Friday, June 28, 2013

EU announces surprise deal on 7-year budget

(AP) ? The European Union may soon have a new seven-year, 960-billion-euro ($1.27 trillion) budget after a surprise breakthrough deal on Thursday.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced the agreement Thursday after early morning talks with the president of the European Parliament and other officials from EU member states. Barroso said the deal includes more flexibility than earlier versions.

It still needs final approval by the European Parliament, but that is looking more likely thanks to this agreement. European Parliament President Martin Schulz called the deal "acceptable" and said he's "optimistic" that he will have a majority of parliament members backing it at a vote next week.

It includes the first cut to spending in EU history at a time when many of the bloc's countries are in recession and struggling to reduce their own national debt. The budget sets what the EU can spend on everything from infrastructure and farming to development aid and employment measures.

The 27 EU countries have been trying since last fall to cobble together a budget for the years 2014-2020. The talks were tough because some countries wanted to increase or maintain spending levels while others insisted it made no sense to increase the EU's budget while individual governments were imposing tough austerity policies at home.

EU government leaders agreed to an overall package in February, but the European Parliament asked for more spending and more say in the way the budget will be handled.

Last week, leading parties in the European Parliament said they wouldn't back an earlier budget deal. Representatives of the Socialists said they backed the deal after winning some concessions.

Ireland's leader, Enda Kenny, championed the agreement. Ireland had been hoping to crown its six-month presidency of the EU that ends Sunday with a comprehensive budget agreement.

"We have concluded an agreement here today ... and I think it is very significant," he told reporters in Brussels alongside Barroso and Schulz. "At the beginning of this year there was a lot of doubt ... about whether compromise could be negotiated between member states and the parliament. We have now succeeded in doing that."

Countries such as Britain have argued that in a time of austerity the EU budget is a drag on national coffers, while others like France said the economic crisis highlighted the need for closer and deeper ties, which would compel the EU to do more ? and spend more ? than in the past.

Separate from national spending, the EU budget is designed in part to balance out the economic development of its members by injecting funding into poorer countries. The EU has funded thousands of infrastructure and capital projects over the years, from the installation of broadband networks to the upgrade of road networks.

The EU budget also includes items meant to generate economic growth, such as research and development, increasing digitalization and creating a new, more accurate satellite navigation system. It also funds regulation and administration in such areas as mergers and competition, the review of national budgets to ensure they do not include excessive deficits and banking supervision.

If the EU fails to get a seven-year deal passed by the EU Parliament before the end of the year, the EU would have to revert to annual budgets which would make long-term planning difficult.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-27-EU-Budget/id-be6c838dbe9345168b7a5d75b55cc3ca

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Microsoft Adds Auto Scaling To Windows Azure

4578.WindowsAzureLogoAt its Build developer conference today, Microsoft announced that it is adding auto scaling for web apps to its Azure cloud-computing platform. This will allow developers to dynamically scale their cloud server capacity on Azure automatically as needed. Users can, of course, set a maximum and minimum number of servers to run at any given time. Enabling this feature just takes a few clicks in the Azure management console, and in addition to setting the number of servers to use, developers can also set a target CPU load for every one of these servers. Once a web app needs more CPU capacity — or if the storage queue gets too long — it can then spin up a new server. Besides making apps more responsive, one of the main reasons to use auto scaling is, of course, to save money. There is, after all, no reason to pay for servers that aren’t actually being used. Azure will give users a general idea of how much they can save when they turn this feature on for their accounts. Autoscale for Windows Azure is in preview now and will be available for free for a limited time. It’s worth noting that Amazon Web Services has long offered auto scaling for its EC2 cloud computing platform, too, so Microsoft, which was relatively late to cloud computing, is mostly playing catch-up here.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/8DWRsbLHh8k/

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Wimbledon rules orange shoes out but not colored undies

By Belinda Goldsmith

LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer received orders from Wimbledon organizers on Wednesday to change his orange-soled shoes that breach an all-white rule although women players will not be pulled up for wearing colored knickers.

Wimbledon, the world's oldest tennis tournament, has the strictest dress code in tennis, stating for the past 40 years that players must wear "predominantly" white.

The rules stipulate no solid mass of color, no fluorescent colors, little or no dark and bold colors, and preferably all white shirts, shorts and skirts.

The tournament's clothing police allow no exceptions, even for top players like Federer, the seven-times champion ranked the world's eighth most powerful celebrity by Forbes magazine this week.

"He has been asked to change his shoes," said a Wimbledon spokesman ahead of the Swiss player's match on Wednesday against Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky on Center Court.

He said several other players had also been asked to change their shoes to abide by the rules but no other warnings had been issued for other violations of the dress code.

The sight of colored knickers emerging as women rivals Maria Sharapova from Russia and American Serena Williams serve failed to make organizers see red and the colored nails sported by a list of women players on court have not been ruled out.

Knickers have caused a stir at Wimbledon in the past, dating back to 1949 when American Gussie Moran was accused of "putting sin and vulgarity into tennis" by wearing lace-trimmed knickers at the All England Club in south London.

KNICKERS, LOGOS AND STYLE

Six years ago Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin shocked organizers by wearing a pair of crimson underpants beneath her white outfit which had officials reaching for the rule book but to no avail.

"The rules state that players can wear any color underwear they like provided it is no longer than their shorts or skirt. Anything else must be white," said a Wimbledon spokesman.

The all-white dress code is one of the traditions at Wimbledon, which dates back to 1877 when women wore ground-length dresses on the court, and officials are keen to uphold standards.

In 1985 the U.S. player Anne White was called to one side after arriving on court in an all-in-one, head-to-toe lycra bodysuit to play against Pam Shriver. She was asked to wear something more conventional and obliged but lost her match.

However this year second seed Victoria Azarenka and Czech player Eva Birnerova played in white leggings on the first day of the two-week championships although it was unclear if this was a fashion choice or to stay warm in chilly temperatures.

Second seed Azarenka had to pull out of the tournament through injury on Wednesday.

Logos are forbidden on any of Wimbledon's 19 courts with Czech American player Martina Navratilova in 2004 famously taking scissors to her hat to cut out an offending logo.

However British champion Andy Murray, who beat Benjamin Becker in his first round, was not hauled up for sporting the name of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity on his sleeve.

The world No. 2 is hoping to win the tournament for his former doubles partner, Ross Hutchins, who is being treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma at The Royal Marsden hospital and was in the royal box on opening day on Monday to watch Murray in action.

Despite the dress code limiting fashion flair on the court, some players try to add their own style with mixed success.

Sharapova, the world No. 3 who designs clothing for Nike, is closely watched by fashion followers and in 2008 turned up in a tuxedo-style top and shorts, much to her opponent's chagrin.

"It's very pleasant to beat Maria. Why? Well, I don't like her outfit. That was one of my motivations," said her compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva after beating Sharapova.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wimbledon-rules-orange-shoes-not-colored-undies-150159028.html

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Pro football player Hernandez charged with murder

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, left, stands with his attorney Michael Fee, right, during arraignment in Attleboro District Court Wednesday, June 26, in Attleboro, Mass. Hernandez was charged with murdering Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, whose body was found June 17 in an industrial park in North Attleborough, Mass. (AP Photo/The Sun Chronicle, Mike George, Pool)

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, left, stands with his attorney Michael Fee, right, during arraignment in Attleboro District Court Wednesday, June 26, in Attleboro, Mass. Hernandez was charged with murdering Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, whose body was found June 17 in an industrial park in North Attleborough, Mass. (AP Photo/The Sun Chronicle, Mike George, Pool)

In this image taken from video, police escort Aaron Hernandez from his home in handcuffs in Attleboro, Mass., Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Hernandez was taken from his home more than a week after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from Hernandez's house. (AP Photo/ESPN)

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, left, stands with his attorney Michael Fee, right, during arraignment in Attleboro District Court Wednesday, June 26, in Attleboro, Mass. Hernandez was charged with murdering Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, whose body was found June 17 in an industrial park in North Attleborough, Mass. (AP Photo/The Sun Chronicle, Mike George, Pool)

In this image taken from video, police escort Aaron Hernandez from his home in handcuffs in Attleboro, Mass., Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Hernandez was taken from his home more than a week after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from Hernandez's house. (AP Photo/ESPN)

FILE - This Sept. 5, 2012 file photo shows New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez speaking to reporters in the locker room at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Hernandez has been taken from his home in handcuffs, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from his house. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

(AP) ? New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in the shooting death of a friend prosecutors say had angered the NFL player at a nightclub a few days earlier by talking to the wrong people.

Hernandez, 23, was taken from his North Attleborough home in handcuffs just over a week after Boston semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd's bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park a mile away.

Less than two hours after the arrest, the Patriots announced they had cut Hernandez, a 2011 Pro Bowl selection who signed a five-year contract last summer worth $40 million.

Lloyd was a 27-year-old athlete with the Boston Bandits who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. He was shot multiple times on a secluded gravel road, authorities said.

Hernandez "drove the victim to that remote spot, and then he orchestrated his execution," prosecutor Bill McCauley said.

If convicted, Hernandez could get life in prison without parole.

"It is at bottom a circumstantial case. It is not a strong case," his attorney, Michael Fee, said at a court hearing during which Hernandez was ordered held without bail on murder charges and five weapons counts.

Lloyd's family members cried and hugged as the prosecutor outlined the killing. Two were so overcome with emotion that they had to leave the courtroom.

McCauley said the slaying stemmed from a night out at a Boston club called Rumor on June 14. He said Hernandez was upset about certain things, including that Lloyd had talked to some people Hernandez "had troubles with." The prosecutor did not elaborate.

Two days later, McCauley said, on the night of June 16, Hernandez texted two friends from out of state and asked them to hurry back to Massachusetts.

Surveillance footage from Hernandez's home showed him leaving with a gun, and he told someone in the house that he was upset and couldn't trust anyone anymore, the prosecutor said.

The three men picked up Lloyd at his home around 2:30 a.m., according to authorities. As they drove around in their rented car, they discussed what happened at the nightclub, and Lloyd started getting nervous, McCauley said.

Lloyd texted his sister, "Did you see who I am with?" When she asked who, he answered, at 3:22 a.m., "NFL," then, a minute later, he sent one final text: "Just so you know."

Within a few minutes, people working the overnight shift at the industrial park reported hearing gunshots, McCauley said. Surveillance video showed the car going into a remote area of the industrial park and emerging four minutes later, the prosecutor said.

A short time later, Hernandez returned to his house, and he and one of the other men were seen on his home surveillance system holding guns, McCauley said. Then the system stopped recording, according to the prosecutor.

Hernandez had recently installed the system and had 14 cameras inside and out, according to McCauley, who said detectives found footage was missing from the six to eight hours after the slaying.

Investigators did not specify who fired the shots. They did not identify the two other people who were with Hernandez or say whether they were under arrest.

According to McCauley, Hernandez and his friends later returned the car to the rental agency, and Hernandez offered the attendant a piece of blue chewing gum. She found a .45-caliber shell casing and a piece of what appeared to be chewed blue gum in the car and threw them out.

Later, investigators retrieved the items from a trash bin, and the casing matched others found where Lloyd was killed, McCauley said. The two weapons seen on the surveillance footage have not been found, he said.

In arguing unsuccessfully for bail, Hernandez's attorney said the athlete is unlikely to flee, is a homeowner, and lives with his fiancee and an 8-month-old baby. He also said Hernandez had never been accused of a violent crime.

As he was led from his home in the morning, Hernandez was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, with his arms inside the shirt and behind his back. He spit into some bushes on his way to a police cruiser.

Later, as he was taken from the North Attleborough police station to court, two dozen supporters cheered, some yelling, "We love you, Aaron!"

"Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation," the Patriots said in a statement announcing he had been cut.

The team added: "We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing. We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do."

The Patriots drafted Hernandez, who is originally from Bristol, Conn., in 2010 out of the University of Florida, where he was an All-American.

During the draft, one team said it wouldn't take him under any circumstances, and he was passed over by one club after another before New England picked him in the fourth round.

Afterward, Hernandez said he had failed a drug test in college ? reportedly for marijuana ? and was up front with teams about it.

In other off-the-field troubles, a Florida man filed a lawsuit last week claiming Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club in February.

And The Boston Globe reported that Hernandez lost his temper and threatened a teammate during an argument in the team's weight room shortly after he was drafted.

Hernandez became a father on Nov. 6 and said he intended to change his ways: "Now, another one is looking up to me. I can't just be young and reckless Aaron no more. I'm going to try to do the right things."

___

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy in Boston and Howard Ulman in North Attleborough contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-26-Hernandez-Police/id-4f6355ed39ac415594ddcd9d4ed431f9

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Video: Legacy of Alex Rodriguez

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/52318635#52318635

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Miley Cyrus Accuses Billy Ray Cyrus Of Cheating?We?ve ID?d The Mystery Woman!

Miley Cyrus Accuses Billy Ray Cyrus Of Cheating…We’ve ID’d The Mystery Woman!

Miley Cyrus posts pic of womanMiley Cyrus basically blackmailed her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, on Twitter when she posted a photo of an attractive woman and wrote, “@billyraycyrus since you won’t reply to my texts I’m giving you an hour to tell the truth or ill tell it for you (sic). Miley removed the tweet, but we did a little ...

Miley Cyrus Accuses Billy Ray Cyrus Of Cheating…We’ve ID’d The Mystery Woman! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/06/miley-cyrus-accuses-billy-ray-cyrus-of-cheating-weve-idd-the-mystery-woman/

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

High court gay marriage decisions due Wednesday

Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court at sun up in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country. One is a challenge to California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage. The other is a challenge to a provision of federal law that prevents legally married gay couples from receiving a range of tax, health and pension benefits. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court at sun up in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country. One is a challenge to California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage. The other is a challenge to a provision of federal law that prevents legally married gay couples from receiving a range of tax, health and pension benefits. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - This Nov. 2, 2008 file photo shows supporters of Proposition 8, the state?s measure that banned same sex marriages, in front of city hall during a Yes on Prop. 8 rally in Los Angeles. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that will determine the fate of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages on Wednesday morning, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2008 file photo, Joni Boettcher, left, kisses her roommate Tika Shenghur during a protest march down Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood , Calif. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that will determine the fate of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages on Wednesday morning. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

(AP) ? The Supreme Court is meeting to deliver opinions in two cases that could dramatically alter the rights of gay people across the United States.

The justices are expected to decide their first-ever cases about gay marriage Wednesday in their last session before the court's summer break.

The issues before the court are California's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies legally married gay Americans a range of tax, health and pension benefits otherwise available to married couples.

The broadest possible ruling would give gay Americans the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals. But several narrower paths also are available, including technical legal outcomes in which the court could end up saying very little about same-sex marriage.

If the court overturns California's Proposition 8 or allows lower court rulings that struck down the ban to stand, it will take about a month for same-sex weddings to resume for the first time since 2008, San Francisco officials have said.

The high court rulings are arriving amid rapid change regarding gay marriage. The number of states permitting same-sex partners to wed has doubled from six to 12 in less than a year, with voter approval in three states in November, followed by legislative endorsement in three others in the spring.

At the same time, an effort to legalize gay marriage in Illinois stalled before the state's legislative session ended last month. And 30 states have same-sex marriage bans enshrined in their constitutions.

Massachusetts was the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry, in 2004. Same-sex marriage also is legal, or soon will be, in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Roughly 18,000 same-sex couples got married in California in less than five months in 2008, after the California Supreme Court struck down a state code provision prohibiting gay unions.

California voters approved Proposition 8 in November of that year, writing the ban into the state's constitution.

Two same-sex couples challenged the provision as unconstitutional and federal courts in California agreed.

The federal marriage law, known by its acronym DOMA, defines marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of deciding who can receive a range of federal benefits. Another provision not being challenged for the time being allows states to withhold recognition of same-sex marriages from other states.

DOMA easily passed Congress and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the year of his re-election.

Several federal district and appeals courts struck down the provision. In 2011, the Obama administration abandoned its defense of the law but continued to enforce it. House Republicans are now defending DOMA in the courts. President Barack Obama subsequently endorsed gay marriage in 2012.

The justices chose for their review the case of 83-year-old Edith Windsor of New York, who sued to challenge a $363,000 federal estate tax bill after her partner of 44 years died in 2009.

Windsor, who goes by Edie, married Thea Spyer in 2007 after doctors told them Spyer would not live much longer. She suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years. Spyer left everything she had to Windsor.

Windsor would have paid nothing in inheritance taxes if she had been married to a man.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-26-Supreme%20Court-Gay%20Marriage/id-443d4b0133b54dcba115bde17e502929

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Demi Lovato Unveils "Made in the USA" Cover Art

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/demi-lovato-unveils-made-in-the-usa-cover-art/

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Obama takes on power plants as part of new climate plan

By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama tried to revive his stalled climate change agenda on Tuesday, promising new rules to cut carbon emissions from U.S. power plants and other domestic actions including support for renewable energy.

Obama also signaled he would block construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada if it contributed to climate change. That does not mean the project is doomed, however. A State Department report, which Obama could reference, has said the pipeline would not change the outlook for carbon emissions because the development of Canada's oil sands would continue whether it is approved or not.

Canada weighed in on Obama's remarks, saying it did not think there would be a net increase in carbon emissions if the proposed pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to Texas is built, according to the country's natural resources minister.

Obama's long-awaited climate plan, detailed in a speech at Georgetown University, drew criticism from the coal industry, which would be hit hard by carbon limits, and Republicans, who accused the Democratic president of advancing policies that harm the economy and kill jobs. Environmentalists largely cheered the proposals, though some said the moves did not go far enough.

Obama's first-term attempt to reduce climate-warming carbon emissions in a "cap and trade" system was thwarted by Congress, and his administration's long process of studying whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline has raised hackles from business groups and Republican critics.

With Congress unlikely to pass climate legislation, Obama said his administration would set rules using its executive authority.

"We limit the amount of toxic chemicals like mercury and sulfur and arsenic in our air or our water, but power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air for free," Obama said.

"That's not right. That's not safe. And it needs to stop."

Obama said he had directed the Environmental Protection Agency to craft new emissions rules for thousands of power plants, the bulk of which burn coal and which account for roughly one-third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Share prices for major U.S. coal mining companies stabilized on Tuesday after tumbling on Monday, in some cases to multi-year lows, in anticipation of the White House plan.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE SIGNAL?

Environmental activists welcomed Obama's speech, while Republicans raised economic concerns.

"It's tantamount to kicking the ladder out from beneath the feet of many Americans struggling in today's economy," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who planned to talk to Obama about his concerns at a meeting at the White House.

The president's unexpected comments on TransCanada Corp's Keystone XL pipeline drew a mixed response as well.

A decision to approve or reject the pipeline is expected later this year or in early 2014.

"Our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution," Obama said. "The net effects of the pipeline's impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward," he said.

Keystone XL supporters and foes heard what they wanted in Obama's remarks.

"Based on the lengthy review by the State Department, construction of the pipeline would not have a significant environmental impact," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner. "It's time to sign off on Keystone and put Americans to work."

Bill McKibben, a leading activist against the project, said Obama had set an appropriate standard with his remarks and called that "encouraging news," while environmentalist Tom Steyer hailed "the Keystone death knell."

Some observers have worried that a strong push for new climate change measures would be used by the White House to offset an eventual approval of the controversial pipeline.

In its draft environmental impact study in March the State Department found that the project would not have an impact on climate because the oil sands from which the oil would be extracted would make it to market whether or not the pipeline was approved. The EPA has questioned that finding, and the two agencies will need to come to an agreement before the final report is sent to Obama for his decision.

COURT CHALLENGES AHEAD

The pipeline aside, Obama's administration faces a long fight over his power plant proposals. The EPA is routinely challenged in court, both by industry groups seeking to quash rules and by green groups trying to push the agency to set tougher standards. Attorneys general from four coal-dependent states made it clear that they would fight back against "overreaching regulations."

The new rules on existing power plants, which Obama wants finalized by June 2015, could be tied up in court for years.

"Challenges defining standards for existing power plants mean that delays are likely, exacerbating uncertainties for utilities attempting compliance with other power plant regulations," said research firm Eurasia Group in a note.

Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, the No. 2 U.S. coal mining state after Wyoming, said Obama had "declared a war on coal," and the industry said the rules threatened its viability.

"If the Obama administration fails to recognize the environmental progress the industry has made and continues to adopt more regulations, coal power could cease to exist, which would be devastating for our economy," said Mike Duncan, president of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

Ann Carlson, faculty director of the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA, was unimpressed.

"All Obama has done is tell his Environmental Protection Agency to issue rules that are already required under the terms of a settlement EPA entered into after being sued for missing deadlines," Carlson wrote in a blog post.

Obama's allies abroad were watching closely. The president said Washington would lead the world in talks to fight climate change and reiterated his pledge to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

The European Union said it wanted more than words:

"Internationally, the White House plan contains a number of good intentions which have now to be translated into more concrete action," said EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Valerie Volcovici, Mark Felsenthal, Timothy Gardner, Richard Cowan and Alister Doyle; Editing by Ros Krasny and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-takes-power-plants-part-climate-plan-003527938.html

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Edward Snowden stops off in Moscow with US extradition request snapping at his heels

Edward Snowden stops off in Moscow, US extradition demand snaps at his heels

Even if he anticipated the risks involved in turning whisteblower, Edward Snowden can't have imagined the rushed, convoluted journey he'd have to take to avoid the full wrath of the US government. First to Hong Kong; most recently to Moscow, and perhaps soon to Ecuador (via Cuba and Venezuela) where he has apparently made an official request for asylum. Strongly worded extradition requests have followed every step of the way, with the White House National Security Council expressing "disappointment" that Hong Kong allowed Snowden to flee and now urging Russia to "expel Mr. Snowden back to the US to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged." In an effort to help the fugitive navigate the maze of diplomatic fault lines, WikiLeaks has stepped up to say that its own legal advisors are "escorting" Snowden towards his final destination, likely making use of the knowledge they gained while protecting Julian Assange, and that its sees US efforts to arrest him as an "assault against the people."

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Source: WikiLeaks, CBS News, @RicardoPatinoEC (Twitter)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/24/edward-snowden-stops-off-in-moscow/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Ziphius aquatic drone hits Kickstarter, we go hands-on with an updated prototype

If you followed our Insert Coin: New Challengers contest at our first-ever Expand event, you may recognize this guy. The Ziphius, an WiFi-enabled aquatic drone powered by a Raspberry Pi, won $25,000 in prize money back in San Francisco, and three months later it's taking the next big plunge: launching on Kickstarter. The bot launched its crowd-funding campaign tonight -- at Engadget+ gdgt live in NYC, no less -- and the Ziphius team says the $125,000 in requested money will go toward refining the device's mold for the final-production version. As you can see from our gallery below, the package already looks sleeker, and it comes in pink along with several other new colors. Backers of all pocket sizes will be rewarded with everything from their name on the website ($1 pledge) to a Ziphius of their own ($195 and up). Click the source to check out the Kickstarter page for yourself and donate if you're so inclined; the project has 29 days to meet that lofty funding goal.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

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Source: Kickstarter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/24/ziphius-aquatic-drone-kickstarter-hands-on/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Asia driving 'explosion' in global arms trade: study

LONDON (Reuters) - Asian powers are outpacing the United States to become the biggest spenders on defense by 2021 and are fuelling an "explosion" in the global arms trade, a study showed.

The global arms trade jumped by 30 percent to $73.5 billion between 2008-2012 in spite of the economic downturn, driven by surging exports from China and demand from countries like India, and is set to more than double by 2020, defense and security consultancy IHS Jane's said on Tuesday.

"Budgets are shifting East and global arms trade is increasing competition. This is the biggest explosion in trade the world has ever seen," said Paul Burton, a senior manager at IHS Jane's whose study looked at 34,000 defense acquisition programs.

The United States has accounted for the lion's share of global defense spending over the past decade, but budget cuts in Washington, as it withdraws from countries such as Afghanistan, mean that it will account for just 30 percent by 2021 to fall behind Asia at 31 percent.

Military spending in the Asia Pacific region - which includes China, India and Indonesia - will rise 35 percent to $501 billion in the next eight years, compared to a 28 percent fall in U.S. spending to $472 billion over the same period, IHS Jane's said.

"The big Western defense companies have no option - export or shrink - but this could be sowing the seed of their own demise; the opportunities in the East are a double-edged sword, fuelling a trend which threatens U.S. dominance of defense." said Guy Anderson, senior principal analyst at IHS Jane's.

China's ramp-up in defense spending in recent years is worrying its neighbors such as Japan, with whom it is currently embroiled in a stand-off over a series of uninhabited islands, despite its repeated reassurances that there is nothing to fear.

Japan, as well as India and South Korea, are among countries being courted by weapon makers such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and BAE Systems who want to sell them fighter jets and other equipment to make up for reduced spending in their Western home markets, but such deals tend to require investment in the buyers's defense industries.

India, for instance, is speaking exclusively to France's Dassault Aviation on a $12 billion order of 126 warlanes and wants 50 percent of the work to be given to Indian companies.

China is expected to increase its defense budget by 64 percent to $207 billion by 2021, compared to India and Indonesia which are respectively forecast to spend 54 and 113 percent more, the study said.

These countries aspire to build thriving defense industries capable of developing modern equipment such as fighter jets and aircraft carriers, and may be able to export "world class kit" rivaling that of the West in a decade as a result of their willingness to spend, IHS Jane's said.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asia-driving-explosion-global-arms-trade-study-004656657.html

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Mo. woman charged in antifreeze poisoning deaths

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) ? A southwest Missouri woman is charged with using antifreeze to fatally poison her husband and son and attempt to kill her daughter over a 14-month period.

Fifty-one-year-old Diane Staudte of Springfield was charged Friday with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and one count of armed criminal action. She is being held without bond. It isn't immediately clear if she has an attorney.

The probable cause statement says authorities received an anonymous tip earlier this month.

The statement says Staudte admitted under questioning to killing her husband, 61-year-old Mark Staudte, in April 2012 and her son, 26-year-old Shawn Staudte, in September.

The statement also says she admitted poisoning her daughter, 24-year-old Sarah Staudte, this month. She survived.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mo-woman-charged-antifreeze-poisoning-deaths-171144432.html

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Analysis: For Obama, a world of Snowden troubles

By Warren Strobel and Paul Eckert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since his first day in office, President Barack Obama's foreign policy has rested on outreach: resetting ties with Russia, building a partnership with China and offering a fresh start with antagonistic leaders from Iran to Venezuela.

But the global travels on Sunday of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden highlight the limits of that approach. Leaders Obama has wooed - and met recently - were willing to snub the American president.

The cocky defiance by so-called "non-state actors" - Snowden himself and the anti-secrecy group, WikiLeaks, completes the picture of a world less willing than ever to bend to U.S. prescriptions of right and wrong.

Snowden flew out of Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, early on Sunday after Hong Kong authorities rebuffed a U.S. request to detain him pending extradition to the United States for trial. Snowden has acknowledged leaking details of highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

Beijing may merely have wished to get rid of a potential irritant in its multifaceted relationship with Washington. But Snowden's next stop was Russia, a U.S. "frenemy" in which the friend factor has been harder to spot since President Vladimir Putin returned to power in May 2012.

WikiLeaks, which says it is helping the 30-year-old Snowden, said via Twitter that he intended to go to Ecuador, whose government has antagonistic relations with Washington. Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino Aroca, said, also via Twitter, that his government had received an asylum request from Snowden.

To be sure, the U.S. government is certain to marshal all of its diplomatic, legal and political powers to return Snowden to the United States, where he is charged with offenses under the Espionage Act and with theft of government property.

The United States has revoked Snowden's passport, sources familiar with the decision said on Sunday.

But Snowden has significant levers of his own, in the form of a cache of NSA secrets of unknown size and scope.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that the U.S. government apparently does not know the extent of the secrets taken by Snowden, whose last job was as a systems administrator at an NSA listening post in Hawaii.

"The only thing I've learned is that he could have over 200 separate items and whether that's true or not, that's what has been relayed to me," Feinstein said on CBS "Face the Nation."

Snowden told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on Saturday that the United States hacks into Chinese mobile phone traffic and text messaging, as well as Chinese university sites that host some of the country's major Internet hubs.

It is unclear whether such revelations played a role in Hong Kong authorities' decision to let Snowden depart, despite the U.S. request to detain him and begin extradition procedures.

Privately, U.S. officials say they believe Beijing authorities made the call to allow Snowden to leave. In doing so, the Chinese may have simply been passing along a "hot potato," that could have grown into a diplomatic spat.

"For China, this is certainly a bit of a relief. They don't want to let him stay there for a prolonged stay," said Cheng Li, an expert on Chinese politics at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

"If things get out of control (with Snowden) that will certainly undermine any achievement made in the summit in California, so China is probably very happy that Russia will be the main target," Li said, referring to the meetings between Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month.

FALLOUT

Obama, who took flak in recent months over the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups and Justice Department subpoenas of media phone calls in other leak cases, has so far not faced major criticism of his administration's handling of Snowden.

Most U.S. lawmakers' ire has been directed at Snowden himself, as well as the systems that permitted him to get a sensitive job with contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and make away with evidence of some of the U.S. government's most shielded intelligence programs.

But U.S. Representative Peter King, a frequent Obama critic and Republican who sits on the permanent select committee on intelligence, said the president should be more aggressive in defending the surveillance programs that U.S. officials say have thwarted terrorist attacks, and more assertive with foreign partners.

"I find it troubling that the president has been so quiet on this. And again, I'm not saying he can control it, but there should be more of a presence including defending the NSA program," King told CNN. "It just seems as if we're adrift right now and I think that these countries are taking advantage of it.

"This is definitely a diplomatic hit at the president, at the U.S., but as Americans we have to support the president."

If Russia allows Snowden to continue on his journey toward Ecuador, it could wipe out what is left of Obama's policy, dating from 2009, of trying to "reset" relations with Moscow after they turned chilly under his predecessor.

Washington and Moscow have clashed recently over Russia's human rights, adoption by Americans of Russian orphans, missile defenses and, most consequentially, the civil war in Syria.

A photograph of Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin at last weekend's G8 summit, their hands clasped and staring unsmilingly into space, caught the mood of U.S.-Russian relations.

"What's infuriating here is Prime Minister Putin of Russia aiding and abetting Snowden's escape," said New York Senator Chuck Schumer, like Obama a Democrat. "The bottom line is very simple. Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States, whether it is Syria, Iran, and now, of course, with Snowden."

"That's not how allies should treat one another, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship," Schumer told CNN's "State of the Union" program.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, sought to keep the focus squarely on Snowden.

"He compromised our national security program designed to find out what terrorists were up to. So, the freedom trail is not exactly China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela," Graham told Fox News.

"So, I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the Earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there will be consequences if they harbor this guy," he said.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball, Phil Stewart, Toby Zakaria and Tom Ferraro. Editing by Fred Barbash and Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-obama-world-snowden-troubles-215653183.html

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NBC's Gregory: Why shouldn't Greenwald be charged?

WASHINGTON (AP) ? NBC "Meet the Press" host David Gregory got a rise out of Glenn Greenwald by asking the Guardian reporter why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for having "aided and abetted" former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden.

Greenwald replied Sunday that it was "pretty extraordinary" that someone who calls himself a journalist would ask whether other journalists should be charged with felonies.

Gregory said that the question of who is a journalist may be "up to a debate" with regard to Greenwald. The host added that he was asking a question, not taking a position.

Greenwald broke the story of Snowden's disclosure of U.S. government surveillance programs. Snowden was believed to have landed in Russia on Sunday ? possibly as a stopover before traveling to South America.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nbcs-gregory-why-shouldnt-greenwald-charged-170757003.html

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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Carbon nanotube harpoon catches individual brain-cell signals

June 19, 2013 ? Neuroscientists may soon be modern-day harpooners, snaring individual brain-cell signals instead of whales with tiny spears made of carbon nanotubes.

The new brain cell spear is a millimeter long, only a few nanometers wide and harnesses the superior electromechanical properties of carbon nanotubes to capture electrical signals from individual neurons.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time scientists have used carbon nanotubes to record signals from individual neurons, what we call intracellular recordings, in brain slices or intact brains of vertebrates," said Bruce Donald, a professor of computer science and biochemistry at Duke University who helped developed the probe.

He and his collaborators describe the carbon nanotube probes June 19 in PLOS ONE.

"The results are a good proof of principle that carbon nanotubes could be used for studying signals from individual nerve cells," said Duke neurobiologist Richard Mooney, a study co-author. "If the technology continues to develop, it could be quite helpful for studying the brain."

Scientists want to study signals from individual neurons and their interactions with other brain cells to better understand the computational complexity of the brain.

Currently, they use two main types of electrodes, metal and glass, to record signals from brain cells. Metal electrodes record spikes from a population of brain cells and work well in live animals. Glass electrodes also measure spikes, as well as the computations individual cells perform, but are delicate and break easily.

"The new carbon nanotubes combine the best features of both metal and glass electrodes. They record well both inside and outside brain cells, and they are quite flexible. Because they won't shatter, scientists could use them to record signals from individual brain cells of live animals," said Duke neurobiologist Michael Platt, who was not involved in the study.

In the past, other scientists have experimented with carbon nanotube probes. But the electrodes were thick, causing tissue damage, or they were short, limiting how far they could penetrate into brain tissue. They could not probe inside individual neurons.

To change this, Donald began working on a harpoon-like carbon-nanotube probe with Duke neurobiologist Richard Mooney five years ago. The two met during their first year at Yale in the 1976, kept in touch throughout graduate school and began meeting to talk about their research after they both came to Duke.

Mooney told Donald about his work recording brain signals from live zebra finches and mice. The work was challenging, he said, because the probes and machinery to do the studies were large and bulky on the small head of a mouse or bird.

With Donald's expertise in nanotechnology and robotics and Mooney's in neurobiology, the two thought they could work together to shrink the machinery and improve the probes with nano-materials.

To make the probe, graduate student Inho Yoon and Duke physicist Gleb Finkelstein used the tip of an electrochemically sharpened tungsten wire as the base and extended it with self-entangled multi-wall carbon nanotubes to create a millimeter-long rod. The scientists then sharpened the nanotubes into a tiny harpoon using a focused ion beam at North Carolina State University.

Yoon then took the nano-harpoon to Mooney's lab and jabbed it into slices of mouse brain tissue and then into the brains of anesthetized mice. The results show that the probe transmits brain signals as well as, and sometimes better than, conventional glass electrodes and is less likely to break off in the tissue. The new probe also penetrates individual neurons, recording the signals of a single cell rather than the nearest population of them.

Based on the results, the team has applied for a patent on the nano-harpoon. Platt said scientists might use the probes in a range of applications, from basic science to human brain-computer interfaces and brain prostheses.

Donald said the new probe makes advances in those directions, but the insulation layers, electrical recording abilities and geometry of the device still need improvement.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/7OztY2ISM84/130619195129.htm

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Watch an 80s hair band reunite for one last show after Facebook brought them tog...

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Pentagon says women in all combat units by 2016 (CNN)

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Thursday, June 13, 2013

NY woman helps track suspect in dad's 1986 killing

In this Nov. 19, 2011 publicity headshot provided by Franklyn Espinal shows singer/actress Joselyn Martinez. With perseverance, and $280, Martinez tracked down the man the man accused of murdering her father in 1986. After Martinez contacted New York City detectives with the killer?s Miami address, police arrested Justo Santos on Thursday, June 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Franklyn Espinal)

In this Nov. 19, 2011 publicity headshot provided by Franklyn Espinal shows singer/actress Joselyn Martinez. With perseverance, and $280, Martinez tracked down the man the man accused of murdering her father in 1986. After Martinez contacted New York City detectives with the killer?s Miami address, police arrested Justo Santos on Thursday, June 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Franklyn Espinal)

(AP) ? An aspiring actress has helped police track down a suspect in her father's 1986 slaying.

Periodically, over the last few years, Joselyn Martinez would try to find information about the man accused of shooting and killing her father outside his restaurant on Nov. 22, 1986, when she was 9 years old.

Beginning in 2006, she trolled Myspace and Facebook for information. In 2011, she wrote a letter to "America's Most Wanted." Through it all, she spent her own money, dishing out payments of $69.99 to various online search programs that turn up potential addresses and phone numbers for people.

And on Friday, her efforts were vindicated when police arrested Justo Santos on charges he murdered her father, Jose Martinez, outside his Dominican restaurant in the city's Washington Heights neighborhood 27 years ago.

"It's amazing," Martinez, 36, said Tuesday. "I didn't plan for this. It's been surreal."

Police said Santos, whose arrest in Miami was first reported by the Daily News, has made statements implicating himself in the killing. On Tuesday, Santos agreed to let police return him to New York later. He was in police custody Tuesday and wasn't available for comment, and there was no information on whether he had an attorney. He has a Miami court date later this month.

Witnesses to the 1986 killing said they had seen Santos, and he was quickly named by detectives as a suspect, but he fled to the Dominican Republic shortly after.

Martinez, who has appeared in Spanish-language music videos, radio commercials and a video game and wants to be in TV shows and movies, said there was "no plan" in her search efforts over the years.

"It was totally, absolutely in my eyes, totally random," said Martinez, who has appeared on the Dominican TV show "Divertido con Jochy," or "Fun with Jochy."

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters on Tuesday that Santos, 43, had been jailed in the Dominican Republic in an unrelated case about two years after the Martinez killing but served just more than a year before he was released. Kelly said Martinez's case was closed upon news of Santos' incarceration in the Dominican Republic ? something that should never have happened.

"They should not have closed the case," Kelly said.

Unlike today, the New York Police Department did not have liaisons in the Dominican Republic at that time.

But Joselyn Martinez continued her own search, saving her search results to a folder on her laptop dedicated to solving her father's killing.

"I didn't suddenly find him. This took years of putting away efforts," she said. "It just took many years, and I felt like I was doing something. I didn't tell anybody. I didn't want people to think I was crazy."

Martinez said in February she met with detectives from a cold-case squad to turn over all the information she'd uncovered, including a search result with Santos' name, address and phone number in Miami. She said detectives from the cold-case squad used her information and traveled to Miami, where they made the arrest without incident.

"I just feel like I had to do it for my father," she said, "and it's up to New York state to decide what happens next."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-12-Daughter-Dad's%20Killing/id-e6487e9b71e6462cb0f79ebd415ea20e

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Why I'm Getting the Xbox One, Not the PS4 (Ugh)

Why I'm Getting the Xbox One, Not the PS4 (Ugh)

If you're anything like me, your penchant for gaming has probably dwindled over the years. And, as I stand on the precipice of unloading an ungodly amount of money on either Microsoft or Sony's next generation console, I ask myself if I should upgrade to either, or just opt for a media streaming box? The answer: I'm getting an Xbox One. Here's why.

Thinking Inside the Box

If gaming's not your main obsession, there's really no contest between PS4 and the Xbox One. Over the years Microsoft has wheeled and dealed its way into a treasure trove of non-gaming content that Sony simply hasn't been able to match. The Xbox has transformed itself from being just a gaming console to a family-friendly do-it-all media hub. It's something Bill Gates has envisioned since before the Xbox 360 launched nearly eight years ago.

In a 2005 interview with Time Magazine, Gates had this to say about the Xbox and its place in the home:

"You can't just sell it as a convergence device," Gates says. "You gotta get in there because certain members of the family [i.e., teenage boys] think it's a must-have type thing. But the way to cement it is as a family experience. And the way that it really makes sense for Microsoft, and we justify this sort of circuitous route that we went down, is because of how it fits in the living room."

Xbox One now offers Netflix, HBO GO, ESPN, Vevo and a heck of a lot more than just the ability to play DVDs and CDs then when the 360 first launched. You can even watch live TV on it if you're a Comcast customer.

Sony's offerings aren't nearly as far-reaching, and now that the Xbox One will be Blu-ray compatible, the PlayStation has lost its primary media advantage. Sony doesn't offer HBO GO, among other Xbox-friendly content options. In terms of breadth of services, it's not even close.

In fact, if you navigate to either Xbox.com or PlayStation.com, it's interesting to see how each of the two companies is marketing their respective black boxes. Gaming is the last value proposition in a laundry list of things that Microsoft boasts about the One. Sony, meanwhile, wants you to know that it's all about games and gamers and gameplay. Sadly, I'm not that interested in just games anymore. Why can't I have the best of both worlds?

One could opt for a media streaming box like the Apple TV or Roku, but what about those of us still using optical media? My apartment is cluttered enough with electronics. I really just want one box to rule them all. And while I don't game as much as I used to, I'm still up for the occasional round of Gears of War.

Necessary Evil

The only shitty thing is that Microsoft has the best content deals around but maintains that every additive feature requires an Xbox Live Gold membership at $60 bucks a year. Somewhere along the way the multiplayer service turned into more than just that, and now includes anything fun and/or cool. Without Gold, the Xbox is actually pretty lame. With Gold, you have to pay a subscription fee just to access the Netflix subscription you're already paying for. It's sad but true.

But what other option do I have? I'm willing to pay for the redundancy to have the convenience of just one box. To me, it's worth it. If it were just about gaming, then there's no doubt that the PlayStation 4 would have won me over. This isn't a war about which console is best anymore, at least not for me. It's about which one has better content, and Microsoft is winning.

Master Plan

While Gates might not ever be remembered as a visionary the way Jobs was, you can't argue that he hasn't delivered on his vision for the Xbox. In that same interview with Time, Gates succinctly predicted the Xbox's place in the home: "Think of it as not taking over the digital ecosystem but being a prime player in that digital ecosystem."

Mission accomplished, Bill. Now take my money.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/why-im-getting-the-xbox-one-not-the-ps4-ugh-512840127

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Holland Taylor's 'Ann' closing on Broadway

NEW YORK (AP) ? Actress Holland Taylor's one-woman portrait of Ann Richards, the former Texas governor with the cotton candy hair and down-home humor, will be moving along.

Producers said Wednesday "Ann" will close after the June 30 show following 19 previews and 132 regular performances at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater.

The silver-tongued Richards was a longtime champion of women and minorities in government. She died in 2006 at age 73.

Taylor, perhaps best known for playing the feisty grandmother on the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men," has previously taken her play to various theaters in Texas, as well as Chicago and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

She earned a Tony nomination for best leading actress in a play.

___

Online: http://www.theannrichardsplay.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/holland-taylors-ann-closing-broadway-173317816.html

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Stock Talk: Those analysts, they be finicky folk

Samsung

To close out last week's trading week, Samsung shares tanked, and everyone seemed to be talking about it. The short version:  Samsung stock dropped 6 percent, which means $12 billion of market value was wiped out in a single day. In case you were wondering, Samsung has a market value just under $200 billion. By comparison, Apple is worth $410 billion, Google is worth $290 billion and Microsoft is almost $300 million. All of these market values make BlackBerry seem like a drop in the bucket given its market capitalization of $7 billion.

Why did Samsung drop? A few analysts downgraded the stock. The downgrades apparently were sparked by fears that Samsung is going after more market volume at lower margins. The evidence? A couple of stripped down models of the Galaxy S4 were announced. 

I think Samsung is doing a tremendous job of profiting from the global Android explosion. As much as people think Google must be unhappy with Samsung's dominance, I don’t think that’s the case. Google must love how quickly Samsung has helped to propel Android to dominance. We are in a new world of mobile computing, and Android has become the mobile equivalent of Microsoft Windows in terms of market dominance. To be clear, I’m not comparing the way Microsoft is run versus Google, or the quality of each company’s software. I’m speaking only about dominant market share. 

read more

    


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/eCBTIS-BrZE/story01.htm

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