Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/316217021?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, June 30, 2013
"The Call" races to No. 1 on the iTunes charts
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Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwestudios/the-call-itunes-charts
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
BlueStacks introduces the GamePop Mini, its first subscription-based 'free' game console
In an effort to outdo itself, BlueStacks is announcing the GamePop Mini for the cube-buying averse. The biggest difference between the Mini (seen above on the left) and the cube (the ... uh ... cube above) isn't the form factor, it's in pricing. Where the regular GamePop is $129 (unless you act soon) the Mini is "free" after a 12-month subscription of $7 per-month, or $84 total. At this price, it costs less than an Ouya, but slightly more than a GameStick. "If you keep it more than 12 months, you keep it forever," BlueStacks' Head of Marketing and Business Development John Garguilo told us. Of course, there's not much to do with with the Mini without a subscription. "It'd be like if Netflix did it this way and had hardware - the unit would be useless without the subscription." Additionally, if you return the Mini inside of 12 months, there's a $25 restocking fee.
The subscription gives users access to a plethora of games from 500 "popular mobile game partners." Those partners include the teams behind Jetpack Joyride and Fieldrunners. "Getting the kind of developer support we've gotten, it sets us apart. We saw what happened with the Dreamcast and we saw what happened with the Wii U. You need to have good launch titles; there needs to be games everyone recognizes and wants to play."
To make GamePop more enticing to developers, Bluestacks created Looking Glass -- proprietary tech allowing iOS-only apps to run on its Android-4.2-based console. When an iOS app makes calls to Apple's hardware, Looking Glass interprets those calls and translates them to the GamePop Mini's hardware. Of course, a few changes within the code are necessary. "[Porting is] not easy, but I would submit it's not hard, relatively speaking," Garguilo said.
Filed under: Gaming
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A year in asylum, Assange digs in for the long haul
The Wikileaks founder says even if the Swedish investigation against him were dropped, he would not leave his 'space station' existence in the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange show letters that read 'Free Assange' as they wait for his appearance in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in London Sunday. Today marks the anniversary of Mr. Assange seeking sanctuary in the embassy, where he is trying to avoid being extradited to
Frank Augstein/AP
EnlargeIt?s been a year since Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, walked into the Ecuadorean embassy in London and sought political asylum, living there ever since as if in a ?space station.?
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Sara Miller Llana?moved to Paris in April 2013 to become the Monitor's Europe Bureau?Chief. Previously she was the?paper's?Latin America Bureau Chief, based in Mexico City, from 2006 to 2013.
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In an interview with various news outlets marking today?s anniversary, he said that even if Sweden were to drop its investigation into sex allegations against him, he plans to stay put. That means London faces the prospect of an unusual guest for years to come.
"I wouldn't say I wouldn't leave," he said. But "my lawyers have advised me I shouldn't leave the embassy because of the risk of arrest and extradition to the United States."
Mr. Assange?s plight has drawn in equal measure support and disdain. Some call him a criminal and danger to security, others a crusader of freedom of information. And those same divides are apparent within the United Kingdom itself: just read the comments section of any Guardian article on the Wikileaks head, and the range of views are obvious.?
But it appears the UK, after a year hosting Assange, does not want another leaker in its midst. Britain last week warned global airlines not to let Edward Snowden, the American contractor who identified himself as the source of the leak about widespread American surveillance programs called PRISM, into British territory. And this was before Mr. Snowden released documents showing British intelligence spying on foreign diplomats at a G20 in London in 2009.
Assange linked Britain?s position on Snowden?to his own, saying the country "doesn't want to end up with another Julian Assange," he said. Yet, Assange said, the UK should consider Snowden a hero and offer him asylum.
That?s not something that Britain was willing to do for Assange, who walked into the Ecuadorean embassy last June after the British government said it would send him to Sweden, where he faces questioning over sexual assault and rape. Assange, who maintains his innocence in that case, says his real fear is being extradited to the US for being behind one of the biggest leaks of confidential documents in US history.
Ecuador has granted Assange asylum, but he cannot leave the embassy in London because Britain promises to arrest him if he does. Recent talks between Ecuador and the UK did nothing to end the stalemate. So the status quo remains: Assange living without natural sunlight, relying on a sun lamp instead, and working 17-hour days in front of his computer, he says, with police on constant guard. He?s likened his circumstances to living in a space station.
Assange is not the only one to compare himself to Snowden. After Snowden answered questions on an online chat this week, Zeke Miller, in Time, draws parallels between the two men.??There were other clear echoes of Assange?s?past remarks?in Snowden?s responses Monday. Both men suggest that much, if not all, American spying abroad is wrong, including the spying on allies and foreign leaders that perhaps every government has practiced for decades, if not centuries,? Miller writes.
Assange has drawn critics who fault him for putting global security at risk, but also has his share of detractors who distinguish the issue of Wikileaks from the separate sex allegations he faces.
Snowden, meanwhile, has gotten some support in Britain for leaking information about PRISM, says?Orla Lynskey, a lecturer in law at the London School of Economics and Political Science. ?What really struck people here was the disproportionate nature of that kind of intelligence, the blanket surveillance,? Ms. Lynskey says. ?That?s where Snowden gets some support.?
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Friday, June 28, 2013
U.S. boss held hostage now free
BEIJING (AP) ? An American boss detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a labor representative said the two sides had reached agreement in a pay dispute.
Chip Starnes, who said he was "saddened" by the experience, told The Associated Press a deal was reached overnight to pay the scores of workers who had demanded severance packages similar to ones given to laid-off co-workers in a phased-out division, even though the company said the remaining workers weren't being laid off.
The workers at the medical supply plant in Huairou district, on the outskirts of Beijing, said that the company owed them unpaid salary, that they believed the entire factory was shutting down and that they saw equipment being packed and itemized for shipping to India.
Starnes said the workers' demands were unjustified. Neither he nor district labor official Chu Lixiang gave details of the agreed compensation. Chu said all the workers would be terminated, although Starnes said some would be rehired later.
"It has been resolved to each side's satisfaction," Chu told reporters at the plant. She said they had been sorting out paperwork until 5 a.m. and that 97 workers had signed settlement agreements.
Starnes, a co-owner of Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, had quietly departed the factory grounds by the time Chu spoke, returning to his hotel in Beijing.
"Yes!! Out and back at hotel," Starnes wrote in a text message. "Showered.. 9 pounds lost during the ordeal!!!!!!"
Police in Huairou district had made no moves to halt the labor action but guarded the plant and said they were guaranteeing Starnes' safety while local labor officials brokered negotiations.
It is not rare in China for managers to be held by workers demanding back pay or other benefits, often from their Chinese owners. Police are reluctant to intervene, as they consider it a business dispute, and local officials typically are eager to see the matter resolved in a way least likely to fuel unrest.
The labor action reflected growing uneasiness among workers about their jobs amid China's slowing economic growth and the sense that growing labor costs make the country less attractive for some foreign-owned factories.
About 80 workers started blocking all exits starting last Friday, and Starnes had spoken to reporters in recent days through the barred window of his factory office.
Earlier Thursday, he said in a telephone interview that he had been forced to give in to what he considered unjustified demands. He summed up the past several days as "humiliating, embarrassing." At the beginning of his captivity, workers had deprived him of sleep by shining bright lights and banging on windows of his office, he said.
"We have transferred our funds from the U.S.," he said. "I am basically free to go when the funds hit the account here of the company."
Starnes told the AP he planned to get back to business, and even rehire some of the workers who had been holding him.
He previously said the company had been winding down its plastics division, with plans to move it to Mumbai. When he arrived in Beijing last week to lay off the last 30 people, workers in other divisions started demanding similar severance packages.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-boss-held-china-leaves-plant-payout-044656354.html
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Daily Dispatch from the 2013 Aspen Ideas Festival: Thursday, June 27
ASPEN, Colo., June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --?
Select Upcoming Live Streams from the Aspen Ideas Festival:
- 12:00pm MDT / 2:00pm EDT ? Be Fearless: How Big Ideas, Experimentation, and Failing Forward Can Change the World
Jean Case, Steve Case, Andrea Mitchell
http://www.youtube.com/user/AspenInstitute?v=Cx-N_lb14KM - 1:20pm MDT / 3:20pm EDT ? Reimagining Citizenship
E. J. Dionne, Jr., Cristina Jimenez, Heather Smith, Mark Meckler, Eric Liu
http://www.youtube.com/user/AspenInstitute?v=MxDUpIBoMD0 - 2:40pm MDT / 4:40pm EDT ? What Can Iraq Tell Us about the Future of Democracy in the Middle East?
Barham Salih, David Ignatius, Jeffrey Goldberg
http://www.youtube.com/user/AspenInstitute?v=T-SxHViGtVE - 5:00pm MDT / 7:00pm EDT ? Unlocking the Potential of Small Business in America
Lloyd Blankfein, Mitch Landrieu, Arianna Huffington, Walter Isaacson, Margaret Spellings
http://www.youtube.com/user/AspenInstitute?v=XdfFMY3pUBs
A full schedule of live streams is available here: http://www.aspenideas.org/live-now.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130417/DC96489LOGO )
Also, catch today's episode of The Aspen Institute Presents , broadcast from the Aspen Ideas Festival, exclusively on public television's WORLD Channel (worldchannel.org) at 9:00pm ET. This episode will be available online a few hours before broadcast for media using the following link and password: http://vimeopro.com/user5686209/the-aspen-institute-presents2, password: worldaspen.
Quotes from the Festival Yesterday:
"[Reporters] are trying to avoid taking sides in politics. That gets them in trouble. But the good thing is that in elections, in the long run each party wins about half the time. So you are naturally being neutral if you are telling the truth?basically, being honest about who's going to win at a given time. [But] that doesn't mean each election is 50-50." ?Nate Silver
"The biggest barrier to problems is incrementalism. This country is inspired by bold visions." ?John Bridgeland
"Shakespeare once said, 'Hell hath no fury than a bunch of alpha women pissed off at the slow pace of cancer research.'" ?Katie Couric
The Ideas Report on TheAtlantic.com
More Festival coverage is also available from The Atlantic, which produces the Aspen Ideas Festival in partnership with the Aspen Institute. The Atlantic's "Ideas Special Report" includes:
- Video from the Aspen Ideas Festival
- A "Today at Aspen" photo gallery
- An #AspenIdeas Twitter feed
- Blog posts highlighting ideas from all sections of TheAtlantic.com, and responses to a new question they put to their readers each day.
Full schedule available here . Full-session video and clips will be featured on the Aspen Institute's YouTube channel, on www.AspenIdeas.org, iTunesU, and on the Aspen Institute's video channel. Follow the Ideas Festival on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter at @aspenideas with the hashtag #AspenIdeas.
SOURCE The Aspen Institute
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/daily-dispatch-2013-aspen-ideas-festival-thursday-june-173400398.html
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2 new leads are tapped for Broadway's 'Annie'
NEW YORK (AP) ? Two 11-year-old actresses who have played orphans and been understudies in the Broadway revival of "Annie" have been picked to permanently take over from Lilla Crawford in the title role, a step up that has left them beaming.
Taylor Richardson and Sadie Sink, both natural redheads, will share the role of the stage's most famous redhead beginning July 30. Crawford's last performance will be July 28.
"It's very exciting," said Sadie, who has played Annie before but not on Broadway. "It is a big step from an orphan to the title role." That's a sentiment that her smiling co-star agrees with: "Definitely."
Taylor, an actress from Richmond, Va., and Sadie, originally from Houston, have both understudied the role of Annie, and both have gone on as the orphan Duffy. "Annie" is their Broadway debuts.
"There's a big difference between going on for one of the orphans and going on for Annie," said Taylor, who has played Annie about 80 times so far. "There's more songs, more dancing, more time being onstage that you have to be prepared for. So I guess you have to work extra-hard when you go on as Annie."
Based on the beloved comic strip that debuted in 1924, the musical is the heartwarming tale of the Depression-era orphan girl who finds happiness with a grouchy millionaire and a lovable dog.
Producers have decided that each girl will play Annie for four of the eight-shows each week. The girl not playing the title role will go on as Duffy, the biggest of the orphans who memorably stomps on Miss Hannigan's foot in Act 2.
Sadie has previously been in productions of "The Miracle Worker" and "The Secret Garden." Taylor was in a regional production of "Honk!" Both played Susan Waverly in "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" when they were 8.
Both adore musical theater and harbor dreams of one day playing either Elphaba in "Wicked" or Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera." They eat dinner together and go out for fun. When they were offered the part, they had to keep it a secret, but each would knowingly smile to each other.
Taylor has a particular tie to the part of Annie: Her grandfather was adopted by parents looking for a child with red hair. "I thought that was really cool that I had that connection once I found out," she said.
The mothers of both girls ? neither who have red hair ? are bursting with pride but shy away from taking credit for producing singing, dancing and acting prodigies.
"There are definitely some people in both sides of our family that are musically gifted and talented. I am not," said Tiffany Richardson, Taylor's mom, with a laugh. "It skipped me and went to her. I'm OK with that."
Though clearly talented, Sadie is not the first in her family to be on Broadway. One of her three older brothers, Mitchell, played a part in "Elf" this winter ? the reason Sadie came to New York. Sadie also has a younger sister with curly red hair who likes to sing.
"The red hair and the talent? I don't know," said Lori Sink, Sadie's mother.
Tiffany Richardson has already seen her daughter take center stage on Broadway as Annie, and said she and Sadie's mother will soon have a special bond. "I can't wait to share that feeling with Lori because it really is a special feeling," she said.
"Annie" first opened on Broadway in 1977 and ran for almost six years, fueled by songs including "It's the Hard-Knock Life" and "Tomorrow." A film version was released in 1982 with Aileen Quinn playing the star and a TV version came out in 1999 starring Alicia Morton.
The musical, which features music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan, is directed by three-time Tony winner James Lapine and choreographed by Tony winner Andy Blankenbuehler.
Crawford, who has been in the show since its first preview in October, will have played the role close to 300 times. Other actresses who have had their start in "Annie" include Sarah Jessica Parker, Molly Ringwald and Sutton Foster.
In other "Annie" news, Anthony Warlow, who has been playing Oliver Warbucks since the show began, has extended his contract with the production through Dec. 8. Faith Prince begins playing Miss Hannigan on July 19.
___
Online:
http://www.AnnieTheMusical.com
___
Mark Kennedy can be reached at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-leads-tapped-broadways-annie-180414639.html
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
HTC 8XT and Samsung ATIV S Neo announced by Sprint
SAN FRANCISCO (BUSINESS WIRE), June 26, 2013 ? Sprint (NYSE: S) and Microsoft Corp. today outlined plans to launch the first two Windows Phone 8 smartphones to offer Truly UnlimitedSM?Sprint 4G LTE this summer ? HTC??8XT and Samsung ATIV S? Neo. Customers will appreciate access to the advanced features and capabilities of these devices with the benefit of unlimited 4G LTE (available in select markets) data, text and calling to any mobile with no metering, no throttling, and no overages, all while on the Sprint network.
HTC 8XT will be available for $99.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade, two-year service agreement and $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1. ATIV S Neo will be priced at $149.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade, two-year service agreement and $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1. Exact availability dates and full feature lists for both smartphones will be shared at a later date. Customers can preregister for more information and email updates about Windows Phone 8 from Sprint and HTC 8XT and ATIV S Neo atwww.sprint.com/windows8.
?We know our customers are anxious to get their hands on these Windows Phone 8 smartphones, HTC 8XT and ATIV S Neo,? said Fared Adib, senior vice president-Product Development, Sprint. ?Without a doubt, they will rival any smartphone on the market today. Our customers will appreciate being able to use them all day, every day without worrying about overages or data caps.?
Windows Phone 8 won the?PC Magazine?Readers? Choice Award for best mobile operating system in March 2013. The only phone with Live Tiles, Windows Phone 8 offers a truly personal smartphone experience designed to keep customers connected to the people and things that matter most. Windows Phone brings together the best of Microsoft with the same modern look and feel, including Bing, Office, Xbox and Skype, for a rich customer experience. In addition, the Windows Phone Store includes more than 160,000 apps to choose from, with hundreds added daily.
?We are excited to be bringing the most personal smartphone experience to Sprint customers this summer,? said Terry Myerson, corporate vice president, Microsoft Windows Phone Division. ?With compelling hardware from HTC and Samsung, coupled with unlimited 4G LTE from Sprint, these Windows Phones will offer the complete package.?
Must-Have Features from HTC
Music-lovers will appreciate the amazing sound capability of HTC 8XT with HTC BoomSound?, introducing for the first time on Windows Phone 8 dual front-facing stereo speakers with a dedicated amplifier that brings people closer to their music, videos and games they love. In addition, Beats Audio? enables studio-quality sound, so listeners hear music the way the artist intended with unique audio tuning that delivers thundering bass, soaring midrange and crisp highs. And HDR recording uses advanced dual microphones and audio processing to capture clean, rich sound that is worthy of high-definition video.
?Inspired by the design that won the prestigious ?red dot award: product design 2013,? the new HTC 8XT brings a truly crafted smartphone with brilliant color, soft-to-the-touch texture and tapered design to be comfortable in the hand,? said Mike Woodward, president North America, HTC Corporation. ?A pleasure to hold and a pleasure to hear, the front-facing stereo speakers are a first for a Windows Phone and deliver sounds that demand to be heard.?
HTC 8XT is also ideal for photo buffs with an 8-megapixel main camera with autofocus and LED flash, and a front-facing 1.6-megapixel camera. The main camera takes great photos in bright-light and low-light situations, and the ability to shoot video and take still pictures simultaneously. It also offers multishot burst mode to help capture the best picture of a moving photo subject, and a dedicated Windows Phone camera button to open the camera quickly, even when the phone is locked or sleeping, so users never miss an opportunity to capture life?s most important moments.
Inside the beautiful HTC 8XT is a Qualcomm??Snapdragon? 400 processor with 1.4GHz dual-core CPUs supporting 4G LTE and 1080p video capture, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM memory, microSD? memory card slot with support for up to 64GB memory cards, a crisp 4.3-inch display, Wi-Fi?, Bluetooth?, GPS support and 1,800mAh lithium-ion battery.
Advanced Features from Samsung
ATIV S Neo will offer a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, microSD memory card slot, international roaming, 4.8-inch high-definition display, Wi-Fi and 2,000mAh lithium-ion removable battery. Sharing is easier than ever with ATIV S Neo featuring ATIV Beam using near field communication (NFC) to share photos, music and video with other Windows Phone 8 and select Android? devices. ATIV S Neo includes the Samsung exclusive Now feature, which highlights top news, weather and relevant information at a single glance.
?Samsung is committed to offering smartphones across a variety of platforms and the rich Windows Phone 8 experience on the ATIV S Neo is a testament to this effort,? said Kevin Packingham, Samsung Mobile chief product officer. ?The ATIV S Neo makes it easy to stay in-the-know while connecting with friends, family and colleagues, through new sharing features and powerful productivity applications.?
Having ATIV S Neo in your pocket means users can do more with their smartphone camera. It will offer an 8-megapixel main camera with LED flash and a front-facing 1.9-megapixel camera for video chat. It will include a variety of camera apps preloaded, including the Beauty Shot mode for smoother looking skin in headshots, Manga Camera to give pictures a fun twist by turning friends and family into cartoons, and built-in Photo Editor that allows the user to edit, color, effect, decorate or share their pictures quickly and easily.
These smartphones also make it easy for customers to stay productive with Office Mobile for Windows Phone. With Office Mobile, people can access, view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from anywhere. Plus, customers can count on Office Mobile to keep content and formatting intact so documents still looks great when back on a PC, Windows tablet or Mac.
Microsoft Office 365 offered by Sprint?is available for small and mid-sized businesses. It includes Sprint?s unique Carefree Cloud migration and onboarding assistance, end-user level support, predictable monthly costs with no up-front infrastructure expenses, pay-as-you-go plans, savings by bundling all of the necessary tools and advanced options to simplify management further, all with a single bill and single point of contact.?Sprint recently announced?expanded plans available with Office 365, including enhanced audio conferencing and availability at?select Sprint retail stores.
Sprint offers 4G LTE in top summer destinations like Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston,?Los Angeles?and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sprint offers 4G LTE service in?110 markets nationwide?and expects to provide 200 million people with LTE by the end of 2013.
For the most up-to-date details on Sprint?s 4G LTE portfolio and rollout, visit?www.sprint.com/network.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/htc-8xt-samsung-ativ-neo-announced-sprint-142004709.html
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Online pharmacy crackdown shutters 1,677 websites
U.S. and international regulators have seized more than $41 million in illegal medicines worldwide and shut down 1,677 websites as part of their ongoing fight against counterfeit drugs sold over the Internet.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it used federal court warrants to seize website domain names and post messages letting visitors know that people who traffic in counterfeit drugs may face severe penalties under federal law. The message also offers a link to a site ? www.fda.gov/BeSafeRx ? that explains the risks of fake online pharmacies.
Experts say the Internet is filled with illegitimate, professional-looking sites that peddle drugs. The FDA launched a campaign last fall to warn consumers that the vast majority of online pharmacies do not follow laws or pharmacy industry standards and their products could harm or even kill.
The moves the agency announced Thursday took place as part of Operation Pangea VI, a weeklong crackdown organized by the international police agency Interpol that ended Sunday.
Investigators visited the websites and used undercover IDs to order the drugs. They received counterfeit drugs that were not approved by the FDA. Some arrived with no directions for use and in strengths and quantities not available in the United States. Some also had different ingredients than the real drugs, which can be very dangerous to the patients taking them.
"You essentially have no idea what it is that you would be buying and what you would be taking," said John Roth, director of the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigation.
Illegal medicines found online include the diabetes treatment Avandaryl. They also include versions of the impotence drugs Levitra and Viagra called "Levitra Super Force" and "Viagra Super Force" that are not approved by the FDA.
Online sales of those erectile dysfunction treatments can be especially enticing to patients who may be too embarrassed to visit a drugstore to buy the drug in person.
Roth said consumers should watch for red flags that indicate an online pharmaceutical website may not be legitimate. They include sites that offer steep discounts from a drug's regular price, those that don't require a prescription to fill your order or ones that contact you through a spam email.
"This is a constant struggle for us, but one of the most important things we can do is educate the consumers about what a legitimate website looks like," he said.
A January study by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which accredits online pharmacies, found that only 257 of 10,275 online pharmacy sites it examined appeared legitimate.
Last year, Operation Pangea V resulted in the arrests of about 80 people and the seizure of $10.5 million in medicines. In addition more than 18,000 illegal pharmacy websites were shuttered.
Roth said there were no arrests in the latest operation, but the investigation is continuing.
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Texas senator filibusters against abortion bill
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Wearing pink tennis shoes to prepare for nearly 13 consecutive hours of standing, a Democratic Texas state senator on Tuesday began a one-woman filibuster to block a GOP-led effort that would impose stringent new abortion restrictions across the nation's second-most populous state.
Sen. Wendy Davis, 50, of Fort Worth began the filibuster at 11:18 a.m. CDT Tuesday and passed the nine-hour mark in her countdown to midnight ? the deadline for the end of the 30-day special session.
Rules stipulate she remain standing, not lean on her desk or take any breaks ? even for meals or to use the bathroom. But she must also stay on topic, and Republicans pointed out a mistake and later protested again when another lawmaker helped her with a back brace. One more error, and Republicans could stop the filibuster.
If signed into law, the measures would close almost every abortion clinic in Texas, a state 773 miles wide and 790 miles long with 26 million people. A woman living along the Mexico border or in West Texas would have to drive hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion if the law passes.
In her opening remarks, Davis said she was "rising on the floor today to humbly give voice to thousands of Texans" and called Republican efforts to pass the bill a "raw abuse of power."
Democrats chose Davis to lead the effort because of her background as a woman who had her first child as a teenager and went on to graduate from Harvard Law School.
In the hallway outside the Senate chamber, hundreds of women stood in line, waiting for people in the gallery to give up their seats. Women's rights supporters wore orange T-shirts to show their support for Davis, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst reminded those in the gallery that interrupting the proceedings could results in 48 hours in jail.
Davis tried to stay comfortable and sharp by shifting her weight from hip to hip and slowly walking around her desk while reading notes from a large binder on her desk. When a male protester stood in the Senate gallery and shouted, "Abortion is genocide," Davis continued talking uninterrupted as the man was removed by security.
If the filibuster succeeds, it could also take down other measures. A proposal to fund major transportation projects as well as a bill to have Texas more closely conform with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision banning mandatory sentences of life in prison without parole for offenders younger than 18 might not get votes. Current state law only allows a life sentence without parole for 17-year-olds convicted of capital murder.
Twice in the first six hours, anti-abortion lawmakers questioned Davis about the bill, presenting their arguments that it would protect women or that abortions were wrong. Davis answered their questions but did not give up control of the floor.
"This is really about women's health," said Sen. Bob Deuell, who introduced a requirement that all abortions take place in surgical centers. "Sometimes bad things can happen."
Davis questioned then why vasectomies and colonoscopies aren't also required to take place in such clinics. "Because I've been unable to have a simple question answered to help me understand how this would lead to better care for women, I must question the underlying motive for doing so."
Davis read testimony from women and doctors who would be impacted by the changes, but who were denied the opportunity to speak in a Republican-controlled committee. During one heart-wrenching story describing a woman's difficult pregnancy, Davis choked up several times and wiped tears.
The bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and force many clinics that perform the procedure to upgrade their facilities and be classified as ambulatory surgical centers. Also, doctors would be required to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles ? a tall order in rural communities.
"If this passes, abortion would be virtually banned in the state of Texas, and many women could be forced to resort to dangerous and unsafe measures," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late former Texas governor Ann Richards.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said the Democrats never should have been allowed to put Republicans "in a box" and complained that many in the Senate GOP were "flying by the seat of their pants."
But the bill's bogging down began with Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who summoned lawmakers back to work immediately after the regular legislative session ended May 27 but didn't add abortion to the special session to-do list until late in the process. The Legislature can only take up issues at the governor's direction.
Then, House Democrats succeeded in stalling nearly all night Sunday, keeping the bill from reaching the Senate until 11 a.m. Monday.
Debate in that chamber included lawmakers waving coat-hangers on the floor and claiming the new rules are so draconian that women are going to be forced to head to Mexico to have abortions.
At one point, the bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Jodie Laubenberg of Spring, errantly suggested that emergency room rape kits could be used to terminate pregnancies.
___
Senate Bill 5: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=831&Bill=SB5
___
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cltomlinson
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-senator-filibusters-against-abortion-bill-164526586.html
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Celebrity chef Paula Deen denies she is a racist, dropped by Walmart
(Editor's Note: please be advised that paragraphs 8, 11 contain language that may be offensive)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. celebrity chef Paula Deen, under fire after she admitted using a racial slur, said in a tearful TV interview on Wednesday that she is not a racist, as retailer Walmart said it was cutting ties with the chef.
In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, the Southern food doyenne said she never intentionally hurt anyone and that it was important for her to tell "everyone out there what I believe and how I live my life."
When asked if she felt she had racist tendencies she replied, "No."
It was her first TV interview since The Food Network said Friday it would drop her show after she was sued for discrimination and admitted in a legal deposition that she had used a racial slur in the past.
Deen, who has built a business empire that includes cookbooks, restaurants and kitchen supplies, was also dropped by pork giant Smithfield Foods Inc last week. On Wednesday, Walmart was the latest company to sever ties.
"We are ending our relationship with Paula Deen Enterprises," Walmart spokeswoman Danit Marquardt told Reuters.
Marquardt said Walmart, the biggest division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, will not place new orders beyond those already committed with Deen's company for branded products including groceries, cookware and candles.
The controversy surrounding Deen erupted last week when a deposition was released in transcript form in which Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the "N-word," and responded, "Yes, of course."
The "N-word" is a euphemism for "nigger," an epithet for black people.
The deposition related to a racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee, Lisa Jackson, who worked for Paula Deen Enterprises.
The lawsuit alleges that, while discussing with Jackson plans for Hiers' 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a "true Southern plantation-style wedding."
"Well, what I would really like is a bunch of little niggers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around," Deen said, according to the lawsuit.
Asked about the epithet in the deposition on Wednesday, Deen said she had used the slur when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working in the 1980s. She said she had used the word since, "but it's been a very long time."
Deen recalled the bank robbery and said: "I had had a gun put to my head, a shakin' gun." She did not give a full description of that incident.
DEEN SAYS SHE IS "HEARTBROKEN"
On "Today," Deen said she was thankful for the support she has received, and also heartbroken because she has had to comfort friends who were distressed about things being said about her that she said were untrue.
"If there's anyone out there that has never said something that they wish they could take back, if you're out there, please pick up that stone and throw it so hard at my head that it kills me. Please, I want to meet you. I want to meet you," she said, sobbing.
The 66-year-old celebrity chef had called off a scheduled interview with NBC on Friday to discuss the situation and instead released a video defending herself.
The Food Network, which is owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, later said it would not renew her contract when it expired at the end of June.
Deen's fans have taken to voicing their support for the chef online, expressing anger on the Facebook pages for the Food Network and Walmart, with many saying they'll boycott both companies for severing ties with Deen.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney and Jessica Wohl; Editing by David Storey, Piya Sinha-Roy and Stacey Joyce)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/celebrity-chef-paula-deen-denies-she-racist-sobs-151206035.html
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Stocks rise even as US economic growth slows
NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stock indexes moved higher in early trading Wednesday, despite news that the U.S. economy has been growing more slowly than first estimated.
In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 116 points, or 0.8 percent, to 14,879. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 14, or 0.9 percent, to 1,602.
The gains were broad. All 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 were up, led by health care and bank stocks.
The government reported Wednesday that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the first three months of the year, significantly lower than the previous estimate of 2.4 percent. The Commerce Department said that consumers spent less than previously estimated, a troubling development in a country where consumer spending makes up more than 70 percent of the economy.
Investors, however, might have been pushing the market higher because they decided that they pushed it too low last week, a sentiment that investors credited for Tuesday's stock gains. Or they may have decided that the slower-growing economy will influence the Federal Reserve to delay any plans to pull back on stimulus measures. Those measures, which include buying bonds to push investors into stocks, and keeping interest rates low to spur borrowing, are meant to prop up the economy.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke set off a stock market plunge a week ago when he said the Fed could rein in the bond-buying program starting as early as this year. It wasn't that investors were surprised that the Fed will pull back on its stimulus programs: Most everyone expects that to happen eventually. It was more that they were worried that the Fed might pull out too soon, before the stock market could stand on its own without the Fed propping it up.
Other Fed officials have also scrambled to reassure investors that the central bank won't pull out of stimulus measures until it's sure the economy can handle it. Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher and Richmond Fed president Jeff Lacker are both scheduled to testify at a hearing with the U.S. House's banking committee Wednesday morning. While the Fed isn't the topic ? how to prevent bank bailouts is ? either could take the opportunity to speak on where they think Fed policy should go.
U.S government bonds rallied early Wednesday, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for many kinds of loans, fell to 2.53 percent from 2.61 percent late Tuesday. The yield has risen sharply over the last week as traders sold bonds in anticipation of the Fed winding down its bond-buying program. It was 2.19 percent June 18, the day before the Fed outlined its plans.
The price of gold fell sharply. Gold for August delivery fell $36, or 2.8 percent, to $1,239 an ounce. Crude oil slipped 27 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $95.08 a barrel.
At 1.8 percent, the country's economic growth for 2013 would be less than 2010 or 2012, and in line with 2011. And while investors are glad for growth ? after all, the U.S. economy shrank in 2008 and 2009 ? most say they'd like to see an annual rate of 3 or 4 percent before they can feel comfortable about the pace of the economic recovery.
In other stock trading, the Nasdaq composite index was up 29 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,377.
Among companies making big moves:
?Fertilizer maker Mosaic fell after Citigroup analysts downgraded the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy," citing a hold-up in the company's stock buybacks and questions over demand for fertilizer. The stock fell $1.91, or 3.4 percent, to $54.
?Gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson fell, even after reporting that its profits doubled, as quarterly revenue missed analysts' forecasts. The stock fell 23 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $9.76.
?General Mills, whose products include Cheerios and Nature Valley granola bars, fell after reporting earnings predictions that came in slightly below analysts' estimates. The stock fell 49 cents, or 1 percent, to $47.84.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-rise-even-us-economic-growth-slows-142834763.html
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High court voids key part of Voting Rights Act
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act cannot be enforced unless Congress comes up with a new way of determining which states and localities require federal monitoring of elections.
The justices said in 5-4 vote that the law Congress most recently renewed in 2006 relies on 40-year-old data that does not reflect racial progress and changes in U.S. society.
The court did not strike down the advance approval requirement of the law that has been used, mainly in the South, to open up polling places to minority voters in the nearly half century since it was first enacted in 1965. But the justices did say lawmakers must update the formula for determining which parts of the country must seek Washington's approval, in advance, for election changes.
Chief Justice John Roberts said for the conservative majority that Congress "may draft another formula based on current conditions."
The decision comes five months after President Barack Obama, the nation's first black chief executive, started his second term in the White House, re-elected by a diverse coalition of voters.
The high court is in the midst of a broad re-examination of the ongoing necessity of laws and programs aimed at giving racial minorities access to major areas of American life from which they once were systematically excluded. The justices issued a modest ruling Monday that preserved affirmative action in higher education and will take on cases dealing with anti-discrimination sections of a federal housing law and another affirmative action case from Michigan next term.
The court warned of problems with the voting rights law in a similar case heard in 2009. The justices averted a major constitutional ruling at that time, but Congress did nothing to address the issues the court raised. The law's opponents, sensing its vulnerability, filed several new lawsuits.
The latest decision came in a challenge to the advance approval, or preclearance, requirement, which was brought by Shelby County, Ala., a Birmingham suburb.
The lawsuit acknowledged that the measure's strong medicine was appropriate and necessary to counteract decades of state-sponsored discrimination in voting, despite the Fifteenth Amendment's guarantee of the vote for black Americans.
But it asked whether there was any end in sight for a provision that intrudes on states' rights to conduct elections, an issue the court's conservative justices also explored at the argument in February. It was considered an emergency response when first enacted in 1965.
The county noted that the 25-year extension approved in 2006 would keep some places under Washington's oversight until 2031 and seemed not to account for changes that include the elimination of racial disparity in voter registration and turnout or the existence of allegations of race-based discrimination in voting in areas of the country that are not subject to the provision.
The Obama administration and civil rights groups said there is a continuing need for it and pointed to the Justice Department's efforts to block voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas last year, as well as a redistricting plan in Texas that a federal court found discriminated against the state's large and growing Hispanic population.
Advance approval was put into the law to give federal officials a potent tool to defeat persistent efforts to keep blacks from voting.
The provision was a huge success because it shifted the legal burden and required governments that were covered to demonstrate that their proposed changes would not discriminate. Congress periodically has renewed it over the years. The most recent extension was overwhelmingly approved by a Republican-led Congress and signed by President George W. Bush.
The requirement currently applies to the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. It also covers certain counties in California, Florida, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota, and some local jurisdictions in Michigan. Coverage has been triggered by past discrimination not only against blacks, but also against American Indians, Asian-Americans, Alaska Natives and Hispanics.
Towns in New Hampshire that had been covered by the law were freed from the advance approval requirement in March. Supporters of the provision pointed to the ability to bail out of the prior approval provision to argue that the law was flexible enough to accommodate change and that the court should leave the Voting Rights Act intact.
On Monday, the Justice Department announced an agreement that would allow Hanover County, Va., to bail out.
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Sony Xperia Z Android 4.2.2 update rolling out now
Latest update hitting multiple models in different markets around the world.
Coming in just fashionably late behind its sibling the Xperia ZL, the Sony Xperia Z is receiving an update to Android 4.2.2 starting today. According to reports from users to XperiaBlog, the update is rolling out to several different regions already for the C6603 LTE model, and in Taiwan for the C6602 HSPA+ model. While the official support page hasn't been updated to reflect the newest build, the build number is reportedly the same 10.3.A.0.423 as the Xperia ZL. If you have your hands on an Xperia Z, you may want to download Sony's PC Companion (or Bridge For Mac) for the earliest shot at the update.
This also leads to a few questions about what version of Android will land on the Xperia Z when it hits T-Mobile in short order. Let's hope it's the same updated version as is rolling out worldwide today.
Source: XperiaBlog
More: Sony Xperia Z Forums; Sony Support
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/detfrq9_0wo/story01.htm
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Edward Snowden stops off in Moscow with US extradition request snapping at his heels
Even if he anticipated the risks involved in turning whisteblower, Edward Snowden can't have imagined the rushed, convoluted journey he'd have to take to avoid the full wrath of the US government. First to Hong Kong; most recently to Moscow, and perhaps soon to Ecuador (via Cuba and Venezuela) where he has apparently made a request for asylum. Strongly worded demands for his capture have followed every step of the way, with the White House National Security Council expressing "disappointment" that Hong Kong allowed Snowden to flee and now urging Russia (which has no formal extradition treaty with America) to "expel Mr. Snowden back to the US to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged." In an effort to help the fugitive navigate the maze of diplomatic fault lines, WikiLeaks has stepped up to say that its own legal advisors are "escorting" Snowden towards his final destination, likely making use of the knowledge they gained while protecting Julian Assange, and that it sees US efforts to arrest him as an "assault against the people."
Filed under: Internet
Source: WikiLeaks, CBS News, @RicardoPatinoEC (Twitter)
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/EJr9bi0Yh0A/
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Regional Smart Growth Concerns With the LCA-Allentown Lease ...
The City of Allentown chose Lehigh County Authority (LCA) as the top bid in a lengthy process to lease the city?s water and wastewater system for 50 years.? Whether you like the lease scenario or not, LCA will be taking over control of the Allentown water system by August 2013.? This large deal is meant to assist Allentown with its large legacy obligation, a grave financial problem many other municipalities are also facing.? Is the lease perfect? No. Are there some real concerns about the environmental impact, given both LCA and Allentown?s history with overflow in the Lehigh River and Little Lehigh Creek? Yes.? Are there also real concerns about how this lease will assist the city with its debt obligations? Again, yes, but there is a lot of opportunity to make this work for the region.
Now Renew Lehigh Valley has been involved with LCA and the City of Allentown for a number of years discussing the possibility of consolidating the two systems to realize efficiencies, cost savings, and other benefits of regional consolidation. Though the current deal did not come about as we had hoped, it certainly is an opportunity to once again review the possibilities for and benefits of regional consolidation of water and wastewater systems in the Lehigh Valley.? Did you know there are more than three dozen water and wastewater authorities in our two-county region?? RenewLV developed a series of ?Guiding Principles? as we moved through the water and wastewater discussions.? (You can read our Guiding Principles on our website.)? In accordance with these principles, RenewLV did support LCA as a public option during the lease discussions because a public authority with public oversight provides the opportunity for further regional collaboration of systems; whereas, a private entity would have taken that option off the table.
Since LCA now has the bid and the wheels are turning with the transfer getting underway, RenewLV does have some concerns about the lease and LCA and Allentown?s practices over the course of that lease.? I attended one of the public meetings LCA held to inform the public and answer questions.? Unfortunately, the turnout was disappointing, given the population of Allentown and the size of LCA?s service area.? That said, I think it was an important first step by LCA to begin a dialogue with the public throughout this process.? Some information about the transfer of billing and other details for the consumer were shared.? Open, transparent conversation between the public, LCA, and the City of Allentown must be maintained in order for this lease to be successful and an effective model for other regional consolidation (albeit, under slightly different circumstances? sans the financial implications of a lease.)? The following is a summary of some of RenewLV?s concerns and recommendations with this lease.? A full copy of the position paper can be found on our website.
- All monies received by the City of Allentown from the LCA under this lease must be kept in a Restricted Fund for the sole purpose of paying for Pension Costs
- Adopt sustainable practices for water resource management
- Undertake regional water services planning, cooperative projects among water systems, and consolidation of systems
- Prioritize the use of existing water system assets over the creation of new infrastructure
- Encourage water and sewer infrastructure projects that promote revitalization of older communities (cities and boroughs)
- Prohibit projects that contribute to suburban sprawl
- Apply best practices for the environmental stewardship of our watersheds
- Transparent and inclusive stakeholder and community engagement by the LCA and Allentown in providing access to materials and public meetings
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Source: http://renewlv.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/regional-smart-growth-concerns-with-the-lca-allentown-lease/
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Monday, June 24, 2013
Deal of the Day ? Dell Optiplex 3010 Core i5 Quad-Core desktop with Windows 7 Pro and 3-year warranty
LogicBUY’s Deal for Sunday is the configurable Dell?Optiplex 3010 3rd Gen Core i5 Quad-core desktop, starting at?$539.00. ?Features: Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-core CPU 4GB RAM 500GB Hard Drive, 16X DVD-ROM Keyboard and mouse Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) 3-year warranty $841.43 – 29% instant savings – $50 coupon code = $539.00 with free shipping. This deal [...]
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Is Chris Weidman the one to take out Anderson Silva?
When Anderson Silva fights Chris Weidman at UFC 162 next weekend, he will be putting his 17-fight win streak, consecutive wins record, and consecutive title defenses record on the line. Silva's last five fights have ended in a stoppage. He is the closest thing the UFC has to unbeatable.
But more and more MMA folks say Weidman is the guy who can take him out. He is undefeated, and has six wins by a stoppage. UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has trained with Weidman and said he will beat Silva. UFC commentator Joe Rogan said Weidman has the game to take out Silva. Frankie Edgar said he thinks Weidman will win, and noted BJJ expert Roger Gracie said Weidman can submit anyone, even Gracie.
Are you on board with the Weidman hypetrain? Will he win, or will it be Silva's 18th straight? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/chris-weidman-one-anderson-silva-161041788.html
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Sunday, June 23, 2013
Gunmen kill nine foreign tourists, two locals in northern Pakistan
By By Jibran Ahmed
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed a mountaineering base camp in northern Pakistan on Sunday and shot dead nine foreign trekkers and a Pakistani guide as they rested during an arduous climb up one of the world's tallest peaks, police said.
The night-time raid - which killed five Ukrainians, three Chinese and a Russian - was among the worst attacks on foreigners in Pakistan in a decade and underscored the growing reach of militants in a highland region once considered secure.
One of the victims also held a U.S. passport, a U.S. official said, without giving further details.
Police said a 15-strong gang of attackers wearing uniforms used by a local paramilitary force arrived at about 1 a.m. at a group of tents and ramshackle huts used by hikers scaling the flanks of the snow-covered 8,125-metre Nanga Parbat peak.
The assailants shot dead a Pakistani guard and held other workers at gunpoint, a senior official from the northern Gilgit-Baltistan province said. A Chinese climber managed to escape.
"The gunmen held the staff hostage and then started killing foreign tourists and made their escape," the official said.
It was the first time foreign tourists had been attacked in the province of Gilgit-Baltistan, where the convergence of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalayan ranges creates a stunning landscape explored by only a trickle of the most intrepid mountaineers.
Pakistan's Taliban movement and a smaller militant group both claimed responsibility.
The shootings, which followed several deadly bombings in different parts of Pakistan in the past week, pose a fresh challenge for the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is battling accusations that his calls for dialogue with insurgents amount to appeasing violent extremists.
The deaths of the Chinese are a particular blow for Pakistan, which hosted Chinese Premier Li Keqiang last month in a bid to boost trade ties with the Asian giant via their shared border in Gilgit-Baltistan.
China issued a statement condemning the attack and calling for Pakistan to "severely punish" the perpetrators.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told parliament he had sacked Gilgit-Baltistan's police chief and another provincial official, an unusual step in Pakistan where senior officials are rarely held accountable for lapses in security.
The move did little to silence critics who asked how gunmen could have slipped past security forces at check points meant to scrutinize visitors to the sensitive mountain region bordering the disputed territory of Kashmir.
CONFLICTING CLAIMS
There were conflicting claims of responsibility for the attack. A Pakistani militant group known as Jundullah, with a track record of attacks in the province, was the first to say it was behind the raid.
"These foreigners are our enemies and we proudly claim responsibility for killing them, and will continue such attacks in the future," Jundullah spokesman Ahmed Marwat told Reuters by telephone.
The same group has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in northern Pakistan in recent years, mostly on members of Pakistan's Shi'ite Muslim minority.
Pakistan's Taliban movement, which has its center of gravity closer to the Afghan border, said it had shot the trekkers in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike in May that killed its second in command, Wali-ur-Rehman.
"We wanted to seek revenge for the killing of our leader in the drone attack," said Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan. "Our attacks on foreigners will continue to protest drone strikes."
It was not immediately possible to reconcile the competing claims. Jundullah and the much larger Pakistani Taliban are among loosely aligned militant groups that frequently share personnel, tactics and agendas. Claims for specific incidents are often hard to verify.
Recent attacks by Pakistani militant groups have tended to focus on security forces and religious minorities, particularly Shi'ites, but foreigners have also been targets in the past.
In 2002, 11 French engineers and technicians working on the construction of submarines for the Pakistan navy were killed along with three Pakistanis in a suicide bombing outside a hotel in the port city of Karachi. In 2009, gunmen attacked the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in the eastern city of Lahore.
Last weekend, in the southwestern city of Quetta, a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying women students and then gunmen stormed the hospital treating survivors. More than 20 people were killed.
(Writing by Matthew Green; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Robin Pomeroy)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-kill-10-foreign-tourists-northern-pakistan-police-041053224.html
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Jefferies readies loans for Icahn's Dell bid: sources
By Leela Parker and Michelle Sierra
(Reuters) - Jefferies & Co will provide $5.2 billion in term loans to back Carl Icahn's bid for computer manufacturer Dell Inc, sources told Thomson Reuters LPC.
The funding will be launched on Monday at a 4:00 p.m. lender call that the billionaire investor is expected to join, the sources said.
The $5.2 billion is split between a $2.2 billion six-year term loan B-1 and a $3 billion three-year term loan B-2. The six-year tranche will have standard 1 percent amortization, while the shorter-dated tranche amortizes at 10 percent, they said.
Icahn declined to comment on details of the term loans on Friday.
As previously reported, initial price guidance in May was in the LIB+350 area, subject to change due to market conditions.
Earlier this week, Icahn repeated his interest in owning Dell, saying in a telephone interview with Thomson Reuters LPC on Tuesday that he was moving forward with his plans to line up $5.2 billion in credit facilities. His comments echoed statements he made earlier that day in an open letter to Dell shareholders.
"Nothing has changed regarding the financing," Icahn said in the interview. "We expect to have $5.2 billion in the next couple of weeks. Our investment bank is already committing $1.6 billion and my affiliates and I would provide $2 billion, if necessary."
Icahn's letter to Dell's shareholders came on the heels of a series of reports that Icahn could exit the Dell race after struggling to raise the $5.2 billion in debt he needed to back a leveraged recapitalization he proposed to Dell's board on May 9.
In May, Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management initiated talks with banks and asset managers to line up financing to back a leveraged recapitalization of Dell as an alternative to an existing buyout offer led by Dell and Silver Lake Partners for $13.65 a share, or $24.4 billion. Jefferies has already committed $1.6 billion.
FUNDING SEEN READY BEFORE JULY 18 VOTE
Icahn is expected to have the financing lined up for a July 18 shareholder vote on the Silver Lake bid.
Icahn is offering a new path for shareholders. Under the May 9 leveraged recapitalization plan, Icahn proposed giving shareholders the option of receiving either a distribution of $12 per share in cash or $12 per share in stock valued at $1.65 per share. Now, Icahn is asking that Dell shareholders agree to a tender offer for 1.1 billion shares at $14 apiece in a stock buyback.
Icahn and Southeastern, which together own about 13 percent of Dell stock, argue the Dell and Silver Lake offer of $13.65 undervalues the company and that the recent numbers reported by Dell are understated.
"Despite the company using scare tactics concerning the company's health, you cannot get away from the fact that their own consulting firm, BCG, believes the company would earn $3.3 billion for 2014," Icahn said in the interview on Tuesday. "This means the 670 million shares left outstanding after our tender will earn $3.72 per share."
Dell's proposed take-private sale price has undergone several iterations starting at $11.22 to $12.16 per share, a pricing proposed by Silver Lake in October during the early stages of the take-private conversations.
In the letter, Icahn revealed he is now Dell's second-largest shareholder after Michael Dell, after he purchased half of Southeastern's Dell shares for $13.52 apiece. That brings Icahn's total ownership to 152 million shares, or 9 percent of the company's shares.
Dell shares closed on Friday down 0.1 percent at $13.35.
(Reporting By Leela Parker, Michelle Sierra; Editing by Lynn Adler and Andre Grenon)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jefferies-readies-loans-icahns-dell-bid-sources-072940054.html
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