Sunday, September 30, 2012

New insights on control of pituitary hormone outside of brain has implications for breast cancer

ScienceDaily (Sep. 30, 2012) ? The hormone prolactin is produced by the pituitary gland in the brain and then travels via the bloodstream to cells throughout the body, where it exerts multiple reproductive and metabolic effects, most notably on the breast where it is the master regulator of lactation. In recent years researchers have found that prolactin is also produced by some tissues outside the brain, however little is known about the functions of extra-pituitary prolactin or how its production is regulated in these tissues.

Now, the laboratory of Lewis A. Chodosh, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, reports in Genes & Development that activation of the PI3K-Akt oncogenic signaling pathway in the mammary glands of mice rapidly induces cells in the breast itself to produce prolactin. This, in turn, triggers Stat5 activation, mammary epithelial differentiation and milk production in virgin mice within a matter of hours.

"Remarkably, these changes occur in the absence of any of the complex hormonal changes or developmental programs that normally accompany pregnancy" explains Chodosh.

Consistent with a physiological role for prolactin outside of the brain, the Penn team found that mice bearing mutant Akt genes fail to activate Stat5 or initiate lactation when they give birth due to an inability to synthesize and secrete prolactin in the mammary gland, despite normal levels of circulating prolactin in the blood.

These findings provide the first demonstration that the synthesis and secretion of mammary gland prolactin is regulated by PI3K-Akt signaling and identify a physiological function for extra-pituitary prolactin during a critical developmental stage that is essential for the survival of mammalian offspring.

What's more, prolactin has long been thought to play a role in human breast cancer, however this has typically been assumed to be due to circulating prolactin produced by the pituitary. Since the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway is commonly activated in human cancers, this new finding suggests the important possibility that prolactin produced by the breast itself may play a role in breast cancer. In fact, mammary prolactin has been detected in some human breast cancers. As such, investigators have proposed that prolactin produced by the mammary gland -- rather than by the pituitary -- may play a direct role in the development of breast cancer, for example by providing pro-growth or pro-survival signals to cancer cells in the breast. Accordingly, anti-cancer drugs aimed at blocking the effects of prolactin are currently under development.

"Since the PI3K-Akt pathway is one of the most commonly activated oncogenic pathways in human cancer, its identification as an upstream regulator of prolactin production in the mammary gland has intriguing potential implications for understanding the pathology of human breast cancer and as well as improving its treatment," notes Chodosh.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/zRv2aaDsLpk/120930173720.htm

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WHY IT MATTERS: Social Security | Business | Rock Hill Herald ...

Why It matters Social Security

FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2011, file photo Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talks to participants at a town hall meeting in Miami. Romney discussed his plans to improve the economy, create jobs and protect Social Security. For Social Security Romney proposes a gradual increase in the retirement age to account for growing life expectancy. For future generations, Romney would slow the growth of benefits "for those with higher incomes."

Alan Diaz, File ? AP Photo

The issue:

Unless Congress acts, the trust funds that support Social Security will run out of money in 2033, according to the trustees who oversee the retirement and disability program. At that point, Social Security would collect only enough tax revenue each year to pay about 75 percent of benefits. That benefit cut wouldn't sit well with the millions of older Americans who rely on Social Security for most of their income.

---

Where they stand:

President Barack Obama hasn't laid out a detailed plan for addressing Social Security. He's called for bipartisan talks on strengthening the program but he didn't embrace the plan produced by a bipartisan deficit reduction panel he created in 2010.

Republican challenger Mitt Romney proposes a gradual increase in the retirement age to account for growing life expectancy. For future generations, Romney would slow the growth of benefits "for those with higher incomes."

---

Why it matters:

For millions of retired and disabled workers, Social Security is pretty much all they have to live on, even though monthly benefits are barely enough to keep them out of poverty. Monthly payments average $1,237 for retired workers and $1,111 for disabled workers. Most older Americans rely on Social Security for a majority of their income; many rely on it for 90 percent or more, according to the Social Security Administration.

Social Security is already the largest federal program and it's getting bigger as millions of baby boomers reach retirement. More than 56 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. That number that will grow to 91 million by 2035, according to congressional estimates.

Social Security could handle the growing number of beneficiaries if there were more workers paying payroll taxes. But most baby boomers didn't have as many children as their parents did, leaving relatively fewer workers to pay into the system.

In 1960, there were 4.9 workers for each person getting benefits. Today, there are about 2.8 workers for each beneficiary, and that ratio will drop to 1.9 workers by 2035.

Nevertheless, Social Security is ripe for congressional action in the next year or two, if lawmakers get serious about addressing the nation's long-term financial problems. Why? Because Social Security is fixable.

Despite the program's long-term problems, Social Security could be preserved for generations to come with modest but politically difficult changes to benefits or taxes, or a combination of both.

Some options could affect people quickly, such as increasing payroll taxes or reducing annual cost-of-living adjustments for those who already get benefits. Others options, such as gradually raising the retirement age, wouldn't be felt for years but would affect millions of younger workers.

Fixing Social Security won't be easy. All the options carry political risks because they have the potential to affect nearly every U.S. family while angering powerful interest groups. Liberal advocates and some Democrats oppose all benefit cuts; conservative activists and some Republicans say tax increases are out of the question.

But Social Security is easier to fix than Medicare or Medicaid, the other two big government benefit programs. Unlike Medicare and Medicaid, policymakers don't have to figure out how to tame the rising costs of health care to fix Social Security.

Social Security's problems seem far off. After all, the program has enough money to pay full benefits for 20 more years. But the program's financial problems get harder to fix with each passing year. The sooner Congress acts, the more subtle the changes can be because they can be phased in slowly.

Source: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/09/30/4301145/why-it-matters-social-security.html

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Texas quake rattles nerves but causes no injuries, damage

A nation inured to wanton murder was nevertheless shocked by this one: In November 2010, a group of four young men milling about as a party ended attacked another teen, randomly picking him as the victim of their vicious assault. Bobby Tillman, 18, did nothing to provoke his assailants to knock him to the ground and kick and stomp him to death.The crime occurred outside a suburban Atlanta home after parents called a halt to a teen party that had gotten out of control. This was no beating by members of a rival gang, no attack set off by longstanding grudges or old misunderstandings. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-quake-rattles-nerves-causes-no-injuries-damage-223521534.html

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Obama blocks Chinese firm's Oregon wind farm projects

WASHINGTON ? President Obama, in a rare move, blocked the acquisition by a Chinese-owned company of four wind farm projects next to a military base in Oregon.

Obama cited in a presidential order issued Friday "credible evidence" that the company "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States."

The decision comes against the backdrop of a presidential race in which Obama and Republican opponent Mitt Romney have traded jabs over who would be more effective in answering the challenges the ascendant Chinese economy poses. The U.S. and China filed international trade complaints against each other this month, boosting tensions over economic issues.

The presidential order, the first of its kind since 1990, instructs Ralls Corp., whose owners are Chinese, to divest itself of four wind farm projects on Oregon land that it acquired this year. Ralls is affiliated with the Sany Group, a Chinese maker of wind turbines.

The wind farm sites are all in or near restricted airspace at the Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility in Boardman, Ore., according to a statement by the Treasury Department, which chairs the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States that oversees such transactions. The committee initially recommended against allowing the transaction in July. But only the president can halt an acquisition.

The military flies highly sensitive drones at the Boardman facility, according to the Associated Press.

"The administration will continue to ensure that the United States remains the most attractive place for businesses to locate, invest, grow, and create jobs. The president's decision is specific to this transaction and is not a precedent with regard to any other foreign direct investment from China or any other country," the Treasury Department statement said.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the national security threats Ralls Corp. project posed.

Tim Xia, Ralls' lawyer, said that the project did not constitute a national security threat and that the company had filed a lawsuit against the committee. "The president's order is without justification, as scores of other wind turbines already operate in the area where Ralls' project is located," Xia said in a statement. "The selective and arbitrary singling out of the Ralls project drives our effort to seek redress in U.S. courts."

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the U.S. foreign investment review panel exceeded its authority by rejecting the project without due process. Ralls was formed to identify markets and develop wind-energy projects for Sany Electric's turbine generator business. The four Oregon projects were once owned by Terna Energy.

The White House has been particularly eager to protect U.S. interests in renewable energy, an area in which China has made strong moves to garner a growing share of a globally competitive business. In May, the Obama administration slapped huge tariffs on U.S. imports of Chinese-made solar panels.

Obama was mandated by law to make a decision by Sept. 28, after the committee delivered its conclusions about the Ralls project. His rejection of the project is the first time since 1990 that a president has scuttled a foreign investment deal. Given the committee's qualms about the project, Obama's decision was not surprising, although some foreign investment experts questioned the tone and prominence of the announcement.

For years the foreign investment review panel operated in obscurity, but in 2006 it came under scrutiny after the proposed purchase of commercial operations of six U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World sparked an uproar in Congress. As a result, Dubai Ports World officials said later that year they would sell the operations to an American owner.

In 2005, officials of a Chinese state-owned oil company withdrew their proposal to acquire Unocal after that bid triggered a furor in Congress. That had a chilling effect on Chinese acquisitions in the U.S., but so far this year, China investments in the U.S. have surged to record levels.

neela.banerjee@latimes.com

don.lee@latimes.com

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-china-wind-farms-20120929,0,311682.story?track=rss

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Jay-Z rocks Brooklyn arena he helped get built

Carlo Allegri / Reuters

Jay-Z performs on stage at the newly built Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Friday, Sept. 28.

By Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone

"I've been on many stages, been around the world, but nothing feels like tonight," Jay-Z told the crowd Friday night during his inaugural blow-out at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. He reeled off a few of the other noted houses he's rocked: the Grammys, Glastonbury, Coachella, Bonnaroo, the Apollo Theater. "Nothing feels like tonight, Brooklyn. I swear to God."

Jay's performance -- the first ever in the newly constructed venue, with seven more sold-out shows scheduled over the next week -- was a many-layered milestone. While he famously grew up in Brooklyn's Marcy Houses, this was his first major show of this size in his home borough. As partial owner of the NBA's rechristened Brooklyn Nets, he helped get this billion-dollar basketball arena built not far from his old neighborhood. His rise to this level of success and cultural power is an incredible American story, and he is justifiably proud.

He opened the show aptly with 1997's classic "Where I'm From." It's a staple of his live sets, a song he's performed hundreds of times if not more. Friday night?-- center stage in jeans and a black puffy vest over a custom Nets jersey, gold chains hanging down his chest -- he attacked the verses with a new force, spitting out precise syllables: "I'm from where the hammers rung, news cameras never come. ..."

Jay stood alone under a spotlight on the narrow stage, backed by a huge sloping video screen and a tight live band built into perches above him. He paid tribute to a fallen mentor early on by building the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Kick in the Door" and "Juicy" into the set list. Later, shortly after an authoritative "99 Problems," he walked to a far corner of the stage and retrieved a glittering gold bottle, requesting respectful silence as he poured out a little bubbly for Biggie: "See, you can stunt like that when you own the whole place." He turned reflective, reminiscing aloud about his journey from the projects to this stage. "You don't mind if I take my time? I'm really overwhelmed a little bit."

He channeled the night's emotions into a top-notch rendition of the hit parade he's road tested at festivals and arenas over the last few years, covering his career from 1996's "Reasonable Doubt" to 2009's "The Blueprint 3" in a little over an hour. He delivered the key lines in 2001's great "Heart of the City" with extra emphasis, punching the air as he rapped, "I told you in '96 that I came to take this [expletive], and I did."

Henny Ray Abrams / AP

Fans arrive for the first of eight Jay-Z shows at the new Barclays Center.

As the main set wound down, Jay-Z looked out at the crowd of 18,000 reverent fans, savoring the moment. "What an amazing feeling tonight," he said again. "This night was a dream." He thanked everyone sincerely while the chords of 2003's "Encore" rolled quietly on. Someone in the crowd passed a Brooklyn Dodgers jersey with Jackie Robinson's name on it up to the stage, and he held it up with pride: "Look how far we've come."

Jay told Rolling Stone a few days ago?that there would be no guests at his Barclays Center shows. ("This is my one chance to be selfish!" he kidded.) He kept that promise until the encore, when he surprised the arena by bringing out Bed-Stuy legend Big Daddy Kane, who ripped through 1988's "Ain't No Half-Steppin'" and 1989's "Warm It Up, Kane," while busting out some old-school moves (complete with a full jumping split) with his original backup dancers Scoob and Scrap. "We have to understand our history," said Jay-Z appreciatively.

"OK, I'm still not ready to leave," he went on after Kane left, drawing deafening cheers. Jay ran through a couple of recent guest verses -- reveling in the double-time flow of G.O.O.D. Music's "Clique" and the luxurious style of Rick Ross' "3 Kings." "I got a million of these!" he crowed.

But the hour was growing late. Jay-Z sent us home with a heartfelt speech about the "genius-level talent" that he feels lies within everyone. "I ain't no different from anyone in this room, and now I'm standing on this stage, living proof," he said. And with that, it was finally time to say goodbye?-- if only so he could rest up for all the other shows he has coming up. "There's no [expletive] curfew," he said with a grin. "But I've really got to go."

More from Rolling Stone:

Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/29/14153150-emotional-jay-z-rocks-brooklyn-arena-he-helped-get-built?lite

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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Fluid Mosaic Model of the Cell Membrane ? Hourly Book

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Source: http://javedshaikm.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/fluid-mosaic-model-of-the-cell-membrane/

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12 Moving Image Machines That Make Animated GIFs IRL [Video]

Before there were GIFs there were motion pictures. And before film on reels, these "movies" were made up of actual printed still images that zipped in front of your eyes in rapid succession with the help of machinery. Our friends at Oobject collected a batch of crazy zoetropes and other machines, both and new, that create moving images. No photoshop required. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/kDu0ZRySrUE/12-moving-image-machines-that-make-animated-gifs-irl

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Investigators: Glass Shower Doors Can Shatter With No Warning ...

MIAMI?(CBSMiami)?? If your shower door is made of glass, you may suffer injuries, a tedious clean-up and thousands of dollars down the drain.

Dorothy Malinski?s shower door suddenly exploded while her mother was bathing.

?I heard this big bang, this big boom,? said Malinski.? ?I couldn?t enter all the way because there?s glass all over the counter,?in the sink, on the floor.?

Her mother was cut on her hands and face.

Even though tempered-glass shower doors are supposed to break into small pieces ? to prevent injuries from larger, sharper pieces of glass ? they can break in bigger shards.

That is what happened to Larry Kucharik,?who was injured while cleaning up the shattered glass from his shower door.

?I just tapped the top of it and a chunk of it came down and hit my ankle,? said Kucharik, whose ankle is still scarred. ?It started bleeding, and there was a lot of blood all over the floor.?

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports more than 60 complaints of shower doors shattering for no reason ? just suddenly exploding, causing lacerations and bleeding.?People reported needing stitches and even surgery.

Mark Meshulam, a glass and window consultant, reviewed the reports.

?These are the types of injuries and situations that I would expect to see when something goes wrong with shower doors,? he says.

He says a microscopic imperfection during the manufacturing process can grow and migrate, weakening the glass until it suddenly shatters.?It can even shatter without it being touched.

?I would say treat the doors gingerly,? Meshulam warns. ?Do not bang them.?Don?t allow children to hang on the towel bars.?

He also says look for chips near brackets, the towel bar and along the edges. Also, make sure the door only moves the way it is supposed to and is not loose on the track or hinges.

In Larry Kucharik?s case, the manufacturer replaced his shower door at no cost.

This has also been a problem at hotels.?Meshulam says one reportedly had 50 doors shatter. He would like to see protective film on shower doors to catch breaking glass.

This is a tempered glass problem, so it involves various door manufacturers and the ages of glass.?If this happens to you, call the?Consumer Product Safety Commission?and the door manufacturer.

Source: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/09/28/investigators-glass-shower-doors-can-shatter-with-no-warning/

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AP Exclusive: Brown did service at his old daycare

This Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 photo shows Tappahannock Children's Center administrator, Ina Minter, removing coats from the front of a mural painted by rapper Chris Brown as part of his community service at the center in Tappahannock, Va. Brown has logged more than 1,400 hours of community service for the 2009 beating of former girlfriend Rihanna, basically completing his sentence. The Associated Press has learned one-third of those hours were recorded at Tappahannock Children's Center, a rural Virginia daycare center where the singer spent time as a child and his mother once served as director. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

This Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 photo shows Tappahannock Children's Center administrator, Ina Minter, removing coats from the front of a mural painted by rapper Chris Brown as part of his community service at the center in Tappahannock, Va. Brown has logged more than 1,400 hours of community service for the 2009 beating of former girlfriend Rihanna, basically completing his sentence. The Associated Press has learned one-third of those hours were recorded at Tappahannock Children's Center, a rural Virginia daycare center where the singer spent time as a child and his mother once served as director. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

This Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 photo shows Tappahannock Children's Center in Tappahannock, Va. Chris Brown has logged more than 1,400 hours of community service for the 2009 beating of former girlfriend Rihanna, basically completing his sentence. The Associated Press has learned one-third of those hours were recorded at Tappahannock Children's Center, a rural Virginia daycare center where the singer spent time as a child and his mother once served as director. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2012 file photo, Chris Brown performs during the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Brown?s community service records have come under the scrutiny by a prosecutor and a judge, who are trying to ascertain their accuracy. He was required to perform community service after the 2009 beating of former girlfriend, Rihanna. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

(AP) ? Chris Brown has logged more than 1,400 hours of community service for the 2009 beating of former girlfriend Rihanna, basically completing his sentence. The Associated Press has learned one-third of those hours were recorded at a rural Virginia daycare center where the singer spent time as a child and his mother once served as director.

And in the last seven months, an AP analysis of the work records indicates Brown's labor credits increased by four times from what they had been during the previous two years. Yet through it all, Brown hasn't stopped being an R&B superstar, performing worldwide, releasing an album and even getting injured in a nightclub brawl.

Brown's service records have come under scrutiny by a prosecutor and a judge, who are trying to ascertain their accuracy. At a Monday hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg called the accounting of Brown's community service by Richmond, Va., Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood "somewhat cryptic."

No specific concerns were detailed by the court, yet the AP analysis of Brown's service shows that in the past seven months, the artist has been credited for working 701 hours ? a feat that previously took him 28 months to achieve, clocking sporadic, shorter shifts mostly at Richmond police and fire stations.

In recent months, the logs show Brown has essentially been working three jobs ? performing cleanup duty in Richmond police precincts by day, janitorial chores at the daycare 45 miles east by night, and hit songs for global audiences in between.

Ida Minter, the administrator of the Tappahannock Children's Center, said Brown attended the nonprofit facility "off and on" for more than 12 years and his mother was employed there for 24 years, including as director.

Brown's community service at the center began in January 2010, but work entries dramatically increased in March of this year. Most of his shifts were logged between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. and were typically listed as "general cleaning," with some entries describing him painting or stripping and waxing floors. It is unclear who supervised him.

Brown's attorney Mark Geragos said Monday that he welcomed inquiries from Los Angeles probation officials and said he urged Brown to work double shifts so the lawyer wouldn't have to keep coming back to court.

Minter described Brown's work at the daycare center favorably.

"I think Chris always goes beyond because he always wants to give back to where he grew up," she told the AP. "And this was a part of his home because his mom worked here full-time."

"If you've ever been involved in stripping and waxing, it's hard," she said. "It's a lot of work."

Minter said Brown was always accompanied by someone while working at the center, but she said she couldn't discuss who it was.

The singer, who pleaded guilty to felony assault in June 2009, only worked at night and on weekends when no children were present, Minter said. That is supported by the logs, which also showed that Brown only worked one other weekend shift that wasn't at the daycare center.

Brown has been undeniably busy in recent months, releasing his new album "Fortune," traveling to France for a video shoot, winning a Grammy Award, performing at other award shows and resuming his friendship and music collaboration with Rihanna.

He has also drawn negative attention for being present at a bottle-throwing brawl at a New York City nightclub that left him with a cut chin. And in February, a woman in Miami accused him of taking her cellphone to prevent her from snapping pictures of him.

It was after that incident that Brown, 23, accelerated his work schedule, completing the 701 hours in seven months, according to the records filed Monday.

Meanwhile, the singer has remained an active promoter of his work on Twitter, where he sends out almost daily links to his music and clothing line, and also interacts with fans.

His international travel, which must be approved by Schnegg, has somehow been squeezed around his marathon community service sessions.

In July, for instance, Brown is listed as working 42 hours in four days before leaving for France. Upon his return, he worked 12 consecutive days, logging 164 hours, 100 of which were at the daycare described in Norwood's log as "Tappa Day Care."

March was similarly busy, with Brown being credited for work on 20 of the month's 30 days; he was approved to travel to Cancun, Mexico, for five of the remaining days.

Before this week, Brown had received praise from Schnegg and had never been in danger of violating his probation. But that could change if the inquiry the judge ordered turns up irregularities with the singer's service.

Schnegg allowed Brown to perform his work in his home state of Virginia under the supervision of Norwood, but on Monday noted there are discrepancies in the chief's accounting.

For one, Brown's work log shows he has put in 1,402 hours, but a couple of errors in the data may push the total up to 1,404. And although Brown was sentenced to perform 1,440 hours of labor, the chief wrote in a letter dated Sept. 14 that Brown had completed all his service hours.

Norwood's spokesman declined to respond to questions from the AP on the discrepancies. "Chief Norwood has reported directly to the judge, providing periodic updates regarding the progress of Chris Brown's community service," spokesman Gene Lepley said.

Prosecutors "are not happy with the quality of the report," Schnegg said Monday. "They don't know if it's reliable, yes or no."

District Attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said the office would make all its comments on the case in court.

The judge and prosecution aren't the only ones concerned about the administration of Brown's sentence. In August, Virginia probation authorities recommended that Richmond police stop supervising Brown after the singer tested positive for marijuana and what they believed was unapproved travel to France. However, they made no critical comments about his community service.

Geragos, Brown's attorney, declined comment for this story, but he said at Monday's court hearing that he believes his client has completed all his community service.

Brown's labors have left a lasting mark at the Tappahannock Children's Center: a colorful wall mural featuring a huge clown face and splashes of purple, orange, green and yellow. The words "Big Room" ? the informal name of the large space amid a warren of smaller classrooms ? is painted in fat letters along a wall where jackets are hung on hooks.

Brown approached Minter, who has known Brown since his birth, to ask if he could use his art skills on the walls of the big room, she said.

The singer is not the only celebrity to perform community service with an entity to which they have close ties. Mel Gibson and Sean Penn had similar arrangements.

Both actors had received permission in advance for the assignments in misdemeanor cases. Before Monday's filings, there had been no mention of Brown working at his boyhood daycare center in probation reports.

___

Steve Szkotak reported from Richmond, Va.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-28-Chris%20Brown-Community%20Service/id-093b47fdd53f4830a62100595e468b5c

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Neighbor Responds to Copley Twp. Fatal Fire | FOX8.com ...

Posted on: 9:35 pm, September 27, 2012, by Emily Valdez, updated on: 11:20pm, September 27, 2012

COPLEY TWP., Ohio ? A man was killed and three firefighters injured during a Thursday afternoon house fire on Earhart Ave.

?He was a good person. We are going to miss him. I know his wife is going to miss him,? family friend Russell Stott said of the unidentified victim.????????

Stott said he has worked for the man and his wife for 20 years.

?Loved animals.? They got 13 or so alpacas. He was a good man, he was a good husband,? Stott said.

Firefighters said they got a call about 11:30 a.m. Thursday that the home was on fire and a person was trapped inside.

?There was a fatality in the home and this is being considered a fatal fire and it?s treated as a crime scene,? said Chief Michael Benson of the Copley Fire Department.

Three firefighters were also hurt trying to fight this fire. Two were injured when the floor caved and the third was hurt trying to rescue the victims.

The fire chief said the firefighters? injuries are minor.

?But they were rescued by our personnel. We had two May Day calls. Our personnel rescued them and took them to the hospital,? Benson said.

A sign at the front of the home reads ?Serene Acres Alpacas.?

The fire department said the fire did not go near the alpaca?s enclosure and they were not hurt.

?Not as far as we can tell.? We did call the Humane Society to check on the animals just to make sure they?re okay,? Benson said.

He said the fire was in the front part of the home.

Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused it.

Source: http://fox8.com/2012/09/27/neighbor-responds-to-copley-twp-fatal-fire/

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The nuanced relationship between language and different types of perception

ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2012) ? New research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, examines the nuanced relationship between language and different types of perception.

Bilingual Infants Can Tell Unfamiliar Languages Apart

Speaking more than one language can improve our ability to control our behavior and focus our attention, recent research has shown. But are there any advantages for bilingual children before they can speak in full sentences? We know that bilingual children can tell if a person is speaking one of their native languages or the other, even when there is no sound, by watching the speaker's mouth for visual cues. But N?ria Sebasti?n-Gall?s of Universitat Pompeu Fabra and colleagues wanted to know whether bilingual infants could also do this with two unfamiliar languages. They studied 8-month-old infants, half of whom lived in either Spanish- or Catalan-speaking households and half of whom lived in Spanish-Catalan bilingual households.

The researchers looked at whether the infants could discriminate between English and French, two unfamiliar languages, using only visual cues. They found that the bilingual infants could tell the difference between the two languages, while the infants who lived in single-language households could not. These findings suggest that infants who are immersed in bilingual environments are more sensitive to the differences in visual cues associated with the sounds of various languages.

The lead author was N?ria Sebasti?n-Gall?s. The article was published in the September 2012 issue of Psychological Science.

Skilled Deaf Readers Have an Enhanced Perceptual Span in Reading

Though people born deaf are better able to use information from peripheral vision than those who can hear, they have a harder time learning to read. Researchers have proposed that the extra information coming in could distract from, rather than enhance, the process of reading. But no research has actually compared visual attention in reading between hearing and deaf readers. In a new study, Nathalie B?langer of the University of California, San Diego and colleagues investigated this issue by measuring the perceptual span, or the number of letter spaces used when reading, of skilled deaf readers, less-skilled deaf readers, and hearing readers.

The experimenters manipulated the number of letter spaces that the participants saw while reading text on a screen. They found that, compared to the other two groups, skilled deaf readers read fastest when they were given the largest number of letter spaces, showing that they had the largest perceptual span. Regardless, they were able to read just as fast as skilled hearing readers. Contrary to previous hypotheses, these findings suggest that enhanced visual attention and perceptual span are not the cause of reading difficulties common among deaf individuals.

The lead author was Nathalie N. B?langer. The article was published in the July 2012 issue of Psychological Science.

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Journal References:

  1. N. Sebastian-Galles, B. Albareda-Castellot, W. M. Weikum, J. F. Werker. A Bilingual Advantage in Visual Language Discrimination in Infancy. Psychological Science, 2012; 23 (9): 994 DOI: 10.1177/0956797612436817
  2. N. N. Belanger, T. J. Slattery, R. I. Mayberry, K. Rayner. Skilled Deaf Readers Have an Enhanced Perceptual Span in Reading. Psychological Science, 2012; 23 (7): 816 DOI: 10.1177/0956797611435130

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/H4-efgoCm9c/120928125300.htm

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Friday, September 28, 2012

Civil rights dominate Supreme Court term

By Pete Williams, NBC News Justice Correspondent

The U.S. Supreme Court term that begins Monday promises to be one of the most important for civil rights in decades, with the potential for blockbuster decisions on issues from race in classrooms and the voting booth to legal recognition for same-sex marriage.

Related:?Conservatives warily ponder prospect of an 'Obama court'

Less than a decade after ruling that the nation's colleges and universities can consider the race of student applicants to achieve more racially diverse campuses, a practice now widely used by the nation's selective schools, the court has agreed to take a fresh look.

The new challenge comes from Abigail Fisher, a white student denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin. The school admits the top 10 percent of academic performers from all Texas high schools, then considers the race of applicants as one factor in admitting the remainder of an incoming freshman class.

Evan Vucci / AP

People who waited in line overnight to hear the Supreme Court on a landmark case on health care hold their belongings as they make their way into the court in Washington, Thursday, June 28, 2012.

Fisher did not finish in the top 10 percent at her high school and claims that the consideration of race in reviewing applications cost her a spot at the university.?

"There were people in my class with lower grades, who weren't in all the activities I was in, who were accepted into UT. And the only difference between us was the color of our skin," she said.?

The university, backed by civil rights groups, contends that while the top 10 percent plan achieves some campus diversity, many of its classes would have only a few, if any, black and Hispanic students without additional considerations of race.?

Making it harder to achieve the diversity colleges need, argues Gregory Garre, a Washington, D.C. lawyer representing the University of Texas, "would jeopardize the nation's paramount interest in educating its future leaders in an environment that best prepares them for the society and workforce they will encounter."?

The New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin joins Morning Joe to discuss President Obama's relationship with the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts and his ruling on the Affordable Care Act, and the relationships the justices have with one another.

The Supreme Court that will hear the case Oct. 10 is different from the one that upheld a race-conscious admissions program at the University of Michigan law school in 2003.?

"Sandra Day O'Connor was on the court then, and she's been replaced by Samuel Alito, who has much less tolerance for affirmative action," says Tom Goldstein, a Washington, D.C. lawyer who specializes in Supreme Court cases.?

O'Connor, who wrote the decision in the Michigan case, retired from the court in 2006.?

As a result, says Pamela Harris, a former Obama administration official in the Justice Department, "I don't think anyone thinks affirmative action is long for this world."?

Justice Elena Kagan, considered one of the court's liberals, will sit this one out. She was the Obama administration's solicitor general when the Justice Department became involved in the case in the lower courts.?

The Supreme Court will take up another racially charged issue this term if, as seems likely, it agrees to consider efforts to scale back the landmark Voting Rights Act.?

Passed by Congress in 1965 and renewed four times since then, most recently in 2006, a key provision requires states with a history of discrimination at the polls to get federal permission before making any changes to election procedures -- from redrawing congressional district boundaries to changing the locations of polling places.?

Three years ago, the Supreme Court brushed off a challenge to that requirement but strongly suggested that several justices had doubts about its constitutionality, given recent electoral reforms.?

"Things have changed in the South," the court said in 2009.?"Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare."?

Pending cases ask the court to strike down the pre-clearance requirement entirely or throw out the list of areas, consisting of nine entire states, and of 12 cities and 57 counties elsewhere, that must get permission to modify their election procedures.?

The current map, says Bert Rein, a Washington, D.C. lawyer representing Shelby County, Ala., includes some localities that have made substantial reforms while missing other parts of the country that have failed to root out discrimination at the polls.?

As a result, Rein says, the system is unfair.?"Florida has been forced into pre-clearance litigation to prove that reducing early voting from 14 days to 8 is not discriminatory, when states such as Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania have no early voting at all."?

But Debo Adegbile of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund says the current map is a close enough fit to cover the areas of greatest concern.?

"Congress is not a surgeon with a scalpel when it acts to legislate across the 50 states.?But it can reasonably attack discrimination where it finds it," he says.?

The court is almost certain to take up a host of challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996.?

It defines marriage, for the purposes of federal law, as "only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife."?As a result, same-sex couples who get married in the states where such marriages are legal are accorded state and local benefits but miss out on more than 1,100 federal ones.?

After at first defending the law, the Obama administration notified federal courts early last year that it concluded the law was unconstitutional. House Republicans then took up the law's defense.?

A Supreme Court ruling striking down DOMA as discriminatory would not force states to permit same-sex marriage.?But it would require the federal government to recognize those marriages where they are legal.?

The court could address the issue of same-sex marriage more directly if it takes up the legal challenge to California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state.??

Legal experts differ on whether the court is prepared to go that far, rather than deciding the DOMA issue now and coming back to the constitutionality of gay marriage in a later term.?

"We're not at the point where the Supreme Court will require the state of Mississippi to allow same-sex marriage," says Louis Michael Seidman of the Georgetown University Law Center.?

Among other questions the justices will confront:?

- Must police get a search warrant before taking a blood sample from a suspected drunk driver??

- How far can police go in using drug-sniffing dogs outside someone's house??

- Can a 1789 law, the Alien Tort Statute, be used to bring lawsuits in US courts for violations of international law that occur in other countries??

- And, in an issue of growing interest to U.S. businesses, should more limits be placed on the ability to bring class-action lawsuits?

Source: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/27/14124526-civil-rights-dominate-supreme-court-term?chromedomain=nbcpolitics&lite

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AMD Announces AppZone, Bringing Android Apps To PCs ...


AMD Announces AppZone, Bringing Android Apps To PCs
Author: Bob Buskirk
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AMD today announced the launch of AMD AppZone, an online showcase for applications and games accelerated by AMD Radeon graphics processing units (GPUs) and AMD accelerated processing units (APUs). In addition to featuring some of the most recognizable PC games and productivity apps, consumers can now download and seamlessly run popular Android apps on AMD-based PCs running Windows thanks to a collaboration with BlueStacks to enable the AMD AppZone Player.

Powered by BlueStacks? award-winning technology, the AMD AppZone Player brings thousands of Android apps to the millions of AMD-powered tablets, notebooks, all-in-one and desktop PCs worldwide. In addition, consumers can automatically sync their AppZone apps with Android-based devices via BlueStacks Cloud Connect, a cloud-based service that enables a Windows-based PC to become an extension of an Android mobile device and vice versa.

?BlueStacks? cross-platform innovation bridges the Android and x86 application ecosystems, providing new opportunities for developers and better experiences for users,? said Manju Hegde, corporate vice president, Heterogeneous Applications and Developer Solutions at AMD. ?By collaborating with BlueStacks, we are enabling software developers to more easily tap into the full capabilities of AMD?s products, and providing millions of consumers with great experiences as they can now run Android apps on AMD-powered devices.?

?As the engine behind the AMD AppZone Player, we are providing a potent combination of award-winning software optimized for AMD?s industry-leading hardware. Consumers can now enjoy their favorite mobile apps on the larger, more immersive screen of their PC,? said Rosen Sharma, CEO of BlueStacks. ?With BlueStacks technology, app developers can rest assured their Android apps will run directly on Windows without any code change. We?ve made it easy for all.?

Starting today, the AMD AppZone Player and featured apps like Sleeping Dogs, Adobe Photoshop CS6, and CyberLink PowerDirector 11 are available for download at www.amd.com/appzone or via the VISION Engine Control Center, which will be updated regularly to bring new titles like the highly anticipated Medal of Honor Warfighter2. Users can download featured apps directly from within the AMD AppZone Player or search for apps across the built-in app store. In addition, AMD and BlueStacks are currently working with leading OEMs to preload the AppZone Player on upcoming AMD-powered devices.

Source: AMD | News Archive


Tags: AMD AMD AppZone Android AppZone BlueStacks

Source: http://www.thinkcomputers.org/amd-announces-appzone-bringing-android-apps-to-pcs/

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

To exit or not to exit an ailing business ? ? gbmcbiz

September 27, 2012

GBMC (Global Business & Management Consulting): Based in Paris area, we are a proactive Professional Service Provider and Consultancy specialized in the following three domains: 1) EU-Japan Business Consulting (Consultancy, Import-Export, Training & Translation). 2) General Business Consulting (Business Coaching, Technical Markets Consulting) 3) Management Consulting (Interim Management, Transition Management) Please check www.gbmc.biz for details View all posts by gbmcbiz

Source: http://gbmcbiz.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/to-exit-or-not-to-exit-an-ailing-business/

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Kane County committee OKs 3 percent property tax hike

GENEVA ? The County Board soon could decide whether to put in writing an intention to collect more in property taxes next year ? and whether to leave it to newly elected board members to reduce that amount come spring.

Tuesday, the County Board Finance and Budget Committee recommended the full County Board approve a budget that calls for the county to increase its property tax levy by 3 percent, the maximum amount allowed by law this year.

Should such a tax levy increase ultimately be approved, it could increase the tax bill owed by county taxpayers owning a house with an assessed value of about $250,000 about $5 to $12 next year, with an average increase of about $7 a year, according to county finance officials.

However, while the budget, which must be enacted by November, would state the county?s spending and taxing intentions, the actual tax levy on which that budget is based will not be acted upon until spring.

So, members of the Finance Committee said they believe the current County Board should leave it to the next County Board ? which will be seated after the November elections ? to decide whether to leave the property tax levy alone or scale it back.

Finance Committee Chairman Jim Mitchell, R-North Aurora, said the next County Board will know more about the county?s financial footing than the current board does.

He noted the County Board is still waiting to learn how much Kane County will have collected in sales taxes and its portion of the state income tax.

?It means that [the County Board] will actually know what you?re levying for,? Mitchell told the committee.

Other committee members also backed the levy increase.

?All we?re doing is setting a budget,? said board member Cathy Hurlbut, R-Elgin. ?We can?t ask for more than what we budget.?

The levy increase will not be needed to fund raises for county employees, committee members said.

Instead, the Finance Committee backed a proposal to use the county?s general contingency fund to pay for a 2 percent increase for most of the county?s nonunion, nonelected employees and for raises specifically for the county?s assistant state?s attorneys and public defenders.

In all, those raises would total about $1.06 million that would come from money the county already has on hand, Mitchell said.

While stressing the levy increase will not be used to pay for raises, committee members did not state why the levy increase might be needed.

Mitchell said that will be discussed by the full County Board when it takes up the matter, perhaps as soon as Oct. 9.

That lack of specificity caused at least one committee member, Christina Castro, D-Elgin, to question the need to increase the levy at all.

?When I talk to constituents, they say they can?t even take another $5,? Castro said. ?I?m OK with using the money out of contingency to pay for these raises, but I?m totally opposed to raising the levy.?

There are 20 hours, 9 minutes remaining to comment on this story.

Source: http://www.kcchronicle.com/2012/09/26/kane-county-committee-oks-3-percent-property-tax-hike/ab4f40y/

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How To Acquire The Best Supplies For ... - Recreation and Sports ...

Owning a horse is expensive. Owners are feeling the continuous increase in costs for veterinary fees, stabling fees, and equestrian supplies. They still have high prices that the customer is left to face with despite the local shops having good customer service. It will be more difficult to find these supplies for horseracing if you live in the countryside. Luckily, it is possible to acquire the best supplies at a cheaper price by going online and checking the online retailers. They can ensure the quick delivery of your purchases at a better price when compared to the local shops. It is ideal to support the local business but sometimes it is more practical to do your purchases online especially for grooming supplies, horse coats, and saddles. Purchasing these items online will allow you to save more since these can be expensive in the local business. You will be able to have sufficient cash for veterinary visits and horse feeds with the money you have saved.

Shops found on the internet provide everything when it comes to horse equipment such as feeds, and paddock care. Investing a lot of time in conducting research when finding the best shops and affordable prices is paramount to finding the best equestrian supplies. The supplier should have a good reputation, make certain of this. It is also a necessity for them to have quality customer service and support in order to answer any queries you have on an item, shipping, or your orders. If you are just beginning with internet shopping, you will be reluctant. Asking a relative or close friend who has had experience with purchasing from the internet will be beneficial for you. Whether or not they are completely based on the web or not, good equestrian marketers always provide a phone line. Research on their return policies so that you will be aware of what to do in case you need to have an item returned or exchanged.

When purchasing feeds on the internet, it is advisable that you read thoroughly its description and avoid from purchasing anything that your horses have never tried before as it will be more difficult for you to return any items when compared to local distributors. Supplies needed for a horse race will be easy for you to buy. You can inquire about their return policy and find out when items are usually shipped in order to determine the date of arrival of your purchases.


Tags: horse race, horseracing

Source: http://recreationandsports.deadale.com/uncategorized/how-to-acquire-the-best-supplies-for-horseracing/

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GOP fires vendor after questionable registrations

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republicans on Thursday fired a vendor suspected of submitting 106 questionable new voter registrations in Florida's Palm Beach County, ground zero for disputed ballots in 2000's presidential race.

The Republican Party of Florida used Virginia-based Strategic Allied Consulting to help register and turnout voters in Florida, one of a shrinking handful of states President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are contesting. The Florida state party had paid the firm more than $1.3 million so far, and the Republican National Committee used the group for almost $3 million of work in Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado and Virginia.

"We have zero tolerance for any threat to the integrity of elections. When we were informed of an alleged incident we immediately cut all ties to the company," RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer said.

The state party similarly sought to distance itself from the firm.

"We immediately informed the Republican National Committee that we were terminating the contract with the voter-registration vendor we hired at their request because there is no place for voter-registration fraud in Florida," state Republican Party Executive Director Mike Grissom said in a statement.

Strategic Allied Consulting said the suspected forms came from one person and the company was cooperating with elections officials in Florida.

"Strategic has a zero-tolerance policy for breaking the law," said Fred Petti, a company attorney. "Accordingly, once we learned of the irregularities in Palm Beach County, we were able to trace all questionable cards to one individual and immediately terminated our working relationship with the individual in question."

The company did not identify the individual.

Polls show Obama increasing his lead over Romney in Florida, a hard-fought state that hosted the GOP's convention last month. If Romney were to lose Florida and its 29 electoral votes, he would have to sweep other battleground states of Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire to win the White House.

Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher's staff noticed signatures that looked alike and incomplete forms submitted on Sept. 5 by Strategic Allied Consulting. Bucher met with prosecutors on Monday to request an investigation.

Palm Beach County was at the center of the ballot recount in 2000, with George W. Bush and Al Gore both contesting the results that seemed to give Reform Party nominee Pat Buchanan an unusually strong showing. Critics ? and legions of attorneys ? said the ballot design led many Gore supporters to cast votes for Buchanan.

The subsequent questions that arose about how ballots should be tabulated made their way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which settled the bitter contest in a 5-4 ruling barring a ballot recount. Bush won.

Strategic Allied Consulting previously worked for Romney's campaign but its spokeswoman, Sarah Pompei, says they have not used the company since 2011, when they were collecting signatures to get on primary ballots.

The deadline to register in Florida for Nov. 6's election is Oct. 9.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-fires-vendor-questionable-registrations-221750586--election.html

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NY's latest sex scandal dogged by sordid past

FILE - In this April 18, 2012 file photo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, speaks during an affordable housing news conference as Assemblyman Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, right, listens at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Accusations of sexual harassment that emerged over the summer have unraveled in public before a state ethics committee, revealing more sexual misconduct accusations against Lopez and a secret six-figure payoff to the accusers with taxpayer money that was approved by Silver. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

FILE - In this April 18, 2012 file photo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, speaks during an affordable housing news conference as Assemblyman Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, right, listens at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Accusations of sexual harassment that emerged over the summer have unraveled in public before a state ethics committee, revealing more sexual misconduct accusations against Lopez and a secret six-figure payoff to the accusers with taxpayer money that was approved by Silver. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

FILE- In this April 18, 2012, file photo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, left, walks with Assemblyman Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, to an affordable housing news conference at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Accusations of sexual harassment that emerged over the summer have unraveled in public before a state ethics committee, revealing more sexual misconduct accusations against Lopez and a secret six-figure payoff to the accusers with taxpayer money that was approved by Silver. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

FILE- In this April 18, 2012, file photo, Assemblyman Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, speaks during an affordable housing news conference as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, left, listens, at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Accusations of sexual harassment that emerged over the summer have unraveled in public before a state ethics committee, revealing more sexual misconduct accusations against Lopez and a secret six-figure payoff to the accusers with taxpayer money that was approved by Silver. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

FILE- In this Sept. 19, 2012, file photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference in the Red Room at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Accusations of sexual harassment that emerged over the summer have unraveled in public before a state ethics committee, revealing more sexual misconduct accusations against an assemblyman and a secret six-figure payoff to the accusers with taxpayer money that was approved by one of the most powerful lawmakers in the state. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

(AP) ? It was an odd assignment for the young, pretty staffer when she was ordered to go along on a trip to Atlantic City with her boss. But the reason soon became clear.

She said she spent much of the trip struggling to fend off the advances and kisses of 72-year-old Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez. He was persistent, she said, and eventually put his hand between her legs.

She and another female staffer said it was part of a regular routine of office harassment that included inappropriate touching and comments about their bodies, how they dressed and even how they were getting along with their boyfriends. They said the job included writing letters to Lopez about how much they loved their jobs ? letters Lopez complained were "insufficiently effusive," according to his official censure.

The accusations that emerged over the summer are hardly unusual in a state capital, especially Albany, which has such a rich history of sexual misconduct by lawmakers that it has its own, unwritten Las Vegas-like code: What happens north of Bear Mountain stays there.

But what began as a relatively modest scandal has pierced the veil of the so-called Bear Mountain Compact, unraveling in public before a state ethics committee, revealing more sexual misconduct accusations against Lopez and a secret six-figure payoff to the accusers with taxpayer money that was approved by one of the most powerful lawmakers in the state.

That lawmaker, Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, was initially singed by the scandal, with some political opponents calling for his resignation. A special prosecutor is investigating whether crimes were committed, and a wide-ranging probe by the state's nascent ethics watchdog is exploring the roles played by other powerful Democrats, including the attorney general and comptroller.

How effectively the Joint Commission on Public Ethics handles the politically charged case will reflect on the man who created it as part of his campaign promise to "clean up" Albany: Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, long considered a possible presidential candidate in 2016.

"You will always find situations where people do things wrong," Cuomo said. "You will always find situations where people in power make mistakes, or abuse their power, or abuse their authority, or are corrupt or venal."

"The question becomes when people make a mistake, or when a bad thing is done, what is the response?"

In the case of Lopez, a longtime Democratic dealmaker who was lampooned in New York City tabloid headlines as "King Leer" and "Gropez," the allegations that emerged over the summer were found credible by New York's Assembly ethics committee. The panel censured him Aug. 24, and Silver stripped Lopez of seniority perks and power.

The censure revealed a previously unknown set of accusations against Lopez made in June that were settled secretly with $103,000 in public money approved by Silver. That deal was crafted with input from lawyers with the attorney general's and comptroller's offices.

Lopez, who has called the scandal an "onslaught of character attacks," said: "I have never sexually harassed any staff, and I hope and intend to prove in the coming months the political nature of these accusations."

Cuomo is the third governor in a row to try to put more teeth in ethics oversight. Four years before Cuomo took office, Democrat Eliot Spitzer created his own ethics board to sanitize Albany, only to resign amid charges he solicited prostitutes. His Democratic successor, David Paterson, was forced to admit on just his second day in office that he had affairs with a "number of women" while a state senator.

Such clashes of sex and power have become part of the lore of Albany, where a cluster of taverns a short walk from the Capitol had for years featured a loud mix of pols and young staffers mingling over scotch and steaks. In the 1990s, the New York Post's front page declared Albany "Sin City."

And a decade ago, the Albany County district attorney investigating claims of sexual harassment and rape in the Capitol put it this way: "Any father who would let his daughter be an intern in the state Legislature should have his head examined."

After the initial flurry, Silver appears to have blunted any serious threat to his power from this scandal.

Silver, a 69-year-old lawyer from Manhattan, is one of Albany's most powerful, little-understood and private of figures, called "the Sphinx" by some for his ability to prevail in budgets and policy.

A renowned political strategist, he may even have strengthened his position by making sexual harassment harder to get away with. By publicly admitting he was wrong to seal the case with a confidentiality agreement and promising not to do any others, he issued a strong early warning to lawmakers.

Democratic Assemblyman John McEneny says the Lopez case has already struck back at sexual harassment, just as previous reforms to the legislative intern program addressed some of the barhopping and relationships with young ? usually female ? staffers.

"Individually, there will always be a problem as long as there are human beings," said McEneny, a member of the Assembly ethics committee. "But institutionally, we tend to take steps to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-27-NY%20Legislature-Sex/id-768cf211b2354c489d7bc1f646ad5c9f

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From the lab: Lumia 920 low-light shootout with Nokia 808, iPhone 5, HTC One X and Galaxy S III

From the lab Lumia 920 lowlight shootout with Nokia 808, iPhone 5, HTC One X and Galaxy S III video

It looks like Nokia's controversial marketing move, which involved using pro DSLRs to "simulate" low-light shooting, was even less necessary than the smartphone maker may have thought. During our visit to the company's Tampere, Finland research and development complex, we were given access to a comprehensive testing suite, enabling us to shoot with a Lumia 920 prototype and a handful of competing products in a controlled lighting environment. Technicians dimmed the lights and let us snap a static scene with each handset at just 5 lux -- a level on par with what you may expect on a dimly lit city street in the middle of the night. The 920 took the cake, without question, but the iPhone didn't fare too poorly itself, snatching up nearly as much light as the Nokia device. The 808 PureView also performed quite well, but the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III yielded unusable results.

It's one thing to snag proper exposure, though -- capturing sharp details with little noise and superior color balance is an entirely different beast, and the Lumia managed to do just that, as you'll see in our 100-percent-view shots further on. Later in the evening we hit the streets of Helsinki for a real-world shootout. The 920 did present some issues with exaggerated shake and other rapid movements, but it offered up excellent results overall, even in scenes that were too dark for us to make out any details with our own eyes. Our nighttime shoot can be found in the gallery below, followed by plenty of comparison photos after the break.

Continue reading From the lab: Lumia 920 low-light shootout with Nokia 808, iPhone 5, HTC One X and Galaxy S III

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/lumia-920-low-light-shootout/

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2 Tenn. children missing, not killed in fire

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Two children initially believed to have perished in a Tennessee farmhouse fire along with their step-grandparents are now considered missing and in danger, investigators said on Wednesday.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the remains of 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and 7-year-old Gage Daniel were not found and the agency issued an endangered child alert for them on Wednesday afternoon. Investigators said neighbors last saw the children Sunday evening, hours before a fire destroyed the home in Bedford County about a half-hour from Nashville.

The Bedford County sheriff said investigators did find the remains of 72-year-old Leon "Bubba" McClaran and his 70-year-old wife, Molli McClaran.

But the TBI said in a news release that state bomb and arson investigators now report the children were not victims of the fire and their whereabouts are unknown. They are asking for the public to call in tips.

Sheriff Randall Boyce originally said Monday that investigators thought they found three bodies in the home, but one of the remains turned out to be those of a dog.

Family members told The Associated Press that the McClarans were raising their step-grandchildren because they needed a home and described them as generous people who loved their family. Relatives of the McClarans said the girl also used the last name Pope.

Someone passing by the farm saw the home enveloped in flames and called for help.

Law enforcement agents used cadaver dogs to search through the rubble for the remaining bodies. Family members drew a layout of the home for authorities to show the bedrooms.

The fire was very intense and quickly collapsed the walls of the house. Firefighters spent hours battling the blaze and it was still smoldering Monday morning as they searched for the bodies.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-tenn-children-missing-not-killed-fire-191527890.html

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