Actor takes MTV News behind the scenes of upcoming 'City of Bones' adaptation.
By Amy Wilkinson, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706470/mortal-instruments-city-of-bones-simon.jhtml
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Journalists march together during a protest to demand justice in the Regina Martinez case, a journalist killed a year ago and an end to more recent attacks on the press in Veracruz, Mexico, Sunday April 28, 2013. Journalists in several states organized a demonstration on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the murder of Regina Martinez, a correspondent of the magazine Proceso. Attacks have become so common that many Mexican news media have announced they will no longer cover stories related to drug cartels.The issue has become so serious that Mexico's congress passed a bill this month that would allow journalists to request that federal prosecutors and federal judges investigate attacks on them, and would make federal intervention mandatory in some cases. It has been sent to the president for his signature. Banner says: "Authoritarian rule will not shut up our voice... JUSTICE for Regina Martinez! One year after the state crime: We do not believe you!"AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Journalists march together during a protest to demand justice in the Regina Martinez case, a journalist killed a year ago and an end to more recent attacks on the press in Veracruz, Mexico, Sunday April 28, 2013. Journalists in several states organized a demonstration on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the murder of Regina Martinez, a correspondent of the magazine Proceso. Attacks have become so common that many Mexican news media have announced they will no longer cover stories related to drug cartels.The issue has become so serious that Mexico's congress passed a bill this month that would allow journalists to request that federal prosecutors and federal judges investigate attacks on them, and would make federal intervention mandatory in some cases. It has been sent to the president for his signature. Banner says: "Authoritarian rule will not shut up our voice... JUSTICE for Regina Martinez! One year after the state crime: We do not believe you!"AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A man carrying a sign saying "No more blood of journalists" during a protest to demand justice in the Regina Martinez case, a journalist killed a year ago, and an end to more recent attacks on the press in Veracruz, Mexico, Sunday April 28, 2013. Journalists in several states organized a demonstration on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the murder of Regina Martinez, a correspondent of the magazine Proceso. Attacks have become so common that many Mexican news media have announced they will no longer cover stories related to drug cartels.The issue has become so serious that Mexico's congress passed a bill this month that would allow journalists to request that federal prosecutors and federal judges investigate attacks on them, and would make federal intervention mandatory in some cases. It has been sent to the president for his signature.(AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A woman carrying a sign saying "Regina is not Forgotten" participates in a protest to demand justice in the Regina Martinez case, a journalist killed a year ago, and an end to more recent attacks on the press in Veracruz, Mexico, Sunday April 28, 2013. Journalists in several states organized a demonstration on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the murder of Regina Martinez, a correspondent of the magazine Proceso. Attacks have become so common that many Mexican news media have announced they will no longer cover stories related to drug cartels. The issue has become so serious that Mexico's congress passed a bill this month that would allow journalists to request that federal prosecutors and federal judges investigate attacks on them, and would make federal intervention mandatory in some cases. It has been sent to the president for his signature.(AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
XALAPA, Mexico (AP) ? Officials in Veracruz state say they know who killed Regina Martinez. The muckraking reporter, found beaten and suffocated in her house, was just the victim of a robbery, according to prosecutors and a local court.
But many of her colleagues don't believe it. The man convicted of the crime was tortured into a confession, they allege. And the magazine she works for says state officials discussed sending police across the country in an attempt to hunt down and seize another reporter who raised questions about the death, which is one of a growing list of killings that have put Mexico among the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.
Some 400 people gathered Sunday in the center of Veracruz's state capital, Xalapa, for a march to demand justice in the Martinez case and an end to attacks on the press. Many held up posters suggesting the government had a hand in the case, some describing it as "a state killing." Dozens also protested in Mexico City.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a February report that 12 Mexican journalists went missing in 2006-2012 and 14 were killed because of their work. Mexico's federal Human Rights Commission lists 81 journalists killed since 2000.
Martinez was the Xalapa correspondent for Proceso, one of Mexico's most respected investigative newsmagazines, and she was one of the few in the state who continued to work on stories related to drug cartels. Her last story for the magazine was about the arrest of nine police officers accused of links to traffickers.
State officials accused a man named Jorge Antonio Hernandez Silva of taking part in the killing, saying it came during a robbery, and he was sentenced this month to 38 years in prison. But he asserted he was forced to confess through several days of torture, and Proceso's editors don't believe the killing has been solved, noting that none of the fingerprints found at the scene of the killing match those of Hernandez Silva.
"Those who are truly guilty have not been identified," the magazine said in an online statement.
Mike O'Connor, Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said federal officials have doubts, too.
"The federal government is not convinced that Hernandez Silva is guilty because a very active investigation by the federal government is continuing," he said.
Proceso issued a statement this month alleging that some current and former state officials had met to plan the capture of a reporter who questioned the verdict and "to do him harm if he resists." Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte later met with editors of Proceso and promised an exhaustive investigation.
His Gulf coast state, plagued by clashes among powerful drug cartels, has been one of the most dangerous for journalists. Twelve reporters have been slain or gone missing there since the start of 2010, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Less than a week after Martinez was slain, three local reporters were dismembered, stuffed into black plastic bags and dumped into a waste canal, apparently by people linked to drug gangs that demand either favorable coverage or none at all.
Among those still missing is Sergio Landa Rosado, who vanished on Jan. 23, his first day back at work at Diario Cardel in the town of Cardel after being away for more than a month because of an earlier kidnapping that followed his reporting on the slaying of a taxi driver.
Attacks have become so common that many Mexican news media have announced they will no longer cover stories related to drug cartels.
As in the case of Martinez, it often can be difficult to determine whether a killing is directly related to a reporter's work, and who might be responsible. Press rights groups say officials are often sluggish in trying to answer those questions, and few of the slayings have led to convictions.
The hacked-up body of 22-year-old photojournalist Daniel Martinez Bazaldua and that of another young man were found in the northern Mexico city of Saltillo on April 24.
Coahuila state officials said signs left at the scene suggested the two men had deserted from a drug gang and state Attorney General Homero Ramos told reporters later that investigators had testimony indicating both men "were participating in illegal activities."
Editors at Martinez Bazaldua's newspaper, Vanguardia, said state officials provided no evidence that the photographer, at least, had any links to drug gangs.
"We think it is sad and alarming that Coahuila has become a state in which the authorities condemn murdered people, converting them into criminals, without offering the least evidence," the newspaper wrote.
The issue has become so serious that Mexico's congress passed a bill this month that would allow journalists to request that federal prosecutors and federal judges investigate attacks on them, and would make federal intervention mandatory in some cases. It has been sent to the president for his signature.
___
Associated Press writer Rodrigo Soberanes reported this story in Xalapa and Galia Garcia Palafox reported from Mexico City.
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Every week, the editors and writers at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a few games, an art app, a fun music creation app, and an app about the most important star in the universe.
Mr. Runner was a pretty popular game a few years ago, netting over 5 million downloads thanks to its unique stop-and-go play style and slightly warped sense of humor. Mr. Runner is back with some decidedly richer graphics and a surprisingly interesting plot line. Mr. Runner is trapped in a dream where his head is locked in a box by the dastardly La Magie, and he's got to chase down the key. In this journey, he stumbles on the occasional mask which gives him some semblance of an identity in the meantime. The game will take players through 32 bizarre worlds with plenty of tongue-in-cheek pop culture references. Each stage has three bonus objectives to snag, which should keep you coming back for more if the unique art style isn't enough. If you're in the mood for something a little different, definitely give Mr. Runner 2: The Masks a shot.
My daughter is obsessed with drawing My Little Pony characters these days. She's almost 10, and asked me recently if she could have a really good art app for the iPad so she could get more comfortable when she's creating, as opposed to sitting in front of the laptop. We searched around and found ArtRage, and it has quickly become her favorite new tool when inspiration strikes.
ArtRage has a ton of built in features including numerous art tools for drawing and painting, tracing, blending, different types of canvas/papers, and one of our favorite features which is the ability to work with layers. Learning how to sketch is an important step for artists, and with the layers Abby is learning to sketch and refine her drawings. The tools are very natural and mimic real world paints and papers very well, even going so far as to judge how much paint is on your brush or canvas and reacting accordingly, among other things.
If you're interested in having an art studio that you can take with you anywhere, you should definitely take a look at ArtRage. There are so many tools and options in this app, I can't even list them all here. Some reviewers have complained about the app crashing, but we haven't experienced that. I would recommend saving your work frequently if that's a concern. ArtRage is available for iPad and iPhone, for $4.99 and $1.99 respectively.
We got our first look at Gameloft's Iron Man 3 at GDGC 2013 and ever since then I've been waiting to get my hands on it. Having now arrived and readily available for download, I have to say it's pretty awesome and even better than I expected. You get to play as Iron Man through 3 different locations and fight 4 villains from Iron Man legend, all in some wonderfully graphic detail. Perhaps the best part of it all though, is gaining access to all of the Iron Man suits available. There is 18 in total that ken be discovered including Mark II, Mark III and the Silver Centurion. The game is available for free but keep in mind it does have a few in-app-purchases with it. I've not played through enough to see if they're 'required' - yet!
Propellerhead?s Figure is a great app for music creation for the iPhone and iPad. Figure gives users control over the different instruments available under the Drum, Bass, and Lead sections. Set the rhythm of each instrument, the number of scale steps between octaves, and range of the bass and lead instruments, along with basics like the key and the tempo. There are also a variety of electronic drum, bass, and lead instruments to choose from. Figure also includes support for Audiobus, allowing you to record and edit your music using other music apps like Loopy and Garageband. Try Figure if you?re looking for quick, simple electronic music creation that?s also a lot of fun to use.
There are very few games that remain on my iPhone consistently and Plants vs. Zombies is definitely one of them. In anticipation of Plants vs. Zombies 2 which is supposedly launching sometime this summer, I've cleared out all my data and have started playing the original Plants vs. Zombies all over again.
The fact that there is no support for the iPhone 5 is definitely a downer and makes me that much more impatient for the second release. My favorite part about Plants vs. Zombies is that even after beating the entire game, you can always go back and unlock all kinds of achievements. That's what I plan to do and cross my fingers that Plants vs. Zombies 2 isn't that far off from being released for iOS. If you haven't checked it out, it's one of those iOS games that every iPhone or iPad owner should download and considering they're both at the low price of $0.99 now, there really isn't anything to lose.
I love science, and I love when kids show an interest in science, which is why I'm choosing Sun by KIDS DISCOVER this week. It teaches a lot of fun facts about the Earth's light source and includes great images, graphics, 3D models, videos, and more. And with summer right around the corner, the timing seems perfect for discussion about this season's favorite heat supplier.
If you've got kids who can read, check it out.
Now that we've chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Let us know in the comments below!
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/1QaGTcNDibE/story01.htm
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NEW DELHI (AP) ? A child disappears. Police are called. Nothing happens.
Child rights activists say the rape last week of a 5-year-old girl is just the latest case in which Indian police failed to take urgent action on a report of a missing child. Three days after the attack, the girl was found alone in locked room in the same New Delhi building where her family lives.
More than 90,000 children go missing in India each year; more than 34,000 are never found. Some parents say they lost crucial time because police wrongly dismissed their missing children as runaways, refused to file reports or treated the cases as nuisances.
The parents of the 5-year-old said that after their daughter disappeared, they repeatedly begged police to register a complaint and begin a search, but they were rejected.
Three days later, neighbors heard the sound of a child crying from a locked room in the tenement. They broke down the door and rushed the brutalized girl to the police station.
The parents said the police response was to offer the couple 2,000 rupees ($37) to keep quiet about what had happened.
"They just wanted us to go away. They didn't want to register a case even after they saw how badly our daughter was injured," said the girl's father, who cannot be identified because Indian law requires a rape victim's identity be kept secret.
Delhi's Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar admitted Monday that local police had erred in handling the case.
"There have been shortfalls, so the station house officer and his deputy have been suspended," Kumar told reporters.
Other poor parents of missing children say they also have found police reluctant to help them.
In 2010, police took 15 days to register a missing-persons case for 14-year-old Pankaj Singh. His mother is still waiting for him to come home.
"Every day my husband and my father would go wait at the police station, but they would shoo them away," Pravesh Kumari Singh said as she sat on her son's bed, surrounded by his pictures and books.
One morning in March 2010, she fed her son a breakfast of fried pancakes and spicy potatoes, then left for a community health training program.
"He told me he would have a bath and settle down to study for his exams," said Singh, clutching the boy's photograph to her heart.
When she returned, he was gone. "The neighbors said some boys had called him out. We searched everywhere, went to the police, but they refused to believe that something had happened to our son."
The police insisted he had run off with friends and would return, she said.
"They said we must have scolded him or beaten him, which is why he had run away from home," she said.
Formal police complaints were registered in only one-sixth of missing child cases in 2011, said Bhuwan Ribhu, a lawyer with Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or the Save the Childhood Movement. He said police resist registering cases because they want to keep crime figures low, and that parents are often too poor to bribe them to reconsider.
Ribhu said the first few hours after a child goes missing are the most crucial. "The police can cordon off nearby areas, issue alerts at railway and bus stations, and step up vigilance to catch the kidnappers," he said.
Activists say delays let traffickers move children to neighboring states, where the police don't have jurisdiction. There is no national database of missing children that state police can reference.
Police have insisted that most of missing children are runways fleeing grinding poverty.
"It's easy enough to blame the police for not finding the children. Some of the parents do not even possess a photograph of the child. Or they will come up with a years-old picture. It becomes difficult when there's not even a photograph to work with," Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said last month when asked about complaints on police inaction in investigating case of missing children.
Many cases involved poor migrant construction workers who move from site to site around the city, Bhagat said.
"The children are unfamiliar with the place and once they lose their way, they wouldn't know how to return," he said.
India's Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath told Parliament last month that the problem of missing children had assumed "alarming" proportions. The National Crime Records Bureau reported that 34,406 missing children were never found in 2011, up from 18,166 in 2009.
Activists say some children are trafficked and forced to beg on the streets. Some work on farms or factories as forced labor and others have their organs harvested and sold. The activists say young girls are pushed into the sex trade or sold for marriage.
"The government is just not ready to confront the issue of trafficking or missing children. And this gets reflected in the apathy of the police in dealing with cases of missing children," said Ribhu, the lawyer.
In 2006, the Central Bureau of Investigation said at least 815 criminal gangs were kidnapping children for begging, prostitution or ransom.
The Save the Childhood Movement said police have not cracked a single one of those syndicates.
"Despite our providing the police with all the details of where a child was picked up from, where he was taken, the police are simply not willing to act," said Ribhu.
Two streets away from Singh, in a tiny windowless room crammed with clothes, bedding and a stove, Pinky Devi keeps a prized possession locked away in a drawer: a faded color photograph of her son Ravi Shankar.
One afternoon in November 2011, she says, the 11-year-old went off with other children to a neighborhood fair. He never returned.
Devi said the police visited her home a couple of times and spoke to her neighbors, but their interest soon wore out.
"I'm sure if we had money to spend on them, the police would have been more active in tracing my son," said Devi, her two younger sons and infant daughter clinging to her sari in their one-room tenement in southeast Delhi.
Shantha Sinha, who heads the government's National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, acknowledged that much remained to be done to make police take cases of missing children seriously.
"There has to be a strong message that in every incident of a missing child, a criminal case has to be registered and the case is properly investigated," Sinha said.
Kunwar Pal, a construction worker, fears police indifference crushed his efforts to find his son Ravi Kumar.
Since the 12-year-old disappeared three years ago, the distraught father has cycled across India's sprawling capital, visiting police and railway stations, children's homes and hospitals, handing out posters and photographs of his missing son. Every time he hears of a child found anywhere in the city, he cycles to the police station, hoping it's Ravi.
Pal, a lean 45-year-old with haunted eyes, refuses to think the worst. He believes Ravi was taken by a childless couple who wanted a child of their own.
"If they were to let me know somehow that my son is alive, I would be happy," said Pal, his spare frame wracked by dry heaves. "They can keep him. Just let me see his shadow. Just let me know he's safe."
He also believes police would have worked harder if he had not been poor.
"If I were rich, my son would have been found by now. If I had money, the police would have taken the case more seriously," he said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indian-girls-rape-highlights-police-apathy-103156990.html
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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) ? Federal authorities have scant evidence linking a Mississippi man to the mailing of ricin-laced letters to the president and a senator, his attorney says.
Christi McCoy said after a court hearing Friday that the government has offered no evidence to prove her client, Paul Kevin Curtis, had possession of any ricin or the seed from which it is extracted ? castor beans. An FBI agent testified during the hearing that he could not say if investigators had found ricin at Curtis' home, and McCoy said the evidence linking the 45-year-old to the crime so far has hinged on his writings posted online.
He is adamant that he did not do this, and she said she has seen nothing to prove him wrong.
Curtis was ushered into the courtroom before the hearing began in an orange jail jumpsuit and shackles. He turned to face a young woman in the audience before the hearing and whispered, "I didn't do it."
Prosecutors had wanted to delay the hearing because searches of Curtis home and car had not been completed and DNA and other tests are pending.
Curtis' brother Jack Curtis and 20-year-old daughter Madison Curtis watched the court proceeding and said afterward they are not convinced he did what he is accused of, even though they tried to keep an open mind about what would be presented.
"After hearing what I heard in this courtroom, it appears to me that the reason I haven't been provided any evidence is there appears to be none that would link my brother directly to the charges that have been made," Jack Curtis said after the hearing.
So far, Curtis is the primary focus for investigators and the only person arrested in connection with sending those letters and a third threatening letter mailed to a judge. But during a hearing Friday, FBI agent Brandon M. Grant testified that authorities were still trying to determine whether there were any co-conspirators.
As the hearing went on for roughly two hours, Grant said under questioning by Curtis' attorney that he could not say whether any ricin had been found at Curtis' home because the investigation was ongoing. Investigators had found a package they were interested in, but Grant said he did not know what was in it.
Grant also testified that there was one fingerprint on the letter sent to the judge, but that it didn't match Curtis. He said several people handled the letter, and DNA and other tests are pending.
Curtis' lawyer peppered the agent with questions in an attempt to show the government had little hard evidence, but Grant said people's lives were at risk and it wasn't like a fraud investigation in which authorities could gather more evidence before making an arrest.
Family and acquaintances have described Curtis as a caring father and enthusiastic musician who struggled for years with mental illness and who was consumed by trying to publicize his claims of a conspiracy to sell body parts on the black market.
Curtis is an Elvis impersonator and performed at parties. Friends and relatives also say he spiraled into emotional turmoil trying to get attention for his claims of uncovering a conspiracy to sell body parts on the black market.
Grant testified that Curtis' family had become increasingly concerned by his behavior.
Grant said Curtis' ex-wife told authorities that he fought with his daughter around Christmas and told her, "Maybe I should go ahead and kill you."
Madison Curtis said after the hearing that she loves her father and stands by him.
Grant also testified that Curtis' ex-wife said Curtis once told her that he was in hostage situation in Chicago after a breaking up with a former girlfriend, threatened suicide and shot a gun in the air.
However, the agent said they haven't been able to find a record of that.
Grant's testimony ended Friday evening, but the hearing is set to continue Monday morning.
In court documents, Curtis' attorney, Christi McCoy, gave some details of Curtis' arrest. Curtis had gone to get his mail outside his home and was planning to go to his ex-wife's home to cook dinner for her and their children when he was approached by officers in SWAT gear, she wrote. He was then interrogated at an FBI office for several hours, handcuffed and chained to a chair.
Curtis cooperated to the best of his ability, but when he suggested he might need a lawyer, an agent discouraged that, McCoy wrote.
According to an FBI affidavit, the letters he sent read: "Maybe I have your attention now even if that means someone must die."
Officials have confirmed that the letters contained ricin.
While the toxin can be extremely lethal in its purest form, experts say more crude forms are relatively easy to make.
The FBI has not yet revealed details about how the ricin was made or how lethal it may have been. It was in a powdered form inside the envelopes, but the FBI said no one has been sickened by it so far. A senate official said Thursday that the ricin was not weaponized, meaning it wasn't in a form that could easily enter the body.
More than a dozen officials, some wearing hazardous materials suits, were searching the home Friday where Curtis was arrested in Corinth, Miss. FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden would not say if authorities have found ricin or materials used to make it in Curtis' home, and officials have not provided details about how Curtis may have either obtained or made the ricin.
Curtis' ex-wife has said he likely didn't have the know-how to make ricin, and she did not know where he would buy it because he was on disability. But Cohen said ricin was once known as "the poor man's bioterrorism" because the seeds are easy to obtain and the extraction process is relatively simple.
"Any kid that made it through high school science lab is more than equipped to successfully make a poison out of this stuff. Any fool can get recipes off the Internet and figure out how to do it," Cohen said.
Those seeds, which look a bit like coffee beans, are easy to buy online and are grown around the world; they are often used to make medicinal castor oil, among other things. However, using the seeds to make a highly concentrated form of ricin would require laboratory equipment and expertise to extract, said Raymond Zilinskas, a chemical and biological weapons expert.
"It's an elaborate process," he said.
___
Gresko reported from Washington. Associated Press Photographer Rogelio Solis in Corinth and writers Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Jay Reeves in Oxford and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/attorney-scant-evidence-mississippi-ricin-case-074653607.html
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In Washington, President Obama is locked in a battle with many voices in Congress over gun control, but at a moment of national tragedy, such as the Boston Marathon bombings, the president stands alone.
President Obama speaks at an interfaith memorial service for the victims of the bombing at the Boston Marathon at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on Thursday.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
EnlargeA day after he stood in the White House Rose Garden as a frustrated scolder-in-chief, President Obama was in Boston Thursday assuming the role of comforter-in-chief at a prayer service for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
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In both cases, Mr. Obama was acting to address, though in very different ways, horrendous acts of violence that stunned the country.
On Wednesday afternoon, with Gabrielle Giffords and Sandy Hook families at his side, the president cast ?shame? on the US Senate for rejecting a bipartisan plan for tighter background checks on gun purchases. Not 24 hours later, he was providing balm to the victims of an ?act of terror? and to a city struck in its heart.
In just a day, the president changed out of the political cloak of irate reaction to Congress to the higher m?antle of national leadership in times of grief. As Obama hugged families and visited the bedsides of the recovering, it only underscored how a presidential presence that meant so little one day in Washington could mean everything in Boston the next.?
It was a change in roles reminiscent of one made by President Clinton in 1996, when the Oklahoma City bombing ? at that time, the largest act of terror to strike the US ? allowed a president caught up in daily political harangues with Congress to step out from Washington and comfort a nation with what would become his trademark empathy.
In the Rose Garden, Obama was introduced by Mark Barden, who lost his son, Daniel, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Dec. 14. With the president?s hand on his shoulder, Mr. Barden said the Sandy Hook families were ?disappointed? by the Senate votes but ?not defeated,? promising continued effort for gun safety legislation.
?All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington,? Obama said.
In Boston, the president was accompanied by Michelle Obama, and the tone was much more one of comfort and of faith in the resilience of Boston and all Americans in the face of tragedy.
Comparing the nation to the Boston Marathon runner seen on videotape by millions as he was knocked off his feet by the first of two blasts, Obama said, ?We may be momentarily knocked off our feet. But we?ll pick ourselves up. We will keep going. We will finish the race.?
A devoted sports fan, Obama is said to have penned much of Thursday?s remarks himself.
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States, not Congress, are taking the lead on climate change laws ? from a new cap-and-trade program in California to widespread adoption of renewable electricity standards. Moves to weaken those standards aren't gaining traction in state capitals. ? ??
Wind turbines of the Smoky Hill Wind Farm dot the countryside near Ellsworth, Kan. Kansas legislators rejected an effort to weaken a state policy that requires utilities to generate 20 percent of their electricity from wind and other renewable resources by 2020.
Orlin Wagner/AP/File
EnlargeDespite the evident risks of climate change ? from sea-level rise and coastal flooding to crippling drought ? Congress has been slow to respond.? Fortunately, states have given us reason for optimism by taking the lead on reducing heat-trapping emissions from fossil fuels.
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California, for instance, just launched its cap-and-trade system for reducing global warming pollution. The program was passed under a Republican governor and is being implemented by a Democratic one. The state also has the country?s most ambitious renewable electricity standard, which requires utilities to provide 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Such renewable electricity standards are now commonplace: 29 states and the District of Columbia have them. These standards, which were often adopted on?a bipartisan basis, have been crucial for making renewables?the leading source of new US electricity generating capacity in 2012.
The?standards are also consumer-friendly. For example, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that as utilities in 14 states complied with renewable electricity standards, they increased rates just?1.5 percent?or less. In Minnesota, Xcel Energy ? the state?s largest utility ? reported that renewable energy investments actually?lowered prices in 2008 and 2009 by 0.7 percent.
You can get a new perspective on the sun today (April 18), thanks to a special webcast devoted to our closest star.
The online Slooh Space Camera ? which broadcasts footage of the night sky and celestial objects from professional-quality telescopes around the world ? will host a free webcast featuring expert commentary and live views of the sun?at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT).
Slooh will be using views from a solar observatory in Arizona, and you can?watch the solar show webcast live here on SPACE.com. During the show, experts will use the telescope to hunt for solar flares and sunspots, which should be on the rise over the coming months as our star ramps up toward a predicted activity peak later this year.
"The good news is that, sometime this year or next, and probably several times, solar outbursts will be so high that the northern lights will be seen all the way to the central United States, and maybe even farther south than that," Bob Berman of Astronomy Magazine said in a statement.
"Meantime, almost nothing is more fun than looking at the sun directly through Slooh's solar telescope and watching the violence unfold firsthand," Berman added. "This is what Slooh will be doing [Thursday] ? and, with a panel of commentators, the public is invited to come take a look for themselves."
The sun's activity peak, called solar maximum,?seems to have been somewhat "delayed and prolonged from its usual 11-year cycle," according to officials from Slooh. But the sun has been stirring lately.
The?most powerful solar flare of 2013?erupted from Earth's closest star last week. Although it was only an M-class flare ? which are considerably weaker than the most powerful type, X-class flares ? the solar burp caused a short-lived radio blackout on Earth.
As the sun nears solar maximum for the current cycle, known as Solar Cycle 24, an increased number of solar flares are to be expected, scientists say.
WARNING: NEVER stare directly at the sun with your unaided eyes or through a telescope or binoculars without protection; severe eye damage, including permanent blindness, can result. Astronomers use special solar filters to safely observe the sun.
You can can also follow the solar webcast live via the Slooh Space Camera website here.
Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter and Google+. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook?and Google+. Original article on?SPACE.com.
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sun-show-see-dramatic-solar-views-live-webcast-132932459.html
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Apr 15 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $4,139,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $3,137,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,442,389 4. Adam Scott (Australia) $2,100,469 5. Steve Stricker $1,935,340 6. Phil Mickelson $1,764,680 7. Dustin Johnson $1,748,907 8. Jason Day $1,659,565 9. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 10. Keegan Bradley $1,430,347 11. Charles Howell III $1,393,806 12. John Merrick $1,375,757 13. Russell Henley $1,331,434 14. Michael Thompson $1,310,709 15. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 16. Bill Haas $1,271,553 17. Billy Horschel $1,254,224 18. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/metropcs-board-unanimously-approves-t-mobile-merger-terms-014546502.html
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The carnage of the blast scene on Boylston Street in Boston spread quickly to area hospitals as emergency caregivers rushed to tend to the runners, spectators, and race officials who were suffering from often critical wounds. NBC's Katy Tur reports.
By Pete Williams, Richard Esposito and Erin McClam, NBC News
Investigators believe the bombs at the Boston Marathon were shrapnel-studded pressure cookers, hidden in backpacks and set off by timers, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Tuesday.
The disclosure came as authorities pleaded with spectators from the race to send photos and video that may shed light on who set off the blasts, killing three people and injuring at least 176.
The top FBI official in Boston vowed to go ?to the ends of the earth? to find those responsible. But a day after the explosions, President Barack Obama said authorities still did not know whether the attack was foreign or domestic, the work of a group or an individual, or what the motive might be.
Law enforcement officials told NBC News that the explosives were classified as low ? meaning that they traveled at under 3,300 feet per second. That is not enough to create a blast wave, which can kill people from air compression and blow out faraway windows, but it is enough to propel the shrapnel a great distance.
Informal public efforts sprang up almost immediately to scour the mass of photos and video already posted on Twitter, Facebook and other sites for clues. Authorities added their own call for help, hoping that in an era of ever-present smartphones, race fans might be holding evidence without even knowing it.
Charles Krupa / AP
See images from the scene of the explosions.
?There has to be hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs, videos and other observations that were made down at that finish line yesterday,? said Timothy Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. ?You might not think it?s significant, but it might have some value to this investigation.?
From the White House, Obama praised acts of heroism after the explosions and said that the investigation would take time.
?We will find whoever harmed our citizens, and we will bring them to justice,? he vowed. ?We also know this: The American people refuse to be terrorized.?
Authorities confirmed at a mid-morning news conference that only two bombs went off Monday. Contradicting reports from the chaotic early hours after the blasts, they said that no unexploded devices were found.
Overnight, law enforcement officials searched a suburban Boston apartment building, interviewed a man and removed a duffel bag and two trash bags. But a law enforcement official later told NBC News that nothing of interest was found. They also issued alerts for a rental van and a man seen leaving the scene of the blasts.
Law enforcement officials also told NBC News that the bombs, which detonated seconds apart, were packed with ball bearings and BBs, apparently intended to increase the casualties. The blasts?turned the finish line of the marathon into a hellish scene of panicked spectators, shattered glass and blood-spattered sidewalks.
Martin Richard, 8, was killed in the marathon bombing.
Among the dead was an 8-year-old boy, identified by NBC affiliate WHDH as Martin Richard, who was waiting at the finish. Among the injured were brothers, 33 and 31, who each lost a leg from the knee down, The Boston Globe reported.
As of 11:30 a.m. ET, there were 103 patients from the blasts still being treated at six Boston hospitals, including some who had injuries described as ?limb-threatening.? An official at Boston Children?s Hospital said the youngest victim was a 2-year-old boy with a head injury.
Investigators were studying surveillance video to look for anyone placing packages at the points where the bombs exploded. Law enforcement officials said there was video showing a person, from the back, carrying two backpacks, but they said it was too soon to know whether that was related to the attack.
The Boston police commissioner called the resulting crime scene the most complex that the department has ever dealt with, and said all sworn officers were working around the clock. The FBI took charge, but an array of law enforcement agencies joined the hunt. Leads poured in.
?We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime, and we will do everything we can to bring them to justice,? said Richard DesLauriers, the FBI agent in charge in Boston.
Investigators picked through mounds of personal belongings left by some of the thousands of people who fled the finish line, at Boylston Street, after gathering for perhaps the most joyous day on the Boston calendar ? Patriots Day.
Authorities have repeatedly praised spectators, runners and race volunteers for charging in to help. One in particular gained online fame ? a man named?Carlos Arredondo who was pictured in a photo helping rush a gray-faced young man in a wheelchair to safety, pinching what appeared to be a protruding artery to stop the blood.
Do you know a Boston hero? Tell NBC News
NBC News chief justice correspondent Pete Williams discusses the latest on the Boston Marathon bombing, saying investigators spoke at length with a 20-year-old student yesterday, whose apartment was searched overnight.
Obama cited runners who had kept going after the race to get to hospitals, and people who tore off clothes to make tourniquets.
?If you want to know who we are, what America is, how we respond to evil, that?s it,? he said. ?Selflessly, compassionately, unafraid.?
Firefighters spent the night chasing bomb scares around a jittery city, and the country was on edge on the day after the explosions. A terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York, a plane in Boston and part of the Cleveland transit system were briefly cleared because of suspicious packages.?
A fire at the John F. Kennedy presidential library in Boston more than an hour after the blasts, initially treated by investigators as related, appeared be caused by a simple electrical short, police said.
The blasts went off just before 3 p.m., with thousands of runners still on the course. They sent up white plumes of smoke, rattled police barricades and stiffened flags set up to celebrate the 96 countries that sent runners to the most prestigious road race.
Boston Globe senior sports reporter Steve Silva was covering the Boston Marathon yesterday when he caught the explosions on tape, and finish line coordinator Tom Meagher ran to the aid of a fallen runner. The two men talk about the tragedy they witnessed.
?In 28 years, this is definitely the worst I?ve seen,? said Chief Ron Harrington of the Boston Fire Department?s District 3. ?Bodies and body parts. Blood all over. A little boy lying in the street. A young woman in her 20s. Both dead. It was mayhem. I saw two people with arms hanging loose, and one without a leg. A shoe with flesh still in it.?
Obama pledged on Monday?to bring ?the full weight of justice? to bear on whoever was responsible, and pledged the help of the federal government.
Meanwhile, authorities in other big cities increased security. Extra police officers patrolled the New York subways, and streets were closed around the White House. In London, officials preparing for an upcoming marathon reviewed security plans.
NBC News national security analyst Michael Leiter said it was ?virtually impossible? to keep a marathon secure because of its long route.
?You just have to do the best you can to keep people safe and maintain resilience,? he said. ?It?s important we don?t alter our lives because that provides the terrorist ? domestic, international, whoever it may be ? with a huge victory.?
Law enforcement officials told NBC News that authorities questioned a 20-year-old man who is in the United States on a valid student visa. He was seen running from the blast area, had burns and was interviewed in a Boston hospital. But an official told NBC News that interest in the man was fading. It was his apartment building, in the Boston suburb of Revere, that police and federal agents searched overnight.
The race drew 27,000 runners and has been run since 1897 on Patriots Day, the third Monday in April, which commemorates Lexington and Concord, the two battles in Massachusetts that started the American Revolution.
The year, the race coincided with the filing deadline for federal taxes. Security experts said the FBI would undoubtedly look into the possible significance of the date as they tried to find the bomber and the motive.
NBC News' Pete Williams and Jonathan Dienst contributed to this report.
Related:
Who is the hero in the cowboy hat at the finish line?
Timeline of a tragedy: What happened when
Full coverage of Boston Marathon bombings from NBC News
Source: NBC News, Boston Globe, Boston Athletic Association
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This story was originally published on Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:03 PM EDT
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* Ronaldo scores twice as Real win 3-0 in Bilbao * Weakened Barcelona beat Zaragoza 3-0 * Atletico thrash Granada 5-0 (Recasts after Real game, adds quotes) By Mark Elkington MADRID, April 14 (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo proved too powerful for Athletic Bilbao as he scored with a fizzing free kick and a towering header in Real Madrid's bruising 3-0 victory at San Mames in La Liga on Sunday. The Portugal forward took his league tally for the season to 31 goals, netting in his eighth successive game in all competitions, and set up Gonzalo Higuain for Real's third. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africas-rand-extends-losses-down-1-5-percent-100902465--finance.html
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KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) ? Federal and local authorities searched the home of a former North Texas justice of the peace on Friday as part of an investigation into the slayings of the local district attorney and his wife.
Agents were seen entering the home of former Kaufman County Justice of the Peace Eric Williams, who was prosecuted last year for theft by the district attorney's office. Williams was convicted and lost his position.
Williams has denied any role in the deaths of District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, who were found dead in their home on March 30. Two months earlier, a prosecutor in McLelland's office, Mark Hasse, was fatally shot as he was leaving work in Kaufman, about 30 miles southeast of Dallas.
Williams ? who hasn't been named a suspect in any of the deaths ? told The Dallas Morning News that he voluntarily turned over his cellphones to authorities. He also has said he voluntarily submitted to a gunshot residue test to demonstrate his innocence and had no hard feelings toward McLelland or his office.
Spokesmen for the FBI and the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office confirmed they were executing a search warrant but declined to provide details. The warrant's underlying affidavit has been ordered sealed by a judge, said sheriff's Lt. Justin Lewis.
A listed phone number for Williams went unanswered Friday afternoon. But his attorney, David Sergi, released a statement Friday saying his client "has cooperated with law enforcement and vigorously denies any and all allegations."
"He wishes simply to get on with his life and hopes that the perpetrators are brought to justice," Sergi said.
Authorities have released little information about the case except to say they continue to follow leads, including possible ties to a white supremacist gang.
One month before Hasse's death, the Texas Department of Public Safety issued a warning to authorities statewide that the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas could retaliate for an October indictment that targeted some of its leaders. McLelland's office was involved in that investigation.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/authorities-search-home-slain-da-investigation-220117131.html
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Public release date: 10-Apr-2013
Share ] Contact: Karline R. L. Janmaat
karline_janmaat@eva.mpg.de
49-341-355-0227
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
This press release is available in German.
Fruit-eating animals are known to use their spatial memory to relocate fruit, yet, it is unclear how they manage to find fruit in the first place. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have now investigated which strategies chimpanzees in the Ta National Park in Cte d'Ivoire, West Africa, use in order to find fruit in the rain forest. The result: Chimpanzees know that trees of certain species produce fruit simultaneously and use this botanical knowledge during their daily search for fruit.
To investigate if chimpanzees know that if a tree is carrying fruit, then other trees of the same species are likely to carry fruit as well, the researchers conducted observations of their inspections, i.e. the visual checking of fruit availability in tree crowns. They focused their analyses on recordings in which they saw chimpanzees inspect empty trees, when they made "mistakes".
By analysing these "mistakes", the researchers were able to exclude that sensory cues of fruit had triggered the inspection and were the first to learn that chimpanzees had expectations of finding fruit days before feeding on it. They, in addition, significantly increased their expectations of finding fruit after tasting the first fruit in season. "They did not simply develop a 'taste' for specific fruit on which they had fed frequently", says Karline Janmaat. "Instead, inspection probability was predicted by a particular botanical feature - the level of synchrony in fruit production of the species of encountered trees."
The researchers conclude that chimpanzees know that trees of certain species produce fruit simultaneously and use this information during their daily search for fruit. They base their expectations of finding fruit on a combination of botanical knowledge founded on the success rates of fruit discovery and an ability to categorize fruits into distinct species. "Our results provide new insights into the variety of food-finding strategies employed by our close relatives, the chimpanzees, and may well elucidate the evolutionary origins of categorization abilities and abstract thinking in humans", says Christophe Boesch, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Department of Primatology.
###
Original publication:
Karline R. L. Janmaat, Simone D. Ban & Christophe Boesch Ta Chimpanzees use Botanical Skills to Discover Fruit: What we can Learn from their Mistakes Animal Cognition, 10 April 2013
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 10-Apr-2013 Share ] Contact: Karline R. L. Janmaat
karline_janmaat@eva.mpg.de
49-341-355-0227
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
This press release is available in German.
Fruit-eating animals are known to use their spatial memory to relocate fruit, yet, it is unclear how they manage to find fruit in the first place. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have now investigated which strategies chimpanzees in the Ta National Park in Cte d'Ivoire, West Africa, use in order to find fruit in the rain forest. The result: Chimpanzees know that trees of certain species produce fruit simultaneously and use this botanical knowledge during their daily search for fruit.
To investigate if chimpanzees know that if a tree is carrying fruit, then other trees of the same species are likely to carry fruit as well, the researchers conducted observations of their inspections, i.e. the visual checking of fruit availability in tree crowns. They focused their analyses on recordings in which they saw chimpanzees inspect empty trees, when they made "mistakes".
By analysing these "mistakes", the researchers were able to exclude that sensory cues of fruit had triggered the inspection and were the first to learn that chimpanzees had expectations of finding fruit days before feeding on it. They, in addition, significantly increased their expectations of finding fruit after tasting the first fruit in season. "They did not simply develop a 'taste' for specific fruit on which they had fed frequently", says Karline Janmaat. "Instead, inspection probability was predicted by a particular botanical feature - the level of synchrony in fruit production of the species of encountered trees."
The researchers conclude that chimpanzees know that trees of certain species produce fruit simultaneously and use this information during their daily search for fruit. They base their expectations of finding fruit on a combination of botanical knowledge founded on the success rates of fruit discovery and an ability to categorize fruits into distinct species. "Our results provide new insights into the variety of food-finding strategies employed by our close relatives, the chimpanzees, and may well elucidate the evolutionary origins of categorization abilities and abstract thinking in humans", says Christophe Boesch, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Department of Primatology.
###
Original publication:
Karline R. L. Janmaat, Simone D. Ban & Christophe Boesch Ta Chimpanzees use Botanical Skills to Discover Fruit: What we can Learn from their Mistakes Animal Cognition, 10 April 2013
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/m-bit040913.php
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When I talk to a client about what their website should do, the number one point I hit on is recognition. You want people to see your site and know what it is you are trying to sell. A big part of that comes from the name.
So if you look at this site, what do you think?
You do get that the site is NRCC, but what does that mean? Sure, we follow politics, so we will instantly recognize NRCC as being the acronym for the National Republican Congressional Committee, but fur the majority of people out there, they have no idea. As matter of fact, the site gives a feeling that they are avoiding the word Republican, until you get to the very bottom.
Having worked in the web business for over a decade, I have worked with countless PR professionals. They know what words sell and which ones don't. I'm sure the NRCC put money into research of this, and that is why they decided to hide the work "Republican" so hard on their new site, and that right there should tell us what Republican means in this country today - something not worth selling.
So, could this be the way in which Republicans heal after 2012?
A few weeks ago the GOP released their "autopsy" of the 2012 election. In that report a focus group used phrases such as "Scary", "Out of Touch", and "Stuff old Men" to describe the party. These are not phrases you want to hear when you are trying to win over a new generation of voters.
But instead of trying to redefine what the party stands for, it appears that the NRCC is just trying to disassociate themselves with the party, while maintaining the same positions that have failed the GOP in the past several years. Is this a fix? Absolutely not. Instead what we have is slight of hand.
It appears that the next few years are going to be more of the same out of the Grand OLE' Party, with "ole'" being the keyword. They are going to try and hide from the name, but not their positions, and that won't be enough to fool the new voters they need.
I say the NRCC needs to go back to the drawing board.
Source: http://intoxination.net/jamie/whats-name-0
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On Saturday a veteran fire captain with the Philadelphia Fire Department died when a burning three-story building collapsed with him inside. It has been an emotional year for the Fire Department; they lost two other men less than a year ago.
Fellow firefighters salute the body of fallen comrade Capt. Michael Goodwin at a funeral home in Philadelphia, early Sunday. A fire caused a partial roof collapse that killed Goodwin and injured a colleague who was trying to rescue him, officials said.
Joseph Kaczmarek/AP
EnlargePhiladelphia?firefighters mourned the loss of one of their own in the line of duty for the third time in less than a year, saluting the body of a veteran captain as it was carried from the ruins of a three-story building that collapsed underneath him during a blaze.
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At an emotional news conference late Saturday after the fire in the city's Fabric Row section was extinguished, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers told reporters that the victim, 53-year-old Capt. Michael Goodwin, was his friend and "a ladder man. A firefighter's firefighter."
"He's the kind of guy who looked out for his folks ? a big guy," Ayers said. Goodwin had been with the department for 29 years.
A colleague of the fallen firefighter, 28-year-old Andrew Godlinski, was burned on his hands while trying to rescue his comrade and is recovering, officials said.
The loss came as the Fire Department prepared to mark a year since an April 9 blaze at a warehouse that killed Capt. Robert Neary, 59, and Daniel Sweeney, 25. They also died in a collapse, which came as they inspected an adjacent building.
"We have a department that is wounded," Ayers said. "We have scars that are fresh, and indeed they have now been reopened."
Saturday's fire appeared to have started in a fabric store downstairs before spreading to upstairs apartments and a neighboring boutique, the store's owner said. The proprietors of both stores told The?Philadelphia?Inquirer that everyone in both buildings at the time of the fire managed to escape.
The fire's cause wasn't immediately known, but Bruce Blumenthal, the owner of Jack B. Fabrics, said he believes it started in a wall and may have been electrical in nature.
Blumenthal said he smelled smoke coming from the basement around 5 p.m. and found a box of collars and cuffs on fire. He tried to put the flames out with an extinguisher, to no avail.
Goodwin was on the roof of the building when it collapsed, trapping him inside. Godlinski tried to rescue him before a second-floor roof and two walls also collapsed, officials said.
Goodwin is survived by a wife and two grown children, Ayers said.
The fire cut power to more than 300 customers. The Red Cross is assisting at least 17 people.
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