazilian Police Occupy Lawless Rio Slum

By PAULO PRADA

SÃO PAULO—Police in Rio de Janeiro early Sunday occupied its biggest slum in a carefully orchestrated predawn raid hailed as the culmination of a recent crackdown by local authorities over lawless, long-neglected parts of the city.

Using tanks, helicopters and almost 3,000 heavily armed police officers, authorities entered Rocinha and two other nearby shanties that together remained a symbolic holdout against a drive by the state government to stabilize neighborhoods controlled by criminals. By installing "police pacification units" to patrol Rio's many favelas, as its slums are known, the government has successfully caused drug traffickers to cede control of areas where they once brazenly operated.

Though Rio remains a chaotic juxtaposition of neighborhoods showcasing Brazil's wide socioeconomic divide, the effort has gradually increased hopes that the city, after decades of disrepair, will have crime under control in time for the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Sunday's long-expected raid, which follows the arrest last week of a Rocinha kingpin who dominated the city's drug trade, was accomplished without any gunfire, unlike the occupation one year ago of another big concentration of favelas in northern Rio during which dozens were killed in shootouts. Police said they faced little resistance except for a few oil slicks and roadblocks left on the steep climb into the area by fleeing criminals.

The crackdown in recent years has prompted most gangs and their leaders to relocate to areas with less scrutiny. The arrest of the alleged trafficker this week, hiding in the trunk of a car that was trying to flee ahead of the raid, differs from the past, when police forays were met with gunfire. Because 

Rocinha has long been in authorities' sights, "those who would've offered any resistance left a long time ago," wrote Luiz Eduardo Soares, a noted security expert, on his Twitter feed.

Still, José Mariano Beltrame, Rio's top security official and one of the architects of the ongoing effort, hailed the raid as a "liberation" of the slum's residents from "a parallel empire." Police, he said, remain wary of any pockets of resistance and in the coming weeks will continue to sweep the area for weapons, vehicles and other tools of the drug trade in addition to dozens of rifles and motorcycles already seized.

A dense hilltop sprawl overlooking the upscale, seaside neighborhoods in Rio's south, Rocinha is home to nearly 100,000 people. For years the favela, with its labyrinthine streets and abutment with a nearby forest, has been an unruly center of the drug trade in Brazil's second-biggest city after São Paulo. Frequently, it was the scene of bloody battles between rival gangs fighting for control of the lucrative business. 

Police last week said Antônio Bonfim Lopes, the drug lord known as Nem who was arrested in the runup to the incursion, ran an organization with sales of as much as $57 million each year. Images of his three-story hillside home and that of other alleged drug traffickers—with swimming pools, hot tubs and high-tech entertainment and kitchen gear—showed islands of luxury amid the crowded, bare-brick dwellings that dominate the neighborhood.

In preparation for the raid, police had set up a mobile hospital at the foot of the hill leading into the slum. Helicopters dropped leaflets telling residents that their neighborhood was being "pacified" and listing hotlines at which they could leave anonymous tips about criminals, their hideouts, or remaining gang activity. 

By mid-afternoon Sunday, police had raised the Brazil and Rio state flags over the three favelas, scores of applauding neighbors gathered around them. As with most previous favela incursions, police have been aided by the eagerness of most residents for order to replace the anarchy that long ruled in their neighborhoods. The Rocinha raid marked the 19th pacification unit to have been set up in Rio so far.

Glen Campbell Bids Farewell to Recording Career With Final Album

Singer Glen Campbell is saying farewell to his illustrious recording career with his final studio album, “Ghost On The Canvas.”

When Glen Campbell announced that he had Alzheimer’s disease, fans thought he would retire and never be seen again.  But, at age 75, Campbell had no interest in calling it quits.  He released a new album while embarking on a tour of the U.S. and Europe.

The album, which critics have described as “a musical biography,” marks the end of a career that garnered numerous music awards and best-selling records, film roles and a network television variety show, “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.”

Campbell grew up wanting to become a jazz musician, but, at the time, decided there was more work for pop and country artists.  As one of the era’s busiest studio musicians, he performed alongside Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and other headliners.  Later, he became an international headliner himself with such hits as “Gentle On My Mind” and “Wichita Lineman.”

After learning he had Alzheimer’s disease in 2009, Glen Campbell decided to record one last album while he was still in good health.

In the liner notes, Campbell writes, “‘Ghost On The Canvas’” is the last studio record of new songs I ever plan to make.”  He calls it a series of snapshots of his life and career, “a life that’s been greater than I ever could have imagined.”

The album comes with a little help from his friends; songwriters Paul Westerberg, Jakob Dylan and Julian Raymond, as well as guest vocalist Chris Isaak and fellow guitarists Brian Setzer, Rick Nielsen, Dick Dale and Billy Corgan.

Four members of Campbell’s family are performing with their father on his current farewell tour, including Cal and Ashley Campbell of the band Instant People.  The tour travels to England, Scotland and Ireland before returning to Branson, Missouri on December 2.

Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN

The one and only Glen Campbell will grace our stage on Nov. 30 and Dec. 5. There are still a few tickets available for the Dec. 5 show -- grab them while you can!

Tracks:

1. A Better Place

2. Ghost On The Canvas 

3. The Billstown Crossroads

4. A Thousand Lifetimes

5. It s Your Amazing Grace

6. Second Street North

7. In My Arms - with Chris Isaak, Dick Dale, and Brian Setzer

8. May 21st, 1969

9. Nothing But The Whole Wide World

10. Wild And Waste Listen

11. Hold On Hope

12. Valley Of The Sun

13. Any Trouble

14. Strong - with Dandy Warhols

15. The Rest Is Silence

16. There s No Me...Without You - guitars by Billy Corgan, Marty Rifkin, Rick Nielsen, and Brian Setzer.

GLEN CAMPBELL'S GHOST ON THE CANVAS VIDEO

The first video from Glen Campbell's critically acclaimed album of the same name. The song's writer, Paul Westerberg, makes an appearance in the clip as well as Glen's children Ashley, Shannon and Cal, and it was directed by Kii Arens and Jason Trucco. FYI, Ghost On The Canvas is the final album to be recorded by the artist (charting on Billboard's Album Chart at #23), capping off an amazing career that has immortalized compositions such as John Hartford's "Gentle On My Mind," the Jimmy Webb-penned "By The Time I get To Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," and "Galveston," plus "Rhinestone Cowboy," "Country Boy," "Southern Nights," and many others. Ghost On The Canvas also includes original songs by Jakob Dylan, Robert Pollard, and Teddy Thompson, and musicians Chris Isaak, Dick Dale, Billy Corgan, Brian Setzer, Rick Nielsen, Roger Manning, and The Dandy Warhols.

For more information visit:

glencampbellmusic.com/

Depp wants normal day at Disneyland

Johnny Depp would love to be anonymous for one day so he could take his take his kids to Disneyland.

The 48-year-old actor admits his worldwide fame stops him from being able to do a lot of normal things with his two kids, daughter Lily-Rose, 12, and son Jack, nine, and he'd love to be able to go to the theme park for an ordinary day with them.

When asked what he'd do if he was anonymous for a day, Johnny - who lives in France with his children and their mother Vanessa Paradis - said: 'I'd walk through Disneyland with my kids. That's what I'd do. I'd go on every ride and let them experience that. When daddy normally walks through Disneyland with them, things get weird.'

The 'Rum Diary' actor's likeness is featured on the Disneyland ride Pirates of the Caribbean, which takes visitors on a boat ride on which they come face-to-face with his character Captain Jack Sparrow from the film series of the same name.

Johnny admits he does struggle with the attention he receives because of his fame and he finds it difficult to reconcile his public persona with the individual he is at home.

He told The Sun newspaper: 'The attention is a strange thing. If someone appreciates your work it's always nice when some gives you attention for that. But I've never quite understood any of the other forms of attention. Somehow you've been voted something for a magazine - it's a complete mystery to me.

'I wake up and I have to look at that head when I brush my teeth every morning. It's weird and it's unpleasant at times.'

For more information visit:

http://johnny-depp.org

Penn St falls to No. 19 Nebraska 17-14

By GENARO C. ARMAS, AP Sports Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP)—Capping the worst week in school history, No. 12 Penn State couldn’t overcome a 17-point deficit and was stopped short on a 4th-and-1 late in a 17-14 loss Saturday to No. 19 Nebraska.

The outcome was secondary in Happy Valley.

A tumultuous chapter that began with the arrest of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky on shocking child sexual abuse charges ended Saturday with Penn State (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) losing in its first game the post-Joe Paterno era. The winningest major college football coach in history was fired Wednesday.

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 12: Penn State Nittany Lions cheerleaders embrace on the last play of the game against Nebraska Cornhuskers at Beaver Stadium on November 12, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State lost, 17-14.

Rex Burkhead ran for 121 yards and a touchdown for Nebraska (8-2, 4-2) before the Nittany Lions scored 14 points on two second-half touchdown runs by Stephfon Green.

But a key drive ended when Silas Redd was stopped on the fourth down with 1:49 left at the Penn State 38.

Most Penn State fans heeded calls for a “blueout,” wearing the school’s familiar dark blue in support of victims of child sexual abuse. Fans formed the outline of a blue ribbon in the student section.

“We are … Penn State,” roared the crowd through the afternoon, the signature State College cheer.

But this school’s identity has forever changed.

Sandusky, architect of the “Linebacker U.” defenses, was charged last weekend with sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years. The athletic director and a university vice president were charged with perjury and failure to report a 2002 allegation to police, and Paterno was fired following mounting fury that he did not do more about one charge—that Sandusky assaulted a boy in the Penn State football showers—than pass it along to his bosses. President Graham Spanier also was fired for similar reasons.

The last time Penn State played a game at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 29, Paterno was feted by Spanier for his 409th career victory, the most in Division I history.

On Saturday, he was nowhere to be found—save for a few fleeting images on the video boards overhead. That was enough to get spontaneous cheers of “Joe Paterno!” ringing through the stands.

Paterno started as an assistant in 1950, then took over as head coach in 1966. It was Penn State’s first game without Paterno on staff since Nov. 19, 1949, a 19-0 loss at Pittsburgh

But in many respects, it was like any other fall Saturday in Happy Valley. Massive 6-foot-5 defensive tackle Devon Still hit ball carriers with typical ferocity and the Nittany Lions played another close, low-scoring game—as they have all year.

Penn State’s first play from scrimmage was a fullback run up the middle—a Paterno favorite. The offense struggled again.

And someone named “Paterno” wore a path on the sideline wearing jet black Nike sneakers.

Just not that Paterno.

Paterno’s son, quarterback coach Jay Paterno, moved down from his usual spot in the press box to relay plays—a job once held by assistant coach Mike McQueary.

McQueary was missing, too, after being placed on indefinite paid leave Friday by the school. His name surfaced as a grand jury witness to the 2002 abuse charge. Sandusky, who retired in 1999 but lives in the area and had access to school facilities, maintains his innocence.

McQueary, Paterno says, told him that Sandusky had behaved inappropriately, but not to the extent of the detailed testimony. Paterno then passed the information on to Curley, but the report was not given to police.

News of the scandal elicited threats to McQueary, the school said, and brought heightened security.

But there were no visible problems during the game. By the second half, the only stress affecting fans was whether the Nittany Lions could get back into the game.

The Corhuskers built a 17-0 lead, with Burkhead gashing Penn State’s staunch D on 25 carries. He motored 14 yards into the end zone with 8:51 left in the third quarter for a 17-0 lead.

Then came the second-half push from Green on Senior Day—his last game at Beaver Stadium.

The senior scored from 5 yards with 5:07 in the third quarter, then added a 6-yard run at 5:42 of the fourth to get Penn State within three. Green finished with 71 yards on 17 carries.

But the offense faltered on two late drives, including the fourth-and-1 stop of Redd. Out of timeouts with 49 seconds left, the Nittany Lions got the ball back but could get no farther than their own 46 before time expired.

The fans cheered anyway, and greeted the Nittany Lions with one more chorus of “We are … Penn State.”