Selfridges to get Blackberry Q10 ahead of official UK launch, available this Friday for ?580

The keyboard lover's BlackBerry is on its way, and the first place to sell it will be none other than our old favorite, Selfridges. The UK department store will carry a black version of the Blackberry Q10 exclusively between April 26th and April 28th, according to a tweet from Blackberry UK, well before other retailers. You can pre-order it now for £580 (at the source) or, if you'd like to meet other people who also love keyboards, grab one at the store starting Friday.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

Comments

Via: Pocket Lint

Source: Selfridges

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/24/selfridges-blackberry-q10-exclusive/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

BET Awards 2012 declaration of independence 4th Of July 2012 Zach Parise Spain Vs Italy Euro 2012 Pepco erin andrews

Vaterite: Crystal within a crystal helps resolve an old puzzle

Apr. 25, 2013 ? With the help of a solitary sea squirt, scientists have resolved the longstanding puzzle of the crystal structure of vaterite, an enigmatic geologic mineral and biomineral.

A form of calcium carbonate, vaterite can be found in Portland cement. Its quick transformation into other more stable forms of calcium carbonate when exposed to water helps make the cement hard and water resistant. As a biomineral, vaterite is found in such things as gallstones, fish otoliths, freshwater pearls, and the healed scars of some mollusk shells.

But unlike most minerals, vaterite has defied every effort to resolve its crystal structure, stymieing scientists for nearly 100 years. The structure of a mineral crystal is a critically important feature and is determined by how atoms are arranged in the crystal. The arrangement of atoms and the resulting crystal structure, for instance, make the difference between graphite and diamond, both forms of pure carbon.

Now, however, a team of scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin-Madison has discovered the crystalline secrets of vaterite with the help of a needlelike spicule from a sea squirt found in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Writing today (April 25, 2013) in the journal Science, a group led by Boaz Pokroy of Technion and Pupa Gilbert of UW-Madison report that vaterite is composed of two different crystal structures that "coexist within a pseudo-single crystal."

"We never envisaged this scenario," explains Pokroy, a professor of materials science and engineering at Technion. "It was a total surprise, but at the same time it made so much sense knowing the years of conflicting results from different groups publishing on the structure of vaterite."

Ferreting out the structure of the mineral, according to Gilbert, a UW-Madison professor of physics, was challenging because of the difficulty of finding large, pure single crystals of vaterite. Enter Herdmania momus, a solitary sea squirt, and member of a large family of filter-feeding marine invertebrates.

"This organism makes the best crystal," avers Gilbert, an expert on crystalline biominerals formed by marine animals. "Geologic vaterite is extremely rare and unstable. The synthetic version is a powder and yields only small crystal grains with poor structure."

In nature, sea squirts and sponges use spicules as a skeleton to provide structural support. The spicule from the sea squirt Herdmania momus is composed of a large, single crystal that Pokroy and Gilbert used to unmask the atomic structure of its constituent biomineral vaterite using state-of-the-art high-resolution transmission electron microscopy at Technion.

"The Herdmania momus spicules were known to be made of vaterite since 1975 when a paper by the late Heinz Lowenstam of CalTech was published in Science," notes Pokroy. "It was clear that this would be the best source of biogenic vaterite and geologic vaterite we could ever find."

The big discovery, say Gilbert and Pokroy, is that vaterite is really two interspersed crystal structures: "It changes the concept of vaterite," Pokroy says, explaining that knowledge of the atomic properties of a crystalline structure enable prediction and explanation of its physical properties. "Now we know that 'vaterite' is not just one structure, but is composed of two different ones."

"The second crystal structure in vaterite is less abundant," says Gilbert, "occurring only at the nano scale, and is visible only in certain orientations, and its atomic structure remains unknown."

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 University of Wisconsin-Madison. The original article was written by Terry Devitt.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. L. Kabalah-Amitai, B. Mayzel, Y. Kauffmann, A. N. Fitch, L. Bloch, P. U. P. A. Gilbert, B. Pokroy. Vaterite Crystals Contain Two Interspersed Crystal Structures. Science, 2013; 340 (6131): 454 DOI: 10.1126/science.1232139

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/top_news/top_technology/~3/WbWiudvO9FI/130425142241.htm

jeremy shockey new orleans saints ireland vangogh yield crossbow airhead

Offline Google Drive now automatically saves files, lets you create and edit drawings

Well, it looks as if the Drive news just keep pouring in. Shortly after outing a couple of new features that make the service a little more friendly with collaborators, Google's rather quietly taken to its own social network to announce some offline tidbits. Starting today, users of Mountain View's cloud-based storage goods can easily create and edit any drawings without the need for an internet connection. What's more, Docs, Sheets and Slides will now be automatically available offline -- something that should come in very handy while you're, say, 20,000 feet up in the air with no Gogo in sight. Fret not if you don't see these changes the next time you log in, as Google says "it may take a few days" before the rollout is carried out.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

Comments

Source: Google Drive (Google+)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/dnHliqW8n9M/

Who Won The Superbowl Super Bowl Halftime Show 2013 Super Bowl Commercials 2013 Ray Lewis Murders 2013 Super Bowl Commercials joe flacco Go Daddy Superbowl Commercial 2013

Thousands honor slain MIT officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) ? Vice President Joe Biden has told the parents of slain Massachusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier that he hopes they find some solace in their extreme grief through a large memorial service in their son's honor.

Biden told thousands of students, faculty and staff, law enforcement officials from across the nation who had gathered Wednesday to pay respects at Briggs Field on campus that no child should predecease their parents.

School President L. Rafael Reif told those gathered that Collier not only had a job at MIT, but also had a life at MIT.

As many as 10,000 people were expected on campus for the memorial. They had to make their way through tight security, including metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs ahead of the service.

MIT Police Chief John DiFava and members of Collier's family also spoke at the service.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/slain-mit-officer-memorialized-campus-163649349.html

m.i.a. adrianne curry hoekstra best superbowl commercials 2012 best super bowl ads chrysler super bowl commercial madonna half time show

'Toggle switch' to burn fat identified

Apr. 23, 2013 ? For a long time, scientists have dreamt of converting undesirable white fat cells into brown fat cells and thus simply have excess pounds melt away. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now gotten a step closer to this goal: They decoded a "toggle switch" in mice which can significantly stimulate fat burning.

The results are now being presented in the journal Nature Communications.

Many people not only in industrialized nations struggle with excess weight -- but all fat is not alike. "Love handles" in particular contain troublesome white fat cells which store excess food. Brown fat cells are the exact opposite: they burn excess energy as the desirable "heaters" of the body. Scientists at the University of Bonn working with Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer, Director of the Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, have spent years using animal models to explore how the undesirable white fat can be converted into sought-after brown fat. "In this way, excess pounds may be able to simply be melted away and obesity combated," says Prof. Pfeifer.

A kind of "trigger switch" spurs fat burning

The researchers have now decoded a "microRNA switch" in mice which is important for brown fat cells. Micro-RNAs are located in the genome of cells and very quickly and efficiently regulate gene activity. The researchers studied a specific microRNA: microRNA 155. The gene regulator micro-RNA 155 inhibits a certain transcription factor, that controls brown fat cell function. Surprisingly, Prof. Pfeifer and his team found that the transcription factor also regulates the levels microRNA 155 establishing a tight feed-back loop that works like a toggle switch: When the microRNA is highly expressed brown fat cell differentiation is blocked; conversely, if the transcription factor wins the upper hand, brown fat is produced at an increased level and this in turn boosts fat burning in the body.

In knockout mice, the gene for Micro-RNA 155 was silent

The researchers at Bonn University and their colleagues from the Federal Institute of Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and from the University of Regensburg worked with so-called transgenic and knockout mice in whom the gene for micro-RNA 155 was either increased or silenced. "The mechanism was already set in motion when the micro-RNA 155 was only halved in the mice," reports lead author Yong Chen, graduate student of the NRW International Graduate School BIOTECH-PHARMA. The mice then had significantly more brown fat cells available than did the control gro up -- and had even converted white fat cells into brown fat cells.

Clues to the causes of lipid metabolism diseases

The micro-RNA functions as an antagonist to the brown fat cells. "As long as enough micro-RNA 155 is present, the production of brown fat cells is blocked," says Chen. Only if it falls below a certain proportion does this brake let up; the blueprint for brown fat can be read and implemented by the cell -- the desired fat burners can develop. These findings help scientists better understand the causes of lipid metabolism diseases.

Hope for new therapies against obesity

The scientists at the University of Bonn see in their results a potential starting point for drugs to combat obesity. The researchers have clues to the fact that the results, if anything, can be transferred from mice to humans. Thus, for example, researchers in Leipzig found increased levels of micro-RNA 155 in significantly overweight patients. This corresponds to findings from animal models: A lot of micro-RNA 155 is associated with reduced fat burning. "However, we are still in the basic research stage," says Prof. Pfeifer. The path to suitable drugs is still a long one.

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 Universit?t Bonn, via AlphaGalileo.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Yong Chen, Franziska Siegel, Stefanie Kipschull, Bodo Haas, Holger Fr?hlich, Gunter Meister, Alexander Pfeifer. miR-155 regulates differentiation of brown and beige adipocytes via a bistable circuit. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1769 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2742

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/2asP3gl0lPk/130423110742.htm

rising stars challenge star trek 2 kathy ireland brooke mueller all star weekend undercover boss barbara walters

COMMUNITY: 16th Annual WOOF Golf Tournament in Support of ...

Welland and District Humane Society, Welland Shelter.

Bullet News

WELLAND ? The 16th annual WOOF golf tournament in memory of Arthur Atwill will be held on Sunday, May 26 at Emerald Pines Golf Club in Port Colborne with all proceeds helping the Welland & District SPCA.

This year?s event will feature men?s, ladies? and mixed divisions, awards, draws, a gift for every player and the master of ceremonies will be Chrishon from 91.7 Giant FM.

---

---

Eighteen holes is $85 or $65 for Emerald Pines members, nine holes is $55 or $45 for Emerald Pines members. Registration deadline is May 19 and a riding cart is included for nine and 18 holes, but are not guaranteed after the deadline.

The WOOF tournament is in honour of Arthur Atwill whose vision and sincere dedication was to help animals. Donor cheques can be made payable to the Welland & District SPCA. For more information and registration contact Emerald Pines Golf Club at 905-835-22234, Marsha Watts of Pro Style Flooring at 905-835-1243 or the Welland & District SPCA at 905-735-1552.

Source: http://www.bulletnewsniagara.ca/2013/04/24/community-16th-annual-woof-golf-tournament-in-support-of-welland-humane-society-set-for-may-26/

bruins boston bruins carl crawford mad cow disease rampart nick collins dave matthews

Snoop Dogg Also Confirms Miley Cyrus? Split From Liam Hemsworth (VIDEO)

Snoop Dogg Also Confirms Miley Cyrus’ Split From Liam Hemsworth (VIDEO)

There have been rumors flying that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth’s relationship was pretty much over, but Miley later said the wedding was still on. Miley’s latest musical collaborator, Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion, let it slip that Miley and Liam’s relationship “no longer exists”. Miley Cyrus recently joined forces with Snoop Dogg to record ...

Snoop Dogg Also Confirms Miley Cyrus’ Split From Liam Hemsworth (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/04/snoop-dogg-also-confirms-miley-cyrus-split-from-liam-hemsworth-video/

steve nash july 4th Malware Monday First Row Sports American flag Happy 4th of July 4th Of July Desserts

Apple to dole out $100B to shareholders

NEW YORK (AP) ? Apple is finally opening the doors to its bank vault, saying it will distribute $100 billion in cash to its shareholders over two years.

Apple says it will buy back $60 billion in shares ? the largest buyback authorization in history. It is also raising its dividend by 15 percent.

Investors have been clamoring for Apple to give them access to its cash hoard of $145 billion. Apple's tight grip on its cash has been blamed for the steep decline in its stock price over the winter.

Apple is also posting results for its latest quarter that beat expectations, though net income fell 18 percent to $9.5 billion, and revenue rose a modest 11 percent from last year to $43.6 billion. Both figures beat expectations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-23-Earns-Apple/id-05c87981710a4e65b95afc805e657229

angelina jolie oscars chardon high school christopher plummer viola davis school shooting in ohio shooting at chardon high school sasha baron cohen

FOOD FEST Backpack trip to Malvan | Mumbai Travellers

1st ? 2nd June, 2013

A rustic journey for delicious Cuisines?

Short Info:?Its a backpacking journey to KONKAN, the paradise of Maharashtra and this trip is going to have following highlights

• Delicious & world famous Konkani food all the time for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Veg / Non veg both options available
• 3 local but popular food junction famous for teh local cuisines
• ?A pure travellers? way of exploring life by making it a backpacking journey instead a luxury travel
• Enjoy awesome activities like scuba diving,?snorkeling, parasailing, watersports etc if weather permits
• A typical rustic experience of real konkani culture in terms of travel, food & accommodation

?

Duration: 2Days/2Nights

Category:?Leisure + Backpack Trip

Tour Cost:?Rs.2900/- for Veg meals

For registered members: Rs.3300/- for non Veg meals

Note : Book as early as possible to get confirmed train ticket

?

?

?

?

?

?

Schedule:

Overnight Journey:?Proceed for Malvan by train (sleeper class) from Mumbai at 11 pm.

1st June :? Getting down at Kudal rlw stn at about 9 am. Arrival at Malvan at 11 am by local transport. Check In hotel / homestay. Afternoon Lunch at the famous food spot no. 1.

Evening Time chilling out & watersports at Chivla Beach.

Dinner at the famous food spot no. 2

Late night beach walk and get-together.

?

2nd June : After Breakfast Proceed for Sindhudurg Fort. Enjoy Scuba Diving and Snorkeling Activity (if weather permits)

Afternoon Lunch at the famous food spot no. 3

After Lunch Leave Back for Mumbai by daily private bus (No AC)

Early Morning Reach Mumbai by 5:00 am with Sweet Memories & cuisine taste on the?tongue

?

?

?

?

?

?

Inclusions:

1. Travelling From Mumbai to Malvan by train (sleeper class) & Malvan to Mumbai by Non-Ac Luxury Pushback Bus
2. All meals Included (Veg/Non Veg)
3. Accomodation?on Quarter Sharing Basis at malvan (Homestay or hotel).
4. Possible Sight Seeing.

Exclusions:

1.Bus Travelling Food is Not Included from Malvan-Mumbai

2.Any activity or?water sports?charges

3. Charges for special menu ordered by a traveller, apart from menu included in package cost

?

For Registration Please Mail us at mumbaitravellers@gmail.com

OR Call us on 8692022777/ 8692055777

Source: http://www.mumbaitravellers.com/food-fest-backpack-trip-to-malvan/

Las Vegas shooting Jerry Buss Chris Bosh wife josh duhamel josh smith presidents day mindy mccready

Change diet, exercise habits at same time for best results, study says

Apr. 21, 2013 ? Most people know that the way to stay healthy is to exercise and eat right, but millions of Americans struggle to meet those goals, or even decide which to change first.

Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that focusing on changing exercise and diet at the same time gives a bigger boost than tackling them sequentially. They also found that focusing on changing diet first -- an approach that many weight-loss programs advocate -- may actually interfere with establishing a consistent exercise routine.

Their findings were published online April 21in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

"It may be particularly useful to start both at the same time," said Abby King, PhD, lead author of the study and a professor of health research and policy and of medicine. "If you need to start with one, consider starting with physical activity first."

The few published studies on how to introduce more than one shift in healthy habits report conflicting findings -- and few have looked at exercise and dietary change together. In examining the issue, the researchers also wanted to study people who specifically complained that the demands of their schedules didn't give them enough time to make healthy dietary and exercise choices. The reasoning was that if successful programs could be developed for these time-strapped individuals, they would likely work for others, as well.

Researchers split 200 initially inactive participants, ages 45 and older and with suboptimal diets, into four different groups. Each group received a different kind of telephone coaching. The first group learned to make changes to diet and exercise at the same time. The second group learned to make dietary changes first and didn't try changing their exercise habits until a few months later. The third group reversed that order and learned to change exercise habits before adding healthy dietary advice. The fourth group, for comparison, did not make any dietary or exercise changes, but was taught stress-management techniques. Researchers tracked participants' progress in all four groups for a year.

Despite the challenge of making multiple changes to their already-busy routines at once, those who began changing diet and exercise habits at the same time were most likely to meet national guidelines for exercise -- 150 minutes per week -- and nutrition: five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables daily, and keeping calories from saturated fats at 10 percent or less of their total intake.

Those who started with exercise first did a good job of meeting both the exercise and diet goals, though not quite as good as those who focused on diet and exercise simultaneously.

The participants who started with diet first did a good job meeting the dietary goals but didn't meet their exercise goals. King, who also is a senior researcher at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, speculates this is because changing diet and introducing exercise both have unique challenges. "With dietary habits, you have no choice; you have to eat," she said. "You don't have to find extra time to eat because it's already in your schedule. So the focus is more on substituting the right kinds of food to eat."

But, she said, finding time for exercise if you already have a busy schedule can be challenging. She pointed out that even the most successful group, those receiving the two behavioral health programs simultaneously, lagged behind in meeting the physical activity goal at first, though over the course of a year were eventually able to meet it.

King credits the way health educators explained the dietary and exercise advice to participants for their overall success and the study's high retention rate. They met with participants in person just once at the beginning of the one-year period. After that, they called once a month, spending as little as 10 to 15 minutes -- and no more than 40 minutes -- providing advice and support for diet and exercise.

For the participants, whose schedules and stressful lives had previously interfered with making healthy lifestyle choices, this approach worked, King said. She said that telephoning participants was a convenient and flexible way to provide personalized information. "These health behaviors aren't things that we change over a six-week period and then our job is done," she said. "They're things that people grapple with their whole lives, so to develop 'touches' of advice and support in a cost-efficient way is becoming more and more important."

Participants in this study were not actively trying to lose weight, just trying to develop healthy habits. King's next step is to test the same sequential-versus-simultaneous approaches among people who are trying to lose weight.

Other Stanford authors of the study include senior research scholar Cynthia Castro, PhD; statistical analyst David Ahn, PhD; and former postdoctoral scholars Matthew Buman, PhD, and Eric Hekler, PhD, (who are both now at Arizona State University) and Guido Urizar, PhD (now at Cal State Long Beach).

The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging (grant R01AG21010) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (grant 5T32HL007034).

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 Stanford University Medical Center. The original article was written by Rina Shaikh-Lesko.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. King AC et al. Behavioral Impacts of Sequentially versus Simultaneously Delivered Dietary Plus Physical Activity Interventions: the CALM Trial. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2013 DOI: 10.1007/s12160-013-9501-y

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/gooWPdOXUec/130422101300.htm

mary mary sag aftra merger dj am bully bohemian rhapsody bohemian rhapsody spike lee

Canada thwarts 'al Qaeda-supported' passenger train plot

By Euan Rocha and Alastair Sharp

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Monday they had arrested and charged two men with plotting to derail a Toronto-area passenger train in an operation they say was backed by al Qaeda elements in Iran.

"Had this plot been carried out, it would have resulted in innocent people being killed or seriously injured," Royal Canadian Mounted Police official James Malizia told reporters.

The RCMP said it had arrested Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto in connection with the plot, which authorities said was not linked to last week's Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three and injured more than 200 people last week.

Neither is a Canadian citizen, and police did not reveal their nationalities. Two sources following the investigation said one of the two was Tunisian.

Canada's spy agency has long expressed concern about the possibility that disgruntled and radicalized Canadians could attack targets at home and abroad.

Police gave little detail about the alleged plotters, but said a tip from the Muslim community had helped their year-long investigation.

Esseghaier has been a doctoral student at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique near Montreal since 2010 and was about midway through his degree, the school said.

"He is doing a PhD in the field of energy and materials sciences," Julie Martineau, the school's director of communications, told Reuters.

A bail hearing for the two will take place in Toronto on Tuesday morning.

Malizia said there was no indication that the planned attacks, which police described as the first known al Qaeda- backed plot on Canadian soil, were state-sponsored.

U.S. officials said the attack would have targeted a rail line between New York and Toronto, a route that travels along the Hudson Valley into New York wine country and enters Canada near Niagara Falls.

Canadian police said only that the plot involved a VIA train route in the Toronto area. VIA is Canada's equivalent of Amtrak and operates passenger rail services on track owned primarily by Canadian National Railway Co.

New York Police chief spokesman Paul Browne told Reuters that the NYPD and Commissioner Ray Kelly had been kept informed of the investigation from "early on."

JOINT OPERATIONS

Malizia said the RCMP believed the two had the capacity and intent to carry out the attack, but there was no imminent threat to the public, passengers, or infrastructure.

The plot is one of a handful of terrorism-related investigations involving Canadians or Canadian residents.

Police said earlier this year that Canadians took part in an attack by militants on a gas plant in Algeria in January, while Canadian and Somalia authorities are investigating whether a former University of Toronto student participated in a bomb attack on Mogadishu last week.

And in 2006, police arrested and charged nearly 20 Toronto-area men accused of planning to plant bombs at various Canadian targets. Eleven were eventually convicted.

"Today's arrests demonstrate that terrorism continues to be a real threat to Canada," Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told reporters in Ottawa.

"Canada will not tolerate terrorist activity and we will not be used as a safe haven for terrorists or those who support terrorist activities."

AL QAEDA IN IRAN

The Canadian authorities linked the two to al Qaeda factions in Iran, to the surprise of some security experts.

"The individuals were receiving support from al Qaeda elements located in Iran," Malizia said.

Iran did host some senior al Qaeda figures under a form of house arrest in the years following the September 11 attacks, but there has been little to no evidence to date of joint attempts to execute violence against the West.

However, a U.S. government source said Iran is home to a little-known network of alleged al Qaeda fixers and "facilitators" based in the Iranian city of Zahedan, very close to Iran's borders with both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The source said the operatives serve as go-betweens, travel agents and financial intermediaries for al Qaeda operatives and cells operating in Pakistan and moving through the area.

They do not operate under the protection of the Iranian government, which has a generally hostile attitude towards Sunni al Qaeda militants, and which periodically launches crackdowns on the al Qaeda elements, though at other times appears to turn a blind eye to them.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington and Louise Egan in Ottawa; writing by Cameron French; editing by Janet Guttsman, Mary Milliken, Eric Walsh and Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canada-thwarts-al-qaeda-supported-passenger-train-plot-003741856.html

tebow jets romney etch a sketch jeb bush sherry arnold snooty fox el debarge portland weather

Kerry pushes Turkey-Israel rapprochement

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, left, shows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the skyline of Istanbul before the start of a meeting on Sunday, April 21, 2013, in Istanbul, Turkey. Kerry is wrapping up a 24-hour visit to Istanbul with talks aimed at improving ties between Turkey and Israel and pushing ahead with Mideast peace efforts. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, left, shows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the skyline of Istanbul before the start of a meeting on Sunday, April 21, 2013, in Istanbul, Turkey. Kerry is wrapping up a 24-hour visit to Istanbul with talks aimed at improving ties between Turkey and Israel and pushing ahead with Mideast peace efforts. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu point toward the Bosporus before a working lunch in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Wrapping up a 24-hour visit to Istanbul, Kerry on Sunday sought to cement and speed up an improvement in relations between Turkey and Israel as well as explore new ways to relaunch Mideast peace efforts. President Barack Obama has made both issues foreign policy priorities for his second term and Kerry was pushing them in meetings with Abbas and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.(AP Photo/Hakan Goktepe, Pool)

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, third from left, meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, third from right, on Sunday, April 21, 2013, in Istanbul, Turkey. Kerry is wrapping up a 24-hour visit to Istanbul with talks aimed at improving ties between Turkey and Israel and pushing ahead with Mideast peace efforts. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas leaves a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Wrapping up a 24-hour visit to Istanbul, Kerry on Sunday sought to cement and speed up an improvement in relations between Turkey and Israel as well as explore new ways to relaunch Mideast peace efforts. President Barack Obama has made both issues foreign policy priorities for his second term and Kerry was pushing them in meetings with Abbas and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.(AP Photo)

ISTANBUL (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday urged Turkey to speed up and cement an American-brokered rapprochement with Israel, and he explored with Palestinian officials new ways to relaunch Mideast peace efforts.

Those are second-term foreign policy priorities for President Barack Obama, and Kerry tried to advance them in meetings with Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.

On a trip to Israel last month, Obama secured a pledge from Turkish and Israeli leaders to normalize ties that broke down after a 2010 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American.

But the rapprochement has been slow, fueling concerns that Turkey may be backsliding on its commitment.

Israeli and Turkish negotiators plan to meet this coming week to discuss Turkey's demand for compensation for victims of the flotilla. U.S. officials hope the discussions will jumpstart the process of restoring full diplomatic relations and exchanging ambassadors between two countries that Washington sees as vital strategic partners in the volatile Middle East.

The raid sparked throughout outrage in Muslim-majority Turkey, making it politically difficult for the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to bend to persistent U.S. appeals to improve relations with Israel.

In March, Obama extracted an apology for the raid from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that broke the stalemate.

Kerry said he understood the anger and frustration of those Turks who lost friends and family in the raid. The former Massachusetts senator said last week's Boston Marathon bombings made him acutely aware of the emotions involved.

"We have just been through the week of Boston and I have deep feelings for what happens when you have violence, when something that happens when you lose people that are near and dear to you," he said. "It affects the community, it affects the country. But going forward, you know, we have to find the best way to bring people together and undo these tensions and undo these stereotypes and try to make peace."

Kerry said he had a "prolonged and constructive" discussion with Davutoglu, about "the importance of completing the task with respect to the renewal of relations between Turkey and Israel."

Kerry added that he believed Erdogan, whom he did not meet on this trip, and Davutoglu "are deeply committed to fulfilling all of the obligations of that understanding."

Erdogan plans to visit Obama at the White House on May 16, and U.S. officials are keen to see substantive process by then. Kerry said Erdogan's visit "will be an important next step in this ongoing dialogue."

"We would like to see us get to a point where we are moving on improving the situation in Gaza, which was part of the agreement ... and where we are also completing the tasks of moving to full diplomatic relations between the countries, which would be very beneficial to everyone," he said.

Erdogan's plans to visit the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip sometime in May after his trip to Washington have raised concerns. Both Israel and Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority is based in the West Bank, are opposed.

Kerry said he had made it clear to the Turks that such a trip "shouldn't take place at this time."

"It was our feeling, in a constructive way, that we thought that the timing of it is really critical with respect to the peace process that we are trying to get off the ground. We would like to see the parties begin with as little outside distraction as possible."

With Abbas, Kerry was talking about ways to improve the Palestinians' living conditions as a confidence-building measure to improve the atmosphere for a resumption in stalled peace talks with Israel.

Kerry has said he fears there is only a two- or three-year window of opportunity to reach a deal on a two-state solution that would end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and wants to move as quickly as possible. He has met with Abbas and Netanyahu several times already to that end since becoming secretary of state.

Kerry was in Istanbul primarily to attend an international conference on Syria that began on Saturday and stretched into early Sunday as participants debated how best to boost aid to rebels trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.

At the conference, he announced that the Obama administration would double its nonlethal assistance to the Syrian opposition with an additional $123 million in supplies that could include for the first time armored vehicles, body armor, night vision goggles and other defensive military supplies.

"I can't tell you how quickly it will change things on the ground," Kerry said Sunday. "I can promise you that as soon as I return to Washington, I am going to press as hard as I can" to get it to the opposition within a matter of weeks.

"This has to happen quickly, it has to have an impact," he added.

The additional aid, which brings total non-lethal U.S. assistance to the opposition to $250 million since the fighting began more than two years ago, "underscores the United States' firm support for a political solution to the crisis in Syria and for the opposition's advancement of an inclusive, tolerant vision for a post-Assad Syria," Kerry said.

The U.S. pledge was the only tangible, public offer of new international support at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the 11 main countries supporting the opposition and fell well short of what the opposition has been appealing for: weapons and direct military intervention to stop the violence that has killed more than 70,000 people.

The Syrian National Coalition is seeking drone strikes on sites from which the regime has fired missiles, the imposition of no-fly zones and protected humanitarian corridors to ensure the safety of civilians.

While pleased with the U.S. moves, the opposition appeared deeply disappointed, especially as it lost some ground in the latest clashes with Syrian troops backed by pro-government gunmen capturing at least one village in a strategic area near the Lebanese border.

With the exception of the United States, none of the participants offered new assistance, although European nations are considering changes to an arms embargo that would allow weapons transfers to the Syrian opposition.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-21-Kerry/id-993e9698050d423e92cf14052aa38b38

Mother Jones cars Bacon Number Kate Middleton photos Chi Magazine Kate Middleton Nude Photos boxing news

Obama, top security officials discuss Boston probe (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/300409583?client_source=feed&format=rss

Mlk Quotes Elder Scrolls Online joe biden michelle obama lupe fiasco jason wu jason wu

$210,000 Aston Martin a stunning four-door sports coupe

The new 2014 Rapide S is a sports car, not a sedan, Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez asserts.

He insists the rivals to this 200-grand-plus four-door are similarly priced two-door performance machines like the Ferrari FF, Bentley Continental GT and Porsche 911 Turbo. Compared to those two-doors, look how much more accommodating the two places are in the back seat of the Rapide S, Bez said at the recent media launch near Barcelona.

More Related to this Story

Well, access to those rear two seats via the two small, up-swinging rear doors is certainly an upgrade. But when you?re citing the virtues of your rear-seat comfort in comparison to the 911?s tiny two perches, you?re not exactly scaling Olympic heights.

Even the FF?s rear seat, though trickier to reach initially, is more spacious than the rear buckets of the Rapide S, where the huge transmission tunnel between the seats and curved rear roofline pinch you in on both sides.

Aston Martin may not have improved the Rapide?s tight rear seat when replacing it with the updated Rapide S for 2014, but along with arguably hotter looks, it did bestow it with the one magic ingredient that rarely backfires in a sports car: more power.

And even with a larger and more aggressive front grille, revisions necessitated by European pedestrian protection standards, it?s still the best-looking four-door anything on the planet.

Its 5.9-litre V-12 is now up to 550 hp, 80 more than its S-less predecessor, now matching or at least better approximating what its high-end two and four-door coupe rivals produce.

It?s easy to vex Aston folks with questions about how the Rapide S compares to similarly powerful four-door coupes such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG or BMW M6 Gran Coupe, both of which start at about half its price. Even the Porsche Panamera Turbo S, also more than 200 grand in price in Canada, and also with 550 hp, is not acknowledged as a competitor, at least not publicly by Bez.

The argument is one he is well practised at making since the Rapide launched in 2010, with the British sports car brand?s first four-door model. He swatted away those comparisons just as he did the questions about the Rapide S not offering all-wheel-drive: true sports cars are rear-wheel-drive.

So what?s it like to drive? Over a day and a half through Catalonia, the Rapide S feels like a luxurious but true sports car. Its immediate responses shrink the car around the driver amazingly, while providing straight-line thrust that seems incredible for any car, no matter the door count.

The excitement starts even before hopping in, as it should in a proper sports car. When the Rapide S was first shown, that huge grille seemed ungainly, especially compared to the gracefully aging nose that?s now being widely mimicked ? and admired ? in various Ford models. But outside of auto show stands and press photos, the front licence plate on our tester helped decrease the heft of the higher and more upright grille. Or perhaps the rest of its curves just seduced me enough in person to overlook such safety-mandated plastic surgery.

The seductive appeal continues inside, with fine materials, a crystal-topped key and Aston?s traditional reverse-swinging gauges promising up to 330 km/h worth of driving memories. Its actual top speed is listed at 306 km/h, though we would only reach blasts up to about half that speed on some 120 km/h signed highways no straighter and much narrower than our own.

I was actually going closer to a reserved if perhaps high-revving 70 km/h on some tight mountain roads when local constabulary pulled me over, asking immediately for my licence and international driver?s permit. He had obviously done this before. Luckily, I had ordered an IDP just weeks prior, and had thankfully tucked the flimsy but oversized permit into my camera bag the night before.

A warning not to imitate Spanish countryman Fernando Alonso was the only result, and not vehicular or driver impounding at the police station for the rest of the day, as had happened to colleagues on an earlier Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG event.

Yet all this high-revving driving fun on mountain roads helped mask the increasing evidence of growing engineering grey hairs on the Rapide S. The revised six-speed paddle shift transmission shifts relatively quickly, but not dual-clutch quick, and features only six gears, the same number as the most modern subcompact cars. The addition of available twin rear DVD players is welcome, but the lack of rear airbags and a host of modern active safety features will dissuade cautious parents from seeing it as a family commuter. Not having a corporate parent with which to share development costs after it split from Ford won?t make it easier for Aston Martin in many ways.

Instead, the development priorities tend strongly towards performance, but of the minor variety. The Bilstein dampers have now been upgraded to a three-stage setup for a new Track mode, allowing Normal and Sport to be more comfortable. Stiffer cross-bracing was added in front, as with the new Vanquish. And even the optional 21-inch wheels are 10 per cent lighter.

With the new Rapide S, Aston Martin has updated or revamped all its cars in the past 12 months. And no matter which fast sports cars one compares the S to, there?s no denying that it shares the sensual appeal of its stablemates in the looks department.

Tech specs

2014 Aston Martin Rapide S

Type: Luxury four-door sport coupe

Base price: $210,500

Engine: 5.9-litre V-12

Horsepower/torque: 550 hp/457 lb-ft

Transmission: Six-speed automatic with shift paddles

Drive: Rear-wheel

Fuel economy (litres/100 km, EPA): 18.1 city/12.4 highway; premium gas

Alternatives: BMW M6 Grand Coupe, Ferrari FF, Jaguar XFR-S, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG, Porsche Panamera Turbo

globedrive@globeandmail.com

9	Ride Now with an extra Track suspension mode, Normal and Sport modes can be more comfortable, though handling is still the overriding priority.
9	Looks Best-looking four-door on the planet, even if the huge new grille is not so alluring ? like a supermodel with bed head, you?ll hear few complaints.
8.5	Interior Similarly ravishing inside, although with signs of aging.
4	Safety That there are no rear airbags, blind spot detection, advanced collision alert or safety systems much beyond legal requirements.
5	Green Power was boosted, fuel consumption was cut by 7 per cent; but it?s still nothing to brag about.
8.5	Overall (out of 10 / Not an average)

The numerical ratings are assigned by The Globe and Mail?s car reviewers on a scale out of ten. Each car is assigned a separate rating in five key categories - plus an overall satisfaction rating that is calculated separately, and is not an average of the five category ratings.

Vehicles that do not yet carry ratings on this site will be assigned them when the latest model is reviewed.

More Related to this Story

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/new-car-reviews/210000-aston-martin-a-stunning-four-door-sports-coupe/article11351275/?cmpid=rss1

x factor x factor john kerry eastbay Samantha Steele Dec 21 2012 doomsday

Caijing Reveals Courts, Military Hospitals Part of Illegal Organ Trade

A nationwide system for China?s black market for organs. A reporter for a Chinese financial magazine says an investigation last year turned up a supply chain that involved military hospitals, courts and judges. The detailed accounts were only published this week, but they add weight to years of allegations that the Chinese regime is involved in systematic transplant abuse.

Xu Qianchuan is a staff reporter for Caijing magazine, a daring publication that often pushes the boundaries of reporting in the restrictive environment of Mainland China. On Monday (April 15), Xu published this article about an organ broker he investigated after receiving a tip off that the man had bought eight kidneys from a Chinese court.

He goes by the name Zheng Wei. Xu calls him the ?top? organ broker in the business. Between May and June of 2010, Xu says Zheng purchased organs from a judge in this city-level court in eastern Shandong province. Zheng then sold all the organs to 304 Hospital in Beijing. It?s a military hospital of the People?s Liberation Army.

Caijing Magazine actually reported about some of these details back in September 2012. But in this week?s article, Xu says no legal actions have been taken against the court in Shandong, or the military hospital.

Since 2006, human rights activists have alleged that the Chinese Communist Party extracts organs from prisoners of conscience, killing them. It?s a process that allegedly involves the legal system and state-run hospitals.

The regime has denied the allegations, but did acknowledge it relies heavily on ?executed prisoners? as a source of organs. The Communist Party keeps its execution numbers secret, but researchers have pointed out that even high estimates do not support the more than 10,000 transplants carried out each year. That?s because a much bigger pool of organs is needed to ensure tissues and blood type match.

In 2010, the Chinese regime announced a donation system it says will replace executed prisoners. But three years later, only 700 people have actually donated their organs. That?s less than 250 per year, while official transplant numbers remained at around 10,000 each year.

Source: http://ntdtv.org/en/news/china/2013-04-18/caijing-reveals-courts-military-hospitals-par-of-illegal-organ-trade.html

deadliest catch dwts sean hannity bobby petrino fired buffett rule lollapalooza lineup joss whedon

Bitter Taste May Battle Asthma

Bitter substances block calcium channels, which can relax the tissue that tightens up during asthma attacks. Sophie Bushwick reports.

More 60-Second Science

Subscribe via iTunes

People with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other breathing disorders need fast relief when their airways tighten up. Unfortunately, the most commonly used medication has obnoxious side effects. But scientists recently discovered that a bitter taste can be a more effective treatment?and now they know why. The work is published in PLoS Biology. [Cheng-Hai Zhang et al, The Cellular and Molecular Basis of Bitter Tastant-Induced Bronchodilation]

When an asthma attack hits, the airway shrinks and makes breathing difficult. To keep air flowing, the sufferer must take medication to relax the passage's muscles and open it back up. But a couple years ago, researchers discovered airways contain bitter taste receptors like the ones on the tongue. After exposure to bitter substances, the receptors can expand the airway more quickly and more effectively than the most commonly used treatment.

Researchers examined airway tissue to learn why bitterness makes the muscles relax. During an asthma attack, calcium flows into the cells of the airway and contributes to muscle contraction. But bitter substances block the channels that allow calcium into cells, which relaxes the tightened tissue. And that's the opposite of a bitter pill.

?Sophie Bushwick

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]?

?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=33823c773be9cf9b41db4b7f396cd2fc

Mega 49ers lance armstrong Earl Weaver Inauguration Schedule barack obama dear abby

FBI releases photos of bombing suspects

[Updated at 7:10 p.m. ET]

The FBI intensified its manhunt in the Boston Marathon bombing case on Thursday by releasing images of two men they deem to be suspects. It asked that anyone with information about the men or who may have seen them in the vicinity of the marathon finish line on Monday to step forward with information as soon as possible.

At a late-afternoon news conference here, FBI Special Agent Richard Deslauriers released surveillance tape and displayed photos of two young men captured in the moments before the twin explosions that killed 3 and injured 170.

"Somebody out there knows these individuals as friends, neighbors, co-workers or family members," Deslauriers said. ?Though it may be difficult, the nation is counting on those with information to come forward and provide it to us."

The release of the images represented a significant breakthrough in a massive manhunt that has consumed local, state and federal law enforcement since the detonation of two shrapnel-packed bombs that plunged the annual Patriot's Day race?the nation's most prestigious marathon?into terror and chaos.

Supect 1 (left) Suspect 2 (right) (FBI.gov) Click image to see more photos.

The man Deslauriers called Suspect One is seen wearing a dark hat, while Suspect Two is wearing a white hat. Deslaurier said Suspect Two is believed to have set a backpack down in front of the Forum restaurant along the marathon route near Copley Square.

Deslauriers said the two men appeared to be walking together along Boylston Street in the vicinity of the explosions.

"We know the public will play a critical role in identifying and locating these individuals. Somebody out there knows these individuals," Deslauriers said.

He described the men as likely armed and extremely dangerous, and said no one should try to take any action to apprehend them. He said those with information should contact law enforcement.

On Thursday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asked for the public's help in identifying possible suspects.

"I wouldn't characterize them as suspects under the technical term, but we need the public's help in locating these individuals," Napolitano said when asked to give an update on the marathon probe during a Committee on Homeland Security budget meeting on Capitol Hill.

"The investigation is proceeding apace," Napolitano added. "This is not an 'NCIS' episode. Sometimes you have to take the time to properly put the chain together to identify the perpetrators."

Also on Thursday morning, the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Massachusetts sent out a tweet encouraging anyone with information to submit clues, video or photos to an FBI Web page dedicated to the investigation.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama flew to Boston on Thursday to attend an interfaith memorial service and visit hospitalized victims. "Every one of us has been touched by this attack on your beloved city. Every one us stands with you," Obama told the crowd attending the church service at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.

There, Obama honored the families of those killed in the blast?Martin Richard, 8, of Dorchester; Krystle Campbell, 29, of Medford; and Lingzi Lu, 23, a Boston University graduate student from China.

The improvised explosive devices were located about 100 yards apart in the bustling Copley Square area. Several blocks of Boston's downtown remain closed as authorities comb the area for evidence.

To contact the FBI with information, call 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at bostonmarathontips.fbi.gov.

Yahoo News' Beth Fouhy contributed reporting from New York.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/report-boston-investigators-may-release-photos-bombing-suspects-124108345.html

veep los angeles kings earth day timothy leary jonathan frid pujols watchmen

Groups sue to block Arkansas' 12-week abortion ban

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) ? Abortion rights advocates filed a lawsuit Tuesday that seeks to overturn the more restrictive of Arkansas' two new abortion laws, saying the near-ban of abortions from the 12th week of pregnancy onward is unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the suit on behalf of Dr. Louis Jerry Edwards and Dr. Tom Tvedten, who provide abortions at a Little Rock clinic, say Arkansas' ban clearly contradicts the standard of viability established by the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

"We are asking the court to block an attempt to essentially outlaw all abortions past 12 weeks, so early that a woman might not know the complete health and status of her pregnancy," Rita Sklar, executive director of Arkansas' ACLU chapter, said at a news conference.

When the Republican-led Legislature passed the law last month, it was briefly the most restrictive abortion law in the country, including a near-ban at 20 weeks that it passed a week earlier. In each case, lawmakers overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe, who predicted that neither law would stand up in court and that Arkansas would waste money defending them.

North Dakota has since passed and even tighter restriction: 6 weeks.

The lawsuit contends that Edwards and Tvedten could lose their licenses if they provide abortions starting at the 12th week of pregnancy, meaning the law denies "patients their constitutionally-guaranteed right to decide to end a pre-viability pregnancy." It names members of the State Medical Board as defendants because the board is responsible for licensing medical professionals.

Arkansas' 12-week ban is tied to the date at which a fetal heartbeat can typically be detected by an abdominal ultrasound. The ban includes exemptions for rape, incest, the life of the mother and highly lethal fetal disorders.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday does not challenge Arkansas' 20-week measure, as challenges to similar laws in other states are already pending. The 20-week ban is based on the disputed claim that a fetus can feel pain by the 20th week and therefore deserves protection from abortion. It includes the same exemptions as the 12-week ban, except for fetal disorders.

Rose Mimms, the executive director of Arkansas Right to Life, said anti-abortion groups like hers are hopeful that the new abortion restrictions being passed in conservative-leaning states will land before the U.S. Supreme Court and be considered against new discoveries regarding fetal development.

"They didn't have that kind of information when they decided Roe v. Wade," Mimms said, referring to the 1973 decision that legalized abortion until a fetus could viably survive outside the womb. A fetus is generally considered viable at 22 to 24 weeks.

Arkansas' ban on abortions at 20 weeks took effect immediately when legislators overrode Beebe's veto. The 12-week ban is scheduled to take effect 90 days after the Legislature formally adjourns, which is expected to happen next month.

Sklar said the Supreme Court has recognized that the Constitution protects a woman's ability to make her own decision regarding abortions.

"But our state Legislature ignored the law and voted to take a woman's decision-making ability away," Sklar said.

A lead sponsor of the 12-week ban, Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert, said he hadn't seen the lawsuit yet, but he said it wasn't a surprise.

"We definitely are planning to defend it," he said. "It's a law duly passed by the state of Arkansas."

___

Associated Press writer Andrew DeMillo contributed to this report.

___

Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/groups-sue-block-arkansas-12-week-abortion-ban-222202457--politics.html

stoudemire jordan hill tony nominations dark knight trailer dallas mavericks washington capitals delmon young

Joe Nichols? Daughter Dylan Celebrates Her First Birthday

Country crooner Joe Nichols and his wife Heather celebrated a major milestone Sunday: daughter Dylan River's first birthday party.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/yQdA5CaI3GI/

nit championship transcendentalism bells palsy channel 5 news uc berkeley harrison barnes brett ratner

Gmail, Drive, other Google apps down for some

Vital Google services down for you? Well, you're not alone. Tips have been pouring in this AM that many of Mountain View's apps are down, including Gmail and Drive. We were able to independently confirm the partial outage and Google's App Status Dashboard has been updated to reflect the "service disruption." The down time isn't affecting everyone, however. Most of those hanging around the Engadget compound are still able to check their hate mail and Caskers notifications. Are you having trouble getting through to Google's servers? Let us know in the comments.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Internet, Google

Comments

Source: Google Apps Status Dashboard

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/17/gmail-drive-other-google-apps-down-for-some/

2013 nissan altima masters par 3 contest google augmented reality glasses wonderlic test texas tornado fantasy baseball jared sullinger

Assaulted teen had drawings on parts of her body

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? Awakening in a friend's bedroom after drinking too much at a sleepover, 15-year-old Audrie Pott looked down and realized she had been sexually assaulted and her attackers had written and drawn on intimate parts of her body, her family's attorney said Monday.

Over the next week, she pieced together one horrifying detail after another. She went online and tried to confront the three boys she had known since junior high who she believed had done it.

At school, she saw a group of students huddled around a cellphone and realized that at least one humiliating photo of her was circulating.

"I have a reputation for a night I don't even remember and the whole school knows," she wrote in one Facebook message to a friend.

"I cried when I found out what they did," she wrote in another.

Eight days after the attack, she called and asked her mother to pick her up at school. She said she couldn't deal with it anymore but would not say what was wrong.

And then she hanged herself.

The Pott family disclosed the new details of the ordeal at an emotional news conference Monday in San Jose, discussing painful details of what their daughter was put through and demanding that three 16-year-old boys arrested eight months after the assault be tried as adults ? a move that would be highly unlikely under California law.

The family also filed a lawsuit Monday against the three suspects and their parents, claiming the boys removed Audrie's shorts and "digitally penetrated her, and/or penetrated her with a foreign object, and/or sexually abused her" after she drank alcohol and passed out.

The boys arrested in the case are each charged with sexual battery, dissemination of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Under California law, such less severe charges are filed if a victim was unconscious and did not have the ability to fight off a sexual assault.

Audrie's mother, Sheila Pott, said she hopes to change that with a new "Audrie's Law."

"I want to take serious steps to see that this doesn't happen to another one of our children," she said.

The parents of the friend where the party was held are also being sued by Audrie's family, with the suit claiming the parents of the friend had a "duty to prevent" parties from taking place at their home.

Sgt. Mike Leininger, a retired San Jose police detective hired by the family's attorney to investigate the case, said interviews of people at the party showed the suspects were sober at the time of the attack in Saratoga, a bedroom community on the fringe of Silicon Valley.

However, a police report obtained by the San Jose Mercury News said the suspects told authorities during the initial investigation that they did drink at the party.

The police report also says witnesses told investigators the three suspects took the drunken Audrie to sleep in an upstairs room then assaulted her.

The report says the attackers pulled off her shorts and partially removed her bra, exposing her breasts, the newspaper reported. Markings were found on her chest, legs, back and near her genitalia.

"They wrote 'Blank Was Here,' on her leg," said family attorney Robert Allard, not using the actual name because the suspect is a juvenile. "They marked her."

Lisa Pott, the stepmother of Audrie, said the three suspects were removed from the football team after her suicide but weren't expelled from school, despite their pleas to the principal.

She said Audrie had been dealing with bullying problems at school prior to the assault, and the family had asked the principal for help last spring.

Jane Marashian, a spokeswoman for the school district, said officials had no comment in response to that claim.

Attorney Eric Geffon, who represents one of the three suspects, told The Associated Press that attorneys representing all three will have a statement Tuesday after a hearing in Juvenile Court.

Geffon said the boys were cited last fall but no formal charges were filed against them until Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies arrested two boys at Saratoga High School and a third, a former Saratoga High student, at Christopher High in Gilroy where he currently was a student. They have been held in the county juvenile detention center since Thursday.

Audrie Pott's father, mother and stepmother said they were outraged by what they see as a refusal to take responsibility by the teens. Lawrence Pott, the girl's father, said he was astounded that defense lawyers for the three denied a link between the assault and the humiliating photo and his daughter's decision to end her life.

"With no assault, with no cyberbullying, Audrie is in art class right now," he said, his voice breaking as he held back tears. "What they did was disgusting."

Audrie spent two days on life support after she hanged herself, according to the family's lawsuit.

The AP does not routinely identify victims of sexual assault. But in this case, Pott's family wanted her name and case known, Allard said. The family also provided a photo to the AP.

The arrests and the details that came spilling out shocked many in this prosperous Silicon Valley suburb of 30,000 and have drawn international attention, especially coming just after two other similar episodes recently in the news ? a suicide in Canada and a rape in Steubenville, Ohio.

"I have to say we were unprepared for the amount of media attention that we are getting," said Lisa Pott, mother of Audrie's three younger siblings. "Not only is this scary and intimidating, but just as we thought we might be starting to heal, it rips open the wound and reminds us of everything our family lost."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawyer-assaulted-teen-had-drawings-name-body-195508441.html

ncaa final four Evil Dead halle berry kurt cobain Kamala Harris URI Facebook Home