Washington teen wins national scholarship contest

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- A total of $116,000 in scholarships has been awarded in the 2013 Distinguished Young Woman of America contest.

Fifty girls representing each state competed in talent, physical fitness, self-expression, scholastic and interview competitions, which ended Saturday night at the Mobile Civic Center Theater. AL.com reports (http://bit.ly/15TcPvZ ) the event also included two weeks of community activities, rehearsals and preliminary rounds.

Nicole Renard of Washington state won the competition and was awarded a gold medal and a $30,000 scholarship. Runner up, Rachel Tunney of South Carolina was awarded a $15,000 scholarship. Second runner up Ciera Horton of Florida was given a $10,000 scholarship.

Seven other finalists were given $2,500 scholarships.

Distinguished Young Women officials say the organization is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls.

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Online: http://distinguishedyw.org

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Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/press-register/

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AL_DISTINGUISHED_YOUNG_WOMEN_WAOL-?SITE=TXDAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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BlueStacks introduces the GamePop Mini, its first subscription-based 'free' game console

In an effort to outdo itself, BlueStacks is announcing the GamePop Mini for the cube-buying averse. The biggest difference between the Mini (seen above on the left) and the cube (the ... uh ... cube above) isn't the form factor, it's in pricing. Where the regular GamePop is $129 (unless you act soon) the Mini is "free" after a 12-month subscription of $7 per-month, or $84 total. At this price, it costs less than an Ouya, but slightly more than a GameStick. "If you keep it more than 12 months, you keep it forever," BlueStacks' Head of Marketing and Business Development John Garguilo told us. Of course, there's not much to do with with the Mini without a subscription. "It'd be like if Netflix did it this way and had hardware - the unit would be useless without the subscription." Additionally, if you return the Mini inside of 12 months, there's a $25 restocking fee.

The subscription gives users access to a plethora of games from 500 "popular mobile game partners." Those partners include the teams behind Jetpack Joyride and Fieldrunners. "Getting the kind of developer support we've gotten, it sets us apart. We saw what happened with the Dreamcast and we saw what happened with the Wii U. You need to have good launch titles; there needs to be games everyone recognizes and wants to play."

To make GamePop more enticing to developers, Bluestacks created Looking Glass -- proprietary tech allowing iOS-only apps to run on its Android-4.2-based console. When an iOS app makes calls to Apple's hardware, Looking Glass interprets those calls and translates them to the GamePop Mini's hardware. Of course, a few changes within the code are necessary. "[Porting is] not easy, but I would submit it's not hard, relatively speaking," Garguilo said.

Filed under: Gaming

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/pd_2Jcw685k/

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Huawei to launch a Google Edition smartphone

Impertinent. Mumbling. Offended. Teary-eyed. Rachel Jeantel, star witness for the prosecution in George Zimmerman's murder trial, was all of those, and more, as her testimony Wednesday provided new details into Trayvon Martin?s last moments and infused racially loaded commentary into an already-sensitive trial.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huawei-launch-google-edition-smartphone-223031089.html

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Can an app help you be a better person? ? Tech News and Analysis

Between scales that tweet your weight loss progress and apps that track your running times, it?s clear there?s a desire for social devices and apps that can encourage, motivate and produce results for people trying to get physically healthier. But can an app designed to turn you into a better, more adventurous or accomplished person produce real results too?

That?s what the founder of an iOS app called Everest is trying to prove. Everest is a goals app, and as the name implies, it?s aimed at people trying to conquer something. You sign up, list life goals (short- and long-term) that you want to accomplish, and publicize them within the app?s network so that fellow travelers with similar goals or who have accomplished those things can offer encouragement through comments and congratulations. The person with the goal can also post updates or pictures of how they?re making progress on the goal.

Everest has plenty of influential believers on board already: Peter Thiel, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and X Prize founder Peter Diamandis contributed to the $2 million in angel funding?he has received since summer 2012.

The app is sort of tangential to the ?quantified self? movement, which has to do with a person?s physical state ? tracking sleep patterns, heart rate, exercise, food intake and more. Everest is more about the actualized self: having a vision of the person you want to be and using encouragement, motivation and help from people like you to unlock your potential.

Keeping track of your dreams on your iPhone

Everest founder Francis Pedraza believes his app can produce results because it gives people two things: a record of their goal and encouragement along the way.??Most people lack organization. Less than 10 percent of people actually write down things they want to do,? he said to me in a recent interview. ?They need process and steps to take ? they need a tool.?

But that?s not all: ?There?s a lack of support,? he said. ?They don?t share what they want to do or the progress, so they can?t get encouragement, accountability or learn from people who?ve done similar things.? The types of goals or ?dreams? entered into Everest vary a lot. It covers a lot of physical health goals, but also things like, ?be more organized,? ?write a new song,? ?save money,? ?apply for a business license,? ?code every day,? ?perform 20 random acts of kindness,? and more.

There is plenty of research that supports the effectiveness of social groups helping each other, online and off, John Grohol, psychologist and founder of PsychCentral.com told me.

?When you have people who hold your feet to the fire in terms of helping you reach your goals by keeping in touch with you, by texting you, by saying hello in the app ? when you?re in a group of people like that, it tends to help everyone in that group achieve their goals more quickly and makes it more likely they?ll meet their goals.?

There have been 1 million dreams input into Everest since it launched in February. But how much are people sticking with them over time? There?s a lot of activity of entering dreams, but it?s hard to tell just from flipping through the app how much follow-through there is, and Pedraza did not elaborate.

Aspirations matter

Whether or not people actually follow up on their goals in Everest ? that is, whether people are writing new songs, learning new instruments, starting a business or practicing their hobbies more regularly ? will matter eventually, especially if he wants to build a lasting business around constantly engaged users. But I think Everest taps into the same vein as apps like Snapguide and Pinterest: it?s aspirational. The idea of identifying your specific goals or dreams is the initial appeal.

These kinds of services, Pinterest especially, are full of non-professionals or amateurs who want to promote their own creative skills and help other non-professionals achieve something ? from being the kind of mom that makes only organic, locally sourced baby food, to brining and roasting a chicken like a pro, or recreating a wedding that looks like it belongs in a glossy magazine.

My Everest goal, for example, of traveling to one new country per year doesn?t necessarily require instruction ? I?m quite familiar with booking travel. As a goal, it is self-improvement: it?s really about me literally expanding my horizons.?But it seems perfect as an Everest kind of goal because all I really need is inspiration from the places that others travel.

Everest is combining the prevalence of our devices with drawing inspiration and purpose from social networks and the examples of others.?It?s also very well-designed. With all of these qualities,?Everest has a shot at signing up a lot of people. But getting them to follow through and stay engaged is another mountain for them to climb.

Source: http://gigaom.com/2013/06/28/can-an-app-help-you-be-a-better-person/

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Obama has short list of potential Bernanke successors: source

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has assembled a short list of candidates to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, a source familiar with the process said on Thursday, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is running the search.

Bernanke is expected to leave when his second term as head of the central bank ends on January 31, after an eventful eight years in helping the U.S. economy recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression.

President Barack Obama hinted in a television interview this month that Bernanke would step down, comparing him to longtime FBI Director Robert Mueller, who agreed to stay two years longer in the job than he had planned, and is now to leave.

Lew has assembled a short list with help from several senior White House officials, the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

There was no information on who is on the list, although Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen, former Obama adviser Lawrence Summers and former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are considered to be likely leading choices.

"We decline to comment on speculation on any personnel matters until the president has made his decisions and is ready to announce them," said Amy Brundage, a White House spokeswoman.

"The president believes that Chairman Bernanke is a vital and excellent partner in promoting our economic recovery and he continues to serve admirably and with distinction during this important time for our country," she said.

BERNANKE SILENT; YELLEN SEEN IN THE LEAD

Bernanke has yet to say whether he would like to serve another four years at the helm of the central bank, but has done little to dampen speculation he is ready to leave.

The likely succession could come at a delicate juncture for U.S. monetary policy.

Bernanke said last week that the central bank expected to lighten up later this year on the amount of money it is pumping into the economy each month through a bond-buying program.

He said the Fed would likely draw that program to a full close around the middle of next year, when policymakers at the central bank expect the jobless rate will have fallen to around 7 percent from its current 7.6 percent.

Those comments spurred a big selloff in stock markets around the globe and sent the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note soaring. It reached a 22-month high of 2.67 percent on Monday.

Fed officials have mounted a concerted effort to convince markets they overreacted to the chairman's remarks, and they have underscored the central bank's commitment to keep overnight interest rate near zero until unemployment drops to at least 6.5 percent. Stock markets have since stabilized and bond yields have fallen back.

The market volatility, however, underscored the tricky task the Fed faces in stepping away from the controversial and unprecedented easing of monetary policy Bernanke led.

To combat the deep recession and heal the scars from the financial crisis that followed the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, the Fed pressed overnight rates to near zero, where they have been since December 2008. It also more than tripled its balance sheet to $3.4 trillion through a series of bond purchases.

The next chairman of the central bank will likely face the task of unwinding that monetary largesse.

In a Reuters poll of economists earlier this month, the vast majority said Obama was likely to tap Yellen to take over.

Yellen, who has served as Fed vice chair since October 2010, is considered a forceful advocate of aggressive action to lift unemployment. If nominated and confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman to lead the central bank.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Douwe Miedema and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-shortlist-succeed-federal-chairman-bernanke-003944227.html

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Channing Tatum Says Kanye And Kim Should Prepare For A Baby Showdown

'White House Down' actor and co-star Jamie Foxx ponder whether his new baby could take down North West during 'After Hours.'
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709683/channing-tatum-white-house-down-baby.jhtml

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Obama says shouldn't have to talk to Xi, Putin about Snowden

DAKAR (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he had not yet spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping or Russian President Vladimir Putin about the U.S. request to extradite former American spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Speaking at a news conference in Senegal at the start of an African tour, Obama said normal legal channels should be sufficient to handle Washington's request that Snowden, who left Hong Kong for Russia, be returned.

"I have not called President Xi personally or President Putin personally and the reason is...number one, I shouldn't have to," Obama said.

"Number two, we've got a whole lot of business that we do with China and Russia, and I'm not going to have one case of a suspect who we're trying to extradite suddenly being elevated to the point where I've got to start doing wheeling and dealing and trading on a whole host of other issues," Obama said.

Snowden has become an embarrassment for the Obama administration after he leaked details of secret U.S. government surveillance programs.

His fate is now the focus of an international wrangle pitting the United States against its frequent opponents in the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia.

Snowden himself remains in limbo at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, where he has been waiting in the transit area since his arrival on Sunday. He had been expected to fly to Havana on Monday en route to Ecuador, where he has asked for asylum.

In the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, the government said it had not processed Snowden's asylum request because he had not reached any of its diplomatic premises.

Bristling at suggestions Quito was weighing the pros and cons of Snowden's case in terms of its own interests, officials also said Ecuador would waive its preferential trade rights under a soon-to-expire treaty with the United States.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal; writing by Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-says-shouldnt-talk-xi-putin-snowden-case-121300425.html

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Some gay couples now due to receive benefits under 'Obamacare'

By Yasmeen Abutaleb

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court's ruling on Wednesday that same-sex couples are eligible for federal benefits will mean more gays and lesbians can reap the benefits of President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul that take effect January 1, advocates say.

In a landmark decision, the court effectively legalized same-sex marriage in California and struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied same-sex couples federal benefits such as healthcare.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act already bans discrimination in health coverage based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law, known as "Obamacare," was passed in 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court nearly a year ago.

With the Supreme Court decision, same-sex couples who live in states that recognize them can apply for the law's tax subsidies, meant to offset healthcare costs, as a couple rather than as two individuals, said Tim Jost, a health law expert and law professor at Washington and Lee University. This will help the law reach more people, he added.

Some couples will be newly eligible for spousal protections under Medicaid, a federally funded program that provides care to low-income parents, children, seniors and people with disabilities. It covers more than 62 million Americans, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

If couples decide to file taxes jointly, though, they may no longer qualify for Medicaid or tax credits because their combined income will put them above the level for eligibility.

In the District of Columbia or one of 12 states that have legalized gay marriage - where about 40 percent of same-sex couples live - applying for health coverage through federal employers and the exchanges will be as simple for them as it is for heterosexual couples, said Kellan Baker, associate director for LGBT progress at the liberal Center for American Progress.

But outside of those borders, it is more complicated.

"We know from the IRS there's a lack of clarity about how exactly marriages are recognized across state lines," Baker said. "There's the legal question of, does the IRS consider you married if you're living outside of the state that recognized your marriage?"

Section 2 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which the court did not take up, does not require states to recognize gay marriages that took place in other states.

Despite the uncertainty, many advocacy groups lauded the court's decision because it will improve access to healthcare for many gay couples.

Obamacare establishes state and federal exchanges so people can explore all of their health coverage options in one place.

States that run their own exchange programs decide who qualifies as family members, but the court ruling means that now the 26 federally run exchanges "have no bar to recognizing and including same-sex spouses as protected family members," said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The Supreme Court ruling will also enable older same-sex couples to receive marital benefits under Social Security and Medicare, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders said in a statement.

"Many of these federal benefits, from Social Security to Medicare, are founded on the presumption of marriage," the group said, "yet (the Defense of Marriage Act) denied access to these benefits even to legally married same-sex couples."

(Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Karey Van Hall and Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-couples-now-due-receive-benefits-under-obamacare-162659730.html

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Turn to State Higher Education Offices for Scholarship Help

As you look for scholarships, financial aid and the perfect college fit, there are a lot of familiar resources. These include scholarship search engines, the federal student aid database and high school and college websites. But one useful source that plenty of students never think about is their state's office of higher education.

Checking out the office in your home state, as well as the states where you might go to college, should be part of your summer to-do list. Resources and the office's name vary by state. You can start with this list.

Wherever you go, look for links to student and family resources. Once you find those, focus on the following five valuable options.

[Follow these simple steps to maximize the summer scholarship search.]

1. Online guidance and planning tools: While websites differ, just about every state features online tools that can help you plan and pay for college. One of the best is Kentucky's KnowHow2GoKY site, which offers education planning advice for all ages.

The Iowa College Student Aid Commission's I Have A Plan site provides a wide view of everything from career exploration and test prep to financial aid and postgraduate activities.

Even if your state doesn't have a dedicated planning tool, it will likely have a student resource page, like this one from Massachusetts, where you can get started.

2. In-person and offline events: One advantage of these offices' local focus is that they can offer residents more face-to-face opportunities to connect and learn. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education will soon be supplementing its online tool set with "College Knowledge Month," a series of college planning and application events for high school seniors across the state.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission conducts monthly financial aid presentations at high schools and colleges. And higher education offices across the nation are often closely involved with College Goal Sunday efforts in January and February.

[Avoid making these costly college savings mistakes.]

3. Loan, grant and savings information: Most states offer education loans and grants to qualified students. These funds are usually managed by the higher education office, as are the states' college savings plans, known as 529 accounts. Minnesota provides a straightforward 529 website for students and parents, as well as offers a detailed look at the state's low interest rate SELF Loan program.

Washington's thorough state site covers all things 529 and features a wide array of grants and loans under the "Opportunity Pathways" banner.

4. Scholarship searches and applications: Washington also offers a unique resource called The WashBoard, which allows resident students to find scholarships from public and private-sector providers across the state. While this is the most ambitious search we've found, other states do feature online applications for government-funded programs or listings of statewide scholarships.

[Get advice on using scholarships as a college financial aid tool.]

5. Resources for military and veteran students: The U.S. Armed Forces provides a wide array of educational benefits to active-duty servicemen and women, reservists and veterans. But those benefits often come with confusing paperwork, restrictions or deadlines.

If you're a veteran or currently serving, your state higher education office can help you make sense of it all. Some states, like North Carolina and Massachusetts, have easy-to-find resources on their websites. If you can't find the information you need, reach out to your state's office.

No matter what your needs are, we recommend you contact state higher education offices with questions. Many are now active on social media, meaning a tweet, a Facebook message or an email can help you learn what you need to from these often-overlooked resources.

Matt Konrad has been with Scholarship America since 2005. He is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and a former scholarship recipient.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turn-state-higher-education-offices-scholarship-help-155726420.html

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The Cold War Is Back

Edward Snowden, pictured here in Hong Kong, has been at the Sheremetyevo International Airport since flying to Russia.

Handout/the Guardian

For those who think that Edward Snowden deserves arrest or worse, cheer yourselves with the thought that Sheremetyevo International Airport might possibly be the most soul-destroying, most angst-inducing transport hub in the world. Low ceilings and dim lighting create a sense of impending doom, while overpriced wristwatches glitter in the murk. Sullen salesgirls peddle stale sandwiches; men in bad suits drink silently at the bars. A vague scent of diesel fuel fills the air, and a thin layer of grime covers the backless benches and sticky floor. It's not a place you'd want to spend two hours, let alone 48.

Yet there he remains, a guest of the Russian government. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov both have repeated the fiction that Snowden "did not cross the Russian border" because he remains in the transit zone at Sheremetyevo. But as of Monday evening, Snowden was in violation of Russian law, which requires anyone staying in the airport longer than 24 hours to have a valid transit visa. Whether Russian authorities have given him a visa or are allowing him to break the law, they have made a deliberate decision to let him remain there, assuming they are not holding him against his will.

Secretary of State John Kerry has appealed for Snowden's extradition on grounds of "respect for the rule of law." Although the United States has no extradition treaty with Russia, Kerry has pointed out that it has transferred seven people to Russia in the past two years to honor Russian requests. For the moment, the Russians seem disinclined to respect the rule of law, which is not surprising as they don't respect it at home. The last time a prominent former Russian secret service agent escaped to the West, Russian agents poisoned him with polonium 210, leaving a trail of radiation all over London and Hamburg.

Too much remains opaque, and too much reporting seems sensationalized, to draw conclusions on what this affair says about the National Security Agency, except that it is shockingly bad at protecting supposedly secret information. But something interesting has been revealed about the nature of contemporary international relations. In this narrow sense, the Cold War is back: We are once again dealing with a Russian government that sees the world ideologically, in black and white. What's bad for us is good for them, and vice versa. If Snowden is embarrassing to the United States, he should be protected as long as possible. If we think Bashar Assad is cruelly and recklessly destroying Syria, then Russia will lend him support. If we fear Iran's nuclear program, then Russia will help build it.

Russian foreign policy also has an internal logic: It is intended to support the legitimacy of the current regime. Russia has no important economic or geostrategic interests in Syria, but the fall of another dictator might send a message of encouragement to its own people. With Snowden, the Russians are treading carefully. Although the temptation to use him as an anti-American propaganda tool must be very strong, they haven't praised him too loudly, perhaps for fear of encouraging the hacking of their own government's documents.

This incident underscores that no common worldview can be relied upon in dealing with this Russian government; there is no agreement about international rules of the game, let alone the rule of law. That is, of course, the case with many countries, but since the 1990s many in Washington have maintained the illusion that there can or should be a special relationship between the two former superpowers. Bill Clinton's decision to let Russia join the Group of Eight was the result of one such outreach. The Obama administration's ill-fated "reset" of Russian-American relations was another.

That doesn't mean there can be no resolution: It is perfectly possible that, as in Cold War days, Russian authorities will seek to trade Snowden for something or someone else they want, whether a spy or a criminal. It is possible that they will detain him for a while to see if he can be useful. By the time you read this, they might have just let him go elsewhere, as the Chinese did, to rid themselves of the problem. But they won't send him home as a gesture of good will or a matter of principle, as Kerry seems to hope. We can expect that only from some of our allies, and Russia isn't one at all.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2013/06/eric_snowden_russia_shows_now_as_it_has_with_syria_and_iran_that_the_cold.html

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Filibuster and protest stop Tx. abortion bill

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The final outcome took several hours to sort out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Davis' mission was cut short but her effort ultimately helped Democrats earn a rare victory in a Legislature dominated by Republicans for more than a decade.

"It's a bad bill," said Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin, leader of the Senate Democrats.

The bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and force many clinics that perform the procedure to upgrade their facilities and be classified as ambulatory surgical centers. Also, doctors would be required to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles ? a tall order in rural communities.

If signed into law, the measures would have closed almost every abortion clinic in Texas, a state 773 miles wide and 790 miles long with 26 million people. A woman living along the Mexico border or in West Texas would have to drive hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion if the law passed. The law's provision that abortions be performed at surgical centers means only five of Texas' 42 abortion clinics are currently designated to remain in operation.

Republicans and anti-abortion groups insisted their goal was to improve women's health care, but also acknowledged wanting clinics to close.

"If this passes, abortion would be virtually banned in the state of Texas, and many women could be forced to resort to dangerous and unsafe measures," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late former Texas governor Ann Richards.

The showdown came after Davis had slogged her way through about 11 hours of speaking while Senate Republicans ? and several House members ? watched and listened for any slipup that would allow them to end the filibuster and call a vote.

Democrats chose Davis, of Fort Worth, to lead the effort because of her background; she had her first child as a teenager and went on to graduate from Harvard Law School.

Rules stipulated she remain standing, not lean on her desk or take any breaks ? even for meals or to use the bathroom. But she also was required to stay on topic, and Republicans pointed out a mistake and later protested again when another lawmaker helped her with a back brace.

Lawmakers can vote to end a filibuster after three sustained points of order. As tension mounted over Davis' speech and the dwindling clock, Campbell, a first-term lawmaker from New Braunfels, made the call on the third violation, sparking nearly two hours of debate on how to handle it.

After much back and forth and senators shouting over each other, the Republican majority forced a vote to end the filibuster minutes before midnight, sparking the raucous response from protesters.

Senate security and several Department of Public Safety state troopers tried to quiet the crowd but were simply outnumbered and had no hope of stopping the outburst.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, blamed the confusion surrounding the final vote on the demonstrators and Democratic senators who urged them on.

"Had that not happened, everyone would have known," what was happening, Patrick said.

Standing next to him was Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, a Democrat.

"This is democracy," Hinojosa said. "They have a right to speak."

___

Senate Bill 5: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=831&Bill=SB5

___

Follow Jim Vertuno on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JimVertuno .

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cltomlinson

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-abortion-bill-falls-challenge-080130212.html

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Chinese workers holding U.S. boss say wages unpaid

BEIJING (AP) ? Chinese workers keeping an American executive confined to his Beijing medical supply factory said Tuesday that they had not been paid in two months in a compensation dispute that highlights tensions in China's labor market.

The executive, Chip Starnes of Specialty Medical Supplies, denied the workers' allegations of two months of unpaid wages, as he endured a fifth day of captivity at the plant in the capital's northeastern suburbs, peering out from behind the bars of his office window.

About 100 workers are demanding back pay and severance packages identical to those offered 30 workers being laid off from the Coral Springs, Florida-based company's plastics division. The demands followed rumors that the entire plant was being closed, despite Starnes' assertion that the company doesn't plan to fire the others.

The dispute highlights general tensions in China's labor market as bosses worry about rising wages and workers are on edge about the impact of slowing growth on the future of their jobs.

Inside one of the plant's buildings, about 30 mostly women hung around, their arms crossed. One worker, Gao Ping, told reporters inside an administrative office in the plant that she wanted to quit because she hadn't been paid for two months.

Dressed in blue overalls and sitting down at a desk, Gao said her division ? which makes alcohol prep pads, used for cleaning skin before injections ? had not been doing well and that she wanted her salary and compensation.

Workers in other divisions saw how badly her division was doing, thought the whole company was faring poorly and also wanted to quit and get compensation, said Gao, who had been working for the company for six years.

Starnes, 42, denied that they were owed unpaid salary.

"They are demanding full severance pay, but they still have a job. That's the problem," he said, still in the clothes he wore when he went to work Friday morning.

Chu Lixiang, a local union official representing the workers in talks with Starnes, said the workers were demanding the portion of their salaries yet to be paid and a "reasonable" level of compensation before leaving their jobs. Neither gave details on the amounts demanded.

Chu said workers believed the plant was closing and that Starnes would run away without paying severance. Starnes' attorney arrived Tuesday afternoon. Chu later told reporters that there would be no negotiations for the rest of the day.

Starnes said that since Saturday morning, about 80 workers had been blocking every exit around the clock and depriving him of sleep by shining bright lights and banging on windows of his office.

The standoff points to long-ingrained habits among Chinese workers who are sometimes left unprotected when factories close without severance or wages owed. Such incidents have been rarer as labor protections improve, although disputes still occur and local governments have at times barred foreign executives from leaving until they are resolved.

Starnes said the company had gradually been winding down its plastics division, planning to move it to Mumbai, India. He arrived in Beijing a week ago to lay off the last 30 people. Some had been working there for up to nine years, so their compensation packages were "pretty nice," he said. Then workers in other divisions started demanding similar severance packages on Friday, he said.

Kevin Jones, who advises U.S. companies on Chinese labor and employment law, said it is better if American executives stay at home and let their local managers lay off workers.

In a case last week, Jones said the chief financial officer of a U.S. telecommunications equipment maker wanted to come to Beijing to explain the situation and give 41 white-collar workers their termination notices.

"We told him to stay in America," said Jones, who chairs the Shanghai-based Faegre Baker Daniels labor and employment practice. The company's lawyers met with six employee representatives in a hotel. "We had two bodyguards but that was just in case things got out of control," Jones said.

Christian Murck, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said Chinese labor law specified a minimum severance pay in the event of a layoff due to economic necessity or if someone is dismissed due to cause, but not a maximum one.

"There is a kind of structural weakness in the way the labor law is set up that leads to negotiations and disputes when departures occur," Murck said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-workers-holding-us-boss-wages-unpaid-081903204.html

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National Secular Society - Parliamentary prayer breakfast dismisses ...

Attendees at this year's National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast have been urged to speak out about their faith in the public sphere.

An audience of around 600 people, including a number of MPs, gathered at the Houses of parliament to hear keynote speaker Professor John Lennox from Oxford University describe atheism as a "delusion" and a "fairy tale for those afraid of the light".

Professor Lennox accused new atheism of being responsible for 'the moral drift' in today's society and called on Christians to find the courage to create the public space for discussion on the biblical worldview.

Professor Lennox said "No one seems to have a problem in the UK with doing atheism in public ? why, then, should we be ashamed to do God?"

This year's event, organised by the Bible Society and held in Westminster Hall, was chaired by Liberal Democrat President Tim Farron MP. Speaking at the prayer breakfast, Mr Farron said: "'Christianity is not a bit true. It's either wrong or utterly compellingly true"

Also on the panel was Telegraph columnist Cristina Odone. Ms Odone warned, "There is a steady and stealthy erosion of Christianity whether its rights, language, symbols from public life. I think we are in danger of thinning out that religious presence, of Christian presence from everyday existence".

In a statement marking the occasion, prime minister David Cameron, said: "It is encouraging that Christianity still plays such a vital role in our national life. We are a country with a Christian heritage and we should not be afraid to say so."

Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: "There's something very disconcerting about seeing Parliament used to fuel culture-war politics in this way. Christianity is just one influence among many that shape our current ways of life; Britain is a multifaith nation with large sections of the population not holding any religious beliefs. This sort of event only serves to encourage division between believers and non-believers ? Members of Parliament should think twice about their involvement."

Source: http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2013/06/parliamentary-prayer-breakfast-dismisses-fairy-tale-of-atheism

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Obama opens 2nd-term drive against climate change

President Barack Obama wipes perspiration from his face as he speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama wipes perspiration from his face as he speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama gestures during a speech on climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. Obama is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

El presidente Barack Obama se seca el sudor mientras habla sobre cambio clim?tico el martes 25 de junio de 2013, en la Universidad de Georgetown en Washington. Obama puso al tanto el martes a los l?deres del Congreso sobre asuntos de pol?tica exterior que ?ltimamente han predominado en su agenda, desde sus reuniones con el presidente chino Xi Jinping anteriormente este mes a su reciente entrevista con el presidente ruso Vladimir Putin en Irlanda del Norte.(Foto AP/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Appealing for courageous action "before it's too late," President Barack Obama launched a major second-term drive Tuesday to combat climate change and secure a safer planet, bypassing Congress as he sought to set a cornerstone of his legacy.

Abandoning his suit jacket under a sweltering sun at Georgetown University, Obama issued a dire warning about the environment: Temperatures are rising, sea level is climbing, the Arctic ice is melting and the world is doing far too little to stop it. Obama said the price for inaction includes lost lives and homes and hundreds of billions of dollars.

"As a president, as a father and as an American, I'm here to say we need to act," Obama said. "I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that's beyond fixing."

At the core of Obama's plan are new controls on new and existing power plants that emit carbon dioxide ? heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. The program also will boost renewable energy production on federal lands, increase efficiency standards and prepare communities to deal with higher temperatures. Obama called for the U.S. to be a global leader in the search for solutions.

But Obama's campaign will face extensive obstacles, including a complicated, lengthy process of implementation and the likelihood that the limits on power plants will be challenged in court. Likewise, the instantaneous political opposition that met his plan made clear the difficulty the president will face in seeking broad support.

"There will be legal challenges. No question about that," former EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said in an interview. "It's a program that's largely executive. He doesn't need Congress. What that does, of course, is make them (Congress) madder."

Obama also offered a rare insight into his deliberations on whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, deeming it in America's interests only if it doesn't worsen carbon pollution. Obama has faced intense political pressure from supporters and opponents of the 1,200-mile pipeline from Canada to Texas.

Declaring the scientific debate over climate change and its causes obsolete, Obama mocked those who deny that humans are contributing to the warming of the planet.

"We don't have time for a meeting of the flat-earth society," Obama said.

Obama's announcement followed years of inaction by Congress to combat climate change. A first-term effort by Obama to use a market-based approach called cap-and-trade to lower emissions failed, and in February a newly re-elected Obama issued lawmakers an ultimatum in his State of the Union: "If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will."

Four months later, impatient environmental activists reveled in the news that Obama was finally taking matters into his own hands, announcing a series of steps that don't require congressional approval.

"This is the change we have been waiting for," said Michael Brune, who runs the Sierra Club, an environmental group. "Today, President Obama has shown he is keeping his word to future generations."

Republicans on both sides of the Capitol dubbed Obama's plan a continuation of his "war on coal" and "war on jobs." The National Association of Manufacturers claimed Obama's proposals would drive up costs. Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of the coal-heavy state of West Virginia slammed what she called Obama's "tyrannical efforts to bankrupt the coal industry."

"The federal government should leave us the hell alone," said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, whose agency handles Texas' environment and energy markets.

Even industry groups that have been friendly to Obama and supportive of his climate goals, such as the Edison Electric Institute, which represents power plants, signaled their apprehension by calling for "achievable compliance limits and deadlines."

Obama said the same arguments have been used in the past when the U.S. has taken other steps to protect the environment.

"That's what they said every time," Obama said. "And every time, they've been wrong."

Obama broke his relative silence on Keystone XL, explicitly linking the project to global warming for the first time in a clear overture to environmental activists who want the pipeline nixed. The pipeline would carry carbon-intensive oil from Canadian tar sands to the Texas Gulf Coast refineries and has sparked an intense partisan fight.

"Our national interest would be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution," Obama said.

The White House indicated Obama was referring to overall, net emissions that take into account what would happen under alternative scenarios. A State Department report this year said other methods to transport the oil ? like shipping it on trains ? could yield even higher emissions.

"The standard the president set today should lead to speedy approval of the Keystone pipeline," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Announcing he will allow more renewable energy projects on public lands, Obama set a goal to power the equivalent of 6 million homes by 2020 from sources like wind and solar, effectively doubling the current capacity. The set of actions also includes a new set of fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks, more aggressive efficiency targets for buildings and appliances, and $8 billion in federal loan guarantees to spur innovation.

By far the most sweeping element ? and the one likely to cause the most consternation ? is new limits on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants.

The administration has already proposed rules for new coal-fired plants, but they have been delayed amid industry concerns about the cost. A presidential memorandum Obama issued Tuesday directs the EPA to revise and reissue the new plant rules by September, then finalize them "in a timely fashion."

The key prize for environmental groups comes in Obama's instruction that the EPA propose rules for the nation's existing plants by June 2014, then finalize them by June 2015 and implement them by June 2016 ? just as the presidential campaign to replace Obama will be in full swing.

Rather than issue a specific, uniform standard that plants must meet, the EPA will work with states, power sector leaders and other parties to develop plans that meet the needs of individual states and also achieve the objective of reducing emissions.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston, contributed to this report.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-25-US-Obama-Climate-Change/id-3fe503a6462240658590510a3909a7cb

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Can An Old Massachusetts Fishing Port Light The World Again?

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick joined state officials, clean energy advocates and union representatives to break ground for the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal.

Jesse Costa/WBUR

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick joined state officials, clean energy advocates and union representatives to break ground for the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal.

Jesse Costa/WBUR

A shabby old fishing port on the South Coast of Massachusetts was once known as the City That Lit the World. Its whale oil powered candles and lamps around the country.

Now, the city is trying to rekindle that flame with an alternative form of energy: offshore wind.

A Distant History Of Wealth

New Bedford's glory days are long gone. The city suffers from a long list of woes ? high crime, persistent unemployment and poor public schools.

For generations, the sea was New Bedford's lifeblood. Now, the water is still there, but the wealth is gone.

You can see just a glimmer of New Bedford's old opulence shining through its cobblestone streets and the whaling captains' old mansions.

"On the eve of the Civil War, New Bedford was the wealthiest city per capita in the United States," says Mayor Jon Mitchell. "New Bedford was to whaling what Detroit was to automobiles."

Striving For New Opportunities

On a chilly May morning, Mitchell joined state officials and local union representatives to break ground on the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal ?a 100-million dollar state-funded project.

The port is being described as the first of its kind in the country ? big enough to transport wind blades the length of a football field. Locals hope it will serve as the hub for the offshore wind industry and bring in jobs. New Bedford's current employment rate is among the worst in the state.

The Energy Department estimates that if the U.S. takes advantage of its wind potential by 2030, some 20,000 jobs could sprout up around the offshore wind industry.

A quarter of the nation's wind reserves lie just south of Martha's Vineyard, and New Bedford is the closest deep-water port. Mitchell says his city is sitting on the Saudi Arabia of wind.

"New Bedford is the biggest commercial fishing port in America," says Mitchell. "We know what we're doing out on the water."

Contagious Optimism

The mayor's optimism is rubbing off on Justin Silvia, who wakes up at 3:30 am to drive more than an hour to get to his job as a heavy equipment operator. He says he would love to find work closer to home so he could spend time with his three kids. He's trying to land himself a job on this port project.

"There's definitely a big buzz in the area as far as how many jobs it's going to create. I mean, the main focus is get as many New Bedford unemployed workers that are capable and trained properly," he says.

New Bedford is already working with Bristol Community College to secure grants that will train displaced workers.

Skepticism Remains ? On The Water And Off

But not all of the folks on the water think offshore wind is the solution to all the city's troubles. Fishermen have been struggling to find work in recent years as the government declared certain waters off limits.

Tony Alvernaz is a fisherman in New Bedford. He wonders how fishermen will be able to navigate around giant wind turbines to find healthy fish.

"New Bedford has been a seafaring city for how many years, how many centuries? And so let's do away with that; let's bring on the wind farm. Is that the answer? I don't think so," he says.

Matt Kaplan, a wind analyst for IHS Emerging Energy Research in Cambridge, says it's a big bet. "Offshore wind will have to be tied to creating jobs in order to really be successful here because of the premium cost."

Kaplan says the problem is that no matter how strong the wind gusts blow, local utility companies have to be willing to pay a premium for pricey offshore wind energy. For now, there are federal subsidies that help nudge development along, but there is no guarantee that the government's helping hand will always be there.

Still, Kaplan said it helps that New Bedford is first in designing an offshore wind-friendly port.

"But whether that's going to make New Bedford the one-stop shop moving forward forever, for being the only port for offshore wind, I think it's a really tough call just because of the need to really create local jobs in each state that has one of these projects," Kaplan says.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/06/24/190687185/can-an-old-massachusetts-fishing-port-light-the-world-again?ft=1&f=1007

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Kelly says no chemo, radiation necessary

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) ? Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly says he has been told by doctors that he won't need to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatment after having surgery to remove cancerous cells in his jaw.

The former Buffalo Bills star made the announcement at his football camp in Buffalo on Monday and his comments (http://bit.ly/14sJitT ) were posted on the Bills' website.

Kelly says he found out the news on Wednesday.

"From what I've been told, everything that they did in surgery, if I had to do radiation or chemo it would put me way back," Kelly said.

He said he had the left side of his jaw and the teeth on that side of his mouth removed in surgery on June 7. Kelly was released from the hospital three days later.

"It's very, very sore, but it takes time," he said. "I know when you have knee surgery or shoulder surgery it's sore for a small period of time, and rehab and everything is good and you just take your time. This is just constant pain for now, but it's a small price to pay for where I'll be later on down the road."

He says he's scheduled for a follow-up with doctors in two months to see if the cancer stays away.

"I never thought I'd be saying cancer. I never thought the 'C' word would become part of my vocabulary," Kelly said. "But it is what has happened to me and the ups and downs of my life. I'm already on the way back up."

The American Cancer Society estimates about 2.2 million Americans are diagnosed with this form of cancer each year. The society adds that death from these types of cancers is uncommon. About 2,000 people die each year, and that rate is dropping.

Risk factors include smoking and alcohol consumption.

Kelly's diagnosis stems from pain he began experiencing in his jaw in December. He initially thought it was an infection, but grew concerned when antibiotics failed to help.

Tests eventually led to doctors removing a nickel-sized cyst from his gums and nasal cavity during an operation in early March. Follow-up tests revealed the cancer.

It's the latest operation Kelly has required over the past two years. He's also had surgery to correct back, neck and hernia problems.

Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, Kelly still holds nearly every significant career Buffalo Bills passing record: 35,467 yards, 237 touchdowns and 26 300-yard games.

Kelly spent 11 seasons with the Bills before retiring following the 1996 season, and has since made Buffalo his home. Known for his fearless, swashbuckling style, Kelly was the face of Bills teams that made four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the early 1990s, only to lose them all.

Kelly intended to draw upon his faith and family, and the perseverance he's developed in facing other challenges in his life both on and off the field. Kelly's son, Hunter, was born with Krabbe disease, an inherited degenerative disorder of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Given little more than three years to live, Hunter died at the age of 8 in 2005.

___

Sports writer John Wawrow contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kelly-says-no-chemo-radiation-necessary-231838382.html

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As Hardware Startups Take Off, Materials And Technology Marketplace Inventables Raises $3M

Chicago-based Inventables, a marketplace for technology and materials for developers and designers, has raised $3 million in new funding led by Tim Draper (via Draper Associates) with Dundee Venture Capital, Richard Yoo (founder of Rackspace), Georges Harik, and True Ventures participating. This brings Inventables' total funding to $5 million.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3ecrfBURf8U/

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Lulu App Lets Women Review, Rate Ex-Boyfriends

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/lulu-app-lets-women-review-rate-ex-boyfriends/

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Google begins launching Internet-beaming balloons

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) ? Google is launching Internet-beaming antennas into the stratosphere aboard giant, jellyfish-shaped balloons with the lofty goal of getting the entire planet online.

Eighteen months in the works, the top-secret project was announced Saturday in New Zealand, where up to 50 volunteer households are already beginning to receive the Internet briefly on their home computers via translucent helium balloons that sail by on the wind 12 miles above Earth.

While the project is still in the very early testing stages, Google hopes eventually to launch thousands of the thin, polyethylene-film inflatables and bring the Internet to some of the more remote parts of the globe, narrowing the digital divide between the 2.2 billion people who are online and the 4.8 billion who aren't.

If successful, the technology might allow countries to leapfrog the expense of installing fiber-optic cable, dramatically increasing Internet usage in places such as Africa and Southeast Asia.

"It's a huge moonshot, a really big goal to go after," said project leader Mike Cassidy. "The power of the Internet is probably one of the most transformative technologies of our time."

The so-called Project Loon was developed in the clandestine Google X lab that also came up with a driverless car and Google's Web-surfing eyeglasses.

Google would not say how much it is investing in the project or how much customers will be charged when it is up and running.

The first person to get Google Balloon Internet access this week was Charles Nimmo, a farmer and entrepreneur in the small town of Leeston who signed up for the experiment. Technicians attached a bright red, basketball-size receiver resembling a giant Google map pin to the outside of his home.

In a successful preliminary test, Nimmo received the Internet for about 15 minutes before the 49-foot-wide transmitting balloon he was relying on floated out of range. The first thing he did was check the weather forecast because he wanted to find out if it was a good time for "crutching" his sheep, or removing the wool around their rear ends.

Nimmo is among the many rural folk, even in developed countries, who can't get broadband access. After ditching his dial-up four years ago in favor of satellite Internet service, he has gotten stuck with bills that sometimes exceed $1,000 a month.

"It's been weird," Nimmo said of the Google Balloon Internet experience. "But it's been exciting to be part of something new."

In recent years, military and aeronautical researchers have used tethered balloons to beam Internet signals back to bases on Earth. Google's balloons would be untethered and out of sight, strung out in a line around the globe. They would ride the winds around the world while Google ground controllers adjusted their altitude to keep them moving along the desired route.

Ground stations about 60 miles apart would bounce Internet signals up to the balloons. The signals would hop backward from one balloon to the next to keep people continuously connected. Solar panels attached to the inflatables would generate electricity to power the Internet circuit boards, radios and antennas, as well as the onboard flight-control equipment.

Each balloon would provide Internet service for an area twice the size of New York City, or about 780 square miles, and because of their high altitude, rugged terrain is not a problem. The balloons could even beam the Internet into Afghanistan's steep and winding Khyber Pass.

"Whole segments of the population would reap enormous benefits, from social inclusion to educational and economic opportunities," said DePauw University media studies professor Kevin Howley.

Once in place, the light but durable balloons wouldn't interfere with aviation because they fly twice as high as airplanes and well below satellites, said Richard DeVaul, an MIT-trained scientist who founded Project Loon and helped develop Google Glass, eyeglasses with a tiny, voice controlled computer display.

In the U.S., however, Google would have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration when the balloons are on their way up or down. The company is talking with regulators in other countries about meeting their requirements.

The Internet signals travel in the unlicensed spectrum, which means Google doesn't have to go through the onerous regulatory processes required for Internet providers using wireless communications networks or satellites.

At this stage, the company is putting a few dozen balloons up over New Zealand and then bringing them down after a short period. Later this year, Google hopes to have as many as 300 of them circling the globe continuously along the 40th parallel, on a path that takes them over New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Argentina.

Covering the whole world would require thousands of the balloons. No timetable has been set for that.

Google chose New Zealand in part because of its remoteness. Some Christchurch residents were cut off from the Internet for weeks after a 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people. Google said balloon access could help places suffering natural disasters get back online quickly.

"The potential of a system that can restore connectivity within hours of a crisis hitting is tremendously exciting," said Imogen Wall at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, although she warned that the service must be robust. "If the service fails in a crisis, then lives are lost."

Temple University communications professor Patrick Murphy warned of mixed consequences, pointing to China and Brazil as places where Internet service promoted democratic principles but also contributed to a surge in consumerism that has resulted in environmental and health problems.

"The nutritional and medical information, farming techniques, democratic principles those are the wonderful parts of it," he said. "But you also have everyone wanting to drive a car, eat a steak, drink a Coke."

Already the world's largest advertising network, Google stands to expand its own empire by bringing the Internet to more corners of the Earth. More users means more potential Google searchers, which in turn translates into more chances for the company to display ads.

Richard Bennett, a fellow with the nonprofit Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, was skeptical of the project, noting that smartphones are increasingly being used in developing countries.

"I'm really glad that Google is doing this kind of speculative research," he said. "But it remains to be seen how practical any of these things are."

Before heading to New Zealand, Google spent a few months secretly launching two to five flights a week in California's Central Valley.

"People were calling in reports about UFOs," DeVaul said.

___

Mendoza reported from Mountain View, Calif. Follow Martha Mendoza at http://twitter.com/mendozamartha

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-begins-launching-internet-beaming-balloons-031644286.html

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Afraid of getting tetanus...again... - Health, Fitness, and Sports

WP Members: > 75,000 New Today: 33 New Yesterday: 25

Afraid of getting tetanus...again afraid... ??? ???Wrong Planet Autism Forum Index -> Health, Fitness, and Sports ???? Tollorin Lazy Cat Joined: Jun 15, 2009 Age: 31 Posts: 1674 Location: Sherbrooke,Qu?bec, Canada Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 11:39 pm?? ?Post subject: Afraid of getting tetanus...again afraid... Yesterday, at the exterior of a grocery store, I got a small cut on my right hand by slightly hitting a shelving unit. This was metal shelving unit, with a lot of rust. So basically, I cut myself with rusty metal. I got to drug store to buy some cotton and hydrogen peroxyde, so I desinfected the cut after a few minutes. So now I'm worried about tetanus, , I did get a shot one year ago, but no protection is perfect and I'm still worried. What should I do? Should I go to the clinic? And could they do something? Back to top ? '); //--> cathylynn Phoenix Joined: Aug 25, 2011 Posts: 2161 Location: northeastern US Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 2:17 am?? ?Post subject: if you got a tetanus shot one year ago and have cleaned the cut and it has stopped bleeding, there is nothing more a clinic could do. try not to worry and get a good night's sleep. Back to top ? '); //--> chris5000 Phoenix Joined: Aug 10, 2012 Age: 22 Posts: 850 Location: united states Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 12:46 pm?? ?Post subject: you can go and get a tetanus shot to stop future incidents, I get one every few years because I spend time around rusty metal Back to top ? '); //--> 1000Knives It's not difficult if you know how. Joined: Jul 09, 2011 Age: 22 Posts: 4707 Location: CT, USA Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 1:10 pm?? ?Post subject: Re: Afraid of getting tetanus...again afraid... Tollorin wrote: Yesterday, at the exterior of a grocery store, I got a small cut on my right hand by slightly hitting a shelving unit. This was metal shelving unit, with a lot of rust. So basically, I cut myself with rusty metal. I got to drug store to buy some cotton and hydrogen peroxyde, so I desinfected the cut after a few minutes. So now I'm worried about tetanus, , I did get a shot one year ago, but no protection is perfect and I'm still worried. What should I do? Should I go to the clinic? And could they do something? You should try to relax and realize that thousands and thousands of people everyday cut themselves on metal objects and don't get tetanus. _________________ Too kawaii to live... Too sugoi to die! Back to top ? '); //--> ??? ???Wrong Planet Autism Forum Index -> Health, Fitness, and Sports??? ?

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