Skippy, the guardian angel? Australian boy says kangaroo saved him during night lost in bush

Kangaroo helps save missing child

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Boy, 7, says kangaroo helped him survive a chilly night in the Australian bush
• He says he went missing from a family picnic after a kangaroo ate flowers he was picking
• He spent nearly 24 hours lost in in bush while a search party looked for him
• His father said the kangaroo was "a gift from God"

(CNN) -- A seven-year-old boy who spent a winter's night lost in chilly conditions in the Australian bush says a friendly kangaroo is the reason he survived.

South Australian police said Simon Kruger went missing in the Deep Creek Conservation Park, south of Adelaide, after wandering away from a family picnic shortly after 1.15pm Saturday.

A search party of about 40, including two rescue helicopters, was mobilized to locate Simon, who was wearing just a fleece top and track pants and was not equipped for a night in the elements.

The search party continued their efforts through the night, operating using parachute flares, before a rescue helicopter spotted him about 500 meters from where he had gone missing nearly 24 hours earlier.

He was winched to safety shortly after noon Sunday, a police spokesman told CNN, having sustained minor injuries from his night in the wilderness.

But what has drawn the most attention about the episode is Simon's account of how he survived.

"Dad, I'm okay - I slept under a tree and there were kangaroos," were his first words to his father as he was reunited with his family, The Australian newspaper reported.

His father, Etienne, told Australia's 7 News said that his son had been picking flowers for his mother when a kangaroo approached him.

"A kangaroo came closer to him and ate the flowers from him, and the kangaroo fell asleep next to him," Etienne Kruger told the network. "I think God sent a kangaroo to keep him warm."

The boy's mother, Linda Kruger, added: "I think it was a miracle, when I smell his jacket, it's kangaroo -- bush and kangaroo."

The Krugers had been confident throughout the search that their son would be found safe, with the father telling The Australian that his son was strong and resourceful.

He told the Daily Telegraph newspaper Monday that his son was recovering well from his ordeal, and acting "as if nothing had happened."

"He's had a nice shower last night and a good sleep," he said. "He's certainly got something to tell at show and tell now."

Racist, or good marketing? DVD cover for Australian film 'The Sapphires' causes controversy

Spot the difference? The U.S. DVD cover for "The Sapphires," left, has sparked criticism. The Australian version is on the right.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The U.S. DVD cover art for an Australian film about Aboriginal soul singers has been criticized
• The image places the Aboriginal actors in the background, while foregrounding the white lead
• The U.S. distributors have apologized for the image
• Some said the criticism was unjustified, as the white actor was the film's best known

(CNN) -- The U.S. distributor of an Australian film about a group of Aboriginal women soul singers has apologized for a DVD cover which critics have labeled sexist and racist.

"The Sapphires," a feel-good hit in Australia, told the story of an all-women Aboriginal soul group in the 1960s who overcome racism at home to forge a successful career.

But the cover art for the U.S. release of the DVD, distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment, has drawn a storm of criticism for the way it relegates the film's four Aboriginal women actors to the background, their skin tones rendered a muted blue, and places the white male actor who plays their manager in the foreground.

The manager is played by Irish actor Chris O'Dowd, the best known of the film's actors, who has a rising profile in Hollywood on the back of performances in hits including "Bridesmaids."

On the cover of the Australian release of the DVD, O'Dowd receives equal prominence with his co-stars, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Miranda Tapsell and Shari Sebbens.

'The Sapphires' sing out on big screen

Anchor Bay Entertainment said in a statement that it "regrets any unintentional upset" caused by the DVD, which was released in the U.S. Tuesday.

"New cover art is being considered for future replenishment orders," the statement said.

The cover art had sparked a social media backlash and drawn nearly 17,000 signatures to an online petition urging Anchor Bay Entertainment to repackage the film.

The petition, started by Melbourne woman Lucy Manne, quoted a London-based film blogger MaryAnn Johanson, who had written about the film's marketing: "Movies about women are rare enough. Movies about black women are even rarer. And now we're gonna pretend the movies about women, whatever their color, aren't even about them at all?"

The original Sapphires -- the singers whose real-life story inspired the film -- also entered the fray, writing to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a powerful civil rights lobby group in the U.S., to boycott the American release of the DVD, Melbourne's The Age newspaper reported.

O'Dowd also weighed in to the debate about the cover art. "It's ridiculous, it's misleading, it's ill-judged, insensitive and everything the film wasn't," he wrote, in a tweet that was later deleted.

But others felt the anger over the cover art was misplaced.

Karl Quinn, national film editor for Australia's Fairfax Media, wrote that the campaign over the cover art was "misguided," arguing that leveraging O'Dowd's profile was "unquestionably the best shot the US distributors have of finding an audience for 'The Sapphires'."

The film's producers, Rosemary Blight and Kylie du Fresne, thanked Anchor Bay for its apology, saying in a joint statement that they hoped that the film's marketing materials would reflect its themes.

"It has always been our hope that the film would play a part in building mutual respect and understanding between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Australia,'' they wrote.

GM offers big price cut on Chevy Volt

Chevy has announced a $5,000 price cut on the 2014 Volt.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

General Motors announced Tuesday that it will knock $5,000 off the sticker price of a new Chevy Volt, making it the latest electric car to be steeply discounted as automakers battle for buyers.

Customers will be able to get the discount on 2014 Volts, reducing the car's starting price from $40,000 to $35,000. Government tax rebates can bring the price down as low as $27,495, GM says.

Pricing and incentives on electric cars have been getting more aggressive recently as automakers try to improve sales.
GM (GM, Fortune 500) has already offered steep rebates on the 2012 and 2013 editions of the Volt. In similar fashion, Nissan and Honda have offered aggressive discounts on their Leaf and Fit EV electric cars.
"We have made great strides in reducing costs as we gain experience with electric vehicles and their components," said Don Johnson, a vice president at Chevrolet. "The 2014 Volt will offer the same impressive list of features, but for $5,000 less."
Interactive: Look inside the Tesla Model S

 

Confessions of a Volt owner

While automakers often lose money on electric cars, they are nevertheless an important part of the business. California -- the largest auto market in the United States -- requires car makers to sell a certain number of plug-in cars if they wish to do business there.
Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said that GM is likely to follow the price cut with a more aggressive leasing program that will appeal to a wider consumer base.
"Chevrolet has quickly discovered that when price savings at the pump and ultimately value are your key selling points, a $40,000 cost of entry makes for a difficult hurdle to overcome for most budget conscious consumers," Gutierrez said.
Related story: 5 really-great big cars
Even with the built-in tax breaks for eligible buyers, electric vehicles have struggled to gain market share. No more than a few thousand Volts are sold each month in the U.S., a tiny fraction of overall auto sales.
According to Kelly Blue Book, GM has sold only 11,643 Volts so far this year. In 2012, GM sold 23,461 of the cars.
Nissan's Leaf, which had consistently trailed the Volt in U.S. sales until March this year, has since pulled ahead thanks to the introduction of a $199 a month lease and increased production at its plant in Tennessee. Leaf sales totaled 11,703 through July, according to tracker Autodata.
Related: Cheap electric cars
Limited range is one of the most common consumer complaints when it comes to electric cars. The Volt is a plug-in model that can go about 40 miles on a charge, but also has a gasoline engine to provide power for longer drives.

Five food brands reinvented by women

Reinventing Campbell Soup for future

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Campbell Soup Company CEO Denise Morrison revamped brand to suit younger generation
• She has also diversified the company's healthy products by acquiring Bolthouse Farms
• CNN charts the evolution of five female-led food and drink brands

Leading Women connects you to extraordinary women of our time. Each month, we meet two women at the top of their field, exploring their careers, lives and ideas.

(CNN) -- How do you reinvigorate a heritage brand? It's a question that has long marred CEOs, business strategists and some of the world's most astute marketeers.

This month CNN's "Leading Women" sits down with Denise Morrison, the CEO and President of Campbell Soup Company to discuss how she took the firm forward by reinventing the iconic brand. In addition to Morrison, CNN also charts the evolution of four female-led food and drink brands.

Denise Morrison -- CEO and President, Campbell Soup Company

Denise Morrison is one of 21 women currently running Fortune 500 companies.

Courtesy Campbell Soup Company

Denise Morrison joined the 144-year-old soup company a decade ago. Since being named CEO in 2011, she's made it her mission to revamp the brand and ensure it appeals to a Millennial generation.

While at the helm, Morrison orchestrated one of the largest acquisitions in the company's history when it bought Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 billion in July 2012. The move allowed the company to expand its offering into healthy beverages as well as the highly profitable $12 billion arena of package fresh products.

While innovation is at the heart of Campbell Soup's strategy, Morrison says the company will also continue to focus on what they are known for. Over the last 12 months Campbell's has added a further 32 soups to their range on offer including Moroccan-style chicken with chickpeas and spicy chorizo flavors to satiate a generation of more adventurous food lovers.

Consumers can also expect 200 new products to hit shelves over the next year.

Indra Nooyi -- Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo

Indra Nooyi has been at PepsiCo almost two decades since she joined in 1994.

Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images/File

When she took the position of CEO of PepsiCo in 2006, Indra Nooyi had a formidable task ahead of her -- to manage one of the world's largest food and drink companies with 22 brands in its extensive portfolio, including Gatorade and Frito-Lay.

In her time at the firm, the Indian-born CEO has led the company towards acquisitions of Tropicana and European dairy company Wimm-Bill-Dann. She was also behind the company's merger with Quaker Oats.

Nooyi's strong business acumen has seen the food and drink giant go from strength to strength with the company's annual net revenues totaling $65 billion.

Martha Stewart -- Founder, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Martha Stewart demonstrates her cooking skills onstage last year in California.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images/File

Martha Stewart has become a household name internationally thanks to an illustrious career as a TV chef, cook book author, magazine editor and more recently, chat show host.

Now synonymous with lifestyle and homeware, Stewart first began her career in the food industry as a caterer but soon moved in to publishing in 1982 with her first cook book "Entertaining." By 1990, she had signed a deal with Time Publishing Ventures to develop "Martha Stewart Living" magazine which continues to be popular.

One of Stewart's strongest business moves was establishing her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Through the firm, Stewart has been able to put all her publishing, television and merchandising ventures under one umbrella giving her greater control over her brand.

Donna Hay -- Food editor and cookbook author

Donna Hay's simple, clean and sophisticated approach to food and style has made her a household brandname in Australia.

Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images

Donna Hay began her career in food at the age of 19 as a food writer. By 25, the Australian had been named food editor of "Marie Claire." These days, Hay spends much of her time on her own bi-monthly publication "Donna Hay Magazine," which she launched in 2001.

Her approach to food is simple, classic and sophisticated which has proven to be a hit with magazine subscribers in 82 countries in addition to the 384,000 in Australia. Not only did Hay open a homeware store in Sydney, but she's also become a best-selling author of 18 cookbooks, which have sold 4 million copies worldwide.

Milagros Leelin Yee and Clarita Leelin Go -- Co-founders, Goldilocks Bakery

Sisters Milagros Leelin-Yess and Clarita Leelin-Go started their bakery, Goldilocks in 1966. Today they have branches in the Philippines, Thailand and the United States.

Photo courtesy Anton Diaz of www.OurAwesomePlanet.com

In 1966, two Filipino sisters, Milagros Leelin Yee and Clarita Leelin Go set up a small bakery putting a family-oriented spin on traditional local delicacies. Almost 50 years later, Goldilocks Bakery now boasts of 340 outlets in the Philippines with 24 stores in the U.S. and five in Thailand.

The much-loved family bake shop has expanded to offer food choices and in 2010 underwent a full rebranding in an effort to keep up with other competitors. Meanwhile the sisters have continued their success venturing into publishing with their recipes in "Goldilocks Bakebook."

Join Jessie Live On Twitter

 

 

Got a burning questions for Jessie? Then tweet using #AskJessie

Tags: Fat The Fight Of My Life

View Related

Fancy getting closer to celebrity trainer Jessie Pavelka?
Well, let's face it, who wouldn't? So here's your chance.
The gorgeous host of our brand new series Fat: The Fight Of My Life will be taking over our Twitter account @SkyLivingOnline and answering your questions live on Monday 15th July at 10pm, straight after the premiere of the show on Sky Living HD - and joining in could not be easier.

Celebrity Slimdowns

Tags: Fat The Fight Of My Life

View Related

There's nothing like a celebrity slimdown to get us reaching for our kit-bag and heading out to the nearest gym.
They may have access to personal chefs and trainers, but these gorgeous peeps still have to work hard and put in the effort to look good.
Here are a few of our faves.
To watch our new show on how to stay in shape, make sure you click the button above to record our brand new weight-loss series Fat: The Fight OF My Life, Mondays at 9pm on Sky Living HD.
Fern Britton
After struggling with her weight for years, Fern decided to take drastic action back in 2006 and had a gastric band fitted to help her get healthy - and it worked...

Hypnotic posters for Danny Boyle's Trance

Hypnotic posters for Danny Boyle's Trance

15 March 2013

'Look into my eyes, the eyes, the eyes, not around the eyes...'
Are you entranced by these character posters for Trance?
Boyle is back with his psychological thriller film about an art heist gone awry.
James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassel are all looking pretty intense.  See what they are getting all worked up about in cinemas from March 27.
Watch the trailer here.