Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/297882781?client_source=feed&format=rss
j crew san francisco 49ers san francisco 49ers stan musial Mega 49ers lance armstrong
বৃহস্পতিবার, ১১ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩
Three LulzSec hackers plead guilty to attacking U.S., U.K. websites
By Larry Fine AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - The Masters is widening the weekend field for this week's tournament and granting automatic entry next year to more PGA Tour winners, Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said on Wednesday. The cut for the 93-player field will be expanded by six to the top 50 and ties, along with those within 10 strokes of the lead, to include more players in the final two rounds of the year's first major championship. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/three-lulzsec-hackers-plead-guilty-attacking-u-u-012152264.html
cbs sports ncaa tournament kids choice awards Miley Cyrus Twerk ncaa march madness cbs march madness bracket
Roku passes 5 million players sold in the US, shows off with a few more stats
Five years after the original Roku launched and just weeks after the release of the Roku 3, the company has announced lifetime US sales of 5 million units. The proclamation comes attached to a detailed infographic (linked below) that breaks down its last five years of progress, plus stats like where it's most popular (Lexington, KY) and the most minutes streamed by one player in one week (10,080.) That's quite a marathon session -- Lost plus House of Cards doesn't even get you halfway -- but its stats claim 25 percent of players stream more than 35 hours per week.
The last time we checked in on Roku sales, it was chasing the million unit mark alongside Apple's hobby. The Apple TV has since risen to 5 million sold in the last fiscal year, buoyed by the AirPlay feature that makes it an attractive accessory for the company's other devices. To Roku's favor, it claims 43 percent of owners say it's their preferred source of video for their TV. It's come a long way from its start as a Netflix Player with more than 750 channels available including Time Warner Cable and HBO Go, which makes CEO Anthony Wood's claim that the "future of TV is streaming" look closer than ever.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Roku Blog, Roku 5 Million
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/aNWqVf0kJ3I/
alec time 100 bob beckel anna paquin warren buffett 2012 nfl schedule dishonored
Burner, The One-Click Disposable Phone Number App, Comes To Android
Sometimes you just need a disposable phone number. Why? Maybe you're not too sure about that dude you just met, but you want to give him a chance. Maybe you don't want weirdos from Craigslist calling you once your couch is gone. Last August, an app called Burner came along that popularized the idea of disposable numbers at the push of a button. After 9 months as an iOS-only app, Burner is today launching on Android.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/v1uqo86xBxs/
Spain Vs Italy Euro 2012 Pepco erin andrews erin andrews tour de france Magic Mike Anderson Cooper Gay
High levels of lead detected in rice imported from certain countries
Apr. 10, 2013 ? Rice imported from certain countries contains high levels of lead that could pose health risks, particularly for infants and children, who are especially sensitive to lead's effects, and adults of Asian heritage who consume large amounts of rice, scientists said in New Orleans on April 10. Their research, which found some of the highest lead levels in baby food, was among almost 12,000 reports scheduled for the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
Tsanangurayi Tongesayi, Ph.D., who headed the analysis of rice imported from Asia, Europe and South America, pointed out that imports account for only 7 percent of the rice consumed in the United States. With vast rice fields in Louisiana, California, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, the U.S. is a major producer and exporter of the grain. However, imports of rice and rice flour are increasing ? by more than 200 percent since 1999 ? and rice is the staple food for 3 billion people worldwide, he added.
"Such findings present a situation that is particularly worrisome given that infants and children are especially vulnerable to the effects of lead poisoning," Tongesayi said. "For infants and children, the daily exposure levels from eating the rice products analyzed in this study would be 30-60 times higher than the FDA's provisional total tolerable intake (PTTI) levels. Asians consume more rice, and for these infants and children, exposures would be 60-120 times higher. For adults, the daily exposure levels were 20-40 times higher than the PTTI levels."
The research was part of a symposium titled "Food and Its Environment: What Is In What We Eat?"
Tongesayi's team, which is with Monmouth University in N.J., found that levels of lead in rice imported into the United States ranged from 6 to 12 milligrams/kilogram. From those numbers, they calculated the daily exposure levels for various populations and then made comparisons with the FDA's PTTI levels for lead. They detected the highest amounts of lead in rice from Taiwan and China. Samples from the Czech Republic, Bhutan, Italy, India and Thailand had significantly high levels of lead as well. Analysis of rice samples from Pakistan, Brazil and other countries were still underway.
Because of the increase in rice imports into the United States, Tongesayi said that rice from other nations has made its way into a wide variety of grocery stores, large supermarket chains and restaurants, as well as ethnic specialty markets and restaurants.
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 American Chemical Society.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: 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/living_well/~3/qPiHCEdUtMc/130410201824.htm
madonna half time m.i.a super bowl coin toss best superbowl commercials madonna super bowl halftime kelly clarkson super bowl giants super bowl 2012
Cancer, The Video Game
I look around; Ryan Green has already slipped out of the room. I hesitate, then nod. I take my seat at the rickety desk and put on a pair of expensive noise-canceling headphones.
The game is called That Dragon, Cancer. The desk ? I wish we?d had a better desk for them, actually ? is located on the first floor of Unwinnable?s furnished, three-story mansion, which we?ve rented for this year?s Game Developers Conference. Tonight every room is full of developers and their games. We?ve given That Dragon, Cancer its own entire bedroom. It?s the largest bedroom on the first floor; it even has its own couch. I am surprised. I didn?t have much to do with organizing this event (I?m not much of an organizer), so everything surprises me.
More than one colleague has told me to come to this room. One told me to come to this room first, another told me to visit it last. I am about to become very, very surprised.
???
I am searching the screen with my cursor when I remember the demo is supposed to end with the words ?thank you.? And I realize I?ve just heard these words, and I take my hand away from the mouse and squirm out of the expensive noise-canceling headphones, and now I am staring at Josh Larson.
Josh is here ? was he always here? ? with a clipboard and pen. He?s going to take my feedback. I think he?s been taking my feedback.
How long have I been sitting here?
?Okay,? I tell him. I wrack my brain. ?I? don?t think I?ve ever played a videogame that takes place in the ICU before.?
I give Josh Larson my design notes. I am clinical with my thoughts and suggestions. I answer Josh?s questions.
Now Josh has another question for me. ?Did you understand that the game is supposed to be hopeful??
I answer yes, and I am explaining why, and this is when it finally catches up with me. I burst into tears.
I don?t think I?ve ever played a videogame that takes place in an ICU before. Actually, do you know, for a few years and right up until six months ago, I spent a lot of meaningful time in the ICU.
And wow, you really got every detail right! I can?t believe it! There?s the armchair. And it is! It is always too small! And rubbery. Here?s the phone right next to it, of course. The bed is over there. The bathroom is a room attached to this one, and then there?s another sink counter way over here, where you religiously wash and sanitize your hands. There?s the salmon-pink, kidney-shaped basin sitting on the counter just to the sink?s left: maybe it?s supposed to be a bedpan, but we always used it for vomit instead. Everything is just right, just the way I remember it.
And then there are those great big windows ? there are always those great big windows ? and if it weren?t for those big picture windows, you?d never know the time of day, since the ICU is always so dark. That moment really struck me, seeing out those windows and realizing it?s still daylight.
Oh. Have you ever heard of something called ?ICU psychosis?? Write that down, look it up later. But okay, it happens to not only the patients themselves, but also to their loved ones. You not only lose track of what time of day it is, but also what day it is, what week it is. Time doesn?t work right anymore. There are audio and visual hallucinations, too, sometimes. You know that whiteboard, where they write down what day it is and the nurses? hours? That isn?t really for the nurses, you know. It?s for you. Oh, that?s something you left out, the whiteboard.
Something else struck me ? sorry, I?m kind of harping on this one moment. Okay. So when I?d click on the windows, the camera would whirl, and suddenly it leaves the first-person vantage, and the camera swoops around outside the window to stare into the building back at me, and I?m standing there looking out the window, and it?s a real Portal moment, you know, where you see yourself for the first time? So when I look in at myself, I see Ryan Green standing there instead ? Ryan, the man who was only just here in the room with us ? and I can see his shape and form and his glasses and his beard.
And then, and only then, I remember I am supposed to be Ryan.
???
Later I was describing that Portal moment to Ryan Green ? this convergence of game and cinema and prose and autobiography ? and just how meaningful that moment really was, and I said something like ?it proves there really are some stories that can only be told through the medium of games.? Then I added, ?I think you?ve really achieved something here,? and I said that last thing out loud and I felt so, so sick.
???
In the game, you click through the ICU, feeling around with your cursor for any sort of narrative relief. Sometimes relief does arrive, in the form of a white scrawl, an almost-handwritten prose-poem scribbling itself against the ICU. Sometimes, though, it seems you?ve finally run out of options.
Your son is crying out in pain. There is nothing you can do.
That Dragon, Cancer positions itself as an adventure game, which by design implies all the flaws and failings built into a point-and-click adventure game. You fall into these cyclic, helpless loops of action, clicking on this hotspot and that one, fumbling for anything to alleviate your, Ryan?s, son?s cries ? cries that start out gut-wrenching, then quickly turn into something more persistently awful, something you?ve got to quell as quickly as possible. It hurts on every level.
To get to all the hotspots on one side of the room, you have to repeatedly seat yourself in the too-small armchair near your ? Ryan?s ? son?s bed. And, ah, that?s how it actually goes. You keep sitting down and surveying the room, looking for just one new thing to try to do. That?s how it really, really went.
And at some point the game stops cold. Now there is only one parser command on the screen.
Pray.
This is how it really, really went.
Ryan tells us, in an early in-game voice over, how at first this whole medical odyssey was ?an adventure.? He was, he imagined, ?a hero.? I heard him say that, and I thought how brave it was to just come right out and say that, and my stomach folded in on itself.
The very first time, my mother was supposed to die. She was supposed to die, and we succeeded instead. She survived several times after. For just under a year I was needlessly cavalier. I do remember what it felt like to be the hero. I also remember what it felt like to get so, so tired, which was a long time after I?d stopped being afraid.
Ryan Green told me he?d wanted to include some sort of prose refrain. The game, in many ways, is a hymn, a song of praise, but I told him a refrain might be overkill. I told him players will always fumble at the same couple of objects in the room, and those objects can always respond with the same piece of text, and in a way, that could become the refrain, if you could just anticipate what the player will reach for. No, I told him, you don?t need to artificially include a refrain. Maybe. I don?t know.
I told Ryan I have limited experience with cancer. I told him about my mother, who died of something else, but it, you know, it took a long time. Then Ryan asked me what my favorite thing about my mother was.
?Oh,? I said to him. And then I told him something. It was a pretty big something.
And I concluded, ?I?ve never told anyone that before,? and that was true, and it is still true.
???
Josh Larson is holding a clipboard. He has a question for me. ?Did you? understand that the game itself is supposed to be hopeful??
?Yes,? I tell him reluctantly. ?Yes, because even when you?re trapped on certain narrative circuits ? ?
He?s still alive.
? ? there?s this perpetual forward motion, a momentum, where you aren?t really trapped, there?s always, uh ? ?
He?s still alive.
I tell Josh I tried to make a game once, in Twine, and I only ever showed it to a few people, but in it there is no narrative direction; the player just circles hopelessly. There is no narrative hope.
?But with something like this,? I tell Josh Larson, ?you dedicate years of your life, and the person, ah ? ?
He?s still alive.
I sob.
? ? the person still dies, no matter how long you take, no matter what you do.? I barely manage to work these words out.
This isn?t constructive criticism at all. It is hopelessness, hopelessness in the face of Josh Larson and Ryan Green?s hope.
???
Still, I keep thinking about my favorite thing about my mother ? a weird thing to love, just some human failing, a secret I kept for her ? and I suddenly remember I had two or three extra years with her, and
He?s still alive.
and she?s gone, she?s gone, and now I have all this love and no place to put it.
I carefully take the headphones from around my neck and set them in front of me.
?Well,? Josh Larson says to me, sighing deeply but smiling, ?I?m glad we could give you twenty minutes of peace.?
I look at him, and then I stare down at my lap, and I realize he?s right. For twenty minutes I?ve been in another place ? in its own fucked way it was safe there ? and now I?m back. I nod.
???
This is admittedly a pretty audacious effort, to invent an entire game narrative about this one event that ? how can I say this in a gracious way ? hasn?t transpired yet. Yet.
This is an ugly truth, but look. This is probably coming. I?m sorry. This is a game about something that is only inevitably coming.
But it?s coming for all of us.
And that is the loveliest thing about That Dragon, Cancer: we will all meet this thing, or have already met it. Maybe that should be scary, but That Dragon, Cancer is about sustaining the hope and joy of life for just as long as we can.
I like poetry. That Dragon, Cancer is entirely made up of poetry. An old poetry professor of mine is waiting to die of some rare blood cancer. The wonderful thing about his certain-death cancer is, he could die tomorrow, or he could die at ninety. ?Certain death? is incredibly silly that way.
What was it e.e. cummings said? It was some line of poetry. How did it go? It went something like, ?for life?s not a paragraph. And death I think is no parenthesis.? I have no idea what it means; I just like it.
???
I was confused. Wasn?t there anything else to do? I scanned my cursor across the ICU.
I wasn?t sure I?d found the demo?s end, and then I remembered those strange words: ?Thank you.?
I nodded and took the headphones off, and then I looked for Josh.
???
Jenn Frank is Unwinnable's editorial director. Her writing has also appeared at 1UP, Vice Motherboard, GameSetWatch, Jezebel, the New York Times, and in Kill Screen Magazine. She lives with a miniature schnauzer. Follow her on Twitter @Jennatar.
Learn more about That Dragon, Cancer at its development blog.
This post was republished with permission.
?Loading more stories?
Source: http://kotaku.com/cancer-the-video-game-471333034
the legend of korra three stooges the three stooges the bee gees woodward keratosis pilaris rock and roll hall of fame 2012
Steep Apple, Samsung price cuts blast rivals across the globe
SmartphonesA string of recent iPhone and Galaxy price cuts has rocked the phone markets from Europe to Brazil to India. This is the season for price cuts from Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (005930), and we see the same thing every year. But this time around, the cuts are more severe than we have ever seen before. Some pricing on Galaxy S models in Asia have dropped by nearly 50% as Samsung battles back against the insurgency of upstart brands like Micromax and Karbonn. The Galaxy S III?s price in Europe has plunged by nearly 40% from June 2012 as Samsung prepares to debut the Galaxy S4. Apple?s iPhone 4 has dipped to just $270 in Brazil. In India, Apple now offers to pay 7,000 rupees?for old smartphones from consumers who trade them in towards an iPhone 4 ? probably the most aggressive promotion Apple has ever launched over there.
[More from BGR: Google Fiber has cost less than $100 million to launch so far]
The impact of these moves is already becoming evident in Europe. The widely followed USwitch smartphone sales tracker now shows five Samsung models and three Apple models in the U.K.?s top-10 chart. Discounted models from the two giants have knocked out all of BlackBerry (BBRY), LG (066570) and Nokia?s (NOK) handsets, which still showed up in the January-February charts. Back in January, no fewer than four Nokia models made the top-10 list.
[More from BGR: Apple?s vision of a tablet-laptop hybrid finally comes into focus]
In the spring of 2012, both Samsung and Apple were still enjoying strong volume growth and market share gains practically across the globe. But by Christmas 2012, Apple?s global smartphone volume growth cooled to 29%, below the industry average; and Samsung?s market share had started slipping a notch in India. Both Apple and Samsung are now getting a lot more aggressive with pricing and promotions. The overall smartphone volume growth has dropped from 50%-plus in January 2012 to around 35% in Q1 2013.
The impact on smaller rivals in Q2 2013 could be profound. As relatively fresh high-end models like the Samsung Galaxy Note II suddenly drop to the medium price bracket, they put a lot of pressure on HTC (2498), LG, Nokia and BlackBerry ? brands that are trying to recover from extremely weak performances in 2012. Apple?s notable April aggression in emerging markets like India and Brazil may be a sign that it plans to get far rougher on budget rivals in 2013 than it has ever been before.
It could well be that the second quarter?this year will be one of those watershed quarters when market shares swing sharply after a period of slower change. As mobile handset vendors prepare to report their Q1 2012 numbers, it makes sense to pay particular attention to the spring guidance; the game is now changing radically from the January-March period.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/steep-apple-samsung-price-cuts-blast-rivals-across-153003084.html
Chinua Achebe The Croods ashley greene marquette university Chris Porco cbs sports ncaa tournament
Italy's 5-Star is growing threat to F-35 purchase
By Steve Scherer
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's 5-Star Movement, led by comic Beppe Grillo, wants to scrap the country's planned purchase of 90 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets and use the savings to help boost the struggling economy, a lawmaker told Reuters on Tuesday.
Italy has been unable to seat a government since the February national election that left no single force with a working majority in parliament, but 5-Star wants to form parliamentary committees so laws can be made without one.
"We plan on presenting soon a motion in parliament to totally abandon the F-35 program," Alessandro Di Battista, a 5-Star deputy in the lower house, told Reuters.
Eliminating the purchase of the fighter jets would save Italy a total of an estimated 10 billion euros ($13 billion)but it would leave the Air Force and the country's new aircraft carrier with an outdated fighter fleet.
Even though support for the purchase of the fighter, built by Lockheed Martin Corp of the United States is dwindling, any decision to drop or curtail the procurement is not likely to be taken before a government is formed.
The troubled F-35 is seven years behind schedule and 70 percent over early cost estimates, and orders for the super technological new jet have been cut during an economic crisis that has shrunk defense budgets worldwide.
Last year, Italy cut its F-35 order to 90 warplanes from the 131 it had agreed to buy more than a decade ago, a move it said would save 5 billion euros. The package also includes maintenance work for Italy's state controlled defense technology group Finmeccanica.
The 5-Star Movement does not have enough votes in parliament to shoot down the jet purchases on its own, but political momentum against the Joint Strike Fighter is building.
The Left Ecology Liberty (SEL) party has already presented a motion to parliament against the fighter-jet purchase, and the Democratic Party (PD) has said it is in favor of further reductions.
"Even in Washington they know the F-35 is a fighter that cannot fight, but in Italy we're still trying to buy it," Nichi Vendola, head of SEL, told Reuters, referring to the technical problems that have dogged the jet.
Vendola said the money saved should be used to improve schools, the nation's aqueducts and to increasing public day-care programs for children.
The PD has already said the F-35 purchases should be "rethought," Lapo Pistelli, the party's top foreign affairs advisor, told Reuters. "But this is a decision that must be taken by a government with full powers."
AFGHANISTAN
On Wednesday, the 5-Star Movement will ask parliament to back the immediate withdrawal of Italian troops serving under the umbrella of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in Afghanistan, Di Battista also said.
"It's an unacceptable, shameful war," he said.
Currently, Italy's more than 4,000 troops are to be drawn down by 25 percent this year, with the rest coming home by the end of next year, and it costs Italy about 750 million euros per year.
Parliament must approve continued funding for the mission later this year.
Though the 5-Star does not want Italy to withdrawal from NATO, Di Battista said: "Any historic agreement can be discussed. If something is unjust, then we need to rethink it."
($1 = 0.7658 euros)
(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italys-5-star-growing-threat-f-35-purchase-164804569--finance.html
phantom of the opera agoraphobia andrew lloyd webber obscura grok cirque du freak paul pierce
MasterCard under EU fire over payment card fees
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - MasterCard
The EU watchdog said on Tuesday MasterCard's fees were a concern in view of the growing role of non-cash payments.
"Fees charged for payments made by cardholders from non-European countries can be quite high. Actually, these types of fees are generally much higher than those charged within Europe," Commission spokesman Antoine Colombani said.
The world's second-largest credit and debit card network after Visa
The latest investigation will also examine some of the company's other business practices in the EU which the regulator said could hinder e-commerce and cross-border trade.
MasterCard's premium cards, which levy higher fees than normal cards, would also come under scrutiny, Colombani said.
MasterCard, which could be fined up to $740 million or 10 percent of its 2012 revenue if found guilty, said it would cooperate with the Commission.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) welcomed the regulatory action, saying inter-bank fees push up prices, hurting consumers whether they pay with cash or with a card.
"So in the end, all consumers are hit by a scheme which ultimately rewards the card company and issuing bank," BEUC Director General Monique Goyens said in a statement.
EU retail lobby EuroCommerce, whose 1997 complaint triggered the first regulatory investigation into MasterCard, also welcomed the Commission's action but said more could be done.
"Despite a Commission decision and a European Court judgment, card fees in many member states remain far too high," EuroCommerce Director General Christian Verschueren said in a statement.
Mastercard challenged the Commission's 2007 ruling, but did agree to cap debit card fees at 0.20 percent and credit card fees at 0.30 percent of purchases while waiting for Europe's top court to rule on its challenge.
EU regulators are also investigating Visa Europe, the European licensee of Visa Inc
The Commission said it planned to propose rules on card fees before the summer to ensure a level playing field.
(Editing by Ethan Bilby and Jane Merriman)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mastercard-under-eu-fire-over-payment-card-fees-140252995--sector.html
glock msnbc meteor shower 121212 Concert Columbine shooting News Ryan Lanza Facebook
বুধবার, ১০ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩
Senators work on deal expanding background checks
FILE- In this Jan. 30, 2013, file photo Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., talks about gun legislation during the committee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Congress returns from a two-week spring recess Monday, April 8, 2013, with gun control and immigration high on the Senate's agenda. Senators could start debating Democratic-written gun legislation before week's end, but leaders may decide to give negotiators more time to seek a deal on expanding background checks for firearms buyers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE- In this Jan. 30, 2013, file photo Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., talks about gun legislation during the committee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Congress returns from a two-week spring recess Monday, April 8, 2013, with gun control and immigration high on the Senate's agenda. Senators could start debating Democratic-written gun legislation before week's end, but leaders may decide to give negotiators more time to seek a deal on expanding background checks for firearms buyers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE ? In this Feb. 27, 2013, file photo faces of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims are seen behind Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D? Calif., as she speaks about the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 during the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Congress returns Monday, April 8, 2013, from a two-week spring recess with gun control and immigration high on the Senate's agenda. Senators could start debating Democratic-written gun legislation before week's end. But leaders also might decide to give negotiators more time to seek a deal on expanding background checks for firearms buyers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
FILE - In this March 14, 2013 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Gun control legislation the Senate debates next month will include an expansion of federal background checks for firearms buyers, Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday, March 21, 2013, in a victory for advocates of gun restrictions. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Talks between two influential senators have emerged as the most promising route for a bipartisan breakthrough on expanding federal background checks for gun buyers, a pivotal part of President Barack Obama's plan for combating gun violence.
One possibility being discussed by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., would involve expanding background checks to gun show sales and firearms transactions online, Senate aides said. Sales between close relatives and temporary transfers between hunters may be excluded, but an agreement along those lines could give Obama's guns agenda a significant boost and would be a major expansion of the current system, which covers only sales handled by federally licensed gun dealers.
The agreement remains a work in progress and could change, said Senate aides who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
But because of their credentials, an accord between the two lawmakers could make it easier for gun control advocates to win crucial support from wavering moderate Democrats and from GOP senators, who have largely opposed much of Obama's push on guns.
Manchin is a moderate and Toomey is a conservative, and both senators have received A ratings from the National Rifle Association, which has opposed the major parts of Obama's plan, including his call for nearly universal background checks.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Monday that a compromise on gun legislation was "feasible and possible and is also necessary and desirable."
"Senator Toomey's involvement along with Senator Manchin, two very credible and experienced senators, is very important to achieving that kind of common ground," Blumenthal told CNN.
Senators return Monday from a two-week spring recess, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has been hoping to begin debate on Democrats' gun legislation Tuesday. That could be delayed if Manchin and Toomey seem close to an agreement but need more time to complete one.
Obama planned to speak at the University of Hartford in Connecticut on Monday to continue trying to pressure Congress to move ahead on gun control legislation.
Also high on Congress' agenda is immigration, where a decisive moment is approaching.
Bipartisan groups in the House and Senate are expected to present legislation as early as this week aimed at securing the U.S. border, fixing legal immigration and granting legal status to millions who are in the United States without authorization. That will open months of debate on the politically combustible issue, with votes by the Senate Judiciary Committee expected later this month.
The House returns Tuesday and initially plans to consider a bill preventing the National Labor Relations Board from issuing rules until a dispute over administration appointees is resolved.
Lawmakers will also devote time to the 2014 budget that Obama plans to release Wednesday. It calls for new tax increases, which Republicans oppose, and smaller annual increases in Social Security and other government benefit programs, over the objections of many of the president's fellow Democrats.
Advocates' hopes were high for congressional action on gun restrictions following the December massacre of 20 first-graders and six staffers at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
But momentum seems to have dipped in recent weeks and it remains unclear whether the Democratic-run Senate will be able to approve any curbs considered major by gun control groups. An Obama-backed assault weapons ban seems all but dead, and a prohibition against ammunition magazines carrying over 10 rounds, also supported by the president, seems unlikely to survive.
Without support from some Republicans, a significant expansion of background checks won't be possible because there are only 53 Democrats in the Senate plus two Democratic-leaning independents. Conservative GOP senators have promised to use delaying tactics against gun legislation, which would take 60 votes to end.
Federal background checks are currently required only for transactions handled by the roughly 55,000 federally licensed firearms dealers; private sales such as gun-show or online purchases are exempt.
For weeks, Manchin has been part of an effort to craft a background check compromise, along with Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill. Schumer focused his efforts on conservative Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., but those talks sputtered over Schumer's insistence on ? and Coburn's opposition to ? requiring that records be kept of private gun sales.
"I'm still hopeful that what I call the sweet spot ? background checks ? can succeed," Schumer said Sunday. "We're working hard there."
Proponents say background checks and records ? which are currently retained by gun dealers, not the government ? are the best way to ensure that would-be gun buyers' histories are researched. Opponents say the system is a step toward government files on gun owners and say criminals routinely skirt the checks anyway.
Asked about the potential compromise, Manchin spokesman Jonathan Kott said, "My boss continues to talk to all of his colleagues." Toomey spokeswoman E.R. Anderson said she could provide no information.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., urged fellow Republicans to allow debate to go forward without a filibuster, even as he declined to express support for a background check bill.
"The purpose of the United States Senate is to debate and to vote and to let the people know where we stand," McCain said, appearing alongside Schumer on CBS' "Face the Nation."
With or without an agreement, the Senate gun legislation would toughen federal laws against illegal firearms sales, including against straw purchasers, those who buy firearms for criminals or others barred from owning them. The legislation also would provide $40 million a year, a modest increase from current levels of $30 million, for a federal program that helps schools take safety measures such as reinforcing classroom doors.
In addition, the gun bill contains language by Schumer expanding background checks to cover nearly all gun transactions, with narrow exceptions that include sales involving immediate relatives. Even without a bipartisan deal, Schumer is expected to expand the exemptions to more relatives, people with permits to carry concealed weapons and others, in hopes of winning more support.
Associated PressOrlando Cruz MLB Playoff Schedule arizona cardinals Big Bird Adam Greenberg Fall Leaves Jim Lehrer
Louisville wins NCAA title
ATLANTA (AP) ? Around the Final Four and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of everything surrounding the games.
___
LOUISVILLE WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Rick Pitino has history.
The Cardinals' coach became the first to win titles at two different schools, adding to the one he won with Kentucky by leading Louisville to a 82-75 victory over Michigan on Monday night.
Louisville trailed by 12 early in the game, but turned up the pressure on defense, kept up their hot shooting on offense and made enough free throws down the stretch to put away the Wolverines.
Luke Hancock, who led Louisville with 22 points, made two foul shots with 29.8 seconds left for an 80-74 lead. And after Tim Hardaway Jr. scored at the other end for Michigan, Peyton Siva added two more foul shots with 12.9 seconds to go to seal the game.
Trey Burke's 3-pointer in the closing seconds missed everything and went out of bounds, and the Cardinals started to celebrate as Russ Smith was fouled with 2 seconds left.
When the buzzer sounded, the Cardinals rushed to center court and began jumping as fireworks exploded in the Georgia Dome and confetti fell onto the floor.
? Dave Skretta ? http://twitter.com/@APdaveskretta
___
LOUISVILLE'S RALLY
Louisville has stormed back and taken the lead since trailing Michigan by 12 points in the first half of Monday night's championship game.
Michigan led the top-seeded Cardinals 33-21 in the first half. The Cardinals recovered to lead 71-64 with 4:34 remaining ? a 19-point turnaround.
Luke Hancock started the comeback with 16 points in the first half.
? Charles Odum ? http://twitter.com/@CharlesOdum
___
RECORD TURNOUT
The attendance for Monday night's Louisville-Michigan game at the Georgia Dome is 74,326 ? a record for a championship game.
The record may not last long. The 2014 Final Four will be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Attendance there could reach 80,000.
? Charles Odum
___
FOUL TROUBLE
Foul trouble is starting to mount for Louisville.
Russ Smith and Peyton Siva, the Cardinals' starting guards, each picked up their third foul early in the second half, along with Luke Hancock, who had been hot from the 3-point line.
The foul trouble in the backcourt is especially troublesome for Louisville because of the injury sustained by Kevin Ware, who had been providing valuable minutes off the bench.
Ware broke his leg in the regional finals against Duke.
The Wolverines were in better shape, with only forward Mitch McGary in foul trouble. The big forward picked up his fourth with 9:11 left in the game.
? Dave Skretta
___
HOT SHOOTING
So much for that theory about poor shooting in domes.
Michigan and Louisville aren't having any trouble. The teams combined to start the second half 5 of 6 from the field.
The Wolverines took a 38-37 lead into halftime Monday night thanks in part to shooting 50 percent from the field, and 6 of 11 from beyond the arc. Spike Albrecht helped, of course, with his 6-for-7 half and by going 4 for 4 from deep.
The Cardinals aren't doing shabby, either. They were hitting at a 46-percent clip and were 5 of 8 from beyond the arc, led by a 4-for-4 effort from Luke Hancock.
There's long been a belief that shooting in domes is more difficult because depth perception is thrown off by the spacious surroundings. That hasn't been the case tonight.
? Dave Skretta ? http://twitter.com/@APdaveskretta
___
HALFTIME ? MICHIGAN LEADING
It's halftime at the national championship game and Michigan is 20 minutes away from only its second national championship.
Freshman Spike Albrecht is the surprise scoring leader with 17 points as Michigan leads Louisville 38-37 at halftime of Monday night's championship game. Michigan won its only title in 1989.
Michigan, the No. 4 seed, is trying to upset Louisville, the No. 1 seed. Luke Hancock has 16 points for Louisville, which made a late charge to lead 37-36 before Michigan's Glenn Robinson III sank two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining.
Michigan star Trey Burke scored the first five points on a jumper and 3-pointer and had seven points less than 3 minutes into the game, matching his total from the Wolverines' semifinal win over Syracuse.
? Charles Odum ? http://twitter.com/CharlesOdum
___
GETTING SPIKED!
Louisville is getting Spiked in the NCAA finals.
As in, Spike Albrecht.
The freshman guard for Michigan has nearly outscored the Cardinals by himself ? he had 17 points as the Wolverines raced to a 33-21 lead late in the first half.
Albrecht was 4 for 4 from beyond the arc, running his NCAA tournament to 9 for 9 and matching Sam Cassell of Florida State (1993) for the most 3-pointers without a miss in tourney history.
Albrecht came into the game averaging about 2 points, with nine made 3s all season. His season high had been just seven points.
Late in the half, he got the ball on the wing and pumped faked from beyond the arc, not only bringing his defender off his feet but also about 50,000 fans. Albrecht wisely passed the ball away, but got it back moments later and converted on a nifty driving layup.
He furiously punched the air as Louisville called timeout.
? Dave Skretta
___
WEBBER SIGHTING
Former five-time NBA All-Star Chris Webber showed up at the Georgia Dome just about the time Michigan's starting lineup was being introduced before the Wolverines squared off against Louisville in Monday's night's national championship game.
CBS-TV showed Webber arriving at the Georgia Dome and exiting his car minutes before the game. He was wearing a UM hat.
Webber played on Michigan's 1992 and 1993 Final Four teams but a federal investigation revealed that a booster gave Webber and three non-Fab Five players more than $600,000 while they were student-athletes. The NCAA forced the school to dissociate from them until this year. The dissociation officially ends in May.
? Charles Odum
___
CLEAN PLAY
There haven't been many whistles blown early on in the championship game.
That's a good thing, too.
After a season in which basketball often resembled wrestling, and in which officials often stole the headlines, it was Michigan and Louisville on center stage at the Georgia Dome.
Only two fouls had been called in the first 7 minutes, 11 seconds, as the teams got into an up-and-down affair that finally looked the way basketball was meant to be played.
Both teams were shooting it well, too. Michigan started off 7 of 11 from the field, while Louisville was 5 for 11 as the second media timeout neared.
? Dave Skretta
___
VENUS WILLAMS
Venus Williams' pick is looking pretty good.
The tennis star is using her mother's home state as a good reason to cheer for Michigan against Louisville. The Wolverines are up 38-37 at the half.
Williams said she hasn't watched much of the NCAA tournament but is pulling for Michigan because her mother was born in Saginaw, Mich.
"I'm going with her hometown," Williams said before the game. She is in Atlanta on Monday to promote her athletic clothing line, EleVen.
? Jonathan Landrum ?http://twitter.com/@MrLandrum31
___
SANDY HOOK
Police Chief Michael Kehoe and some of the other officers from Newton, Conn., who responded to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School were honored during a timeout in the first half at the Final Four.
The crowd erupted when the officers, dressed in their uniforms, were shown on the video board hanging over the court and on the screens at each end of the Georgia Dome.
Twenty children and six adults were killed in the shooting last December.
? Dave Skretta
___
WARE CHEERS
Injured Louisville guard Kevin Ware followed his same pregame routine as in the Cardinals' semifinal win over Wichita State.
Ware, on crutches after having surgery to repair his broken right leg, again was cheered when he took his seat by the Louisville bench. Wearing his white No. 5 jersey, Ware sat beside the elevated court, facing the action, where he could prop up his injured leg on another chair. He stood at the end of Saturday's semifinal win over Wichita State and even shocked his teammates by joining a late-game huddle.
His teammates again wore T-shirts over their jerseys in pregame warmups with the words "Ri5e to the Occasion." A fan raised a sign which read "Rise for 5."
Ware played at Rockdale County High School, about 30 miles east of Atlanta.
? Charles Odum
___
MICHIGAN's HOMECOURT
Michigan ought to have a homecourt advantage over Louisville on Monday night.
The maple floor that the teams are playing on in the Georgia Dome was made by Connor Sport Court International at its plant in Amasa, Mich., and the lumber for it came from Timber Products Company, which is based in Munising, Mich.
The court is made up of 4-by-7 foot pieces that were sent by truck to Atlanta, where they were fitted together on an elevated platform in time for the Final Four.
Connor Sport Court also made the court for the women's Final Four in New Orleans.
? Dave Skretta
___
MAYWEATHER'S PICK
Floyd Mayweather Jr. won't know until halftime which team he'll pick to win the national basketball championship.
Once the undefeated boxing champion figures it out, he is expecting to place a $50,000 bet toward either Michigan or Louisville in the NCAA title game on Monday night. He thinks the Wolverines have a strong chance to come away with the crown if they're able to sustain an early lead against the Cardinals.gg
"I think that if Michigan gets a lead like that, it's going to be kind of hard to come back," said Mayweather, who is an avid sports fan and often bets on games. He probably should wait as long as he can: He had Indiana winning it all in his bracket.
Mayweather was in Atlanta to promote his upcoming fight against Robert Guerrero on May 4 in Las Vegas.
? Jonathan Landrum
___
TRAVIS TRITT
Country musician Travis Tritt has quite the task ahead of him when he performs the national anthem prior to Monday night's national championship between Michigan and Louisville.
The Georgia native will be following a virtuoso performance by the Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir before Saturday night's national semifinals, a rendition that drew almost universal praise from fans, the media and across social media platforms.
Tritt is no stranger to big sporting events. The two-time Grammy Award-winner has performed at two Super Bowls, a World Series and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and will be performing for the 15th time during Kentucky Derby festivities next month in Louisville, Ky.
? Dave Skretta
___
TICKET PRICES
Fans waiting until the last minute to buy NCAA championship game tickets are paying a steep price.
The average price for Monday night's game had soared to $720, according to TiqIQ.com, which tracks ticket trends. The company says that is a 140-percent increase over last year's final between Kentucky and Kansas in New Orleans.
At Ticketstub.com, prices for Monday night's game were starting at $330 about three hours before the game.
? Charles Odum
___
MICHIGAN'S FAB FIVE
One unanswered question at the Final Four: Will there be a reunion of Michigan's Fab Five?
Twenty years ago, the brash group of Michigan youngsters lost to North Carolina in the NCAA title game. This is Michigan's first trip back to the championship game.
Chris Webber's whereabouts are causing the most commotion. Jalen Rose went on a Grantland.com podcast and encouraged Webber to join him and other Fab Five players at Monday night's title game against Louisville, but it's not clear whether that will happen.
Michigan has been recovering from the fallout after a federal investigation revealed that a booster gave Webber and three non-Fab Five players more than $600,000 while they were student-athletes. The NCAA forced the school to dissociate from them until this year. The dissociation officially ends in May.
On Saturday, Webber tweeted "It's Your Time Now!" ? along with a picture of current Michigan players Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III.
? Noah Trister ? http://twitter.com/@noahtrister
___
HAIL TO THE VICTORS
Michigan coach John Beilein attended the Final Four in 1989, when the Wolverines last won a national championship, and remembers one thing sticking out in his mind:
"Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The leaders and best!"
"I heard 'The Victors.' I heard the best fight song in the world," said Beilein, who was then a coach at Division II Le Moyne, and was attending the Final Four in Seattle with his wife, Kathleen.
"Kathleen and I looked at each other and said, 'This is the best fight song I have ever heard," Beilein recalled this week. "That's why it's so eerie to hear it today, that it ended up being my destination."
? Dave Skretta
____
NCAA Finals Watch follows the Final Four games and all the activities surrounding the event as seen by journalists from The Associated Press from across Atlanta. It will be updated throughout the day with breaking news and other items of interest. Follow AP reporters on Twitter where available.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/finals-watch-louisville-wins-national-title-034735022--spt.html
roger goodell psychosis dianna agron million hoodie march tebow trade mike the situation jacksonville jaguars
AOptix Stratus lets iPhone users check ID through eyes, faces, fingers and voices
The many attempts at weaving biometric identification into mobile devices have usually focused on only one aspect at a time, whether it's fingerprints or voices, and often for access to just the device itself. AOptix isn't quite so narrowly focused. Its new Stratus system combines an app with a custom iPhone 4 / 4S case (the Stratus MX) to verify faces, irises, fingerprints and voices for grander purposes, whether it's office workers checking in or entire national ID programs. The bundle should be more portable than most such alternatives, as well as more intuitive through its familiar interface. Odds are that you won't be buying a Stratus kit to scan friends and family at home, though. Apart from the bundle's lack of support for the iPhone 5 or any non-iOS platform, the Stratus software in the App Store isn't an impulse purchase at $199 -- and an emphasis on quotation-based case sales likely means you'll be the scanner's target, not its owner.
Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Mobile, Apple
Source: AOptix
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Bq18WkqRd1I/
2013 Grammy Winners abraham lincoln Chris Dorner 1800 Flowers walking dead The Pope bruno mars
Professional Assistance From Real Estate Managers - My ...
Property Management Company Denton Owning real estate can be a lucrative and enjoyable venture as you monitor the development and success of your investment over time. This can also be an incredibly time-consuming process with money to collect, tenants to find, and areas to update and repair. If you own a property but are often involved in other projects, you probably don?t have the time to properly manage your investment. Select a responsible property management and maintenance company to help correct this problem. Property managers can help in the process of locating tenants, receiving payments, and communicating with the tenants of the property. We always work hard to provide the finest property maintenance services you can find anywhere. We know that different forms of real estate require different procedures and we are flexible and innovative. Call us today for a great solution to your property maintenance concerns.
Source: http://barcamppune.org/?p=5365
great pacific garbage patch ben affleck and jennifer garner google privacy changes windows 8 preview leap year moratorium dwts season 14 cast
Distraught father sobs on 911 after kids buried in collapse
STANLEY, N.C. (AP) ? A North Carolina man tearfully begged authorities to hurry to his house to rescue his daughter and her cousin who were buried under dirt in a 24-foot deep pit.
Thirty-one-year-old Jordan Arwood was operating a backhoe Sunday night in the pit when the walls collapsed, burying the children.
Arwood's voice is heard on a 911 tape released Monday by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.
He tells a dispatcher he can't see the children and urges them to get there quickly. Then he begins to sob and pray.
The bodies of two young cousins, 6-year-old Chloe Jade Arwood and 7-year-old James Levi Caldwell, were recovered Monday.
Sheriff David Carpenter would not say what was being built.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/father-sobs-911-kids-buried-collapse-223923408.html
Atlanta school shooting Superbowl Kickoff Time 2013 30 rock What Time Is The Super Bowl 2013 Super Bowl 2013 Time BlackBerry 10 superbowl
Urban grass might be greener, but that doesn't mean it's 'greener'
Apr. 9, 2013 ? New research from the University of Cincinnati shows how some things you do to make your lawn green might not be conducive to "going green."
Amy Townsend-Small, a UC assistant professor of geology and geography, will present her research, "Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Urban Ecosystems," at the Association of American Geographers annual meeting to be held April 9-13 in Los Angeles. The interdisciplinary forum is attended by more than 7,000 scientists from around the world and features an array of geography-related presentations, workshops and field trips.
At the meeting, Townsend-Small will discuss the effects lawn-management techniques have on greenhouse gas production in urban landscapes. She says there's a high energy cost associated with common lawn-care methods such as mowing, irrigation and fertilization due to the processing and transport required for these products and services.
"Landscaping is something everyone can understand," Townsend-Small says. "You probably have your own maintenance routine you do. To make your lawn look nice, you need to use fossil fuels, which emit carbon dioxide. Depending on the management intensity, lawns could either be a small sink -- meaning they store carbon -- or a small source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere."
Fossil fuels are used to power lawn mowers and trimmers, to pump irrigation water, and to make fertilizers -- and all of these activities emit carbon dioxide.
For her research, Townsend-Small monitored the carbon uptake and storage -- known as carbon sequestration -- in the soil of urban lawns in Los Angeles and Cincinnati. Despite the extreme climate variation between the two regions, she found the lawns had surprisingly similar abilities to absorb carbon and store it in soils. But there's a stark contrast in how those lawns are managed, leading to differences in their ecological impact.
Townsend-Small found that while having a well-cared-for lawn will improve its carbon-quelling capacity, intensive lawn care isn't worth the atmospheric side effects. For example, in California's arid environment, the management required and fossil fuel energy expended to keep lawns looking lush consumes so much energy that it counteracts the soil's natural carbon sequestration abilities. But if you head nearly 2,500 miles east to Cincinnati, rainfall is more plentiful. This means more lawns don't require irrigation, helping reduce the carbon cost of lawn maintenance and preserve the carbon sequestration benefits.
This study is the first of its kind to compare the environmental cost of making urban lawns rich and productive with leaving them unmanaged and undisturbed. Two undergraduate students in UC's Women In Science and Engineering program gathered hundreds of local soil samples at different sites and analyzed the emission of powerful greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and methane. The University of Cincinnati proved to be an ideal location for Townsend-Small's project thanks to the proximity of the managed green spaces on campus and the natural environment of nearby city parks.
"That's one thing that's special about UC. It's in the middle of the city, and it's a great research site for us because of the access to urban green spaces," Townsend-Small says. "Now we're exploring whether you can reduce the amount of energy you need to make a lawn pretty and preserve the carbon storage in soils."
Townsend-Small's research could prove useful to cities, businesses and urban universities, such as UC, that are interested in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Her data offer an important warning to such groups: When measuring your carbon footprint, remember to thoroughly evaluate what's underfoot.
"Urban green space usually gets a lot of credit for all the benefits to the atmosphere," Townsend-Small says. "But most people don't consider the positive influxes of carbon dioxide from lawn maintenance."
Additional contributors to Townsend-Small's research paper were professor Claudia Czimczik (University of California, Irvine) and UC undergraduate researchers Rebecca Ransohoff and Lily Soderlund.
Funding for the Ohio research was provided by Townsend-Small's start-up funding in UC's McMicken College of Arts & Sciences.
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 Cincinnati. The original article was written by Tom Robinette.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
megamillions winner kansas jayhawks mega millions results lotto numbers susan powell megamillions winners university of louisville
এতে সদস্যতা:
পোস্টগুলি (Atom)