adamekeite: April 2013

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Teachers head: Don't link tests to evaluations yet

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The head of the American Federation of Teachers says governments should hold off on plans to link standardized test results with schools' evaluations until everyone is on the same page.

AFT President Randi Weingarten on Tuesday called for a moratorium on penalties associated with tests during a speech in New York. She especially is singling out national standards, called Common Core benchmarks, which 45 states and the District of Columbia are adopting.

Weingarten says she supports accountability. But she says it is ridiculous to have something count against schools before teachers can make it work.

States often see test scores drop when schools start using those new standards. Weingarten says no one should be punished until everyone is familiar with the system.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teachers-head-dont-tests-evaluations-yet-123637946.html

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Gay & Proud of It! Celebs Who Have Come Out

From Jason Collins to Ellen DeGeneres, these gay celebrities have bravely announced their sexuality to the world.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/gay-celebrities-who-have-come-out/1-b-406420?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Agay-celebrities-who-have-come-out-406420

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FBI Investigating McDonnell Ties to Donor (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/302529692?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Pro-gun Native American billboard draws criticism

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) ? Two billboards in which images of Native Americans are used to make a gun rights argument are causing a stir with some Colorado residents who say the image is offensive and insensitive.

The billboards in this northern Colorado city show three men dressed in traditional Native American attire and the words "Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you."

Matt Wells, an account executive with Lamar Advertising in Denver, said Monday that a group of local residents purchased the space.

"They have asked to remain anonymous," he said.

He also refused to disclose the cost but said the billboards are only appearing in the Greeley area. Wells said he has not received any complaints so far.

"I think it's a little bit extreme, of course, but I think people are really worried about their gun rights and what liberties are going to be taken away," Wells told the Greeley Tribune (http://tinyurl.com/cdtkgj2).

Greeley resident Kerri Salazar, who is of Native American descent, said she was livid when she learned about it. She said she doesn't have a problem with the gun rights message, but she's offended the Native American people were singled out, apparently without their consent.

"I think we all get that (Second Amendment) message. What I don't understand is how an organization can post something like that and not think about the ripple effect that it's gonna have through the community," she said.

Irene Vernon, a Colorado State University professor and chairwoman of the ethnic studies department, said the message on the billboard is taking a narrow view of a much more complicated history of the Native American plight. She said it's not as if Native Americans just gave up their guns and wound up on reservations.

"It wasn't just about our guns," said Vernon, a Native American.

Greeley resident Maureen Brucker, who has worked with Native American organizations and who frequents the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota as an honorary family member, said she thinks the billboards are making light of atrocities the federal government committed against Native Americans.

She said the billboard brings to her mind one of the most horrendous examples of that, the Wounded Knee Massacre on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1890. Historical accounts say the 7th Cavalry had detained a band of Native Americans and asked them to give up their weapons. Troops began firing after a shot rang out. Death toll estimates of Native American men, women and children range from 150 to 300.

Brucker said she thinks those who put up the billboards should come forward to discuss their viewpoints.

"I thought it was pretty cowardly that someone would put something like that up and spend the money for a billboard but didn't have the courage to put their name on it," she said.

___

Information from: Greeley Daily Tribune, http://greeleytribune.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pro-gun-native-american-billboard-draws-criticism-163833535.html

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Yes, I Really Am Bisexual. Deal With It.

www.nytimes.com:

When I told Jared I'm bisexual, he couldn't, or at least didn't, hide his discomfort.

Read the whole story at www.nytimes.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/28/yes-i-really-am-bisexual-_0_n_3174727.html

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Monday 29 April 2013

Obama taps Charlotte mayor for cabinet post

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Monday tapped rising Democratic politician Anthony Foxx to lead the Department of Transportation, an agency at the center of Washington's fiscal fights.

Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., is the first black nominee among the president's picks for open spots in his second term Cabinet. The president had faced questions, including from the Congressional Black Caucus, about a lack of diversity in his first round of nominations after winning re-election.

Obama said that as a mayor, Foxx knows how to use infrastructure spending to create jobs and boost economic growth. The White House cited Foxx's work on Charlotte's electric tram service, an expansion of a light rail system and the opening of a third runway at the city's airport as experience that qualifies him for the Cabinet post.

"Charlotte made one of the largest investments in transportation," Obama said during a nomination ceremony in the East Room of the White House. "All of that has not only helped create new jobs, it's helped Charlotte become more attractive to business."

Foxx, 41, has served as Charlotte's mayor since 2009. He bolstered his national profile last year when his city hosted the Democratic Party's national convention.

Among those in the audience for the East Room ceremony was Foxx's grandmother, who worked in the White House during the Truman administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx will take over the Transportation Department from outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood, a rare Republican serving in a Democratic administration. In a nod to his predecessor, Foxx said, "there is no such thing as a Democratic or Republican road, bridge, port airfield or rail system. We must work together across party lines to enhance this nation's infrastructure."

The Transportation Department has been at the center of Washington's most recent fight over the so-called sequester cuts. The automatic cuts resulted in furloughs for air traffic controllers that spurred delays at many airports, angering both lawmakers and the public.

Congress reached a deal last week to provide the Transportation Department flexibility that allowed it to end the air traffic controller furloughs

Obama is also close to announcing his picks for two other Cabinet-level posts. Longtime Obama fundraiser and hotel heiress Penny Pritzker is the leading candidate to run the Commerce Department, and White House international economic adviser Michael Froman is the top choice to be the next U.S. Trade Representative.

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-taps-foxx-nc-mayor-run-transportation-192227508.html

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Engaging online crowds in the classroom could be important tool for teaching innovation

Apr. 29, 2013 ? Online crowds can be an important tool for teaching the ins and outs of innovation, educators at Carnegie Mellon University and Northwestern University say, even when the quality of the feedback provided by online sources doesn't always match the quantity.

In a pilot study that invited the crowd into their classrooms, Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern instructors found that input from social media and other crowdsourcing sites helped the students identify human needs for products or services, generate large quantities of ideas, and ease some aspects of testing those ideas.

Finding ways to incorporate online crowds into coursework is critical for teaching the process of innovation, said Steven Dow, assistant professor in Carnegie Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute. He and his co-investigator, Elizabeth Gerber, the Breed Junior Professor of Design at Northwestern University, will present their findings April 29 at CHI 2013, the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, in Paris.

"Educating students about innovation practices can be difficult in the classroom, where students typically lack authentic interaction with the real world," Dow explained. "Social networks and other online crowds can provide input that students can't get otherwise. Even in project courses, feedback is limited to a handful of individuals, at most."

At the same time, tapping the power of online communities has itself become part of the innovation process, Gerber said, with many entrepreneurs turning to sites such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo to get initial support.

"The Internet affords access to online communities to which we might not ever have access," she said. "Future innovators need to know how to find and respectively engage with these communities to get the resources they need."

Dow and Gerber have received a National Science Foundation grant to study the use of crowd technologies in the classroom. They have created a website, http://crowddriveninnovation.com/, to share ideas and resources regarding the use of crowd-based resources in innovation education.

In the pilot study, they explored the use of crowds with 50 students enrolled in three innovation classes offered by Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern. Students worked in groups of 3-4 on projects.

Students found online forums, such as Reddit, were very helpful in discovering unmet needs. A group working on public transit, for instance, found lots of people talk about transit on social media, Dow said. "It also helps them figure out what questions to ask users in more traditional interviews," he added.

An attempt to generate ideas through Amazon Mechanical Turk, which pays workers small fees for performing micro-tasks, produced little of use. "Understanding context is critical for ideation and this is difficult to do in a micro-task work environment," Gerber said. What did work effectively, she said, was asking people from the user research site Mindswarms to reflect on students' storyboard concepts.

In the final class assignment, to help students learn how to pitch ideas, the teams created a crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter or IndieGoGo. But that made many students uncomfortable.

"The main problem with the crowdfunding piece of the class was that few students, as far as I could tell, actually wanted to raise the money," one student explained. "Most students in the class have other plans and weren't planning to continue working on their idea."

"In a strange way, this discomfort validated our hypothesis that engaging external crowds would bring the reality of innovation practices into the classroom," Dow said. "It was almost too real."

One solution, Dow and Gerber said, may be to have students prepare a crowdfunding campaign, but not launch it.

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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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/N2RtpZnvZVw/130429130520.htm

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What Lies Beyond This Interstellar Rabbit Hole?

Stephen Hawking is right, ?We must continue to go into space for humanity.? But what do we do when confronted with the unimaginable possibilities we find out there?

Backed Or Whacked: Fund These Undies

Editor?s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals. The mere mention of those particular articles of clothing that protect our private bits from coming into contact with our clothing (or perhaps vice versa) has long been enough to drive children into hysterics.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/OFXQbWaH65A/

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Weight Loss News Headlines - Yahoo! News

By Carey Gillam (Reuters) - Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study. The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates??

Source: http://rss.news.yahoo.com/rss/weightloss

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U.S. consumers keep spending despite reduced pay

WASHINGTON (AP) -- This year got off to a sour start for U.S. workers: Their pay, already gasping to keep pace with inflation, was suddenly shrunk by a Social Security tax increase.

Which raised a worrisome question: Would consumers stop spending and further slow the economy? Nope. Not yet, anyway.

On Friday, the government said consumers spent 3.2 percent more on an annual basis in the January-March quarter than in the previous quarter ? the biggest jump in two years. It highlighted a broader improvement in Americans' financial health that is blunting the impact of the tax increase and raising hopes for more sustainable growth.

Consumers have shed debt. Gasoline has gotten cheaper. Rising home values and record stock prices have restored household wealth to its pre-recession high. And employers are steadily adding jobs, which means more people have money to spend.

"No one should write off the consumer simply because of the 2-percentage point increase in payroll taxes," says Bernard Baumohl, chief economist at the Economic Outlook Group. "Overall household finances are in the best shape in more than five years."

Certainly, spending weakened toward the end of the January-March quarter. Spending at retailers fell in March by 0.4 percent, the worst showing in nine months. And more spending on utilities accounted for up to one-fourth of the increase in consumer spending in the January-March quarter, according to JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli, because of colder weather.

Higher spending on utilities isn't a barometer of consumer confidence the way spending on household goods, such as new appliances or furniture, would be.

Americans also saved less in the first quarter, lowering the savings rate to 2.6 percent from 3.9 percent in 2012. Economists say that was likely a temporary response to the higher Social Security tax, and most expect the savings rate to rise back to last year's level. That could limit spending.

But several longer-term trends are likely to push in the other direction, economists say, and help sustain consumer spending. Among those trends:

? WEALTH IS UP

Home prices rose more than 10 percent in the 12 months that ended in February. And both the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 stock indexes reached record highs in the first quarter. As a result, Americans have recovered the $16 trillion in wealth that was wiped out by the Great Recession. Economists estimate that each dollar of additional wealth adds roughly 3 cents to spending. That means last year's $5.5 trillion run-up in wealth could spur about $165 billion in additional consumer spending this year. That's much more than the $120 billion cost of the higher Social Security taxes.

? DEBT IS DOWN

Household debt now equals 102 percent of after-tax income, down from a peak of 126 percent in 2007. That's almost back to its long-term trend, according to economists at Deutsche Bank. And households are paying less interest on their debts, largely because of the Federal Reserve's efforts to keep borrowing rates at record lows. The percentage of after-tax income that Americans spent on interest and debt payments dropped to 10.4 percent in the October-December quarter last year. That's the lowest such figure in the 32 years that the Federal Reserve has tracked the data.

? JOBS ARE UP

Employers have added an average of 188,000 jobs a month in the past six months, up from 130,000 in the previous six. Job gains slowed in March to only 88,000. But most economists expect at least a modest rebound in coming months. And layoffs sank to a record low in January. Fewer layoffs tend to make people feel more secure in their jobs and more willing to spend.

? GAS PRICES ARE DOWN

Gasoline prices have fallen in the past year and are likely to stay low. Nationwide, the average price of a gallon of gas has dropped 28 cents since this year's peak of $3.79 on Feb. 27. Analysts expect gas to drop an additional 20 cents over the next two months. Each 10 cent drop over a full year translates into roughly $13 billion in savings for consumers.

? LOAN COSTS ARE DOWN

Lower interest rates have enabled millions of Americans to save money by refinancing their mortgages. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac estimates that in the fourth quarter of 2012, homeowners who refinanced cut their interest rate by one-third, the biggest reduction in 27 years the agency has tracked the data. On a $200,000 loan, that means $3,600 in savings over the next 12 months.

Some economists note that the Social Security tax cut didn't spur much more spending when it first took effect at the start of 2011. The tax cut gave someone earning $50,000 about $1,000 more to spend each year. A household with two high-paid workers had up to $4,500 more.

Despite the tax cut, Baumohl notes that consumer spending rose only 2.5 percent in 2011 and 1.9 percent in 2012. In the 10 years before the recession began in December 2007, the average annual spending increase was 3.4 percent.

And a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that consumers spent only 36 percent of the increased income that resulted from the tax cut. The rest went to paying down debt or to savings.

Since the tax cut didn't boost spending that much, its expiration may not drag it down much, either. Economists say temporary tax cuts are often ineffective because many consumers assume that the tax breaks will eventually disappear. So they don't ramp up spending in response.

Scott Loehrke, 25, hasn't cut back spending this year. Loehrke went ahead in March with some car repairs that could have been delayed. And he still plans to vacation in May in Mexico with his wife, Jackie.

The couple, who live just outside Cleveland, feel secure in their jobs. Loehrke is a salesman for a company that makes T-shirts, cups, key chains and other promotional products. Business has picked up in the past year as the economy has improved. His wife is a pharmacist.

"Everything that we've planned to do we're still doing," Loehrke says.

The Loehrkes both have heavy student debt and so are focused on keeping their expenses in check. They both drive used cars. That's enabled them to build up some savings and made it easier to absorb the tax increase.

New threats have emerged. Across-the-board government spending cuts kicked in March 1. The spending cuts have triggered government furloughs and could lead private companies that do business with the government to cut staff. And the cuts are expected to shave a half-point from economic growth this year.

Even so, most economists are relieved that consumers have proved so resilient so far.

"It's very encouraging that consumers and thus the broader economy have been able to weather that storm as well as they have," says Mark Zandi, an economist at Moody's Analytics.

___

Follow Chris Rugaber on Twitter at https://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-consumers-keep-spending-despite-070217622.html

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PFT: Ivory plans to put up crazy numbers with Jets

Another NFL Draft is in the books, 254 new players with a chance to create a professional future, and 32 teams delighted for the moment with the work they?ve done.

And while there were an abundance of storylines, one thing that stood out about the 2013 NFL Draft was the remarkable restraint many teams showed.

There wasn?t an Andrew Luck or a Cam Newton ? or perhaps even a Ryan Mallett ??in this draft.

But even with the extreme financial penalty for missing on a first-round passer gone, teams didn?t line up to take the chance on a potential franchise quarterback as they have in the past.?Only three quarterbacks were chosen in the first three rounds, the fewest since 2000 (the fabled Chad Pennington-Giovanni Carmazzi-Chris Redman draft).

The Bills fooled us all by taking E.J. Manuel in the first round, and even the Jets withstood the temptation to win the back pages by taking Geno Smith in the second. When Mike Glennon was the only third-rounder, it left names such as Matt Barkley and Ryan Nassib for the fourth, where the Eagles and Giants bought low.

Some of the best quarterback business was done by teams that didn?t take one.

The Jaguars might be more needy at the position than any team in the league, with Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne competing. But as bad as that might be, there?s no guarantee any of this year?s candidates are better. So since new general manager David Caldwell didn?t see value, he withstood temptation and restocked a bad team with many other parts they needed ? most of them with speed.

But it wasn?t just at the quarterback position where the smart teams held fast.

After an unprecedented run on left tackles (three of the top four picks), teams with needs there started drafting guards and right tackles and defensive tackles instead of reaching. It would have been easy for the Chargers to move up for one of the top blind-side protectors, but by letting the board come to them, they found a solid starting right tackle in D.J. Fluker. Likewise, Arizona added a guard in Jonathan Cooper who could turn out to be the best value in the draft, and the Titans made Chris Johnson a better running back by drafting guard Chance Warmack (and center Brian Schwenke) to go with big-ticket free agent Andy Levitre.

And not to beat up on Manti Te?o any more than has already happened, the teams that needed him and didn?t draft him deserved notice as well.

The Vikings had a pair of late firsts, and used them on value picks Sharrif Floyd and Xavier Rhodes, both of whom figured to go sooner. Then they made a move for a third first-rounder, not for Te?o, but to take a receiver in Cordarrelle Patterson who has some Randy Moss-ish tendencies. The Bears also skipped an obvious need for a middle linebacker, and took a versatile but raw offensive lineman with good genes (Kyle Long).

The two Super Bowl teams (and two that should push them) exemplified the patience of the weekend as well.

The 49ers stockpiled picks, and used one on running back Marcus Lattimore, who might not play a down for them this year. The Ravens might have had interest in Te?o as well, but took their safety first (Matt Elam) before filling in at linebacker later (Arthur Brown).

The Packers added two running backs in Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin who could make a good team better, and the Seahawks used the benefit of a roster with few holes to take some chances on players with question marks, from running back Christine Michael to defensive tackle Jesse Williams.

Not every team has such luxuries. But the best things might come to the ones that were able and willing to wait this weekend.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/27/chris-ivory-plans-to-put-up-crazy-numbers-in-jets-offense/related/

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NATO crash kills 4; Taliban begin spring offensive

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? A NATO plane crash in southern Afghanistan killed four international troops on Saturday, the same day the Taliban announced its spring offensive and said it will target military and diplomatic sites with suicide bombers and infiltrate enemy forces to conduct deadly insider attacks.

April already has been the deadliest month so far this year across the country where Afghan security forces are increasingly taking the lead on the battlefield of the more than 11-year-old war.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said its security forces were prepared for the Taliban's new campaign, which was to start on Sunday. "The Afghan National Army is ready to neutralize the offensive," the ministry said.

Insurgents have escalated attacks to gain power and influence ahead of next year's presidential election and the planned withdrawal of most U.S. and other foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. And U.S.-backed efforts to try to reconcile the Islamic militant movement with the Afghan government are gaining little traction.

The Taliban did not immediately claim responsibility for the plane crash. NATO said initial reports indicated no enemy activity in the area where the plane went down. Coalition personnel secured the site and were investigating the cause of the crash.

The brief NATO statement did not identify the victims, or say exactly where the crash occurred in Afghanistan. However, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, deputy governor of the southern province of Zabul, said an aircraft belonging to foreign forces crashed Saturday afternoon in Shah Joy district.

In their announcement on Saturday, the Taliban vowed to step up violent attacks now that winter was over and warmer weather has made travel and fighting easier. The militant group said it would use every possible tactic to "detain or inflict heavy casualties on the foreign transgressors."

Taliban fighters, who seek to replace the elected Afghan government with one promoting a stricter interpretation of Islamic law, named their offensive after a legendary Muslim military commander, Khalid ibn al-Walid. Also known as the "Drawn Sword of God," he was a companion of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

The Taliban threatened to infiltrate the Afghan security forces and conduct more attacks on Afghan policemen and soldiers as well as foreign troops.

Such attacks threaten the strength of the Afghan forces as they work to take over responsibility from coalition forces. The latest one occurred in March, when a member of a government-backed village defense unit shot and killed five of his colleagues in Badghis province in northwest Afghanistan.

April has already been the worst month for combat deaths so far this year. According to an Associated Press tally, 261 people ? including civilians, Afghan security forces and foreign troops ? have been killed in violence around the nation. During that time 217 insurgents have died.

Last year during the month of April, 179 civilians, foreign troops and Afghan security forces were killed and 268 insurgents.

Still, U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said Wednesday that the security situation had improved across the country, with Afghan forces now leading 80 percent of all conventional operations.

As the traditional fighting season begins, the insurgents will face a combined Afghan force of 350,000 soldiers and police, he said.

"The insurgency can no longer use the justification that it is fighting foreign occupiers ? that message rings hollow," Dunford said in a statement.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid disagreed with that assessment.

"The foreign forces will be our primary targets. The second target will be the government of Kabul. The third one will be the other foreign countries who are acting against our mujahedeen," or holy warriors, he said in an interview with AP Television News.

___

AP writer Rahim Faiez in Kabul contributed to this report.

___

Follow Thomas Wagner on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/tjpwagner.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nato-crash-kills-4-taliban-begin-spring-offensive-192037084.html

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Sunday 28 April 2013

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Knicks Rout Celtics 90-76 In Game 3: Carmelo Anthony Leads New York To 3-0 Playoff Series Lead (VIDEO)

BOSTON ? The New York Knicks want to finish their long road back to the second round quickly.

They haven't won a playoff series in 13 years, and now they have a shot to end this one in four games.

"Guys are hungry," forward Carmelo Anthony said. "We really want this, we feel like it's right there in the palm of our hands."

Anthony scored 26 points and the Knicks moved to the brink of a sweep, routing the Boston Celtics 90-76 on Friday night in Game 3 of the first-round series.

Quickly taking the crowd out of it in the first NBA game here since the Boston Marathon bombings, the Knicks built a 16-point halftime lead and now are on the verge of taking out the Celtics.

"That first quarter on the road, you've got to make sure you take that first punch and we did that," Knicks veteran Jason Kidd said.

Raymond Felton added 15 points and 10 assists for the Knicks, who haven't advanced in the playoffs since reaching the 2000 Eastern Conference finals. Game 4 is here Sunday afternoon.

They'll have to hope they have J.R. Smith, who inexplicably threw an elbow right into Jason Terry's face with 7:06 left and was thrown out of the game with a flagrant foul 2, an automatic ejection. The league office will review the play and can fine or suspend Smith.

Jeff Green scored 21 points for the Celtics, who will try to become the first NBA team to win a series after trailing 3-0. They own the most titles in league history, but their present looks extremely bleak.

"I didn't think we showed up not to play well," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought overall our effort was there, I thought we did lose our spirit early on."

Fans cheered the responders who helped after the marathon but booed the Celtics, who managed only 31 points in the first two quarters, getting their bad half out of the way early this time. They had been held to 25 and 23 points after halftime while dropping the two games in New York.

Smith finished with 15 points for the Knicks, who are loaded with veterans who've had playoff success the franchise hadn't in recent years and weren't fazed by the pregame atmosphere. Once the game started, they simply outplayed the Celtics, as they have while going 6-1 against them dating the regular season.

"We came in here believing that we could win this basketball game and we did it," Anthony said. "It was a total team effort."

Everything went perfectly for the Knicks until Smith, while holding the ball on offense with a huge lead, decided to throw his elbow right into Terry's face. Terry charged after him but was stopped by Rivers, while Knicks coach Mike Woodson appeared to be lecturing Smith before the Sixth Man of the Year was sent off.

"He'll learn from it. I don't think he was trying to hurt the kid, I thought he was trying to clear space, but hey, they saw it differently," Woodson said. "I'm going to stay in his ear and make sure he learns from it."

There was a moment of silence before the game for the victims, and that was the last time it was quiet for a while. First responders and other personnel were greeted with loud cheers as they were brought onto the floor during timeouts, and a tribute to the city's strength played on the overhead video board during a first-quarter stoppage.

But the Knicks' dominance wore down even the most spirited supporters, just the way LeBron James did in his 45-point performance in Game 6 of last year's Eastern Conference finals in the last playoff game here.

Rivers said he was aware of some of his team's shortcomings, with the absence of Rajon Rondo leaving the Celtics without a point guard. But Rivers ? himself a former point guard ? couldn't have imagined his team would be this unable to get into an offense, finishing with 18 turnovers that led to 26 Knicks points.

He started Terry for forward Brandon Bass, trying to find a way to get another ball handler on the floor. But it couldn't fix the Celtics' shooting and didn't really help much with the ball handling, as Terry had his dribble taken right away from him on one third-quarter possession when Boston briefly looked ready to get back into it.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett missed layups on the same possession to start the game, and it was clear right from there this wasn't the Celtics' night ? or their series.

"Right now at this point, just take it one game at a time," Green said. "They haven't won it yet."

Pablo Prigioni gave the Knicks a boost with three early 3-pointers as the Knicks positioned themselves to avenge their first-round sweep at the hands of the Celtics two years ago. Boston hasn't been by swept since 2004, by Indiana.

Garnett had 12 points and 17 rebounds, while Pierce missed six of his first seven shots and finished with 17 points.

The Celtics were within three early in the second quarter before Prigioni and Smith hit 3-pointers in an 8-0 run that made it 34-23. The Celtics had held Anthony in check until then, but he got hot late in the half while they remained ice cold.

Back-to-back jumpers had the defense keying on his jumper, so he spun toward the basket to catch an alley-oop pass, and Felton followed with a 3-pointer to make it 47-29 with 58 seconds left in the half. Green made a layup for the final basket of the half, then the Celtics walked off to boos.

Boston cut it to 49-38 and Terry was dribbling up the floor on a fast break when Prigioni stepped in and swiped the ball away from him. The Knicks missed a shot, but Prigioni grabbed the rebound to set up a 3-pointer by Anthony. Felton followed with another basket to make it 54-38, and Boston's momentum was gone for good.

The Knicks later led by as much as 21.

Boston has been held to 78, 71 and 76 points in the series.

Notes: The Knicks' last sweep of a best-of-seven series was when they beat Atlanta in the 1999 East semis. They swept Toronto in a best-of-five series in the first round the following year. ... Rivers, on being fined $25,000 by the NBA on Thursday for his criticisms of the officiating in Game 2. "Usually the way it works, once NBA security calls, they're not calling to tell you they love you," he said. "Listen, like I said to them, I didn't get fined for being wrong. I got fined for saying it."

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/knicks-celtics-game-3-nba-playoffs_n_3167480.html

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Texas inmate shouts 'Wow' during execution

By Michael Graczyk, The Associated Press

This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Richard Cobb. Cobb is set for lethal injection Thursday evening, April 25, 2013 in Huntsville, Texas for the slaying of 37-year-old Kenneth Vandever.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A Texas inmate was executed Thursday evening for fatally shooting one of three people he and a partner abducted during a convenience store robbery nearly 11 years ago.

Richard Cobb, 29, didn't deny using a 20-gauge shotgun to kill Kenneth Vandever in an East Texas field where two women also were shot and one was raped. He was convicted of capital murder.

"Life is death, death is life. I hope that someday this absurdity that humanity has come to will come to an end," Cobb said when asked if he had any last words. "Life is too short. I hope anyone that has negative energy towards me will resolve that.

"Life is too short to harbor feelings of hatred and anger. That's it, warden."

But that wasn't it.

Just before the lethal drug took effect and at the conclusion of his statement, Cobb twisted his head back, raised it off a pillow placed on the gurney and then toward the warden standing behind him.

"Wow!" the inmate exclaimed in a loud voice. "That is great. That is awesome! Thank you, warden! Thank you (expletive) warden!"

His head fell back on the pillow, and his neck twisted at an odd angle, with his mouth and eyes open.

He remained that way for some 15 minutes before a physician entered the death chamber to examine him and pronounce him dead at 6:27 p.m. CDT. Sixteen minutes had passed since the drug had been injected.

The father, stepmother and stepbrother of the man shot and killed by Cobb were among the witnesses. Also in the viewing area was one of the women who was shot and attacked but survived to testify against Cobb.

"I think justice was served but it doesn't change anything to speak of," the slain man's father, Don Vandever, said after watching Cobb die. "I do think the justice system needs to be more of a deterrent.

"All he did was go to sleep. That's it."

Nikki Daniels, 29, who was raped and shot during the 2002 attack but survived to testify against Cobb, said, "I thought he was going to be remorseful, I thought he was going to be apologetic, was hoping that he was going to address me.

"I saw the same evil person I saw 11 years ago. ... He definitely showed his true colors."

The Associated Press generally does not name victims of sexual assault but Daniels agreed to be identified.

Daniels said Cobb's punishment in the end "was far too easy."

About two hours before the lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Cobb to be executed, rejecting a last-day appeal. It was Texas' fourth execution this year.

On Sept. 2, 2002, Kenneth Vandever and the two women were abducted from a store in Rusk, about 120 miles southeast of Dallas, and taken to a field about 10 miles away. All three were shot and left for dead. Vandever, 37, died, but the women managed to get help.

Cobb was 18 at the time of the attack, on probation for auto theft and a high school dropout. Cobb and his partner, Beunka Adams, were arrested in Jacksonville, about 25 miles away, the day after the crime. It was the latest in a series of robberies tied to them.

Cobb testified at his trial he began using drugs at age 12 and turned to robbery to pay off a drug debt.

Adams was executed a year ago this week for his participation in the slaying.

Vandever had frequented the store in Rusk and would do things like take out the trash. An auto accident had left him with the mental capacity of a child.

Cobb's trial attorneys unsuccessfully tried to show Adams forced Cobb to shoot Vandever by threatening Cobb. The survivors of the attack said they never heard such threats, but heard Vandever plead that he needed his medication and scream when he was shot.

"Basically, it was an act of compulsion," Cobb said of the abductions and shootings. He described himself to the AP shortly after arriving on death row in 2004 as "young, dumb and made a mistake."

"I'm guilty of the crime," he said.

He told the Jacksonville Daily Progress last month from prison he didn't want to die "but I'm ready for it."

At least 11 other Texas inmates have executions scheduled for the coming months, including three in May.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2b3a0a28/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C260C179351130Etexas0Einmate0Eshouts0Ewow0Eduring0Eexecution0Dlite/story01.htm

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Living with Glass, Day Four: Canyon Carving

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Finally, the flash of newness is wearing off. It's taken a few days, but the initial novelty of Glass, enjoying wearing it simply because I could wear it, is running thin. The haze of new gadget excitement is clearing and we can truly get down to brass tacks -- but that doesn't mean I'm not having fun. In fact I've had the opportunity to take Glass with me to do something very fun indeed: ride a Ducati 848 Streetfighter on some of the most amazing roads in the world.

Even as I did this, a jaunt more focused on gathering some exciting footage than truly evaluating the device, I learned some things -- including the fact that a Google Glass headset doesn't really fit underneath a full-face helmet. Not comfortably, anyway.

Gallery: Google Glass motorcycle ride

Filed under: Wearables

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/28/living-with-glass-day-four/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Obama chides lawmakers over flight delay fix, budget conflict (reuters)

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Created By Newbie Coders & Others, Espace Connects Meetup Organizers And Venue Owners

Some of the creators of TechCrunch Disrupt NY hackathon project Espace are still learning to code, and this was the perfect event at which to hone their skills. The six-person team designed a site this weekend to connect meetup groups with venues offering space where events can be hosted. Organizers and venue owners use the site to sign up and list their needs or what they have to offer, respectively. Espace then helps to put them in touch to broker the deal. The idea resonated with two of the group’s members in particular: husband and wife team Jamal and Felicia O’Garro. Both started learning Ruby recently, and today host a meetup group of their own. This group, started in January, is focused on helping others who are also learning to code, by offering training classes and coffee-and-coding sessions. The group meets Sundays at New York-based co-working space, Alley NYC, and despite its young age, it has already grown to around 550 members, with 30 or so showing up at each weekly session. Others working on the Espace team this weekend include David Lau, Adam Waxman,?Cavaughn Noel and Linda Peng. The site uses the Twilio API, which gives both the vendor owner and meetup organizer a virtual number that they can use to connect to discuss the details of the group’s meeting space needs. Asked if meeting organizers were really all that concerned about sharing their real phone numbers with venue owners, Jamal admitted that he was mainly interested in playing around with the Twilio API. Jamal may be a newer coder, but he’s already building software for another area startup, CommonBond?a recently seed-funded company that connects student borrowers with alumni to crowdsource funding of student loans. Whether or not Espace continues after this weekend is unknown: Jamal is turning into a hackathon junkie, it seems – this is his third in just a few months’ time, he says. Espace onstage:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/tLN8CykJmtA/

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Possible 9/11 plane landing gear part found in NYC

NEW YORK (AP) ? A rusted 5-foot-tall piece of landing gear believed to be from one of the hijacked planes destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks has been discovered near the World Trade Center wedged between a luxury apartment building and a mosque site that once prompted virulent national debate about Islam and free speech.

The twisted metal part, jammed in an 18-inch-wide sliver of open space between the buildings, has cables and levers on it and is about 17 inches wide and 4 feet long, New York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday.

"It's a manifestation of a horrific terrorist act a block and a half away from where we stand," he said. "So, sure, it brings back terrible memories to anyone who was here or who was involved in that event."

Kelly edged down the narrow passageway to look at the object Friday evening, noting there is also a piece of rope intertwined with the part in what looks like a broken pulley that may have come down from the roof of the site of the planned Islamic community center, at 51 Park Place.

The piece of equipment was discovered Wednesday by surveyors inspecting the lower Manhattan site of a planned Islamic community center on behalf of the building's owner, police said.

An inspector was on the roof and noticed the debris and then called 911. Police secured the scene, documenting it with photos.

It includes a clearly visible Boeing Co. identification number, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.

"The odds of this being wedged between there is amazing," Browne said, adding it was not surprising that it went undiscovered for more than a decade given the location. "It had to have fallen just the right way to make it into that space."

Other World Trade Center wreckage had been discovered at the buildings and around the area in years past.

Police detectives and National Transportation Safety Board investigators will determine whether the equipment is from the American Airlines plane or the United Airlines plane that slammed into the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, destroying the towers and killing nearly 3,000 people.

When plans for the Islamic center, about three blocks from ground zero, were made public in 2010, opponents said they didn't want a mosque so close to where Islamic extremists attacked. They argued the site was "sacred" because landing gear from one of the hijacked Boeing 767 jets had punctured the roof of the building on Sept. 11.

During street protests, they clashed with supporters of the center, who said it would promote harmony between Muslims and followers of other faiths.

The building includes a Muslim prayer space that has been open for three years. After protests died down, the center hosted its first exhibit last year. The space remains under renovation.

Donna Marsh O'Connor, who lost her daughter Vanessa Lang Langer in the attacks and is a member of September 11th Families for a Peaceful Tomorrow, called the landing gear discovery "bizarre."

O'Connor is a supporter of the Islamic center and said the fact that the plane fragment was found there "makes me think that this was the right place for a center that was going to heal the divide."

In a statement, Sharif El-Gamal, the president of Soho Properties, which owns 51 Park Place, said workers called the city and the police as soon as they discovered the landing gear. He said the company is cooperating with the city and the police to make sure the piece of equipment "is removed with care as quickly and effectively as possible."

The medical examiner's office will complete a health and safety evaluation to determine whether to sift the soil around the buildings for possible human remains, police said.

Patricia Riley, whose sister Lorraine Riley was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, called the landing gear discovery "very strange."

"Twelve years later we are still finding remnants of the attack on our country," she said. "... For years to come we'll continue to find things that we didn't see before. Hopefully, they'll serve as a reminder that we have to stay vigilant."

Outside the Islamic center building, known as Park51, a police officer stood next to the door on Friday and a police barricade was set up to contain the many journalists who had gathered to try to see the piece of the plane.

The landing gear could not be seen from the sidewalk so commuters rushed by and looked quizzically at the gathering.

Among the bystanders was one immersed in the legacy of the attacks: Van Vanable, heading home from his job as an ironworker building the new 1 World Trade Center.

"Amazing," he said of the find. "There's still pieces to the puzzle."

The Park51 space, a former Burlington Coat factory, is a five-story, mildly run-down building. Renovations are expected to take years and would add an auditorium, a pool, a restaurant and culinary school, a child care facility and artist studios.

The piece of plane is wedged in an alley space between that building and 50 Murray St., a luxury loft rental building.

___

Associated Press writers Tom Hays, Jennifer Peltz, Colleen Long and Karen Matthews in New York and David B. Caruso in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/possible-9-11-plane-landing-gear-part-found-220156560.html

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Beyond pen sets and paper weights: Gifts fit for a president

(Getty Images)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama could stroll around the White House in matching Dior bathrobes and Brazilian soccer jerseys before he grabs his $7,750 golf bag or goes for a ride on his bamboo bicycle while listening to his new 2GB iPod shuffle ? all courtesy of the bewildering array of gifts that world leaders showered on the first couple in 2011.

The list also includes shirts, pens, sculptures, quite a few rugs (way to think outside the box, Afghan leaders!), the occasional flavored liquor, a deluxe package of items linked to the Polish-made video-game "Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" and one small sword.

The State Department?s office of the chief of protocol on Friday released the list of presents American government officials received from foreign government officials.

[Related: Search and sort all gifts to Obama, Biden and their families.]

Not to worry: The Obamas won?t be keeping the $52,695 gift from Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of the Gabonese Republic. Like most of the items bestowed on the first couple, Ondimba's gift?a ?14? blue mask sculpture by Daum, on a 10? black and silver stand, enclosed in 34? x 16? x 13? red box? is at the National Archives. The U.S. requires all such gifts to be reported and turned over to the archives or other institutions for display. These are not, in short, bribes.

From the list, it appears that the only thing Obama "personally retained" from his 2011 haul is the book ?Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World,? by Jack Weatherford. The president received that work, which retails for $23.95 on Amazon, from his Mongolian counterpart, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.

Next to each item is an entry entitled "circumstances justifying acceptance." For gifts to the Obamas, it reads: "Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. government."

Gifts to the first family totaled $243,970.96. Of that, items for the president himself totaled $194,125.33; those to the first couple ran $21,438.78; those to the first lady were $22,343.59; and those to daughters Malia and Sasha, $6,063.26.

A Yahoo News review of the gifts shows no obvious thread?not like in 2004, when George W. Bush received a bunch of guns, including a $10,000 sniper's rifle, and a "Worst-Case Survival Handbook." But golf is a big theme for this president, and there are some standouts. The second most-pricey present appears to have come from Sergio Cabral, governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Cabral gave Obama a photograph by artist Vik Muniz entitled "Marat (Sebastiao)." Declared value? $40,000. (Symbolic value? Potentially priceless: Jean-Paul Marat was a radical journalist during the French Revolution. He was murdered in his bathtub.)

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk showed off his hometown pride by giving Obama a lavish package with "Witcher 2"-themed presents and Polish vodka. Here's how the chief of protocol describes the loot:

DVD, title: ?Best of the Witcher 2: Video Trailers for President Barack Obama,? distributor: Atari. Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka. Book, title: ?Blood of Elves,? by Andrzej Sapkowski. Book, title: ?The Last Wish,? by Andrzej Sapkowski. Set of four 2? x 1.5? clear glass liqueur glasses, each has ?Zubrowka? engraved in white. 13.5? x 9.75? x 4.5? ?Witcher 2? gift box, inside are three golden ?Witcher 2? coins, a ?Witcher 2? book, ?Witcher 2? stickers, ?Witcher 2? make your own aircraft. 5.5? x 6.5? x 3? ivory-colored bust of ?Witcher 2? character ?Gwynbleioo,? a DVD box set of ?Witcher 2? bonus DVD, Game DVD, and Game Guide. ?Witcher 2? playing cards, and 5 wooden die in black sack with ?Witcher 2? emblem. 11.75? x 7? x 5? brown leather carrying case with handles and lock. Rec'd?5/28/2011. Est. Value?$497.08.

Then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy gave Obama the "large, black Hermes golf accessory bag, including set of lock and key, and extra strap in bottom compartment" valued at $7,750?but didn't stop there. Non, monsieur. On other occasions, "Sarko" and his wife presented Obama with a "Lacoste white classic men's polo shirt," a fountain pen, "six black glass goblets in a plastic display case" and a 14"-tall "blue-gray glass sculpture of Bucephalus, Alexander the Great's horse."

And in August 2011, with Washington consumed by the debt-ceiling crisis, the Sarkozys again played to Obama's fondness for golf, giving him a "Crystal golf statuette by Baccarat, depicting a golfer with his iron pitched over his head in the moment before striking a ball. Black Hermes golf travel bag with canvas cover and carrying strap," all for an estimated value of $1,650. Were they done? Nope.

In December 2011, they gave Obama a Louis Vuitton "men's business bag" embossed with "B.O." That was valued at $2,310.

The Sarkozys' generosity didn?t stop there. A Hermes beach towel, a fancy Laguiole letter opener, a reusable grocery tote bag (in case the Obamas don?t want to pay the 5-cent D.C. plastic bag tax?), ?his and hers white, belted Dior bathrobes with ?Dior? embroidered on the breast pocket,? and one of the more amazing gifts on the list. Take it away, State Department chief of protocol:

17? tall Plexiglas sculpture, entitled ?Wrapping Flag Candy USA,? depicting an upright ?Tootsie Roll? with an American flag patterned wrapper, on a 6? x 6.75? x 0.75? clear Plexiglass base, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

If you think the good people at the chief of protocol?s office struggled with that one, check out their description of the $778 present from South Korean President Lee Myung-back and first lady Kim Yoon-ok

11? x 14.5? x 7? Korean, black lacquer jewelry box with mother of pearl inlay that depicts landscapes and birds, and has bureau-style doors with turtle-shaped doorknobs on the front and a drawer below, with an inner compartment that has three smaller drawers on the left and a section for hanging necklaces on the right.

Note to members of Congress: If Obama gives you a 9.5? by 12? signed and framed photo of Denmark?s queen and its prince, he?s regifting.

The Philippines ambassador and his wife gave Obama the bamboo bicycle ($1,060). German Chancellor Angela Merkel also thought ?golf!? She gave Obama a $1,400 care package comprising a ?Kramski putter set, includes: 35? HPP 340 putter with two protective club head covers, teal HPT 40 training console, HPS 30 Aim Aid set, book title: 'The Kramski Putt Philosophy.'"

You know what Qatar?s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, probably didn?t hear from Obama? Anything resembling ?Oh, I already have one just like it.? The emir gave Obama a ?30? circumference gold and silver base with silver statues of two wild goats and a tree with gold clock hanging from it, depicting a desert scene.?

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper seems to have been the only one to zero in on Obama?s other sports passion: basketball.

Harper gave Obama a basketball signed by the 2010-2011 Toronto Raptors.

The list also includes items to Vice President Joe Biden and other officials.

Three Senate Democrats, Jon Tester of Montana, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Carl Levin of Michigan, each received silver Janbiyas from Dr. Rashad Mohamed Al-Alimi, the deputy prime minister for security forces of the Republic of Yemen. Janbiyas are thick, ornate knives that curve at the blade commonly worn at the belt.

Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine each were given an iPod Touch and an incense burner from King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. (Recommended listening for that gift combination here.)

(Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

Chris Moody contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-foreign-gifts-7-750-golf-bag-40-163656900.html

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