oversimple corvus: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

'The Heat' hot at box office but 'Monsters' rule

This publicity photo released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Sandra Bullock, left, as FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn, and Melissa McCarthy, as Boston Detective Shannon Mullins, in a scene from the film, "The Heat." The movie releases June 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Twentieth Century Fox, Gemma La Mana)

This publicity photo released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Melissa McCarthy, left, as Detective Shannon Mullins, and Sandra Bullock as FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn, in a scene from the film, "The Heat." The movie releases June 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Twentieth Century Fox, Gemma La Mana)

This film publicity image released by Disney-Pixar shows a scene from "Monsters University." (AP Photo/Disney-Pixar)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy brought "The Heat" against Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx at the box office.

The Fox action-comedy starring the funny ladies as mismatched detectives earned $40 million in second place in its opening weekend, topping the $25.7 million debut haul of Sony's "White House Down," according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Disney-Pixar animated prequel "Monsters University" remained box-office valedictorian in its second weekend, earning $46.1 million in first place.

As for "The Heat," employing two female leads to buck the male-dominated buddy-cop formula paid off in ticket sales.

"I think the fact that we have a female-centric movie standing out in a forest of giant tent-pole movies is phenomenal," said Chris Aronson, Fox's president of domestic distribution. "Audiences really responded. We positioned this to be a female event movie, and we got the opening that we were hoping for this weekend."

"White House Down," which features Tatum as a wannabe Secret Service agent and Foxx as the President of the United States of America, was inaugurated below expectations in fourth place. The film's White House takeover plot is strikingly similar to FilmDistrict's "Olympus Has Fallen," which opened in March and starred Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart.

"It turned out to be a very competitive weekend," said Rory Bruer, Sony's president of worldwide distribution. "We had hoped 'White House Down' did better, just from the standpoint that we love this film, but I feel very hopeful that with the July 4th holiday coming up, it will be the perfect film for audiences, and it'll really add up for us."

Meanwhile, Paramount's "World War Z" took another bite out of the box office in its second weekend domestically with $29.8 million. Overseas, the globe-trotting zombie thriller starring Brad Pitt cleared $70.1 million in 51 territories.

"I think the variety of films is what brought people out to the movie theaters," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "There's a G-rated movie at the top of the chart and an R-rated movie in second place. That says a lot about the summer marketplace and how a unique slate of films can propel the box office."

"Man of Steel" is still flying high in its third week, coming in fifth place with $20.8 million in North America and $52.2 million in such international markets as Australia, Sweden and China. The Warner Bros. retelling of Superman's origin passed the $500 million mark on Saturday.

Overall, Dergarabedian said revenue and attendance are now both down just 2 percent over last year, and this weekend's films grossed 8.5 percent less than last year when Universal's "Ted" opened with $54.4 million at the box office. He said those numbers could shift further next week when Disney's "The Lone Ranger" and Universal's "Despicable Me 2" debut.

___

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.

1. "Monsters University," $46.1 million ($44.2 million international).

2. "The Heat," $40 million.

3. "World War Z," $29.8 million ($70.1 million international).

4. "White House Down," $25.7 million ($6.8 million international.)

5. "Man of Steel," $20.8 million ($52.2 million international).

6. "This Is the End," $8.7 million.

7. "Now You See Me," $5.5 million ($5 million international).

8. "Fast & Furious 6," $2.4 million ($6.1 million international).

9. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $2 million ($2 million international).

10. "The Internship," $1.4 million ($3.6 million international).

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "World War Z," $70.1 million.

2. "Man of Steel," $52.2 million.

3. "Monsters University," $44.2 million.

4. "Despicable Me 2," $41.5 million.

5. "The Hangover Part III," $7.7 million.

6. "Fast & Furious 6," $6.1 million.

7. "Epic," $5.1 million.

8. "Now You See Me," $5 million.

9. "The Internship," $3.6 million.

10. "The Great Gatsby," $3.3 million.

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-30-Box%20Office/id-9c84fbde585a46caa6e042b272c59662

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Britain turns to Canada for its new banking chief

FILE - In this Monday, Nov. 26, 2012 file photo, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, smiles at a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario. Carney, the former head of the Bank of Canada and the first non-Brit to run the 319-year-old Bank of England, moves into the bank's headquarters in the City of London on July 1. He faces a tough challenge: Helping rescue Britain's economy, which has been foundering since the onset of the 2008 economic crisis. While he won't do it alone, Britain's leaders are hoping he can inject confidence and try new ideas to revive the country's fortunes. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand, File)

LONDON (AP) ? It's not often that central bank governors get compared to rock stars.

But for all the buzz being created about the new man taking over as governor of the venerable Bank of England, you would think his name is McCartney, rather than Mark Carney.

"He's got that charisma," said Paul Kavanagh, senior market strategist for Killik & Co. "People will warm to him."

Carney, the former head of the Bank of Canada and the first non-Brit to run the 319-year-old bank, moves into the bank's headquarters in the City of London on July 1. He faces a tough challenge: Helping rescue Britain's economy, which has been foundering since the onset of the 2008 economic crisis. While he won't do it alone, Britain's leaders are hoping he can inject confidence and try new ideas to revive the country's fortunes.

Carney, 48, will certainly be hoping for a calmer time of it than his predecessor, Mervyn King. In his 10 years on the job, King, 65, has had to steer the bank through the financial crisis of 2008, help rescue several major retail banks and try to revive the UK's economy by bringing interest rates down to an all-time low of 0.5 percent and introducing a 375 billion pound ($572 billion) bond-buying program.

The new governor brings an impressive track record. Carney is credited with keeping money flowing through the Canadian economy by acting quickly in cutting interest rates to their lowest level ever of 1 percent, working with Canadian bankers to sustain lending through the crisis and, critically, letting the public know rates would remain low so they would keep borrowing. And it wasn't just that he had good policies ? he sold them to the public in a way everyone could understand.

However, he didn't face the same challenges as Britain. Canadian banks were stronger and didn't dabble in subprime mortgages. None of them needed a bailout. Demand for Canada's energy and mineral exports also helped the country rebound faster than most industrial nations in Western Europe and the United States.

Canada recovered faster than many other countries from the 2008 financial crisis. During 2009, unemployment hit 8.7 percent and gross domestic product shrank 4.2 percent. But it came back.

The Canadian economy expanded 2.5 percent in the first three months of this year, the fastest pace since 2011. Unemployment is now around 7.1 percent.

In contrast, the UK economy grew at 0.3 percent in the same period and its unemployment is stuck at around 7.8 percent.

The new guy from Ottawa is getting hyped as a departure from the quiet, reserved King, who comes from the gray, serious world of central banking.

"If it is your view that central bankers are boring old people, he (Carney) was not." said Benjamin Tal, the deputy chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Canada. "He looks differently. He has all his hair. He speaks in a way that it not typical."

Whereas most central bankers keep analysts busy parsing what they say ? much in the style of former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan ? Carney is known for his wit and informed clarity.

That's considered a golden attribute at the moment, especially for the UK. Public confidence in the country's financial sector has been undermined by scandals related to interest rate-rigging, rogue trading and a lack of accountability.

"We need honest appraisals of what is going on if the public is going to change their opinion," said Cary Cooper, a professor at Lancaster University Management School. "(The public) need someone who is open and honest."

Among those anxious for Carney to succeed is Treasury chief, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, a man so unpopular in Britain that he was booed by the crowds at the 2012 London Olympics. Osborne reportedly wooed the Canadian for more than a year, happy to bear the brunt of the acerbic British media, which would criticize Carney's 874,000 pound ($1.3 million) pay and benefit package at a time when the average public sector employee received a 1 percent pay increase.

Carney's newness to Britain is an advantage: He can play the outsider ? replicating a common trait in business where a new face comes in to offer a fresh approach.

And for the UK, Carney is about as outside as you can get. He was born in Fort Smith, in Canada's remote Northwest Territories. When he was 6, his family moved to Edmonton, where his mother taught school and his father became a professor of education history at the University of Alberta

He got a partial scholarship to Harvard, where he was the backup goalie on the hockey team. Influenced by John Kenneth Galbraith, who pioneered the popular notion that economics should be accessible to the masses, Carney took up economics

But Harvard left him in debt and he opted for a job at Goldman Sachs after graduation in 1988.

"I felt it would be better to work for a few years and pay that off," he told Reader's Digest Canada in 2011 of the "exorbitant amount of money" he owed. But when asked how much, he cheerily replied: "That's a bit personal. But I paid it off ?I'm very trustworthy."

He went back to Goldman after studying at Oxford, where he met his British-born wife, Diana, who specializes in development. They have four young daughters.

Carney's years at Goldman Sachs in London, Tokyo and New York left him comfortable with the Wall Street world ? something that was particularly useful at the Bank of Canada. He understood how markets would respond, and wasn't intimidated when financial titans tried to throw their weight around. His backers like to recall a run-in with JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, who had a heated exchange with Carney after accusing him of pushing "anti-American" bank regulations.

"He more than held his ground," former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said of the exchange. "Mark won the day clearly."

Carney also solidified his reputation by using "forward guidance," or locking in the interest rate outlook for months in at a time ? the idea being that if people knew rates would remain low they would be more likely to borrow. That helped stimulate spending and economic growth. The U.S. also uses this method, and analysts think Carney might try it in Britain.

But Canadians say it's risky to make too much of Carney's role, saying he's more like Ringo Starr ? someone who was in the right place at the right time. Talented, yes, but anyone would succeed with the Beatles ? and Canada's economy has proved resilient to the global economic downturn.

Canada's conservative banks didn't suffer from the same capital and subprime crises that U.S. and UK banks have ? Carney has not had to rescue a bank during his five years at the Bank of Canada.

Tal, the CIBC economist, said that while Carney was a great central banker, a bit less hype might be in order.

"If there are any expectations of a knight on a white horse who coming to save the British economy, I suggest that they will be disappointed," he said.

But Canadian observers also suggest Britain will note his style ? the events, speeches and press conferences tinged with humor.

"I'm a member of a team, the governing council of the Bank of Canada," Carney said at the University of Alberta in May. "If my legacy turns out to be bad, I'm taking them down with me."

Analysts expect he'll take it slow at first. Britain has a much larger financial sector and remains one of the world's great money centers despite its woes. All that candor may not go over well in London.

"He had no fear about wading into any (economic) subject," said Douglas Porter of BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. "(I) suspect he will be more cautious, at least initially, in England."

Associated Press Writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-30-EU-Britain-Carney-Profile/id-be97dda213e44a6497f45f4f154f76ac

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Cher: Tom Cruise was one of my top 5 lovers

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Cher says Tom Cruise makes her list of best lovers.

They're both famous names, but did you forget Cher and Tom Cruise were once an item? The singer, 67, confessed on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" Thursday that she still ranks the movie star, who's now 50, among her top 5 lovers.

"He wasn't a Scientologist then!" Cher told host Andy Cohen. "It was pretty hot and heavy for a little minute."

Cher and Cruise dated in the mid-1980s when he was in his early 20s, before his first marriage to actress Mimi Rogers, who reportedly introduced the actor to Scientology.

When Cohen asked Cher to name her all-time best lover, she stumbled, saying "well, a lot of them kinda came in first. I've had just the greatest lovers ever."

When asked where Cruise ranked, she was quick to say, "Well he ... was in the top five."

Cohen showed Cher a number of photos of famous people, including Cruise and asked her to say the first thing that came to her mind about each one.

Elvis Presley, Cher said, invited her to stay with him once for a weekend, and she refused, "but I wish I'd gone," she said. Of "Moonstruck" co-star Nicolas Cage, Cher said, "Aw, I love him. But he's crazy!" Of producer Phil Spector, she said "he paid me $25 for a year's work. My mother didn't believe I was working." Of Michael Jackson, she hesitated, saying "I have too much information."

Cher will appear on TODAY Monday with Savannah Guthrie, and is scheduled to reveal some big news in advance of her comeback album, "Closer to the Truth," which hits stores in September.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/cher-tom-cruise-was-one-my-top-5-lovers-6C10486630

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Math targets cities' essence

New formula relates city size to infrastructure, productivity

By Rachel Ehrenberg

Web edition: June 28, 2013
Print edition: July 13, 2013; Vol.184 #1 (p. 5)

Enlarge

Though strikingly different in culture and layout, cities like London and Beijing share many properties with regard to infrastructure, social interactions and productivity.

Credit: Both: Courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center

The notion that cities are all alike borders on blasphemy. Residents of the world?s great metropolises, from New York to London to Tokyo, speak of their homes as of a first love or old friend. But decades of analyses hint that cities, mathematically speaking, might actually all be the same. Now for the first time, those observations have been tidily and elegantly drawn together into a formula that describes what a city is.

That new work is part of a growing field dedicated to the science of cities. The effort is a timely one: Roughly 75 percent of people in the developed world now live in urban environments. While much of the research is in its early days, eventually it may serve as a powerful, widely used tool for urban planners and policymakers.

The mathematical work is rooted in and reinforces the view ?that cities grow from the bottom up,? says Michael Batty, who trained as an architect, planner and geographer and went on to found the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London. ?The diversity of life [in cities] offers greater opportunities for mixing ideas.?

That diversity, which includes dismal poverty, squalid slums and crime juxtaposed with prosperous businesses, majestic parks and great art institutions, was much decried in the 19th century. In 1883, for example, textile designer and artist William Morris lamented England?s cities as ?mere masses of sordidness, filth, and squalor, embroidered with patches of pompous and vulgar hideousness, no less revolting to the eye and the mind?.?

Discomfort with the notion that cities grew from the bottom up went along with disdain for disorder and chaos, framing cities as a problem to be solved. This view prevailed into the 20th century and influenced postwar urban renewal projects across the United States. The resulting redevelopment forever changed parts of cities such as Pittsburgh and Boston, with mixed results.

In the last several decades, however, the view of cities as disordered systems has begun to change, Batty says. Patterns have emerged within the chaos. Researchers in economics, physics, complexity theory and statistical mechanics have observed that certain features of cities consistently vary with population size.

But the relationships aren?t direct and linear. As a city grows, some features, such as land area, grow more slowly with respect to population. This ?sublinear? relationship also holds for some aspects of physical infrastructure, such as the length of pipes and roads: As population grows, proportionately less infra?structure is required to support each additional person.

For other characteristics, the reverse is true: Some measures grow faster with respect to the population. This ?superlinear? scaling has been observed for a number of socioeconomic factors in cities around the world. Produced wealth, whether measured as income, wages or gross domestic product, increases at a rate greater than the population. So does crime. Markers of innovation, including the number of patents produced and number of jobs in creative fields like the arts and sciences, also increase superlinearly.

While there?s some quibbling about the exact mathematical values, the relationships among city characteristics generally hold, says physicist and complex systems scientist Lu?s Bettencourt of the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico.

Bettencourt, with other researchers at the Santa Fe Institute and colleagues elsewhere, has been examining these relationships for more than a decade. Now Bettencourt has created a series of equations, published in the June 21 Science, that pull the relationships together into a mathematical theory of cities.

Bettencourt?s math stands on four basic assumptions: First, cities mix varied people together, allowing them to reach each other. Next, cities are networks that grow gradually and incrementally, connecting people. Third, human effort isn?t limitless and stays the same regardless of urban size. And finally, measures of the socioeconomic output of a city ? things like the number of patents awarded or crime rate ? are proportional to the number of social interactions.

Bettencourt?s theory captures the interplay between a city?s population, its area, the properties of its infrastructure and its social connectivity. By mathematically describing the tension between a city?s number of social interactions, their outcome (innovation, for example, or crime), and the transportation and energy costs of enabling those interactions, Bettencourt arrives at a parameter that he calls G*. The closer a city?s value is to G* the more effective it is at producing positive interactions and all the benefits that flow from them.

?In a nutshell, the city is the best way of creating a vast, open-ended social network that minimizes the cost of moving things in and around an environment,? Bettencourt says. ?When people brush up against each other, that?s when the magic of the city happens ? the social reactor begins to work.?

That conclusion isn?t so surprising, Batty says. Consider how a concentration of creative genius and technological know-how has made Silicon Valley into one of the world?s foremost engines of wealth. Bettencourt?s theory ?basically unpacks the equations and then puts it all together and leads us to what we observe in a clean and elegant way,? Batty says.

In many respects, the theory formalizes what writer and activist Jane Jacobs articulated in her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Earlier scholars? emphasis on aesthetics and form missed what makes cities so great, she argued. Cities are a way of sustaining an enormous number of social interactions through time, she wrote, ?a most intricate and close-grained diversity of uses that give each other constant mutual support, both economically and socially.?

What urban planners and policymakers will take from Bettencourt?s new theory remains to be seen. The research suggests that enabling mixing of people and fostering the creation and spread of ideas is never a bad idea. It also suggests that city planning should not involve grand, top-down projects, but perhaps well-considered smaller ones.

?We need to identify the minimal interventions that can lead to the greatest gains,? Batty says. ?Complexity theory teaches us that things are a good deal more complex than we think, and when we interfere, it can be at our peril.?

Back Story | Ahead of her time

Writer and activist Jane Jacobs did not pull punches. ?This book is an attack on current city planning and rebuilding,? begins the introduction to her 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The book was a reaction to the postwar urban renewal projects of her time. But it was also prescient, foreshadowing a view of cities as complex systems ? a view that researchers increasingly embrace today. ?The kind of problem which cities pose,? Jacobs wrote, is ?a problem in handling organized complexity.? That perspective is enriched and expanded upon in work by complex systems scientist Lu?s Bettencourt of the Santa Fe Institute. For years, Bettencourt says, discussions of cities have emphasized form over function. Bettencourt?s work, he says, ?is an attempt to shift perspective from what a city looks like to what a city is. Cities are social reactors.?

In addition to her writing, Jane Jacobs, who died in 2006, was known for her protest of the construction of the Lower Manhattan Expressway (map shows proposed development), which would have bisected Soho and nearby neighborhoods.
Credit: The Paul Rudolph Archive/Library of Congress

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351288/title/Math_targets_cities_essence

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Pre-existing insomnia linked to PTSD and other mental disorders after military deployment

June 28, 2013 ? A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Naval Health Research Center has shown Military service members who have trouble sleeping prior to deployments may be at greater risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety once they return home. The new study, published in the July 2013 issue of the journal SLEEP, found that pre-existing insomnia symptoms conferred almost as a large of a risk for those mental disorders as combat exposure.

"Understanding environmental and behavioral risk factors associated with the onset of common major mental disorders is of great importance in a military occupational setting," said lead study author Philip Gehrman, PhD, assistant professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, member of the Penn Sleep Center, and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. "This study is the first prospective investigation of the relationship between sleep disturbance and development of newly identified positive screens for mental disorders in a large military cohort who have been deployed in support of the recent operations in Iraq or Afghanistan."

Using self-reported data from the Millennium Cohort Study, the research team evaluated the association of pre-deployment sleep duration and insomnia symptoms on the development of new-onset mental disorders among deployers. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of developing PTSD, depression, and anxiety, while adjusting for relevant covariates including combat-related trauma.

They analyzed data from 15,204 service members, including only those servicemen and women on the timing of their first deployment across all branches and components of military service. They identified 522 people with new-onset PTSD, 151 with anxiety, and 303 with depression following deployment. In adjusted models, combat-related trauma and pre-deployment insomnia symptoms were significantly associated with higher odds of developing posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety.

"One of the more interesting findings of this study is not only the degree of risk conferred by pre-deployment insomnia symptoms, but also the relative magnitude of this risk compared with combat-related trauma," says Gehrman. "The risk conferred by insomnia symptoms was almost as strong as our measure of combat exposure in adjusted models."

The researchers also found that short sleep duration (less than six hours of sleep per night), separate from general insomnia, was associated with new-onset PTSD symptoms.

"We found that insomnia is both a symptom and a risk factor for mental illness and may present a modifiable target for intervention among military personnel," says Gehrman. "We hope that by early identification of those most vulnerable, the potential exists for the designing and testing of preventive strategies that may reduce the occurrence of PTSD, anxiety, and depression."

The research team says that additional study is needed to investigate whether routine inquiry about insomnia symptoms and application of appropriate early, effective interventions reduces subsequent morbidity from mental disorders. They note that in a military population, assessment of insomnia symptoms could easily be incorporated into routine pre-deployment screening.

The Millennium Cohort Study is funded through the Military Operational Medicine Research Program of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Fort Detrick, Maryland.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/ViXmrIgljJc/130628160829.htm

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Gorilla taunting: If you want to go to Hogwarts, be nice to zoo animals

Children taunting a zoo gorilla got their just dues when the animal decided to best them at their own game.

By Elizabeth Barber,?Contributor / June 27, 2013

A gorilla scared a group of children cruelly taunting it.

Children who apparently have never read Harry Potter, and who don?t know that only non-magical kids are mean to zoo animals, were fittingly scared when a gorilla decided it had grown weary of their taunting.

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In the now viral video, a group of children yell ?You?re ugly!? at a gorilla sitting placidly near the glass at a Dallas zoo, beating their chests in an imitation of more enthusiastic gorillas they might have seen on television. The gorilla watches them, calmly accepting their criticism.?

But suddenly the gorilla has had enough. Well-versed in the art of surprise, as well in the benefits of deadpan facial expressions, it lunges toward the glass and presses its hands and face to the window. The kids scream. And the gorilla saunters off, turning back for one last disapproving look at the appropriately terrified kids.

The kids had it better than Harry Potter?s Dudley Dursley, who taps the glass on a bored boa constrictor?s cage and then later gets his due, ending up sealed behind the glass (in the movie version, at least; in the book, the snake just slithers around his ankles).

Harry, the superstar wizard who goes on to save the whole world, is more restrained with the snake: no tapping, just a casual, pleasant conversation with the exasperated animal about how a little privacy would be nice, sometimes.

The apparent moral: people who tap on glass are non-magical. If you want to go to Hogwarts, be good to gorillas.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/7irLrVHReec/Gorilla-taunting-If-you-want-to-go-to-Hogwarts-be-nice-to-zoo-animals

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Songza introduces paid ad-free service that costs $0.99 a week

Songza joined the ad-free music streaming club today with a club of its own: Club Songza. Like the premium services on Spotify and Slacker, you'll have to cough up a few pennies to belong -- about 99 of them a week, to be exact. Listening to music without commercial interruption isn't the only benefit however; apparently paid subscribers will get additional goodies like twice as many skips and access to more premium content as well. Songza diehards can go ahead and sign up for the service at the source or simply live with that pesky advertising in the free version.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Club Songza, Songza

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/B_ncSXwQ3G4/

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Intel executives increase focus on Atom mobile chip

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp's top executives said on Friday the microprocessor company would speed up development and roll-out of its Atom chips for mobile devices, as the computing world moves away from the traditional personal computer.

The company is also being "cautious" on its Intel television service, as it continues to look at the business model, according to the company's new Chief Executive Officer Brian Krzanich.

"We believe we have a great user interface and the compression-decompression technology is fantastic," Krzanich said. "But in the end if we want to provide that service it comes down to content. We are not big content players."

In their first sit-down with reporters since their promotions in May, Krzanich and Intel President Renee James said wearable computing would become a key battleground for mobile industry players. They also said they would add new customers to Intel's contract manufacturing business.

The world's biggest chipmaker dominates the PC industry but has been slow to adapt its chips to be suitable for smartphones and tablets. That may change, according to Krzanich.

"We see that Atom is now at the same importance, it's launching on the same leading edge technology, sometimes even coming before Core (Intel's line of PC chips)," said Krzanich.

"We are in the process of looking at all of our roadmaps and evaluating the timing of some of those products," he said. "It's fair to say there are things we would like to accelerate."

(Reporting by Noel Randewich, writing by Bill Rigby; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/intel-executives-increase-focus-atom-mobile-chip-180701262.html

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Friday, June 28, 2013

Good Stores to Buy Quality Fashion Lingerie at Discounted Prices

Most women pay close attention to the styles when it comes to choosing lingerie, but we value even more on the quality standards as this kind of clothes may affect the skin of our bodies most badly. In addition to the concern that bad quality lingerie may hurt our skin or health, we also worry that the lingerie we wear inside may split on an occasion where you find it not easy to fix it. On the other hand, on top of all the considerations, pricing counts really a lot. Many ladies confess that they are not looking for the rock-bottom priced fashion lingerie which may be a total crap in terms of quality or styles. In practice, going for quality stylish lingerie at the best prices is at the core of their shopping decisions. Sexy Lace Sheer Night Dress

Speaking of this topic, I would like to introduce two China-based online shops with better global reputation where you can get such best valued quality lingerie: Lightinthebox.com and Milanoo.com. The sites are among the top Chinese online international retailers and provide great quality lingerie of various styles at lovely prices. Both of them offer discounts in different forms and values very frequently. If you want to get the best deals, you must know how to take advantage of the special offers and I am going to share some tips. Just read ahead.

Fashion Lingerie at Lightinthebox.com

Though the lingerie category is not the major product line of Lightinthebox.com, which is best known for offering superior quality fashion dresses that fit various occasions, it deserves a good look with the amazing styles and the reasonable prices. As one of the most reputable Chinese e-commerce website that targets global customers, Lightinthebox.com was successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: LITB) on June 6, 2013. This further proves that the company is not only legitimate, but also powerful. When you trade with them, you can be confident that you are not putting yourself in a risky transaction and you won?t get scammed by a dishonest seller.

Recently, they are offering a sale on fashion lingerie with 20% off on orders of $99. This discount range is rare for this product line though I often see they are giving an up-to-80%-off discount for wedding dresses, prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses or faucets. The lingerie promotion includes 2013 sexy swimwear, women?s nightwear, fashion hosiery, women?s bras, women?s panties and more. See all deals now >>

For more deals on fashion lingerie offered by Lightinthebox.com, you can visit their Today?s Sales page or Weekly Newsletters zone.

Fashion Lingerie at Milanoo.com

purple ruffles acrylic satin drawstring corset Milaoo.com is a fast-growing online shopping website based in Chengdu, Sichuan. They are far less famous than Lightinthebox.com but I am pretty sure that they are a legit Chinese site serving buyers around the world. At least from my personal angle, they are a top Chinese international fashion store, only second to Lightinthebox.com in the field of special occasion dresses and other fashion products for women. As for fashion lingerie, they have a really big collection and you can find any type of women?s lingerie there, including bustiers & corsets, babydolls, chemises, teddies, bras, panties, shapewear and hosiery. Their competitive prices are one of the biggest reasons why they are so popular among global customers.

They frequently offer discounts on fashion lingerie. You can check out the category page of their Women?s Lingerie for the latest deals. Also, you can visit the Dailymadness Deals zone or Sale page regularly ? you may luckily find an amazing deal on a piece of lingerie that you desire there.

Images courtesy of Lightinthebox.com and Milanoo.com

Source: http://www.danviews.com/good-stores-to-buy-quality-fashion-lingerie-at-discounted-prices/

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DirecTV GenieGo takes the fight to Sling, brings TV streaming anywhere on PC and iOS

DirecTV recently switched the name of its Nomad transcoding device to GenieGo to match its new DVRs, a change we first noticed on its Android app. On Windows PC and iOS the apps are about to get a new update that changes the name and lets users stream video from their DVRs over WiFi even when they're away from home (Mac and Android support is due later in the year.) Previously, it allowed users to stream live and recorded TV, or download recorded TV to a mobile device for viewing offline, but Slingbox-style streaming of live or recorded TV anywhere is new, and brings it closer to the device we thought it could be when it launched. Solid Signal and DBSTalk report the incoming update (not live yet, but it should pop up tomorrow) is easy to use, letting users stream recordings, start a recording so it can stream or remotely setting up the transcoder to make a mobile copy users can download once they get home. Satellite TV competitor Dish has brought deeper integration of Sling into its new Hopper DVRs, and now DirecTV has its own in-house solution, anyone thinking of switching sides?

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile

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Source: Solid Signal, DBSTalk, DirecTV

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/directv-geniego-live-streaming-tv-anywhere/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Filibuster makes ex-Texas teen mom national star

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? As she spoke late into the night railing against proposed abortion restrictions, a former Texas teen mom catapulted from little-known junior state senator to national political superstar in pink running shoes.

Wendy Davis needed last-minute help from shrieking supporters to run out the clock on the special session of the state Legislature and kill the contentious and sweeping bill, but her old-fashioned filibuster earned her widespread praise from fellow abortion-rights supporters ? including a salute from President Barack Obama.

The victory may be short-lived, though. On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry called a second special session beginning July 1, giving the Republican majority in the statehouse another 30 days to re-ignite the abortion debate ? and likely finish the job this time.

Still, Davis was on her feet for more than 12 hours Tuesday ? actively speaking most of that time ? as Democrats hoped her one-woman marathon speech would derail a measure that would have closed nearly every abortion clinic in the nation's second most populous state.

As a midnight deadline loomed and Davis continued to talk, political junkies from coast-to-coast tuned in via Internet, and the senator's followers on Twitter ballooned from around 1,200 to more than 79,000.

Suddenly, photos of her Mizuno Women's Wave Rider 16 Running Shoes were everywhere, and customers began jamming online sales sites with such comments as the pair was "perfect for a filibuster." Even #StandWithWendy was trending.

Obama's official Twitter account posted: "Something special is happening in Austin tonight." Similar messages of support came from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

All this for a 50-year-old Harvard-trained attorney and one-time single mother from Fort Worth, who was once dismissed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry as a "show horse." Until recently, Davis was perhaps best known for dating former Austin Mayor Will Wynn.

But Davis' sudden surge in popularity came as no surprise to Texas Democrats, who chose her as the face of the battle to block the bill.

"She's a total fighter," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. "And the thing about Sen. Davis, she says she's going to do something, she gets it done."

Davis' filibuster ultimately lasted about 11 hours before Republicans complained she had strayed off topic and cut her off. But that action prompted a lengthy debate with Democrats and deafening protests from hundreds of orange-clad abortion-rights activists in the gallery that spilled past the midnight deadline to kill all pending legislation.

Even after she had stopped speaking, however, Davis continued to stand for more than an additional hour while her colleagues argued about whether her filibuster was really over.

"Thanks to the powerful voices of thousands of Texans, #SB5 is dead," Davis tweeted Wednesday morning. "An incredible victory for Texas women and those who love them."

Davis starting working at age 14 to help support a household of her single mother and three siblings. By 19, she was already married and divorced with a child of her own. After community college, she graduated from Texas Christian University before being accepted to Harvard Law School.

She returned to Texas to become a Fort Worth City Council member before upsetting an incumbent Republican for a seat in the state Senate.

"We knew about her on the City Council," said Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. "And we knew her track record as someone you could count on in the heat of battle."

Davis narrowly retained her Senate seat during elections last year, but her victory allowed the Democrats to hold 12 of the chamber's 31 seats, just enough to block contentious bills from coming to the floor. She is up for re-election again in 2014, though Democratic operatives have already begun a whisper campaign urging her to run for governor.

A Democrat has not won statewide office in Texas since 1994, but those whispers are sure to get louder now. An email from Battleground Texas, a much-ballyhooed effort by former Obama campaign veterans to energize Latino voters and turn the state blue, read Wednesday: "Last night an incredible thing happened. Wendy Davis stood up to Texas Republicans."

Davis has clashed with the GOP almost since arriving at the Capitol, earning derision and respect for her ability to dissect a complex bill and make her opponents squirm under tough questioning.

In 2011, she led a short filibuster on the final night of the regular session that torpedoed a key budget bill to allow the state to cut more than $4 billion from public education. Despite warnings that the filibuster would be futile because Perry would immediately call lawmakers back into special session to pass the bill again, Davis and Democrats carried on, taking the short-term victory ? much like Tuesday's may also turn out to be.

An avid runner and cyclist, Davis was in good shape for the physical challenge of standing and talking for nearly half a day.

Because the rules didn't allow her to sit down, her chair was removed. Davis, who at one point fought tears to read testimony from women opposed to the bill, shifted her weight from hip to hip and paced around her desk to stay sharp as the hours ticked by.

Later, a colleague helped her with a back brace, prompting a complaint from a Republican lawmaker.

"My back hurts," Davis said when it was over. "I don't have a lot of words left."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/filibuster-makes-ex-texas-teen-mom-national-star-191531689.html

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Asia stocks rise after release of positive US data

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets were boosted Friday by further proof that the U.S. economy is on the upswing.

Reports showing better-than-expected consumer spending, a jump in pending home sales and a drop in jobless claims emboldened investors to dive into riskier assets like stocks. Wall Street posted its third-straight gain of the week.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged 3.3 percent to 13,648.81. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.3 percent to 20,708.18. South Korea's Kospi added 1.5 percent to 1,862.56. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent to 4,826.40.

Investors were also encouraged by comments from key U.S. Federal Reserve officials. The president of the New York branch of the Fed said the central bank would likely keep buying bonds if the economy failed to grow at the pace expected. Jerome Powell, a member of the Fed's board in Washington, said investors appear to have incorrectly concluded that the Fed will taper its purchases soon.

That brought a sign of relief to markets fearing that a pullback by the Fed would deflate stock and commodity markets, where investors have turned due to the low interest rates created by the bond buying program.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent, to 15,204.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.6 percent, to 1,613.20. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.8 percent, to 3,401.86.

Benchmark oil for August delivery was up 12 cents to $97.17 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.55 a barrel to close at $97.05 on the Nymex on Thursday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asia-stocks-rise-release-positive-us-data-033121093.html

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DOMA, Voting Rights, And The Bigot?s Last Gasp (OliverWillisLikeKryptoniteToStupid)

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New dispatch system could save money for trucking industry, make life easier for drivers

June 26, 2013 ? Engineers at Oregon State University are studying a new approach to organize and route truck transportation that could save millions of dollars, improve the quality of life for thousands of truck drivers and make freight transportation far more efficient.

The findings, published recently in Transportation Research Part E, show the feasibility of the new system. More research is still needed before implementation, but there's potential to revolutionize the way that truck transportation is handled in the United States and around the world, some experts say.

Loads could be delivered more rapidly, costs could be lowered, and the exhausting experience of some truck drivers who often spend two to three weeks on the road between visits back home might be greatly reduced. This difficult lifestyle often leads them to quit their job as a result.

That turnover problem is sufficiently severe that more long-haul, full-truckload drivers quit every year than there are trucks of that type on the road.

"The perceived quality of life for long-haul truck drivers is poor, and it shouldn't have to be that way," said Hector Vergara, an assistant professor in the OSU School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, who is working on this project in collaboration with researchers at the University of Arkansas.

"It will take a transition for companies to see how the approach we are studying can work effectively, but it should help address several of the problems they face," he said.

In truck transportation, some of the existing approaches include "point to point," in which one driver stays with a full load all the way to its often-distant destination; "hub and spoke" systems in which less-than-full loads are changed at selected points; and "relay" networks in which the drivers change but the load stays on the truck.

None of these systems by themselves are ideal for long-haul transport. The hub and spoke system is among the most popular with drivers because they get home much more frequently, but it can be costly and inefficient for full-truckload transportation. Relay networks make sense in theory but are difficult to implement.

The new approach under study combines the relay system and the point-to-point system for full-truckload transport. The researchers at OSU developed a new mathematical approach to optimize the design of the dispatching system for the movement of goods and to minimize the impact on drivers. It's one of the first models of its type to create a mixed-fleet dispatching system at a large scale.

"We now know this approach can work," Vergara said. "Compared to point-to-point, this system should cut the length of trips a driver makes by about two-thirds, and get drivers back to their homes much more often. We can also keep loads moving while drivers rest, and because of that save significant amounts of money on the number of trucks needed to move a given amount of freight."

The computer optimization determines the best way to dispatch loads and tells where to locate relay points, and how different loads should be routed through the relay network.

Truck transportation systems will never be perfect, researchers concede, because there are so many variables that can cause unpredictable problems -- weather delays, road closures, traffic jams, truck breakdowns, driver illnesses. But the current system, especially for long-haul, point-to-point transport, is already riddled with problems, and significant improvements based on computer optimization should be possible.

Disillusionment with existing approaches led to a shortage of 125,000 truck drivers in 2011, the researchers noted in the study. The negative economic impacts of this system also reach beyond just the trucking industry, they said.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/sEuKFsQJdvk/130626143112.htm

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Straight from the horse's toe: The world's oldest genome

Scientists have reconstructed the genome of a horse that lived some 700,000-years-ago, mapping out the evolutionary history of the modern horse.

By Elizabeth Barber,?Contributor / June 26, 2013

A Przewalski's horse is shown in Khomyntal, western Mongolia, in one of three reintroduction sites. From a tiny fossil bone found in the Yukon, scientists have deciphered the genetic code of an ancient horse about 700,000 years old. The researchers also found new evidence that the endangered Przewalski's horse, found in Mongolia and China, is the last surviving wild horse.

Claudia Feh/Przewalski's Horse Association via Nature/AP

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Researchers have sequenced the genome of a horse that lived some 700,000 years ago ? the oldest genome ever sequenced ? making it possible to reconstruct an evolutionary narrative of the modern horse, whose journey through history has been intimately bound to our own.

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According to a study published in the current ?issue of the scientific journal, Nature, the genome, of an ancient horse that lived in what is now Canada?s Yukon, is about 10 times older than the previous oldest genome, of a human that lived about 70,000 years ago. That means the hindsight of paleogenomics has been dialed backwards some 630,000 years from where it was, offering up the extraordinary possibility that scientists may be able to reproduce our prehistoric record in greater detail than ever before, tracing not just the evolution of horses but ? tantalizingly ? of humans.

"We have beaten the time barrier,? said evolutionary biologist Ludovic Orlando of the University of Copenhagen, a lead author of the study, in a statement.??All of a sudden, you have access to many more extinct species than you could have ever dreamed of sequencing before.?

Discovered in 2003, the ancient horse bones were bound in the world?s oldest known permafrost at Canada?s remote Thistle Creek site. A multinational team of scientists, headed by Dr. Orlando and Eske Willerslev, also of the University of Copenhagen, then extracted DNA from one of the animal?s toes after determining that the bone was a promising candidate to still have viable DNA: had the DNA not been kept cold and dry, it would have not survived those more than half-million years.

Sequencing DNA as fantastically old as that of the ice-encased horse is tough work, and the successful mapping of its genome is a testament to just how far sequencing technology has come, since the first genome, of a virus that infects bacteria, was sequenced in 1976.?

The scientists mulled over fragmented and deteriorating DNA, building from disjointed strings of just 25 individual letters a complex genome that is billions of bases long. And since the DNA had accumulated bacteria tenants during its long, icy repose, scientists also had to ferret out which sequences belonged to the horse, and which to the bacteria.

That complex sequencing needed fact checking. To confirm the horse?s age, scientists compared it to younger horses? genomes, sequencing a DNA sample from the frozen bones of a horse some 43,000-years-old, as well as samples from a donkey, five modern domestic horses, and a wild horse native to Mongolia. They say they are now confident that the horse is a staggering 700,000 years old.?

Scientists had once believed that horses had followed a simple, linear evolutionary road ? the sort that can be easily printed onto a T-shirt ? growing from a tiny version to the modern domesticated horse, frolicking cowboy astride it. But recent developments have complicated that linearity, suggesting that the horse?s evolution looked less like a T-shirt design and more like an unruly river, swelling to enormous volumes and pitching over waterfalls, and splitting off into tributaries, some with dead-ends.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/2Tiw_48E2ug/Straight-from-the-horse-s-toe-The-world-s-oldest-genome

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Beyonce's father sues Rupert Murdoch's Sun for defamation

By Tim Kenneally

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Matthew Knowles, father and former manager of music superstar Beyonce Knowles, has filed suit against the Sun, claiming that Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid made "malicious and false statements" in an article about him.

The suit claims that Knowles consented to an interview with reporter Georgina Dickinson on the condition that he would not "discuss personal family topics, only his career and the career of his artists, and music or business topics." Dickinson promised that her article would "paint a well-rounded picture of Mr. Knowles, both as a loving family man and force to be reckoned with in the music world."

However, according to the suit, the story published in the Sun contains multiple falsehoods, including the claim that Knowles had suffered a "bitter rift with his famous daughter - admitting he is devastated at being pushed out of her life."

Knowles' suit states that the article also claims that he "has reportedly not yet met Blue Ivy," despite photographic evidence to the contrary.

TheWrap has reached out to Murdoch's News Corporation for comment.

Knowles' suit claims that, when he confronted Dickinson about the assertions in the article, she could "only apologize that someone in London, not me" changed the story, and sent him the story as she submitted to the paper.

The difference between the filed story and the published story, the suit claims, "is stark."

On top of it all, the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Texas on Tuesday, claims that Knowles was promised payment for the interview in exchange for pass on future interviews with U.K. publishers, but "the promised payment, however, was never made."

Alleging defamation and breach of contract, Knowles is seeking unspecified damages.

(Pamela Chelin contributed to this report)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/beyonces-father-sues-rupert-murdochs-sun-defamation-003332619.html

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Demi Lovato on Father's Death: "It's Difficult"

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Texas carries out its 500th execution since 1982

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) ? Texas marked a solemn moment in criminal justice Wednesday evening, executing its 500th inmate since it resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982.

Kimberly McCarthy, who was put to death for the murder of her 71-year-old neighbor, was also the first woman executed in the U.S. in nearly three years.

McCarthy, 52, was executed for the 1997 robbery, beating and fatal stabbing of retired college psychology professor Dorothy Booth. Booth had agreed to give McCarthy a cup of sugar before she was attacked with a butcher knife and candelabra at her home in Lancaster, about 15 miles south of Dallas. Authorities say McCarthy cut off Booth's finger to remove her wedding ring.

It was among three slayings linked to McCarthy, a former nursing home therapist who became addicted to crack cocaine.

She was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m. CDT, 20 minutes after Texas prison officials began administering a single lethal dose of pentobarbital.

In her final statement, McCarthy did not mention her status as the 500th inmate to be executed or acknowledge Booth or her family.

"This is not a loss. This is a win. You know where I'm going. I'm going home to be with Jesus. Keep the faith. I love you all," she said, while looking toward her witnesses ? her attorney, her spiritual adviser and her ex-husband, New Black Panther Party founder Aaron Michaels.

As the drug started to take effect, McCarthy said, "God is great," before closing her eyes. She took hard, raspy, loud breaths for several seconds before becoming quiet. Then, her chest moved up and down for another minute before she stopped breathing.

Friends and family of Booth told reporters after the execution that they were not conscious that Texas had carried out its 500th execution since 1982. They said their only focus was on Booth's brutal murder.

Five-hundred is "just a number. It doesn't really mean very much," said Randall Browning, who was Booth's godson. "'We're just thinking about the justice that was promised to us by the state of Texas."

Donna Aldred, Booth's daughter, reading a statement to reporters, said that her mother "was an incredible person who was taken before her time."

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

Texas prison officials said that for them, it was just another execution. "We simply carried out the court's order," said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark.

With increased debate in recent years over wrongful convictions, some states have halted the practice entirely. However, 32 states have the death penalty on the books. Though Texas still carries out executions, lawmakers have provided more sentencing options for juries and courts have narrowed the cases for which death can be sought.

In a statement, Maurie Levin, McCarthy's attorney, said "500 is 500 too many. I look forward to the day when we recognize that this pointless and barbaric practice, imposed almost exclusively on those who are poor and disproportionately on people of color, has no place in a civilized society."

Outside the prison, about 40 protesters gathered, carrying signs saying "Death Penalty: Racist and Anti-Poor," ''Stop All Executions Now" and "Stop Killing to Stop Killings." As the hour for the execution approached, protesters began chanting and sang the old Negro spiritual "Wade in the Water."

In recent years, Texas executions have generally drawn fewer than 10 protesters. A handful of counter-demonstrators who support the death penalty gathered in another area outside the prison Wednesday.

Executions of women are infrequent. McCarthy was the 13th woman put to death in the U.S. and the fourth in Texas, the nation's busiest death penalty state, since the Supreme Court in 1976 allowed capital punishment to resume. In that same period, more than 1,300 male inmates have been executed nationwide, 496 of them in Texas. Virginia is a distant second, nearly 400 executions behind.

Levin, had asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to halt the punishment, arguing black jurors were improperly excluded from McCarthy's trial by Dallas County prosecutors. McCarthy is black; her victim white. All but one of her 12 jurors were white. The court denied McCarthy's appeals, ruling her claims should have been raised previously.

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

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

Her ex-husband, Michaels, testified on her behalf. They had separated before Booth's slaying.

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

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

In January, McCarthy was just hours away from being put to death when a Dallas judge delayed her execution.

McCarthy was the eighth Texas prisoner executed this year. She was among 10 women on death row in Texas, but the only one with an execution date. Seven male Texas prisoners have executions scheduled in the coming months.

___

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

___

Associated Press videographer John L. Mone contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-carries-500th-execution-since-1982-234152447.html

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Microsoft announces Visual Studio 2013 preview now available for download, 5,000 new APIs in Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 isn't just good news for users, as the new OS version is also bringing the goodies for developers as well, in the form of 5,000 new APIs for devs to play with. Along with 8.1's arrival is a new version of Visual Studio, to allow devs to write native apps for Windows 8 and optimize them for the platform. The software comes with all the diagnostic tools any good Win8 developer needs, including a way to see an app's power consumption and network efficiency. The Visual Studio 2013 preview is available for download today, so devs anxious to dig in can do so at the source below.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

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Source: Visual Studio

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/microsoft-visual-studio-2013/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Speck HandyShell (for iPad mini)

By Eugene Kim

The Apple iPad mini?is an incredibly thin and light tablet, making it perfect for one handed use. Well, almost perfect?its nearly nonexistent bezels and waifish dimensions can make it a bit awkward, or even precarious, to hold securely. The Speck HandyShell ($49.95 direct) for the iPad mini is, as you would expect, a miniature version of the case we liked so much for the full-sized iPad. It's got a sturdy handle around back that serves double duty?it'll prop your iPad mini up in nearly any position imaginable and serve as a comfortable hand grip for one-handed use.

The mini version is virtually identical to the full-size model, but with the appropriate cutouts to fit the mini's ports and buttons. The case itself is fairly standard, with a hard matte plastic back with a softer rubber outer ridge that allows the iPad to slip easily in and out of the case. The outer edge wraps around the bezel, adding protection from light bumps for the iPad's screen. The handle isn't quite as thick as the full-size model, but it'll still add a bit of girth to the otherwise svelte tablet. It weighs in at 3.52 ounces, but never felt too heavy. It's not Smart Cover compatible, though, so your screen will be left exposed. The HandyShell is available in Black/Poppy Red, White/Pebble, or Grey/Caribbean Blue.

The handle, like the case, is basically a scaled-down version of the original, complete with a sturdy 180 degree hinge and grippy rubber coating. It can easily prop the iPad mini up at virtually any angle, in both landscape and portrait orientations. On top of that, you can loop the handle around things like kitchen cabinet knobs to keep your mini off of dirty surfaces but still within reach?a pretty nice trick if you use your iPad for recipes. You can fold the handle all the way down and use it to get a more comfortable, balanced grip without covering any of the screen with your fingers. Even with the handle not extended, the hump and rubberized surfaces make the iPad a bit easier to hold securely.

Much like its larger sibling, the Speck HandyShell for the iPad mini is one of the more versatile cases out there. It's easier to use than a typical folio case and the sturdy hinge with the looped handle gives you endless options for propping your iPad up. And if you ever find it a bit uncomfortable or awkward to grip the iPad mini, with its razor thin body and bezels, the HandyShell is a nice solution.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/sr8EWweEvQk/0,2817,2420879,00.asp

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7 Ways to Stay Cooland Save MoneyThis Summer

It doesn't make sense to have the a/c cooling your house while you're not there. Sure, you could switch it off on your way out, but it's no fun coming home to a hot and stuffy house. Set a programmable thermostat to a few degrees warmer for when you're out, and then have it cool the house to a comfortable temperature about an hour before you get home. Installing a programmable thermostat can save you about $180 a year in cooling costs.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/energy-efficient/7-ways-to-stay-cool-and-save-money-this-summer?src=rss

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Galaxy S4 mini won?t have a mini price tag

Samsung recently announced a scaled-down version of its Galaxy S4 smartphone. The Galaxy S4 mini is equipped with a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel rear camera. The handset also includes 8GB of internal storage, 1.5GB of RAM, a microSD slot, a 1,900 mAh battery and the company?s TouchWiz user interface atop Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. A Samsung spokesperson previously said that availability and pricing was ?still up in the air,? however a variety of European retailers have begun to list the device online. Unlocked Mobiles will begin selling a SIM-free version of the Galaxy S4 mini on June 29th for ?365, roughly $560, while Handtec is offering the phone for ?390, roughly $600. Interestingly enough,

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/galaxy-s4-mini-won-t-mini-price-tag-194036757.html

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