Rumors persist of HTC One with stock Android, despite the official denial

Is Russell Holly a seer of the future, or did he just manage to get lucky? That's the question we're currently kicking around at Engadget. You see, when he first revealed that a Galaxy S 4 would be introduced at Google I/O with stock Android, we quickly dismissed it as something that'd never happen in a million years. Then it came true the very next day. Now, Holly is back with another mighty tall claim: "HTC is considering a stock Android variant of the One for release in the US." In fairness, rumors of such a phone began to circulate last week, but were quenched just as quickly by HTC. Contrary to the denial, however, Holly claims that multiple sources have informed him of an HTC One that's in the works with stock Android 4.2.2. It's tough to make heads or tails of Holly's report, especially since he follows the assertion that HTC is "considering" such a phone with a claim that it'll be announced within the next two weeks. Naturally, we're taking this with more than the usual dose of skepticism, but like Fox Mulder, we want to believe.

[Image credit: Pencilshade / deviantART]

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DNA damage: The dark side of respiration

May 22, 2013 ? Adventitious changes in cellular DNA can endanger the whole organism, as they may lead to life-threatening illnesses like cancer. Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now report how byproducts of respiration cause mispairing of subunits in the double helix.

The DNA in our cells controls the form and function of every cell type in our bodies. The instructions for this are encoded in the linear sequence of the four subunits found in DNA, the bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). Random changes in the sequence can lead to cell dysfunction, and may result in unrestricted cell proliferation and malignancies. Mutations can be induced by a variety of agents. For example, cellular respiration, i.e. the reduction of inspired oxygen to water, which powers cell function, also generates highly reactive oxygen species that can damage DNA, with the purine bases G and A being particularly susceptible to this kind of attack.

"Reactive oxygen species are responsible for two different sorts of DNA damage, as they induce formation of both 8-oxo-G and FaPy-G," says Professor Thomas Carell of the Department of Chemistry at LMU. In 2004, work done by Carell and his team defined how 8-oxo-G generates mutations. However, the basis for the mutagenic effect of FaPy-G has remained obscure -- until now. In their latest publication, Carell and his colleagues describe how FaPY-G leads to mispairing of bases in the double helix.

Pernicious partner swapping One G in one strand of the double helix normally matches up with a C on the other, forming a G:C pair. But as a consequence of damage by reactive oxygen species, the guanine base may be transformed into FaPy-G, so that we get a FaPy-G:C base pair. "We have now shown that, in the course of DNA replication prior to cell division, FaPy-G interacts with adenine, leading to the formation of FaPy-G:A base pairs. This partner swap is unusual, since unmodified guanine normally does not team up with adenine," Carell notes.

FaPy-G is subsequently recognized as abnormal and is removed by DNA repair enzymes. The missing base is replaced by a T -- which is the usual partner for A. The net result is that the original G:C base pair has been converted into an A:T pair, and the base sequence has undergone a potentially dangerous mutation.

This outcome is made possible by the fact that the cell's damage-control systems find it surprisingly difficult to distinguish the normal guanine base from its aberrant derivative FaPy-G during DNA replication. "That this defect then leads to mispairing with adenine is one of the main reasons for the spontaneous development of tumors," says Carell. "So with every breath we take, our risk of getting cancer goes up by a teeny-weeny bit." Further insights into the reasons why FaPy-G often eludes the cell's detection and correction systems could help to improve the treatment of cancer, as the inhibition of DNA repair processes in tumor cells increases their sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs.

The study was supported by DFG grants awarded to Collaborative Research Centers 646 and 749 and the Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CIPSM), an Excellence Cluster.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/K_DveC7YrDs/130522085333.htm

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Francona manages at Fenway for 1st time since 2011

BOSTON (AP) ? Terry Francona is back at Fenway Park as an opposing manager for the first time since he left the Red Sox.

Francona brought the Cleveland Indians to Boston for a four-game series starting Thursday night. He was let go by the Red Sox after eight years as their manager following a September 2011 collapse left them out of the playoffs.

He was relaxed and spoke calmly for about 20 minutes in the visiting dugout before the game. After Francona met with reporters, Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz came into the dugout and they embraced.

Francona said the Indians arrived in Boston at 5 a.m. and he's been too busy to think whether he'd be emotional coming back to Fenway.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/francona-manages-fenway-1st-time-since-2011-222938762.html

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Farrah Abraham, Jenelle Evans to Star in Teen Mom Spinoff?!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/farrah-abraham-jenelle-evans-to-star-in-teen-mom-spinoff/

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Foursquare on Android and iOS gets search filters for the extra picky

Foursquare knows that there's a lot more to a night on the town than a good search keyword. Accordingly, it just updated its Android and iOS apps with location search filters that narrow the results based on familiarity and price. At times, the terms can get very specific: if you want to try an expensive Korean barbecue that only your friends have visited so far, you can. While there isn't much more to the update than that, those prone to cravings (or just curiosity) should get their fill at the source links.

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FBI kills Florida man with suspected ties to Boston bomb suspect: Report [Photos]

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Candles are lit for those who died in the Boston Marathon bombings and the subsequent police manhunt at a memorial on Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Two explosions hit the Boston Marathon April 15 killing at least three people and injuring over 100 others. Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingz and Martin Richard were killed in the bombings while MIT police officer Sean Collier was killed during the manhunt for the suspects. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

The casket containing the body of Krystle Campbell arrives at St. Joseph Church for her funeral Mass in Medford, Massachusetts April 22, 2013. Campbell died in the two explosions that hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 killing at least three people and injuring more than 100 others. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Mourners wait outside for the funeral of Krystle Campbell at St. Joseph Church in Medford, Massachusetts April 22, 2013. Krystle Campbell died in the two explosions that hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 killing at least three people and injuring more than 100 others. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A mourner watches from a tree branch before the funeral for Krystle Campbell at St. Joseph Church in Medford, Massachusetts April 22, 2013. Krystle Campbell died in the two explosions that hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 killing at least three people and injuring more than 100 others. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A woman carries a sign before the funeral for Krystle Campbell at St. Joseph Church in Medford, Massachusetts April 22, 2013. Krystle Campbell died in the two explosions that hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 killing at least three people and injuring more than 100 others. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Mourners watch as friends and family of Krystle Campbell arrive for her funeral at St. Joseph Church in Medford, Massachusetts April 22, 2013. Krystle Campbell died in the two explosions that hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 killing at least three people and injuring more than 100 others. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Hundreds of people wait in a line that extends around the block to pay their respects to the family of Krystle Campbell at her wake in Medford, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Krystle Campbell died in the two explosions that hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 which killed three people and injured 176. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A runner wears a message pinned to his shirt after completing the London Marathon on the Mall in central London, April 21, 2013. Undaunted by the Boston Marathon bombings, big crowds lined the route of London 's mass road race on Sunday to cheer on around 36,000 runners, many of whom wore black ribbons to remember the dead and wounded. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

Investigators stand behind a barricade and memorial surrounding the site of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Two explosions hit near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing three people and wounding 176. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Runners participated in the Yonge Street 10k, the first major race this season in Toronto. There was a moment of silence as runners remembered Boston, scene of last weeks terrorist attacks. Stan Behal/QMI Agency

Well wishers hug as others wait in a line that extends around the block to pay their respects to the family of Krystle Campbell at her wake in Medford, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Krystle Campbell died in the two explosions that hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 which killed three people and injured 176. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Two-year-old Wesley Brillant of Natick, Massachusetts kneels in front of a memorial to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings near the scene of the blasts on Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts, April 21, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

A couple embraces at a memorial on Boylston Street to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Two explosions hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 killing at least three people and injuring over 100 others. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A mother and her son attend an interfaith worship service at a memorial on Boylston Street for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Two explosions hit near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing three people and wounding 176. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A woman holds a flower at a memorial on Boylston Street to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Two explosions hit the Boston Marathon April 15 killing at least three people and injuring over 100 others. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A mother holds the hands of her son as they attend an interfaith worship service at a memorial on Boylston Street for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Two explosions hit near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing three people and wounding 176. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Hundreds of people wait in a line that extends around the block to pay their respects to the family of Krystle Campbell at her wake in Medford, Massachusetts April 21, 2013. Krystle Campbell died in the two explosions that hit the Boston Marathon on April 15 which killed three people and injured 176. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW OBITUARY)

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ORLANDO, Fla./WASHINGTON - An FBI agent shot and killed a Florida man who turned violent while being questioned about the Boston Marathon bombings early on Wednesday, the bureau said.

A friend of the dead man told the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando television stations that he was 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev of Orlando, a Chechen who had previously lived in Boston. Two brothers identified by the FBI as suspects in the April 15 bombings were also ethnic Chechens with roots in Russia?s volatile North Caucasus region.

The FBI said in a statement that a special agent, ?acting on the imminent threat posed by the individual, responded with deadly force. The individual was killed and the special agent was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.?

It said the shooting occurred in Orlando, Florida, while the special agent and other law enforcement agents were interviewing the man about the blasts that killed three people and injured 264 others at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

?A violent confrontation was initiated by the individual,? the FBI said, without providing further details.

Todashev?s friend, Khusn Taramiv, said Todashev knew bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev because both were mixed martial-arts fighters but had no connection to the bombing.

?Back when he used to live in Boston, right, they used to hang out,? Taramiv told Central Florida News 13. ?He met them few times ?cause he was MMA fighter the other guy was boxer, right. They just new each other that?s it.?

The shooting occurred at an Orlando apartment complex where several people of Chechen descent lived. Taramiv said Todashev and others in the complex had been questioned several times by law enforcement agents since the day the Tsarnaev brothers were identified as the bombing suspects.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died in a gunfight with police. His brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was found hiding in a boat in Watertown, Massachusetts, four days after the bombings. He was charged with crimes that could carry the death penalty if he is convicted.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev had been on a U.S. government database of potential terrorism suspects and the United States had twice been warned by Russia that he might be an Islamic militant, according to U.S. security officials.

In Florida, the Orange County Sheriff?s Office said Todashev had been arrested on May 4 and charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm. Details about the circumstances of the arrest were not immediately available.

Source: http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/05/22/fbi-kills-florida-man-with-suspected-ties-to-boston-bomb-suspect-report

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Yahoo buying Tumblr for $1.1 billion, vows not to screw it up

By Alexei Oreskovic and Jennifer Saba

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc will buy blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion cash, giving the Internet pioneer a much-needed social media platform to reach a younger generation of users and breathe new life into its ailing brand.

The deal, announced on Monday, is a bold bet by Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer to revitalize the company by co-opting a Web property with strong visitor traffic but little revenue.

The combination of Yahoo and Tumblr creates an online powerhouse with roughly one billion users, which will draw in more advertisers and help Yahoo keep visitors on its properties for longer periods of time, Mayer told Reuters in an interview.

"Tumblr in terms of users and traffic is an immediate growth story for us," she said.

Analysts say Yahoo appeared to be overpaying for a business that has never posted a profit, makes a fraction of Yahoo's sales, and may not contribute significantly to revenue for years. But the company, rebuffed by the French government when it tried to pay $1 billion for video site Dailymotion earlier this year, had to do something to plug a hole in its social media efforts.

Yahoo made clear it was sensitive to concerns that it might damage Tumblr by making it less irreverent or more corporate.

"Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business," Yahoo said in a statement.

The deal will make Tumblr founder and CEO David Karp, 26, a multimillionaire.

Tumblr is one of the Web's most popular hubs of so-called user-generated content, drawing young people who use the platform to post pictures and text. It has more than 100 million blogs in its network, ranging from "White Men Wearing Google Glass" - a collection of photos poking fun at the early adopters of the wearable computing devices - to housing-focused "The Worst Room."

Though Yahoo remains one of the Web's most popular destinations, it has seen its revenue shrink in recent years as consumers and advertisers favor rivals such as Google Inc and Facebook Inc. The deal is expected to increase Yahoo's audience by 50 percent.

The acquisition, which will use up about a fifth of Yahoo's $5.4 billion in cash and marketable securities, is the largest by far since Mayer took the reins in July with the goal of reversing a long decline in Yahoo's business and Web traffic.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney called it a "long-shot/long-term investment" but one that fits into Mayer's turnaround strategy.

"(Yahoo's) fundamentals have been subpar for numerous years, in part because of the company's missing presence in Social and Mobile. Tumblr may help (Yahoo) develop that presence," Mahaney said in a note.

RICH PREMIUM

While Tumblr is certainly popular - it has tens of millions of monthly unique visitors in the U.S. - analysts questioned what kind of contribution it will make to Yahoo revenue, since advertising on the site is in its nascent stages.

Media reports have pegged Tumblr's 2012 revenue at $13 million. The privately held company, based in Manhattan, does not disclose its financial results.

Yahoo expects that Tumblr will help boost revenue by 2014, Ken Goldman, Yahoo's chief financial officer, said on a call with analysts. He did not provide specific numbers.

"Even if revenue was $100 million, it means Yahoo paid 10 times revenue," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis. "Ten times is what you pay to date the belle of the ball. It's on the outer bands of M&A."

Yahoo could quickly boost Tumblr's revenue by combining the website with its own sales force, said Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser. But loading Tumblr up with banner ads risks alienating its users and probably wouldn't provide a significant lift to Yahoo's overall revenue, he said.

"It's not clear that this deal will be favorable from a return-on-capital perspective," Wieser said. "One billion (dollars) for one company is a big bet."

Gillis and Wieser were contacted on Sunday after the deal was reported by the online publication All Things D.

Mayer, on the conference call, described the Tumblr deal as an exception and said Yahoo was not necessarily planning lots of similarly sized deals.

Yahoo is one of several companies that have coughed up considerable money for buzz-worthy start-ups that hold promise. Facebook bought the popular social media photo site Instagram for $1 billion last year. In 2006, Google paid $1.6 billion for YouTube.

Yahoo's track record in acquisitions is patchy. Its $3 billion-plus purchase of Geocities - a free service that hosted personal home pages for consumers and once ranked among the most-trafficked websites - stands among the most glaring of its failed deals. Yahoo shut down the service in 2009.

"It's not lost on me that there were some large acquisitions done in Yahoo's history that did not go well," Mayer said in the interview with Reuters. She said Yahoo now has a completely different management team, committed to making the Tumblr deal work.

The Tumblr team will remain in New York, Mayer noted, partly because she believes the most successful deals in the Internet industry, such as Google's YouTube acquisition, have thrived by letting the acquired company operate somewhat independently.

Shares of Yahoo were up 27 cents, or 1 percent, at $26.78 in afternoon trading. Through Friday's close, the shares had risen 70 percent since Mayer became CEO.

IMAGE ISSUES

One question Yahoo may have to address is Tumblr's reputation as a home for pornographic blogs. At one point in 2009, about 80 percent of Tumblr's top sites had something to do with adult content. Today that number is closer to 5 percent, according to Quantcast data, but the old image lingers.

Mayer, on the conference call, brushed off concerns that Tumblr has content that might not appeal to advertisers, saying the ability to reach more people is "really exciting." She said Yahoo's targeting tools would allow advertisers to zero in on specific demographics and content.

One area where Yahoo plans to ramp up advertising: Tumblr's dashboard, the main landing point, akin to a newsfeed.

Dealing with that and other issues may fall to Karp, who founded Tumblr in 2007 and will remain CEO.

Karp, a self-taught programmer who left high school in favor of home schooling, did not take part in Mayer's conference call. Media reports have suggested his take in the sale of Tumblr would top $200 million.

In a 2012 interview with The Guardian, Karp seemed to be less interested in money than in Tumblr's prominence.

"There are a lot of rich people in the world. There are very few people who have the privilege of getting to invent things that billions of people use," he said.

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York and Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Writing by Ben Berkowitz and Edwin Chan, editing by John Wallace)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoos-board-approves-1-1-billion-tumblr-acquisition-103611211.html

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Chrome 27 goes stable with small speed boost, Chromium nabs app launcher on Mac

After sitting in a beta phase since early April, Chrome 27 is finally seeing a wide release with its arrival on the stable track. Headlining the fresh desktop version is a 5 percent speed boost to web page load times and a new API for saving and syncing data to Google Drive. Refined spell correction, "numerous fundamental improvements" to the Omnibox, improved prediction rankings and an assortment of security fixes have also been baked in. Back in developer territory, Google's François Beaufort announced that the latest Chromium build for Mac has been outfitted with the anticipated app launcher. Check your browser for the update or jab the source links below to grab the apps manually.

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Brazilian killed in hot-air balloon crash in Turkey

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A hot-air balloon flying over Cappadocia, a tourist destination in central Turkey, crashed after colliding with another balloon on Monday, killing a Brazilian passenger and injuring 24 other people, the Anatolian news agency said.

The accident occurred near the city of Nevsehir. Most of the injured were being treated for broken bones but one was in critical condition,

Cappadocia is famous for its geological features called fairy chimneys. Balloon rides are a popular way to see the cone-like formations, created by the erosion of volcanic ash around them.

(Writing by Ece Toksabay, editing by Ayla Jean Yackley and Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazilian-killed-hot-air-balloon-crash-turkey-111525358.html

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'Voice' coaches try to duck Shakira's rage

TV

Craig Berman TODAY contributor

3 hours ago

NBC

Shakira wasn't shy about defending her contestant against Adam Levine and Usher on Monday.

With just 10 singers left in the competition, the four coaches on ?The Voice? are fighting hard to keep their singers in the game. One of the new judges was especially strident in her defense of someone she thought might be in danger.

Kris Thomas, one of just two singers left on Team Shakira, got tepid reviews from both Adam Levine and Usher, and it?s no exaggeration to say that she found their lack of faith disturbing.

Adam spoke first and said Kris looked like he was thinking too much. Usher soon piled on: ?You were thinking a lot, but your voice is incredible. You can do anything.? He then turned to Shakira and said, ?I really think you could have chosen a better song.?

Shakira took exception. ?I honestly think that song was perfect for him. He showed us everything he's capable to do with his voice. Yeah, he might be a little bit nervous, but hey, give him a break.?

?The important thing about this show is that we?re all just covering the talent that?s here in America, not like, who?s got the strongest personality to not feel nerves at all. That?s impossible,? she continued.

?I didn?t say he was nervous!? Usher protested.

Shakira dismissed him with her hand. She was on too much of a roll to turn back. ?I just want to say one thing ... you have the sound that sets you apart from everyone in this competition," she told her hopeful. "You?re showing me and America why you?re still here in the competition.?

By this point, both Usher and Adam, who sit on either side of Shakira, had gotten out of their seats and were ducking under the armrests, as far from her righteous rage as possible.

?She?s fighting for her team. She?s fighting for you, Kris,? Carson Daly said.

Usher finally got up and moved to sit back down, and Shakira threw her pen at him. Good thing she didn?t have one of Blake Shelton?s special lattes, or he might be in the burn recovery unit at the local hospital today.

Oklahoma on their minds

The tornado that ripped through Oklahoma and killed dozens on Monday wasn?t far from anyone?s mind, and the events were particularly poignant for those on the show with local ties.

Blake was born in Ada, Okla., and still has family there. One of his three remaining acts, The Swon Brothers, are also Oklahomans. Both said that as far as they knew, their family and friends were safe.

?They?re going through hell there. I finally, when we went live here, finally had to set my phone down,? Blake said. ?It makes it hard to sit here and do this tonight, but we?ve got a job and my team is counting on me, so here I am.?

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/voice-coaches-try-duck-shakiras-rage-6C9995501

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Tornadoes hit Kan., Okla.; no injuries reported

A tornado touches down southwest of Wichita, Kan. near the town of Viola on Sunday, May 19, 2013. The tornado was part of a line of storms that past through the central plains on Sunday. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying)

A tornado touches down southwest of Wichita, Kan. near the town of Viola on Sunday, May 19, 2013. The tornado was part of a line of storms that past through the central plains on Sunday. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying)

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) ? A powerful storm system rumbled through the Plains and upper Midwest on Sunday, spawning tornadoes that damaged homes and buildings near Oklahoma City and put the Tulsa area on high-alert.

There were no immediate reports of injuries caused by any of the tornadoes that touched down in Oklahoma and Kansas, including one that hit the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond before moving northeast toward Tulsa, 90 miles to the northeast.

For days, forecasters had been warning about the possibility of tornadoes from a weekend storm, and emergency responders as far north as Minnesota and as far south as Texas were keeping a close eye on the powerful system pushing eastward and northward through the nation's breadbasket.

"I knew it was coming," said Randy Grau, who huddled with his wife and two young boys in their Edmond's home's safe room when the tornado hit. He said he peered out his window as the weather worsened and believed he saw a flock of birds heading down the street.

"Then I realized it was swirling debris. That's when we shut the door of the safe room, said Grau, adding that they sheltered in the room for 10 minutes.

In Wichita, Kan., a tornado touched down near Mid-Content Airport on the city's southwest side shortly before 4 p.m., knocking out power to 7,500 homes and businesses but bypassing the most populated areas of Kansas' biggest city.

"At this point, there are very few reports of damage and no reports of fatalities or injuries, and we're very grateful for that," said Sedgwick County Emergency Management Director Randy Duncan.

In Oklahoma, aerial television news footage showed homes that appeared to have suffered significant damage northeast of Oklahoma City. Some outbuildings appeared to have been leveled, and some homes' roofs or walls had been knocked down.

"When I first drove into the neighborhood, I didn't see any major damage until I pulled into the front of my house," said Csabe Mathe, of Edmond, who found a part of his neighbor's fence in his swimming pool. "My reaction was: I hope insurance pays for the cleaning."

"I typically have two trash cans, and now I have five in my driveway."

The Storm Prediction Center had been warning about severe weather in the region since Wednesday, and on Friday, it zeroed in on Sunday as the day the storm system would likely pass through.

"They've been calling for this all day," Edmond resident Anita Wright said after riding out the twister in an underground shelter. She and her husband Ed emerged from their hiding place to find uprooted trees, downed limbs and damaged gutters in their home.

In Katie Leathers' backyard, the family's trampoline was tossed through a section of fence and a giant tree uprooted.

"I saw all the trees waving, and that's when I grabbed everyone and got into two closets," Leathers said. "All these trees just snapped."

___

Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-19-US-Severe-Weather/id-766eeb3f212543cda7bb8220e19d37cf

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Video shows kidnapped Egyptian security officers

CAIRO (AP) ? Seven men purported to be the members of Egypt's security forces kidnapped by suspected militants last week appeared in a video posted online Sunday and urged the government to secure their release by meeting their captors' demands.

The video, posted on YouTube, is the first sign of the six policemen and one border guard since they were abducted by gunmen on the road from the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo on Thursday. Egyptian security officials said they believed the men in the clip were the missing personnel and that authorities were treating the matter seriously. The father of one of the captives identified his son in the video.

The kidnappings have embarrassed President Mohammed Morsi's government, and are seen as a test of his administration's ability to restore security to the volatile peninsula. They also have renewed a national debate on how best to tackle the troubles in northern Sinai, which borders Gaza and Israel. While many called for a swift security response, some argued that such a move would spark a backlash.

Authorities have been in contact with the kidnappers through mediators. The kidnappers have demanded the release of several militants held in Egyptian jails, including some convicted during Mubarak's rule, officials say.

In a statement Sunday, the president said that there is "no room for dialogue with the criminals" responsible for the kidnappings. The statement followed a meeting Morsi held with politicians from largely Islamist groups to brief them on efforts to secure the captives' release.

The president wrote on the social media website Twitter Sunday evening that "all options are on the table" to free the men and that the government will "not succumb to blackmail."

Sinai has been wracked by lawlessness since the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Criminal gangs, militants and local tribesmen disgruntled with what they say is state-sponsored discrimination have exploited the security vacuum to smuggle weapons, attack security forces and kidnap tourists to trade for relatives held in Egyptian jails.

In the video released Sunday, the men, blindfolded and holding their hands on their heads, introduce themselves one by one.

One of the men identified himself as Cpl. Ibrahim Sobhi Ibrahim and asked Egypt's leaders to free jailed Sinai militants.

"The demands of the brothers, Mr. President, is the release of political prisoners from Sinai," he says. "Please, Mr. President, release them quickly. We can no longer tolerate torture."

The video closes with the men pleading to the camera: "Rescue us, Mr. President. We can't take it. Rescue us, people." At one point, the tip of a rifle appears over the head of some of the captives, before it is swiftly pulled back off the screen. There were no visible signs of torture on the young men.

It was not immediately clear who posted the video, which was uploaded to a YouTube account created Sunday. Later YouTube took it down, saying it violated its policy on violence.

An Egyptian security official identified the captives in the video as the missing personnel. He said a copy of the video was sent to security agencies, but it was not immediately clear by whom. Another security official in Cairo said families and friends of the captives were called in to identify their relatives.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

The names of five of the missing also correspond with names previously obtained by The Associated Press.

Security officials say they believe the assailants carried out the kidnapping after being angered over reports that a prisoner, Ahmed Abu Sheta, had been tortured while in jail. Abu Shehata was convicted of attacking a police station in 2011 that killed police officers.

After meeting Morsi on Sunday, Younes Makhyoun, a leading member of the ultraconservative Islamist Salafi al-Nour party, said the president is eager to avoid a security response.

"Even though there are voices who are demanding security interference and decisiveness, (Morsi) said he wants to rescue the soldiers peacefully, and is keeping the engagement with local tribesmen," Makhyoun told The Associated Press. "The security solution would be easiest, but he wants to save lives."

Makhyoun said his party is also against a security solution because it would lead to bloodshed and won't resolve the problem ? a lingering feeling of injustice by many of those who were convicted and arrested during the Mubarak era. He said the kidnappers' demands include the release of as many as 600 prisoners, some of whom were convicted before 2011. A way out, he said, would be to offer retrials for those convicted in the past or in haste.

Mohammed Abdel-Hamid, the father of one of the policemen, told the private Al-Youm TV station that his son was in the video. He said he would rather see his son dead than have his release negotiated.

Expressing their anger at the recent kidnapping, scores of policemen blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel Sunday to protest the abduction of their colleagues. The policemen closed the main gates of the Awja crossing with chains, leaving around 40 trucks stranded, according to local official Ahmed Osman.

On Friday, policemen blocked a border crossing into Gaza. There was no indication that either Israel or the Palestinians were involved in the kidnapping.

___

Associated Press writer Ashraf Sweilam contributed to this report from south Sinai.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/video-shows-kidnapped-egyptian-security-officers-161501440.html

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Acrobotics Wants To Kickstart Smarter Cities With Its Smart Citizen Environment Sensors

There's plenty of buzz about the concept of making our cities "smarter" -- that is, loading them up with sensors and data-driven services to improve efficiency and quality of life. Hell, even Google has taken to loading up its event venues with scores of sensors. Most of the discussion out there deals with how local governments are working toward this lofty, nebulous goal, but a team called Acrobotics Industries is trying to put with onus on the citizens themselves. To that end the team has kicked off a $50,000 Kickstarter campaign for a small sensor array called the Smart Citizen kit in hopes that people will start collecting and sharing their environmental data with the world.

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

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Miley Cyrus Reveals Big Single News At Billboard Music Awards

Before presenting Justin Bieber with an award, Cyrus announces 'We Can't Stop' arrives June 3.
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707638/miley-cyrus-we-cant-stop-single-june-3-billboard-music-awards.jhtml

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The Plural of ?Noonan? Is Not ?Data? (Balloon Juice)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/306815211?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Report: Yahoo nearing $1.1B acquisition of Tumblr

NEW YORK (AP) ? Yahoo may be on the verge of closing its biggest acquisition during the 10-month reign of CEO Marissa Mayer as she tries to attract more traffic and advertisers to the Internet company's website and mobile applications.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., company's board of directors will meet Sunday evening to consider approving a $1.1 billion acquisition of online content-sharing site Tumblr in a deal Mayer negotiated, according to the technology news site All Things D. The story posted late Friday cited anonymous sources.

If Yahoo Inc.'s board signs off, the deal could be announced Monday.

In an invitation sent Friday, Yahoo promised to unveil "something special" Monday evening in New York. The event is being held in a Times Squares lounge located about two miles from Tumblr's headquarters.

Yahoo has only said that Mayer will be on hand to unveil something related to a product. A company spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the potential Tumblr acquisition.

Buying Tumblr would fulfill Mayer's goal of reaching a wider audience on smartphones and tablet computers.

Tumblr serves up a constantly changing collage of stories, photos and other digital content served up by users who are increasingly connecting to the service through its mobile applications. The service is also one of the hottest sites among teens and young adults, a demographic that Mayer, 37, thinks Yahoo needs to do a better job of reaching.

If it's completed, the Tumblr deal would be Mayer's biggest coup ? and, at the same time, the biggest risk ? since she ended her 13-year career as a key executive at Google Inc. to try to snap Yahoo out of a prolonged malaise that had demoralized employees and investors alike.

Since her arrival, Mayer has been focused on redesigning several Yahoo services and bringing in more mobile engineering talent, primarily by buying a series of small startups.

None of those previous acquisitions have required Yahoo to dip too deeply into its bank account. Late last year, Yahoo paid a total of $7 million for two startups called OnTheAir and Stamped. In the first three months of this year, Yahoo snapped up three more startups for a total of $10 million, according to the company's regulatory filings.

Tumblr, founded in 2007 by its CEO David Karp, presumably would become a pivotal part of Mayer's effort to sell more advertising.

Mayer has been winning back investors, even though the company's revenue is still lagging the overall growth of the booming Internet and mobile advertising market. Yahoo's stock price has risen 69 percent under Mayer's leadership.

Yahoo shares fell 6 cents Friday to close at $26.52.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-05-17-US-Yahoo-Event/id-2732516db30f41b4840daf930ade9432

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Lawmakers accuse IRS officials of lying in tax scandal

By Andy Sullivan and Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers accused leaders of the Internal Revenue Service of lying on Friday as they opened the first in a series of investigative hearings about the tax collection agency's targeting of conservative groups.

Republicans and Democrats said senior IRS officials should have alerted Congress last year when they found out that their examiners were singling out Tea Party groups for intense scrutiny when the groups applied for tax-exempt status.

"That isn't being misled. That's lying," said Republican Dave Camp, the chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee.

The acting head of the agency, Steven Miller, apologized for the IRS's actions and said they stemmed from poor management, rather than a partisan desire to punish conservative groups.

"I did not mislead Congress or the American people," said Miller, who was fired by President Barack Obama on Wednesday. "I think what happened here is that foolish mistakes were made by people trying to be more efficient."

Obama, a Democrat, is racing to get in front of a scandal that threatens to eclipse his second-term agenda. He has twice appeared in public to condemn the IRS's actions and has promised to cooperate with three congressional investigations and a Justice Department probe. He has, however, resisted demands for a special prosecutor to look into the allegations.

Republicans have angrily accused Obama's administration of using government powers to target political foes. They say the IRS scandal is one example of a federal government that has grown too large and intrusive.

"Is this still America?" asked Republican Representative Kevin Brady of Texas.

AN EXPLOSION OF ADVOCACY GROUPS

An internal IRS watchdog reported this week that IRS investigators had singled out groups that had conservative-sounding phrases such as "Patriot" and "Tea Party" in their titles when they applied for a tax-exempt status.

Such status allows groups to keep their donor lists secret while engaging in limited political activity. Political campaigns, by contrast, must make their donors lists public.

Tea Party groups say they were asked for information such as what books they read. The questioning in some cases took nearly three years, preventing certain groups from participating in the 2010 and 2012 elections.

The IRS watchdog blamed the scandal on ineffective management and bureaucratic confusion.

The IRS has seen the number of groups applying for so-called 501(c)4 status double in the wake of a January 2010 Supreme Court decision that loosened campaign-finance rules at a time when it has struggled to monitor existing tax-exempt groups.

The top Democrat on the committee, Representative Sander Levin, warned Republicans not to turn the investigation into a partisan witch hunt.

However, he noted that Lois Lerner, the IRS official who made the scandal public last week, did not bring it up when she testified in front of the committee a few days earlier.

"That is wholly unacceptable and one of the reasons we believe Miss Lerner should be relieved of her duty," Levin said.

Two other committees, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, also will hold IRS hearings next week.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Temple-West and Susan Heavey; Editing by David Lindsey and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-picks-temporary-irs-head-tea-party-decries-003205741.html

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24% of Russian homes equipped for satellite TV reception | Digital ...

RSCC (the Russian Satellite Communications Company) and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced that Astrium has been selected to build the Express-AMU1/EUTELSAT 36C satellite that will be launched in 2015 to provide follow-on and expansion capacity for the EUTELSAT 36A broadcast satellite operating at 36? East.

via 24% of Russian homes equipped for satellite TV reception.

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About Ian D. Nock

Technology consultant working in the field of Digital TV and Interactive Solutions/delivery. Twenty years experience working throughout Europe on delivering IT Systems and Digital TV Solutions. Experienced in working on all aspects of service delivery including solution integration, platforms and customer premises equipment. This entry was posted in link. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: https://digitaltvnewssummary.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/24-of-russian-homes-equipped-for-satellite-tv-reception/

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U.S. House lawmakers reach tentative deal to revamp immigration

By Richard Cowan and Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prospects for passage of a major immigration bill improved on Thursday when a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives declared they had reached a tentative deal, resolving disputes that had threatened to torpedo negotiations.

The breakthrough came at the end of a two-hour private meeting of seven Republican and Democratic negotiators. The eighth negotiator in this so-called House Gang of Eight was unavailable after undergoing surgery on Wednesday.

The final sticking point, according to congressional sources, was over whether illegal immigrants now in the United States who gain legal status under the bill could participate in the new healthcare law known as "Obamacare," which Republicans want to repeal.

None of the negotiators would comment on how the matter was resolved. Nor would they provide other details of the deal.

Even with Thursday's breakthrough, the drive to enact a comprehensive immigration bill, which is President Barack Obama's top legislative priority, faces a long, difficult road in Congress.

The agreement still must be drafted into legislation for review by the 435 members of the House. Then it faces a potentially tough battle in the House Judiciary Committee, where several conservative Republicans have been dead-set against a comprehensive bill. Instead, they mostly want to pass tougher border security measures and allow U.S. companies to get better access to foreign high-tech workers.

Any proposal to provide a path to citizenship for 11 million people now in the United States illegally, which is part of a Senate bill, is certain to draw fierce opposition from some Republican quarters.

Furthermore, the House bill will not fully conform to the measure winding its way through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

JUST A 'FIRST STEP'

"There are going to be a lot of differences in a lot of areas" between the House and Senate bills, said Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, one of the House negotiators.

The tentative deal, he added, is "the first step of a difficult process. But it's a very important step."

Diaz-Balart would not say whether the deal includes an agreement to leave some difficult issues unresolved for now.

Besides healthcare questions, the bipartisan group had been squabbling over the future flow of foreigners streaming into the United States for temporary workers.

"We have essentially come to an agreement on all the major points," Democratic Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky told reporters after closed-door meeting broke up. He added that some "loose ends" still had to be worked out.

The bipartisan group has been attempting to introduce an immigration bill for years. But disputes over border security, work visa numbers and healthcare provisions had grown to the point that there were fears some lawmakers might be on the verge of dropping out of the long negotiations.

The group had also been arguing over the "triggers" that would define when additional border security steps under the legislation would be sufficient to start legalizing some of the 11 million unauthorized foreigners, sources said.

There was also disagreement over several other policy issues central to an immigration bill, including the number of foreign high-tech workers who would be allowed in, as well as low-skilled construction and service industry laborers.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is in the midst of debating that chamber's bipartisan bill, with the goal of bringing a bill before the full Senate next month.

That panel is struggling with the work visa program in the bill and is under intense pressure from technology companies to make it easier to hire foreign workers.

One of the members of the House group, Republican John Carter, told reporters on Thursday that there was no way the Senate bill would pass the Republican-controlled House.

Immediately following the November 6 elections, in which Hispanic voters roundly rejected Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, House Speaker John Boehner called on his party to pivot on immigration.

After years of blocking moves to put the 11 million on a pathway to citizenship that many conservatives call "amnesty," Boehner, the top elected U.S. Republican, urged his party to work for a major revamp of immigration laws.

Boehner's call for action angered many of his most conservative rank-and-file Republican House members, as well as some conservative interest groups. As a result, it is unclear how Boehner will navigate between his desire to accomplish an immigration bill and resistance from many fellow Republicans.

Earlier on Thursday, before the bipartisan deal, Boehner expressed concerns about the lack of progress in the House so far. He added, "I continue to believe that the House ... needs to work its will. How we get there, we're still dealing with it."

(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan; Editing by Fred Barbash, Cynthia Osterman and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-house-lawmakers-reach-tentative-deal-revamp-immigration-000104179.html

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Guest Bloggers - Eating Disorders Blogs

A Unique Depiction of How One Woman Exposed Distorted Ideas Around Body Image, Weight, and Health
By Lisa Kantor, Esq. & Rachel Teicher
Kantor & Kantor, LLP

I was traveling with students in Barcelona in the summer of 2011, walking through La Rambla, when I noticed two guys making fun of me. I could see them in the reflection of a mirrored building, making gestures with their hands to suggest how much bigger I was than the thin girl standing next to me, her small waist accentuated by her crop top and cut-off shorts. They painted her figure in the air like an hourglass. Then they painted my shape like the convex curves of a ball. The guys were saying something, too, but there was only one word I could make out: Gorda. Fat woman.

Haley Morris-Cafiero, a Memphis based photographer, has uncovered and displayed weight stigma with an unusual and eye-opening social experiment. Using film to capture and defy the reactions of those around her, Morris-Cafiero found a bold way to expose what seems to be a collective and steadfast weight bias.

Reflecting back internalized attitudes about weight, Marris-Cafiero reverses the gaze of those around her through photographing and recording unmistakable weight biased reactions. Her unaltered images present a dreadful truth: weight stigma is pervasive throughout the entire world.

Weight stigma is defined as shame or judgment placed upon individuals based on weight or body size. One might experience judgment of character, work ethics, and personality based on weight - communicated both directly and indirectly. This stigma can be displayed through negative attitudes, subtle and overt expressions, prejudice and discrimination, inequalities in employment, health-care, and educational settings.

?There are so many people in the world who feel they have the right ? no, the obligation ? to criticize someone for the way they look, and to be that recipient of those insults can feel so lonely,? Morris-Cafiero explains.

Morris-Cafiero?s photographic series, titled ?Wait Watchers,? is exactly as it sounds. She positions herself and the camera in a "public setting abundant with people"?and waits. Seeking out spaces that are visually interesting and geographically diverse, Morris-Cafiero performs ordinary tasks in public places - capturing not only her solitude in a busy crowd, but the appalling reactions that have contributed to her feeling ?left out and awkward.? Her honest examination of how a larger body fits into society is artistically clever, her photographs are eloquent, and the reactions to her larger body are alarming.

?I?ve been hearing comments like this for much all my life.? Morris-Cafiero said. ?Maybe someone else would have yelled at them, or shrunk inside. But I don?t get upset when this happens.? Morris-Cafiero does not waste time confronting people (who likely hold deep set ideas about weight); rather she remains calm and sets up her camera. Her photographs alone expose the gross injustices of the stigma she receives. For a full profile, click here.

Those of us familiar with the dangers of weight stigma will likely find the responses and reactions (captured so expressively by her photographs) to be outrageous, disgraceful, and intolerant. But there are many who will not see anything wrong with the captured reactions. And therein lies part of the reason for Morris-Cafiero's photographic exposition, to shine light on the fact that: weight-bias and weight stigma is a cultivated and lingering prejudice, which seems to be socially acceptable and internationally understood.

With harmful ideas about weight so entrenched and widespread, how can we begin to educate others on the damage of this stigmatizing and hostile climate?

In addition to inventive individual responses like Morris-Cafiero, you can join a larger and more collective movement to absorb the latest research and information on health, weight, and wellness. ASDAH (the Association for Size Diversity and Health), an international organization dedicated to shifting these antiquated and pervasive ideas about weight and health, was created as a peace movement: promoting education, research, and the provision of services which enhance health and well-being, and which are free from weight-based assumptions and weight discrimination. They have a strong mission which follows the Health at Every Size (HAES) principles, explaining that everyone has the right to be peaceful in their own body. HAES is a simple measure with important goals:

1. Accepting and respecting the diversity of body shapes and sizes.
2. Recognizing that health and well-being are multi-dimensional and that they include physical, social, spiritual, occupational, emotional, and intellectual aspects.
3. Promoting all aspects of health and well-being for people of all sizes.
4. Promoting eating in a manner which balances individual nutritional needs, hunger, satiety, appetite, and pleasure.
5. Promoting individually appropriate, enjoyable, life-enhancing physical activity, rather than exercise that is focused on a goal of weight loss.

Much of the panic and stigma around weight has been fostered by the ?obesity epidemic,? anti-obesity campaigns, and uninformed ideas about weight and health. There is considerable scientific evidence supporting the HAES approach, establishing that ?obesity? is not the health risk it has been reported to be:

• Weight and BMI are poor predictors of disease and longevity. The bulk of epidemiological evidence suggests that five pounds ?underweight? is more dangerous than 75 pounds ?overweight.?
• Multiple studies are suggesting that a focus on weight as a health criterion is often misdirected and harmful.
• In a study comparing the HAES? model to a diet approach, though only dieters lost weight, both groups initially had similar improvements in metabolic fitness, activity levels, psychological measures, and eating behaviors. After two years, dieters had regained their weight and lost the health improvements, while the HAES? group sustained their health improvements.

See https://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/content.asp?id=161 Deb Burgard, a Psychologist and expert in HAES, illuminates the urgency of eliminating body shaming and weight discrimination. ?Having the privilege of seeing that weight and health are not inevitably linked, and seeing the terrible toll of weight preoccupation/obsession on my patients across the weight spectrum, as well as learning that people can accept and love the bodies they have, have all made me a passionate advocate for a change in our clinical interventions and public health messages.?

Although many people exhibit weight biased behaviors and do not understand the implications, weight discrimination is a human rights issue that demands attention and resolution. John F. Kennedy expressed the concept of change beautifully, ?Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.? Activists such as Haley Morris-Cafiero and Deb Burgard, and organizations like ASDAH have spoken out against the standard, demanding change, equality, and peace for any body size.

Suzanne Dooley-Hash, MD (Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Michigan, medical director at the Center for Eating Disorders) has described weight stigma as ?The last socially-acceptable prejudice.?

The time for change is now.

Source: http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/guest_blogger/2013/05/weight-stigma-the-last-socially-acceptable-prejudice.html

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Investing, president-style ? Bankrate, Inc.

The White House on Wednesday released the president and vice president's financial disclosure forms, which?cataloged?the top executives' -- and their spouses' -- investment picks, among other financial interests.

President Barack Obama favors index funds for his retirement plan. In addition to the defined benefit pension plan from the State of Illinois General Assembly, the president holds shares of Vanguard's 500 Index Fund for retirement.

Additionally, the Obamas have 529 plans to fund the educations of daughters Malia and Sasha.

Index funds are growing in popularity. Last year, they made up 24 percent of total assets under management, growing four times faster than all other funds, according to the PBS Frontline production "The Retirement Gamble" and Morningstar.

The secret is the low cost. Indexed mutual funds simply follow market indexes, giving investors very close to whatever the market returns, minus fees. Actively managed funds try to outperform the market, so they tend to cost a little bit more for all the research and analysis that goes into finding investments that will outperform. For an investor in an active fund to beat a passive fund, the active fund has to beat the benchmark index plus return the cost of fees. Some actively managed funds do that, but many don't.

"One of the more popular benefits of many index funds is that there are no front- or back-end loads or sales charges, and annual expenses can be dramatically lower," says Robert Laura, co-founder of RetirementProject.org.

"Index funds, as well as low-cost (exchange-traded funds), have become a growing part of people's portfolios and retirement for the simple fact that it is very difficult, some would say impossible, to outperform the markets on a regular basis," he says.

There are good uses for actively managed funds, but keep an eye on fees instead of focusing solely on returns.

If index funds are good enough for someone such as the president of the United States, maybe they should be in more portfolios.?Of course, with a lifetime pension headed his way after leaving office, the president hardly needs to invest at all. The Former Presidents Act gives each past president a taxable pension equal to the annual rate of basic pay for the head of an executive department, which, as of 2008, was $191,300.

What do you think of index funds?

Follow me on Twitter: @SheynaSteiner.

***
Senior investing reporter Sheyna Steiner is a co-author of "Future Millionaires' Guidebook," an e-book written by Bankrate editors and reporters. It's available at all the major e-book retailers.

Source: http://www.bankrate.com/financing/investing/investing-president-style/

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Tiny Plants That Once Ruled the Seas (preview)

See Inside

Around 250 million years ago animals in the seas began to diversify with gusto. Remarkably, the evolution of minute plants known as phytoplankton probably powered that dramatic explosion

By Ronald Martin and Antonietta Quigg

DIATOMS and other so-called red phytoplankton began superseding green phytoplankton some 250 million years ago. They seem to have helped fuel the riotous diversification of sea creatures that ushered in the modern marine fauna.

Image: CHARLES KREBS

In Brief

• After a mass extinction 250 million years ago decimated marine life, sea creatures began diversifying like crazy.
• Scientists traditionally chalked this evolutionary explosion up to physical factors, such as changing sea levels.
• But mounting evidence suggests that the role of tiny aquatic plants known as phytoplankton has been overlooked.
• Increases in the quantity and quality of phytoplankton seem to have fueled the rise of the modern marine animal groups.

If you could hop onboard a time machine and visit the earth as it was 500 million years ago, during the Paleozoic era, you'd be forgiven for thinking you had traveled not to another time period but to another planet altogether. In essence, you would have. The continents mostly sat in the Southern Hemisphere, the oceans had vastly different configurations and currents, the Alps and the Sahara had yet to form. Land plants had not even evolved. Perhaps the most dramatic difference, however, would lie in the animals that inhabited this primeval earth. Back then, most of the world's multicellular creatures lived in the sea. Clamlike creatures called brachiopods and trilobites?those extinct cousins of today's lobsters and insects, with their hard exoskeletons, long antennae and compound eyes?reigned supreme.

The diversity of marine animals grew substantially over the next 250 million years, until the so-called Permian extinction event snuffed out more than 90 percent of ocean species and brought the Paleozoic to a close. The loss of life was staggering. But change was on the horizon, and while life on land underwent a radical transformation with the rise of dinosaurs and mammals, life in the sea entered a dramatic phase of reorganization that would establish the dominance of many of the animal groups that prevail in the marine realm today, including modern groups of predatory fish, mollusks, crustaceans, sea urchins and sand dollars, among others.

This article was originally published with the title Tiny Plants That Once Ruled the Seas.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=1d6b613543ae18fe52411d85be0a6049

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Singing couple insists Leno skit wasn't staged

TV

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

4 hours ago

Sheesh! You show up to pump some gas, belt out a Bon Jovi song, and the next thing you know the video of the routine goes viral and the whole world thinks you're just some staged gimmick.

Such was the story of Will and Monifa Sims, who appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" last week. The couple sang for the show's hidden-camera "Pumpcast" segment and turned out to have great camera presence and better-than-average voices. Leno invited them on the show and they sat in with the band.

Then websites like The Smoking Gun got in on the act and declared that since the couple (who work as a bartender and fitness instructor) had moved to L.A. to get into showbiz (and Monifa had been on a previous "Pumpcast" segment), it must have all been staged.

But on a visit to TODAY Wednesday, the singing twosome insisted the segment was not rigged. When Matt Lauer asked if they'd gotten a tipoff that "Pumpcast" would be at their local gas station on that day, Monifa said, "No. How would I know? That's just the gas station I go to get gas every Wednesday after I train my clients. That's what I do."

That said, Monifa did admit she wasn't a newcomer to "Pumpcast." "I was in it," she said, later noting that her previous appearance was two years ago. She added, "I even didn't see (Will) get out of the car. He's singing like he always does. When I heard him, I looked and said, 'Oh, no! This cannot be happening again!'"

"I always sing," said Will. "When I wake up I sing."

"This is a blessing we did not plan," said Monifa.

Then Jon Bon Jovi popped up in a pre-taped segment from South Africa. He said, "I just received word of the viral craziness you caused singing 'Livin' On a Prayer' while pumping a tank of gas.... We really do appreciate it. Hope to see you on the road sometime."

So was that a job offer? Stay tuned, possibly at your local gas station, for more.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/pumpcast-singing-couple-insists-it-wasnt-staged-1C9934018

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