im going to turn this into an oil painting:

How much do you like your Instagram pictures? Enough to get a few likes? Enough to think you'd kick ass as a photographer? Enough to convert them into amazing oil paintings that you can hang on your wall? Pixelist is a company that's trying to turn your Instagram photos into hand-made oil paintings that will live forever on canvas. How will those pictures of food and sunset and feet pictures look now?

Pixelist, which is currently raising funds (it just cleared its goal, actually) on IndieGoGo, will let you convert your Instagram pictures to 12x12" canvases for $90 (regular pictures go to 12x16"). If you want to go bigger, Pixelist offers paintings up to 6x6' monsters (that'll run a solid $1000). You're basically commissioning an artist to paint for you.

The pictures have some requirements though, Pixelist says it won't accept images with "more than two humans, animals or related forms" for their standard size. Moving up in sizes will give you a little bit more freedom. Also, the photos that Pixelist can paint can only be intricate to a point. [Pixelist,

Here are some examples of their work. You can learn more about Pixelist here. [Pixelist via swissmiss]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/im-going-to-turn-this-into-an-oil-painting-http-inst-902880198

washington redskins Rose Bowl 2013 anderson cooper adrian peterson chicago bears netflix george h w bush

'Scent device' aims to sniff out bladder cancer

Bladder cancer kills more than 15,000 Americans each year, and is expected to cause about 73,000 new cancer cases in 2013.

Researchers report they have developed a "scent device" called the Odoreader that they hope may prove to be a reliable way to sniff out cancer in patients' urine before it becomes a serious problem.

The Odoreader device correctly predicted 100 percent of bladder cancer cases from urine samples tested, researchers reported.

(Credit: University of Liverpool)

More than 500,000 bladder cancer survivors live in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. Nine out of 10 of those affected are 55 years of age or older.

"It is a disease that, if caught early, can be treated effectively, but unfortunately we do not have any early screening methods other than diagnosis through urine tests at the stage when it starts to become a problem," study researcher Dr. Chris Probert, a professor at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Translational Medicine in the U.K., said in a news release.

Most cases of bladder cancer begin in cells that line the inside of the bladder, the Mayo Clinic notes. It can cause symptoms like blood in the urine, frequent or painful urination, and back and pelvic pain.

The BRCA biomarker is sometimes used to screen for risk of breast and ovarian cancers. But, currently there are aren't reliable biomarkers -- or measurable molecular signs of a disease -- that can be used to screen for bladder cancer, according to the study authors.

That's where the Odoreader could come in.

Previous research suggests dogs can successfully sniff out bladder cancer, as 60 Minutes reported in 2005. Dogs are now being utilized by some health care facilities to try and spot other types of cancers, including ovarian types.

The researchers speculated the dogs were picking up the scents of certain gasses emitted by urine. They built a device that contains a sensor that can analyze the gases and create a readout of the chemicals found in the urine within 30 minutes.

They tested it on 24 samples taken from patients with confirmed cases of bladder cancer and 74 samples from patients who had urological symptoms, but no confirmed cancer. The Odoreader correctly picked 100 percent of the cancer patients.

The study was published July 8 in PLoS One.

Prober added that bladder cancer can be expensive to treat because of multiple scopes required to track the cancer's development, so the new test may dramatically cut costs.

Other ways to diagnose bladder cancer include a cytoscope tube with a lens inserted through the urethra under local anesthesia, imaging tests of the urinary tract, a biopsy or a urine test to look for presence of cancer cells, according to the Mayo Clinic.

"The researchers say that the test would be around 96% accurate in practice and their findings are only based on a relatively small number of samples, taken only from men," Dr. Sarah Hazell, senior science communications officer at the nonprofit Cancer Research U.K., said to the BBC.

She added while the work is promising, there's still a ways to go.

"It is another promising step towards detecting bladder cancer from urine samples, something that would ultimately provide a less invasive means of diagnosing the disease," she commented.

This story originally appeared as "Scent device ODOREADER may sniff out bladder cancer" on CBSNews.com.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/JhqR/~3/WNXCP1rdBzk/

Honey Baked Ham hostess israel AMA BCS Standings 2012 American Music Awards 2012 oregon ducks

World's food supply got a little more plentiful: Resistance gene found against ug99 wheat stem rust pathogen

June 27, 2013 ? The world's food supply got a little more plentiful thanks to a scientific breakthrough.

Eduard Akhunov, associate professor of plant pathology at Kansas State University, and his colleague, Jorge Dubcovsky from the University of California-Davis, led a research project that identified a gene that gives wheat plants resistance to one of the most deadly races of the wheat stem rust pathogen -- called Ug99 -- that was first discovered in Uganda in 1999. The discovery may help scientists develop new wheat varieties and strategies that protect the world's food crops against the wheat stem rust pathogen that is spreading from Africa to the breadbaskets of Asia and can cause significant crop losses.

Other Kansas State University researchers include Harold Trick, professor of plant pathology; Andres Salcedo, doctoral candidate in genetics from Mexico; and Cyrille Saintenac, a postdoctoral research associate currently working at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in France. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Borlaug Global Rust Initiative.

The team's study, "Identification of Wheat Gene Sr35 that Confers Resistance to Ug99 Stem Rust Race Group," appears in the journal Science.

It identifies the stem rust resistance gene named Sr35, and appears alongside a study from an Australian group that identifies another effective resistance gene called Sr33.

"This gene, Sr35, functions as a key component of plants' immune system," Akhunov said. "It recognizes the invading pathogen and triggers a response in the plant to fight the disease."

Wheat stem rust is caused by a fungal pathogen. According to Akhunov, since the 1950s wheat breeders have been able to develop wheat varieties that are largely resistant to this pathogen. However, the emergence of strain Ug99 in Uganda in 1999 devastated crops and has spread to Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, though has yet to reach the U.S.

"Until that point, wheat breeders had two or three genes that were so efficient against stem rust for decades that this disease wasn't the biggest concern," Akhunov said. "However, the discovery of the Ug99 race of pathogen showed that changes in the virulence of existing pathogen races can become a huge problem."

As a first line of defense, wheat breeders and researchers began looking for resistance genes among those that had already been discovered in the existing germplasm repositories, he said.

"The Sr35 gene was one of those genes that was discovered in einkorn wheat grown in Turkey," Akhunov said. "Until now, however, we did not know what kind of gene confers resistance to Ug99 in this wheat accession."

To identify the resistance gene Sr35, the team turned to einkorn wheat that is known to be resistant to the Ug99 fungal strain. Einkorn wheat has limited economic value and is cultivated in small areas of the Mediterranean region. It has been replaced by higher yielding pasta and bread wheat varieties.

Researchers spent nearly four years trying to identify the location of the Sr35 gene in the wheat genome, which contains nearly two times more genetic information than the human genome.

Once the researchers narrowed the list of candidate genes, they used two complimentary approaches to find the Sr35 gene. First, they chemically mutagenized the resistant accession of wheat to identify plants that become susceptible to the stem rust pathogen.

"It was a matter of knocking out each candidate gene until we found the one that made a plant susceptible," Akhunov said. "It was a tedious process and took a lot of time, but it was worth the effort."

Next, researchers isolated the candidate gene and used biotechnical approaches to develop transgenic plants that carried the Sr35 gene and showed resistance to the Ug99 race of stem rust.

Now that the resistance gene has been found, Akhunov and colleagues are looking at what proteins are transferred by the fungus into the wheat plants and recognized by the protein encoded by the Sr35 gene. This will help researchers to better understand the molecular mechanisms behind infection and develop new approaches for controlling this devastating pathogen.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/pyaQ1l90Ii4/130627141726.htm

how to carve a turkey ipad 2 wal mart happy thanksgiving

Jordan Ozuna: Dating Justin Bieber? Still Married?!?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/jordan-ozuna-dating-justin-bieber-still-married/

Dell Levis Fireman Ed Allegiant Air Melissa Rycroft Cyber Monday Deals 2012 Sasha McHale

Jordan Ozuna: Dating Justin Bieber? Still Married?!?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/jordan-ozuna-dating-justin-bieber-still-married/

ufc 145 weigh ins record store day 2012 detroit red wings jose canseco zimmerman derek fisher lyrid meteor shower

Climate tug of war disrupting Australian atmospheric circulation patterns

June 26, 2013 ? Further evidence of climate change shifting atmospheric circulation in the southern Australian-New Zealand region has been identified in a new study.

The study, in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, demonstrates that mid-latitude high pressure zones (30^oS-45^oS) are being pushed further into the Southern Ocean by rising global temperatures associated with greenhouse warming. This is despite more frequent occurrences of strong El Ni?os in recent decades, which should have drawn the high pressure zones in the opposite direction toward the equator.

"What we are seeing," says study lead author, Mr Guojian Wang "is a 'tug of war' between stronger El Ni?os driving the winds north and the greenhouse gas-warming effect driving the winds south."

Mr Wang, said the result confirms the robustness of the Southern Hemisphere circulation changes over the past three to four decades as the global temperature rose, "so much so that it overode the influence from strong El Ni?os during this period."

Study co-author, Dr Wenju Cai said the most conspicuous change is a rising sea level pressure in the mid-latitude bands and a decreasing sea level pressure over the Southern high latitudes (55^o-70^oS), a pattern referred to as the Southern Annular Mode. The changing pressures indicate a poleward or southward expansion of the tropical and subtropical atmospheric zones.

In turn, this indicates that over the long-term, there is a relationship between a rising global mean temperature and an upward trend of the Southern Annular Mode.

"The research reinforces our past work that climate change is altering Southern Hemisphere circulation and increases our confidence in this conclusion," Dr Cai said.

Dr Cai has previously reported on changes in atmospheric circulation that have been shifting and strengthening the Pacific Ocean winds poleward and in turn strengthening the ocean circulation, pushing the East Australian Current further south down the Australian coast.

He said during El Ni?o, the warmer ocean releases heat to the atmosphere and global average temperatures increase. At the same time, warm ocean surface temperatures along the equator cause the tropical and subtropical atmospheric belts to move toward the equator, generating a 'negative' phase of the Southern Annular Mode.

"On year-to-year time scales, higher global temperatures are associated with a negative phase of the Mode but over the past 35 years, when El Ni?o has been strong and conducive to a negative trend, we are seeing an opposite trend with the circulation systems moving southward impacting on regional climate," he said.

The project was funded through the Australian Climate Change Science Program.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/-ms3vXaI4mM/130626113658.htm

whitney houston news sylvia plath whitney houston autopsy results obama trayvon jim yong kim michael bush the host trailer

Russia, U.S. fail to set up Syria peace talks

By Oliver Holmes and Tom Miles

BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Talks between the United States and Russia to set up a Syrian peace conference produced no deal on Tuesday, with the powers on either side of the two-year civil war failing to agree when it should be held or who would be invited.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal accused the Syrian government of "genocide" and described the involvement in the conflict of foreign militias backed by Iran as "the most dangerous development".

Washington and Moscow announced plans for the peace conference last month, but their relations have since deteriorated rapidly, as momentum on the battlefield has swung in favor of President Bashar al-Assad.

Washington decided this month to provide military aid to the rebels fighting Assad, while Moscow refused to drop its support for the Syrian leader it has continued to arm.

After five hours of talks in Geneva sponsored by the United Nations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said there was still no agreement over whether Assad's ally Iran should be allowed to attend the conference, or who would represent the Syrian opposition.

The United States and Western European powers have joined Arab countries and Turkey in supporting the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels. Russia and Iran support Assad, who has made gains in recent weeks with the help of thousands of fighters from the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shi'ite militia Hezbollah.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet next week, and further talks on the conference are expected to follow, a U.N. statement said.

In Damascus, Assad's forces fired mortars and shells at Zamalka and Irbin, just east of the government-held city centre, in an assault backed by air strikes, opposition activists said.

Rebels who grabbed footholds in Damascus nearly a year ago say they now face an advancing Syrian military buoyed by support from Hezbollah.

If the insurgents are driven from the capital's eastern suburbs, they would lose supply routes and suffer a heavy blow in their drive to end four decades of Assad family rule.

In Jeddah, Prince Saud repeated Saudi Arabia's call for the rebels to be armed. "Syria is facing a double-edged attack. It is facing genocide by the government and an invasion from outside the government," he told a news conference with Kerry. "(It) is facing a massive flow of weapons to aid and abet that invasion and that genocide. This must end."

The Saudi foreign minister attacked Iranian involvement. "The most dangerous development is the foreign participation, represented by Hezbollah and other militias supported by the forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," he said.

Saudi Arabia, a Sunni state which views Shi'ite Iran as its arch-rival, has increased aid to Syrian rebels in recent months, supplying anti-aircraft missiles among other weapons.

Security in Syria's neighbors Iraq and Lebanon, where the conflict has aggravated Sunni-Shi'ite tensions, has crumbled.

Suicide bombers killed eight people north of Baghdad on Tuesday, a day after 39 people died when 10 car bombs exploded in the capital. Violence has spiraled in Iraq since April.

"GETTING OUT OF HAND"

In Lebanon, clashes between the Lebanese army and gunmen led by an anti-Hezbollah Sunni cleric engulfed the southern port of Sidon on Sunday and Monday. At least 40 people were killed, including 18 soldiers, security sources said.

Sectarian hatred has even flared in Sunni-majority Egypt, where a crowd attacked and killed five Shi'ites on Sunday.

Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League mediator, urged the United States and Russia to help "contain this situation that is getting out of hand, not only in Syria but also in the region".

Speaking in Geneva before the talks with U.S. and Russian officials, Brahimi said he doubted that the Syria peace conference could take place next month, citing disarray among Assad's political opponents.

More than 93,000 people have been killed in Syria since peaceful protests erupted in March 2011. Assad's violent response helped to provoke what is now a civil war that has driven nearly 1.7 million refugees into neighbouring countries.

Outgunned rebels are looking to Western and Arab nations to help them to reverse Assad's gains. But although the United States announced unspecified military aid this month, it is unclear whether this can shift the balance against the Syrian leader and his allies.

Kerry wants to ensure aid to the rebels is properly coordinated, partly out of concern that weapons could end up in the hands of Islamist militants who are prominent in their ranks. "Our goal is very clear, we cannot let this be a wider war, we cannot let this contribute to more bloodshed and prolongation of the agony of the people of Syria," he said.

(Additional reporting by Mahmoud Habboush in Dubai and Lesley Wroughton in Jeddah; Writing by Alistair Lyon and Peter Graff, editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-u-fail-set-syria-peace-talks-074752996.html

Washington Election Results drudge report Presidential Election 2012 Incumbent politico Tammy Baldwin house of representatives

Three planets in habitable zone of nearby star: Gliese 667c reexamined

June 25, 2013 ? A team of astronomers has combined new observations of Gliese 667C with existing data from HARPS at ESO's 3.6-metre telescope in Chile, to reveal a system with at least six planets. A record-breaking three of these planets are super-Earths lying in the zone around the star where liquid water could exist, making them possible candidates for the presence of life. This is the first system found with a fully packed habitable zone.

Gliese 667C is a very well-studied star. Just over one third of the mass of the Sun, it is part of a triple star system known as Gliese 667 (also referred to as GJ 667), 22 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). This is quite close to us -- within the Sun's neighbourhood -- and much closer than the star systems investigated using telescopes such as the planet-hunting Kepler space telescope.

Previous studies of Gliese 667C had found that the star hosts three planets with one of them in the habitable zone. Now, a team of astronomers led by Guillem Anglada-Escud? of the University of G?ttingen, Germany and Mikko Tuomi of the University of Hertfordshire, UK, has reexamined the system. They have added new HARPS observations, along with data from ESO's Very Large Telescope, the W.M. Keck Observatory and the Magellan Telescopes, to the already existing picture [1]. The team has found evidence for up to seven planets around the star [2].

These planets orbit the third fainter star of a triple star system. Viewed from one of these newly found planets the two other suns would look like a pair of very bright stars visible in the daytime and at night they would provide as much illumination as the full Moon. The new planets completely fill up the habitable zone of Gliese 667C, as there are no more stable orbits in which a planet could exist at the right distance to it.

"We knew that the star had three planets from previous studies, so we wanted to see whether there were any more," says Tuomi. "By adding some new observations and revisiting existing data we were able to confirm these three and confidently reveal several more. Finding three low-mass planets in the star's habitable zone is very exciting!"

Three of these planets are confirmed to be super-Earths -- planets more massive than Earth, but less massive than planets like Uranus or Neptune -- that are within their star's habitable zone, a thin shell around a star in which water may be present in liquid form if conditions are right. This is the first time that three such planets have been spotted orbiting in this zone in the same system [3].

"The number of potentially habitable planets in our galaxy is much greater if we can expect to find several of them around each low-mass star -- instead of looking at ten stars to look for a single potentially habitable planet, we now know we can look at just one star and find several of them," adds co-author Rory Barnes (University of Washington, USA).

Compact systems around Sun-like stars have been found to be abundant in the Milky Way. Around such stars, planets orbiting close to the parent star are very hot and are unlikely to be habitable. But this is not true for cooler and dimmer stars such as Gliese 667C. In this case the habitable zone lies entirely within an orbit the size of Mercury's, much closer in than for our Sun. The Gliese 667C system is the first example of a system where such a low-mass star is seen to host several potentially rocky planets in the habitable zone.

The ESO scientist responsible for HARPS, Gaspare Lo Curto, remarks: "This exciting result was largely made possible by the power of HARPS and its associated software and it also underlines the value of the ESO archive. It is very good to also see several independent research groups exploiting this unique instrument and achieving the ultimate precision."

And Anglada-Escud? concludes: "These new results highlight how valuable it can be to re-analyse data in this way and combine results from different teams on different telescopes."

Notes

[1] The team used data from the UVES spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile (to determine the properties of the star accurately), the Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph (PFS) at the 6.5-metre Magellan II Telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, the HIRES spectrograph mounted on the Keck 10-metre telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii as well as extensive previous data from HARPS (the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) at ESO's 3.6-metre telescope in Chile (gathered through the M dwarf programme led by X. Bonfils and M. Mayor 2003-2010.

[2] The team looked at radial velocity data of Gliese 667C, a method often used to hunt for exoplanets. They performed a robust Bayesian statistical analysis to spot the signals of the planets. The first five signals are very confident, while the sixth is tentative, and seventh more tentative still. This system consists of three habitable-zone super-Earths, two hot planets further in, and two cooler planets further out. The planets in the habitable zone and those closer to the star are expected to always have the same side facing the star, so that their day and year will be the same lengths, with one side in perpetual sunshine and the other always night.

[3] In the Solar System Venus orbits close to the inner edge of the habitable zone and Mars close to the outer edge. The precise extent of the habitable zone depends on many factors.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/DpMy_6AWEjY/130625073544.htm

David Rakoff Bourne Legacy London 2012 Soccer Olympics closing ceremony PGA Championship 2012 John Witherspoon george michael

Khloe Kardashian Turns 29! See Her Cutest Photos With Lamar

As the reality star celebrates her 29th birthday, see the evolution of her romance with her hubby.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/khloe-kardashian-and-lamar-odoms-cutest-moments/1-b-517071?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Akhloe-kardashian-and-lamar-odoms-cutest-moments-517071

Ryan Dempster Phelps NBC Olympics Live Olympic medal count Medal Count 2012 London 2012 Fencing olympics

Canucks hire fired Rangers coach John Tortorella

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) ? The Vancouver Canucks hired John Tortorella to be their new coach on Tuesday.

Tortorella was recently fired by the New York Rangers after they lost to the Boston Bruins in the second round of the playoffs in five games.

The 55-year-old Tortorella replaces former Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who took over for him as the Rangers coach last week.

Tortorella has been an NHL coach since 2001. He led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup championship in 2004.

The Boston native said during a news conference on Tuesday that he has longed to coach a team in Canada.

"To be involved with this, I couldn't be more excited," Tortorella said. "It's always something I thought about and wanted the opportunity."

As coach of the Rangers the past five seasons, Tortorella led New York to the playoffs three times.

"John has coached championship teams and is passionate about winning," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said in a statement. "He has a proven ability to bring the best out of his players and we believe he has all of the qualities to bring our team success."

Tortorella has reached the playoffs eight times and won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2004. Known for his fiery and often abrasive style, he was let go four days after the Rangers' season ended against the Eastern Conference champion Bruins.

"I know how important that part of the job is here," Tortorella said of dealing with the media. "When you lose your job, you crawl into a hole a little bit, you reassess yourself, you try to learn, and I have certainly gone through that process.

"Have I made mistakes? Absolutely. I make my own bed in this type of situation with the perception of myself in the media. But I know how important it is with this job here, especially in this city and this province."

However, the demanding coach said he won't change his stance on player accountability, and said everyone including scoring stars Henrik and Daniel Sedin will have a lot asked of them ? including killing penalties and blocking shots.

"We have a really good leadership group ... but we have not won the Stanley Cup," he said. "There's going to be more asked of (the players), and that starts from the twins right on down."

Tortorella was an assistant with the Rangers in the 1999-2000 season and took over for John Muckler as coach for the final four games. Tortorella later spent seven seasons as coach of the Lightning before returning to the Rangers in February 2009 after head coach Tom Renney was fired.

Vigneault was let go after the Canucks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year. He guided the Canucks to a berth in the Stanley Cup Final in 2011 and helped the team win two Presidents' trophies and six Northwest Division titles.

Tortorella, the career leader in wins by a U.S.-born coach with 410, served as an assistant for the American team that won silver at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He also handled head coaching duties for Team USA at the 2008 world championship and served as an assistant coach at the event in 2005.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canucks-hire-fired-rangers-coach-john-tortorella-163913195.html

kim kardashian pregnant papa johns dominos dominos Perez Hilton Michelle Obama Oscars Wissam Al Mana

Syria death toll tops 100,000, rebels lose border town

By Dominic Evans and Oliver Holmes

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken a town on the Lebanese border as they press an offensive against rebels in a conflict that has now cost more than 100,000 lives, activists said on Wednesday.

The army took full control of Tel Kalakh, driving out insurgents and ending an unofficial truce under which it had allowed a small rebel presence to remain for several months.

The fall of Tel Kalakh, two miles from the border with Lebanon, marks another gain for Assad after the capture of the rebel stronghold of Qusair this month, and consolidates his control around the central city of Homs, which links Damascus to his Alawite heartland overlooking the Mediterranean coast.

Like Qusair, Tel Kalakh was used by rebels in the early stages of the conflict as a transit point for weapons and fighters smuggled into Syria to join the fight against Assad.

Pro-Assad websites showed video footage of soldiers patrolling the town in armored cars and on foot.

"Terrorist groups infiltrated and terrorized the local people," an army officer said in the video. "In response to the request of the local people, the army entered Tel Kalakh to cleanse the area and restore security."

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition monitoring group, said rebels left the town on Tuesday, retreating towards the nearby Crusader fort of Crac des Chevaliers. Three rebels were killed as the army moved in.

Six months ago, Assad's opponents were challenging the president's grip on parts of Damascus, but are now under fierce military pressure there, while their supply lines from neighboring Jordan and Lebanon have steadily been choked off.

DEATH TOLL TOPS 100,000

In response to Assad's gains, achieved with the support of Lebanon's pro-Iranian Hezbollah fighters who spearheaded the assault on Qusair, Western and Arab nations pledged at the weekend to send urgent military aid to the rebels.

Hezbollah's involvement has highlighted the increasingly sectarian dynamic in the Syrian conflict. Hezbollah and Tehran back Assad, whose Alawite minority is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, while Sunni Muslim states such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have stepped up support for the mainly Sunni rebels.

Radical Sunni militants from abroad, some of them linked to al Qaeda, are also coming in to fight alongside the rebels.

Jordan's King Abdullah said the war could ignite conflict across the Middle East unless global powers helped to convene peace talks soon.

"It has become clear to all that the Syrian crisis may extend from being a civil war to a regional and sectarian conflict...the extent of which is unknown," the monarch told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in an interview.

"It is time for a more serious Arab and international coordination to stop the deterioration of the Syrian crisis. The situation cannot wait any longer," he added.

But prospects for proposed "Geneva 2" peace talks look bleak. Talks on Tuesday between the United States and Russia, which support opposing sides in Syria, produced no agreement on who should attend the conference or when it should be held.

Saudi Arabia, which views Shi'ite Iran as its arch-rival, has stepped up aid to Syrian rebels in recent months, supplying anti-aircraft missiles among other weapons.

"Syria is facing a double-edged attack. It is facing genocide by the government and an invasion from outside the government," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Tuesday. "(It) is facing a massive flow of weapons to aid and abet that invasion and that genocide. This must end."

The Observatory, which monitors violence through a network of security and medical sources in Syria, said the death toll from two years of conflict had risen above 100,000 - making it by far the deadliest of the uprisings to have swept the region.

It said the figure included 18,000 rebel fighters and about 40,000 soldiers and pro-Assad militiamen. But the true number of combatants killed was likely to be double that due to both sides' secrecy in reporting casualties, it said.

In addition to the casualties, it said, 10,000 people had been detained by pro-Assad forces and 2,500 soldiers and loyalist militiamen had been captured by the rebels.

The United Nations has put the death toll from the 27-month-old conflict at 93,000 by the end of April.

The violence has fuelled instability and sectarian tensions in Syria's neighbors, particularly Iraq and Lebanon.

At least 40 people were killed this week in the Lebanese city of Sidon in clashes between the army and gunmen loyal to a firebrand Sunni cleric who backs the Syrian rebels and has urged Sunnis to challenge Hezbollah's military might in Lebanon.

On Wednesday, unidentified attackers stabbed at least five passengers on a bus carrying Syrians in Beirut, security sources said. None of the victims was seriously wounded, they said.

(For an interactive look at the Syrian uprising - http://link.reuters.com/rut37s)

(Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-u-fail-set-syria-peace-talks-074752996.html

catherine zeta jones charlize theron barbra streisand barbra streisand hugh jackman Aly Raisman Oscar Results

Screen middle-aged adults for hepatitis C: panel

By Genevra Pittman

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adults born between 1945 and 1965 should be screened once for hepatitis C, a government-backed panel recommended today.

The statement, from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), is stronger than draft recommendations published in November, which advised doctors to "consider offering screening" to members of the Baby Boom generation (see Reuters Health story of Nov 26, 2012 here: http://reut.rs/WsjtVA).

The final recommendations - which also call for screening people at high risk of hepatitis C, such as injection drug users - were published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The "moderate" net benefit of screening was supported by studies showing people with the chronic infection who take medicine and have a very low level of the virus in their blood - known as a sustained viral response - are at lower risk of liver cirrhosis, cancer and death.

"New evidence came out since the draft recommendation, which gave us greater confidence in the linkage between a sustained viral response and important outcomes," Dr. Albert Siu, co-vice chair of the task force, told Reuters Health.

The USPSTF also found that tools used to assess liver health and guide treatment are becoming safer, and that the harms of hepatitis C medication, including headaches and flu-like symptoms, are "small."

Hepatitis C is treated with a combination regimen of ribavirin and peginterferon alfa (also commonly known as Pegasys and Peg-Intron), to which newer drugs - known as boceprevir (Victrelis) and telaprevir (Incivek) - can be added.

Siu, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, said the rate of hepatitis C among people born in 1945 through 1965 is about 4 percent, compared to about 1 percent among other Americans.

That difference is likely due to "risky behavior that was engaged in during this time," he said.

Many people living with hepatitis C are not aware they have the condition, the task force said, and may go years without showing symptoms.

Stanford University's Jeremy Goldhaber-Fiebert, who worked on one of the studies that influenced the updated recommendation, told Reuters Health that screening middle-aged adults seems to be effective and cost-effective - but that there are other considerations as well.

"It's really important that when screening is rolled out, that we ensure that those people who screen positive have access to timely, high-quality treatment," he said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/bN9DEh Annals of Internal Medicine, online June 24, 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/screen-middle-aged-adults-hepatitis-c-panel-210358846.html

Newtown Shooting Gangnam Style Ryan Lanza Sandy Hook Univision josh hamilton Susan Rice

Two Parodies (Unqualified Offerings)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314812588?client_source=feed&format=rss

jerry brown michael buble michael buble Jenni Rivera Alive Facebook Down bo jackson bo jackson

The Weekly Roundup for 05.06.2013

You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/12/the-weekly-roundup-for-05-06-2013/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

illinois primary results acapulco mexico hines ward robert deniro mexico news the talented mr ripley weather new orleans

The Next 72 Hours Are Going To Be Insane - Business Insider

We are about to get an epic deluge of economic releases from around the world over the next three days, and we should learn a ton about the current state of the global economy.

It all starts tonight with South Korean exports at 8 PM ET. This data release is referred to as the "economic canary in the coal mine" because South Korea sends a lot of its exports to China, the health of which is critical to the global economy.

Following that is the official China manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers Index), out at 9 PM ET. All eyes will be on this release following a lackluster set of first-quarter economic data published a few weeks ago and the recent collapse in the commodity complex, which many ascribe to fears over Chinese growth.

Economists expect the index to tick down to 50.7 from 50.9 in March. Any reading above 50 on the PMIs indicates expansion, so 50.7 would signal continued, but slowing growth in Chinese manufacturing.

Overnight, we will also get the latest manufacturing PMI readings from Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, the U.K., and Australia.

Then, Wednesday morning, we get a ton of new data on the U.S. economy.

• At 8:15 AM ET, ADP releases its monthly employment report, which will foreshadow the bigger nonfarm payrolls release on Friday. Economists expect the ADP report to reveal that 150,000 private payrolls were created in the U.S. economy in April after reporting 158,000 new jobs in March.
• At 8:58 AM, Markit releases U.S. manufacturing PMI. Economists expect the index to fall to 52.0 from last month's 54.0 reading, indicating a slowdown in the pace of growth in American manufacturing in April.
• At 10 AM, the ISM Manufacturing index is released. It's expected to fall to 50.6 from 51.3, confirming the results from the Markit PMI report.
• Also out at 10 are data on March construction spending. Economists predict that growth in spending on construction slowed to 0.6% in March after 1.2% growth in February.

Then, the main event on Wednesday at 2 PM: the Federal Reserve's FOMC monetary policy body will announce its monthly interest rate decision. Market participants will be listening closely for any acknowledgment of the recent slowdown in U.S. economic indicators, especially those that track inflation, which by various measures has been falling in recent months.

Lately, the conversation has shifted away from tapering of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program in light of these developments, so any comments from the FOMC may prove to be illuminating.

In addition, global automakers will be reporting monthly auto sales all day on Wednesday. Analysts predict total vehicle sales were 15.22 million units at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in April, unchanged from March. Autos ? along with housing ? have led the U.S. economic recovery, so a slowdown there would be a bad sign.

?

Wednesday night, the fun begins again with more manufacturing PMI releases ? starting at 9 PM ET with South Korea and featuring HSBC's China PMI at 10:45. Overnight, we will get more PMI releases from Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Poland, and Turkey.

?

Thursday morning, the PMI releases continue with important readings on the health of manufacturing sectors around the euro zone.

?

Spain is first at 4:15 AM ET, followed by Italy, France, Germany, and Greece, as well as a euro area-wide reading.

?

Right after those releases, the European Central Bank will announce its monthly interest rate decision (at 7:45 AM ET).

?

The consensus expectation among market economists is that the ECB will cut interest rates for the first time since July 2012, lowering the benchmark refinancing rate to 0.50% from 0.75% on the back of weak economic data out of the euro zone in recent weeks.

In the U.S., there are two key releases on Thursday morning, both at 8:30 AM ET:

• U.S. trade deficit for the month of March, expected to narrow slightly to $42.3 billion from $43.0 billion in February;
• and initial jobless claims for the week ended April 27, expected to rise to 345,000 from 339,000 the week before.

It's definitely not over on Thursday. Arguably, the best is saved for last.

Friday, at 8:30 AM ET, the U.S. releases its monthly nonfarm payrolls report. Economists estimate the U.S. economy created 148,000 nonfarm payrolls in April after creating only 88,000 in March. The unemployment rate is expected to stay unchanged at 7.6%.

To round out the week, March factory orders data and ISM's non-manufacturing (services) index are released at 10 AM. Factory orders are expected to have contracted 3.0% in March after growing 3.0% in April. ISM's non-manufacturing index is expected to tick down to 54.0 from 54.4 in March.

So get ready.

Follow all of the data LIVE on Business Insider >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-next-72-hours-are-going-to-be-insane-2013-4

john wall gordon hayward gas prices rising stars challenge star trek 2 kathy ireland brooke mueller

As we predicted, pensions eating up Prop. 30 education funds ...

April 30, 2013

By John Seiler

As Bill Clinton might put it, it?s in the math.

In the lead up to the November 6 election last fall, CalWatchDog.com ran several articles on Proposition 30 and pensions. We warned that?the $7 billion tax increase would go not to schools, as advertised by Gov. Jerry Brown and others in TV ads, but to teacher pensions and other spending. I?ll quote some below.

The news now is that this is exactly what is happening. David Crane, a Democrat who was a budget adviser to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has the facts in a Bloomberg article:

?Most Californians would be surprised to learn that 100 percent of education?s share of the tax increase proposed by Governor?Jerry Brown?will go to pensions instead of classrooms. But that would be no surprise to longtime observers of the?California?State Teachers? Retirement System, which administers teacher pensions.

?Here?s why: After retirement, teachers are unconditionally guaranteed lifetime pensions by their school districts. Everything works out fine if?Calstrs, as the retirement system is known, earns the investment returns it forecasts and from which upfront contributions are derived.

?But if they fall short, school districts must make up the difference. Because of compounding, the failure to earn forecasted earnings translates into huge deficiencies down the road.

?Unfortunately, ?down the road? is where school districts are now.

He noted something Katy Grimes?reported here in March on a Legislative Analyst Report, which found that the California State Teachers Retirement System needs $4.5 billion a year in new funding to keep afloat. Prop. 30 now is pected to bring in $7 billion in new revenues. Crane noted that, because of Proposition 98, about 40 percent of any new revenue must go to schools. He wrote, ?[T]hat means?almost $3 billion a year for the schools to use for pensions, or two-thirds of the Calstrs $4.5 billion request. A good start to meeting pension costs, but none of the tax increase will benefit students.?

So the pensions will eat up all the $3 billion from Prop. 30 going to ?schools? ? plus another $1.5 billion from other general-fund dollars.

How did CalSTRS get in the mess? Crane explained:

?In short, it failed to take?Warren Buffett?s advice. In 1999, Buffett said that long-term investors, such as pension funds, should assume investment returns of roughly 6 percent a year, not far from the actual return earned since then. Had Calstrs used his figure for its projections of the fund?s growth, it would have required larger contributions from school districts, employees and the state, and Calstrs would be healthier now.

?But the retirement fund?s board ? made up of the state?s chief financial officials and others ? chose to forecast much higher investment returns that, as Buffett later pointed out, implicitly predicted the stock market portion of the Calstrs portfolio to perform 10 times better than stocks did in the 20th century.?

CalWatchDog.com predicted the Prop. 30 legerdemain

All of this was known to readers of CalWatchDog.com before the election because we reported on it.

I wrote on Sept. 12?in an article?titled, ?California Budget Project analysis of Prop. 30 slights slam to business, jobs?:

?Being pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown and the state?s powerful government-worker unions, Prop. 30 would increase sales and income taxes taxes by from $6 billion to $8.5 billion a year. Supposedly the money would preclude cuts in K-12 and college education. But there?s no guarantee the higher taxes wouldn?t go toward the state?s burgeoning pension costs for retired government workers. All government money is fungible.?

I ?also wrote on Oct. 27?in an article titled, ?Yes, Prop. 30 would fund pensions?:

?If Proposition 30 passes, the $6 billion it would soak from taxpayers would just go straight to public-employee pensions?.

?In sum, the $6 billion from Prop. 30 would go to pay $6.4 billion in state pension payments.

?Everything else is a deception.?

On Oct. 31, Steven Greenhut wrote?in an article titled, ?Pay soars in the public sector?:

?Californians are stuck watching those dreadful union-financed campaign TV ads supporting?Proposition 30, which would push our highest income-tax rates to the stratosphere and boost sales taxes. The main rationale for high taxes, we?re told, is that California is slashing public school funding and laying off teachers?.

?What will happen if California voters approve Prop. 30? Check out the many bills that moved through the Legislature this session, as legislators crafted new proposed programs and benefit increases for their public-employee constituents.?

On Nov. 2, Wayne Lusvardi wrote in an article titled, ?Prop. 30 would make budget roller coaster more scary?:

?Declaring that K-12 public school budgets would have to be cut [unless Prop. 30 passed] is the way the state socially constructs and manages a budget crisis.? It is never portrayed that it is the Medi-Cal or public pension funds that are running a deficit. Public school children are used as poster children every year for any revenue shortfalls in health and welfare programs, pensions, or bond debts?.

?In the above table [in the Lusvardi article], it appears that the hole in the state budget is in the Bond Fund. This would include the liability for public pensions. Retirement benefit costs have increased from $1.4 billion in 1999 to?$6.5 billion?this fiscal year.?

For reference, here?s one of the misleading TV ads the Prop. 30 campaign ran:

Tags: David Crane, Jerry Brown, John Seiler, Prop. 30, tax increase

Source: http://www.calwatchdog.com/2013/04/29/pensions/

charlton heston moses tulsa shooting doug fister the perfect storm mickelson how to tie a tie

Google invades Siri's turf with iPhone, iPad app

This undated image made available by Google shows "Google Now." Google is trying to upstage Siri, the sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad. The duel begins Monday, April 29, 2013, with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri. (AP Photo/Google)

This undated image made available by Google shows "Google Now." Google is trying to upstage Siri, the sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad. The duel begins Monday, April 29, 2013, with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri. (AP Photo/Google)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Siri may be feeling a little job insecurity. The sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad is facing competition from an up-and-coming rival made by Google.

The duel began Monday with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri.

It's the first time that Google Now has been available on smartphones and tablet computers that aren't running on the latest version of Google's Android software. The technology, which debuted nine months ago, is being included in an upgrade to Google's search application for iOS, the Apple Inc. software that powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It's up to each user to decide whether to activate Google Now within the redesigned Google Search app, which is available through Apple's app store.

Siri tried to dismiss the competitive threat. When asked for an opinion about Google Now, Siri responded: "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather Google later."

Mike Allton, a St. Charles, Mo., resident who has owned an iPhone for four years, could hardly wait to check out Google Now, even if Siri might interpret it as a betrayal.

Siri "is looking a little green with envy," Allton, 36, said with a laugh after he installed Google's new app. "I love Apple products, but I like to see the competition because it probably will lead to even more improvements. I believe this technology is going to be even more deeply ingrained in our lives a few years from now."

Other iPhone users ? even those who have grown fond of Siri ? welcomed Google Now's arrival to iOS in mostly enthusiastic and sometimes amusing remarks posted on Twitter and Google Plus. One person joked that Google Now is so helpful that the technology prompted him to wash his hands after using the bathroom. The biggest gripe was about the possibility of Google Now's location-tracking features draining a device's battery more quickly.

Google Now's invasion of Siri's turf marks Google Inc.'s latest attempt to lure iPhone and iPad users away from a service that Apple built into its own devices.

Google quickly won over millions of iPhone users in December when it released a mapping application to replace the navigation system that Apple dumped when it redesigned iOS last fall. Apple's maps application proved to be inferior to Google's ousted service. The app's bugs and glitches made Apple the butt of jokes and fueled demand for Google to develop a new option.

Apple has been losing to Google on other fronts in a rapidly growing mobile computing market, an arena that was revolutionized with the iPhone's release in 2007. Smartphones and tablet computers running Google's free Android software have been steadily expanding their market share in recent years, partly because they tend to be less expensive than the iPhone and iPad. In 2012, Android devices held about 69 percent of the smartphone market while iOS had about 19 percent, according to the research firm IDC.

Android's success has been particularly galling for Apple because its late CEO, Steve Jobs, believed Google stole many of its ideas for the software from the iPhone. That led to a series of court battles over allegations of patent infringement, including a high-profile trial last year that culminated in Apple winning hundreds of millions in damages from Samsung Electronics, the top seller of Android phones. That dispute is still embroiled in appeals.

The rise of Android also is squeezing Apple's profit margins and has contributed to a nearly 40 percent drop in the company's stock price since it peaked at $705.07 last September around the time that the iPhone 5 came out.

Android's popularity is good news for Google because the company's services are built into most versions of the operating system. That brings more traffic to Google services, creating more opportunities for the company to sell ads ? the main source of Google's revenue.

Siri is billed by Apple as an "intelligent feature." Since the technology's release in October 2011, Apple has made it a centerpiece of some marketing campaigns that depict Siri and its automated female voice as an endearing and occasionally even pithy companion.

Google believes its Siri counterpart is smarter because Google Now is designed to learn about a user's preferences and then provide helpful information before it's even asked to do so. The technology draws upon information that Google gleans from search requests other interactions with the company's other services. Knowing a person's location also helps Google Now serve up helpful information without being asked.

"This concept of predicting your needs and showing you them at the right time is unique to Google Now," said Baris Gultekin, Google Now's director of product management. "We want computers to do the hard work so our users can focus on what matters to them so they can get on with their lives."

If the technology is working right, Google Now is supposed to do things like automatically tell people what the local weather is like when they wake up to help decide what to wear and provide a report on traffic conditions for the commute to work. During the day, Google Now might provide an update on the score of a user's favorite sports team or a stock quote of a company in a user's investment portfolio. On a Friday evening, Google Now might offer suggestions for movies to see or other weekend events tailored to a user's interests. For international travelers, Google Now might provide currency conversion rates, language translations of common phrases and the time back home.

Most of this automatic information is provided in summaries that Google calls "cards." Like Siri, Google Now also is equipped with voice technology that allows it to respond to questions and interact with users, though it hasn't shown the wit that delights some of Siri's users.

The Google Now app for iOS isn't as comprehensive as the Android app, which only works on devices running on the latest version of Android ? known as "Jelly Bean." Some of the Android features missing from Google Now's iOS app include cards for showing airline boarding passes and movie tickets bought though online vendor Fandango. Both of those options are available on the iOS through Apple's built-in Passbook feature that's designed to be a digital wallet.

Google Now's expansion on to the iOS underscores Google's ambitions for the service. The company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., views it as a pivotal tool in its effort to peer deeper into its users' brains. In doing so, Google believes it will be able to provide more useful services and also show more relevant ads. For Google Now to become more intuitive, it needs to widen its availability.

"The more you use Google Now, we will have a better chance of understanding what your needs are and providing you with the right information," Gultekin said. "It's a virtuous cycle."

Shawn Jacob, a student at the University of North Texas, activated Google Now on his iPhone Monday and was startled by how much the service already knew about him when he logged in for the first time. "I was blown away," Jacob, 21, said. "It made me wonder if I really want Google to know this much about me. It's like Google wants to take over the world."

Gultekin declined to discuss whether there are plans to make Google Now apps for mobile devices running on Microsoft's Windows system. He also refused to comment on speculation circulating in technology blogs that a Web version of Google Now will be offered as a replacement for iGoogle, a tool that allows people to encircle the Google search engine with a variety of services suited to their tastes. IGoogle is scheduled to close in November.

___

Online:

http://www.google.com/landing/now/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-29-Google-Apple-Dueling%20Assistants/id-922de12ef38041d59010ae22b654a7d3

Allison Schmitt Olympic Schedule Kyla Ross Montenegro Olympic Games Dana Vollmer Ryan Dempster

Chrysler investing $20M in Toledo plant to support 9-speed auto ...

Chrysler Group Plans to Invest Nearly $20 Million in Toledo Machining Plant

- Investment to increase capacity for production of torque converters for new generation, fuel-efficient nine-speed transmission
- Company's total investment in U.S. facilities over $5.2 billion since June 2009

April 26, 2013 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Chrysler Group LLC announced today that it will invest $19.6 million in its Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, to increase capacity of the torque converter it's machining for the nine-speed transmission. With this announcement, the Company's total investments in its U.S. operations since June 2009 increase to over $5.2 billion.

The new torque converters will be paired with the next generation, fuel efficient nine-speed front-wheel drive transmission being assembled at Chrysler Group's Indiana (Kokomo, Ind.) Transmission Plant I. The new transmission will debut in the 2014 Jeep? Cherokee.

"The new nine-speed transmission is a critical part of our strategy to meet fuel economy requirements over the next several years and Toledo Machining will play an integral role in bringing this transmission to market," said Scott Garberding, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing, Chrysler Group LLC. "Securing this additional investment is a testament to the dedication and commitment of the plant's workforce and helps secure its future long-term."

The investment will fund the installation of new equipment and tooling for additional machining and assembly capacity. Installation is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2014 and will be completed by the end of 2014.

In August 2011, a $72 million investment in Toledo Machining was announced to modernize the plant to produce the eight- and nine-speed torque converters on two new production lines and a new steering column for the Dodge Dart and Jeep Cherokee. These installations will be complete in the third quarter this year.

"We're very pleased that Chrysler is once again investing in the Toledo Machining Plant and the skilled workforce there," said General Holiefield, Vice President and Director, UAW Chrysler Department. "This will help preserve and enhance jobs in the area and give a greater measure of security to our members and their families well into the future."

In February, the Company announced that it was investing $374 million in several of its Kokomo, Ind., facilities, including establishing a new manufacturing site in Tipton, Ind., to increase production capacity of the nine-speed transmission.

Toledo Machining currently produces torque converters for Kokomo Transmission (Ind.), Indiana Transmission I and II (Kokomo, Ind.), Sterling Heights Assembly (Mich.), and Toluca (Mex.).

The plant also produces steering columns for the following assembly plants: Warren Truck (Mich.), Belvidere (Ill.), Sterling Heights (Mich.), Toledo Assembly Complex (Ohio); Windsor (Ont.), Toluca (Mex.), Saltillo (Mex.), Arab American Vehicles (Egypt) and Carabobo (Venezuela).

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/28/chrysler-investing-20m-in-toledo-plant-to-support-9-speed-auto/

cape breton bowling green marysville tornados dr. seuss the temptations rush limbaugh sandra fluke

Muslim group says spray-painting of Oklahoma mosque may be Boston backlash

By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News

Police said Saturday they were investigating what a Muslim advocacy group described as an act of vandalism against an Oklahoma City mosque that may have been part of a backlash after the Boston Marathon bombings.

Words were spray-painted on the mosque before dawn Saturday, said Lt. Arthur Gregory, a spokesman for Oklahoma City police. He said he did not know the nature of the words.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement that the words were obscenities. It wants the matter investigated as a hate crime and wants state and federal law enforcement to determine whether the vandalism was a reaction to the bombings.

The surviving suspect in the marathon attack, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has told investigators that he and his brother set off the bombs to defend Islam after the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The council said that the same mosque was targeted by paintballs last year, and said there have been other acts of violence against American Muslims since the marathon bombings.

In Malden, Mass., two days after the blasts, a Muslim woman wearing traditional Islamic hijab told police and The Boston Globe that she was punched on the street by a man who cursed at her and shouted, ?You are terrorists.?

This story was originally published on Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:31 PM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2b417d26/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C270C179491240Emuslim0Egroup0Esays0Espray0Epainting0Eof0Eoklahoma0Emosque0Emay0Ebe0Eboston0Ebacklash0Dlite/story01.htm

Earl Weaver Inauguration Schedule barack obama dear abby WRAL John Harbaugh jill biden

Google Now available on iOS devices starting today

When it comes to major news, we didn't expect to hear much from Google in the run-up to I/O, but clearly, the company just couldn't wait that long. Google Now, a service that Android users have enjoyed for a year, just became available on iOS devices in the form of an update to the Google Search app, confirming those leaked videos we saw a few weeks ago. It won't have integration with notifications or alerts at launch -- it may come in a future update, but the company wasn't willing to divulge its future plans -- so you'll need to enter the app and swipe up to refresh your list of cards. The iOS version won't have every type of card that you'll find on Android, either: boarding passes, activity summary, events, concerts, Fandango and Zillow aren't included this go-round. Improvements and additional features will likely trickle in over time, but it's certainly better than nothing for iOS fans who've looked at Jelly Bean users with a slightly jealous eye. We've included Google's blog post in its entirety below, and you can jump to More Coverage to download the app.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple, Google

Comments

Source: The Official Google Blog, iTunes

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/IfRW3CkQ4nQ/

oscar predictions nba all star game 2012 academy awards 2012 nominations independent spirit awards 2012 jan brewer independent spirit awards 2012 oscar predictions

Engadget Mobile Podcast 178 - 04.26.13

New phones usually enjoy a big comfortable seat in the limelight when they land. This week, however, there's a lot less elbow room thanks to the recent deluge. But, despite much more muscular competition, that cheeky Nokia 210, still manages to get in there first. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad Molen, Joseph Volpe

Producer: James Trew

Music: Tycho - Coastal Brake (Ghostly International)

Hear the podcast

Filed under: Podcasts, Mobile

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/engadget-mobile-podcast-178-04-26-13/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

sprint britney spears At&t Wireless 9/11 Jerry Lawler andy murray Samsung Galaxy S3

Israeli military shoots down drone

An Israeli military naval ship and an Israeli air force helicopter operate off the coast of Haifa , northern Israel, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Israel shot down a drone Thursday as it approached the country's northern coast, the military said. Suspicion immediately fell on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli military naval ship and an Israeli air force helicopter operate off the coast of Haifa , northern Israel, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Israel shot down a drone Thursday as it approached the country's northern coast, the military said. Suspicion immediately fell on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli military naval ship and an Israeli air force helicopter operate next to a cruise ship off the coast of Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Israel shot down a drone Thursday as it approached the country's northern coast, the military said. Suspicion immediately fell on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli military naval ship and an Israeli air force helicopter operate off the coast of Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Israel shot down a drone Thursday as it approached the country's northern coast, the military said. Suspicion immediately fell on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, attends the holiday of Nabi Shoaib, the Prophet Jethro, during a cultural event with members of the country's Druse minority in the Druse village of Julis, northern Israel, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Israel shot down a drone Thursday as it approached the country's northern coast, the military said. Suspicion immediately fell on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006. Netanyahu, who was in northern Israel at the time of the incident, said he viewed the infiltration attempt with "utmost gravity." (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, is welcomed by Druse leaders for the holiday of Nabi Shoaib, the Prophet Jethro, during a cultural event with members of the country's Druse minority in the Druse village of Julis, northern Israel, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Israel shot down a drone Thursday as it approached the country's northern coast, the military said. Suspicion immediately fell on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in northern Israel at the time of the incident, said he viewed the infiltration attempt with "utmost gravity." (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel shot down a drone Thursday as it approached the country's northern coast, the military said. Suspicion immediately fell on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he was in a helicopter in northern Israel at the time of the incident, said he viewed the infiltration attempt with "utmost gravity."

Officials said Netanyahu was informed of the unfolding incident as he was flying north for a cultural event with members of the country's Druse minority. They said his helicopter briefly landed while the drone was intercepted before Netanyahu continued on his way.

"On my way here in the helicopter, I was told that there is an infiltration attempt of a drone inside the skies of Israel," he said in the northern Arab-Israeli town of Daliyat al-Karmel. "We will continue to do everything necessary to safeguard the security of Israel's citizens."

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes flew over the Christian town of Jezzine and the highlands of the Iqlim al-Tuffah province, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon, Thursday morning.

The Lebanese army also reported Israeli jets violated Lebanese air space on Tuesday and Wednesday. Israel has stepped up its flights over Lebanon amid fears that Hezbollah is taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Syrian civil war.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, said the unmanned aircraft was detected as it was flying over Lebanon and tracked as it approached Israeli airspace.

Lerner said the military waited for the aircraft to enter Israeli airspace, confirmed it was "enemy," and then an F-16 warplane shot it down.

The drone was flying at an altitude of about 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) and was downed roughly five miles (eight kilometers) off the Israeli coast near the northern city of Haifa. Lerner said Israeli naval forces were searching for the remains of the aircraft.

He declined to say who sent the drone.

Other military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to talk to the media, said they believed it was an Iranian-manufactured aircraft sent by Hezbollah. The Lebanese group sent a drone into Israeli airspace last October that Israel also shot down.

Netanyahu repeatedly has warned that Hezbollah might try to take advantage of the instability in neighboring Syria, a key Hezbollah ally, to obtain what he calls game-changing weapons.

Israel has all but confirmed that it carried out an airstrike in Syria early this year that destroyed a shipment of sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles bound for Hezbollah.

A senior Lebanese security official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Lebanon had no information on Thursday's incident.

Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Moussawi also said he had no information, adding the group would put out a statement if it had something to say on the issue.

When Israeli military shot down a Hezbollah drone on Oct. 6, it took days for Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah to confirm it in a speech. He warned at the time that it would not be the last such operation by the group. He said the sophisticated aircraft was made in Iran and assembled by Hezbollah.

___

Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut and Diaa Hadid in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-25-Israel-Hezbollah/id-b438d8b4d0374eeeb98b70c4f4cfab0c

madison bumgarner wnba draft tax day april 17 tu pac hologram shuttle pippa middleton