Engadget UK Giveaway: win a Sony Xperia Z courtesy of Expansys

With Sony's latest flagship making its UK debut this week, what better way to celebrate than giving one away? The kind people at Expansys have donated a device for one lucky reader in the UK, while the handset is still only open to pre-orders. If you've entered one of our giveaways before, you may think you know the drill -- but hold up there sonny, as things have changed. Head past the break, and you'll be greeted with our new super competition entry machine (well, widget). Now you have a choice of methods to let you take part, and you can enter more than once should you so choose. If you preferred the old way, you can still comment to enter, but be sure to tell us via the widget or we'll never know (but we will check that you did comment). Entries are open until 12pm (GMT) / 5pm ET Friday morning, and be sure to read the terms and conditions. Well... what are you waiting for?

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Source: Expansys UK

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Seven Practical and Easy Ways to Help a New Mom - Thriving Home

Motherhood confession: I had a very hard time transitioning to motherhood when my first child was born. For a lot of reasons I really struggled to enjoy that season of life. God got me through it and taught me A LOT but it was tough. Because of my experience, I have a heart for mamas going through the transition of adding a new one to the family.

One thing that really helped me through those first few weeks was the outpouring of help and support from friends and family. I felt so loved and blessed by all of the things people did to reach out to my husband and I.

I wanted to share a post that I wrote almost two years ago. I?ve updated it a bit and added a few things but most of it was written from a new mom?s perspective. I hope that it can give you a gentle nudge to help out any new moms that you know.

We are about 8 weeks in to this whole baby thing and I can?t tell you how blessed I have been by my friends and family. I have seen such an amazing support group rise up and help us in so many ways. So thank you friends and family. You have no idea how much you have carried us through these 8 weeks.

There have been numerous ways that people have helped us out. I wanted to mention some of them as not only a reminder to myself in the future but also to help others without kids know how to help out a new mom. Here are some ways to truly bless a new mom.

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1. Bring Them a Meal

We had meals brought to us on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 6 weeks! It was incredible. We scarfed all of it up and shed a tear when the meals stopped coming. I had always thought this was a nice thing to do for new moms but having personally experienced it now, I realize that it is vital to survival. OK, that?s an exaggeration. But seriously, my husband and I would have been living off of cereal and frozen pizza for 6 weeks if we didn?t have meals coming our way.

Here?s a helpful tip: include some breakfast food! In those first few weeks, I barely got around to eating breakfast. After being up half the night and the extra calories spent nursing, I was often famished in the morning but didn?t have a spare moment to eat anything other than cereal. When we had a friend drop off coffee cake, I couldn?t be happier!

If you need some meal ideas, we have tons of yummy, healthy freezer meals in our?Recipe Index. A freezer meal is ideal in case the family ?already has meal plans lined up when you bring them something.

Oh, one more suggestion: Make them a meal in their home! (Only if you have a close enough relationship that is). We had friends come over and just take over our kitchen and made us dinner. I loved it. Not only was the company a breath of fresh air but we got a great, fresh meal out of it. I also had friends come over and do the same thing for breakfast. Those were some of my favorite mornings.

A helpful (and free) website to organize meals for a friend is?Takethemameal.com. As a friend of a new mom, you create an online meal sign up for friends to fill out. It?s a great way to spread out meals that will be delivered to the new mom as well as making sure the family doesn?t get 6 rounds of lasagna.

2. Just Hang Out

In those first few weeks, I was bored. Lonely. Things just felt so quiet. Coming off of a very social and high energy job, it was really hard to be home so much. I craved people being around. I simply just wanted someone there. I didn?t care what we were doing. Just the presence and conversation of a good friend brightened my day. Bring a movie over, show up with Sonic drinks, have a happy hour, etc. Just be present!

However, be careful not to interfere with potential naps the new mom could be taking. Even though? I loved having people around, there would be times that I really just wanted to sleep! Just make sure to ask if it?s a good time to come by and be aware the new mom will be pretty tired.

3. Clean

Want to really humble yourself and help a new mom out? Clean for them. I had a friend and some family do this and I can?t tell you how blessed I felt. Since I was healing up from a C-Section, I could hardly do anything. I had a lot of people in and out so I wanted my house to be somewhat in order. When my mother in-law vacuumed my whole house, I couldn?t have been happier. When a friend showed up to clean my kitchen and bathrooms, I could have cried (tears of joy). Cleaning is where it?s at. This one takes a bit more work and isn?t as fun but I?m telling you- it?s the thing to do!

4. Share Media

In the beginning there is so much down time spent nursing. It was really hard for me to sit still for 30-40 minutes every two hours. I really ?appreciated when a friend of mine dropped off two books that she really liked and suggested I read. It?s super easy to read while nursing. I also used the time to listen to a few sermons on my ipod. A very thoughtful thing to give a new mom is a good book, sermon, magazine, or even music to listen to. With my next baby I plan to stock up on a few good books so I have something to look forward to reading!

5. Call or Text Frequently

I had a friend who seriously texted me almost every day for the first 3 weeks. She simply asked how the night went or how the day was going or how I was doing. I felt so loved by the fact that she thought to text me every day! Even if I couldn?t answer texts or calls sometimes, the fact that people were reaching out to me meant so much. So don?t hesitate to call. Even if a new mom can?t talk at the moment, she will appreciate the gesture.

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6. ?Take Their Other Kid(s) Out

As I anticipate the arrival of our next baby, I am growing anxious about my busy-bodied toddler. We are used to going out and about every day and I know that having a new born will limit our outings. I think one of the most helpful things for this next time around will be for someone to simply come by and take my daughter on a fun outing. It can be as simple as walking around the mall or taking her to a park. This would not only make her feel special but it would give the new mom a much needed break. Offer to take one (or) all of their kids out ? even if it is only for an hour or so. This would be MUCH appreciated!

7. Pray

Sounds obvious and not very tangible but seriously, this is what I needed most from people. Being a new mom is hard. It?s a huge transition. It?s tiring and filled with crazy hormones. It?s stressful at times and can wear a soul thin. What I needed more than any of the things above was strength from the Lord. I needed an eternal perspective of my new role as a mom. I needed truth in the hard moments. I needed the Holy Spirit?s strength and guidance on an hourly basis. I needed prayer. So if you know a new mom, keep them in your prayers.

Source: http://thrivinghomeblog.com/2013/02/seven-practical-and-easy-ways-to-help-a-new-mom/

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Colleges, theaters to create new Civil War plays

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Four major universities are joining theater companies in Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Atlanta in a project to commission new plays, music and dance compositions about the Civil War and its lasting legacy 150 years later.

The National Civil War Project is being announced Thursday in Washington and will involve programming over the next two years to mark the 150th anniversary of the war between the North and the South. Beyond commissioning new works, organizers plan for university faculty to integrate the arts into their academic programs on campus.

Under the program, Harvard University will partner with the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass.; the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center will join CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore; George Washington University is working with Arena Stage in Washington, and Atlanta's Alliance Theatre will join Emory University.

Each collaboration will evoke unique perspectives on the Civil War in each region.

At Harvard, a new piece called "The Boston Abolitionists" about the abolitionist movement and the trial of a fugitive slave will be performed in May. Separately, Matthew Aucoin, an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, is using Walt Whitman's poetry about being a medic to develop a new opera.

In Atlanta, Alliance Theatre and Emory will develop a new theatrical production of U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Native Guard," with a workshop planned for 2014. It recounts the story of a black Civil War regiment assigned to guard white Confederate soldiers on Ship Island off Mississippi's Gulf Coast.

Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith, who helped guide the project, said this is a chance to reevaluate the Civil War and consider the issues that still resonate in American life.

"This is an anniversary of what is arguably one of the most important times in American history," she said. "And the same questions behind state rights and civil rights continue to infuse who we are as a country."

In September, the University of Maryland will host a national conference on civil rights and health disparities among minority populations to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Choreographer Liz Lerman, a 2002 MacArthur Foundation "genius" fellow, helped in developing the partnerships between theaters and universities during a semester spent at Harvard. She said artists can help professors animate their scholarship as more traditional lectures move online, and the Civil War is a good subject to connect art and academics.

"It's something about the fact that we're still trying to understand it," Lerman said. "There are enough civil wars still going on in the world, I myself am trying to understand what it must be like."

Lerman is developing a new dance theater piece in Washington called "Healing Wars" to explore the role of women and innovations in healing for amputees from the Civil War through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Characters will migrate between past and present. The piece will feature actor Bill Pullman and eight dancers.

Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, a Civil War historian, has been leading the university to integrate the arts with academic pursuits, through theater, exhibits or other art forms.

"Engaging students through art and art-making is one of the ways in which universities prepare young women and men for life in a world that is far better connected and far more complex than at any other point in human history," she wrote in an email about the Civil War project.

At this anniversary of the war, she said it's important to remember how the values of freedom and equality were defined in President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address as the war's purpose.

George Washington University President Steven Knapp said the Civil War transformed American history, culture and industry ? even the concept of American democracy by redefining equality. Tackling such a subject between academia and theater could provide a new model for learning, he said.

"It's an experiment," Knapp said, "to see how far we can go in bringing together the strengths of the university and the strengths of the theater company."

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Follow Brett Zongker at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colleges-theaters-create-civil-war-plays-050454580.html

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PFT: Alex Smith to Chiefs? |? Ratto: He'll be missed

Reuters

The 49ers won?t only acquire the Chiefs? 2013 second-round pick in the planned trade for quarterback Alex Smith. San Francisco is also set to get a valuable pick next year.

A league source tells PFT?s Mike Florio that the 2014 conditional pick in the trade is the Chiefs? 2014 third-rounder, which can become a second-rounder if certain benchmarks are met.

So the 49ers are set up to be players on the second day of this year?s draft, and they?ll be players on the second day of next year?s draft, too. It?s an enviable position to be in: San Francisco was already a Super Bowl team with Alex Smith standing on the sideline, and the 49ers will be well positioned to stay at or near the top of the league thanks to the draft picks they acquired for trading Smith.

The Smith trade is the biggest part of the 49ers? broader strategy of compiling additional draft picks, and that strategy has them very well suited to bolster their roster in April: The 49ers have all their own picks this year, plus the Chiefs? second-round pick, the Panthers? third-round pick, the Colts? fifth-round pick, the Dolphins? sixth round pick and the Bengals? seventh round pick. So the 49ers are already picking twice in five of the draft?s seven rounds, and that?s before any compensatory picks they might get.

With a good team in place and a hoard of future draft picks, the 49ers are a franchise in great shape.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/27/report-49ers-have-agreed-to-send-alex-smith-to-kc/related/

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Zynga Joins Gamble on Online Gambling | Mobile Marketing Watch

February 26, 2013 -- By Jared

Last week, MMW reported on the surge among Silicon Valley investors and other digital powerhouses looking to bet on the next billion-dollar industry: online and mobile casino games.

On Tuesday, another giant name in the social gaming space stood up to plant its flag in this burgeoning real-money gaming arena.

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says his company will make gambling games more social. First market? The U.K.

?It makes it more exciting than when you?re by yourself in an anonymous poker room,? Pincus said today, confirming his company?s aims for later this year.

According to CNET, Zynga will introduce real-money gaming to a mass market ?in the same way it introduced social gaming to the general public.?

?We?re not the company to win the hardcore real-money gamers,? Pincus reveals. ?But we think we are for the mass market audience.?

With states like Nevada and New Jersey rapidly moving to legalize online gambling, there?s no telling how soon before companies like Zynga and others make the U.S. their central focus in online gambling.

But that day is rapidly approaching.

Source: http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/zynga-joins-gamble-on-online-gambling-29732/

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Man rescues dog from block of floating ice (VIDEO)

Pifas, a three-year-old golden retriever mix, was rescued by a kind stranger who helped guide the dog to safety after it became stranded on a block of ice in a frozen lake.

NBCNews.com reports that Pifas disappeared from his owner?s home and was missing for over a week before he was spotted some 200 feet from shore on Lake Michigan by local resident Dave Kehnast.

?I was up on the fire escape there on the seventh floor and I saw him way out there, and so I grabbed the kayak and went out there,? Kehnast said.

When Kehnast realized the dog was not able to get back to shore on his own, he donned a wetsuit, got into a kayak and headed out to save the starving and confused dog, according to Opposing View.

Pifas? owner, Nerijus Steponavicius, said the dog had gotten out while his landlord was changing locks on the doors to his apartment building while Steponavicius was at school for the day.

Kehnast says Pifas was too afraid and confused to be picked up. Instead, Kehnast had to yell commands and encouragement to the dog to help guide him back to shore.

?I just kept encouraging him, ?here boy, here boy, here boy,?? Kehnast told Opposing Views. ?I got really close to him and he wanted to bite me so I just stayed on me and at that point I could get into the water and just hustled him along. I wanted to just grab him because it was shallow enough where I could stand, and I just wanted to get my hands on him but he wanted to bite me, it looked like. He didn?t want anyone touching him.?

The Chicago Fire Department also assisted, flying in a helicopter to help drive Pifas closer to shore.

After Pifas made it back to shore, he was taken to a nearby veterinary clinic for recovery and monitoring. He was reunited with Steponavicius, who reportedly learned of his dog?s rescue after family members alerted him to stories appearing on the news.

"He's really shy and he started jumping," Steponavicius said.

Of course, it was not an entirely happy ending for the adventurous golden retriever. Officials said Pifas had to be neutered before they agreed to turn him back over to his owner.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/man-rescues-dog-block-floating-ice-video-231555617.html

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High-stakes trial resumes over 2010 Gulf oil spill

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? A University of California-Berkeley engineer who played a prominent role in investigating levee breeches in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is scheduled to be the first witness Tuesday at a trial involving another Gulf Coast catastrophe: the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Robert Bea, an expert witness for the plaintiffs who sued BP PLC and other companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, will share his theories about what caused BP's Macondo well to blow out on April 20, 2010, provoking an explosion on the Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and spewed an estimated 172 millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf.

Bea's testimony was scheduled for the second day of a civil trial that could result in the oil company and its partners being forced to pay tens of billions of dollars more in damages. The case went to trial Monday after attempts to reach an 11th-hour settlement failed.

The second witness slated to appear on the stand is Lamar McKay, president of BP America. The highest-ranking executive of BP scheduled to testify in the courtroom, McKay is likely to discuss corporate decisions that were made throughout the duration of the disaster. It was not clear if there would be time for his testimony Tuesday, however. Other BP officials were expected to give videotaped testimony.

In pretrial depositions and in an expert report, Bea argued along with another consultant that BP showed a disregard for safety throughout the company and was reckless in its actions ? the same arguments made in opening statements Monday by attorneys for the U.S. government and individuals and businesses hurt by the spill.

Attorneys for BP tried to block the testimony of Bea, whom they accused of analyzing documents and evidence "spoon-fed" to him by plaintiffs lawyers. BP accused Bea and the other expert, William Gale, a California-based fire and explosion investigator and consultant, of ignoring the "safety culture of the other parties" involved in the spill, in particular Transocean Ltd., the drilling company running operations aboard the Deepwater Horizon.

Gale does not appear on a list of potential witnesses to be called during the trial.

Just last year, Bea testified for plaintiffs who sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over broken levees in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

In opening statements Monday, U.S. Justice Department attorney Mike Underhill said the catastrophe resulted from BP's "culture of corporate recklessness."

"The evidence will show that BP put profits before people, profits before safety and profits before the environment," Underhill said. "Despite BP's attempts to shift the blame to other parties, by far the primary fault for this disaster belongs to BP."

BP attorney Mike Brock acknowledged that the oil company made mistakes. But he accused Transocean of failing to properly maintain the rig's blowout preventer, which had a dead battery, and he claimed cement contractor Halliburton used a "bad slurry" that failed to prevent oil and gas from traveling up the well.

BP has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges and has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses, including cleanup costs, compensation for businesses and individuals, and $4 billion in criminal penalties.

But the federal government, Gulf Coast states and individuals and businesses hope to convince a federal judge that the company and its partners in the ill-fated drilling project are liable for much more in civil damages under the Clean Water Act and other environmental regulations.

One of the biggest questions facing U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is hearing the case without a jury, is whether BP acted with gross negligence.

Under the Clean Water Act, a polluter can be forced to pay a minimum of $1,100 per barrel of spilled oil; the fines nearly quadruple to about $4,300 a barrel for companies found grossly negligent, meaning BP could be on the hook for nearly $18 billion.

The judge plans to hold the trial in at least two phases. The first phase, which could last three months, is designed to determine what caused the blowout and assign percentages of blame to the companies involved. The second phase will determine what efforts the companies made to stop oil from spilling, and how much crude actually spilled into the Gulf.

During opening statements, BP and its partners pointed the finger at each other in a tangle of accusations and counter-accusations. But BP got the worst of it, from its partners and the plaintiffs in the case.

Jim Roy, who represents individuals and businesses hurt by the spill, said BP executives applied "huge financial pressure" to "cut costs and rush the job." The project was more than $50 million over budget and behind schedule at the time of the blowout, Roy said.

"BP repeatedly chose speed over safety," Roy said, quoting from a report by an expert who may testify.

Roy said the spill also resulted from Transocean's "woeful" safety culture and failure to properly train its crew. And Roy said Halliburton provided BP with a product that was "poorly designed, not properly tested and was unstable."

Brad Brian, a lawyer for Transocean, said the company had an experienced, well-trained crew on the rig. He said the Transocean workers' worst mistake may have been placing too much trust in the BP supervisors on the rig.

"And they paid for that trust with their lives," Brian said. "They died not because they weren't trained properly. They died because critical information was withheld from them."

A lawyer for Halliburton defended the company's work and tried to pin the blame on BP and Transocean.

"If BP had shut in the well, we would not be here today," Halliburton's Donald Godwin said.

Brock said Transocean's crew members ultimately were responsible for well control on the rig and didn't need permission from BP supervisors to shut in the well.

"Shut in the well, then seek advice," he said.

Underhill, the Justice Department attorney, heaped blame on BP for cost-cutting decisions made in the months and weeks leading up the disaster. He said two BP rig supervisors, Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, disregarded abnormally high pressure readings that should have been glaring indications of trouble.

Kaluza and Vidrine have been indicted on federal manslaughter charges.

The 2010 spill fouled marshes, killed wildlife and closed fishing grounds. Scientists warn that the disaster's full effect may not be known for years. But they have reported dying coral reefs and fish afflicted with lesions and illnesses that might be oil-related.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/high-stakes-trial-resumes-over-2010-gulf-oil-102125525.html

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Celebrity Couples That Chose To Elope! (Photos)

Celebrity Couples That Chose To Elope! (Photos)

Not all celebrities want lavish, over-the-top weddings. Some Hollywood couples decide to skip the wedding-planning madness to run off and marry and party with friends and family later. Let’s check out some celebrity couples that chose to elope and see who lasted and who didn’t! Salma Hayek & Francois-Henri Pinault Actress Salma Hayek eloped with ...

Celebrity Couples That Chose To Elope! (Photos) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/02/celebrity-couples-that-chose-to-elope-photos/

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Spiderman's webbing would be strong enough to stop a moving train, say physics students

Feb. 25, 2013 ? In Spiderman 2, the superhero uses his webbing to bring a runaway train to a standstill moments before it plummets over the end of the track. But could a material with the strength and toughness of spiders' web really stop four crowded subway cars?

According to University of Leicester physics students, the answer is yes.

A group of three fourth year MPhys students calculated the material properties of webbing needed in these conditions -- and found that the strength of the web would be proportional to that of real spiders.

Their paper, Doing whatever a spider can, was published in the latest volume of the University of Leicester's Journal of Physics Special Topics.

The journal is published every year, and features original short papers written by students in the final year of their four-year Master of Physics degree.

The students are encouraged to be imaginative with their topics, and the aim is for them to learn about aspects of publishing and peer review.

Students James Forster, Mark Bryan and Alex Stone first calculated the force needed to stop the four R160 New York City subway cars.

To do this, they used the momentum of the train at full speed, the time it takes the train to come to rest after the webs are attached, and the driving force of the powered R160 subway car.

The students found the force Spiderman's webs exert on the train to be 300,000 newtons.

They were then able to calculate the strength and toughness of the webs.

They found that the Young's modulus -- or stiffness -- of the web would be 3.12 gigapascals. This is very reasonable for spider's silk, which ranges from 1.5 gigapascals to 12 gigapascals in the orb-weaver spiders.

The toughness of the silk was calculated as almost 500 megajoules per cubic metre. This is in line with web from a Darwin's Bark Spider -- an orb-weaver with the strongest known webbing of any spider.

They conclude that the "friendly neighbourhood" superhero's webbing is indeed a proportional equivalent of that of a real spider -- and, consequently, it would be feasible for him to stop a moving train.

Alex Stone, 21, from Kingston upon Thames, said: "It is often quoted that spider-webs are stronger than steel, so we thought it would be interesting to see whether this held true for Spiderman's scaled up version. Considering the subject matter we were surprised to find out that the webbing was portrayed accurately."

James Forster, 22, from Wisbech, said: "While our work may not seem to be very serious it has helped teach us about applying physics to varying situations as well as the peer review process through which scientific journals operate. This makes it an invaluable experience to anyone who wants to go into research later in life."

Course leader Dr Mervyn Roy, a lecturer at the University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, said: "A lot of the papers published in the Journal are on subjects that are amusing, topical, or a bit off-the-wall. Our fourth years are nothing if not creative!

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Leicester, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. M. Bryan, J. Forster and A. Stone. Doing whatever a spider can. Journal of Physics Special Topics, 2013 [link]

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/Pu8A4wmIYkA/130225092040.htm

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Tabasco CEO Paul McIlhenny, Bayou bon vivant, dies

Jane Sutton, Reuters ? ? ? 7 hrs.

Paul McIlhenny, the chairman and chief executive of the Louisiana company that makes Tabasco brand pepper sauce, has died at age 68, the McIlhenny Co said on Sunday.

McIlhenny died on Saturday, the family-owned company said in a news release that described him as "a true bon vivant" whose passions included hunting, fishing, wine-tasting and game cooking.

He was a sixth-generation member of the McIlhenny family to live on Avery Island in the southern Louisiana bayou, and a fourth-generation member to produce pepper sauces sold worldwide under the Tabasco brand.

The McIlhenny company was founded in 1868 on Avery Island. It supplies hot sauce to the U.S. presidential plane Air Force One and to Britain's royal family, the Times-Picayune newspaper said on its website.

Paul McIlhenny joined the company in 1967 and directly oversaw the production of its sauces for 13 years, expanding both its line of spicy sauces and the array of aprons, neckties and other merchandise bearing the familiar red-and-green Tabasco logo.

He spent much of his time in New Orleans and in 2006 he reigned as Rex, the first King of Carnival during Mardi Gras celebrations after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

"All of McIlhenny Company and the McIlhenny and Avery families are deeply saddened by this news," said Tony Simmons, president of McIlhenny Co and fifth-generation McIlhenny family member. "We will clearly miss Paul's devoted leadership but will more sorely feel the loss of his acumen, his charm and his irrepressible sense of humor."

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/tabasco-ceo-paul-mcilhenny-dies-age-68-1C8516292

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General Dynamics locks down Android, demos ultra-secure LG Optimus 3D Max

General Dynamics doesn't exactly make the sexiest gear in the world. But, it sure has this secure gadget thing on lockdown. The NSA contractor is moving to ensure that Android is as snoop proof as can be with its new GD Protected software. The heart of the system is a sandboxed virtual instance of Android that delivers the sort of security features demanded by governments and the military (and some particularly paranoid businesses). That isolated OS runs alongside a standard Android install that you can use for personal purposes, while keeping your sensitive data on the secure side -- not unlike BlackBerry Balance. There's two layers of encryption separating the virtual install from the standard one, along with hardware security provided by Fixmo. The company has worked with LG, the DoD and the USMC to build a customized version of the Optimus 3D Max to showcase how the software works. The device even has a dedicated button that lets you quickly and seamlessly switch between the personal and secure personas, indicated by green and red borders, respectively. If you're not really keen on equipping your foot soldiers with last year's mediocre LG handset (and have no need for super secure stereoscopic snapshots) then you'll probably be happy to hear that General Dynamics will be bringing GD Protected to the Galaxy S III as well. The platform has been integrated into Samsung's own security solution, dubbed KNOX, and will be available sometime in Q2 of this year. For a few more details, check out the video demo and PR after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/general-dynamics-locks-down-android/

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Conserving corals by understanding their genes

Friday, February 22, 2013

In reef-building corals variations within genes involved in immunity and response to stress correlate to water temperature and clarity, finds a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genetics. This information could be used to conserve or rebuild reefs in areas affected by climate change, by changes in extreme weather patterns, increasing sedimentation or altered land use.

A research team led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and in collaboration with Penn State University and the Aix-Marseille University, studied DNA variations (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, SNPs) across populations of reef corals found at a range of temperatures and water clarity along the Great Barrier Reef.

SNPs which correlated to water clarity and water temperature preferred by cauliflower coral were found in genes involved in providing immune response, and regulating stress-induced cell-death. This means that coral with a specific version of these genes tended to grow at higher temperatures (or water clarity) and another variant at lower. A similar story was found for staghorn coral - SNP in genes involved in detoxification, immune response, and defense against reactive oxygen damage, were found to be associated with temperature or to water clarity.

Dr Petra Lundgren, from The Australian Institute of Marine Science, explained, "Corals are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Not only is the temperature of the water they live in affected but extreme weather and higher rainfall leads to increased levels of sediment, agricultural runoff, and fresh water on the reef. This work opens up possibilities for us to enhance reef resilience and recovery from impacts of climate change and pollution. For example, if in the future we need to restore coral populations, we can make sure that we use the most robust strains of corals to do so."

###

BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com

Thanks to BioMed Central for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126981/Conserving_corals_by_understanding_their_genes

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Panetta, NATO partner, differ on troop numbers

BRUSSELS (AP) ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his NATO counterparts are considering leaving 8,000 to 12,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014, but it was unclear how much of that force would be American, U.S. officials said Friday.

A dispute flared, but was quickly dissipated at the NATO defense ministers gathering here to discuss the endgame of the 11-year-old war in Afghanistan.

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters that a post-2014 force of 8,000 to 10,000 American troops would remain in Afghanistan. Panetta denied that, saying the force of 8,000 to 12,000 would be international and the makeup was still under discussion.

Within hours, de Maiziere said his comments were "misleading," and that the force remaining would be international.

President Barack Obama has said that the last combat troops will leave Afghanistan on Dec. 31, 2014, leaving the bulk of the country's security in the hands of the Afghans.

Panetta, who will leave Obama's Cabinet when his successor is confirmed, told reporters that he and the NATO partners talked about ranges of options for the post-2014 troop force. And he said the figures reflected contributions that other nations would make, in addition to the United States.

"There's no question in the current budget environment, with deep cuts in European defense spending and the kind of political gridlock that we see in the United States now with regards to our own budget, is putting at risk our ability to effectively act together," he said. "As I prepare to step down as secretary of defense, I do fear that the alliance will soon be, if it is not already, stretched too thin."

His spokesman, George Little, told reporters that the range for an international force was 8,000 to 12,000, and that Obama had not yet decided on the size of the post-2014 force in Afghanistan.

"We will continue to discuss with allies and the Afghans how we can best carry out two basic missions: targeting the remnants of al-Qaida and its affiliates, and training and equipping Afghan forces," he said.

Panetta said officials are planning to leave troops in all sectors of the country as well as in Kabul. Pentagon officials have said the military has mapped out plans to carry on its mission of training and advising the Afghan forces and also leave a small counterterrorism force to battle insurgents.

When asked about troop numbers, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that no decision had yet been made.

The Obama administration is considering a plan to maintain 352,000 Afghan troops for the next five years as part of an effort to maintain security and help convince Afghanistan that America and its allies will not abandon it once combat troops leave in 2014, senior alliance officials said Thursday. NATO officials are also widely considering that option.

Such a change, if NATO endorses it, could increase the costs to the U.S. and allies by more than $2 billion a year, at a time when most are struggling with budget cuts and fiscal woes. Last May, NATO agreed to underwrite an Afghan force of about 230,000, at a cost of about $4.1 billion a year after 2014. It costs about $6.5 billion this year to fund the current Afghan force of 352,000, and the U.S. is providing about $5.7 billion of that.

Panetta said Friday that he can defend that spending to Congress because it would give the U.S. more flexibility and savings as it withdraws troops from Afghanistan.

Maintaining the larger troop strength could bolster the confidence of the Afghan forces and make it clear that NATO is committed to an enduring relationship with Afghanistan, a senior NATO official said.

In private meetings with other defense ministers, Panetta warned allies that Washington's fiscal impasse will have repercussions abroad, as impending budget cuts force the military to scale back its training and presence overseas.

Many of his meetings, however, centered on the plans to wind down the war in Afghanistan, including the withdrawal of 34,000 U.S. troops over the next year and the transfer of security responsibilities to the Afghan forces.

According to an Obama administration official, the Pentagon plans to reduce the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan to about 60,500 by the end of May; then to 52,500 by November, keeping a relatively stable number of troops there during the peak fighting season. The sharpest cuts in U.S. troop strength will come over the winter months as the remaining 20,500 leave after the main fighting season. There currently are about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Panetta acknowledged those ranges of numbers on Friday, but also added that the U.S. would maintain the 34,000 through the Afghan elections, then withdraw the final combat troops toward the end of 2014.

The administration officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the numbers publicly.

This is Panetta's fifth visit to Brussels for a NATO meeting ? a trip he never intended to take. Expectations were that defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, would be confirmed by the Senate last week and he would travel to the meeting.

Hagel's nomination stalled, however, as it got caught up in senators' complaints about the attack in Benghazi, which left four Americans dead, including the ambassador. There are indications now that Hagel has support from enough senators to be confirmed next week.

___

Associated Press writers Don Melvin and Julie Pace contributed to this report.

___

Lolita C. Baldor can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lbaldor

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/panetta-nato-partner-differ-troop-numbers-134115846.html

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Yemen security chief escapes gunmen as three die in south

ADEN (Reuters) - A Yemeni security chief survived an assassination attempt on Saturday in the south of the country, where three people were killed in clashes between his forces and separatists.

The Defence Ministry said Abdulwahab al-Wali, head of the central security forces, escaped the attack by unknown gunmen in the town of Mukalla, but two of his bodyguards were wounded.

Southern Yemen, which was an independent state until 1990, is troubled by both separatist unrest and an insurgency led by Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda, a source of concern to Gulf states and the West.

Wali survived a previous assassination attempt last year, one of a string of attacks on military, political and militia leaders and officials. Many have been blamed on the Islamists, but the authorities did not say whether any group was suspected of Saturday's shooting.

In other developments, medical and security sources said three people were killed and 14 wounded in clashes between Yemeni security forces and separatists in the south.

Separatist leaders had called for a day of civil disobedience in major southern towns and cities after the deaths of six people in protests on Thursday.

The resurgent movement for a south Yemen state has aggravated political instability in the Arabian Peninsula country, where Washington fears political chaos is giving al Qaeda space to operate.

Shops, bakeries and schools were closed in many southern cities and transport was paralyzed after roads were blocked with stones and burning tyres, witnesses said. Many government employees did not turn up for work.

PARTY HQ ON FIRE

In Aden, capital of the former South Yemen, one person was killed and nine were wounded in clashes on Saturday, medical sources said. Witnesses said armored vehicles patrolled the streets.

One person was killed in Mukalla and another in Ghayl ba Wazir district in eastern Yemen, while five were wounded, the sources said. The Islah party, one of the most powerful in Yemen, said separatists had set fire to its headquarters in Mukalla.

North and south Yemen were unified in 1990 after the Communist-led southern government collapsed. Northern forces won a brief civil war four years later after the south tried to secede from the union.

The secessionist movement gained strength during mass, nationwide street protests against former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011, which forced the veteran strongman from office a year ago.

Southern Yemenis complain of discrimination by the government in the north. Yemen, which borders the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, is also facing a northern rebellion by Shi'ite Muslims.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ten-wounded-clashes-between-yemen-government-separatists-091353940.html

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Feds join civil lawsuit against Lance Armstrong

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has failed to talk the U.S. government out of suing him to recover sponsorship money that the U.S. Postal Service paid his teams to compete in international events, Armstrong's lawyer said on Friday.

Lawyer Robert Luskin said: "Lance and his representatives worked constructively over these last weeks with federal lawyers to resolve this case fairly, but those talks failed because we disagree about whether the Postal Service was damaged."

"The Postal Service's own studies show that the service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship - benefits totaling more than $100 million," the lawyer said in a statement.

A U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

Former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis was believed to have filed a sealed whistleblower suit against Armstrong in 2010. A decision by the government to join the suit would trigger its unsealing.

Public court records did not indicate that a lawsuit had been filed as of mid-day on Friday.

(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Howard Goller and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lance-armstrong-lawyer-says-settlement-talks-fail-fraud-172909195--spt.html

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Nielsen ratings expand definition of TV households to include internet-only viewers

The Nielsen Company has monitored TV audiences since 1950, but soon it will expand that definition from solely households with antenna, cable or satellite access, but also those that have dropped those options but still get video over the internet. Reflecting the changing times, the move was first noted by The Hollywood Reporter and confirmed later by company executives to the New York Times and LA Times. Nielsen hinted at changes two years ago when TV ownership dropped for the first time in decades, which may turn around since the new definition includes viewers with internet-connected TVs, and could go further to include viewers with just a tablet or laptop. According to senior VP Pat McDonough, that means views over services like Aereo can be counted, since they still contain advertisements, which is what broadcasters rely on the ratings for, unlike ad-free Netflix or Hulu streams with different ads. Because of that, it seems unlikely the change will boost the numbers of internet darlings like Community or Arrested Development, but we can dream, right?

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter, LA Times, NYT

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/21/nielsen-ratings-expand-definition-of-tv-households-to-include-in/

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Safeway 4Q net income jumps

FILE- In this Thursday, April 26, 2012, file photo, a Safeway online shopping advertisement is shown at a Safeway store in San Francisco. Grocery store operator Safeway said Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, its customer loyalty program helped its fourth-quarter net income jump 13 percent in the fourth quarter, far surpassing expectations. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

FILE- In this Thursday, April 26, 2012, file photo, a Safeway online shopping advertisement is shown at a Safeway store in San Francisco. Grocery store operator Safeway said Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, its customer loyalty program helped its fourth-quarter net income jump 13 percent in the fourth quarter, far surpassing expectations. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

PLEASANTON, Calif. (AP) ? Bring on the deal hunters.

Grocery store operator Safeway said Thursday its customer loyalty program helped its fourth-quarter net income jump 13 percent in the fourth quarter, far surpassing expectations.

Shares jumped more than 13 percent in afternoon trading on the better-than-expected results.

Supermarkets have struggled to find the balance between customers' need for low price food and fluctuating food costs. Also, in addition to competition from retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart, traditional supermarkets are competing more with drugstore chains and dollar stores.

Safeway's solution has been investing heavily in its "Just for U" customer loyalty program, which offers personalized discounts based on past purchases. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based grocer said Thursday the program is driving market share gains and profits, evidence that the investment is beginning to pay off.

CEO Steven Burd said about 45 percent of its sales are from people registered for its loyalty program. The goal is 65 percent. So far the program is performing better than expectations, Burd said.

"Our best customers are becoming increasingly more loyal and buying more items per trip," Burd said.

The mobile component of the program, which includes apps for most smartphones and an iPad app launched last quarter, has had higher usage than expected. Digital coupons have also performed well, an area that Safeway wants to expand, Burd said.

"As people become more digital, there is an opportunity which we are working hard at to actually get out of the paper ads and make the ad itself personalized for every household," he said.

Safeway Inc., which runs its namesake chain as well as Vons, Dominick's and others in the U.S. and western Canada, said that in the three months ended Dec. 29, net income rose 13 percent to $244 million, or $1.02 per share. That compares with $215.6 million, or 67 cents per share, in the prior year. Excluding a benefit from a legal settlement, it earned 94 cents per share. That handily beat analyst expectations of 76 cents per share, according to a FactSet poll.

A 26 percent decline in the number of Safeway shares helped make the value of each remaining share higher.

Revenue edged up 1 percent to $13.77 billion from $13.6 billion in the prior year. Analysts expected $13.69 billion.

Revenue was helped by higher prepaid and gift card sales. Revenue in stores open at least one year, a key retail metric, rose 0.8 percent, hurt by a customer shift to generic drugs.

For the year, net income rose 15 percent to $596.5 million, or $2.41 per share. That compares with $516.7 million, or $1.49 per share in the prior year. Revenue rose 1 percent to $44.21 billion from $43.63 billion in the prior year.

The company did not give specific guidance but CEO Burd said eight weeks into the quarter revenue in stores open at least one year is up 2 percent, so that figure could be up 1.8 percent to 2 percent in the quarter.

"As Just for U matures, and as the fuel and wellness initiatives are rolled out, we feel our volume, our market share, and our (revenue in stores open at least one year) should only continue to improve," he said.

The company plans to give detailed guidance at an investor event on March 6.

Its shares rose $2.72, or 13.5 percent, to $22.84 in afternoon trading after rising as high as $23.96 earlier in the session. That was its highest level since July 2011.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-21-US-Earns-Safeway/id-52d12e47fb1042a7b2ac2139a212e05f

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Vita Gets Price Cut in Japan, But Not in North America

If you are one of those people who has been itching to pick up a PlayStation Vita, but have been waiting for the system?s price to drop, I have some bad news for you. That is, unless you happen to live in Japan.

Starting February 28th in Japan, the PlayStation Vita will be marked down by twenty percent to a new retail price of ?19,980, which is roughly $215 American dollars, for both the 3G/Wi-fi and Wi-fi models. In North America, however, it?s a different story.

During a roundtable interview earlier today, Sony Worldwide Studios head, Shuhei Yoshida, said simply ?No, it?s not? when asked whether the PlayStation Vita will be getting a price drop in North America. Mr. Yoshida cited current exchange rates as the reason for not dropping the system?s price in North America ? or the rest of the world, for that matter.

?One answer could be when you compare the pricing on PS Vita across regions, because of the yen value. In Japan, the system had been priced the highest. We had been selling for 25,000 yen; that?s more than $250 when you compare the exchange rates.?

Mr. Yoshida went on to note that pricing is ?a region-by-region-based decision, always.?

Vita has famously struggled to find an audience in North America. Estimates place the system?s sales for January, 2013, at just 35,000 units ? worse, even, than the abysmal 57,000 unit sales of Nintendo?s Wii U?(which also needs some help). A price cut on the Vita hardware in North America can only help, but it might behoove Sony not to stop there. There are long-standing complaints about the price of the system?s proprietary?memory cards, with Vita owners claiming that games take up way too much space, and that higher capacity storage is not just necessary, but overdue.

Clearly, Sony is?committed?to Vita. The system?s presence during the PlayStation Meeting attests to as much, and its connectivity with PlayStation 4 ensures that Vita will remain a priority for Sony for the?foreseeable future. But will developers support PS4/Vita connectivity if the handheld continues to flounder at retial? And if Sony is unwilling to drop the system?s price in North America, what else can be done to turn the system?s fortunes around?

Which side are you on? Do you think the Vita, or its memory cards, need a price drop? Maybe both??Let us know in the comment section below!

-

Source: Polygon, Ars Technica, GameSpot

Source: http://gamerant.com/vita-no-price-cut-north-america/

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Playground Sessions Exits Beta To Teach Budding Pianists How To Play

While education startups like Khan Academy and Coursera are democratizing access to primary and secondary-level instruction, there are plenty of other hobbies where face-to-face teaching could be disrupted (or enhanced) by software. Music could be one of them — at least at the beginner level. Playground Sessions, a New York-based startup that spun out of a ventures division of creative advertising agency BBH, is launching a new way to teach piano today. It uses a MIDI keyboard, video demonstrations, and software that provides instant feedback on how well you’ve matched every note. This is desktop software that you have to download from Playground Sessions’ website, but a proper tablet app is on its way. I’ve spent more than 20 years playing piano and competing, but I had to learn from a very hardcore Russian piano teacher (who I’m immensely grateful for). While it would be hard to get to play Chopin’s Revolutionary etude all on your own, Playground Sessions could reach a more beginner-level player who isn’t quite ready to fork over more than $40 or 60 an hour to an individual teacher or who wants to play pop songs, not Bach partitas. It works, as you might guess, through several ‘Bootcamp’ tutorials on basic musical concepts like chord progressions, notation and key signatures. These are designed by a New York University music instructor Alex Ness. Then there’s interactive sheet music and complementary video lessons on how to play specific songs like Katy Perry?s ?Firework,? or David Guetta?s ?Without You.? The pieces are sold in an iTunes-like store for about $5.99 a pop. “One of the reasons students drop out early is that they don’t really love the sound. They’re not motivated or engaged by the songs they’re playing,” said Chris Vance, who co-founded the company. “One of the things we wanted to address was giving people more choice and ownership over what they play.” When a student picks up one of these songs, they can play into a MIDI keyboard and get feedback on how well they’ve picked up a song based on how many notes they’ve played correctly. Playground Sessions also shows them how much they’ve improved compared to the last time they played and where they’re seeing problem areas. Playground Sessions’ membership will go for $9.99 a month with an annual plan or $14.99 per month with a quarterly plan. Vance signed on Quincy Jones, the famed

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/X7N3XqVQE34/

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At least 16 hurt in gas explosion, fire in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A fire triggered by a natural gas explosion engulfed a restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday, injuring at least 16 people and leaving search teams to comb charred debris for remains of anyone who may have perished, authorities said.

Although no known fatalities were immediately reported, Fire Chief Paul Berardi said several patrons were likely inside the restaurant when it went up in flames, and cadaver dogs were brought in to help sift through the ruins of the building overnight.

"We are concerned that there may be additional people that were not able to get out of the structure," Berardi told reporters, adding that the blaze erupted at happy hour. "I always fear there may be fatalities in a situation like this."

He said the results of the search with dogs would not be known "for some time."

The explosion shook the Country Club Plaza, an upscale shopping area about 30 blocks south of downtown Kansas City, around dinner time, just after 6 p.m. CST (0000 GMT), fire officials said.

Berardi said he had initial reports that 14 people were hurt, nine of whom were taken to area hospitals, including two with life-threatening injuries.

But a separate tally of patients from three hospitals showed at least 16 people were injured, three of them listed in critical condition.

"I am just keeping my fingers crossed that this turns out to be what it looks like on first blush - that this is a relatively low number of injuries compared to what it could be," Mayor Sly James told reporters.

"Hopefully, no fatalities will come out of it, but we don't know that at this point," he added.

Appearing earlier in the evening on CNN, Fire Department spokesman James Garrett attributed the explosion to a natural gas leak, and Berardi later said that the odor of gas was reported in the area before the blast.

"It does seem to be an accident," the chief said. "It doesn't appear to be foul play at this time."

The precise origin of the blast was not immediately known, officials said. However, an office building was under construction across the street from the fire scene.

One witness, Bryce McElroy, who lives about two blocks away, said he heard a loud boom and headed toward the noise, arriving on the scene to see flames leaping from a manhole cover and advancing on the restaurant, a popular steakhouse and fine dining venue called JJ's.

Jeff Hansen, who lives about four blocks away, said he went to the scene to offer assistance after hearing the blast and saw six to eight people visibly injured who were leaving the area.

"Obviously there were multiple injuries," he said. "The question is if there is anybody still in there."

Firefighters swarmed into the area to battle flames consuming the restaurant as police officers ordered bystanders to move two blocks back from the fire as a precaution. The smell of gas fumes permeated the air around the scene.

The University of Kansas Hospital received six patients from the blast and fire, two of whom drove themselves from the scene and were treated and released, hospital spokesman Bob Hallinan told Reuters.

Of the four patients transported to the hospital, one was listed in critical condition and two in serious condition, he said. The fourth was being transferred from another hospital.

Eight patients were reported at nearby St. Luke's Medical Center, two of them listed in critical conditions. Two more people were listed in good condition at Research Medical Center, spokeswoman Denise Charpentier said.

Two JJ's employees who were away from the restaurant at the time of the blast said they were told later by fellow workers who were present that staff members were alerted to the smell of gas shortly before the blast and had begun to evacuate the building.

One of those workers who relayed that account, Talley Saey, said she was told that several employees were among those taken to the hospital.

(Additional reporting by David Bailey; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Eric Beech and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/several-hurt-explosion-fire-kansas-city-missouri-witnesses-012047389.html

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S&P warns risk of Cyprus default "material and rising"

LONDON (Reuters) - Cyprus faces a "material and rising risk" of defaulting on its sovereign debt, especially if the euro zone and International Monetary Fund do not come up with aid, rating agency Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday.

Crippled by its exposure to Greece, Cyprus needs 17 billion euros (15 billion pounds) from the euro zone to recapitalise its banks and to finance the government over the next three years.

S&P's comments come as the island gears up for a runoff presidential election on Sunday pitting a conservative in favour of a swift bailout deal against a Communist-backed candidate who supports a bailout but with fewer harsh austerity measures.

"We see at least a one-in-three chance that we could lower the Cyprus sovereign ratings again in 2013, for example if official financial assistance from the (European bailout fund) ESM and/or IMF is not forthcoming, leaving the Cypriot authorities few choices apart from to restructure its financial obligations," S&P's head of EMEA sovereign ratings Moritz Kraemer said in a report.

"We could also lower the ratings if we believe the (Cypriot) authorities are not able to fulfill the conditions that would be attached to an official assistance programme."

S&P currently rates Cyprus at CCC+, well into non-investment grade "junk" bond territory, with a negative outlook.

Economists warn a financial crash in Cyprus could reignite the euro zone debt crisis. If the bloc does not come up with aid the resulting default would blow a gaping hole in promises made to investors that Greece's writedown last year was a one-off.

Cyprus asked for international aid eight months ago after its banks suffered huge losses on exposure to the restructuring of Greek sovereign debt and due to difficulties in accessing international capital markets shut to it because of fiscal slippage since mid-2011.

Its bid for aid has been delayed, however, by an incumbent leftist government slow to negotiate bailout terms, by worries among lenders over the island assuming a mountain of debt it may not be able to afford to repay, and by German charges that Cypriots are lax on tackling money-laundering.

GREECE/ITALY

Kraemer said that Greece, which S&P now rates at B- with a stable outlook, was not facing another default for the time being, and that any so-called "reprofiling" of its support programme loans would not be classed as one by S&P.

"Subject to Greece meeting program conditions, we believe that eurozone member states would contemplate further improving official lending terms... This would be an effective write down of the Greek public debt stock," he said.

There was also a warning that Italy's drive to improve its finances could falter if elections this weekend result in a government lacking the clout to force through economic reforms.

Confidence in Italy has been shaken in the run-up to elections, after a strong campaign by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that has opened up the three-way race with Mario Monti and centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani.

It has threatened the prospects of a stable government emerging after the vote, the last thing Italy needs as it battles to repair an economy struggling after more than a decade of stagnant growth.

"Our negative outlook on the 'BBB+' sovereign rating on Italy reflects what we view as mostly downside risks to its reform policy agenda, overall economic outlook, and debt reduction plans," Kraemer said.

(Reporting by Marc Jones Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/p-warns-risk-cyprus-default-material-rising-161601850--business.html

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Kiper: Te'o can save himself with his 40 time - Manti Te'o (LB) College Player

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