APNewsBreak: Ore. Muslim sues FBI, claims torture

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? An American Muslim who says he was beaten with batons by prison interrogators while held in solitary confinement overseas for more than three months has sued the FBI and State Department, claiming the torture was done at their behest.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Oregon seeks $30 million and several injunctions against the U.S. government concerning its treatment of citizens overseas.

Yonas Fikre said he was held for 106 days in the United Arab Emirates after refusing to cooperate with Portland, Ore.,-based FBI agents in an interview in Sudan. The State Department has confirmed previously that Fikre was held in Abu Dhabi "on unspecified charges," but said he was visited by State Department officials and showed no signs of mistreatment.

Fikre said the FBI agents named in the suit wanted him to become an informant at Portland's largest mosque, Masjid As-Saber, and were angered when he refused. He said interrogators in Abu Dhabi later used information Fikre had given to the FBI agents in his interrogation.

Fikre said he told his interrogators that many of their questions were the same ones he had been asked during his FBI interview.

"(Fikre) thus inquired whether his confinement and mistreatment was at the request of the FBI," according to the lawsuit. "On each such occasion, the interrogators responded by beating plaintiff severely."

Two other Oregon Muslims who worship at the mosque have also alleged they were held overseas and were asked to become informants by Portland-based FBI agents. Both men have returned to Oregon.

The mosque has come under scrutiny before. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a Somali American convicted of plotting to set off a bomb in downtown Portland in 2010, occasionally worshipped there. A decade ago, seven Muslims with ties to the mosque were arrested following a failed effort to enter Afghanistan and fight U.S. forces.

Named in Fikre's suit are Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of State John Kerry, FBI Director Robert Mueller, FBI Terrorism Screening Center director Timothy Healy and the two Portland-based agents, David Noordeloos and Jason Dundas.

Fikre, a Sudanese man of Eritrean descent, came to Portland in 2006 and worked for a cellphone company for a period. In 2009, he decided to open an electronics retail business in Sudan. His wife remained in Portland.

In April 2010, a man claiming to be a U.S. embassy official in Sudan asked Fikre to come to "a luncheon the following day in order to discuss how Americans might stay safe during a period of political turmoil in Sudan," according to the suit.

Instead, Fikre said he went through embassy security and was met by the FBI agents, Dundas and Noordeloos, in a small room. Fikre said he was denied representation by an attorney. He believed he was not permitted to leave, though he didn't actually try to stand and leave.

The suit includes a text copy of a letter that Fikre claims was sent to him by Noordeloos.

"While we hope to get your side of issues we keep hearing about, the choice is yours to make. The time to help yourself is now." The letter, as represented by Fikre, is signed "Dave Noordeloos."

Fikre believed he was being followed by Sudanese secret police, and acquaintances told him they had been questioned about his activities. He left Sudan in June 2010 and arrived in the United Arab Emirates in September 2010, where he obtained a residency permit.

Less than a year later, in June 2011, men "invaded" his house in Abu Dhabi, blindfolded him and took him to a windowless cell.

He was questioned for hours every day in English, only able to see the shoes and pants of his captors. The questions focused on who had a "jihad mentality" at the mosque, what its imam discussed in public and private and how the mosque conducted fundraising.

Attorney Tom Nelson, who filed the suit Thursday, said he learned of Fikre's detention in late June 2011 and contacted the offices of U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who passed on his concerns to the State Department.

In late July 2011, two months into his detention, Fikre said he was visited by a member of the State Department. Before the meeting, Fikre said he was instructed not to talk about his treatment to the visiting consular official, "lest he be beaten still more severely."

Despite efforts to alert the visiting State Department official ? Fikre said he used facial expressions, but they were either misunderstood or ignored ? Fikre said he remained imprisoned for another month.

His release came on Sept. 4, 2011. He had been placed on the U.S. no-fly list, and could not return to Oregon, so went instead to Sweden.

He gave a news conference on April 18, 2012, about his detention. On May 1, 2012, he was indicted in federal court in California for "conspiracy to structure" 2010 monetary transfers from his family to him in the United Arab Emirates ? money transfers the government says were set up to avoid U.S. reporting requirements.

Fikre believes the indictment was a response to his decision to go public.

___

Contact reporter Nigel Duara at https://twitter.com/nigelduara

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-30-Portland%20Mosque-Torture%20Claim/id-a3c5e2a06444443fa62a32dfa964b25a

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Casio Slim XJ-A256

The Casio Slim XJ-A256 is the top-of-the-line model in Casio's Slim series of lightweight data projectors. Like the Casio Slim XJ-A246 and the rest of the Slim and Signature lines, it features the company's hybrid LED-laser light source, which features a long-lasting, mercury-free lamp. It has the key connectivity choices for a portable data projector, and in our testing showed good data image quality.

The XJ-A256 is rated at 3,000 lumens, and the projector has WXGA (1,280 by 800) native resolution, as opposed to the WXGA (1,280 by 800) resolution of the XJ-A246. Casio's hybrid light engine is the same we've now seen in a couple of generations of Slim and Green Slim projectors. Instead of producing red, green, and blue using a standard lamp and a color wheel, it generates red with LEDs, blue with lasers, and green by shining blue laser light on a phosphor. Its optical system directs the red, green, and blue light to the DLP chip, and out the front lens.

The projector's LED lamp is designed to last up to 20,000 hours, far longer than typical projector bulbs?and it's mercury free. The projector (including the bulb) is backed by a generous 3-year warranty, though it's likely the bulb will last the life of the projector.

The Slim is appropriately thin, measuring 1.7 by 11.7 by 8.3 inches and weighing 5.0 pounds, and sports a sleek, futuristic look. The projector lacks manual lens sliders or wheels; you can change focus or use the generous 2x zoom either with the remote or from touch-sensitive nubbins on the projector itself. It has automatic keystone correction, though you can also keystone-correct using the remote.

Ports include VGA; one port that doubles as audio-in and audio-out; HDMI; serial; and a USB type A port, from which you can run presentations computer free from a USB thumb drive. You can attach the included wireless LAN adapter to connect with WiFi-enabled Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile smartphones and computers (PC or Mac) running MobiShow software, so you can run a presentation from these devices as well.

Data Testing
I tested the projector from about eight feet away from our test screen, where it projected an image about 60 inches, measured diagonally. The image held up well when exposed to a fair amount of ambient light.

I tested data image quality using the DisplayMate suite with the room darkened. Image quality was a little above average for a data projector. It did well in our text testing; white-on-black type was readable, if a bit blurred, down to the smallest size. In Graphics mode, some colors looked dull; for example, yellows tended to look a bit mustardy. I saw a mild green tinting in some images with white or gray backgrounds. Colors were brighter and more vivid in Standard mode, although the tinting increased somewhat. Switching from a VGA to an HDMI connection had little effect on image quality, which is good enough for any typical business presentation.

Video

Video was of a quality suitable for showing shorter clips as part of a presentation. Some images were on the pale side, with details in brighter areas a little washed out. The XJ-A256 suffered from the rainbow effect that we frequently see in single-chip DLP projectors, in which little red-green-blue flashes appear to people sensitive to it, especially in scenes with high contrast between dark and light areas. Though it wasn't unusually severe with this projector, it was obvious enough to me that it would likely be distracting to people who are sensitive to it.

Audio was of decent quality and of good volume for a 1-watt speaker, loud enough to fill a smallish room.

For slightly less than you'd pay for the Casio XJ-A256, the Casio Slim XJ-A246 provides the same feature set and resolution. Its rated brightness is lower (2,500 lumens, and its data image quality wasn't quite as good as that of the XJ-A256.

The Epson PowerLite 1776W Multimedia Projector and the Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite 1761W Multimedia Projector are similar in form and features to the Casio Slim projectors. At less than four pounds, they're even lighter than the XJ-A256, and they have similar connection choices. They both have good data image quality, and better video quality than the XJ-A256. Their 4,000-hour lamp life doesn't come close to the Slim line's 20,000 hours, and they also lack 3D capability.

The Casio Slim XJ-A256 does well as the high-end model of Casio's thin-and-light projector series, offering 3,000 lumens of rated brightness, WXGA resolution, and connectivity choices including HDMI, USB type A, and Wi-Fi. Its data image quality is above par, and its video quality is passable. It is 3D capable, and its lamp should last the life of the projector. Though there are some fine choices in lightweight WXGA data projectors are available for much less money, the XJ-A256's cost savings from not having to change bulbs every few years could make up at least part of the price difference over time.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/4yoeyuTRuZY/0,2817,2419696,00.asp

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Monsters University: Final Trailer!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/monsters-university-final-trailer/

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'Truly Boston Strong' at show for marathon victims

BOSTON (AP) ? The song "Come Together" their rallying cry, performers at a benefit concert for victims of the deadly Boston Marathon bombing had thousands of people cheering for a city that has pulled together to overcome adversity.

Veteran rockers Aerosmith helped close the 5 ? hour Boston Strong Concert on Thursday. After an energetic run through hits, such as "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion," they were joined on stage by 1990s boy band New Kids on the Block and other performers for the Beatles classic.

The Boston Strong Concert had residents jamming to songs from the Dropkick Murphys, Boston and other musical acts and even laughing at a joke about the capture of a bombing suspect.

The concert kicked off with the rock band Boston playing songs including its 1970s hit "More Than a Feeling."

"Tonight, we are all Boston," lead singer Tommy DeCarlo declared to a crowd of thousands of people, including victims and first responders, at the TD Garden.

"Boston got its heart broken ... but if they think they can keep us down, they can 'Dream On,' said frontman Steven Tyler before Aerosmith played their hit by that name.

The Dropkick Murphys, whose rousing rendition of "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" was a crowd favorite, were introduced by former New England Patriots player Joe Andruzzi, who was watching the April 15 marathon when the bombs went off and helped victims at the scene.

"When I looked around that day, the image that's in my mind is seeing more people run to the site than run away," Andruzzi said. "That is truly Boston Strong."

Concertgoer Harry Donovan said Boston residents weren't going to let "any violence, any hatred bring this town down."

"This city took a hit, there's no doubt, but Boston, like a lot of other cities, is resilient," said Donovan, of nearby Wellesley.

Bombing victim Jeff Bauman, who lost his legs in one of the blasts and was led from the scene in a wheelchair, also attended and smiled on a massive television screen.

As the members of NKOTB took the stage to perform, member Joey McIntyre, who had finished running in the marathon 10 minutes before the bombs went off, choked up.

"I happened to be on a bench in Copley Plaza, Copley Square," McIntyre said, "but I don't care where you were that day, because this happened to all of us."

Surprise guests Boyz II Men joined NKOTB on stage for "One Sweet Day" in tribute to those who lost their lives in the attack.

Other acts taking part in the benefit show included country singer Jason Aldean and comedian Steven Wright. James Taylor performed "Sweet Baby James" with Carole King on piano.

More than once, the words "Boston Strong" were met with cheers and fist pumps from the energetic crowd.

"I love that phrase," enthused Boston comic Lenny Clarke, whose cathartic set featured a foul-mouthed, one-man reenactment of the capture of bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. "You know what I don't love? 'Shelter in place.'"

Boston area residents were locked down, told to shelter in place, a few days after the bombing while authorities searched for Tsarnaev, who was found hiding in a boat in a backyard in suburban Watertown. Tsarnaev's older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had died after a shootout with police.

The suspects, ethnic Chechens from Russia, are accused of setting off two pressure cooker bombs packed with shrapnel near the marathon's finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. Their mother has insisted they are innocent.

Concert proceeds will go to One Fund Boston, the compensation fund established by Gov. Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas Menino to help bombing victims.

The amount of money raised by the concert won't be available until next week, a spokesman for the event's producer said. Ticket prices for the sold-out show ranged from $35 to close to $300.

It was a night of joy, tears, laughter and standing ovations, but co-organizer and NKOTB member Donnie Wahlberg said the artists on stage were not the true stars.

"You deserve the credit," the Dorchester native told the crowd. "I think we've shown the world in the last few months what many in Boston have already known, that we are not just one of the greatest cities in the world, we are one of the greatest families in the world."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/truly-boston-strong-show-marathon-victims-021600710.html

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Wildfire sparked near power stations north of LA

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) ? Officials say a fast-growing wildfire north of Los Angeles is burning near power stations transmission lines and homes are being evacuated.

The U.S. Forest Service says the fire started Thursday afternoon in the Angeles National Forest and quickly surged to 400 acres, sending out big clouds of black smoke amid temperatures in the high 80s and winds gusting at more than 20 mph.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is helping residents evacuate in the community of Green Valley. It was not immediately clear how many homes are threatened, but about 1,000 people live in the area.

Southern California Edison and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power say the fire is near their facilities and they are monitoring the blaze for potential outages.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wildfire-sparked-near-power-stations-north-la-012818398.html

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NASA Telescope May Hunt for Rocky Mars-Size Planets Around 'Failed Stars'

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope could be used to find Mars-size alien planets orbiting strange "failed stars" known as brown dwarfs, according to a new proposal by a multinational astronomy team.

The group, led by a postdoctoral researcher at MIT, proposes to use the venerable observatory to find small, rocky exoplanets around brown dwarfs, which are larger than planets but too small to ignite the nuclear fusion reactions that power stars.

Astronomers will seek planets crossing the face of these brown dwarfs, in the hopes that some of them will end up being capable of supporting life as we know it. [9 Exoplanets That Could Host Alien Life]

The planets sought would orbit more closely than Mercury does to the sun, but the faint warmth of brown dwarfs could still make such inner regions habitable, researchers said.

"Our program represents an essential step towards the atmospheric characterization of terrestrial planets and carries the compelling promise of studying the concept of habitability beyond Earth-like conditions," the team's paper stated.

Spotting small planets around brown dwarfs

The team is aiming for Mars-size planets because of their importance in planetary formation models, lead author Armaury Triaud told SPACE.com.

Models suggest our solar system emerged from a spinning disk of dust and gas, with planets slowly clumping together as particles collided, Triaud said, cautioning that we can't be completely sure of what actually occurred.

Our nascent solar system crossed an important threshold when those protoplanets reached the size of Mars, he said.

"Eventually these planet embryos, the size of Mars, those would collide and form bigger rocky planets, or the core of [gas giant] planets such as Jupiter," Triaud said.

It would be easier to spot such small, rocky worlds around a brown dwarf than a larger star, he added. Brown dwarfs are brighter in the infrared ? the wavelength in which heat radiates ? and those we can see are relatively close to Earth, making it easier to detect the effect of any planets on their motions.

Spitzer's data on planets could then be used by the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope. James Webb should be able to probe planetary atmospheres, possibly to search for "biomarker" molecules such as oxygen, Triaud noted, although the orbiting observatory would need to stare at the planet for a long time.

"Right now, there are no projects able to find an Earth-sized planet whose atmosphere can be studied with the James Webb," he said. "Our project is the only path."

Short orbits, lots of data

In a brown dwarf's "habitable zone" ? the range of distances in which liquid water could exist on a world's surface ? it's possible that a planet could pass between the brown dwarf and Earth more than 50 times a year, providing ample opportunity for the science team to conduct observations.

"Our simulation shows that with only 50 occultations, you'll be able to reliably detect the atmosphere of a planet. It's 50 years, in a sense, of research."

The same data, Triaud noted, would be useful for studying brown dwarfs themselves ? specifically their rotations and what happens in their atmosphere.

The team's paper, which is a portion of an observing proposal made for NASA, is available on the online preprint site Arxiv.org.

Triaud said the proposal is being considered, along with many others, as cases to further extend Spitzer's mission. If the extension is accepted, his team's proposal will compete against those of others for valuable telescope time.

Spitzer launched in August 2003. It ran out of coolant four years agobut is observing new targets (such as near-Earth objects) as part of an extended mission.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook?or Google+. Originally published on?SPACE.com.

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-telescope-may-hunt-rocky-mars-size-planets-210627458.html

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New mathematical model links space-time theories

May 30, 2013 ? Researchers at the University of Southampton have taken a significant step in a project to unravel the secrets of the structure of our Universe.

Professor Kostas Skenderis, Chair in Mathematical Physics at the University, comments: "One of the main recent advances in theoretical physics is the holographic principle. According to this idea, our Universe may be thought of as a hologram and we would like to understand how to formulate the laws of physics for such a holographic Universe."

A new paper released by Professor Skenderis and Dr Marco Caldarelli from the University of Southampton, Dr Joan Camps from the University of Cambridge and Dr Blaise Gout?raux from the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, Sweden published in the Rapid Communication section of 'Physical Review D', makes connections between negatively curved space-time and flat space-time.

Space-time is usually understood to describe space existing in three dimensions, with time playing the role of a fourth dimension and all four coming together to form a continuum, or a state in which the four elements can't be distinguished from each other.

Flat space-time and negative space-time describe an environment in which the Universe is non-compact, with space extending infinitely, forever in time, in any direction. The gravitational forces, such as the ones produced by a star, are best described by flat-space time. Negatively curved space-time describes a Universe filled with negative vacuum energy. The mathematics of holography is best understood for negatively curved space-times.

Professor Skenderis has developed a mathematic model which finds striking similarities between flat space-time and negatively curved space-time, with the latter however formulated in a negative number of dimensions, beyond our realm of physical perception.

He comments: "According to holography, at a fundamental level the universe has one less dimension than we perceive in everyday life and is governed by laws similar to electromagnetism. The idea is similar to that of ordinary holograms where a three-dimensional image is encoded in a two-dimensional surface, such as in the hologram on a credit card, but now it is the entire Universe that is encoded in such a fashion.

"Our research is ongoing, and we hope to find more connections between flat space-time, negatively curved space-time and holography. Traditional theories about how the Universe operates go some way individually to describing its very nature, but each fall short in different areas. It is our ultimate goal to find a new combined understanding of the Universe, which works across the board."

The paper AdS/Ricci-flat correspondence and the Gregory-Laflamme instability specifically explains what is known as the Gregory Laflamme instability, where certain types of black hole break up into smaller black holes when disturbed -- rather like a thin stream of water breaking into little droplets when you touch it with your finger. This black hole phenomenon has previously been shown to exist through computer simulations and this work provides a deeper theoretical explanation.

In October 2012, Professor Skenderis was named among 20 other prominent scientists around the world to receive an award from the New Frontiers in Astronomy and Cosmology international grant competition. He received $175,000 to explore the question, 'Was there a beginning of time and space?''.

The detailed paper AdS/Ricci-flat correspondence and the Gregory-Laflamme instability can be found here:

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/WPlqoE_7JOk/130530094633.htm

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Twitter, Fan Letters and the Quest for Interaction

For all of Twitter's weaknesses, it indisputably triumphs in one area: Letting the average person contact famous people with unprecedented ease. But the compulsion to cheer, goad, or yell at (mostly yell at, I suppose) our sacred celebrity cows goes back much further than the @reply. In fact, in many ways, your tweets are just the natural evolution of a process as old as broadcasting itself.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ZpuBkEoejFU/twitter-fan-letters-and-the-quest-for-interactivity-510044779

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Does Cinnamon Weight Loss Provide Permanent Results ...

Recently, a British study published in Woman?s World magazine, stated that cinnamon might be the miracle weight loss pill, to get rid of stubborn belly fat. This study claims that 500mg of cinnamon should be eaten at breakfast, 1,000mg at lunch, and 500mg at dinner time. Compared to the placebo group, those who actually took cinnamon for weight loss experienced a 500% weight loss. Another study conducted at Wadsworth Medical Center, located in Ohio, found that consuming regular amounts of cinnamon could help people retain their muscles, and burn off fat.

The magical power of cinnamon lies in the fact that it can balance blood sugar levels, preventing you from feeling hungry. Some people consume cinnamon to treat diabetes, just as some take it to lose weight. It helps to stabilize your blood sugar. Proponents of cinnamon, say that cinnamon has the ability to reduce blood glucose levels by 29%. Cinnamon increases the rate of metabolism of glucose. As higher blood sugar levels increases the storage of fats, cinnamon decreases the stored fats and aids in weight loss. Also, cinnamon induces the feeling of being full as it slows down the process of passing of food from stomach into intestine. The qualities of cinnamon for weight loss don?t end here. Cinnamon processes carbohydrates effectively and helps in losing few pounds. Cinnamon affects the abdominals fats quickly.

To take advantage of cinnamon weight loss, you can either purchase cinnamon capsules or supplements, or you can actually consume the raw powder. The following are some common preparations of cinnamon, which can help you, take advantage of cinnamon weight loss.

1. Add some cinnamon to your breakfast smoothies
2. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon powder to your tea, it not only adds a great taste but also gives you a boost of immunity.
3. Sprinkle cinnamon over your breakfast cereal
4. Make a cinnamon concoction out of honey, water, and cinnamon
5. Add cinnamon as a spice to the main courses you prepare to meet
6. Drink actual cinnamon tea for great results
7. If you absolutely love cinnamon, mix a teaspoon of honey with a teaspoon of cinnamon, and drink it like medicine.
8. If you are an avid baker, sprinkle cinnamon into your baked item.
9. If you enjoy eating fruits, sprinkle some cinnamon over your bananas.
10. Toast, honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon, makes a great breakfast combination.
11. Purchase good quality cinnamon capsules or pills, from a reputable company.
12. Generously sprinkle cinnamon over your desserts.

It is important to note, that even though many research findings do support cinnamon as a weight loss promoting ingredient, it does not take precedence over a healthy lifestyle, diet, and exercise. A healthy diet consists of eating foods from all the food groups, in specific quantities. A healthy lifestyle entails no smoking or drinking, or consuming tobacco products of any kind. Lastly, take part in some physical activity every day, to stay fit. Physical activities are important to stay fit.

Tagged as: Cinnamon, cinnamon and honey weight loss, Cinnamon for Quick Weight Loss, Cinnamon Weight Loss

Source: http://ewalktc.com/does-cinnamon-weight-loss-provide-permanent-results/

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Kenya starts to light up again after national blackout

By James Macharia

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's power grid failed on Tuesday, plunging east Africa's biggest economy into a blackout for about five hours before it was restored to most parts, sole power distributor Kenya Power said.

Kenya Power supplies 1,250 megawatts of electricity to more than 2 million customers connected on the national grid, against demand of 1,700 megawatts, with most of the fuel generated from hydro power stations run by KenGen.

The company said two transmission lines carrying 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity from a geothermal power source in the Rift Valley, where KenGen is tapping vast reserves of steam energy in a geologically active region, failed.

This set up a ripple effect, knocking out the national interconnected grid and generating system - which relies on hydro-power for the lion's share of its electricity - leading to a national power outage, the company said.

Noisy generators thundered in the capital Nairobi, as businesses and some homes relied on diesel-powered generators. Electricity was however restored before darkness fell.

"By 6 pm (1500 GMT), electricity supply to 90 percent of the country had been restored," said Gregory Ngahu, a Kenya Power communication officer said.

Ngahu said the company had tapped power from neighboring Uganda's national grid, to which Kenya's grid is already connected, in order to jump-start the national grid.

Businesses in the country of 40 million people often rely on diesel generators to make up the gap between power demand and output and cite frequent localized power blackouts as one of the key barriers to economic growth.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Mwanza; editing by James Jukwey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kenya-starts-light-again-national-blackout-162025822.html

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Seeking Self Improvement / Spiritual Event Promoters

Hey Guys! ?I'm still on my "time to myself / connecting with nature" retreat but wanted to come online to share some things.

First off, I have been having an incredible day. ?Ended up in a place I wasn't expecting to go today and have had a great day learning about marine animals. ?That's the great thing about living in South Florida, lots of marine animal education and opportunities. ?Today I fell in love with eels and sea horses.

Now for the even juicier news. ?I found two of the most perfect places to speak. ?Two places, one more than the other, that I have been dreaming about -- a place to speak at. ?Both are outdoors, amphitheater style, very natural feel - out in nature. ?It's absolutely perfect and I love the idea of speaking and teaching with butterflies and dragonflies flying by. ?Absolute perfection.

So here's what I am looking for from you. ?Are you a Promoter? ?Do you have experience promoting events? ?Are you able to draw a crowd of 50 - 100 people, men and women who are:

- single and looking for love
- interested in changing the way they date, want a way that works
- a crowd who is spiritual and/or into self growth/improvement.
- a crowd that is eager and curious learners, hungry for information

And located in South Florida?
(If you are not located in South Florida, keep reading.... )

If you are able and interested in promoting my events, I want to speak to you.

Here's what type of person I am looking for... is this you?

- you are into self improvement and personal growth
- you are deadline oriented and a perfectionist
- you are reliable
- you respond to emails and/or phone calls within 2 hours time or sooner M-Fri 9-5PM
- you have a business mind / you're business savvy
- and you have a lot of contacts / you know a lot of people
- you're passionate and excited about working with someone who is going to change the world.

If this is you, let's talk.

This is a profit-share position and will be an ongoing and blossoming relationship between you and I. ?I have many things to am knowledgeable about and teach upon, so you should be future thinking and relationship minded.

If this is you, please forward me the following:

send an email to guru@loveguru.net

Include a paragraph or two telling me about who you are and your experience promoting this type of event. ?If you have experience promoting other types of events then I am interested in you as well, but would need to understand how you will be able to pull a crowd that I am intending on above.

Paste your resume into the body of the email
Include a link to your Facebook page, whether it be personal or professional or both. ?I want to "see" who you are.

Messages posted to me through Facebook will not be tended to. ?Please reply ONLY the way I share above.

If you are located in another city / state / country -- and the criteria above is you and you would like to work with me, then please apply and share your information. ?I am open to traveling to other locations to start sharing my work.

Thank you!
Looking forward to speaking with you!
Blaire

Source: http://marryblaire.blogspot.com/2013/05/seeking-self-improvement-spiritual.html

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Stocks open sharply higher on Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) ? A jump in home prices is helping send the stock market sharply higher in early trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 143 points to 15,447 shortly after the opening bell Tuesday, a gain of 1 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 17 points at 1,666, or 1.1 percent. The Nasdaq composite was up 41 points at 3,500 or 1.8 percent.

Markets were closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.

U.S. home prices jumped 10.9 percent in March compared with a year ago, the most since April 2006, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index.

Home builder stocks rose after the report came out. Beazer Homes rose 2 percent.

Tiffany rose 6 percent after the jewelry store operator reported earnings gains in all its regions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-open-sharply-higher-wall-street-134636702.html

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Hollywood Stars That Have Served In The Military

Hollywood Stars That Have Served In The Military

Memorial Day is the day set aside to remember the men and women who died while serving in the United States Military. Let’s take a chance to say thank you to the men and women that have sacrificed so much for us and our freedom. In honor of Memorial Day, we are taking a look ...

Hollywood Stars That Have Served In The Military Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/05/hollywood-stars-that-have-served-in-the-military/

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MOVIEHOLE | Family Tree and Peepshow stars board Think Like A ...

?Family Tree??s Jim Piddock and Ice-T?s wife Coco Austin have been cast in Sony Screen Gem?s ?Think Like A Man Too?.

Piddock revealed his casting in an interview with The Daily Quirk.

JP: In June, I?m shooting a movie ? I don?t know if you saw a movie called Think Like a Man it was a huge hit, I think it was made for 10 million and grossed 95 million ? so this is the sequel.

It?s believed Piddock, who currently plays Mr Pfister on HBO?s ?Family Tree? (a show he also co-created and executive produced), plays the butler to Kevin Hart?s character.

Austin, of the burlesque show ?Peepshow? , tweeted her involvement in the Tim Story directed sequel on Tuesday.

?Shooting the movie Think Like a Man Too today! Pretty cool, huh?? she said.

It?s believed Austin is playing a burlesque dancer.

Shooting in Las Vegas, ?Think Like A Man Too? also stars Romany Malco, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, La La Anthony, Meagan Good, Janina Gavankar, Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Adam Brody (?Cop Out?).

Source: http://moviehole.net/201364896family-tree-and-peepshow-stars-board-think-like-a-man-too

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The Apotheosis of Climate McCarthyism (Powerlineblog)

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Bob Dole says he, Nixon, Reagan wouldn?t make it in today?s GOP (video) (Americablog)

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Romanian village unfurls largest flag in the world

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) ? A Romanian village on Monday unfurled what is the largest flag ever made, according to Guinness World Records.

It took about 200 people several hours Monday to roll out the flag, which measured about 349 meters (1,145 feet) by 227 meters (744.5 feet), about three times the size of a football field, according to Jack Brockbank, an adjudicator for Guinness World Records who measured the flag before pronouncing it the biggest flag in the world.

"It gives me great pleasure to recognize a new Guinness World Record title," he said after measuring the flag. "Congratulations Romania!" He said Romania's red, yellow and blue flag covers an area of about 79,290 square meters (853,478 square feet), downing Lebanon which had held the previous record.

The five-ton flag was displayed in Clinceni, 35 kilometers (22 miles) southeast of Bucharest. Workers struggled to keep it firmly planted on the ground because of windy conditions and had to use small sandbags.

Adrian Dragomir, manager of the Flags Factory which created the flag, says it took weeks to sew and 70 kilometers (44 miles) of thread was needed.

A military brass band played as Prime Minister Victor Ponta and other ministers arrived in the village to view the flag.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romanian-village-unfurls-largest-flag-world-134545575.html

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EU should be willing to amend arms embargo on Syria: Hague

By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Depending on your point of view, U.S. General Keith Alexander is either an Army four-star trying to stave off a cyber Pearl Harbor attack, or an overreaching spy chief who wants to eavesdrop on the private emails of every American. Alexander, 61, has headed the National Security Agency since 2005, making him the longest-serving chief in the history of an intelligence unit so secretive that it was dubbed "No Such Agency." Alexander also runs U.S. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-willing-amend-arms-embargo-syria-hague-091141854.html

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Google Buzz Discontinued - Business Insider

Remember the days of Buzz?

It was Google's kinda-sorta social network that made Google Reader into a Twitter-type platform for sharing cool stuff online.

Not too many people cared to use it, and in October 2011 Google announced that it'd eventually discontinue the service.

Finally and at long last, Google's determined that the time has arrived. Doors are closing on Buzz forever, and you'll receive a backup data file of all your posts saved to your Google Drive on or after July 17, 2013.?For everyone else, you can go about continuing to live your lives.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-buzz-discontinued-2013-5

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Suspected killer of British soldier was held in Kenya

By Peter Griffiths and Drazen Jorgic

LONDON/NAIROBI (Reuters) - One of two men arrested over the murder of a British soldier in a London street was detained in Kenya in 2010 on suspicion of seeking to train with an al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, Kenyan police said on Sunday.

Confirmation that Michael Adebolajo was held in Kenya and deported to London will intensify calls for Britain's spy agencies to explain what they knew about the suspect and whether they could have done more to prevent Lee Rigby's killing on Wednesday.

The British parliament's security committee will next week investigate the security services' actions in the run-up to a killing that has put pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to take a harder line on radicals.

The Nairobi government initially said Adebolajo had never visited Kenya. But on Sunday, Boniface Mwaniki, head of Kenya's anti-terrorism police, said Adebolajo was arrested in November 2010 and deported to Britain.

"He was arrested with a group of five others trying to travel to Somalia to join militant group al Shabaab," he told Reuters.

The Islamist force, which is linked to al Qaeda, wants to impose a strict version of Islamic law across Somalia.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman in London confirmed the arrest and said consular officials had provided assistance.

Adebolajo, 28 and Michael Adebowale, 22, are under guard in hospital after being shot and arrested after the murder of the 25-year-old Afghan war veteran. They have not been charged.

Spy agencies have come under scrutiny after uncorroborated allegations by a friend of Adebolajo on Friday that intelligence officers tried to recruit him six months ago.

Asked whether the security services had contacted the men, Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May told the BBC: "Their job is about gathering intelligence. They do that from a variety of sources and they will do that in a variety of ways. And yes, they will approach individuals from time to time."

A source close to the investigation told Reuters this week that both suspects were known to the MI5 domestic security service. However, neither was thought to pose a serious threat.

'POISONOUS NARRATIVE'

The government also said it is forming a group to combat radical Muslim preachers and others whose words could encourage violence.

Prime Minister David Cameron's office said the group aimed to fight radicalism in schools and mosques, tighten checks on inflammatory internet material, and disrupt the "poisonous narrative" of hardline clerics.

Rigby's killing fuelled public anger about radical Islam. It has also raised questions over whether more could have done more to prevent the attack and put pressure on Cameron to tackle suspected militants more forcefully.

Witnesses said the soldier's killers shouted Islamist slogans during the attack. Bystanders filmed one of the suspects saying it was in revenge for Britain's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Successive British governments have wrestled with how to prevent people from becoming radicalised without alienating the wider population with draconian measures.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair tried to tighten rules against hate preachers after the London bombings in 2005 that killed 52 commuters. The measures stirred a long debate over how to balance free speech and civil rights with a strong counter-terrorism strategy.

Britain's two-party coalition government is divided over a planned new law that would allow police and spy agencies to monitor people's use of the internet and mobile phones.

The Muslim Council of Britain, a religious umbrella group, said new government measures risked "making our society less free, divided and suspicious of each other".

(Additional reporting Nicolas Bertin in Paris and Joseph Akwiri and Humphrey Malalo in Kenya; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britain-target-radical-muslim-preachers-soldiers-killing-120155282.html

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Bob Dole says he, Nixon, Reagan wouldn?t make it in today?s GOP (video) (Americablog)

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A controversial victory lap for Lewis at Cannes

Comedian Jerry Lewis poses for portraits at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 24, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

Comedian Jerry Lewis poses for portraits at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 24, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

From left, Michel Legrand, comedian Jerry Lewis and actor Kevin Pollak arrive for the screening of Nebraska at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

From left, musician Michel Legrand, actress Kerry Bishe, comedian Jerry Lewis, director Daniel Noah and actor Kevin Pollak pose during a photo call for the film Max Rose at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

Comedian Jerry Lewis poses for portraits at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 24, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

Comedian Jerry Lewis jokes with photographers during a photo call for the film Max Rose at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

CANNES, France (AP) ? Jerry Lewis, so beloved in France, isn't quite overcome with emotion now that he's back at the Cannes Film Festival.

The festival, he says, is "for snobs," and when he meets a reporter from his native land, he exhales, "It's so nice to hear an American." To him, Cannes isn't an epicenter of rabid Lewis fandom, it's simply "business," he says, chomping on gum.

And at 87, Lewis is back in business. Nearly two decades since his last film, he's at Cannes with "Max Rose," a modest independent film in which he stars as an elderly man reconciling himself to life without his late wife.

"I'm very happy to relax and stay home with my family, and if something comes up, I'll consider it," Lewis, in an interview, said of his return to movies. "That's the nice part about 87. You just tell people: Oh, you're very tired."

At Cannes, Lewis has been anything but tired, both burnishing and tarnishing his legacy as a brilliant comedic performer. His Cannes tribute ? the festival paid "homage" to him in an out-of-competition screening of "Max Rose," as well as with a screening of his 1961 classic "The Ladies Man" ? has been overshadowed by his views about female comedians.

In a press conference, Lewis told reporters that his earlier-stated feelings haven't changed in recent years: Comedy isn't for women, he claims. A day after his comments roiled women across the Internet, Lewis wasn't apologetic, saying he sees females as mothers, not stand-ups.

"It's the truth. I can't help it," Lewis says, shrugging. "Women, it's just wrong. I don't care that the audience laughs at it and likes it. I don't happen to like it. I have too much respect for the gender. And I think that they are wrong in doing it. I can't expect them to stop working, but just don't work anywhere where I have to look at it."

It's a clearly out-of-date attitude that has turned many away from Lewis. In Cannes, "Max Rose" didn't help his reputation. The film, by first-time filmmaker Daniel Noah, drew terrible reviews at the festival. Variety said only "the most irrationally charitable of Lewis' fans" will appreciate it.

But such opinions mean little to Lewis. He made the film with Noah purely because he liked the script ? the best he's ever read, he says. It's the rare film to tell a story about the struggles of growing older, featuring a downbeat performance from Lewis far from the elastic farce his fans are accustomed to seeing.

Asked why he hadn't made a film since 1995's "Funny Bones," Lewis responds: "You see the movies they're putting out? What am I going to do, discuss that?"

Noah, who wrote the script based on his grandfather, sought out Lewis with little expectation of landing him. Months after sending the screenplay, Lewis called him and committed over the phone. Lewis told him he hadn't planned to make another film, but decided, "I gotta give them one more Jerry picture."

"I was braced for a difficult experience," says Noah. "I saw nothing but horror stories about how he was controlling and irascible and unpredictable and moody. . But I cannot explain to you the chasm between the man that othjcoers seem to know and the man that I know. I have not had a single moment of tension with him, of difficulty. He has been like a grandfather to me."

Noah says Lewis ? who helmed more than a dozen films in his career, including 1963's "The Nutty Professor" ? left the directing completely to him. He gave his famous star little direction, save for the occasional reminder to be more minimal, more "sad clown," says Noah.

"He's a wonderful kid," says Lewis. "When you're 87, almost everybody's a kid."

Lewis has continued to perform concerts ? "a wonderful way to make a fortune," he says. Retirement is not on the table. "I'm happiest when I'm on the stage," says Lewis, who was honored with the Academy Awards' humanitarian award in 2009 after years of telethon hosting for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

"Wherever the audience is is where you want to go," he says. "And if you're a ham, like me, you go wherever the action is. You see a lens and a crew and say, 'Yeah!'"

At the press conference in Cannes, Lewis proved that he still has his pugnacious wit and eagerness for laughs.

Asked about Dean Martin, Lewis' famed comedy partner in the '50s, he responded: "He died, you know. When I arrived here and he wasn't here I knew something was wrong." (Martin, with whom Lewis parted acrimoniously, died in 1995.)

"I've worked hard to sustain a reputation of: If you buy a ticket, you know you're going to get entertained," says Lewis. "That's what I was taught."

Lewis may be many things ? talented, funny, honest, out-of-touch, sexist ? but perhaps above all else, he's an entertainer. "Max Rose" marks his 82nd year performing.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-05-25-France-Cannes-Jerry%20Lewis/id-95763d37a7784b9abaa0b979ffacc61b

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Does Amazon 'Subscribe and Save' really save?

Amazon 'Subscribe and Save' ships household goods like toilet paper and shampoo directly to your home. It's a huge time saver, but the money savings are probably no better than your average wholesale club.

By Trent Hamm,?Guest blogger / May 25, 2013

A box from Amazon.com sits on the porch of a house in Golden, Colorado. After shopping the numbers, Hamm found that savings for goods delivered through Amazon's Subscribe and Save program were decent, but usually not better than a wholesale club.

Rick Wilking/Reuters/File

Enlarge

When I buy household products, I look at the cost per unit before everything else. I try to figure out the cost per ounce, the cost per bag, and so on whenever I examine an item.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

Recent posts

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Usually, my comparisons end up looking at the cost of the item at our local warehouse club versus the cost of the item when it?s on sale at our local grocery stores. Usually, the warehouse club is cheaper on most household goods, but sometimes a great sale at the grocery store can bump that cost lower.

Lately, though, I?ve been looking at the Subscribe and Save program offered by Amazon. This is a program where you can choose to ?subscribe? to household goods and, then, once a month they?ll package them up and ship them to you based on your subscription.

So, let?s say you ?subscribe? to diapers on a monthly basis, shampoo every other month, and toothpaste every three months. On the first, fifth, seventh, and eleventh months of the year, you?d just get diapers. On the second, fourth, eighth, and tenth months of the year, you?d get diapers and shampoo. On the third and ninth months of the year, you?d get diapers and toothpaste, and on the sixth and twelfth month, you?d get all three items. Their system handles all of this scheduling for you ? all you have to do is subscribe to the individual item you want.

If you subscribe to just one item, you get a 5% discount off of the price. If you subscribe to five or more items, you?ll get a 15% discount off the price. It?s at that 15% discount rate that the price of these items becomes really comparable to what I can get around here.

So, I started shopping their ?Subscribe and Save? section to see what I could pick up that would actually beat my warehouse club at the 15% discount level.

I just moved through our list of household supplies that we buy regularly ? shampoo, toothpaste, garbage bags, and so on ? and I compared them directly with the price at our local warehouse club. If I couldn?t find an exact match, I?d calculate cost per unit using the calculator.

As I looked, I couldn?t help but notice that most of the items were cheaper at my warehouse club even at the 15% discount level ? but not all of them. The problem is that it takes five items to reach that level ? and without that 15% discount, I couldn?t find any items that I couldn?t get at a lower price locally.

Another challenge is the need for refills. What if you run out of something in the middle of the month? You can request that they ship the item early, but then you have to pay for shipping on that faster item. To avoid that, the best route is to simply get them a bit more frequently than you?d use them, but then you build up a bit as they arrive faster than your consumption rate, meaning eventually you?ll have to de-subscribe.

Still, after a long period of searching, I did find five items that we use regularly that are less expensive on Amazon with the Subscribe and Save discount than I could find locally, so I subscribed.

Once the subscription was in place, it was really convenient. The items arrived like clockwork, so I had no need to pick them up at the grocery store. I did end up building a backlog of some of the items, so I had to change the delivery schedule, but that was easy enough.

Overall, I saved money, but on occasion, I would see local sales that would trump the value of the ?schedule and save? system. I would have saved money waiting for those sales. On the other hand, watching for those sales takes time, as you have to watch flyers every week to catch those sales.

So, what?s a person to do? The most time-effective route (while still bringing down your bills) is to just do a big comparison of prices between ?Subscribe and Save? and your local warehouse club or grocery store, then subscribe to anything that?s cheaper than the regular price and not sweat the sales. However, you can certainly invest more time into the plan by comparing weekly flyers ? you will absolutely save more money, but it won?t be a lot of money and it will require some time (the amount of which is really up to you).

In the end, I think ?Subscribe and Save? really comes down to time. It?s an extremely fast way to get a pretty good price on household items and just have them show up on your doorstep. However, the prices are generally trumped by a warehouse club and, sometimes, by sales at your local grocery store.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on www.thesimpledollar.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/hPoboTwy9TU/Does-Amazon-Subscribe-and-Save-really-save

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Receiving A Gold Plated iPad At Hotel Check-In Is Normal, Right?

You know the drill. You pull up to a Super 8 Motel with the vacancy light on, you argue with the attendent about getting a room away from the ice machine, you whip out your AAA card for extra savings and then you take the 24-karat gold-plated iPad the attendant hands you and head off to your room to stockpile some free soap. Boom.

At the (slightly fancy) Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai the gold-plated iPads are flowing freely. Each guest receives one at check-in so they can use custom "Interactive Customer Experience software" to enhance their stay at the hotel. Let's recall that Burj Al Arab is the hotel notable for looking like a sail in the wind, having the world's highest tennis court (which obviously doubles as a helipad) and being located on a man-made private island less than 1,000 feet from Jumeirah beach.

The gold iPads are engraved with the Burj Al Arab logo and act as a "virtual concierge," providing information on hotel services, restaurants and events. The iPads will be available for sale in the Burj Al Arab "boutique" along with gold iPad minis, gold iPhone 5s and gold BlackBerry Q10s. Okay hospitality industry, keep up. [Born Rich]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/receiving-a-gold-plated-ipad-at-hotel-check-in-is-norma-509918301

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Spotted: 1st Evidence of Leopard Eating Chimp

Only rarely have people seen what happens when chimpanzees and leopards come into close quarters in the wilds of Africa. On these occasions, chimpanzees have made loud, fearful calls, or played the aggressor: In one case, chimps even surrounded a leopard den and killed a cub.

But the big-brained primates don't always win: For the first time, scientists have found evidence of a leopard eating a chimpanzee.

In Tanzania's Mahale Mountains National Park, researchers spent 41 days collecting African leopard scat from June to August 2012 (summer internship, anyone?). In one of the cat's "offerings," scientists found several chimpanzee patella and phalanges, corresponding to kneecaps and toe bones, respectively. DNA analysis showed that the bones came from an adult female chimp.

The researchers can't be entirely certain that the leopard hunted down the chimp, because the cats occasionally eat dead animals; in other words, it's possible the chimp keeled over and then became leopard chow. However, the finding has led scientists to re-examine three mysterious wounds incurred by three different chimps in Mahale over the last few years. The wounds were deeper than thought to be possible from fights with other chimps, which is what scientists previously thought had happened.

A 2009 study suggested that chimpanzees face only negligible pressure from predators. If it's indeed true that the leopard ate a live chimp, scientists may need to rethink this view and further examine how predation from leopards, or other animals, might have driven the chimpanzee's evolution, the researchers said. One study from 1993 found evidence of lions eating four chimpanzees, also in Mahale Mountains National Park. The park is one of the few places with ongoing research where the range of leopards and chimpanzees overlap, which helps explain why this was witnessed there.

The new research was published online May 21 in the Journal of Human Evolution.

Email?Douglas Main?or follow him on?Twitter?or?Google+. Follow us @livescience, ?Facebook?or?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/spotted-1st-evidence-leopard-eating-chimp-132531860.html

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Official: 2 dead after Angel Flight crashes in NY

EPHRATAH, N.Y. (AP) ? A small airplane operating as a volunteer Angel Flight crashed in upstate New York on Friday evening, killing at least two people, authorities said.

Fulton County Sheriff Thomas Lorey said the flight's two passengers were found dead and investigators are searching for the pilot, who is missing. Officials did not immediately identify the passengers or pilot.

The Piper PA 34 airplane originated in Massachusetts and crashed about a half-mile west of Caroga, N.Y., just after 5 p.m. Friday, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

Lorey said the twin-engine plane crashed in a wooded area in Ephratah, about an hour west of Albany

"The bulk of the plane is in the water, in a pond, completely submerged and we have to wait until daylight to put divers in," the sheriff said.

Larry Camerlin, president and founder of Angel Flight Northeast, a nonprofit group that arranges free air transportation for sick patients from volunteer pilots, said the organization was "tremendously saddened" by the tragic news of the crash.

"We all offer our thoughts and prayers to the families of those affected," Camerlin said in a statement. "Our volunteer pilots are the most compassionate and generous individuals who donate their time, aircraft and fuel to transport patients and loved ones for free to essential medical care that would otherwise not be readily available to them. There are no words that can adequately express our sorrow."

An employee at an ice cream shop in nearby Johnstown who refused to give her name said she heard what sounded like engine failure and then a loud explosion, "like a gun shot."

She said she went outside and "there were pieces of airplane coming out of the sky."

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, including what the weather conditions were like at the time of the accident.

At the time of the crash, in Rome, N.Y., visibility was 10 miles, there was slight rain and winds of about 13 to 14 mph, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Montgomery.

The flight departed from Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass., and was headed to Rome, N.Y., before crashing about 57 miles to the east, near Caroga, according to Bergen.

Camerlin's statement said that since Angel Flight NE was founded in 1996, the group has set up free air transportation and medical care for more than 65,000 children and adults on about 60,000 flights covering a total of more than 12 million miles.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/official-2-dead-angel-flight-crashes-ny-025532877.html

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