Sunday, June 30, 2013

Mandela's ex-wife: Former S. African leader better

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The ex-wife of critically ill Nelson Mandela said Friday that the 94-year-old beloved former president is showing a "great improvement" compared to a few days ago.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela gave the update while speaking to journalists outside Mandela's former home in Soweto.

"I'm not a doctor but I can say that from what he was a few days ago there is great improvement," said Madikizela-Mandela, who is a member of South Africa's Parliament.

Madikizela-Mandela pleaded with the media to "understand the sensitivities and the feeling of the family."

One of Mandela's daughters, Makaziwe Mandela, was among family members who arrived at the Pretoria hospital on Friday. The ministers of health and defense also visited, the South African Press Association reported.

Outside the Pretoria hospital on Friday, a man flying a drone-like object with a camera attached was led away by several policemen, adding to an already heightened atmosphere where well-wishers continue to gather to pray for Mandela.

Mandela was taken to the hospital on June 8 to be treated for what the government said was a recurring lung infection. South Africans have held prayers nationwide, and many have left flowers and messages of support outside the hospital as well as his home in Johannesburg.

On Thursday, the office of South African President Jacob Zuma said Mandela's health had improved overnight, and that his condition was critical but stable.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mandelas-ex-wife-former-african-leader-better-160050353.html

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Mormon church-owned Utah NBC affiliate to air SNL

(AP) ? A Mormon church-owned NBC television station in Utah plans to begin airing first-run Saturday Night Live episodes this fall after years of refusing to air the popular comedy show.

KSL-TV's Tami Ostmark says the move is part of a plan to make the station's lineup stronger and improve its relationship with NBC.

KSL-TV is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has not aired certain shows over the years due to violent or inappropriate content. But Ostmark says content was never the issue with SNL. She says the station didn't want to bump a popular sports show that aired at the same time.

First-run episodes of Saturday Night Live have previously aired on Utah's CW30 affiliate, KUCW.

KSL-TV announced the decision Wednesday on its Facebook page.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-27-Saturday%20Night%20Live-Utah/id-934d3c24ac1d421a84d6029931e2c526

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Jurors may hear dying woman's words at Fort Hood trial

By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Jurors in the trial of accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan will be allowed to hear the dying words of Private First Class Francheska Velez, who was six weeks pregnant when she was shot dead in the rampage, a military judge ruled on Thursday.

Velez, who was 21 and expecting her first child, screamed, "My baby, My baby" when she was shot during the November 2009 attack that killed 13 and wounded 32. Her words may be read to jurors, Colonel Tara Osborn ruled.

Hasan, who faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the killings at Fort Hood, did not object to the introduction of her statement. He was due to enter a plea at his next court appearance on July 2, according to a Fort Hood statement.

Hasan was likely to enter a plea of not guilty. He had expressed a desire at one point to plead guilty if the death penalty were taken off the table. That request was refused and defendants are not allowed to plead guilty to capital offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, has decided to represent himself in the court martial. Osborn has assigned military lawyers to assist him on legal research and to be prepared to step in as Hasan's defense counsel if needed.

The trial has been delayed several times to address numerous issues, including whether Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim, may wear a beard in court, against Army regulations. He has said he is wearing it for religious reasons.

More recently, the trial was delayed while Osborn determined whether Hasan, who was shot by civilian police during the rampage and is paralyzed from the chest down, was competent and physically capable of representing himself at trial.

Hasan also unsuccessfully sought the right to argue at trial he was protecting the Taliban in Afghanistan from U.S. aggression when he opened fire at Fort Hood.

Fort Hood was a major deployment point for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Hasan himself had been preparing to leave for Afghanistan with a unit assigned to help soldiers deal with mental issues.

The selection of a panel of Army officers who will serve as the jury in the court martial is set to begin July 9. Opening statements are scheduled to begin no earlier than August 6.

(Editing by David Bailey and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jurors-may-hear-dying-womans-words-fort-hood-231044309.html

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Friday, June 28, 2013

Google Search field trial adds Gmail contact info to your search results, promises Google+ profile support soon

Google Field Trail adds Gmail contact info to search results, promises Google profile support soon

If you've already signed up to Google's experimental field trials, you might have started to notice people you know appearing within search queries. Expanding on shipping and flight results offered previously, Google's pulling that information from your Gmail account, meaning that you'll be able to poll for contact numbers, addresses (and more) through the search box. Of course, only you will be able to see the results and the beta feature can even link up to voice search. It currently supports all of your Gmail contacts, while Google+ connections are in the pipeline for future field tests. You can sign up to the trials at the second link below.

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Comments

Source: Google (Google+), Google Field Trial

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/28/google-search-field-trial-adds-gmail-contact-info-to-your-search/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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10 Things to Know for Thursday

Joe Mac smiles while talking with people in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. In a major victory for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Joe Mac smiles while talking with people in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. In a major victory for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, left, stands with his attorney Michael Fee, right, during arraignment in Attleboro District Court Wednesday, June 26, in Attleboro, Mass. Hernandez was charged with murdering Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, whose body was found June 17 in an industrial park in North Attleborough, Mass. (AP Photo/The Sun Chronicle, Mike George, Pool)

FILE - This Feb. 19, 2013 file photo shows two chimps walking together at Chimp Haven in Keithville, La. The government is about to retire most of the chimpanzees who?ve spent their lives in U.S. research labs. The National Institutes of Health said Wednesday that it will retire about 310 chimps from medical research over the next few years, saying humans? closest relatives ?deserve special respect.?The agency will keep only 50 other chimps essentially on retainer _ available if needed for crucial medical studies that could be performed no other way. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:

1. WHAT'S NEXT IN GAY MARRIAGE FIGHT

The goal of one gay-rights group is to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide within five years.

2. NFL PLAYER CHARGED WITH MURDER

Prosecutors allege Aaron Hernandez orchestrated the killing of a friend who talked to people at a nightclub whom the tight end "had troubles with."

3. UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING NSA LEAKER GROWS

Ecuador's foreign minister says it may take two months to decide whether to grant Snowden asylum.

4. HOW EGYPT'S PRESIDENT IS TRYING TO MAKE AMENDS

Morsi acknowledges making mistakes and pledges reforms in a national address ahead of mass demonstrations planned this weekend.

5. 'ABOUT ONCE EVERY THREE WEEKS, I WATCH SOMEONE DIE'

The AP's Michael Graczyk on Wednesday witnessed Texas' 500th execution since 1982. And he's seen hundreds of others.

6. ANOTHER BAD DAY FOR PAULA DEEN

The celebrity chef is dropped by Wal-Mart after a tearful appearance on the "Today" show.

7. ABORTION FOES HAVE UPPER HAND

Gov. Perry calls Texas lawmakers back for another special session to consider tight restrictions on abortion blocked by a filibuster. This time, the restrictions will almost certainly pass.

8. LETTING CHIMPS BE CHIMPS

The National Institutes of Health will all but quit using chimpanzees in medical research, and now must find a place for 310 apes to spend their retirement.

9. FROM SPEARS TO SPALDINGS

Research suggests early hunters developed the ability to throw with accuracy and speed ? a uniquely human skill ? nearly 2 million years ago.

10. WHO'S THE LATEST BIG NAME TO EXIT WIMBLEDON

Seven-time champ Federer comes up short against 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhofsky, a day after Nadal was bounced in the first round.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-26-10%20Things%20to%20Know-Thursday/id-5fea0f29d48843009c2a67b540b83b63

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Protein is involved with colon cancer cell's ability to invade other cells

June 27, 2013 ? Understanding how the protein km23-1 enables in the spread of colon cancer may lead to new treatments for the disease, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine.

Previous research shows that km23-1 is involved in the movement of cancer cells and in the control of specific proteins at the leading edge of moving cells. Kathleen Mulder, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, who discovered the protein, now says km23-1 is used in the cancer cell's ability to move out of a tumor in the early stages ofinvasion.

"km23-1 may be able to help in this process due to its role in the assembly of large groups of proteins favorable to cancer invasion," Mulder said.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States. Tumors spreading to other parts of the body are the greatest threat to a patient's survival.

The researchers limited the amount of km23-1 available in the cells they studied, which allowed them to see how it affects cell behavior. A reduction in km23-1 caused a decrease in the production of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). In healthy cells, TGF-beta helps prevent cancer growth. However, in cancer cells, the protein actually aids in the spread of tumors. Limiting km23-1 also blocks the activity of proteins previously shown to lead to TGF-beta production. Researchers reported their results in PLOS One.

The researchers also find that cells with less km23-1 have reduced amounts of a protein that forms a framework structure associated with the spread of cancer. This scaffolding holds together key factors that help the cancer cells move and invade to form secondary tumors.

Mulder and colleagues say that by decreasing km23-1, colon cancer cells do not spread as much. This also affects several proteins known to make a cancer cell invasive, demonstrating that km23-1 is an important potential target for cancer therapies.

The researchers also looked at another protein that influences cell survival, migration and invasion, called ERK, which has higher activity in cancer cells. Lowering the levels of km23-1, reduced ERK activation. Decreased ERK activity relates to the production of TGF-beta and cell movement.

"If we can block km23-1, we can stop the spread of colon cancer earlier," Mulder said. "But we would also affect other important functions of the protein. In order to address this issue, we are now trying to find the specific partners of km23-1 that contribute to the invasion of the cancer cells. Then we can design more precise therapeutic agents that target critical regions of km23-1 rather than eliminating the entire protein."

Researchers used a cell model that represents a unique class of colon cancer that needs further study. This model features cells that move as groups, and not singularly.

"The type of cell movement, or migration, has important implications with respect to the detection of tumor cells in the blood of cancer patients, as well as for the development of new treatments," Mulder said.

Other researchers are Qunyan Jin, Guangming Liu, and Phillip P. Domeier of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; and Wei Ding, Department of Pediatrics.

The National Institutes of Health and, in part, a Pennsylvania Department of Health CURE grant supported this study.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/XcXm5qcuT8E/130627142557.htm

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10 Things to Know for Today

Hundreds line up to enter the Senate Chamber spills into multiple levels of the rotunda as Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, filibusters in an effort to kill an abortion bill, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, in Austin, Texas. The bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and force many clinics that perform the procedure to upgrade their facilities and be classified as ambulatory surgical centers. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Hundreds line up to enter the Senate Chamber spills into multiple levels of the rotunda as Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, filibusters in an effort to kill an abortion bill, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, in Austin, Texas. The bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and force many clinics that perform the procedure to upgrade their facilities and be classified as ambulatory surgical centers. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

FILE - This Nov. 2, 2008 file photo shows supporters of Proposition 8, the state?s measure that banned same sex marriages, in front of city hall during a Yes on Prop. 8 rally in Los Angeles. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that will determine the fate of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages on Wednesday morning, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - This is a Nov. 30, 1998 file photo of financier Marc Rich shown in in Zug, central Switzerland. An associate of Marc Rich said Wednesday June 26, 2013, that the trader pardoned by President Clinton has died in Switzerland.(AP Photo/Guido Roeoesli File) NO SALES TV OUT

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. U.S. AWAITS LANDMARK VOTE ON GAY MARRIAGE

The Supreme Court is expected to issue decisions today on two laws that could give gay Americans marriage rights and the same benefits as married heterosexual couples.

2. ARCHBISHOP WISHES PEACEFUL 'END' FOR MANDELA

Lucas Aedwaba offered a prayer after visiting the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader in a hospital, where he's critically ill with a lung infection.

3. CHAOS WITH ABORTION VOTE AFTER FILIBUSTER

Screaming protesters prevented Texas Republicans from passing a restrictive abortion ban before a midnight deadline.

4. WHAT SOUTHERN STATES PLAN AFTER VOTING RIGHTS DECISION

Some pledged to pass laws requiring voters to show photo IDs and others want to set earlier hours after the Supreme Court freed states from federal oversight.

5. 'NYET' ON TURNING OVER SNOWDEN

Putin acknowledges the NSA leaker is at a Moscow airport, and rejected U.S. pleas to extradite him.

6. DEMOCRATS HANG ON TO KERRY SEAT

Rep. Ed Markey defeated Republican Gabriel Gomez, and the state's Democrats didn't repeat the upset of three years ago when Republican Scott Brown succeeded Sen. Edward Kennedy.

7. AUSTRALIA PRIME MINISTER OUSTED

Predecessor Kevin Rudd defeated Julia Gillard in a party leadership ballot she called for after her authority was challenged

8. 'KING OF COMMODITIES' DIES

Marc Rich, a trader indicted on fraud and tax evasion charges, was pardoned by Bill Clinton at the end of his presidency. He died in Switzerland at 78.

9. TEXAS TO MAKE HISTORY

The nation's busiest death penalty state plans to execute its 500th inmate tonight ? a woman convicted of killing her neighbor with a candelabra in the 1990s.

10. IS PAULA DEEN TOAST?

The food diva is expected to speak on the "Today" show today, but experts say she has already damaged her reputation in the fallout from her admission of using racial slurs.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-26-10%20Things%20to%20Know-Today/id-ef0ee3361f064f36aab517f892bd137c

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Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows: Family Week

Okay, I've just got to sit down and get this post done. I've been working on it for two weeks now, and I keep procrastinating it because it's just so big. But today's the day I'm going to get it posted!

At the beginning of this month we had one of the craziest, busiest weeks we've had in a long, long time. We had eight family members from two different states come to visit three weeks ago, and our days were packed with park trips, beach trips, parties, zoos, and little girls running around everywhere screaming.

On Wednesday, June 5th, Jason's sister Tiffany, our brother-in-law Jarom, and their four little girls flew in from Texas. All of Jarom and Tiffany's girls are under six years old, with the littlest being their 5 1/2 month-old daughter that we met for the first time last week. We hadn't seen them since last July, and they were so much bigger and older than last time. A year makes such a difference when they're that little!

Here's Brynn:


Skylar:
Mikayla:
And Aubrey:
Ellie was both delighted and overwhelmed on the day that the girls got here. She was clearly very excited to have so many little people her age here, but she also didn't quite know how to deal with the energy and motion and everything that having four more girls around brought. She kept coming over and sitting in my lap, as a kind of decompression spot.

But, like I said, she was super excited. She especially loved the baby, and kept pointing her out to us and saying "Baby!" Then she would go over to Brynn, and talk to her and address her like "Baby" was her actual name. "Baby? Baby?"


We liked playing with Brynn, too.
On that same Wednesday that Tiffany and everyone arrived, we had a Thomas family girl's night. All of the Thomas girls - Diana (Jason's mom), Tiffany, my sisters-in-law Shelley and Sarah, and me - went out together, and our husbands watched the little girls at home. We had chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot (mmmmm. It was delicious.) and then got hour-long massages ?at a place in Tustin. It was such a great night!
The next day was Thursday, Beach Day! We spent the morning at home, and Ellie once again had so much fun playing with all her cousins. Then in the afternoon, we packed everyone up (boy, that was an event in and of itself) and drove to the same beach mentioned in this post. Ellie loved the beach (again), especially the sand this time. The first time she wanted to play in the waves a lot, and this time she mostly wanted to play with the sand.

Jason and I spent most of our time building sand castles with Ellie, Aubrey, and whichever of the other cousins wandered over. Aubrey kept thinking of "contests" that she wanted us to participate in. "Okay, now you have to build the biggest castle! And I'll be the judge." "Okay, now you have to dig a tunnel! And I'll be the judge." It was so funny, because she said that I won (over Jason) every time, even if I wasn't doing at all what the contest was supposed to be about. She would just change the contest so that whatever I did qualified.

Then she said it was boys against girls, and we had to build a tunnel (or something like that). We pointed out to her that that was slightly unfair, since Jason was the only boy building sand castles but that there were two girls (me and Aubrey). She said Jason was on a team with "Daddy" (Jarom), who was standing like five feet away and definitely not building castles. It was funny. And then later, in that same boys vs. girls contest, she announced, "Okay, okay, boys can help girls now, and girls will still help girls." Oh, Aubrey. You're a crackup.

Ellie's favorite part about the sandcastles was smashing them. We'd use the little castle molds to make a ton of towers, and she would delightedly smash all of them. I spent twenty minutes building one castle that Ellie destroyed in less than a minute. She loved it.


My own favorite activity at the beach that day was when Jason, Ellie, and I went over and sat on this little sand cliff-thing in front of the waves. The waves would come up and smash the sand we were sitting on, spraying Ellie with water (which she thought was funny) and collapsing the sand beneath us (which I thought was funny). We did that for a while, and it was really fun.

That night (Thursday) my sisters Alyse and Sydney got into town. They live in Utah, and we hadn't seen Sydney since last August. Alyse is pregnant right now, and due the first week of this August. We were really excited to see both of them.

On Friday we all went to Irvine Park (you can see our previous Irvine Park trips here and here?and here). At Irvine Park we...

Went on the train:

Rode ponies (well, Aubrey and Mikayla did):


Played with goats in the petting zoo:

Looked at all the animals in the rest of the zoo:

Did sudden inventories of Daddy's face:

"Flew" on the bird wall:

And got really close to the free-ranging peacocks all around:


On Saturday we had Skylar's birthday party in the morning. Her birthday's not really until next month, but we wanted to celebrate it when we were all together. It was a princess-themed party, and the girls all wore princess dresses (or skirts) and princess crowns. They even had a princess bounce house!

Ellie loved the bounce house. She kept running around inside of it, bouncing off the walls and the floors and laughing and laughing and laughing.?


Right after the birthday party, Alyse had a baby shower. It was a combined baby shower with her friend Sheri, and it was at this really nice park on top of a hill. I was in charge of the decorations and the games. :) Alyse is having a boy and Sheri is having a girl. A lot of people came, and it was really fun.
After the baby shower, we went back to the Thomas house and took a family picture. It was the only time all of us were together the whole week, and we only had like a ten-minute window to take the picture. But we did it! Alyse took the pictures for us, and we got some pretty cute ones. Here are some of the best:
A couple hours later we tried to get a picture of all of the girls together. This was the result:
The next day was Sunday, and we went to church with all of the girls. Before church, Ellie and her cousins were running around and around the house in big circles, screaming all together. They'd do a big loop around the house, yelling "Aaaaaaahhh!" and then do another loop, and another, and another, all screaming together and having the best time of their life. At one point, they had finally calmed down a little bit and stopped screaming, until Ellie walked up to Skylar and yelled "Aaaaaaahhh!" at her, and then it started all over again.
We loved having Tiffany and Jarom and their girls here, and it was sad when they left on Monday. Ellie's asked for them a lot of times since, looking around and saying "Aubwey?" and "Baby?"]

On Monday after Tiffany left, Alyse, Sydney, Ellie and I went to the beach. Alyse and Sydney hadn't been in CA yet on Thursday when everyone else had gone, and they wanted to go while they were down here. So, we packed up all the beach toys and headed out. Ellie wanted to hold the beach toy bag on her lap:

She was perfectly content like this, and held the toys like that for most of the way to the beach. At the beach (we went to Huntington this time), we played in the water and made lots of sandcastles again. Ellie's favorite thing this trip was the sand crabs. The sand crabs were much bigger at Huntington than at the beach we had been to before, and Ellie was fascinated with them. We put some (with water and sand) in one of the buckets for Ellie to look at. She kept pointing at them and touching them and saying "Cab? Cab!"

On Monday night we went to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor with my Dad and stepmom Debbie. The food was good and we had a great time. Ellie didn't like the siren they had, though. It was too loud for her, and we were sitting right next to it. After they saw it was scaring her, they stopped ringing it for the rest of the time we were there, though, which was really nice of them.

Ellie, Alyse, and Sydney got balloon animals. Ellie got a turtle that she hugged really tightly to herself.


The next day (Tuesday, June 11) was Zoo Day. Jason, Ellie, Alyse, Sydney, and I went to the Santa Ana Zoo. It was fun and we saw lots of cool animals. Ellie wasn't really interested in the animals this time. She mostly just wanted to run around.
Alyse and Sydney headed back to Utah the next day, Wednesday June 12th.

It was so wonderful having so much family in town and we enjoyed our time with them so much. I wish we could live right next to everyone?and see them all the time. We love our family!

Source: http://jocelynandjason.blogspot.com/2013/06/family-week.html

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Filibuster broken, but Texas abortion law fails to pass

Filibuster fails: Wendy Davis spoke for 11 hours in a filibuster but was stopped before the midnight deadline. Still, the Texas abortion law failed to pass when protestors managed to stall a vote.

By Chris Thomlinson and Jim Vertuno,?Associated Press / June 26, 2013

Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis (D) of Fort Worth, waits for a ruling on a rules violation during her filibusters of an abortion bill, Tuesday, June 25, in Austin, Texas. Senator Davis was given a second warning for breaking filibuster rules by receiving help with a back brace from Sen. Rodney Ellis (D) of Houston.

Eric Gay/AP

Enlarge

Despite barely beating a midnight deadline, hundreds of jeering protesters helped stop Texas lawmakers from passing one of the toughest abortion measures in the country.

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As the protesters raised the noise to deafening levels in the Texas Senate chamber late Tuesday, Republicans scrambled to gather their colleagues at the podium for a stroke-of-midnight vote.

"Get them out!" Sen. Donna Campbell shouted to a security guard, pointing to the thundering crowd in the gallery overhead that had already been screaming for more than 10 minutes.

"Time is running out," Campbell pleaded. "I want them out of here!"

It didn't work. The noise never stopped and despite barely beating the midnight end-of-session deadline with a vote to pass the bill, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the chaos in the chamber prevented him from formally signing it before the deadline passed, effectively killing it.

Dewhurst denounced the protesters as an "unruly mob." Democrats who urged them on called the outburst democracy in action.

In either point of view, a raucous crowd of chanting, singing, shouting demonstrators effectively took over the Texas Capitol and blocked a bill that abortion rights groups warned would close most abortion clinics in the state.

"They were asking for their voices to be heard," said Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, who spent nearly 11 hours trying to filibuster the bill before the outburst. "The results speak for themselves."

The final outcome took several hours to sort out.

Initially, Republicans insisted the vote started before the midnight deadline and passed the bill that Democrats spent the day trying to kill. But after official computer records and printouts of the voting record showed the vote took place Wednesday, and then were changed to read Tuesday, senators retreated into a private meeting to reach a conclusion.

At 3 a.m., Dewhurst emerged from the meeting still insisting the 19-10 vote was in time, but said, "with all the ruckus and noise going on, I couldn't sign the bill" and declared it dead.

He denounced the more than 400 protesters who staged what they called "a people's filibuster" from 11:45 p.m. to well past midnight. He denied mishandling the debate.

"I didn't lose control (of the chamber). We had an unruly mob," Dewhurst said. He even hinted that Gov. Rick Perry may immediately call another 30-day special session, adding: "It's over. It's been fun. But see you soon."

Many of the protesters had flocked to the normally quiet Capitol to support Davis, who gained national attention and a mention from President Barack Obama's campaign Twitter account. Her Twitter following went from 1,200 in the morning to more than 20,000 by Tuesday night.

"My back hurts. I don't have a lot of words left," Davis said when it was over and she was showered with cheers by activists who stayed at the Capitol to see her. "It shows the determination and spirit of Texas women."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/evm4XPr2xMU/Filibuster-broken-but-Texas-abortion-law-fails-to-pass

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Obama hit by Snowden setbacks with China, Russia

White House press secretary Jay Carney pauses during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, June 24, 2013. Carney said the U.S. assumes that Edward Snowden is now in Russia and that the White House now expects Russian authorities to look at all the options available to them to expel Snowden to face charges in the U.S. for releasing secret surveillance information . (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

White House press secretary Jay Carney pauses during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, June 24, 2013. Carney said the U.S. assumes that Edward Snowden is now in Russia and that the White House now expects Russian authorities to look at all the options available to them to expel Snowden to face charges in the U.S. for releasing secret surveillance information . (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Graphic shows the geographical career path and recent travels of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden; 3c x 5 inches; 146 mm x 127 mm;

(AP) ? The White House pressed Russia Tuesday to extradite National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden to face espionage charges, despite Moscow's blunt rejection in a diplomatic face-off threatening recent attempts by the two country's presidents to strengthen their ties.

Snowden's globe-trotting evasion of U.S. authorities already has set back President Barack Obama's recent attempts to cultivated relations with China.

Relations with both countries have been at the forefront of Obama's foreign policy agenda this month, underscoring the intertwined interests among these uneasy partners. Obama met just last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland and held an unusual two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California earlier this month.

Obama has made no known phone calls to Xi since Snowden surfaced in Hong Kong earlier this month, nor has he talked to Putin since Snowden arrived in Russia.

Putin said that because there is no extradition agreement with the U.S., it couldn't meet the U.S. request for extradition.

"Mr. Snowden is a free man, and the sooner he chooses his final destination the better it is for us and for him," Putin said. "I hope it will not affect the business-like character of our relations with the U.S. and I hope that our partners will understand that."

National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden responded in a statement that the White House doesn't want Snowden to negatively impact relations with Russia. But she argued Russia has the "clear legal authority" to expel him from a Moscow airport.

"We are asking the Russian government to take action to expel Mr. Snowden without delay and to build upon the strong law enforcement cooperation we have had, particularly since the Boston Marathon bombing," she said.

Former Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said it wasn't clear that Obama's "charm offensive" with Xi and Putin would matter much on this issue. The U.S. has "very little leverage," she said, given the broad array of issues on which the Obama administration needs Chinese and Russian cooperation.

"This isn't happening in a vacuum, and obviously China and Russia know that," said Harman, who now runs the Woodrow Wilson International Center.

Both the U.S. and China had hailed the Obama-Xi summit as a fresh start to a complex relationship, with the leaders building personal bonds during an hour-long walk through the grounds of the Sunnylands estate. But any easing of tensions appeared to vanish Monday following China's apparent flouting of U.S. demands that Snowden be returned from semi-autonomous Hong Kong to face espionage charges.

White House spokesman Jay Carney, in unusually harsh language, said China had "unquestionably" damaged its relationship with Washington.

"The Chinese have emphasized the importance of building mutual trust," Carney said. "We think that they have dealt that effort a serious setback. If we cannot count on them to honor their legal extradition obligations, then there is a problem."

A similar problem may be looming with Russia, where Snowden arrived Sunday.

During a stop in Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State John Kerry said that while it's true the United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, Moscow should comply with common law practices between countries concerning fugitives. "I would simply appeal for calm and reasonableness," Kerry said. "We would hope that Russia would not side with someone who is 'a fugitive' from justice.' "

The U.S. has deep economic ties with China and needs the Asian power's help in persuading North Korea to end its nuclear provocations. The Obama administration also needs Russia's cooperation in ending the bloodshed in Syria and reducing nuclear stockpiles held by the former Cold War foes.

Members of Congress so far have focused their anger on China and Russia, not on Obama's inability to get either country to abide by U.S. demands. However, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said in an interview with CNN on Monday that he was starting to wonder why the president hasn't been "more forceful in dealing with foreign leaders."

Sen. John McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election, echoed that concern on Tuesday, telling CNN that "we've got to start dealing with Vladimir Putin for what he is."

The Arizona Republican called Putin "an old KGB colonel apparatchik" who disdains democracy and said that Putin "continues to stick his thumb in our eye."

"When you show the world you're leading from behind, these are the consequences," McCain said.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton echoed the White House's frustration with China. "That kind of action is not only detrimental to the U.S.-China relationship but it sets a bad precedent that could unravel the intricate international agreements about how countries respect the laws ? and particularly the extradition treaties," the possible 2016 presidential contender told an audience in Los Angeles.

Snowden fled to Hong Kong after seizing highly classified documents disclosing U.S. surveillance programs that collect vast amounts of U.S. phone and Internet records. He shared the information with The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers. He also told the South China Morning Post that "the NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cellphone companies to steal all of your SMS data." SMS, or short messaging service, generally means text messaging.

Snowden still has perhaps more than 200 sensitive documents, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said over the weekend.

Hong Kong, a former British colony with a degree of autonomy from mainland China, has an extradition treaty with the U.S. Officials in Hong Kong said a formal U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with its laws, a claim the Justice Department disputes.

The White House made clear it believes the final decision to let Snowden leave for Russia was made by Chinese officials in Beijing.

Russia's ultimate response to U.S. pressure remains unclear. Putin could still agree to return Snowden to the U.S. But he may also let him stay in Russia or head elsewhere, perhaps to Ecuador or Venezuela ? both options certain to earn the ire of the White House.

Fiona Hill, a Russia expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said she expected Putin to take advantage of a "golden opportunity" to publicly defy the White House.

"This is one of those opportunities to score points against the United States that I would be surprised if Russia passed up," Hill said.

___

Follow Julie Pace on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-25-Obama-Snowden%20Diplomacy/id-7f4d30d7d6604e58915b8af9fff815f3

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Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 9:45PM ET

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 530PM ET

It's Monday Tuesday, and you know what that means; another Engadget HD Podcast. We hope you will join us live when the Engadget HD podcast starts recording at 9:45PM. If you'll be joining us, be sure to go ahead and get ready by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then you'll be ready to participate in the live chat.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/O1KBxniQWUY/

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Hamster ball robot to aid farmers

The trick used by hamsters to get an exercise ball rolling are helping to power a spherical robot.

Spanish researchers have found a way to mimic the shifting movement of a hamster inside a ball to get their Rosphere robot moving.

The electronics controlling the robot replace the hamster and act as a swinging weight to propel it forward.

Field trials have shown the Rosphere could help monitor soil conditions on arable land.

The Rosphere was developed by a four-strong team at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) who tried to find a method of locomotion that would not be thwarted by uneven or difficult terrain. Wheeled and legged robots can struggle on shifting ground or places strewn with lots of large and small objects.

The rolling robot's control systems swing on a spindle that sits at the centre of the hollow spherical device. By shifting the position of the electronics package on the spindle it is possible to make the robot roll forward. Drive wheels at either end of the spindle twitch the package to get the robot moving. Operating just one drive wheel helps the robot steer.

As well as drive motors to set the control system swinging, the robot's electronics include a wireless communication system and it can be fitted with cameras and other sensors to monitor environmental conditions, such as moisture levels and temperature.

The robot can also be operated remotely so an operator can take over if it gets trapped or cannot find a way through a field of obstacles.

Early work with the Rosphere has involved rolling it along furrows between crops. Eventually its creators hope the robot will be able to travel regularly around fields to monitor conditions and tell farmers the best time to water or otherwise tend their crops.

The research effort to create the Rosphere is part of a larger European Commission funded project which is looking to make fleets of robots to help on farms.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23030082#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Egypt court: Brotherhood members planned jailbreak

CAIRO (AP) ? An Egyptian court said Sunday that Muslim Brotherhood members conspired with Hamas, Hezbollah and local militants to storm a prison in 2011 and free 34 Brotherhood leaders, including the future President Mohammed Morsi.

The court statement read by judge Khaled Mahgoub named two members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood among the alleged conspirators in the attack on Wadi el-Natroun prison on Jan. 29, 2011.

It is the first statement by a court holding members of the three Islamist groups responsible for jailbreaks during the chaos of Egypt's 2011 uprising. Two other prisons where Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah members were held were also attacked.

Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders have maintained that they were freed by local residents. Hamas, the Palestinian chapter of the Brotherhood, has denied involvement in the attacks on prisons.

The Freedom and Justice party, the political arm of the Brotherhood, said Sunday's statement was "void and illegal." It posted on its Twitter account that Mahgoub "will end like any other judge who did not respect the law or the constitution."

Still, the court statement is likely to further fuel opposition to Morsi's rule just a week before his opponents plan mass protests to try to force him out of office. The June 30 demonstrations would mark the anniversary of his taking office in 2012 as Egypt's first freely elected leader.

The past year has seen growing polarization as Egypt struggles with a host of problems that many accuse Morsi of failing to effectively tackle. They include surging crime, rising prices, power cuts, fuel shortages and unemployment.

Pressure on Morsi grew on Sunday when Wael Ghonim, the best known youth figure of the 2011 revolution, asked Morsi to step down. In a video message posted on the Internet on Sunday, Ghonim accused Morsi of reneging on promises he made ahead of his 2012 election.

The president, he said, must act like a "patriotic Egyptian" and resign to prevent "strife."

Many Egyptians have been alarmed by statements from Morsi supporters vowing to "smash" the protesters. Several hard-line Islamists have declared the protesters infidels whose killing is justified.

Morsi's supporters say his opponents should try to remove him through the ballot box, and attempting to force him out is an attack on electoral legitimacy.

Also Sunday, a member of a radical Islamist group appointed by Morsi as governor of the ancient city of Luxor resigned in the face of daily protests outside his office.

Adel el-Khayat is a member of the Construction and Development party, the political arm of the Gamaa Islamiya, which waged an armed insurgency against the state starting in 1992 and attacked police, Coptic Christians and tourists.

In November 1997, gunmen from the group attacked tourists at Luxor's 3,400-year-old Hatshepsut Temple, killing 58. More than 1,200 people died in the campaign of violence by the group, which later renounced violence, and another militant organization, Islamic Jihad.

"I discussed with my brothers from the Construction and Development party, and we agreed that I should present my resignation as Luxor's governor because we don't want bloodshed", he said in a statement. "We cannot accept the shedding of even one drop of blood for a position that we never wanted."

Morsi has not spoken publicly about his escape from Wadi el-Natroun since he gave an account of what happened in a frantic phone call he made to Al-Jazeera Mubasher TV moments after being freed.

"From the noises we heard ... It seemed to us there were (prisoners) attempting to get out of their cells and break out into the prison yard and the prison authorities were trying to regain control and fired tear gas," Morsi said in the call.

The prison breaks took place during the 18-day popular uprising that toppled the 29-year regime of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The breaks led to a flood of some 23,000 criminals onto the streets, fueling a crime wave that continues to this day.

Among those who escaped were around 40 members of Hamas and Hezbollah as well as the 34 Brotherhood leaders.

A total of 26 top police, prison and intelligence officials testified before the court, which held its hearings in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia.

Ibrahim Haggag and Sayed Ayad, the two Brotherhood officials named by the judge, took part in the attack on Wadi el-Natroun with "those (foreign) elements who violated the sovereignty of the Egyptian state and its territory in addition to spreading chaos throughout the republic and terrifying unarmed civilians at their homes by releasing thousands of prisoners who are a danger to society," the court statement said.

The case began in January when a former inmate appealed a three-month sentence passed by a lower court that convicted him of escaping Wadi el-Natroun. The defendant was acquitted by Mahgoub, who on Sunday referred to prosecutors the testimonies and evidence gathered during the trial on the jailbreak at Wadi el-Natroun in order "to reveal the truth and honor the state's right to mete out justice."

There was no immediate word from the office of the country's top prosecutor on whether his office planned to take up the case.

In Egypt's polarized political climate, Morsi's opponents have been using his escape from Wadi el-Natroun against him, saying friends of the Brotherhood violated the country's security and fed its instability. The eagerness of some in the intelligence and security agencies to blame Hamas could in part reflect resentment of the Brotherhood's ties with the militant group, which they have long seen as a threat.

The Wadi el-Natroun prison in which Morsi and his Brotherhood comrades were held is part of a four-jail complex northwest of Cairo. A total of 11,171 inmates were released from the complex. Thirteen inmates were also killed, according to Mahgoub, who said the attackers used machine-guns mounted on pickup trucks and SUVs as well as huge earth-moving vehicles that demolished parts of the walls and gates.

Mahgoub said the attackers also seized large amounts of firearms belonging to prison guards. He said allies of Hamas in Sinai prepared for the entry of its fighters into the Egyptian peninsula with attacks on Jan. 25, 2011 against security forces on the Sinai side of tunnels running under the border with Hamas-ruled Gaza. Fighters from Hamas and Hezbollah crossed into Egypt on Jan. 28, he said.

The 34 Brotherhood leaders were arrested on Jan. 27 and arrived in Wadi el-Natroun shortly before their escape, said Mahgoub.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-court-brotherhood-members-planned-jailbreak-093513553.html

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Kerry: deeply troubling if Snowden allowed to flee

NEW DELHI (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that it would be "deeply troubling" if Russia or Hong Kong had adequate notice about Edward Snowden's plans to flee to a country that will grant him asylum and still allowed him leave.

Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor and a self-admitted leaker of state secrets, fled from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday after the U.S. moved to extradite him to face espionage charges. He was expected to seek political asylum in Ecuador.

He was booked on a flight from Moscow to Cuba on Monday, but he was not seen on the plane. It was unclear where he was or where he was he was trying to go, Kerry said. The U.S. has revoked Snowden's passport.

"We don't know, specifically, where he may head, or what his intended destination may be," Kerry said, responding to a question during a news conference in New Delhi where he was discussing bilateral issues between the U.S. and India.

He also was asked about whether the Snowden incident would affect the U.S. relationship with China and Russia.

"It would be deeply troubling, obviously, if they had adequate notice, and notwithstanding that, they make the decision willfully to ignore that and not live by the standards of the law," Kerry said.

"There is a surrender treaty with Hong Kong and if there was adequate notice ? I don't know yet what the communication status was. But if there was, it would be very disappointing if he was willfully allowed to board an airplane ... and there would be, without any question, some effect and impact on the relationship and consequences. With respect to Russia, likewise."

The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.

In the past two years, the U.S. has transferred seven prisoners to Russia that Moscow wanted, he said. "I think reciprocity and the enforcement of the law is pretty important," Kerry said, but he did not identify the law he was referencing.

Kerry also noted the countries involved in the incident.

"I suppose there is no small irony here. I mean, I wonder if Mr. Snowden chose China and Russian assistance in his flight from justice because they're such powerful bastions of Internet freedom, and I wonder if while he was in either of those countries he raised the question of Internet freedom since that seems to be what he champions."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-deeply-troubling-snowden-allowed-flee-114423417.html

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Plane believed to be carrying Snowden in Moscow

MOSCOW (AP) ? A former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory's government said Sunday.

An Aeroflot flight from Hong Kong believed to be carrying Edward Snowden landed in Moscow. Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden was on Flight SU213, which landed on Sunday afternoon in Moscow. The report said he intended to fly to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela.

Snowden had been in hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks since he revealed information on the highly classified spy programs. The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy group said it was working with him and he was bound for an unnamed "democratic nation via a safe route for the purpose of asylum."

The White House had no immediate comment about the departure, which came a day after the United States made a formal request for his extradition and gave a pointed warning to Hong Kong against delaying the process of returning him to face trial in the U.S.

The Department of Justice said only that it would "continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel."

The Hong Kong government said in a statement that Snowden left "on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel."

It acknowledged the U.S. extradition request, but said U.S. documentation did not "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law." It said additional information was requested from Washington, but since the Hong Kong government "has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong."

The statement said Hong Kong had informed the U.S. of Snowden's departure. It added that it wanted more information about alleged hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by U.S. government agencies which Snowden had revealed.

The signal that Hong Kong had let Snowden go on a technicality appears to be a pragmatic decision aimed at avoiding a drawn out extradition battle. The move swiftly eliminates a geopolitical headache that could have left it facing pressure from both Washington and Beijing.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, has a high degree of autonomy and is granted rights and freedoms not seen on mainland China, but under the city's mini constitution Beijing is allowed to intervene in matters involving defense and diplomatic affairs.

Hong Kong has an extradition treaty with the U.S., but the document has some exceptions, including for crimes deemed political.

Russian officials have given no indication that they have any interest in detaining Snowden or any grounds to do so. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia would be willing to consider granting asylum if Snowden were to make such a request.

Russia and the United States have no extradition treaty that would oblige Russia to hand over a U.S. citizen at Washington's request.

WikiLeaks said it was providing legal help to Snowden at his request and that he was being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from the group. Its founder, Julian Assange, who has spent a year inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sex crime allegations, told the Sydney Morning Herald that his organization is in a position to help because it has expertise in international asylum and extradition law.

The Obama administration on Saturday warned Hong Kong against delaying Snowden's extradition, with White House national security adviser Tom Donilon saying in an interview with CBS News, "Hong Kong has been a historically good partner of the United States in law enforcement matters, and we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case."

Snowden's departure came as the South China Morning Post released new allegations from Snowden that U.S. hacking targets in China included the nation's cellphone companies and two universities hosting extensive Internet traffic hubs.

He told the newspaper that "the NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cellphone companies to steal all of your SMS data." It added that Snowden said he had documents to support the hacking allegations, but the report did not identify the documents. It said he spoke to the newspaper in a June 12 interview.

With a population of more than 1.3 billion, China has massive cellphone companies. China Mobile is the world's largest mobile network carrier with 735 million subscribers, followed by China Unicom with 258 million users and China Telecom with 172 million users.

Snowden said Tsinghua University in Beijing and Chinese University in Hong Kong, home of some of the country's major Internet traffic hubs, were targets of extensive hacking by U.S. spies this year. He said the NSA was focusing on so-called "network backbones" in China, through which enormous amounts of Internet data passes.

The Chinese government has not commented on the extradition request and Snowden's departure, but its state-run media have used Snowden's allegations to poke back at Washington after the U.S. had spent the past several months pressuring China on its international spying operations.

A commentary published Sunday by the official Xinhua News Agency said Snowden's disclosures of U.S. spying activities in China have "put Washington in a really awkward situation."

"Washington should come clean about its record first. It owes ... an explanation to China and other countries it has allegedly spied on," it said. "It has to share with the world the range, extent and intent of its clandestine hacking programs."

____

Chan reported from Hong Kong. Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/plane-believed-carrying-snowden-moscow-132626347.html

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'Monsters U' scares up $82M box office

Movies

6 hours ago

Image: "Monsters University"

Disney/Pixar

"Monsters University"

Affable monsters and hordes of zombies converged at the North American box office over the weekend to create a perfect storm for moviegoing.

Disney and Pixar's long-awaited sequel "Monsters University" opened to a sizzling $82 million, the No. 2 Pixar opening of all time after "Toy Story 3"($110 million). Overseas, "Monsters U" took in an early $54.5 million from 35 markets for a worldwide debut of $136.5 million.

Brad Pitt zombie pic "World War Z," from Paramount, also overperformed in opening to $66 million, the top launch for an original live-action tentpole since "Avatar." It also marks Pitt's largest opening domestically, easily outpacing the $50.3 million launch of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" in summer 2005. Internationally, "World War Z" debuted to $45.8 million from its first 25 markets for a worldwide total of $111.8 million.

PHOTOS: "World War Z" Premiere: The Zombie apocalypse starts in London

"World War Z's" performance is a notable victory for Paramount, considering many in Hollywood left the film for dead after its release was pushed back from December 2012 in order to allow for numerous reshoots required to reshape the ending. Directed by Marc Forsterand co-financed by Skydance Productions, "World War Z" was a passion project for Pitt, who produced the tentpole.

Domestic box office revenue for the weekend reached an estimated $236 million, the second best of the year after Memorial Day weekend and among the top 10 weekends of all time.

Heading into the frame, box office observers believed "World War Z"would end up in a closer battle with Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan's "Man of Steel," with many giving Superman an edge over zombies.

As it turned out, "Man of Steel" fell more than expected for an all-audience tentpole, even as it jumped the $200 million mark domestically. The movie grossed $41.2 million in its second weekend, a 65 percent decline, to come in No. 3 and pushing its North American total to $210 million.

Coming in No. 4 was Sony's innovative comedy "This Is the End," which fell just 37 percent in its second weekend. The R-rated pic grossed $13 million for a domestic cume of $57.8 million.

Rounding out the top five was Summit's sleeper hit "Now You See Me." The magician heist pic has enjoyed a great hold, grossing $7.9 million in its fourth weekend for a domestic total of $94.5 million.

The might of "Monsters U," directed by Dan Scanlon, continues Pixar's winning streak at the box office and marks the 14th Pixar title to open to No. 1. The sequel returns Billy Crystal, John Goodman,Steve Buscemi and Frank Oz in the roles of Mike Wazowski, James P. Sullivan, Randall Boggs, and Jeff Fungus, respectively.

"The consistency of the quality that comes from Pixar and John Lasseter and his team is extraordinary. This movie had to live up to a very had to live up to a very high bar, and it did," said Disney executive vice president of distribution Dave Hollis, also noting that the animated tentpole did strong nighttime business in a sign that adults were turning out in addition to families.

"Monsters U" will have plenty of competition in the coming weeks as a record number of 3-D summertoons open at the North American, but a glowing A CinemaScore should help fuel word of mouth.

Overseas, the 2013 summer animation war began over the weekend in Australia, where "Monsters U" debuted opposite University's "Despicable Me 2" in advance of the winter holidays. "Despicable 2" was the victor, grossing $4.3 million. Combined with previews, the toon has earned a total of $6.4 million. "Monsters U" took in $3.5 million.

STORY: "Monsters," "Despicable Me 2," "Turbo": Summer's brutal animation war

Paramount is hoping that "World War Z" -- following the lead of other successful original tentpoles -- enjoys a better-than-usual multiple. "Avatar" debuted to $77 million in December 2009 on its way to cuming $760.5 million domestically, or 10 times its opening number. And in summer 2010, Christopher Nolan's "Inception" grossed $292.6 million, nearly five times its $62 million debut.

"This was an original movie in a summer that's been full of sequels and remakes. I think it captured the public's imagination. Certainly, Brad gave a superb performance," said Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore.

Rated PG-13, "World War Z" earned a B+ CinemaScore.

"World War Z," based on Max Brook's 2006 novel of the same name, was a sizable gamble for the studio, costing $190 million to produce after tax incentives. The budget was originally $150 million, but the additional work -- shepherded by Pitt and Forster alongside Paramount Film Group president Adam Goodman and his team -- bumped up the number.

In the film, Pitt plays a retired U.N. employee who must return to work and stop a worldwide pandemic that is turning humans into zombies. "The Killing's" Mireille Enos stars as his wife.

"World War Z" opened in 25 foreign markets this weekend, including the U.K., South Korea and Australia.

At the specialty box office, Sofia Copolla's "The Bling Ring"came in No. 11 as it made a major push in its second weekend, upping its theater count from five theaters to 650. The indie film, from A24 films, grossed $1.8 million from 650 theaters for a cume of $2.1 million.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/monsters-university-scares-82-million-overcomes-zombie-hordes-6C10423618

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Plane believed to be carrying Snowden in Moscow

MOSCOW (AP) ? An Aeroflot flight from Hong Kong believed to be carrying a former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States has landed in Moscow.

Hong Kong's government said Edward Snowden was allowed to leave but did not say where he was headed.

Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency cited an unnamed Aerflot official saying the Snowden was on Flight SU213, which landed on Sunday afternoon in Moscow.

The report said he intended to fly to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/plane-believed-carrying-snowden-moscow-132626347.html

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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Southwest cancels 64 flights after computer glitch

In this Feb. 9, 2012 file photo, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 waits to take off at Chicago's Midway Airport as another lands. A spokesman for Southwest Airlines says all departing flights have been grounded due to a system-wide computer problem, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Feb. 9, 2012 file photo, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 waits to take off at Chicago's Midway Airport as another lands. A spokesman for Southwest Airlines says all departing flights have been grounded due to a system-wide computer problem, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

(AP) ? A system-wide computer failure forced Southwest Airlines to ground its entire fleet of airplanes preparing for departures late Friday, and at least 64 flights had to be cancelled even after service was fully restored hours later, a company spokeswoman said.

Michelle Agnew told The Associated Press that 50 of the cancellations were flights scheduled for late Friday night departures in the western half of the country. The other 14 were Saturday morning flights scattered across the U.S. because crews were not able to get to airports in time to make the scheduled takeoffs.

An estimated 250 flights ? most of them on the West Coast ? were grounded at least temporarily Friday night. The glitch impaired the airline's ability to do such things as conduct check-ins, print boarding passes and monitor the weight of each aircraft.

Some flights were on the taxiway and diverted back to the terminal after the problem was detected around 8 p.m. PDT Friday, Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said. Flights already in the air were unaffected.

Shortly after 11 p.m. PDT, Southwest posted on its Twitter page that "systems are operating and we will begin work to get customers where they need to be. Thanks for your patience tonight."

Agnew said the computer system was "running at full capacity" by early Saturday. Before that, though, officials used a backup system that was much more sluggish.

"Backup systems are in place, not the main system, so it's slower," Hawkins said after service resumed. "But we are able to start launching these flights."

He said cancellations were inevitable because the airline doesn't do redeye flights and by the time the problem was fixed, it was near "the end of our operational day."

The late hour of the disruption meant the computer problem affected far more flights on the West Coast, but Hawkins said at least a few on the East Coast were grounded as well. Southwest, based in Dallas, conducts, on average, 3,400 flights a day.

A spokesman for Los Angeles International Airport said of about 25 inbound and outbound flights remaining Friday, only five departing flights were experiencing delays, of 30 to 80 minutes. At LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT), a total of three flights ? all departures ? were affected.

Four Southwest flights were temporarily held in Seattle, said Christina Faine, a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokeswoman.

One flight to Oakland, Calif., had been due to leave at 9:20 p.m. and departed before 11 p.m. Faine said late Friday night that an airport duty manager, Anthony Barnes, told her the others were expected to depart shortly.

Steve Johnson, a spokesman for Portland, Ore., International Airport, said he was not aware of any planes held up there.

___

Associated Press writers Kathy McCarthy in Seattle, Robert Seavey in Phoenix and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-22-Southwest%20Flights%20Grounded/id-01532a7a96f64001b9fc8200fca01c6c

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Tibco Ties Social Networking to Web Conferencing Services

Part of the problem with social networking in the enterprise is that experience is fractured. There are social networking applications for the enterprise, but most of them are not all that well integrated with the web conferencing systems that business people increasingly rely on to communicate within the company and with the outside world.

Tibco recently moved to address that specific challenge with the launch of tibbr Meetings, which integrates the company?s social networking service for the enterprise with a variety of web conferencing and online meeting applications, including Cisco WebEx, Skype and Google Hangouts.

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Tibco Social Computing president Ram Menon says that for social networking in the enterprise to succeed, it needs to be slipstreamed into the workflow patterns and communications services that business people already rely on.

In general, social networking in the enterprise is finding an acceptance challenge because it?s usually not associated with solving a specific business problem; for the most part, it creates another silo of communication that people have to manage. Menon says that tibbr is specifically designed to extend the social aspects of a business process, rather than merely be deployed as an alternative to email.

Like any communications framework, it?s hard to measure the specific value of an investment in enterprise social networking. For that reason, IT organizations need to make sure social networking in the enterprise is associated with improvement of specific sets of business processes. Otherwise, all the IT organization is really doing is setting up another orthogonal communications channel that over time many of the end users it was meant to serve will come to resent.

Source: http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/it-unmasked/tibco-ties-social-networking-to-web-conferencing-services.html

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