Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, left, stands next to Arizona Sen. John McCain. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
Only four Republicans crossed party lines on Tuesday to approve President Barack Obama's defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel, but no senator sparked more confusion than Kentucky's Rand Paul, a vocal critic of Hagel who nonetheless cast his vote in favor of the former Nebraska senator.
Just hours after he had voted against a procedural measure to end debate over Hagel's nomination, Paul offered his support for Hagel's confirmation. Paul's spokeswoman explained that the senator decided to support Hagel because he believes that presidents should get "some leeway" on political appointments, an opinion he has been open about in the past.
"In the run-up to tonight?s vote to confirm former Sen. Hagel as secretary of defense, Sen. Paul voted twice against cloture on the nomination, because he agreed with many of his colleagues that there were questions that needed to be answered about the president?s nominee," Paul spokeswoman Moira Bagley told Yahoo News. "As he has said before, the president should be entitled to some leeway on his political appointments. That is why Sen. Paul voted in favor of Sen. John Kerry, with whom he largely disagrees on foreign policy, to serve as secretary of state, and that is why he voted for final passage of the nomination of Sen. Hagel this evening, with whom he also disagrees on a number of issues."
The Senate voted 58-41 to confirm Hagel, ending a long and contentious nomination process. The other Republicans who supported Hagel were Sens. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Mike Johanns of Nebraska and Richard Shelby of Alabama.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will urge the United States on Tuesday to press the Syrian opposition to hold direct talks with Damascus, but fears "extremists" now have the upper hand among President Bashar al-Assad's opponents.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said before leaving for Berlin to meet Secretary of State John Kerry that the new U.S. top diplomat seemed to grasp the gravity of the crisis in Syria.
He said Washington should lean on the Syrian opposition to drop demands that Assad must leave power before talks can start.
"In our contacts with other countries that can influence the parties in Syria, we have noticed a growing understanding of the need to influence both the government and, first of all, the opposition so that they do not come up with unrealistic requests as preconditions for the start of dialogue," Lavrov said after talks with Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans.
"This is what we will discuss with John Kerry today. During our latest phone conversation I had the impression that he has an understanding of the acuteness of the situation in Syria."
Moscow and Washington have been at loggerheads over Syria, where 70,000 people have been killed in a nearly two-year-old conflict that began with a crackdown on street protests against Assad's rule.
Russia has been Assad's staunchest ally and, with China, blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at mounting pressure on him to end the violence.
Washington has sided with the Syrian opposition in seeking Assad's removal from power.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in Moscow on Monday that the government was ready for talks, but opposition leaders and rebel commanders insist Assad must go first.
Kerry responded dismissively to Moualem's offer, saying it was hard to understand how people having Scud missiles fired at them would take an offer of dialogue seriously. Syria denies using ballistic missiles in the fighting.
He also appeared to promise more concrete support to Assad's opponents, without saying whether the United States might rethink its earlier aversion to arming or training them.
"We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind," Kerry said in London on Monday.
Lavrov signaled that the prospects for direct talks in Syria had receded in the past few days.
"A few days ago it seemed that conditions for the sides to sit down for talks ... were getting clearer. There were calls in support of a quick start to dialogue," he said.
"But then came denials of such an approach. It seems extremists, who bet on a military solution to Syria's problems and block initiatives to start dialogue, have for now come to dominate in the ranks of the Syrian opposition, including in the so-called (Syrian) National Coalition," he added.
Western countries and some Arab states have accused Russia, a long-standing arms supplier to Damascus, of shielding Assad, whose Syrian opponents have bitterly denounced Russian policy.
Moscow has hit back by saying it has worked hard to try to persuade the two sides in Syria to start talks and accusing its Western allies of failing to do enough to support those efforts.
It also says support for the rebels plays into the hands of militant Islamists, a theme Assad himself often evokes.
GUAMUCHIL, Mexico -- Mothers and daughters packed the squeaky seats of the shabby municipal auditorium in T-shirts and caps with portraits of their candidates. They shook rattles and blew horns as they waved their placards.
What looked like a standard political rally was something much more important: This dusty farm town of 60,000 people was picking its annual carnival queen.
Back stage, four professional stylists worked on top contender Belyn Parra, 18, in humidity that left all the contestants' newly ironed curls sticking to their necks.
The beauty business is serious in Mexico's western state of Sinaloa, where tall, olive-skinned local queens have often gone on to win national and international titles.
For Parra, it was a way to honor her idol and older cousin, Maria Susana Flores, Sinaloa Woman 2012, who died two months earlier in a shootout with Mexican soldiers. Authorities and a relative said Susy, as she was known, was dating a dangerous lieutenant for the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Outside soldiers surrounded the auditorium. Inside, eight contestants donned their sequins in an unlit bathroom with broken tiles.
Parra walked coolly across the stage, dressed for the evening gown competition in a bright pink mermaid gown with silver details bordering the neckline, her biggest worry was whether her black hair would look long enough in a curly ponytail.
Before the winner was revealed, the girls formed a circle backstage and drew their hands to the center like football players before a game.
"Good luck to everyone," a pageant organizer told them. "Remember this experience forever."
Parra won't soon forget. She won the carnival crown, smiling widely as a machine spewed confetti on stage.
School Year 2013-2014 in public elementary and high schools will start on June 3 and end on March 31, 2014, the Department of Education said over the ...
PAGASA Rain expected over parts of north Luzon Mindanao
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Rain is expected to fall over parts of Northern Luzon and Mindanao on Sunday as the northeast monsoon continues to affect Luzon, state weather forecasters ...
Heads will roll over escape of 3 Chinese drug suspects ? Palace
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Malaca?ang on Saturday vowed heads will roll after the "escape" of three Chinese facing drug charges in Cavite earlier this week, even as it admitted the incident was a ...
Aquino tells Norway CPP-NDF Time for peace talks to move forward
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
President Benigno Aquino III has relayed to the Norwegian government, the mediator in peace talks with the National Democratic Front, that it is time to have peace efforts with communist rebels move ...
Palace New law seeks to make electoral voice of PWDs elderly heard loud and clear
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said President Benigno Aquino III signed last week Republic Act 10366, which provides for accessible polling places for PWDs and the elderly. ...
Other Catholic dioceses not following Bacolod Team Patay voter education tack
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
At least three Catholic dioceses have no current plans to follow the 'Team Patay-Team Buhay' tactic of the Diocese of Bacolod, according to officials of the Parish Pastoral Council for ...
Saludar Davao Del Norte rule Abap tilt
Inquirer Sports - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
MAASIN, Southern Leyte--Asian Games standout Victorio Saludar III moved on the threshold of regaining his Philippine team slot Friday night as he helped Davao del Norte rule the PLDT-Abap National ...
US federal court dismisses Filipino vets class action suit
Inquirer Global Nation - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Edmundo voluntarily enlisted in 1945 in the Military Police of the 3rd Replacement Battalion, Philippine Army, under the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). In his claim for ...
Top Filipino banker says success secret is his wife
Inquirer Business - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Renato de Guzman He runs a leading regional private banking institution with about $40 billion in assets out of Singapore and is deemed as one of Southeast Asia's most influential in his ...
CAAP passes ICAO audit?Abaya
Inquirer Global Nation - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
MANILA, Philippines--After more than five years, local airlines may soon be allowed once again to fly to Europe and expand operations in the United States after the government successfully passed a ...
The Dynamic of the Filipino Diaspora
Inquirer Global Nation - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Organizers of the 2nd Global Summit of Filipinos in the Diaspora--set to convene February 25-27, 2013 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City--hope that the conference will "track the progress ...
New law for battered Pinoy husbands needed
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
a Skype interview with Claire Delfin aired on GMA News TV?s "State of the Nation" last Thursday. "Halimbawa, na-late lang ako ng uwi. . .mumurahin ka, ipapahiya ka kahit nasa ...
Palace No need to send peacekeepers to Sabah
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
There is no need to send peacekeepers to Sabah as all parties involved are "committed" to ensure a peaceful end to the standoff there, Malaca?ang said on ...
Malaysian exec Foreign ministry may decide on PHL request for deadline extension
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry may decide on whether to accommodate the Philippines' request to extend until Tuesday the deadline Malaysia gave to a group of armed Filipinos to withdraw ...
Palace reminds LGUs about specific times for suspending classes during bad weather
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Malaca?ang on Saturday reminded local government units on the guidelines for issuing announcements for the suspension of classes during inclement ...
Palace contests reports CAAP flunked intl audit
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Malaca?ang on Saturday contested reports that Philippine aviation authorities flunked a new audit of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conducted from Feb. 18 to ...
Reference beacons placed near crippled USS Guardian in Tubbataha Reef
GMA News - Saturday 23rd February, 2013
Salvage operations for the stranded US minesweeper USS Guardian in Tubbataha Reef have resumed once more as fair weather conditions finally enabled the crane ship tasked to help in the process ...
Malaysia adopts wait-and-see approach on Sabah standoff
GMA News - Friday 22nd February, 2013
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said their government is aiming for a peaceful solution, adding that it was important to resolve the issue without bloodshed. Claiming to be ...
Philippines seeks 4 more days for Sulu armys deadline
Asia News Network - Friday 22nd February, 2013
The Philippines yesterday asked Malaysia to give the followers of the sultan of Sulu four more days to leave Sabah peacefully as the Filipino heirs to the resource-rich state began to review their ...
Aquino to sign Martial Law Compensation Act on EDSA anniversary
GMA News - Friday 22nd February, 2013
President Benigno Aquino III will sign into law a landmark legislation giving compensation to victims of human rights violations under Martial ...
Philippines asks Malaysia to extend standoff deadline
Asia News Network - Friday 22nd February, 2013
The Philippine government yesterday asked for an extension of the deadline for the Sulu armed group to leave Kampung Tanduo. Philippines Foreign Minister Albert del Rasario said that he had ...
DOLE 152 bus firms in 11 regions comply with labor standards
GMA News - Friday 22nd February, 2013
At least 152 bus firms in 11 regions are now complying with the two-tiered labor standard for bus drivers and conductors, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ...
WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - Join the Children's Museum of Wilmington as they host the 2nd annual FORE the Children Golf Tournament Monday, March 25 at the Cape Fear Country Club, according to a news release.
There is an entry fee of $200 per golfer and $800 per foursome. The fee includes a golf cart, access to the practice range, a gift bag, a beverage cart, lunch and appetizers.
The money raised from the tournament will support The Children's Museum and its efforts toward early literacy and S.T.E.M. programs, according to organizers.
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Looking ahead: Top-ranked Oklahoma will complete its road trip to Palm Springs, Calif., with games versus UC Santa Barbara and Nebraska on Friday and play No. 23 Florida State on Saturday.
Looking back: The Sooners defeated both No. 16 Georgia and No. 19 Arizona 5-0 on Thursday to move to 6-0 against ranked teams this year, winning those games by a combined 41-0 ... OU pitchers put together a 35-inning scoreless streak that was ended by Notre Dame on Sunday. OU rallied to tie the game at 3 in the top of the seventh and scored 4 in the ninth to beat the Irish, 7-5.
Notable: Senior left-hander Michelle Gascoigne won three games with a 0.38 ERA to be named the Big 12 pitcher of the week ... Lauren Chamberlain is hitting .556 with six homers and 17 RBIs this season ... OU is ranked No. 1 for consecutive weeks for the first time in school history.
Oklahoma State
Record: 6-5
Looking ahead: OSU will take on Stanford (Friday) and UCLA and Long Beach State (Saturday) during its trip to Palm Springs, Calif.
Looking back: OSU split games on Thursday in Palm Springs. The Cowgirls lost 3-0 to Florida before bouncing back with a 3-2 victory against BYU.
OSU won three games (North Texas, Dayton, Iowa) in five contests in Denton, Texas.
Notable: Samantha Chrisman had four hits, including two homers and a double) and seven RBIs last weekend ... Kat Espinosa lost two games, but only allowed four runs and has a 0.59 ERA this season ... Simone Freeman (4-2) picked up three victories and 26 strikeouts last weekend.
Tulsa
Record: 7-3
Looking ahead: The Golden Hurricane will take part in the Texas Invitational in Austin. Tulsa will face Utah State and Texas on Friday and Lamar on Saturday. Two Sunday opponents will be determined after the first two days.
Looking back: TU captured the Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. with a 4-1 victory over host and No. 25 Florida State. TU also defeated nationally ranked Hofstra in an earlier game against the Seminoles.
Notable: Tulsa is ranked No. 24 in this week's national poll, the highest ranking in school history ... TU is 4-1 against ranked opponents this year ... The Hurricane had Conference USA's pitcher (Aimee Creger) and hitter (Haley Henshaw) of the week ... Creger was 2-0 with a 0.93 ERA ... Henshaw, a Catoosa High School graduate, had five hits, two homers and seven RBIs in three games against Florida State and Hofstra.
The 2013 Oscars are right around the corner and if you can't crash in front of your tv to see all the action live, your iPhone or iPad is a great way to keep up to date with what's happening. From the official Oscars app to third party apps, there's something for everyone.
Oscars
The official 2013 Oscars app is designed for both iPhone and iPad is a great companion app for keeping up with what you can expect on Sunday. Before hand you will get access to nominee lists, movie trailers, photos, and more. There's even a game called Your Picks that lets you plot out who you think will win come Sunday. You can then share those predictions with all your friends and compare.
On actual event day, the Oscars app for iPhone and iPad will give you exclusive video content such as access to the red carpet, backstage passes, and more. You'll also see who's winning what which makes for a great way to keep up if you're out and about and unable to watch the show live.
If you're excited for the Oscars or just want to know more about the nominees, Awards Hero: Oscars Edition is a great find. You'll have access to all the nominees and be allowed to pick your favorites and share them with friends.
The coolest feature of Awards Hero is the amount of background information you get on all the nominees. You can also view tons of historical information on past Oscars awards shows which can help you kill time before this year's show. This one's also compatible with both iPhone and iPad.
If you want to know what celebrities are attending the Oscars and who's showing up with who, E! is sure to have the scoop, and then some. E! is always on hand to cover large events like the Oscars and their app should be chock full of both red carpet arrivals and celebrity interviews.
While this isn't an official app or centered directly around the Oscars, E! Live from the Red Carpet is sure to have lots of Oscars coverage come Sunday. E! Live from the Red Carpet is also compatible with both iPhone and iPad.
If Hollywood gossip is your thing, Hollywood Reporter: The Race to the Oscars is a must have app. Not only will you be given exclusive content and interviews with celebrities, you'll also get the scoop on who's attending, with who, and who's feuding this year.
Outside of the normal gossip you'd expect from Hollywood Reporter, you'll also be able to pick your favorites and view all the buzz about the Oscars on Twitter and other social networks. This one is iPhone only.
If you want coverage of the Oscars plus all the gossip, The Oscars news is what you'll want to grab. Not only will you get coverage before and during of the Oscars, but you'll get all the latest scoops on celebrities in attendance. The cool part of The Oscars news is that it filters in content from all the major news outlets such as TMZ, The Hollywood Reporter, Ok!, E! online, and more.
If you're looking for an all-in-app app with information about nominees, clips, coverage, and gossip, this is it. The Oscars News is currently iPhone only.
If you've found a super cool app focused around the Oscars, make sure to let us know by dropping it in the comments below. Either way, let us know how you'll be following along this year!
Every week, the editors and writers at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a few games, an app feature unicorns and robots, a cool calendar, a weather app, and a fun, collaborative game for kids.
This week I decided to look for a new calendar app as the built in app is becoming really boring and in desperate need of a refresh. I took the plunge and I bought Fantastical and I have to say it is a beautiful calendar app.
The user interface works really well and the app's color schemes make it elegant and sophisticated yet very simple to pick up and use. Add in the excellent real language understanding and it makes entering new appointments a breeze. Putting that simply, it understands regular text, meaning you don't have to enter individual fields. For example, you can simply enter Lunch Meeting with Chris On Tuesday and Fantastical will take care of the rest. It really works just like that even when entering events using Siri.
If you are bored of the iPhone?s built in calendar and want something that is both easy to use and looks fantastic; do yourself a favor and get Fantastical. It really is the best calendar app that I have ever used!
When I check the whether, I don?t need a lot of information. I don?t need maps, I don?t need radar. I just need the temperature and general conditions. That?s what makes the simple app Conditions so nice. It just displays the current weather conditions in your area. The background changes from white during the day to black at night, and if you need a five-day forecast, just the screen to get a general idea of what your week will look like. Conditions also has pull-to-refresh, complete with a nice little thermometer animation, to update current weather information.
Conditions focuses on simplicity, so if you want or need a lot of weather information, look elsewhere. But if you just want the current weather right now, and maybe get a preview of the week ahead, Conditions is what you?re looking for.
I always found the casual city building games kind of mindless - you win just for showing up to collect resources. Puzzle Craft is an awesome new spin on the formula where you have to (gasp!) actually do something to collect your rewards. Puzzle Craft is basically a 50/50 split of resource management and puzzle solving. Yeah, the title of the game is thoroughly apt. When you tap on a section of your town, you're given a set number of turns to trace lines through identical resource icons on a grid. The longer the line, the more bonus points you get. If you've ever played Triple Town, the resource hierarchy will make plenty of sense to you. Carrots only spawn on the puzzle grid after you line up a certain number of grains, for example. As you build your town using the resources you gather in these games, you gain access to new specialist workers which can make reaching those rich resources easier. Over time, you unlock new kinds of resources and build consumable power-ups to use through the gathering process. A big update is coming next week with archaeology-themed content, so get warmed up now!
Robot Unicorn Attack is probably one of the most silly games you'll ever play but it's entertaining and hilarious all at the same time. It's made by Adult Swim so you probably should expect no less.
The premise is that you gallop, dash, and jump to your dreams. Mainly, you're avoiding obstacles by jumping over them or barreling through them. Is there necessarily a huge point to the game? No. But just like titles like Fruit Ninjas and Tiny Wings, it's a great time waster and what's better than unicorns? Yep, nothing!
I'll keep this short and sweet, because? well, I have to get back to using 123 Creature. It's an app by the renowned Autodesk and what it lets you do is something no less nor more wondrous than create three-dimensional biological models on your iPad. You can articulate them, mold them, paint them, and even print them out afterwards if you have the right equipment. There's also social sharing, an a community whose models you can try out.
It's like having Weta Workshop or Industrial Lights & Magic at your finger tips.
Now if you need to know more, watch the video up top. I have a Jedi-eating monster to finish!
I have a wee bit of a secret. I really don't like traveling. Sure, I like the stuff that happens when I get where I am going but the whole getting there process is just absolutely dreadful to me. Cancelled flights, delays and of course those layovers. Luckily, I discovered The Travel Channel Layover Guide and should I get caught somewhere I'll be better prepared to handle it. The Layover guide supports 20 different major cities around the world 20 major including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New Orleans, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome, San Francisco, Sao Paolo, Seattle, Singapore, Taipei and Toronto and offers up plenty of tips, information, maps and visuals to help you enjoy the best of the worst time. All that said, it's quite handy if you're simply just traveling to those areas as well. The app is free to download though, we're not making any promises that Anthony Bourdain won't follow you around should you use it.
The Electric Company Party Game: Lost on Prankster Planet - Leanna Lofte
The Electric Company Party Game: Lost on Prankster Planet is a collaborative game for 5-9 year old children by PBS Kids. The premise is that Marcus and Jessica are stuck on Prankster Planet and they need the help of 2 to 4 players to complete physical challenges, silly brainstorms, and math questions.
Lost on Prankster Planet is a multiplayer board game and each team member takes turn doing the challenges. Some challenges are for the individual player and some are for the whole team. Topics include geometry, addition and subtraction, data analysis and graphing, telling time, coin value and recognition, and more. The goals are part of 1st and 2nd grade math and literacy curricula.
What I really like about Lost on Prankster Planet is that it's a multiplayer game for kids that focus on collaborative play. Some healthy competition is also good for kids, but playing as a team is also great. PBS did a great job with this game and is a fun way to let your kids play with you iPad while still being social with their siblings or friends.
Now that we've chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Let us know in the comments below!
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? North Korea will soon allow foreigners to tweet, Skype and surf the Internet from their cellphones, iPads and other mobile devices in its second relaxation of controls on communications in recent weeks. However, North Korean citizens will not have access to the mobile Internet service to be offered by provider Koryolink within the next week.
Koryolink, a joint venture between Korea Post & Telecommunications Corporation and Egypt's Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding SAE, informed foreign residents in Pyongyang on Friday that it will launch a third generation, or 3G, mobile Internet service no later than March 1.
The announcement comes just weeks after North Korea began allowing foreigners to bring their own cellphones into the country to use with Koryolink SIM cards, reversing a longstanding rule requiring most visitors to relinquish their phones at customs and leaving many without easy means of communication with the outside world.
The two changes in policy mean foreigners in North Korea will have unprecedented connectivity while living, working or traveling in a country long regarded as one of the most isolated nations in the world.
However, wireless Internet will not yet be offered to North Koreans, who are governed by a separate set of telecommunication rules from foreigners. North Koreans will be allowed to access certain 3G services, including SMS and MMS messaging, video calls and subscriptions to the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper ? but not the global Internet.
The lack of Internet access in North Korea has put the country at the bottom of Internet freedom surveys. Though North Korea is equipped for broadband Internet, only a small, approved segment of the population has access to the World Wide Web.
During a visit to Pyongyang early last month, Google's executive chairman pressed the North Koreans to expand access to the Internet. Eric Schmidt noted that it would be "very easy" for North Korea to offer Internet on Koryolink's fast-expanding 3G cellphone network.
"As the world becomes increasingly connected, the North Korean decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world and their economic growth," he wrote in a Jan. 20 blog post after returning to the United States. "It will make it harder for them to catch up economically. It is their choice now, and in my view, it's time for them to start, or they will remain behind."
Soon after Schmidt's visit, Google unveiled maps of North Korea with more details based on contributions from foreigners using satellite images and publicly available information to map the country. Before, North Korea was left mostly blank in Google Maps but with the update, Pyongyang and major North Korean cities are shown with street names, parks, roads, train stops and monuments.
Cellphone use has multiplied in North Korea since Orascom built a 3G network more than four years ago. More than a million people are now using mobile phones in North Korea, where the network now covers most major cities, according to Orascom.
Chinese-made Huawei cellphones sold by Koryolink are not cheap, with the most basic model costing about $150, and the governments restricts North Koreans from phoning abroad or foreigners from their cellphones. Still, mobile phones have become a must-have accessory among not only the elite in Pyongyang but also the middle class in cities such as Kaesong and Wonsan.
Foreigners, meanwhile, can now purchase SIM cards at the airport or at Koryolink shops for 50 euros ($70). Calls abroad range from 0.38 euros a minute to Switzerland and France and more than 5 euros a minute to the U.S. Calls to South Korea remain prohibited.
Starting next week, foreigners will be allowed to purchase monthly mobile Internet data plans for use with a USB modem or on mobile devices using their SIM cards. Prices for the service haven't been announced yet.
The expansion of cellphone and Internet services ? at least for foreigners ? comes as North Korea promotes the development of science and technology as a means of improving its moribund economy.
Late leader Kim Jong Il was revealed to have been a Mac user. His Macbook Pro, or a replica, is enshrined at the Kumsusan mausoleum where his body lies in state.
Current leader Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, was shown in a recent photo with a more mobile computing accessory: a smartphone.
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Follow AP's bureau chief for Pyongyang and Seoul at www.twitter.com/newsjean
The lifetime journeys of manure-based microbes Public release date: 22-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ann Perry ann.perry@ars.usda.gov 301-504-1628 United States Department of Agriculture - Research, Education and Economics
This press release is available in Spanish.
Studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are shedding some light on the microbes that dwell in cattle manurewhat they are, where they thrive, where they struggle, and where they can end up.
This research, which is being conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the agency's Agroecosystems Management Research Unit in Lincoln, Neb., supports the USDA priority of ensuring food safety. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.
In one project, ARS microbiologist Lisa Durso used fecal samples from six beef cattle to identify a core set of bovine gastrointestinal bacterial groups common to both beef and dairy cattle. She also observed a number of bacteria in the beef cattle that had not been reported in dairy cows, and identified a diverse assortment of bacteria from the six individual animals, even though all six consumed the same diet and were the same breed, gender and age.
In another study, Durso collaborated with ARS agricultural engineer John Gilley and others to study how livestock diet affected the transport of pathogens in field runoff from manure-amended soils. The scientists added two types of manure to experimental conventional-till and no-till fields at 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates. The manure had been collected from livestock that had consumed either corn or feed with wet distillers grains.
After a series of simulated rain events, the team collected and analyzed samples of field runoff and determined that neither diet nor tillage management significantly affected the transport of fecal indicator bacteria. But they did note that diet affected the transport of bacteriophagesviruses that invade bacteriain field runoff.
Gilley also conducted an investigation into how standing wheat residues affected water quality in runoff from fields amended with 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates of manure. The scientists found that runoff loads of dissolved phosphorus, total phosphorus, nitrates, nitrogen, and total nitrogen were much higher from plots with residue cover. The team also observed that runoff from fields amended with 4-year application rates of manure had significantly higher levels of total phosphorus and dissolved phosphorus than fields amended with 1-year or 2-year manure rates.
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Read more about this research in the February 2013 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/feb13/cows0213.htm
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
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The lifetime journeys of manure-based microbes Public release date: 22-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ann Perry ann.perry@ars.usda.gov 301-504-1628 United States Department of Agriculture - Research, Education and Economics
This press release is available in Spanish.
Studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are shedding some light on the microbes that dwell in cattle manurewhat they are, where they thrive, where they struggle, and where they can end up.
This research, which is being conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the agency's Agroecosystems Management Research Unit in Lincoln, Neb., supports the USDA priority of ensuring food safety. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.
In one project, ARS microbiologist Lisa Durso used fecal samples from six beef cattle to identify a core set of bovine gastrointestinal bacterial groups common to both beef and dairy cattle. She also observed a number of bacteria in the beef cattle that had not been reported in dairy cows, and identified a diverse assortment of bacteria from the six individual animals, even though all six consumed the same diet and were the same breed, gender and age.
In another study, Durso collaborated with ARS agricultural engineer John Gilley and others to study how livestock diet affected the transport of pathogens in field runoff from manure-amended soils. The scientists added two types of manure to experimental conventional-till and no-till fields at 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates. The manure had been collected from livestock that had consumed either corn or feed with wet distillers grains.
After a series of simulated rain events, the team collected and analyzed samples of field runoff and determined that neither diet nor tillage management significantly affected the transport of fecal indicator bacteria. But they did note that diet affected the transport of bacteriophagesviruses that invade bacteriain field runoff.
Gilley also conducted an investigation into how standing wheat residues affected water quality in runoff from fields amended with 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates of manure. The scientists found that runoff loads of dissolved phosphorus, total phosphorus, nitrates, nitrogen, and total nitrogen were much higher from plots with residue cover. The team also observed that runoff from fields amended with 4-year application rates of manure had significantly higher levels of total phosphorus and dissolved phosphorus than fields amended with 1-year or 2-year manure rates.
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Read more about this research in the February 2013 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/feb13/cows0213.htm
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) sent a letter to secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel Wednesday asking whether he made disparaging comments about Israel during a speech at Rutgers law school on April 9, 2010.
The Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday reported on a contemporaneous account of the 2010 speech written by former Rutgers law student Kenneth Wagner, who attended the event.
?I want to call your attention to and request a response to a story in the?Washington Free Beacon?on February 19th, which includes a contemporaneous account from an attendee at your 2010 Rutgers University lecture,? Graham wrote in the letter. ?Senator Hagel, did you say this? Have you said anything similar? Does this contemporaneous email reflect your views??
According to Wagner?s notes, which he emailed to a contact at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) during the speech, Hagel said Israel was at risk of becoming an apartheid state, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was radical, that the Jewish state has violated UN resolutions and that Hamas should be included in any Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiation.
Hagel reportedly made the comments during the post-speech question-and-answer session.
A spokesperson for Hagel did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.
Graham and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.) sent a letter to Hagel last week after a previous Free Beacon report on an account of a speech Hagel gave at Rutgers University in 2007. The account, written by Hagel-supporting political consultant George Ajjan, stated that Hagel said the U.S. Department of State was an adjunct of the Israeli foreign minister?s office during the question and answer session.
Hagel has since disavowed the comment and says he does not recall making it.
Two of the lecture?s organizers, Iran presidential candidate Hooshang Amirahmadi and Professor Charles H?berl, say they do not recall Hagel making the comment. Ajjan?s account was posted on his website shortly after the speech and is the only known published report of the question-and-answer session.
Ajjan stood by his account in an interview with the Free Beacon on Monday.
?I?m a conscientious person,? Ajjan said. ?When I was blogging at that time, I did my best to record things accurately ? there?s no way that I would pick a phrase like ?adjunct of the Israeli foreign ministry.? That?s a pretty odd combination of words to use. I wouldn?t have just pulled those out of thin air.?
The Free Beacon is working to obtain a transcript and video of both the 2007 and 2010 events, and is continuing to reach out to other attendees.
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) -- A Virginia man who was once one of the nation's most prominent swimming coaches has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing one of the girls he instructed.
Richard J. Curl of Vienna, Va., pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Thursday to one count of child sex abuse.
He's scheduled to be sentenced on May 23 and faces up to 15 years in prison.
The 63-year-old Curl was banned for life by USA Swimming over allegations of an intimate relationship with a teenage swimmer in the 1980s. He was charged last year after a woman told police that he sexually abused her between the ages of 13 and 18 when he was her swim coach.
A lawyer for Curl didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
St. Louis Cardinals Yadier Molina motions to his dugout after reaching second base on a ground rule double, scoring two runs in the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on August 18, 2012. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Mike Claiborne talked SLU basketball with radio color analyst Earl Austin Jr. from Indianapolis. They also discuss the success of basketball players from the St. Louis area.
The Sports Hub
Coming off a career season hitting at the plate, Yadier Molina joined the show to talk about what he?s seen after a week of Spring Training.
The Sports Hub
KMOX host Mark Reardon, also a film critic, joined Mike to preview the 2013 Academy Awards.
The Sports Hub
Also from Indianapolis, Jim Thomas checks in with news from the 2013 NFL Combine.
BEIJING ? It?s reminiscent, perhaps, of the trials of people accused of Nazi-era crimes, a John Demjanjuk, or a Samuel K.: in China this week, a man was tried for murdering a doctor during the Cultural Revolution, the China News Service reported.
A rare episode of justice for a neglected era? Judging by a discussion on China?s biggest microblog, Sina Weibo, ordinary people don?t necessarily see it just that way; rather, some are angry that a little guy, and not the masterminds of the violence, is being punished. What about the ?ringleaders,? chief among them Mao Zedong, they are saying, often obliquely?
According to the report, which was widely disseminated online via news aggregators and other sites, the defendant at the rare trial this week, in Ruian in Zhejiang province, was a 80-plus-year-old man identified only as Mr. Qiu. He strangled a Mr. Hong with a rope in 1967, on the orders of a civilian militia, which suspected Mr. Hong of spying for a rival militia, the report said. Mr. Qiu had been on the run for decades and was arrested last July.
(For an English-language account, see this article in the South China Morning Post, which may be behind a paywall.)
After the killing Mr. Qiu cut off Mr. Hong?s lower legs with a shovel ?to make it easier to bury him,? and then he buried him, the report said.
Violence was common during the era: yesterday, I examined this painful time in a Letter from China and Rendezvous post about Ping Fu, the businesswoman who wrote a controversial memoir.
As I wrote in my Letter, to this day, the state tightly controls discussion about the era ? when many got away with, literally, murder.
?Have the main culprits who started the Cultural Revolution been punished?? asked a person with the handle Sansu dage, who added an angry red face to the posting.
?Actually, the biggest criminals of the Cultural Revolution have not been held responsible,? wrote a person with the handle Keji huangdan menwei chuangxin. ?To pursue an ordinary criminal, decades later, is absurd.?
A_Jing wrote: ?There should be mandatory courses in universities to talk clearly about the crimes against humanity during the Cultural Revolution!?
Wrote another: ?All the cases from the Cultural Revolution should be tried.?
That?s extremely unlikely. A few key players were tried beginning in 1980, when Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong?s wife, and other members of the Gang of Four received lengthy sentences.
Yet, ?I was Chairman Mao?s dog,? Ms. Jiang said in her defense. ?Whomever he told me to bite, I bit.?
U.S. President Barack Obama discusses the automatic budget cuts scheduled to take effect next week, while in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex in Washington February 19, 2013.
By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News
President Barack Obama reached out to the Republican leaders of the House and Senate on Thursday, the first sign in weeks that the two sides could be willing to work on a bipartisan solution to the potentially devastating spending cuts set to take place March 1.
White House spokesman Jay Carney announced the president had reached out to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner to address the automatic $85 billion in cuts set to kick in next month. Carney described the calls as ?good conversations? but provided no more details.
McConnell?s office said it was the first time Obama has reached out since New Year?s Eve when Congress struggled to come to an agreement on the across-the-board spending cuts known as the ?fiscal cliff.?
And while there was no official readout of the meetings, sniping on Twitter between Carney and Boehner Press Secretary Brenden Buck may be an indication that both sides have a ways to go.
Carney tweeted at Buck a USA Today/Pew poll showing American support for the president?s deficit reduction plan, ending his post with the hashtag ?GOPoutOFTouch?? ?
Buck mockingly tweeted back, ?What do you say we show up here every afternoon, say 4:00ish? Talk it out??
And both parties are still accusing the other of not wanting to come to the table to negotiate. During an appearance on Al Sharpton?s radio show on Thursday, President Obama remarked, "At this point, we continue to reach out to Republicans and say this is not going to be good for the economy, it's not going to be good for ordinary people."
"But I don't know if they're going to move and that's what we're going to have to keep pushing over the next seven, eight days," he told Sharpton, who also hosts a show on MSNBC.
Obama will keep pushing by continuing to take his case to the American people next week. On Tuesday he?ll visit Newport News, Va., an area where the automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration, would hit hard. ?
Carney said the president plans to ?highlight the fact that there will be real-world impacts to the implementation of the sequester ? if Republicans choose to allow that to happen.?
Republicans have tried waging a public campaign of their own trying to place the onus on the president, especially when it comes to national defense. And Pentagon officials from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta down have warned that sequestration could severely inhibit national defense, a responsibility that would rest on the head of the nation?s military.
?As the commander-in-chief, President Obama is ultimately responsible for our military readiness, so it?s fair to ask: what is he doing to stop his sequester that would ?hollow out? our Armed Forces?? Boehner said on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Carney said the president does feel responsible but rejects what he described as Republicans' ?my way or the highway? approach to negotiating.
"My sense is that their basic view is that nothing is important enough to raise taxes on wealthy individuals or corporations and they would prefer to see these kinds of cuts that could slow down our recovery over closing tax loopholes," Obama told Sharpton. "That's the thing that binds their party together at this point." ?
U.S. health officials announced plans for scientists to move forward with controversial research on the deadly H5N1 bird flu and said that any discoveries about how the virus might gain the ability to spread easily among humans should be shared with other scientists and the public.
The new policy, released Thursday by the National Institutes of Health, requires that studies aimed at making the virus more dangerous would now be subject to a heightened level of review. Effective immediately, researchers will have to explicitly delineate the potential science and health benefits ? as well as safety risks ? involved in their work before they can get government funding, said Dr. Amy Patterson, NIH associate director for science policy.
The NIH, through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is a leading funder of flu research.
The H5N1 virus is endemic in some bird populations in Asia and the Middle East, and began infecting people in the late 1990s. The World Health Organization has confirmed 620 cases of H5N1 in humans since 2003. It has been fatal nearly 60% of the time.
So far, the virus has mostly spread from birds directly to humans. But public health officials fear a pandemic could be in the offing if it were to mutate in a way that makes it easier to spread from person to person.
That's why scientists have been trying to see whether they can create a more contagious strain of H5N1. The new policy will allow that work to resume while trying to ensure that the virus can't escape the laboratory and cause a deadly pandemic, through accidental or deliberate means.
"Further understanding this virus is imperative," Patterson said.
The concern over the H5N1 experiments dates to 2011, when virologists Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands and Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin announced that they had independently created bird flu strains that could be spread through the air among ferrets, which are often studied in the lab as proxies for humans.
The scientists were interested in seeing how mutations in the virus' genetic code could make such mammal-to-mammal transmission possible. Learning which DNA changes were key could help public health officials spot potentially dangerous alterations that emerge in the wild. The information also might help scientists develop better vaccines or antiviral drugs, Fouchier and Kawaoka said.
But just as the researchers were preparing to publish reports on their work in the journals Science and Nature, the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity asked that their studies be redacted so that the recipe for the contagious version of the virus would not fall into the wrong hands.
Fouchier, Kawaoka and dozens of other scientists agreed to a voluntary moratorium on their experiments as they worked with government agencies to identify the safest manner to proceed. The new rules are an outgrowth of those deliberations.
The biggest change is the addition of two new levels of review for research proposals involving this type of H5N1 experiment, Patterson said.
First, government agencies that are considering funding H5N1 transmission experiments will have to make sure the proposals satisfy seven criteria, including requirements that the research addresses scientific questions important to human health; that there are no other ways to answer those questions; and that safety and security risks can be managed effectively.
If the proposals pass these tests, they will undergo "a higher level of scrutiny" by reviewers at the Department of Health and Human Services, who will further consider the risks and benefits.
One of the seven criteria is a requirement that research will be "anticipated to be broadly shared in order to realize its potential benefits to global health."
Michael Osterholm, a infectious disease researcher at the University of Minnesota and a member of the biosecurity panel, objected to that requirement.
"The genie will get out of the bottle," he said. "If we publish this, it's right there for everyone to know. Any lab in the world could do the same work."
H5N1 researchers lifted their self-imposed ban in January, stating that they would resume work once governments announced safety plans.
Scientists who depended on U.S. funding were not able to proceed immediately. But now that the U.S. guidelines are out, researchers who halted their H5N1 transmission studies can submit documents addressing the criteria of concern. Patterson said that the department-level review process could be expected to take about three to four weeks.
Patterson said that Fouchier's and Kawaoka's experiments in 2011 would have qualified for funding under the new rules, but that "there would have been a lot more upfront articulation" of the risks and benefits.
LORETT0 - State police at Ebensburg are investigating a Sunday morning incident at a St. Francis University-owned apartment building on St. Joseph Street.
The incident occurred at about 2 a.m. as football players and soccer players from St. Francis got into a verbal and physical altercation, police said.
Five students - two soccer players and three football players - were directly involved in the incident, said Marie Young, university spokeswoman, even though state police said about 100 people participated in the altercation.
Two students were injured in the off-campus incident and were treated at Altoona Regional. The other three students were sent home pending an investigation.
Young would not release the names the students involved.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, left, stands next to Arizona Sen. John McCain. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
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Public release date: 22-Feb-2013
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