Kitten Meets Hedgehog, Lifetime Friendship Formed

Friendships can form at unexpected times in unexpected places. People don't just put out a classified looking for a best buddy. Luckily, sometimes fate -- or someone trying to make a cute YouTube video -- intervenes.

[More from Mashable: Eyebrow Cat Looks Really Nervous]

Loki the kitten and Harley the hedgehog were brought together and seem destined for a lifetime of interspecies kinship.

SEE ALSO: Eyebrow Cat Looks Really Nervous

[More from Mashable: This GoPro Camera Shows What It?s Like to be Lion?s Prey]

Loki and Harley, BFF4eva.

BONUS: 10 Heart-Warming Animal Friendships Captured on YouTube

Click here to view the gallery: 10 Heart-Warming Animal Friendships [VIDEOS]

Photo courtesy of YouTube, TheSorryGirls

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kitten-meets-hedgehog-lifetime-friendship-formed-204624214.html

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Humble Beginnings, Knack For Science Motivate University Of ...

by Helen Hu

M. Brian Blake

M. Brian Blake was first exposed to computers when his father, a jack of all trades who managed gas stations in Savannah, Ga., bought an Apple.

The fourth-grader took it over and began subscribing to a computer science magazine that carried coding for software programs. He?d make mistakes typing in the coding, or the magazine would print it wrong. He?d play around with the coding to make it work.

Overall, Blake says, he had ?humble beginnings.? He started pumping gas when he was around 8 years old. He kept one pocket for the money customers paid for gas, and the other pocket for tips, which he put in a savings account.

But Blake kept learning more about computer science. His parents sent him to a summer computer camp. His interest opened doors for him.

Blake ran through those doorways. He got a bachelor?s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, became a software troubleshooter for corporations, collected a master?s degree and a Ph.D., and taught and did research in computer science, writing many scholarly articles.

Last July, Blake became vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the graduate school at the University of Miami.

He?s 41. ?I?m the son of an entrepreneur,? Blake says, to explain his energetic, pragmatic approach to life.

Although he was keenly interested in computers, electrical engineering appeared to pay more at the time, and he received a bachelor?s degree in that field from Georgia Tech, with a minor in computer science.

Blake then gained invaluable experience and contacts while part of a kind of software SWAT team set up by a leadership development program at Lockheed Martin.

The team tackled software problems at Bell South, Bank of America, MCI and other corporations for two years.

?I learned so much,? says Blake, whose easy-going smile belies his determination. ?I learned to rely on myself. You?re the expert. You know it?s got to be done. You?re on the line.? While in the program, Blake earned a master?s degree in electrical engineering at Mercer University.

Then in his mid-20s, Blake pondered starting a business with some of his fellow hotshots but thought a Ph.D. would add to his credentials.

He earned a doctorate from George Mason University in 2 ? years while still working for Lockheed Martin. His thesis analyzed ways to coordinate web applications among businesses that hadn?t anticipated working with each other.

Looking for a job, Blake received offers from corporations, but sent out feelers to universities about teaching opportunities. He accepted a position as an adjunct professor in software engineering at Georgetown University and eventually became chairman of the computer science department, staying at the university for 13 years.

Blake later joined Notre Dame University as professor of computer science and engineering and associate dean for research and graduate studies in the college of engineering.

He took over his current position at the University of Miami last July, intrigued by the prospect of having oversight of faculty and research.

Blake and his wife, Bridget, a Georgia Tech grad in mechanical engineering with a master?s in business administration from Johns Hopkins University, also liked the idea of being within driving distance of Blake?s parents in Savannah. They have two young boys.?

Not surprisingly, Blake wants to push the envelope at Miami. He?d like to see the private school become the Harvard of not only Florida but also Latin America and the Caribbean.

He hails the school?s ethnically diverse enrollment, saying he?d like to empower those students to be able to work?and make an impact?anywhere in the world.

Miami, which has 15,000 students, 12 schools and more than 150 graduate programs, has ?really good energy,? says Blake. ?It?s a place on the move.?

Blake continues to do research, currently in cloud computing. He has published more than 150 articles and book contributions and served on various engineering and science boards.

He also pushes for more minorities in the sciences, speaking at schools and coordinating events where students can meet engineers and scientists. He challenges mentors to use ?tough love??to set high expectations and offer criticism that can help students grow.

Dr. Ayanna Howard said Blake has been an effective mentor after meeting her at a conference in 2005.

?He has the knack. He listens and knows how to feed that back to you,? says Howard, now chair of the Robotics PhD Program at Georgia Tech. ?He brings you to a conclusion; he?s walked you through it, so you?re invested in it.?

Blake is a collaborator, says Dr. Juan Gilbert, chairman of the Division of Human-Centered Computing at Clemson University. ?He?s even-keeled; a problem solver. He looks at both sides.?

The men helped each other after finding few other African-Americans in computer science to turn to. ?We mentor each other,? says Gilbert.

Semantic Tags: Computing Research

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Source: http://diverseeducation.com/article/51010/

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A Real Estate Guide to the 6 Huge Whales of the Friends Cast ...

Tuesday, January 29, 2013, by Eve Bachrach

Constitution Check: Is winner-take-all Electoral College voting in trouble?

Electoral toss-up map.

Electoral toss-up map.

Can anyone sue to stop an effort to change how electoral votes are allocated in swing states? Lyle Denniston examines the constitutional arguments about a contentious issue.

The statement at issue:

?We have been documenting?what appears to be a coordinated effort by Republicans in a number of key states to change the rules for electing a president.? To change the rules so essentially Democrats running for president cannot win?.Virginia Republicans are using the same maps they have gerrymandered for a permanent Republican advantage at the state level to also distribute Virginia?s Electoral College votes when it comes to voting for president?.The action in Virginia is the first of its kind in the nation.? What we have been covering is Republicans making noises about doing this across the country wherever they can?not just in Virginia, but in Wisconsin and Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania.?

? Rachel Maddow, a liberal broadcast personality, on her MSNBC cable network broadcast on January 23.

We checked the Constitution, and?

checkForty-eight states (all but Maine and Nebraska) for years have been using a system in presidential elections under which the winner of their statewide popular votes gets all of their allotted votes in the Electoral College system.?? It is the closest thing to a direct popular vote method of choosing presidents, without getting rid of the Electoral College altogether.? But, under the Constitution, it seems pretty clear that the states don?t have to do it that way, or so the Supreme Court has said.

What MSNBC?s Rachel Maddow has come across is a budding effort by Republican-controlled legislatures in a number of states that often figure as ?battleground states? in the presidential campaign, to switch from winner-take-all to winner-by-congressional-district in picking presidential electors.? That?s the method Maine and Nebraska now use.

What difference would it make?

Maddow makes this point: ?If the system Virginia Republicans are pushing now had been in place in 2012, Barack Obama would still have received 150,000 more votes than Mitt Romney in 2012 in Virginia, but the Electoral College vote from Virginia would have been four votes for Barack Obama and nine votes for Mitt Romney.?

In an earliest broadcast on this same tactic, Maddow made the point that, if a switch to district-by-district Electoral College voting had been made for key ?battleground states? in 2012, ?President Obama would have finished the election nationwide with 5 million more votes than Mitt Romney, but Mitt Romney would have still won the Electoral College and won the presidency.?

Two constitutional points emerge immediately.?? First, the Constitution does not guarantee that presidents will be chosen by popular vote; the Electoral College is not designed that way.? It still astounds even well-educated people when they are reminded that they do not vote for the president; they vote for presidential electors, who usually vote for the candidate they represent, but they are not bound to do so.

And, second, if there is no promise of a popular vote, there is no constitutional problem with the second-place finisher in that vote winning the presidency; it has happened several times ? most recently, in 2000, when George W. Bush got about 543,000 fewer votes nationwide than Al Gore, but achieved victory in the Electoral College.

About Constitution Check

• In a continuing series of posts, Lyle Denniston provides responses based on the Constitution and its history to public statements about its meaning and what duties it imposes or rights it protects.

But the most significant constitutional point is that the Supreme Court, beginning with a decision in 1892 (in the case of McPherson v. Blacker), has said repeatedly that there is no command that the states choose their presidential electors in one way only.?? The 1892 ruling, in fact, upheld a decision by the Michigan legislature to switch from a winner-take-all to a district-by-district system.? And the core principle of that decision ? that it is up to the states to choose the method ? was reaffirmed by the Court in its decision in Bush v. Gore.

The heart of the concern expressed by Rachel Maddow, of course, was not a constitutional one: she was making the political argument that legislatures should not frustrate the choice that a majority of the state?s voters made at the ballot box, and that doing so would result from partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts after the 2010 elections.

But suppose that the legislatures in formerly ?battleground states? do succeed in switching their states to district-by-district choice of presidential electors.? Could anybody sue to challenge that constitutionally?

The simple answer, and the answer that perhaps has the longest historical pedigree, seems to be no.?? Who can claim injury, and thus have a viable legal point, if the Constitution allows a switch to a district system?? Could the popular vote winner in a state claim injury?? If the popular vote winner were a Democrat, say, could that party sue, or could some individual voter who cast a ballot for the Democratic candidate claim that his or her vote didn?t count?

If partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts is not a constitutional problem on its own (and the Supreme Court has been unwilling so far to say that it is a problem), then the fact that a legislature did move to a district system explicitly to favor the nominee of one party might seem to be immune to a challenge on that ground.

So, what?s left??? The only avenue for a lawsuit against a district system may well be a variation on one that worked in 2012 in several lawsuits challenging alleged voter-suppression efforts by Republican officials.? That is a claim that election laws may not be written, or enforced, in a way that denies voters equal opportunity to vote, and to have their votes counted equally.?? In those cases, the voters complaining of barriers were minority voters, but there may be a broader principle at work.

The Supreme Court, in a 1986 decision involving the exclusion of a minor party from the presidential elector ballot in Ohio, ruled that it is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment to put a burden on ?the right of individuals to associate for the advancement of political beliefs.??? That hints at a right to sue, by members of a political party, to challenge a system that, in practical terms, undermines their right to collectively make a political choice.

Lawyers are creative people, and lawyers who specialize in election law have very rich legal imaginations.? Thus, it is not beyond contemplation that a lawsuit might be put together to challenge a switch to a districting system when that is done ? and is proved to be so ? to guarantee that one party?s nominee will prevail no matter how the statewide vote went.

True, such a claim is fairly close to a partisan gerrymandering argument.? And, of course, it would threaten the states? broad constitutional power to choose how to pick electors.? But it just might have a measure of plausibility to it.

Lyle Denniston is the National Constitution Center?s Adviser on Constitutional Literacy. He has reported on the Supreme Court for 54 years, currently covering it for SCOTUSblog, an online clearinghouse of information about the Supreme Court?s work.

Recent Constitution Daily Stories

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Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/constitution-check-winner-electoral-college-voting-trouble-112015826--politics.html

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Snails signal a humid Mediterranean

Jan. 30, 2013 ? An international team of researchers has shown that old wives' tales that snails can tell us about the weather should not be dismissed too hastily.

While the story goes that if a snail climbs a plant or post, rain is coming, research led by the University of York goes one better: it shows snails can provide a wealth of information about the prevailing weather conditions thousands of years ago.

The researchers, including scientists from the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), analysed the chemistry of snail shells dating back 9,000 to 2,500 years recovered from Mediterranean caves, looking at humidity at different times in the past.

Their findings, which are reported in the journal Quaternary International, reveal that when the first farmers arrived in Italy and Spain, the western Mediterranean was not the hot dry place it is now, but warmer, wetter and stickier.

The research was led by Dr Andr? Carlo Colonese from York's Department of Archaeology.

Dr Colonese and his co-authors believe that land snails have great potential as a source of information about human behaviour and palaeoclimatic conditions and therefore should be given much more attention.

Dr Colonese, an EU Marie Curie Fellow in York's Centre for Human Palaeoecology & Evolutionary Origins, said: "By putting together research on snails from multiple sites across Spain and Italy, we were able to produce a large scale regional picture for weather conditions over the western Mediterranean area.

"This allowed us to observe differences in climate across the region. Interestingly, when compared with previous studies, we found that while conditions on the Atlantic coast of northern Spain were probably much like those of today, on the Mediterranean side in locations such as southern Spain and Sicily, conditions were much more humid."

Archaeological sites around the Mediterranean basin contain an abundance of land snail shell remains. The researchers selected well-preserved shells for isotopic analysis from the early to late Holocene layers, covering the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods. They looked at the oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions of the shells of Pomatias elegans (or the round-mouthed snail as it is more commonly known), comparing those found in the Iberian Peninsula sites with modern shells of the same species.

Co-author Dr Giovanni Zanchetta, from the Earth Science Department at the University of Pisa, Italy, said: "Stable isotopes on land snail shells have represented a challenge for researchers for years, but using archeological well-dated sites, new fundamental insight on past climate are coming along. And we are just at the beginning because there are a lot of excavations which can yield rich material."

The shell stable isotope measurements were carried out at SUERC, East Kilbride, Scotland, using a mass spectrometer. Further analysis was performed at the Cornell Stable Isotope Laboratory in the United States.

Co-author Professor Tony Fallick of SUERC and Professor of Isotope Geosciences at the University of Glasgow said: "This is a classic example of multidisciplinary research where colleagues from a variety of backgrounds including archaeology, climate and environmental science, and geochemistry collaborate to deliver insights into our recent past that have societal impact."

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/GkkniTnmMjo/130130082838.htm

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Faculty I - Diploma (Business Office Administration and Business ...

Requisition Number: 131533

Faculty I - Diploma

Use your professional expertise to engage, instruct, and inspire

If you're looking for an exciting opportunity with a robust company committed to changing students' lives and doing the right thing, Corinthian Colleges, Inc. is the place for you. As one of the largest post-secondary education companies in North America, we are on the cutting edge of the industry and forging ahead into a new era of leadership, growth, and innovation. We currently operate more than 100 campuses through Everest College, WyoTech, and Heald College and are dedicated to delivering on the promise to our students. At CCi you'll work with impassioned employees and have the support you need to make great things possible.

Become a valued member of our Faculty at Everest College and discover a more rewarding way to leverage your professional expertise. Part coach, part counselor, part entertainer, and 100% advocate for your students, you will provide a dynamic training environment where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. You will utilize a variety of instructional techniques and delivery methods to bring our curriculum to life for your students.

At Everest College and Corinthian Colleges, Inc., we're in the business of changing students' lives. As a member of our faculty, you're in the position to make it happen.

Job Responsibilities:

• Instruct assigned courses in accordance with course competencies/objectives
• Select and utilize a variety of approved course materials and teaching methods - such as using lectures, demonstrations, discussion groups, and seminars - to ensure the needs of the individual students are met in the program (utilize instructional plans)
• Explain and demonstrate related laboratory/practical procedures
• Inform students about course requirements, evaluation procedures, and attendance policies
• Coach, guide, and empower students to achieve optimum success
• Utilize a variety of communication methods to promote higher student retention
• Manage classroom teaching conditions and environment through active instructor presence in order to promote positive classroom discipline and control, timely class meetings, and appropriate use of furniture and equipment
• Provide students with academic support and advice, give referrals for additional assistance as required, tutor if necessary, and provide other assistance as needed
• Monitor, evaluate, and document students' progress through observation, tests, and examinations in theory and practice
• Arrange students' field placement and monitor students' progress where applicable
• Ensure related clinical supplies and equipment are up-to-date
• Demonstrate evidence of professional growth and academic currency
• Participate in other campus activities, committees, and projects
• Provide regularly scheduled academic advising to students within the program
• Assist the program chair with data collection and/or reporting as required by any applicable program accreditor and/or state regulatory agency
• Must turn in documentation to supervisor of having completed all annually required CEUs as mandated by the school's accrediting body and/or state
• Complete minimum requirements for faculty development
• Stay current with all regional and state code changes and industry standards as it applies to the program subject matter being taught
• Other duties as assigned

Skills:

• Faculty must possess the necessary academic credentials and work-related experience mandated by the company, accreditation agencies, and any other regulatory agency that monitors compliance (see accreditation requirements below)
• Candidate needs to have a BS or BS in Business
• Must have at least 3 years of experience

Corinthian Colleges, Inc., is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Source: http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?JobCode=175714439

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Texas woman who killed neighbor to die in rare execution

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Kimberly McCarthy is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in Texas on Tuesday, the first woman to be put to death in the United States in more than two years, for the stabbing murder of her neighbor in 1997.

Women are rarely executed in the United States. Only 12 female inmates were put to death since capital punishment was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The last woman executed was Teresa Lewis in Virginia on September 23, 2010, the information center said.

"Although women commit about 10 percent of murders, capital cases also require some aggravating factor like rape, robbery, or physical abuse," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the information center, adding that women usually have not committed a long list of prior felonies.

"It's unclear whether jurors or prosecutors may be more lenient in potential prosecutions of women, since there are relatively few," said Dieter.

McCarthy, 51, was convicted of entering the Lancaster, Texas home of her 71-year-old neighbor, Dorothy Booth, on July 21, 1997, under the pretense of borrowing some sugar. She then stabbed Booth five times, according to the Texas attorney general's summary of the case.

She also cut off Booth's left ring finger in order to take her diamond ring, which she later pawned.

McCarthy also was believed to be responsible for the murders of two other elderly women, one using a meat tenderizer as a weapon and another using a claw hammer, according to the Attorney General's summary.

McCarthy was found guilty in 1998 by a Dallas County jury of murdering Booth and sentenced to death. Her conviction was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2001 because no attorney was present when she was questioned after the crime even though she had requested a lawyer, court documents show. She was tried a second time in 2002, was again found guilty by a Dallas County jury, and again sentenced to death.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2004 agreed with the second conviction.

McCarthy would be the second person executed in the United States so far this year. Forty-three inmates were put to death in 2012.

(Reporting by Corrie MacLaggan; Writing by Greg McCune; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-woman-killed-neighbor-die-rare-execution-182238721.html

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DARPA's 1.8-gigapixel cam touts surveillance from 20,000 feet (video)

It's been three years since we first heard about DARPA's ARGUS-IS, but thanks to a PBS Nova special entitled "Rise of the Drones," we finally have more information about the 1.8-gigapixel camera that is supposedly the highest-resolution surveillance system in the world. The documentary showed video footage of the imaging system in action, though the camera itself remains shrouded in mystery for security reasons. Designed to be used with UAVs like the Predator, the ARGUS-IS (which stands for Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance - Imaging System) can spot a six-inch object within a ten square mile radius from 20,000 feet in the air. As shown in the clip after the break, the high-res cam doesn't quite reveal facial features, but you can spot details like a bird flying around a building and the color of someone's clothes.

The video goes on to reveal that the camera's internals are actually a collection of 368 sensors that are identical to the ones found in 5-megapixel smartphones. But the ARGUS-IS wouldn't be much without the processing power of the platform behind it. We're not entirely sure how this is done, but the camera allegedly streams around 1 million terabytes (that's an exabyte, folks) of video, which adds up to roughly 5,000 hours of HD footage per day. Thankfully, there's software that helps guys on the ground filter through the mass of data. As seen in the image above, it lets them track moving objects with up to 65 simultaneous windows. The military potential here is obvious, but DARPA is keeping mum on any future implementations of the ARGUS-IS -- or if it's been in use all this time.

Filed under: Science, Alt

Comments

Source: ExtremeTech, PBS

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/xe6mUw2VV6Q/

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4 firefighters hurt in crash with tractor trailer, SUV

NBC Washington

A serious crash on the I-495 Beltway, early Wednesday.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

Seven people, including four firefighters, were seriously hurt in a major crash that all but blocked the Beltway early Wednesday outside Washington, D.C.

A fire truck was responding to an accident on southbound I-495/I-95 at about 3 a.m. ET when it was struck by another vehicle, said Corporal Clinton Copeland of the Prince George?s County Police Department in Maryland.

?This is going to be a major, major problem for drivers this morning,? he said, adding that only one lane on either side of the scene was open to traffic as at 5:30 a.m. ET.

The fire truck was left on its side following the crash, according to a picture taken by a passerby and shared on Twitter by NBC4's Melissa Mollet.

A tractor trailer and an SUV were the other vehicles involved in the crash, NBCWashington.com reported.

It said the tractor trailer rear-ended the fire truck, citing Prince George?s County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor.

The accident involving the fire truck happened on the inner loop of the Beltway near the eastbound exit?for the John Hanson Highway.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/30/16769509-4-firefighters-hurt-in-crash-with-tractor-trailer-and-suv?lite

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Hamzei Analytics Financial Network: Euro Currency Futures Update ...

Attached is a 30-day chart of the March Euro Currency Futures.

As said on Thursday, I have a bullish bias in full.? The upside objective is 135.40....a settle below 133.90 will return to neutral. The fundamental argument includes decent numbers from Germany and a higher than expected repayment of LTRO money.???

?

There also appears to be a exodus from the safety of US Treasuries. Although this could be fueled by several factors there is potential for the market to interpret as a clear "risk on" signal putting a tailwind into the Euro trade.

Source: http://www.hamzeianalytics.net/2013/01/euro-currency-futures-update-by.html

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Morsi declares state of emergency after dozens killed in Egypt

The wave of violence in Port Said, Suez, and Cairo is a symptom of an unresolved political crisis provoked by President Mohamed Morsi.?

By Kristen Chick,?Correspondent / January 27, 2013

Egyptian security officials say that 38 people have died in the Mediterranean city of Port Said after a judge sentenced 21 people to death in connection to one of the world's deadliest incidents of soccer violence.

Nameer Galal/AP

Enlarge

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi announced a state of emergency and a curfew in the three Suez Canal provinces where deadly violence has flared for three days. At least three people were killed in Port Said today and hundreds wounded during the funeral for some of the at least 35 people who were killed in rioting there yesterday. The violence began after a court sentenced 21 people to death for a deadly soccer riot last year.

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In a fiery televised speech to the nation, he also invited opposition leaders to dialogue tomorrow, and praised the police and the military for protecting state institutions and following orders. He said he would not hesitate to ?do much more? to prevent violence. "I have said I am against any emergency measures but I have said that if I must stop bloodshed and protect the people then I will act," he said.?

Violent protests against President Morsi also continued in other cities across Egypt over the weekend. The Egyptian Army was deployed in both Port Said and Suez, where protesters attacked police stations and government buildings after police killed at least nine people during anti-Morsi protests on Friday, the second anniversary of the uprising that unseated former President Hosni Mubarak. Clashes between protesters and police continued in Cairo.

The wave of violence roiling the nation is the largest challenge yet for Morsi. Elected last summer, he provoked a popular backlash when he grabbed power by sidestepping the judiciary, and pushed a new constitution to a vote despite the anger of the opposition. He and his party had portrayed the document as a path to stability. While the violence in Port Said is separate from the anti-Morsi protests taking place in other cities, analysts say in both cases the unrest is a symptom of an unresolved political crisis and the decreasing legitimacy of state institutions.

?I think it's indicative of the way in which the authority and legitimacy of the state have receded, and is reflective of a very deep-seated political crisis," says Michael Hanna, a fellow at the New York-based Century Foundation who is currently in Cairo. "It's going to be very difficult to reestablish that authority because they are acting unilaterally. And the tools that they are employing to try to reestablish authority are the tools of repression that have and continue to generate a destabilizing effect in the form of protests and mass mobilization," he says of Morsi's government.

A constitution drafting process that marginalized the opposition, and bringing the document to a vote despite their protests, ?served to institutionalize the political crisis,? he says. ?And I think we're seeing some of the fruits of that. It's been coupled with frustration that he has not been able to deliver tangible reforms or improvements in people's lives.?

Morsi's speech was his first verbal address to the nation since violence began Friday. In Port Said, violence broke out Saturday when a court in Cairo sentenced 21 people to death,?mostly Port Said soccer fans,?to death for the killing of 74 people in a Port Said soccer stadium last year. After a game between the Port Said team and Cairo's Al Ahly club, men from the Port Said fan section rushed the Ahly fans and attacked them. Some were beaten or thrown off the stands, while others suffocated or were trampled to death as they attempted to escape through the exit and found the door locked.

Fans of the Ahly team known as Ultras, who have participated in many of the protests since the uprising, celebrated the verdict in Cairo. In the days leading up to the verdict, they had threatened violence if it was unsatisfactory. But in Port Said, supporters of those sentenced to death rioted, attacking police stations, the prison where the defendants were housed, and government buildings, blocking roads and setting fire to tires in the street. Two of the dead were police officers.

Port Said residents said they felt their young men had become scapegoats for a crime many believe was planned and carried out with complicity of police. The remainder of the 73 defendants in the case, including nine security officials, will face a verdict on March 9.

A funeral procession today for most of those killed yesterday was interrupted by gunfire and tear gas, according to witnesses. State TV said five were shot dead.?Mourners chanted ?Morsi is God's enemy? during the funeral, reported the Associated Press. At a funeral for the policemen killed in Port Said, police who were attending heckled the Interior Minister, forcing him to leave, reported local newspapers.

Cairo: fourth day of clashes

In Cairo, hundreds of young men clashed with police near Tahrir Square for the fourth day in a row. Clashes broke out even before the large protest against Morsi that took place Friday to mark the second anniversary of the uprising. Police fired tear gas as young men threw rocks and lit tires on fire to provide a smoke screen.

?We want to deliver a message to the president that he's not welcome, that he doesn't represent us,? says protester Muhaab Selim. ?Everything he promised us, he didn't do. He's become the president of the people he is from, not of all the people,? he says, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi offered his condolences to the families of those killed and called for peaceful protests in Twitter messages in the early hours of Saturday. Yesterday he convened the newly established National Defense Council for the first time, to discuss troop deployments to Suez and Port Said with top generals. The council called for a national dialogue, and said it may declare a state of emergency and curfew in areas of unrest.

Mustapha Kamel Al Sayyid, a political science professor?at the American University in Cairo, says Morsi is treating the situation like a security crisis, not a political one. ?It?does not seem that he sees this as a political problem that requires active engagement with the opposition, and revolutionary groups in order to get a negotiated end to this situation,? he says. ?I think this signals a loss of legitimacy of President Morsi.?

But he also points out that the protests have not been propelled by the opposition movement. ?These are spontaneous explosions of discontent on the part of ordinary citizens,? he says. The coalition formed by prominent politicians and movements that oppose Morsi, called the National Salvation Front, issued a set of demands yesterday, calling on the president to form a national unity government and investigate recent violence, after calling for early presidential elections.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ZgBeRK-F06Q/Morsi-declares-state-of-emergency-after-dozens-killed-in-Egypt

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Chris Brown investigated for possible assault

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) ? Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown is under investigation for an alleged assault in a West Hollywood parking lot, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said early Monday.

Deputies responding to a report of six men fighting Sunday night found the scene clear, but were told by witnesses there had been a brief fight over a parking space.

"The altercation allegedly led to Chris Brown punching the victim," the department said in a statement released early Monday morning.

The "victim" wasn't identified, but the celebrity website TMZ, which first reported the fight outside the Westlake Recording Studio, said it also involved Frank Ocean, one of the top nominees at the Grammy Awards next month.

In a Twitter posting later, Ocean said he "got jumped by (Brown) and a couple guys" and suffered a finger cut.

It wasn't Brown's first problem in the run-up to the Grammys. His attack on singer Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 awards event overshadowed the show.

Last June, he was injured in a brawl with members of hip-hop star Drake's entourage at a New York nightclub.

No arrests were made. Brown was gone by the time deputies arrived but the department said the investigation is ongoing and Brown would be contacted later.

Email messages to Ocean's publicist and Brown's lawyer and representative were not immediately returned. A man answering the phone at the recording studio declined to comment.

Brown, 23, remains on probation for the attack on Rihanna and is due back in court on Feb. 6 to update a judge on his progress. Prosecutors have raised concerns about records showing that Brown has completed his community labor obligations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chris-brown-investigated-possible-assault-090656620.html

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Taco Bell pulls commercial that mocked veggies

12 hrs.

The Associated Press

Taco Bell is pulling a TV ad after receiving complaints that it discouraged people from eating vegetables.?

The ad by the fast-food chain was touting its variety 12-pack of tacos, with a voiceover saying that bringing a vegetable tray to a party is "like punting on fourth and one." It said that people secretly hate guests who bring vegetables to parties.?

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group, this weekend urged people to tweet their complaints about the ad and the chain quickly made the decision to pull it.?

"We didn't want anyone to misinterpret the intent of the ad," says Rob Poetsch, a Taco Bell spokesman.?

The Center for Science in the Public Interest thanked Taco Bell for its speedy response.?

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/taco-bell-pulls-commercial-mocked-veggies-1C8148194

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Egypt protesters defy curfew after emergency rule imposed

ISMAILIA/CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - Thousands of Egyptian protesters ignored a curfew on Monday to take to the streets in cities along the Suez canal, defying a state of emergency imposed by Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to end days of violence that has killed at least 51 people.

One man was killed in violence late on Monday in Port Said and another was shot dead earlier in Cairo as a wave of violence raged on, unleashed last week on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the popular revolt that brought down autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Political opponents spurned a call by Mursi for talks to try to end the violence, with main opposition groups refusing to attend a meeting.

Instead, huge crowds of protesters took to the streets in the capital Cairo, Alexandria and in the three Suez Canal cities - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where Mursi imposed emergency rule and a curfew on Sunday.

"Down, down with Mohamed Mursi! Down, down with the state of emergency!" crowds shouted in Ismailia in defiance of the curfew. In Cairo, flames lit up the night sky where protesters set police vehicles ablaze.

In Port Said, men attacked police stations after dark. A security source said some police and troops were injured. A medical source said one man was killed in clashes.

"The people want to bring down the regime," crowds chanted in Alexandria. "Leave means go, and don't say no!" they shouted.

The demonstrators accuse Mubarak's successor Mursi of betraying the revolution that brought down Mubarak. Mursi and his supporters accuse the protesters of seeking to overthrow the country's first ever democratically elected leader through undemocratic means.

Monday was the second anniversary of one of the bloodiest days in the revolution, which erupted on January 25, 2011 and ended Mubarak's iron rule 18 days later.

The past two years have seen the Islamists win two referendums, two parliamentary elections and a presidential vote. But that legitimacy has been challenged by an opposition that accuses Mursi of imposing a new form of authoritarianism, and punctuated by repeated waves of unrest that have prevented a return to stability in the most populous Arab state.

The army has already been deployed in Port Said and Suez and the government agreed a measure to let soldiers arrest civilians as part of the state of emergency.

A cabinet source told Reuters any trials would be in civilian courts, but the step is likely to anger protesters who accuse Mursi of using tactics like those used by Mubarak.

VOLLEYS OF TEARGAS

Propelled to the presidency in a June election by the Muslim Brotherhood, Mursi has lurched through a series of political crises and violent demonstrations while trying to shore up the economy and of prepare for a parliamentary election to cement the new democracy in a few months.

The instability unnerves Western capitals, where officials worry about the direction of a key regional player that has a peace deal with Israel. The United States condemned the deadly violence and called on Egyptian leaders to make clear violence is not acceptable. ID:nW1E8MD01C].

In Cairo on Monday, police fired volleys of teargas at stone-throwing protesters near Tahrir Square, cauldron of the anti-Mubarak uprising. Protesters stormed into the down town Semiramis Intercontinental hotel and burned two police vehicles.

A 46-year-old bystander was killed by a gunshot early on Monday, a security source said. It was not clear who fired.

"We want to bring down the regime and end the state that is run by the Muslim Brotherhood," said Ibrahim Eissa, a 26-year-old cook, protecting his face from teargas wafting towards him.

The political unrest has been exacerbated by street violence linked to death penalties imposed on soccer supporters convicted of involvement in stadium rioting in Port Said a year ago.

As part of emergency measures, a daily curfew will be imposed on the three canal cities from 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) to 6 a.m. (0400 GMT).

The president announced the measures on television on Sunday: "The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law," Mursi said.

His demeanour in the address infuriated his opponents, not least when he wagged a finger at the camera.

He offered condolences to families of victims. But his invitation to Islamist allies and their opponents to hold a national dialogue was spurned by the main opposition National Salvation Front coalition. Those who attended were mostly Mursi's supporters or sympathisers.

SENDING A MESSAGE

The Front rejected the offer of talks as "cosmetic and not substantive" and set conditions for any future meeting that have not been met in the past, such as forming a government of national unity. The group also demanded that Mursi declare himself responsible for the bloodshed.

"We will send a message to the Egyptian people and the president of the republic about what we think are the essentials for dialogue. If he agrees to them, we are ready for dialogue," opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei told a news conference.

The opposition Front has distanced itself from the latest flare-ups but said Mursi should have acted far sooner to impose security measures that would have ended the violence.

"Of course we feel the president is missing the real problem on the ground, which is his own policies," Front spokesman Khaled Dawoud said after Mursi made his declaration.

Other activists said Mursi's measures to try to impose control on the turbulent streets could backfire.

"Martial law, state of emergency and army arrests of civilians are not a solution to the crisis," said Ahmed Maher of the April 6 movement that helped galvanise the 2011 uprising. "All this will do is further provoke the youth. The solution has to be a political one that addresses the roots of the problem."

Rights activists said Mursi's declaration was a backward step for Egypt, which was under emergency law for Mubarak's entire 30-year rule. His police used sweeping arrest provisions to muzzle dissent and round up opponents, including members of the Brotherhood and even Mursi himself.

Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch in Cairo said the police, still hated by many Egyptians for their heavy-handed tactics under Mubarak, would once again have the right to arrest people "purely because they look suspicious", undermining efforts to create a more efficient and respected police force.

"It is a classic knee-jerk reaction to think the emergency law will help bring security," she said. "It gives so much discretion to the Ministry of Interior that it ends up causing more abuse, which in turn causes more anger."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-protesters-defy-curfew-emergency-rule-imposed-053334022.html

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Anthony's 9 3s, 42 points lead Knicks over Hawks

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7), who tied a franchise record with nine three-pointers, shoots a three in the second half of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Anthony had 42 points as the Knicks defeated the Hawks 106-104. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7), who tied a franchise record with nine three-pointers, shoots a three in the second half of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Anthony had 42 points as the Knicks defeated the Hawks 106-104. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8), who scored 18 points, congratulates forward Carmelo Anthony (7) after Anthony hit a three-point shot in the second half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Anthony scored 42 points, including nine three-point shots as the Knicks defeated the Hawks 106-104. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) goes up for a a layup in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) drives through Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) and forward Josh Smith (5) in the first half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith (5) shoots over the defense of New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) in the first half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Carmelo Anthony was so locked in, he didn't even realize how far he was shooting from.

Those 3-pointers put him in the record book. A drive to the basket put the Knicks back in the win column.

Anthony tied a franchise record with nine 3-pointers, then converted a go-ahead, three-point play with 12.5 seconds left to cap a 42-point night and lead New York to a 106-104 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

The Hawks shot a season-high 60 percent from the field but had their three-game winning streak snapped when Josh Smith, burned on Anthony's basket, missed a 3-pointer on Atlanta's final possession.

Anthony wasn't aware of the record, but he clearly knew his shot was on. So did the Hawks, and Smith may have been expecting a jumper on the last possession and was caught flat-footed when Anthony went right by him.

"It was just a matter of me just taking them shots and making them," Anthony said. "I know I'm capable of making them, but when I'm making them from the outside, from the perimeter, it opens up the game that much more, for myself, for my teammates, and that's what happened tonight."

Amare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith each had 18 points for the Knicks, who were 16 of 27 (59 percent) from 3-point range. Raymond Felton had 12 points and 10 assists in his second game back after a 10-game absence with a broken right pinky.

Jeff Teague scored 27 points for the Hawks. Smith added 20 and Al Horford had 16.

Anthony matched the Knicks' record for 3-pointers held by John Starks, Latrell Sprewell (twice) and Toney Douglas. He also tied Richie Guerin's franchise record with his 29th straight 20-point game. He pulled up for the final one during a streak of three in a row in the first half from the 'G' in the wording "Madison Square Garden" ? a good 4 feet behind the line.

"One of them heat check shots at that time," he said, claiming he was unaware where he was standing and using the term for a player launching from extremely deep or extremely quickly to test how hot he really is.

Asked if he'd ever made 10 3s in a game, Anthony responded by asking how many he made last summer in the Olympics.

Indeed, he was 10 of 12 in a 37-game point game against Nigeria ? not exactly a quality team such as the Hawks.

His biggest basket came nowhere near the arc.

The Knicks came out of a timeout down by one and Anthony found Smith on him after he was played much of the final period by DeShawn Stevenson, a rugged defender who had frustrated him into a potentially costly technical foul.

Anthony blew by Smith to the left, getting fouled as he laid the ball in.

"He took what the defense gave him," Felton said. "Josh Smith kind of lifted his leg a little bit and then he attacked the back leg, got to the basket and got the and-one. He's been doing a great job of finishing games for us and closing out and hitting big shots."

The ensuing free throw made it 106-104 and Anthony nearly came up with a steal on Atlanta's final possession, but the ball deflected out to Smith, who had a good look that was long.

"It was a good look. It just didn't go down," Smith said. "It was really a back-and-forth game. For us to be able to have a chance at making a game-winning shot or a tying field goal towards the end of that game (with) how well they shot the 3, lets us know that we had a pretty good basketball game ourselves. We just fell a little short."

A night after an ugly 97-80 loss, the Knicks had no problems on offense, though could never get much cushion against the speedy Hawks.

Anthony was poked in the eye by Stevenson with 1:51 left, and responded by angrily slamming the ball to the court, leaving the officials with no choice but to call the technical foul. Kyle Korver made the free throw to give Atlanta a 102-101 lead.

Anthony then missed a jumper, but Stoudemire was fouled and made two free throws. Horford scored on an alley-oop eight seconds later, setting the stage for Anthony's final basket.

The All-Star forward finished 15 of 28 from the field and was 9 of 12 behind the arc in his fourth 40-point game this season.

"It's difficult, because he can make the 3-pointer and he's also fast," Horford said. "He has a first step, like we say in the league, it's a quick first step and explosive. He's a good player."

Leading 27-25 after one, the Knicks ran off the first nine points of the second quarter, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Pablo Prigioni to open a 36-25 advantage. The Hawks wiped all of that away in about six minutes, but Anthony steadied the Knicks with three 3-pointers in the final 2:50. It was 52-all at halftime.

Anthony then hit five 3s in a 17-point third quarter, his final one making it 82-74. The Knicks needed all his offense to build a lead, with the Hawks making 9 of 13 shots (69 percent) in the period.

NOTES: Knicks guard Jason Kidd sat out the second half. The Knicks said the 39-year-old was just being rested. ... Because of Rajon Rondo's torn ACL, he will need to be replaced on the Eastern Conference All-Star team, and Hawks coach Larry Drew hopes Commissioner David Stern looks at Smith or Horford. "No doubt about it. I think both of my guys have been overlooked," Drew said. "It's unfortunate what happened to Rondo, but certainly my guys should be in consideration. Strong consideration." ... The Knicks acknowledged Tyson Chandler's All-Star selection during a first-half timeout. With Anthony voted to start, it's the first time the Knicks have had two players picked since Allan Houston and Sprewell in 2001.

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-27-BKN-Hawks-Knicks/id-259c262a91164ed791d110e298e15750

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DNA and quantum dots: All that glitters is not gold

Monday, January 28, 2013

A team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has shown that by bringing gold nanoparticles close to the dots and using a DNA template to control the distances, the intensity of a quantum dot's fluorescence can be predictably increased or decreased.* This breakthrough opens a potential path to using quantum dots as a component in better photodetectors, chemical sensors and nanoscale lasers.

Anyone who has tried to tune a radio knows that moving their hands toward or away from the antenna can improve or ruin the reception. Although the reasons are well understood, controlling this strange effect is difficult, even with hundred-year-old radio technology. Similarly, nanotechnology researchers have been frustrated trying to control the light emitted from quantum dots, which brighten or dim with the proximity of other particles.

The NIST team developed ways to accurately and precisely place different kinds of nanoparticles near each other and to measure the behavior of the resulting nanoscale constructs. Because nanoparticle-based inventions may require multiple types of particles to work together, it is crucial to have reliable methods to assemble them and to understand how they interact.

The researchers looked at two types of nanoparticles, quantum dots, which glow with fluorescent light when illuminated, and gold nanoparticles, which have long been known to enhance the intensity of light around them. The two could work together to make nanoscale sensors built using rectangles of woven DNA strands, formed using a technique called "DNA origami."

These DNA rectangles can be engineered to capture different types of nanoparticles at specific locations with a precision of about one nanometer. Tiny changes in the distance between a quantum dot and a gold nanoparticle near one another on the rectangle cause the quantum dot to glow more or less brightly as it moves away from or toward the gold. Because these small movements can be easily detected by tracking the changes in the quantum dot's brightness, they can be used to reveal, for example, the presence of a particular chemical that is selectively attached to the DNA rectangle. However, getting it to work properly is complicated, says NIST's Alex Liddle.

"A quantum dot is highly sensitive to the distance between it and the gold, as well as the size, number and arrangement of the gold particles," says Liddle, a scientist with the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. "These factors can boost its fluorescence, mask it or change how long its glow lasts. We wanted a way to measure these effects, which had never been done before."

Liddle and his colleagues made several groups of DNA rectangles, each with a different configuration of quantum dots and gold particles in a solution. Using a laser as a spotlight, the team was able to follow the movement of individual DNA rectangles in the liquid, and also could detect changes in the fluorescent lifetime of the quantum dots when they were close to gold particles of different sizes. They also showed that they could exactly predict the lifetime of the fluorescence of the quantum dot depending on the size of the nearby gold nanoparticles.

While their tracking technique was time consuming, Liddle says that the strength of their results will enable them to engineer the dots to have a specific desired lifetime. Moreover, the success of their tracking method could lead to better measurement methods.

"Our main goals for the future," he concludes, "are to build better nanoscale sensors using this approach and to develop the metrology necessary to measure their performance."

###

*S.H. Ko, K. Du and J.A. Liddle.Quantum-dot fluorescence lifetime engineering with DNA origami constructs. Angewandte Chemie (Int. Ed.), 52: 1193?1197. doi: 10.1002/anie.201206253.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): http://www.nist.gov

Thanks to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126476/DNA_and_quantum_dots__All_that_glitters_is_not_gold

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