Friday Fourplay: Beer Berries, Yogurt Liqueur, Sushi Donuts, and ...

Flavorful World?s Friday Fourplay offers up a bite-sized tidbit of info on each of the four food- and drink-related things we found most interesting each week.

Photo credit: Moonstruck Chocolate Co.

Beer Berries

These candies from Moonstruck Chocolate Company?are not so-named because they possess any alcohol (there is, in fact, no beer in them). To create them, malted wheat berries of the sort used when brewing dark beers get tumbled in dark chocolate. Moonstruck suggests pairing them with a nice stout beer, marking the first of two examples you?ll be getting from Flavorful World today (you lucky goose, you) of ways to combine chocolate with beer. Read on.

Via Tasting Table

Photo credit: Maggie Hoffman / Serious Eats

Yogurt Liqueur

Let?s see if I can make it through this one without any punny, yogurt-themed references to drinking up some cultures. Damn. So close. Anyway, Lucas Bols Amsterdam has released a liqueur made with fresh yogurt. Depending on your tolerance for sugary, dairy-based libations, this product promises either to make your smoothies a bit smoother or offend you horribly. Speaking for myself, the phrase ?Challenge accepted!? springs to mind.

Via Serious Eats

Photo credit: Buzzfeed.com

Sushi Donuts

The day I discovered a cake that cut a thoroughly convincing figure posing as a bowl of ramen was what cemented my knowledge that Japan excels at food catfishing creating impossibly delicious foods that masquerade as other foods. The latest gustatory ?Gotcha!? I?ve uncovered comes to us from Mister Donut, a U.S.-founded, Japan-headquartered franchise whose Thailand?branch is selling donuts visually fashioned after sushi. These ?Sushido? have actually been around a few years, but recently had their popularity surge via Twitter. Viewing the pictures I found over at Buzzfeed, it?s not difficult to see why (he wrote, as a Homer Simpsonesque hunger sound erupted low in his throat?)

Via Buzzfeed

Photo credit: Foodiggity.com

Chocolate Peanut Butter Beer

Sure, its flavor profile sounds like the newest addition to the Three Broomsticks Inn?s beverage menu, but Sweet Baby Jesus! is something else entirely. Unlike our top entry in this week?s FF, this porter brew is, for better or worse, exactly what it sounds like: a beer flavored to taste like peanut butter and chocolate. One can?t help but smile at thought of all the ?You?spilled beer all over my Reese?s Peanut Butter Cup!? vs. ?You dropped your Reese?s Peanut Butter Cup in my beer!? arguments just begging to be played out among drinkers who know where to find this new product of Maryland-based Duclaw Brewing.

Via Foodiggity

*Mention of a product, good, or service in a Friday Fourplay posting should not be interpreted as an endorsement either from Anthony Beal or Flavorful World food and drink blog. Vendors are not notified ahead of time that their products/services will be featured, thus Flavorful World will at the time of posting have had no related interactions with said vendors or any sample of their products/services by which to judge them. As such, we have no idea what these vendors are like to work with, or about the quality of their merchandise and are unqualified to vouch for them as reputable. Our Friday Fourplay lists are posted in the simple spirit of our having come across something that looks and sounds engaging, and thinking that perhaps our readers will think so too; no more, no less. With that in mind, patronize these establishments and vendors at your own risk.

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Source: http://flavorfulworld.com/2013/06/28/friday-fourplay-beer-berries-yogurt-liqueur-sushi-donuts-and-chocolate-peanut-butter-beer/

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Mandela family feud over where he should be buried

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? As Nelson Mandela remained in critical condition in hospital Friday, a family feud over where the 94-year-old former president should be buried went to the courts, according to South Africa's national broadcaster.

Mandela's oldest daughter, Makaziwe, and 15 other family members have pressed a court application to get Mandela's grandson to return the bodies of three of Mandela's children to their original graves in the eastern rural village of Qunu, according to the SABC.

The grandson, Mandla Mandela, acknowledges having reburied the three bodies 20 kilometers (13 miles) away in the Mvezo village, where he plans to create a Mandela shrine, hotel and soccer stadium, according to the South African Press Association.

Grandson Mandla Mandela has until Saturday to respond to the court filing, reports said.

The anti-apartheid leader built his retirement home in Qunu and was living there until his repeated hospitalizations which started at the end of last year. Nelson Mandela attended the burial of his son at the family plot in Qunu in 2005, and it was widely expected that the leader himself will be buried there.

But his grandson exhumed the bodies of Mandela's three children and moved them to nearby Mvezo, which is the former president's birthplace and where the grandson holds authority as chief.

Eldest daughter Makaziwe and other Mandela family members want the family bodies returned to their original graves in Qunu, according to the reports.

The family court struggle came as Mandela's ex-wife said that he had improved in recent days, but remained critical.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

___

Associated Press writer Wandoo Makurdi contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mandela-family-feud-over-where-buried-190835192.html

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Climate Change May Radically Transform Desert Bacteria

Climate change may transform the community of microbes that forms the crucial top layer of soil, known as a biocrust, in deserts throughout the United States, new research suggests.

The study, published today (June 27) in the journal Science, found that one type of bacteria dominates in warm climates, whereas another is more prevalent in cooler areas. Combined with climate models, the findings suggest that the cold-loving bacteria could completely disappear from their current habitats as the climate warms.

That disappearance, in turn, could have unpredictable ripple effects across the entire desert ecosystem, study researchers said, as the biocrusts are important resources for desert plants and help mitigate dust storms. [Photos: Mysterious World of Cryptobiotic Soils]

"For the first time, we have shown that the distribution of microbes is also prone to changes due to global warming," said study co-author Ferran Garcia-Pichel, a microbial ecologist at Arizona State University. "We simply don't know the consequences of this."

Ubiquitous organisms

Throughout the arid regions of the western United States, desert soil is permeated by a cryptic collection of photosynthetic organisms, including microbes, lichens and mosses. These mostly bacterial biocrusts anchor the soil, preventing sandstorms and erosion. They also play a critical role in cycling carbon and providing nitrogen in the soil, which feeds the growth of desert plants.

Yet these soils remained virtually unstudied by researchers.

To get a better picture of these cryptic species, Garcia-Pichel and his colleagues conducted a thorough survey of the microbial constituents in biocrusts at 23 sites throughout the western United States. They found that two species ? Microcoleus vaginatus and M. steenstrupii ? each dominated in different regions.

Hot and cold

M. vaginatus predominated in cooler deserts near the California-Oregon border and in Utah, whereas M. steenstrupii was the main bacteria in the scorching deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and California. The researchers looked at several potential causes for the difference in distribution, such as rainfall and soil composition, but found that temperature was the best predictor of which microbe thrived in each region.

To help confirm that this was the major driver behind the distribution, the team then took the bacteria back to the lab and cultured them at different temperatures. Sure enough, M. steenstrupii flourished in warmer conditions and was more tolerant to extreme heat, while the opposite was true for M. vaginatus.

Next, they looked at global warming models, which predicted that the desert regions in the United States would increase in temperature over the next 50 years. With this projected warming, M. vaginatus could completely disappear from the arid regions of the western United States, the researchers said.

The team realized "this is enough temperature to push one of them out of our map,'" Garcia-Pichel told LiveScience.

Unknown consequences

Unfortunately, so little is known about the mysterious M. steenstrupii that no one is sure how this change will impact desert ecosystems, said Jayne Belnap, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Moab, Utah, who was not involved in the study.

"These are the only game in town to prevent dust storms and erosion, so they're really, really critical parts of this ecosystem," Belnap told LiveScience. "Yet we've never asked the question, 'who's really in there, and what's going to happen there as things shift?'"

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter?and Google+.?Follow?LiveScience?@livescience,?Facebook?&?Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/climate-change-may-radically-transform-desert-bacteria-141321579.html

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Obama's environmental nominee in jeopardy from Senate Republicans

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made a plea this week for the U.S. Senate to confirm his choice to head the agency that will oversee the core of his new climate change plan, but nominee Gina McCarthy's prospects seem increasingly in doubt.

McCarthy was nominated by Obama in March to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where she is currently the top air quality official.

She has yet to receive a vote in the full U.S. Senate after narrowly being approved by the Senate Committee for the Environment and Public Works on a party-line vote.

In his speech Tuesday laying out a climate action plan, Obama said McCarthy was well qualified for the job and has bipartisan credentials. The Senate should confirm her "without any further obstruction or delay," Obama said.

McCarthy has worked for several Republican governors, including 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts. She was seen by many as a choice that could work with lawmakers from both parties.

But many Republicans are bitterly against proposed new regulations from the EPA on coal-fired power plants and could seek to block McCarthy's confirmation.

"Sad to say, but I think (Obama) may have effectively sacrificed her confirmation," said Manik Roy, vice president for strategic outreach for the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

McCarthy has received public support from industry representatives and environmental groups alike for her ability to navigate political divisions.

Roy and other analysts have said opposition to her confirmation has less to do with her and more to do with ideological opposition to regulation.

Republican Senator Roy Blount maintains a hold on her nomination over a river project in his state, while members of the Senate environmental committee continue to press McCarthy and the EPA over the transparency of the agency's emails and the economic analysis that goes into its rulemaking.

Reaction by some Senate Republicans to Obama's climate plan signal a tough fight for McCarthy.

Republican Senator John Barrasso said regulations targeting coal-powered plants will strangle the economy. And he suggested McCarthy had lied when asked at her confirmation hearing in April about the agency's plans to regulate existing power plants.

"The agency is not currently developing any existing source greenhouse gas regulations for power plants," McCarthy told the panel.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Barrasso said, "She has recently reported to the Senate that the things the president is talking about today are things she has known nothing about. So either she was ignorant about what's going on at EPA, a place where she's been an assistant director for the last four years, or she is arrogant.

"Either way, I think this tarnishes her chances of being approved by the Senate, tarnishes her nomination."

Senator Barbara Boxer, the Democrat who chairs the environment panel, told reporters last week that she will lead a public campaign for McCarthy.

Roy said that even if the current acting administrator, Bob Perciasepe, stays on in his role, McCarthy will be able to take the lead on Obama's climate agenda.

Allison Macfarlane, another member of Obama's energy team, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday to a full term as chairwoman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which she has led since July 2012.

(Additional reporting by Douwe Miedema, Editing by Ros Krasny and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-environmental-nominee-jeopardy-senate-republicans-003855744.html

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Phoenix, Las Vegas bake in scorching heat

PHOENIX (AP) ? A blazing heat wave expected to send the mercury soaring to nearly 120 degrees in Phoenix and Las Vegas settled over the West on Friday, threatening to ground airliners and raising fears that people and pets will get burned on the scalding pavement.

The heat was so punishing that rangers took up positions at trailheads at Lake Mead in Nevada to persuade people not to hike. Zookeepers in Phoenix hosed down the elephants and fed tigers frozen fish snacks. And tourists at California's Death Valley took photos of the harsh landscape and a thermometer that read 121.

The mercury there was expected to reach nearly 130 on Friday ? just short of the 134-degree reading from a century ago that stands as the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.

"You have to take a picture of something like this. Otherwise no one will believe you," said Laura McAlpine, visiting Death Valley from Scotland.

The heat is not expected to break until Monday or Tuesday.

The scorching weather presented problems for airlines because high temperatures can make it more difficult for planes to take off. Hot air reduces lift and also hurts engine performance. Planes taking off in the heat may need longer runways or may have to shed weight by carrying less fuel.

Smaller jets and propeller planes are more likely to be affected than big airliners, officials said.

The National Weather Service said Phoenix could reach 118 on Friday, while Las Vegas could see the same temperature over the weekend in what would be a record for Sin City. The record in Phoenix is 122.

Temperatures are also expected to soar across Utah and into Wyoming and Idaho, with triple-digit heat forecast for the Boise area. Cities in Washington state that are better known for cool, rainy weather should break the 90s next week.

"This is the hottest time of the year, but the temperatures that we'll be looking at for Friday through Sunday, they'll be toward the top," said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark O'Malley. "It's going to be baking hot across much of the entire West."

The heat is the result of a high-pressure system brought on by a shift in the jet stream, the high-altitude air current that dictates weather patterns. The jet stream has been more erratic in the past few years.

Health officials warned people to be extremely careful when venturing outdoors. The risks include not only dehydration and heat stroke but burns from the concrete and asphalt.

"You will see people who go out walking with their dog at noon or in the middle of the day and don't bring enough water and it gets tragic pretty quickly," said Bretta Nelson, spokeswoman for the Arizona Humane Society. "You just don't want to find out the hard way."

Cooling stations were set up to shelter the homeless as well as elderly people who can't afford to run their air conditioners. In Phoenix, Joe Arpaio, the famously hard-nosed sheriff who runs a tent jail, planned to distribute ice cream and cold towels to inmates this weekend.

Officials said personnel were added to the Border Patrol search-and-rescue unit because of the danger to people trying to slip across the Mexican border. At least seven people have been found dead in the last week in Arizona after falling victim to the brutal desert heat.

In June 1990, when Phoenix hit 122 degrees, airlines were forced to cease flights for several hours because of a lack of data from the manufacturers on how the aircraft would operate in such extreme heat.

US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher said the airline now knows that its Boeings can fly at up to 126 degrees, and its Airbus fleet can operate at up to 127.

While the heat in Las Vegas is expected to peak on Sunday, it's unlikely to sideline the first round of the four-week Bikini Invitational tournament.

"I feel sorry for those poor girls having to strut themselves in 115 degrees, but there's $100,000 up for grabs," said Hard Rock casino spokeswoman Abigail Miller. "I think the girls are willing to make the sacrifice."

___

Carlson contributed in Death Valley, Calif. Also contributing were Robert Jablon in Los Angeles, Julie Jacobson and Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas, Michelle Price in Salt Lake City, Cristina Silva and Bob Christie in Phoenix and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, N.M.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/phoenix-las-vegas-bake-scorching-heat-202602575.html

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Kotaku The Best Games of 2013's Amazing First Six Months | io9 A quick way to make people feel bad a

Kotaku The Best Games of 2013's Amazing First Six Months | io9 A quick way to make people feel bad about their whole lives | Jezebel Nigella Lawson Walks Out On Alleged Domestic Abuser Charles Saatchi | Gawker Here's What Your Newspaper Looks Like When You Fire Your Photographers

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Applifier's FaceCam, Which Records Mobile Gamers' Reactions While They Play, Comes Out Of Beta

Applifier, which runs a mobile-social gaming network where players can share video playbacks of their virtual feats, is pulling FaceCam, a product using the front-facing camera, out of beta. FaceCam records a person’s gameplay and their facial expressions while they’re playing from the front-facing camera. It sometimes can look a bit awkward (see here) or hilarious, but for some gamers, it’s the most vivid way to share how twitchy a game can be. The Helsinki and San Francisco-based startup incorporated FaceCam into games like NimbleBit’s Nimble Quest and Angry Birds-maker Rovio’s Bad Piggies in the beta. The company says it’s seeing about two minutes of gameplay video shared every minute, with the volume of time growing 750 percent compared to the first quarter of this year. Month-over-month, the company says, the number of minutes shared has grown by more than 25 percent. They didn’t disclose the raw number of videos shared, however. With improvement in data connections, we’re seeing mobile app makers — both in the general consumer space and in gaming — adopt more video features. On the general consumer side, Twitter’s Vine took off on the free charts and accumulated 13 million users as of a few weeks ago, while Instagram launched video last week. In gaming, both the major consoles, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, announced built-in video sharing while Twitch, which stream live match-ups for video gamers, reports 35 million unique viewers a month who watch about 1.5 hours of video play each day on average. Applifier, with its network Everyplay, is looking to replicate that video-sharing experience on mobile platforms. The company has a longstanding network for cross-promoting social games on Facebook, and pivoted (like much of the rest of the industry) to mobile platforms over the last year. Last year, they launched a beta for sharing mobile gaming replays. Then they added front-facing camera options after closing a $4 million second venture round led by Finland’s Lifeline Ventures. They are also backed by MHS Capital, PROfounders Capital, Tekes and Webb Investment Network.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Yqh6cHMC-9o/

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Creator of Vietnam-era lottery draft dies at 88

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (AP) ? The former federal official who created the lottery for the draft during the Vietnam War has died at age 88.

Curtis Tarr died at his home in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Friday. His daughter, Pam Tarr, said Wednesday that her father died of pneumonia.

Tarr was appointed director of the Selective Service System in 1970, by President Richard Nixon.

Pam Tarr says her father wanted to eliminate an exemption for college students and make the draft more equitable. He instituted a lottery system based on birthdays that were picked on national television.

He later served as under secretary of state for security assistance, with responsibility for military programs with other nations.

Pam Tarr says her father probably would have described the lottery as his greatest responsibility, not his greatest achievement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/creator-vietnam-era-lottery-draft-dies-88-170846646.html

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Texas woman set to be 500th execution in state

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Kimberly McCarthy, who is on death row in Texas for the 1997 killing of a neighbor during a robbery. McCarthy is scheduled to be executed on June 26 and would be the 500th in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice, File)

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Kimberly McCarthy, who is on death row in Texas for the 1997 killing of a neighbor during a robbery. McCarthy is scheduled to be executed on June 26 and would be the 500th in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice, File)

This photo taken May 27, 2008 file photo shows the gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where Texas' condemned are strapped down to receive a lethal dose of drugs. The first execution by lethal injection in Texas occurred in 1982. Since then the state has executed 499 prisoners. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

In this photo taken June 12, 2013, death penalty opponents gather outside the Huntsville Unit before the execution of confessed killer Elroy Chester in Huntsville, Texas. Chester, convicted of the 1988 the fatal shooting of Port Arthur firefighter Willie Ryman III, was the 499th prisoner to be executed in Texas since 1982. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

FILE - This July 31, 1972 file photo shows the keys of death row and the electric chair at the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 4, 1995 file photo, a group of protesters hold signs outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Walls Unit, where the death chamber is located, to protest the execution of Harold Joe Lane in Huntsville, Texas. Lane was the 100th convicted killer to be executed since the state resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) ? Texas, the nation's busiest death penalty state, is set to mark a solemn moment in criminal justice Wednesday with the execution of convicted killer Kimberly McCarthy.

If McCarthy is put to death in Huntsville as planned, she would become the 500th person executed in Texas since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1982. The 52-year-old also would be the first woman executed in the U.S. since 2010.

McCarthy's attorney, Maurie Levin, said she has exhausted all efforts to block the execution, after denials by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

"If there was something to appeal, I would," said Levin.

Texas has carried out nearly 40 percent of the more than 1,300 executions in U.S. since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976. The state's standing stems from its size as the nation's second most populous state as well as its tradition of tough justice for killers.

With increased debate in recent years over wrongful convictions, some states have halted the practice entirely. However, 32 states have the death penalty on the books. Still, it's clear the debate over capital punishment has touched Texas, with lawmakers providing more sentencing options for juries and courts narrowing the cases for which death can be sought.

McCarthy faces execution for the 1997 robbery, beating and fatal stabbing of retired college psychology professor Dorothy Booth. Booth had agreed to give McCarthy a cup of sugar before she was attacked with a butcher knife at her home in Lancaster, about 15 miles south of Dallas. Authorities say McCarthy cut off Booth's finger to remove her wedding ring.

Police also had linked two other slayings to McCarthy, a former nursing home therapist who became addicted to crack cocaine.

In her appeals, McCarthy contended prosecutors improperly excluded black jurors and that her lawyers failed to challenge the moves at trial or in early appeals. McCarthy is black, and Booth was white. All but one of the 12 jurors at McCarthy's trial were white.

In January, McCarthy had been moved to a small holding cell a few steps from the Texas death chamber when a Dallas judge moved her execution to April. That timing then was reset for June when Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said he wanted to await the outcome of capital punishment-related bills before lawmakers in Austin.

On Tuesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to reconsider its denial a day earlier of McCarthy's appeal, saying her claims should have been raised previously.

Levin, a University of Texas law professor, said because the court's ruling focused on a procedural and not a substantive issue, the case cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The shameful errors that plague Ms. McCarthy's case ? race bias, ineffective counsel and courts unwilling to exercise meaningful oversight of the system ? reflect problems that are central to the administration of the death penalty as a whole. For this to be the emblem of Texas' 500th execution is something all Texans should be ashamed of," Levin said.

McCarthy declined to speak with reporters as her execution date neared.

Anti-death penalty groups planned to protest outside the Walls Unit in Huntsville, where McCarthy is set to receive a lethal injection Wednesday evening.

"The whole world is looking at Texas," said Gloria Rubac, with the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement in Houston.

McCarthy would be the 13th woman nationwide and the fourth in Texas put to death since 1976. In the same period, more than 1,300 men have been executed nationwide, 496 of them in Texas. Virginia is a distant second, nearly 400 executions behind.

Federal statistics show that over the past three decades women account for about 10 percent of convicted murderers. According to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, there were 63 women on death row in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, representing 2 percent of the nation's 3,125 condemned prisoners.

Prosecutors showed that McCarthy stole Booth's Mercedes and drove to Dallas, pawned the wedding ring she had removed from the woman's severed finger for $200 and then went to a crack house to buy cocaine. Evidence also showed she used Booth's credit cards at a liquor store.

Booth's DNA was found on a 10-inch butcher knife recovered from McCarthy's home.

McCarthy blamed the crime on two drug dealers, but there was no evidence either existed.

Blood DNA evidence also tied McCarthy to the December 1988 slayings of 81-year-old Maggie Harding and 85-year-old Jettie Lucas. Harding was stabbed and beaten with a meat tenderizer, while Lucas was beaten with both sides of a claw hammer and stabbed.

McCarthy, who denied any involvement in the attacks, was indicted but not tried for those slayings.

McCarthy is a former wife of Aaron Michaels, founder of the New Black Panther Party, and he testified on her behalf. They had separated before Booth's slaying.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano at http://www.twitter.com/juanlozano70

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-26-Texas-500th%20Execution/id-bada44f9ae704da3820cad79715ec2f6

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Sony announces the Xperia SP M35t, its first TD-LTE device for China Mobile

Announced alongside the Xperia C just now is the TD-LTE version of the Xperia SP (M35t), and naturally, it's headed to China Mobile, which pretty much owns the technology right now. Like before, the device comes with a 4.6-inch 720p plus a touchscreen that works fine with gloves. Additionally, NFC and the iconic illuminating transparent element are still present. Not much was said about the detailed specs, though, so we're not sure if it's the same chipset inside. Again, stay tuned for further announcements.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/25/sony-xperia-sp-m35t-td-lte/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Russian cosmonauts finish up long out for a spacewalk

NASA via AP

In this frame grab from video provided by NASA, two Russian flight engineers perform maintenance on the International Space Station on Monday.

By Miriam Kramer

Two cosmonauts took a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Monday to prepare the orbiting outpost for the arrival of a new Russian laboratory later this year.

Clad in bulky Orlan spacesuits, cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin?spent more than six hours outside the space station?to test automated docking system cables and install equipment in preparation for the arrival of the new Russian Multipurpose Laboratory, a science module slated to launch to the orbiting laboratory by the end of 2013. The spacewalk began at 9:32 a.m. ET.

Yurchikhin and Misurkin successfully tested the docking system cables that will be used to help the new Multipurpose Laboratory module dock itself at the station when it arrives. The spacewalkers also installed cable clamps to hold the cables that will route power and data from the U.S. segment of the space station to the new laboratory module. [See Photos of the Russian Spacewalk]

It wasn't all work and no play for the hard-working cosmonauts.

"Can you make the sun not shine so bright?" one of the spacewalkers joked during the orbital work. "It's shining right in my eyes."

Yurchikhin and Misurkin are part of the space station's six-person?Expedition 36 crew. Their crewmates ? fellow cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, NASA's Chris Cassidy and Karen Nyberg, and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano ? remained inside the International Space Station during the spacewalk.

Misurkin and Yurchikhin were lighthearted during the six-hour, 34-minute excursion. They joked with Russian Mission Control about being hungry, paused occasionally for a photo and commented on the?beauty of the Earth from space.

"I guess we're flying over South America," one of the spacewalkers said at one point. "Gorgeous."

Aside from the new module preparation work, the cosmonauts also replaced a fluid control valve panel on the Zarya module, installed a new science experiment on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory, and retrieved two older experiments.

They installed tethers between handholds to be used by cosmonauts and astronauts on future spacewalks; however, they weren't able to mount all of them in time. The remaining tethers will be installed during a future spacewalk, NASA officials said.

Monday's spacewalk marked the sixth excursion for Yurchikhin, a veteran cosmonaut making his fourth spaceflight. It was the first for Misurkin. Before this spacewalk, Yurchikhin had logged 31 hours and 52 minutes of spacewalking time.

Six more spacewalks are planned for this year, four Russian and two American. The U.S. spacewalks are scheduled to take place on July 2 and 9.

Monday's excursion marked the 169th spacewalk for maintenance and assembly performed on the $100 billion orbiting laboratory. The?International Space Station?was built by 15 countries represented by five space agencies, and construction began in 1998. It has been continuously staffed by rotating crews of astronauts since 2000.

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Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2dbe36f7/l/0Lscience0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C250C191173720Erussian0Ecosmonauts0Efinish0Eup0Elong0Eout0Efor0Ea0Espacewalk0Dlite/story01.htm

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Australian TV Reporter Makes Racist Sex Joke, Then Laughs During ...

This is worse than most Ron Burgundy rants!

Australian news reporter Natasha Exelby came under serious scrutiny recently after laughing her way through the reading of super-sad world news!!!

After a light-hearted and flirty segment, she reported on deadly riots in Brazil, an accident killing children in India, and a toddler falling off of a building ? but she laughed her way through the ENTIRE broadcast!

Ch-ch-check out her awkwardly inappropriate gaffes (above)!

Yikes!!! Laughter is a natural human reaction to unbearably stressful situations, but TV anchors are trained to tread delicately!!!

Worse, perhaps, was Natasha calling an Irish guest "one lucky little Leprechaun" while implying she might have sex with him!

She apologized for her poorly timed laughter, but neither bigotry nor sexual solicitation are appropriate for serious news programs!!!

Tags: accident, australiastic, bigotry, broadcast, channel ten news, icky icky poo, inappropriate, natasha exelby, tv news, video

Source: http://perezhilton.com/2013-06-25-australia-news-gaffe-natasha-exelby-inappropriate-laughter-bigotry

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Mutua Madrileña funds IDIBELL and ICO project to improve diagnosis of Lynch syndrome

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
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Contact: Arantxa Mena
comunicacio@idibell.cat
34-932-607-129
IDIBELL-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute

The Fundacin Mutua Madrilea, in its 10th Call for Aids to Research, has selected a project to improve the diagnosis of Lynch syndrome led by researcher Marta Pineda, from the Hereditary Cancer research group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO). The aid is provided with 33,000 euros and has a duration of two years.

Hereditary predisposition to cancer

Lynch syndrome is a hereditary predisposition to cancer caused by germline mutations in DNA repair genes. Families with Lynch syndrome have a higher risk of developing several types of cancer, especially of colon and endometrium.

Mutational analysis of repair genes often identifies genetic variants of unknown significance, of which we cannot predict its biological significance and clinical consequences. Identification of a variant of unknown significance is an important limitation for proper risk assessment of cancer predisposition. Such variants represent a 30% of the alterations detected in mutational analysis repair genes.

The aim of the project funded by the Fundacin Mutua Madrilea is to study the pathogenicity of the variants identified in repair genes MSH2 and MSH6.

The funding of this project will imply the incorporation of the functional study of these variants in the routine of the Molecular Diagnostic Unit of ICO and a significant improvement in molecular diagnostics of Lynch syndrome.

The determination of the pathogenicity of a variant is essential to help Genetic Counselling Units in doing family counselling and allows predictive studies of risk and prevention measures and an adequate monitoring.

Improvements in diagnosis

On the other hand, together with the announcement of this aid, the researchers of the hereditary cancer group at IDIBELL and ICO, under the direction of Gabriel Capell have published in the Journal of Medical Genetics a study identifying the first PMS2 mutations in Spain. The study also involved the Institute of Medicine and Molecular Oncology of Asturias (IMOMA) and the University of Frankfurt.

Mutational analysis of PMS2 is particularly complex since there are multiple pseudogenes (sequences similar to that of our genes but with no protein expression capacity) that hinder it. The IMOMA uses a special methodology that avoids pseudogenes and identifies mutations in PMS2 in a more reliable way. Subsequently, the functional study of variants of unknown significance made by ICO and the University of Frankfurt has allowed classifying the variants identified in the PMS2 gene.

This exhaustive strategy of molecular study in the genetic analysis of PMS2 gene has allowed the identification of mutations responsible for the syndrome in 69% of the analyzed patients.

###

About us

The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a Spanish leading health research cantre created in 2004 and participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital, the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, and the University of Barcelona. IDIBELL is located at L'Hospitalet de Llobregat-Barcelona, at Biopol'H Space, and is member of the Health Universitat de Barcelona Campus.

Article reference

Borrs E., Pineda M., Cadianos J., del Valle J.,Brieger A., Hinrichsen I., Cabanillas R., Navarro M., Brunet J., Sanjuan X., Musulen E., van der Klift H., Lzaro C., Plotz G., Blanco I. and Capell G. Refining the role of pms2 in Lynch syndrome: germline mutational analysis improved by comprehensive assessment of variants. Journal of Medical Genetics. 10.1136/jmedgenet-2012-101511

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Arantxa Mena
comunicacio@idibell.cat
34-932-607-129
IDIBELL-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute

The Fundacin Mutua Madrilea, in its 10th Call for Aids to Research, has selected a project to improve the diagnosis of Lynch syndrome led by researcher Marta Pineda, from the Hereditary Cancer research group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO). The aid is provided with 33,000 euros and has a duration of two years.

Hereditary predisposition to cancer

Lynch syndrome is a hereditary predisposition to cancer caused by germline mutations in DNA repair genes. Families with Lynch syndrome have a higher risk of developing several types of cancer, especially of colon and endometrium.

Mutational analysis of repair genes often identifies genetic variants of unknown significance, of which we cannot predict its biological significance and clinical consequences. Identification of a variant of unknown significance is an important limitation for proper risk assessment of cancer predisposition. Such variants represent a 30% of the alterations detected in mutational analysis repair genes.

The aim of the project funded by the Fundacin Mutua Madrilea is to study the pathogenicity of the variants identified in repair genes MSH2 and MSH6.

The funding of this project will imply the incorporation of the functional study of these variants in the routine of the Molecular Diagnostic Unit of ICO and a significant improvement in molecular diagnostics of Lynch syndrome.

The determination of the pathogenicity of a variant is essential to help Genetic Counselling Units in doing family counselling and allows predictive studies of risk and prevention measures and an adequate monitoring.

Improvements in diagnosis

On the other hand, together with the announcement of this aid, the researchers of the hereditary cancer group at IDIBELL and ICO, under the direction of Gabriel Capell have published in the Journal of Medical Genetics a study identifying the first PMS2 mutations in Spain. The study also involved the Institute of Medicine and Molecular Oncology of Asturias (IMOMA) and the University of Frankfurt.

Mutational analysis of PMS2 is particularly complex since there are multiple pseudogenes (sequences similar to that of our genes but with no protein expression capacity) that hinder it. The IMOMA uses a special methodology that avoids pseudogenes and identifies mutations in PMS2 in a more reliable way. Subsequently, the functional study of variants of unknown significance made by ICO and the University of Frankfurt has allowed classifying the variants identified in the PMS2 gene.

This exhaustive strategy of molecular study in the genetic analysis of PMS2 gene has allowed the identification of mutations responsible for the syndrome in 69% of the analyzed patients.

###

About us

The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a Spanish leading health research cantre created in 2004 and participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital, the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, and the University of Barcelona. IDIBELL is located at L'Hospitalet de Llobregat-Barcelona, at Biopol'H Space, and is member of the Health Universitat de Barcelona Campus.

Article reference

Borrs E., Pineda M., Cadianos J., del Valle J.,Brieger A., Hinrichsen I., Cabanillas R., Navarro M., Brunet J., Sanjuan X., Musulen E., van der Klift H., Lzaro C., Plotz G., Blanco I. and Capell G. Refining the role of pms2 in Lynch syndrome: germline mutational analysis improved by comprehensive assessment of variants. Journal of Medical Genetics. 10.1136/jmedgenet-2012-101511

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ibri-mmf062513.php

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Ouya looks to make a dent in game console market

Julie Uhrman, chief executive of Android game console maker Ouya, is interviewed in New York, Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Ouya, that went on sale Tuesday for $99, aims to challenge the dominance of the Xboxes, Nintendos and PlayStations of the world. The launch follows a successful funding campaign through the group-fundraising site Kickstarter, but it's unclear whether the console will enjoy broader success. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Julie Uhrman, chief executive of Android game console maker Ouya, is interviewed in New York, Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Ouya, that went on sale Tuesday for $99, aims to challenge the dominance of the Xboxes, Nintendos and PlayStations of the world. The launch follows a successful funding campaign through the group-fundraising site Kickstarter, but it's unclear whether the console will enjoy broader success. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Julie Uhrman, chief executive of Android game console maker Ouya, describes the controller of the new console, during an an interview in New York, Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Ouya, that went on sale Tuesday for $99, aims to challenge the dominance of the Xboxes, Nintendos and PlayStations of the world. The launch follows a successful funding campaign through the group-fundraising site Kickstarter, but it's unclear whether the console will enjoy broader success. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Julie Uhrman, chief executive of Android game console maker Ouya, is interviewed in New York, Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Ouya, that went on sale Tuesday for $99, aims to challenge the dominance of the Xboxes, Nintendos and PlayStations of the world. The launch follows a successful funding campaign through the group-fundraising site Kickstarter, but it's unclear whether the console will enjoy broader success. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Ouya, maker of a bite-sized game console that runs Google's Android operating system, wants to take a bite out the video game triumvirate of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

The console, which went on sale Tuesday for $100, lets players try games for free before buying them, a selling point Ouya (pronounced oo-yah) CEO Julie Uhrman often makes to underscore that gamers who use consoles made by "the big three" can't test games before they spend as much as $60 to purchase them.

"We are definitely disrupting the console market," Uhrman says. "I mean, there's been no startup that has had a meaningful impact on the market in decades, and we're the first. We offer something different."

So far, Ouya's pitch seems to be working. The underdog console had sold out on Amazon.com and on Target's website by Tuesday afternoon. It is available at other outlets, including Best Buy and GameStop.

The Ouya game cube measures about 3 inches on each side and hooks up to a TV set. The console comes with a single controller. Additional controllers cost $50.

There are nearly 180 games available for Ouya, ranging from the likes of "Crazy Cat Lady" to the more established "Final Fantasy III" from Square Enix. The company says more games are on the way. There are also some non-gaming apps, such as online music service TuneIn Radio.

The games are sold through Ouya's storefront, not Google Play, the app store where people buy games for Android tablets and mobile devices. Pricing is left up to individual game developers; many games are in the single digits. "Final Fantasy" is an exception at $16. Ouya takes a 30 percent cut from the game developers.

While you won't find "Grand Theft Auto IV" or the latest "Call of Duty" among the available titles, there are plenty of others from independent developers whose games may never make it onto the dominant consoles, Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Wii.

"I don't think it's ever really going to challenge the big three, but it offers a lot to the more casual gamer," says Anthony Yacullo, a self-described "gadget geek" from Lawrenceville, N.J. Like thousands of other gamers and game developers, Yacullo already has an Ouya. He contributed at least $95 to the company through crowdfunding website, Kickstarter.

"When I'm out on the road for work and come home, I don't want to play 'Call of Duty," he says. Rather, Yacullo says he looks for games more like the ones on his phone ? except he doesn't want to be staring at his phone.

That's where Ouya comes in. Still, the new console is unlikely to present a serious challenge to high-end consoles coming out from Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. later this year. Ouya lacks recent blockbuster games with high-end graphics. But at a fraction of the price (the Xbox One will cost $500 and the PlayStation 4, $400), it appeals to budget-conscious gamers, gadget geeks and those looking for an alternative to gaming power-trio.

Gartner analyst Brian Blau says the measure of Ouya's success will not be the number of consoles it sells but the amount of money game developers make ?and whether there is a steady stream of new games for the device. What's missing now, he adds, is the big-name video game brands such as Activision and Electronic Arts supporting Ouya.

That could come later.

The project to build the Ouya console launched on Kickstarter last July. On Aug. 9, 2012, Ouya's funding period ended with $8.6 million pledged, more than nine times the original $950,000 goal its creators had set. More than 63,000 people donated, with 12 pledging $10,000 or more.

"We brought it to Kickstarter because we wanted to know if anybody really wanted this," Uhrman says. "We had talked with developers and industry veterans like (video game designer) Brian Fargo and Ed Fries, who is one of the founders, basically, of Xbox, and there was a general feeling that there was a void in the market place for soemthing. But we wanted to validate it."

This May, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Ouya received another $15 million in venture capital funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, other VC firms, and chip maker Nvidia.

Ouya is not the first independent game console to attempt a challenge to the big three console makers. Four years ago, a startup called OnLive launched, offering games streamed over an Internet connection, similar to the way Netflix offers streamed movies and TV shows. OnLive's small game consoles went on sale for $99 in 2010, but they never gained broad appeal or even made a dent in the traditional console market.

Another early backer, Pedro Amador-Gates, thinks Ouya should "not even go after the consoles," but rather appeal to hobbyists and do-it-yourself folks.

"This is like a baby system compared to an about-to-be upgraded gaming system," he says, referring to the Xbox one and the PS4. But, much like it was with the early cell phone games, "it will only get better."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-25-Games-Ouya%20Console%201st%20Ld-Writethru/id-3ba7cff625b948e29b8023f95ff8d794

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Brian Shaw gets first crack at head coaching job

DENVER (AP) ? At long last, Brian Shaw is getting his first chance to coach an NBA team.

The former guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and Phil Jackson pupil has agreed to succeed George Karl as coach of the Denver Nuggets, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday night because the deal hadn't been officially announced.

Still, it was the buzz of the basketball world.

"I think the Nuggets are going to benefit from his tenure," Jackson tweeted.

"So great to see Brian Shaw rewarded with this long overdue opportunity," Pacers coach Frank Vogel told The AP in a text. "Congrats to Brian and the Nuggets. Denver just got one of the best head coaches this league will see for years to come."

The Denver Post first announced the agreement with Shaw, the Indiana Pacers assistant who told the newspaper he's been "prepared by the best of the best" for his first NBA head coaching job, adding "I feel like I've waited and paid my dues."

Shaw is a longtime assistant who has interviewed about a dozen times for head coaching positions but kept coming up short until Monday.

He beat out Lionel Hollins, the former Memphis Grizzlies coach.

The Nuggets called a news conference for Tuesday afternoon, where team president Josh Kroenke and newly hired general manager Tim Connelly will introduce their new coach.

Shaw replaces Karl, who was ousted June 6 just weeks after winning the league's Coach of the Year award.

Shaw inherits a young team loaded with talent that won a franchise-record 57 games but lost Danilo Gallinari to a knee injury down the stretch and bowed out in the first round of the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years.

Gallinari recently underwent surgery and is expected back in December.

The Nuggets have been a state of flux all summer after they were knocked off by the Golden State Warriors in six games in the first round of the playoffs.

First, Masai Ujiri, who engineered the win-win trade of Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks, left the Nuggets' front office for the GM job in Toronto. Ujiri was the league's Executive of the Year.

Less than a week later, Kroenke fired Karl.

Ujiri's right-hand man, Pete D'Allesandro, then took the Sacramento Kings' GM job and took Denver executive Mike Bratz with him.

Also, the Nuggets' top perimeter defender, Andre Iguodala, decided to opt out of the final year of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent, although he could return to Denver on a five-year deal while the most he could get elsewhere is a four-year contract.

Shaw, 47, owns five NBA championship rings as a player and assistant coach. A first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics in 1988, Shaw played for eight teams in his 14 NBA seasons.

As Vogel's top assistant, Shaw drew praise for his work with rising star Paul George last season. The Pacers forward was an All-Star and helped lead Indiana to the Eastern Conference finals, where they took the eventual champion Miami Heat to seven games.

Although he has deep roots with the triangle offense that Jackson featured with the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers, Shaw told the Denver Post he won't use that system with the Nuggets, who thrived in a fast-paced, free-flowing system under Karl.

Shaw played at St. Mary's and UC Santa Barbara before an NBA career that lasted from 1988 to 2003. He was a member of the Lakers' three championship teams in the early 2000s and Jackson hired him as an assistant after he retired.

He won two more titles with L.A. as an assistant coach and when Jackson retired from the Lakers in 2011, Kobe Bryant voiced his support for Shaw becoming Jackson's successor, but he was passed over for that promotion.

___

AP Sports Writer Michael Marot contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brian-shaw-gets-first-crack-head-coaching-job-020807878.html

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Singapore, Malaysia face economic hit from prolonged smog

By John O'Callaghan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore and Malaysia could face a bigger economic impact than from their worst air pollution crisis 16 years ago if slash-and-burn fires in Indonesia continue to rage in the coming weeks, turning off tourists and raising business costs.

Restaurants, tourist attractions and some other businesses are already feeling the pain as haze envelopes the Southeast Asian neighbors, from Singapore's upscale shopping districts to Malaysia's popular beach resorts.

The haze crisis in 1997 lasted about three months and cost Southeast Asia an estimated $9 billion from disruptions to air travel, health expenses and other business impacts. Economists and businesses say the costs are already mounting about a week since air pollution levels in the countries shot up to unhealthy and sometimes hazardous levels.

"The haze has definitely affected our business. Our sales fell around 40 percent in the past week," said Goo Wai Chien, who sells pizza and pasta at a hawker center in Singapore's business district. "But hopefully the situation is improving."

Much depends on how long the haze lasts and which way the wind blows the smoke that is coming mostly from fires set on palm oil plantations on Indonesia's Sumatra island. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said the haze, which eased over the weekend and on Monday in the city state, could last a few weeks or until the dry season ends in Sumatra in September or October.

Extinguishing the fires, which smolder deep within peat, depends almost entirely on levels of rainfall.

Irvin Seah, DBS economist in Singapore, said the overall impact could be worse than in 1997 if the haze drags on.

"In 1997, the level of pollution was not this severe, and on the other hand the tourism industry's contribution to the economy was relatively smaller back then."

Tourism makes up 6.4 percent of Malaysia's economy and about 5 to 6 percent of Singapore's. Analysts see that sector taking an immediate knock, even if they cannot quantify the damage.

"The impact will be negative," ANZ, a bank, said in a research report, referring to Singapore. "Shopping, restaurants, bars and outdoor entertainment will all suffer during this hazy period."

Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses also benefit from Singapore's prominence as a center for industry meetings and trade shows.

TOURISM, HEALTH FEARS

Perceptions of Singapore, which usually enjoys clear skies and relatively little pollution, could be the biggest casualty if the smoke hangs over the island through September.

A conference this week on global nuclear issues with dozens of high-profile experts, including former U.S. secretary of state George Shultz and former secretary of defense William Perry, was postponed "due to increasingly hazardous weather conditions in Singapore", the organizers said.

"It would create a very negative impression and also deter tourist inflows. It would deter people thinking about moving to work in Singapore," said P.K. Basu, regional head of research and economics at Maybank Kim Eng.

Brokerage CLSA has estimated the damage to Singapore - a major financial center, aviation hub and tourism destination - could end up being hundreds of millions of dollars. Other analysts said it could top $1 billion.

Singapore and its $271 billion economy cannot afford a big hit from a prolonged pollution crisis or any loss of confidence.

The economy - which is dominated by services, followed by manufacturing and construction - was stronger than expected in the first quarter due to a surge in the financial sector.

But exports have been weak, especially electronics, and economists now expect growth of 2.3 percent this year, slower than the median estimate of 2.8 percent in March, according to the central bank's latest quarterly survey released this month.

Francis Tan, an economist at United Overseas Bank, said if the smog in Singapore extends until September, with pollution rising to unhealthy levels from time to time, it could shave 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points off his 2013 growth forecast of 3 percent. That would mean up to $1.2 billion in economic losses.

Among the biggest costs that businesses face from the haze is illness.

Hospitals and clinics in areas badly affected by haze in recent days had recorded a rise of more than 100 percent in asthma cases, Malaysia's director-general of health Noor Hisham Abdullah was quoted as saying by the Bernama state news agency.

Patients reporting other respiratory problems and conjunctivitis had also jumped, he said.

The Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, was veiled in thick smog on Monday, a day after parts of the southern state of Johor declared an emergency as pollution readings rose above the hazardous level.

Cheah Tuck Wing, the executive director of the Malaysia-Australia Business Council, said companies in Johor - which has attracted growing investment from neighboring Singapore - were already seeing a rise in worker sickness.

"People are not well and it will definitely affect production, that goes without saying. It has definitely impacted business, especially factories where a huge number of people are working."

(Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga, Eveline Danubrata and Kevin Lim in SINGAPORE; Anuradha Raghu, Megha Rajagopalan, and Siva Sithraputhran in KUALA LUMPUR; editing by Stuart Grudgings and Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/singapore-malaysia-face-economic-hit-prolonged-smog-093307319.html

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Leap Motion Opens Airspace App Store Beta, But the Hardware Is Still Delayed

Leap Motion's gesture-tracking devices won't ship until July 22nd, but the company is opening up its SDK and developer portal to the public.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/06/leap-motion-beta/

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Friends of Syria agree to give urgent rebel aid

DOHA (Reuters) - Western and Arab countries opposed to President Bashar al-Assad agreed at talks in Qatar on Saturday to give urgent military support to Syrian rebels fighting for his overthrow, and to channel it through a Western-backed rebel military command.

Ministers from the 11 main countries which form the Friends of Syria group agreed "to provide urgently all the necessary materiel and equipment to the opposition on the ground, each country in its own way in order to enable them to counter brutal attacks by the regime and its allies".

They also condemned "the intervention of Hezbollah militias and fighters from Iran and Iraq", demanding that they withdraw immediately.

Guerrillas from Lebanon's Shi'ite pro-Iranian Hezbollah organization spearheaded the recapture of the strategic border town of Qusair from mainly Sunni Muslim rebels two weeks ago.

Hezbollah and Shi'ite Iraqi gunmen have also been fighting around the Shi'ite shrine of Sayyid Zainab south of Damascus, while Iranian military commanders are believed to be advising Assad's officers on their counter-offensives against the rebels.

The ministers said the growing sectarian nature of the conflict and the foreign interventions "threaten the unity of Syria (and) broaden the conflict" across the region. They also expressed strong concern at the increasing presence of "terrorist elements" and growing radicalization in Syria.

(Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/friends-syria-state-agree-urgent-rebel-aid-143858650.html

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Brazil's president pledges to hold dialogue with protesters

By Brian Winter and Jeferson Ribeiro

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff promised on Friday to hold a dialogue with members of a protest movement sweeping the country, but also said she would do whatever is necessary to maintain order in the wake of widespread vandalism and looting.

"We cannot live with this violence that shames Brazil," she said in a nationally televised address. "All institutions and public security forces should prevent, within the limits of the law, every form of violence and vandalism."

Rousseff spoke even as new demonstrations broke out on Friday, including one that for several hours blocked most passengers from entering or leaving the country's busiest international airport, outside Sao Paulo.

The protests have come out of seemingly nowhere over the past week. More than 1 million people took to the streets on Thursday in the biggest demonstrations in Brazil in 20 years.

The nameless, leaderless movement - composed largely of students and the middle class - has pulled together a wide range of grievances including bad public transport and healthcare, corruption, and the billions of dollars that the government is spending to host next year's World Cup.

Rousseff, a former guerrilla who herself protested a military rule during the 1960s, praised the peaceful majority of protesters and said she would listen to their demands.

Speaking calmly but firmly, she said Brazil has a "historic opportunity" to harness the energy from the protests and make improvements. But she warned the movement could be ruined by violence like that seen on Thursday, when protesters smashed buildings, looted stores and set fires in a dozen cities.

Rousseff said it was her "obligation to listen to the voice of the streets, as well as dialogue with all segments" of society peacefully protesting.

The president, who is not known for initiating talks, did not specify what such a process would look like.

After her speech, the hashtag #calabocadilma - "Shut up, Dilma" in Portuguese began trending on Twitter accompanied by withering comments attacking her government.

Friday's protests were much smaller than those on Thursday. There were signs of a backlash against the movement on Friday, and one prominent leftist group said it would stop organizing marches for now because of discord and violence.

Unlike other recent protest movements such as the Arab Spring, Brazil's demonstrators are not targeting individual politician and Rousseff remains relatively popular.

Many are part of the middle class, which benefited from a recent economic boom. But they are upset about paying European-level taxes for what some describe as African-level public services.

Rousseff made a specific appeal for calm during a warm-up event underway for the World Cup. Clashes between protesters and police have occurred outside stadiums, terrifying many fans and tourists.

OPTIONS LIMITED

A recent economic slowdown and rising inflation has crimped the government's budget, meaning it probably cannot offer a major public investment plan without making painful spending cuts elsewhere - unlikely with an election looming next year.

Rousseff in her speech cited plans such as setting aside future oil royalties for education and importing doctors from abroad. She has previously made these proposals and they have faced resistance in Congress and elsewhere.

Mayors of several cities tried to yield to one of the protesters' main demands this week by rolling back a recent hike in bus and subway fares, but the demonstrations only grew.

The festive atmosphere that had attracted many students and even their parents to demonstrations over the past week took a big and possibly lasting hit on Thursday night.

TV images showed masked youths looting stores, setting fires and defacing buildings including the foreign ministry in Brasilia, which had its windows smashed. The violence was widespread, occurring in at least a dozen cities, and appeared to be fueled by fringe movements and common criminals taking advantage of the disorder.

Two people died as a result of the protests, local media reported, including one death caused by a car plowing into a crowd. More than 60 were injured in Rio de Janeiro alone.

BACKLASH

Radio, TV, Twitter and other social media crackled on Friday with condemnations of the violence, while the unity that had prevailed among protesters at the heart of the movement also showed signs of breaking down.

The Free Fare Movement in Sao Paulo, an activist group that was instrumental in the rise of the protests, said it would stop organizing new demonstrations for now after street fights broke out among protesters with different objectives on Thursday.

Douglas Belome, a bank teller and member of the Free Fare group, said things turned ugly when some protesters sought to prevent left-wing political parties from waving their flags.

"At least for now, there are no new demonstrations scheduled," he told Reuters, expressing regret for the violence.

World soccer body FIFA on Friday condemned the recent violence but said it had not considered cancelling either the warmup tournament, known as the Confederations Cup, or the big event next year.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli told reporters that his team was banned from leaving the hotel because of the unrest.

Polls have shown that a large majority of Brazilians support the protesters and their aims. But the demonstrators' primary tactic of blocking main roads has begun to wear on some people.

"I support these (protests), but I think it's out of control," said Nilson Chabat, a 31-year-old gas station attendant on his way to work on Friday in Sao Paulo. "Many of us are angry but you can't just go make a mess every day."

(Additional reporting by Silvio Cascione and Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Todd Benson and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazils-president-pledges-hold-dialogue-protesters-012739241.html

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