Air France's pilots strike has dragged into a second week, with no end in sight.

At a cost of $25 million dollars a day, the strike has not only caused the company to hemorrhage cash, but also put a halt to a plan that could have created significant long-term financial savings for the French national carrier.

The strike came in response to the airline's recent announcement of a billion-dollar plan focused on expanding Air France-KLM's Transavia low-cost subsidiary. The project calls for an investment of $1.3 billion over 5 years, as well as the addition of 50 new aircraft and 250 pilots to Transavia's roster by 2017. 

Since Transavia pilots will work on a different and less lucrative employment contract, Air France flight crew are demanding all of the company's pilots work under the same compensation scheme. According to the Wall Street Journal, annual compensation for Air France pilots start at $100,000 and can reach $300,000.

In addition, Air France flight crews get access to some of the most generous perks in France, including subsidized gourmet meals, reports the BBC. 

Pilots are also protesting Air France's plan to open Transavia bases outside of the France that will operate under local and presumably more lax labor regulations. 

Although Air France has all but gutted its plans to expand Transavia across Europe, the airline's largest pilot's union has refused to budge until all pilots under the Air France corporate umbrella are on the same labor agreement. 

The main reason for the French national airlines decision to focus on low-cost carriers can be attributed to the financial pressure placed upon it by the rise of budget competitors.

Low cost airlines like Ryanair, Easyjet, and Norwegian Air Shuttle have grown rapidly over the past few years. With Ryanair and Easyjet both expanding operations at Air France's home base in Paris, the airline's short haul business has been rendered financially unfeasible. 

This is an issue that's plaguing all of Europe's major international airlines, such as Lufthansa, British Airways, and KLM. In the last five years, business for Europe's major international carriers has grown by just 3%, but the continent's budget airlines have grown a whopping 54%, reports the Wall Street Journal.In fact, 5.5 million more people a year fly on budget airlines than on Europe's major international carriers. Not only do these budget airlines offer cheaper fares, they also offer much lower salaries and stingier benefit packages. 

As a result, Europe's older airlines are desperate to cut costs to have even a fighting chance at profitability. Air France is not alone in its labor disputes. Pilots for Germany's Lufthansa have also been embroiled in a long-running dispute with their employer. If they strike again to protest retirement benefits, it would be their fifth work stoppage this year. 

In the end, both sides believe that they must negotiate a settlement. But there's potentially a long way to go before these issues can be effectively resolved.

As the Journal's David Gauthier-Villars writes, "[The]employees say they feel they are being relegated to coach and fear their sacrifices may never be sufficient."

The airline industry, regardless of price point, has drifted towards the low-cost model. Efficiency is the name of the game, and unfortunately, salaries and benefit may be the collateral damage.

SEE ALSO: MythBusters: Airlines Are Boarding Their Planes All Wrong!

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Homes in some stage of foreclosure made up 13.5% of all property sales in August, according to RealtyTrac's latest foreclosure report.

The median price of U.S. residential properties sold in August was $195,000, up 3% from the previous month, according to the report. This includes distressed sales, which are properties owned by banks or in some stage of foreclosure.

We drew on the report to highlight the states that offered more than a 50% distressed discount, which is the percentage difference between the median price of distressed sales and non-distressed sales.

8. Kentucky

Annualized Sales: Not Provided

Median Sales Price: $120,000

Distressed Discount: 52%

Source: RealtyTrac

7. Oklahoma

Annualized Sales: 53,307

Median Sales Price: $132,000

Distressed Discount: 54%

Source: RealtyTrac

6. Ohio

Annualized Sales: 170,937

Median Sales Price: $130,000

Distressed Discount: 55%

Source: RealtyTrac

PIMCO has elected Daniel Ivascyn to replace founder Bill Gross as Chief Investment Officer of the trillion dollar bond fund management company.

In its late Friday announcement, PIMCO also named Andrew Balls, Mark Kiesel, Virginie Maissoneuve, Scott Mather, and Mihir Worah as chief investment officers. Balls will be global CIO, Kiesel will be CIO of global credit, Maissoneuve will be CIO of equities, Mather will be CIO of US core strategies, and Worah will be CIO of real return and asset allocation. Kiesel, Mather, and Worah will be managers of the firm's $221 billion flagship Total Return Fund.

Ivascyn has been a stand-out at the firm, returning 4.8% in 2013, beating 97% of his industry peers. Morningstar named him the fixed income manager of the year that year. He manages the And reports indicate that his fellow employees like and support him.

He'll need that support, as he will be taking the helm of the world's largest bond fund in the midst of a fire storm.

Friday morning Gross — known within the industry as 'the bond king' — shocked Wall Street by announcing that he would leave PIMCO, the firm he founded, for the much smaller Janus Capital. 

That is effective basically immediately. According to reports, if Gross had not quit, he would've been fired. It was at the point where employees were saying 'it's either him or us.'

In a joint statement with Janus, Gross said that he felt the new firm would be a better fit for him as he wouldn't have to deal with the "complexities" of managing a huge company.

And indeed those complexities have garnered a lot of negative attention over the last year.

Plagued with outflows already, PIMCO felt its first major shock in January when Gross' presumed successor, Mohamed El-Erian, abruptly left the firm. Then the stories started leaking — stories about Gross being showboat at the firm, a micro manager who demanded unquestioning obedience and silence from his employees.

Gross' behavior outside the firm was also strange. At the annual Morningstar investor conference in June, he took the stage to Carlos Santanna and Rob Thomas' 'Smooth.' 

The outflows continued as well, especially from Gross', personally managed flagship fund, The PIMCO Total Return fund. In August it had seen its 16th straight month of outflows totaling $68 billion, cumulatively.

Then this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that regulators have been investigating PIMCO's Total Return ETF, also managed by Gross. The investigation is meant to determine whether or not the assets in the ETF were undervalued, making returns seem greater.

"This was certainly a very surprising announcement," Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel told Business Insider. "Though when you read the reasons he gave it was quite logical, things were getting messy at PIMCO."

Siegel added that he expected some money to follow Gross out of PIMCO, but that he didn't think it would threaten the bond market's or PIMCO's stability.

"I do not expect this to be a major mover in the markets because Bill Gross is going to be doing the same thing he had been doing at Janus," he said.

It will be Daniel Ivascyn's job to pick up the pieces at PIMCO.

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Daniel J. Ivascyn, a 45-year-old star fund manager who has been described by colleagues as a "beast," has been named CIO of PIMCO.

In recent months, Ivascyn has been seen as the heir apparent at PIMCO.

Bill Gross, the most powerful name in bonds, announced on Friday morning that he was leaving the firm he cofounded effective immediately to join Janus Capital. It was also reported that the 70-year-old bond manager was going to be fired tomorrow for his "increasingly erratic behavior."

Here's what we know about Ivascyn:  

• Ivascyn co-manages Pimco's $38 billion Income Fund. He's had a strong year, as FT's Tony Tassell points out.

Dan Ivascyn - the man seen as favourite to takeover from Bill Gross at @pimco - has been quite a year - his record: pic.twitter.com/b4Yq7K7DG8

— Tony Tassell (@TonyTassell) September 26, 2014

• According to Bloomberg News, his fund has dominated his peers over the last three and five years 99% of the time.
• In 2013, he was named the Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year by Morningstar, according to his bio.
• He's been with PIMCO since 1998. Before that, he worked at Bear Stearns in asset-backed securities. He also had stints at T. Rowe Price and Fidelity. 
• He really made a name for himself following the 2008 financial crisis by successfully betting on non-agency mortgage backed securities.
• He is a native of Massachusetts and a hardcore Boston sports fan (Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox, etc.), according to Bloomberg News. 
• He graduated from Occidental College with a degree in economics. He also holds an MBA from Chicago Booth. 
• He currently resides in a lovely oceanfront home in Newport Beach, California, records show. 

SEE ALSO: PIMCO Names Bill Gross' Replacement And 5 CIOs

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Hours after Bill Gross announced his stunning resignation from PIMCO, parent company Allianz announced that Daniel Ivascyn would fill the vacated seat.

Ivascyn, also known as "a beast," became the heir-apparent after then co-CIO Mohamed El-Erian unexpectedly announced his resignation from the firm in January.

El-Erian went on to become Chief Economic Adviser for Allianz.

"Dan is a brilliant investor, inspiring leader, superb manager and one of the most considerate and decent people I know,"El-Erian said in a new statement from Allianz. "He is a great Group CIO for PIMCO."

El-Erian's resignation was followed by a series of odd reports of Gross' unusual behavior at the firm. One PIMCO portfolio manager reportedly quit because of Gross.

El-Erian did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

While we may never know exactly how El-Erian feels about how events unfolded, we'd speculate that any regret he feels is probably limited. In a recent piece for Worth, he wrote that his decision to resign was "so far" the "right decision."

"As much as I could rationalize it—as I had rationalized it—my work-life balance had gotten way out of whack, and the imbalance was hurting my very special relationship with my daughter,"he wrote. "I now alternate with my wife in waking up our daughter every morning, preparing her breakfast and driving her to school. I’m also around much more often to pick her up after school and take her to activities. She and I are doing a lot of wonderful talking and sharing. We’ve even planned a holiday together, just the two of us."

Meanwhile, PIMCO's massive $221 billion Total Return Fund is currently in a 16-month streak of outflows. It's pretty clear that Ivascyn and PIMCO's current leadership have a lot of work ahead of him. Work with which El-Erian will have no involvement.

SEE ALSO: Mohamed El-Erian's Revealing Resignation Memo

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Programmatic platforms are on pace to fundamentally reshape the entire digital advertising landscape.

These platforms are automating much of the ad buying and selling process and increasing the accuracy of execution. Programmatic technologies are helping ad buyers find the right audience at the right price at the right time.

A new report from BI Intelligence finds that real-time bidding (RTB), a key piece of the programmatic ecosystem, will account for over $18.2 billion in U.S. digital ad revenues in 2018, up from just $3.1 billion in 2013.

In the report, BI Intelligence looks at the drivers of programmatic adoption, sizes up the programmatic market, and outlines the barriers that some advertisers and publishers face when adopting programmatic technologies.

Access The Full Report By Signing Up For A Free Trial

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Programmatic and real-time bidding (RTB) ad spend is growing fast. RTB will account for over $18.2 billion of U.S. digital ad sales in 2018, up from just $3.1 billion in 2013, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 42%. 
• Mobile and video ads will be a major driver of this growth, with RTB sales for these formats topping $6.8 billion and $3.9 billion in 2018, respectively.

• A number of companies are already cashing in on the growing programmatic market. Top programmatic ad companies include Criteo, Rocket Fuel, the Rubicon Project, and AOL. These four companies pulled in more than $1.5 billion in combined global ad revenue in 2013, accounting for more than one-tenth of global programmatic ad dollars.

• Prices for programmatic ads are increasing for almost all ad types, as demand outpaces supply. The effective cost per thousand impressions (eCPM) for social ads was up by 64% between January through April 2014, compared to the same time period one year earlier, according to Turn.
• There are still a number of barriers to adoption. Top barriers include brand worries that they will lose control over where their ads will appear, internal resistance at ad agencies, and lack of transparency in the industry over methods and results.
  

The report is full of charts and data that can easily be downloaded and put to use.

In full, the report: 

• Sizes the market for programmatic/RTB spending.
• Breaks out the formats that will drive the biggest uptick in automated ad buying.
• Outlines the key factors driving advertisers and publishers to adopt programmatic technologies.
• Explains the players in the programmatic/RTB space.
• Looks at how pricing is trending for programmatic buys.
• Examines the barriers to widespread adoption of programmatic technologies.

For full access receive to all BI Intelligence's analysis, reporting, and downloadable charts on the digital media industry, sign up for a free trial.

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They were designed to make people laugh, but the Nobel Prize parody awards known as the Ig Nobels have actually brought attention to some hard-hitting scientific discoveries.

While uncovering the mystery of what makes banana peels so slippery, for example, a team of Japanese physicists nailed the fruit's hidden quality that could someday help engineers craft a flexible artificial joint for a prosthetic limb.

As it turns out, the same type of slippery-smooth gels that make banana peels slide also help lubricate our joints. Underneath their brown and yellow exterior, banana skins are lined with hundreds of tiny sacs of the gooey substance, which the scientists dubbed "polysaccharide follicular gel."

We have a similar substance in our own bodies called synovial fluid. It lines the places where our elbows, knees and other joints slip-and-slide and keeps the bones from rubbing together and wearing away. When all those tiny sacs in the banana skin get compressed—or stepped on—they burst, forming a single super-slimy surface prime for slippage.

To land on their finding, the scientists first tested the slipperiness, or friction, of a banana peel on a linoleum plate (to mimic how much a shoe on the fruit would slide on a typical floor) and compared it with how much a shoe would slide on a banana-free floor. A small tool called a "force transducer" was used to measure exactly how much sliding took place.

The shoe on a banana peel was far more slippery (and less frictional, as shown in the chart below), than a plain old floor.

Not to be outdone by other fruits, the researchers compared the slippery qualities of a banana peel with those of other pieces of produce, including apples, oranges and tangerines.

Not surprisingly, the banana skins were the least resistant to slippage. Learning more about the material that makes banana peels so slippery could help engineers created a synthetic substance with the same qualities needed to make artificial limbs behave more like real ones.

Who says fruit is just for eating?

SEE ALSO: Harvard Hosts Spoof Nobel Awards For Silly Science

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There are 24 new fall shows coming to network TV this fall and even more coming to cable.

It can be overwhelming to decide what's worth watching, so we narrowed down the picks to 10 shows worth checking out across the networks, cable, and online.

Here's what you should tune into.

"Madam Secretary" (CBS)

Premieres: Sun., Sept. 21 at 8:30 p.m.

What it's about: Téa Leoni stars as the new White House Secretary of State who steps in after the previous one died in a suspicious plane crash.

Why you should watch: Initialreviews have been mixed; however, it sounds as if there's potential for the series to be a mix between "The West Wing" and "The Good Wife" mixed with "Scandal." Writer Barbara Hall has previously worked on "Judging Amy."

Watch the trailer.

"Selfie" (ABC)

Premieres: Tues., Sept. 30 at 8 p.m.

What it's about: The modern version of "My Fair Lady," follows Karen Gillan ("Doctor Who") as a self-absorbed social media addict, Eliza Dooley, who asks a coworker, Henry (John Cho), to rebrand her after she realizes she has no friends in real life.

Why you should watch: While the concept sounds gag inducing and a little outdated (Time considered the term a buzzword two years ago) the ABC comedy is actually good. We previewed the show at an event with an audience in which it was well received. The chemistry between Cho and Gillan makes this show worthwhile. Everything that perturbs you about Gillan's character is reflected by Henry, and it turns out he has a few quirks that could be straightened out by Dooley as well.

The main problem here is that the show’s marketing could use some rebranding. The initial trailer is alienating to a general audience who may get offended by a "vapid, social media obsessed narcissist." ABC pulled it from public viewing on YouTube after it was first released. 

Watch the trailer.

"The Flash" (The CW)

Premieres: Tues., Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. 

What it's about: The series will focus on the origin story of how Barry Allen turns into the Flash, the DC superhero with lightning speed.

Why you should watch: The series received a lot of praise from fans when it debuted earlier this year at San Diego Comic-Con. If you're a fan of the CW's other comic book series, "Arrow," you'll enjoy crossover moments between both shows along with a hint of the Flash's main villain in the season premiere.

Watch the trailer.

Shares of $2 billion Janus Capital exploded 42% and PIMCO parent Allianz fell by around 6% after it was announced that Bill Gross would be leaving PIMCO to manage a fund at Janus.

"We are placing no-moat  Allianz under review while we assess the impact of the announcement,"Morningstar's Vincent Lui wrote. "We expect to lower our fair value estimate, as it is likely that tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions in AUM, will follow Gross to Janus from Allianz."

As of June 30, PIMCO had $1.97 trillion in assets under management. Janus had about $177 billion.

"Tens of billions" and "hundreds of billions" is a pretty wide range.

Moves by big portfolio managers, however, are not unprecedented.

"We believe Jeffrey Gundlach’s acrimonious departure from TCW in 2009 is a possible model, and we note that Gundlach’s DoubleLine now manages more than $50 billion," Lui noted.

We'll keep in eye on the monthly fund flow stats.

SEE ALSO: EL-ERIAN: PIMCO's New CIO Is One Of The Most Considerate And Decent People I Know

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Hiring managers typically use your résumé to determine whether you're qualified for the job, and the interview to decide if you're the perfect fit. 

Knowing that, most people take the process very seriously. They arrive to the interview on time, dress impeccably, and answer each question intelligently.

But as it turns out, there's more to it than just showing up and doing your best — there are dozens of small details that overtly or subconsciously affect the way you're perceived.

1. The time of your interview.

Apparently, 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday is the best time for you to schedule an interview, reports Glassdoor. People are shown to be most productive on Tuesdays and won't feel rushed by the time they meet you. It's also late enough in the day that your interviewer has had time to check their email, have a cup of coffee, and get ready for your arrival.

You also don't want to be someone's last meeting of the workday, because there's a good chance the interviewer's attention might not solely be on you. They could be thinking about priorities that they have after work, for example, such as dinner plans, kids' homework, etc.

Also, avoid interviewing pre or post-lunch because your time with them will either be cut short or you'll be left waiting for a long time.

2. The weather on the day of your interview.

University of Toronto researchers Donald Redelmeier and Simon D. Baxter found that medical school applicants fared worse if they interviewed on a rainy day compared to their sunny day interviewees.  

They say: "Overall, those interviewed on rainy days received about a 1% lower score than those interviewed on sunny days. This pattern was consistent for both senior interviewers and junior interviewers. We next used logistic regression to analyze subsequent admission decisions. The difference in scores was equivalent to about a 10% lower total mark on the Medical College Admission Test." 

The data included nearly 3,000 applicants over a six-year period. 

3. How early you arrive.

You may think it'll look good if you arrive early — but if you're excessively early, you could be hurting your chances.

"Of course arriving a few minutes early is a good idea, and is certainly better than arriving late — but don't show up a half hour before your interview," says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job." "It can make you appear too anxious or put pressure on the interviewer. If you have extra time, gather your thoughts in your car or take a brief walk to get your energy up."

New York (AFP) - Chelsea Clinton announced Saturday that she had given birth to her first child, daughter Charlotte, thrilling first-time grandparents Bill and Hillary.

"Marc and I are full of love, awe and gratitude as we celebrate the birth of our daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky," Chelsea Clinton wrote on Facebook.

The message was also posted on Twitter, after the baby's birth Friday, and immediately retweeted by the proud grandparents.

The former first daughter, 34, frequently tipped to follow her parents into politics, left her position as NBC special correspondent in August to focus on her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter.

Clinton announced in mid-April at an event with her mother in Manhattan that she and investment banker husband Marc Mezvinsky were expecting their first child.

Former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made no secret of their joy at becoming grandparents.

"Charlotte, your grandmother @HillaryClinton and I couldn't be happier!" he wrote on Twitter Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the Clintons announced that baby Charlotte was born late Friday, declaring that they were "blessed, grateful and so happy."

"We are thrilled to be with our daughter and her husband as they welcome their daughter into the world," they said in a statement.

"Chelsea is well and glowing. Marc is bursting with pride. Charlotte's life is off to a good start."

The baby had been so highly anticipated that even President Barack Obama cracked jokes this week while attending a Clinton foundation event in New York, offering his motorcade if needed to speed through the Big Apple's gridlock to give birth.

- Jokes from Obama -

Obama teased the anxious grandparents-to-be -- at the same time tweaking New Yorkers who chafe at traffic nightmares brought on by the annual United Nations General Assembly.

"I was just discussing with president Clinton -- if Chelsea begins delivery while I am speaking, she has my motorcade and will be able to navigate traffic," Obama said, drawing chuckles at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting.

"Actually, it's pretty smooth for me during the week. I don't know what the problem is -- everybody hypes the traffic.... I haven't noticed."

As the due date approached, Hillary admitted she was calling her daughter "every five minutes" to get an update.

Bill spoke of high hopes for his future grandchildren earlier this week.

"I want them to get up every day and look at the world with wonder and reverence. I want them to respect everyone they meet, whatever their background. I want them to be aware of all the people that make their world and not just the people that they are introduced to," Clinton told ABC News.

"I want them to really love being alive," he said, adding "and when they grow up, I want them to believe they have certain obligations to people who don't have all the opportunities they'll have and to the larger society."

Chelsea Clinton began work as a special correspondent with NBC in 2011. Reports of her $600,000 salary sparked a backlash earlier this year, fueling complaints that it was grossly inflated pay for comparatively little work.

Educated at Stanford, Columbia and Oxford Universities, she runs the Clinton Foundation with her parents Bill and Hillary.

Her mother Hillary is widely anticipated to launch a second bid to become the first woman president of the United States in 2016.

Her father Bill served as the 42nd US president, from January 1993 to January 2001.

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Madrid (AFP) - Lionel Messi grabbed his 400th career goal while Neymar smashed a hat-trick as Barcelona stormed back to the top of La Liga with a 6-0 thrashing of Granada on Saturday.

Champions Atletico Madrid moved into second, two points behind Barca, as they beat previously undefeated Sevilla 4-0 at home.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo's hot scoring streak continued in Real Madrid's 2-0 win at Villarreal to remain four points off the top in fourth.

Barca stretched their run of consecutive clean sheets to seven games, but rediscovered their scoring touch after being held to a 0-0 draw at Malaga in midweek as Messi and Neymar shone.

"Messi is someone who has been touched by a magic wand and he is desperate to enjoy playing football," said Barca boss Luis Enrique.

After a slow start Barca took the lead on 26 minutes as Neymar was gifted the ball inside the Granada half and surged forward before seeing his effort deflect pass the helpless Roberto via Jean-Sylvain Babin.

Messi then increased his number of assists already this season to seven as he crossed right-footed for Ivan Rakitic to head home and Neymar tapped into an empty net to make it 3-0 after Roberto had denied Munir.

Barca continued to dominate after the break and Alves provided Messi with the kind of service he has been handing out in recent weeks with a fine cross that the four-time World Player of the Year headed home.

Messi returned to being the provider for Neymar to complete his hat-trick with a cut-back that the former Santos man dispatched low past Roberto.

And the Argentine rounded off a fine afternoon by robbing the Granada defence of possession and running through to slot home his fifth goal of the season and the 400th of his career.

Sevilla had started the day level on points with Barca, but their four-match winning streak came to an end at the Vicente Calderon as Atletico produced their most complete performance since winning the title in May.

The hosts went in front after 19 minutes when Koke's deflected effort left Beto with no chance before Saul Niguez continued Atletico's streak of scoring from set-pieces when he headed home the second just before half-time.

Raul Garcia put the result beyond any doubt from the penalty spot seven minutes from time after Antoine Griezmann had been felled in the box and Raul Jimenez sealed a fine night for Atletico when he headed in his first goal for the club a minute from time.

- Madrid continue winning run -

Ronaldo, meanwhile, is now onto 13 goals from nine matches this season as Real won for the third consecutive league match at Villarreal.

Real survived an early onslaught from Villarreal and won the game with two goals in eight minutes before the break as Luka Modric drilled home the opener before Ronaldo converted from Karim Benzema's pass to register his eighth goal in a week.

"We've won a difficult game against a team that played well and caused us problems," said Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.

"But the team controlled the game. We suffered when we had to, played when we had to and I think in the end we showed a good attitude and deserved to win."

The match started at a high pace with attention from the action on the pitch only momentarily distracted by a banner from a Manchester United fans group begging Ronaldo to return to Old Trafford.

Ronaldo and his team-mates had more pressing matters at hand as Villarreal threatened to go in front as Ikechukwu Uche's low effort was well saved by Iker Casillas, whilst Argentine youngster Luciano Vietto sliced wide when well-positioned inside the box.

However, the hosts' profligacy in the final third contrasted with Madrid's killer instinct and Ancelotti's men went in front when Modric smashed home his first goal of the season from outside the box on 32 minutes.

And the visitors doubled their advantage five minutes before half-time thanks to a classic counter-attack as James Rodriguez picked out the run of Benzema and the Frenchman brilliantly teed up Ronaldo to slot home.

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All week, Jefferson County, Colorado, high school students have walked out of their classes to protest proposed AP History curriculum changes that they say censors American history by downplaying the legacy of civil disobedience.

According to The Denver Post: "Hundreds of high schoolers across the county have hit the streets protesting a proposed curriculum committee that would call for promoting 'positive aspects' of U.S. history and avoiding or condoning 'civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law.'" On Thursday, the fourth and most attended day of the weeklong protest, more than 1,000 students walked out of class behind a new unified slogan — "It's our history; don't make it mystery."

Jefferson County is the second-largest school district in Colorado, with about 85,000 students.

The protesters seem to be tapping into the very history that they say lawmakers are trying to hide from them. "People think because we are teenagers, we don't know things, but we are going home and looking things up ... If they don't teach us civil disobedience, we will teach ourselves," one high school senior told The Post.

Over the course of the week, student attendance at the protests has surged from about 100 to 200 on Monday to more than 1,000 on Thursday. Students told The Post that the protests had been organized over Facebook events and other social media outlets.

"It was students talking to students talking to more students," one student said.

Check out some more photos of Jefferson County's student protesters and their homemade posters below:

Read more about the Jefferson County student protests at The Denver Post >>

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The Russian government dedicated the majority of its Saturday speech before the UN General Assembly to castigating the US and European powers for their alleged arrogance abroad.

Using terms like "national egotism,""double standards," and "attempts to distort the truth," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the international body that the US must pull back its unilateral approach to foreign affairs or risk the negative consequences. Lavrov placed particular emphasis on Ukraine.

"Today Ukraine has fallen victim to such an arrogant policy. The situation there has revealed the remaining deep-rooted systemic flaws of the existing architecture in the Euro-Atlantic area. The West has embarked upon the course towards 'vertical structuring of humanity' tailored to its own hardly inoffensive standards," Lavrov said, according to a UN transcript.

Ukraine has been a focal point of tension between Russia and US-aligned countries. The US has accused Russia of providing direct military support to Ukrainian separatists; Russia has denied the accusations despite evidence of its troops in Eastern Ukraine. Both the EU and the US have placed sanctions designed to punish Russia, which has taken steps to retaliate.

But Lavrov did not limit his foreign policy critique to Eastern Europe. The Russian foreign minister accused the West of tactics that threaten to divide the entire world into two competing sides.

"The new dividing lines in Europe should not be allowed, even more so that under globalization these lines can turn into a watershed between the West and the rest of the world," he continued. "It should be stated honestly that no one has the monopoly on truth and no one can anymore tailor the global and regional processes to one's own needs."

Lavrov concluded his remarks by suggesting some countries were more motivated by internal politics than the common good.

"Join our efforts and forget about unilateral interests and national electoral cycles when it comes to countering the global threats to all of humanity," he said. "It should not be allowed that the national egotism prevail over collective responsibility."

SEE ALSO: Iranian President Wants The West To Address Terrorism Without 'Strategic Mistakes'

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Reflecting on his five-year tenure as NATO's political leader, retiring Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told USA Today that his biggest career regret was Russia's unchecked aggression.

While attending his last UN General Assembly since assuming the top NATO spot in 2009, the 61-year-old Rasmussen stated, "It's quite clear that, today, Russia doesn't consider us a partner, but an adversary. Obviously, we will have to adapt to that."

Rasmussen, who previously served as prime minister of Denmark, believes Putin has an obvious plan to "establish a zone of Russian influence in their neighborhood, covering the former Soviet space,"USA Today reports. 

Earlier this month, NATO announced the Readiness Action Plan, a detailed plan that "responds to Russia's aggressive behavior" while protecting the assets of NATO-member nations, The Associated Press reports. The program includes a rotation of several thousand troops equipped with naval and air support.

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Paris (AFP) - The champagne flowed, along with the tributes, on Saturday as irrepressible fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier slathered his last ready-to-wear show in bucketloads of his famously wacky sense of humour.

Celebrities including French actress Catherine Deneuve and British pop singer Boy George fought their way through hordes of onlookers outside the Grand Rex cinema in central Paris to reach the much-anticipated fashion extravaganza.

And in a show that was classic Gaultier, the flamboyant showman of Paris fashion delighted his audience with a beauty-pageant theme that provoked cheers, whoops and roars of laughter.

Cards on guests' seats welcomed them to the "election of Miss Jean Paul Gaultier 2015" and thanked everyone who had supported him over the years with special mentions for "Miss Footballer's Wife", "Miss Fashion Editor" and "Miss Tour de France", all of whom he gently sent up during the show.

The event had been the must-have invitation of the current Paris fashion week since Gaultier announced his decision to quit ready-to-wear and concentrate on couture nearly two weeks ago.

The former enfant terrible of French fashion -- regarded by many as the designer who "wrote the rules" on ready-to-wear -- is known worldwide for his outlandish imagination, designing Madonna's cone-shaped bras and putting real people on the catwalk.

The 62-year-old Frenchman is also famed for the cult "Eurotrash" programme he presented with Antoine de Caunes on British television in the 1990s.

Gaultier earlier this month cited the hectic pace of the modern fashion industry for his decision to bow out after nearly 40 years.

- 'Always an innovator' -

Appearing on stage after the show, the designer was virtually mobbed by friends and well-wishers wanting to pay tributes to him.

"It's very nice, it's beautiful. I think it was a beautiful show. I am very happy it succeed very well," a delighted-looking Gaultier told AFP, speaking in his trademark rapid-fire, slightly ungrammatical English.

"I feel very happy, we will see what else, a lot of thing, a lot of other projects but for today, it's marvellous and super, super happy," he added.

The collection, crammed with Gaultier signatures such as stripes and corsets and accompanied by a largely 1980s soundtrack, marked the end of an era in fashion.

The designer, considered one of France's all-time most talented designers, got his start in fashion as an assistant to Pierre Cardin in 1970.

He launched himself in ready-to-wear in 1976 at a time of high creativity for the industry and later moved into couture in 1997.

Donald Potard, a childhood friend and Gaultier's former business partner of 40 years, said he had been saddened but not surprised by Gaultier's decision.

Potard, who is no longer close to Gaultier since splitting in 2005, recalled how as a schoolboy Gaultier would put on his own amateur fashion shows twice a year.

"Jean Paul was always an innovator... He was designing all the time," he told AFP earlier this week.

"It bored me stiff because I preferred to play with my electric trains. But the way he did it was so exciting that it became amusing and interesting for me," he said.

Gaultier said earlier his decision to stop ready-to-wear had been taken after an "in-depth assessment" of the future of his eponymous fashion house in which Spanish fragrance and fashion group Puig has a majority stake.

"For some time, I have found true fulfilment in working on the haute couture, and it allows me to express my creativity and my taste for research and experimentation," he was quoted as saying by industry journal Women's Wear Daily.

"Commercial constraints, as well as the frenetic pace of collections, don't leave any freedom, nor the necessary time to find fresh ideas and to innovate," he said.

"I will be able again to express my creativity without constraints," he added.

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Liam Neeson may not have made a big splash at theaters with his latest film, "A Walk Among the Tombstones;" however, that will change when the 62-year-old action star's next movie hits theaters. 

USA Today revealed a first look at "Taken 3," the sequel to Neeson's 2009 film in which he plays a retired CIA agent seeking revenge on the men who kidnapped his daughter. 

While we can't wait for Neeson's next action flick, it doesn't hit theaters until January.

Until then, here's everything we know about the film.

1. What it's called:

"Tak3n." Yes, the number will be worked into the tile.

2. What it's about:

This time it doesn't sound like anyone in particular is kidnapped. Instead, someone's life is literally "taken."

Via USA Today:

This time, he's the hunted prey after he's framed for the murder of someone close to him.

"I have to go on the run, I'll put it that way, from the not-so-lawful types and the lawful authorities," says Neeson, choosing his words carefully. "Bryan Mills served his country faithfully, but now even they are after him. They must not like me."

Unlike previous films, "Tak3n" will not involve any overseas traveling. "Taken 2" director, Olivier Megaton will return while Forest Whittaker will join the cast as an officer hunting Mills down.

3. How much Liam Neeson is reportedly making:

According to Deadline, Neeson signed a deal "in the vicinity of $20 million" for the sequel. That's a giant leap from his reported $1 million salary for "Taken."

4. When it will be released:

20th Century Fox will release "Tak3n" January 9, 2015.

5. Will there be a "Taken 4"?

Don't count on it. Neeson has said this third film will close out the franchise.

"It's a rollicking good story," Neeson told USA Today. "But I think this is the end."

However, Neeson was adamant a third film wasn't happening for some time, too.

SEE ALSO: How Liam Neeson became an accidental action star at 61

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