Sunday, June 30, 2013

Davis Used a Catheter During Filibuster (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/316061967?client_source=feed&format=rss

hunger games Joey Kovar Expendables 2 Pussy Riot Zeek Rewards vanessa bryant vanessa bryant

Opposing coach: ISU RB Woody should play more - Jeff Woody (RB) Iowa State Cyclones

CollegeBasketballTalk

College hoops news and rumors
? CBT on NBCSports.com

Off the Bench

An irreverent, offbeat look at sports
? OTB on NBCSports.com

Source: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=CFB&id=132286

allure jane goodall saturday night fever glamping

Obama tells leaders to follow Mandela's example

U.S. President Barack Obama pauses during a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma at the Union Building on Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa. The president is in South Africa, embarking on the second leg of his three-country African journey. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama pauses during a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma at the Union Building on Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa. The president is in South Africa, embarking on the second leg of his three-country African journey. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks and takes questions at a town hall meeting with young African leaders at the University of Johannesburg Soweto campus, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

United States President Barack Obama , left, waves to crowd while departing from the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johanesburg, South Africa,Saturday, June, 29, 2013. Mandela whose condition has improved according to the Presidency,remains in a critical condition in a hospital in Pretoria.(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks and takes questions at a town hall meeting with young African leaders at the University of Johannesburg Soweto campus, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures during a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma, not pictured, at the Union Building on Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa. The president is in South Africa, embarking on the second leg of his three-country African journey. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama paid personal respects Saturday to relatives of ailing anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela and encouraged leaders in Africa and around the world to follow the former South African president's example of country before self.

"We as leaders occupy these spaces temporarily and we don't get so deluded that we think the fate of our country doesn't depend on how long we stay in office," Obama told reporters shortly before a private, half-hour meeting with Mandela's family.

Obama spoke at a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma in the midst of a weeklong tour of the continent that also included stops in Senegal and Tanzania, two nations where there has been progress toward democratic governance. But many other nations on the African continent are embroiled in religious, sectarian and other conflicts.

Obama decided to avoid stopping in his father's home nation of Kenya because of international disputes there. The International Criminal Court is prosecuting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for crimes against humanity, including murder, deportation, rape, persecution and inhumane acts allegedly committed by his supporters in the violent aftermath of Kenya's 2007 elections.

"The timing was not right for me as the president of the United States to be visiting Kenya when those issues are still being worked on, and hopefully at some point resolved," Obama said. He noted he's visited Kenya several times previously and expects he will in the future as well.

Obama and Zuma appeared at the Union Buildings that house government offices and were the site of Mandela's 1994 inauguration as the country's first black president after 27 years behind bars for his activism.

The 94-year-old Mandela has been in a nearby hospital for three weeks after being admitted with a lung infection. Zuma told reporters that Mandela is in critical but stable condition. The White House said that in accordance with the family's wishes, Obama was not planning to see the man he has called a personal hero and revered Saturday as "one of the greatest people in history."

But Obama did meet with two of Mandela's daughters and eight of his grandchildren at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, part of the former president's foundation. Obama said he told the family he hopes Mandela draws comfort from the time he's spending with loved ones.

"I also reaffirmed the profound impact that his legacy has had in building a free South Africa, and in inspiring people around the world ? including me," Obama said in a statement after the visit. "That's a legacy that we must all honor in our own lives."

Obama also spoke by telephone with Graca Machel, Mandela's wife, while she stayed at his bedside in the hospital. Machel said she drew strength from the call and that Obama added a characteristic "touch of personal warmth."

"I am humbled by their comfort and messages of strength and inspiration, which I have already conveyed" to Mandela, she said.

Zuma told Obama he and Mandela are "bound by history as the first black presidents of your respective countries."

"Thus, you both carry the dreams of millions of people in Africa and in the diaspora who were previously oppressed," Zuma said at their news conference, reading from a prepared statement.

On other topics, Obama declined to commit to supporting South Africa's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. He said the U.N.'s structure needs to be updated and it would be "odd" for an expanded Security Council not to have African representation.

"How we do that and what fashion is complicated, it's difficult and it involves all kinds of politics," Obama said.

"Everybody wants a seat at the table, but when it comes time to step up and show responsibility, sometimes people want to be free-riders," Obama said, adding he wasn't referring to South Africa specifically.

Obama also said he wants to boost trade with Africa and plans to renegotiate an African trade pact to improve it for American businesses. He said he welcomes competition from other nations who have been aggressive in pursuing commercial opportunities in Africa, including China.

"I don't feel threatened by it. I think it's a good thing," he said. He added: "Our only advice is make sure it's a good deal for Africa." He said that includes making sure foreign investment employs Africans and doesn't tolerate corruption or take its natural resources without compensation for Africans.

Obama also paid tribute to South Africa's fight against apartheid by visiting the Soweto area Saturday afternoon for a town hall with students at the University of Johannesburg. At least 176 young people were killed in Soweto township 27 years ago this month during a youth protest against the apartheid regime's ban against teaching local Bantu languages. The Soweto Uprising catalyzed international support against apartheid, and June is now recognized as Youth Month in South Africa.

Obama announced the formation of the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, which beginning next year will bring more than 500 25- to 35-year-olds to the United States to train them for civic and business leadership. The fellows will spend six weeks on U.S. campuses for instruction, mentoring and internships, as well as attend a summit with Obama.

The White House says fellowship partners will provide career options when they return home, and the fellows will become part of an alumni network that will offer future opportunities. Obama told his audience ? including people from Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda participating by videoconference ? that the continent has a brighter future. Invoking a refrain from his own presidential campaign, Obama praised young Africans for having a "yes we can attitude."

About 150 protesters from a range of trade unions and civil society groups demonstrated outside the university ahead of Obama's arrival, but police fired warning shots and cleared the streets by the time of the town hall. Some had dressed in orange coveralls to protest the Guantanamo Bay prison and other held signs depicting Obama with an Adolf Hitler moustache.

"People died in Libya. People are still dying in Syria," said 54-year-old Ramasimong Tsokolibane. "In Egypt, in Afghanistan in Pakistan drones are still killing people. So that's why we are calling him a Hitler. He's a killer."

Obama wraps up his South Africa stay Sunday, when he plans to give a sweeping speech on U.S.-Africa policy at the University of Cape Town and take his family to Robben Island to tour the prison where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years behind bars.

Obama has visited the island before, but said it's a particular privilege to bring his daughters back to learn its lessons.

___

AP Video Journalist Bram Janssen contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler and Julie Pace at https://twitter.com/jpacedc

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-29-Obama/id-5895df1fe7be4cf69ceee960e88ce4d8

Skagit River Bridge Call Of Duty Ghosts alice eve kevin durant tumblr Oklahoma Tornado Ray Manzarek

Gay marriage opponents ask court to intervene

Cynthia Wides, right, and Elizabeth Carey file for a marriage certificate at City Hall in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Dozens of gay couples have lined up outside City Hall in San Francisco as clerks have resumed issuing same-sex marriage licenses one day after a federal appeals court cleared the way for the state of California to immediately lift a 4-year freeze. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Cynthia Wides, right, and Elizabeth Carey file for a marriage certificate at City Hall in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Dozens of gay couples have lined up outside City Hall in San Francisco as clerks have resumed issuing same-sex marriage licenses one day after a federal appeals court cleared the way for the state of California to immediately lift a 4-year freeze. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Cynthia Wides, right, and Elizabeth Carey exchange wedding vows at City Hall in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Dozens of gay couples have lined up outside City Hall in San Francisco as clerks have resumed issuing same-sex marriage licenses one day after a federal appeals court cleared the way for the state of California to immediately lift a 4-year freeze. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Jen Rainin, left, laughs as her wife Frances holds up their dog Punum after they were married at City Hall in San Francisco, Friday, June 28, 2013. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief order Friday afternoon dissolving, "effective immediately," a stay it imposed on gay marriages while the lawsuit challenging the ban advanced through the courts. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Army Capt. Michael Potoczniak, center left, and Todd Saunders, of El Cerrito, Calif., are married by deputy marriage commissioner John Loschmann, center, as witnesses Bill Hershon, left, and Sean Boileau watch at City Hall in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Dozens of gay couples waited excitedly Saturday outside of San Francisco's City Hall as clerks resumed issuing same-sex marriage licenses, one day after a federal appeals court cleared the way for the state of California to immediately lift a 4 ? year freeze. Big crowds were expected from across the state as long lines had already stretched down the lobby shortly after 9 a.m. City officials decided to hold weekend hours and let couples tie the knot as San Francisco is also celebrating its annual Pride weekend expected to draw as many as 1 million people. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Army Capt. Michael Potoczniak, at left, and Todd Saunders, right, of El Cerrito, Calif., exchange rings as they are married by deputy marriage commissioner John Loschmann, center, at City Hall in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Dozens of gay couples waited excitedly Saturday outside of San Francisco's City Hall as clerks resumed issuing same-sex marriage licenses, one day after a federal appeals court cleared the way for the state of California to immediately lift a 4 ? year freeze. Big crowds were expected from across the state as long lines had already stretched down the lobby shortly after 9 a.m. City officials decided to hold weekend hours and let couples tie the knot as San Francisco is also celebrating its annual Pride weekend expected to draw as many as 1 million people. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(AP) ? Less than 24 hours after California started issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples, lawyers for the sponsors of the state's gay marriage ban filed an emergency motion Saturday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the weddings being performed in San Francisco.

Attorneys with the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom claim in the petition that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acted prematurely and unfairly on Friday when it allowed gay marriage to resume by lifting a hold that had been placed on same sex unions.

"The Ninth Circuit's June 28, 2013 Order purporting to dissolve the stay...is the latest in a long line of judicial irregularities that have unfairly thwarted Petitioners' defense of California's marriage amendment," the paperwork states. "Failing to correct the appellate court's actions threatens to undermine the public's confidence in its legal system."

The motion was filed as dozens of couples in jeans, shorts, white dresses and the occasional military uniform filled San Francisco City Hall on Saturday to obtain marriage licenses. On Friday, 81 same sex couples received marriage licenses.

Although a few clerk's offices around the state stayed open late on Friday, San Francisco, which is holding its annual gay pride celebration this weekend, was the only jurisdiction to hold weekend hours so that same sex couples could take advantage of their newly restored right, Clerk Karen Hong said.

A sign posted on the door of the office where a long line of couples waited to fill out applications listed the price for a license, a ceremony or both above the words "Equality=Priceless."

"We really wanted to make this happen," Hong said, adding that her whole staff and a group of volunteers came into work without having to be asked. "It's spontaneous, which is great in its own way."

The timing couldn't have been better for California National Guard Capt. Michael Potoczniak, 38, and his partner of 10 years, Todd Saunders, 47, of El Cerrito.

Potoczniak, who joined the Guard after the military's ban on openly gay service was repealed almost two years ago, was scheduled to fly out Sunday night for a month of basic training in Texas.

"I woke up this morning, shook him awake and said, 'Let's go,'" said Potoczniak, who chose to get married in his Army uniform. "It's something that people need to see because everyone is so used to uniforms at military weddings."

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Proposition 8's backers lacked standing to defend the 2008 law because California's governor and attorney general have declined to defend the ban.

Then on Friday, the 9th Circuit appeared to have removed the last obstacle to making same sex matrimony legal again in California when it removed its hold on a lower court's 2010 order directing state officials to stop enforcing the ban.

Within hours, same sex couples were seeking marriage licenses. The two couples who sued to overturn Proposition 8 were wed in San Francisco and Los Angeles Friday.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Austin Nimocks said on Saturday that the Supreme Court's consideration of the case isn't done because his clients still have 22 days to ask the justices to reconsider the 5-4 decision announced Wednesday.

Under Supreme Court rules, the losing side in a legal dispute has 25 days to request a rehearing. While such requests are almost never granted, the high court said that it wouldn't finalize its judgment in the case at least until after that waiting period elapsed.

The San Francisco-based appeals court had said when it imposed the stay that it would remain in place until the Supreme Court issued its final disposition, according to Nimocks.

"Everyone on all sides of the marriage debate should agree that the legal process must be followed," he said. "On Friday, the 9th Circuit acted contrary to its own order without explanation."

Many legal experts who had anticipated such a last-ditch effort by gay marriage opponents said it was unlikely to succeed because the 9th Circuit has independent authority over its own orders ? in this case, its 2010 stay.

While the ban's backers can still ask the Supreme Court for a rehearing, the 25-day waiting period is not binding on lower federal courts, Vikram Amar, a constitutional law professor with the University of California, Davis law school, said.

"As a matter of practice, most lower federal courts wait to act," Amar said. "But there is nothing that limits them from acting sooner. It was within the 9th Circuit's power to do what it did."

Also waiting to wed Saturday were Scott Kehoe, 34, and his fiance, Aurelien Bricker, 24. After finding out on Facebook that the city was issuing same sex marriage licenses Friday, the San Francisco couple rushed out to Tiffany's to buy wedding rings.

"We were afraid of further legal challenges in the state," Kehoe said.

The city, home to both a federal trial court that struck down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional and the 9th Circuit, has been the epicenter of the state's gay marriage movement since then-Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered his administration in February 2004 to issue licenses to gay couples in defiance of state law.

A little more than four years later, the California Supreme Court, which is also based in San Francisco, struck down the state's one-man, one-woman marriage laws.

City Hall was the scene of many more marriages in the 4 1/2 months before a coalition of religious conservative groups successfully campaigned for the November 2008 passage of Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to outlaw same sex marriages.

Standing amid the beaming couples on Saturday, John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney of the advocacy group Marriage Equality USA looked like proud fathers. The men have been together 26 years, got married in February 2004, had their union invalidated six months later and then became one of the 18,000 couples estimated to have tied the knot in California before Proposition 8 was enacted.

"I don't think getting a license means as much to anyone who hasn't worked so long for it and fought so hard for it," Gaffney said. "It's been a very long engagement."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-29-Gay%20Marriage-California/id-4eeda45758114265a91c31d629b202f3

Linda McMahon Voting Results 2012 pbs ron paul Cnn Electoral Map roseanne barr guy fawkes

U.S. bugged EU offices, computer networks: German magazine

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States has bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged U.S. spy programs.

Der Spiegel quoted from a September 2010 "top secret" U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) document that it said fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden had taken with him, and the weekly's journalists had seen in part.

The document outlines how the NSA bugged offices and spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the United Nations, not only listening to conversations and phone calls but also gaining access to documents and emails.

The document explicitly called the EU a "target".

U.S. officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said that if the report was correct, it would have a "severe impact" on relations between the EU and the United States.

"On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the U.S. authorities with regard to these allegations," he said in an emailed statement.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Der Spiegel: "If these reports are true, it's disgusting.

"The United States would be better off monitoring its secret services rather than its allies. We must get a guarantee from the very highest level now that this stops immediately."

Snowden's disclosures in foreign media about U.S. surveillance programs have ignited a political furor in the United States and abroad over the balance between privacy rights and national security.

According to Der Spiegel, the NSA also targeted telecommunications at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, home to the European Council, the collective of EU national governments.

Without citing sources, the magazine reported that more than five years ago security officers at the EU had noticed several missed calls and traced them to NSA offices within the NATO compound in Brussels.

Each EU member state has rooms in Justus Lipsius with phone and Internet connections, which ministers can use.

Snowden, a U.S. citizen, fled the United States to Hong Kong in May, a few weeks before the publication in the Guardian and the Washington Post of details he provided about secret U.S. government surveillance of Internet and phone traffic.

Snowden, 30, has been holed up in a Moscow airport transit area since last weekend. The leftist government of Ecuador is reviewing his request for asylum.

(Reporting by Annika Breidthardt and Ben Deighton in Brussels; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-bugged-eu-offices-computer-networks-german-magazine-162017024.html

Black Forest fire PS4 vs Xbox One ABC Family The Division the Pirate Bay chicago weather weather chicago

Nigerian commission reports troops kill, torture, rape civilians in Islamist uprising

Nigeria?s National Human Rights Commission said Sunday it has credible reports security forces are killing, torturing, illegally detaining and raping civilians in a fight to halt an Islamist uprising in northeast Nigeria that has killed nearly 2,000 people since 2010.

A report by the commission said troops retaliating against civilians have torched homes and tried to hide evidence of gross violations by disposing of bodies.

More Related to this Story

In the most egregious case, where troops went on a rampage in several villages after a soldier was killed in mid-April in the fishing village of Baga, it quoted police as saying soldiers ?started shooting indiscriminately at anybody in sight including domestic animals. This reaction resulted to loss of lives and massive destruction of properties.?

The military said 36 people were killed, most of them extremist fighters. Witnesses told the AP at the time that some 187 civilians were killed.

The commission said the killings also came after militants had ransacked an armoury, with subsequent reports indicating the extremists enjoyed an increase in the calibre and quantity of weapons and ?had become both more organized and emboldened by their apparent successes despite the enhanced security presence.?

That contradicted military reports that they have taken control of the region in a military emergency covering thee states and one-sixth of the sprawling country. Instead, they appear to have pushed the fighters into rocky mountains with caves where it is more difficult to flush them out. The extremists regularly attack towns and villages.

The commission, a government body, issued an interim report saying it would finalize it when its investigators are able to visit the area where soldiers have cut mobile phone and Internet connections. A state of emergency was declared May 14 when the government said extremists from the Boko Haram terrorist group had taken control of some towns and villages.

The insurgency poses the biggest threat in years to security in Nigeria, Africa?s most populous nation of 160 million and the continent?s biggest oil producer.

Communities trapped between the Islamist militants and the security forces ?reportedly live in desperate fear and destitution,? the commission said.

It warned of an imminent public health emergency and food shortages because farmers have been forced from their fields.

Food prices have nearly trebled, the commission said, with a 50-kilogram sack of rice selling for up to 18,000 naira ($112.50 USD) from 7,000 naira ($44 USD).

Some medical experts from the region have reported a notable upsurge in sudden deaths, heart attacks and aneurysms, it said.

Northeast Nigeria already presents ?the worst statistics of human development in Nigeria generally,? it said.

Maternal mortality rates were three times the national average of 545 deaths for every 100,000 live births, and reports reaching the commission suggest the emergency has even more mothers dying in childbirth.

Northeast Nigeria is the poorest region in the country, with government statistics indicating 75 per cent of the population lives from hand to mouth on less than $1 a day.

The commission?s interim findings corroborated AP reports from the region. Militants who began by targeting government personnel and health workers ? they preach that Western religion and medicine are forbidden ? are increasingly targeting civilians in attacks on schools and vaccination campaigns.

?The Commission equally received several credibly attested allegations of gross violations by officials of the JTF (joint task force of police and military), including allegations of summary executions, torture, arbitrary detention amounting to internment and outrages against the dignity of civilians, as well as rape,? the rights commission said.

?In particular, we have received persistent and credibly attested allegations of indiscriminate disposal of dead human remains by personnel of both the JTF and the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency.?

The military and presidential spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/nigerian-commission-credible-reports-troops-kill-torture-rape-civilians-in-islamic-uprising/article12899106/?cmpid=rss1

lottery winner lottery numbers mega millions lottery jackpot winning numbers mega millions megamillions drawing olbermann

A Texas actress was indicted and charged with sending ricin-laced letters to U.S...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152951381225307&set=a.10150173698680307.414882.48139565306&type=1

Andrea Rebello wfaa prince david beckham Bill Hader tim mcgraw WWE Extreme Rules 2013

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Higher genetic risk tied to lifetime asthma suffering

June 28, 2013 ? Children with more genetic risks for asthma are not only more likely to develop the condition at a young age, but they are also more likely to continue to suffer with asthma into adulthood. The finding reported by Duke University researchers is one of the latest to come from a 40-year longitudinal study of New Zealanders.

"We've been able to look at how newly discovered genetic risks relate to the life course of asthma at an unprecedented level of resolution," said Daniel Belsky, a postdoctoral fellow at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy and the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development.

Earlier studies had linked several genes to small increases in asthma risk. Belsky, along with Duke's Avshalom Caspi, Terrie Moffit and others, wanted to know whether those individual risks literally add up. They looked to the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, an effort to examine the behavior and health -- including lung function -- of 1,037 individuals who have been tracked since their birth in Dunedin, New Zealand during a 12-month period from 1972-1973.

Belsky and his colleagues calculated a genetic risk score for each of 880 individuals in the Dunedin cohort by summing the number of risk variants each of them carried. They then asked whether those scores were related to the development and course of asthma from early childhood through midlife.

Indeed, they were. Those at higher genetic risk developed asthma earlier in life than did those with lower risk. Among the Dunedin study participants who developed asthma in childhood, those with higher genetic risk scores were also more likely to suffer with persistent asthma into adulthood. They more often had allergic reactions associated with severe and persistent asthma and developed problems with lung function.

Their quality of life suffered too, as those with higher genetic risk missed work and school more often and were more often admitted to the hospital because of asthma.

Belsky said there is still a long way to go before genetic risk scores like this one can be used in routine medical practice. In the meantime, the study could lead to a better understanding of the biology of asthma and advance research to devise new treatment and prevention strategies.

In the United States, 26 million people suffer from asthma, including more than 7 million children, according to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control. Those numbers are growing every year at a cost of billions of dollars.

"It will be important to explore how these genetic risks play out in environments that differ in terms of air pollution or other important, modifiable factors," Belsky said.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/l44zyn7thWo/130628092151.htm

jetblue jetblue michelle malkin october baby sugarland 16 and pregnant ludwig mies van der rohe

Video: Prep Your Retirement Portfolio

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52344902/

stoudemire jordan hill tony nominations dark knight trailer delmon young dallas mavericks washington capitals

Park takes lead, US Women's Open suspended by fog

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) ? Inbee Park couldn't see her final tee shot past about 150 yards.

Nothing fazes the world's top-ranked player these days, though. Fog had rolled in off Great Peconic Bay, and the horn sounded with Park's group on the 18th fairway. The threesome finished out the second round of the U.S. Women's Open, with Park calmly sinking a birdie putt from 12 feet to move closer to history.

She shot a 4-under 68 on Friday for a 9-under total to lead fellow South Korean I.K. Kim by two strokes. Park is seeking to win the year's first three major championships; no one has accomplished that feat in a season with at least four majors.

Of the players yet to finish the round, the closest, England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff, was five strokes back with three holes to go.

Ha-Neul Kim, the first-round leader, had a 77 to fall to 1 under.

Players were surprised Thursday to arrive at Sebonack to find the tees moved up and the weather calm ? an easy course by U.S. Women's Open standards. On Friday, the setup and the conditions were more what they expected: The wind picked up and some pins were tucked into uncomfortable spots.

Then the mist settled in late in the afternoon session.

Of the 114 players who finished, only nine were under par for the round.

"With the wind and fog, it really made me think that's what the U.S. Open is all about," said Park, a five-time winner this year coming off consecutive victories.

Of the other players to complete the round, Lizette Salas was third at 4 under after a 72. Fellow Americans Angela Stanford and Jessica Korda were another stroke back. Stanford had a 68, and Korda shot 71.

I.K. Kim shot a 69 in the morning session.

"Anything under par I thought was going to be a great score," she said.

Kim seems to thrive under the demands of this tournament, finishing in third or fourth place three straight years from 2008 to '10.

But the closest she came to a major title came last year at the Kraft Nabisco ? one foot away, to be exact. Needing just a short putt to clinch the championship, Kim watched the ball lip out on the 18th hole. She went on to lose in a playoff.

"Everybody has ups and downs," Kim said. "Definitely finishing top five in the U.S. Open is not a bad place. But there's times that I was disappointed. I just have a faith ? if you do your best, everything is going to be OK."

Park's putting was not quite as impeccable as usual, but she made one of her toughest birdie tries of the day on No. 13, a 20-footer from the fringe, to tie Kim at 7 under.

On the par-5 15th, she sent her third shot to the back of the green, where it bounced off the fringe and rolled down to within a foot of the hole. Park tapped in for birdie and the outright lead.

"Everything that was closer was not going in, then everything that was further away from the hole was going in today," she said. "It was weird."

Her playing partner, second-ranked Stacy Lewis, had a rough day with a 76 that left her at 3 over.

Among the players still on the course were Michelle Wie, who was at 3 over for the round through 17 holes after an 80 on Thursday, and 16-year-old amateur Lydia Ko, at 3 over for the tournament through 16. The round will resume at 7 a.m. Saturday, with the third round beginning around 10:30 a.m. Players will start in groups of three from the first and 10th tees.

Salas was frustrated that she barely missed several birdie putts, but she knows her 72 was a good score in the swirling wind Friday.

"You just can't be too greedy out here," she said. "Just hitting fairways, hitting greens, that was my goal. Eventually the putts will drop."

The wind stirred up more trouble following her round. Walking off the 18th green after saving par, Salas suddenly realized she had lost the scorecard she was keeping for Stanford. She deduced it was blown away while she was signing autographs, and after a couple of minutes it turned up in the hands of a spectator.

"I think he was trying to keep it as a souvenir," Salas said. "I was asking everyone and no one saw it. And apparently some dude picked it up."

The 20-year-old Korda has been one of the most consistent players this week with rounds of 70 and 71. Meanwhile, her 14-year-old sister, Nelly, was the youngest player in the field. Their father, 1998 Australian Open tennis champ Petr Korda, caddied for Nelly, who finished at 6 over ? which would make the projected cut.

Stanford matched Park with the best score of the day. A decade ago at the U.S. Women's Open, Stanford reached a playoff, in which she made a 30-foot putt on the final hole. Then she watched Hilary Lunke hole a 15-footer for the win.

Stanford is still seeking her first major title at age 35.

Upset that she shot a 73 on Thursday in favorable conditions, Stanford found some patience in the second round ? not a mindset that comes easily. She credited her caddie for some recent counsel: "You've just got to pray for acceptance."

"And I was like, whoa. I didn't see that one coming," Stanford said. "Like I just need to accept certain things, and I think I've been very upset that I haven't won a major. ... So I think there is a level of peace right now and it's different. I'm not as mad as I usually am. I have a lot of great things to be thankful for, so I'm trying to enjoy this week, and I'm trying to enjoy the scenery."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/park-takes-lead-us-womens-open-suspended-fog-231823550.html

jared leto Trey Burke Victor Oladipo Blackhawks Parade White House Down Tim Hardaway Jr Kelly Olynyk

PFT: Photo shows Hernandez with gun in '09

Troy Vincent

During the week of the NFL?s Rookie Symposium, where life lessons are taught to the incoming class of rookies, there hasn?t been a shortage of conversation.

But the conversation keeps coming back to one guy, Aaron Hernandez.

Troy Vincent, the NFL?s senior vice president of player engagement, said it?s a topic that?s impossible to avoid.

?You know, there?s this pink elephant in the room .?.?. the Hernandez situation,? Vincent told players, via Rick Maese of the Washington Post. ?The media has every right to ask you a question about that situation. And you have every right not to engage in that conversation. It is what it is. ?

As part of the opening session for NFC rookies Wednesday night, a group of second-year players were on hand to tell the new guys about the transition. But the topic of Hernandez was never far away.

?A lot of people are afraid of the words, ?Oh man, you different,??? Colts tight end Dwayne Allen said. ?You damn right I?m different. You damn right I?m different. I got a lot more money in my pocket, and a lot more sense. That?s the way you got to go about it.

?If you just turn on your TV to ESPN, this is a brotherhood. This is a brotherhood. One of our brothers in trouble right now. It really hurts me, man. But one of our brothers is in trouble right now because he didn?t want to be different. You got to make a choice right now. .?.?.

?You?re not the same dude you was when you grew up. You different now. That doesn?t mean you can?t hang out with your boys, do things you used to do with your boys. You still do those, but you got to be smart about it, smart about your decisions, man.?

At that point the room of rookies fell silent.

With the Hernandez situation unfolding in front of them ? along with former Browns linebacker Ausar Walcott being arrested for attempted murder and Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent going back to jail for failing drug tests while awaiting trial for killing a teammate in a drunk driving crash ??the league doesn?t need many words.

They have examples, hopefully too many of them for the point to be missed.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/26/photo-emerges-of-hernandez-posing-with-glock-in-2009/related/

nyc marathon willie nelson khloe kardashian Wreck It Ralph Movember USC shooting halloween

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/basic-science

Boston bombers chechnya live news nbc UMass Dartmouth Katherine Russell MBTA

Large-scale quantum chip validated: Prototype quantum optimization chip operates as hoped

June 28, 2013 ? A team of scientists at USC has verified that quantum effects are indeed at play in the first commercial quantum optimization processor.

The team demonstrated that the D-Wave processor housed at the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center behaves in a manner that indicates that quantum mechanics plays a functional role in the way it works. The demonstration involved a small subset of the chip's 128 qubits.

This means that the device appears to be operating as a quantum processor -- something that scientists had hoped for but have needed extensive testing to verify.

The quantum processor was purchased from Canadian manufacturer D-Wave nearly two years ago by Lockheed Martin and housed at the USC Viterbi Information Sciences Institute (ISI). As the first of its kind, the task for scientists putting it through its paces was to determine whether the quantum computer was operating as hoped.

"Using a specific test problem involving eight qubits we have verified that the D-Wave processor performs optimization calculations (that is, finds lowest energy solutions) using a procedure that is consistent with quantum annealing and is inconsistent with the predictions of classical annealing," said Daniel Lidar, scientific director of the Quantum Computing Center and one of the researchers on the team, who holds joint appointments with the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Quantum annealing is a method of solving optimization problems using quantum mechanics -- at a large enough scale, potentially much faster than a traditional processor can.

Research institutions throughout the world build and use quantum processors, but most only have a few quantum bits, or "qubits."

Qubits have the capability of encoding the two digits of one and zero at the same time -- as opposed to traditional bits, which can encode distinctly either a one or a zero. This property, called "superposition," along with the ability of quantum states to "tunnel" through energy barriers, are hoped to play a role in helping future generations of the D-Wave processor to ultimately perform optimization calculations much faster than traditional processors.

With 108 functional qubits, the D-Wave processor at USC inspired hopes for a significant advance in the field of quantum computing when it was installed in October 2011 -- provided it worked as a quantum information processor. Quantum processors can fall victim to a phenomenon called "decoherence," which stifles their ability to behave in a quantum fashion.

The USC team's research shows that the chip, in fact, performed largely as hoped, demonstrating the potential for quantum optimization on a larger-than-ever scale.

"Our work seems to show that, from a purely physical point of view, quantum effects play a functional role in information processing in the D-Wave processor," said Sergio Boixo, first author of the research paper, who conducted the research while he was a computer scientist at ISI and research assistant professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Boixo and Lidar collaborated with Tameem Albash, postdoctoral research associate in physics at USC Dornsife; Federico M. Spedalieri, computer scientist at ISI; and Nicholas Chancellor, a recent physics graduate at USC Dornsife. Their findings will be published in Nature Communications on June 28.

The news comes just two months after the Quantum Computing Center's original D-Wave processor -- known commercially as the "Rainier" chip -- was upgraded to a new 512-qubit "Vesuvius" chip. The Quantum Computing Center, which includes a magnetically shielded box that is kept frigid (near absolute zero) to protect the computer against decoherence, was designed to be upgradable to keep up with the latest developments in the field.

The new Vesuvius chip at USC is currently the only one in operation outside of D-Wave. A second such chip, owned by Google and housed at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, is expected to become operational later this year.

Next, the USC team will take the Vesuvius chip for a test drive, putting it through the same paces as the Rainier chip.

This research was supported by the Lockheed Martin Corporation; U.S. Army Research Office grant number W911NF-12-1-0523; National Science Foundation grant number CHM-1037992, ARO Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative grant W911NF-11-1-026.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/computers_math/information_technology/~3/4cI-LVzkB_4/130628131027.htm

Adam Lanza cnbc Sandy Hook Victims columbine Newton virginia tech shooting China

Engadget UK Giveaway: win one of five TonidoPlug personal cloud servers

Engadget UK Giveaway win one of five TonidoPlug personal cloud servers

There's a whole plethora of places to keep your data online, but without getting too political, there's no place like home, right? TonidoPlug is a tiny personal server that lets you access your images, photos and personal files wherever you are, without having to hand them over to someone else to look after. Not only is there software to mount it as a local drive -- a-la dropbox -- but it serves as a NAS device on your home network too. With the option to plug in USB drives, or add an internal SATA HDD, you won't need to pay a subscription, either. Best of all, we've got five to give away to some lucky UK readers. Please read the terms and conditions after the break to make sure you qualify. But if you do, -- be sure to enter, and good luck!

Filed under: , , , ,

Comments

Source: Tonido

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/FhzyHa-Zgek/

brandon knight daylight savings time The Bachelor 2013 Time earthquake today earthquake today bachelor

Friday, June 28, 2013

The Heat Reviews: A Buddy Cop Out?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/the-heat-reviews-a-buddy-cop-out/

park slope food coop anchorman sequel safety not guaranteed

These Pacemakers Adjust To Your Breathing So You Can Stay Active

These Pacemakers Adjust To Your Breathing So You Can Stay Active

Pacemakers are designed to compensate for a condition known as bradycardia, where the heart beats too slowly to provide sufficient amounts of oxygen to the body. And to allow patients with pacemakers installed to continue healthy pursuits like exercise, a company called Boston Scientific is introducing a new line with a feature called RightRate technology that monitors respiration and adjusts the pacing accordingly.

It's widely assumed that the need for a pacemaker is tied to old age, and while the risk of developing bradycardia does increase as you get older, it doesn't necessarily only turn up in senior citizens. And until now, younger patients with the condition would find themselves tiring when their level of physical activity increased, because the steady pulse of their pacemakers wouldn't pump enough blood to keep up with their added oxygen use.

So the new technology, included in Boston Scientific's Inliven, Vitalio, and Formio pacemakers, will allow younger patients to continue their active lifestyles, without having to constantly stop and wait for their bodies to catch with their increased activity. [Boston Scientific via medGagdet]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/these-pacemakers-adjust-to-your-breathing-so-you-can-st-597483663

where have you been rihanna kirk cousins ovechkin bks new dark knight rises trailer khloe and lamar oklahoma city thunder

US Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Marriage Provision (Voice Of America)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315354794?client_source=feed&format=rss

nadal Nina Agdal iOS 7 beta 2 scottie pippen dexter dexter supreme court

Ancient Roman Concrete: The Building Material of the Future?

Image: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

It only took us two millennia to figure out how the Ancient Romans made such amazingly durable concrete. Scientists at the Berkeley National Lab and a team of researchers from around the world have discovered the unique recipe used to construct Roman cities and landmarks?a surprising number of which still stand after 2000 years of use.

Compare that with modern concrete, which is engineered to maintain its design strength for anywhere from 50 to 100 years, and you can see the value of the Roman recipe. The two most surprising ingredients: Volcanic ash and seawater.

In addition to longevity, the Roman recipe is reported to be a much greener material, requiring substantially less energy in the manufacturing process. Making Portland cement?which makes modern concrete stick together?produces an enormous amount of CO2. It turns out that the Romans would've baked their ingredients at much lower temperatures, reducing the amount of fuel burned to make concrete.

If you're as intrigued by this new development as I was, here's plenty more.

Tim Layton is a home and DIY blogger for Popular Mechanics. Follow him on Twitter: @RemodelingGuy

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/ancient-roman-concrete-the-building-material-of-the-future-15631356?src=rss

Sweetest Day optimal Samantha Steele Espn goog Sylvia Kristel st louis cardinals Steelers Schedule

PFT: Hernandez clears waivers, now free agent

Aaron Hernandez, Michael FeeAP

At at time when the authorities and the Patriots have taken stunning and decisive action against Aaron Hernandez, the National Football League has done nothing.

The NFL will continue to do nothing, until it has a reason to do something.

?NFL clubs were advised today that if Aaron Hernandez enters into a player contract prior to the resolution of the charges pending against him, the contract will not be approved or take effect until Commissioner Roger Goodell holds a hearing,? the league said in a statement forwarded to PFT by NFL spokesman Greg Aiello.? ?The purpose of the hearing would be to determine whether Hernandez should be suspended or face other action prior to the charges being resolved.?

The league?s position makes sense.? Why suspend a guy who is unemployed, and currently unemployable?? The league?s stance makes teams even less likely to be interested in Hernandez, since it makes clear that, if anyone tries to give the guy a job, they?ll first have to deal with persuading Goodell to let them employ Hernandez.

As a result, Hernandez?s status won?t be relevant unless and until he is cleared on murder charges.? And things could get interesting if he?s acquitted in an O.J. Simpson-style outcome, where half of the country or more believes that, even though he was found not guilty, he still did it.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/27/aaron-hernandez-clears-waivers/related/

sacha baron cohen best picture nominees 2012 academy awards 2012 albert nobbs a star is born oscar nominees oscar nominations 2012

Video: Obamacare's Public Relations Push

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52324304/

Frank Ocean Gay bill clinton andy roddick Costa Rica Earthquake sandra fluke costa rica Earthquake Costa Rica

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Friend: Trayvon Martin encounter racially charged

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? A friend of Trayvon Martin's who was on the phone with him shortly before his fatal fight with George Zimmerman testified Thursday that she thought the encounter was racially charged.

Rachel Jeantel testified for the second day in a row, saying she thought race was an issue because Martin told her he was being followed by a white man.

"He was being followed," Jeantel said.

Her answer came in response to questioning from defense attorney Don West about why she had given differing accounts about what she had heard over the phone when Martin first encountered Zimmerman on a rainy night on Feb. 26, 2012, at the Retreat at Twin Lakes townhome complex.

West suggested in his cross-examination that 18-year-old Jeantel had raised the racial issue in some accounts but not others. In some accounts, West implied, Jeantel said Zimmerman responded one way when he first encountered Martin, but in other accounts she said he responded another way. Jeantel gave her version of events in a deposition, in a letter to Martin's mother and in a recorded interview with an attorney for the Martin family.

Jeantel is one of the prosecution's most important witnesses because she bolsters the contention that Zimmerman was the aggressor. She was on the phone with Martin moments before he was fatally shot.

Jeantel testified Wednesday that her friend's last words were "Get off! Get off!" before the phone went silent. But on Thursday, under cross-examination, she conceded that she hadn't mentioned that in her account of what happened to Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton.

She had left out some details to spare Fulton's feelings, and also because neither Fulton nor the Martin family attorney asked her directly about them, Jeantel said. At one point, West handed her a letter she had written with the help of a friend to Martin's mother explaining what happened. She looked at it but then said she couldn't read cursive handwriting.

Jeantel recounted to jurors on Wednesday how Martin told her he was being followed by a man as he walked through the Retreat at Twin Lakes townhome complex on his way back from a convenience store to the home of his father's fiancee.

She testified that Martin described the man following him as "a creepy-ass cracker" and that he thought he had evaded him. But she said Martin told her a short time later the man was still behind him, and she told him to run.

Martin said Zimmerman was behind him and she heard Martin ask: "What are you following me for?"

In one account, according to West, she said Zimmerman responds, "What are you doing around here?" In another account, according to West, she says Zimmerman said, "What are you talking about?"

She then heard what sounded like Martin's phone earpiece dropping into wet grass, and she heard him say, "Get off! Get off!" The phone then went dead, she said.

Later, she bristled and teared up when West asked her why she didn't attend Martin's funeral and about lying about her age. She initially told Martin's parents she was a minor when she was 18. She said she didn't want to get involved in the case.

The exchanges also turned testy, including one moment when she urged West to move on to his next question: "You can go. You can go." And she gave him what seemed like a dirty look as he walked away after he had approached her on the stand to challenge her on differences between an initial interview she gave to Martin family attorney, Benjamin Crump, and a later deposition with the defense. Jeantel explained it by saying she "rushed" the interview with Crump because she didn't feel comfortable doing it.

And when the judge asked if both sides wanted to break for the day, prosecutors said they'd like to continue, believing the testimony could take another two hours, to which Jeantel reacted with surprise, repeating, "Two hours?" Instead, the judge decided to continue the cross examination Thursday, carefully instructing Jeantel to return at 9 a.m. and not discuss her testimony with anyone.

Jeantel's testimony was more subdued on Thursday, and West took note of her calmer demeanor. She answered many of West's questions by repeating "yes, sir," almost in a whisper.

"You feeling OK today? You seem different than yesterday," West said.

"I got some sleep," she answered.

Zimmerman, 29, could get life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. Zimmerman followed Martin in his truck and called a police dispatch number before he and the teen got into a fight.

Zimmerman has said he opened fire only after the teenager jumped him and began slamming his head against the concrete sidewalk. Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic and has denied the confrontation had anything to do with race, as Martin's family and their supporters have claimed.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/friend-trayvon-martin-encounter-racially-charged-134457254.html

history channel casey anthony dennis rodman rand paul Lauren Silberman Sim City Manchester United

Project Anarchy, Havok's mobile game development suite now available at no cost

Havok -- the physics middleware engine used by almost every big console and PC game -- announced its start-to-finish mobile game development suite will be available at no cost to developers. Project Anarchy has tools for everything: visuals, physics, artificial intelligence and animation. We say "no cost" instead of free for a reason: Havok expects a few things out of its users in return. It wants to co-market some finished games and for clients to become part of its development community. Currently, that dev community includes folks programming for iOS, Android and Tizen. Microsofties may not be left out, however, as Havok has "flexible business models" for Windows Phone if you ping its sales team. Full details in the links below.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: Project Anarchy

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/-9D99-RA_IE/

lotto winners mega ball winning numbers baltimore county current tv megamillions ncaa basketball tournament 2012 megamillions winning numbers

Texas governor may revive abortion proposal

By Corrie MacLaggan

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A marathon speech by a Texas Democrat temporarily frustrated a Republican drive for new state abortion restrictions, but political sources predicted on Wednesday that anti-abortion Governor Rick Perry would quickly revive the proposal.

Senator Wendy Davis, a single mother by the age of 19 who now is a rising star of the Democratic party, drew national attention when she spoke for more than 10 hours to block a measure that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Her filibuster of the Republican supermajority in the Texas legislature was hailed by women's groups and abortion rights advocates, and streamed live on some national media websites.

Republicans managed to stop her about two hours ahead of the midnight end to the special legislative session citing parliamentary procedures, but they were unable to complete voting on the abortion bill before the deadline.

"I pledge to Texas one thing: this fight is far from over," David Dewhurst, the anti-abortion Republican Lieutenant Governor who presides over the Senate, posted on Twitter Wednesday.

Texas Republican political strategist Matt Mackowiak predicted that Perry will call lawmakers back for another special session to pass the abortion bill.

"An abortion bill passed both houses. The votes are there. There's no question the votes are there," he said.

The abortion restrictions passed the House earlier in the week and a version of the proposal that did not include the ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy passed the Senate.

If the measure ultimately passes, Texas would be the 13th state to impose a ban on abortions after 20 weeks and by far the most populous. In addition, the legislation would set strict health standards for abortion clinics and restrict the use of drugs to end pregnancy.

Republican backers said the regulation of abortion clinics would protect women's health and that the ban on late-term abortions would protect fetuses, based on disputed research that suggests fetuses feel pain by 20 weeks of development.

Opponents said it would force nearly all Texas abortion clinics to close or be rebuilt.

"We know this isn't the end of the fight to protect women's access to health care in Texas." said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

Davis whittled away chunks of time by reading testimony and messages from women and others decrying the legislation, reciting previously suggested changes to the bill and tapping into her own past as a single mother at 19.

She said the bill would have choked off her own access to a local Planned Parenthood clinic.

"I was a poor, uninsured woman, whose only care was provided through that facility. It was my medical home," said Davis, 50, several hours into her speech.

NATIONWIDE DEBATE

The U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, but conservative states have enacted laws in recent years that seek to place restrictions on the procedure, especially on abortions performed late in pregnancy.

Twelve states have passed 20-week bans, including two states where the bans take effect later this year, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. Courts have blocked the bans in three of the 12 states - Arizona, Georgia and Idaho.

Earlier this month, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill banning abortions 20 weeks after fertilization. The measure is extremely unlikely to become law because Democrats control the U.S. Senate and the White House.

The Texas proposal would allow exemptions for abortions to save a woman's life, and in cases of severe fetal abnormalities.

"In Texas, we value all life, and we've worked to cultivate a culture that supports the birth of every child," Perry said.

The abortion debate simmers elsewhere in the United States.

North Dakota's only abortion clinic filed a federal challenge on Tuesday to a new state law, the most restrictive in the country, that would ban procedures to end pregnancy once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks.

A Philadelphia jury last month convicted abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell of murdering three babies during abortions at a clinic in a high-profile case that focused national attention on late term abortions.

(Reporting by Eric Johnson and Corrie MacLaggan; Editing by Greg McCune and Chris Reesea)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/republican-disrupt-texas-state-democrats-filibuster-over-abortion-043413723.html

uganda the parent trap invisible children kony 2012 space weather sunspots pac 12 tournament sun storm

Casino Boycott Looms In Online Gambling Spat | News 92 FM

?

Online gambling isn?t just bad, it?s dangerous and immoral. So argues Sheldon Adelson, CEO of the biggest gaming company in the world.

?

?Click your mouse and lose your house,? warns Adelson, chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp.

?

His views, expressed in an op-ed for Forbes, have not endeared him to fans of online poker, thousands of whom now are trying to organize a boycott of the sumptuous poker room (59 tables, 14,000-sq. ft.) of Adelson?s The Venetian casino and resort.

?

?As an industry leader, and more importantly as a father, grandfather, citizen and patriot of this great country,? writes Adelson in his op-ed, ?I am adamantly opposed to the legalization and proliferation of online gaming.?

?

He wags a warning finger at legislation now pending in California and Pennsylvania that would make online gambling legal in those populous states. Gambling online is already legal in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware.

?

?You would think,? he writes, ?[that] the chairman of the world?s largest gaming company would pursue any aspect of gaming which could increase profits, right? Ordinarily that is true?but online gambling is ?fool?s gold.??

?

It?s fool?s gold, he claims, because its profits have come only at the expense of brick-and-mortar casinos, with a corresponding loss of jobs. Alluding to ?recent research from a number of European countries,? without identifying that research further, he says that countries in Europe that have legalized online gambling have seen a 20-percent decrease in visitation to land-based casinos.

?

In the U.S., he predicts, the spread of online gaming will cost ?400,000 lost jobs in casino-hosting cities across America??200,000 jobs directly related to the gaming industry plus another 200,000 indirectly related.

?

His own business, he says, would not suffer, since the Sands gets ?almost all? its casino profits from Asia. Rather, the blow would fall on domestic casinos, including those run by Native Americans.

?

Online gaming?s potential pernicious effects on children, teenagers and adults with gambling problems constitute, in his view, ?a societal train wreck waiting to happen.?

?

For example, ?The possibility of underage children finding ways to place online wagers and the possibility of people betting under the influence of drugs or being coerced are all scenarios that can happen when the person is only monitored by their own computer screen. On the other hand, when a person makes an effort to get dressed, join some friends and head to the local casino for a night of entertainment, they must show themselves as adults, and their behavior can be observed and ultimately managed by security and other staff if needed.?

?

Martin D. Owens, a California attorney specializing in the law of Internet and interactive gaming (and co-author of Internet Gaming Law with Professor Nelson Rose of Whittier Law School) calls Adelson?s worries and objections preposterous.

?

?Mr. Adelson,? he says, ?is staging a very belated and unimaginative rear-guard action.?

?

Internet gambling is already here, says Owens: 32 states already sanction it for horse betting. Online gambling worldwide is a $30 billion phenomenon; online poker alone accounts for $15 billion worldwide. Of that total, the U.S. accounts for a little less than half?or about $6 billion.

?

As for why the Internet gaming boom has been accompanied in Europe by a decrease in casino attendance, Owens sees nothing more pernicious at work than a change in gamblers? demographics: Young people now do everything online, including gamble. If the young aren?t streaming into brick and mortar casinos, Owens is not surprised: ?Nobody drives an Oldsmobile anymore, either.?

?

Ever since 2005, he says, the Harvard Medical School has been conducting an ongoing study of problem gamblers and the Internet. Unusual for its size and scope, the exercise collected data on some 40,000 individuals. Its conclusion: ?The overwhelming majority of online gamers play in a very moderate manner, spending minimal amounts on gaming.?

?

Owens says the study found that people at risk of becoming addicted to gambling make up less than 2 percent of the population?a figure confirmed, he says, by a separate State of California study. Says Owens of online gambling: ?It?s not the looming menace it?s made out to be.?

?

John Pappas, president of the 1-million-member-plus Poker Players Alliance, calls Adelson?s worries baseless.

?

?I think he?s missed the mark by a wide margin,? says Pappas. ?The reality is that licensed and regulated Internet poker is taking place worldwide and right here in America and right here in his [Adelson's] back yard of Nevada. All of the perceived evils have been addressed through appropriate oversight?greater oversight and regulation than what?s available in a brick-and-mortar setting. Age-verification? Protecting problem gamblers? Those can be addressed on the Internet even better than in one of Mr. Adelson?s casinos.?

?

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Source: http://news92fm.com/362323/casino-boycott-looms-in-online-gambling-spat/

Jim Kelly Secret Life of the American Teenager zynga PNC Bank floyd mayweather Romina Puga Red Wedding