President-elect Donald J. Trump met on Monday with David H. Petraeus, the highly decorated but scandal-scarred former military commander, who has emerged as a new contender for secretary of state after days of bitter internal feuding over who will get the coveted post. Mr. Petraeus, a retired general and former C.I.A. director, spent an hour with Mr. Trump at his offices in Trump Tower in Manhattan and told reporters afterward that the president-elect had given him a tutorial on world affairs. “He basically walked us around the world,” Mr. Petraeus said. “Showed a great grasp of a variety of the challenges that are out there and some of the opportunities as well. Very good conversation, and we’ll see where it goes from here.” In a Twitter post 15 minutes later, Mr. Trump said, “Just met with General Petraeus — was very impressed!”

LBN-INVESTIGATES: Nearly 100,000 Somali refugees have been admitted into the United States since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including 9,020 during fiscal year 2016 and 1,352 last month alone. More than 99 percent of those refugees areMuslims, reflecting the religious makeup of Somalia’s population, which is almost entirely Muslim, predominantly Sunni. Figures for November are not yet available. The State Department’s Refugee Processing Center database was down on Monday – but between the al-Qaeda terror attacks in September 2001 and October 31 this year, 98,799 Somali refugees had been resettled in the U.S. The largest numbers of Somali refugees arriving in the country since 9/11 have been settled in Minnesota (almost 16,000) and Ohio (more than 7,500), with sizeable communities also in Texas, New York and Arizona. Monday’s attack on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio, was carried out by a student who, according to law enforcement officials, was a Somali refugee who came to the U.S. in 2014, after living for several years in Pakistan.

A plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team crashed in Colombia on its way into Medellin’s airport late Monday night, killing at least 75 of those on board. There are six survivors. The British Aerospace-made short-haul plane, operated by charter airline LaMia, left Bolivia with 72 passengers and nine crew, before calling in an emergency midflight and disappearing off radar systems. Reports from survivors indicate possible electrical problems on the plane, though one said the craft ran out of fuel on the approach to Medellin. On the ground, Colombian search and rescue workers fought through the night in heavy rain and low visibility in a mountainous area outside the city, about 22miles from the airport. Medellin’s José María Córdova International Airport confirmed the plane was carrying members of the Chapecoense soccer team from Brazil, who were due to play against Atletico Nacional in the two-game Copa Sudamericana final Wednesday. “What was supposed to be a celebration has turned into a tragedy,” Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez said. In a brief statement on its Facebook page, the Chapecoense soccer club said “may God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests traveling with our delegation.” Among the survivors are a defender who is reported to have spinal injuries, two goalkeepers, a team official, and a Bolivian flight attendant. Twenty-one journalists following the team were also aboard the doomed flight.

Donald Trump has picked Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, The New York Times reports. Price, a vocal critic of the Affordable Care Act, would likely be central to Trump’s plan to repeal or change the health-care reform law. A former orthopedic surgeon, Price has recently criticized the ACA for its rising premiums and cuts to health-care options. He has suggested alternative bills while in Congress, although it is still unclear how Trump plans to act on the Affordable Care Act. “Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal after meeting with President Obama this month.

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The remains of more than 20 sailors from the wreckage of battleship in Pearl Harbor—the USS Oklahoma—have been identified this year and buried with full military honors. The newly identified victims of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese surprise attack have been turned over to families and to the Arlington National Cemetery. The funeral for one of those men, Edwin Chester Hopkins, took place last month and was the result of successful lobbying by family members and POW advocates. Hopkins was one of several servicemen identified using new forensic methods that have enabled the remains of many of the missing Americans killed that day to be returned home.

LBN-INVESTIGATES: A suspect in the bombing of three Albuquerque, N.M. Starbucks is now in federal custody, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced Monday. While the suspect’s name has not been released, two other Starbucks bombings this year have been linked to the Islamic State (ISIS). The explosive devices were detonated at three Starbucks coffee shops – located at 3400 Central Ave. SE; 4407 Lomas Blvd. NE; and 5401 Gibson Blvd. SE – last Friday, and police found evidence of gun shots at two of the locations.

NEW CABINET PICK: Elaine Chao, who was the secretary of Labor under George W. Bush and the assistant secretary of Transportation in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, will be named Transportation secretary by President-elect Donald Trump, according an official with the transition. An official announcement is expected later Tuesday. Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Texas will implement new rules requiring fetal remains to be buried or cremated. Beginning Dec. 19, the rules will require abortion clinics and health-care facilities to bury or cremate remains, regardless of how long the fetus had been in gestation. Introduced in July, the rules prompted massive backlash from health professionals and reproductive-rights activists, who argued that the rules created an unnecessary burden on women, or that the rules would punish those who’d had miscarriages. Texas lawmakers later updated the rules to state that miscarriages or abortions that took place outside a medical facility would not require burials.

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President Park Geun-hye of South Korea said Tuesday that she was willing to resign before her term ends, in an effort to head off a pending impeachment vote over a devastating corruption scandal.“I am giving up everything now,” she said in a dramatic, five-minute televised address, offering her third public apology for the scandal that has paralyzed her government for weeks. It was the first time South Koreans had heard from their cloistered leader since a previous televised public apology on Nov. 4. But opposition lawmakers immediately rejected the offer, calling it a ploy meant to divide her political opponents and allow Ms. Park to survive in office, and they vowed to proceed with impeachment efforts. But their plan to call for an impeachment vote on Friday has been cast into doubt.

LBN-NOTICED:   ***Judd Apatow and wife Leslie Mannbackstage at “Chris Gethard: Career Suicide” at the Lynn Redgrave Theater in NYC.   ***Clive Davis at Myles Chefetz’s Prime 112 in Miami.   ***Rudy Giuliani at Babette’s in East Hampton, a favorite of Bill Clinton’s, where pictures of Hillaryline the walls.   ***Alec Baldwin at Highway Restaurant & Bar in the Hamptons.   ***Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, Calif..   ***Chris Evans at Gowings Bar & Grill in Sydney.   ***Ethan Hawke had a reunion with his “Reality Bites” co-star Winona Ryder over two decades later at a screening of his movie “Born To Be Blue.” Ryder showed up to the after-party at the Django in Tribeca in NYC on Sunday to support Hawke when he snuck up on her. ***Veteran reality TV show producer, Tony Dimondeating ice cream at 3 Twins Ice Cream on Main Street in Santa Monica. ***Prominent entertainment industry asset manager, Brad Herman having dinner at the Galley on Main Street in Santa Monica.

LBN-R.I.P.:   ***Joe Esposito, who was Elvis Presley’s right-hand man, close friend and road manager for nearly two decades, died on Wednesday at his home in Calabasas, Calif. He was 78. The cause was complications of dementia, his daughter Cindy Bahr said.

LBN-INVESTIGATES: Yoga
·  The word “yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj meaning to yoke or join together. It most often refers to the yoking of a conscious subject (jiva-atman) with a Supreme Spirit (parama ta man) in order to reach an ecstatic condition (Samadhi, a “placing or putting together”). It is derived from the Proto-Indo-European base *yeug-, meaning “to join” as in jugular.
·  A 2008 market study in Yoga Journal reports that some 16 million Americans practice yoga and spend $5.7 billion a year on gear.
·  “Doga” is a type of yoga in which people use yoga to achieve harmony with their pets. Dogs can either be used as props for their owners or they can do the stretches themselves. It reportedly started in New York in 2002 when Suzi Teitelman started “Yoga for Dogs.”
·  The swastika is a yoga symbol that comes from the Sanskrit term Svastik, meaning “that which is associated with well-being.”
·  Hatha yoga is the type of yoga most frequently practiced in Western culture. Ha means “sun” and tha means “moon,” representing hatha yoga’s attempt to combine both complementary forces.
The sound of “OM” encompasses all words and all sounds in human language
·  The yoga symbol “Om” is found in Hindu and Tibetan philosophy. It is said to be the primordial sound of the universe and is connected to the Ajna Chakra (the conscience) or “third eye” region.
·  Aaron Star teaches “Hot Nude Yoga” in a Chelsea studio. The classes are men-only, and there are only two rules: “no kissing and no touching penises.”
·  Yoga can improve orgasms. When a person has an orgasm, the pelvic floor muscles that run between the legs rapidly contract. In yoga, the pelvic floor muscles are known as moola bandha. Yoga strengthens them, providing benefits similar to Kegel exercises.
·  Pierre Bernard (1875-1955), also known as the “Omnipotent Oom,” was one of the first prolific American yogis. He founded the Tantrik Order, a secret society which taught its initiates Hatha yoga, philosophy, and Sanskrit and which also sanctioned sacramental sex.
·  An Indian study claims that yoga can help premature ejaculation (PE).

Dr. Jay Grossman, http://www.drjaydds.com/ speaks on the topic of using the controversial antibacterial chemical, triclosan, amid the Food and Drug Administration’s ban in using it in hand soaps. While it is not allowed in soaps, the F.D.A. was convinced by the bestselling toothpaste brand, Colgate Total, that the benefit of triclosan outweighs any risk. In a New York Times article, Andrea Fischer, an FDA spokesperson stated that, “triclosan has demonstrated to be an effective component in reducing plaque and gingivitis,” based in large part on a Colgate study done in 1977, and the balance of benefit and risk was favorable to use this ingredient in soaps and toothpastes. It is the opinion of Dr. Jay Grossman, that the efficacy of its possible antimicrobial properties, may be outweighed by its possible role in disrupting hormonal development. Although the Colgate study sites a significant reduction in gingivitis, independent reviews, such as those done by the Cochrane group, state that the benefits may not be clinically significant.

Colin Broderick’s First Feature Film “Emerald City” to Premiere After Success in The London Irish Film Festival 2016

Colin Broderick’s first feature film “Emerald City” tells the tale of a hard living crew of aging Irish construction workers in NYC and of one character in particular who may have found a way out. Pat Mack, played by the comedic theatrical actor, John Keating, lives in the Irish enclave of Woodlawn, Yonkers, with his wife and two kids. His Manhattan based construction business is teetering on the brink, but his personal life might be in worse shape that that. Meanwhile on the job he is trying to rally a crew of Irish misfits who might be well be unemployable were it not for his misguided sense of cultural commitment to each of them. Emerald City is co-produced by Brendan Coyle(Mr Bates on Downton Abbey), Don Cisternino of MagnifiCo Inc. and Sid Levin of TLA Talent and Literary Agency. Brendan Coyle reached out to Broderick after seeing a short movie “Smile” he’d made on You Tube a few years ago. The two bonded further after realizing that they shared the same background: Coyle’s father grew up in Tyrone just a few miles from Broderick’s home place. Don Cisternino met Colin Broderick through their mutual friend John Duddy, who is currently an actor represented by Hollywood Agent Sid Levin of TLA. MagnifiCo and TLA joined forces earlier this year to create a boutique talent and literary agency with a global reach.