Malians return to polls for 2nd round of voting

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) ? Voters trudged through red muddy roads in Mali's rainy capital Sunday to choose their next president, a leader who will be tasked with reconciling the country after a coup, separatist rebellion and an Islamic insurgency unraveled one of West Africa's most stable democracies.

The presidential runoff vote between former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and former Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse is aimed at unlocking some $4 billion in aid that has been promised to help Mali recover. The funds, though, are contingent on a democratically elected government being in place.

Keita, known by his initials "IBK," has run on a campaign of restoring Mali's honor after a French-led military operation forced the jihadists into the desert earlier this year and paved the way for the Malian military to return to the northern cities it had fled in the wake of the 2012 Tuareg rebellion.

Among the first voters in line at one Bamako polling station was Amara Traore, 65, whose orange boubou ? a traditional robe ? stood out in the early morning rains Sunday.

"I've been here since 6:30 a.m. with great joy, despite the rain, to elect a president who can better lead the country," said Traore, who said he was backing Keita. "We are tired of this crisis and the insecurity we have been living with."

Keita also has drawn supporters in the northern town of Gao, where just six months ago suicide bombers were launching attacks and jihadists were battling Malian troops in the heart of downtown.

Gao resident Moussa Tahirou Maiga said despite security improvements, the city's economy remains paralyzed and many are looking to Keita to create jobs.

"He has shown his patriotism," said Maiga, 35, who teaches information technology. "He's viewed here as the man who can change a lot of things."

Keita cast his ballot Sunday in Bamako morning and praised voters for coming out to the polls.

"People are saying 'Will the turnout be what we hope?' but I am certain it will be," Keita told reporters. "And the rain here is a blessing and a good sign."

Turnout in the first round of voting was nearly 50 percent, though in the northern provincial capital of Kidal where rebel flags still fly, it was a mere 12 percent. Separatist sentiment there remains high, though some within the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad had endorsed Keita because of his promise to hold a national dialogue on the crisis there.

On Sunday, local election official Fadimata Maiga said polls had opened on time in Kidal. "Turnout appears to be better than the first round," she said.

Heavy rains kept many polling stations from opening on time Sunday in the capital.

"There's a possibility the governor will extend the polling stations' closing hours if he deems it necessary," said Issaga Kampo, vice president of the National Independent Electoral Commission.

In the first round of voting, technical glitches kept many from casting ballots. Voters showed up at polling stations only to find their names were not on the list. Others encountered difficulties obtaining their voting cards ahead of the July 28 first-round ballot.

Campaigning ahead of the second round was low key because it coincided with the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The presidential election is the first since the separatist Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali in early 2012 sparked anger within the military and led to a March 2012 coup that overthrew longtime President Amadou Toumani Toure. The chaotic aftermath allowed the separatists, and later Islamic extremists linked to al-Qaida, to grab control of northern Mali, an area the size of France.

The French-led military offensive sidelined the radical militants though secular rebels have moved back into Kidal, where they maintain a hold despite the return of the Malian military to the area. Talks with the Tuareg rebels, who want to have an independent area they call Azawad, will be among the first challenges to face the new president.

Also of key importance will be finding a way home for the nearly 200,000 Malians who remain refugees in neighboring Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso. Tens of thousands of northerners also poured into the southern capital of this mostly moderate Muslim nation to flee the violence and harsh Islamic Shariah law in which extremists meted out punishments like amputations for alleged thefts and whippings to women who went in public without their heads covered.

The United Nations refugee agency said initial estimates indicated only about 1,220 of them voted in the first round, though election materials also were being flown in for the second round poll.

___

Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal.

___

Follow Baba Ahmed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Baba_A_ .

Krista Larson is at https://twitter.com/klarsonafrica.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/malians-return-polls-2nd-round-voting-090904368.html

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Endangered species thrive on US military ranges

SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The sign leaves no doubt about the risk in entering the steep seaside hills that North America's rarest bird calls home: "Danger. Boom. Explosives. Unexploded Ordnance and Laser Range in Use. Keep Out."

Despite the weekly explosions that rock this Navy-owned island off the Southern California coast, the San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike has been rebounding from the brink of extinction, even on the military's only ship-to-shore bombardment range.

The black, gray and white songbird - which has gone from a low of 13 in the 1990s to 140 today - is among scores of endangered species thriving on military lands during the past decade.

For many, it's a surprising contrast, with troops preparing for war, yet taking precautions to not disturb animals such as the red-cockaded woodpecker and thumb-size Pacific pocket mouse. But military officials downplay the relationship, saying they're concerned primarily with national security.

Defense spending on threatened and endangered species jumped nearly 45 percent over the past decade from about $50 million a year in 2003 to about $73 million in 2012. The military protects roughly 420 federally listed species on more than 28 million acres, according to the Pentagon.

The Defense Department is increasingly partnering with environmental groups to buy critical habitats that can act as buffer zones around bases, including a deal announced in June near the Army's Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state that will restore prairie habitat.

"I've seen entire convoys with dozens of soldiers come to a screeching halt because a desert tortoise was crossing the road," Pentagon spokesman Mark Wright said.

Environmentalists say there has been an attitude shift by the Pentagon, which has a history of seeking exemptions from environmental laws in the name of national security.

"They've come a long way and do deserve credit," said Mark Delaplaine, of the California Coastal Commission, which has battled the Navy over sonar testing that it believes harms marine mammals. "They pummel areas but also protect areas."

Generals shudder at being considered tree-huggers. But the military's top brass also realizes protecting wildlife can, in turn, protect training ranges.

The more wildlife thrives, the fewer the restrictions. If endangered species populations decline further, the military could face being told to move trainings out of areas.

"Our conservation efforts are first and foremost focused on protecting readiness and eliminating the need for restrictions on training," said John Conger, acting deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment.

Defense Department properties have the highest density of threatened and endangered species of any federal land management agency, according to NatureServe, which tracks wildlife.

On average, military lands boast 15 threatened and endangered species per acre - nearly seven times more per acre than the U.S. Forest Service, according to the Pentagon.

Security keeps huge swaths of terrain off-limits to humans, turning training grounds into de facto wildlife refuges.

Bases have inadvertently preserved wetlands, old-growth forests and tall-grass prairies by halting urban sprawl.

The Marine Corps' 125,000-acre Camp Pendleton is the largest undeveloped coastal stretch between Los Angeles and San Diego with more than 15 federally listed wildlife species.

In some areas, native plants that thrive from a natural cycle of wildfires have benefited from the artillery exercises, according to environmentalists. Troops also often use only a limited area for training, including on San Clemente.

Defense Department biologists have helped military branches boost wildlife numbers, according to environmentalists.

The endangered perch-like fish called the Okaloosa Darter was downgraded in 2011 to threatened after Eglin Air Force base restored its watershed with erosion control projects, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The threatened San Clemente Island lizard, which now numbers more than 20 million, is being considered for removal from federal listing.

"They're doing some good things for endangered species, which is great, but there are activities that are really damaging to the environment at the same time," said Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity.

He pointed to the Navy's sonar testing. Greenwald's organization and other groups last year filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to protect marine mammals from noise brought by Navy warfare training exercises along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.

San Clemente Island gained its unique status after protests shut down the Navy's only other such bombardment range on Vieques Island off the coast of Puerto Rico, where the Navy trained from 1941 until 2003.The property is now a national wildlife refuge.

Losing Vieques has raised awareness among troops today on San Clemente.

Naval Cmdr. Christopher Kirby, the officer in charge, said his units rally behind protecting the wind-swept island about 65 miles northwest of San Diego.

"If we were to abuse the island, we would lose it," he said.

Sniper fire must be routed to avoid nests of endangered birds. Yellow road signs warn motorists to watch out for the island's native fox, whose population has grown from hundreds in the 1990s to more than 1,000.

Plywood models of tanks and missiles poke through native shrubs with flittering San Clemente Island sage sparrows, found only on the island. Troops zero in on the makeshift targets but cannot fire in sensitive areas. Ramps prevent beach erosion for the threatened western snowy plovers, whose nests are moved to avoid tanks.

Biologists say the biggest impact has been the military's eradication of goats in the 1990s, which were introduced half a century before the Navy purchased San Clemente in 1934.

For biologists, what's been surprising is the resiliency shown by certain species to the thundering drills. The shrike nests even in the center of the bombing range called the "boom box."

"The shrike seems to be unaffected by the loud noises," said Navy biologist Melissa Booker. "We have a role to support the military's mission, and we have a role to protect species. The two things don't have to contradict each other."

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOME_ON_THE_BOMBING_RANGE?SITE=ORCOO&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Lexus IS350 is a shot of energy for Toyota

By Dan Neil

The Lexus IS350 has an overarching newness about it, a sense of something reformed and redeemed, says Dan Neil.

The scene: twilight, in a deep shade of summer, on a winding and empty country road, hyper-green trees, headlamps blazing. The car: the 2014 Lexus IS350 with all-wheel drive, the fully swank F Sport edition ($49,737). The dynamic driving mode: Sport +. The satellite radio station: Bluegrass Junction. Yee haw.

I am holding the six-speed automatic transmission in manually shifted third and fourth gears?sequential-shift paddles behind the steering wheel, you know?so as to keep the 306-hp V6 on the boil. I am trying, without much success, to get the sedan?s all-season radials to chirp and squeal, but they are reluctant to give up grip.

Lexus IS350: A Shot in the Arm

The Lexus IS350 is nimble and genuinely athletic, Dan Neil says. Photo: Lexus

Lexus, Toyota?s /quotes/zigman/199376/quotes/nls/tm TM -0.36% global luxury division, really needs this car to be great. Introduced in 2006 and perennially uninteresting, the IS has been thoroughly overhauled for 2014, gaining 3.4 inches in overall length and 2.7 inches of wheelbase, much of which is devoted to improving the rear legroom. The IS now shares suspension parts with the midsize GS model, with double wishbones in front and, in the rear, a uniquely compact multi-link rear suspension to preserve trunk space. It also shares the GS?s 3.5-liter V6.

Meanwhile, IS?s steel body has been laser-welded and epoxy bonded to a fare-thee-well. This thing is built like a little tank.

It is, after all, going to war. The IS (IS250 and IS350, with either a 2.5- or 3.5-liter V6, and no hybrid version in the U.S.) competes in the entry luxury sports-sedan segment, up against the BMW 3-series (about 100,000 U.S. sales last year) and Mercedes-Benz C-class (82,000). Also out for blood is Cadillac?s ATS, Infiniti?s G Sedan and Audi?s A4. In this all-in, must-win market, where car companies find their lifetime buyers, Lexus sells one car to BMW?s four.

Now, the truth is, as electromechanical beings, these cars are fairly close in performance, efficiency, specification and price. Here, the brand experience is everything, and the IS sells the whole Lexus thing really hard. The cabin materials are first-rate: glove-soft leathers, burnished metals and futuristic switchgear, including electro-capacitive switches for the climate system that look like chromed hair pins. The interior sculpting is dignified, contemporary, by grown-ups, for grown-ups.

The test car had the F Sport spec ($3,180), including sport-tuned suspension, LED headlamps and tire-and-wheel package. Overachieving refinement is a common virtue.

But to win, the IS also has to pump up the brand?s emotional volume. And you know what? It is a pretty fun car: strong, composed and quite stable, with a nicely keen and level edge at mid-speeds and mid-rpm. It is around this register that Lexus? acoustical engineers tuned the engine ?intake-sound generator? to create a brighter, more thrilling performance note.

I wouldn?t call myself thrilled, exactly, but the IS definitely has some sporting bandwidth. And bandwidth is the word. Consider the car?s algorithm-rich electronic steering, which varies initial responsiveness, effort and even steering rate based on a welter of instantaneous data coming from all over the car?but not before it is pumped like so much digital goose liver through the vehicle?s five-mode dynamics system (including Snow mode, to help AWD-equipped cars cope with inclement weather).

This thing isn?t a car; it is a mood ring

Ditto the powertrain?s adaptive behavior (throttle response, transmission shift points, gear holding and automatic rev-matching on downshifts). The new eight-speed automatic transmission (rear-drive cars only) features something Lexus calls the G-Force Artificial Intelligence (G-AI) system, which ?automatically selects the optimum gear and downshift pattern in response to G force.? In other words, the car loops in data from accelerometers to improve transmission behavior going into corners, and to prevent a destabilizing downshift.

Double-ditto for the adaptive suspension, available only in the 350 F Sport, that gets increasingly starchy as you turn up the dial. Ditto the brakes and the stability control (yaw-rate thresholds). Even the sound enhancer is variable. This thing isn?t a car; it is a mood ring.

And yet it all adds up to the intended effect: With the right switches thrown, the IS350 is a genuinely athletic and potent little Lexus, with some urgency and a little orneriness here and there. Huh! That?s new.

The notable holdovers in the new car are the pair of naturally aspirated V6 engines, for which output is unchanged (204 hp/184 pound-feet; and 306 hp/277 pound-feet). Conventional wisdom in this segment would call for using smaller, high-pressure turbo four-cylinders, like those in BMW and Cadillac. But the 3.5-liter V6 is no slouch. The rear-drive IS350 surges serenely to 60 mph in about 5.6 seconds, while the AWD model takes another two tenths, by my estimate.

In any event, the vibe of the IS is that of a car whose chassis feels overdeveloped while it waits for a more perfect powerplant to come down the line.

As Lexus has framed the narrative, the IS is an example of the division?s drive to be younger, bolder, more aggressive. There is nothing shy or retiring about the car?s grille, an intricately warped metal mesh in the shape of an hourglass, though Lexus prefers the term ?spindle.?

To declare myself, I really like the IS?s grille. I like the way the hood and headlamp contours are pulled together so coherently at the front of the car?a visual metaphor of focus?and I like the grille?s outsize presence, which as a graphical element is as recognizable as Audi?s large, single-frame grille design. And besides, it is a beautifully wrought piece. How did they even make that thing?

So after 50 or so miles, here is my big thought: You can?t keep this company down. Toyota has had an absolutely miserable four or so years. Currency, recalls, tsunami, Fukushima. On top of which hovered a mood of hollow malaise caused by, as President Akio Toyoda himself has suggested, a period of reckless hyper-growth.

But Toyota is nothing if not a learning animal. The IS has an overarching newness about it, a sense of something reformed and redeemed. The IS makes me optimistic that better days and better Lexuses lie ahead.

/quotes/zigman/199376/quotes/nls/tm

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 318,687

Aug. 9, 2013 4:05p

Market Cap

$221.02 billion

Rev. per Employee

$777,879

Source: http://feeds.marketwatch.com/~r/marketwatch/pf/~3/YKrWStWLAQI/story.asp

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Malaysia Airlines takes off to Dubai | News | Breaking Travel News

Malaysia Airlines? inaugural commercial flight MH162 to Dubai took off from KL International Airport (KLIA) at 11.30pm today, scheduled to arrive at Dubai International Airport at 2.20am tomorrow. The return flight MH163 departs Dubai at 4.10am to arrive at Kuala Lumpur at 3.25pm.

The flight left after a simple send-off reception at the KLIA attended by Malaysia Airlines top management staff and the passengers on-board MH162.

Malaysia Airlines, Commercial Director, Dr Hugh Noel Dunleavy said, ?We see great potential in Dubai. Dubai is a tourism, trade and logistics hub which has earned itself the reputation as being the gateway between the east and the west. Home to just over 2 million people of more than 200 nationalities, Dubai is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. With world-class shopping and leisure facilities, Dubai is a popular destination for business and leisure.? As we expand our network we want to prepare our products and services to serve our guests better each time they fly us. Our focus is ultimately customer satisfaction.? he said.

MASholidays, the travel and tour arm of Malaysia Airlines, is also offering two exclusive yet incredibly affordable tour packages to Dubai in conjunction with the national carrier?s commencement of services to the United Arab Emirates? capital. Customers can choose from two attractive packages of either group or individual departure which are tailor-made to suit Malaysian travellers. These 5days/3nights packages are reasonably priced at RM3499 and RM2840 respectively for inaugural date departures.

The package will bring guests to experience several iconic landmarks in Dubai including the famous Burj Khalifa. They will be taken right to the top of the 124-floor building, to the observation deck to experience the grandeur and exhilaration of being on the top of this breath-taking building. Several famous eateries that serve sensational Middle Eastern and international cuisines are also in the list for this package. The Address in Dubai Mall, one of the largest shopping and entertainment destinations in the world and The Palace Downtown are surely highlights of the trip. Located on the Old Town Island, The Palace Downtown Dubai is a resort within the city, at the heart of a traditional Arabian village, faced with a striking symbol of modernity. Built on the edge of a lake, The Palace Downtown Dubai is a harmonious blend of Middle Eastern heritage and contemporary Dubai.

A two-class configured Boeing 777-200 aircraft will be operated on this Kuala Lumpur - Dubai - Kuala Lumpur route and it will offer a total capacity of 282 seats in each flight, equivalent to 3,948 seats weekly.

Malaysia Airlines has been steadily growing its reach and capacity in the past year. Malaysia Airlines regional footprint has also been deepened with increased frequencies, daily and weekly, to key business and leisure cities around Asia.? In addition, Malaysia Airlines network is expanded through its various code share agreements and its membership in the oneworld airline alliance since February 2013.

Source: http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/malaysia-airlines-takes-off-to-dubai/

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Mickelson summons coach after poor round

Updated: August 8, 2013, 8:58 PM ET

By Bob Harig | ESPN.com

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Phil Mickelson summoned his swing coach, Butch Harmon, from the Sky TV commentary booth for an emergency range session early Thursday evening after a perplexing 1-over-par 71 that saw him make two double-bogeys in the opening round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.

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Tiger Woods has five wins in 2013, but his seasons are defined by majors. Well behind after Round 1, Woods has his work cut out for him at Oak Hill, Ian O'Connor writes. Story

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After he flirted with the Oak Hill course record Thursday at the PGA, Adam Scott just continued what he's been doing most of 2013: Impressing at the majors, writes Farrell Evans. Story

?? Round 1 Grades | Round 1 Scores

Mickelson's score left him in a tie for 50th -- along with Tiger Woods -- six shots back of co-leaders Jim Furyk and Adam Scott.

And it was troubling enough for Mickelson to summon his longtime coach Harmon to try and sort out a few things in near darkness.

"I was working on the exact opposite thing we needed to do; I'm glad I had a few minutes with him," Mickelson said. "I wanted to be able to think about what I want to do tomorrow tonight as opposed to trying to find it in the morning.

"I fought hard. But even when I was making birdies, it didn't feel good. I was fighting to keep it in play. It's starting to feel a little better now. Tomorrow will be a big day."

Mickelson began his round horribly, making a bogey at the third hole and a double-bogey 7 at the par-4 fourth, where he hit his tee shot out of bounds. But he rallied with four birdies over a six-hole stretch to get to 1 under before finishing with a disappointing double-bogey 6 at the 18th after an errant tee shot.

Mickelson, who won the Open Championship less than three weeks ago after winning the Scottish Open the week before, said he felt fortunate to keep the round from being worse than it was.

"The first four holes were like a shock to my system," he said. "Hitting it out of bounds on 4. I mean out of bounds is not even in play. I hit that so far right. To make a double on a par 5 that's the only one we can get to (in two shots), a birdie hole ... is awful. I got off to a terrible start.

"And to get it back to around par -- I was actually under there for a while. That took a lot of fight. Fortunately, I'm in a position where I can get a low round and get back in it. But it really could have gotten away from me."

• Senior golf writer for ESPN.com
• Covered golf for more than 20 years
• Earned Evans Scholarship to attend Indiana University

Source: http://espn.go.com/golf/pgachampionship13/story/_/id/9552002/2013-pga-championship-phil-mickelson-summons-coach-poor-round

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India accuses Pakistan army of killing soldiers in ambush

By Ross Colvin

India for the first time directly accused the Pakistan army of involvement in an ambush that killed five Indian soldiers, and hinted on Thursday at retaliation for possibly the worst such attack since the neighbours signed a ceasefire in 2003.

Pakistan has strongly denied involvement in the early Tuesday ambush and struck a conciliatory tone in response to India?s latest accusations, saying it was imperative for the two countries to restore the ceasefire on the disputed Kashmir border.

?This incident will have consequences on our behaviour on the Line of Control and for our relations with Pakistan,? Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony told parliament, referring to the de facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan territory.

?It is now clear that specialist troops of Pakistan army were involved in this attack,? Antony said, offering the Indian government?s strongest statement to date on the attack.

Six soldiers on patrol near their base about 450 metres (yards) from the Line of Control were ambushed and five were shot dead and one was wounded, Indian army officials said.

While tit-for-tat shelling and machinegun fire is common along the disputed border, cross-border attacks by troops are rare.

On Thursday, a Pakistani civilian was wounded in cross-border firing in Kashmir, the Pakistani military said, accusing Indian forces of ?unprovoked? shooting. There was no immediate comment from the Indian military.

Antony?s accusation was significant as in his first comments on the incident, on Tuesday, he had been careful not to directly implicate the Pakistani army and had referred instead to militants accompanied by ?persons dressed in Pakistan army uniforms?.

In a statement issued by the Pakistani foreign ministry, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he was still looking forward to meeting his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.

?During the meeting, we will discuss steps to further build trust and consolidate this relationship,? Sharif was quoted as saying.

?The prime minister further said that it is incumbent upon the leadership of both sides not to allow the situation to drift and to take steps to improve the atmosphere by engaging constructively with a view to building trust and confidence.?

Singh?s government has been quietly working with Islamabad to relaunch stalled peace talks, possibly as early as this month. Islamabad has also been pushing for the meeting between Singh and Sharif in New York ? a proposal New Delhi has said it is considering.

Indian government officials said on Thursday no decision had been taken on resuming the peace talks at a senior bureaucrat level or on the proposed meeting between the prime ministers.

OPPOSITION CRITICISM

India?s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the government of trying to play down the attack and of being too soft on Pakistan, a damaging accusation ahead of what is expected to be a closely fought election, due by next May.

?They wanted to preserve their relations with Pakistan but they ended up with egg on their faces,? said Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research, a think-tank in New Delhi.

The BJP caused a ruckus in parliament this week, blocking efforts by the ruling party to discuss long-pending economic reforms or the government?s signature initiative to hugely expand a vote-winning scheme to give cheap food to the poor.

Facing rising political heat and a paralysed parliament, the government indicated it could revise its statement after the chief of the army visited the area of the attack on Wednesday.

?We all know that nothing happens from (the) Pakistan side of the Pakistan Line of Control without support, assistance, facilitation and often, direct involvement of the Pakistan army,? Antony said in his statement to parliament on Thursday.

Indian army officials have said the attack was carried out by Pakistan?s Border Action Team. The unit includes members of Pakistan?s commando Special Services Group and irregular forces including members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group, the army officers said.

?Our restraint should not be taken for granted, nor should the capacity of armed forces and resolve of the government to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control ever be doubted,? Antony said.

The nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars since becoming independent from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. But defence analysts have said they do not expect the latest incident to trigger a major retaliation from India.

Relations between the two neighbours have been showing sign of improvement in the past year after souring in 2008 when Pakistan-based gunmen attacked India?s financial capital of Mumbai, killing 166 people.

Source: http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/08/08/india-accuses-pakistan-army-of-killing-soldiers-in-ambush/

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'What Not to Wear' tackles triple the trouble

TV

Anna Chan TODAY

14 hours ago

Say goodbye to fashion tips you can use. After 10 years, TLC's "What Not to Wear" is ending, and fashion gurus Clinton Kelly and Stacy London are taking their expertise with them.?

But first, they're going to give you a lot of advice ? three times as much, to be exact. When the final batch of episodes kicks off on Friday, the show, for the first time ever, will be doing three makeovers at once. That's because the fashion experts found "the perfect storm of fashion disasters," Clinton says in an exclusive look at the premiere that TLC is sharing with TODAY.com.

The disasters turn out to be three of the biggest fashion faux pas that "What Not to Wear" has come across in its quest to help people dress to flatter their bodies: exceedingly sexy, frumpy and "just plain crazy."

Riana likes to dress like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Women" (ahem), Taylor is stuck in the '70s, and Megan hides her body in drab colors because of struggles with her weight.

Faced with triple the challenges in one episode, Stacy teases, "We're not so sure we're getting out alive!"

But they're not the only ones with doubts. As the exclusive clip shows, one of the ladies declares, "I just don't want to be part of it. I just can't," and walks out.

See how Clinton and Stacy handle the situation and soak up their fashion advice as "What Not to Wear" kicks off its final season on Friday at 10 p.m. on TLC.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/what-not-wear-tackles-triple-trouble-6C10871618

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