It was one week ago this Tuesday that a hacked AP account tweeted, ?Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured? to its 1.9 million followers.
Moments later, the @AP twitter handle released a statement saying they had been hacked and that President Obama was fine, but the markets had already reacted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 150 points and lost $136 billion in value before rebounding.
The Syrian Electronic Army, a group that backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and attacks western media for what they believe to be unfair coverage of the country's ongoing conflict, has taken responsibility for the hack.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating the Twitter hoax and will hold a panel discussion on ?market issues resulting from the April 23 twitter attack? at tomorrow?s pre-scheduled CFTC technology meeting.
The CFTC?s technology committee is made up of bankers, scholars, and traders who, according to The New York Times, are looking at 28 different futures contracts to determine exactly how the AP?s erroneous tweet impacted markets.
While the CFTC has indicated that high frequency trading played a big part in the flash crash that followed the twitter hack, The Daily Ticker?s Henry Blodget disagrees. ?The problem here is not the high frequency traders, that?s a different discussion,? Blodget says.
In the United States, Blodget explains, hacking a Twitter account is still considered a harmless prank. ?This is serious. We live in an information economy, huge dollars are tied to it and it should be treated as such,? he says.
The Daily Ticker?s Aaron Task believes that the CFTC should be speaking with Twitter representatives, not just traders. ?Now that the SEC is allowing public companies to make these announcements on social media platforms, it does raise the possibility that somebody else?s account gets hacked and publically traded information gets out there that?s just all wrong,? Task says.
?It will,? confirms Blodget. ?It?s definitely going to happen.?
In the wake of the AP scandal, Twitter is reportedly testing a two-step security verification process that will make it more difficult for hackers to take over accounts.
Still, ?no system is unhackable,? says Blodget. ?This will continue to happen.?
Rationalizing the hack, Blodget claims that news and misinformation leaks occurred long before Twitter and they will continue no matter what security measures are put into place-- markets understand this.
?It doesn?t need to be this national crisis,? says Blodget.
Still, ?it absolutely does need to be taken extremely seriously when somebody does something that in certain communities might be considered a prank that actually has serious impact on markets and the economy and corporations,? he says.
You can contact the reporter on Twitter: @NicoleGoodkind.
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I recently picked up Pitch Perfect from the library (where I rent all my movies from - post coming soon!) and it was the perfect Saturday night film. Most often when watching tv I'll still be browsing on the ipad or flicking through a magazine, but every so often there's a film that manages to keep my attention from beginning to end and Pitch Perfect was it.
If you're a fan of Glee I'd suggest this is a must but if you're not (and neither am I) do give it a try. Anna Kendrick of Twilight fame arrives at college and despite her reservations joins underdog a cappella singing group featuring the very funny Rebel Wilson who you must remember from Bridesmaids.
Yes it's fluff, yes its predictable and Bring it On?with microphones?familiar but it's good fun and well worth gathering your friends and/or family together to watch.?
The only criticism my friend had whilst watching was "there's no good looking men" but I'll leave you to judge the "Treble Makers" looks for yourself.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ? Two people close to a federal investigation of a nutritional supplements manufacturer say the FBI is examining the relationship the company and its chief executive have with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife.
The people asked not to be identified because their roles in the case preclude them from speaking publicly. They said Monday that the FBI began questioning people close to the McDonnells as an outgrowth of a securities probe of Virginia-based Star Scientific Inc.
They said questions have focused on gifts the McDonnells have received from company CEO Jonnie Williams. Court documents show Williams paid $15,000 toward catering for the governor's daughter's wedding in June 2011.
A spokesman for McDonnell did not immediately return messages seeking comment. An FBI spokeswoman refused to comment Monday night.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
A former chef at the Virginia governor's mansion who is facing felony embezzlement charges filed court papers Monday saying he gave investigators evidence alleging lavish gift-taking and other wrongdoing involving Gov. Bob McDonnell more than a year ago.
The 13-page filing contends that fired Executive Mansion chef Todd Schneider was a whistle-blower who provided authorities with evidence in 2012 alleging that McDonnell and some relatives received gifts from the top executive of a troubled nutritional supplement maker, Star Scientific. It also alleges that he was told to take state-purchased food as payment for personal services and that others took food and supplies from the governor's mansion.
An aide to the governor said McDonnell's office had no immediate comment.
Schneider is facing four counts of taking state property worth $200 or more in the last half of 2011 and early 2012. Monday's filings came as part of a motion seeking to dismiss charges against Schneider at a hearing in the case scheduled for Thursday.
Schneider had headed the Virginia Executive Mansion kitchen operations from 2010, when McDonnell moved in, until last year, when he was dismissed after a state police inquiry began into alleged improprieties in the mansion's kitchen.
The court papers also accused Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli of prosecuting Schneider in an attempt to protect his political interests in his current campaign for governor ? "a campaign for which he needs substantial political donations and the support of the current Governor of Virginia." Both Cuccinelli and McDonnell are Republicans.
The documents claim Cuccinelli ignored the evidence because of conflicts of interest that the attorney general and McDonnell shared. The filings also state Schneider provided the evidence to the attorney general's office, the Virginia State Police and the FBI in February 2012.
Cuccinelli should have recused his office from the case a year ago when the evidence came to light and not as he did last week, the court documents stated.
Political and official aides to Cuccinelli dismissed the motion by Schneider's attorney, Steven D. Benjamin of Richmond, as an effort to sensationalize a criminal case.
Cuccinelli's campaign said in a release: "Todd Schneider is facing multiple indictments for stealing. Ultimately he will face a jury of his peers."
Brian Gottstein, spokesman for the attorney general's office, said the case "will be tried in court and not in the media."
Schneider's filing contends he gave the evidence to Cuccinelli's office before the Republican candidate for governor revealed in required financial filings that he had close ties to a Star Scientific executive, Jonnie Williams, and had owned stock in Star Scientific.
Benjamin said he noted that Cuccinelli sold 1,500 shares of Star Scientific stock at near-record prices for the stock last summer at a profit of $7,000
Schneider also alleges in the filings he told investigators that mansion staff and other state employees had witnessed Schneider being instructed to take state-purchased food as payment for personal services, and that they saw others "openly taking cases of food and other supplies from the Governor's Mansion."
The filings come amid an ongoing investigation into operations of the kitchen at the 200-year-old official home of Virginia's governors, the longest-serving gubernatorial residence in the nation.
Among the documents the motion says Schneider provided to the state police were a contract McDonnell signed with Schneider's private catering company for a daughter's 2011 mansion wedding reception and a check from Williams used to pay for the catering.
Cucinelli's top campaign adviser, Christopher J. LaCivita, called the court filing "the defense counsel's Gloria Allred moment," referring to the famous celebrity lawyer.
The Virginia State Police, in a news statement, noted its policy of neither confirming nor denying investigations of elected officials. The FBI had no immediate comment.
A hearing was scheduled for Thursday on Cuccinelli's recent motion to recuse his office from prosecuting Schneider and the ongoing state police investigation into operations at the executive mansion kitchen.
Some say that Beijing deliberately exaggerates the terrorist threat in order to justify the iron grip it keeps on the Muslim majority province of Xinjiang in?western China.
By Peter Ford,?Staff Writer / April 24, 2013
A woman looks up as a dust storm hits Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, last week. Xinjiang, once a predominantly Muslim province in China's far west, has seen massive settlement by ethnic Han immigrants in recent decades.
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Mystery surrounds official Chinese reports Wednesday of a violent clash between ?suspected terrorists? and the authorities in the restive Muslim province of Xinjiang yesterday that left 21 people dead, including 15 officials.
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Beijing Bureau Chief
Peter Ford is The Christian Science Monitor?s Beijing Bureau Chief. He covers news and features throughout China and also makes reporting trips to Japan and the Korean peninsula.
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According to a statement on the provincial government website, a group ?planning to conduct violent terrorist activities? armed with knives seized three local officials who had surprised them in a house near the city of Kashgar (see map).
They then killed the three hostages and 12 of the policemen and local community workers who came to the rescue, setting fire to the house before armed police regained control of the situation, killing six of the suspects and arresting eight of them, the statement said.
The Chinese authorities have given only sketchy details of the incident, and have not accused any particular group of responsibility. Beijing has previously blamed Islamist separatists for earlier violent attacks on officials.
Xinjiang, once a predominantly Muslim province in China?s far west, has seen massive settlement by ethnic Han immigrants in recent decades. Local people complain that their culture and language are being eroded and that Han now outnumber original inhabitants, who are ethnic Uighurs, with linguistic and cultural ties to central Asian peoples.
Violence flares sporadically, despite a stiflingly heavy handed police and army presence. In 2009 almost 200 people were killed ? mostly ethnic Han ? in deadly rioting in the provincial capital of Urumqi. Last month the government announced that courts in Xinjiang had sentenced 20 men to prison terms as long as life for plotting jihadi attacks.
The men ?had their thoughts poisoned by religious extremism,? according to the Xinjiang provincial website, and had ?spread Muslim religious propaganda.?
Determining the truth behind such allegations, and incidents such as Tuesday?s clash,?is difficult. Chinese media are not allowed to carry reports other than those by the state-run news agency Xinhua and foreign reporters have found themselves restricted and harassed when trying to work in Xinjiang.
A leading Uighur activist, Dilxat Raxit, who lives in Germany, questioned the official account, telling the AP that local residents had reported that the police sparked the incident by shooting a Uighur youth during a house search.
It was not clear how the suspects, armed only with knives, had managed to kill 15 policemen and local officials before they were subdued.
China has often accused a shadowy group known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement of being behind violence in Xinjiang, but foreign observers are dubious, with some saying that Beijing deliberately exaggerates the terrorist threat in order to justify the iron grip it keeps on Xinjiang.
The US State Department put the group on its terrorist watch list in 2002, but has since removed it amid doubts about whether the group is a real organization.?
(Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Saturday it had suspended all employee furloughs and that it expects the U.S. air travel system to return to normal by Sunday evening Eastern Time.
The suspension follows passage on Friday of a bill allowing the agency to shift money within its budget to halt furloughs of air-traffic controllers that started April 21.
The furloughs, prompted by automatic budget cuts, caused thousands of flight delays and hundreds of cancellations throughout the week. The FAA said in a statement on Saturday that it expects staffing to return to normal levels over the next 24 hours.
Airports around the country were reporting that flights were arriving and departing on time at 1 p.m. EDT, with the exception of San Francisco, where arrivals were delayed 44 minutes on average because of construction, the FAA said.
Earlier on Saturday, President Barack Obama chided Republicans in his weekly radio address for approving a plan to ease air-traffic delays while leaving untouched budget cuts that affect children and the elderly.
Congressman Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a Republican from Pennsylvania, said the FAA could have complied with the automatic budget cuts, known as sequester, in a way that avoided inconveniencing travelers.
(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Two Beagle puppies play as the American Kennel Club officials announce their annual list of the most popular dog breeds in the U.S January 27, 2010 in New York. (DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
Puppies watch on at a police dog training base September 16, 2005 in Beijing, China. The dogs are trained by a police squad to learn identifying, catching, tracking and other skills. According to the Ministry of Public Security, there is an estimate of over 10,000 working police dogs in China. These dogs are divided into 30 kinds according to international conventions and are widely used in police work, rescue and military missions. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
A view of a puppy at the North Shore Animal League America's Tour For Life Pet Adoption Event on April 26, 2012 in New York, United States. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
A view of a puppy at the North Shore Animal League America's Tour For Life Pet Adoption Event on April 26, 2012 in New York, United States. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Puppies just born by a sniffer dog sleep at a police dog training base September 16, 2005 in Beijing, China. The dogs are trained by a police squad to learn identifying, catching, tracking and other skills. According to the Ministry of Public Security, there is an estimate of over 10,000 working police dogs in China. These dogs are divided into 30 kinds according to international conventions and are widely used in police work, rescue and military missions. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
A Mastiff puppy rests during the XVIIIth International Dog exhibition on November 8, 2009 in Prague. (MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images)
A three-day-old Labradoodle puppy is shown to the press at the Uri Bekman's 'World of Dogs' kennel in Pardesia, 30 kms north of Tel Aviv 07 December 2005. (YOAV LEMMER/AFP/Getty Images)
Three-day-old Labradoodle puppies nap at the Uri Bekman's 'World of Dogs' kennel in Pardesia, 30 kms north of Tel Aviv 07 December 2005. (YOAV LEMMER/AFP/Getty Images)
A seven week old Daschund cross puppy waits to be re-homed at the Cheshire Dogs Home on January 4, 2010 in Warrington, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Three-year-old Galia suckles her first litter of six puppies on June 4, 2009 at the Barry Foundation Great St. Bernard breeding kennels in Martigny, Western Switzerland. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)
Two-week-old puppies play on June 4, 2009 at the Barry Foundation Great St. Bernard breeding kennels in Martigny, Western Switzerland. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)
Two-week-old Saint Bernard puppies play at the Barry Foundation breeding kennels in Martigny on June 4, 2009. The Saint Bernard dog was once the ubiquitous companion of monks at the monastery tucked 2,500m above sea level, guiding them through the Alps or helping them to rescue stranded or lost travellers in the snowy mountains. However, there are no longer any such dogs living permanently at the monastery these days. In fact, the monks decided five years ago to part ways with their pedigree breeding programme, as the work became too much for the four monks living permanently at the monastery to handle. The breeding kennels faced the risk of being shut permanently if not for a group of Swiss bankers and animal-lovers who set up the Barry Foundation to buy the breeding programme. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)
Two puppies play as American Kennel Club officials announce their annual list of the most popular dog breeds in the U.S January 27, 2010 in New York. (DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
A volunteer holds up a puppy that was born after its mother has been rescued from a truck, in an animal hospital in Beijing, China, Tuesday, April 19, 2011. Chinese animal lovers mobilized by online calls for help blockaded a truck of hundreds of dogs being shipped off for food in a rare, permitted display of social action amid a broad crackdown on most kinds of activism. (AP Photo)
Nine Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies from a litter of 17 look out of their box in Nauen, 50 kilometers outside Berlin on Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. On Sept 28, and 29, 4 year old Ridgeback Etana had 17 puppies. All of them survived. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Seven Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies from a litter of 17 look out of their box in Nauen, 50 kilometers outside Berlin on Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. On Sept 28, and 29, the 4 years old Ridgeback Etana had 17 puppies. All of them survived. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A husky puppy is transported in a child's push chair, on a snowy street downtown Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Dec. 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A seven week old Border Collie puppy rests after frolicking with its sibblings in their garden as outdoors temperatures dropped below minus 10 degrees celsius in the village of Bodice on December 16, 2010. (JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)
A seven-week old Border Collie puppy rests after a play with its siblings in their garden as outdoors temperatures dropped below minus 10 degrees celsius in the village of Bodice on December 16, 2010. (JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)
Six-month old Chihuahua puppies, Ellie, left, and Gulliver, right, nuzzle together at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in Methuen, Mass. Wednesday, June 15, 2011. The already adopted puppies, born without front legs, were fitted with wheels made by Eddie's Wheels of Shelburne, Mass. and are training to walk and run with them. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Puppies run at a playground in the K9 school and hospital of the Middle East Kennel Cub at Nahr al-Kalb area, north of Beirut, on October 27, 2010. The Club, which is the largest in the Middle East, has more than 400 dogs and clients bring their pets to be trained, bred and hospitalized. (JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images)
In this handout image provided by Pucchin Dog's, 'Love-Kun', a 3-day old chihuahua puppy with heart-shaped markings is presented to the media with his brothers at Pucchin Dog's on August 6, 2009 in Odate, Akita prefecture, Japan. The new puppy is the brother of 2-year old chihuahua 'Heart-Kun' who was also born with a perfect heart-shaped marking on his back from the same parents. (Photo by Pucchin Dog's via Getty Images)
This photo provided by the Chicago Zoological Society shows 10 African wild dog puppies, six males and four females, huddling with their mother, Kim, at Brookfield Zoo in Broofield, Ill. (AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society, Jim Schulz)
In this Thursday, May 19, 2011, photo, Bonnie, a basset hound, nurses her puppies at an animal rescue facility in South Knox County, Tenn. Bonnie and Clyde, the father of her puppies, are being cared for by At Risk Intervention animal rescue, after being saved from flood waters in Arkansas. (AP Photo/The Knoxville News Sentinel, Paul Efird)
Two adopted stray dogs play at an animal shelter on December 15, 2006 in the outskirts of Xian of Shaanxi Province, China. The animal shelter, established by Chinese animal lover Dai Shuqing, is located at an abandoned warehouse which houses some 100 dogs and costs over 2,000 yuan (about US $255) per month. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
Golden Retriever puppies with their handlers as the American Kennel Club officials announce their annual list of the most popular dog breeds in the U.S January 27, 2010 in New York. (DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
Susan Thomson holds a three-week-old Chihuahua puppy named Tom Thumb on April 7, 2009 in Renton, Scotland. An unofficial measurement taken by the owner makes Tom Thumb approximately 6 inches long. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
A dog suckles her puppies on February 16, 2009 at Halikisla village of Kars, eastern Turkey near the border with Armenia. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)
A six month old Weimaraner puppy guards his master during Slovakia's national canine all breeds competition in Banska Bystrica on 6 May 2007. (JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)
Portuguese Podengo puppies are displayed for the media during the launch of the Crufts Dog Show Febuary 24, 2004 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
A view of a puppy at the North Shore Animal League America's Tour For Life Pet Adoption Event on April 26, 2012 in New York, United States. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Remember the leaked GT-i9502, that dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy S 4 that ultimately confirmed many rumors? That smartphone at last exists beyond a collection of photos, as Samsung just launched it for China Unicom customers. The support for an extra cellular line is naturally the highlight, although there's another perk for GS4 connoisseurs: the i9502 has the same 1.6GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor as the i9500, which might eke out more performance than the Snapdragon 600 models. There isn't any word on whether or not the i9502 edition will leave China, although we wouldn't count on European or North American editions when there isn't LTE inside to please 4G-obsessed carriers.
(Reuters) - A black wreath hangs on the door of the brick City Hall in West, Texas, which was closed Thursday and Friday so workers could attend funerals for some of the 14 people killed in the fertilizer plant explosion last week.
One block south, at the volunteer fire department, well-wishers have set up an impromptu shrine with flowers, wreaths, a wooden cross and a concrete statue of a firefighter. Eleven of the dead were emergency responders.
Before April 17, most Americans had never heard of the small, heavily Catholic city about 20 miles north of Waco, with Czech bakeries, farms and a population of 2,700. That changed on the night a fire and explosion at West Fertilizer Co gutted an apartment complex, battered a nursing home and left 200 people with burns and broken bones.
Before the catastrophe, West paramedic Bryce Reed and others would always say they were from "West comma Texas" to avoid confusion with the western part of Texas.
"Now, you don't have to do that anymore, and that sucks," said Reed, 31, whose best friend, a volunteer firefighter, died in the blast.
In the last week and a half, local residents have honored their dead, found classrooms for children whose schools were damaged and begun returning to homes that had been evacuated. President Barack Obama visited to express his support.
On Saturday, residents were allowed for the first time to visit their homes in the most heavily damaged part of town. City Hall is expected to reopen on Monday.
Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the explosion at the plant, where hazardous materials such as dry ammonium nitrate and liquid anhydrous ammonia were stored.
Resident Mandy Williams said that - as she ran down her street hearing the screams of her neighbors - two doors down, she encountered a woman who was missing part of her leg.
"It was blown off below the knee," Williams recalled. "I got it from another yard, brought it back to her, and put it down beside her. The whole time I'm just calling 911, trying to get through."
The tragedy brought out the best of West.
The town, named for prominent businessman and landowner Thomas M. West, started attracting Czech and German immigrants in 1900 because of the railroad, according to the Handbook of Texas Online, which is published by the Texas State Historical Association. Downtown still reflects West's Czech heritage with businesses such as Nors Sausage and Burger House and Olde Czech Corner.
Many of those who lost their homes were taken in by friends and family and given food and clothing by local churches, whose clergy urged their congregations to pray for the town.
Many residents did not blame the plant owner, lifelong West resident and octogenarian Donald Adair, who has stayed out of the public eye but issued a statement vowing to cooperate with the investigation. The fertilizer plant was important to farmers who grow corn, wheat, milo and cotton in the area. It was a place where they gathered for coffee and a chat.
"You don't prepare for a fertilizer plant to blow up," said Brian Uptmor, whose brother, William "Buck" Uptmor, was among the dead. Brian Uptmor said his brother had gone to try to rescue horses from a pasture near the plant.
Adair bought the plant in 2004 when it was threatened with closure, and local farmers said they appreciated him doing so because it meant they did not have to drive long distances for fertilizer and other supplies.
But a few residents expressed concern whether the plant was being properly supervised. They said that after Adair bought West Fertilizer, he focused his attention on his farming operation, leaving General Manager Ted Uptmore, now 80, and other staff in place. Cody Dragoo, a plant employee as well as a volunteer firefighter, died in the blast.
As time goes on and lawsuits against Adair mount up, it is clear that not everyone has sympathy for the owner. The plant was last inspected for safety in 2011, according to a risk management plan filed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Among those suing are Bridgett and Roger Bowles. Their lawyer, Jason Gibson, said the roof of their house was lifted up and then slammed back down in the explosion. As a result, he said, Bridgett Bowles suffered a broken jaw, a concussion and a blown out eardrum.
"Most of the residents there were unsuspecting of what was going on right underneath their nose," Gibson said. "They don't know what's going on inside that plant. They assume it's a nice couple that owns it and they're operating it the way they should, and that wasn't the case."
"It was a preventable tragedy that was not prevented, and it should have been," he added.
Two of the lawsuits filed so far have accused Adair Grain Inc, parent company of West Fertilizer Co, of negligence.
The Insurance Council of Texas, which represents property insurers in the state, said insured losses from the explosion should reach at least $100 million, with 140 homes and an as yet unknown number of cars destroyed. Many victims were not insured, however, and the council said at least 180 families have sought financial assistance from the Red Cross.
A number of downtown businesses also suffered losses such as shattered windows and damaged roofs.
Last Sunday, City Council member Steve Vanek opened a community meeting with a prayer and assured residents they would stick together.
"We will stand by you until the last nail is driven," he said. "This may be months; this may be several years."
The devastation was in part overshadowed in the national media by the search for the suspects in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings. But at a memorial service on Thursday in Waco, Obama told more than 9,000 mourners: "Know this, for the eyes of the world may have been fixed on places far away, our hearts have also been here through times of tribulation."
Emergency vehicles arrived from across Texas for the service honoring the dead firefighters, during which a bell sounded as each victim's name was read out loud. Volunteer firefighter Joey Pustejovsky was remembered for his dimple and his love of fried chicken.
"I'll always put a (chicken) leg aside for you," his grandmother said at the service.
Billy Lewis, a directional driller at an oil field who had driven to the wreckage of an apartment complex to try to free people trapped inside, is among the many locals who are sure the fire department and town will rebuild and be okay.
"Everybody's strong here, man," Lewis said. "It will bring people closer if anything."
(Writing by Corrie MacLaggan. Additional reporting by Karen Brooks, Jim Forsyth, Lisa Maria Garza, Laura Heinauer, Carey Gillam and Ben Berkowitz. Editing by Gunna Dickson)
Thanks to rare alpine bacteria, researchers identify one of alcohol's key gateways to the brain
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thanks to a rare bacteria that grows only on rocks in the Swiss Alps, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the Pasteur Institute in France have been the first to identify how alcohol might affect key brain proteins.
It's a major step on the road to eventually developing drugs that could disrupt the interaction between alcohol and the brain.
"Now that we've identified this key brain protein and understand its structure, it's possible to imagine developing a drug that could block the binding site," said Adron Harris, professor of biology and director of the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction at The University of Texas at Austin.
Harris and his former postdoctoral fellow Rebecca Howard, now an assistant professor at Skidmore College, are co-authors on the paper that was recently published in Nature Communications. It describes the structure of the brain protein, called a ligand-gated ion channel, that is a key enabler of many of the primary physiological and behavioral effects of alcohol.
Harris said that for some time there has been suggestive evidence that these ion channels are important binding sites for alcohol. Researchers couldn't prove it, however, because they couldn't crystallize the brain protein well enough, and therefore couldn't use X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of the protein with and without alcohol present.
The advance came when Marc Delarue and his colleagues at the Pasteur Institute sequenced the genome of cyanobacteria Gloeobacter violaceus. They noted a protein sequence on the bacteria that is remarkably similar to the sequence of a group of ligand-gated ion channels in the human brain. They were able to crystallize this protein. Harris saw the results and immediately got in touch.
"This is something you never would have found with any sort of logical approach," he said. "You never would have guessed that this obscure bacterium would have something that looks like a brain protein in it. But the institute, because of Pasteur's fascination with bacteria, has this huge collection of obscure bacteria, and over the last few years they've been sequencing the genomes, keeping an eye out for interesting properties."
Harris and Howard asked their French colleagues to collaborate, got the cyanobacteria, changed one amino acid to make it sensitive to alcohol, and then crystallized both the original bacteria and the mutated one. They compared the two to see whether they could identify where the alcohol bound to the mutant. With further tests they confirmed that it was a meaningful site.
"Everything validated that the cavity in which the alcohol bound is important," said Harris. "It doesn't account for all the things that alcohol does, but it appears to be important for a lot of them, including some of the 'rewarding' effects and some of the negative, aversive effects."
Going forward, Harris and his lab plan to use mice to observe how changes to the key protein affect behavior when the mice consume alcohol.
They're also hoping to identify other important proteins from this family of ligand-gated ion channels. In the long term, he hopes to be involved in developing drugs that act on these proteins in ways that help people diminish or cease their drinking.
"So why do some people drink moderately and some excessively?" he said. "One reason lies in that the balance between the rewarding and the aversive effects, and that balance is different for different people, and it can change within an individual depending on their drinking patterns. Some of those effects are determined by the interactions of alcohol and these channels, so the hope is that we can alter the balance. Maybe we can diminish the reward or increase the aversive effects."
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University of Texas at Austin: http://www.utexas.edu
Thanks to University of Texas at Austin for this article.
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Approach to religious education in India differs sharply from U.S. (Video)
Claire Hallett's fifth-grade Schorlemmer Elementary students pause from the lesson and fix their eyes in unison on a woman lingering in the doorway.
The woman's curious black head scarf, a Muslim hijab, reveals her dark, Bette Davis eyes, freckled cheeks and horizontal, toothy grin.
Obaida Hamoudah is accustomed to the staring.
Hamoudah's daughter, Rama, 11, asked her mother to speak to the class following a classroom discussion on Greg Mortenson's New York Times bestseller, "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time."
Religion discussions in public schools aren't always embraced for fear of lawsuits and parental complaints.
But Hamoudah is convinced it's one of the best places to start a dialogue about diversity, culture and world religions.
In Hamoudah's native Israel, and in Kuwait, where she received her secondary education at Catholic school, religion studies are an integral part of the curriculum. In Kerala, India, too, students are encouraged at every grade level to study religion, explore the supernatural and display their faith in public forum.
Hamoudah, a Cade Middle School substitute teacher, believes religion education and exposure to other cultures helps breakdown the fear of the unfamiliar.
Yet, in the United States, God talks are not welcome in public school. Many American parents cite the constitutional separation of church and state and say religious education should be handled in the home.
The daily curious stares provoked by Hamoudah's hijab may be a consequence of that separation.
Religion studies in India
Parvarthy Leena, 14, pulls back her long, thick black hair in a ponytail and puts on a baby blue King's School uniform.
Most schools in India, private and public, require matching school attire. Uniforms help level the scales, yet the distinct religious markings of Indian children do little to hide a student's religious identity.
Paru, as she's lovingly called, is of a family in Kollam, India, that can afford to finance an advanced private secular institution. Her studies are primarily focused on English, math and science, but religion is not far from the curriculum, or discussion in school.
Her father, K.G. Baiju, and mother, Leena, are attorneys. They own their own law firm. They're proponents of balanced and advanced education.
As Hindus, Baiju often guides his family on the practice and necessity of faith. When Parvarthy was born, Baiju gave her the name of a celebrated Hindu goddess.
Paru waits for the school bus on the front, marble stoop of her home. Homes in India are guarded by high walls, but she can hear the vehicle approaching when it's a few blocks down the street. Paru's best girlfriend, Sumaya, like many students at her school, is a Muslim. She doesn't wear the hijab, but many other Muslim girls do.
"No she doesn't have, but some smaller class girls do have, and are permitted to wear those," she said, not quite fluent in English.
Pavarthy also has Christian friends, who in India are distinctly recognized by their Western names and the presence of a surname. Most Hindus do not have a surname, making Christian students easily identifiable when they enroll in school.
But in Kerala, where religious pluralism is common, all are welcome, she said.
"In classrooms, in schools and offices, students and people are not at all discriminated based on religion," Pavarthy said. "Nobody ever cares on the base of religion and there is no such teasing on the difference of religion."
Beyond a general respect for other religions in Kerala, Baiju said, religion studies are, at least on some level, always a part of primary education.
Morality and ethics are taught in the curriculum, and Christian studies are made available for the Christian students, even in secular schools. Hindus can opt out of those courses, if they choose.
"In schooling days, students are trained to pay respect to all the religions and learn that the spirits of all religions are one and the same. . " Baiju said. "In my school and college days, I never think about the caste or religion of my friends, and still I don't know who belongs to which caste and religion."
His exposure to people of different faiths in school helped develop a strong understanding of religiously diverse community.
As a Hindu, he knows, for example, that Muslims pray five times each day, so he isn't alarmed when they attend an area mosque because he's been exposed to their customs.
Religion in American schools
Religion in U.S. public schools once included prayer, Bible reading and teachings of Creationism, all accepted by the constitutions of state and federal governments as legal and beneficial.
Teaching religion in public schools today, while some may argue would not be beneficial, is constitutional on both state and federal levels, if handled properly.
If public schools do not grant favorable treatment, or endorse religious activity or academic programs, school districts are free to implement religious studies as they choose, said Kevin Lewis, associate professor of theology and law at Biola University and founder and director of the Evangelical Legal Society in La Mirada, Calif.
However, many school principals these days are afraid of lawsuits, unaware of their rights and the rights of their students on matters of religion in school, Lewis said.
Academics, he said, are skeptical secularists, and may not value religion knowledge as part of the general curriculum.
"Generally, those in leadership in academia have a skeptical view of religion, so they don't view it as necessary education," Lewis said. "For them, they explain the world through an idea that we're a bunch of star dust particles crashing into each other, and morality and ethics can't be explained through that world view."
Academic pursuits today are bent toward math and sciences, he said.
"But what does science mean? It's a Latin word for knowledge, scientia," Lewis said. "People forget it was the Christians who built all the universities in the West . It's the Puritans who built Harvard, Yale and Princeton. These weren't people who feared knowledge. These were people who welcomed it and understood debate, philosophy and polemic. They believed Christianity is truth, and it's going to stand up to scrutiny."
As a professional researcher and religion teacher and lead counsel on many California cases concerning the exercise of First Amendment rights, Lewis maintains religion has a place in society and public school education.
Lewis said the religious climate of the American public school systems has shifted considerably since the 1940s and 1950s when courts first start challenging the constitutionality of religion in schools.
The separation of church and state argument is often misinterpreted as a federal mandate to eliminate God from government. But Lewis said the First Amendment was written to restrict the federal government from interfering with the states' constitutions about the exercise of religion.
"Conversely, most of the original state constitutions had provisions for the public teaching of Christianity . because morality is necessary for good government," he said.
As a Christian, Lewis said, studying religions of the world is not something to fear. It allows people of any faith to better understand what they believe.
"It absolutely makes me a stronger Christian. I study philosophy, theology and logic, and I'm convinced Christianity is exclusively true with respect to salvation. By knowing all the other religions, it just confirms all the more that the others don't measure up," he said.
As a theologian and attorney, he appreciates that religion studies have allowed him to better understand the world.
"You can't turn the timetables back to a pre-Scopes era when we taught Creationism in school, but to eliminate a lot of fear we have with other religions, you really need to implement some kind of genuine world religion curriculum in the schools," he said.
It doesn't belong
Sara Eaves Hernandez, of Victoria, has spent many years reconciling her ideas about religion. She went through the Mormon Church and several denominational branches of Protestantism before settling on Catholicism 10 years ago.
Her husband, an agnostic, and children, Sophie and Victoria Hernandez, who attend Victoria East High School, are open to religious exploration.
Hernandez said she believes God and faith studies should be part of a student's matriculation. But she knows in reality, religious studies public school would open the door for legal action and fighting among parents and students.
"I just think it would wind up causing a bunch of threats and fights. The ACLU would threaten to file law suits. I know it would happen," the stay-at-home mom, 39, said.
In an ideal world, Hernandez said, she would enjoy her children having some exposure to religious studies, but she would want them to learn only about Christianity. She wouldn't be comfortable with studies of Islam, or Hinduism, she said, and she would prefer the classes to be offered as electives, rather than mandatory staples of the curriculum.
"I really think God belongs in school; that's what wrong with the world today. Nobody has the fear of God anymore because they're not properly taught," she said.
Still, Hernandez believes U.S. parents and school administration will never approve religion studies in school.
"Parents would have a problem with it and pretty soon it's going to end up on national news ... It will never work, and that makes me sad."
Back in the classroom
Pausing from the afternoon lesson at Schorlemmer Elementary School, the fifth-grade teacher introduces the students to their classmate's mother.
"This is Rama's mother," the teacher says, eager to hear more about Islam and Obaida Hamoudah's journey to the United States from her native Jerusalem.
Having never seen a covered Muslim woman, the class has many questions, especially about her hijab.
"Why do you wear that?" they ask, unguarded.
As a substitute teacher, Hamoudah keeps an envelope of photos in her purse at all times. She brings them out to show when students approach her with questions about her scarf.
"Children are curious about it, and I like to show them pictures of me without it," she says. "They always have questions for us. And sometimes parents, too. I don't like to give my point of view about it without them knowing the other side and letting them see I'm just like them."
Rama doesn't wear the veil, unless attending prayer or special events at the Victoria Islamic Center.
"Let them be kids first. They have plenty of time; that's what I think," Hamoudah says, giggling.
Rama says she'll make the decision to cover when she's older. She enjoys being a Muslim and spending time with her Islamic Center friends, but she has a few years before she needs to think about it.
And as she matures into Islam, Rama also desires to learn more about other religions.
"I am not worried about my daughter learning about Christianity because I want her to know about it. I don't understand exactly what is Christianity. If I learned about it, it would help me, too," Hamoudah said.
One of the reasons Rama said she wants religion to be taught in school is because she desires others to know that not all Muslims are terrorists.
At 11 years old, Rama already interprets the religious bias in the news.
"I know what happened at the Boston Marathon was wrong, and no one should do that. But when they had the shootings at the schools and in the movie theater, no one says he's a Christian or not," she said. "I know what happened at the marathon was wrong, and our religion doesn't tell us to do that."
Hamoudah said formal religion education in schools would help countless other students in their understanding of extremist views of Islam and other heretical Christian extremist groups.
"I talked to her about the Boston Marathon and told her these Muslims are extremists. They don't take the Quran in the right way, and there are some people who influence them. It has a lot more to do with politics and taking the verses of the Quran out of context," Hamoudah said.
Hamouda's philosophy about religious studies is that it's beneficial for well-rounded education and helps create sustainable societies.
"It's not so that we get along. Kids get along. It's for us to appreciate each other, to know who we are."
It's generally understood that in the Fox News and Glenn Beck breakup, Fox was the dumper and Beck the dumpee. But, in most breakups where the couple shares a social circle, neither party wants a reputation as the dumpee. Beck says he's the one who wanted to leave -- because the network was so depressing. "I remember feeling, 'If you do not leave now, you won?t leave with your soul intact,'" Beck said Friday, according to Forbes' Jeff Bercovici. Roger Ailes tried to talk him out of it. "Roger said to me, 'You're not going to leave.' And I said, 'I am. ...
Apr. 24, 2013 ? Prisoners who are psychopaths lack the basic neurophysiological "hardwiring" that enables them to care for others, according to a new study by neuroscientists at the University of Chicago and the University of New Mexico.
"A marked lack of empathy is a hallmark characteristic of individuals with psychopathy," said the lead author of the study, Jean Decety, the Irving B. Harris Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry at UChicago. Psychopathy affects approximately 1 percent of the United States general population and 20 percent to 30 percent of the male and female U.S. prison population. Relative to non-psychopathic criminals, psychopaths are responsible for a disproportionate amount of repetitive crime and violence in society.
"This is the first time that neural processes associated with empathic processing have been directly examined in individuals with psychopathy, especially in response to the perception of other people in pain or distress," he added.
The results of the study, which could help clinical psychologists design better treatment programs for psychopaths, are published in the article, "Brain Responses to Empathy-Eliciting Scenarios Involving Pain in Incarcerated Individuals with Psychopathy," which appears online April 24 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Joining Decety in the study were Laurie Skelly, a graduate student at UChicago; and Kent Kiehl, professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico.
For the study, the research team tested 80 prisoners between ages 18 and 50 at a correctional facility. The men volunteered for the test and were tested for levels of psychopathy using standard measures.
They were then studied with functional MRI technology, to determine their responses to a series of scenarios depicting people being intentionally hurt. They were also tested on their responses to seeing short videos of facial expressions showing pain.
The participants in the high psychopathy group exhibited significantly less activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala and periaqueductal gray parts of the brain, but more activity in the striatum and the insula when compared to control participants, the study found.
The high response in the insula in psychopaths was an unexpected finding, as this region is critically involved in emotion and somatic resonance. Conversely, the diminished response in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala is consistent with the affective neuroscience literature on psychopathy. This latter region is important for monitoring ongoing behavior, estimating consequences and incorporating emotional learning into moral decision-making, and plays a fundamental role in empathic concern and valuing the well-being of others.
"The neural response to distress of others such as pain is thought to reflect an aversive response in the observer that may act as a trigger to inhibit aggression or prompt motivation to help," the authors write in the paper.
"Hence, examining the neural response of individuals with psychopathy as they view others being harmed or expressing pain is an effective probe into the neural processes underlying affective and empathy deficits in psychopathy," the authors wrote.
The study with prisoners was supported with a $1.6 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Chicago, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
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Journal Reference:
Jean Decety, Laurie R. Skelly, Kent A. Kiehl. Brain Response to Empathy-Eliciting Scenarios Involving Pain in Incarcerated Individuals With Psychopathy. JAMA Psychiatry, 2013 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.27
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
DETROIT (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said the electric carmaker on Friday will make a strategic announcement that according to a spokeswoman revolves around service.
Shares of Tesla rose nearly 3 percent late Thursday afternoon.
"Announcement of new @TeslaMotors strategy tomorrow. Tesla owners will like this," Musk said in a message on Twitter that was sent shortly before 12 p.m. EDT.
On April 2, Musk said Tesla would unveil details about revamped service and an expanded network of fast-charging stations this month in a move to boost sales.
"I'm an engineer, so service is not something that I naturally do," Musk said in an interview on April 2. "But it's the right thing for the company and I think we have the opportunity to re-engineer service."
A spokeswoman for the company said Friday's announcement will focus on service. On April 2, Tesla announced it would partner with Wells Fargo & Co and U.S. Bank on a financing product to make its pricey electric sedans accessible to more people.
Barclays analyst Brian Johnson, who has an "overweight" rating on Tesla's shares, speculated the company may offer free maintenance for the first several years of ownership to make its cars comparable with the German luxury brands.
"Given right now there's a $600 a year service requirement," he said, adding that it is cheaper if prepaid. "And given that BMW and Mercedes offer two to three to four years worth of free end-to-end maintenance, most likely what (Tesla officials) are doing is waiving the service requirement, making service free for the first two or three years."
Tesla, producer of the first fully electric sports car, has said it had its first profitable quarter ever in the first quarter thanks to stronger-than-expected sales of its Model S sedan. Tesla is scheduled to report first-quarter results on May 8.
The carmaker went public in 2010 and has narrowed its losses as production of the Model S ramped up late last year.
Tesla's stock rose $1.43 to $51.86 on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Leslie Adler, Carol Bishopric and Richard Chang)
Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Jose Valverde, left, laughs with Torii Hunter in the dugout before a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals in Detroit, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Jose Valverde, left, laughs with Torii Hunter in the dugout before a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals in Detroit, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Victor Martinez runs away from the tag of Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez at home plate but was called out in the third inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Wednesday April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Victor Martinez, right, hits a one-run double against the Kansas City Royals in the third inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Kansas City Royals pitcher Wade Davis (22) hands the ball to manager Ned Yost in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit, Wednesday April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Kansas City Royals pitcher Luis Mendoza reacts after walking Detroit Tigers' Jhonny Peralta with the bases loaded to score Prince FIelder in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Wednesday April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
DETROIT (AP) ? Jose Valverde returned to Detroit with a save and Victor Martinez drove in a pair of runs to help the Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 7-5 Wednesday night.
Max Scherzer (2-0) got the win, allowing five runs in five innings, with three Tigers relievers finishing the game. Valverde, called up earlier in the day, returned to the Tigers with a perfect ninth inning. Valverde lost the closing role during the postseason and wasn't offered a contract, but signed a minor-league deal earlier this month and returned to Detroit after a short minor-league stint.
Wade Davis (2-1) gave up seven runs ? but only three earned ? in 3 2-3 innings. Davis allowed eight hits and four walks while only getting 11 outs.
The Tigers took the lead on Omar Infante's RBI single in the second, but Kansas City responded with four runs in the third. Salvador Perez and Chris Getz started the inning with singles, and Alex Gordon tied the game with a double. Alcides Escobar and Billy Butler made it 3-1 with RBI singles, giving the Royals five straight hits, and Eric Hosmer drove in the fourth run with a long sacrifice fly.
The Tigers added two more in their half of the third on Martinez's RBI double and Jhonny Peralta's run-scoring single. Martinez tried to score from second on Peralta's double, and was beaten so badly by Jeff Francoeur's throw from right that he just veered off toward the dugout and was called out for leaving the basepath.
Detroit took control in the fourth when Infante scored on a Mike Moustakas error and Miguel Cabrera followed with a tie-breaking sacrifice fly. Martinez added an RBI single, chasing Davis, but Luis Mendoza walked the next two batters to force in a seventh run.
The Royals loaded the bases with no one out in the fifth, but only scored once, and couldn't get anything after putting two runners on in the seventh.
NOTES: The game started on time, despite rain and snow showers throughout the day. Neither team took batting practice, but the sky cleared as the evening went on. The last few innings were played under a full moon with the temperature dropping through the 30s. ... The Tigers officially purchased the contract of reliever Valverde before the game, and designated Duane Below for assignment. ... The Royals came into Wednesday having only played on two of the previous six days, thanks to the police situation Friday in Boston and Tuesday's rainout in Detroit.
Outspoken Sharon Osbourne is finally getting to say her piece. "The Talk" cohost opened up about her husband Ozzy Osbourne's recent admission of drug problems during an episode of the talk show on Tuesday, Apr. 23, telling the audience that she's "devastated" by the news.
"Everybody knows he's been struggling with this his entire life and I never knew that he was using prescription drugs," she said. "I knew he was drinking occasionally, but I didn't realize to what extend. It's our business -- we're dealing with it. We're not getting divorced. However, am I happy? No. Am I upset? Yes, I am -- I'm devastated right now."
PHOTOS: The Osbourne family throughout the years
Osbourne, 60, looked somber as she added that all of Ozzy's Apr. 15 Facebook confessional was unfortunately "very true." "He's been using alcohol and prescription drugs for the last year-and-a-half?and he has been in a very dark place. That's true. It's very true."
(Note: Mild vulgarity in the video.)
"It's a disease that not only hurts the person that has the disease but it hurts the family," she continued. "It hurts people that love you and we're dealing with it."
PHOTOS: Rockstar romances
On Monday, Apr. 15, Ozzy confessed that he had fallen off the wagon for a bit, and "was an a------ to the people I love most, my family."
"However, I am happy to say that I am now 44 days sober," he wrote in the heartfelt Facebook post, adding: "I would like to apologize to Sharon, my family, my friends and my band mates for my insane behavior during this period ? and my fans."
The 64-year-old rocker's six children -- Elliot, 46, Jessica, 41, Louis, 37, Aimee, 29, Kelly, 28, and Jack, 27 -- have yet to speak out publicly about their father's brave admission.
PHOTOS: Celebrities who've been to rehab
Sharon, on the other hand, said that she's confident that the family's most recent hurdle will only make them stronger.
"We've dealt with worse and we will deal with it and this too shall pass," she said. "Otherwise my husband will be taken to the hospital to get my foot removed from his a--."
The European Commission believes that, alongside the rise of smartphones, tablets and other TV replacements, by 2016 connected TVs could be used in the majority of European homes — up from around 40.4 million today. Today it released a Green Paper to lay the groundwork for how it might cope with that. To be clear, this is not a re-writing of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the basic set of rules first introduced in 2010 covering areas single-market convergence, although it could lead to that. Initially, the purpose of the Green Paper will be to get a better handle on an area that is rapidly changing with the boom in mobile broadband, the rise of tablets and video apps, those connected TVs and more. It’s part of Kroes’ wider Digital Agenda strategy, which has covered areas like addressing the digital divide, the role of regulation in childrens content, cybersecurity, tech brain drain and more. As part of the Green Paper, the EC seeks feedback on things like how TV is watched, the limitations of digital content distributed on a per-country basis, exclusivity deals for films and other media, and whether self-regulation (used widely today) is doing enough — issues that could potentially impact, among others, device makers like Samsung, LG and (perhaps!) Apple; streaming companies like Amazon and Netflix; and publishers/creators. Neelie Kroes, the outspoken Commission VP who oversees this area, focuses her attention on connected TVs specifically today: “Connected TV is the next big thing in the creative and digital worlds,” she is expected to note in a statement today. But Kroes also acknowledges that even if it’s not a huge LG set in a TV room that will be the lever for how things transform, the evolution is certainly an issue regardless. “Convergence between sectors means people can enjoy a wider choice of great content – but it also creates disruptions and challenges. We need a converged and EU-wide debate to help deal with these changes.” Indeed, figures from Cisco’s most recent Visual Networking Index, a huge study it puts out annually, mobile video consumption worldwide exceeded 50% for the first time last year and shows no sign of slowing down, with Europe accounting for over 20% of all global mobile traffic. Part of the issue in Europe is that, at the moment, there are some cross purposes at work. For example, when it comes to content, deals
BOSTON (Reuters) - Thousands of law enforcement agents from around the country plan to attend a memorial on Wednesday for a campus police officer who authorities say was slain by the accused Boston Marathon bombers, and Vice President Joe Biden is slated to speak at the ceremony.
The service at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology honors 26-year-old Sean Collier, who police say was shot and killed by Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the MIT campus on Thursday night.
The two ethnic Chechen brothers planted and detonated the two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing three people and injuring 264, authorities say. Ten people lost limbs in the bombing.
Authorities released videos and photos of the suspects, still unidentified at the time, on Thursday. Hours later, Collier, who had worked at MIT since January 2012, was shot and killed.
MIT canceled Wednesday's classes in his honor and said thousands of law enforcement agents were expected to attend the memorial from around the country.
Top U.S. security authorities faced a grilling on Tuesday about the handling of the Boston bombing investigation by lawmakers seeking answers to why Tamerlan Tsarnaev, flagged as a possible Islamist radical, was not tracked more closely.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a shootout with police on Friday and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was captured later that day. He lies wounded in a Boston hospital charged with using weapons of mass destruction.
Investigators have focused on a trip to Dagestan last year by the older Tsarnaev and whether he became involved with or was influenced by Chechen separatists or Islamist extremists there.
Russian authorities flagged him as a possible Islamist extremist in 2011. The FBI interviewed him in Massachusetts but found no serious reason for alarm.
QUESTIONS ABOUT FLOW OF INFORMATION
Senators said after Tuesday's briefing by FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce and other officials that there may have been a breakdown in communication that kept authorities from tracking his apparent radicalization.
Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the ranking Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the briefing raised questions about the flow of information among law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
"I think there has been some stonewalls, and some stovepipes reconstructed, that were probably unintentional, but we've got to review that issue again, and make sure there is the free flow of information," he said.
"I can't say the FBI dropped the ball. I don't see anybody yet that dropped the ball," Chambliss said. "That may develop."
The wife of Tamerlan Tsarnaev is assisting authorities and in absolute shock that her husband and brother-in-law were accused of the deadly blasts, her lawyer said.
"She cries a lot," attorney Amato DeLuca said of Katherine Russell, 24, an American-born convert to Islam who married Tsarnaev in June 2010. "She can't go anywhere. She can't work."
The sisters of the bombing suspects said they too did not know what had happened to their brothers.
Ailina Tsarnaev, who lives in West New York, New Jersey, and her sister Bella issued a statement through their attorneys expressing their sadness over "such a callous act."
"As a family we are absolutely devastated by the sense of loss and sorrow this has caused," they said. "We don't have any answers but we look forward to a thorough investigation and hope to learn more."
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's condition improved to "fair" from "serious" on Tuesday as he recovered from gunshot wounds at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where in an impromptu hearing on Monday he was charged with two crimes that could result in the death penalty if he were convicted.
Recovering enough to communicate by nodding his head and writing, the younger Tsarnaev has told authorities he and his brother acted alone, learned to build the bombs on the Internet and were motivated by a desire to defend Islam because of "the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," NBC News reported.
NBC cited an unnamed U.S. counterterrorism source. Reuters could not confirm the information.
(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell and Patricia Zengerle in Washington and David Jones in New Jersey; Writing by Ellen Wulfhorst; and Mohammad Zargham)
The European Commission believes that, alongside the rise of smartphones, tablets and other TV replacements, by 2016 connected TVs could be used in the majority of European homes — up from around 40.4 million today. Today it released a Green Paper to lay the groundwork for how it might cope with that. To be clear, this is not a re-writing of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the basic set of rules first introduced in 2010 covering areas single-market convergence, although it could lead to that. Initially, the purpose of the Green Paper will be to get a better handle on an area that is rapidly changing with the boom in mobile broadband, the rise of tablets and video apps, those connected TVs and more. It’s part of Kroes’ wider Digital Agenda strategy, which has covered areas like addressing the digital divide, the role of regulation in childrens content, cybersecurity, tech brain drain and more. As part of the Green Paper, the EC seeks feedback on things like how TV is watched, the limitations of digital content distributed on a per-country basis, exclusivity deals for films and other media, and whether self-regulation (used widely today) is doing enough — issues that could potentially impact, among others, device makers like Samsung, LG and (perhaps!) Apple; streaming companies like Amazon and Netflix; and publishers/creators. Neelie Kroes, the outspoken Commission VP who oversees this area, focuses her attention on connected TVs specifically today: “Connected TV is the next big thing in the creative and digital worlds,” she is expected to note in a statement today. But Kroes also acknowledges that even if it’s not a huge LG set in a TV room that will be the lever for how things transform, the evolution is certainly an issue regardless. “Convergence between sectors means people can enjoy a wider choice of great content – but it also creates disruptions and challenges. We need a converged and EU-wide debate to help deal with these changes.” Indeed, figures from Cisco’s most recent Visual Networking Index, a huge study it puts out annually, mobile video consumption worldwide exceeded 50% for the first time last year and shows no sign of slowing down, with Europe accounting for over 20% of all global mobile traffic. Part of the issue in Europe is that, at the moment, there are some cross purposes at work. For example, when it comes to content, deals