Suicide bomber kills 14 at Afghan province council

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? A suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform killed 14 people including a prominent provincial council chief outside the council headquarters in northern Afghanistan on Monday, authorities said. The Taliban insurgency quickly claimed responsibility.

Seeking to weaken the Afghan government, Taliban insurgents have been carrying out attacks and assassinations intended to intimidate both officials and civilians ahead of next year's withdrawal of most international troops.

Baghlan provincial council leader Mohammad Rasoul Mohseni was entering the compound in the provincial capital of Pul-e-Khumri in the morning when the bomber approached on foot and detonated his explosives, said Baghlan chief of police Asadullah Sherzad.

The attacker was dressed in police uniform and blended with officers at a checkpoint near the council headquarters, then slipped into a group of people surrounding Mohseni and set off his bomb in the crowd, said Baghlan deputy police chief Mohammad Sadeq Muradi.

"He was basically waiting for his target, who was Rasoul Mohseni," Muradi said.

Two of Mohseni's police bodyguards, four checkpoint police and seven civilians were killed in the blast, he said. It was unclear whether the attacker was actually a member of Afghan security forces or an insurgent who bought or stole a uniform.

Mohammad Zahier Ghanizada, a member of parliament from Baghlan, said that Mohseni had previously received multiple death threats.

A well-known figure in Baghlan, Mohseni was previously a respected commander in the Northern Alliance that fought against the Taliban's hard-line regime before it was toppled in 2001. He comes from a prominent family in the province, and his brother Azim Mohseni is a member of parliament.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed in a text message to journalists that an insurgent operative carried out the targeted bombing.

"Today at 11 a.m. in front of the Baghlan provincial council office, we have carried out a suicide attack and killed the head of the council," it said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the bombing Monday.

"Such attacks are against all human rights and the principles of Islam," Karzai said in a statement. "Perpetrators of such attacks are enemies of the Afghan nation and the puppets of foreigners."

Karzai left later Monday for a two-day state visit to India, where he is expected to request military aid.

Both Karzai and the U.S. have sought peace talks with the Taliban and other insurgent factions in preparation for most foreign troops leaving next year after more than 12 years of war, but the efforts have borne little fruit. The Taliban seek to re-establish the strict interpretation of Islamic law they imposed for five years before being ousted in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion over its sheltering of al-Qaida's leadership.

The insurgents last month launched a fierce new spring offensive. On Monday, Taliban forces attacked several police checkpoints in the southern province of Helmand, and fighting raged on all day and into the night, both insurgents and police said.

Helmand's deputy police chief, Ghulam Rabbani, said the fighting was in heavily contested Sangin district and there were casualties on both sides. He expected the clashes to continue overnight.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the insurgents had wrested control of six police checkpoints, but Helmand government officials denied that.

The insurgents also are pushing an assassination and bombing campaign that has in the past week alone seen the police chief of Farah province gunned down outside his home and twin blasts kill nine people in an elite gated community for government officials and business owners outside of the southern city of Kandahar. Two bombs also exploded outside the provincial governor's office in Nangarhar province last week, killing one police guard.

Insurgents have also targeted members of the international coalition. A roadside bomb killed four American soldiers last week in the country's south, while another insurgent faction, Hizb-e-Islami, targeted a coalition convoy in the capital of Kabul two days later, killing two U.S. soldiers and four American contractors who were training Afghan troops to take over security.

___

Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Kabul and Mirwais Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suicide-bomber-kills-14-afghan-province-council-075314027.html

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King hit on the way home - dad dies after family dinner - The Daily ...

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Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/king-hit-on-the-way-home-dad-dies-after-family-dinner/story-fni0cx12-1226647210021

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Easier travel ahead for Conn. commuters

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) ? Commuters facing long delays after a train collision disrupted their route along Connecticut's shoreline can look forward to easier traveling.

Normal commuter rail service from Connecticut to New York City, along with Amtrak service between Boston and New York, was scheduled to resume during Wednesday morning's rush hour on one of the nation's oldest and most heavily traveled railways.

On Tuesday, Metro-North was again using busses to shuttle passengers around the affected area.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan said there were no major problems reported.

"Ridership is up slightly over Monday on the busses," he said. "Other than that it is running as expected."

Connecticut lawmakers plan hearings on the crash on the rail network they say is in need of extensive improvements.

Members of the General Assembly's Transportation Committee said they have been briefed by state transportation officials over the years about the hefty investment Connecticut needs to make to fully upgrade the commuter rail line, including a couple of 100-year-old bridges that need to be replaced.

"It's like anything else, you know," said Rep. Tony Guerrera, co-chairman of the committee. "You can have a brand-new car and it runs great, but if the roads are awful, with potholes going up and down, what good is it?"

The Metro-North crash at rush hour Friday evening injured 72 people, including one who remained in critical condition Monday. It snarled commutes for roughly 30,000 people who normally use the train, forcing travelers to navigate a patchwork of cars, trains and buses.

For Gary Maddin, the drive from his home in Milford, Conn., to the Bridgeport train station normally takes 20 minutes. On Monday, it took an hour. Then he had a shuttle bus and a train ride before he got to his destination, Grand Central Terminal in New York.

"It's a lot," he said. "It's a nightmare just to get into the city today."

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said resumption of rail service is "tremendously good news."

Some commuters used the jury-rigged alternative that continued Tuesday: A shuttle train ran between New Haven and Bridgeport, where a bus connection to Stamford circumvented the accident scene, and finally customers boarded a train for New York.

Others drove themselves, and state officials nervously watched heavy traffic on two major arteries in southwest Connecticut, Interstate 95 and the Merritt Parkway.

But transportation officials were pleased that area highways were not as choked as they feared, Malloy said. He said commuters heeded his warning over the weekend about the prospect of highways becoming parking lots if all 30,000 of the usual train riders drove instead.

"Today went exceedingly well," the governor said. "People listened to us. Many people stayed home or worked from home."

Backups on the Merritt Parkway, a secondary route through Connecticut, were less than on an average Monday, and I-95 was only slightly more jammed than usual because of fog, he said.

Some delays were reported Tuesday.

Crews have worked around the clock since Saturday, and track rebuilding has progressed quickly, officials with the Metro-North railroad said.

Federal investigators arrived Saturday and were expected to be on site for seven to 10 days. They are looking at a broken section of rail to see if it is connected to the derailment and collision. Officials said it wasn't clear whether the rail was broken in the crash or earlier.

The last major collision involving Metro-North occurred in 1988 when a train engineer was killed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., when one train empty of passengers rear-ended another, railroad officials said.

____

Associated Press writers Susan Haigh and Stephen Singer in Hartford contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/easier-travel-ahead-conn-commuters-062509060.html

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Split-second choice ended with NY student dead

NEW YORK (AP) ? The college student was being held in a headlock by a masked intruder with a loaded gun to her head, police said. Then the gunman took aim at an officer.

A moment later both Hofstra University junior Andrea Rebello and the intruder were dead ? killed after a split-second decision that is perhaps the most harrowing in law enforcement: when to pull the trigger.

"The big question is, how do you know, when someone's pointing a gun at you, whether you should keep talking to them, or shoot?" said Michele Galietta, a professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice who helps train police officers. "That's what makes the job of an officer amazingly difficult."

She spoke Sunday as Hofstra University students honored Rebello, a popular 21-year-old public relations major, by wearing white ribbons at their graduation ceremony.

Rebello's funeral is scheduled for Wednesday in Sleepy Hollow, north of New York City.

The news that she died from a police bullet came as "a second shock" for the already devastated family, said Henry Santos, Rebello's godfather.

Her life ended in the seconds that forced the veteran police officer to make a fatal decision, but the questions surrounding the student's death are just beginning, along with an internal investigation by the Nassau County Police Department.

Rebello and the intruder, Dalton Smith, died early Friday when the officer fired eight shots, hitting him seven times and her once in the head, according to county homicide squad Lt. John Azzata.

With a gun pointed at her, Smith "kept saying, 'I'm going to kill her,' and then he pointed the gun at the police officer," according to Azzata.

The officer acted quickly, saying later that he believed his and Rebello's lives were in danger, according to authorities.

No doubt, he was acting to try to save lives ? his own and that of the young woman, Galietta said.

"What we're asking the cop to anticipate is, 'What is going on in the suspect's mind at the moment?'" she said. "We're always trying to de-escalate, to contain a situation, but the issue of safety comes in first, and that's the evaluation the officer has to make."

Eugene O'Donnell, a former New York City police officer and professor of law and police studies at John Jay College, said the crucial issue may be whether or not police had deemed it a hostage situation. If so, he said, there are protocols police follow to buy time, slow down, isolate and assess.

But O'Donnell said the officers may have had few options because of "an eyeball to eyeball confrontation between the officer and the offender."

"It may have been too fluid to deteriorate for the officers to do anything else," O'Donnell said. "It underscores that there's no two of these that are exactly alike."

Police tactical manuals are meant to assist officers in making the best decision possible, but in the end, "they're not 100 percent foolproof," Galietta said. "In a situation like that, you can follow procedure, and it doesn't mean it comes out perfectly."

Hofstra student John Kourtessis told the New York Post that he'd gone to a bar with Rebello and a few other friends to celebrate the end of school. When they got back to Rebello's house, she asked him to move his car and he went upstairs to get his keys.

When he came back down, he said, Smith was there. He said Smith kept talking about "the Russian guy," insisting the house's residents owed a Russian man money and that he was outside waiting.

"He was saying ... that he just needed us to cooperate. I said, 'Listen, we have all this money here.'"

Kourtessis said the students offered Smith computers, jewelry and other items from the house but that Smith kept demanding more money.

The officer who fired the shots is an eight-year NYPD veteran and has been with Nassau County police for 12 years.

He is now out on sick leave, Azzata said.

Procedurally, the Nassau County district attorney would determine whether an officer's use of deadly force was justified, O'Donnell said. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office did not respond to a request for comment left Saturday night.

___

Associated Press writers Frank Eltman in Mineola, N.Y., and Jake Pearson in New York City contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/split-second-choice-ended-ny-student-dead-062837730.html

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Porsha Williams: Locked Out by Kordell Stewart!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/porsha-williams-locked-out-of-by-kordell-stewart/

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RNA capable of catalyzing electron transfer on early earth with iron's help, study says

RNA capable of catalyzing electron transfer on early earth with iron's help, study says

Monday, May 20, 2013

A new study shows how complex biochemical transformations may have been possible under conditions that existed when life began on the early Earth.

The study shows that RNA is capable of catalyzing electron transfer under conditions similar to those of the early Earth. Because electron transfer, the moving of an electron from one chemical species to another, is involved in many biological processes ? including photosynthesis, respiration and the reduction of RNA to DNA ? the study's findings suggest that complex biochemical transformations may have been possible when life began.

There is considerable evidence that the evolution of life passed through an early stage when RNA played a more central role, before DNA and coded proteins appeared. During that time, more than 3 billion years ago, the environment lacked oxygen but had an abundance of soluble iron.

"Our study shows that when RNA teams up with iron in an oxygen-free environment, RNA displays the powerful ability to catalyze single electron transfer, a process involved in the most sophisticated biochemistry, yet previously uncharacterized for RNA," said Loren Williams, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The results of the study were scheduled to be published online on May 19, 2013, in the journal Nature Chemistry. The study was sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which established the Center for Ribosomal Origins and Evolution (Ribo Evo) at Georgia Tech.

Free oxygen gas was almost nonexistent in the Earth's atmosphere more than 3 billion years ago. When free oxygen began entering the environment as a product of photosynthesis, it turned the earth's iron to rust, forming massive banded iron formations that are still mined today. The free oxygen produced by advanced organisms caused iron to be toxic, even though it was ? and still is ? a requirement for life. Williams believes the environmental transition caused a slow shift from the use of iron to magnesium for RNA binding, folding and catalysis.

Williams and Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry postdoctoral fellow Chiaolong Hsiao used a standard peroxidase assay to detect electron transfer in solutions of RNA and either the iron ion, Fe2+, or magnesium ion, Mg2+. For 10 different types of RNA, the researchers observed catalysis of single electron transfer in the presence of iron and absence of oxygen. They found that two of the most abundant and ancient types of RNA, the 23S ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA, catalyzed electron transfer more efficiently than other types of RNA. However, none of the RNA and magnesium solutions catalyzed single electron transfer in the oxygen-free environment.

"Our findings suggest that the catalytic competence of RNA may have been greater in early Earth conditions than in present conditions, and our experiments may have revived a latent function of RNA," added Williams, who is also director of the RiboEvo Center.

This new study expands on research published in May 2012 in the journal PLoS ONE. In the previous work, Williams led a team that used experiments and numerical calculations to show that iron, in the absence of oxygen, could substitute for magnesium in RNA binding, folding and catalysis. The researchers found that RNA's shape and folding structure remained the same and its functional activity increased when magnesium was replaced by iron in an oxygen-free environment.

In future studies, the researchers plan to investigate whether other unique functions may have been conferred on RNA through interaction with a variety of metals available on the early Earth.

In addition to Williams and Hsiao, Georgia Tech School of Biology professors Roger Wartell and Stephen Harvey, and Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry professor Nicholas Hud, also contributed to this work as co-principal investigators in the Ribo Evo Center at Georgia Tech.

###

Georgia Institute of Technology: http://www.gatech.edu

Thanks to Georgia Institute of Technology for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128307/RNA_capable_of_catalyzing_electron_transfer_on_early_earth_with_iron_s_help__study_says

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Greening's goal in 2nd OT lifts Sens over Pens

Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson (11) celebrates with teammates Milan Michalek (9), Sergei Gonchar (55) and Mika Zibanejad (93) in the third period of game four of the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup semi-final NHL hockey action on Sunday May 19, 2013 in Ottawa. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)

Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson (11) celebrates with teammates Milan Michalek (9), Sergei Gonchar (55) and Mika Zibanejad (93) in the third period of game four of the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup semi-final NHL hockey action on Sunday May 19, 2013 in Ottawa. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)

Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, left, makes a save while Pittsburgh Penguins Brandon Sutter and Senators Daniel Alfredsson jostle in front of the net during the first overtime period of game four of their Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semi-final NHL hockey game at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa on Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Patrick Doyle)

Ottawa Senators' Daniel Alfredsson (11) celebrates as he scores on Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tomas Vokoun (92) during the third period of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup semifinal NHL hockey series on Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Ottawa. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)

Ottawa Senators' Zack Smith, left, trips over Pittsburgh Penguins' Matt Niskanen during the first period of Game 4 of their NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semifinal NHL hockey series in Ottawa on Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Patrick Doyle)

OTTAWA (AP) ? Colin Greening scored 7:39 into double overtime, and the Ottawa Senators rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins that cut their series deficit to 2-1 on Sunday night.

Daniel Alfredsson got Ottawa even 1-1 by scoring a short-handed goal with 29 seconds left in regulation just after the Senators pulled goalie Craig Anderson for an extra skater.

"We were just calm," Anderson said of the Senators' mood heading into overtime. "We had tied it up. We had momentum. We felt like the fans really rallied behind us.

"Going into overtime, we knew we just had to build off the momentum and keep the pressure on."

Anderson made 49 saves, including 18 after regulation. Tomas Vokoun stopped 46 shots for Pittsburgh and took his first loss (4-1) since taking over for No. 1 Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series will be in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Tyler Kennedy scored with just over a minute to play in the second period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. That stood up until Alfredsson tied it in the closing seconds of the third.

"Just praying that we get something to the net," Anderson said of the tying goal. "We practice that drill all the time in practice. Guy drops it off and goes to the net.

"It was just the way we practiced. Alfie is one of the best guys in the game. We want the puck on his stick at all times."

Ottawa forward Jason Spezza, who hadn't played since Jan. 27 ? after undergoing back surgery to repair a herniated disc ? lined up alongside Milan Michalek and Cory Conacher.

The sellout crowd chanted the 29-year-old Spezza's name during his first shift.

Spezza faced a familiar opponent. His last game before surgery was at home against the Penguins, when he earned one assist and logged 21 minutes of ice time.

In his first game back, Spezza was slow to backcheck but he managed to generate a few scoring chances and made nice passes.

His back was put to the test in overtime when Penguins forward Craig Adams delivered a bone-crunching hit along the boards. Spezza shook off the check.

Both teams had good scoring chances in the extra periods. Pittsburgh's best scoring opportunity came when Pascal Dupuis hit the post with a drive during the first overtime.

Anderson was on his game after being pulled in Game 2. He robbed Penguins captain Sidney Crosby early in the second period, and moments later stopped a hard shot by Evgeni Malkin, who smashed his stick against the ice in frustration.

He again stymied Malkin with a sprawling save in the first overtime. Anderson's effort brought the crowd of 20,500 to its feet with chants of "Andy! Andy!"

"You just want to give your team a chance to win," Anderson said. "Sometimes stats are misleading. You just kind of build off the good stuff."

The Senators took seven penalties against the Penguins, who own the top power-play unit in the playoffs, but didn't allow a goal.

Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson took a slashing penalty with less than two minutes left in the game, but Ottawa killed it.

Ottawa improved to 3-0 at home in this postseason (3-0).

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-20-HKN-Penguins-Senators/id-50d3c1406b3c4b599fa7e7a0d81f4f9c

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Chooch's hammy a worry for Phils

The Phillies might, yet again, be without starting catcher Carlos Ruiz for an extended period of time.

Ruiz was lifted from Sunday afternoon?s game against the Reds after straining his right hamstring while running the bases in the bottom of the second inning. Ruiz will presumably be placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday, and Humberto Quintero will likely be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Erik Kratz came on to catch for Ruiz on Sunday and will probably start for the Phillies going forward.

Ruiz, 34, was batting .235/.286/.275 with no homers and nine strikeouts in 56 plate apperances since returning April 28 from his 25-game amphetamine?suspension. Hamstring strains often require 2-4 weeks.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/19/carlos-ruiz-leaves-game-with-strained-right-hamstring/related/

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Budget deal reached (Offthekuff)

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

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A look at 'enforced disappearances' worldwide

The U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is pressing governments to provide information about open cases. Over the past two decades, it received nearly 54,000 cases, of which nearly 43,000 in 84 states remain unsolved. The number of cases is believed to be only a fraction of those who disappeared after being taken by security forces.

OPEN CASES (as of 2012)

Iraq ? 16,401

Sri Lanka ? 5,676

Argentina ? 3,271

Algeria ? 3,005

Guatemala ? 2,899

Peru ? 2,371

El Salvador ? 2,271

SYRIA (before the outbreak of the March 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad)

About 17,000 Syrians are believed to have disappeared during a crackdown on dissent by Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez Assad, according to Radwan Ziadeh, a U.S.-based Syrian opposition figure and human rights monitor.

ARGENTINA

The official toll of those who disappeared during the rule of a military junta in the 1970s is about 13,000, while human rights activists say more than double that number were killed and are unaccounted for.

.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/look-enforced-disappearances-worldwide-154537008.html

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Denmark's de Forest wins Eurovision song contest

Emmelie de Forest of Denmark performs her song Only Teardrops during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Saturday, May 18, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Emmelie de Forest of Denmark performs her song Only Teardrops during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Saturday, May 18, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Winner of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest Emmelie de Forest of Denmark who sang Only Teardrops, celebrates with the trophy after the final at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Saturday, May 18, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Winner of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest Emmelie de Forest of Denmark who sang Only Teardrops, celebrates with the trophy after the final at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Saturday, May 18, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Winner of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest Emmelie de Forest of Denmark who sang Only Teardrops, celebrates with the trophy after the final at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Saturday, May 18, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Winner of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest Emmelie de Forest of Denmark who sang Only Teardrops, celebrates with the trophy after the final at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Saturday, May 18, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

MALMO, Sweden (AP) ? Denmark's Emmelie de Forest has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune "Only Teardrops," despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Juries and television viewers across Europe awarded the barefoot, hippie-chic 20-year-old for the catchy love song that is driven by her deep, Shakira-like voice. She received a total of 281 points in the glitzy music battle, which also featured a bizarre opera pop number from Romania, the comeback of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" star Bonnie Tyler and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

"It was overwhelming and I could really feel the fans and the audience and the people in the arena," de Forest told reporters after the winners were announced early Sunday.

"Of course I believed in the song and I thought we had a great song, but that's the exciting thing with Eurovision, you never know what's going to happen," she added.

De Forest grew up in northern Denmark and has been singing since she was 14, touring around Denmark with the Scottish musician Fraser Neill. She said it is important to be persistent to succeed as a young musician.

"I just called and emailed like a lot of festivals, music places and a lot of times I got no, but you just have to believe in yourself and keep trying, trying, trying ? be outgoing and talk to new people, just call them and don't be afraid," she said.

De Forest was followed by second-place winner Farid Mammadov of Azerbaijan, who got 234 points for the song "Hold Me," which he performed on top of a glass cubicle containing a male dancer. The Ukraine's Zlata Ognevich and her song "Gravity" finished third with 214 points.

Ognevich was carried onstage in Saturday night's finals by the tallest man in the U.S. ? Ukrainian-born Igor Vovkovinskiy. Vovkovinskiy ? who stands 7 feet, 8 inches (234 centimeters) ? wobbled onstage in a fur and feathers, placing the fairy-like Ognevich on a rock where she stood for the rest of the performance.

The televised extravaganza, with an audience of 125 million worldwide, is now in its 58th year. Once again without fail, it produced a mix of bubble-gum pop songs, somber ballads, bagpipes, accordions and bizarrely kitsch musical productions.

In an opening video, soccer great Zlatan Ibrahimovic welcomed the viewers to the competition in his hometown Malmo, in southern Sweden. The Nordic country hosted the event because its contestant Loreen won last year with "Euphoria."

This year's event also saw the return to the international stage of two seasoned European stars. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" singer Bonnie Tyler represented Britain with the sleepy love ballad "Believe In Me," while Anouk, whose song "Nobody's Wife" was a big hit in Europe in the 1990s, performed the song "Birds" for The Netherlands. Tyler ended in 19th place, while Anouk finished in the 9th spot.

Finland's Krista Siegfrid provided this year's controversy, ending her bouncy pop number "Marry Me" with a girl-on-girl kiss that some interpreted as a stance promoting gay marriage. While it did not raise eyebrows in most parts of Western Europe ? where Eurovision has long been a bastion of gay culture ? the act jarred sensitivities in parts of eastern and southern Europe. Her cheesy tune didn't win the hearts of Europeans, however, and she ended up third to last with only 13 points.

Romanian opera singer Cezar gave one of the more remarkable performances. He resembled a Dracula reborn as a high-pitched vocalist, attempting a crossover opera pop number with techno beats and pyrotechnics that landed him in 13th place. Three muscular male dancers in red body paint were delivered out of a large red cape.

Two semifinals this week had whittled down the contestants from 40 to 26. The voting is shared equally between professional juries in all participating countries and viewers using their telephones to pick their favorites.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who watched the competition in Malmo Saturday, called it a unique event that unites Europe.

"We see the old Yugoslavia, now independent states, after a decade of war they always vote for each other in Eurovision, " Bildt told The Associated Press. "That I think is fun."

Having won five times, most famously with ABBA's Waterloo in 1974, Sweden is a veteran of Eurovision. It took the opportunity on Saturday to showcase some of its big music acts. At the opening of the competition, contestants marched into the stadium with flags, Olympics-style, accompanied by a choir singing a song especially composed by Swedish super DJ Avicii and ABBA members Bjorn Ulveaus and Benny Andersson. While contestants waited for the votes to come through, Swedish singer Sarah Dawn Finer sang ABBA's hit tune "The Winner Takes It All."

Yet the event ? with a price tag of around 153.5 million Swedish kronor ($23 million) ? didn't measure up to last year's lavish competition hosted by oil-rich Azerbaijan in its capital, Baku.

"We have attempted to host Eurovision with less money to show that it is possible to do this without it being too painful for the host country," said Jan-Erik Westman, a spokesman for host broadcaster SVT.

The festive atmosphere was visible throughout the city of Malmo on Saturday, where residents and visitors blended on the sunny streets waving the flags of their favorite countries.

___

Associated Press television producer David MacDougall and Associated Press reporter Jan Olsen contributed to this report.

___

Follow Malin Rising on Twitter: https://twitter.com/malinrising

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-05-18-EU-Sweden-Eurovision/id-76f94e5ce7e74d548bbc3a511192bc40

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Ellen Slams Abercrombie: Fitch, Please!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/ellen-slams-abercrombie-fitch-please/

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5 Celebs Who Should Offer Groupons Like Gwyneth Paltrow

If we told you Gwyneth Paltrow offered a Goop Groupon for $2,000, would you be interested? What if we told you the Groupon Experience would get you into a private Goop event and include two nights in a New York City hotel, spa treatments, dinner at the French restaurant Bistro La Promenade and private cooking lessons from the 40-year-old Iron Man 3 actress? Yeah, it sounds like a pretty good deal to us, too.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/gwyneth-paltrows-goop-groupon-5-celebrities-wed-pay-hang-out/1-a-536488?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Agwyneth-paltrows-goop-groupon-5-celebrities-wed-pay-hang-out-536488

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Telefonica Adds Samsung As A Carrier Billing OEM For Apps, Games, Music And More

Telefonica is today announcing a deal with Samsung that will see it make an even bigger move into the area of carrier billing. Samsung will integrate the carrier's billing backend directly into its own mobile services, meaning that the Telefonica customers (it has 316 million worldwide) who use the Samsung Hub and Samsung Apps portals on Samsung smartphones will be able to buy apps, music, videos, books, games and more and charge them directly to their phone bills.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/dz8JY2LEopo/

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Fish seeks mate: London Zoo seeking open-minded female cichlid

Officials at the London Zoo are desperately seeking a female mate for two male Mangarahara?cichlids, two of the last known remaining members of their species.

By Associated Press / May 10, 2013

Aquarists at the ZSL, London Zoo, are launching an urgent worldwide appeal to find a female mate for the last remaining males of a critically endangered fish species, the Mangarahara cichlid.

ZSL/AP

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The London Zoo is urgently seeking a female mate for the last-known males of a critically endangered fish species.

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Zoo officials say the?Mangarahara?cichlid is thought to be extinct in the wild and that two of the last known individuals ? both male ? are in the zoo's aquarium. A third is in the Berlin zoo.

Officials say the species' habitat in Madagascar has dried up due to dam construction.

The zoo on Friday asked aquarium owners and fish collectors to come forward it they know of any living females "so that a vital conservation breeding program can be started."

Officials say a worldwide search of zoo and aquarium organizations has so far proved fruitless.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/Y1oB9zZkgv4/Fish-seeks-mate-London-Zoo-seeking-open-minded-female-cichlid

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Rumors mount for white Nexus 4, may launch with next version of Android

The white Nexus 4 is stuff that dreams are made of, and the lucky son of a gun at Android and Me, Taylor Wimberly, has one in hand. According to Wimberly's description, it'll be a "carbon copy" of the black Nexus 4, with the same specs and hardware wrapped into the sparkly, snow white casing. That's not the only juicy detail to emerge from Google I/O, however, as Wimberly reports that the smartphone will debut in the Google Play Store on June 10th with Android 4.3. We're currently unable to confirm the rumor, but a growing number of server logs add to the speculation that Android 4.3 could be around the bend. With less than a month to go, it won't be long to know whether this one pans out, but you can be sure that we'll be dreaming of unicorns in the meantime.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Source: Android and Me

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/16/white-nexus-4-rumored-for-next-month/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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If you like the same TV as tweens, shows on The CW will be coming to Apple TV.

If you like the same TV as tweens, shows on The CW will be coming to Apple TV. MacRumors says that full episodes of CW shows will be available next day and users don't need cable authentication. [MacRumors]

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/jR8k5E-i6hs/if-you-like-the-same-tv-as-tweens-shows-on-the-cw-will-507855739

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Saudi health workers sickened by SARS-like virus

FILE - This undated file image released by the British Health Protection Agency shows an electron microscope image of a coronavirus, part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS, which was first identified last year in the Middle East. The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia told world health officials that two health care workers became ill this month after being exposed to patients with the a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS. One is critically ill. (AP Photo/Health Protection Agency, File)

FILE - This undated file image released by the British Health Protection Agency shows an electron microscope image of a coronavirus, part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS, which was first identified last year in the Middle East. The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia told world health officials that two health care workers became ill this month after being exposed to patients with the a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS. One is critically ill. (AP Photo/Health Protection Agency, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS has apparently spread from patients to health care workers in eastern Saudi Arabia, health officials said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia told world health officials that two health care workers became ill this month after being exposed to patients with the virus. One is critically ill.

Since September 2012, the World Health Organization has been informed of 40 confirmed cases of the virus, and 20 of the patients have died. The deaths occurred in in France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the United Kingdom.

Experts have suggested calling the new virus MERS, for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, but officials have not signed off on that yet.

Experts are watching carefully for signs that the deadly virus can spread from person-to-person. Health officials say the virus has likely already spread between people in some circumstances, including hospital patients in France. But the confirmed spread to nurses or other health care workers is new.

The new virus has caused severe respiratory disease in patients, some of them needing mechanical ventilators to help them breathe.

One of the Saudi health care workers is a 45-year-old man who is in critical condition. The other is a 43-year-old woman in stable condition. No other details about their jobs or where they work were released.

The new virus has been compared to SARS, an unusual pneumonia that first surfaced in China in late 2002 and erupted into a deadly international outbreak in early 2003. Spread of the virus in hospitals was a key development in the epidemic.

Ultimately, more than 8,000 cases were reported in about 30 countries, including eight people in the United States. The global tally included 774 deaths.

The SARS outbreak was declared contained by the summer of 2003, thanks to such measures as quarantines, hospital isolation of suspected cases, travel restrictions and the screening of airline passengers.

The WHO is currently not recommending any travel restrictions or special screening at airports or border crossings. Officials worry it will flare into an outbreak as big or worse. The new virus and SARS are both coronaviruses, a germ family that includes some cold viruses.

The new virus is distinct from SARS, but health officials worry it has potential to flare into a SARS-like international outbreak. But many questions remain about how it is spread, where it originated, and how deadly it truly is.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-05-15-New%20Virus/id-58c81368c69f4022a02180521fa25f90

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How your tea party group got on the IRS' 'BOLO' list

Screen shot from the inspector general report

This screen shot is taken from an official review of the Internal Revenue Service's practices for determining which groups were eligible for tax-exempt status between 2010 and 2012.

The report, written by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and obtained by Yahoo News on Tuesday, details missteps the IRS took in targeting certain political groups for additional scrutiny.

The audit confirms previous reports that the IRS flagged applications from organizations that used words like "tea party" and "patriots" in their title. Even groups that said they wanted to advocate for making "America a better place to live" were placed on a "Be On the Look Out," or BOLO, list.

From the report:

In May 2010, the Determinations Unit began developing a spreadsheet that would become known as the ?Be On the Look Out? listing (hereafter referred to as the BOLO listing), which included the emerging issue of Tea Party applications. In June 2010, the Determinations Unit began training its specialists on issues to be aware of, including Tea Party cases. By July 2010, Determinations Unit management stated that it had requested its specialists to be on the lookout for Tea Party applications.

In "many" cases, the report said, organizations put on the list had to wait more than two years to receive notice from the IRS on the status of their applications.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/tea-party-group-got-added-irs-look-list-221015152.html

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Audit: Errors in 100s of Colorado prison sentences (Providence Journal)

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

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St. Louis doctor with cerebral palsy offers hope

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? When Dr. Jan Brunstrom-Hernandez speaks to patients and their families at the Cerebral Palsy Center in St. Louis, her expertise comes both as a doctor and someone with cerebral palsy.

The 50-year-old doctor didn't set out to operate a pioneering clinic despite the lifelong challenges cerebral palsy had brought her. But when she discovered in the 1990s that care and treatment hadn't progressed much since her childhood, she eventually agreed to start the clinic at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

The center now treats cerebral palsy patients from around the world ? more than 2,000 children and adults since it opened in 1998. The benefit has been reciprocal: Brunstrom-Hernandez says her patients taught her to believe in herself.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/st-louis-doctor-cerebral-palsy-offers-hope-072853637.html

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What?s Good for the Gander ?

Emily Yoffe

Photo by Teresa Castracane.

Emily Yoffe, aka Dear Prudence, is on Washingtonpost.com weekly to chat live with readers. An edited?transcript of the chat is below. (Sign up here?to get Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week. Read Prudie?s?Slate columns?here. Send questions to Prudence at prudence@slate.com.)

Q. Husband Wants an Open Marriage: A few months ago, my husband uncovered an affair I was having with an old flame. He moved out and initiated divorce proceedings, but in the time since, I was able to convince him that I am truly repentant and to give our marriage another chance for the sake of our children. The problem I have now is that he says that if we are to stay married, he wants it to be an open marriage. I've tried to tell him that I've gotten that out of my system and I don't want to be with anybody other than him, but he says there just isn't any way he can ever trust me again, he doesn't feel an obligation to be faithful to me anymore, and at least this way we're being honest about it. Prudie, it makes me ill to think about him being with another woman. I just want things to go back to how they used to be. How can I convince him that we need to be completely committed to each other in order for this to work?

A: I assume you were the little girl who wouldn't let anyone else play with your toys, but you insisted on hogging everyone else's. I agree that couples can have various understandings about fidelity, but the key is being in agreement. It's perfectly understandable that the betrayed partner in a formerly monogamous relationship might want to step out him or herself. But this kind of score-settling is unlikely to heal the breach. But you have some nerve demanding that "things go back to how they used to be." You strayed and only found religion upon being discovered. It sounds as if without the affair being revealed you would have been perfectly happy with a seemingly placid marriage and a reignited flame on the side. Whatever happens, things will never be just as they used to be, and that is the first lesson you need to truly absorb. Especially when there are children involved, I don't think the dissolution of a marriage should be the natural consequence of a single instance of infidelity. But you seem to want no consequences for your actions. It could be that you and your husband should simply be separated for a while?without the threat of divorce hanging over your heads?to see how each of you feel about this new status. While you do that, I will naturally recommend couples counseling. It sounds as if you both need a third party to help you communicate and to hold a mirror up to the consequences of each of your actions.

Dear Prudence Live in New York: Who Opens Prudie?s Letters?

Q. Genealogy: My mother had a brief relationship with my biological father; they were never romantically involved after my birth. When I was about 6 months old, my father was incarcerated for life due to a violent crime. My mother explained this to me with varying degrees of detail throughout my childhood. Although it sounds like the beginning of my life was rocky, my mother provided my with a wonderful childhood and eventually remarried when I was 12. I have a fantastic relationship with my stepfather (who adopted me at age 15). However, this is a detail of my life that I do not wish to be common knowledge. My fianc? is aware of this element of my past, but we have not told the rest of his family. His aunt loves genealogy and has pressed me for more details of my origin. I gave her my stepfather, but she asked me point blank for my bio fathers information. My fianc? sent an email to his aunt, explaining that I never knew my bio father and am very close to my stepfather. However, I suspect she is the type of person who will take it upon herself to find this information on her own. I also suspect she will let his whole family know about this, something that I do not particularly want and I know my mother does not want. Should we tell his parents the truth and ask them to keep this as quiet as can be? Or should we just keep quiet and deal with this if it becomes an issue?

A: I am really sick of the blood lust that animates some people's sense of family. Your stepfather adopted you, so he is your father, period. If your fianc?'s nosy aunt wants to look up his ancestry, she has his name and is free to click away. You do not need to provide her with any information about your "real" father. It doesn't sound as if your fianc?'s parents have inquired as to the whereabouts of your bio dad, so it's just fine that you don't bring this up. If auntie keeps pushing, just tell her it's wonderful she has such an engaging hobby, but it's not yours and you can't help her. I understand that you do not want to share the details of your biological father's life, but I hope you don't carry this as your own burden of shame.

Q. A Father?s Heartbreak: I am 76 years old, retired, and living in a resort community along the southern coast. I have one son who lives about 10 hours away by car. I have made the trip several times each year over the nine years of my retirement. Over the past three years, I have learned that my son is an alcoholic. I have personally had to call 911 twice after finding him in a dangerous stupor in his home. I have seen him through two DUI trials and helped him get to outpatient rehab stints. After a recent crisis, I strongly encouraged him to enter a 30-day inpatient program. His response was to cut off all communication with me. Is there anything I can do to reconnect with the son I love?

A: Tragically, as I learn over and over again, some people cannot be helped or saved. Once their loved ones have tried everything possible then it's time to accept this painful truth. Your son obviously needs more than outpatient care, so if there are other family members available, perhaps all of you can do an intervention with the purpose of getting him into an inpatient treatment program. Perhaps, too, there are other friends or family members nearer by who can check in on your son. After two DUI trials, I'm concerned that he might still be on the road. If these others find he's drinking and driving, the prosecutor's office should be contacted to tell them your son is violating the terms of his probation (which I hope he's on). At least some jail time would require him to sober up and minimize the danger he presents to innocent people.

Q. Re: Genealogy: This can't be a legit question. Didn't Hax get the same question from the standpoint of the fianc?'s aunt?

A: I am a Carolyn Hax fan and reader, but somehow I missed that she got this exact same question from the supposed aunt's perspective. In Carolyn's version the aunt had already uncovered the incarceration and wanted to know if she should tell others. (Carolyn slapped down the aunt for pressing on this and told her to keep quiet?I agree.) So either someone is seeing if they can get both of us to bite, or two people on opposite sides of an issue have written to separate advice columnists.

Q. Blended Families: Over the weekend my wife suffered a miscarriage. She started miscarrying while we were eating dinner with my children from my first marriage, who live with us every weekend. My kids, 9 and 12, did not know about the pregnancy, but did see their stepmother hunched over and in pain. They know she's sick, and after I dropped them off at their mom's house, I've only called them once and sent them a few emails (all to let them know my wife will be physically OK). My ex-wife has been texting me all weekend about what is up and what she should tell the kids. Earlier this morning she texted to ask if my wife suffered a miscarriage. I appreciate my ex-wife's concern but am currently very shaken and heartbroken. We need some space from her, and we don't think we have to tell her if my wife had a miscarriage. Is there a polite way to ask for some space? My wife and I are also unsure if we should tell the kids about the miscarriage, but whether we do or not, we don't think my ex-wife should be a part of that conversation.

A: Your children were present for something disturbing and they are entitled to a simple and direct explanation of what happened. Not explaining is only going to feed their worry. You should either see your kids, or at the least get them both on the phone, then explain what a miscarriage is, say that their stepmother is fine. You can say you know it was upsetting for them to go through this and say that you and their stepmother are both sad right now. You may not want your ex-wife to be part of any conversation about this, but you are sharing the raising of two children, so treating this news straightforwardly will benefit all of you.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=7dd3cdc260db6fcfa04d7fae5e6b2233

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U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Visits U.S., but the Real Action Is Across the Pond

Visiting the headquarters of the FBI in Washington on May 13, David Cameron inspected the Strategic Information and Operations Center, a fifth-floor suite of offices established, as a helpful official explained, to facilitate ?the ability to manage several crises simultaneously.? That ability is being tested to the limit in the British Prime Minister, who is feverishly searching for solutions to a clutch of crises.

He started a three-day trip to the U.S. at the J. Edgar Hoover Building to discuss the lessons British and U.S. counterterrorism experts might draw from the Boston bombings. Later the same morning, he huddled with President Obama to brainstorm on a range of knotty issues, from the conflicts of the Middle East to stuttering global growth. He used the high visibility of the White House podium to announce the doubling of the U.K.?s non-military aid to the Syrian opposition and to pump up hopes that Russia might leverage its influence to ease out the Assad regime. (On the eve of his American tour, Cameron made a 3,820-mile round trip from London to Sochi, on the Black Sea, in less than a day to take his charm offensive direct to Russian President Vladimir Putin.) In whatever down time remains, he has also been working the phones to build consensus ahead of the G-8 summit he will host in Northern Ireland next month.

Yet however far into the distance Cameron seems to gaze, no matter where he roams, his primary focus remains back home in Westminster and on Britain and its relationship with the European Union. Members of his own party have once again erupted into brawling over the subject that torpedoed Britain?s last Conservative government, ushering in an unbroken stretch of Labour rule from Tony Blair?s decisive first victory in 1997 to the election in 2010 that failed to give Cameron an overall majority. That failure delivered his Conservatives into coalition with the Liberal Democrats, ardent Europhiles who have watched with mounting horror as Cameron has moved from insisting Britain?s future lies in Europe to promising an in-out referendum on E.U. membership, to be held after the next election, due in 2015 ? if the coalition holds together that long.

The promise, made in January, opened fresh rifts with the LibDems and only temporarily eased pressure from Tory Euroskeptics. Their party?s poor performance in local elections earlier this month after a surge in support for their Euroskeptic rivals, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), reminded Conservatives that promises are cheap. Unless Cameron wins ? and wins a majority ? he can?t deliver the referendum.

So backbench insurgents agitated for Cameron to enshrine his referendum promise in legislation before the election. They were angered to discover no mention of such a bill when Queen Elizabeth on May 8 read out her government?s plans for the new session of Parliament. And so, ignoring the first rule of politics ? that no party that devotes more energy to fighting itself than fighting elections wins elections ? they proposed a motion condemning the government?s omission. Cameron boarded a charter jet for the U.S. ? as it happens, a jet owned and operated by Greeks, in the true spirit of the E.U. ? knowing the messy, damaging vote was likely to take place in his absence.

As he stood next to Obama during their joint May 13 press conference and listened to the President give long, defensive answers to questions about the IRS imbroglio and Benghazi, Cameron may have taken some comfort. Misery loves company, as Britons say. The wearier Obama looked ? and he looked dog-tired ? the perkier the British Premier seemed by comparison.

There was another reason for his inner glow. Before Cameron?s jet left Washington for his current destination, Boston, his aides revealed to journalists accompanying the Prime Minister that he has decided to back a so-called private member?s bill, a nongovernmental legislative draft, to be unveiled tomorrow, aimed at anchoring in law the promise for an E.U. referendum by the end of 2017.

If the LibDems or the Labour opposition vote the bill down, which they probably will, they?ll be accused of denying the British people a say on one of the most important questions facing the country. If the bill passes, it might help to burst the UKIP bubble. It?s tactical master stroke, if strategically risky. The risk lies in the possibility, indeed the probability, that Britons given a say in the matter really would vote Britain out of Europe. Cameron still insists that British national interest is to remain in the E.U., part of the single market and part of the decisionmaking process, even if he wishes to redefine the terms of British membership.

In this vision and, underscoring that point, in his push for an E.U.-U.S. trade deal as part of Britain?s G-8 presidency, he gained support from Obama that will be factored into the debate back in Britain. ?You probably want to see if you can fix what?s broke in a very important relationship before you break it off,? the President said, responding to question about the prospect of a U.K. exit from the E.U.

As Cameron continues his perambulations around the U.S., glad-handing influential Americans and promoting British soft power in a joint effort with Prince Harry on May 14, his party colleagues will be contemplating his latest gambit and mulling their next moves. What they decide in the small world of Westminster is likely to play out on a global scale.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-k-prime-minister-david-cameron-visits-u-230150151.html

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