Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has used a line-item veto to strike $200,000 from the state budget that was approved for an Omaha golf tournament.
The governor said Tuesday that funding for the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament is unjustified, given the state's other spending priorities on education and changes to juvenile services. Heineman also argued that the event is heavily supported by the private sector and experiencing record ticket sales.
Heineman signed the remainder of the budget bill, which authorized funding for deficit appropriations. The bill was one of seven budget measures that lawmakers have passed this year.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Chairman Ben Bernanke is telling Congress Wednesday that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to end its extraordinary stimulus programs.
Reducing the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing rates low would "carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery," Bernanke said in testimony to the Joint Economic Committee.
Bernanke noted that the economy is growing moderately this year and unemployment has fallen to a four-year low of 7.5 percent. Still, unemployment remains well above levels consistent with healthy economies. And Bernanke said higher taxes and deep federal spending cuts are expected to slow economic growth this year.
His comments about the many risks facing the economy, along with the benefits gained so far from the Fed's stimulus, suggest the Fed is not ready to taper bond purchases that have helped lower long-term interest rates to encourage more borrowing and spending.
Stocks surged after Bernanke's comments. The Dow Jones industrial average was up just 40 points before his comments were released at 10 a.m. EDT. Minutes later, the Dow was up 125 points.
The Fed has said it plans to continue its $85 billion-a-month in Treasury and mortgage bond purchases until the job market improves substantially. And after its April 30-May 1 meeting, the Fed said it could increase or decrease the pace depending on how the job market and inflation fare.
Investors have been closely scrutinizing policymakers' comments since then for clues about the pace of the bond purchases.
Bernanke has had solid support for the bond purchases among the voting members of the Fed's interest-rate setting committee. At each of the Fed's three policy meetings this year, the committee has approved the purchases 11-1.
In recent months, the job market and the broader economy have shown renewed vigor. The economy has added an average of 208,000 jobs a month since November. That's up from only 138,000 a month in the previous six months.
The economy has benefited from a resurgent housing market, rising consumer confidence and the Fed's stimulus actions, which have helped ignite a stock market rally. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index has jumped 17 percent this year to a record high. Higher stock prices tend to make many people feel wealthier and more inclined to spend.
Those gains, in part, are why critics of the bond purchases, including some Fed regional bank presidents, have questioned the need to continue them at their current pace. They argue that keeping interest rates too low for too long could send inflation surging or inflate dangerous bubbles in assets such as stocks or real estate. Such a bubble could burst with the same destabilizing effects that the housing bust caused.
In November, Jive Software acquired Bay Area cloud-based, collaborative task manager, Producteev, to boost its social business platform. Going forward, as Alex wrote at the time, Salesforce.com and Jive will increasingly butt heads as they compete for mindshare in the enterprise. With Producteev's multi-platform task-management system, which allows users to create tasks from emails and collaborate around projects in teams, Jive acquired a service that was already beginning to compete with Asana and Salesforce.com's Do.com.
Study shows how bilinguals switch between languagesPublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Anna Mikulak amikulak@psychologicalscience.org 202-293-9300 Association for Psychological Science
Individuals who learn two languages at an early age seem to switch back and forth between separate "sound systems" for each language, according to new research conducted at the University of Arizona.
The research, to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, addresses enduring questions in bilingual studies about how bilingual speakers hear and process sound in two different languages.
"A lot of research has shown that bilinguals are pretty good at accommodating speech variation across languages, but there's been a debate as to how," said lead author Kalim Gonzales, a psychology doctoral student at the University of Arizona. "There are two views: One is that bilinguals have different processing modes for their two languages they have a mode for processing speech in one language and then a mode for processing speech in the other language. Another view is that bilinguals just adjust to speech variation by recalibrating to the unique acoustic properties of each language."
Gonzales's research supports the first view that bilinguals who learn two languages early in life learn two separate processing modes, or "sound systems."
The study looked at 32 Spanish-English early bilinguals, who had learned their second language before age 8. Participants were presented with a series of pseudo-words beginning with a 'pa' or a 'ba' sound and asked to identify which of the two sounds they heard.
While 'pa' and 'ba' sounds exist in both English and Spanish, how those sounds are produced and perceived in the two languages varies subtly. In the case of 'ba,' for example, English speakers typically begin to vibrate their vocal chords the moment they open their lips, while Spanish speakers begin vocal chord vibration slightly before they open their lips and produce 'pa' in a manner similar to English 'ba.' As a result of those subtle differences, English-only speakers might, in some cases, confuse the 'ba' and 'pa' sounds they hear in Spanish, explains co-author Andrew Lotto, associate professor of speech, language and hearing sciences at the University of Arizona.
"When most people think about differences between languages, they think they use different words and they have different grammars, but at their base languages use different sounds," Lotto said.
"One of the reasons it sounds different when you hear someone speaking a different language is because the actual sounds they use are different; they have a sound code that's specific to that language," he said. "One of the reasons someone might sound like they have an accent if they learn Spanish first is because their 'pa' is like an English 'ba,' so when they say a word with 'pa,' it will sound like a 'ba' to an English monolingual."
For the study, the bilingual participants were divided into two groups. One group was told they would be hearing rare words in Spanish, while the other was told they would be hearing rare words in English. Both groups heard audio recordings of variations of the same two words bafri and pafri which are not real words in either language.
Participants were then asked to identify whether the words they heard began with a 'ba' or a 'pa' sound.
Each group heard the same series of words, but for the group told they were hearing Spanish, the ends of the words were pronounced slightly differently, with the 'r' getting a Spanish pronunciation.
The findings: Participants perceived 'ba' and 'pa' sounds differently depending on whether they were told they were hearing Spanish words, with the Spanish pronunciation of 'r,' or whether they were told they were hearing English words, with the English pronunciation of 'r.'
"What this showed is that when you put people in English mode, they actually would act like English speakers, and then if you put them in Spanish mode, they would switch to acting like Spanish speakers," Lotto said. "These bilinguals, hearing the exact same 'ba's and 'pa's would label them differently depending on the context."
When the study was repeated with 32 English monolinguals, participants did not show the same shift in perception; they labeled 'ba' and 'pa' sounds the same way regardless of which language they were told they were hearing. It was that lack of an effect for monolinguals that provided the strongest evidence for two sound systems in bilinguals.
"Up until this point we haven't had a good answer to whether bilinguals actually learn two different codes so a 'ba-pa' English code and a 'ba-pa' Spanish code or whether they learn something that's sort of in the middle," Lotto said. "This is one of the first clear demonstrations that bilinguals really do have two different sounds systems and that they can switch between one language and the other and then use that sound system."
This is true primarily for those who learn two languages very young, Lotto said.
"If you learn a second language later in life, you usually have a dominant language and then you try to use that sounds system for the other language, which is why you end up having an accent," he said.
Research on bilingualism has increased in recent years as the global climate has become more intermixed, Lotto noted. These new findings challenge the idea that bilinguals always have one dominant language.
"This raises the possibility that bilinguals can perceive speech like a native speaker in both languages," said Gonzales, whose own son is growing up learning English and Chinese simultaneously.
"The predominant view of late has been that bilinguals will never be able to perceive a second language beyond what a late learner is capable of, or someone who learns a second language late in life. So even if you learn two languages simultaneously from birth, you're always going to perceive one of them like a late learner," Gonzales said. "Our findings cast doubt on that prominent view in the bilingual literature."
###
For more information about this study, please contact: Kalim Gonzales at kalimg@email.arizona.edu.
The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "A bafri, un pafri: Bilinguals' pseudoword identifications support language-specific phonetic systems" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Study shows how bilinguals switch between languagesPublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Anna Mikulak amikulak@psychologicalscience.org 202-293-9300 Association for Psychological Science
Individuals who learn two languages at an early age seem to switch back and forth between separate "sound systems" for each language, according to new research conducted at the University of Arizona.
The research, to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, addresses enduring questions in bilingual studies about how bilingual speakers hear and process sound in two different languages.
"A lot of research has shown that bilinguals are pretty good at accommodating speech variation across languages, but there's been a debate as to how," said lead author Kalim Gonzales, a psychology doctoral student at the University of Arizona. "There are two views: One is that bilinguals have different processing modes for their two languages they have a mode for processing speech in one language and then a mode for processing speech in the other language. Another view is that bilinguals just adjust to speech variation by recalibrating to the unique acoustic properties of each language."
Gonzales's research supports the first view that bilinguals who learn two languages early in life learn two separate processing modes, or "sound systems."
The study looked at 32 Spanish-English early bilinguals, who had learned their second language before age 8. Participants were presented with a series of pseudo-words beginning with a 'pa' or a 'ba' sound and asked to identify which of the two sounds they heard.
While 'pa' and 'ba' sounds exist in both English and Spanish, how those sounds are produced and perceived in the two languages varies subtly. In the case of 'ba,' for example, English speakers typically begin to vibrate their vocal chords the moment they open their lips, while Spanish speakers begin vocal chord vibration slightly before they open their lips and produce 'pa' in a manner similar to English 'ba.' As a result of those subtle differences, English-only speakers might, in some cases, confuse the 'ba' and 'pa' sounds they hear in Spanish, explains co-author Andrew Lotto, associate professor of speech, language and hearing sciences at the University of Arizona.
"When most people think about differences between languages, they think they use different words and they have different grammars, but at their base languages use different sounds," Lotto said.
"One of the reasons it sounds different when you hear someone speaking a different language is because the actual sounds they use are different; they have a sound code that's specific to that language," he said. "One of the reasons someone might sound like they have an accent if they learn Spanish first is because their 'pa' is like an English 'ba,' so when they say a word with 'pa,' it will sound like a 'ba' to an English monolingual."
For the study, the bilingual participants were divided into two groups. One group was told they would be hearing rare words in Spanish, while the other was told they would be hearing rare words in English. Both groups heard audio recordings of variations of the same two words bafri and pafri which are not real words in either language.
Participants were then asked to identify whether the words they heard began with a 'ba' or a 'pa' sound.
Each group heard the same series of words, but for the group told they were hearing Spanish, the ends of the words were pronounced slightly differently, with the 'r' getting a Spanish pronunciation.
The findings: Participants perceived 'ba' and 'pa' sounds differently depending on whether they were told they were hearing Spanish words, with the Spanish pronunciation of 'r,' or whether they were told they were hearing English words, with the English pronunciation of 'r.'
"What this showed is that when you put people in English mode, they actually would act like English speakers, and then if you put them in Spanish mode, they would switch to acting like Spanish speakers," Lotto said. "These bilinguals, hearing the exact same 'ba's and 'pa's would label them differently depending on the context."
When the study was repeated with 32 English monolinguals, participants did not show the same shift in perception; they labeled 'ba' and 'pa' sounds the same way regardless of which language they were told they were hearing. It was that lack of an effect for monolinguals that provided the strongest evidence for two sound systems in bilinguals.
"Up until this point we haven't had a good answer to whether bilinguals actually learn two different codes so a 'ba-pa' English code and a 'ba-pa' Spanish code or whether they learn something that's sort of in the middle," Lotto said. "This is one of the first clear demonstrations that bilinguals really do have two different sounds systems and that they can switch between one language and the other and then use that sound system."
This is true primarily for those who learn two languages very young, Lotto said.
"If you learn a second language later in life, you usually have a dominant language and then you try to use that sounds system for the other language, which is why you end up having an accent," he said.
Research on bilingualism has increased in recent years as the global climate has become more intermixed, Lotto noted. These new findings challenge the idea that bilinguals always have one dominant language.
"This raises the possibility that bilinguals can perceive speech like a native speaker in both languages," said Gonzales, whose own son is growing up learning English and Chinese simultaneously.
"The predominant view of late has been that bilinguals will never be able to perceive a second language beyond what a late learner is capable of, or someone who learns a second language late in life. So even if you learn two languages simultaneously from birth, you're always going to perceive one of them like a late learner," Gonzales said. "Our findings cast doubt on that prominent view in the bilingual literature."
###
For more information about this study, please contact: Kalim Gonzales at kalimg@email.arizona.edu.
The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "A bafri, un pafri: Bilinguals' pseudoword identifications support language-specific phonetic systems" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Flexible displays are set to become the next big thing in mobile technology. LG previously confirmed that it will release a smartphone with a flexible display later this year, while unbreakable handsets from Samsung and Motorola are also said to be in the pipeline. LG on Monday announced that it plans to demo a 5-inch flexible and unbreakable OLED display for the first time this week at the Society for Information Display?s (SID) annual trade show. The company will also showcase a new 5-inch HD display with a 1mm wide bezel, which will allow for the ?production of borderless smartphones that are lightweight and emit significantly less heat.? LG plans to release a smartphone with a flexible OLED display in the fourth quarter of 2013. The company?s press release follows below.
LG Display Introduces Next Generation Display Technology at SID 2013
[More from BGR: HTC One with stock Android to reportedly launch by the end of the summer]
Curved 55-inch OLED TV and 5-inch plastic OLED panels on exhibit
Seoul, Korea (May 20, 2013) ? LG Display [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220], a leading innovator of display technologies, will showcase the latest TV, mobile, and other products representing the future of display technology at the Society for Information Display?s (SID) Display Week 2013. Underscoring its leadership in OLED technology, the company will introduce both a curved 55-inch OLED TV and a 5-inch plastic OLED panel. Also exhibited will be mobile panels applied with Oxide Thin Film Transistor (TFT) which is viewed as the next generation TFT technology.
?Recent trends indicate that the small- and medium-sized display market is moving towards high resolution and low power consumption, and the large panel market to OLED and Ultra HD,? said Dr. Sang-Deok Yeo, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display. ?With the resulting rapid need for new display advancements, LG Display, at the forefront of these trends, is well positioned to lead the market with its differentiated and cutting-edge technologies.?
Industry Leadership in OLED
LG Display will demonstrate its industry leadership in OLED technology by showcasing a curved 55-inch OLED TV, as well as its award-winning standard 55-inch OLED TV at SID 2013. Based on the same WRGB OLED technology as the standard set, now widely adopted as the most effective OLED application for large-sized panels, the new curved 55-inch OLED TV offers a glimpse into the future of TV design.
In addition, for the first time to the public, the company will unveil an unbreakable and flexible 5- inch plastic OLED panel for mobile devices. The development comes at a crucial time when smart devices are being used more than ever and at increased risk for damage from drops, hits, and other accidents.
Next Generation TFT LCD Method
LG Display will also introduce 5-inch and 7-inch HD LCD panels based on Oxide TFT, seen as the next generation TFT technology as it offers high investment efficiency in producing thin, high transparency, and low power consumption displays. LG Display, which utilized this technology in its large-sized OLED displays for the first time in the world, will expand its expertise to LCD panel development thereby leading the market. The 5-inch HD panel will feature 1.0mm bezel allowing production of borderless smartphones that are lightweight and emit significantly less heat. The 7-inch HD LCD panel is equipped with touch function-embedded technology enabling superior touch functionality in thin and lightweight mobile products.
Superior High Resolution for Monitors and Tablets
LG Display, which was first to introduce an 84-inch Ultra HD TV, now advances the high-definition trend further with the world?s first Ultra HD panel for 23.8-inch monitors. In addition, the company will showcase a 14-inch Quadruple HD (2,560X1,440) panel for laptops, and the world?s first 7-inch Full HD panel for tablets that exceeds 300 pixels per inch (PPI).
Other Innovative Advancements on Exhibit
LG Display will also present a new type of LCD which can depict the highest level of color reproduction ratio for implementation across various industries. Products, on exhibit, applying this technology include a transparent 47-inch LCD panel for refrigerators featuring a 15% increase in transparency while maintaining NTSC 72% or the same as generic HDTVs, a 12.3-inch Full HD LCD panel for automotive dashboards with 800nit high brightness and 85% color reproduction ratio, and a 24-inch Adobe RGB monitor panel for professionals with 100% color reproduction ratio.
The company will also spotlight it?s commitment to heightened design standards based on borderless technology with a 5-inch HD LCD panel for smartphones with 1.0mm bezel, as well as products boasting the world?s most narrow bezels including a 13.3-inch Full HD LCD Neo Edge panel for laptops with 1.5mm bezel, a 23.8-inch Full HD LCD Neo Blade panel for monitors with 3.5mm bezel, and a 55-inch LCD panel for video walls with 5.3mm bezel.
SID Display Week 2013
SID Display Week 2013 will be held in Vancouver, Canada from May 19 to 24. LG Display?s products will be showcased at Booth #1012, and allow visitors to experience the latest offerings from the world?s leading display company.
In addition to product exhibits, LG Display will also present its distinguished technology with 17 major dissertations on a variety of display topics. Also, Dr. In-Byung Kang, Senior Vice President and Lead Laboratory Chief of LG Display, will be recognized with a special achievement award for his work in FPR 3D and IPS LCD technology.
AMMAN (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah militants attacked a Syrian rebel-held town alongside Syrian troops on Sunday and Israel threatened more attacks on Syria to rein the militia in, highlighting the risks of a wider regional conflict if planned peace talks fail.
Activists said it was the fiercest fighting in Syria's two year-old civil war involving Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran which they said appeared to be helping President Bashar al-Assad secure a vital corridor in case Syria fragments.
Speaking from Qusair near the border with Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, activist Hadi Abdallah said Syrian warplanes bombed the town in the morning and shells were hitting the town at a rate of up to 50 a minute. At least 32 people were killed.
"The army is hitting Qusair with tanks and artillery from the north and east while Hezbollah is firing mortar rounds and multiple rocket launchers from the south and west," he said.
Assad poured scorn on the idea that a U.S.- and Russian-sponsored peace conference planned for Geneva next month would end fighting that is deepening the sectarian fault lines between Sunnis against Shi'ites across the Middle East.
"They think a political conference will halt terrorists in the country. That is unrealistic," he told the Argentine newspaper Clarin, in reference to the mainly Sunni groups seeking to unseat him.
Assad declared "No dialogue with terrorists", but it was not clear from his remarks whether he would agree to send delegates to a conference that may falter before it starts due to disagreements between its two main sponsors and their allies.
The opposition will agree its stance on the proposed peace conference in a meeting due to start in Istanbul on Thursday, during which it will also appoint a new leadership.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was "preparing for every scenario" in Syria and held out the prospect of more Israeli strikes inside Syria to stop Hezbollah and other opponents of Israel getting advanced weapons.
"We will act to ensure the security interest of Israel's citizens in the future as well," Netanyahu said.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied reports that it attacked Iranian-supplied missiles stored near Damascus this month that it believed were awaiting delivery to Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006 and is allied with Assad.
REBELS UNDER PRESSURE
Attacks by troops and militias loyal to Assad, who inherited power in Syria from his father in 2000, have put rebel brigades under pressure in several of their strongholds across the majority-Sunni country of 21 million people.
In one attempt to strike back, opposition sources said rebel fighters had abducted the father of Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in the province of Deraa, one of many tit-for-tat kidnappings being carried on by both sides.
"Mekdad's nephew was taken before, and exchanged for Free Syrian Army (rebel) prisoners. The speculation is that a similar deal will be struck for his father," said activist Al-Mutassem Billah of the opposition Sham News Network.
In the fighting near Lebanon, rebel fighters clashed with mechanized Syrian army units and Hezbollah guerillas in nine points in and around Qusair, 10 km (six miles) from the border, activists said.
The region is needed by Assad, who is from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, to secure a route from Hezbollah's strongholds in the Bekaa to areas near Syria's Mediterranean coast where many Alawites live, they said.
Opposition sources say Syria's coastal region could serve as an Alawite statelet if Assad should lose control of Damascus, a potential fragmentation of Syria along ethnic and sectarian lines that raises the prospect of many more deaths.
Sources in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley said shells fired by rebels had hit the edges of the town of Hermel, a Hezbollah stronghold, but no casualties were reported.
Syrian Television said troops "leading an operation against terrorists in Qusair" had reached the town centre.
"Our heroic forces are advancing toward Qusair and are chasing the remnants of the terrorists and have hoisted the Syrian flag on the municipality building. In the next few hours we will give you joyous news," the television said.
Abu Imad, another activist in the Qusair region, said the rebel grip was tenuous but the army was far from in control.
"If Qusair falls, it will be a big problem because the regime will be in control of most of the countryside south of the city of Homs and the rebel forces holding Old Homs will be squeezed," he said.
The United Nations says at least 80,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which started with peaceful protests against four decades of rule by Assad and his late father.
(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; writing by Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Fear of dental care can be paralyzing. Spending a few minutes learning about new dental procedures will teach people that visiting the dentist is nothing to fear. The following advice is a great start!
Having trouble thinking of spending a lot of money on a toothbrush? Many dentists claim that the electronic toothbrushes are the closest at-home experience you can get to a visit to the dentist. They aren?t perfect, but they do have far more cleaning power than the average toothbrush. Pick out a model that has multiple heads as well as a good warranty.
How you maneuver your toothbrush while brushing is a key factor in whether or not you are actually caring for your teeth properly. Tilting the toothbrush slightly is the right way. Then, move it in a circular motion. Also, be sure that you are not brushing so hard that you are hurting your gums.
Flossing once daily is an important part of your dental hygiene routine. Good flossing really makes a big difference. Carefully place the floss between your teeth. Move the floss backwards and forwards. Don?t get the floss under the gums; it should be at the gum line. You need to go slowly and clean the back and sides of every tooth with the floss.
If you are in the middle of a teeth-whitening procedure, you should avoid any food or drink that can cause your teeth to stain. Your efforts will be self-defeating. Have willpower and make some changes in your diet in order to achieve beautiful, white teeth.
Make regular visits to your dentist. You can improve your dental health by regularly visiting your dentist. Dealing with dental problems early cuts down the cost of fixing the problem later. It will also help you decrease your chances of pain, because you will be fixing things early on. Getting your teeth cleaned and looked at on a regular basis can save you a lot of money and keep you healthy in the long run.
If your child is scared of going to the dentist, you should try playing dentist with them. Pretend your children are patients, and you act as the dentist. Count their teeth using a toothbrush. Afterwards, you can let your child be the professional on a stuffed animal.
It sometimes can be rough finding info on your specific dental issues, but this post should have given you some answers. There are many things that go along with proper dental care. Use what you have learned here, and be more healthy.
To learn more gum disease treatment where you can find out all about it.
Jodi Arias watches as her defense attorneys Jennifer Wilmott, center, and Kirk Nurmi ask to withdraw from the case on Monday, May 20, 2013, during the penalty phase of her Arias' murder trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Ariz. The judge promptly denied their request. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder on May 8, 2013 in the stabbing and shooting to death of Travis Alexander, 30, in his suburban Phoenix home in June 2008. (The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)
Jodi Arias watches as her defense attorneys Jennifer Wilmott, center, and Kirk Nurmi ask to withdraw from the case on Monday, May 20, 2013, during the penalty phase of her Arias' murder trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Ariz. The judge promptly denied their request. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder on May 8, 2013 in the stabbing and shooting to death of Travis Alexander, 30, in his suburban Phoenix home in June 2008. (The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)
Judge Sherry Stephens meets with prosecutor Juan Martinez, left, and defense attorneys Jennifer Wilmott and Kirk Nurmi, right, after denying a motion for mistrial on Monday, May 20, 2013 during the penalty phase of Jodi Arias' murder trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Ariz. Arias was convicted May 8, 2013 of first-degree murder in the stabbing and shooting to death of Travis Alexander, 30, in his suburban Phoenix home in June 2008. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)
Jodi Arias cries as Steven Alexander, brother of murder victim Travis Alexander, makes his "victim impact statement" to the jury on Thursday, May 16, 2013, during the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. Jodi Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing and shooting to death of Travis Alexander, 30, in his suburban Phoenix home in June 2008. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)
PHOENIX (AP) ? Defense attorneys for Jodi Arias asked the judge to remove them from the case and declare a mistrial Monday, arguing the frenzy surrounding the case has created a modern-day witch hunt.
The judge denied both motions, and Arias planned to take the stand Tuesday. Jurors will find out then if she tells them the same thing she told a local reporter: She'd rather be executed than spend her life in prison.
Defense attorneys told the judge they would call no witnesses after a key witness refused to take the stand because of death threats.
They argued the attention the case has received has made it impossible for Arias to receive a fair trial. Defense lawyer Kirk Nurmi alleged the prosecutor has fanned the flames with incendiary attacks on witnesses, stirring up outrage among the public. He noted an earlier defense expert witness also received death threats.
"This cannot be a modern day version ... of witch trials," Nurmi said.
After Judge Sherry Stephens denied their mistrial request, Nurmi and defense lawyer Jennifer Willmott asked to withdraw. The judge promptly rejected that request, too.
It was the second time in the past week that the defense has asked to step down.
The defense attorneys continued with their protest of the unfavorable rulings by saying they had no plans to call any witnesses, sending the court into recess as the lawyers worked to resolve the next step. They later decided Arias would speak to the jury Tuesday.
Arias, a close friend from California and an ex-boyfriend had been expected to speak to jurors before the panel begins deliberating whether to sentence the 32-year-old to life in prison or execution for murdering her lover in 2008.
The same jury convicted Arias on May 8 of first-degree murder in the death of Travis Alexander.
Last week, the panel heard tearful comments from Alexander's brother and sister as they described how his killing has torn apart their lives.
Stephens instructed jurors they could consider a handful of factors when deciding what sentence to impose, including the fact that Arias had no previous criminal record. Stephens said they also could consider defense assertions that Arias is a good friend, had an abusive childhood and is a talented artist.
In opening statements, prosecutor Juan Martinez told jurors none of those factors should cause them to even consider a sentence other than death, given the brutal nature of the killing.
Nurmi explained to jurors that once they understand "who Ms. Arias is, you will understand that life is the appropriate sentence."
Arias acknowledged killing Alexander at his suburban Phoenix home on June 4, 2008. She initially denied any involvement and later blamed the attack on masked intruders. Two years after her arrest, Arias said she killed Alexander in self-defense.
The victim suffered nearly 30 knife wounds, had his throat slit from ear to ear and was shot in the forehead. Prosecutors say the attack was fueled by jealous rage after Alexander wanted to end his affair with Arias and prepared to take a trip to Mexico with another woman.
The jury deliberated for about 15 hours over four days before reaching a verdict in the guilt phase of the trial. The panel later took less than three hours to determine the killing was especially cruel, meaning the death penalty would be a consideration for sentencing.
The ongoing penalty proceedings make up the trial's final phase. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating Arias' ultimate fate this week.
Under Arizona law, if the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision on sentencing, the panel will be dismissed and jury selection will begin anew. Another panel would then be seated to hear arguments in only the penalty phase to determine a sentence. If the second panel cannot reach a unanimous agreement, the judge will then sentence Arias to either her entire life in prison or life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years.
The most anticipated part of the penalty phase will be when Arias speaks to jurors, though exactly what she will say remains a mystery. Within minutes of her murder conviction, Arias complicated efforts for her defense when she gave the interview to Fox affiliate KSAZ, saying she preferred death over life in prison.
Arizona defense attorney Thomas Gorman, who has handled dozens of death penalty cases, said Martinez may not need to mention Arias' comments in the television interview to jurors, given they haven't been sequestered throughout the trial.
"They just can't avoid it," Gorman said. "If they're at a bar or a restaurant, they're going to see and hear things."
Arias also cannot choose the death penalty. It's up to the jury to determine a sentence. And while death penalty appeals are automatic in Arizona, she could choose not to pursue additional appeals if she indeed wanted to die for her crime.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? Police shot dead a couple suspected to be terrorists after they threw four grenades, wounding five officers in an overnight stand-off, a police official said Sunday.
Following a tip, investigators raided the apartment where the couple was staying in the Githurai Kimbo area on the outskirts of Nairobi Saturday evening and ordered them out of their house, said Boniface Mwaniki, the head of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit.
The couple refused to surrender, threw grenades and used their eight-month-old baby as a human shield, said Mwaniki.
Police fired tear-gas repeatedly into the house, said a resident of the building. The baby was removed from the house unconscious and two grenades were found in the house, said Augustine Nthumbi, the officer in charge of the Githurai Kimbo.
The incident highlights the threat of Islamic extremist violence in Kenya.
The man killed was Kenyan national Felix Otuko, who was suspected of carrying out two grenade attacks in October 2011 ? the first of a string of grenade and gun attacks in Kenya, said Mwaniki of the police anti-terrorism unit.
Mwaniki said Otuko was a member al-Shabab cell with another Kenyan national Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, also known as Mohammed Seif, who is serving a life sentence in jail for grenade attacks in Nairobi on Oct. 24, 2011 which killed one person and injured 20 others.
Investigations showed that Oliacha supplied Otuko with the grenades for the two attacks, Mwaniki said.
These attacks followed threats against Kenya from Islamic extremist rebels in neighboring Somalia. The al-Shabab radicals, who are allied to al-Qaida, vowed to attack Kenyan targets in retaliation for the Kenyan government's decision in Oct. 2011 to send troops into Somalia to battle against al-Shabab.
The Kenyan government sent troops into Somalia after several cross-border attacks and kidnapping of foreign tourists that were blamed on al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab was working to establish a new generation of East African jihadists, warned a report by the United Nations in July 2011. The extremists represent a new security challenge for the region and wider international community, the report said. The rebels recruited other Africans in addition to ethnic Somalis, said the report.
Kenyan police warn that some are being trained by al-Shabab in Somalia and then returning to Nairobi slums, a border region near Somalia and Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, warn Kenyan police.
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WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke painted an upbeat picture on Saturday for the potential of innovation to lift living standards, delivering a sweeping look at the last 100 years that included memories of his 1963 South Carolina home. Bernanke made no reference to monetary policy or the immediate outlook for the U.S. economy in prepared remarks to graduates of Bard College at Simon's Rock, Massachusetts. But the die-hard baseball fan did manage to work in a reference to one of the sport's greats. "Is it true, then, as baseball player Yogi Berra said, that the future ain't what it used to be?," the chairman said, noting the existence of serious skepticism that leaps in computers and other information technology would yield the same dramatic boost to growth and living standards as previous episodes of industrial revolution. "Nobody really knows; as Berra also astutely observed, it's tough to make predictions, especially about the future. But there are some good arguments on the other side of this debate." Bernanke delivers testimony on the U.S. economy on Wednesday before the congressional Joint Economic Committee. His words will be parsed for any hint that he favors tapering Fed bond purchases, currently running at an $85 billion monthly pace. But recent U.S. economic data has been mixed, and economists polled by Reuters continue to expect the bond buying to continue until later this year, if not into early 2014. Bernanke did not tip his hand during his comments to graduates, but he did offer some rare insights into his childhood home in Dillon, South Carolina to illustrate how life has not changed all that much in the last 50 years. "We had a dishwasher, a washing machine, and a dryer. My family owned a comfortable car with air conditioning and a radio, and the experience of commercial flight was much like today but without the long security lines," he recalled. There was no internet, but there was a color television "although, I must acknowledge, the colors were garish and there were many fewer channels to choose from." After pointing out that the so-called IT revolution had not been as transformative as all that, Bernanke then went on to outline several areas where technology may only have scratched the surface in exploiting the potential for change. He argued that IT and biotechnology have tremendous scope to improve healthcare - which absorbs a considerable amount of U.S. household income and where costs are projected to rise - as well as the potential for the development of cleaner energy. "As trade and globalization increase the size of the potential market for new products, the possible economic rewards for being first with an innovative product or process are growing rapidly," he said. "In short, both humanity's capacity to innovate and the incentives to innovate are greater today than at any other time in history." (Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
Emergency personnel work at the scene where two Metro North commuter trains collided, Friday, May 17, 2013 near Fairfield, Conn. Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT: CONNECTICUT POST, CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM
Emergency personnel work at the scene where two Metro North commuter trains collided, Friday, May 17, 2013 near Fairfield, Conn. Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT: CONNECTICUT POST, CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM
Emergency workers arrive the scene of a train collision, Friday, may 17, 2013 in Fairfield, Conn. A New York-area commuter railroad says two trains have collided in Connecticut. The railroad says the accident involved a New York-bound train leaving New Haven. It derailed and hit a westbound train near Fairfield, Conn. Some cars on the second train also derailed. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT
Injured passengers are removed from the scene of a train collision, Friday, May 17, 2013 in Fairfield, Conn. Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, injuring about 50 people, authorities said. There were no reports of fatalities. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT
Map locates Bridgeport, Conn
Metro-North Railroad officials tour the scene of the train derailment, Saturday, May 18, 2013 in Bridgeport, Conn. Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) ? The commuter train derailment and collision that left dozens injured outside New York City was not the result of foul play, officials said Saturday, but a fractured section of rail is being studied to determine if it is connected to the accident.
National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Saturday the broken rail is of substantial interest to investigators and a portion of the track will be sent to a lab for analysis.
Weener said it's not clear if the accident caused the fracture or if the rail was broken before the crash. He said he won't speculate on the cause of the derailment and emphasized the investigation was in its early stages.
Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after a Metro-North train heading east from New York City derailed and was hit by a train heading west from New Haven. Most have been discharged.
Officials earlier described devastating damage and said it was fortunate no one was killed.
"All of the injured people described the really harrowing experience of having the train jolt to a stop, the dust, darkness, other kinds of factors that made it particularly frightening," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who visited several patients in the hospital.
Blumenthal said a Metro-North conductor helped passengers despite her own injuries.
"Her story is really one of great strength and courage helping other passengers off the train in spite of her own very severe pain," Blumenthal said. "She eventually had to be helped off herself."
The crash damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast Corridor. The crash also caused Amtrak to suspend service between New York and Boston.
"The damage is absolutely staggering," Blumenthal said, describing the shattered interior of cars and tons of metal tossed around. "I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident."
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said it was "frankly amazing" people weren't killed on scene.
Both said new Metro-North Railroad cars built with higher standards may have saved lives.
Metro-North said train service will remain suspended between South Norwalk and New Haven until further notice. Railroad officials said rebuilding the two tracks and restore train service "will take well into next week."
"We want our customers to know that while you travel on Metro-North, you can remain confident that your safety, and the safety of our employees, is always the first priority in everything we do," said Howard Permut, President of MTA Metro-North Railroad.
NTSB investigators arrived Saturday and are expected to be on site for seven to 10 days. They will look at the brakes and performance of the trains, the condition of the tracks, crew performance and train signal information, among other things.
When the NTSB has concluded the on-site phase of its investigation, Metro-North will begin to remove the damaged rail cars and remaining debris. The process requires specialized, heavy equipment that will be in place by Sunday, officials said. Only after the damaged train cars have been removed can Metro-North begin the work of rebuilding the damaged tracks and overhead wires.
"It is a significant undertaking that could take days to complete," MTA said in a statement.
The NTSB has allowed Metro-North to begin removing some of the track and wire from the scene.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said commuters should make plans for alternative travel through the area and urged them to consult the state Department of Transportation website for information.
Weener said data recorders on board are expected to provide the speed of the trains at the time of the crash and other information.
"Our mission is to understand not just what happened but why it happened and determine ways of preventing it from happening again," Weener said.
About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed at about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, transit and Bridgeport officials said. Passengers described a chaotic, terrifying scene of crunching metal and flying bodies.
A spokeswoman for St. Vincent Medical Center said late Saturday that 46 people from the crash were treated there, with six of them admitted. All were in stable condition, she said.
A Bridgeport Hospital spokesman said 26 people from the crash were treated there, with three of them admitted. One was in critical condition and two were in stable condition, he said. The other 23 were released.
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said the disruption caused by the crash could cost the region's economy millions of dollars.
Passenger Frank Bilotti said he was returning from a business trip in Boston on the westbound train when it crashed.
"Everybody was pretty much tossed around," said Bilotti, 53, of Westport, who wasn't injured other than a sore neck.
Firefighters used ladders to help people evacuate after the derailed cars dug into the banks of the tracks, Bilotti said.
"There were people on stretchers," he said. "There were people lying on the ground."
Blumenthal credited first responders, saying their "quick reactions and heroic efforts undoubtedly saved lives."
The MTA operates the Metro-North Railroad, the second-largest commuter railroad in the nation. The Metro-North main lines ? the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven ? run northward from New York City's Grand Central Terminal into suburban New York and Connecticut.
At Grand Central, Frances Liu and her family were trying to get to New Haven, where Liu is graduating from Yale. A train could get them only as far north as Stamford.
"And then we'll rent a car and drive," she said.
Liu's parents had flown in from China for her graduation and were touring the country around her commencement. But the car-rental plan could face a snag ? Liu never got a driver's license, although her parents had their Chinese licenses.
"My mom can drive. So I hope it'll be OK!" Liu said as she rushed off to decide on a train.
The last significant train collision involving Metro-North occurred in 1988 when a train engineer was killed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., when one train empty of passengers rear-ended another, railroad officials said.
___
Associated Press writers Michael Melia in Hartford, Conn., Susan Haigh in Fairfield, Conn., and Verena Dobnik in New York City contributed to this report.
When we see Nigerian princes or weird links or invasive people who want to much personal information pop up in our e-mail inbox, we immediately know that they're scams. It's part of the Internet. But what if it was a part of real life too? It would be absolutely terrifying to see online scams and viruses as people.
Hapstance Films created the short 'The Inbox' and even when you think you're clear of all scams and viruses, one will always sneak right in. [Hapstance Films]
Art installation? Trick photography? Nope, just a little restoration project going on at Utah's Provo Temple, which was badly damaged in a fire in 2010. Thankfully, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is salvaging the 112-year-old building with a little architectural levitation.
Engineers gutted the ruined interior, and lifted the structure onto scaffolding about 40 feet in the air in order to save the facade and add a two-story basement below. The old church didn't have to be moved at all. It appears to be floating, but there's no religious trickery going on?just a pretty amazing feat of engineering. [ThisIsColossal]
LONDON (Reuters) - The website and Twitter feed of British newspaper the Financial Times were hacked on Friday, apparently by the "Syrian Electronic Army", a group of online activists who say they support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The group posted links on the newspaper's Twitter feed to a YouTube video, uploaded on Wednesday, which purports to show members of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front Syrian rebel group executing blindfolded and kneeling members of the Syrian army.
The video could not be independently verified.
Hacking attacks on verified Twitter accounts of media organisations have triggered urgent calls for the micro-blogging website to increase account security, particularly for news outlets.
"Various FT blogs and social media accounts have been compromised by hackers and we are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," a statement from the FT press office said. The paper is owned by Pearson Plc
Twitter was not immediately available for comment.
Stories on the FT's website had their headlines replaced by "Hacked By Syrian Electronic Army" and messages on its Twitter feed read: "Do you want to know the reality of the Syrian 'Rebels?'", followed by a link to the video.
The group has previously targeted the Twitter account of the BBC's weather service, and those of Human Rights Watch and French news service France 24.
In the most disruptive incident so far, someone took control of the Twitter feed of U.S. news agency the Associated Press last month and sent a false tweet about explosions at the White House that caused financial markets to plunge.
(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas, Kate Holton and Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
A bipartisan band of House members working on a comprehensive immigration bill has reached an agreement in principle, lawmakers said Thursday, after talks dragged on for months and appeared stalled earlier in the day.
The lawmakers did not provide details as they left a two-hour meeting Thursday evening, but said they would be working to write the measure.
?We have an agreement in principle. We?re now going to work on finishing up the drafting of the bill,? Rep. John Carter, R.-Texas, a member of the group, said Thursday.
Politico further reports:
Carter also said that he vehemently opposes the Senate bill, and declared it dead on arrival in the House.
Someone at the Daily Beast writes:
With the exception of whether immigrants on provisional status would qualify for ObamaCare, the House will be eschewing the piecemeal process.
This is a departure from earlier reports, and leaves me scratching my head a bit. I anticipate a far nastier fight over this bill in the House than in the Senate, and while Harry Reid wants the House to do a comprehensive bill, piecemeal legislation would probably have a better chance at passage.
Obama previously said he was amenable to a tougher House bill (compared to Gang of 8) as long as it included a pathway to citizenship.
I?m with Ted Cruz when it comes to giving citizenship to adults who broke the law to come here:
One of Cruz?s amendment takes direct aim at that bill?s ?path to citizenship? provision, the central point of contention. His change says that no person shall be eligible for citizenship who has been ?willfully? in the U.S. and without legal status.
The criteria for ?willfully? are not defined.
So how big a cave-in have House Republicans made?
Transparensorcery ? ?House immigration group reaches a deal?
The state of Fitbit wireless syncing is far from ideal for Android users, but the company's latest step is proof that it's slowly getting better. Today, Fitbit updated its Android app to bring wireless syncing to the Galaxy S 4, which follows a previous update for the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II. According to Fitbit's blog, its difficulty in supporting more devices stems from software differences on various Android smartphones, which causes trouble regardless of whether the device includes Bluetooth 4.0. On the upside, just yesterday, the Bluetooth SIG announced that Android will gain support for Bluetooth Smart Ready and Bluetooth Smart devices in the coming months, which Fitbit reckons will solve much of the compatibility issues that it and other device manufacturers have faced. So, if you have a Galaxy S 4, take the opportunity to get syncing your fitness data today -- it won't be long before other Android devices get to join in the fun.
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) ? Deere & Co. says its second-quarter net income rose almost 3 percent as it raised prices and the farm economy continued to be strong.
The company, which makes farm tractors as well as construction equipment, earned $1.08 billion, or $2.76 per share, for its most recent quarter. That was up from $1.06 billion, or $2.61 per share, during the same period last year.
That topped analysts' average estimates for earnings of $2.71 per share.
Revenue from equipment sales rose 9 percent to $10.27 billion from $9.41 billion a year earlier. Including financial services, Deere revenue rose 9 percent to $10.91 billion.
Deere raised prices by 3 percent and shipped more gear during the quarter.
Its full-year profit prediction of $3.3 billion is unchanged.
BOSTON (Reuters) - JANA Partners, a leading activist hedge fund firm run by Barry Rosenstein, has taken a liking to two of the most beaten-up technology stocks.
JANA, which oversees more than $4 billion in U.S. stock holdings, disclosed stakes of 24.6 million Zynga Inc class A shares and 21.9 million Groupon Inc class A shares in regulatory filings on Wednesday.
The positions represent just over 3 percent of the companies' outstanding shares. The Groupon stake was worth $134 million as of the end of March, while the Zynga holding was valued at $86 million, according to the filings.
Zynga shares rose 1.6 percent to $3.39 in afternoon trading, after gaining more than 7 percent earlier in the day. Groupon edged up 1.2 percent to $6.97, after achieving a nine-month high of $7.38 earlier on Wednesday.
Groupon, the world's largest daily deal company, and Zynga, a leading social game developer, went public in 2011 at lofty valuations, but their share prices have slumped since then amid concern about slowing growth at both companies.
Zynga's initial public offering priced at $10, while Groupon's priced at $20.
JANA Partners, which often pressures the companies it invests in to change their business strategies or sell themselves, released its so-called 13-F filing Wednesday, which describes which U.S. stocks it owned at the end of the first quarter of 2013.
During the first quarter, the JANA Partners fund was up 6.1 percent. A spokesman for JANA declined to comment.
JANA's stakes are likely to be passive investments because Zynga and Groupon have dual-class share structures that give management tight control of the companies.
In Groupon's case, Executive Chairman Eric Lefkofsky, former Chief Executive Andrew Mason and director Bradley Keywell control more than half of the voting power through their ownership of class B shares in the company.
Zynga's stock price has been under pressure as investors react to its slow transformation into a gaming company that's focused on mobile devices such as smartphones, rather than desktop computers.
Groupon is undergoing a transformation too. The company is selling a lot more deals through smartphones and is listing longer-term deals in a searchable, online marketplace, a move away from its email roots.
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Public release date: 20-May-2013
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