AP PHOTOS: Images of the western US heat wave

Four people who were on the ground the night of the Benghazi attacks last year are writing a book about their experience, and they're getting a $3 million advance from Twelve Books to do it. The authors are unnamed, according to New York Post's Keith J. Kelly, who describes them as "members of the elite security team from the annex of the US Embassy." That annex, we now know, was the CIA annex, which makes this book deal really fascinating. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-photos-images-western-us-heat-wave-083000457.html

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Stones play long-awaited Glastonbury gig

PILTON, England (AP) ? There's a first time for everything, even if you're the Rolling Stones.

The rock rabble-rousers who formed half a century ago played Britain's Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, their debut appearance at the country's most prestigious rock music event.

A majority of the 135,000 festival ticket-holders crammed into the fields in front of Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage for the gig, which opened with a rousing "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

As on recent tour dates, the Stones gave fans a fistful of classic hits ? including "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)," ''Paint it Black," ''Wild Horses" and "Gimme Shelter" ? as well as newer songs.

There was even a brand-new folky number called "Glastonbury Girl," written specially for the occasion.

Singer Mick Jagger, who turns 70 in July, has lost none of his swagger, strutting the stage in a sequined green jacket, a satin-lined black cape ? on "Sympathy For the Devil" ? and other eye-catching outfits.

He thanked fans who had followed the band for five decades, and told newcomers, "do come again," before giving the crowd what it had been waiting for ? an encore of "Satisfaction."

In a pre-show BBC radio interview, Jagger gave no clue about whether the band he started with Keith Richards in 1962 will ever call it quits. He said, "I've no idea," before telling an interviewer that he'd probably continue as long as he was wanted.

The band recently played a string of North American dates on its "50 and Counting" tour and is due to play two concerts in London's Hyde Park next month.

The Stones turned down offers to play Glastonbury for years, but appeared to embrace the down-to-earth spirit of the festival, held on a farm in southwest England. On Saturday, Jagger tweeted a picture of himself outside a yurt, a Mongolian-style felt tent where he reportedly spent the night.

And he told the crowd he had been to see Friday night's headliners, Arctic Monkeys.

Guitarist Richards said ahead of the show that the band was "destined to play Glastonbury."

"I look upon it as a culmination of our British heritage really," he said. "It had to be done."

The Glastonbury Festival was founded by Michael Eavis in 1970 on his Worthy Farm near Pilton, 120 miles (193 kilometers) southwest of London. It is famous for its eclectic lineup ? and the mud that overwhelms the site in rainy years.

Other performers on Saturday included Elvis Costello and Primal Scream. But for many festivalgoers, the Stones were the main event.

The three-day festival wraps up Sunday with a headlining set from Britain's Mumford & Sons.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-29-Britain-Rolling%20Stones/id-54523690a9c148efadccb7b346de6fb2

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Team-by-team football schedules for all 18 college teams in state of Alabama

For those who may be keeping count, there are 18 - count 'em, 18 - colleges in the state of Alabama that field football teams. That makes for an active fall in the state. In an attempt to help you keep up with what's happening this football season, here are all 18 team by team schedules for the 2013 season:

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

SEC

Sat., Aug. 31 vs. Virginia Tech (Atlanta); Sat., Sept. 14 at Texas A&M; Sat., Sept. 21 Colorado State; Sat., Sept. 28 Ole Miss; Sat., Oct. 5 Georgia State; Sat., Oct. 12 at Kentucky; Sat., 19 Arkansas; Sat., Oct. 26 Tennessee; Sat., Nov. 9 LSU; Sat., Nov. 16 at Mississippi State; Sat., Nov. 23 Chattanooga; Sat., Nov. 30 at Auburn.

ALABAMA A&M BULLDOGS

SWAC

Sat., Aug. 31 at Grambling; Sat., Sept. 7 Tuskegee; Sat., Sept. 14 at South Carolina State; Sat., Sept. 21 at Prairie View A&M; Sat., Sept. 28 Texas Southern; Sat., Oct. 5 Mississippi Valley State; Sat., Oct. 12 at Southern University; Sat., Oct. 26 vs. Alabama State (B'ham); Sat., Nov. 2 at Alcorn State; Sat., Nov. 9 Jackson State; Sat., Nov. 16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Sat., Nov. 23 at Georgia Tech.

ALABAMA STATE HORNETS

SWAC

Sat., Aug. 31 Jacksonville State; Sat., Sept. 7 at Jackson State; Sat., Sept. 14 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Sat., Sept. 21 Grambling; Sat., Sept. 28 Alcorn State; Sat., Oct. 5 at Texas Southern; Sat., Oct. 12 Prairie View A&M; Sat., Oct. 26 vs. Alabama A&M (B'ham); Sat., Nov. 2 at Kentucky; Sat., Nov. 9 Southern University; Sat., Nov. 16 at Mississippi Valley State. Thurs., Nov. 28 Stillman.

AUBURN TIGERS

SEC

Sat., Aug. 31 Washington State; Sat., Sept. 7 Arkansas State; Sept. 14 Mississippi State; Sat., Sept. 21 at LSU; Sat., Oct. 5 Ole Miss; Sat., Oct. 12 Western Carolina; Sat., Oct. 19 at Texas A&M; Sat., Oct. 26 Florida Atlantic; Sat., Nov. 2 at Arkansas; Sat., Nov. 9 at Tennessee; Sat., Nov. 16 Georgia; Sat., Nov. 30 Alabama.

BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN PANTHERS

Southern Athletic Association

Sat., Sept. 7 at LaGrange; Sat., Sept. 14 Hendrix; Sat., Sept. 21 at Stetson; Sat., Sept. 28 Wesley; Sat., Oct. 5 at Sewanee; Sat., Oct. 19 Millsaps; Sat., Oct. 26 at Berry; Sat., Nov. 2 Rhodes; Sat., Nov. 9 Warner; Sat., Nov. 16 at Centre.

CONCORDIA-SELMA HORNETS

U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association

Sat., Aug. 31 at Abilene Christian; Sat., Sept. 7 at Stillman; Sat., Sept. 21 at Miles College; Sat., Sept. 28 vs. West Alabama (Demopolis); Sat., Oct. 5 Ave Maria University; Sat., Oct. 12 vs. Arkansas Baptist (Prichard); Sat., Oct. 19 at VirgInia-Lynchburg; Sat., Oct. 26 at Fort Valley State; Sat., Nov. 2 Georgia Military; Sat., Nov. 9 at Delta State; Sat., Nov. 16 Warner University.

FAULKNER UNIVERSITY EAGLES

Mid-South Conference

Sat., Aug. 31 Webber International; Sat., Sept. 7 at Ave Maria University; Sat., Sept. 14 at Union College; Sat., Sept. 21 Reinhardt University; Sat., Sept. 28 at Lindsey Wilson; Sat., Oct. 5 Georgetown College; Sat., Oct. 19 at Cumberland University; Sat., Oct. 26 Bethel; Sat., Nov. 2 at Belhaven; Sat., Nov. 9 Campbellsville University; Sat., Nov. 16 at Kentucky Christian.

HUNTINGDON COLLEGE HAWKS

USA South Athletic Conference

Sat., Sept. 14 at Mississippi College; Sat., Sept. 21 Louisiana College; Sat., Sept. 28 Ferrum; Sat., Oct. 5 at Wesley; Sat., Oct. 12 at Greensboro; Sat., Oct. 19 at LaGrange; Sat., Oct. 26 N.C. Wesleyan; Sat., Nov. 2 at Averett; Sat., Nov. 9 Methodist; Sat., Nov. 16 Maryville, Tenn.

JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS

Gulf South Conference

Sat., Aug. 31 at Alabama State; Sat., Sept. 7 Jacksonville University; Sat., Sept. 14 North Alabama; Sat., Sept. 21 at Georgia State; Sat., Sept. 28 Murray State; Sat., Oct. 5 at UT-Martin; Sat., Oct. 12 Tennessee State; Sat., Oct. 26 at Tennessee Tech; Sat., Nov. 2 at Austin Peay; Sat., Nov. 9 Eastern Kentucky; Sat., Nov. 16 at Eastern Illinois, Sat., Nov. 23 Southeast Missouri State.

MILES COLLEGE GOLDEN TIGERS

SIAC

Sat., Sept. 7 at North Alabama; Sat., Sept. 14 at West Georgia; Sat., Sept. 21 Condordia-Selma; Sat., Sept. 28 Albany State; Sat., Oct. 5 at Benedict College; Sat., Oct. 12 at Central State; Sat. Oct. 19 Kentucky State; Thurs., Oct. 24 Lane College; Sat., Nov. 2 at Stillman College; Sat., Nov. 9 at Tuskegee.

NORTH ALABAMA LIONS

Gulf South Conference

Sat., Sept. 7 Miles College; Sat., Sept. 14 at Jacksonville State; Sat. Sept. 21 Delta State; Sat., Oct. 5 at Shorter; Sat., Oct. 12 West Georgia; Sat., Oct. 19 Texas A&M-Kingsville; Sat., Oct. 26 at Valdosta State; Sat., Nov. 2 West Georgia; Sat., Nov. 9 at Florida Tech; Sat., Nov. 16 at Tarleton State.

SAMFORD UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS

Southern Conference

Fri., Aug. 30 at Georgia State; Sat., Sept. 7 at Arkansas; Sat., Sept. 14 at Florida A&M; Sat. Sept. 21 Southeastern Louisiana; Sat., Sept. 28 Western Carolina; Sat., Oct. 5 Georgia Southern; Sat., Oct. 12 at Appalachian State; Sat. Oct. 26 at Wofford; Sat., Nov. 2 at The Citadel; Sat., Nov. 9 at Furman; Sat. Nov. 16 Chattanooga; Sat., Nov. 23 Elon University.

SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS

Sun Belt Conference

Thurs., Aug. 29 Southern Utah; Sat., Sept. 7 at Tulane; Sat., Sept. 14 Western Kentucky, Sat., Sept. 28 at Tennessee; Sat., Oct. 5 at Troy, Sat., Oct. 19 Kent State; Sat., Oct. 26 at Texas State; Sat., Nov. 2 Arkansas State; Sat., Nov. 16 at Navy; Sat., Nov. 23 Louisiana-Monroe; Sat., Nov. 30 at Georgia State; Sat., Dec. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette.

STILLMAN COLLEGE TIGERS

SIAC

Sat., Sept. 7 Concordia-Selma; Sat., Sept. 14 at Clark Atlanta; Sat., Sept. 21 at St. Augustine's; Sat., Sept. 28 at Kentucky State; Sat., Oct. 5 Lane College; Sat. Oct. 12 Benedict College; Sat. Oct. 19 at Tuskegee; Thurs., Oct. 24 Central State; Sat. Nov. 2 Miles College, Sat., Nov. 9 College of Faith; Thurs., Nov. 28 at Alabama State.

TROY TROJANS

Sun Belt Conference

Sat., Aug. 31 UAB; Sat., Sept. 7 Savannah State; Thurs., Sept. 12 at Arkansas State; Sat., Sept. 21 at Mississippi State; Sat., Sept. 28 at Duke; Sat., Oct. 5 South Alabama; Sat., Oct. 12 at Georgia State; Sat., Oct. 26 at Western Kentucky; Thurs., Oct. 31 Louisiana-Monroe; Thurs., Nov. 7 at Louisiana-Lafayette; Sat., Nov. 16 at Ole Miss; Fri., Nov. 29 Texas State.

TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY TIGERS

SIAC

Sat., Sept. 7 at Alabama A&M, Sat., Sept. 14 at Albany State, Sat., Sept. 21 vs. Winston-Salem State (Cleveland, Ohio); Sat., Sept. 28 at Lane College; Sat., Oct. 5 at Fort Valley State; Sat., Oct. 12 vs. Morehouse College (Columbus, Ga.); Sat., Oct. 19 Stillman; Sat. Oct. 26 at Kentucky State; Sat. Nov. 2 Central State; Sat., Nov. 9 Miles College.

UAB BLAZERS

Conference USA

Sat., Aug. 31 at Troy; Sat., Sept. 7 at LSU; Sat., Sept 21 Northwestern State; Sat., Sept. 28 at Vanderbilt; Sat., Oct. 5 Florida Atlantic; Sat., Oct. 12 Florida International; Sat., Oct. 26 au UT-San Antonio; Sat., Nov. 2 Middle Tennessee; Sat., Nov. 9 at Marshall; Sat. Nov. 16 at East Carolina; Thurs., Nov. 21 Rice; Sat., Nov. 30 Southern Miss.

WEST ALABAMA TIGERS

Gulf South Conference

Sat., Sept. 7 Clark Atlanta; Sat., Sept. 14 at McNeese State; Thurs., Sept. 19 at Florida Tech; Sat., Sept. 28 vs. Concordia-Selma (Demopolis); Sat., Oct. 5 Delta State; Sat., Oct. 12 Valdosta State; Sat., Oct. 19 at Midwestern State; Sat. Oct. 26 West Georgia; Sat., Nov. 2 at North Alabama; Sat., Nov. 9 Shorter; Sat., Nov. 16 Central State.

Source: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/06/team_by_team_football_schedule.html

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Fears of unrest in Egypt as mass protests pit neighbor against neighbor

As Egypt approaches a weekend of confrontation, the divide between those who love and those who despise President Mohammed Morsi and his pro-Islamist government is wider than ever. NBC's Charlene Gubash reports.

By Charlene Gubash and Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

Egypt risks sliding into civil war, the country's leading religious authority warned Friday, as the nation braced itself for mass nationwide protests.

Organizers of "June 30" demonstrations ? which mark one year since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's election ? claim they have the backing of an estimated 15 million Egyptians who want him to resign.

---

"Only God knows what will happen" Sunday, said Gamal Abdul Aziz, a pro-Morsi car mechanic in Madba'a, a blue-collar district in Cairo.

There were ominous signs Friday. U.S. officials told NBC News that they were investigating reports that a U.S. citizen was stabbed to death Friday during protests in Alexandria, where at least 80 other people have been wounded, the state news agency MENA reported.

The State Department authorized the departure of a limited number of non-emergency employees and family members and warned U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Egypt.

NBC News

Gamal Abdul Aziz, left, a pro-Morsi car mechanic, argues with anti-Morsi computer science student Mohamed Abdul Munim, right, while being interviewed this week.

Building on discontent about a range of social and economic issues, Morsi's opponents hope to force early presidential elections.

His supporters, meanwhile, have promised they will also take to the streets to defend the Muslim Brotherhood-backed government.

"Vigilance is required to ensure we do not slide into civil war," clerics of the Al-Azhar institute said in a statement broadly supportive of Morsi, Reuters reported.

It blamed "criminal gangs" who besieged mosques for street violence that the Brotherhood said has killed five of its supporters in a week.

In an example of just how polarized the debate over Egypt's future has become, Aziz and his family became embroiled in a shouting match with a nearby resident, anti-Morsi computer science student Mohamed Abdul Munim, 23, while being interviewed this week.

Amr Nabil / AP

Egyptian drivers wait outside in long lines at a gasoline station in Cairo on Tuesday.

The argument, which took place after NBC News filmed a political discussion between the two, ended when Munim stormed off.

The dispute and recent violence ? one man was shot dead and four other people were wounded in an attack on a Muslim Brotherhood office Thursday ? was an ill omen for Sunday's marches.

The country's powerful army, which helped protesters topple Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime in 2011, has reinforced its presence in cities like Cairo and Port Said.

Munim said he believed "most" of Egypt's registered 50 million voters will be out on the streets, supporting one side or the other.

"We are sure that we will go out and get beaten up by the [Muslim] Brotherhood, [but] we are going out despite this," he said. "There is no security. There is economic collapse. The electricity cuts off and everybody is suffering. They will say Morsi is not at fault, but electricity didn't cut off when the military governed."

Aziz, meanwhile, said his life had improved under Morsi and accused the mostly secular opposition of "waging a war against Islam."

"Can you build a house in a day? No, it takes time." he said. "What can a president do in one year when a country is in ruins? The old [Mubarak] regime stole the country and left it destroyed."

In a sign of the nervousness many felt, Egyptians were stocking up on food, fuel, water and cash in the days leading up the protests.

'The Daily Show's' Jon Stewart took his satire to Cairo on Friday, appearing on a show hosted by the man known as 'Egypt's Jon Stewart,' who has faced investigation for insulting the country's president and Islam. TODAY's Jenna Wolfe reports.

Morsi's supporters claim the demonstration ? organized by an opposition umbrella group named "Tamarod," meaning "Rebel" ? is setting the stage for a repeat of the 2011 Arab Spring revolution.

Mahmoud Badr, a 28-year-old journalist and founder of the Tamarod movement, dismissed a televised speech by Morsi on Wednesday night in which the president appealed for calm.

"Our demand was early presidential elections, and since that was not addressed anywhere in the speech, then our response will be on the streets" Sunday, he told the English-language Egypt Independent news site.

The U.S. Embassy announced Tuesday that it would be closing its doors for the day of the demonstrations, but it added that "potentially violent protest activity may occur before June 30," and urged U.S. citizens to "maintain a low profile" from Friday onward.

Underscoring fears of violence, defenders of Morsi revealed plans Tuesday to form vigilante groups to protect public buildings from opposition demonstrations, the Egypt Independent reported, quoting Safwat Abdel Ghany, a member of Islamic umbrella organization Jama'a al-Islamiya.

"If chaos sweeps across the country, Islamist groups will secure state institutions and vital facilities against robbery by thugs and advocates of violence," he was quoted as saying.

Members of Tamarod were so confident that they would force Morsi from power that the organization set out a constitutional "road map" that it said would take Egypt forward without a president until new elections.

Eric Trager, a fellow at the Washington Institute think tank, said this week that battle lines were drawn between "an enraged opposition" and "an utterly incapable, confrontational ruling party that now counts some of Egypt's most violent political elements as its core supporters."

"Rising food prices, hours-long fuel lines and multiple-times-daily electricity cuts ? all worsening amidst a typically scorching Egyptian summer ? have set many Egyptians on edge, with clashes between Brotherhood and anti-Brotherhood activists now a common feature of Egyptian political life," he said.

"Whatever happens on [Sunday], it can't end well," he added.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Morsi: Political division threatens Egypt's democracy

Egypt's Islamists rally to show Morsi support ? and warn opponents

Egypt's Coptic Christians say they are 'no longer safe'

This story was originally published on Fri Jun 28, 2013 5:30 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663309/s/2deab03e/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C280C191691570Efears0Eof0Eunrest0Ein0Eegypt0Eas0Emass0Eprotests0Epit0Eneighbor0Eagainst0Eneighbor0Dlite/story01.htm

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Obama urges House to pass immigration reform by August

Four people who were on the ground the night of the Benghazi attacks last year are writing a book about their experience, and they're getting a $3 million advance from Twelve Books to do it. The authors are unnamed, according to New York Post's Keith J. Kelly, who describes them as "members of the elite security team from the annex of the US Embassy." That annex, we now know, was the CIA annex, which makes this book deal really fascinating. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-urges-house-pass-immigration-reform-august-111737311.html

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U.S. asked Ecuador not to give Snowden asylum: Correa

By Brian Ellsworth

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Saturday the United States had asked him not to grant asylum for former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden in a "cordial" telephone conversation he held with Vice President Joe Biden.

Correa said he vowed to respect Washington's opinion in evaluating the request. The Andean nation says it cannot begin processing Snowden's request unless he reaches Ecuador or one of its embassies.

Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking details about U.S. communications surveillance programs, is believed to still be at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow after leaving Hong Kong.

Praising Biden's good manners in contrast to "brats" in the U.S. Congress who had threatened to cut Ecuador's trade benefits over the Snowden issue, Correa said during his weekly television broadcast: "He communicated a very courteous request from the United States that we reject the (asylum) request."

Biden initiated the phone call, Correa said.

"When he (Snowden) arrives on Ecuadorean soil, if he arrives ... of course, the first opinions we will seek are those of the United States," Correa said.

A senior White House official traveling with President Barack Obama in Africa on Saturday confirmed the conversation had taken place.

The case has been a major embarrassment for the Obama administration, which is now facing withering criticism around the world for the espionage program known as Prism that Snowden revealed.

A German magazine on Saturday, citing secret documents, reported that the United States bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, which will likely add to the furor over U.S. spying efforts.

Correa has for years been at loggerheads with Washington on issues ranging from the war on drugs to a long-running environmental dispute with U.S. oil giant Chevron.

A leftist economist who received a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Correa denied he was seeking to perturb relations and said he had "lived the happiest days of my life" in the United States.

But he said the United States has not heeded Ecuador's request to extradite citizens sought by the law, including bankers he said have already been sentenced.

"There's a clear double standard here. If the United States is pursuing someone, other countries have to hand them over," Correa said. "But there are so many fugitives from our justice system (in the United States) ... and they don't return them."

TRAVEL DOCUMENT CONFUSION

Correa said Ecuador's London consulate issued Snowden an unauthorized safe-passage document, potentially as a result of communication with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is living in the London embassy after receiving asylum last year.

Assange said on Monday that Snowden had received refugee papers from the Ecuador government to secure him safe passage as he fled Hong Kong for Russia. Correa's government had originally denied this.

A "safe-pass" document published by U.S. Spanish-language media network Univision which circulated widely online purported to offer Snowden safe passage for the purpose of political asylum. The United States has revoked his passport.

"The truth is that the consul (overstepped) his role and will face sanction," Correa said during the broadcast.

The decision was "probably in communication with Julian Assange and out of desperation that Mr. Snowden was going to be captured, but this was without the authorization of the Ecuadorean government."

Correa's critics have in recent days accused him of letting Assange take charge of crucial foreign policy matters.

Assange, who is wanted in Sweden for questioning over sexual assault allegations, has not been able to leave the London embassy because Britain will not give him safe passage.

Snowden's lack of a valid travel document appears to be one of the primary obstacles to his leaving the transit area of the Moscow international airport. Without a passport, he cannot board a commercial flight or move through airport immigration, according to diplomacy experts.

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino declined on Thursday to comment on whether Ecuador would send a government plane to pick Snowden up. But Correa has indicated he does not have plans to provide Snowden with transport to an embassy.

Correa scoffed at reports that he himself had been aware that the document was issued or was involved in the decision.

"They think I'm so dumb that I ordered our consul in London to write a safe passage document for a U.S. citizen traveling from Hong Kong to Russia. That's simply absurd," he said.

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal in Johannesburg; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Vicki Allen and Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/biden-spoke-ecuadors-correa-snowden-white-house-180538899.html

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Obama yet to have African legacy like predecessors

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, makes a toast during an official dinner with Senegalese President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama is visiting Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania on a week long trip. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, makes a toast during an official dinner with Senegalese President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama is visiting Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania on a week long trip. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama, center, takes a tour during a food security expo on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama met with farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs whose new methods and technologies are improving the lives of smallholder farmers throughout West Africa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

USAID administrator Raj Shah, left, looks on as U.S. President Barack Obama, center, talks to Nimna Diayte, president of the Farmers Federation, front, during a food security expo on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama met with farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs whose new methods and technologies are improving the lives of smallholder farmers throughout West Africa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama looks out to sea through the 'Door of No Return,' at the slave house on Goree Island, in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Obama is calling his visit to a Senegalese island from which Africans were said to have been shipped across the Atlantic Ocean into slavery, a 'very powerful moment.' President Obama was in Dakar Thursday as part of a weeklong trip to Africa, a three-country visit aimed at overcoming disappointment on the continent over the first black U.S. president's lack of personal engagement during his first term. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

U.S. President Barack Obama looks at rice crops during a food security expo on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama met with farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs whose new methods and technologies are improving the lives of smallholder farmers throughout West Africa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) ? President Barack Obama is receiving the embrace you might expect for a long-lost son on his return to his father's home continent, even as he has yet to leave a lasting policy legacy for Africa on the scale of his two predecessors.

Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush passed innovative Africa initiatives while in the White House and passionately continue their development work in the region in their presidential afterlife. Obama's efforts here have not been so ambitious, despite his personal ties to the continent.

His first major tour of Africa as president is coming just now, in his fifth year, while Bush and Clinton are frequent fliers to Africa. Bush even will be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, next week at the same time as Obama, although they have no plans to meet. Instead, their wives plan to appear together at a summit on empowering African women organized by the George W. Bush Institute, with the former president in attendance.

Spirited crowds greeted Obama on his visit to French-speaking Senegal, Africa's westernmost country, with revelers frequently breaking into song and dance at the sight of the first African-American president. However thrilled they were to see him, many said they wish his visits weren't so rare.

"Two visits in five years, it's not enough," said Faye Mbissine, a 30-year-old nanny who took an early morning bus to come see Obama on Thursday outside the presidential palace. "We hope that he can come more."

Manougou Nbodj, a 21-year-old student, said he hopes Obama will bring American resources like jobs and health care. "If Obama can work with Macky Sall the way that George Bush worked with Africa before him, then we will be happy," he said, referring to the Senegalese president.

One of Bush's chief foreign policy successes was his aid to Africa, including AIDS relief credited with saving millions of lives and grants to reward developing countries for good governance. Bush followed on momentum on African policy that began under Clinton, who allowed several dozen sub-Saharan countries to export to the U.S. duty-free.

Obama has continued the Bush and Clinton programs during tough economic times. But his signature Africa policy thus far has been food security, through less prominent programs designed to address hunger with policy reforms and private investment in agriculture.

On Friday, Obama toured displays in small thatched booths at his hotel grounds on a bluff overlooking the ocean, meeting with farmers and entrepreneurs who are using new methods and technologies to advance the cause of food security.

In brief remarks later, he drew attention to Feed the Future, a public private partnership initiated by his administration that he said has helped seven million small farmers in developing nations, including 7,000 in Senegal.

"This is a moral imperative," he said. "I believe that Africa is rising and it wants to partner with us not to be dependent but to be self-sufficient.

Witney Schneidman, former deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said Obama's efforts are not like Bush's AIDS initiative "where you put people on a medicine to save their lives ? very, extremely important. This is more of a structural change, and I think that's going to take time."

Under Clinton and Bush "you had this major funding, major attention, major initiatives going to Africa, and then President Obama came in, and there was a sense of stall, in a way," said Jennifer Cooke, director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She said that's understandable as he grappled with wars and an economic crisis, and she gave Obama credit for working diplomatically with African governments in his first term.

But, she said, "they weren't big, splashy initiatives that got peoples' attention either in Africa or here at home, and no big money and no big ideas that really helped define what Obama was about in Africa."

That's a disappointed those who were expecting more from the first African-American president, especially after his speech during a brief stopover in Ghana his first summer in office, in which he spoke personally of his father's life in Kenya and declared "a new moment of great promise" in Africa. "I have the blood of Africa within me," Obama said.

Schneidman argued that Obama's personal connection may also have been an impediment to deeper engagement in his first term. "The whole birther movement here in the U.S. that was sort of questioning his place of birth to begin with ... I think it was a real constraint on dealing with Africa," Schneidman said.

Mwangi Kimenyi, a Kenyan who directs the Brookings Institutions' Africa Growth Initiative, said Obama may be a victim of misplaced sky-high expectations on the continent when he was first elected.

"Africans still consider Clinton their president," Kimenyi said. "If you go to Africa and mention Clinton ? I mean, he is a hero, even today. I don't think President Obama is going to approach the level of President Clinton at all, in terms of respect, in terms of what they feel, and it's partly because, as one whose family is from Africa, the expectations were rather high. I mean, they expected him to do more, to do more visits, to actually relate better with Africans, to understand the continent better."

"There is not that feeling that, you know, we have our son there," Kimenyi said. "There's probably more reference of a prodigal son than a, you know, son."

Clinton first drew extensive attention to Africa in 1998 when he made the longest trip ever by a U.S. president, with stops in six countries that had never before been visited by any occupant of the Oval Office. He's scheduled to come back this summer for what has become an annual visit, with his Clinton Foundation investing in myriad wide-ranging projects in Africa on health, agriculture and climate change.

Bush's trip this week is his third in 19 months to promote his Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership to combat breast and cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. On this visit, he and his wife, Laura, plan to help renovate a cervical cancer screening and treatment clinic in Zambia before heading to Tanzania for the African First Ladies Summit advocating investment in programs for women and girls.

Obama foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes said the president is signaling increased engagement with the current trip and hopes it will prove to be a "pivotal moment" of Africa's growth taking off.

"Frankly, Africa is a place that we had not yet been able to devote significant presidential time and attention to," Rhodes said. "And there's nothing that can make an impact more in terms of our foreign policy and our economic and security interests than the president of the United States coming and demonstrating the importance of our commitment to this region."

___

Associated Press writer Robbie Corey-Boulet contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-28-Obama/id-8666a207180b495b8230d57fcebe549c

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UK government backs IVF technique that uses DNA from three people

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Commercial property surges in Moresby real estate - Keith Jackson ...

OXFORD BUSINESS GROUP | Extracts

AFTER SEVERAL YEARS of rapid growth in Port Moresby?s residential real estate sector, the market is in consolidating.

Government data show that the finance, real estate and business services sector grew by 10% in 2012, down from 20% the previous year. In 2013 expansion is projected to be just 1.5% according to the Department of Treasury.

Another indicator of a slow-down in the residential market is a decline in the rate of growth for home loans, which fell from 150% for the year ended March 2012 to 41% for the year ended September 2012, according to the World Bank.

While this is still fast-paced expansion, caution among lenders is rising. Equity demands for loan approval have reportedly risen from 10% in 2009 to more than 30% in 2013.

Throughout the market there is a retreat from residential investment. Focus has instead begun to shift toward the commercial and retail sectors, which are expected to retain their momentum.

Demand for retail properties is growing as incomes rise and urbanisation continues, loosening the informal market?s hold on the economy.

?Retail shopping centres could be another area of interest,? said Andrew Esler, acting managing director of Nambawan Super, one of PNG?s largest pension funds.

?There has been activity in this asset class lately with three new supermarkets in Port Moresby. As customer demand matures and shopping expectations rise, there may be more opportunities in this segment.?

Looking ahead, developers are expected to focus on smaller projects in both the retail and commercial segments.

Nambawan Super?s 9,900-sq-metre OPH Tower is the largest tower under construction today, far smaller than the already completed 14,000-sq-metre Deloitte Tower and the 15-storey Pacific Place.

Other developers, such as Pacific Palms Property and CB Builders, are working on projects that will lease office space to tenants looking for less than 200 sq metres.

Source: http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2013/06/commercial-sector-firms-in-port-moresby-real-estate.html

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How a remote-controlled cockroach might come to your rescue

A new cyborg roach is the prototype to a search-and-rescue insect that could be dispatched to hunt for survivors in disaster zones.

By Elizabeth Barber,?Contributor / June 26, 2013

A roach is steered using remote control.

Expect a national "Thank Your Cockroach" day in the near future.

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Scientists at North Carolina State University have invented remote-controlled cockroaches that they expect will be used as search-and-rescue animals, sent to disaster zones to hunt for survivors and relay back information that will help to map the damage.

?Our aim was to determine whether we could create a wireless biological interface with cockroaches, which are robust and able to infiltrate small spaces,? said Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at North Carolina State and co-author of the paper, presented at the Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society.

?Ultimately, we think this will allow us to create a mobile web of smart sensors that uses cockroaches to collect and transmit information, such as finding survivors in a building that?s been destroyed by an earthquake,? he said.

To create a cyborg cockroach, scientists embed a chip with a wireless receiver and transmitter onto a Madagascar Hissing Cockroack, making a somewhat endearing-looking little cockroach backpack. That backpack is wired to the cyborg?s antennae and its sensory organs on its abdomen and can trick the hapless animal into believing that it has bumped into a wall and must turn. In simulating walls, the scientists can effectively steer the insect.

Researchers then use Microsoft's motion-sensing Xbox device, Kinect, to guide the animal on a pre-planned route, as well as to track the cyborg insect and make adjustments in its direction as more information is collected about its location, Wired said.?

Earlier this month, scientists launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the design of cockroaches that schoolchildren can control with their smartphone, sending signals to backpacks affixed to the mastered animals.

In a video of the new Kinect system, a cockroach is instructed to follow a sinusoidal route through a combination of signals to turn first continuously slightly right as it crawls, then left.

For the moment, that?s about all the robo-roach can do. But scientists expect that that basic remote control feat can be put toward sending cockroaches into disaster zones inaccessible to human rescuers, like Gandalf?s eagles dispatched to Mordor.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/qiSlY0VMI3k/How-a-remote-controlled-cockroach-might-come-to-your-rescue

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APS issues statement on NIH implementation of recommendations for chimpanzee research

Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Donna Krupa
dkrupa@the-aps.org
American Physiological Society

Bethesda, Md. -- The American Physiological Society (APS) issued the following statement today in response to the announcement on the use of chimpanzees in medical research:

"The American Physiological Society looks forward to a careful review of Dr. Collins' decision regarding NIH's implementation of the IOM principles and criteria. The APS previously offered comments on the Working Group report. We are hopeful that Dr. Collins has taken into account our concerns, which include implementing flexible, outcome-oriented guidelines for chimpanzee housing and social groups; making it possible to increase the size of the research colony if needed; and assessing whether adjustments to the Working Group's ambitious timeline are needed.

"NIH's decisions on its research program is being made at the same time that the Fish and Wildlife Service has asked for comments on a proposal to designate captive chimpanzees as endangered, which would severely limit their use in research. The NIH review has focused on human health needs, while the FWS has focused on preserving chimpanzees as a species. However, it is crucial for both agencies to take a broader view. Although each has a specific mission, Americans will be ill-served if these agencies pursue piecemeal policies that fail to acknowledge the special circumstances surroundings chimpanzees in closed research colonies and the value of judiciously-conducted chimpanzee research to advance both human and animal health."

Background on the Issue

IOM Study

In 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) was asked to assess whether chimpanzees is needed for research on human health issues now and for the foreseeable future. A panel of experts reviewed privately- and federally-funded health research over the past 10 years. Its conclusion, released in 2011 was that most research questions that previously required chimpanzees can now be answered by using some combination of new technologies, other animal models, or human studies. However, chimpanzee research is still needed on a few critical topics. One such area is developing a prophylactic vaccine for Hepatitis C, a burgeoning health crisis in the U.S. and elsewhere. Some chimpanzee studies are also needed to develop monoclonal antibody treatments for certain cancers and auto-immune disorders. The IOM affirmed the value of continuing comparative genetics and behavioral research with chimpanzees and suggested a possible future need for chimpanzee studies to develop a prophylactic vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which can cause severe illness in young children. At the same time, the panel proposed strict ethical and scientific criteria to be applied to research with chimpanzees. A summary of the IOM report may be found at http://bit.ly/14aDxSx.

It is notable that the scope of the IOM's task did not include a reviewing research that benefits chimpanzees, such as efforts to develop a vaccine against diseases such as Ebola, a major threat to chimpanzees and other apes in the wild.

NIH Working Group

When Dr. Collins received the IOM report, he placed a temporary moratorium on new research involving chimpanzees and asked a Working Group to develop an implementation plan. Again, this was focused exclusively on human health research.

Fish and Wildlife Service

In 2011, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) undertook a status review of chimpanzees under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Earlier this month, the FWS recently announced a proposed rule to re-classify captive chimpanzees as endangered. Previously, wild chimpanzees were classified as endangered, while captive chimpanzeesincluding research animalswere "split listed" as threatened. The proposed change in the status of captive chimpanzees is based upon ongoing threats to chimpanzees in the wild, and a review of the ESA that led FWS to conclude it does not have the authority to assign captive chimpanzees threatened status when wild chimpanzees are endangered.

Because the ESA was written to promote conservation, the law prohibits research with endangered animals with narrow exceptions primarily related to species survival. Moreover, the process of obtaining permits for these exceptions is cumbersome and time-consuming.

Chimpanzees in U.S. research colonies represent an international health resource, as the APS noted in its earlier comments to FWS. The research colonies are carefully regulated, responsibly managed, and their existence does not exacerbate the threats to chimpanzees in the wild. Removing chimpanzees from the wild has been prohibited since they were added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the mid-1970s so it has been decades since any wild-caught chimpanzees have been brought into research colonies. The factors that jeopardize survival of chimpanzees in the wild include poachers who kill multiple adults to capture infants to sell as pets; killing chimpanzees for the bush meat trade; infectious diseases (including some transmitted from humans to animals); and habitat destruction due to human encroachment.

It was encouraging that in announcing its proposed rule, the FWS said in an FAQ that NIH would "work closely with the Service to ensure NIH policies comply with the final conservation guidelines for captive chimpanzees while preserving NIH's ability to conduct necessary biomedical research."

###

NOTE TO EDITORS: To schedule an interview with a member of the APS to discuss the statement, please contact Donna Krupa at dkrupa@the-aps.org, @Phyziochick, or 301.634.7209.

Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues, and organs function in health and disease. Established in 1887, the American Physiological Society (APS) was the first US society in the biomedical sciences field. The Society represents more than 11,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals with a worldwide readership.

---

[ | 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.

Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Donna Krupa
dkrupa@the-aps.org
American Physiological Society

Bethesda, Md. -- The American Physiological Society (APS) issued the following statement today in response to the announcement on the use of chimpanzees in medical research:

"The American Physiological Society looks forward to a careful review of Dr. Collins' decision regarding NIH's implementation of the IOM principles and criteria. The APS previously offered comments on the Working Group report. We are hopeful that Dr. Collins has taken into account our concerns, which include implementing flexible, outcome-oriented guidelines for chimpanzee housing and social groups; making it possible to increase the size of the research colony if needed; and assessing whether adjustments to the Working Group's ambitious timeline are needed.

"NIH's decisions on its research program is being made at the same time that the Fish and Wildlife Service has asked for comments on a proposal to designate captive chimpanzees as endangered, which would severely limit their use in research. The NIH review has focused on human health needs, while the FWS has focused on preserving chimpanzees as a species. However, it is crucial for both agencies to take a broader view. Although each has a specific mission, Americans will be ill-served if these agencies pursue piecemeal policies that fail to acknowledge the special circumstances surroundings chimpanzees in closed research colonies and the value of judiciously-conducted chimpanzee research to advance both human and animal health."

Background on the Issue

IOM Study

In 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) was asked to assess whether chimpanzees is needed for research on human health issues now and for the foreseeable future. A panel of experts reviewed privately- and federally-funded health research over the past 10 years. Its conclusion, released in 2011 was that most research questions that previously required chimpanzees can now be answered by using some combination of new technologies, other animal models, or human studies. However, chimpanzee research is still needed on a few critical topics. One such area is developing a prophylactic vaccine for Hepatitis C, a burgeoning health crisis in the U.S. and elsewhere. Some chimpanzee studies are also needed to develop monoclonal antibody treatments for certain cancers and auto-immune disorders. The IOM affirmed the value of continuing comparative genetics and behavioral research with chimpanzees and suggested a possible future need for chimpanzee studies to develop a prophylactic vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which can cause severe illness in young children. At the same time, the panel proposed strict ethical and scientific criteria to be applied to research with chimpanzees. A summary of the IOM report may be found at http://bit.ly/14aDxSx.

It is notable that the scope of the IOM's task did not include a reviewing research that benefits chimpanzees, such as efforts to develop a vaccine against diseases such as Ebola, a major threat to chimpanzees and other apes in the wild.

NIH Working Group

When Dr. Collins received the IOM report, he placed a temporary moratorium on new research involving chimpanzees and asked a Working Group to develop an implementation plan. Again, this was focused exclusively on human health research.

Fish and Wildlife Service

In 2011, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) undertook a status review of chimpanzees under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Earlier this month, the FWS recently announced a proposed rule to re-classify captive chimpanzees as endangered. Previously, wild chimpanzees were classified as endangered, while captive chimpanzeesincluding research animalswere "split listed" as threatened. The proposed change in the status of captive chimpanzees is based upon ongoing threats to chimpanzees in the wild, and a review of the ESA that led FWS to conclude it does not have the authority to assign captive chimpanzees threatened status when wild chimpanzees are endangered.

Because the ESA was written to promote conservation, the law prohibits research with endangered animals with narrow exceptions primarily related to species survival. Moreover, the process of obtaining permits for these exceptions is cumbersome and time-consuming.

Chimpanzees in U.S. research colonies represent an international health resource, as the APS noted in its earlier comments to FWS. The research colonies are carefully regulated, responsibly managed, and their existence does not exacerbate the threats to chimpanzees in the wild. Removing chimpanzees from the wild has been prohibited since they were added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the mid-1970s so it has been decades since any wild-caught chimpanzees have been brought into research colonies. The factors that jeopardize survival of chimpanzees in the wild include poachers who kill multiple adults to capture infants to sell as pets; killing chimpanzees for the bush meat trade; infectious diseases (including some transmitted from humans to animals); and habitat destruction due to human encroachment.

It was encouraging that in announcing its proposed rule, the FWS said in an FAQ that NIH would "work closely with the Service to ensure NIH policies comply with the final conservation guidelines for captive chimpanzees while preserving NIH's ability to conduct necessary biomedical research."

###

NOTE TO EDITORS: To schedule an interview with a member of the APS to discuss the statement, please contact Donna Krupa at dkrupa@the-aps.org, @Phyziochick, or 301.634.7209.

Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues, and organs function in health and disease. Established in 1887, the American Physiological Society (APS) was the first US society in the biomedical sciences field. The Society represents more than 11,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals with a worldwide readership.

---

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/aps-ais062713.php

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BP oil spill payouts: BP takes legal battles to court of public opinion

BP will place a full-page ad in three national newspapers on Wednesday to challenge billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses following its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

By Michael Kunzelman,?Associated Press / June 25, 2013

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico in this 2010 file photo. British Petroleum (BP) is running full-page ads Wednesday to try to shift public opinion about the multi-billion-dollar payments it has been ordered to make for damages that BP calls inflated and fictitious.

Gerald Herbert/AP/File

Enlarge

BP was placing a full-page advertisement in three of the nation's largest newspapers on Wednesday as the company mounts an aggressive campaign to challenge what could be billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses following its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

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The ad, scheduled to run in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, accuses "trial lawyers and some politicians" of encouraging Gulf Coast businesses to submit thousands of claims for inflated or non-existent losses.

"Whatever you think about BP, we can all agree that it's wrong for anyone to take money they don't deserve," the ad says. "And it's unfair to everyone in the Gulf ? commercial fishermen, restaurant and hotel owners, and all the other hard-working people who've filed legitimate claims for real losses."

In April, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier upheld a court-appointed claims administrator's interpretation of the multi-billion dollar settlement it reached with a group of plaintiffs' attorneys.

The London-based oil giant appealed the decision. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear the case on July 8.

"The Court has rejected BP's argument multiple times," said Jim Roy, one of the lead plaintiffs' attorneys who brokered the class-action settlement with BP. "Simply put, BP has buyers' remorse because it guessed wrong on the cost of a deal, which it ? for nearly two years ? negotiated, co-authored, agreed to and sought Court approval of. The notion that BP is somehow trying to portray itself as a victim is preposterous."

BP's ad claims Barbier's ruling "interprets the settlement in a way no one intended" and results in settlement payouts to businesses that didn't suffer any spill-related losses.

"Even though we're appealing the misinterpretation of the agreement, we want you to know that the litigation over this issue has not in any way changed our commitment to the Gulf," it says.

BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the newspaper ad is consistent with the company's efforts to keep the public informed of its economic and environmental restoration efforts.

"It explains the actions we are taking to defend the contract we agreed to and to assure the integrity of the claims process," he said in a statement. "But it is also intended to make clear that BP remains as committed today as it was three years ago to doing the right thing. While we are actively litigating the payments by the claims program for inflated and even fictitious losses, we remain fully committed to paying legitimate claims due to the accident."

Barbier appointed Lafayette-based attorney Patrick Juneau to administer the settlement program. BP PLC has accused Juneau of trying to rewrite the terms of the settlement and claims he has made decisions that expose the company to what could be billions of dollars in fictitious claims.

But the judge upheld the claims administrator's interpretation of settlement terms that govern how businesses' pre- and post-spill revenue and expenses ? and the time periods for those dollar amounts ? are used to calculate their awards.

Plaintiffs' attorneys have said the payments to businesses were clearly spelled out in the agreement. They claim BP simply undervalued the settlement and underestimated how many claimants would qualify for payments.

They also asserted in a filing last month that BP had pointed to "four examples out of more than 40,000 filed claims that it hopes will shock this Court," and then relied on its own experts to claim "mistakes" or "overpayments."

The judge's ruling has not deterred BP.

Last week, BP called for an independent investigation of alleged misconduct by an attorney who worked on Juneau's staff. The lawyer, Lionel H. Sutton III, resigned last Friday ? a day after Juneau delivered a report to Barbier that outlined the allegations.

A law firm allegedly paid Sutton a portion of settlement proceeds from claims he referred to the firm before he went to work for Juneau. In a statement, BP said only a "comprehensive and independent investigation" of the allegations involving Sutton will ensure the "integrity" of the claims process.

BP estimated more than a year ago that it would spend roughly $7.8 billion to resolve tens of thousands of claims by businesses and individuals covered by the settlement. The company now says it can't give a reliable estimate for the total value of the deal.

Barbier also heard testimony earlier this year for a first phase of a trial designed to identify the causes of BP's April 2010 well blowout and assign percentages of fault to the companies involved.

Billions more hinge on the outcome of the trial, which includes claims by the federal government and Gulf states. It's unclear whether Barbier will issue any substantive rulings before the trial's second phase, which is scheduled to start in the fall.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/oGdPPdmKEJo/BP-oil-spill-payouts-BP-takes-legal-battles-to-court-of-public-opinion

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Supreme Court to issue gay marriage decisions Wednesday in last session before summer break (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Ex-Duane Reade execs lose bid to reverse fraud convictions

By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former executives at Duane Reade Inc on Wednesday lost a bid to have a U.S. appeals court reverse their 2010 securities fraud convictions for inflating earnings at the New York drugstore chain.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York affirmed the convictions and the sentences of Anthony Cuti, Duane Reade's former chief executive, and William Tennant, former chief financial officer.

In June, 2010, a federal jury in Manhattan found Cuti and Tennant guilty of engaging in a scheme to inflate Duane Reade's earnings from 2000 to 2004.

Prosecutors said the scheme resulted in misleading information being provided to shareholders and private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, which bought Duane Reade in 2004.

Oak Hill sold Duane Reade in 2010 to Walgreen Co for $614 million.

Cuti was found guilty of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud and making false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, among other things. He was sentenced in August 2011 to three years in prison and fined $5 million.

Tennant, who was convicted of securities fraud, was sentenced to time served and fined $10,000.

On appeal, Cuti argued that U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts should not have allowed two witnesses he claimed were not experts to offer expert testimony.

The lead partner from auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers and John Henry, Tennant's successor as Duane Reade CFO, answered hypothetical questions about how they would have accounted for various fraudulent real estate sales.

U.S. Circuit Judge John Walker, writing for a three-judge panel, said the questions were permissible because they were limited to established facts.

"These limitations left little room for the witnesses to engage in speculation," Walker wrote.

The appeals court also rejected Tennant's contention that prosecutors did not present enough evidence to show he knew a fraud was taking place. It issued a separate order dispensing with other arguments by the defendants.

Brian Brook, a lawyer for Cuti, said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the decision, he still believes Cuti "was denied a fair trial" and will be considering options.

John Kenney, a lawyer for Tennant, said he was disappointed in the ruling and would consider a further appeal.

Cuti, who is currently in a half-way house, is separately appealing an order by Batts in May requiring him to pay $7.62 million in restitution to Duane Reade and Oak Hill.

The case is U.S. v. Cuti, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 11-3756.

(In 13th paragraph, corrects spelling of last name for lawyer to Brian Brook)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-duane-reade-execs-lose-bid-reverse-fraud-214749867.html

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'Desperate Housewives,' 'Teen Wolf' Twins Land HBO's Damon Lindelof Pilot 'Leftovers'

By Tim Kenneally

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Damon Lindelof's HBO pilot has just acquired a double dose of "Desperate Housewives" alumni, TheWrap has learned.

Charlie and Max Carver, who played the Scavo twins on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," have been cast in "The Leftovers," the upcoming drama pilot from "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof.

The pilot, which is adapted from Tom Perrotta's 2011 novel - who's writing and executive producing the pilot with Lindelof - centers around a Rapture-like situation, and those who were left behind by the event.

The Carvers, who also appear on the MTV series "Teen Wolf," will play - wait for it - identical twins Scott and Adam Frost.

The pilot stars Justin Theroux, as well as "Lord of the Rings" star Liv Tyler, who plays Meg, a young woman on the verge of getting married, but needing an escape. As a result, she becomes a target for recruitment by members of an enigmatic cult.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/desperate-housewives-teen-wolf-twins-land-hbos-damon-202533520.html

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Insight: Kuwaitis campaign privately to arm Syrian rebels

By Sylvia Westall and Mahmoud Harby

KUWAIT (Reuters) - At a traditional evening meeting known as a "diwaniya", Kuwaiti men drop banknotes into a box, opening a campaign to arm up to 12,000 anti-government fighters in Syria. A new Mercedes is parked outside to be auctioned off for cash.

They are Sunni Muslim and mainly Islamist like many Syrian rebels who have been trying for two years to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect that is a branch of Shi'ite Islam.

Syria's war has widened a faultline in the Middle East, with Shi'ite Iran and Lebanese militia Hezbollah backing Assad and Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab nations supporting his opponents.

"The world has abandoned the Syrian people and the Syrian revolution so it is normal that people start to give money to people who are fighting," said Falah al-Sawagh, a former opposition member of Kuwait's parliament, surrounded by friends drinking sweet tea and eating cakes.

In just four hours the campaign collected 80,000 dinars ($282,500). The box moves to a new house each day for a week. Sawagh estimates this type of campaign in Kuwait, one of the world's richest countries per capita, raised several million dollars during the last Ramadan religious holiday.

Sunni-ruled Kuwait has denounced the Syrian army's actions and sent $300 million in humanitarian aid to help the millions displaced by the conflict in which more than 90,000 have died.

Unlike Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Kuwaiti government policy is against arming the rebels. But the U.S. ally allows more public debate than other Gulf states and has tolerated campaigns in private houses or on social media that are difficult to control.

Kuwaiti authorities are nevertheless worried that the fundraising for Syria could stir sectarian tensions - Kuwait has its own Shi'ite minority. The West is concerned that support will bolster al Qaeda militants among the rebels.

Some opposition Islamist politicians and Sunni clerics have openly campaigned to arm rebel fighters, using social media and posters with telephone hotlines in public places. Former MP Waleed al-Tabtabie, a conservative Salafi Islamist, posted pictures of himself on Twitter clad in combat gear in Syria.

"There is a great amount of sympathy on the part of the Kuwaiti people to provide any kind of assistance to the Syrian people whether inside or outside Syria," Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah said when asked about the Reuters report.

Official Kuwaiti fundraising for humanitarian aid goes through United Nations channels, he said, at a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

As for unofficial fundraising, he emphasized that any collection of funds requires a special permit to make sure the money "is going to the right side or to the right party."

Kuwait's minister for cabinet affairs, Sheikh Mohammad al-Mubarak al-Sabah, said what was happening in Syria was "heart-wrenching" and understood why Kuwaitis wanted to help.

"Human nature is such that you cannot control what people believe in and how they want to act," he said.

"What is happening in Syria just inflames the emotions on both sides. That's why we are trying to steer a middle ground."

SUITCASES OF CASH

Syria is blocked from international bank transfers from Kuwait because of sanctions, so former MP Sawagh visited the Syrian town of Aleppo last month with cash in his luggage for rebel fighters. He did not say how much he took.

"Our only rule is to collect money and to deliver this money to our brothers which are helping the Syrian people," said Sawagh, a member of a local group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood which is in power in Egypt and is influential in other Arab states.

Sawagh and others in his campaign also travel to Turkey and Jordan to hand over money to intermediaries.

"They have absolute freedom to spend this money. If they can recruit mujahideen for defending themselves and their sanctity with this money, then this is their choice," he said, referring to fighters who engage in jihad or holy war.

Washington is worried the money may help strengthen fighters with links to al Qaeda who are hostile not just to Assad but also to the United States and U.S.-allied Gulf ruling families.

It wants Western and Arab allies to direct all aid to Syrian rebels through the Western-backed Supreme Military Council.

A fiery speech by Kuwaiti Sunni Muslim cleric Shafi al-Ajami raised alarm earlier this month with a call for more arms.

"The mujahideen, we are arming them from here, and from the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf states, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey," he said.

The speech was laced with references to the sectarian nature of the conflict and unnerved authorities in Kuwait where Shi'ites make up an estimated 15 to 20 percent minority of the population. Parliament, the cabinet and the ruling emir issued strong rebukes.

"I do not hide from you feelings of anxiety about what emerged recently ... manifestations and practices that carry the abhorrent breath of sectarianism which should be denounced," Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah said on state television. Such acts could "lure the fire of fanaticism and extremism," he said.

JIHAD

Ajami spoke following a call by prominent cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian based in Qatar, for jihad in Syria after fighters from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group, intervened to help Assad's army.

The calls to holy war by several influential clerics in the region only encouraged more donations, Kuwaitis said.

"Women have also been donating their gold," said Bader al-Dahoum, a former Islamist opposition MP.

"After the fatwas (edicts), people are giving more."

The men at the diwaniya said one large Kuwaiti family planned to equip 28 mujahideen in Syria, estimating the cost at 700 dinars per fighter. Smaller families sponsor two or three, while a member of one of Kuwait's powerful merchant families donated 250,000 dinars.

Weapons supplied by Qatar and its allies include small arms such as AK-47 rifles, rocket propelled grenades, hand grenades and ammunition, according to a Qatari official. Qatar also provides instructions on battlefield techniques.

Campaigning for funds to arm the rebels makes certain politicians more popular in Kuwait, said Osama al-Munawer, a former opposition MP.

"I was a member of the National Assembly and people were blaming us - why don't you give them weapons?" he said.

"They said, food - they have it, but they need to defend themselves because the situation is very bad."

(Additional reporting by William Maclean and Ahmed Hagagy; editing by Anna Willard and Janet McBride)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-kuwaitis-campaign-privately-arm-syrian-rebels-203417965.html

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Microsoft confirms Internet Explorer 11 is coming to Windows 7

With Windows 8.1, Microsoft has pushed out a revamped version of Internet Explorer that is supposed to be significantly faster than its predecessor, not to mention the fact that it claims to be easier on battery life. Fortunately, it appears that the company fully intends to make IE11 available to Windows 7 users as well. While Microsoft opened up about this fact, it wasn't so keen to offer up any timing expectations. Thus, it's quite possible that we may not see it show up on Win7 until after it's had some time to bedazzle those who are already packing the latest and greatest version of Windows.

Filed under: Desktops, Internet, Software, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/g9P99Fi8boA/

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