Arts Writer

Record 600 Major Regulations Imposed Under Obama

By Unknown on 23:37 in

The federal government has imposed a new major regulation every three days since President Barack Obama took office, as the administration has shattered the record for implementing regulations costing the economy $100 million or more.

The Obama administration has now issued 600 major regulations, the center-right policy institute the American Action Forum noted in a recent report.

“One year ago, the American Action Forum (AAF) celebrated a regulatory milestone, of sorts: 500 major regulations,” wrote Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy. “A major regulation has an economic impact of $100 million or more and can significantly affect prices for consumers.”

Obama has exceeded the 426 regulations introduced under eight years of George W. Bush despite serving less time in office so far.

“In more than six years in office, President Obama had imposed more regulations than President Bush did in eight years,” Batkins said. “Now, the administration has once again reached another record-breaking figure: 600 major regulations in roughly 7.5 years, which is 20 percent more than the previous president did in eight years.”

The American Action Forum said President Obama’s work expanding regulation in the U.S. economy is not finished, as new rules are still being finalized. The administration is set to impose new greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty trucks at a price tag of $31 billion, and efficiency standards for manufactured housing that will cost $4.1 billion.

Obama is on pace to issue 641 major regulations through the remainder of his term.

Even though major regulations are defined as rules that cost the economy at least $100 million, major rules imposed during the Obama years have cost much more.

“To date, the administration’s major rules have cost, on average, $1.4 billion,” Batkins wrote. “With the possibility of 50 more rules, the lame duck tally could push this regulatory cost figure to $813 billion ($743 billion base plus $70 billion in future rules). That’s more than the GDP of the Philippines, a country with 100 million people.”

On average, the Obama administration has issued one major rule every three days.

“The federal government is open approximately 250 days annually, so this equates to a major regulation every three days or nearly two per week,” according to the report.

The 600 major regulations have cost the economy at least $743 billion, or $2,294 for every person in the United States. The figure is “larger than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Norway and Israel combined.”

“Implementing 600 major rules might sound like eight or nine years of regulation, but this doesn’t mark the end of President Obama’s regulatory streak,” Batkins said. “Even though the president and his regulators have already issued 40 major rules in 2016, with an average of 81 major rules annually, the nation is still not halfway to the administration’s ‘regulatory budget’ this year.”

US Women's Gymnastics Team Wins Gold Medal

By Unknown on 23:31 in

This win was never in doubt: The 8-point gap between the U.S. and second-place Russia was the largest since 1960, when the Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia by 8.997 points in Rome.
China had seemed to be in control of second place, but it slipped on a shaky final rotation that included a fall in the floor exercise.
The Americans set the tone on the vault, their first apparatus of the day. That's where Biles posted a score of 15.933 that was the highest of any on Tuesday. They then moved on to dominate the uneven bars and the balance beam, finishing on the floor exercise — where Biles and her teammates Aly Raisman and Laura Hernandez sealed the victory and set off a party at Rio's Olympic Arena.
Aly Raisman (left) and Simone Biles (right) of the United States compete on the vault during the women's team final. They didn't let up today, leaving the other teams — Russia, China, Japan, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, and host Brazil — fighting for silver and bronze.
The U.S. team — which includes Gabrielle Douglas and Madison Kocian in addition to Hernandez, Raisman, and Biles — brought home the gold by scoring the most points in all four skills.
Simone Biles of the United States competes in the floor event during the women's team final.
With Biles earning a score of 15.800, the American team has captured the gold medal with an 8-point margin. Russia moved up to second place in the final rotation, with a score of 176.688 to the U.S. team's 184.897.
China fell to third, winning bronze with a final team score of 176.003.
Simone Biles' ability to explode off the floor and reach great heights is on full display in this routine, the last for the Americans. She's all smiles, and her music draws on the sounds of Brazil's famous carnival.
Her final pass ends in a landing that is exactly in time with the music's dramatic drum climax, and Biles finishes on the floor.
There are squeals and yells as the U.S. team hugs.
Aly Raisman's floor exercise is full of bounding energy and perfect landings, netting her a 15.366. It's the kind of routine that will be played repeatedly.
The crowd was invited into the party by Hernandez's routine, and now they're in it full-bore, clapping and chanting, "A-ly! A-ly!"
After greeting her teammates, Raisman goes down to the gymnasts on the Chinese team and gives each one a hug.
Aly Raisman of the United States competes in the floor event during the women's team final. Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
If the American squad is suffering from any nerves after a wait to take the floor, they may be feeling better now, after Hernandez turned in a loose, enthusiastic routine that drew the crowd into her performance.
Hernandez, 16, pulled off a layout into a double full and a front tuck, U.S. Gymnastics tells us. Her score: 14.833.
The outcome hasn't seemed in doubt all week, and so far in today's programs, the U.S. has turned in only one score that was below a 15 — a 14.800 earned by Simone Biles on the uneven bars.
With one skill remaining, the U.S. has a score of 138.898, for an average of 15.433 per discipline. They're entering this final portion of the team final with a lead of nearly 5 points.
The Americans are rotating through their skills with China's gymnasts, who are now performing their floor routines.
China's Mao Yi is being forced to sit through an awkward delay as the judges tabulate her score. Anchoring her country's final rotation, she fell during her routine. Her score brings a loud cheer of encouragement from the crowd.
China's gymnasts are showing art and grace on the beam. We just watched Shang Chunsong — who at 20 is the oldest gymnast on her team — leap and spin through a set that left her smiling as she left the landing pad.
China's Shang Chunsong competes in the beam event during the women's team final. Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images
Perhaps these gymnasts' moms should have stitched their names into their team jackets: We just watched a couple of them sift through some of the jackets, putting them on and taking them off, as if they were trying to find the right one. Close inspections seemed to save the day.
There was what seemed to be a long delay before China's final score for the beam appeared; the team's fans didn't seem to mind, waving their country's flag and bouncing along to the music in the arena.
After a small wobble early in her beam program, Aly Raisman recovers and lands her leaps and flips with speed and precision. She then takes a couple of deep breaths, walks purposefully to the other end of the beam and launches herself off and into a sharp landing. As USA Gymnastics says on their Twitter feed, Raisman stuck an Arabian double in her program.
She's followed by Hernandez, who turns in an amazing performance on the beam. There are flawless layouts and a double pike on the landing. With a score of 15.233, she tops Raisman's score (15.000).
Lauren Hernandez of the United States performs on the balance beam during the women's team final. Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty images hide caption
toggle caption Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty images
Biles follows with a routine that shows she's capable of at least a fraction of the human wobbles the rest of us might feel if we were even contemplating some of she's pulling off. In one striking sequence, she spins around on the beam. In another, she explodes off the end of the beam and into a flawless landing. The judges give her a 15.300.
With two of the four apparati now completed, the American team now has a four-point lead, and China has moved into second position ahead of Russia. It's the U.S. at 93.365, followed by China with 89.339.
For Gabby Douglas, today's team finals are nearly the end of the road. As NPR's Melissa Block has reported, she won't move on to the all-around competition because of the Olympics' limits of two athletes per country — and Raisman and Biles earned those spots. Douglas nails her landing off the bars and bounces off the landing pad, all smiles.
She's followed by Kocian — whose routine looks flawless to these untrained eyes, and which culminates in a twisting dismount that earns a large and loud cheer from the crowd at the Rio Olympic Arena.
Afterwards, Kocian and Douglas do something that didn't happen after the vaults: they stand and laugh and talk for minutes. Clearly, they are feeling great about their routines.
Note: Watching this live, we do not have the benefit of hearing highly knowledgeable gymnastics analysts tell us what all these contortions and flips are, so we're focused on describing what's going on.
After watching the Chinese athletes perform their routines on the uneven bars, the U.S. squad is finally called. Biles will lead off, followed by Douglas, Kocian, Raisman, and Hernandez.
Gabby Douglas of the United States competes in the uneven bars during the women's team final. Ben
The Americans take turns warming up on the bars, running through their routines. Because this is essentially a practice, Kocian's twisting and flipping landing, which looks impossible to our eyes, gets no applause.
Biles follows with her routine — and her landing is so sound and straight that it looks like she's just returned to her roots on the ground.
The arena is quite loud at times with cheering — particularly for the Brazilian team that's concurrently competing on the floor exercise.
Because of the different times various disciplines require, there's been a pretty long delay between the vault, which is by far the quickest, to the slower uneven bars.
The U.S. and Chinese gymnasts present themselves to the judges — and some of the American athletes smile and laugh in speaking to them. The Chinese gymnasts are dressed in purple leotards with rows of glittering silver — an effect that's echoed in their glittery eye makeup.
After the first rotation, the U.S. team is in first place, with a combined 46.866 points. Russia is running a close second with 46.166 — a figure to keep in mind on the U.S. uneven bars rotation, which the Russian team just left.
Next up: the uneven bars. The order for the U.S.: Biles; Douglas; Kocian; Raisman; and Hernandez. They're waiting for the two other teams to finish their turns on the apparatus.
Final scores are now in for the vault; the U.S. scored a 46.866 — more than 2 points above the 44.332 for the Chinese gymnasts.
After hurtling down the runway, Simone Biles' body becomes completely calm the second she hits the air on her vault. She lands cleanly and beams. There are no penalties on her score.
No major glitches so far for the U.S., and the team is all business as it sits on the bench watching the Chinese gymnasts perform their vaults.
Lauren Hernandez starts it off strong, landing smoothly. Aly Raisman follows, and has a slight separation on her landing. Both gymnasts get warm hugs from their teammates and coach Mihai Brestyan.

Newest monsters in Pokemon Sun and Moon

By Unknown on 22:36 in

Pokemon Sun and Moon’s Pokedex grew bigger with the debut of new, lengthy videos, which also premiered several features and human characters in the Nintendo 3DS games. The new Pokemon additions are, as always, the trailer’s highlight, and we’ve rounded them up below — all 14 of them.
Reinvented classics
Pokemon Sun and Moon is set in the Hawaiian-esque islands of Alola, a region that is home to Pokemon both foreign and familiar. Several of the original Pokemon from Red, Green, Blue and Yellow return in the new games, albeit with special Alola forms that change them completely.
(Alolan Exeggutor)
If you already thought Exeggutor looks bizarre, meet the Alolan version. The 35-foot-tall grass/dragon-type has an absurdly long neck that it uses to whip other Pokemon into shape. Its additional head helps too, bringing it to a total of four. In case you’re wondering where the fourth one is, take a look at Exeggutor’s backside: Head number 4 is on its tail, perfect for headbutting Pokemon that try to creep up behind it.
(Alolan Vulpix)
The adorable fire-type changes type in the Alola Region. The tiny fox Pokemon is now an ice-type after taking a liking to the islands’ snow-covered mountains. This Vulpix is so different from the one fans grew up with, in fact, that it actually can’t stand the heat, instead living in the snow year-round, expelling icy cold temperatures from its breath and using the Snow Cloak ability to keep cool.
(Alolan Ninetales)
Vulpix’s majestic evolution also comes with a change in the Alola Region. Ninteales is now an ice/fairy type, attacking enemies with ice crystals that shoot off its fur. Otherwise, however, the beautiful fox remains a gentle soul.
(Alolan Sandshrew)
We’ve learned that the tropical Alola Region is not without its colder locales, and Sandshrew’s regional variation is another example of the major effects the mountainous environments have on Pokemon. The former ground-type became an ice/steel Pokemon to protect itself from Alola’s harsh cold. Although its steely exterior and Snow Cloak ability helps keep it moving across the ice with speed, it can’t curl up in a ball like Kanto’s Sandshrew can.
(Alolan Sandslash)
Sandslash also becomes an ice/steel-type after exposure to the snow-covered peaks of Alola. Its already intimidating spikes are now ice-covered, making them even bigger and scarier. Enemies will appreciate Sandslash’s diminished speed thanks to its heavier load, however — but Alolan photographers are especially fond of the monster, whose attacks are considered to be so beautiful as to warrant the potentially life-threatening trek to their mountain hideouts.
New friends
Plenty of new Pokemon were also introduced today as the Pokedex grows ever larger. Among these are evolutions for previously seen monsters, as well as Pokemon that change form based on which of the four Alolan islands they inhabit.
(Oricorio)
Oricorio, the bird-like "Dancing Pokemon," transforms completely after drinking from specific flowers. These flowers vary by locations, as do its forms — although each one knows the Dancer ability, which allows the Pokemon to use the same move as another dancing monster upon its next turn. They also have Revelation Dance move, a new attack that changes type based on the kind of Oricorio you’re fighting with.
We don’t yet know the names of Alola’s different islands but perhaps Oricorio’s various styles can give us hints. The Sensu Style is both a ghost- and flying-type and is a particular favorite of Kanto ex-pats who now reside in Alola. That’s apparently thanks to its stoicism and gracefulness.
(Oricorio One)
The psychic/flying-type version of Oricorio is more a diva than the calm Sensu Style. Blame its psychic abilities, which grow through dance.
(Oricorio Two)
This is objectively the best of Oricorio’s four variations. It’s an electric/flying-type, which is a fairly rare pairing, and its feathers can dish out painful shocks to opponents. If you’re on Oricorio’s good side, though, it’s a great friend, putting those pom-poms to great use by cheering up bummed out trainers. We plan to take up permanent residence on the island that this cheerleader lives, personally.
(Oricorio There)
A runner up to the Pom-Pom Style Oricorio is the Baile Style, a fire/flying-type that is an impassioned dancer. We can’t wait to tango with this guy, although trainers should be careful of its more intense moves. The down fluff on this Oricorio’s body can whip up a fiery move when it’s really in the groove.
(Mudbray)
This little guy is a ground-type who moves to the beat of its Own Tempo ability. Don’t let this tiny donkey’s size fool you, though: Mudbray is powerful, able to bear loads 50 times its weight.
Mudbray evolves into Mudsdale, a Pokemon we’ve met previously that players can ride around the Alola Region on top of. It, too, loves the mud, so much so that being kept away from it for too long will turn Mudbray into a total brat. But we’d be bratty too, if we were on the verge of extinction; overhunting led to Mudbray appearing few and far between in Alola.
Minior
This rock/flying-type is known as the "Meteor Pokemon." Although only one-foot-tall, Minior absorbs debris from around the stratosphere to become a hefty 88 pounds. Its thick shell enables the Shields Down ability, which gives it great defensive skill. That outer core can break, however, to reveal a lighter, quicker Pokemon. That happens when Minior’s HP drops to less than 50 percent.
(Gumshoos)
Gumshoos evolves from Yungoos, whom we met during E3 2016. Gumshoos is the "Stakeout Pokemon," which makes perfect sense. This tiny mongoose super sleuth is always on the lookout for enemies, demonstrating its wiser, more tactical nature over its more offensive pre-evolution. That’s only true when the sun’s up, though; Gumshoos is kind of an old geezer, falling asleep when night falls and its stamina runs out.
(Fomantis)
Fomantis is the baby-sized "Sickle Grass Pokemon." Unlike Gumshoos, it prefers the darkness, using the daytime to photosynthesize energy to use later on. Photosynthesis is also the reason behind the strength and unique coloring of its evolution, but in its current state, the Pokémon can use the energy it stores to finish off enemies with Soloar Beam.
(Lurantis)
Fomantis later evolves into this pretty Pokemon. Lurantis is an elegant grass-type who uses its natural beauty to flirt with — and massacre — its enemies. Lurantis is all about self-love and self-care, grooming itself on the regular. It prefers to work with trainers who are similarly into intense beauty regiments. As the Totem Pokémon of Lush Jungle, the Challenge Trial of the Akala Island, Lurantis slices up Pokemon with the powerful Solar Blade move. Solar Blade takes two-turns to use, absorbing solar power on the first and then sending out a wave of energy on the second.

Employees Who Defended Ailes “Should Have Known Better”

By Unknown on 22:21 in

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, whose sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit led to Roger Ailes’ recent exit from the network, told The Washington Post in an interview that she was “angry that it took so long” for Ailes to be pushed out. Carlson also said that Fox News employees who publicly defended Ailes “should have known better.”

Earlier this month, Carlson filed a lawsuit alleging that Ailes fired her after she declined his sexual advances. Since then, an additional 25 women have come forward to allege harassment by Ailes, according to Carlson’s attorney. Ailes biographer Gabriel Sherman reported that Fox News host Megyn Kelly told investigators that Ailes had harassed her as well. On July 19, it was reported that Ailes would leave Fox News as a result of the allegations and an internal investigation; he resigned two days later.

In an interview with Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan, Carlson said her reaction to Ailes’ dismissal was, “At first, satisfaction -- or no, I think validation” and that she “felt angry that it took so long.” She also noted, “It’s complicated — there was relief that now I would be believed — and I was happy to a certain extent over that.”

When asked about reports that Kelly came forward to speak about Ailes, Carlson said, “I appreciated that she told the truth, and I know it was risky.” Sullivan writes that Carlson was also “disturbed by the public statements of some Fox News women and men who came forward in the first few days to say glowing things about Ailes’s character.”

Carlson said, “Some of them were lawyers. They should have known better, so I was surprised. It was like, ‘Wow, you have no idea what you’re talking about’,” adding, “But I was at Fox a long time. I know how it works. You could sense that it all was orchestrated.” (Fox News has a notoriously ruthless PR department that often targets people critical of the network.) From Sullivan’s article:

But when I asked her how she felt as she watched Roger Ailes — perhaps the most powerful media figure in America — step down as Fox News chief only two weeks after she had sued him for sexual harassment, she searched for the right description.

“At first, satisfaction, or no, I think validation,” she told me Wednesday. And then, she said, a new round of emotion came rushing in over the sexual harassment she says she endured while working for Ailes. “I felt angry that it took so long.”

“It’s complicated — there was relief that now I would be believed — and I was happy to a certain extent over that.”

“I appreciated that she told the truth, and I know it was risky,” Carlson said, but she disagreed that Kelly’s statements made all the difference. It was “the multitude of women” who started to come forward, creating a critical mass that could no longer be ignored.

Conversely, she was disturbed by the public statements of some Fox News women and men who came forward in the first few days to say glowing things about Ailes’s character, suggesting that he could never have engaged in sexual harassment.

“Some of them were lawyers. They should have known better, so I was surprised. It was like, ‘Wow, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said. “But I was at Fox a long time. I know how it works. You could sense that it all was orchestrated.”

Well Known Hospitals Fail To Score High In Medicare Rankings

By Unknown on 22:20 in

Memorial Hermann Hospital System in Houston was one of very few nationally renowned hospitals to get a five-star ranking from Medicare. Ed Uthman/Flickr hide caption
toggle caption Ed Uthman/Flickr
Memorial Hermann Hospital System in Houston was one of very few nationally renowned hospitals to get a five-star ranking from Medicare.The federal government released its first overall hospital quality rating on Wednesday, slapping average or below average scores on many of the nation's best-known hospitals while awarding top scores to many unheralded ones.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rated 3,617 hospitals on a one- to five-star scale, angering the hospital industry, which has been pressing the Obama administration and Congress to block the ratings.
Hospitals argue that the government's ratings will make teaching hospitals and other institutions that treat many tough cases look bad. They argue that their patients are often poorer and sicker when admitted, and so are more likely to suffer further complications or die, than at institutions where the patients aren't as sick.
Medicare, which already publicizes on its website more than 100 hospital metrics, many of which deal with technical matters, acknowledges that the ratings don't reflect cutting edge care, such as the latest techniques to battle cancer. Still, it has held firm in publishing the rankings, saying that consumers need a simple way to objectively gauge quality. Medicare does factor in the health of patients when comparing hospitals, though not as much as some hospitals would like.
Medicare based the star ratings on 64 individual measures that are published on its Hospital Compare website, including death and infection rates and patient reviews.
Just 102 hospitals received the top rating of five stars, and few are those considered as the nation's best by private ratings sources such as U.S. News & World Report, or viewed as the most elite within the medical profession.
Medicare awarded five stars to relatively obscure hospitals and a notable number of hospitals that specialized in just a few types of surgery, such as knee replacements. There were more five-star hospitals in Lincoln, Neb., and La Jolla, Calif., than in New York City or Boston. Memorial Hermann Hospital System in Houston and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., were two of the only nationally known hospitals to get five stars.
Medicare awarded the lowest rating of one star to 129 hospitals. Five hospitals in Washington, D.C., received just one star, including George Washington University Hospital and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, both of which teach medical residents. Nine hospitals in Brooklyn, four hospitals in Las Vegas and three hospitals in Miami received only one star.
Some premiere medical centers received the second-highest rating of four stars, including Stanford Health Care in California, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C., New York-Presbyterian Hospital and NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia. In total, 927 hospitals received four stars.
Medicare gave its below-average score of a two-star rating to 707 hospitals. They included the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, North Shore University Hospital (now known as Northwell Health) in Manhasset, N.Y., Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Tufts Medical Center in Boston and MedStar Washington Hospital Center in D.C. Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. — which is a favorite example for national health policy experts of a quality hospital — also received two stars.
Nearly half the hospitals — 1,752 — received an average rating of three stars. Another 1,042 hospitals were not rated, either because they did not have enough cases for the government to evaluate accurately, or because, as with all Maryland hospitals, Medicare does not collect the necessary data.
The government said in a statement that it has been using the same type of rating system for other medical facilities, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers, and found them useful to consumers and patients. Those ratings have shown, Medicare said, "that publicly available data drives improvement, better reporting, and more open access to quality information for our Medicare beneficiaries."
In a statement, Rick Pollack, president of the American Hospital Association, called the new ratings confusing for patients and families. "Health care consumers making critical decisions about their care cannot be expected to rely on a rating system that raises far more questions than answers," he said. "We are especially troubled that the current ratings scheme unfairly penalizes teaching hospitals and those serving higher numbers of the poor."
A preliminary analysis Medicare released last week found hospitals that treated large numbers of low-income patients tended to do worse.
A sizable proportion of the nation's major academic medical centers, which train doctors, scored poorly, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. Out of 288 hospitals that teach significant numbers of residents, six in 10 received below-average scores, the analysis found. Teaching hospitals comprised one-third of the facilities receiving one-star. A number were in high-poverty areas, including two in Newark, N.J., and three in Detroit.
"Hospitals cannot be rated like movies," Dr. Darrell Kirch, president of the Association of American Medical Colleges, said in a statement. "We are extremely concerned about the potential consequences for patients that could result from portraying an overly simplistic picture of hospital quality with a star-rating system that combines many complex factors and ignores the socio-demographic factors that have a real impact on health."

Family in Italy Decides to Part With Its Castle

By Unknown on 22:17 in

The castle, draped with vines and adorned with bougainvillea, is set on 10 acres, with gardens, a swimming pool and a private chapel. Credit Sotheby’s International Realty
CAMPIGLIA MARITTIMA, Italy — It looms in the distance like something from medieval times. Perched on a hill, surrounded by olive groves, its crenellated tower visible a mile away, the Castello di Magona reflects its noble lineage: In the 1800s, it was the residence of Leopold II, the last reigning grand duke of Tuscany.
Since that time, the castle, 37 miles from Livorno, has been almost continuously owned and occupied by the Merciai family, which has listed it for sale with Italy Sotheby’s International Realty for 14 million euros, or about $15.4 million.
The approach signals what is to come. Large gates open to a driveway flanked by cypress and pine trees that leads to the entrance of the 2,500-square-meter, or 26,900-square-foot, residence, set on almost four hectares, or 10 acres, of land, with gardens, a swimming pool, outdoor sitting and dining areas and a private chapel.
The castle, draped with vines and adorned with bougainvillea, has two technologically up-to-date wings, forming an L shape, that together provide 26 bedrooms and 23 bathrooms.
The west wing, built on the site of a 16th-century palace, was constructed for the grand duke in the early 19th century; the olive trees, planted by inmates from a nearby prison, date from that time.
That wing has been turned into four independent apartments, arranged on three floors, with an elevator to the 167-square-meter rooftop terrace that overlooks the island of Elba and the Mediterranean Sea.
The other, much larger wing, including the tower, was built in the 1900s by the Merciai family, which bought it in 1860 after the abdication of the grand duke the previous year. In the brief period in between, the castle was used as an iron foundry office for the railroads — hence the name Magona, or “ironworks” in Italian.
Photo Castello di Magona, a 26,909-square-foot residence in Italy, features details like intricately decorated coffered ceilings. Credit Sotheby’s International Realty
The entrance hall, stretching from the front to the back of the castle, looks as if it belongs in an “Ivanhoe” movie set: an 18th-century Tuscan table; upholstered wooden benches along each side of the partly wood-paneled room; the coat of arms of the grand duke painted on the walls; a coffered, intricately decorated ceiling; and ceremonial spears.
The other formal rooms on this floor — a dining room that can seat 20 and has a stone fireplace, two living rooms with tiled fireplaces, and a library — also feature original coffered ceilings, decorated walls, and parquet or Venetian mosaic floors. The kitchen, a bathroom and a utility room are also on this level.
Sleeping quarters with 13 bedrooms (many with fireplaces and canopied beds), 12 modern bathrooms and two small living rooms are on the floor above, and staff quarters are in the basement.
Frescoes and period lighting fixtures and furnishings (not part of the sale price but available for purchase) add to the almost-museum feel of this wing.
But Daniela Sprea, the listing agent, said that far from being a museum, the castle had been a vibrant family home. Mrs. Sprea, who was married to the owner, Cesare Merciai, raised their two sons in the building. “We had concerts for friends, parties, so many things in this enormous space with the gardens,” she said, with “huge family gatherings for Christmas and Easter.”
Her son, Alberto Merciai, who manages the property for his father and has been renting it out, said it could be a private residence or a mixed private-commercial space.
Mr. Merciai said the cost of maintaining the castle is about €6,000 a month, not including large items like fixing the roof or painting the exterior.
Cesare Merciai, his father, said he would retain some “beautiful memories” of the castle, which has been in his family for 156 years and his home all his life. But, he said, “life is a continual evolution.” He said that he wanted to give his sons, who have other interests, the chance “not to have to worry about a property that requires their presence, maintenance and continuous attention.”

5 Reasons Trump Shouldn't Use a Queen Song in His Campaign

By Unknown on 10:57 in

On July 18th, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump strode onstage at the Republican National Convention to the accompaniment of Queen's "We Are the Champions." A representative of the band swiftly claimed the use was unauthorized — a statement refuted by the Trump campaign.
The henna-haired egoist's using the 1978 anthem as the soundtrack to a conception of himself as Michael Dudikoff in Iron Eagle should surprise no one: For more than 30 years "We Are the Champions" has played as background noise at every third-rate minor league stadium. But certain realities should have been obvious to the Mad Tweeter:
1. "We Are the Champions" Is by a Band Named Queen... and Lead Singer Freddie Mercury Was a Queen.The parts don't match. Spending a chunk of their careers eluding the suspicion that they were closet fascists with bad teeth, Queen wrote tub-thumpers for kids who wanted the flash of glam but for whom Roxy Music were too esoteric. Mercury presented himself as an obviously gay man who liked to sing along with the straight blokes in the car. He wrote songs for him and for his mates, for other boys who felt different but not above the fraternity of men, the sexual frisson included and welcome. Would that the political party that Trump recently joined be so generous in its attitudes towards homosexuality.
2. Queen Supported Bike-Riding Instead of the Automotive IndustryHaving regained control of the House in 2010 after four years, the GOP turned its choppers to what it saw as redundant spending items in the budget — and what better example of pork than bike paths? The yearning manner in which Freddie Mercury sang the hook in "Bicycle Race" might have explained why they became objects of conservative ire: If these things turned guys into such sissies — turned them British — then it was time to uncap the red pen.
3. Queen Don't Hate Women"Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go 'round" is not a sentiment with which Donald Trump, noted enthusiast of fat-shaming women, would agree with.
4. Queen Encourages Questioning Authority's PowerThe 1982 Chic-drenched "Back Chat," a post-disco number written by John Deacon (check out that clipped rhythm guitar), boasts a narrator driven nuts by unnamed forces twisting every word he says and criticizing all he sees — "a battle to the end." On one level, sure, a minor masterpiece of coke-fueled paranoia unfolding on the dance floor. But it's also a peek into the diseased mind of a political party that sees no gains, short term or long term, that it thinks its enemies won't criticize. In 1982, the Democrats and Republicans fought over Social Security and the welfare state. In 2016, they're fighting over Social Security and the welfare state.
5. Queen's Ballad Was an Anti-Apartheid AnthemThe Reagan administration's policy of allowing the P.W. Botha regime to continue apartheid because of South Africa's anti-communist sympathies was repugnant. Years later, the world listened as "I Want It All," a power ballad with terrifying multi-tracked Freddies, became an anthem in 1989 for enemies of the modern world's most execrable system of separate-but-unequal. Don't credit the boys, though: In 1985, Queen played Sun City, apparently because they heard they were popular in Bophuthatswana.