Sunday, June 30, 2013

Why states that ban gay marriage are resting easy after Supreme Court rulings

As gay marriage supporters celebrate this week's rulings at the US Supreme Court, states that prohibit same-sex marriage are also elated, reassured that their bans are not in legal jeopardy.

By Mark Guarino,?Staff writer / June 28, 2013

Equality Alabama held a rally in support of same-sex marriage at Al's on Seventh, in Birmingham, Ala.,Wednesday.

Tamika Moore/AP/AL.com

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The two gay marriage rulings from the US Supreme Court this week have prompted big sighs of relief coming from the 35 states with bans on same-sex marriage. Nothing in the high court's actions imperil their bans, say officials from those states, and in fact the justices affirmed the rights of states to define legal marriage how they see fit.

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That may seem counterintuitive, given that gay rights supporters heralded the Supreme Court's moves, and that, as a result of its actions, gay marriages will soon resume in California, despite that state's voter-approved ban known as Proposition 8.

States with gay marriage bans can feel confident that those laws are not in legal jeopardy because the?justices did not rule on the merits of same-sex marriage itself, only on the issue of federal benefits for those whom states deem to be married, says John Dinan, a political scientist and state constitutional expert at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.?In the case involving the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the majority opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, describes the burden of DOMA on same-sex couples, but it does not venture into territory such as advising states with bans to change course or make adjustments.

?Legally, we?re in the same place today that we were at the beginning of the week. No real new ground has been broken in that direction,? Professor Dinan says. ?Nothing came out of the two decisions that changed the legal terrain that would make those states vulnerable.?

Officials from such states asserted likewise.?

?The US Supreme Court ruled that states, not the federal government, retain the constitutional authority to define marriage. Michigan?s constitution stands, and the will of people to define marriage as between one man and one woman endures in the Great Lakes State,? said Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette in a statement released soon after the ruling. Michigan?s voter-approved constitutional ban of same-sex marriage was established in 2004.?

US Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R) of Kansas told reporters that the ?one good thing out of the decision was the court did not declare that there was a constitutional right for same-sex marriage? and that Kansas ?will be able to maintain its marriage amendment? prohibiting gay marriage.

In a 5-to-4 decision issued Wednesday, the Supreme Court said Congress cannot treat same-sex married couples differently than opposite-sex married couples for purposes of qualifying for some 1,100 federal benefits, thereby overturning the guts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). As a result, same-sex couples residing in one of the 13 states where gay marriage is legal are soon to be entitled to all the federal benefits that heterosexual married couples receive.

In a separate ruling issued the same day, the high court dismissed the appeal from backers of California's Proposition 8, saying they did not have legal standing. That means a lower federal court ruling that California's ban is unconstitutional prevails in that state.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/5BNU5II0iXA/Why-states-that-ban-gay-marriage-are-resting-easy-after-Supreme-Court-rulings

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After protests, what Egypt can learn from Mandela

Mass protests in Egypt calling for the ouster of President Morsi reflect a young democracy in need of lessons in developing trust and reconciliation. Egyptians can find them on the opposite end of Africa in Mandela's example.

By the Monitor's Editorial Board / June 30, 2013

Opponents of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi gather June 30 in Cairo's Tahrir Square calling for the end of his rule.

AP Photo

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Mass protests in Egypt on Sunday showed a society still sharply split over the future of its young democracy ? and one badly in need of a lesson from the most famous advocate of democracy on the African continent.

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Of Nelson Mandela?s many contributions, it was his generosity of spirit toward opponents that helped bring freedom and reconciliation in divided South Africa. Mr. Mandela embraced his captors and assumed whites were willing to treat blacks as equal. He replaced racial hate with nonracial kindness, and thus won freedom for his country from oppression.

If only Egypt?s political leaders could now understand the origin of Mandela?s ability to create trust by offering trust. Liberation, he wrote his wife from Kroonstad Prison in 1975, began in one?s thinking. ?Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others ? qualities which are within easy reach of every soul ? are the foundation of one?s spiritual life,? he stated.

In Egypt, political issues have turned personal since the 2011 ouster of dictator Hosni Mubarak. The various organizers of the June 30 protests now seek to bring down an elected president, Mohamed Morsi, while Mr. Morsi offers harsh criticism of those who fear he is creating a nondemocratic Islamic state.

?Part of the problem is that neither side has presented its position in terms amenable to compromise,? writes Arab expert Nathan J. Brown of George Washington University in a Foreign Policy blog. An agreement on various issues of governance has been possible, he says, ?but the political will was simply missing.?

Even in Iran, where elections are rigged by the ruling clerics selecting candidates, the results of a June 14 presidential vote revealed a missing piece for any democracy. When a chosen candidate with the most moderate views won and not the regime?s favored candidate, the ruling Muslim clerics realized that the people were sending a message on misuse of power. ?We cannot run the country with a single faction while omitting another one,? said conservative lawmaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar on television after the results.

Democracy is more than ruling with a majority, as Morsi needs to understand. It must not alienate minorities. It must have permanent checks on power. Egypt is still missing those key elements. Morsi must also recognize that those seeking full democracy have distrusted the way his associates in the Muslim Brotherhood wrote a new constitution.

The presidency, the courts, the military, and the protesters are all at odds, often to the point of not even communicating. Gestures of generosity could go a long way. In the early 1990s after his release, Mandela met with the widow of the man who designed apartheid. He embraced the country?s white rugby team, the Springboks, by donning its jersey at a game.

Reconciliation in Egypt is urgent, as the defense minister, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, warned. ?There is a state of division in society and the continuation of it is a danger to the Egyptian state and there must be consensus among all,? he said.

Morsi may have taken an important step by apologizing on national TV last Wednesday for mistakes he made last year. Notable among them was assuming authority over the judiciary, a decision he quickly abandoned and now regrets. Such humility has not been seen in an Egyptian leader for decades.

He must find ways to include the advocates of democracy in a power-sharing arrangement. They led the democratic revolution in 2011, not the Muslim Brotherhood, even if that well-organized Islamic group was able to then eke out a majority win in the 2012 election.

If anything, the sorry state of the economy and its hardship on the poor call for a government of national unity, not more power plays, insults, and polarization.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/3nl2YzBnIaw/After-protests-what-Egypt-can-learn-from-Mandela

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The Wanted and Backstreet Boys perform at London's Gay Pride

Nick Carter

? Nick Carter / AP

The Wanted and Backstreet Boys perform at London's Gay Pride

June 30, 2013, 12:29 PM EST

WENN

The Wanted and the Backstreet Boys celebrated with their gay fans on Saturday by performing a joint gig at London's premier gay nightclub.

The two groups took over the G-A-Y night at U.K. hotspot Heaven, hours after an estimated 15,000 revellers took to the streets in the British capital to march in the 42nd annual Gay Pride parade.

Before their sets, the groups posed for photos together backstage and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter tweeted, "Getting ready to play club G.A.Y. In London. We are so excited to party with our gays. gay pride."

The festivities in London came just weeks after British government officials approved same-sex marriage legislation, paving the way for ceremonies to begin next spring.

Pop superstars Lady Gaga and Cher also performed in Gay Pride events held in New York this week.

Source: http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=815857

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Faults can reseal months after quakes

Measurements in southern China find quick healing of fractured rock

By Erin Wayman

Web edition: June 28, 2013

After an earthquake, fault zones may need no more than a couple of years to regain their strength, research suggests. But the recovery is not without setbacks: Large, distant quakes can redamage fragile faults and prolong healing.

A fault weakened by a rupture won?t begin to build up stress again until it?s strong enough. So the new findings, published in the June 28 Science, should help researchers understand the timing of earthquake cycles in a fault zone.

After a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated southern China in 2008, scientists drilled a borehole 1,201 meters into the Longmen Shan fault zone to monitor the healing process. Researchers have previously analyzed fault strengthening in the laboratory or with surface measurements. But this is the first time anyone has peered directly into a fault to observe recovery. ?We?re very hard up for evidence about what?s happening down there,? says seismologist John Vidale of the University of Washington in Seattle.

Researchers indirectly measured the Chinese fault?s strength by looking at how easily water flowed through the rock. When a fault fails during a quake, rocks break. Many processes reseal the cracks, such as the crystallization of minerals dissolved in groundwater. The more cracks a fault has, the weaker it should be, says coauthor Emily Brodsky, a geophysicist at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

From January 2010 to August 2011, Brodsky, Lian Xue, also of UC Santa Cruz, and colleagues observed changes in the rock?s permeability by measuring shifting groundwater levels in the borehole. Permeability plummeted, and the team calculated that recovery after an earthquake in the Longmen Shan fault zone should have taken anywhere from seven months to 2? years. Some previous studies indicated that faults should take decades or more to heal.

In the case of Longmen Shan, recovery was interrupted by periodic spikes in permeability that coincided with big, faraway quakes. Seismic waves unleashed by those events probably fractured the still-delicate fault, Brodsky says.?

One open question, says Elizabeth Cochran of the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, Calif., is whether seismic waves from distant temblors can also damage strong, fully repaired faults.?

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351292/title/Faults_can_reseal_months_after_quakes

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Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 750HD


Building on a foundation that's almost identical to the Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD, the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 750HD adds one key feature: 3D with full support for video sources like Blu-ray players and FiOS. That easily makes it worth the higher price, especially when you consider that $99 of the difference covers the cost of the one pair of 3D glasses it comes with. It also makes the 750HD Editors' Choice for an inexpensive 3D projector for home use.

Like the 710HD, despite the home cinema in the name, the 750HD is actually meant as a home entertainment, rather than home theater, projector. The giveaway is the 3,000-lumen brightness rating. Home theater projectors, like the Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5020UBe, are meant for theater-dark lighting. With the typical size screen for home theaters, however, 3,000 lumens would be far too bright for comfortable viewing in the dark.

Home entertainment projectors have a different role. They're meant to supplement or substitute for a TV in a family room or living room. In that situation, you need a far brighter image to stand up to the ambient light. It also helps for a home entertainment projector to be small and light enough so if you don't install it permanently, you can store it easily when you're not using it or can carry it easily to another room or, for that matter, a friend's house. The 6-pound 750HD fits that requirement too.

Basics and Setup

The connections for image sources on the 750HD's back panel are more typical for a data projector than a home entertainment projector, with only one HDMI port plus the usual VGA, composite video, and S-Video ports. The VGA port also supports component video, which will let you connect to a second HD video source if you have an appropriate adaptor cable. In addition, there's a USB A port, which will let you read files directly from a USB memory key, and a USB B port for direct USB display and for controlling your computer's mouse with the projector's remote.

Setup is standard, with a 1.2x manual zoom offering some flexibility in how far you can put the projector from the screen for a given size image. Simply plug in the appropriate cables, adjust the zoom, and focus.

Brightness, Image Quality, and Rainbows

As I've already suggested, the 750HD is bright enough to throw an appropriately large image even with the typical ambient light in a family room. However, the maximum image size for comfortable viewing will depend on how the bright the room is. I found the projector suitable for the 90-inch diagonal image I used in most of my testing even with the lights on, and even with daylight streaming through the windows. For smaller image sizes or lower light levels, you can adjust the projector brightness by switching to Eco mode or choosing one of the preset modes with lower brightness.

Switching between 2D and 3D can be a problem for projectors, because the 3D glasses cut out a substantial portion of the light going to each eye. I was able to use the same 90-inch image size for both modes, however, by picking the brightest 3D preset for 3D and lower brightness presets for 2D.

For 2D image quality, the 750HD is roughly a match for the 710HD, which translates to being better quality overall than many TVs offer, but not in the same league as a good-quality 1080p home entertainment projector.

The 750HD did a good job with skin tones and with shadow detail (details based on shading in dark areas), although it lost a little detail in scenes that are hard to handle well. Also on the plus side, I didn't see any motion artifacts or posterization (shading changing suddenly where it should change gradually), even in scenes that tend to cause that problem.

I saw some moderately obvious noise with DVDs, but that's not surprising for a sub-$1000 projector. Noise was far less obvious with Blu-Ray discs and with a FiOS connection. It also helps a lot that, as a three-chip LCD projector, the 750HD is guaranteed to be free of rainbow artifacts.

Image quality for 3D is another strong point. I didn't see any crosstalk, and saw only a hint of 3D-related motion artifacts.

Audio and Other Issues
The built-in audio system in the 750HD, with a 2-watt mono speaker, is good enough to be usable, with acceptably high quality and adequate volume for a small room. However, that assumes little to no ambient noise. If you want stereo, or more volume, you'll need an external sound system. And since there's no audio-out port on the projector, you'll have to bypass the projector entirely, rather than control the sound through the projector menus.

One last important feature is a long lamp life, at 4,000 hours in Normal mode or 5,000 hours in Eco mode. That's long enough to run the projector more than 3.5 hours per day every day for three years in the brightest mode or four years in Eco mode. Also helping to keep the cost of ownership down is the replacement lamp cost of only $200.

Keep in mind that you have to add the cost of additional 3D glasses at $99 each if you get them from Epson, although Epson points out that less expensive alternatives are available from other manufacturers. In any case, you'll almost certainly need more than the one pair that comes with the projector.

No 720p projector can match an otherwise equivalent 1080p projector for sharp resolution, but if don't want to spend the money for 1080p, a good-quality 720p projector comes in at a close second. Among 720p models, if you're not interested in 3D, you can save money by getting the 2D Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD. You can also save by choosing a 3D DLP-based model instead. But if you want good image quality in both 2D and 3D, and you also want to avoid any possibility of rainbow artifacts, the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 750HD is the obvious choice. That makes it the clear pick for Editors' Choice as well.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/mX5qaHEfgpE/0,2817,2421067,00.asp

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Wildfires-New Mexico

Posted at: 06/29/2013 11:04 AM
By: Mike Anderson, KOB Eyewitness News 4

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The towering plume of smoke looks daunting, but firefighters assigned to what has become the largest fire currently burning in New Mexico have been able to make some progress against the flames.
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Fire officials reported Saturday morning that the Silver Fire burning in southern New Mexico's Gila National Forest is now 35 percent contained.
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It has charred more than 167 square miles since being sparked by lightning three weeks ago.
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Fire managers are hoping to use aerial support to help lessen the fire's intensity.
?? ?
To the north, the Jaroso Fire has burning through more than 17 square miles of steep, rugged territory in the headwaters of the Pecos River.

That includes portions of the Pecos Wilderness.
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There's no containment, but crews are focusing on building a line in Panchuela Creek north of Jacks Creek Campground.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
?

Source: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3083576.shtml?cat=500

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Digital Storm Virtue


Intel's newest processing hardware has finally reached the marketplace, and the fourth-generation processors (codenamed Haswell) are appearing in gaming desktops, where cutting edge components are leveraged for a competitive edge. The Digital Storm Virtue does just that, pairing the newest Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia graphics to become one of the more potent mid-range gaming PCs we've seen.

Design & Features
The Digital Storm Virtue is a mid-tower gaming PC, done up in black brushed metal. While it's not as stunning as the brightly painted Maingear F131, the basic black look still works, and a large window makes up most of the left side of the tower, showing of all the hardware inside. The case itself measures 17.25 by 8.1 by 17.75 inches (HWD), making it small enough to fit under a desk, but not prohibitively small when you need to get inside for maintenance and upgrades.

On the front of the tower you'll find an Asus Blu-ray player/DVD Writer, two USB 3.0 ports, and jacks for headphones and microphone. The front panel also pops off (with two press-to-release catches) revealing a large vent and dust filter, making filter removal quick and easy.

On the back of the system, you'll find four more USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, and three video outputs: DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort, along with connections for 8-channel audio. A single Gigabit Ethernet port provides network connectivity, which you'll need at all times since there's no Wi-Fi. You do, however, get Bluetooth 4.0 + HS, for connecting a wireless gaming headset or other peripherals.

The side panels are easily removed, secured with thumb-friendly screws?no tools necessary. Open up the case and you'll find some impressive hardware inside, starting with Intel's latest, a fourth generation Haswell Core i7-4770K processor and 16GB of RAM. Equally impressive is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 with 3GB of dedicated VRAM. The whole thing is kept cool?and quiet?thanks to a Corsair H100i Liquid CPU Cooler.

There's also plenty of room to grow as you update the system in the future. The installed 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX power supply offers more than enough power for the included components, and there are several expansion slots available: Two DIMM slots for an additional 16GB of RAM, one unoccupied PCIe x16 slot, one unoccupied optical drive bay and four total empty drive bays (two 3.5-inch HDD bays, two 2.5-inch SSD bays).

Already installed are two drives, a 120GB Corsair Neutron GTX solid-state drive (SSD) paired with a 1TB 7,200rpm Western Digital Caviar hard drive, providing plenty of storage with the hard disk and zippy performance with the SSD. While there are systems available with larger overall storage capacity?the HP Envy Phoenix h9-1320t, for example, has a 2TB hard drive?the combination of spinning drive and SSD will offer better performance. The only software Digital Storm includes on the Virtue is a copy of Windows 8 (64-bit) along with drivers for the various hardware. Digital Storm covers the Virtue with a three-year limited warranty and lifetime customer care.

Performance
Digital Storm Virtue Armed with one of the first fourth-generation (a.k.a. Haswell) processors on the market, the Virtue offers strong processing performance, aided by the included 16GB of DDR3 1600MHz memory. The 3.5GHz Core i7-4770K is also unlocked for overclocking. The new processor offers powerful performance, completing PCMark 7 with a score of 7,042 points and a Cinebench score of 9.59 points, topping almost every competitor from the previous generation, and blowing past the Editors' Choice HP Envy Phoenix h9-1302t (4,033 points).

Digital Storm Virtue

In terms of graphics performance, there was a drastic difference between the single-card Virtue and the likes of the Falcon Northwest Mach V (Triple Titan), which boasts not one or even two, but three of Nvidia's top-of-the-line GPUs. That said, the visual performance of the Digital Storm Virtue is still stunning, producing frame rates of 83fps (Aliens vs. Predator) and 75fps (Heaven 3.0) at 1,920-by-1200 resolution and high detail settings. While it may not match the triple digit scores of the Falcon Northwest Mach V (Triple Titan), it's high enough for any current game to play at full 1080p and still deliver high performance.

For a single-card mid-tower desktop with a halfway reasonable price tag, the Digital Storm Virtue offers seriously fierce performance and heart-pumping graphics. Though not as inexpensive as our Editors' Choice HP Phoenix h9-1320t, the Digital Storm Virtue is still relatively affordable. Even when stacked against tricked out top performers, like the Maingear F131 Super Stock (GTX Titan) and the Falcon Northwest Mach V (Triple Titan), the Digital Storm Virtue stands out, and is a definite contender for top mid-range gaming rig.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ZUPicuAZ4TM/0,2817,2421166,00.asp

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Friday, June 28, 2013

Ex-Groupon CEO Andrew Mason's Album Of Motivational Music Is Coming Out Next Week

Hardly_Workin_CoverWe already told you that Andrew Mason, the Groupon founder who was ousted from the CEO role there earlier this year, was dead serious when he said last month that he was planning to release a motivational album about career success called "Hardly Workin'" (Mason is known pretty well for his sense of humor, so many people thought he had to be joking about his foray into music.) Well, for those of us who have been very curious to hear Mason dropping workplace knowledge in musical format, the wait is almost over.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Rxsr_aLpqjM/

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'Lola' tops 204 mph, breaking electric vehicle land speed record

Autos

8 hours ago

Drayson Racing team members celebrate their land speed record.

Drayson Racing/The Detroit Bureau

Drayson Racing team members celebrate their land speed record.

With all the emphasis on electric propulsion these days, it might seem hard to believe that it?s been 39 years since General Electric ? yes, GE ? set the FIA World Electric Land Speed Record. But that achievement has finally been bested by a sleek, Le Mans Prototype dubbed ?Lola.?

On an RAF airbase in Yorkshire, England, an 850-horsepower battery-electric built by Drayson Racing hit a top speed of 204.185 miles per hour during a pair of runs down a 3-kilometer (nearly 2-mile) track. That was a full 29 mph faster than the 175 mph record set way back in 1974 by the Battery Box General Electric.

?I?m delighted we?ve beaten the record tonight and can show the world EVs can be fast and reliable,? said Lord Paul Drayson, whose firm built the 2,200 battery, and who personally piloted it during the record run. ?It is not the outright speed of 204.185 mph that is most impressive about this record, but the engineering challenge of accelerating a 1000 kilogram electric vehicle on a short runway over a measured mile.?

Officially known as the Drayson B12 69/EV the enclosed racer used ultra-light carbon fiber for its chassis and body to compensate for the heft of a 30 kilowatt-hour battery pack. It also relied on custom-designed Michelin LM P1 tires.

Though most folks likely associate electric propulsion with ? but slow ? vehicles like the Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt, the reality is that battery power can also deliver some impressive performance as an electric motor yields maximum torque the moment it starts spinning.

Drayson?s Lola can launch from 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds, for example, and keep gaining speed until it?s pushed well past 200 mph. In fact, Lord Drayson is apparently looking to soon beat his own record, tweeting to fans that on an additional run the car was ?very lively at 216 mph.?

While he may be celebrating victory, the claimed record could come under dispute. The Buckeye Bullet, an EV built by students at Ohio State University, actually achieved a 307.7 mph average during two runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in August 2010 ? and was seen as capable of reaching 400 mph. But that effort was not officially sanctioned by the FIA, leaving GE?s Battery Box the certified record-holder for another three years.

To proponents, what matters most is the increasing focus in electric racing and battery propulsion, in general.

There?s clearly a lot more interest, for example, has nudged its ZEOD RC battery race car up to 186 mph, and Top EV Racing claims to have launched its battery dragster from 0 to 100 in a mind-boggling 0.8 seconds.

What could put battery racing square in the public eye is the new Formula E series set to launch in 2015. Not surprisingly, Lord Drayson is looking to participate when that program gets underway.

Copyright ? 2009-2013, The Detroit Bureau

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/2defcb70/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Clola0Etops0E20A40Emph0Ebreaking0Eelectric0Evehicle0Eland0Espeed0Erecord0E6C10A464452/story01.htm

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FCC listing exposes new Roku Streaming Stick remote with audio out

DNP FCC listing exposes new Roku Stick remote, brings parity with Roku 3 remote

Roku introduced a new remote with audio out for its third generation player, and an FCC filing reveals its Streaming Stick will get the same treatment soon. The new remote adds a headphone out and... that's it, since the Streaming Stick already used WiFi Direct for communication and control. Users shouldn't notice much difference however, in our review the batteries lasted for hours even with headphones plugged in. How does this revised unit align with Roku's plans to become the front end for your TV? We're not sure yet, but it appears the dongle is still a part of its plans.

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Jackson's teenage son describes upbringing, death

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Michael Jackson's oldest son described the frantic efforts to revive his father to a jury, a scene of tears and agony that ended a dozen idyllic years being raised by one of pop music's superstars.

Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson Jr. told the panel Wednesday how he knew there was trouble in the singer's rented mansion when heard screaming upstairs and went into his father's bedroom. His father was laying halfway off the bed, eyes rolled up into the back of his head as his physician tried CPR.

His sister Paris screamed for her father and Prince, now 16, told jurors that he was crying. On the ride to a hospital, the teenager recounted how he tried to calm the fears of his sister and younger brother by telling them that angels were watching over their father and everything would be fine.

It wasn't until his father's doctor, Conrad Murray, came out of the emergency room and said he had died that Prince knew his father was gone.

"Nothing will ever be the same," the teenager told jurors. He said while his younger brother doesn't totally realize the loss, his sister has had the hardest time of them all and he has had many sleepless nights since his father died four years ago.

His voice wavered at times and tears appeared to form in his eyes, but Prince remained composed as he publicly recounted for the first time what he saw the day his father died.

The re-telling of the scene in Jackson's bedroom came after nearly an hour of Prince describing happier times, showing photos of him and his sister when they were younger and a series of videos of the children filmed by their father.

He testified in a lawsuit accusing concert promoter AEG Live LLC of negligently hiring Murray, who was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

AEG denies it hired the physician or bears any responsibility for the entertainer's death.

Wearing a black suit with a dark grey tie and his long brown hair tucked behind his ears, Prince testified that he saw AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips at the family's rented mansion in a heated conversation with Murray in the days before his father died. The teenager said Phillips grabbed Murray's elbow.

Phillips "looked aggressive to me," Prince testified.

His father wasn't at home at the time and was probably rehearsing, he said.

He said he saw his father cry after phone conversations with Phillips, and wanted more time to rehearse and was unhappy with pressure to perform his 50 scheduled comeback concerts titled "This Is It."

Murray's attorney Valerie Wass and AEG defense attorney Marvin S. Putnam later denied outside court that the meeting Prince described ever happened.

Putnam said Prince would be re-called to the witness stand during the defense case later in the trial.

"I think as the testimony will show when he is called in our defense that's not what happened," Putnam said. "He was a 12-year-old boy who has had to endure this great tragedy."

The testimony began with the teenager showing jurors roughly 15 minutes of private family photos and home videos.

He described growing up on Neverland Ranch and narrated videos of the property's petting zoos, amusement park and other amenities. After his father's acquittal of child molestation charges, Prince described living in the Middle East, Ireland and Las Vegas.

Prince is the first Jackson family member to testify during the trial, now in its ninth week. On Thursday his cousins, TJ and Taj Jackson, who are Tito Jackson's sons, will take the witness stand.

Prince Jackson, his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson and brother Prince Michael "Blanket" Jackson are plaintiffs in the case against AEG, which their grandmother and primary caretaker filed in August 2010.

Another image showed Michael Jackson playing piano with his son while Prince was still a toddler.

Plaintiffs' attorney Brian Panish asked Prince whether he was interested in pursuing a career in music. "I can never play an instrument and I definitely cannot sing," Prince said to laughter from the jury.

He said he wanted to study film or business when he goes to college.

His testimony also included details that AEG's lawyers will likely point to later in the case to bolster their contention that Jackson was secretive about using propofol as a sleep aid.

Prince said none of the household staff were allowed upstairs at the mansion, and the singer kept his bedroom locked while receiving treatments from Murray.

During cross-examination, Putnam played a clip from a deposition of Prince in which the teen said he discovered the bedroom was locked when he and his siblings were playing hide-and-seek and couldn't get inside.

Prince also said his father gave him and his sister Paris a stack of $100 bills on a few occasions to give to Murray. He said his father told him that Murray wouldn't take the money from him, and the doctor wouldn't take the full amount from the children.

The teenager said his understanding was that the money was meant to tide Murray over until he got paid by AEG Live.

He never saw or knew how Murray was treating his father.

"I was 12. To my understanding he was supposed to make sure my dad stayed healthy," Prince testified.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jacksons-teenage-son-describes-upbringing-death-084136382.html

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Tenn. man charged in alleged Mitt Romney tax scheme

By Sophia Rosenbaum, NBC News

A Tennessee man has been charged after allegedly claiming that he had former GOP nominee Mitt Romney?s income tax returns during the 2012 presidential campaign, according to court documents.

Michael Mancil Brown, 34, was charged with six counts of wire fraud and six counts of extortion, according to a federal grand jury indictment filed in the U.S. District Court in Nashville on Wednesday.

Brown allegedly sent an anonymous letter to the offices of accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Franklin, Tenn., at the height of last year?s presidential race, according to the indictment. The letter demanded $1 million in the form of the digital currency Bitcoin in exchange for the supposed tax returns.

The letter, which was delivered at about the same time as the Republican and Democratic national conventions were held, also said that parties could get the alleged tax forms released in exchange for $1 million in Bitcoins.

Brown claimed he got a copy of the tax documents after accessing PwC?s internal systems. Those claims were false, the indictment found.

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NIH to retire most chimps from medical research

WASHINGTON (AP) ? It's official: The National Institutes of Health plans to end most use of chimpanzees in government medical research, saying humans' closest relatives "deserve special respect."

The NIH announced Wednesday that it will retire about 310 government-owned chimpanzees from research over the next few years, and keep only 50 others essentially on retainer ? available if needed for crucial medical studies that could be performed no other way.

"These amazing animals have taught us a great deal already," said NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins. He said the decision helps usher in "a compassionate era."

The NIH's decision was long expected, after the prestigious Institute of Medicine declared in 2011 that nearly all use of chimps for invasive medical research no longer can be justified. Much of the rest of the world already had ended such research with this species that is so like us.

Any future biomedical research funded by the NIH with chimps, government-owned or not, would be allowed only under strict conditions after review by a special advisory board. In five years, the NIH will reassess if even that group of 50 government-owned apes still is needed for science.

"This is an historic moment and major turning point for chimpanzees in laboratories, some who have been languishing in concrete housing for over 50 years," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "It is crucial now to ensure that the release of hundreds of chimpanzees to sanctuary becomes a reality."

What's unclear is exactly where the retiring chimps, which have spent their lives in research facilities around the country, now will spend their final years. NIH said they could eventually join more than 150 other chimps already in the national sanctuary system operated by Chimp Haven in northwest Louisiana. In that habitat, the chimps can socialize at will, climb trees and explore different play areas.

But NIH officials said currently there's not enough space to handle all of the 310 destined for retirement. They're exploring additional locations, and noted that some research facilities that currently house government-owned chimps have habitats similar to the sanctuary system.

The other hurdle is money: Congress limited how much the NIH can spend on caring for chimps in the sanctuary system. Negotiations are under way to shift money the agency has spent housing the animals in research facilities toward supporting their retirement.

"Everybody should understand this is not something that is going to happen quickly," Collins cautioned.

One chimp center, the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, said keeping just 50 of the animals for ongoing research isn't enough and could hamper efforts to fight not just human illnesses but diseases that kill apes, too.

Moreover, moving retired chimpanzees to the federal sanctuary "would take them away from their caregivers, many of whom they have known all of their lives," said an institute statement that argued the animals would fare better if they stayed put.

The NIH's decision came two weeks after the Fish and Wildlife Service called for protection of all chimpanzees as endangered. Until now there was a "split listing" that labeled wild chimps as endangered but those in captivity as threatened, a status that offers less protection.

That move also would affect any future use of chimps in medical research, and NIH said it would work with its government counterpart to ensure compliance.

Chimps rarely have been used for drug testing or other invasive research in recent years; studies of chimp behavior or genetics are a bit more common. Of nine biomedical projects under way, the NIH said six would be ended early. Of another 13 behavioral or genetic studies involving chimps, five would be ended early. NIH would not identify the projects, but Collins said potential future need for chimps could be in creating a vaccine against hepatitis C.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nih-retire-most-chimps-medical-research-171442499.html

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Giada De Laurentiis: Paula Deen Fans Are 'Not Happy' With Me

When The Food Network yanked Paula Deen's shows and replaced them with programs by Giada De Laurentiis, the chef felt the backlash.

Giada stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Tuesday, where she dished on being in caught in the middle of Deen's N-word controversy.

"Her shows got replaced by my shows, so we have a lot of people not happy with me right now, as if I had anything to do with it," Giada told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover.

WATCH: Giada De Laurentiis' Recipes For The Perfect Fourth Of July Snacks

Deen supporters have taken to Twitter and Facebook over the issue, telling the chef she needs to defend her fellow celebrity chef, but Giada stressed that she is not getting involved when she doesn't know all the facts of the situation.

"That's what everyone on social media wants me to do, to make comments, [to] stand up for her. The problem is, you need to do your homework first, you need to have all the facts before you say anything - especially in a situation like this," she explained. "Paula has been nothing but wonderful to me over the years.

WATCH: Paula Deen Cut By Smithfield Foods

Adding, "I know her as a kind woman. I don't know what happened and this happened awhile back, so I don't know what happened so I'm not going to make a comment based on ignorance. That is not a good thing to do."

Giada explained that she never witnessed Deen using the N-word.

"I do know her family and we've worked together many times... I've never been in the presence of that," she said. "I think this was a shock to many of us on the network."

-- Jesse Spero

Copyright 2013 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/giada-laurentiis-paula-deen-fans-not-happy-210914980.html

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McCain urges tougher US stance with Russia, China

Arizona Sen. John McCain watches a baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, June 23, 2013, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Sen. John McCain watches a baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, June 23, 2013, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP) ? Sen. John McCain says the diplomatic row between Washington and Moscow over admitted CIA leaker Edward Snowden is "reminiscent of the Cold War" and says the Obama administration must be tougher in its dealings with both Russia and China.

McCain said both China and Russia are "trying to assert their own spheres of influence" and the U.S. must respond more firmly. He accused President Barack Obama of "leading from behind" in an interview with CNN.

McCain also said he believes the 30-year-old Snowden is in Russia, even though its foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, vehemently denied that Tuesday.

The Arizona Republican called on Obama to get tougher with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he "continues to stick his thumb in our eye."

McCain called Putin "an old KGB colonel apparatchik."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-25-NSA%20Surveillance-McCain/id-605a4004f64144ba8976190a1f5fed4e

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Can Online Gaming Increase Reaction Time? - American Live Wire

Can Online Gaming Increase Reaction Time?

Over the last 10 years or so, online gaming and gaming has a whole has taken a huge leap forward, with incredibly realistic games ranging from shooters, such as the popular franchise ?Call Of Duty?, to racing games, such as ?Gran Turismo?. But do these games have any real benefit to those playing them?

There has always been an idea that due to the concentration levels obtained whilst playing many of these games, the player may often enter a state of higher awareness whilst playing, zoning out from the outside world and becoming enticed in their game, which in turn increases their reaction time and level of skill. After visiting an interesting conference back in 2011 at the big gaming event Blizzcon, it led me and many others to believe this to be true.

One of the side conferences held was one regarding the difference in a hardcore and casual gamer, and how one may be effected by their gaming in the real world. They had covered many areas of tests, from social skills, IQ, and the one i was most interested in, reaction and awareness.

A group of 5 gamers considered ?Hardcore?, were brought on stage, an elite crew that had been gaming religiously for over 10 years, and another group of individuals the same age as the first group, but with less time spent on games and more time in the real world. The first test was a reaction test, where you had to click a mouse on a computer screen as soon as it changed color. The average time of the casual gamers was around the 0.33s mark, and incredibly, the hardcore gamers had an average of just 0.21 seconds, a huge increase, giving us the first idea that hardcore gaming can give people a higher sense of reaction.

The second test was a tennis ball being shot out of a device, and players from each team had to take turns to catch it. And again, the gaming team took the lead with a 4-3 victory. With many years spent playing online games from a keyboard and mouse to a controller, it is believed that these individuals hand-eye co-ordination would be higher and more trained then an average person, giving them an edge here too.

The third test was my favorite, and really did take it to the ?real world?, and let us see whether or not these higher senses of reaction and awareness could actually help in the real world.

This test consisted of a driving school game, complete with steering wheel and pedals. The game was set up for a car to drive down a street, and you had to drive in and out of obstacles, and out of nowhere a child would step out in front of your car, and the faster you hit the brake, the quicker your reaction time. After each 5 members of the teams had taken part, it was a clear victory, with the online gaming team having an overall average stopping time almost 0.2s faster than the other team, it became clear that their heightened sense of reaction and awareness due to their many years of online gaming could be applied in the real world.

So a clear sweep for the online gaming team. Does that conclude that online gaming really does improve your real world reaction and awareness? Going by these tests alone, of course, but for more accurate statistics, a much larger field of candidates would need to be tested.

Everything in this post has been written from memory and some information may not be accurate. All tests were just for fun and hold no real proof that online gaming improves reaction and awareness. Feature image courtesy of Flickr user ?Duc Anh Dam?

Source: http://americanlivewire.com/can-online-gaming-increase-reaction-time/

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

New 'biowire' technology matures human heart by mimicking fetal heartrate

June 24, 2013 ? A new method of maturing human heart cells that simulates the natural growth environment of heart cells while applying electrical pulses to mimic the heart rate of fetal humans has led researchers at the University of Toronto to an electrifying step forward for cardiac research.

The discovery, announced this week in the scientific journal Nature Methods, offers cardiac researchers a fast and reliable method of creating mature human cardiac patches in a range of sizes.

"You cannot obtain human cardiomyocytes (heart cells) from human patients," explains Milica Radisic, Canada Research Chair in Functional Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering and Associate Professor at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and the Department of Chemical Engineering. Because human heart cells -- integral for studying the efficacy of cardiac drugs, for instance -- do not naturally proliferate in large numbers, to date researchers have been using heart cells derived from reprogrammed human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC's), which tend to be too immature to use effectively in research or transplantation.

"The question is: if you want to test drugs or treat adult patients, do you want to use cells and look like and function like fetal cardiomyocytes?" asks Radisic, who was named a "Top Innovator Under 35" by MIT Technology Review and more recently was awarded the Order of Ontario and the Young Engineers of Canada 2012 Achievement Award. "Can we mature these cells to become more like adult cells?"

In response to the challenge, Radisic and her team, which includes graduate student Jason Miklas and Dr. Sara Nunes, a scientist at the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, created a 'biowire'. Stem-cells derived human cardiomyocytes are seeded along a silk suture typical to medical applications. The suture allows the cells to grow along its length, close to their natural growth pattern.

Like a scene lifted from Frankenstein, the cells are then treated to cycles of electric pulses, like a mild version of a pacemaker, which have been show to stimulate the cells to increase in size, connect and beat like a real heart tissue.

But the key to successfully and rapidly maturing the cells turns out to be the way the pulses are applied.

Mimicking the conditions that occur naturally in cardiac biological development -- in essence, simulating the way fetal heart rates escalates prior to birth, the team ramped up the rate at which the cells were being stimulated, from zero to 180 and 360 beats per minute.

"We found that pushing the cells to their limits over the course of a week derived the best effect," reports Radisic.

Grown on sutures that can be sewn directly into a patient, the biowires are designed to be fully transplantable. The use of biodegradable sutures, important in surgical patches that will remain in the body, is also a viable option.

Miklas argues that the research has practical implications for health care. "With this discovery we can reduce costs on the health care system by creating more accurate drug screening."

According to Nunes, the development takes cardiac research just one step closer to viable cardiac patches.

"One of the greatest challenges of transplanting these patches is getting the cells to survive," says Nunes, who is both a cardiac and a vascularization specialist, "and for that they need the blood vessels. Our next challenge is to put the vascularization together with cardiac cells."

Radisic, who calls the new method a "game changer," points out just how far the field has come in a very short time.

"In 2006 science saw the first derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells from mice," she explains. "Now we can turn stem cells into cardiac cells and make relatively mature tissue from human samples, without ethical concerns."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/heart_disease/~3/DyIEUMlV2fs/130624133127.htm

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Garmin Monterra handheld GPS runs Android, ships in Q3 for $650

Garmin's featurepacked Monterra handheld GPS runs Android, ships in Q3 for $650

This technically isn't Garmin's first foray into Android territory, but it could prove to be one of the most successful. The navigation company's just introduced Monterra, a dedicated handheld GPS running a TBA version of Android. Basic specs are in line with what you'd expect from a mid-range smartphone, including a 4-inch touchscreen, an 8-megapixel camera with flash and geotag support, 1080p video capture, 6GB of internal storage and microSD expansion. Naturally, the display is optimized for outdoor use -- it's transflective, so you only need to use the LED backlight in low light, letting you conserve power during daytime river treks and sunlit hikes.

The device is ruggedized, with an IPX7 waterproof rating, and can run on either a rechargeable battery pack (included) or AA batteries. It includes WiFi, ANT+, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC, a built-in FM radio with NOAA weather and SAME alerts, dual-band GPS and GLONASS receiver, a 3-axis compass with accelerometer and gyro, a UV sensor for monitoring the sun's intensity and a barometric altimeter, which can report altitude and predict weather based on pressure shifts. There's also a handful of preinstalled apps designed to take advantage of this plethora of connectivity, including Europe PeakFinder, or you can download favorites from Google Play -- anything from farming aids to efficiency trackers can utilize many of Monterra's bundled sensors. The device is expected to ship in Q3, and should run you about $650 in the US or £600 in the UK.

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Source: Garmin

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/f7nlefF98Bg/

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Highly Visual 2.0: A Mobile Reader for the Visually Minded

Highly Visual 2.0: A Mobile Reader for the Visually Minded

Especially with the upcoming demise of Google Reader, RSS alternatives abound. But how do you pick the one that's right for you from all the riff raff? Well, if you're someone who's feed tends to stick to the more image oriented, Highly Visual 2.0 may be exactly what you're looking for?at least in a mobile reader, that is.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/29iyIOem1mY/highly-visual-2-0-a-mobile-reader-for-the-visually-min-564276655

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Would anyone care if 'Mad Men's' Don died?

TV

22 hours ago

Falling man from opening of AMC's "Mad Men."

AMC

Falling man from opening of AMC's "Mad Men."

We have a perfect ending for "Mad Men's" season finale: Don Draper jumping out the window.

Obviously there's no chance of that happening. He's the star of the show, and besides, two season-ending suicides in a row (RIP, Lane Pryce) would be awfully repetitive. (Like juggling two juice accounts. RIP, Ocean Spray.)

But nothing is more redundant than Don Draper himself. Other than his brief interlude as a faithful newlywed, you just can't teach this dog new tricks.

Even a year ago, the thought of losing Don would have been inconceivable -- even though the businessman's freefall in the opening title sequence seems to imply that is his ultimate fate. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a metaphor, we get it. But the wretched ad exec has become so dull, predictable and dislikable that we really wouldn't miss him if he took a shortcut down to Madison Ave.

Everyone with sense agrees that Jon Hamm is a nearly perfect human creature, but we'd much rather see him in another role -- like his hilarious bubble boy Drew on "30 Rock." And you know what? "Mad Men's" ensemble cast would be just fine without him -- especially Roger Sterling and Sally Draper, who could easily front their own spin-off series.

Here are all the reasons we're over Don Draper:

Serial cheating: He's not unique among his colleagues at Sterling Cooper & Partners, but at least infidelity isn't a full-time hobby for Roger, Pete, Ted (maybe) and the gang. And yes, we know it's a manifestation of Dick Whitman's childhood in a whorehouse, but the backstory doesn't make his adultery any less boring.

Alcoholism: Another snoozer story line. But would Don be more interesting if he were sober? Doubtful. Another Roger acid trip, on the other hand ...

The sads: He wept on Peggy's shoulder and curled up in a fetal position on his disgusted daughter's bed, but we have lost all sympathy for depressed Don. In fact, our reaction is the same as his: Wah, wah, wah.

Tyranny: Don really is a monster, as Peggy called him after he humiliated her and Ted in the season's penultimate episode. He's spiteful, insensitive and downright cruel. So is Pete Campbell -- but at least we love to hate the snarky stair-tumbler. Don we just hate.

Impostor: Once upon a time, Don's identify theft was a thrilling narrative. Now nearly everyone knows the truth, and no one seems to care. Sterling Cooper's creative director works about five minutes a day, is trashed or asleep the rest of the time, insults his clients and colleagues and betrays his family. So why haven't they publicly outed him? Not that we'd really care. Bob Benson's fraud is so much more fascinating now.

Grim Reaper: Don isn't directly to blame for all the show's deaths, but they sure do seem to follow him like Pig Pen's cloud of dirt. And speculation is rampant that Megan might be the next to go, thanks to a number of clues connecting her to Charles Manson victim Sharon Tate. (Megan's obsession with "Rosemary's Baby" -- directed by Tate's husband, Roman Polanski -- only added fuel to the fire.) Her murder would paradoxically breathe new life into "Mad Men" -- but not if it means we'll be subjected to a final season devoted to her widower's grief.

Are you ready for Don to take a flying leap (literally or figuratively)? What do you hope to see in the season finale? Click on "Talk about it" below and share your thoughts!

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/if-don-draper-died-mad-men-finale-would-anyone-care-6C10382406

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Jon Stewart appears on Egypt's 'Daily Show'

13 hours ago

CAIRO - Jon Stewart took his politically engaged American satire to Cairo on Friday, appearing on a show hosted by the man known as "Egypt's Jon Stewart," who has faced investigation for insulting the president and Islam.

Among barbs aimed at Egypt's ruling Islamists and others, Stewart praised host Bassem Youssef for taking risks to poke fun. "If your regime is not strong enough to handle a joke," he said, "then you don't have a regime."

Youssef is a cardiologist whose online comedy clips inspired by Stewart's "Daily Show" won him wild popularity and a prime-time TV show after the 2011 revolution that ended military rule. He paid tribute to his guest as a personal inspiration as the pair traded gags over Stewart's impressions of a visit to Cairo.

Stewart in turn played down any difficulties his wit created for him in the United States, telling Youssef: "I tell you this, it doesn't get me into the kind of trouble it gets you into. I get in trouble, but nowhere near what happens to you."

With Egypt still in ferment and elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi facing off against liberals who fear he plans to smother personal freedoms, Youssef was released on bail after being questioned in March over alleged insults to Mursi and the channel he appears on was threatened with losing its licence.

Criticising such moves, which have also drawn reproaches for Egypt from the U.S. government, Stewart said: "A joke has never shot tear gas at a group of people in a park. It's just talk.

"What Bassem is doing ... is showing that satire can still be relevant, that it can carve out space in a country for people to express themselves. Because that's all democracy is."

He took aim at Mursi's controversial decision this week to name a member of a hardline Islamist movement blamed for a massacre of tourists at Luxor in the 1990s as governor of that city. Having been brought into the studio hooded and presented as a "spy," he spoke a few words in Arabic before saying Egypt's president had honoured him: "I am now the mayor of Luxor."

Stewart also appeared to take a gentle dig at the opposition, who hope demonstrations planned for June 30 can force Mursi from power after just a year in office. It took Americans 100 years before a president was impeached for the first time, Stewart said: "For you guys to do it in one year, it's very impressive."

Perhaps the biggest laugh in the studio, though, was for a simple crack at Egypt's perennial traffic chaos: "I know this is an ancient civilisation," he said. "Have you thought about traffic lights?"

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/cairo-egypts-jon-stewart-hosts-daily-shows-jon-stewart-6C10418946

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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Ore. agency blames pesticide for bumble bee kill

WILSONVILLE, Ore. (AP) ? Oregon officials say a pesticide is to blame for the deaths of tens of thousands of bumble bees in a shopping center parking lot southwest of Portland.

The state Department of Agriculture said Friday that tests on bees and foliage showed the deaths are "directly related to a pesticide application on linden trees" that was meant to control aphids.

It said an investigation is under way to see if the application of the pesticide Safari, done last Saturday, violated the law.

The Oregonian reports that the Agriculture Department, the City of Wilsonville, neighboring towns and some local landscape contractors have covered the sprayed trees with netting in an effort to prevent further insect deaths.

The Xerces (ZERK'-zees) Society for Invertebrate Conservation has upped its estimate of the bee kill to 50,000. Spokesman Scott Black calls that a very conservative number.

___

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ore-agency-blames-pesticide-bumble-bee-kill-184748447.html

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