LA drivers steer clear of 'Carmageddon' scenario

Morning walkers and bicyclists stop on Skirball Bridge to view and photograph heavy equipment busy in the demolition of part of the Mullholland Drive bridge over the 405 freeway early Sept. 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. Construction crews began work early Saturday taking down a portion of the Mulholland Drive bridge along Interstate 405, one of the nation's busiest freeways. Traffic was light around Los Angeles hours after the start of Carmageddon II, and transportation officials were hoping it stays that way until the bridge is demolished before the Monday morning rush hour. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan) NO FORNS; NO SALES; MAGS OUT; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER OUT; LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS OUT; VENTURA COUNTY STAR OUT; INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT, TV OUT

Morning walkers and bicyclists stop on Skirball Bridge to view and photograph heavy equipment busy in the demolition of part of the Mullholland Drive bridge over the 405 freeway early Sept. 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. Construction crews began work early Saturday taking down a portion of the Mulholland Drive bridge along Interstate 405, one of the nation's busiest freeways. Traffic was light around Los Angeles hours after the start of Carmageddon II, and transportation officials were hoping it stays that way until the bridge is demolished before the Monday morning rush hour. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan) NO FORNS; NO SALES; MAGS OUT; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER OUT; LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS OUT; VENTURA COUNTY STAR OUT; INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT, TV OUT

Workers continue the demolition of the center span of the Mulholland Drive bridge along Interstate 405 in Los Angeles on Saturday Sept. 29,2012. Construction crews are on schedule and traffic tie-ups are minimal in Los Angeles, making for a smooth start to Carmageddon II, the sequel to last year's shutdown of one of the nation's busiest freeways. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Workers continue the demolition of the center span of the Mulholland Drive bridge along a closed Interstate 405 in Los Angeles on Saturday Sept. 29,2012. Construction crews are on schedule and traffic tie-ups are minimal in Los Angeles, making for a smooth start to Carmageddon II, the sequel to last year's shutdown of one of the nation's busiest freeways. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

California Highway Patrol cars patrol a closed 405 freeway overlooking the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles as workers continue the demolition of the Mulholland Drive bridge on Saturday Sept. 29,2012. Construction crews are on schedule and traffic tie-ups are minimal in Los Angeles, making for a smooth start to Carmageddon II, the sequel to last year's shutdown of one of the nation's busiest freeways. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The demolition of a bridge that forced the weekend closure of one of the nation's busiest freeways is on schedule, while many Los Angeles drivers heeded warnings to steer clear of the area, and officials expect to reopen the lanes as planned Monday morning.

Crews working around the clock since Friday evening have taken down all but two columns of the Mulholland Drive bridge over Interstate 405, Rick Jagger, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said Sunday morning. The project is part of a $1 billion project to widen the freeway to accommodate a new carpool lane.

"Everything's on pace for the 5 a.m. Monday reopening," Jagger said.

Carmageddon II, the sequel to last year's shutdown of a 10-miles stretch of the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass, is going according to script as motorists heeded months of warnings to stay off the road.

Drivers faced additional challenges Sunday as the Herbalife Los Angeles Triathlon temporarily closed many surface streets between Venice Beach and downtown LA. Metro detoured 42 bus lines, which meant riders could experience some delays, Jagger said.

Surface streets in the closure area were clogged, but overall officials said traffic tie-ups were minimal. As temperatures climbed into the 90s, those who couldn't resist a trip to the beach said traffic was smooth.

"We've been all over the city, no traffic. We even went to Dairy Queen for an ice cream and there was nobody there," Marilyn Millen told KNBC-TV on Saturday.

California Highway Patrol officers cited seven people on Interstate 405 early Sunday, including a group of rollerbladers and newlyweds who sneaked onto the roadway to celebrate their nuptials.

For weeks, Angelenos have been warned to avoid the area on LA's West Side. If they don't, officials warn, a citywide traffic jam could result. But beyond just scare tactics, city officials have been encouraging Southern Californians to get out and enjoy their own neighborhoods on foot, on bikes or via short drives on surface streets.

During a similar closure last year, commuters stayed away from the freeway in droves, the shutdown was considered a success, and crews finished the first phase of the work early.

This time, the contractor faces a penalty if the work isn't done in 53 hours. The fine is $6,000 per lane of freeway, for every 10 minutes over the deadline. Demolition temporarily halted Saturday when a large chunk of the bridge unexpectedly came down, but the contractor said it wouldn't delay the project.

The closed section of the freeway carries about 500,000 motorists each day on a typical weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times. California Department of Transportation officials said that in order for Carmageddon II to be a success, at least two-thirds of those drivers need to stay off the road.

Meanwhile, TV news crews made good on a promise to avoid a traffic jam in the sky as they cover the shutdown.

Residents complained of low-flying, noisy helicopters hovering nonstop over the region last year. This time, local television news directors pooled coverage by using video from a single helicopter making limited flights over the freeway.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-09-30-Carmageddon%20II/id-6843784ec62c499a846879d61b292ba0

2012 groundhog day groundhog phil pee wee herman ketamine ground hogs day 2012 goundhog day punxsutawney

Child killed in Kenya church attack. Revenge for Kismayo?

A grenade attack on an Anglican Church in Kenya is widely seen as a response to Kenya's troops overrunning Kismayo, the final urban stronghold of the Islamist group Al Shabab. ?

By Fredrick Nzwili,?Correspondent / September 30, 2012

Dennis, 10, (center-left) and his sister Waithera, 8, who were both lightly injured in an explosion at a Sunday school class, are comforted by their mother Rebecca Wanjiku, as they are treated in Guru Nanak Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya Sept. 30.

Ben Curtis/AP

Enlarge

A grenade attack on an Anglican Church in Kenya's capital has left one child dead and seven others injured in what is viewed as a response by the Somali Islamist group Al Shabab to the capture of its stronghold Friday by Kenyan troops.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The Sunday morning attack on the St. Polycarp's Anglican Church in Eastleigh area, which the police said was carried out by Al Shabab or its sympathizers, prompted analysts to warn of more attacks as the Kenya Defense Forces achieve more military success in next-door Somalia.

The troops, which rolled into the war-torn country in October 2011, entered Al Shabab's final stronghold city of Kismayo on Friday. Fighting together under the African Union banner, Kenyan and Somalian troops are now moving to consolidate their gains in Kismayo.

The apparent reprisal attack on the Nairobi church offers early confirmation of concerns here that while Al Shabab's conventional fight may be ending, the group will continue to be a regional menace through guerrilla and terrorist attacks.?

?Kenya should brace itself for these attacks. It is obvious. Al Shabab has said, you come to my hole, I will come to yours,? says Madobe M.A, a Nairobi-based analyst on Somali issues.

The attack came as children were singing in a church Sunday school service.?In a style reminiscent of Boko Haram, Nigeria?s violent Islamist sect, the assailants hurled a grenade inside the school, with most children being injured in the stampede for the exits.

Hours after the attack, two policemen were shot dead in the town of Garissa, where 14 people had been killed back in July in twin church attacks.

Concerns over religious conflict

Mr. Madobe expressed concern that the latest attack would spark fighting in Eastleigh, a neighborhood already tense after an attempt by enraged youths to attack a mosque in the area. The area has been given the nickname "little Mogadishu" because of the high concentration of Somali refugees or?Kenyans of Somali origin living there.

Soon after today's church attack, the Muslim Youth Center (MYC), an Islamic group based in Nairobi that has been vowing to create sectarian violence in Kenya, praised the action.

?MYC-public warnings via social media are over like we said. May Allah keep the mujahedeen strong,? said the group in a Twitter post on Sept. 30.?The group has been sending out messages through Twitter, promising sustained attacks for the ?Al-Shabaab brothers until Kenya withdraws troops from Somalia.? It had promised attacks if the African Union forces entered Kismayo.

Kenyan politicians expressed concern that the attacks could spark fighting between Muslims and Christians in Kenya.?Uhuru Kenyatta, the deputy Prime Minister censured the latest attack on his Twitter account saying the attacks should not be allowed to escalate into a religious war.

?I would like to strongly condemn the brutal acts of terrorism deliberately targeting our places of worship,? said Mr. Kenyatta. ?My appeal to you is that we should not let these terrorists win by descending into sectarian violence which is the aim of these attacks.?

Muslim leaders also condemned the attack and urged Christian and Muslims to work together to protect churches and mosques. After the attack on the church, properties belonging to Muslims were pelted with rocks.?"Religious wars have destroyed countries elsewhere. That should not be replicated in Kenya," said Adan Duale, a Muslim Member of Parliament.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/qcVd3go3cQY/Child-killed-in-Kenya-church-attack.-Revenge-for-Kismayo

uconn ncaa march madness mario williams vcu unlv sam young ncaa bracket

Sampson Sports 2013

Sampson Sports is a small manufacturer of bike frames, components, and accessories, based in Denver, CO. You may not have heard of them, but they stand as one of the very few companies making derailleurs and shifters outside of the Big Three (Shimano, Campagnolo, and SRAM). They were founded by none other than Eric Sampson, a former professional ski racer-turned-ski-binding-manufacturer. He got the cycling bug back in the 1980?s, started his own company, and still runs strong today ? albeit with a much expanded product line.

What does Sampson sell on? What are their key features and benefits? their ?mission statement?, if you will? According to Sampson, he aims to model his company after Honda, selling on extreme value (which he says is not the same thing as a unilaterally cheap price). He clearly has a passion for his business, and is known throughout the industry as a likable and driven guy.

Sampson offers nearly every part for bicycles, except tires and wheels. You can get frames, handlebars, cassettes, brakes, cranks, shifters, bottle cages, and even handlebar tape. The majority of his products are manufactured in Asia by a handful of factories, which he visits several times a year. Paint for the bike frames is done in-house, as is all complete bike assembly.

I took a tour through their Denver office and showroom, to meet the man and take a look at their products. I?ll have a handful of these products in my hands for testing shortly, and look forward to giving them a fair shake (keep your eyes peeled for a review). For now, enjoy this photo preview of their 2013 product line.

Sampson has a large showroom in Denver, Colorado.

This is a complete bike example of Sampson?s 745 TT model. Frame production is done in Asia, but most are painted in Colorado. Check out this custom silver and purple flame scheme: Sampson?s rear derailleurs feature a 2:1 cable pull, and are compatible with either Sampson?s own shifters, or Shimano 10-speed (105, Ultegra, Dura Ace). The Stratics SL Race cassette is made from a solid block of aluminum. According to Sampson, it is for racing-only and lasts about 1,500 miles. That?s not many, but he?s up-front about what you?re buying. And ? it weighs in at a measly ~90 grams, depending on which size you pick. Compare that to ~135g for the 2012 SRAM Red, or ~150g for Shimano Dura Ace 7900. Who says you can?t buy speed? The cassette receives a unique treatment process to prolong life as much as possible, and it results in a beautiful golden hue. The entire inside is machined out: Sampson is also getting in to a lower price point steel cassette. It features unique textured areas in very specific shift points. Sampson says that these aid in fast an accurate shifting. These are the new 2013 Stratics Carbon pedals: They are cross-compatible with LOOK Keo cleats. The key innovation, according to Sampson, is the fact that the middle of the pedal platform is concave. He mentions that many other similar-style pedals are actually slightly convex, which causes instability and power loss. I can?t personally vouch for this yet, but plan to test a pair of these pedals over the winter.

Note the carved-out platform area:

Sampson calls these EZ Grip Cages. They?re made of a polymer composite material and weigh in at 46 grams each. The design is said to be made for easy bottle entry and exit by the rider, but retain bottles well over potholes and rough pavement. This new brake lever is quite possibly my favorite Sampson product. At first glance, it looks like any old TT-style lever: If you squeeze it, however, you notice an important detail: The cable hole is above the compression plug bolt. Most other internally-routed TT levers feature a hollow bolt through which the cable runs. This presents two problems: 1) Limited leverage, because the cable runs relatively close to the lever?s fulcrum, and 2) Inability to tighten the compression bolt without first removing the cable. The first problem really shows itself on some frames with proprietary hidden TT brakes, which are not always very strong or confidence inspiring. Giving more horsepower can help solve the problem (his levers also feature robust return springs).

The second problem of cable routing can be a hazard when traveling. On more than one occasion, I?ve seen folks open up that bike box at their race, and find out that their TT levers got pushed off to the side during the flight and baggage handling. If your cable runs through the bolt, you must remove the cable, adjust the lever, and reinstall a new cable. On some of the more complicated bike frames, this procedure could require an hour or more of your time (or an emergency trip to the nearest bike shop).

This lever, however, features a simple cutout in the compression plug through which the cable runs. If your lever happens to get mashed off to the side during flight, it is a 15-second fix. Just loosen the bolt, move the lever, and re-tighten it. Bravo!

Sampson has a unique take on the ?bento box?: He intends these to be primarily used for endurance mountain bike racing, where reaching to a back pocket is not always safe or possible while riding on rocky terrain. Sampson makes super light brakes? ?and several models of nice-looking cranks. The man behind the company.

Source: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Sampson_Sports_2013_3110.html

devils dodgers sf giants rachel maddow gia la riots new jersey devils

Setting back innovation in renewable energy?

This past year, the energy industry has faced concerns for the renewable resources and clean energy innovation future. In 2011 and 2012 the industry has grown, with significant implementations in solar. However, the forthcoming presidential elections and the rise in natural gas resources have spurred unease about clean energy policy, innovation, and financing.

At the 5th annual Renewable Energy Finance Forum (REFF-West) in San Francisco, CA this week, Jonathan Powers, Federal Environmental Executive at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, talked about the Federal administration sustainability programs. REFF-West focuses on the major challenges facing the alternative and clean energy landscape in the U.S. Clean energy investors, clean tech leaders, private sector and government executives, and various players attended the conference. For additional REFF information see below.

What has been done in the federal government world?

The administration has set sustainability goals, utilizing existing utility budgets without an impact or passing the cost burden onto taxpayers. Powers reported that progress against President Obama's Executive Order on Federal Sustainability EO13514 and the GreenGov program are on target. In his role, Powers is responsible for promoting environmental and energy sustainability across federal government operations. For more information about these initiatives see below.

The federal government is a major consumer of facility energy. Furthermore, the military is emerging as a substantial clean energy customer. For example, the army manages almost 15 million acres of land in the U.S. with multiple installations. In 2011 the army spent $1.3 billion on facility related energy, presenting enormous opportunities to establish more efficient operations and incorporate energy innovation. To date, the army alone has nearly 200 renewable energy active projects in multiple locations and functions, such as in military bases, in the supply-chain, and in support of field troops. By 2030, the annual military investment in renewables is estimated at $10 billion.

Each of the U.S. Armed Forces branches - the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard - have demonstrated strong commitment to renewable energy and are making strides in developing and implementing such solutions. Security concerns and the reliance on foreign fossil-fuels supply play a key element in the military commitment to clean and secure energy. One of the initiatives is the EITF, a program that aims to secure army installations with clean, reliable and affordable energy, allowing American armed forces to defend us. The EITF serves as the central management office bringing together private sector financing to implement large-scale (10 megawatts and more) renewable energy projects in the U.S. The EITF is helping the army advance and meet its objective of deploying 1 Gigawatts of renewables mix by 2025.

To read more about clean energy and its future click here Understanding the context of renewable energy today

Where are we headed?

Today, 3.3 Gigawatts of renewable energy are installed and operate in the U.S. There is also a notable growth of green jobs and innovation. Solar installations have increased this year. The four major retailers - Walmart, Costco, Kohl's and Macy's - are the largest businesses with commercial solar implementations. Wind solutions are also on the rise. In the forthcoming presidential elections clean energy has gained more visibility. Renewable energy is a thriving industry and should not be part of the political battleground.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. Information about the GreenGov program can be found here: www.whitehouse.gov/GreenGov/

2. Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance - Executive Order 13514 (EO13514) was signed on October 5, 2009.

EO 13514 sets federal energy requirements in several areas:

Accountability and Transparency

Strategic Sustainability Performance Planning

Greenhouse Gas Management

Sustainable Buildings and Communities

Water Efficiency

Electronic Products and Services

Fleet and Transportation Management

Pollution Prevention and Waste Reduction

EO13514 expanded upon the energy reduction and environmental performance requirements of EO13423 ((http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/regulations/eo13423.html))

Read more about the Executive Order on Federal Sustainability EO13514:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/regulations/eo13514.html

3. REFF-West website www.reffwest.com lists several events in the U.S. and abroad. REFF has been uniting senior financiers, investors, innovation leaders, and clean energy executives from across the US each year since 2008.

Covering a range of renewable and clean energy technologies, with a particular focus on developments in the Western US, topics covered at REFF-West included project financing, venture capital, renewable power generation, emerging commercial technologies, financing smaller projects, equity financing and established technologies. The conference also offers networking among representatives from the clean energy, green technologies and financial sectors.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/setting-back-innovation-renewable-energy?cid=Channel_Kaitlyn

tyler perry face transplant maundy thursday fab melo google glasses kim kardashian and kanye west henrik stenson

Arlington High wins State Championship baseball

Arlington High School Varsity Baseball won the Division 1 "AAA" State Championship in May 2012.

The baseball team received their state championship rings in a ring ceremony held during halftime at the Arlington High School football game on September 7th.

Each of the varsity players received a ring presented by head baseball coach Chris Ring.

Source: http://eastmemphis.wmctv.com/news/parents-kids/84913-arlington-high-wins-state-championship-baseball

zynga stock sam houston state university sam houston state university bradley manning whoopi goldberg tebowing tebowing

Facebook Updates Messenger For iOS With New Chat UI, iOS 6 And iPhone 5 Support

Facebook just launched a new version of its Messenger app for iOS. Messenger, the company's stand-alone chat app, got a bit of a user interface refresh with this update, as well as a speed boost and official support for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5's larger display. Today's update comes just a bit more than a week after Facebook also launched an update to its Messenger app for Android?and, for the most part, this update brings the iOS app's design on par with the Android app.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/g9Zrqe--XFE/

cubs cj wilson ellsbury brad pitt and angelina jolie brad and angelina herniated disc sacramento kings

Innovation and Free Markets in America | David Goldstein's Blog ...

The Washington Post reported recently that ?Entrepreneurs Run Into Roadblocks? in France that prevent them from bringing innovations into the market. The article contrasted this problem to the situation in America, where entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed.

Promoting innovation is one of the areas of strong American leadership. America is the best place in the world to start a new company, whether a profit-seeking company or a nonprofit. America is the leader in entrepreneurialism both as a result of government policies that make it easy to incorporate and business policies or cultures that make raising capital and hiring workers easier than in most other countries. Just consider how the global Internet speaks American English as its primary language due to the dominance of American-based companies, or how the social media developed first in America, or how American retailers such as Amazon or Wal-Mart are expanding globally.

I have seen this strength first hand, as I have started or co-founded three nonprofit corporations that have grown to employ over 50 people.

Having an innovation-friendly economy is one of America?s undersung strengths, since innovation and new technology are the basis for economic development in the 21st Century. But America cannot simply rest on our laurels in this race; it must also develop policies that actively encourage innovation. These policies are not limited to removing bureaucratic barriers to new companies and new products, as the Post says the French need to do. ?They should also include policies aimed at correcting market failures that stifle innovation.

America may be #1 at promoting innovation, but we need to work hard to maintain our leadership. Both the private sector and the government must strengthen market forces and make markets work better.

Clean energy is an area where market failures stand in the way of innovations being accepted in the marketplace. For clean energy technologies, it simply is not true that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. For many new technologies, economics says that markets will only work when a dozen or more assumptions are made, and for green products and services, the assumptions are false.

One of more than a dozen of these is the hidden assumption that consumers can act on their economic preferences. For example, suppose I want to reduce the energy consumption of my set top box for my TV. I can?t do that because the cable company owns the box, not me. And they don?t pay the electric bill?I do?so they don?t care how much energy the box uses.

This false assumption causes even bigger problems, in addition. Let?s assume that I want to add new high-technology windows to my house, along with advanced duct sealing and draft reducing improvements. ?The whole project will cost $8,000 and the energy savings will pay for the entire costs of an $8,000 loan every month. But I still need to come up with the $8,000 and no bank makes home energy improvement loans. Or suppose that I run a convenience store and I want to use advanced lighting and controls and a new combined heating and refrigeration system. The owner of the chain doesn?t want to borrow the money for it because even though the savings would pay back the loan fourfold, the additional borrowing would hurt the corporation?s credit rating.

To make it worse. four different categories of market failures make innovations harder to succeed that one would think. I discuss them in Saving Energy Growing Jobs. ?Undoubtedly clean energy is not the only field where there are barriers to the acceptance of new and better products.

For clean energy, we know how to solve this problem, and have been making progress in implementing this knowledge. New technologies for windows, for example, were developed in a government-funded research program, and their acceptance was spurred by building codes, recognition programs such as Energy Star, and financial incentives provided by many leading utilities. ?As a consequence, the example discussed in the Post article?a clean energy technology to power streetlights?would stand a better chance in America than in France. There are likely to be other areas where America?s leadership in innovation can be expanded even farther: ?where policy can make markets work better than they do now.

There is a flip side to this situation as well. America?s leadership in developing an innovation-friendly economy means on one hand, that business people have more opportunity here: they can make more money in America than they could in, for example, France. The flip side is that if the same person with the same intelligence and the same work ethic makes more money from being in the American infrastructure, then the fruits of this success?the income and the profits from innovation?were not produced by the entrepreneur alone. If the innovation could only succeed in America, then the entity that deserves the profit is not only the innovator but also the American economy as a whole. The success is a shared success: the personal efforts of the individual combined with the public provision of a business and legal climate that promotes and rewards such personal efforts.

This distinction is important because many of the policies that are needed to promote innovation?in the case of clean energy these include temporary tax incentives and energy production targets?cost money to implement. If successes are shared in monetary terms, our government can fund such interventions and still gain revenue and reduce our government deficit.

Source: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dgoldstein/innovation_and_free_markets_in.html

dfw 1930 census nike new nfl uniforms nfl uniforms andrew bailey the village dallas fort worth tornado

Arizona man arrested for fake grenade launcher stunt

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Police have arrested an Arizona man who filmed his 16-year-old nephew walking city streets dressed in a sheet and carrying a fake grenade launcher in an apparent bid to test police responses after the Denver theatre shooting, authorities said on Wednesday.

Michael David Turley, 39, was arrested on Monday over the making of the video, in which an unidentified narrator says he aims to "find out how safe I really am" in Phoenix following the July Denver shooting that killed 12 people and wounded 58.

The video depicts a man with a fake grenade launcher walking around a Phoenix intersection in what appears to be a blue sheet with dark material covering his head and face. The filmmaker said it took 15 minutes for police to respond.

The amateur video, filmed eight days after the Colorado shooting at a screening of a Batman movie, was broadcast on YouTube and titled, "Dark Knight Shooting Response, Rocket Launcher Police Test."

Turley was charged with knowingly giving a false impression of a terrorist act, endangerment, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and misconduct involving a simulated explosive.

He is being held in county jail on a $5,000 (3,090 pounds) bond. If convicted, he faces up to 45 months in prison, said Maricopa County Attorney's Office spokesman Jerry Cobb.

"We take something like this seriously," Phoenix police spokesman Officer James Holmes said. "It wasn't fun and games to all the people who were affected by this. We don't behave like this in this country to prove a point."

Police said officers reached the scene about three minutes after receiving numerous emergency calls from passers-by who said the person was pointing a weapon as they drove by.

The 16-year-old has not been arrested, Holmes said.

"The video told us what Turley was intentionally trying to do - creating a terrorist hoax for his own personal ideals," he said.

An attorney for Turley could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Editing by Tim Gaynor and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/arizona-man-arrested-fake-grenade-launcher-stunt-020724179.html

turbo tax katharine mcphee cold mountain valentines day ideas the villages florida egoraptor gisele bundchen

Want some taste with that 'diet' ice cream? | The Salt Lake Tribune

Food ? Big brands says their mid-calorie goodies cut down on what?s bad for you.

New York ? Nonfat cheese that tastes like plastic. Low-calorie soda that leaves a bitter aftertaste. Sugar-free brownies that crumble like Styrofoam.

Dieters have learned an important lesson. When you take the fat and calories out of your favorite treats, you sometimes have to say goodbye to the taste, too.

But snack brands such as Dreyer?s/Edy?s ice cream, Hershey?s chocolate and Lay?s potato chips are trying to solve this age-old dieter?s dilemma by rolling out mid-calorie goodies that have more fat and calories than the snacks of earlier diet crazes but less than the original versions. They?re following the lead of soda companies such as Pepsi and Dr Pepper that introduced mid-calorie drinks last year.

It?s hard to isolate sales of mid-calorie snacks because they also usually have reduced fat, or other healthy attributes such as reduced sodium. But sales of all foods and drinks in which the amount of things such as fat, sugar, salt, carbohydrates have been actively reduced during production have risen 16 percent to $51.72 billion since 2006, according to research firm Euromonitor International.

The mid-calorie trend is hitting at a time when companies that make sugary and salty treats are being blamed for the country?s expanding waistlines. The problem is that the same things that make snacks taste good ? sugar, salt, calories ? also make them fattening. And many Americans don?t want to sacrifice taste at snack time. Shaving a few calories enables companies to market their cakes, cookies and chips as healthier without the stigma of bad taste that goes along with some low-fat products.

The mid-calorie trend is a toned-down version of the "light" craze that started in the 1990s. Back then, "low fat" or "no fat" was all the rage. But the products often fizzled.

For instance, McDonald?s rolled out the McLean Deluxe, a low-fat burger, in 1991. But the burger, which was made with seaweed, had dismal sales. It disappeared from restaurants within five years.

Similarly, Lay?s in 1998 introduced Wow fat-free potato chips that use fat substitute Olestra. But the ick factor trumped healthiness when the Food and Drug Administration said the chips had to come with a warning that Olestra may cause abdominal cramping, loose stools, and that it inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients.

The FDA dropped the requirement for the label in 2004 after studying the matter. The chips were renamed "Light," but sales have not recovered.

The new era of diet food started in the past decade. In 2007, companies began offering 100-calorie packs of popular snacks like Oreos cookies and Twinkies cakes. That?s when brands started putting their focus on reducing calories ? without any flavor change.

story continues below

Reducing a nominal number of calories in your diet each day ? even from that morning coffee run or afternoon visit to the vending machine for chips ? is an effective way to battle obesity, says David Levitsky, professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University.

But in order for that to work you have to eat the snacks in moderation. "If consumption of ice cream and potato chips does not increase and people eat somewhat better versions, the outcome will be good," Brownell says.

First, companies have to convince dieters that their mid-calorie snacks are not only healthy, but tasty, too.

With that in mind, Hershey?s in June introduced Simple Pleasures, chocolate with 30 percent less fat. A serving size of six pieces equals 180 calories and 8 grams of fat ? that?s 30 calories and 5 grams of fat less than the original Hershey?s chocolate bar. The company is hoping the deficit is enough to lure chocolate lovers who want to eat healthier.

Similarly, Lay?s in July rolled out two new flavors of its Kettle Cooked potato chips with 40 percent less fat. The brand, which fries chips in small batches so as to use less oil than the continuous frying process for regular chips, introduced "Applewood Smoked BBQ" and "Sun-Dried Tomato and Parmesan."

The company says it was able to lower the calories and fat without sacrificing taste. Regular Kettle Cooked chips have 160 calories and 9 grams of fat, while the reduced-fat versions have 130 calories and 6 grams of fat.

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/54980401-79/fat-calories-chips-calorie.html.csp

i want to know what love is courtney mercury retrograde bath salts heart shaped box lucid 2012 ncaa tournament bracket

Ex-Goldman programmer rejects plea deal with NY: lawyer

'},"otherParams":{"t_e":1,".intl":"US"},"events":{"fetch":{lv:2,"sp":"97570179","ps":"LREC,MON","npv":true,"bg":"#FFFFFF","em":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'a2c64364-bb89-33d3-815d-c841e08909b6\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'News\' ctopid=\'2053500;2054000;3989;1542500;1844500;1044500;1047000;9158489\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}'),"em_orig":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'a2c64364-bb89-33d3-815d-c841e08909b6\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'News\' ctopid=\'2053500;2054000;3989;1542500;1844500;1044500;1047000;9158489\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}')}}};var _createNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);var nodeHTML;if(center && !node){nodeHTML=_conf.nodes[nId];center.insert(nodeHTML);};};};var _prepareNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-ad-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);if(center && node){center.set("innerHTML","");center.insert(node);node.setStyle("display","block");};};};var _darla;var _config=function(){if(YAHOO.ads.darla){_darla = YAHOO.ads.darla;_createNodes();};};var _fetch=function(spaceid,adssa,ps){ if (typeof(ps)!='undefined') _conf.events.fetch.ps = ps;if(typeof spaceid != "undefined") _conf.events.fetch.sp=spaceid;adssa = (typeof adssa != "undefined" && adssa != null) ? escape(adssa.replace(/\"/g, "'")) : "";_conf.events.fetch.em=_conf.events.fetch.em_orig.replace("ADSSA", adssa);if(_darla){_prepareNodes();_darla.setConfig(_conf);_darla.event("fetch");};};Y.on("domready", function(){_config();});;var that={"fetch":_fetch,"getNodes":_conf.nodes,"getConf":_conf};return that;}();/* Backwards compatibility - Assigning the latest instance to the main fetch function */YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.fetch=YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.photoslightboxdarla.fetch; }); Y.later(10, this, function() {YAHOO.namespace('Media.Social').Lightbox = {}; }); Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.Media.Article.init(); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.AuthorBadge(); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.Branding(); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.on("load", function () { YUI.namespace("Media.SocialButtons"); var instances = YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances || [], globalConf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.conf || {}, vplContainers = []; Y.all(".ymsb").each(function (node) { var id = node.get("id"), conf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.configs[id], instance; if (conf) { instance = new Y.SocialButtons({ srcNode: node, config: Y.merge(globalConf, conf.config || {}), contentMetadata: conf.content || {}, tracking: conf.tracking || {} }); vplContainers.push( { selector: "#" + id, callback: function(node) { instance.render(); instance = conf = id = null; } }); if (conf.config && conf.config.dynamic) { instances.push(instance); } } }); Y.Global.Media.ViewportLoader.addContainers(vplContainers); YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances = instances; }); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {if(Y.Photos && Y.Photos.LightboxModule) { var lightboxebe875cf35ee186ff782559e2348c3a2 = new Y.Photos.LightboxModule('{"spaceid":"97570179","ult_pt":"story-lightbox","darla_id":"","images_total":0,"xhr_url":"/_xhr/related-article/lightbox/?id=a2c64364-bb89-33d3-815d-c841e08909b6","xhr_count":20,"autoplay_if_first_item_is_video":true}',[],{"spaceid":"97570179","total":1,"photoby":"Photo By","xhrtype":"slideshow","slideshow_id":null,"slideshow_title":null,"slideshow_title_baked_html":null,"slideshow_desc":null,"slideshow_rev":null,"slideshow_plink_vita":null,"photos":[{"type":"image","url":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/86CwFotnCv_HTHbAwNs6bQ--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zMjY7cT04NTt3PTQ1MA--\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-09-27T185336Z_1_CBRE88Q1GHE00_RTROPTP_2_GOLDMAN-PROGRAMMER-CHARGES.JPG","width":450,"height":326,"uuid":"58bde92b-b7ae-3556-89ec-6cd7ccd926b7","caption":"Former Goldman Sachs computer programmer Sergey Aleynikov (L) smiles as he exits Manhattan Criminal Court with his lawyer Kevin Marino (2nd L) in New York, August 9, 2012. REUTERS\/Brendan McDermid","captionBakedHtml":"

Former Goldman Sachs computer programmer Sergey Aleynikov (L) smiles as he exits Manhattan Criminal Court with his lawyer Kevin Marino (2nd L) in New York, August 9, 2012. REUTERS\/Brendan McDermid","date":"Thu, Sep 27, 2012 2:58 PM EDT","credit":"Reuters","byline":"BRENDAN MCDERMID","provider":"Reuters","photo_title":"Former Goldman Sachs computer programmer Aleynikov smiles as he exits Manhattan Criminal Court with his lawyer Marino in New York","pivot_alias_id":"former-goldman-sachs-computer-programmer-aleynikov-smiles-exits-photo-185336150","plink":"\/photos\/former-goldman-sachs-computer-programmer-aleynikov-smiles-exits-photo-185336150.html","plink_vita":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/photos\/former-goldman-sachs-computer-programmer-aleynikov-smiles-exits-photo-185336150.html","srchtrm":"Former Goldman Sachs computer programmer Aleynikov smiles as he exits Manhattan Criminal Court with his lawyer Marino in New York","revsp":"","rev":"5569f5c0-08d5-11e2-9bfe-6ecf23b05894","surl":"http:\/\/l1.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/viIqfiVODu3EU36tToYR8w--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD01NjtxPTg1O3c9Nzc-\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-09-27T185336Z_1_CBRE88Q1GHE00_RTROPTP_2_GOLDMAN-PROGRAMMER-CHARGES.JPG","swidth":77,"sheight":56}]}); } if(Y.Photos && Y.Photos.LightboxModule) { if (lightboxebe875cf35ee186ff782559e2348c3a2.checksupport() !== false) { var lightbox_div = Y.one('.lightboxd733df94fbe3c05fac968911c2fdacf1'); if (lightbox_div !== null) { lightbox_div.on('click', function(e) { e.preventDefault(); lightboxebe875cf35ee186ff782559e2348c3a2.slideShow(e, '58bde92b-b7ae-3556-89ec-6cd7ccd926b7'); }); } } } }); Y.later(10, this, function() {YUI.namespace("Media.Article.Lead"); YUI.Media.Article.Lead.config = { playerUrl : 'http://d.yimg.com/nl/ynews/site/player.swf', autoPlay : 0 }; }); Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.RelatedArticle({count:"2",start:"1", mod_total:"10", total:"0", content_id:"a2c64364-bb89-33d3-815d-c841e08909b6", spaceid:"97570179", related_count:"-1" }); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {(function(d){ d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d.createElement('script')).src='http://d.yimg.com/oq/js/csc_news-en-US-core.js'; })(document); }); Y.later(10, this, function() { if(!("Media" in YAHOO)){YAHOO.Media = {};} if(!("ugcrate" in YAHOO.Media)){YAHOO.Media.ugcrate = {};} if(!("Media" in Y)){Y.namespace("Media");} YAHOO.Media.ugcrate.ratings_65023516ae68e8c463e64f979916ad62 = new Y.Media.UgcRate({"context_id":"09a9faf4-1bcc-43ad-ac6a-bd9f23f9f173","sCrumb":"","containerId":"yom-sentimentrate-65023516ae68e8c463e64f979916ad62","rateDimensions":"d1","appLang":"en-US","sUltSId":"97570179","sUltProperty":"news-en-US","sUltCampaign":"","sUltPlatform":"ugcwidgets","sUltIntl":"US","sUltLang":"en-US","selfPageUrl":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/ex-goldman-programmer-rejects-plea-deal-ny-lawyer-175213702--sector.html?_esi=0","artContentId":"a2c64364-bb89-33d3-815d-c841e08909b6","sUltQstnTxt":"How confident are you that your privacy is being protected when you browse the internet?","artContentTitle":"Ex-Goldman programmer rejects plea deal with NY: lawyer","artContentDesc":"NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer indicted on charges of stealing trade secrets has rebuffed a plea offer that would keep him out of prison, his lawyer said on Thursday. Sergey Aleynikov, 42, was formally indicted Thursday on New York state criminal charges of stealing proprietary trading code from the bank. The indictment is the latest development in a years-long legal battle between Aleynikov and federal and state prosecutors. ...","sUltBucketId":"test1","sUltSection":"sentirating","sUltBeaconUrl":"","sUltRecordPageviews":"1","sUltBeaconEnable":"1","serviceUrl":"\/_xhr","publisherContextId":"","propertyId":"2fcd79b5-b3a3-333e-b98e-722536a6698f","configurationId":"435db9ee-c55e-3766-b20d-c8ad3ff889d1","graphId":"","labelLeft":"Not at all confident","labelRight":"Completely confident","labelMiddle":"","itemimg":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/a\/i\/ww\/met\/yahoo_logo_us_061509.png","selfURI":"","aggregateRatingCount":"2816","aggregateReviewCount":"0","leftBlocksNum":"2659","rightBlocksNum":"156","leftBlocksPerCent":"94","rightBlocksPerCent":"6","ugcrate_apihost":"api01-us.ugcl.yahoo.com:4080","publisher_id":"news-en-US","yca_cert":"yahoo.ugccloud.app.trusted_proxies","timeout_write":"5000","through_proxy":"false","optionStats":"{\"s1\":2121,\"s2\":227,\"s3\":112,\"s4\":100,\"s5\":99,\"s6\":156,\"s7\":0,\"s8\":0,\"s9\":0,\"s10\":0}","l10N":"{\"FIRST_TO_READ\":\"You are first to read this. Share your feelings and start a conversation.\",\"SHARE_YOUR_FEELINGS\":\"You too can share your feelings and start a conversation!\",\"HOW_YOUR_FRIENDS_THINK\":\"Thank you for sharing your feeling on this article!\",\"PRE_SHARE_MSG\":\"Your Facebook friends on Yahoo! can see how you responded to this question. To share your response on Facebook, click on the Facebook share option.\",\"START_THE_CONVERSATION\":\"Start the Conversation\",\"THANKS_FOR_SHARING\":\"Sure, that's how you feel... But what do your friends think?\",\"POLL_HEADER\":\"SOCIAL SENTIMENT\",\"SERVER_ERROR\":\"Oops there seems to be some error, please try again later\",\"LOADING\":\"Loading...\",\"SHARE_AFTER_COMMENT\":\"Your response has been shared on Facebook.\",\"UNDO\":\"Undo\",\"UNIT_PEOPLE\":\"People\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_DISAGREE\":\"disagree with your opinion.\",\"READ_MORE_TEXT\":\"Read what they have to say.\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"WHAT DO YOU THINK?\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_VERB_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"DRAG\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_THANKS_VOTING\":\"Thanks for voting\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 2,816 people have answered this question\",\"ONE_PERSON_ANSWERED\":\" 1 person has answered this question\",\"TWO_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 2 people have answered this question\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s1\":2121,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s2\":227,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s3\":112,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s4\":100,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s5\":99,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s6\":156,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s7\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s8\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s9\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s10\":0}","fbconfig":"{\"message\":\"undefined\",\"name\":\"undefined\",\"link\":\"\",\"source\":\"\",\"picture\":\"http:\\\/\\\/l.yimg.com\\\/a\\\/i\\\/ww\\\/news\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/27\\\/yahoo-tc.jpg\",\"description\":\"\",\"captionLeft\":\"undefined\",\"captionRight\":\"undefined\",\"app_id\":\"196660913708276\",\"redirect_uri\":\"\\\/_xhr\\\/ugcratefbredirect\\\/\"}","template_id":"LONG_SLIDER_SOUTH","obj_id":"ratings_65023516ae68e8c463e64f979916ad62","opt_count":"6","opt_color1":"","opt_color2":"","template_html":"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-goldman-programmer-rejects-plea-deal-ny-lawyer-175213702--sector.html

supreme court health care joe oliver joba chamberlain new york mega millions jetblue jetblue michelle malkin

Pluto/Charon poses for sharpest ground-based images ever

ScienceDaily (Sep. 26, 2012) ? Despite being infamously demoted from its status as a major planet, Pluto (and its largest companion Charon) recently posed as a surrogate extrasolar planetary system to help astronomers produce exceptionally high-resolution images with the Gemini North 8-meter telescope. Using a method called reconstructive speckle imaging, the researchers took the sharpest ground-based snapshots ever obtained of Pluto and Charon in visible light, which hint at the exoplanet verification power of a large state-of-the-art telescope when combined with speckle imaging techniques.

The data also verified and refined previous orbital characteristics for Pluto and Charon while revealing the pair's precise diameters.

"The Pluto-Charon result is of timely interest to those of us wanting to understand the orbital dynamics of this pair for the 2015 encounter by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft," said Steve Howell of the NASA Ames Research Center, who led the study. In addition, Howell notes that NASA's Kepler mission, which has already proven a powerful exoplanet discovery tool, will benefit greatly from this technique.

Kepler identifies planet candidates by repeatedly measuring the change in brightness of more than 150,000 stars to detect when a planet passes in front of, or affects the brightness of, its host star. Speckle imaging with the Gemini telescope will provide Kepler's follow-up program with a doubling in its ability to resolve objects and validate Earth-like planets. It also offers a 3- to 4-magnitude sensitivity increase for the sources observed by the team. That's about a 50-fold increase in sensitivity in the observations Howell and his team made at Gemini. "This is an enormous gain in the effort underway to confirm small Earth-size planets," Howell added.

To institute this effort Howell and his team -- which included Elliott Horch (Southern Connecticut State University), Mark Everett (National Optical Astronomy Observatory), and David Ciardi (NASA Exoplanet Science Institute/Caltech) -- temporarily installed a camera, called the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI), among the suite of instruments mounted on the Gemini telescope.

"This was a fantastic opportunity to bring DSSI to Gemini North this past July," said Horch. "In just a little over half an hour of Pluto observations, collecting light with the large Gemini mirror, we obtained the best resolution ever with the DSSI instrument -- it was stunning!"

The resolution obtained in the observations, about 20 milliarcseconds, easily corresponds to separating a pair of automobile headlights in Providence, Rhode Island, from San Francisco, California. To achieve this level of definition, Gemini obtained a large number of very quick "snapshots" of Pluto and Charon. The researchers then reconstructed them into a single image after subtracting the blurring effects and ever-changing speckled artifacts caused by turbulence in the atmosphere and other optical aberrations. With enough snapshots (each image was exposed for only 60 milliseconds or about 1/20 of a second) only the light from the actual objects remains constant, and the artifacts reveal their transient nature, eventually canceling each other out.

DSSI was built at SCSU between 2007-2008 as a part of a United States National Science Foundation Astronomical Instrumentation grant and mounted on the Gemini North telescope for a limited observing run. The instrument is likely to return to Gemini North for observations in mid-2013 for general user programs from across the international Gemini partnership. Any such arrangement will be announced along with the call for proposals for Semester 13B, in February 2013.

This work was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and NASA's Kepler discovery mission and will be published in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in October 2012.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Gemini Observatory.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/LuePEZ_Zues/120926213944.htm

Expendables 2 Pussy Riot National Hurricane Center Zeek Rewards elvis presley elvis presley vanessa bryant

10 Things to Know for Today

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today (times in EDT):

1. WHO'S DEBUTING AT THE UN

Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, and Yemen's new leader, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, will make closely watched speeches, starting at 9 a.m.

2. IRANIAN LEADER PUSHES NEW WORLD ORDER

Ahmadinejad, no friend to the U.S., tells the AP in a wide-ranging interview that it's time to end American "bullying" and domination.

3. WHY IOWA'S POLLING PLACES ARE UNIQUE

Anyone who gets 100 signatures can choose a specific place for early voting, leading Romney and Obama supporters to request favorable locations.

4. WHAT'S INSIDE J.K. ROWLING'S NEW BOOK

AP's Deepti Hajela reviews "The Casual Vacancy," finding unlikable characters but a story with real heart.

5. COMING SOON TO CALIFORNIA: DRIVERLESS CARS

Self-driving cars could be on the roads in 10 years; a new law establishes regulations to test and operate the vehicles.

6. WHO WEILDS A PADDLE IN TEXAS SCHOOLS

One school district expanded its corporal punishment policy ? allowing both men and women to swat students ? after two girls complained of bruising.

7. SOMALI PIRACY HEYDAY MAY BE OVER

AP reporters find pirates who once owned vast villas now living in unfurnished rooms, after dramatic drop in the number of vessels they seize.

8. SCORE-SETTLING SEEN IN LIBYA

A young rebel credited with helping capture Gadhafi dies after being kidnapped, beaten and slashed.

9. WHERE OBAMA, ROMNEY FIND COMMON GROUND

Following a disputed call that cost the Packers a win, both say it's time to bring the "real refs" back to the NFL.

10. HOW THE NEW NOOK MEASURES UP

The tablets are getting lighter and will have HD screens, presenting a tough choice for holiday shoppers looking for a cheap option to the iPad.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/10-things-know-today-101340019.html

mike adams janoris jenkins john edwards trial brandon weeden felicia day nfl 2012 draft st louis rams

ABBYY Launches Lingvo Dictionaries 3.0 with New Language - prMac

[prMac.com] Moscow, Russia - ABBYY, a leading provider of document recognition, document capture, and linguistic technologies and services, today announced the availability of Lingvo Dictionaries 3.0 for iOS, a versatile dictionary and translation application for Apple(R) mobile devices. The new product introduces Lingvo cards, an interactive tool for memorizing words and phrases while on the go. Its close integration with the extensive dictionary content of ABBYY Lingvo(R) helps iPhone(R) and iPad(R) users learn languages more effectively enjoying the process.

"Over 70 percent users of ABBYY Lingvo use the dictionary for learning foreign languages, and many of them were asking us to create a tool to help them memorize words and phrases" commented Katya Solntseva, Director of Mobile Products Department at ABBYY. "New Lingvo cards makes a very natural addition to the dictionary, simplifying their task. It also provides people with the opportunity to master a language by taking advantage of any idle moment while on the go."

ABBYY Lingvo Dictionaries for iOS allows users of Apple devices to access vocabulary of many languages at once, with more than 250 general translation, explanatory, idiomatic and specialized dictionaries available for download and purchase*. It also provides an advanced photo translation function** that offers the easiest way to look-up and translate words by photographing them with the iPhone camera. Its dictionary entries contain various linguistic information, such as: translation alternatives, phonetic spelling, audio pronunciations recorded by native speakers, word-use examples and inflected forms of the headword.

Lingvo cards enables users to create easy-to-use learning cards for memorizing words and checking themselves periodically with simple lessons at any place and time. The lessons offer two most basic and popular tasks: to refresh or remember translations of foreign words (by reading or listening to their audio pronunciation) and remember a word by its translations displayed on the screen. Learning cards can be created automatically from dictionary entries or manually by typing or copying necessary information from other sources. They can be grouped for different languages and translation directions allowing users to learn more than one language on their device. Users can easily manage their cards according to their individual plan: add new cards with additional information and translation alternatives, exclude words from the lessons or delete them from the program when they are memorized. In addition to several translation alternatives, Lingvo сards may contain audio pronunciations of words, usage examples and any other information a user may find important.

Unlike traditional paper cards for memorizing words, Lingvo cards will never get lost or missed, they won't pile up in multiple places overwhelming language learners with their quantity. A truly convenient and user-friendly tool, ABBYY Lingvo helps users to smooth out and enjoy the process of learning and memorizing. To further improve user experience, ABBYY Lingvo now allows iPhone users to work with dictionaries and learning cards in landscape mode.

The basic dictionary set, available for download within the application for no extra charge, includes 56 dictionaries spanning 27 languages. Additional premium content dictionaries can be added anytime, allowing users to expand their translation capabilities. The full list of premium content dictionaries and the list of language combinations available for translation can be found on ABBYY website.

On the Apple iPhone, the photo translation feature supports instant translation of words in 27 languages. Compatible devices include the Apple iPod(R) touch 2G, 3G and 4G, iPad, iPad 2, the new iPad and the iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, 3G (iOS 4.0 or later). The photo translation function is fully supported on iOS-based devices that can provide high-quality photographs, which include the iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS. ABBYY Lingvo Dictionaries 3.0 for iOS provides user interface in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. For more information about the product, please visit ABBYY website.

Language Support:
English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
* Universal app optimized for display on all iOS devices
* 38.4 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Lingvo Dictionaries 3.0 is $4.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide through the App Store in the Reference category.

ABBYY is a leading provider of document recognition, data capture, and linguistic technologies and services. Paper-intensive organizations from all over the world use ABBYY solutions to automate time- and labour-consuming tasks and to streamline business processes. ABBYY products are used in large-scale government projects such as those of Australian Taxation Office, Lithuanian Tax Inspectorate, Ministry of Education of Russia, Ministry of Education of Ukraine, Montgomery County Government of the USA, and Government of Canada. Companies that license ABBYY technologies include BancTec, Canon, EMC/Captiva, Hewlett-Packard, KnowledgeLake, Microsoft, NewSoft, Notable Solutions, Samsung Electronics and more. ABBYY is headquartered in Moscow, Russia, with offices in Germany, the UK, the United States, Canada, Ukraine, Cyprus, Australia, Japan and Taiwan. ABBYY, the ABBYY Logo, FineReader, ADRT, Lingvo, FlexiCapture, Recognition Server, and PDF Transformer are either registered trademarks or trademarks of ABBYY Software Ltd. Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby recognized. Copyright (C) 2011 ABBYY. All Rights Reserved.

###

Source: http://prmac.com/release-id-48480.htm

chicago news golden girls robert e lee golden globe winners the express zappos hacked jane fonda

Adults may paddle students of opposite gender in Texas district

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - School administrators will be allowed to paddle students of the opposite sex under a rule approved unanimously Monday night by the school board in the North Texas community of Springtown.

Superintendent Michael Kelley said Tuesday the new policy would ensure both male and female students are treated equally since there are not enough administrators of both genders in some schools in Springtown, which has a population of about 2,600.

Under the previous policy, corporal punishment could only be carried out by an administrator who was of the same gender as the student. The new policy says that a school official of the same gender as the student must be in the room where the paddling takes place and that parents must provide written permission for their child to be paddled.

The punishment involves striking students on their clothed rear with a wooden paddle.

"We don't have a very large district and in our middle school there is only an assistant principal, who is a female," Kelley said. "If the old policy remains in place, then the parents of the boys at the middle school would not be able to request corporal punishment."

Texas is one of 19 states that allow public schools to administer corporal punishment, according to the Center for Effective Discipline. Even in those states, most urban schools have banned the practice and most districts that paddle kids are, like Springtown, small or rural communities. Texas allows parents to opt out of corporal punishment of their children.

In Springtown, which is northwest of Fort Worth, the paddling of two high school girls by a male assistant principal earlier this month prompted the change in policy. Kelley apologized to the girls during Monday night's school board meeting that their paddling violated the policy in place at the time.

It is not unusual for parents in Springtown to contact the school to request paddling for their children for offenses like using profanity or cheating on exams, Kelley said.

Jimmy Dunne, who heads the Texas-based group People Against Paddling Students, called Springtown's new policy "barbaric," and said he hopes it sparks debate that prompts Texas and other states to consider banning the practice.

"Children should not be hit with boards; it is legalized child abuse," Dunne said.

The Texas Association of School Boards recommends that corporal punishment be administered only by an administrator who is the same sex as the student.

Kelley said that corporal punishment works in small towns like Springtown because of the relationship between the district and the parents, most of whom have known each other all their lives.

"They're sitting beside that guy in church and they see that principal in the grocery store or at the restaurant," he said. "They have a sense of trust. So they'll call up and tell us, when their child commits an infraction, those parents will call up and tell that principal, 'Rather than in-school suspension, why don't you just give 'em a swat?'"

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and; Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/adults-may-paddle-students-opposite-gender-texas-district-192438665.html

dobie gray bruce springsteen grammy nominations lil boosie new edition austerity rihanna and chris brown back together

Double Stars Succumb to Fatal Attraction

A new model suggests that short-period binary stars are rare because they tend to merge into one

By Ken Croswell

Short-period binary stars, such as the Sirius system, risk merging together in their early years of existence. Image: NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)

• 

  Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

  Read More??

By Ken Croswell of Nature magazine

Many single stars may have been born as two separate suns, which merged into one during the first million years of their life. That is the unexpected finding from a computer simulation of binary stars in a young star cluster.

Double stars are common. For example, Sirius, the brightest star visible in the night sky, consists of two stars that orbit each other every 50 years.

Studies of star-forming regions indicate that binary stars start off with a uniform distribution of orbital periods: the number of binaries younger than a few million years that orbit each other every 1?10 years, 10?100 years, 100?1,000 years, and so on, is about the same

Older binaries show a different pattern. The most common orbital period for double stars outside of star-forming regions is about 200 years, and both shorter and longer periods are rarer.

The scarcity of binaries with longer orbital periods is easy to explain: to have a long orbital period, the stars must be quite far apart. For two stars with a total mass adding up to that of the Sun, a 200-year orbital period would put them about as far from each other as the Sun is from Neptune or Pluto. Stars at much greater distances feel little of each other's gravity, so the gravitational tug of a passing star can disrupt the system and break it apart.

Inward spiral
But where did the short-period binaries go? In a paper in Astronomy and Astrophysics, three astronomers in Germany report how they simulated a star cluster resembling that in the Orion Nebula, the best-known stellar nursery. Their model assumes that as two stars close together in a binary system whirl around each other, they interact with the gas in the cluster. The interactions can modify the stars' orbits, causing them to spiral towards each other until they merge and become a single star.

"It was quite astonishing," says Thomas Kaczmarek, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, and a co-author of the paper. "We just took the parameters that we needed from this cluster, and what came out is that we almost perfectly get this period distribution observed in the field."

Steven Stahler, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies star formation, approves of the work. "It's plausible," he says, but adds that proving the idea correct will be difficult. The same gas and dust that cause the close-in binaries to merge also prevent their visible light from reaching Earth. Astronomers must conduct observations using infrared radiation, which penetrates the dust, but often requires space-based observatories to detect.

In one unique case, astronomers have actually watched two stars in the constellation Scorpius spiral together. The merger sparked a bright flare of light called a red nova, and a similar eruption inside a young star cluster could show that young binaries do indeed merge. However, the Scorpius binary didn't belong to a star cluster, and Stahler thinks that a merger inside a gas-filled cluster might be too gentle to unleash a nova.

Could the Sun have been born as two separate stars that later merged? "It could have happened, but I think it would be a bit far-fetched," says Susanne Pfalzner, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and a co-author of the latest paper. She suspects that a merger would have disturbed the newborn Sun's planet-forming disc, preventing the birth of rocky worlds including Earth.

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on September 25, 2012.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=9cb3165f22c8a37ac7907394bd565ae2

leap day michigan primary results olympia snowe davey jones dead boston weather monsanto dr seuss birthday

Ground Will Soon Break In Downtown Baltimore For Harrah's Casino

BALTIMORE (WJZ)?In just a few months crews will break ground on what?s to become a Harrah?s casino in downtown Baltimore.

Monique Griego was there as project leaders laid out their plans for slots and possibly table games.

Baltimore, get ready because soon this empty lot off Ruseell and Worcester street in downtown Baltimore will be transformed into a world class Harrah?s casino.

?It?s going to add more people to come as tourist because Baltimore is upcoming,? said Mike Beauford, resident.

City and state leaders also touted the economic benefits as Caesar?s entertainment introduced the casino?s general manager.

?To be able to keep the state of Maryland monies in Maryland is our goal,? said Chad Barnhill, Harrah?s general manager.

Construction is set to start in mid-2013 and the casino is expected to open in mid-2014.

And with it will come several thousand slots and employment opportunities.

Two thousand workers will be needed for construction.

The casino itself will have 1200 permanent positions and an additional 500 jobs will be added if expanded gambling is passed by voters in November.

And the issue was hotly debated this summer.

?Not all table games customers play slots. Not all slots customers play table games. We?ll be able to bring in additional tourism to the city,? Barnhill said.

But there are some people who have concerns over the location of the casino and what it will mean for congestion in the area considering it?s so close to both stadiums.

?You?re going to clutter it up with 3000 more people a night. It?s just going to be a mess,? Harry Kunzy, resident.

?Trying to get in and out at different times is a real problem,? said Debbie Connell, resident.

Project leaders say they are looking at ways to alleviate traffic and feel confident people won?t be disappointed.

The Towson-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Company has been picked to build Baltimore?s casino, a more than $300 million project.

The casino?s website is already up and running. There you can find employment information.? Click here for more.

Source: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/09/25/ground-will-soon-break-in-downtown-baltimore-for-harrahs-casino/

justin timberlake michael dyer bachmann bachmann iowa caucus results sickle cell trait sugar bowl

It's all relative | ClassCrits

By Lisa R. Pruitt

That cliche was brought to mind by several news stories in recent weeks, all related to class in one way or another, so I use it here to consider these stories and the issues they raise about disparities in education and well-being.

First, the Chicago Teachers strike revived talk about the role that standardized testing should play in evaluating teachers. ?In this context I have for the first time heard mention the fact that most proposals to evaluate teachers based on student test scores would reference only relative scores. ?That is, most organizations advocating the use of student test scores?organizations like StudentsFirst (and its high profile founder Michelle Rhee)?advocate assessing teachers based on year to year progress, or lack thereof. ?They would, for example, compare the same students? performances at the beginning and end of the year as a way of evaluating those students? teaching. ?These education reformers do not advocate using the test scores as some absolute measure of teacher quality, which would compare teachers within the same district, or even across a state or the nation. ?Rather, the scores would be used to mark relative progress among a particular group of students, as a reflection on those student(s)?s teachers. ?Read relevant coverage here and here.

Relativity made a few other points about class recently, including in this story which compares a certain highly disadvantaged subset of young people in Britain and the United States. ?The story reports an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study (2012) which shows?that the British, long considered a class-bound society, are experiencing greater class mobility than those in the United States, at least as measured by access to a university degree. ?The study found that, in Britain, a student whose parents did not graduate from high school has a 60% chance of graduating from college, while in the United States, the prospects of a similarly situated young person getting a college degree are just 29%. ?The story notes that, among 34 advanced economies that OECD assessed, the United States has one of the lowest class mobility scores by this measure. ?Ironic, isn?t it, since the data defy the essence of the oft-touted ?American dream??

Now, I acknowledge that this finding regards a pretty small slice of the nation: ?the children of very poorly educated parents. ?Further, perhaps a smaller percentage of all young people in the United States than in Britain are the children of parents without high school diplomas, such that Britain has a wider base from which to make progress in better educating these young people. ?Nevertheless, this is a slice we should attend to if we truly aspire to be the egalitarian society we hold ourselves out to be?and if we want to solve any number of social and economic ills associated with lack of education.

Speaking of social and economic ills linked to lack of education ? a report the MacArthur Foundation released this week (and discussed in this New York Times story by Sabrina Tavernise) shows that the life expectancy of a segment of working class whites is shrinking, even as the life expectancy of similarly educated minorities is increasing. ?The trend was especially marked among women. ?White women without a high school diploma saw their life expectancy decrease by five years between 1990 and 2008. ?By 2008, the life expectancy of a black woman without a high school diploma had surpassed that of her white counterpart. ?White men who did not finish high school lost three years of life during the same period, while the life expectancies of their similarly educated minority counterparts rose.

An excerpt from the?NYT?story speculates about the reasons for the trend:

The reasons for the decline remain unclear, but researchers offered possible explanations, including a spike in prescription drug overdoses among young whites, higher rates of smoking among less educated white women, rising obesity, and a steady increase in the number of the least educated Americans who lack health insurance.

* * *

[I]t is yet another sign of distress in one of the country?s most vulnerable groups during a period when major social changes are transforming life for less educated whites. Childbirth outside marriage has soared, increasing pressures on women who are more likely to be single parents. Those who do marry tend to choose mates with similar education levels, concentrating the disadvantage.

Tavernise also points out that ?blacks over all do not live as long as whites, while Hispanics live longer than both whites and blacks.? ?Presumably this statement refers to all persons of all age groups, regardless of education level.

As for intra-race comparisons, these studies indicate that white women without a high school diploma live on average 73.5 years, compared to 83.9 years for white women a college degree or more. ??life expectancy for white women without a high school diploma was 73.5 years, compared with 83.9 years for white women with a college degree or more.? ?The gap was even bigger among white men, with life expectancies ranging from 67.5 years for the least educated to 80.4 for those with at least a college degree.

Let?s be clear: ?It is good news that the life expectancy of racial and ethnic minorities is increasing, even though we would hope for even greater progress among this population. ?But the study also points up the limits of white privilege, often touted by minority groups as such a potent protective force. ?For those at the bottom of the ladder as measured by education level, white skin doesn?t seem much of a benefit.

Whether you?re comparing these low education whites with more educated whites, or whether you?re comparing them to similarly educated racial minorities, their relative disadvantage should be a wake-up call that this is a demographic group in dire straits.

?It?s all relative? is a statement sometimes used to dismiss the significance of a result. ?In all of these contexts, however, it seems that viewing the data in context?specifically by reference to other genders, races, nations or even to one?s own prior performance?teaches us something useful. ?And in some contexts, these comparisons could raise awareness and inform campaigns for change.

Source: http://classcrits.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/its-all-relative/

portland trailblazers will kopelman casey anthony leann rimes dakota fanning casey anthony video diary lamarcus aldridge