Scientists puzzled by region outside solar system (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A glimpse beyond our solar system reveals the neighborhood just outside the sun's influence is different and stranger than expected, scientists reported Tuesday.

One oddity is the amount of oxygen. There are more oxygen atoms floating freely in the solar system than in the immediate interstellar space, or the vast region between stars.

Scientists were unsure why, but they said it's possible some of the life-supporting element could be hidden in dust or ice.

"We discovered this big puzzle ? that the matter just outside of our solar system doesn't look like the material inside," said David McComas of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.

The discovery came from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer spacecraft, which launched in 2008 to study the chaotic boundary where the solar wind from the sun clashes with cold gases from interstellar space.

Circling 200,000 miles above Earth, the Ibex spacecraft spots particles streaming into the solar system. A protective bubble surrounding around the sun and planets prevents dangerous cosmic radiation from seeping through, but neutral particles can pass freely, allowing Ibex to map their distribution.

The presence of less oxygen outside the solar system should not have any bearing on the search for Earth-like planets, scientists involved in the exoplanet hunt said.

There's plenty of oxygen in all the stars in the galaxy and in the material out of which stars and planets form, Geoff Marcy of University of California, Berkeley said in an email.

While Ibex probes the edge of the solar system from Earth orbit, NASA's long-running, nuclear-powered twin Voyager spacecraft are at the fringes. Launched in 1977, the spacecraft have been exploring the solar system boundary since 2004.

Scientists have said it'll be months or years before Voyager 1 exits the solar system and becomes the first manmade probe to cross into interstellar space.

___

Follow Alicia Chang's coverage at http://www.twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_sc/us_sci_solar_system_probe

2013 dodge dart kwame brown shameless martin luther king day blue ivy devil inside ted nugent

Glooko Raises $3.5M To Connect Glucose Meters To iPhones For Tracking Diabetes

Glooko, the developer of a unique hardware device and mobile app solution for people with diabetes, has raised $3.5 million in Series A funding led by The Social+Capital Partnership, with participation from existing investors, including Bill Campbell, Vint Cerf, Judy Estrin and Andy Hertzfeld, Venky Harinarayan, Russell Hirsch and Xtreme Labs. Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder and Managing Partner of The Social+Capital Partnership will be joining Glooko's board. Launched last year, Glooko is a digital logbook for people with diabetes who have to check their blood sugar every day. There are dozens of glucose logbooks in iTunes, but almost all of them require manual entry. What makes Glooko different is that the company designed a $40 cable (sold separately) that works with seven of the top glucose meters. You just plug it into both devices and it downloads your daily readings.

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

jon lester mitchel musso bad lip reading gilad shalit gilad shalit john edward psychic john edward psychic

Diversity in Science Carnival #12: Broadening Participation in Science online and on the ground, a #scio12 #diversity summary

The truth is ScienceOnline is one of the most inclusive science communities I have ever encountered.? I think it?s because the people who attend this unconference ? where everyone fully participates ? are science communicators in every sense of the word. Whether they tweet or blog or write for mainstream media or author popular science books or textbooks or present formal talks to other scientists/engineers or crack jokes at a bar or stand on a soapbox or teach K-12, undergrad or grad students or work in a museum or moonlight as after-school tutors, every #scio12 attendee has one thing in common: we enthusiastically share science with a world of people who are too often under-exposed to it.

Diversity in Science Carnival

I moderated? a panel Broadening the Participation of Underrepresented Populations in Online Science Communication & Communities and Minority Postdoc was co-piloting the panel. Not only did he quickly post an aggregate of links, the notes, and summary of suggested Action Items at ScienceOnline2012; he?s actually the reason why the discussion was treated to the sage words of Dr. Cynthia Coleman.? She definitely was the highlight of the session, as I share in my summary of the discussion,? #scio12: The Big Takeaway from the Broadening Participation Panel. She also shared her own thoughts and feelings as a first time ScienceOnline attendee at The Science Conversation?Bubble at Musings on Native Science.? North Carolina A&T University Aggie Research Blog wrote up a very nice summary of the session in Broadening participation in the STEM disciplines: Insights from a diverse group at Science?Online.

Madhu Katti of Reconciliation Ecology lead a new panel, Science Writing in & for Developing Nations.? It was a discussion of the whys and hows of writing, blogging, texting, and tweeting? in developing nations. One of the most important points from this discussion was to? be aware of what science outreach and online science communication colleagues in developing nations may already be doing. Plus, it serves as a good way to get an idea of what the technology capabilities and challengers are in different nations. Tim Skellet recorded video of the panel.

This year, we were all treated to something new and dynamic: a hands-on lesson in sketchnoting Science Storyteller and Illustrator, Perrin Ireland.? Science Scribe 2.0 at taught a room of doodlers how to become artists-on-the-fly and take our science communication to new depths.? I gave it a try, but wasn?t nearly as impressive as Katie PhD, I sketched #scio12. Her graphic summary of the Blogging Science While Female was right on.

And speaking of Blogging Science While Female?

#scio12 #BSWF sketch notes by Katie PhD

There were a few sessions that tackled science and science communicating from the female perspective.? First there was the session proper, moderated by Christie Wilcox and Janet Stemwedel.? I didn?t get a chance to attend this session, but Blogging Science While Female ? the Storify at Science Sushi has all of the details of the discussion, prior, during, and post. Kate Clancy of Context & Variation explains that being the voice for others can give you the blues and why the community/network function of blogging is so very important to women in Blogging While Female, and Why We Need a Posse.? I couldn?t agree more.

Next there was session on Sex, Gender and Controversy that had everyone giggling and thinking ? which is exactly what they moderators Scicurious and Kate Clancy had in mind.? Risky topics are a perfect way to attract and engage people into deeper science (education) conversations.? Marissa Fessenden serves up one awesome Storify summary in Duck sex: blogging risky topics. Plus Scicurious and Kate hand in some awesome summary blog posts as well.
Sex, Gender, and Controversy, a #scio12 WRAPUP at The Scicurious Brain
Sex, Gender and Controversy: Scicurious and Kate Clancy?s Science Online 2012 Session at Context & Variation

Finally, there was a session on Writing for Women?s & Men?s Magazines .? It seems these magazines are an ideal outlet for science outreach (and earning pretty nice freelance money) because they boast large, loyal readerships.? The Mother Geek at Science 3.0 gives very good Notes on the #Scio12 women?s magazine session presented by Maryn McKenna and Elizabeth Devita-Raeburn.

In Musings on #Diversity at #Scio12, Guest Post by Daniela Hernandez, Daniela shares personal reflections from a few of the above-mentioned sessions, noting how ?the conversation about diversity?s role in science and science communication?spilled beyond the 60-minute?discussion.?? It permeated the?entire unconference.? It was true and she really articulates how many people really felt.

Diversity means having an open mind and understanding that other people may have a different?but just as valid?worldview.

And no one embodied Daniela?s words more than Kevin Zelnio at Deep Sea News.? I?ve got to call what it is, He brings it home, big time!! In #IamScience: Embracing Personal Experience on Our Rise Through Science, Kevin created a hashtag, a meme, and movement inspiring scientists across the Twitterverse to share their personal stories of overcoming whatever obstacles to stake claim to science, demonstrating the importance of inclusiveness in the science (and academic) experience.

***************************

The next edition of the Diversity in Science Carnival will be our third anniversary of the carnival and celebration of Black History Month hosted at PhD for Life.? Throughout the month of February, write your post, host a guest post of students/colleagues about an African-American Innovator, Educator, and Mentor in any of the STEM fields.? This carnival is open to all: science bloggers, education bloggers, history/political science bloggers, and personal blogs.? This carnival is one of many ways to celebrate science and the people who do science.? Submission deadline is February 25th.? And to help us spread the word, simply snag the Diversity in Science badge and include it in your post as well.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=eae7b799701e3593d36a505b9fc8d085

war eagle war eagle pawn stars restrepo nba news nba news florida gators

Some Reactions After the Challenger Explosion (ContributorNetwork)

The space shuttle Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986, with its seven-member crew was the most traumatic disaster of its type in history. It occurred before a live audience, broadcast around the world in real time.

While the causes of the disaster have been covered ad infinitum, there were some little noted reactions that bear touching on.

President Ronald Reagan Addresses the Nation

On the day the Challenger was destroyed, President Reagan was putting the finishing touches on the State of the Union speech. It had been hoped he would be able to mention the space shuttle mission, which would have been in orbit at the time, with Christa McAuliffe, the teacher in space.

Instead, Reagan gave another speech, in a televised address to the nation recorded at the Teaching American History page. The speech, one of the most moving of his presidency, had everything a memorial speech should have. It touched on the sacrifices of the crew and the importance of the space program. It had a historical reference to Francis Drake, who died at sea. It ended with a quote from "High Flight," the greatest aviation poem ever written. He said that the Challenger crew had "slipped the surly bonds of Earth" to "touch the face of God."

Three days later, Reagan journeyed to the Johnson Spaceflight Center in Houston to give another comforting speech, this time to the bereaved space workers who felt keenly the devastating loss. He had something fitting to say about each of the fallen Challengers. He gave the requisite vow to continue the space program and to not give up exploration in the face of tragedy.

The Challenger Center

In an attempt to turn tragedy into something positive, the families of the Challenger crew, particularly June Scobee (now June Scobee-Rogers), herself a teacher, created the Challenger Center for Space Flight Education. There are Challenger Centers across the U.S., in Canada, Great Britain and South Korea. The mission of the Challenger Center is to further science education through a variety of programs, including training teachers in the art of teaching science.

Challenger Memorials

There are a number of Challenger Memorials, including one at Arlington National Cemetery and a Space Shuttle Memorial Park near the Johnson Spaceflight Center. The film "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" contained a tribute, "The cast and crew of Star Trek wish to dedicate this film to the men and women of the spaceship Challenger whose courageous spirit shall live to the 23rd century and beyond..." Seven asteroids were named for each of the Challenger crew. According to NASA, craters on the moon have also been named after the Challenger Seven.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker . He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times, and The Weekly Standard.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120129/us_ac/10899887_some_reactions_after_the_challenger_explosion

alex trebek lightsquared jane lynch matt ryan matt ryan real housewives of new york mildred pierce

Obama Attends Exclusive Alfalfa Club Dinner For Capital VIPs

Occupy DC demonstrators chants to a dinner guest as they try to block the entrance to the Alfalfa Dinner at the Capitol Hilton in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. An Occupy DC organizer says they have hundreds of protesters lined up outside a prestigious Washington hotel where President Barack Obama, other political leaders and business moguls are meeting tonight.

Occupy DC demonstrators chants to a dinner guest as they try to block the entrance to the Alfalfa Dinner at the Capitol Hilton in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. An Occupy DC organizer says they have hundreds of protesters lined up outside a prestigious Washington hotel where President Barack Obama, other political leaders and business moguls are meeting tonight.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/28/obama-attends-exclusive-d_n_1239243.html

adam carolla desean jackson rick neuheisel rick neuheisel andrea bocelli john hughes panasonic lumix dmc lx5

Up to 10 months to remove capsized cruise ship

Italian Financial police scuba divers sale around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italian Financial police scuba divers sale around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

View of the bow of the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italian firefighters approach the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

GIGLIO, Italy (AP) ? The cruise ship that capsized off Italy's coast will take up to 10 months to remove, officials said Sunday, as rough seas off the Tuscan coast forced the suspension of recovery operations.

Officials called off both the start of operations to remove of 500,000 gallons of fuel and the search for people still missing after determining the Costa Concordia had moved four centimeters (an inch and a half) over six hours, coupled with waves of more than one meter (three feet).

A 17th body, identified as Peruvian crew member Erika Soria Molina, was found Saturday. Sixteen crew and passengers remain listed as missing, with one body recovered from the ship not yet identified.

Officials have virtually ruled out finding anyone alive more than two weeks after the Costa Concordia hit a reef, but were reluctant to give a final death toll for the Jan. 13 disaster. The crash happened when the captain deviated from his planned route, creating a huge gash that capsized the ship. More than 4,200 people were on board.

"Our first goal was to find people alive," Franco Gabrielli, the national civil protection official in charge of the operation, told a daily briefing. "Now we have a single, big goal, and that is that this does not translate into an environmental disaster."

University of Florence professor Riccardo Fanti said the ship's movements could either be caused by the ship settling on its own weight, slipping deeper into the seabed, or both. He also could not rule out the ship's sliding along the seabed.

Gabrielli noted that the body of a man recovered from the ship remains unidentified, despite efforts to obtain DNA samples from all of the missing, meaning that officials cannot preclude that the deceased is someone unknown to authorities. Costa has said that it runs strict procedures that would preclude the presence of any unregistered passengers.

Experts have said it would take 28 days to remove fuel from 15 tanks accounting for more than 80 percent of all fuel on board the ship. The next job would be to target the engine room, which contains nearly 350 cubic meters of diesel, fuel and other lubricants, Gabrielli said.

Only once the fuel is removed can work begin on removing the ship, either floating it in one piece or cutting it up and towing it away as a wreck. Costa has begun the process for taking bids for the recovery operation, a process that will take two months.

Gabrielli said the actual removal will take from seven to 10 months ? meaning that the wreck will be visible from the coast of the island of Giglio for the entire summer tourism season.

Residents of Giglio have been circulating a petition to demand that officials provide more information on how the full-scale operations can coexist with the important tourism season. At the moment, access to the port for private boats has been banned and all boats must stay at least one mile (1.6 kilometers) from the wrecked ship, affecting access to Giglio's only harbor for fishermen, scuba divers and private boat owners.

"We are really sorry, we would have preferred to save them all. But now other needs and other problems arise," said Franca Melils, a local business owner who is promoting a petition for the tourist season. "It's about us, who work and make a living exclusively from tourism. We don't have factories, we don't have anything else."

___

Colleen Barry reported from Milan.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-29-EU-Italy-Ship-Aground/id-a45f3d989e8543c6b8145f0e090c7a68

michael jackson kids michael jackson kids father of the bride father of the bride bluebeard blue angels weather miami

US Embassy: US citizen kidnapped in Nigeria freed (AP)

LAGOS, Nigeria ? A U.S. citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta has been freed after a week in captivity, the U.S. Embassy said.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Deb MacLean told The Associated Press on Friday that the man had been released after being kidnapped in Warri in Delta state on Jan. 20. MacLean declined to offer any other details, citing privacy rules. Delta state police spokesman Charles Muka said he had not been informed about the man's release, as his company refused to cooperate with local authorities.

The freed hostage was identified as William Gregory Ock, 50, of Bowdon, Georgia, by his sister, Dee Dee Patterson.

Patterson told the AP on Friday that the family had no details of his release.

"The only thing we know is that he is safe and he is in a secure location," Patterson said by telephone.

She had no information on when Ock would return home to Georgia.

It was not immediately clear whether a ransom had been paid to secure his release, though many companies working in the region carry kidnap insurance and simply pay a negotiated price to see their employees freed. Kidnappers had made contact with authorities previously and demanded a $333,000 ransom.

The attack Jan. 20 occurred outside a bank branch in Warri, one of the main cities in nation's Niger Delta, a region of mangroves and swamps where foreign oil companies pump 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day. The gunmen attacked Ock as he came outside, shooting his police escort to death before abducting him, Muka said.

Investigators believe the gunmen trailed him for some time before the attack, Muka said.

Foreign firms have pumped oil out of the delta for more than 50 years. Despite the billions flowing into Nigeria's government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work.

In 2006, militants started a wave of attacks targeting foreign oil companies, including bombing their pipelines, kidnapping their workers and fighting with security forces. That violence waned in 2009 with a government-sponsored amnesty program promising ex-fighters monthly payments and job training. However, few in the delta have seen the promised benefits and criminal gangs still roam the region, increasingly targeting middle-class Nigerians.

In 2011, there were five reported kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Nigeria, according to a recent U.S. State Department travel warning about the country. The most recent occurred in November when two U.S. citizens and a Mexican were kidnapped from a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field and held for about two weeks, the State Department said.

A German working in the city of Kano in north Nigeria was abducted Thursday by unknown gunmen, authorities have said.

___

Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_bi_ge/af_nigeria_oil_unrest

northern lights maksim chmerkovskiy aurora borealis s.978 larry ellison go ask alice go ask alice

Health Tip: Manage Pain During Childbirth (HealthDay)

(HealthDay News) -- Pain is a virtual certainty during childbirth, but there are ways to ease the discomfort without medication.

The womenshealth.gov website mentions these no-medication possibilities:

• Practicing relaxation and breathing techniques.
• Relaxing in a warm shower or bath, or getting a gentle massage.
• Receiving hot and cold therapy, including placing a cool washcloth on the forehead or a heating pad on the lower back.
• Seeking the care and support of a doula, nurse or loved one.
• Trying various positions to get more comfortable, from crouching to walking.
• Listening to soothing music.
• Using a labor ball.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120127/hl_hsn/healthtipmanagepainduringchildbirth

nfl cruise ship italy patriots broncos game gisele bundchen saints willis mcgahee willis mcgahee

Rihanna's Tattoos: From Stars To 'Thug Life'

MTV News looks back at singer's extensive history with body art.
By Jocelyn Vena

Rihanna's "Thug Life" tattoo
Photo: Rihanna/Twitter

Rihanna had everyone buzzing this week when she debuted a tattoo with the words "Thug Life" scrolled across her famous fingers. The flesh-colored ink was done up by Los Angeles tat artist Mark Mahoney at the Shamrock Social Club parlor in Hollywood. While the body art pays tribute to late rapper Tupac, it is certainly not the first time that Rihanna has gotten a tattoo.

In fact, the singer is no novice. She's already covered in ink, ranging from the sugary sweet to the more hard-core.

She made headlines back in 2009 when she debuted a gun tattoo on her rib cage. Rihanna's tattoo was scandalous as it came only months after her Grammy-night altercation with her ex, Chris Brown. "People are going to react all different ways," tat artist BangBang explained to MTV News at the time, noting that it had been in the works long before the incident. "She's great. She's perfect. We had a blast, and we had a lot of fun."

BangBang and Rihanna have quite the history together when it comes to the many tats on her body. He is also responsible for the star tattoos on her back, the Roman numerals on her shoulder and the word "Shhh ... " on her finger.

But Rihanna hasn't stopped there. She has also been branded with a musical note on her ankle, a Pisces sign behind her right ear, the word "love" on her middle finger and a tribal tattoo on her hand. She reportedly has the birthday of her manager Melissa Forde written in Roman numerals on her shoulder: XI-IV-LXXXVI. As an homage to her perfume line she also has the French words for rebellious flower, "rebelle fleur," on her neck.

The singer also has a Sanatana Dharma Sanskrit prayer on her right hip.

Reportedly misspelled, the phrase was supposed to mean "forgiveness, honesty, suppression and control," but actually ends up meaning "long suffering, truthfulness, self-restraint, inward calm, fear and fearlessness."

On her rib cage, she also has the Arabic phrase "Al Hurria fi Al Maseeh," which means "Freedom in God." Proving to be some sort of billboard for sage advice, she also has the motto "Never a Failure, Always a Lesson" scrolled across her collarbone. Other Ri tats include a star in her ear and a skull and cross bone on her ankle.

In fact, Rihanna loves tattoos so much that in July 2009, she was spotted giving BangBang a tattoo at New York's East Side Ink, where he works. Owner Yadira said at the time, "We had a blast. It was so funny and cute."

When BangBang spoke to MTV News in 2009, he added this philosophy when it comes to tatting the singer: "You don't want to be staring at tats. You want to be staring at her face."

Related Photos

• Hip-Hop Celebrity Tribute Tattoos

Related Artists

• Rihanna

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678043/rihanna-tattoos-thug-life.jhtml

contagion contagion memory ducati hitch asu alice cooper

Ex-psychologist pleads no contest to rape hoax (AP)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? A former California prison psychologist accused of staging a home invasion and sexual assault pleaded no contest to a felony conspiracy charge.

Prosecutors say Laurie Ann Martinez, 36, of Sacramento committed the elaborate hoax to convince her husband that they need to move to a better neighborhood.

In Sacramento County Superior Court on Wednesday, Martinez was sentenced to five years of probation and 180 days of electronic monitoring. She was also ordered to pay more than $4,000 in restitution for the police investigation.

Martinez made a frantic 911 call last April after she created a scene in her Sacramento home that appeared as if someone ransacked the place and attacked her. She split her own lip and had a friend, 33-year-old Nicole Snyder, wear boxing gloves to punch her in the face, police said.

According to the criminal complaint, Martinez rubbed sandpaper on her knuckles, ripped her blouse off to expose her top, dropped her pants to the ankles and "urinated on herself to make officers believe she had lost consciousness," The Sacramento Bee ( http://bit.ly/wI84Lg) reported.

The two women also removed two laptop computers, credit cards, a video game console, purse and camera from Martinez's home and hid them at Snyder's place, according to the complaint.

Snyder, who cooperated with the investigation, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation. She was also ordered to do community service and pay the same restitution fee.

Prosecutors called Martinez's behavior outrageous, saying it undermined the interests of true sexual assault victims.

"Law enforcement is not a toy to be casually utilized by people to further their own personal agenda," said Deputy District Attorney Chris Carlson.

Martinez's attorney, Michelle Spaulding, said her client is "glad this is over and she would like to get her life back together."

Martinez has since lost her psychologist license and was fired from the Sacramento state prison in December.

Online court records show her husband filed for divorce a month after she filed the false report, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_fake_rape

movie times serene branson matthew mcconaughey to catch a predator davenport chris hansen ehlers danlos syndrome

Poland signs copyright treaty that drew protests

A masked internet activist protests against the international copyright agreement ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, in front of the European Parliament office in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. The Polish government plans to sign the agreement and Poland's support for ACTA has sparked days of protest, including attacks on government sites, by groups who fear it could lead to online censorship. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

A masked internet activist protests against the international copyright agreement ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, in front of the European Parliament office in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. The Polish government plans to sign the agreement and Poland's support for ACTA has sparked days of protest, including attacks on government sites, by groups who fear it could lead to online censorship. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

Internet activists wearing masks protest against the international copyright agreement ACTA , the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, in front of the European Parliament office in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. The Polish government plans to sign the agreement and Poland's support for ACTA has sparked days of protest, including attacks on government sites, by groups who fear it could lead to online censorship. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

Internet activists protest against the international copyright agreement ACTA , the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, in front of the European Parliament office in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. The Polish government plans to sign the agreement and Poland's support for ACTA has sparked days of protest, including attacks on government sites, by groups who fear it could lead to online censorship. Poster reads: Stop A.C.T.A. We Will Not Allow To Limit Internet. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? Poland on Thursday signed an international copyright agreement which has sparked days of protests by Internet users who fear it will lead to online censorship.

Poland's ambassador to Japan, Jadwiga Rodowicz-Czechowska, signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, in Tokyo, she told the all-news station TVN24.

ACTA is a far-reaching agreement that aims to harmonize international standards on protecting the rights of those who produce music, movies, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and a range of other products that often fall victim to intellectual property theft.

It shares some similarities with the hotly debated Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S., which was shelved by lawmakers last week after Wikipedia and Google blacked out or partially obscured their websites for a day in protest.

Poland was one of several European Union countries to sign ACTA on Thursday, but it appeared to be the only place where support for the agreement has caused outrage and protests by Internet activists.

Several other industrialized countries, including the United States, Canada and South Korea, already signed it last year.

Poland's support for ACTA has sparked attacks on Polish government websites by a group calling itself "Anonymous" that left them unreachable for days, as well as street protests in several Polish cities.

ACTA aims to fight the online piracy of movies and music, and those opposed to it fear that it will also lead authorities to block content on the Internet. Critics also say governments have negotiated the agreement in secret and failed to consult with their societies along the way.

Thousands of people took to the streets in past days across Poland to voice their outrage over ACTA. Some taped their mouths shut in a sign that they fear their online freedom of expression will be hampered by it.

In reaction to the widespread opposition, Polish leaders have been struggling to allay fears over it.

Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski defended his government's position in a TV interview Wednesday evening, arguing that ACTA is not as threatening as young people fear.

But he said the Internet should not be allowed to become a space of "legal anarchy."

"We believe that theft on a massive scale of intellectual property is not a good thing," Sikorski said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-26-EU-Poland-Websites-Attacked/id-9be5acae86524784b85d3f2c27d13ee9

home affordable refinance program harp harp world series game 5 moammar gadhafi harry connick jr rightnow

Apple's Q1 hardware sales: 37 million iPhones, 15.43 million iPads, 5.2 million Macs, 15.4 million iPods

We touched on the numbers in our report on Apple's Q1 earnings, but the company's throwing out a lot of "record" figures so we thought we'd take a moment to focus on just how its hardware sales stack up. The standout figure is, of course, the 37.04 million iPhones sold during the quarter, which is up 128 percent from the same quarter a year ago (and up from 17 million in the previous quarter, a jump of 117 percent). That also puts it back ahead of Samsung, which sold a total of 35 million total smartphones in its most recent quarter.

iPad sales also set a new record with 15.43 units sold during the quarter, which is a 111 percent jump from the 7.3 million sold a year ago, and a 39 percent increase from the 11.1 million moved in Q4 2011. Once again, however, iPods are the one category that continues to decline in the face of the growth of smartphones. Apple sold a total of 15.4 million iPods -- over half of which were iPod touches -- which represents a 21 percent decline from the 19.4 million sold a year ago. The holiday shopping season did boost sales considerably from the 6.6 million sold in the previous quarter though.

Mac sales were also on the upswing, totaling 5.2 million units -- a 26 percent increase year-over-year. Breaking things down further, that translates to 1.48 million desktops (including iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro), and 3.7 million laptops (including the basic MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro). As for the company's "hobby," the Apple TV, it rang up 1.4 million in sales for the quarter, and 2.8 million for the 2011 fiscal year.

Developing...

Apple's Q1 hardware sales: 37 million iPhones, 15.43 million iPads, 5.2 million Macs, 15.4 million iPods originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Apple  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/DznFGeYwvH4/

octavia spencer golden globes 2012 winners golden globes 2012 red carpet nfc championship game golden globes red carpet martin luther king jr quotes martin luther king jr i have a dream speech

Giant asteroid Vesta likely cold and dark enough for ice

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? Though generally thought to be quite dry, roughly half of the giant asteroid Vesta is expected to be so cold and to receive so little sunlight that water ice could have survived there for billions of years, according to the first published models of Vesta's average global temperatures and illumination by the sun.

"Near the north and south poles, the conditions appear to be favorable for water ice to exist beneath the surface," says Timothy Stubbs of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Stubbs and Yongli Wang of the Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute at the University of Maryland published the models in the January 2012 issue of the journal Icarus. The models are based on information from telescopes including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Vesta, the second-most massive object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, probably does not have any significant permanently shadowed craters where water ice could stay frozen on the surface all the time, not even in the roughly 300-mile-diameter (480-kilometer-diameter) crater near the south pole, the authors note. The asteroid isn't a good candidate for permanent shadowing because it is tilted on its axis at about 27 degrees, which is even greater than Earth's tilt of roughly 23 degrees. In contrast, the moon, which does have permanently shadowed craters, is tilted at only about 1.5 degrees. As a result of its large tilt, Vesta has seasons, and every part of the surface is expected to see the sun at some point during Vesta's year.

The presence or absence of water ice on Vesta tells scientists something about the tiny world's formation and evolution, its history of bombardment by comets and other objects, and its interaction with the space environment. Because similar processes are common to many other planetary bodies, including the moon, Mercury and other asteroids, learning more about these processes has fundamental implications for our understanding of the solar system as a whole. This kind of water ice is also potentially valuable as a resource for further exploration of the solar system.

Though temperatures on Vesta fluctuate during the year, the model predicts that the average annual temperature near Vesta's north and south poles is less than roughly minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit (145 kelvins). That is the critical average temperature below which water ice is thought to be able to survive in the top 10 feet or so (few meters) of the soil, which is called regolith.

Near Vesta's equator, however, the average yearly temperature is roughly minus 190 degrees Fahrenheit (150 kelvins), according to the new results. Based on previous modeling, that is expected to be high enough to prevent water from remaining within a few meters of the surface. This band of relatively warm temperatures extends from the equator to about 27 degrees north and south in latitude.

"On average, it's colder at Vesta's poles than near its equator, so in that sense, they are good places to sustain water ice," says Stubbs. "But they also see sunlight for long periods of time during the summer seasons, which isn't so good for sustaining ice. So if water ice exists in those regions, it may be buried beneath a relatively deep layer of dry regolith."

The modeling also indicates that relatively small surface features, such as craters measuring around 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter, could significantly affect the survival of water ice. "The bottoms of some craters could be cold enough on average -- about 100 kelvins -- for water to be able to survive on the surface for much of the Vestan year [about 3.6 years on Earth]," Stubbs explains. "Although, at some point during the summer, enough sunlight would shine in to make the water leave the surface and either be lost or perhaps redeposit somewhere else."

So far, Earth-based observations suggest that the surface of Vesta is quite dry. However, the Dawn spacecraft is getting a much closer view. Dawn is investigating the role of water in the evolution of planets by studying Vesta and Ceres, two bodies in the asteroid belt that are considered remnant protoplanets -- baby planets whose growth was interrupted when Jupiter formed.

Dawn is looking for water using the gamma ray and neutron detector (GRaND) spectrometer, which can identify hydrogen-rich deposits that could be associated with water ice. The spacecraft recently entered a low orbit that is well suited to collecting gamma ray and neutron data.

"Our perceptions of Vesta have been transformed in a few months as the Dawn spacecraft has entered orbit and spiraled closer to its surface," says Lucy McFadden, a planetary scientist at NASA Goddard and a Dawn mission co-investigator. "More importantly, our new views of Vesta tell us about the early processes of solar system formation. If we can detect evidence for water beneath the surface, the next question will be is it very old or very young, and that would be exciting to ponder."

The modeling done by Stubbs and Wang, for example, relies on information about Vesta's shape. Before Dawn, the best source of that information was a set of images taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1994 and 1996. But now, Dawn and its camera are getting a much closer view of Vesta.

"The Dawn mission gives researchers a rare opportunity to observe Vesta for an extended period of time, the equivalent of about one season on Vesta," says Stubbs. "Hopefully, we'll know in the next few months whether the GRaND spectrometer sees evidence for water ice in Vesta's regolith. This is an important and exciting time in planetary exploration."

Dawn's mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Va., designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team. The asteroid modeling by Stubbs and Wang is an extension of analysis originally applied to the moon and partially funded by the NASA Lunar Science Institute.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125160531.htm

pumpkin carvings mcrib pumpkin seeds mark herzlich malawi malawi angela davis

Blast destroys police station in north Nigeria (Reuters)

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) ? A powerful blast destroyed a police station in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, a senior police official said, the latest in a series of blasts in the country's second biggest city since Islamist insurgents stepped up their campaign there.

"The explosives also affected some surrounding buildings. It was a big bang. For now, I can not say how many of our men are affected or whether the bomber died," the police source said.

Islamist sect Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a coordinated series of gun and bomb attacks in Kano Friday that killed 186 people in their deadliest strike yet.

The new focus on Kano, an ancient city once at the heart of caravan routes connecting Africa's interior with the Mediterranean, underscores the sect's growing ambition. Gunfire was also heard there early Tuesday, witnesses said.

From drive by shootings and petrol bombings in its northeastern heartland in Maiduguri, Boko Haram has spread across the north and have struck the capital Abuja.

The Islamists have killed at least 935 people since it launched an uprising in 2009, including more than 250 in the first weeks of this year, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sinful" in the Hausa language spoken in northern Nigeria, is loosely modeled on Afghanistan's Taliban. It has claimed responsibility for bombing churches, police stations, military facilities, banks and beer parlors in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria.

The sect focuses its attacks mostly on the police, military and government, but has increased its attacks on Christian institutions. It says it is fighting enemies who have wronged its members through violence, arrests or economic neglect and corruption.

The United States-Nigeria binational security commission met Tuesday. Discussions included the latest Boko Haram attacks and finding ways to stem the violence, diplomatic sources said. The commission usually meets at least once a year.

"Boko Haram's attacks show a complete and utter disregard for human life," said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"The Nigerian authorities need to call a halt to this campaign of terror and bring to justice those responsible for planning and carrying out these reprehensible crimes."

The report said 550 people were killed in 115 separate attacks by Boko Haram last year, mostly in the far northeastern state of Borno, where the sect was founded in 2002.

Boko Haram has moved from drive-by shootings and petrol bombs to suicide attacks using large and increasingly sophisticated explosives. A suicide car bomb last year killed 25 people at the United Nations headquarters in the capital Abuja.

In July 2009 the sect launched an uprising in the northeast in which more than 800 people were killed in five days of fighting with security forces.

The sect originally said it wanted sharia (Islamic law) to be applied more widely across Nigeria.

President Goodluck Jonathan has been severely criticized for not getting a grip on a group he says has infiltrated the police, military and all areas of government.

"Jonathan's inability to respond effectively, or articulate a credible strategy, reinforces the growing perception of a deep leadership void in Abuja," London-based risk adviser Eurasia Group said in a research note Tuesday.

"So far militarization of the region and strict curfews have only had limited effect and huge (military) spending outlays in 2012 offer little hope for a credible broader strategy."

(Reporting by Tim Cocks, Joe Brock and Mike Oboh; Writing by Joe Brock; editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/wl_nm/us_nigeria_sect

brittany norwood lindsay lohan condoleezza rice road house who do you think you are frank mccourt ricin

US warship sails into Persian Gulf amid Iran tension

By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News

US Navy officials report the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and its battle group steamed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf Sunday without incident. It's the first US carrier to pass through the Strait since the Iranians threatened to attack the aircraft carrier Stennis three weeks ago, if it attempted to return to the Persian Gulf. Pentagon and US military officials have made it clear that?Iranian threats would not deter the US Navy from operating in international waters in the Strait and the Gulf.

---

US military officials say the Lincoln, with its guided-missile cruiser and two guided-missile destroyers, saw no sign of the Iranian navy speed boats which occasionally harass US warships as they pass through the Strait. Those incidents have increased, and in fact become somewhat routine since Iran's radical Revolutionary Guard has taken control of Iran's naval forces in the Strait and Persian Gulf.

Navy officials say the Lincoln battle group is in the Gulf on routine and regularly-scheduled exercises.

A second battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is in the Northern Arabian Sea conducting flight missions over Afghanistan.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

?

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10213179-uss-lincoln-sails-through-strait-of-hormuz

evelyn lauder devin hester devin hester shayne lamas cain velasquez dos santos waterboarding

Model D IdeaLab Brings Inspiration For Business, One Idea At A Time

Producer Tom Hendrickson from Model D put together the above video highlighting some of the speakers at the media organization's Friday IdeaLab panel at the University of Michigan:

Last Friday's IdeaLab saw one passionate presenter after another walk onto the stage at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and share stories of getting things done in Detroit.

Some faces were familiar: our own publisher Claire Nelson had a conversation with Phil Cooley, who's hand is in multiple Corktown projects, including the year-old Pony Ride; Josh McManus of CreateHere and D:Hive talked about how one his programs combined two kegs of beer with opera; Rishi Jaitly of the Knight Foundation introduced Kiva Detroit and other efforts around building social innovation before Model D founding partner/CEO Brian Boyle announced that the parent Issue Media Group and Knight were partnering on the three-year Urban Innovation Exchange.

Read more about IdeaLab and everything entrepreneurial over on Model D, and stay tuned for some special HuffPost Detroit contributions to the Urban Innovation Exchange.

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/model-d-idealab-brings-inspiration_n_1227573.html

road conditions weather gina carano al green at last burger king delivery etta james at last

Video: Donald Trump's South Carolina Reaction

Donald Trump, Chairman & President, Trump Organization, offers insight on the GOP candidates that are left standing.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46099935/

fast times at ridgemont high andrea bocelli john hughes panasonic lumix dmc lx5 ucla football taylor momsen deliverance

Giffords says she's resigning from Congress

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, gravely wounded in a shooting a year ago, will resign from Congress. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

By Michael O'Brien, msnbc.com

?

Updated at 6:02 p.m. ET

Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) will resign from Congress this week, she announced in a video message posted Sunday.?

Giffords, the victim of a gunshot wound to the head in an attack a year ago in her Arizona district, cited her continued work toward recovery as a reason for stepping down from her seat.?

"I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week," she said in a video message posted to YouTube. "I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country."

According to a statement posted on her Congressional website, Giffords will attend?Tuesday night's State of the Union address as one of her final acts as a member of Congress before?submitting her resignation?to Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday.? The?statement also says Giffords plans to "finish" the Congress on your Corner event where the shooting happened before she leaves office.?

"Gabby Giffords embodies the very best of what public service should be.? She's universally admired for qualities that transcend party or ideology - a dedication to fairness, a willingness to listen to different ideas, and a tireless commitment to the work of perfecting our union.? That's why the people of Arizona chose Gabby - to speak and fight and stand up for them," President Obama said in a statement Sunday evening.? "Gabby's cheerful presence will be missed in Washington.? But she will remain an inspiration to all whose lives she touched - myself included.? And I'm confident that we haven't seen the last of this extraordinary American."

Giffords has enjoyed a remarkable recovery since being shot in that?Jan. 8, 2011 incident that left six dead.?

Prior to that shooting, she had been considered a rising Democratic star, and had been considering a bid for Senate this fall. During the course of her recovery, she has been absent from Capitol Hill except for a surprise return to vote in August on an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

?I salute Congresswoman Giffords for her service, and for the courage and perseverance she has shown in the face of tragedy.? She will be missed,? House Speaker?John Boehner said in a statement.?

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi reacted to the announcement in a statement saying Giffords "has been a true bright star - a dynamic and creative public servant.? Gabby's message of bipartisanship and civility is one that all in Washington and the nation should honor and emulate."? Pelosi continued, "I join all my colleagues in Congress in thanking Gabby for the honor of calling her colleague and wishing Gabby and Mark great success and happiness.? She will be missed in the House of Representatives, but her legacy in the Congress and her leadership for our nation will certainly continue."

Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/22/10211134-giffords-to-resign-from-congress

iowa caucus dick clark chris jericho steve jobs action figure lemonade diet rose bowl quadrantid meteor shower

"The Artist" wins over producers at Guild Awards (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Artist" continued its love affair with American cinema after winning best-produced film on Saturday at the Producers Guild Awards (PGA), boosting its chances for an Oscar nod ahead of the Academy Award nominations next week.

The silent black-and-white French comedy, starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, is a homage to the pre-talkie era of Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s and tells the story of a fading silent movie star as sound began entering the world of cinema.

"When Michel Hazanavicius and I dreamed of making "The Artist," we knew we were dreaming of writing a love letter to American cinema. We never knew in return we would get a taste of the American dream," Thomas Langmann, the film's producer, said in his acceptance speech in Beverly Hills.

The film has been sweeping awards ceremonies in the run up to the Oscars, winning best picture at the Critics Choice and Golden Globes earlier this month.

It was up against nine other films in contention for best-produced film on Saturday, including female-led comedy "Bridesmaids," civil rights drama "The Help," and Steven Spielberg's epic tale "War Horse."

"The Adventures of Tintin," produced by Spielberg, picked up best-produced animated film.

The Producers Guild awards are significant in the race to the Academy Awards on February 26, as many of the 5,000-plus members of the PGA, are members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote for the Oscars.

For the last four years, the producers' best-produced film picks have gone on to win the best picture Oscar, with "No Country For Old Men" in 2008, "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2009, "The Hurt Locker" in 2010 and "The King's Speech" in 2011.

Other PGA award winners on Saturday included "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest" for best-produced documentary, which explores the journey of influential hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest.

Angelina Jolie received the Stanley Kramer award for "In the Land of Blood and Honey," which she wrote, directed and produced, an accolade reserved for contributions that highlight provocative social issues.

The Oscar-winning actress delivered a sober acceptance speech, noting that when war-film "Schindler's List" won a PGA in 1994 during the Bosnian war, "the world turned a blind eye" to the atrocities happening in Eastern Europe at the time.

Spielberg was awarded the coveted David O'Selznick achievement award and comic-book legend Stan Lee received the Vanguard award, presented by "Spiderman" actor Tobey Maguire. Both received standing ovations as they took the stage.

ABC's "Modern Family" was named best-produced television comedy for the second year running, while HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" was named best-produced TV drama. PBS' British period drama "Downtown Abbey" was named best-produced long-form television series.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_artist_wins_over_producers_guild_awards082419556/44261265/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/artist-wins-over-producers-guild-awards-082419556.html

bernanke bernanke tampa bay buccaneers meredith kercher meredith kercher waxahachie waxahachie

Nike FuelBand is the hot, healthy new thing to wear around your wrist (Yahoo! News)

Following up on the pioneering success of the 2006's?Nike+, the company that started the?wearable digital fitness revolution has a slick new product. Meet the Nike+ FuelBand, a bracelet in the same fitness-forward family as the?FitBit and the?Jawbone Up

The FuelBand has a few neat tricks to set it apart. Sure, it'll track your perambulations, but it also converts all of your physical activity into a kind of health currency called NikeFuel. It tracks steps walked and calories burned, but it also uses oxygen kinetics to take a more precise measurement of your exertion ? and in true Nike fashion, it turns the result into a competitive sport.

You can compete against your own NikeFuel score of course, but you'll also be able to compare against your friends (or foes!) on Twitter and Facebook (and later Foursquare and Path, potentially). You can also check your progress toward your own goals at a glance via the bracelet's little colorful LED lights. The Nike FuelBand goes on pre-order today for $149 and begin shipping on February 22.

(Source)

This article originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120119/tc_yblog_technews/nike-fuelband-is-the-hot-healthy-new-thing-to-wear-around-your-wrist

denarius moore denarius moore alley boy alley boy wanda sykes bristol palin bethenny frankel

Wildfire near Reno destroys more than 20 homes

AAA??Jan. 20, 2012?12:57 AM ET
Wildfire near Reno destroys more than 20 homes
MARTIN GRIFFITHMARTIN GRIFFITH, Associated Press
SCOTT SONNERSCOTT SONNER, Associated Press??

A house burns just south of the Old 395 Gas Station Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in Washoe Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more and forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Liz Margerum) NEVADA APPEAL OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES

A house burns just south of the Old 395 Gas Station Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in Washoe Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more and forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Liz Margerum) NEVADA APPEAL OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES

Firefighters battle a fast-moving brush fire burns in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire through a valley south of Reno on Thursday, burning several homes, threatening dozens more and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)

The ruins of a home in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev. smolders as firefighters battle a wind-driven brush fire on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more and forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)

The ruins of a home in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev. smolders as firefighters battle a wind-driven brush fire on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more and forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)

Firefighters wait for water before attacking an outbuilding adjacent to a home Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in Pleasant Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more and forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Tim Dunn) NEVADA APPEAL OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES

RENO, Nev. (AP) ? Fire officials say more than 20 homes have been destroyed by a fast-moving brush fire near Reno, Nev., that has forced about 10,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods.

Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez says there also has been one fatality, but it's not clear how the death is related to the fire.

Firefighters were able to stop the fire's progress Thursday, but not before wind gusts of up to 82 mph sent it rushing through a valley south of Reno.

Flames could be seen from the downtown casino district about 10 miles away.

The winds died down after nightfall and rain started falling. More wet weather is expected as firefighters work through the weekend to fully contain the blaze.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-20-Reno%20Brush%20Fire/id-afc41f052a254cfab31b7ee66c1bf4d0

apple keynote apple keynote seattle news seattle news jenna fischer ben bernanke anwar al awlaki

Celebrity iPhone and iPad sightings: Kelsey Grammer, Amber Rose, Jamie Kennedy, and more!

Hello everyone and welcome to iMore?s weekly celebrity iPhone and iPad sightings roundup! Time to take a little break from your daily routine and relax with some gossip from the world of the rich and famous. What do all of these celebrities have in common? They all were spotted with an iPhone or iPad, of course. Check out a ton of pictures after the break, and if you spot a celebrity rocking an iPhone or iPad, drop us a note at news@iMore.com so we can include them in the next roundup, next week!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ub7tNrD7nVI/story01.htm

ted kennedy warren zevon caroline kennedy caroline kennedy day of rage sportscenter pay per view

Stocks edge higher as unemployment claims decline

[unable to retrieve full-text content]NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading Thursday following strong bank earnings and a decline in applications for unemployment benefits.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-19-Wall%20Street/id-dc5b4cb501644861ad6a952b53f77c17

rose parade mount rainier national park drop dead gorgeous ticket city bowl 2011 nfl playoff schedule cowboys vs giants ndaa

Drivers again faulted over Toyota acceleration

A two-year study looking for possible causes behind Toyota?s rash of unintended acceleration issues has put primary blame on driver error ? but the review by the National Academy of Sciences also cautioned that some problems may have been caused by inadvertent interactions involving vehicle electronics ? an issue frequently cited by the automaker?s critics.

Though there was no hard evidence of specific electronic defects, the 139-page report cautioned that ?the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.? Warning electronic faults may be ?untraceable,? it calls for stricter government involvement in setting standards for the use of electronic control vehicle systems.

The new report completes a series of studies set in motion by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which, in March 2010, asked both the NAS?s National Research Council, as well as NASA, to see why there were so many complaints about what the media was referring to as ?runaway Toyotas.?

The problem first made headlines in the summer of 2009, when a California Highway Patrol Officer and several members of his family were killed in a fiery crash involving a Lexus they had borrowed. The maker initially recalled several million vehicles due to a problem it described as ?carpet entrapment,? but in January 2010 it added millions more due to a potentially sticky accelerator linkage.

Ultimately, more than 8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles were recalled in the U.S. alone. But the NHTSA received numerous additional complaints ? with plaintiffs? attorneys lining up to file lawsuits against the automaker ? alleging some unknown electronic gremlin was also at work.

Last February, the NASA panel issued its report, contending it had found no indication of electronic defects. The National Research Council study echoes that, putting the primary blame on driver error. That had been the conclusion of other investigators in a number of instances ? in one, police investigators found that a woman driver involved in a crash had been pressing on the gas pedal, rather than the brake, so hard she had bent its linkage.

Nonetheless, the latest study does not rule out electronic issues, which it cautioned can result in ?untraceable faults,? with no physical evidence ? other than a crash ? to show when there might have been a problem such as a momentary software glitch.

?Some failures of software and other faults in electronics systems do not leave physical evidence of their occurrence, which can complicate assessment of the causes of unusual behaviors in the modern, electronics-intensive automobile,? the report cautioned.

Nonetheless, Louis Lanzerotti, the chairman of the panel and a New Jersey Institute of Technology physics professor, said during a conference call that, ?All the data available to us indicated the conclusion that there was no electronic or software problem? that may have caused the Toyota unintended acceleration reports.?

The new study called for a number of steps to be taken to reduce the likelihood that electronic hardware and software do cause problems in the future ? a critical issue considering the increasing use of digital technology in modern automobiles. Among the recommendations:

• NHTSA should convene an advisory panel to set uniform industry testing standards for electronic systems;
• New vehicles should be equipped with aircraft-style black boxes to make it easier to trace and identify defects;
• Regulators need to continue research on pedal design and placement.

The study also called for closer cooperation between NHTSA?s researchers and the Transportation Department?s Office of Defect Investigations.

While some critics questioned the latest study ? as they did earlier NHTSA and NASA findings, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that in his eyes the latest report ?does close the book? on the Toyota scandal.

At one point, following the second unintended acceleration recall, LaHood had said owners of Toyota vehicles involved in the recalls might think about parking those products until they were repaired.

The NHTSA ultimately levied a series of record fines against Toyota, including one for $33 million for delaying action on the sticky accelerator problem.

The maker, long known for seemingly bullet-proof quality, also recalled products in 2009, 2010 and 2011 for a variety of other issues, ranging from electronic brake issues with its Prius hybrid to excessive corrosion that could cause metal parts to fell off while driving the Sienna minivan.

As a result, Toyota had more recalls than any other maker in the U.S. market in 2009 and 2010, and with 3.5 million vehicles involved in service campaigns in 2011, came in just behind Honda, which last year recalled 3.7 million vehicles.

The long-term impact to the company?s reputation is unclear. Toyota ? along with Honda ? was one of only two major makers to suffer a sales decline in 2011. Analysts put most of the blame on the March earthquake and tsunami that severely limited global production for much of the year, but they also note cool consumer response to the latest update of the Toyota Camry at the same time as competitors like Ford are becoming increasingly aggressive in market segments long dominated by Toyota.

A new study by KBB.com shows that Toyota has regained its long-standing position as having the highest loyalty rate in the industry. But the maker is still heavily dependent on ?conquesting? buyers from other brands. That, many analysts warn, could become more difficult in light of the hits Toyota?s reputation has taken.

More from The Detroit Bureau:

US auto fleet older than ever??
Digital windows on the world???
Hyundai chief sees slowdown in sales growth??
First Drive: Mazda 2??
Proposed 54.5 mpg standard wins labor, consumer support

Copyright 2012 The Detroit Bureau. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46045551/ns/business-autos/

pearl jam 20 martha marcy may marlene lacuna lacuna paranormal activity 3 trailer paranormal activity 3 trailer oomph