Outside festival venue, Cannes is a movie in itself - EOTM ...

Outside festival venue, Cannes is a movie in itself (via AFP)

Inside the Cannes temple of film-making, moguls meet movie stars and buyers and sellers wrangle over what we will be watching on the big screen a few months from now. But almost as compelling is the scene outside the Palais des Festivals. During the day, movie wannabes draw attention to their career?

Source: http://eotmblog.com/2013/05/outside-festival-venue-cannes-is-a-movie-in-itself/

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Search for tornado survivors continues

[Updated at 12:43 p.m. CT]

MOORE, Okla. ?As a hailstorm bore down on the devastated region Tuesday afternoon, first responders continued to sift through nearly every piece of debris to try to figure out how many people have died in the massive tornado that ripped through southern Oklahoma City and other towns just 24 hours ago.

Twenty four people have been confirmed dead--including 9 children--and 237 were injured by the massive twister. Fallin said officials are trying to find out if some victims were taken to local funeral homes who have not yet been counted in the death toll.

"We're going through that debris and we're going to keep looking until everybody's found," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said at a Tuesday news conference.

Gov. Mary Fallin said Tuesday afternoon that authorities "don't even know if there are missing people" but will turn over every piece of debris to find out "if there might be someone that survived the storm." First responders will check each damaged piece of property three times to ensure no one who needs help is overlooked.

"This was the storm of storms," Mayor Mick Cornett said.

[Photos from the scene.]

"Not to be pessimistic... but we think the death toll will continue to climb as we find more bodies," Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb said on CNN Tuesday morning.

Mother Nature was showing no mercy to Moore on Tuesday. Drenching rains and lightning had moved into the area by 9 a.m, and marble-sized hail fell down in the afternoon.

Officials said water, electricity and cell phone service was down in some areas. They urged people to stay away from the area. Residents can call 1-800-621-FEMA to find shelter.

President Barack Obama said the federal government would help with the disaster response. "The people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground there for them, beside them, as long as it takes for their homes and schools to rebuild, businesses and hospitals to reopen, the parents to console, the first responders to comfort and of course frightened children who will need our continued love and attention," Obama said Tuesday morning at a press conference.

Seven of the dead children were found at Plaza Towers Elementary Monday night, which took a direct hit when a titanic tornado chewed a deadly and destructive 20-mile path through Newcastle, Moore and parts of southern Oklahoma City for 40 minutes. Officials confirmed Tuesday that unlike 100 other schools in the area, Plaza Towers was not equipped with a tornado safe room.

Schools Superintendent Susan Pierce choked up at a news conference when talking about the twister, which destroyed at least two schools. She said every Moore school implemented its tornado shelter plan before the storm hit Monday. "We're in the process of learning as much as we can about what happened," she said, adding that graduation for Moore's high school seniors will still take place this Saturday in Oklahoma City.

Classes were still in session at Plaza Towers when the twister, estimated to be packing winds of 190 mph or greater, crushed nearly every corner of the school. Teachers? cars were thrown into the building, and the playground no longer exists.

?All you could hear were screams,? Local resident Stuart Earnest Jr. said of the scene at the Plaza Towers school after the storm. ?The people screaming for help. And the people trying to help were also screaming.?

?I can only hope those little kids killed didn't suffer,? said Earnest, one of many who rushed to the school to help survivors.

[In tornado's wake, worried parents seek out kids]

With several students still unaccounted for, rescuers worked overnight digging through the rubble. Police say they are still digging through the structure.

?I just hope they find her,? Shannon Galarneau said of her 10-year-old niece, a Plaza Towers student who was missing as of early Tuesday morning. ?You just feel helpless.?

The girl's younger sister, also a student at the school, suffered cuts to her head and bruises on her back. The 8-year-old was still wearing her hospital bracelet while asleep on her grandmother's shoulder in the front seat of a pickup truck just after midnight.

?She said it was probably the scariest day of her life,? Galarneau said.

The child was among more than 230 reportedly injured by the tornado, which some estimated to be greater than a mile wide at times. Its path was nearly identical to the one taken by a record-breaking May 1999 tornado that devastated the area.

Galarneau and her husband could see the twister a mile and a half from their front porch and scrambled to hide.

?It barreled down fast,? said Galarneau, who found refuge in a utility closet.

[How to Help: Oklahoma storms]

President Barack Obama declared several Oklahoma counties disaster areas and pledged to support the area's rescue and recovery. The funnel?s fury crumbled homes for several blocks around the school and in other parts of Moore. Missing street signs and other landmarks made some neighborhoods unrecognizable even to locals.

?It is a barren wasteland,? Galarneau said. ?Everything is leveled.?

Allen and JoAnn Anderson huddled under quilts and pillows in their bathtub with their Yorkie, Magand, and cat, Meow, when the tornado came down their street.

?It was like standing in the middle of a train track and having the train go right over you,? said Allen, 63.

They emerged from the tub 15 minutes later to find their brick house gone and cars badly damaged.

?There?s no house. It?s just a pile of rubble,? Allen said.

The couple checked into a motel with their pets late Monday. Chunks of attic insulation were still stuck in JoAnn?s sandy-blond hair, and her legs were partially caked in dried mud.

?It could be worse,? JoAnn said. ?We're alive.?

The tornado developed very quickly and caught many people like, Kelly Damphousse, off guard. He and his family were unloading a 26-foot U-Haul truck at a storage facility when they spotted the ferocious funnel.

--Yahoo News' Liz Goodwin is reporting from New York.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/witnesses-describle-deadly-oklahoma-tornado-demolished-school-111345116.html

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Tackling Home Improvement Jobs? Read These Tips First! ? Hot ...

Home improvement can be a daunting and scary task for some homeowners. They fear that home improvement might take up a lot of time, cost a lot of money and cause a big mess. By learning a fair amount prior to starting, you can alleviate some concern. Often, researching your home improvement project will ensure a job well done. This article is filled with useful tips you could use for your first home improvement project.

Texturing walls through the use of drywall mud could cover up unwanted blemishes. It?s easy to texture. Use a trowel to apply the drywall mud and use a sponge, a brush or a even a plastic bag to create interesting textures.

Natural lighting in the basement is something that most people don?t have in their homes. Properly plan out the layout of artificial so that you end up with a nice basement. If you?re lucky, your basement may have higher walls that protrude from the ground level. In this case, you can have windows as well.

Don?t purchase blinds until you?ve thoroughly measured the space in which they will be installed. Ill fitting blinds will not hand properly and will not look good. Blinds come in all sizes, and some are meant to be placed inside the window frame and some go outside.

When choosing a contractor for your home improvement needs, you must be sure they have insurance. If they cause damage to your house without having insurance, you must take them to court in order to get your money. If you want to know whether or not a contractor has insurance, just ask them for visual proof.

A pergola can add style or character to your front door entrance. The beloved garden structure adds shade, visual interest and a sense of peacefulness. They are even easy to put together, especially with the help of friends and family. Have a barbecue over the weekend, and turn it into a pergola building party.

You might want to update the window treatments in your home, so that you can make it fit with the season. To achieve this effect, install the window fixtures a few inches higher on the wall than you would normally do.

Safety is the most important thing to consider on a home improvement job. Turn off the gas main if working near the fireplace, basement or kitchen. Construction near any type of gas fixtures could be really dangerous. Be sure you are aware of the shutoff valve and where it is! Also, know where gas lines are located so that you do not hit one.

Make sure your budget includes everything that is necessary. There will be a few unexpected expenses, and if you forget to budget for them the burden can be great. If you plan carefully and put some extra in there for a mistake, you will be able to deal with a problem if it comes up.

Having the appropriate tools is important to any home improvement project. The correct tools will help make the job easier to do and you will better results. You should also make sure to read the instructions on using the tool correctly for the best results on your project.

Take time and get ready to do your home improvement job. Whenever you plan to paint, don?t forget to throw coverings over furniture ahead of time. Paint splattered on furniture can ruin it. Sheets can be used to cover the furniture and protect it from possible drips or smears from paint.

There are a number of different stains you can use on your deck. For example, you could select toners, solid stains, oil-based stains, and clear stains. Choosing the right one, and carefully considering the pros and cons of each is important.

Quickly transform a bedroom with the addition of a antique chest of draws or a wardrobe. They will make the room feel completely different but also have a practical use!

You should have more home improvement knowledge now that you?ve read the above article. You will know that your project will be done correctly when you use the basic information above.

Learn more about antique chest of drawers. Stop by Anna K Marring?s site where you can find out all about antique wardrobe and what it can do for you.

Source: http://hotarticledepot.com/tackling-home-improvement-jobs-read-these-tips-first-2/

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Samsung plans to launch 65-, 55-inch 4K TVs in June

When Samsung unveiled its first 4K Ultra HD TV at CES this year, it said other sizes would follow, both larger and smaller than the initial 85-inch version. Now it's apparently ready to fulfill part of that promise, announcing in Korea that 65- and 55-inch models will launch next month. Of course our next question is how these smaller models will compare to the $39,999 MSRP 85S9 UHD TV in price. Hopefully they'll follow the path blazed by Sony, which recently introduced models at that size with pricing well below the $10,000 benchmark, although we expect Seiki's 50-incher will still hold the crown for value pricing. The press release mentions they will feature Samsung's upgradeable Smart TV platform and the "micro dimming ultimate" LED lighting of their larger cousin, but the odd "Timeless Gallery" frame / stand (pictured above on the 85-incher) was not listed.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung

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Source: Korea Newswire

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ySBHz47brtM/

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5 dead, 20 missing in China factory explosion

BEIJING (AP) -- A massive blast ripped through an explosives factory Monday in eastern China, killing five people and leaving another 20 missing, state media reported.

Rescue work was continuing at the site of the mid-morning explosion in Shandong province's Caofan township, the Xinhua News Agency said. The company website said the factory run by the Baoli group manufactures 10,000 tons of industrial explosives annually.

A total of 34 people were inside the factory at the time of the blast, and only 14 of them have been found so far, including those that died, Xinhua said. The cause of the blast and condition of the nine survivors were not known.

A government spokesman for the surrounding city of Zhangqiu said a full accounting of the dead and injured was being compiled and would be released. Like many Chinese bureaucrats, he would only give his surname, Cao.

China has sought to tighten access to explosives used for quarrying following a series of attacks by people using homemade bombs. However, safety rules are often ignored and industrial accidents remain common.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/5-dead-20-missing-china-065508102.html

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Why an 87-year-old took on Donald Trump? 'Someone had to'

CHICAGO (AP) ? An 87-year-old woman who alleges Donald Trump cheated her in a skyscraper-condo sale told jurors Monday she had qualms about suing the real estate mogul and TV celebrity. But, she quickly added, "Somebody had to stand up to him."

Jacqueline Goldberg's comment came during her second and final day on the stand at a civil trial examining her claim that Trump perpetrated a bait-and-switch as she bought properties at the glitzy Trump International Hotel & Tower in downtown Chicago.

The case pits the grandmotherly Goldberg against a New Yorker who revels in his image as a big talker with big ideas. Trump fosters his no-nonsense persona in the catch phrase he uses to boot contestants off his "Apprentice" TV show ? "You're fired!"

A defiant, often agitated Trump testified for two days last week and took verbal swipes at Goldberg in comments to reporters outside the courtroom in Chicago. He asserted that he, not Goldberg, is the victim, saying, "She's trying to rip me off."

On the stand Monday, Goldberg said Trump wooed her into buying two condos for about $1 million apiece in the mid-2000s by dangling a promise to share profits in the 92-story building ? only to snatch that offer away after she committed to buy.

"I felt like I have been conned," she told jurors.

When she learned in 2008 that the profit-sharing was no longer part of the overall deal she thought she had bought into, Goldberg said she was dismayed.

"I didn't want to be in business with someone who would cheat me," she said. "How could I know he wouldn't do it again?"

Goldberg is seeking the return of a $500,000 deposit and other damages, including profit she says she would have reaped had Trump stuck to his offer.

During her first day on the stand Friday, Goldberg told jurors it was Trump's star power and perceived business acumen that initially drew her toward investing with him. But it was the profit-sharing proposal that, for her, sealed the deal, she said.

In his testimony, though, Trump balked at the idea Goldberg didn't know what she had gotten into. He told jurors a provision in a purchasing contract she signed gave Trump the right to cancel the profit-sharing offer and that she bought the condos anyway.

"And then she sued me," he boomed, raising his arms. "It's unbelievable!"

Testimony at the week-old trial was expected to wrap up Tuesday, after which lawyers would deliver their closings before jurors began deliberations.

___

Follow Michael Tarm at http://www.twitter.com/mtarm

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/woman-trump-somebody-had-stand-him-170047295.html

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Official: Va. driver likely had medical condition

Emergency personnel respond to one of the people hit by a car, at right, during the beginning of the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Bristol Herald Courier, Earl Neikirk)

Emergency personnel respond to one of the people hit by a car, at right, during the beginning of the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Bristol Herald Courier, Earl Neikirk)

Hiker "Quinoa" talks about being given credit for saving the lives of Carson Balckburn, Dalton Thomason, and Faith Ritchie after he ran them and others off the road with a water gun during a festival parade in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Just as the children ran off the street, a car came down the road and struck several people. (AP Photo/Bristol Herald Courier, Earl Neikirk)

People attend to a victim who was hit by a car during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Republican-American, Bill O'Brien)

People attend to a victim who was hit by a car during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Republican-American, Bill O'Brien)

DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) ? Authorities believe the driver who plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Virginia mountain town parade suffered from a medical condition and did not cause the crash intentionally, an emergency official said Sunday.

Officials did not have a formal confirmation or any specifics on the condition, but based on the accounts of authorities and witnesses on the scene, they are confident the issue was medical, according to Pokey Harris, Washington County's director of emergency management. "There is no reason to believe this was intentional," she said.

In what witnesses called a frantic scene at the parade, about 50 to 60 people suffered injuries ranging from critical to superficial Saturday. No fatalities were reported. Three of the worst injured were flown by helicopter to area hospitals.

Two people were kept at hospitals overnight, but their injuries were not critical as of Sunday, Harris said. "For the most part, everyone was treated and released," she said.

The crash happened around 2:10 p.m. Saturday during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line about a half-hour drive east of Bristol.

Damascus Police Chief Bill Nunley didn't release the driver's name or age but said he was participating in the parade and he had traversed the Appalachian Trail in the past. Several witnesses described him as an elderly man.

Nunley said the man's 1997 Cadillac was one of the last vehicles in the parade and the driver might have suffered an unspecified medical problem when his car accelerated to about 25 mph and struck the crowd on a two-lane bridge along the town's main road. The driver was among those taken to hospitals.

"It is under investigation, and charges may be placed," Nunley said Saturday.

On Sunday, festival events were continuing as scheduled, Harris said. Mayor Jack McCrady had encouraged people to attend the final day.

"In 27 years of this, we've never had anything of this magnitude, and is it our job to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

Harris said that the incident left a "sad heart and black cloud" over the event and that people were proceeding with "heightened awareness." But she emphasized the crash was an accident and said no additional security measures were taken.

On Saturday, Rudolph "Chip" Cenci, 64, of Minoa, N.Y., told The News-Item newspaper in Shamokin, Pa., that he heard people yelling "get out of the way" and turned around to find the car was about to hit him. He jumped onto the hood and held onto the gap at the base of the windshield near the wipers. He said the driver had a blank stare on his face.

"I bet you that man never realized someone was on his hood," Cenci said.

Cenci said he had a bump on his knee but was otherwise OK. He added that his wife, Susan, 63, narrowly missed being hit.

Amanda Puckett, who was watching the parade with her children, ran to the car, where she and others lifted the car off those pinned underneath.

"Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up," she said.

Keith Neumann, a hiker from South Carolina, said he was part of the group that scrambled around the car. They pushed the car backward to free a woman trapped underneath and lifted it off the ground to make sure no one else was trapped.

"There's no single heroes," he said. "We're talking about a group effort of everybody jumping in."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-19-US-Virginia-Parade-Crash/id-e773663bb06d4b30907db3a223ee0bb1

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More police departments use psychological screening - Quad Cities ...

Psychological screenings for police candidates are becoming more common as law enforcement agencies stress a sound mind as well as a sound body.

The application process for police hopefuls includes physical fitness tests, written exams and internal interviews. But over the past decade, many departments have added psychological screenings as part of the vetting process.

"It's a special job," Silvis Police Chief Bill Brasche said. "This job is not simply throwing the bad guy in jail. It's a lot more than that."

Many police departments hire local psychologists or third-party companies to administer psychological screenings, which usually include personality diagnostic tests and one-on-one interviews.

"It's a job that can lead to vulnerability, to post-traumatic stress, to alcoholism, to aggressiveness," said Dr. Kirk Witherspoon, a Moline clinical and forensic psychologist, who interviews about 15 to 20 candidates a year for several area police departments.

The Silvis, Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Aledo and Milan departments all require psych evaluations for potential candidates, but the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office does not.

"As far as I know, we've never done psychological evaluations," Sheriff Jeff Boyd said, adding that they have "kicked the idea around."

He said deputy candidates undergo a rigorous application process administered with the help of the Rock Island County Merit Commission, and it's a process in which he has confidence.

Sheriff Boyd said his office sometimes hires officers from other departments, many of whom already have undergone psychological screenings. All new deputies are also on a year's probation, he said.

"I believe there is enough in place that, if it isn't a good fit, we'll find out," Sheriff Boyd said.

Dr. Witherspoon said patterns of violence, drug and alcohol use and depression are among the issues he looks for to help predict how a potential officer may respond to stresses on the streets.

He said candidates usually already have been screened for major issues through background checks by the respective police departments, but some issues still could be revealed through his interviews with the candidate.

"You don't have to be perfect; you just have to be free of things that are very concerning," Dr. Witherspoon said.

During a typical psychological screening, he administers personality tests.

The tests help reveal behaviors such as anti-social, volatility or mood problems, unreliability, risk-taking tendencies, irritability and narcissism, and issues such asanxiety, depression, mania, paranoia, suicidal tendencies, substance abuse and excessive dominance.

Dr. Witherspoon reviews test results with the applicant, asking followup questions and discussing the applicant's history. How someone responds can be telling, he said.

"People can lie or disguise what they share or minimize the problem," but he said he can tell when candidates appear too self-doubting or too self-congratulating.

"If they can turn in a profile that looks like it was turned in by Mary Poppins, that can also tell something," Dr. Witherspoon said.

Strong candidates usually show a history of resilience, self-improvement, effective stress management and academic success and have a strong support system of family and friends.

Dr. Witherspoon sends his reports to the police department, which decides whether to hire the candidate. Police officials say poor results from a psychological screening can be the end of the line for an otherwise seemingly qualified candidate.

"Sometimes it's maturity issues," East Moline Police Chief Victor Moreno said. "It's not that they'll never be able to pass the test ... but they're just not ready then."

Milan Police Chief Shawn Johnson said he looks at indicators of a candidate's work ethic, ability to get along with others and how they handle themselves in stressful situations.

"It all comes down to public trust," Chief Brasche said. "Police are asked to solve problems and trauma at a moment's notice, do it quickly and instantly and perfectly, and fix chaotic situations, so it's a lot of pressure.

"You want to hire people that are extremely psychologically sound," he said. "We ask so much of these young people as they come in that you want to have the best ones out there.You don't want someone to abuse the position."

Still, even screenings are no guarantee that a candidate will do well on the job or be able to cope with police work five, 10 or 20 years down the road.

"It is not an easy journey. It's not an easy job to land," Chief Brasche said."And can you be wrong? Absolutely you can be wrong ... we are human just like everybody else."

He said anytime officers struggle with a problem on the job, they are encouraged to seek counseling or turn to experienced officers for advice and support.

"People are not static ? they evolve and change and not always for the better," Dr. Witherspoon said.

However,"we try to gauge people's moral ethic ... they have to be ready to chase down bad guys, but they have to contain themselves, too."

Source: http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=638797

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Sprint Acquires KC-Based Handmark For Its Mobile App Development And Advertising Shop, OneLouder

Sprint has decided to get deeper into the social and mobile space, announcing today that it has acquired Handmark and its subsidiary OneLouder. The acquisition is meant to beef up its Pinsight Media+ advertising group, specifically. Through Handmark, OneLouder has built social apps like Twitter clients Tweetcaster and Slices, and Friendcaster, a Facebook client. The acquisition price hasn’t been made known, but it’s a huge win for the Kansas City tech space, a place that I visited just a few weeks ago. Sprint hopes that this acquisition will bring a more “entrepreneurial spirit” to its mobile program, hoping to lure developers to use its own advertising platform. Mike Cooley, VP of New Ventures at Sprint shared: “The business, culture and technology they bring will be a huge asset to our business, and ultimately the customers of Pinsight Media+.” Through building all of its apps, OneLouder found a niche in advertising, having its own team that has worked on the ad platform and used its own apps to test it out. This deal also brings Sprint some strategic partners like CBS, which has a sports app powered by OneLouder. Tying the work that OneLouder has done on its ad platform with Sprint’s customer base should juice its mobile advertising efforts immediately. The great thing about the acquisition is that Handmark and OneLouder will stay in its current home of Kansas City, serving as an example of what a budding tech hub it really is. Sprint has been trying to get involved with the KC tech crowd, as all of the activity surrounding Google Fiber has inspired companies to be formed and money and time to be spent on building communities and refocusing on making the area attractive to both coasts as an alternative base.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pH2bjGOvSBY/

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Can Medical Bills Cause Bankruptcy? | Finance on Deann Aproach ...

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Source: http://josinarahman2.blogspot.com/2013/05/can-medical-bills-cause-bankruptcy.html

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15 Android Fixes We Want to See This Week

Google I/O is almost upon us, and that means, presumably, some updates to Android. We might not see a full-on update to a new version (5.0) announced at tomorrow's keynote, but we do expect some changes. And while the wishlist might not be as long as it has been in years past, there's still plenty left to do. Here's what we're hoping for.

Babel: More than anything, we?d love to see Google?s rumored Babel chat initiative do what it has promised: unify all chat under one roof. That means your SMS text messages, be they from your carrier?s number or any Google Voice account (throw in MMS for Voice while you?re at it), Google Talk, Hangouts, and any other partners Google brings in. Given Talk?s inclusion in Microsoft?s Outlook.com starting this week, we?re hopeful that will include some outside services, like Messenger, Skype, AIM, or even Facebook.

Clean Up the Notifications Bar: Android is beautiful now?or it can be if you want it to be?and it?s always had a Spartan efficiency. Except for one spot: that awful notification bar across the top of the screen. As notifications come in, the icons of the apps they represent slide in one by one. Except, if you get multiple notifications from the same app, or have multiple accounts in the same app, they?ll often double or triple up, leaving you with three icons for Gmail, two for Facebook, and four for Google Talk. Great. Android does a fairly good job of organizing your notifications in the actual drag-down, so eliminating the duplicates would be a good start. But more broadly, it could look at taking a cue from Windows Phone?s lock screen and assign a position to individual apps.

Smarter Software Back Buttons: Back buttons are problematic. But they?re also useful at times, when you want to, you know, go back. In a browser, that?s a simple function. But for phones, it?s become hugely complicated. While Android isn?t as bad as Windows Phone on this, it still has the issue where apps often have two back buttons in play (Android?s, and the contextual top-left one built into many apps). That?s confusing on its own, but it?s even worse when tapping the Android back button two times sends you back through the app you?re using, but then the third sends you to another app entirely, but doing the same thing with the other just sends you to the homepage, and maybe a menu.

The fix is to either eliminate the Android back button all together, and mandate that all software apps have a perpetual back button that only applies to the app itself. Going back to the previous app can be done by multitasking, which is smooth in Android now anyway. This is a big navigational headache, and cleaning it up would be a big step for Android.

Google More Power Over Now: We love Google Now, but there's still a ton of room for improvement. For starters, we need more control over what cards pop up and when. It could be kept as sparse and intuitive as it already is by default, but within the settings for each card it would be nice to be able to make tweaks, like changing when you would like to arrive at the airport for a flight. There should be a manual override for when you want more granular control. On the search side of things, Google Now needs better context awareness. It should know that when you search for ?fedex dropbox nearby? you don?t want a web search, you want to see a map with relevant results highlighted.

Enhanced Security: Android still does not have a built-in way to remotely wipe your device, or to find it if it?s lost. That functionality is only available to Google apps administrators. It?s crazy that it's not for the public. Sure, there are third-party apps and services that will do this (generally for a fee), but this should be built right into Google, and easily accessed from the web.

Improved Defaults: Switching out your default apps is one of the things nerds have loved about Android for years, but for the less patient, it's still not easy. When you click the icon for messaging a contact, Android asks you which program you'd like to use, and if you'd like that to be your default. Which is good! But you have to do that for Every. Single. Contact. The same thing is true for associating files with apps. A simple, one-time ?Would you always like to view PDF files in Quick Office?? would do.

Lock Screen Notifications: This is one of the only things that's better about iOS notifications. It would be great to have the option to display your notifications right on your lock screen, so you don't have to go through the hassle of opening everything up to see who just sent you what. Further, it should be a ?Swipe right to open, swipe left to dismiss? sort of thing.

Better Map Tweaks: Google Maps may be the best map app (in our opinion), but that doesn't mean it couldn't be better. For starters, turn by turn navigation should auto-correct in real time with changing traffic patterns. There also just needs to be more consistency in the UI. Sometimes, if you're in map view, the back button will take you back to the directions list. Other times, it will undo the search you just did, or even weirder, take you to a previous search. Most importantly, there should be a way to adjust your route while in navigation mode. For example, if you need to find the closest gas station or restaurants, you should be able to do a voice search within Maps, have it guide you to your choice, and then back onto your route.

Google Voice Integration: While not technically a part of Android, it would be nice to see Google Voice?which is used by tons of Android users?better integrated into the system. For instance, GV users still can't receive MMS within the app. Google put a bandaid on this recently by forwarding the image to your Gmail inbox as an email, but more problematic is that we do not receive group text messages from our friends with iPhones. And, let's be realistic, we all have a lot of friends with iPhones. They don?t get a message that it wasn?t received, either, so people think we?re jerks for not responding. The app is also just buggy. It crashes often, and it doesn't work with the proximity sensor on most phones, so when you try to listen to your voicemail you exit out of the app (or call somebody) with your cheek. Very annoying.

Google Music Basics: Google's music service is great, but it gets some of the basics very, very wrong. For starters, there's no gapless playback! That's music player 101. It screws up albums that are made with tracks that blend seamlessly into each other. Also, songs you have stored in Google Music can only be played via Google Music. Android should be able to use them at least within system apps, so you can make your favorite song your ring tone or alarm tone.

Podcasts, Any Podcasts: How is this still a thing? Google support for podcasts has been abysmal for a long time now, going back to the abandoned Google Listen, but it seems like Google?s just given up on them all together now. People still listen to these! And even Windows Phone has a way to search and subscribe through the official store! Yes, there are podcast managing apps out there. It?s Android; there are apps for everything. And for many of you reading this, that is more than fine and this is not an issue. But that?s so much beside the point for many others. It?s about integrating something very simple and basic into the Google ecosystem, and it's crazy that Google hasn't done this yet.

Profiles: One of the things HTC got really right in its HTC One software was bringing back profiles. Blackberry users of olde will remember. The One comes pre-set with profiles for Normal, Silent, and Vibrate. You can drop a 1x1 widget onto your homepage, so you can see what mode you're currently in and to toggle between the three of them. It's wonderful, and it should be standard in all Android phones.

Work/Life Balance: BlackBerry 10 got one thing very, very right. Work/Life balance is harder than ever with smartphones tethering us to the office all day, so two totally separate profiles on your phone to wall you off from that life is kind of amazing. More and more, companies are giving employees the option of top tier Android phones or iPhones instead of just BlackBerries, so this would have a built-in audience. And even for those of us who don?t have official ?work phones," a barrier between you and the office sounds pretty good.

Sync Android Through Chrome: Maybe it?s not time for Chrome and Android to Voltron into a single entity just yet, but we can still lean on Chrome?s ubiquity to finally give Android a real home on your computer. iPhones have always had iTunes, and even Windows Phone has its own app on Windows and Mac. Android, though, still uses antiquated-looking apps, with no way to manage all the information on your device from your desktop. Why not build an official Google Phone app for Chrome that manages this? Chrome?s existence on every platform would give Android a home base no matter what kind of computer you use.

Fix Fragmentation: Pipe dream. Never going to happen. For a variety of reasons. But still, if there were one thing we wanted fixed, it would be ditching the skins, or at least reining them in, and making sure that updates are pushed out faster, from manufacturers and through carriers. Speed up testing, cut down build times, and make sure every phone will be able to carry every update from day 1.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/15-android-fixes-we-want-to-see-this-week-505604331

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Senior tax officials knew of extra Tea Party scrutiny

By Kim Dixon and Kevin Drawbaugh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Higher-level Internal Revenue Service officials took part in discussions as far back as August 2011 about targeting by lower-level tax agents of "Tea Party" and other conservative groups, according to documents reviewed by Reuters on Monday.

The documents show the offices of the IRS's chief counsel and deputy commissioner for services and enforcement communicated about the targeting with lower-level officials on August 4, 2011, and March 8, 2012, respectively.

The two communications occurred weeks and months before Doug Shulman, then the commissioner of the IRS, told congressional panels in late March 2012 that no groups were being targeted for extra scrutiny by the tax agency.

The IRS has maintained that its senior leadership did not know for some time that lower-level agents were applying extra scrutiny to applications for tax-exempt status from groups with key words in their names, such as "Tea Party" and "Patriot.

The agency said in a statement on Monday that Steven Miller, who is now acting IRS commissioner, was first informed in early May 2012 that some groups seeking tax-exempt status had been "improperly identified by name" and subjected to extra scrutiny.

Late on Monday, Senate Finance Committee Republicans said Shulman was briefed on the targeting in May 2012, a date not previously disclosed. An aide said committee staff learned this on Monday from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), an independent IRS watchdog.

The controversy that has erupted over the IRS's targeting practice drew comment on Monday from President Barack Obama, who said it would be "outrageous" if IRS staff targeted conservative groups.

He said anyone who did such targeting must be held fully accountable because the IRS must be neutral and nonpartisan.

The top Republican lawmaker in charge of IRS oversight set a hearing date for Friday to probe the practice, which burst into wider view last week at a legal conference where a senior IRS official apologized for it.

The controversy threatens to tarnish the image of the IRS, an independent government agency that has long maintained it is free of political influence.

Miller, in his first public statement since the scandal broke, said "a lack of sensitivity to the implications of some of the decisions" contributed to the IRS's mistakes. In an opinion article published late on Monday on the USA Today website, Miller added that the screening process was "in no way" politically motivated.

New procedures will ensure the mistakes will not happen again, Miller said, without acknowledging any role he might have played in the IRS decision-making.

WATCHDOG REPORT COMING

A report from TIGTA on the targeting of the groups is due to be made public this week. Portions of it obtained by Reuters over the weekend listed the meetings that took place between lower-level staff and the unnamed senior officials.

Miller was IRS deputy commissioner for services and enforcement at the time of a March 8, 2012, e-mail exchange in which his office took part, according to the TIGTA documents. No individuals are names by TIGTA.

The watchdog's report reads that on March 8, 2012, "The Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement requested that, if a taxpayer called about having to provide donor information, the determinations unit would allow them to not send the donor names," but be told they might need to provide them later.

Miller could not be reached for comment.

Miller has been leading the IRS following the November 2012 departure of Shulman, who stepped down as chief of the agency when his term expired. Miller also remains deputy commissioner for services and enforcement.

The TIGTA documents also mention an August 4, 2011, meeting about the targeting between lower-level officials and the office of the IRS chief counsel, but again, no names are listed.

William Wilkins was then, and is now, the IRS chief counsel. He could not be reached for comment.

The IRS chief counsel's office employs about 1,600 lawyers and it was unclear who among them might have taken part in the discussions with lower-level officials. The IRS has roughly 90,000 employees.

WHEN DID IRS LEADERS KNOW?

How much the IRS leadership knew about the targeting, and when, are two of many questions still unanswered in the controversy.

IRS agents in a Cincinnati field office in 2010 started using keywords - such as "Tea Party" and "Patriot" - to sift through thousands of groups' applications for tax-exempt status and pick out ones for possible closer scrutiny.

A lawyer for Tea Party groups told Reuters on Monday that some clients had been contacted from IRS offices not only in Cincinnati, but also in Washington, D.C., and two offices in California - Laguna Niguel and El Monte.

The IRS targeting procedure emerged at a time of controversy about tax-exempt groups organized under U.S. tax law 501(c)4. Such groups multiplied after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 "Citizens United" ruling that relaxed campaign finance rules.

New applications for tax-exempt status poured into the IRS in 2010. Most, but not all, were from conservative groups. The agency came under pressure to deal with the volume and to ensure that the groups were following the 501(c)4 rules.

These state that 501(c)4 groups need not disclose their donors and may spend money on advertising around general issues, but they may not endorse specific candidates or parties.

LERNER APOLOGIZES

Lois Lerner, head of the IRS tax-exempt organizations office, set off a firestorm at the Washington legal conference on Friday when she apologized for the targeting, which conservatives had complained of for years.

Floyd Williams, who was chief of legislative affairs when he left the IRS in 2012 after serving at the agency for nearly 16 years, said the agency's decisions are very decentralized.

"I would drop over dead if there were any indication that the White House was involved and I would say the same with Treasury," Williams said. "It is deliberately decentralized because of the notion that the political people should not be involved in the day activities."

(Additional reporting by Patrick Temple-West, Jeff Mason, Thomas Ferraro and Laura MacInnis; Editing by Howard Goller and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senior-u-tax-officials-knew-extra-tea-party-011241858.html

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Detroit emergency manager says city 'clearly insolvent'

By Nick Carey and Steve Neavling

(Reuters) - Detroit is clearly insolvent and could face a possible bankruptcy if talks with labor unions and creditors do not make substantial progress on easing the city's cash crunch, the city's emergency financial manager said on Monday.

In his first official report, Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr presented a grim view of Detroit's problems. The city faces a $162 million cash shortfall because of pension deals that outstrip its ability to pay, and a $60 million operating deficit, all amidst a cityscape of abandoned homes and businesses, broken streetlights and fractured services, the report said.

Orr said talks would begin promptly with unions and creditors, and he told the Detroit Free Press editorial board that he should know by the end of June whether the city's finances can be repaired without a bankruptcy filing.

Speaking to reporters later, Orr was matter of fact about prospects for keeping Detroit out of bankruptcy. "We can achieve what we have to achieve without going in. If we can't, then we have to" file for bankruptcy, Orr said.

Detroit had $64 million in cash on hand on April 26, but only because it has deferred $226 million in payments on pensions, loans and other obligations. Orr's report projected the city could get through the end of December without running out of money.

"If we keep going the way that we're going, we're going to hit some bumpy ground in December," Orr said.

In issuing his report to the state Treasurer, Orr declared Detroit is far from solving the problems that caused Governor Rick Snyder in mid-March to appoint him as emergency manager.

"The City of Detroit continues to incur expenditures in excess of revenues despite cost reductions and proceeds from long?term debt issuances," Orr wrote. "In other words, Detroit spends more than it takes in - it is clearly insolvent on a cash flow basis."

Legal experts indicated the declaration of insolvency is important because the city cannot make a bankruptcy filing without an official declaration of insolvency.

Some matters will immediately press on Orr. For example, investors who hold $377 million in interest-rate swap contracts obtained the right to demand immediate payment the moment Snyder appointed Orr to the job, Orr disclosed.

James Spiotto, an expert in municipal restructuring and partner at Chapman and Cutler in Chicago, said Detroit could avoid bankruptcy if Orr could work with the state and other parties to address deeply entrenched problems.

"Obviously, there is an urgency, but it's not time to panic," Spiotto said. "You need a sustainable, affordable recovery plan."

In the past, New York City, Philadelphia and Cleveland avoided bankruptcy with loans and grants designed to keep the cities afloat while a long-term recovery plan was worked out.

Orr said it was important to put out facts so all parties know what they were facing.

Operating expenditures have exceeded revenues by about $100 million a year since 2008, Orr's report found, bringing the accumulated unrestricted deficit to $326.6 million. Payments of Detroit's long-term debt are eating up nearly 20 percent of Detroit's budget.

Orr is looking to renegotiate or restructure Detroit's $8.65 billion in long-term debt. He may reschedule payments, reduce the principal, renegotiate interest rates or issue new debt guaranteeing bondholders payment on Detroit's existing obligations, the report stated.

Patrick O'Keefe, chief executive of turnaround specialists O'Keefe and Associates Consulting, based in suburban Bloomfield Hills, said Orr likely intends to use Detroit's fiscal distress as a weapon in negotiating with unions and debt holders.

"My guess is they (Detroit) don't have the money so they are not that worried," O'Keefe said. "It's a little bit like fighting the ugly kid in the school yard in that he can't get any uglier."

Pension payments to city workers are one of the largest drains on the city's finances. Detroit will make $31 million in pension payments this year, but will defer another $108 million. The city also has $5.7 billion in unfunded retiree benefit obligations, more than previous estimates, the report found.

To catch up on pension and health benefits to retirees, the city would need to spend $339 million, about a third of its fiscal 2013 revenues, Orr estimated. Orr said a city task force was reviewing actuarial assumptions Detroit uses to estimate its obligations.

Detroit has liabilities totaling $9.4 billion from special revenue bonds, revolving loans, pension obligations and other financial instruments.

At investment firm BlackRock in New York, Orr's report was only a small step toward addressing Detroit's major problems.

"The identification of these items are still far from the resolution of these items, and that is ultimately what has to take place here", said Peter Hayes, head of BlackRock's municipal bonds group, which has $114 billion in assets under management.

Labor is among the city's largest challenges. Noting that state law authorized him to "reject, modify or terminate" any of the city's 48 collective bargaining agreements, Orr said he was considering all options.

"This power will be exercised, if necessary or desirable, with the knowledge and understanding that many City employees already have absorbed wage and benefit reductions," the report said.

The report also noted that a review of police, fire and other emergency services was ongoing and that Detroit's "infrastructure and public safety fleet are aged and decrepit, which, in turn, increases the City's operating and repair costs and decreases its productivity."

The Detroit NAACP on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against Snyder and other state officials calling for reversal of the state law that allows emergency managers like Orr.

Emergency managers in Benton Harbor, Pontiac and other Michigan cities have attracted controversy with their turnaround plans, and Rev. Wendell Anthony, head of the Detroit NAACP, said the law was applied unevenly by focusing primarily on cities and school districts with black residents.

(Reporting by Nick Carey and Steve Neavling.; Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall and Deepa Seetharaman.; Editing by David Greising, Sofina Mirza-Reid, Leslie Gevirtz, Toni Reinhold)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-emergency-manager-says-city-clearly-insolvent-202324348.html

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FBI says more cooperation with banks key to probe of cyber attacks

By Joseph Menn

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI last month gave temporary security clearances to scores of U.S. bank executives to brief them on the investigation into the cyber attacks that have repeatedly disrupted online banking websites for most of a year.

Bank security officers and others were brought to more than 40 field offices around the country to join a classified video conference on "who was behind the keyboards," Federal Bureau of Investigation Executive Assistant Director Richard McFeely told the Reuters Cybersecurity Summit on Monday.

The extraordinary clearances, from an agency famed for being close-mouthed even among other law enforcement agencies, reflect some action after years of talk about the need for increased cooperation between the public and private sectors on cybersecurity.

The attacks, which have been ascribed by U.S. intelligence officials to Iran, are seen as among the most serious against U.S. entities in recent years. McFeely declined to discuss details of the investigation, including what the banks had been told and whether Iran was behind the attacks.

Banks have spent millions of dollars to get back online and make sure they can stay online. JP Morgan Chase & Co, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and others have been affected.

McFeely said the one-day secrecy clearances are part of a broader effort by the FBI to communicate more with victims of cybercrime, some of whom feel that cooperating with federal authorities carries too much risk of exposure to investor and media scrutiny.

A February executive order from President Barack Obama called for expedited security clearances.

McFeely, who began overseeing FBI cyber and criminal cases last year, said the agency was changing its approach after being "terrible" in the past about keeping targeted companies informed of progress in investigations.

"That's 180 degrees from where we are now," McFeely said at the summit, held at the Reuters office in Washington.

The FBI is working harder at securing international help in combating cybercrime and sabotage, but also needs dramatic gestures, such as espionage arrests of hackers from rival countries, to convince U.S. companies to be more open about their losses, he said.

On the international front, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have notified 129 other countries about 130,000 Internet protocol addresses that have been used in the banking attacks.

Many of the computers involved in the attacks were infected by viruses before being directed to attack banking websites, and the bulletins have helped other countries to clean some of the computers, FBI officials said.

National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander and other officials have said that the massive theft of intellectual property by China and other countries amounts to the largest transfer of wealth in history. Individual companies, however, have rarely admitted material losses.

McFeely said that part of the problem was that companies have been frustrated at the extreme rarity of overseas arrests or other signs of tangible progress in nascent international talks over the issue. Even some defense contractors contacted by the FBI after breaches are reluctant to share information with agents, he said.

But McFeely said that some indictments have been issued under seal and that arrests would follow, perhaps when hackers identified by name travel outside their home countries.

"The first time we bring someone in from out of the country in handcuffs, that's going to be a big deal," McFeely said.

(Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits)

(Reporting by Joseph Menn; additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa and Jim Finkle; editing by Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-says-more-cooperation-banks-key-probe-cyber-193156010.html

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Cardinals beat Rockies 3-0 on Wainwright gem

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Shelby Miller retired the last 27 batters Friday night, finishing with a one-hitter. A day later, the St. Louis Cardinals rookie sat in the dugout and watched Adam Wainwright nearly top that feat.

Wainwright pitched no-hit ball into the eighth inning and finished with a two-hitter Saturday against the suddenly punchless Colorado Rockies in a 3-0 victory.

"I thought for sure he was going to throw a no-hitter," the 22-year-old Miller said. "He was locked in. We both threw well and his was exciting to watch, especially."

Wainwright doesn't mind getting pushed by the team's electric fifth starter who's 5-2 with a 1.58 ERA.

"You follow Roger Clemens a couple times like I have been, it makes you focus a little bit more," Wainwright said. "Once you see Shelby mow through a lineup like he has all year, you want to go out there and do it, too.

"Those guys will think there's a new sheriff in town," Wainwright added.

The Rockies had been hitless in 49 consecutive at-bats before Nolan Arenado lined a clean hit to center field with one out in the eighth. Eric Young led off Friday night's game with a broken-bat single off Miller then failed to put a runner on until Todd Helton walked with one out in the fifth inning a day later.

"I'm just trying to hit the ball hard," Arenado said. "I knew he wanted to get ahead with a strike and he threw one down and away. I got pretty lucky, I guess."

The 49 at-bats is the longest hitless stretch since Sept. 25-27, 1981, when the Los Angeles Dodgers went 50 at-bats without a knock, according to STATS.

"I thought we were going to witness something pretty special," manager Mike Matheny said. "You could see him finishing that off.

"What a great couple of days," Matheny said.

After the hit, Wainwright (5-2) doffed his cap in appreciation during a prolonged standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 43,050, then quickly retired the next two hitters. He gave up a two-out single to Dexter Fowler in the ninth and matched his career best with a two-hitter.

"About the third or fourth inning, I could tell he was throwing everything for a strike and was doing whatever he wanted to do," right fielder Allen Craig said. "You just never know how it's going to go from there, but that was a lot of fun to be out there.

"He was close. Maybe next time," added Craig.

Wainwright struck out seven for his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career. The Rockies have been shut out for 26 consecutive innings since Carlos Gonzalez hit a first-inning sacrifice fly against the Yankees on Thursday, and have had just one runner in scoring position the first two games of the series.

The Rockies entered Saturday as the highest-scoring team in the National League. Manager Walt Weiss wasn't planning a meeting.

"You leave it alone," Weiss said. "You know, everyone gets beat up a little bit in this game at some point, but our guys will keep grinding and we'll to come out and try to turn it around (Sunday)."

Craig had three hits and a sacrifice fly and Yadier Molina had two hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who have won nine of 10 and are a major league-best 23-12.

Wainwright has won five of his last six starts, recapturing his form as the staff ace in his second season coming off reconstructive elbow surgery. He has thrown a pair of two-hitters, the last on Aug. 6, 2010 at Florida.

Wainwright bounced back from his lone poor outing when he gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings at Milwaukee his last time out. He's 5-1 against the Rockies.

"I wanted to get back to the basics after the last start," Wainwright said. "I wanted to attack the strike zone right away. Keep it simple, that was my focus today."

Wainwright and Miller retired 40 consecutive batters with 18 strikeouts before Helton walked. He was stranded when Arenado fouled out and Reid Brignac grounded out.

All things appeared headed toward the no-hitter after Matt Carpenter made a sliding stab of a grounder about 10 feet onto the outfield grass behind second base for the first out in the eighth. Wainright smiled broadly at the play. Arenado, though, then singled.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the second and fourth, both times with the eighth and ninth-place hitter coming up. Both times, Jhoulys Chacin (3-2) escaped by striking out Pete Kozma and Wainwright.

They loaded them again in the fifth on singles by Carpenter, Jon Jay and Matt Holliday and took the lead on Craig's sacrifice fly, with Matt Adams adding a two-out RBI single.

Matt Holliday, Craig and Molina hit consecutive singles off Josh Outman in the seventh to make it 3-0.

The Cardinals haven't thrown a no-hitter since Bud Smith at San Diego in 2001, and haven't had one at home since Bob Forsch threw the second of his career on Sept. 26, 1983, against the Expos.

Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki have each struck out five times the first two games.

NOTES: Carlos Beltran, 1 for 8 with double-play balls against Chacin, was not in the lineup. ... Lefty Jaime Garcia (4-1, 2.25) faces Jorge De La Rosa (3-3, 3.52) in the series finale Sunday. .. Chacin's comebacker to end the third ended a string of eight straight strikeouts by the pitcher's spot on both teams to start the series. ... At the start of Miller's one-hitter on Friday, the Rockies' 3-4-5 hitters took eight consecutive called strikes. ... Michael Cuddyer missed his third straight game with neck stiffness.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cardinals-beat-rockies-3-0-wainwright-gem-212543155.html

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George Packer's 6 favorite books

An acclaimed New Yorker staff writer recommends works by Charles Dickens and George Orwell

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (Mariner, $15). The 20th century's great drama of war, ideological struggle, hope, and disillusionment, told without histrionics or self-display. The voice is both passionately humane and ruthlessly detached. I found this book in a Barcelona bookshop at age 23, a very low moment, and wanted to be a writer ? that writer.

A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul (Vintage, $16). Naipaul is proof that a terrible person can be a great novelist. This work is set in Mobutu Sese Seko's Zaire in the 1970s, when a lot of Western nonsense was projected onto Africa. Naipaul strips it all away and sees the truth. Every sentence is precise, beautiful, and frightening. He makes clarity mesmerizing.

U.S.A. by John Dos Passos (Library of America, $40). This trilogy of historical fiction chronicles America in the first three decades of the 20th century. Flat in tone, dazzling in construction, it used to be read alongside Fitzgerald and Hemingway, then fell out of fashion. But all the national myths, obsessions, aspirations, and fads we know today ? our American grandeur and squalor ? are presaged here.

The Age of Reform by Richard Hofstadter (Vintage, $15). Hofstadter was a highly readable scholar. He was also a sober liberal who believed in progress but didn't turn away from its underside. Here he examines the period from the Populism of the 1890s to the New Deal, when America became modern and the state learned to tame capitalism. Read this as a companion to the Dos Passos.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (Random House, $18). Boo spent years in a Mumbai slum, watching, listening, recording, digging. Then she condensed all that research into a tale that will devastate and infuriate you. Only a few novels are as good as her journalism.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens (Bantam, $7). Dickens was sui generis, but I keep meeting his outsize, struggling characters in places like Yangon, Myanmar, and Lagos, Nigeria. Societies and literary styles have changed since the 1850s, but there's nothing dated about the moral vision.

? George Packer is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of The Assassins' Gate, an acclaimed 2005 book on the war in Iraq. His new book, The Unwinding, depicts an America weakened by a fraying social contract.?

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/george-packers-6-favorite-books-140000025.html

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Miley Cyrus Follows Maxim's Hottest With Billboard Awards Surprise

Maxim's newly crowned hottest woman teases she might drop new music at the Billboard Music Awards on May 19.
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707155/miley-cyrus-new-single-billboard-maxim-hot-100.jhtml

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Stephen Hawking backs boycott of Israeli academics

FILE - This is a Saturday, June 16, 2012 file photo of Physicist and best-selling author Stephen Hawking appears in Seattle. Hawking was taking part in the Seattle Science Festival Luminaries Series. Physicist Stephen Hawking has dropped plans to attend a major conference in Israel in June, prompting criticism Wednesday May 8, 2013 from Israeli officials who believe he has joined a boycott organized to protest Israel's treatment of the Palestinians (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

FILE - This is a Saturday, June 16, 2012 file photo of Physicist and best-selling author Stephen Hawking appears in Seattle. Hawking was taking part in the Seattle Science Festival Luminaries Series. Physicist Stephen Hawking has dropped plans to attend a major conference in Israel in June, prompting criticism Wednesday May 8, 2013 from Israeli officials who believe he has joined a boycott organized to protest Israel's treatment of the Palestinians (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

LONDON (AP) ? British physicist Stephen Hawking has dropped plans to attend a major international conference in Israel in June, citing his belief that he should respect a Palestinian call to boycott contacts with Israeli academics.

The University of Cambridge released a statement Wednesday indicating that Hawking had told the Israelis last week that he would not be attending "based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott."

University officials said earlier in the day they had "previously understood" that Hawking's decision was based solely on health concerns ? he is 71 and has severe disabilities ? but had now been told otherwise by Hawking's office.

The decision means that one of the world's most famous scientists has joined a boycott organized to protest Israel's treatment of Palestinians. He is one of the most prominent figures to endorse the strategy, designed to bring pressure on the Israeli government.

The scientist had earlier agreed to attend the Israeli Presidential Conference, hosted by President Shimon Peres, in late June, but has now changed his mind. The theme of the meeting is "Facing Tomorrow 2013."

Tim Holt, acting communications director at the University of Cambridge, said early in the day that Hawking's decision was based strictly on health concerns. Hawking suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

"For health reasons, his doctors said he should not be flying at the moment so he's decided not to attend," said Holt. "He is 71 years old. He's fine, but he has to be sensible about what he can do."

The university later changed its position after consulting Hawking's office. The change was made after Israeli officials insisted Hawking had cited the boycott when informing organizers that he would not attend.

The Israeli Presidential Conference, now in its fifth year, brings together statesmen and leading experts in various disciplines to discuss ways to address the world's problems. The goal, organizers say, is to identify challenges and propose solutions.

Hawking's endorsement of the boycott prompted an angry response from organizers. Conference Chairman Israel Maimon said Hawking's decision was "unjustifiable and wrong."

"The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty lies at the basis of his human and academic mission," Maimon said, calling the imposition of a boycott incompatible with open, democratic dialogue.

He noted that former world leaders including Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev and Tony Blair plan to attend the three-day meeting that begins on June 18.

The boycott campaign is led by Palestinians, Israeli leftists and other supporters who oppose Israel's policies toward the Palestinians and are attuned to the power of celebrity in this age.

It has had some success, deterring a string of famous entertainers from performing. Elvis Costello and the Pixies canceled concerts, as well as the British dance band Klaxon and the Gorillaz Sound System. Israel has also faced occasional boycotts of its academics, unions and in some cases commercial products.

Hawking's decision was hailed by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine as support for its goal of severing academics' connections with Israel.

"This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there," the committee said on its website.

In 1967, Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinians seek for a state. Two decades of intermittent negotiations on the terms of such a state, in between bouts of violence, have failed to produce results. In the meantime, Israel has settled more than half a million of its citizens in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, while restricting Palestinian trade and movement.

___

Heller reported from Jerusalem.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-05-08-Britain-Israel-Hawking/id-14837257952945e0ae70a9f650fd8d29

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